Credit where it’s due, former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn—the man who was later smuggled out of Japan in a double bass case—was quick to identify electrification as the key paradigm shift in the 21st-century car industry. Cue the cute Renault Zoe, forward-thinking in terms of design and propulsion, but perhaps too aloof to capture hearts and minds.
The new Renault 5 EV is unashamedly nostalgic in look, mining a design trend that’s been around so long that retro is almost retro. Yet when you see it in the flesh for the first time resistance is futile. Here, surely, is the electric car that will demolish any lingering preconceptions, a surprisingly sophisticated conduit for all-round feel-good vibes that’s packed with big-car tech.
Current Renault boss Luca de Meo is certainly bullish. “Some products are magical,” he notes. “You don’t have to hold endless discussions, everybody is always in agreement on what needs to be done. And they do it. There’s no inertia.”
Courtesy of Renault
As one of the masterminds of the noughties Fiat 500 revival, De Meo has solid instincts on this stuff. Even if you’d never driven one, you knew what the classic Cinquecento stood for. The same applies to the Renault 5: It arrived into an early ’70s world in which the Middle East was in convulsions, energy was suddenly scarce, and conspicuous consumption was unfashionable. Context matters, and this one has a distressingly familiar feel.
Design Winks
The new R5 aims to brighten your day via its candy colors, and an exterior and interior design that prompts an expertly executed Proustian rush. The silhouette might be familiar, but the new car has fuller proportions and imaginative postmodern touches galore.
There’s a cheeky little four-corner graphic in the headlights that “winks” as you approach. The fog-lights below mimic that motif, while the vertical taillights are another echo of the original. They’re now designed for a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that would have boggled the minds of Renault’s engineers back in the day.
The chunky wheel arches call to mind the mid-engined R5 rally car, and the new car’s roof can be had in a variety of treatments. It’s a five-door car but the rear door handles are cleverly hidden away. And the old car’s hood vent reappears here as a state-of-charge indicator. Each strip represents 20 percent of the available energy.
Technology features in modern vehicles can make driving easier and more enjoyable. But when buying your next car, it can be hard to know which features are useful and which ones are more like gimmicks. And many times, these features are only available on certain trim levels. To help you out, Edmunds’ car experts have come up with a list of their top four features and offer insight on how to get them.
Easy phone pairing: wireless connectivity and wireless charging
Most modern vehicles come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These features allow you to display and use many of your smartphone’s apps and features on the vehicle’s touchscreen. Typically, you’ll need to connect your phone with a USB cord to make Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work. But some vehicles also support wireless connectivity. A wireless connection allows you to pair your phone and stop fussing around with a cord every time you get in to drive.
To make the most of it, buy a vehicle that also has a built-in wireless phone charger. Having a wireless charger fully cuts out the need for a cord. The charging pad also serves as a dedicated location for your phone, which isn’t a certainty in every car.
How to get it: Research if the vehicle you’re interested in supports wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Most vehicles either have it or they don’t, though a few do offer it as part of an upgraded infotainment system. A wireless smartphone charger is commonly an option or one of the extra features that come on a more expensive trim level.
Perfect parking: surround-view camera
A surround-view camera, also known as a 360-degree camera, uses an array of cameras placed in different locations on the vehicle to create a stitched-together image on the infotainment screen. The view, which looks like it’s made by a single camera hovering above the vehicle, is as amazing as it is helpful.
A surround-view camera system is helpful to have when you’re in a tight parking lot or when you’re parallel parking. The top-down view makes it a lot easier to park perfectly between the lines or be the right distance from the curb. The most helpful camera systems also come with parking sensors that provide auditory or visual feedback to indicate how far away you are from an obstacle.
How to get it: A surround-view camera system usually comes on a more expensive trim level or as part of an optional package.
Less fatigue in heavy traffic: adaptive cruise control
If you frequently navigate stop-and-go traffic on the highway, adaptive cruise control can provide helpful relief from traffic fatigue. Like regular cruise control, it allows you to set a speed that the vehicle will maintain. In addition, adaptive cruise control can automatically slow your vehicle when it senses a slower vehicle ahead and then accelerate back up to your set speed when traffic is moving again. These systems allow you to set the following distance behind the vehicle in front as well.
Some versions of adaptive cruise can bring your vehicle to a complete stop, shrinking the following distance as speeds decrease. Adaptive cruise will then return your vehicle to a preset speed as traffic begins to move again. And it all happens without touching any pedals.
How to get it: Adaptive cruise is often standard equipment on many new vehicles, even inexpensive ones.
Protection from the unseen: rear-cross traffic warning
How many times have you backed out of a parking spot or driveway, unable to see if there’s a vehicle bearing down on you from the side? It’s a too common scenario that a rear cross-traffic warning system often solves brilliantly. Sensors at the back of the vehicle can sense what’s coming before you can and sound or display an alert warning that a vehicle is approaching.
These systems usually alert you soon enough that you’ll have time to press on the brake and stop. Some vehicles also can also automatically apply the brakes if the driver doesn’t react in time.
How to get it: Rear cross-traffic warning typically comes bundled with blind-spot warning because the two features rely on the same sensors and technology. The two features aren’t always standard equipment, however.
Edmunds says
Edmunds editors find these features to be the most beneficial for adding a layer of protection without intruding obtrusively on the driving experience. It’s worth researching how to get these features on your next vehicle.
Unlike in most three-row SUVs, sitting at the back of the Buzz was a comfortable experience for my 6-foot-3 body. We also piled four WIRED colleagues into the van for a long loop around the neighborhood, and everyone had plenty of room.
With all the seats in use, the cargo space behind the third row is 18.6 cubic feet. That’s enough for a large grocery haul or several peoples’ luggage. The third row of seats can be folded down to make a flat surface in the back, and VW offers an insert for the rear cargo area that comes with two handy drawers. If you need more space, the third row can be removed entirely.
To help keep items from sliding around, the Buzz is equipped with velcro partitions that are stored in the walls of the cargo area. The center console is removable and moveable. You can move it from between the front seats to the second row in vehicles equipped with captain’s chairs. Or just pull it out entirely. One nice touch: The dividers in the center console double as a bottle opener and an ice scraper.
Meanwhile, VW has gone full USB-C. Every seat gets at least one charging port. There are seven ports in total. There’s also one 15-watt USB port near the rearview mirror to accommodate a dash cam. A 110-volt, 150-watt power outlet is available under the passenger seat.
This all before you get into the world of aftermarket add-ons, where you are sure to find a plethora of options for the Buzz. It’s all very clever, and a reminder that the VW bus is a canvas for your lifestyle.
Finally, the issues that have famously been plaguing VW’s infotainment system for years have been solved. The 12.9-inch display was easy to use, navigate, and more importantly, had little in the way of latency. VW has added ChatGPT integration for the voice assistant, but that requires a network connection, and I wasn’t able to fully test it, since most of the drive was in areas where cell service was spotty or absent. When I was able to test it, it returned a solid answer in a timely fashion.
