Quiet talk could be big hint about new Land Rover Defender plug-in hybrid

2015 Land Rover Defender ‘2,000,000’Our best evidence yet of a Land Rover Defender powered by electrons surfaced this week and hinted at a 2020 arrival. Employees at Land Rover-corporate parent Tata have posted publicly on social media about a “L663 PHEV” project due for 2020. A tipster pointed us toward a Tata engineer who reported working on next year’s Range Rover, several future…

New Amazon Prime show “The Gymkhana Files” goes behind the scenes with Ken Block’s viral video series

Scene from Ken Block’s ‘Gymkhana Nine: Raw Industrial Playground’Rallycross racer Ken Block ignited the internet with Gymkhana 1 in 2011. It has become a series with nine installations of intense stunts and high-horsepower machines. The series continues to draw millions of viewers and has given rise to Block’s fame as a world-class driver. Next month, we’ll be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how the…

BMW sets course to buy controlling stake in Chinese joint venture

2018 BMW 5-Series built by BMW Brilliance Automotive joint ventureTo build cars in China and escape the country’s steep tariffs on imports, foreign automakers have had to partner with local firms via 50:50 joint ventures. However, the Chinese government earlier this year laid out a plan to phase out the rule by 2022, thus paving the way for foreign automakers to buy out their joint-venture partners and take home…