Aurelia Butler

A crash and subsequent fire of a Tesla Model S this past weekend quickly caught attention online for its “four-hour” blaze, but that’s not exactly what happened, the fire chief told Car and Driver today.The initial fireball was contained in a matter of minutes, and it was just tiny flareups that were a longer-lasting problem, chief Palmer Buck explained to the Houston Chronicle and C/D.Although the chief acknowledges EV fires require different tactics by firefighters, Tesla and government safety data asserts that traditional internal-combustion vehicles experience one fire for every 19 million miles traveled; for Teslas EVs, it’s one fire for 205 million miles traveled. It didn’t take long for reports to spread online that a Tesla Model S crash in a gated subdivision in The Woodlands, near Houston, Texas, this past weekend outwitted firefighters for four hours. The reality, according to the local fire chief, turned out to be much less exciting (though still tragic for those involved, including two people inside the car who died). There’s a lesson here about how continuous advancements in the auto industry force first responders into an endless arms race for information.

“We are always challenged in the fire service to keep up with the latest trends,” fire chief Palmer Buck of The Woodlands Township in Texas told Car and Driver. “Several years ago it was compressed natural gas and before that it was propane-powered vehicles and biodiesel.”Changes in how vehicle frames are welded together and where airbags are located in cars have given local fire departments reasons to regularly upgrade their extrication tools, Buck said, and new powertrains mean first responders always have more to study to stay up-to-date. “It’s a continual learning exercise, and EVs have been part of that, from the very first Prius hybrids that we saw to the all-electric cars,” he said. “The good news is, for us, is that the basic firefighting tool is to put a lot of water on it. That’s an instruction that a lot of firefighters like. That being said, this was our first experience with a large-scale runaway lithium-ion fire.”Speaking of the recent Tesla incident, an overwhelming amount of water did end up being the solution, but the way it was applied gave Twitter and other online sources reason to claim the blaze lasted many hours. A picture of the burned vehicle that quickly circulated furthered the story that this was a dramatic firefight, but Buck said almost all of the damage was done in the first 10 minutes after the Tesla struck a tree.The initial fire was quickly put out, he said, but the vehicle smoldered and continued to ignite after that, which is why firefighters used a small-diameter hose to keep water running onto the area, to deal with any small flames that started. Pine sap from the trees also caused some flare-ups, Buck said. The bottom of the car, where the battery pack is located, was in contact with the ground, which made it more difficult to get water where it needed to go. When the firefighters finally managed to raise the car, they were also able to stop the chain reaction.By the time even the smallest embers were finally out, many hours after the crash, somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 gallons were used, Buck said. This was only possible because the incident happened in a residential area with a hydrant nearby. Had the crash happened on a highway, his department’s trucks, which carry between 500 and 1000 gallons, would not have been able to keep on lightly soaking the car for that much time.It’s these kinds of lessons that keep first responders busy, Buck said, adding that he has already gotten calls from other departments to share information they learned here. Some of those lessons came straight from Tesla’s electric vehicle safety sheets, which Buck said are “absolutely” the kind of thing first responders need when approaching an EV fire, and that Tesla’s are right in line with those from other automakers.”The instructions are very clear in what you need to do,” he said.

On Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on April 19 that the data logs recovered from the crashed vehicle show that Autopilot was not enabled and that the car’s owner “did not purchase [Full Self Driving].” FSD is Tesla’s term for its driver-assistance technology and does not turn a Tesla into an autonomous vehicle.Tesla, as is so often the case, did not respond to Car and Driver’s request for comment. The company does have a “Tesla Vehicle Safety Report” section on its website where it says its vehicles “are engineered to be the safest cars in the world.” In the section on vehicle fires, Tesla says that between 2012 and 2020, one Tesla vehicle caught fire, on average, for every 205 million miles traveled. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Fire Protection Association say that the average for all vehicles in the U.S. is one vehicle fire for every 19 million miles traveled.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not yet issued a preliminary report on the incident.

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This is a limited-edition version of the Ferrari 812 Superfast, and it’s rumored to be called the Versione Speciale. Its V-12 engine produces 819 horsepower, 30 more than the standard 812, and it revs to 9500 rpm. Ferrari will reveal it in full on its social media channels at on May 5 at 8:30 a.m. ET.Ferrari is making the 812 Superfast, the successor to the F12, a little faster with this new limited-edition model that’s rumored to be called the Versione Speciale. It’s more powerful, revs higher, and looks even flashier than the standard front-engine V-12 grand tourer, and it’ll debut on Ferrari’s social media channels on May 5 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Its naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V-12 produces 819 horsepower, up 30 from the standard car’s 789 horses, and it revs to 9500 rpm. In our 2018 test, the 812’s V-12, which redlines at 9000 rpm, emitted 91 decibels at wide-open throttle and reached 60 mph in 2.7 seconds. Power is sent to the rear through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The limited-edition cars will introduce the seventh iteration of Ferrari’s Side Slip Control (SSC) traction and stability control system, and like the standard 812 Superfast, they integrate rear-axle steering. Use of carbon fiber inside and out reduces overall weight compared with the 812, and a unique aero kit, which includes vortex generators on an aluminum rear window replacement, improves downforce—and makes it look wild. Inside, though, the limited-edition models are similar to the standard 812. The door panels are lighter, and carbon fiber is seen everywhere. We’re not sure if they’ll only be available in this silver with a yellow stripe spec with a black interior, or how many will be built, but we’ll know more when Ferrari debuts the limited-edition model next month.
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VW has announced pricing for the new 2022 Taos subcompact crossover.It starts at $24,190 and ranges up to above $35,000 for a fully loaded SEL Premium 4Motion model.The Taos will go on sale in the U.S. in June.Volkswagen’s new entry-level crossover, the 2022 Taos, carries a starting price of $24,190 for a front-wheel-drive model in its base S trim level. Not coincidentally, that’s the exact same starting price as the soon-to-be-discontinued 2021 Golf hatchback that it effectively replaces. We were also surprised to see that certain Taos models are close in price to the larger Tiguan SUV. The Taos SE, for instance, starts at $28,440, which is just $150 less than the more spacious, more powerful 2021 Tiguan SE.

