motorsports

An engine-revving exploration of motorsports, including motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATV and more.

Tesla’s 66% Plunge in China Looks Like a Crash. The Export Data Says Otherwise.
In the last week of October, at a Tesla delivery center in Pudong, Shanghai, a salesperson leaned against a display car and scrolled through his phone. He had three delivery orders scheduled for the day. Two were carried over from late September. In the body shop next door, there were more technicians than cars. “It’s not that nobody’s buying,” he said. “There just aren’t any cars in the lot.”
By Jin2 days ago in Wheel
EV Road Trips Are Won by Fewer Stops, Not Faster Charging
Two cars, same price, different trip shapes Two EVs leave a charger at the same state of charge. Both cost about RMB 260,000. One is a mid-trim BYD Datang at RMB 269,900. It has a 130 kWh second-generation blade battery, a single rear motor with 500 hp, and a measured full-to-zero highway range of 611 km at an average 115 km/h. The other is a base ONVO L90 at RMB 265,900. It has an 85 kWh CALB ternary lithium battery. Dongchedi measured the high-trim L90 at 369 km of highway range.
By Jin2 days ago in Wheel
Foreigners Don’t Drive Small Cars Because They’re Pragmatic
Most of us buy e-bikes for errands. We do not skip Mercedes because we dislike Mercedes. We do not skip Tsinghua because we dislike Tsinghua. We do not share an apartment because a villa feels too big.
By Jin2 days ago in Wheel
The Ruling That Decided Nothing and Showed What Competition Now Runs On
On November 11, 2026, the court in The Hague issued a ruling in Jaguar Land Rover v. BYD. The ruling did not address whether the Ti7 copied the Defender. The court had to resolve a more preliminary question: which digital records seized in the August raid could enter the later proceedings. That procedural ruling, which avoided the infringement question, shows more clearly than an infringement judgment what is shaping competition.
By Jin4 days ago in Wheel
The 503 km/h Run Happened. The Record Is Narrower Than the Headline.
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme ran 503.17 km/h in Abu Dhabi. The setting needs correction first. It did not happen on an open road with traffic. Local authorities closed a 10 km section of the E11, including a 7 km straight. The car was prepared, the surface was inspected, and the run was organized as a record attempt. The conditions still differed from a purpose-built high-speed oval. There was no banking. The surface had ordinary road variation. Heat, dust, and crosswind were present.
By Jin4 days ago in Wheel
The Car Was the Dream. Then They Did the Math.
"At first, my budget for a car was 300,000 yuan. Then it dropped to 250,000." Asked why she was fixed on that price range, Li Yu answered bluntly: "To show off."
By Jin10 days ago in Wheel
China Built 1.02 Million Chargers. The Profit Is Almost a Rounding Error.
At six in the morning, a charging site on the outskirts of the city. Connector No. 3 is offline. The maintenance ticket reads “insulation test abnormality on the charging cable.” A ride-hailing car charges to 80%, unplugs, and leaves. The service fee is 0.36 yuan per kWh. Last month, the site’s average daily charging volume per connector was under 120 kWh. The break-even line is 180 kWh. The transformer hums inside its sheet-metal cabinet. The canopy leaks, dripping onto the concrete and forming a small dark patch.
By Jin13 days ago in Wheel
BYD Kept the Sales. It Lost the Margin.
BYD’s Q3 report shows a weaker operating trend than the half-year report did. At the half-year stage, the market could still believe a simple story: sales were recovering, per-vehicle profit had bounced, gross margin was rising, and an inflection point might be near. Q3 broke that story. Sales rose. Per-vehicle profit did not hold. Gross margin fell.
By Jin13 days ago in Wheel
Xiaomi Hit 50,000 Deliveries. The Number to Watch Is 8,500 a Week.
October deliveries: 50,000. August was in the 30,000 range. September was in the 40,000 range. October reached 50,000. Three months, three steps.
By Jin13 days ago in Wheel
BYD’s Q3 Warning: Volume Held, Profit Didn’t
The Q3 report: volume held, per-vehicle profit did not Sales volume matters less than gross margin and per-vehicle net profit in the Q3 report. In the interim report, per-vehicle profit had recovered and gross margin was rising. The market read that as a possible inflection point. Q3 broke the read. Volume grew, gross margin fell, and per-vehicle net profit did not stabilize.
By Jin14 days ago in Wheel
Automakers have suffered under CATL for years. Xiaomi and Li Auto just bought a way out.
Li Auto put in RMB 2.65 billion. Xiaomi followed with RMB 1.7 billion. One after the other, they became the second- and third-largest shareholders of Sunwoda Power. Li Auto holds 8.32%. Xiaomi holds 5.34%. Together, 13.66%.
By Jin14 days ago in Wheel
The $1,000 Check That Named a $2.4 Million Supercar
In 1999, New York car collector Benny Caiola bought the first Pagani sports car. After delivery, he sent a letter to founder Horacio Pagani thanking the engineers. He enclosed a $1,000 check.
By Jin15 days ago in Wheel