Skip to main content
All Stories Tagged:

Cars

Cars are the technology of the future. The Verge brings you new car reviews, auto show insights, deeply reported investigations, and news from the frontlines of autonomous and electric vehicle development. We bring you updates from major companies like Ford, GM, Mercedes, and VW as well as digital upstarts like Uber, Google, and Tesla. Cars are among the biggest computers that we’ll ever own, and we know computers. We also bring you news and analyses from the growing effort to reduce the number of cars crowding our cities and the fight to reduce oil consumption, cut CO2 emissions, and shift to more sustainable sources of energy.

A
Youtube
MKBHD reviewed the Vinfast VF8. It didn’t go well.

After his review of the Fisker Ocean turned into a wild saga (and maybe helped contribute to the company’s recent struggles), the popular YouTuber is turning his critical gaze to another fringe EV: the Vinfast VF8. And wouldn’t you know it, there were a lot of similarities between the two: cheap materials, outdated-looking tech, and inexplicable feature choices. At the start of the video, he says:

It brings back the age old smartphone question: Would you rather buy a brand new cheap piece of tech or a depreciated older flagship? And this one makes a good argument for the depreciated older flagship.


A
External Link
Fisker turns to extreme markdowns to stave off bankruptcy.

The struggling EV company slashed the price of the Ocean, its only model, by nearly 40 percent, to $37,499 — as it looks for a miracle to avoid going out of business. Fisker is in the process of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange for failure to keep its share price above $1. And it paused production of the Ocean in order to focus on fundraising. Fisker always promised it would be a mass-market EV company. But I doubt this is how they wanted it to happen.

Of course, this is the EV that MKBHD called “the worst” car he’d ever reviewed.


A
External Link
Tesla helped bring a little bit of California to China.

While it was working on its first factory in China, the company successfully lobbied to create a regulatory credit system in the country that was very similar to the one that helped it survive in California during its early years.

In 2015, at a clean transportation conference in California, Chinese central government officials listened as a Tesla lobbyist laid out the reasons that Beijing should adopt an emissions mandate, said Yunshi Wang, an energy economist who organized the session.

“Obviously Tesla was all in,” said Dr. Wang, director of the University of California-Davis’s China Center for Energy and Transportation.


Good news! Your boss can now drag you into a meeting during your morning commute.

Gone are the days when your car was a refuge from work. Ford is the latest automaker to bring Cisco’s Webex video conferencing application to its vehicles, starting with the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus, 2025 Lincoln Aviator, and 2025 Ford Explorer. More models will follow.

If you’re driving, it’s audio-only. While parked, you’ll be able to see your coworkers’ beaming faces, but they won’t be able to see yours because it’s not connected to the in-cabin camera — yet. I’m of the opinion that selfie cameras in the car are inevitable. (See: Benz, Mercedes.)


Lincoln Nautilus with Cisco’s Webex
Just be sure to turn off Mike and the Mad Dog before you unmute yourself.
Image: Ford
A
External Link
Fisker delisted.

Trading was halted on the EV company’s stock due to an “abnormally low” share price. Basically, the stock hit rock bottom and now the New York Stock Exchange is delisting Fisker for failure to comply with rules requiring its stock trade above $1 for at least 30 days. Earlier today, the company said that investment talks with another automaker (probably Nissan) broke down. Now Fisker seems to be heading to an all-too-familiar place. At least for founder Henrik Fisker.


A
Twitter
The Full-Self Driving will continue until morale improves.

In an internal memo, the Tesla CEO announced that its controversial driver assist system FSD would come pre-installed on all new vehicles, and that every customer taking delivery of a new Tesla would get a demonstration of its capabilities.

My theory: FSD sales are flatlining because Tesla has slashed prices so much that regular people — and not die-hards who hang on Musk’s every tweet — are now buying them. And most price-sensitive normies aren’t going to hand over $15,000 for a driver assist system that could drive them into a tree.


A
External Link
Lucid gets a lifeline.

