Consumer Reports Says to Avoid the 2021 Ford Explorer, Buy the 2021 Kia Telluride Instead

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Sometimes a car misses the mark. Consumer Reports thinks the 2021 Ford Explorer missed the mark, but the 2021 Kia Telluride made up for it. While Consumer Reports suggests avoiding the Ford Explorer, it found a lot to like in the Kia Telluride and the Mazda CX-9.

Consumer Reports didn’t love the 2021 Ford Explorer

Consumer Reports Says to Avoid the 2021 Ford Explorer, Buy the 2021 Kia Telluride Instead | Ford

The 2021 Ford Explorer wasn’t all bad news. Consumer Reports thought the Explorer had a roomy cabin and handled well on the road. Unfortunately, it had below-average predicted reliability and predicted owner satisfaction. The Ford Explorer only got 21 mpg overall, and CR found the transmission was pretty rough. It does come with forward crash warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and blind-spot warning (BSW). Other than that, Consumer Reports found the 2021 Ford Explorer was pretty average.

The over score given to the Explorer was 42 out of 100. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has one recall for the engine. The motor mount could be loose and cause vibrations that might cause the axel to disconnect. This could increase the risk of a crash. For the price, buyers can find a better-equipped vehicle.

Price Range: $32,925 – $54,600

Consumer Reports says to buy the 2021 Kia Telluride instead

The Kia Telluride is one of Consumer Reports best SUVs you can buy
The 2021 Kia Telluride is one of Consumer Reports best SUVs you can buy | Kia

It is no secret that Consumer Reports loves the 2021 Kia Telluride. The Kia SUV has above-average predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. It got the same 21 mpg overall but made up for it elsewhere. With room for eight passengers (or seven, depending on the configuration), the Telluride is well-equipped. The second row offers one-touch folding/sliding for added space, plus all the latest technology. The 2021 Kia Telluride has a 5,000-pound towing capacity. It also has FCW, AEB, and BSW standard. You can get a fully-loaded Telluride for less than the 2021 Ford Explorer too.

The Telluride scored 96 out of 100, which is pretty extravagant. There is a recent recall relating to the front passenger airbag that should be corrected immediately. Also, don’t pay $25,000 over MSRP. The 2021 Kia Telluride is a great vehicle, but it isn’t worth that much.

Price Range: $32,190 – $44,390

Another alternative, the 2021 Mazda CX-9

The 2021 Mazda CX-9 has a lot to offer buyers. It has above-average predicted reliability and predicted owner satisfaction, plus 22 mpg overall. It provides a comfortable cabin, and the ride is smooth. The second row of seating is roomy, but the third row is a little cramped. The CX-9 is Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatible. This Mazda SUV offers FCW, AEB, and BSW standard.

The CX-9 scored an 80 out of 100 overall, which is relatively high. The Mazda CX-9 has no open recalls right now. Consumer Reports suggests the Grand Touring and Signature trim levels for extra luxury.

Price Range: $34,160 – $46,805

Consumer Reports puts each vehicle through a lot of testing before giving these scores. There are just better options out there than the 2021 Ford Explorer when it comes down to it. The 2021 Kia Telluride and the Mazda CX-9 have more safety features standard. These days, reliability and owner satisfaction play a massive role in the buying process, and the Explorer didn’t cut it.

RELATED: Consumer Reports Best SUVs You Can Buy Right Now, With 3 Subaru Options

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Electrify America Aims to Double EV Charging Network by 2025

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Today, concerns over climate change and solutions continue to dominate discussions in various industries, including the automotive sector. For that reason, most automakers have plans to electrify a sizeable portion of their fleets over the next 10 years with several EV models. Additionally, some car manufacturers are announcing goals for fully electrified lineups within five years.

It is also interesting that buyers may not have to wait for long since multiple pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will debut by the end of 2024 if everything goes according to plan. Additionally, to meet the demand that hundreds of new EV models and thousands of EV drivers will create on the road, Electrify America aims to double its charging station network by 2025.

How various manufacturers are ramping up EV production to electrify America

An EVgo charging station in a parking garage | FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Volvo Group

Some car manufacturers remain vague concerning the timing of electric vehicles. However, Volvo clearly outlines that it plans to build only pure electric automobiles by the end of the decade.

Honda Motor Co.

The Honda Motor Company targets 2040 as the year when its sales will be zero-emission, electrified vehicles. 40% of sales by 2030 and 80% of sales by 2035 is the projected ramp-up to this goal.