Weirdly though, as an adventure vehicle, the Buzz does not ship with a dog or camping mode. When asked about this, Volkswagen said it was looking into it. More than a few journalists inquired about these features, which are found in Rivians and Teslas and make all sorts of sense for the Buzz. So don’t be surprised if those modes show up in an OTA software update.
How Much Again?
Which brings us to the second sticking point of the ID Buzz. The RWD Pro S model starts at $59,995, and this is because Volkswagen essentially offers a mid-level trim as the entry-level model. For example, this starting configuration ships with 12-way adjustable heated and vented front seats with a massage feature. Heated seats are also standard for the second row. It has three-zone climate controls.
All those USB ports are also standard. So is that 110V outlet. For those late night raves, a 30-color ambient lighting feature is standard.
Volkswagen is building all its ID Buzzes at a single factory in Hanover, Germany. This means US buyers cannot claim an EV purchase tax credit, since the Inflation Reduction Act requires vehicles to be assembled in North America to qualify for the tax break. If the automaker offers a lease, then the van does become eligible.
Volkswagen is aware this is a niche vehicle. While the buzz around the Buzz has died down, it will still likely sell out in its first year. VW would not comment on whether it will offer a cheaper trim option in the future or whether it plans to expand its production to the US.
Yet even with its lack of a true entry-level price and a range that, while underreported, is less than anticipated, the ID Buzz is exactly what it should be. It is a fun-to-drive nostalgia machine with enough storage and utility to make it a solid weekend hauler for families who enjoy an active lifestyle. And your five children will be quite comfortable in the back as you bore them to tears with your Summer of Love playlist.
CHICAGO (AP) — For Luis Martinez, competing in lowriding bike and car competitions is about more than glory and bragging rights. The lowrider clubs in the Chicago area have become like one big family and a source of mutual support.
“It just starts with the metal,” said Martinez, who got his introduction to lowrider culture when his mother took him to a flea market. He had his first bike when he was 12.
“To me, it’s about expressing my art and what I can do with my own hands,” Martinez told The Associated Press as he polished a shiny red bike at his home in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Luis Martinez, a member of the Uso Chicago Car Club, sits on his custom-built lowrider bike in Mishawaka, Ind., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Luis Martinez, 29, a member of the Uso Chicago Car Club, cleans his custom-built lowrider bike in Mishawaka, Ind., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
A detail on the hub of the lowrider bike custom-built by Luis Martinez, a member of the Uso Chicago Car Club, in Mishawaka, Ind., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Fluffly dice hang on the lowrider bike custom-built by Luis Martinez, 29, a member of the Uso Chicago Car Club, in Mishawaka, Ind., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
A movement of expression with origins in Mexican American and Chicano communities, lowriding is an aspect of Latino history in the U.S. in which people show their pride, honor family and uplift culture. But misrepresentation of the culture in entertainment and media has often associated the lowriding’s “low and slow” motto with gang culture.
Still, decades since its emergence, and as the Hispanic U.S. population increases, lowriding has experienced a boom, as evidenced by an increase in car shows and conventions nationwide.
A movement of cultural expression with origins in Mexican American and Chicano communities, lowriding is a way for a person to show their pride for family and culture. (AP Video: Melissa Perez Winder)
Lowriding involves the customization of a vehicle — from the tires to the sound system — with vivid designs and colors. Unlike hot rods or muscle cars, which are often modified to have big tires and move at high speeds, the lowrider community modified the cars and bikes to go “low and slow,” said Alberto Pulido, the chair of the Ethnic Studies department at the University of San Diego.
“It was a way to speak to an identity, a presence and it was done with few resources,” said Pulido, who also directed the award-winning documentary, “Lowriding: Everything Comes From the Streets.”
“Our community didn’t have a lot of money,” he said. “They might have had a little bit expendable income to buy a car but then they were kind of on their own to create their vehicles. We call that Chicano ingenuity.”
Lowriding blends Latino and American culture
AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on the growing popularity of lowriders.
According to Pulido, lowriding originated in the Southwest, although there are disputes about where exactly it first appeared. Pulido said lowriders in Los Angeles would like to make the claim they were the first, while those in San Diego want their undeniable influence in the culture acknowledged.
The culture can be traced to post-World War II, when veterans were coming home with an expendable income. And with the growth of highways and freeways in California, people wanted to modify their vehicles, Pulido said.
Today, conventions attract enthusiasts from all over the U.S. Last month, what was once a small showcase with only 40 lowriders at Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, grew to over 300 lowriders from clubs across the U.S.
Hugo Cardenas and Araceli Martinez, wearing Zoot suits of the Mexican American subculture known as Pachucos, dance while attending a lowrider exhibition during the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
The decorated interior of a vintage car is pictured during a lowrider exhibition for the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
University of San Diego professor Alberto Lopez Pulido smiles while speaking with attendees of a lowrider exhibition during the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
Hector Gonzalez, of the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee, said the car clubs help members travel to all the showcases in the nation. In the ’70s and ’80s, lowrider clubs became a representation of the community and offered mutual aid such as ride-sharing and food donations when the local government could not or would not, Gonzalez said.
“It is something that gets passed on from generation to generation,” said Gonzalez, who, like most lowriders, was introduced to the community with a bike at the young age of 13. He has passed on his love for lowriding to his own children, nephews and cousins
“Kids grow up seeing the cars, they pick it up and they carry on the tradition,” Gonzalez said.
Lauren Pacheco, co-founder and co-curator of the Slow and Low Chicago Low Rider Festival, described lowriding as a global, multibillion-dollar phenomenon of self-expression and innovation.
“It’s a marvel of mechanical innovation,” Pacheco said. “It is the beautiful artistry in the creative practice of muralism, storytelling and upholstery.”
Within the last decade, lowrider conventions have grown so much that they’ve made their way to Japan. In Nagoya, Japanese lowriders have modified their cars, created clubs and even come to events at Chicano Park in San Diego.
Daniel Marquez, 8, is reflected in the mirror of his chrome lowrider bike, built by himself and family friends in memory of his late father Alberto, a longtime member of lowrider car clubs, at his home in Frankfort, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Daniel Marquez, 8, sits inside his late father Alberto’s 1963 Chevy Impala lowrider car in Frankfort, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
A photo of Daniel Marquez sitting on his late father’s lap inside their 1963 Chevy Impala lowrider car, is displayed with a custom chrome lowrider bike built by Daniel and family friends, in Frankfort, Ill, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Lowrider community sheds gang culture stereotype
Appreciation for lowriding has increased in recent years, enthusiasts say. But that was not always the case.
