Cars

All cars are currently required to have automatic emergency braking by 2027. But that mandate could get tossed under a new plan by Senate Republicans to eliminate certain safety rules, in the interest of making cars more affordable. Also under scrutiny are alarms warning if there’s a child left in the rear seat. Weirdly they’re not targeting expensive creature comforts, like heated steering wheels and wireless charging. Just the safety ones.

This is a lot, right? Like, why is this so much?

The joint venture, which operates under the official name Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, is prepping its first prototypes for winter testing in the first quarter of 2026, InsideEVs reports. These include VW, Audi, and Scout test mules equipped with zonal architectures, with consolidated ECUs and less wiring. The first crop of passenger vehicles will also be Audi, Scout, and VW branded models, including the VW’s ultra-low cost ID.EVERY1. Audi and Scout will feature three zonal ECUs, like the second-generation R1T and R1S vehicles, while the VW ID.EVERY1 will come with just one zonal ECU.

It’s been almost two years since the German automaker said it was adopting Tesla’s NACS standard for its electric vehicles. And at last, long after pretty much all the other automakers have already adopted the standard, VW is following through. Starting November 18th, VW ID.4 and ID Buzz owners can buy a NACS adapter online or from their local dealer for $200, which they can then use to fast charge at any of the 25,000 Supercharger outlets in North America. That’s super!

The Wall Street Journal cites unnamed sources at the company in its report on the electric truck’s possible demise.

We’ve been waiting for BMW’s next-gen voice assistant for a while now. The custom Alexa voice assistant for was initially announced in 2022, but progress has been slow in an attempt to build it around Amazon’s more capable LLM-powered Alexa Plus. Now BMW and Amazon say that customers will be able to experience it “soon.” How soon? We don’t know! Which models? Unclear!

Toyota unveiled a concept version of its frumpy, best-selling sedan at the Tokyo auto show this week. The concept was, dare I say, sharp as hell? Practically makes you want to slowly lower your sunglasses and let out an appreciative whistle.

Android Authority has done its usual digging around and discovered code for home screen widgets in Android Auto. They’re clearly still a work-in-progress, but should eventually let you run one widget at a time on the left third of the screen.

The $15,000 Nissan Sakura kei car is breaking records in Japan — and I badly want this new prototype version with an always-active solar roof that nearly doubles in size when you park. At 500W, Nissan estimates it can add 1,864 miles of range per year. Here’s the YouTube video.

Ford halted production of the F-150 Lightning at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. For now the automaker is prioritizing its gas and hybrid F-series trucks because they’re more profitable and use less aluminum. Ford is also still recovering from a September 16th fire at aluminum supplier Novelis’ plant in Oswego, New York.

Some Jeep 4xe hybrid owners are reporting that their vehicles are losing power after an over-the-air software update, according to Ars Technica. The update apparently went out Friday, after which several owners posted on Reddit and Jeep owner forums about the power loss. Some were at low speeds and close to home, while others were driving on the highway when their vehicles shutdown. Seems bad! Jeep pulled the update after the reports and is now advising owners to ignore the notification.

Last week, Ford CEO Jim Farley stepped up to the Decoder mic to explain why Ford isn’t offering CarPlay Ultra. Then this week, our friend Joanna Stern followed up with RJ Scaringe to discuss (again) why his company’s cars don’t have CarPlay support at all.

The UK’s largest automaker says it will extend its pause in production to October 1st as it continues to deal with a massive cyberattack. That means that JLR’s three factories will have been idle for four weeks, costing the company over 200 million pounds in lost revenue, Reuters says. No word yet on who was responsible for the attack.

IIHS moderate overlap crash test results for seven EVs show good ratings for the i4, Blazer EV, post-April 2025 Cybertruck, and ID.Buzz, and acceptable for Tesla’s Model 3. (No word on the door handles.)

The company is launching a new global ad campaign called “Ready Set Ford” that aims to put the spotlight on some its more under appreciated initiatives, like its Ford Pro commercial fleet business and its motorsports division. Ford is also pivoting from advertising that highlights its specific nameplates to a campaign that’s all about lifestyle, similar to how brands like Rivian are geared toward outdoorsy, adventure types. Lisa Materazzo, Ford Chief Marketing Officer, says:

Reddit users noticed that the Blue Oval appears to have deleted all the posts from its official Instagram account, as well as those dedicated to Bronco, trucks, EVs, and Mustang. Is the automaker just handing over control of its social media accounts to an outside PR company? Or is it planning to announce something big and wants to start from a blank slate? I’ve reached out to a few of the company’s media reps, and will report back if I hear anything.