AutoGuide Hot Takes: The Commuter Question

Cool nights and sunny days, September is low-key the best month of the summer—as always, AutoGuide is here for it. We don’t always cover every piece of news, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have thoughts and opinions—many of them.

Managing Editor Mike Schlee, Road Test Editor Kyle Patrick, Site Coordinator Michael Accardi, and Editorial Director Greg Migliore weigh in on the hot topics of the week. If you disagree, please get in the comments and tell us why we’re wrong.

1) Traffic is about to get a whole lot worse for some people—pandemic-era work-from-home edicts are ending across the country. If you thought traffic was bad now, just wait.

2) It could also potentially fuel an uptick in vehicle sales as commuters chase efficiency or comfort, or both. But then again, almost everyone is hard up right now, as the price of everything has gone ballistic.

3) BMW is working hard on hydrogen—the automaker just unveiled its next-gen hydrogen fuel cell system, which was developed in collaboration with Toyota.

4) Props to the dude in a Saab 9-3 with a wing that wouldn’t look out of place bolted to a Viper ACR. Definitely worth the chuckle on the run to Kroger.

5) Ineos is cutting prices, which is intriguing. The truck and SUV have their flaws, but the base Grenadier is now about $73 grand. That could be fun.

6) Audi’s new Concept C could kick off a sporty revolution for the automaker, but it might be the wrong platform at the wrong time and doomed to shoulder the same problems as Porsche’s electric 718, with which it shares a platform. Plus, it looks like a Mandalorian helmet—once you see it, you won’t be able to stop—but maybe that’s a good thing.

7) Still, it is nice to see an aggressive concept car from a German car company a few days before the German auto show. It feels like 2015. And love it or hate it (the internet has thoughts), Audi is going for it designwise with the Concept C.

8) Saw a Suzuki Kizashi today. Mint condition. That was a fantastic car that was too little too late for the brand here.

9) Who will be first to K-swap the new Prelude?

10) Former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is in the news again after being announced as an ambassador for the newly minted Ford Racing brand. Oddly, though, the 8-time F1 Grand Prix winner will be focusing on the Raptor brand and not factor into any of the automaker's numerous road racing programs.

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