In the beginning, lowriding was associated with harmful stereotypes about Latinos as gangsters, Pulido said. Because the culture involved predominantly Latino participants, lowriding became racialized and that overshadowed the artistic and community service aspects of the movement.
The 1979 thriller-drama “Boulevard Nights” also helped to perpetuate the lowriders as gangsters trope. The film’s main character, Raymond Avila, played by Richard Yñiguez tried to avoid getting lured into the violent street gangs of East Los Angeles. Lowriding vehicles and the lowrider “cholo” aesthetic was featured throughout the film.
While the perception of lowriding has since gotten better, Pulido said he has been to lowriding car shows where police immediately show up.
Martinez, the Indiana lowrider, said lowriding misconceptions grew in the Chicago area because the community members were tattooed in ways often associated with gang affiliation. Pacheco said the Chicago festival works to dispel those misconceptions.
“We really try not to create a space that glamorizes or romanticizes gang culture,” she said. “It’s really a celebration of creativity and innovation and family.”
A Day of the Dead altar is placed next to a lowrider car on display at the Slow & Low Chicago Lowrider Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Santos Gonzalez sits between a 1939 and a 1949 Chevy vintage cars during a lowrider exhibition for the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
The decorated interior of a Monte Carlo vintage car is pictured during a lowrider exhibition for the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
Lowriding culture becomes a booming industry
Gonzalez, the Texas lowriding showcase organizer, said the culture’s focus on wheels, hydraulic systems and accessories, has helped lowriding become a booming industry.
In El Paso, people have opened small businesses orientated to the lowriding community. In the last couple of years, at least 25 new businesses opened, including body shops, upholstery shops and apparel shops, Gonzalez said.
“It has become a mainstream business,” he said. “Back in the 70s and 80s, it was more of a local thing. Everybody helping each other do things on their own. Now there’s just all kinds of opportunities to purchase things and have things done to your vehicle.”
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Martinez said he would buy the parts he needed from a man in his neighborhood, who would buy in bulk from Lowrider magazine. He said the unfortunate thing about lowriding becoming so big is parts are now mass produced from China instead of being Mexican made.
Lowriding carries family legacy
But lowriding is not just about the often pricey task of modifying cars, Pulido said. It is about building a community that is always there for each other, throughout generations, he said.
“We have grandparents that are lowriders and then their kids and their grandkids are in tune already,” Pulido said.
Wearing Zoot suits of the Mexican American subculture known as Pachucos, Paula, Jacob, center, and Junior Hernandez pose for a photo while attending a lowrider exhibition during the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
American and Mexican flags decorate a vintage car during a lowrider exhibition for the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
It’s a legacy that Sonia Gomez wants for her 8-year-old son, Daniel Marquez. His late father, Alberto Marquez, had been a member of a Chicago area lowrider club. Too young to drive the car left to him by his father, Daniel has a lowriding bike that is more of a memorial to his dad.
“The bike is what he’s doing to build it up,” Gomez said.
The family will do an ofrenda, a display often associated with Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebrations, when local lowriding festivals are held. As part of the ofrenda, Daniel takes an image he has with his father on a lowriding bike and places it next to his actual bike, which he named “Wishing on a Star.”
“We would either go on a (lowriding) cruise with my uncle, or we would go to actual car shows,” Daniel recently recalled, while sitting at the driver’s seat of his dad’s lowriding car parked in the driveway of their home in Frankfort, Illinois.
“My mom would be there,” he said pointing to the passenger seat. “And I’d be back there all squished.”
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The Associated Press received financial support from the Sony Global Social Justice Fund to expand certain coverage areas. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
The 2025 Nissan Armada is set to redefine the SUV landscape with its impressive power, refined design, and cutting-edge technology. Building on its strong heritage, this new iteration doesn’t just carry the legacy forward—it amplifies it, offering a blend of comfort, rugged capability, and high-tech features that are sure to impress. Whether you’re cruising on the highway or exploring off-road trails, the Armada is designed to tackle it all with ease and style.
Unleashing Off-Road Power with PRO-4X
For the first time, Nissan introduces the PRO-4X grade to the Armada lineup, signaling a new level of off-road performance. This grade is packed with features that make off-road adventures more accessible and enjoyable, like all-terrain tires, underbody skid plates, and an electronic locking differential. The Adaptive Electronic Air Suspension and an increased approach angle provide the extra support needed to handle challenging terrains. Whether you’re heading into the mountains or cruising through a backcountry trail, the PRO-4X ensures that the Armada is ready to go the distance.
Engineered for Adventure
The 2025 Nissan Armada is powered by a new twin-turbo, direct-injected 3.5-liter V6 engine, which offers more standard horsepower than any competitor in its class (excluding hybrids and EVs). This engine, paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission, provides both speed and power, making for a smooth yet powerful drive. The Armada also boasts an impressive towing capacity of up to 8,500 pounds, making it an excellent choice for those who need to haul trailers, boats, or large equipment on their trips. From daily driving to heavy-duty tasks, this SUV handles it all without breaking a sweat.
Tech-Forward Interior and Features
Inside, the 2025 Armada blends advanced technology with premium comfort. One of the standout features is Nissan’s ProPILOT Assist 2.1, an advanced hands-off driving technology that enhances freeway driving by offering hands-free lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control. Additionally, the standard Nissan Safety Shield® 360 suite ensures a safer driving experience with features like automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring.
Passengers will appreciate the luxurious touches, including available massaging front seats and 64-color ambient lighting. A pair of 14.3-inch screens with built-in Google connectivity take center stage in the cabin, offering seamless access to entertainment, navigation, and more. Plus, with the class-exclusive 12-speaker Klipsch® Premium Audio System, every road trip is accompanied by a concert-like audio experience. The increased cargo space and improved legroom in both the first and third rows make the Armada perfect for families and adventurers alike.
Bold and Adventurous Design
The 2025 Nissan Armada makes a strong impression at first glance. Its rugged, muscular exterior is complemented by high-end design elements like full-width LED tail lights, available 22-inch wheels, and optional two-tone roof treatments. These design choices not only enhance the vehicle’s visual appeal but also improve its functionality, with higher ground clearance that makes off-road driving easier.
Advanced camera systems such as the 3D Around View® Monitor and the new Invisible Hood View help drivers navigate tricky situations, from tight parking spots to off-road paths. These features, combined with the SUV’s robust design, ensure that you can tackle whatever the road—or the trail—throws at you.
Conclusion
With its mix of power, cutting-edge technology, and luxurious comfort, the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada is designed to conquer both the open road and the rugged outdoors. Whether you’re looking for a family-friendly SUV or an off-road adventure vehicle, the Armada has you covered. Set to go on sale in late 2024, this revamped Armada brings unprecedented capability, ensuring you’re ready for any journey.