All 2022 Taos models come standard with a 158-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four, front-wheel drive, and an eight-speed automatic transmission. 4Motion all-wheel drive is optional on all three trim levels and costs between $1450 and $2045 extra, and it necessitates a switch to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.The top SEL trim level starts at $32,685 and comes in at $35,440 with the boxes checked for all-wheel drive and a $1200 panoramic sunroof. Other options for the lower trim levels include a driver-assistance package called IQ.Drive that costs $995 for the S trim and $895 for the SE trim.VW says that the Taos will go on sale at U.S. dealerships starting in June.
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Strikingly similar to the concept revealed last year, the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq will arrive in the first half of 2022, priced starting just under $60,000. Reservations open in September.As part of the announcement, Cadillac vice-president Rory Harvey said we will not get another new Cadillac model with an internal-combustion engine. It’s all electric from now on, in North America at least.More than 300 miles of range on a full charge, a 19.2-kW onboard charger, Super Cruise, and a 33-inch screen put the Lyriq right in line with other upscale EVs being offered in the coming years.The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq won’t just be the brand’s first all-electric vehicle; it is also the Cadillac that most clearly signals a complete transition away from internal-combustion engines in favor of EVs. According to Rory Harvey, vice president of Global Cadillac, during an announcement for the Lyriq: “Every new Cadillac that we introduce from this point on in North America will be a state-of-the-art luxury electric vehicle.”While no one at the company is eager to talk about the low sales figures for Cadillac’s first plug-in vehicle, the short-lived ELR, it’s a different story when looking forward. The current Cadillac stable is “one of the freshest lineups in luxury,” Harvey said, and one that Cadillac thinks will give the brand time to make a complete powertrain switch here in the U.S.
The oldest vehicle in Cadillac’s lineup is the XT4, which was launched in August 2018, and the flagship Escalade just got a new, fifth generation for 2021. The current lineup of gasoline-powered Cadillacs will continue to get mid-cycle refreshes in the coming years, but don’t expect to see any new product announcements about ICE models. Instead, look for more launches like the Celestiq, which debuted at CES this year, and the new Lyriq.”It is public record that we said we would enter this decade as an ICE brand and we would leave this decade as an EV brand,” Harvey said.

The Lyriq was first revealed in concept form last August. The production model will arrive in the first half of 2022 and, according to GM, it’s going to be awfully similar to the concept. The concept car used slightly bigger wheels than the production model, for example, and the door construction is slightly different, but other than that there aren’t many exterior changes, said Andrew Smith, executive director of Global Cadillac Design. There are two main differences in the interior: five seats in the production model instead of the four seen in the show car and, of course, more cupholders in the production model.
From the outside, though, the Lyriq keeps both the overall design as well as a choreographed lighting sequence presented by the slim-line LED headlamps. Since the black crystal grille didn’t need to focus on conducting airflow through an engine bay, designers used its futuristic look to cleverly hide the many sensors the car needs for its high-tech features, Smith said. Exterior colors include Satin Steel Metallic and Stellar Black Metallic, while the inside can be had in Sky Cool Gray or Noir. “We will also introduce the Juniper at some time in the near future, which is the color you saw in the show vehicle itself,” Smith said.
Cadillac said the 2023 Lyriq will have a range of over 300 miles from a 100.0-kWh battery pack. The rear-wheel-drive Ultium platform that the Lyriq will ride on will produce 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, Cadillac said. A “performance” all-wheel-drive version is expected later as well. The new EV will offer an onboard charging module capable of up to 19.2 kW, which will allow up to 52 miles of range for each hour it’s connected to a compatible Level 2 charging station. The 19.2-kW onboard charger will be a standard feature on the First Release trim and an optional feature on other trims, said Lyriq chief engineer Jamie Brewer. DC fast charging will also be available, and at a 150-kW station, the Lyriq will fill up 76 miles of range in about 10 minutes. Once they’re back on the road, drivers will be able to control the way the EV slows down through variable regenerative braking levels that can offer one-pedal driving.

Other driver-focused technologies including Super Cruise, active noise cancellation, and KeyPass digital vehicle access will all be part of the Lyriq experience. A 33-inch-diagonal advanced LED display and a 19-speaker AKG Studio audio system with headrest speakers should handle infotainment requests. Twenty-inch alloy wheels will be standard, while 22-inch Reverse Rim alloy wheels will be optional.Cadillac will start taking Lyriq reservations in September, with the first vehicles going to customers in early 2022. The Lyriq is priced starting at $59,990 and will be built in Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM recently announced its Ultium Cells joint venture with LG Energy Solution will invest $2.3 billion in a new battery cell manufacturing plant in Spring Hill.
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