An affiliate of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund will invest $1 billion in the struggling EV maker. (I need to find a new adjective other than “struggling” to describe these companies. Leave your suggestions in the comments please!) This is hardly a surprise, given that the Saudi government owns a 60 percent stake in Lucid. Like other, ahem, distressed EV companies, Lucid has slashed prices and laid off employees in the face of weaker demand. But it could be a lot worse! At least Lucid isn’t tottering on the edge of bankruptcy like Fisker and others.


Things are getting pretty dire for Fisker.

Negotiations with an unnamed automaker (most likely Nissan) about a possible investment have collapsed. Trading has been halted on the company’s stock, but not before the share price plummeted 30 percent. Production on the Fisker Ocean is paused for six weeks to allow the company to raise $150 million by selling convertible notes.

It’s missing interest payments and passed the deadline to report its first-quarter earnings. We all know what comes next. This isn’t Henrik Fisker’s first rodeo.


Fisker Ocean
At least the puppy looks happy.
Image: Fisker
A
External Link
GM will no longer sell your driving data to third-party companies.

The automaker was caught by the New York Times providing micro-details about its customers driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and trip length, to insurance companies. Clueless vehicle owners were then left wondering why their insurance premiums were going up. But now GM tells the Times it’s going to stop.

“OnStar Smart Driver customer data is no longer being shared with LexisNexis or Verisk,” a G.M. spokeswoman, Malorie Lucich, said in an emailed statement. “Customer trust is a priority for us, and we are actively evaluating our privacy processes and policies.”

No word yet on Kia, Subaru, and Mitsubishi, which also were reportedly sharing driver data with insurance firms.


A
External Link
What’s one more Tesla investigation among friends?

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) would like the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Tesla over the lack of independence of its board of directors from Elon Musk, according to the Wall Street Journal. Tesla’s board, which includes Musk’s brother and a number of the billionaire’s friends, poses a potential conflict of interest, that could harm shareholders, Warren alleges. The SEC, which has investigated Tesla more times than I can remember, declined to comment on its response to Warren.


Stellantis still believes in flying cars.

The automaker (parent company to Jeep and Dodge) announced a purchase of 8.3 million shares in eVTOL company Archer, in a deal roughly worth over $39 million. Stellantis already has a deal to manufacture Archer’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, which are set to launch in 2025. Today’s open market stock purchase is meant to signal “Stellantis’ continued confidence in Archer’s plans” to bring its aircraft to market. Despite numerous layoffs, trade secret disputes, and company shutdowns, the eVTOL true believers are still racing to get something in the air to prove all this cash burn has been worth it.


Archer’s eVTOL aircraft is meant for short distance trips of 20-50 miles.
Archer’s eVTOL aircraft is meant for short distance trips of 20-50 miles.
Image: Stellantis
A
External Link
Is Rivian working on a high-performance R1X?

After the bombshell reveal of the R3 and R3X earlier this month, it probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that the EV company also has high-performance versions of the R1T and R1S vehicles in the works. A member of the Rivian owners forum (flagged by Breaking News) noticed a trademark filing with the USTPO for “R1X,” which suggests there could be a Tesla Plaid-rivaling Rivian on deck.


Rivian ‘R1X’ Trademark Reveals New Flagship Performance...

[Rivian Forum – Rivian R1T & R1S News, Pricing & Order...]

T
External Link
Hertz CEO out after Tesla flub.

Stephen Scherr, the man who bet heavily on EVs to transform the future of the company, is stepping down after just two years in the role. He’s being replaced by Gil West, the former COO of Cruise robotaxis. West was one of several execs dismissed by GM after that body-dragging incident.


W
External Link
Tesla reached a settlement with a Black employee who won two trials over racial abuse.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, reports CNBC. Owen Diaz had previously told the court that supervisors failed to intervene when his coworkers used “daily racist epithets” against him and other Black employees at the Fremont, California plant where he worked.

He was awarded $137 million in 2021 but asked for a retrial after a judge reduced the amount to $15 million in 2022.


C
Youtube
Watch these Toyota engineers build Pokémon’s Miraidon from soup to nuts.

While everyone was getting worked up about the announcement of the next Pokémon game, the Toyota Engineering Society was busy working on a special project to create a life-sized Miraidon, the motorcycle-like legendary dragon mascot from Pokémon Violet.