And the W1 needs one to do its best work. Even in a world in which the new breed of electric hypercar has rewired expectations, this is a phenomenally rapid machine. The W1 can accelerate to 62 mph in 2.7 seconds, 124 mph in 5.8, and 186 mph in “less than 12.7 seconds.” That makes it faster than the highly streamlined Speedtail, and the W1 is also three seconds per lap faster round McLaren’s reference test track—at Italian proving ground Nardo—than the aggressively aerodynamic Senna. Its top speed is an electronically limited 217 mph.
Powertrain options in Race mode include a GP setting for consistency on longer runs, or Sprint for all 1,258 bhp. Bespoke Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS rubber is standard fitment, 265/35 at the front, 335/30 at the rear (there are also less extreme R and Winter 2 Pirellis.)
The steering is also fully hydraulic, a key McLaren USP while virtually everyone else adopts a fully electric setup. The brakes use the McLaren Carbon Ceramic-Racing+ setup, with 390-millimeter discs front and rear, and six-piston calipers on the front, and four-piston ones on the rear. There are F1-style ducts and aero wheel appendages to optimize cooling. The W1 can come to a halt from 124 mph in 100 meters.
InnoKnit Interior
Inside, the fixed seats and raised footwell give the W1 the feel of a well-bred competition car. The pedals, flat-bottomed steering wheel and primary controls adjust to meet the driver. The W1 has the narrowest A-pillars on any McLaren, slender sun visors, and a rear-view camera to atone for the lack of over-the-shoulder visibility.
Courtesy of McLaren
The wheel now has two buttons—one for a Boost function, the other to tweak the aero—but is still less busy than a Ferrari’s wheel. As on the McLaren Artura and 750 S, the chassis and powertrain modes can be adjusted via rocker switches on the top of the instrument binnacle. The binnacle itself has been shaped aerodynamically.
There’s a central hi-res touchscreen, as on other McLarens, although in the W1 such considerations are surely secondary. There’s a modest amount of stowage space behind the seats. McLaren is also pioneering an interior trim called InnoKnit, an ultra-lightweight sustainable material that can be tailored in multiple colors, and integrates audio and ambient lighting. Its Special Operations division is ready and waiting to personalize the car.
To which end the W1’s £2 million cost ($2.6 million) is merely the starting point. It’s academic anyway, because production is limited to 399 cars, all of which are spoken for. McLaren Automotive has had a turbulent few years, but the W1 is a once-in-a-generation techno marvel.
Keanu Reeves, the Matthew Perry-maligned actor known for (among other things) his respect for his stunt team, isn’t immune to a bit of daredevilry himself. The John Wick star has felt the need for speed for decades, and we’re not just talking about that 50+ mph bus trip. The custom motorcycle shop owner is also a regular spectator at Formula 1 and MotoGP events, and this weekend he’s taking it to the next level, driving in a set of races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), one of the most famous racetracks in the world.
The event is the final stop in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup series, which runs from Thursday through Sunday at the home of the Indianapolis 500 (among other races). The set of professional runs along the 2.439-mile, 14-turn course will see scores of drivers, many of whom are well-known within the professional motorsports community. There’s 27-year-old Gresham Wagner, who has already locked in the series’ top slot, or 20-year-old Westin Workman and Spike Kohlbecker (age 21), battling for second place this weekend.
Actor Keanu Reeves attends the 2010 Toyota Pro Celebrity Qualifying Race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16, 2010 in Long Beach, California.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Then there’s Keanu Reeves, who made his GR Cup debut on Saturday at the age of 60—but this isn’t his first time on a competitive race track. The man in the Matrix, also a longtime Vanity Fair photoshoot standby, came in first in his class at the 2009 Long Beach Grand Prix Pro/Celebrity Race. While he’s put pedal to the metal onscreen many times since, Saturday was his first time back behind the wheel in a real-life, pro-level sense since he competed in Long Beach that next year, in 2010
Reeves looked relaxed and happy as he hopped into his spec GR86, a Saturday tweet from the IMS shows. But in the day’s first race, which opened at 9:50, Reeves spun out into the grass, the Associated Press reports.
His vehicle, known as the No. 92 BRZRKR car in a nod to his 2020 comic book, BRZRKR, was unscathed in the non-collision crash. The same was true of its driver, who lost control at the exit of Turn 9, which is near the midpoint of the 45-minute race. After returning to the track, Reeves finished 25th after a race where he ran as high as 21st and avoided at least one crash near Turn 14.
The actor will hit the bricks again on Sunday, but that’s not the only time the actor will be under intense circumstances that week. Reeves is expected to reteam with director Jan de Bont and actor Sandra Bullock on Tuesday for a special 30th-anniversary screening of Speed in Los Angeles, a film in which the young “hot shot” Reeves played was still years older than his competitors on the race track this weekend. Efforts by this correspondent to determine how Reeves manages not to age were unsuccessful as of publication time, but I started to develop a theory based on this conversation Reeves had with Vanity Fair last year.
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“Keanu, are you online?” the actor was asked. “I’m not, no.” “Not on Twitter?” the interviewer pushed. “No,” he said. Correlation isn’t causation, but Reeves certainly provides some food for thought.
The past week hasn’t been the kindest to the electric vehicle industry. Now, it’s capped off with news that the EV startup Fisker is the subject of an investigation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
reported that SEC officials sent several subpoenas to Fisker. The filing doesn’t specifically say what the subpoenas are asking for or looking into but it’s clear that the SEC has launched an investigation into the floundering EV maker that .
Fisker has been struggling to keep its head above water ever since last year’s disastrous rollout of its Ocean SUV that failed to score more than a few thousands sellers even though it produced well over 10,000 units. Following its Q4 earnings report last year that saw a gross margin loss of 35 percent, the car maker announced it would lay off 15 percent of its workforce the following March as it shifted to a direct-to-consumer sales strategy.
A Fisker spokesperson declined to comment on the matter to TechCrunch saying they could not “comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.”
Fisker isn’t the only EV maker to suffer a noticeable setback. Tesla saw a major stumble with .
It should not be so exciting to eat a breakfast quesadilla in your car.
But this quesadilla was from Wawa, this Wawa hosted a Tesla Supercharger, and this car was the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV, hooked up to that Supercharger through an NACS/CCS adapter. More than a year after GM’s switch to NACS was announced, and following some Tesla internal chaos that made it seem like a dead deal, Tesla unlocked access to its conveniently placed EV charging stations to General Motors cars in late September. It wasn’t every Supercharger, but it was more than 17,000 spots, many in places that were previously dark zones in any road trip plan.
I bought my car knowing that road trips would be an infrequent but real inconvenience. With Tesla’s network available now, the anxiety of rolling the CCS dice in unknown lands has lessened considerably. To understand just how this feels, you must first hear about the Before Times.