Volkswagen Group

Since its diesel emissions scandal dubbed “Dieselgate” by most observers, Volkswagen continues its commitment to becoming an EV-focused auto manufacturer. The firm indicates that it will launch 60 hybrids and 70 purely electric vehicles by the end of the decade and that many are already in production. Additionally, the Volkswagen Group is the automaker behind Electrify America, which we’ll cover in more detail shortly.

BMW

The company has teased concept EVs, including the Vision, i4, and iX, and has plans to introduce electric versions of the X1, 5 Series, and 7 Series SUV. Also, BMW confirms that it will bring roughly a dozen new EVs to the market by 2025.

Subaru

In early 2021 the automaker announces that it will offer some form of electrification on all its models by the middle of the decade. Whether this means PHEV model options or EVs remains to be seen.

Electrify America’s plan

Electrify America is an electric vehicle charging network funded with Volkswagen’s cash as punishment for its emissions cheating scandal. The organization plans recently announced plans to double its EV charging network throughout Canada and the United States. Under the new Boost Plan, Electrify America will have 10,000 individual chargers and over 1,800 fast-charging stations in Canada and the U.S. by the end of 2025.

These expansion plans will also prioritize adding more 150 and 350 kW chargers that significantly reduce charging times. Electrify America expects to have approximately 3,500 individual chargers and 800 charging stations by the end of this year alone. Also, the expansion will allow Electrify America to enter new markets, including Vermont, Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota, West Virginia, and South Dakota. Eventually, the firm will have a presence in 49 states and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.).

Beyond that, Green Car Reports states that Electrify America has plans to install enhanced lighting and canopies at specific charging stations. That way, recharging on snowy or rainy nights will hopefully be more pleasant and feasible. On the other hand, Canada will have over 500 chargers and 100 charging stations by the end of 2025, whose location will be near popular amenities, metropolitan centers, and major highways.

Additionally, there will be an addition of charging stations in Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and New Brunswick as part of the expansion plan. When that happens, EVs can travel from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Victoria, British Columbia, without recharging challenges.

The feasibility of Electrify America’s 2025 goal

As automakers ramp up manufacturing electric cars that can charge faster and go further, the concern is that those who wish to acquire EVs may have to wait until better, faster charging infrastructure is in place. The latest EVs with ranges around 300 miles per charge can accept power faster than previous models. However, most charging stations cannot keep up with the advanced technology of such cars.

According to the Department of Energy, even with about 42,000 public charging stations available in the U.S., only 5,000 of these are considered direct-current fast chargers. As such, you will need roughly eight hours to fully charge a longer-range battery in other EV charging stations. When developing incentives that encourage governments and firms to establish more charging stations, authorities will also need to consider the high cost of fast-charging stations. Suffice it to say, Electrify America has a lot of work ahead of them.

However, there is a glimmer of hope since, by 2030, the U.S. president’s administration targets to have 500,000 charging stations nationwide. That will go a long way toward making the adoption of EVs more attractive and accessible than ever.

RELATED: Volkswagen’s Multi-Billion Dollar Electrify America EV Charging Network

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This Toyota Supra Continues a Worrying Trend for Millenials and Gen Z

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The Toyota Supra has a reputation. Rather, it has several. Reliable, fast, practical, and a jack-of-all-trades, the Supra has it all. Now, we can officially add expensive to that list. Well, expensive has been on that list for a while now, but let’s just say this most recent Bring a Trailer result made things real for me. The 7,000-mile, twin-turbo, “two jay Z, no SHIT” Toyota Supra you see below sold for a ridiculous $201,000. Yeah, that’s a lot.

The MKIV Toyota Supra deserves its reputation

I know this is what you’re all here for | Bring a Trailer

For people like me, (born in 1997) and those who are, say, plus or minus 10 years on me, the Toyota Supra is… well, legend feels cliched. Iconic? Frankly, I struggle to find the words to describe the legacy of the Toyota Supra. There’s so much history wrapped up in one little 177″ by 50″ box. Decades of tuner pedestal-placing and silver screen stardom have shaped a Japanese grand touring car into the status symbol it is today.

Because that’s what the MKIV Supra is now. A status symbol. For people my age, it means you’ve made it far enough in life to be able to afford yours and everyone else’s dream car. Just like your dad’s Camaro, this car says “I did it.” And now, the market has placed a premium on the automotive equivalent of the phrase “I did it.” Again, it has for some time, but this time around it feels real.

