Good morning and welcome to our daily digest of automotive news from around the globe, starting with…
Acura Admits Defeat In China, Leaves Market Just 6 Years After It Entered
Acura is bidding goodbye to the Chinese market, with Honda pulling the plug on the upmarket brand’s presence after just six years. The CDX and RDX will be sold while stocks last, and GAC Honda dealers (GAC being the local company Honda partnered with for Acura) will continue to service the cars. Resources will be reallocated to Honda’s upcoming Chinese e:NP lineup.
2023 BMW X7 Breaks Cover, And Probably Mirrors, With Bold New Face Destined For 7-Series And i7 Too
Not content with shocking the world with their super-sized grilles, BMW has decided to challenge the definition of ugly by introducing a new light design for the facelifted X7. Like it or not, the X7 previews the new corporate look for all luxury models — that includes the upcoming 7-Series, i7, and Alpina Xb7. Inside, the refreshed SUV gets a curved display angled toward the driver and drops the conventional transmission shifter. U.S. deliveries begin in the fall.
Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance Debuts With 1,050 HP And A $179k Price Tag
Lucid Motors has revealed its latest version of its electric sedan: the Air Grand Touring. The new car will replace the now sold-out Air Dream Edition Performance, and even though it’ll be slightly less potent than that car, with 1,050 hp (783 kW / 1,065 PS), it’ll be the most powerful EV on sale in North America. It won’t come cheap though, with prices starting at $179,000.
Honda To Make Two New Electric Sports Cars As Part Of $40 Billion EV Push With 30 Models
Honda has announced an ambitious strategy to introduce 30 new EVs globally within the decade. The Japanese automaker is investing $40 billion in the plan, which we’re promised will see the introduction of two new sportscars as well. Other cars included in the plan will be an affordable Mini-LCV in Japan, the Honda Prologue for North America, and 10 new EVs in China.
2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 120th Ann Edition Introduced, First Model Sold For $250k
Cadillac has introduced the 2023 CT5-V Blackwing 120th Ann Edition to the world and used the opportunity to auction the very first car off for a whopping $250,000. Production is limited to just 120 units, with each car paying tribute to a year in Cadilac’s history, along with multiple commemorative features. It features a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 that develops 668 hp (498 kW / 677 PS) and 659 lb-ft (893 lb-ft) of torque, with a top speed in excess of 200 mph (322 km/h) and a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 3.7 seconds.
Driven: The 2023 Toyota bZ4X Is A Quirky, But Comfortable EV With Up To 252 Miles Of Range
Despite being first on the hybrid scene with the Prius, Toyota has been a bit late to the EV party. But with the brand planning to introduce 15 new EVs by 2025, the tides are changing. Their first serious EV effort is the bZ4X. While the exterior styling can be a bit “love it or hate it,” we found it ticked a lot of boxes when we got behind the wheel. But with growing competition, will it be enough?
Russian Karter Under Investigation From FIA For Appearing To Perform Nazi Salute
The incident where karting driver Artem Severiukhin allegedly did a Nazi salute can be seen here 👇
🎥 FIA pic.twitter.com/OOtO1LBawK
— F1 Feeder Series (@F1FeederSeries1) April 11, 2022
15-year-old Artem Severiukhin from Russia is under an FIA investigation for appearing to use a Nazi salute during a podium celebration. Severiukhin was seen using the gesture after round 1 of the 2022 FIA Karting European Championship in Portugal. The Russian had been racing under an Italian license to circumvent the FIA’s ban on Russian drivers. He claims he was just thanking his team and relatives. His team, Ward Racing, has dropped the youngster during the immediate fallout.
What Else Is Making The News
Elon Musk Being Sued Over Twitter Stake
A Twitter shareholder has decided to sue Elon Musk over a failure to disclose his five percent stake in the company when he was supposed to. The plaintiff alleges that the delay allowed Musk to buy more shares at a lower price, and cheated sellers of Twitter stock out of increased profits, reports TechCrunch.
YouTube Back Online After Outage
All fixed – you should now be able to log in, switch between accounts, and use the account menu & navigation bar across all services (YouTube, YouTube TV, YouTube Music, YouTube Studio) and devices.
Thank you so much for your patience 🫶 https://t.co/ytjSVnytlP
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) April 12, 2022
Alphabet Inc said that it has fixed the issues that had disrupted YouTube features for users. Logging in, switching accounts, and using the navigation bar were among the problems faced by users, reports Reuters, while nearly 10,000 users had recorded issues on Downdetector.