Lots of Apps, Few Guarantees
I’ve had my Bolt for a little over a year now, completing four road trips that required DC Fast Charging (DCFC). “Fast” is a misnomer with the Bolt, the slowest-charging modern EV, forcing you to plan across battery levels, nearby amenities, pets, and guesses at crowd timing. Every night before a long ride, I’m pinching, zooming, and stressing inside A Better Route Planner, PlugShare, and Google Maps reviews, asking myself if a ChargePoint in a brewery parking lot will deliver 7 or 9 kilowatts per hour.
Despite all this groundwork, I have amassed an impressive collection of fast-charging scars in a year’s time:
Three different highway stops on Thanksgiving weekend with multi-car lines, endangering our pick-up time at dog boarding
An Electrify America station where a single car’s terrible parking made every other car occupy two working plug spaces
Excessive exposure to outlet malls, the EV honeypots with the most reliably working non-Tesla chargers
A single ChargePoint level 2 charger working (after a long delay) out of four in a hotel parking lot, the only charging spot on a vacation island.
A state-sponsored EV charging spot where two out of five plugs worked, then only one after a mid-charge failure, where a man heading to a Dave Matthews concert begged me to swap this last spot with him so his wife wouldn’t miss the band’s opening song.
It almost doesn’t matter exactly why or how a non-Tesla charger refuses to work. Damaged cables or plugs, busted screens, cellular data drops, app issues, electrical faults—whatever the reason, it will never get fixed in that moment by calling the support number, and now you need a backup plan.
This is how I think Supercharger access is most useful to us, the wretched of the EV earth: a robust backup plan for those tired of the alternatives. Plugging into the country’s most established network requires a none-too-cheap adapter (or finding a rare “Magic Dock” station). You have to find a way to connect a very short cable meant for a specific driver-side, rear-end location to your port. On the Bolt, that’s the middle-front-left, just ahead of the door, possibly the worst place for these cables. You can only charge at third- and fourth-generation chargers. And you have to pay whatever Tesla decides to charge us nonmembers, which is usually on the costlier side (I’ve paid $0.48 and $0.53 per kilowatt-hour).
No More Car Dealership Chargers
But it’s hard to argue with the locations and reliability of those bright red rectangles. On my most recent trip from Washington, DC, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I planned a longer charging stop on the way down at an EVgo in Williamsburg, Virginia, near a shopping plaza with a Target. This worked out because we needed some groceries for the trip. But only two of four chargers were working (after I wasted 5 minutes trying to make a green-in-the-app third station work). Had I wanted to save 11 minutes and up my chances a lot by having 12 stalls to pick from, I could have instead chosen a Tesla Supercharger farther down the road I was already on.
Tesla Superchargers tend to be located along highways, near places with restrooms or snacks or shopping, and the Tesla app seems to keep up on how many stalls are occupied and working. With every other network or multibrand app, you’re doing a lot of guessing, which is the bane of road-trip planning. What seems better: Hoping that the very fast 250-kW charger Plugshare shows at a car dealership is available at 9 am on a Sunday, or driving 15 minutes out of your way to a Walmart and waiting your turn? Follow-up question: Have you ever willingly spent 30 minutes at a car dealership when you already own a working car?
The Proof Is in the Plugging
This kind of thinking spurred me to try some Tesla charging on the way back. I bought an A2Z Typhoon Pro adapter, based on its solid reviews and fast shipping. It also cost notably less than GM’s $225 charger after a coupon code, the GM model was backordered into November, and Chevrolet’s app suggested I’d have to pick it up at a dealer. Before I could use any adapter, though, I had to find a spot. The spots are the hard part.
At my first stop, a Wawa, every other spot out of eight total was taken, and the one stall that lined up to the side of the car was occupied by a family that told me they would be there 50 minutes. I pulled up in an empty space, tried to stretch its cable, but it wasn’t even close. I pulled away, parked, and started looking for my next stop. Soon after, the father of the 50-minute family appeared in my window. I steeled myself for some kind of lecture, teasing, or maybe political discourse.
“You know, you could actually pull up, like, sideways, behind those plugs, and I think it would work,” the father said. He was right; there was nothing behind these Supercharger stations but more parking, and it was empty. I pulled up, plugged in the adapter (quick review: rock solid), pulled over the cord, opened the app, selected the station and charger number, and tapped. Less than 30 seconds later, the juice was flowing. No screens or two plugs sharing one power source, just power.
“I think you can envision this playing out pretty well for BYD, actually,” says Ilaria Mazzocco, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And also, they’re going to have less competition from other Chinese automakers.” BYD is known for its ability to control production costs, so it can still sell its cars at a relatively low price. For other Chinese brands, though, the tariffs could mean they now have to set their prices higher and compete head-on with models from Europe.
Chinese automakers are not the only ones being impacted. Tesla, with half of its cars made in the Shanghai Gigafactory in China, will receive the smallest tariff at 7.8 percent after the company requested an adjustment based on the actual subsidies it gets in China. In contrast, Volkswagen and other European brands that produce cars in China may get around 21 percent.
One way for Chinese brands to get around the tariffs is to set up factories in Europe and shift production here, like what Volvo has done for years producing in Sweden even though it’s been acquired by the Chinese company Geely.
Such decisions may well be welcomed by some European countries, since that would in theory contribute significantly to local employment and green economic growth. Indeed, many Chinese companies have announced plans to move part of their supply chain to countries such as Spain, Hungary, and Poland, although Mazzocco warns these announcements should be taken with a grain of salt until factories actually start production.
Alternative Solutions
Yet despite the vote result, the approved tariffs may not be final. On Monday, a European Commission official said that the commission is willing to continue the negotiations with China even after the tariff vote. If they manage to agree on other solutions to the issue of unfair competition—for example, setting up import quotas or a price floor for Chinese EVs—the tariff could be revised.
China has filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization about the EU tariffs, and the WTO could also request the EU to change or withdraw these tariffs if it finds them unacceptable.
“What the commission really wants to do is to tell the members, ‘Look, we need to look serious here. We can negotiate later,’” says Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis. If member states had rejected the commission’s proposed tariffs, it would’ve shown that Europe is divided and powerless facing the influx of Chinese brands. But now that the tariffs have passed, Europe has more leverage in negotiating a better trade deal with China.
Not all of the alternative outcomes would impact Chinese companies the same. For example, the worst situation could be an import quota, says García-Herrero. Turning a profit with the tariffs is challenging, but still possible. “But a quota would reduce the number of exports, so it’s not in China’s interests,” she says.
On the other hand, setting a price floor for the imported EVs alone may not be a bad thing after all. It gives the automakers a higher profit margin and forces them to compete on the basis of better quality and service. “I think Chinese automakers feel pretty confident about their quality,” Mazzocco says. And it can even be good news for the Chinese EV brands that are focusing on the higher-end, luxury car market, like BYD’s sub-brand Yangwang, which is making luxury SUVs that can drive across lakes in emergencies.
