Latest news with #JeepGladiator
Axios
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Axios
The most American-made vehicles come from Tesla, foreign brands
Some of the most "American-made" vehicles you can buy carry foreign nameplates, per a new survey, underscoring the complexity of the global auto industry. Why it matters: The report, now in its 20th year, is more relevant than ever, landing amid rising geopolitical tensions over trade and tariffs. Where vehicles are assembled — and where their parts come from — is driving consumer behavior, for both patriotic and pocketbook reasons, they found. The big picture: In a recent survey of shoppers, more than half say they've accelerated their vehicle purchase timeline to avoid tariff-driven price hikes. 51% say tariffs have influenced them to seek out American-made vehicles. "Patriotism is a perk, but cost consciousness is the driving force," the company said in a press release. By the numbers: Tesla continues to produce the most made-in-America vehicles for the fourth consecutive year, according to the survey. The rest of the Top 10 are primarily foreign brands (Honda, Kia and Volkswagen). The only "American" brand that qualified for the Top 10 is the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck, which is produced by Stellantis, a multinational carmaker based in the Netherlands. International automakers account for 67 of the 99 qualifying vehicles in the American Made Index. How it works: uses a proprietary formula that includes a weighted assessment of each vehicle's location of assembly, origin of their parts and local employment counts. "American-made" parts include those manufactured in the U.S. or Canada, under a 1994 content labeling law passed by Congress. What they're saying:"You have to look past the badge on the hood," Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for American-Made Index, tells Axios. "Auto manufacturing is complicated." The intrigue: Alabama produces more "American-made" vehicles than even Michigan, Indiana or Ohio, states normally associated with the U.S. auto industry. Alabama has four big factories producing a variety of models: Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Honda and a Toyota-Mazda joint venture. The intrigue: The survey comes one day after Ford Motor aired a spicy new TV commercial touting its commitment to U.S. manufacturing, and criticizing competitors for outsourcing. Yes, but: Ford's highest-ranking vehicle on the list is No. 22, the Ford F-150 Lightning, which has only 45% U.S. content, Masterson said. Here are the Top 10 Tesla Model 3 Tesla Model Y Tesla Model S Tesla Model X Jeep Gladiator Kia EV6 Honda Ridgeline Honda Odyssey Honda Passport Volkswagen ID.4
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Toyota 4Runner Could Get a New Off-Road Companion Soon
Toyota's off-road SUV is hard to beat. That probably won't stop an unexpected brand from trying. Rugged, reliable and downright cool — it's easy to see why the Toyota 4Runner remains one of the most lust-worthy off-road SUVs in the US. But it may have some competition on the way, and not from a manufacturer drivers typically associate with dirt trails and rocky paths. After unveiling the Tacoma-like Tasman in 2024, Kia has all but confirmed it's working on a truck-based SUV. And it could arrive in just a few years. At a recent media event in Australia, Kia engineer Graeme Gambold unexpectedly told CarSales that the company was targeting a Tasman-like SUV 'three years down the track.' According to the report from that event, Dean Norbiato, one of Kia's marketing chiefs, then quickly interjected, clarifying that Kia would be focused on the Tasman before expanding upon the premise of an off-road lifestyle vehicle ready to take it to Toyota. As we know, the Tasman features a body-on-frame chassis, paired with a double wishbone suspension and rigid rear axle with leaf springs. It can also handle up to 32 inches of water, thanks to the position of its air intake inside the truck's front fender. It also boasts an impressive towing capacity of 7,716 pounds (more than the Jeep Gladiator). Should it come to pass, it's reasonable to expect similar specs on the SUV variant. However, one key point may prevent it from knocking the 4Runner off its perch. The Tasman isn't available in the US, and Kia's CEO recently confirmed it won't be coming for the foreseeable future. Let's hope the brand changes its position by the end of the decade. After all, if the roads aren't wide enough to share, there should be plenty of room off of them. Jack Seemer is the executive editor at Gear Patrol, with over a decade of experience in product journalism. He currently reports on a wide range of topics, including footwear, watches, EDC, cookware and more.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
2 year old critically injured in Rock County crash
LA PRAIRIE, Wis. (WTVO) — A two-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in a three-vehicle collision in Rock County on Sunday afternoon, police said. According to the Rock County Sheriff's Office, around 2:13 p.m., the 2-year-old was a passenger in a GMC Terrain driven by a 25-year-old man from Milton, who was traveling east on US 14. As the GMC began to slow to make a left-hand turn onto S. Henke Road, a Cadillac XT5, driven by a 56-year-old man from Janesville, failed to slow and crashed into the back of the GMC, sending it to spin into the intersection and collide with a Jeep Gladiator that was traveling west. The 2-year-old was evacuated by helicopter to a local hospital. All the other occupants were taken to hospitals for treatment and released. The case is still under investigation, police said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Why Are Automakers Removing Center Console Armrests From Sports Cars?
