Reading up on automotive

Slate and Crayola launch limited‑edition vehicle wraps and decals in five vibrant colors to let owners personalize their trucks with playful, self‑expressive designs.

Major gas station chains like Buc-ee's are expanding into massive retail destinations, using clean facilities and high-margin food to attract customers, while Dolly Parton enters the trend with her own travel stop.

In IIHS crash tests, the 2026 Chevrolet Blazer protects its dummy while the 1996 model snaps its dummy's neck, highlighting 30 years of safety progress.

The Amble One is a $25,000 street-legal electric buggy inspired by the moon buggy, designed for luxury resorts by former Audi and Apple designers.

Ferrari's new £640,000 EV wins the author's praise despite widespread critical backlash for its design and price.

Japan uses a system of wordless symbols on vehicles and in heraldry (kamon) that convey mutual understanding and consideration, reflecting a cultural emphasis on unspoken cues.

Slate's $24,950 EV truck offers a single factory color with DIY wrap kits in multiple colors for $500, aiming to provide affordable customization.

Honda's aggressive push to sell only electric vehicles by 2040 backfired when demand slowed, leading to its first-ever annual loss and internal calls for CEO Toshihiro Mibe to resign.

NHTSA investigates a fatal Tesla crash in Texas where the driver-assistance system was active, and a woman in the struck home died.

The New York Times investigation found that the increasing size of trucks and SUVs on U.S. roads contributes to a rise in pedestrian fatalities, with 200-400 additional deaths per year attributed to vehicle size.

Extended-range electric vehicles (super-hybrids) are entering showrooms soon, promising lower costs and adventure appeal for American consumers.

Rivian's R2 midsize EV cuts weight and cost with simplified wiring, no hydraulic roll control, and 400V charging while retaining up to 345 miles of range.

BYD and several Chinese automakers plan to begin mass-producing all-solid-state EV batteries in 2027, offering over 1,000 km of range and higher safety.

Ferrari unveils the Luce, its first electric vehicle, featuring four-wheel steering, active suspension, and a sound system that amplifies real axle vibrations for driver feedback.

Hacker News commenters reflect on the decline in children's free-range play, attributing it to larger vehicles, safetyism, loss of community surveillance, and changing family structures, despite lower crime rates.

The U.S. new-car market has lost about one million buyers since 2020, as automakers plan for stagnant or shrinking sales due to high prices and inflation.

Tesla's brand halo causes overestimation of its self-driving lead, but competitors offer comparable Level 2 systems and the brand declines due to Musk's politics and competition.

Ron Baron, an 83-year-old investor, has bet his firm's future on SpaceX and Tesla, counting on SpaceX's upcoming IPO to reverse fund losses.

Ferrari's first electric car faced widespread mockery, analyst skepticism, investor sell-off, and a former chairman's warning of destroying the brand's legend.

Ferrari unveiled its first all-electric model, Luce, testing whether traditionalist buyers will embrace an EV in a luxury market facing demand concerns.

Ferrari launched the Luce, a $640,000 electric speedster co-designed with Jony Ive, to test wealthy buyers' EV appetite amid cooling U.S. demand.

Ferrari unveiled its first electric vehicle, the Ferrari Luce, marking its entry into the EV market.

Honda reported its first annual loss since 1957 after booking a multibillion-dollar charge from shrinking its electric-vehicle initiatives.

Mind Robotics, founded by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, raised $400 million to develop AI-powered industrial robots, bringing total funding over $1 billion.

Google rolls out Android Auto updates for any screen shape, video streaming when parked, Gemini agentic tasks, and widgets to blend phone projection with embedded car software.

NHTSA's new ADAS benchmark names the 2026 Tesla Model Y as the first vehicle to pass its four new automated safety tests.

Costa Rica and other nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are increasingly adopting electric vehicles to reduce vulnerability to fluctuating oil prices.

Cheap drones are forcing the U.S. and allies to rethink their preference for expensive, high-precision defense systems in conflicts like Ukraine and Iran.

The Trump administration is seeking automakers like GM and Ford to shift capacity to weapons production, echoing WWII-era industrial mobilization.

Amazon has expanded its Amazon Autos car sales program to over 130 cities, adding Kia, Mazda, Subaru, Chevrolet, and Jeep to its offerings.