A select number of all-electric Tesla Cybertrucks now have the ability to drive on US highways hands-free, after the automaker pushed an update to vehicles this morning. Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy wrote on X that Cybertrucks will be the first Tesla vehicles to receive the “end-to-end on highway” driving feature, which the company says uses a “neural net” to navigate all parts of highway driving.
“Nice work,” Tesla CEO (and X owner) Elon Musk responded to his AI chief.
The feature appears to be in “early access,” meaning it’s available only to some Cybertruck owners who purchased the feature. It’s unclear when the automaker will release the feature more widely. Tesla, which disbanded its public relations team in 2021, did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Tesla owners’ manuals maintain that the full-self-driving feature, or “FSD (Supervised),” should be used only if drivers are paying attention to the road. The feature reportedly turns off if it detects that drivers are looking elsewhere. Critics have argued that Tesla’s marketing incorrectly leads drivers to assume that FSD can truly drive itself and that the automaker hasn’t been proactive in preventing driver misuse.
Customers who purchased base model Cybertrucks early, at preorder, paid $7,000 for access to the driving feature, with some waiting almost a year for it to be available on their trucks. Tesla owners can now subscribe to the FSD (Supervised) feature at $99 per month.
One Cybertruck driver reported on X that, based on driving this morning, the feature is “working well.”
The feature’s introduction is some much-needed good news for the Cybertruck, which has faced a rocky introduction into Tesla’s lineup. The vehicle was delayed for years by the Covid-19 pandemic and by engineering issues. (A leaked “alpha” briefing on the vehicle, first reported by WIRED, found that the truck had serious issues with braking, handling, and noise.)
The all-electric truck has also been subject to a handful of safety recalls, including one in which the company had to repair or replace accelerator pedals that had gotten stuck.
As more automakers rush into the electrification race, and Tesla’s huge lead in electric cars has been eroded by other manufacturers, Musk and company seem to believe that “self-driving” features enabled by AI will help Tesla regain its edge. “The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy,” Musk told investors this summer.
The US road safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has found that Tesla’s Autopilot feature, an older and less sophisticated version of FSD, didn’t sufficiently prevent drivers from misuse—and was involved in 13 fatal crashes between 2018 and 2023. After a years-long investigation into Autopilot, last year Tesla recalled 2 million vehicles with Autopilot. (The automaker said it did not agree with the government’s conclusions.)
Earlier this year, Tesla settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Northern California man who died while using Autopilot on his Model X.
Tesla also faces a class action lawsuit alleging it misled customers who purchased Teslas after Musk promised the cars had everything they needed to drive autonomously. Eight years later, Tesla has made significant improvements to its driverless features and has plans to make big bucks off the feature—but still hasn’t produced self-driving technology.
That could change this month. Musk has promised that Tesla will unveil a self-driving taxi, calling it a Cybercab, at an event in Southern California on October 10.
“We saw some rare (price) appreciation during the time that consumers were purchasing these high-priced cars,” Daniel Ross of Canadian Black Book said of the auto market during the pandemic years.
Global supply chain disruptions stemming from the pandemic left the auto market with low inventory—and coupled with high consumer demand—auto prices surged, Ross said.
Some of those issues have since begun to normalize, allowing prices to ease, but it’s left some consumers owing more on their auto loan than the car is now currently worth. It’s referred to as negative equity, or being underwater.
As with the vast majority of vehicles, they’re a depreciating asset, so for those who purchased their car when prices were high, their “vehicle will continue to lose lots of value because it was probably overpriced at that time,” Ross said.
Should you trade in your car for a cheaper one?
On average, people who were underwater saw the negative equity in their cars climb to a record high of USD$6,255 in the second quarter this year, compared with USD$4,487 in the second quarter of 2022, a July report from auto retail platform Edmunds showed.
Trade-ins with negative equity also jumped, Edmunds said in its report.
“If you’re in a negative equity position, it’s not easy to get out of that,” Ross said.
For drivers who are in this situation, it’s better to drive that car into the ground and just keep paying off the loan, he said.
After officially hiking tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports earlier this month, the US government is getting even more serious about keeping China-made autos out of the country. On Monday, the US Commerce Department proposed a new rule that would ban some Chinese- and Russian-made automotive hardware and software from the US, with software restrictions starting as early as 2026.
The Biden administration says the move is needed for national security reasons, given how central technology is to today’s increasingly sophisticated cars. In announcing the proposed ban, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo cited vehicles’ internet-connected cameras, microphones, and GPS equipment. “It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of US citizens,” she said.
The US government’s move comes as China has dramatically increased the number of affordable vehicles, and especially electric ones, it makes and sells overseas. Chinese auto exports grew by more than 30 percent in just the first half of this year, setting off alarm bells in Europe and the US, where officials worry inexpensively made Chinese vehicles could overwhelm domestic industry. The US and Europe had moved to make it harder and more expensive for China to sell its autos in those regions, but the Chinese automakers have responded by setting up manufacturing bases in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Mexico—all of which might one day provide a loophole to allow more Chinese-designed and engineered vehicles into new Western markets.
Still, the proposed rule focuses on security rather than competition. Raimondo had previously raised the specter of foreign actors using hijacked connected car technology to cause mayhem on the US public roads. “Imagine if there were thousands or hundreds of thousands of Chinese connected vehicles on American roads that could be immediately and simultaneously disabled by somebody in Beijing,” she said in February.
That situation isn’t quite realistic, given how few Chinese and Russian firms supply automotive software or hardware in the US right now. A proposed software and hardware ban is more preemptive than a response to any immediate security risk, says Steve Man, the global head of auto research at Bloomberg Intelligence, a research and advisory firm. “PRC and Russian automakers do not currently play a significant role in the US auto market, and US drivers right now are safe,” a senior Biden administration official told WIRED.
Because the rule would apply to any connected vehicle, not just electric ones, it would create even stronger prohibitions against Chinese-made auto tech. “If the 100 percent tariffs on made-in-China EVs were a wall, the proposed ban on connected vehicles would be a death sentence for China EV Inc. aiming to enter the US,” says Lei Xing, the former chief editor at China Auto Review and an independent analyst. Under such a rule, he says, the prospects of seeing Chinese EVs on sale in the US in the coming decade is “nearly zero.”
West Colfax Avenue at Irving Street, July 12, 2023.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Denver Police Department’s new network of license plate readers scanned vehicles more than 2 million times in the last month, according to new data from the department.
DPD launched the system of 95 surveillance cameras throughout the city in May 2024. Today, the department published a dashboard with basic data on the system for the public.