It's true what they say, "You don't know what you got until it's gone." As automotive enthusiasts, we've grown to appreciate how high-tech modern cars are. Unless you're looking at the base model and very utilitarian 2025 Jeep Gladiator, there's no such thing as a car without power windows, ABS, or a touch screen. They're all vast improvements compared to the cars we all drove in high school. However, one thing I never thought I'd miss was the center console. Many of the new cars I drove to review, like the 2025 Toyota Corolla GR and the 2025 Subaru WRX tS, shocked me when I tried to rest my elbow on… Nothing. Where there's typically a place for my elbow was a flat, plastic surface on the floor. Suddenly, I found myself mourning the loss of something I never truly appreciated since I got my license almost 20 years ago. It was difficult for me to understand, especially since a center console has so many unappreciated benefits, like added storage space, a place to rest your arm to avoid soreness on a long drive, and a complete aesthetic. I found myself quoting Helen Shirley from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: "Oh, of all the cheap, lousy ways to save a buck." So, I decided to dig a little deeper to see if there were any real benefits to what the industry calls the "center console delete," or if major automakers are pulling a Frank Shirley. So far, I've only found four possible benefits. Believe it or not, there are a large number of people who are removing the center console from their cars. A center console for some makes the interior feel more crowded, so they remove the center console and replace it with an aftermarket trim piece to complete the look. Members of the Mazda Miata Club on Facebook say a center console delete makes the interior feel more "British" and helps the small interior feel a little bigger. Marketing jargon for new cars reads as though deleting a center console improves the overall comfort for the rear passengers by opening up the interior for them, as if seeing over the center console was such a comfort-sucking feat. A center console delete reportedly increases legroom for the rear passengers, though that would only make sense in cars or SUVs with massive center consoles, like the Toyota Sienna, which can have a beverage cooler attached to it. I'm not sure I follow this one, but some cars, mainly SUVs and EVs, are removing the storage space under the armrest of the center console (without removing the armrest altogether) and substituting it for open cargo shelves. This is great if you regularly carry larger items that need homes, like purses, briefcases, or camera gear (speaking from experience), as having the sides, front, or back open helps give bulky items a secure place without being in the trunk or taking up cargo space for rear passengers. However, without a proper cover, those items are definitely not safe from curious eyes. So, you'd have to put those items, which are there for convenience, in the trunk to avoid being burglarized. Cargo shelves can also help keep rear passengers organized, too. There are some cars, like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, that have an opening in the back of the center storage unit, so rear passengers can place items there, too. It's not much, but it does give them more storage options than the cubby holes in the door. Shelves like that do technically increase overall cargo space, as shelves are bigger and can store more items than the traditional cargo cave under the armrest. However, a lack of security makes it difficult for those who can't park their car in a safe place, like a garage. With a center storage cavity under the armrest, there are plenty of aftermarket options to make them lockable-I have one in my Jeep and love it. You can't do that with storage shelving. Those who have driven a manual car daily can confirm that hitting your elbow on the armrest mid-shift is mildly annoying. However, after a while of daily driving, you get used to it. Muscle memory takes over, and you learn how to move your arm in such a way that you don't hit your elbow. When a drink is one of the cupholders, especially a tall one, accommodating for your drink while shifting can be annoying, too. This is another argument for deleting the center