Even though we’ll probably never get a chance to see the thing actually zooming around, it’s still cool as hell seeing it come together in this video about the collaboration.


Microlino electric bubble car review: urban delight

Fun, fun, fun till a trailer towed my baby away.

R
Instagram
Rivian’s smaller R3 and R3X electric SUVs look great, but they’re not ready to ship.

Automotive journalist Jason Cammisa got inside Rivian’s “one more thing” surprise vehicles, posting some short clips to show off the hot hatch styling and massive wheels of the R3X, as well as the dual-opening rear setup.

A lack of backseat legroom isn’t that surprising. But the potential bad news is that Cammisa says, “I wouldn’t expect to see the first ones until 2027.”


A
Youtube
Tesla’s litigiousness is why Doug DeMuro hasn’t reviewed the Cybertruck yet.

Tesla’s threat to sue anyone who tries to resell their Cybertruck within the first year has owners “spooked,” which is why the polarizing electric truck hasn’t shown up on his auction site Cars and Bids. He also hinted at some sort of retaliation from Tesla when he reviewed one of the first Model 3s back in 2017. “It wasn’t pretty,” the popular YouTuber chuckled. Say more!

Eventually he’ll review the Cybertruck, he says. His neighbor even has one! DeMuro was just hoping to promote his auction site as part of the review. That’s capitalism, baby!


A
External Link
BYD’s electric vehicles are moldier than usual.

The Chinese company, which overtook Tesla last year as the top global seller of EVs, is running into challenges as it seeks to cement its dominance in other markets like Europe. Challenges such as too many cars, not enough customers. Oh, and mold.

The issue wasn’t so much the existence of mold, which is known to grow in cars shipped over long distances, but concern that the vehicles didn’t receive professional treatment with an ionization process to remove spores fully.


Is your car snitching on your driving habits?

A driver’s insurance rate went up based on a 130-page report detailing his Chevy Bolt’s drives over six months, shared by GM with data broker LexisNexis through the OnStar Smart Driver program, reports The New York Times.

According to the Times, Kia, Subaru, and Mitsubishi also contribute to the LexisNexis data portal, while another company, Verisk partners with Ford, Honda, and Hyundai. Subaru says it only shares odometer data when authorized, while Ford says it will share data for usage-based programs based on a customer’s in-car menu confirmation.

Update March 12th, 2024, 2:42PM ET: Added details on the partnerships and what data is shared.


W
External Link
A Cybertruck owner shopped around and found out.

Tesla’s owner agreement expressly forbids owners to “sell or otherwise attempt to sell” the truck within a year of buying it, or the company would take action, including refusing future sales.

Well, someone in the Cybertruck Owners Club forum says they tried listing theirs “on multiple sites to feel it out” anyway, and the company canceled their two (2!) other reservations.


Be careful selling your Cybertruck! Tesla found sale listings...

[Tesla Cybertruck Forum - News, Discussions, Community - Cybertruckownersclub.com]

W
External Link
Was the Apple Car always going to be a van?

Mark Gurman collected many of the concepts the company considered for its recently shuttered Project Titan in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today.

It’s a concise summary of Apple’s design thoughts over the ten years it devoted to trying to enter the automotive industry. Gurman writes of one idea:

The Apple car’s circa-2020 design resembled the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle — a futuristic van with rounded edges — but it had dark black windows with an adjustable tint. There was all-glass sunroof, a pure white exterior and whitewall tires with a black center.


Watch Rivian’s R3X and R2 roll around in real life.

It’s unclear where this video (and a couple of others posted to a Rivian forum) originally came from, but we won’t have to wait until 2025 (or beyond) to see either of Rivian’s upcoming electric SUVs on the streets.


The Microlino electric bubble car.

While cars in general are embiggening, in some cities a new breed of electric microcars is trending. They’re cheaper to own, easier to park, consume less public space and energy, and maneuver around obstacles that would otherwise block big SUVs and snarl traffic.

Here’s a preview ahead of our full review of the Microlino Dolce, coming soon.

(Update, 3/11 1:30PM ET — And now in widescreen.)