Among the 2,072,000 vehicles detected in the last 30 days, the system reported about 86,000 hits to a “hotlist,” often because the plate was for a stolen car. The system looks for vehicles tagged in national and state-level crime databases, as well as the Amber Alert system for missing and exploited children.
Law enforcement officers ran about 1,400 searches on the Denver system in the last month.
The system used by DPD is made by Flock Safety, a technology company that has become one of the most popular in the niche for both police departments and private homeowners associations. The company describes its technology as a “holistic solution to crime.” It has drawn criticism from civil rights and anti-surveillance advocates.
DPD says that the system has been effective. Officers have used the system in the arrests of 142 crime suspects and the recovery of about 100 stolen vehicles, as well as some weapons.
This year has seen a significant decrease of motor vehicle thefts, which police attributed in part to the system — but that trend also began before the system was installed in May.
Eventually, the number of cameras could grow to 111 around Denver. The system photographs license plates but doesn’t produce any information about drivers, passengers, or other people, according to Flock. The data is “never sold to 3rd parties” and is “used for law enforcement purposes only,” according to Flock.
The cameras were planned for some of the city’s busiest roads, like Federal Boulevard, Alameda Avenue and Speer Boulevard — and especially Colfax Avenue, 9News reported.
DPD didn’t immediately respond to questions about the cost of the system.
Cities including Arvada, Aurora, Brighton, Castle Rock, Commerce City, Edgewater, Erie, Glendale, Lakewood, Northglenn, Thornton and Wheat Ridge have installed (or plan to install) similar systems, according to Denver7.
The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about the scanners, saying that they were contributing to a “giant surveillance network” that centralizes data and could enable “abuse by government,” including tracking political dissidents.
“We have long had concerns about the dangers posed by hybrid public-private surveillance practices — but Flock threatens to take that to a new level,” the ACLU wrote in 2022.
Numerous other law-enforcement agencies around Colorado have access to the Denver system’s data. But the system is prohibited for use in immigrant enforcement, traffic enforcement, personal use, and more, according to Flock.
Vehicle recalls are an important part of automotive safety. But they can also be quite a hassle for owners. Taking your vehicle to the dealership for an unexpected repair or fix is just one more thing you have to plan for. Pleasingly, things are changing. With many of the newest vehicles, some recalls can be taken care of simply by turning your car on.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 894 vehicle safety recalls in the United States for 2023. While many recalls require hardware updates, there are others for which an over-the-air, or OTA, software update is the remedy. Edmunds’ car experts review what you need to know.
What’s an OTA Update?
An OTA update is pushed out to vehicles via a wireless connection and typically installed automatically, much like getting an update on your smartphone or personal computer. For instance, the 2023 Tesla Model Y has 12 recalls listed on the NHTSA site; at least half of them list OTA updates as the solution. That’s a win-win for the automaker and the consumer because offering a quick and no-cost repair helps the automaker maintain positive customer satisfaction ratings.
“Vehicles have advanced to a degree we’ve never seen before,” Ivan Drury, an auto analyst at Edmunds, said in an interview with ABC News. He says high-tech features such as self-driving capability and backup cameras are included in a wide swath of issues that recalls cover.
Today, there are two main categories for software updates. The first refers to the infotainment system, a noncritical segment that receives nice-to-have updates on a regular basis. Drive control, the second category, encompasses driver assist and critical operating systems; those updates are necessary for safe driving.
More Software Updates Ahead
Automaker Kia has a robust lineup of electric vehicles and a solid OTA strategy for simple infotainment update rollouts. “With the launch of EV9, we have been able to do multiple software updates to improve the regular functioning software capability,” says Kia connected car expert Sujith Somasekharan. “For example, we improved the battery charging pad to make it more efficient. Updates improve the functionality of the car.”
General Motors’ latest vehicles are also designed to improve over time with software updates to features like the Super Cruise hands-free driving system, remote commands and infotainment. “Over-the-air updates can enhance performance, cybersecurity and convenience, all from the comfort of home,” says Baris Cetinok, GM senior vice president of software and services product management. “As our technology evolves, GM customers will continue to have the choice of in-person assistance through our extensive dealership network.”
OTA updates are not just for all-electric vehicles either. For certain 2024 Buick Encore GX, Envista and Chevrolet Trax vehicles, a November 2023 recall describes an issue with the driver information display going blank and prescribes a software update to fix it.
Dealer Visits Will Still Be a Part of Ownership
It’s great to know that vehicle OTA updates will increasingly make life easier for consumers. But don’t delete your dealership’s phone number quite yet. The majority of recalls still necessitate an in-person fix. For instance, an airbag deployment issue or engine problem is going to mean a hands-on session with the service department.
Also, knowing what’s actually a recall or just a software update is tricky. Not every recall is a software update and not every software update is a recall. It’s a different kind of recall if it’s simply an OTA update patch. After all, software updates are pushed out to smartphones all the time. But you can be sure of this: as cars — and especially electric vehicles — become more software-focused, these OTA updates will take a more outsized role than ever.
Edmunds Says
Software updates are changing the game for vehicle owners across the board. When a recall is a simple fix, it’s a major time saver. We expect to see the recall process continue to evolve.
Vehicle recalls are an important part of automotive safety. But they can also be quite a hassle for owners. Taking your vehicle to the dealership for an unexpected repair or fix is just one more thing you have to plan for. Pleasingly, things are changing. With many of the newest vehicles, some recalls can be taken care of simply by turning your car on.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 894 vehicle safety recalls in the United States for 2023. While many recalls require hardware updates, there are others for which an over-the-air, or OTA, software update is the remedy. Edmunds’ car experts review what you need to know.
An OTA update is pushed out to vehicles via a wireless connection and typically installed automatically, much like getting an update on your smartphone or personal computer. For instance, the 2023 Tesla Model Y has 12 recalls listed on the NHTSA site; at least half of them list OTA updates as the solution. That’s a win-win for the automaker and the consumer because offering a quick and no-cost repair helps the automaker maintain positive customer satisfaction ratings.
“Vehicles have advanced to a degree we’ve never seen before,” Ivan Drury, an auto analyst at Edmunds, said in an interview with ABC News. He says high-tech features such as self-driving capability and backup cameras are included in a wide swath of issues that recalls cover.
Today, there are two main categories for software updates. The first refers to the infotainment system, a noncritical segment that receives nice-to-have updates on a regular basis. Drive control, the second category, encompasses driver assist and critical operating systems; those updates are necessary for safe driving.
Automaker Kia has a robust lineup of electric vehicles and a solid OTA strategy for simple infotainment update rollouts. “With the launch of EV9, we have been able to do multiple software updates to improve the regular functioning software capability,” says Kia connected car expert Sujith Somasekharan. “For example, we improved the battery charging pad to make it more efficient. Updates improve the functionality of the car.”