console, and while I understand it's frustrating sometimes, I don't think it justifies removing it completely. For instance, when I reviewed the 2025 Subaru WRX tS, I drove it 5.5 hours from Vancouver, Washington, to Bend, Oregon. Not having a place for my elbow made my right arm sore, and not having a place for my water bottle or energy drink made it easier to shift, yes-but it made it more of a [literal] pain to drive, especially for such a long distance. Therefore, the WRX, which is a fantastic daily driver, isn't great for long distances. You can buy a center console extender for it, but be prepared to spend $210. Does a center console delete translate to more space to shift comfortably? Yes! For a race car. Not for a regular driver or for long-distance driving. Here's where Helen Shirley comes in, as removing the center console armrest saves on production costs, especially for mass-produced cars. Automakers claim that cars have "limited interior space," despite cars becoming larger and wider with each model year, and deleting the center console armrest helps the "small" interior feel bigger. By saving on production, companies argue that they're able to make vehicles more affordable for customers. The two I've driven that don't have center console armrests, the Corolla GR and the Subaru WRX tS, are both close to $50,000. For that much money, I'd want to be able to drive it daily, so put a dang armrest in it. Some say that in a side-impact crash, a center console can interfere with the deployment of airbags. I don't buy that argument either, since there are plenty of NHTSA and IIHS Top Safety Picks that have center console armrests in them. So, instead of just saying, "We're omitting the center console armrest because it makes our CEOs more money and all this marketing mambo-jumbo is just to make you feel like not having one is smarter so you don't question anything," automakers argue it's more attractive, safer, and more comfortable not to have one. After that nearly six-hour drive in the new WRX, I'm here to tell you-they're all wrong. Don't fall for it. Seriously. Unless the car you're buying is made specifically for the track and you have zero plans to drive it more than a few miles every day, the lack of a place to put your arm created more problems than I realized. When I had the Toyota Corolla GR, I didn't do any long drives. The most I drove was 10 miles in a day, and that was because I was testing the cargo space with a Costco trip. That was fine, but that drive across state lines felt so much longer than five hours. I was incredibly disappointed that a car that was a few thousand short of $50,000 with a premium Harmon Kardon stereo, plush Recaro seats, a large and beautiful touch screen, and crazy cool drive modes didn't have an armrest. I would have rather sacrificed something like the Alcantara on the A-pillars or used a lower-resolution screen than not have a place to rest my arm on long drives. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Police release video of hit-and-run crash in downtown Los Angeles as search for suspect continues
Police have released new video of a hit-and-run crash that left a motorcyclist with severe injuries in downtown Los Angeles in March. They were dispatched to the intersection of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Bunker Hill Avenue at around 8 p.m. after learning of the crash on March 23, according to a release from the Los Angeles Police Department. Investigators learned that the driver of a Jeep Gladiator truck was traveling eastbound on Cesar E. Chavez and began to make a left turn onto Bunker Hill when they struck the motorcycle, which was heading westbound. Video of the crash, which can be viewed on the LAPD YouTube channel, shows the moment of impact, which caused the victim to fly off their motorcycle onto the hood of the truck before ending up in the street. The Jeep can then be seen heading in reverse before driving from the scene heading westbound on Cesar E. Chavez. Some onlookers held their arms out towards the driver but they still did not stop. The victim, who hasn't been identified, was taken to a hospital for what police called severe injuries. Anyone who knows more about the incident is asked to contact LAPD investigators at (213) 833-3713.