This Supra sets a worrying precedent for the market

The basket-handle rear wing of the MKIV Supra
Iconic styling that speaks to many | Bring a Trailer

By real I mean extraordinary. As in circumstances. We’re still in the middle of a globe-ravaging pandemic. I’m very lucky to be sitting here, getting paid to write this. There are people out there with much longer resumes than mine sitting out in the cold. And yet, someone just dropped two hundred thousand dollars on a Toyota Supra that (adjusted for inflation) cost $97,204.41 back in ’95.

I’m not just trying to make a statement about wealth inequality here, nor do I want to single out the buyer as some Scrooge McDuck type figure. I’m genuinely happy someone gets to enjoy this car. But frankly, things just keep getting more expensive. Now, it’s not possible to boot-strap it up and go make $200k just like that. The cars that people my age dream of change hands for insane prices. They’re gone for average Joes and Janes.

It’s called a “dream car” for a reason

A brand new 2020 Supra at an auto show, bathed in red overhead light shot in profile
With the new Supra comes a new dream car | Timothy A. Clary via Getty Images

Frankly, the Toyota Supra isn’t a dream car anymore. It’s a fantasy. One that will surely continue to perpetuate the market values we have historically seen and will continue to see for these JDM halo cars. Now, maybe, just maybe, we’ll all get lucky and see a drop in values as older millennials with money lose interest, a-la what happened to golden age muscle cars. However, it’s far more likely the rest of us will have to move on from fantasy cars and pick more grounded realistic dream cars. That’s fine, because there’s still plenty of dream cars left out there.

RELATED: Toyota Supra Parts for Sale- but Not the Ones You Think

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How to Keep Thieves From Stealing Your Tires

by Gabrielle DeSantis

It’s the last thing you’d expect: you come out of work after a long day, and find your car propped up on bricks or blocks. Where are your tires? Although it’s well-known that car break-ins occur, not many people worry about their tires being taken. So why are thieves stealing tires from cars, and how can you keep it from happening to you?

Wheel clamp | Andrew Woodley/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Why are thieves stealing tires?

Geico says that thieves are stealing tires for a very simple reason; they’re easy to steal. It doesn’t take long for a person to steal tires off of a car. Geico says that “with a jack and a battery-operated tool—an impact wrench with a lot of torque—can pull off a set of wheels in 10 minutes.” Sometimes people are working in groups to make this even more efficient; they work in teams and jack up the entire car at once, then take off the tires two or even four at a time. Anything that’s not difficult to steal and can be worth a decent amount of money is at risk of being stolen. 

This leads to another reason that thieves are targeting tires; they’re worth some money. People are always looking for good deals on tires. In addition to buying tires on ebay or other websites, people often sell tires they don’t need on social media or websites like Craislist. This makes it easy for someone who has stolen tires to sell them without garnering attention. 

How much money are stolen tires worth?

The upside of buying tires secondhand, or from a person rather than a dealer or shop, is the savings. The upside of selling tires through alternative means is profit – Geico says that a set of tires can go for $1,000-$5,000 or more. That’s a pretty serious incentive for someone looking to make quick money. 

On top of the profit, there’s not as much risk as selling other stolen goods. Tires aren’t traceable – they don’t have any tracking numbers or IDs on them that make them easy to identify after they’ve been removed from a car. 

How can you prevent someone from stealing your tires?

If you’d like to save your tires from being stolen (and who wouldn’t), an important step you can take is to park in a well-lit area in a highly trafficked place. Sometimes you may be parking somewhere fairly remote, like a train station parking lot. Try to park in a spot where your car is visible from the street or by people walking to and from the train. If it’s nighttime, try to park under a light, to make your car a less attractive target.

You can also buy lug nut locks. Geico says these will cost you $100 total for your four tires. You can either put them on yourself or have a mechanic put them on for you. 

You can turn your wheels to a 45-degree angle. This makes it harder for thieves to get into the tire to remove them. If you can park in an area that makes it harder for a thief to have access to your car, that can also help prevent someone from stealing your tires. 

You can also buy an alarm with a sensor that will go off if thieves try to jack up your car to remove your tires. These sensors are attached to the wheels themselves. 

If there’s been a rash of tire thieves in your neighborhood, or you just really like having tires on your car, keeping these tips in mind can keep you from being in the position of discovering your car undriveable, and your tires long gone.

RELATED: Summer Driving Tips From the NHTSA

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