Google and Waymo rejected human handoffs in self-driving cars because drivers lose situational awareness, a problem Tesla's FSD still suffers from, causing more crashes.

The 2025 Corvette ZR1X is a hybrid showpiece starting at $207,000, offering raw power that rivals Ferrari and McLaren at a lower price.

High gas prices caused by war in Iran are driving car shoppers to consider electric vehicles as a way to escape volatile fuel costs.

Tesla's Semi truck, featuring a centered driving position, fast charging, and 500-mile range, is already winning over truckers who have driven pilot models.

BYD's new 1,500 kW Flash chargers and Blade 2.0 battery charge EVs from 10-97% in about 9 minutes, making stops nearly as fast as refueling gas.

Google Maps is rolling out Immersive Navigation, a major redesign using Gemini AI to provide 3D views, smarter route info, and better turn-by-turn guidance.

Rising car prices and $800 monthly payments are causing Americans to delay or forgo new-car purchases, dampening auto-industry demand.

Tesla began production of its purpose-built Cybercab autonomous vehicle, but faces hard challenges in mastering novel manufacturing and proving its Full-Self Driving software.

Ferrari's first electric vehicle, the Luce, features a Jony Ive-designed interior with physical controls and a touchscreen, drawing mixed reactions for its minimalist aesthetic.

After 12 years as a WSJ columnist, Joanna Stern reflects on the consumer-tech shifts that reshaped daily life, including phones becoming everything, cars becoming computers, and AI becoming the new interface.

Tesla is abandoning its automotive business by killing Model S/X, skipping new models, and pivoting entirely to robotaxis and humanoid robots.

After driving a Xiaomi SU7 Max, a WSJ columnist prefers its range, modular interior, and features (karaoke, minifridge) over her American Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Tesla is discontinuing Model S and X production to reallocate resources toward Optimus robots and robotaxis.

A lake-effect snowstorm in Michigan caused a 100-vehicle pileup on an Interstate, resulting in numerous injuries but no deaths.

Volkswagen is adding physical buttons to its new ID. Polo interior, reversing its previous reliance on capacitive touch controls in electric vehicles.

The article argues that Ford's cancellation of the F-150 Lightning, which outsold the Cybertruck, was due to poor sales and high production costs, not market acceptance.

Volkswagen's U.S. sales plunged last year, hit harder than rivals by tariffs and the expiration of electric vehicle tax credits.

General Motors recorded a $7.1 billion loss by writing down battery and EV factory values after federal policy shifts reduced demand.

China's BYD overtook Tesla as the world's top electric vehicle seller, driven by its broader model range and lower prices.

A Tesla owner drove a Model 3 coast-to-coast (2,732 miles) using Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14.2 with zero disengagements, a milestone celebrated by Elon Musk and Tesla executives.

Trump's auto loan interest deduction offers modest tax savings, primarily benefiting higher-income borrowers who itemize deductions.

Tesla's stock soars on robotaxi optimism, but experts state the automaker lags far behind Waymo in actual self-driving deployment on roads.

The New York Times article offers safety tips for holiday road trips, emphasizing tire checks, weather and traffic apps, and essential equipment.

Rivian releases Universal Hands-Free driving on Gen 2 R1 vehicles, covering 3.5M miles of roads but not handling traffic controls.

Ford cancels the all-electric F-150 Lightning and will replace it with an extended-range EV (EREV) version.

Ford announced a $19.5 billion writedown due to scaling back electric vehicle plans in favor of more hybrid and gasoline models.

Rivian announced RAP1 custom silicon, LiDAR plans for R2, and Universal Hands Free for Gen 2 at its first Autonomy and AI Day.

Ford has created a skunk-works team near Los Angeles to redesign its fleet and catch up with Chinese automakers, questioning whether it is too late.

Tesla's 2025 Holiday Update adds Grok-powered navigation commands, but the article questions the AI's reliability given its history of errors and offensive outputs.

Honda's K-series four-cylinder engine remains in production 25 years later due to its reliable design, though it has been significantly redesigned to meet modern standards.

Canada declared Stellantis in default for breaching contract terms after moving Jeep production from Ontario to the U.S., jeopardizing hundreds of millions in assistance.

GM CEO Mary Barra commits to manufacturing fuel-efficient engines regardless of weaker regulations, but remains uncertain about electric vehicle mainstream adoption in the US.