General Motors’ latest vehicles are also designed to improve over time with software updates to features like the Super Cruise hands-free driving system, remote commands and infotainment. “Over-the-air updates can enhance performance, cybersecurity and convenience, all from the comfort of home,” says Baris Cetinok, GM senior vice president of software and services product management. “As our technology evolves, GM customers will continue to have the choice of in-person assistance through our extensive dealership network.”
OTA updates are not just for all-electric vehicles either. For certain 2024 Buick Encore GX, Envista and Chevrolet Trax vehicles, a November 2023 recall describes an issue with the driver information display going blank and prescribes a software update to fix it.
It’s great to know that vehicle OTA updates will increasingly make life easier for consumers. But don’t delete your dealership’s phone number quite yet. The majority of recalls still necessitate an in-person fix. For instance, an airbag deployment issue or engine problem is going to mean a hands-on session with the service department.
Also, knowing what’s actually a recall or just a software update is tricky. Not every recall is a software update and not every software update is a recall. It’s a different kind of recall if it’s simply an OTA update patch. After all, software updates are pushed out to smartphones all the time. But you can be sure of this: as cars — and especially electric vehicles — become more software-focused, these OTA updates will take a more outsized role than ever.
Software updates are changing the game for vehicle owners across the board. When a recall is a simple fix, it’s a major time saver. We expect to see the recall process continue to evolve.
Last month, a Mercedes Benz EQE 350 electric vehicle caught fire in a South Korean apartment building’s underground parking garage. Reportedly, 23 people were sent to the hospital and approximately 900 cars were damaged. The fire reached temperatures of more than 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius), and took firefighters almost eight hours to extinguish.
The incident led to a series of swift policy changes in the country, including the acceleration of a planned EV battery certification program and new rules in Seoul that should prevent owners from “overcharging” their vehicles in underground parking garages. It has also pushed automakers to do something they wouldn’t normally: reveal who makes the batteries inside their electric cars. (In early September, the South Korean government said it would require automakers to disclose this often secret information.)
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board, the US’s independent federal investigation agency, shows that the risks of electric vehicle battery fires are low. In fact, very low. An analysis of that data by one insurance company suggested that more than 1,500 gas cars catch on fire per 100,000 sales, compared to just 25 electric vehicles.
On some level, fire is a risk of any kind of battery technology. Professionals talk about the “fire triangle”—the three-ingredient recipe for ignition. Fire needs oxygen, a spark, and fuel. Because the point of a lithium-ion electric vehicle is to store energy, the fuel is always there. EV batteries are meant to be tightly packed and isolated from other parts of the car, but an incident like a catastrophic crash might quickly introduce oxygen and heat to the brew.
Building a Fire-Proof(ish) Battery
Some battery makers have taken steps to reduce the risk of their batteries catching fire. The first is to create stringent manufacturing processes and standards. This is important because any sort of flaw in a battery could lead to an inferno, says Venkat Srinivasan, who studies batteries and directs the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science at the US’s Argonne National Laboratory.
To understand why battery manufacturing matters to fire risk, you have to understand the basics of lithium-ion batteries. The battery’s anode and cathode store lithium, and they are connected by an electrolyte, a liquid chemical that passes lithium ions between the two to store or release energy. If, say, a tiny particle of metal gets into that electrolyte through an unclean manufacturing process, and it keeps getting electrified as the battery charges up and down, it could create a spark, open the battery cell, and allow oxygen to come rushing in and possibly expose the entire battery pack to fire.
These sorts of battery-making screw-ups do happen. In August, Jaguar told some 3,000 owners of its 2019 I-Pace SUV to park their vehicles outside because of fire risk, which was linked to three fires. The manufacturer behind those vehicles’ packs, the South Korean firm LG Energy Solution, has been subject to a US road safety probe since 2022. BMW, General Motors, Hyundai, Stellantis, and Volkswagen have all recalled vehicles over battery risks (some of them in hybrid rather than all-electric vehicles). But these situations are rare. Through solid manufacturing processes, “one can never make the risk of fire absolutely zero, but good companies have minimized the risk,” says Srinivasan.
Less Fire-y Chemistries
The good news is that less-fire-prone batteries are already rolling around in cars, thanks to specific battery chemistries that are harder to ignite. Since the first Tesla hit the road in 2008, the standard electric vehicle battery has been made primarily from nickel and cobalt. Batteries with this makeup charge quickly and hold lots of energy, which is great for EV use because drivers of vehicles that use them enjoy longer ranges and faster top-ups. They’re also more likely to enter “thermal runaway” at lower temperatures, in the 400- to 300-degrees Fahrenheit (210 to 150 degrees Celsius) range.
Thermal runaway is a state in which lithium-ion batteries enter a kind of fire doom loop: A damaged battery cell produces heat and flammable gases, which in turn produces more heat and flammable gases, which begins to heat nearby battery cells, which release more heat and gas. The fire then becomes self-sustaining and hard to put out.
A Ford car crashed into a guardrail where elementary children had gathered for a vehicle demonstration at a test track in Auburn Hills in July 2023.
The parents of two elementary school children who were severely injured when a car violently struck them during a vehicle demonstration at a test track in Auburn Hills in July 2023 filed a lawsuit Monday.
The lawsuit was filed in Oakland County Circuit Court against Continental Automotive Systems, Ford Motor Co., the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), and the driver, Linus Gugino.
The students were lined up “extremely close to the vehicle and the track,” which is owned by Continental Automotive Systems, when the driver “rapidly accelerated the car in a negligent and/or reckless manner and lost control, plowing into the guardrail and violently striking the children watching the track from behind it,” according to the lawsuit filed by Marko Law, PLLC, and Scott Goodwin Law, P.C.
“The collision was so violent that the vehicle flipped over on its roof,” the lawsuit states.
Elijah Gibson was severely injured and hospitalized.
Elijah Gibson, who was 8 at the time, and Lavell McGee, who was 10, were seriously injured and hospitalized. Gibson sustained fractures across his legs, a massive gash to his left foot, and a traumatic brain injury. He received multiple surgeries. McGee sustained serious injuries to his legs and head. They suffer from memory and other cognitive issues, according to the lawsuit.
“The children and their families have also suffered extreme pain and suffering, emotional suffering and distress, greatly reduced mobility and physical capacity, and medical expenses,” a news release states.
The vehicle demonstration was part of DAPCEP’s STEM summer camp.
“This is a horrible case,” attorney Jon Marko said. “Our children should be able to go on field trips without the parents having to worry that they will be placed next to a high-speed test car and run over. And that’s what happened here. No one involved in hosting or promoting this demonstration took the simplest steps to keep the kids there safe. Everyone involved in putting on this event and bringing people to it had a duty to keep these children safe. It’s sickening knowing what happened to Elijah and Lavell, and that they’ll have to live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.”
The lawsuit alleges negligence and willful and wanton misconduct, among other accusations.
