Aurelia Butler

A letter to the Federal Trade Commission from two U.S. senators explains that automakers sold drivers’ data for a shockingly low amount. The letter marks an escalation from a New York Times report that was published in March of this year. The letter from the senators focuses on GM, Honda, and Hyundai because all three sold data to Verisk, according to the initial NYT report. UPDATE 7/31/24: This story has been updated to include a statement from Hyundai regarding the brand’s relationship with the data broker Verisk. If you drive a car that’s capable of connecting to the internet, the manufacturer may be collecting and selling data based on your driving habits to third-party data brokers. A report by the New York Times in March detailed the practice, and now a letter by U.S. senators Ron Wyden and Edward J. Markey to the Federal Trade Commission explains how little manufacturers actually made. In the letter, Wyden and Markey chose to focus on three automakers: GM, Honda, and Hyundai. That’s because all three sold data to the data broker Verisk. In turn, Verisk sold the data to auto insurers, helping them to assign risk scores. According to the letter, one of the company’s products, which it shut down following the NYT report, rated drivers’ driving habits with data collected from internet-connected cars. HyundaiOne shocking revelation from the letter is just how little the manufacturers actually profited from selling the data. Staffers from Sen. Wyden’s office investigated the three automakers and found that Verisk paid Honda $25,920 over four years for information about 97,000 cars, amounting to just 26 cents per car. Hyundai was paid just over $1 million for data on roughly 1.7 million cars over a six-year period, totaling 61 cents a car. GM would not reveal how much it was paid, according to Sen. Wyden, though a new report this week from the New York Times suggests the manufacturer sold data for more than 8 million cars. “Companies should not be selling Americans’ data without their consent, period,” wrote the senators. “But it is particularly insulting for automakers that are selling cars for tens of thousands of dollars to then squeeze out a few additional pennies of profit with consumers’ private data.”The letter also details that while GM and Honda customers had to opt in for their data to be shared, Wyden referred to the process as “deceptive.” Hyundai, on the other hand, confirmed to Wyden’s office that customers who enabled internet access in their vehicles were automatically enrolled for their data to be shared with Verisk. Car and Driver received a statement from Hyundai regarding the brand’s relationship to Verisk. “Regrettably, Senator Wyden’s letter mischaracterizes Hyundai’s data policies and the safeguards it implemented to ensure customer consent for sharing driving behavior information with insurers. The letter also inaccurately describes the customer consent required for the sharing of customer driving behavior data with Verisk, a third-party data-sharing service provider. Each customer’s vehicle usage-based “Drive Score” information was activated only after the customer affirmatively opted into Hyundai’s BlueLink connected car suite of services. It is important to note that Verisk was not authorized by Hyundai or the customer to share the Drive Score data with insurers until the customer affirmatively consented to this on an insurer’s website or app.”The good news for drivers concerned about their data being sold to insurance companies is that following the report in March, Verisk shut down the program in April. The letter concludes with the senators urging the FTC to investigate the practice within the industry and to hold the senior executives accountable. This story was originally published July 28, 2024. Related StoriesJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Audi has revealed two new members of its electric-vehicle lineup: the 2025 A6 e-tron and S6 e-tron.The new models will join the gasoline-powered A6 and S6. The e-trons will be 2025 models, with the order books set to open in September 2024.We expect the A6 e-tron to start around $70,000 and the more performance-oriented S6 e-tron to top out in the $90,000 range.High floor and low floor are the two descriptors Audi uses to relate the primary difference between the Q6 e-tron SUV and the A6 e-tron Sportback. Both are on the same electric platform; the choice is whether you want to sit high or sit low in your electric vehicle. The new A6 e-tron isn’t Audi’s first battery-powered four-door, the first being the Porsche Taycan–based e-tron GT, but it’s the first one under six figures. Exact pricing is not yet available, but we expect the brand’s new electric sedan to start around $70,000 for the rear-drive version with 362 horsepower, rising to $80,000 for the 422-hp A6 e-tron and cresting over $90,000 for the 543-hp S6 e-tron when it goes on sale late next spring.All versions get a shapely new body, and as the Sportback name implies, there’s a hatch around back. The large taillight is made up of OLED lights that can be configured via the settings menu in the car to change the look of the rear end. The rest of the world will get the even better-looking Avant (wagon in Audi-speak) version. Audi representatives wouldn’t comment on the possibility of an Allroad version of the wagon.The interior design is shared with the Q6 e-tron and has a large, curved panel that has an infotainment display measuring 14.5 inches and the driver’s display that measures 11.9 inches. We do wish for more options for the gauge cluster. Current Audis do it better. To allay passenger boredom, there’s an optional 14.5-inch display mounted to the dashboard in front of the passenger’s seat for them to play games or watch videos. A panoramic glass roof can go from transparent to opaque with a push of a button and can mimic a shade or even display a checkerboard-like design. Cargo space under the hatch measures 26 cubic feet. A tiny front trunk is just short of one cubic foot, and usefulness.A 94.4-kWh battery is buried in the floor of the A6 e-tron and is likely to provide a 350-mile range. Official EPA range numbers are not yet available and the over-450-mile European Union number is likely not repeatable in the real world. The 800-volt electrical architecture allows for up to 270-kW charging speeds on a DC fast-charger and can take the battery from 10 to 80 percent in a claimed 21 minutes. If the hookup is a 400-kW connection, the A6 will charge its two banks separately at up to 135 kW. The onboard charger allows for 11 kW on an AC connection.Audi has more speed claims. The base single-motor A6 e-tron should hit 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, the two-motor A6 e-tron Quattro reduces that time to 4.3 seconds, and finally the S6 e-tron will hit 60 in 3.7 seconds. The slippery body goes as low as 0.21 in European versions with camera sideview mirrors; ours will undoubtedly be a little less slippery.A handsome, if lozenge-shaped, new member of the Audi family, the new electric A6 joins the gas-fed A6 in the lineup next year. Eventually, the internal-combustion-powered A6 will exit production, leaving only the electric version. So how do you want it? High floor or low floor?Tony Quiroga is a 20-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. “Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It’s the place I wanted to work since I could read,” Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D’s early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years. More

The 2025 Ford Maverick arrives with a redesigned front end and updated interior, plus the Tremor package has been added as a full trim. The 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid powertrain also adds optional all-wheel drive and increases the max towing capacity to 4000 pounds. All Mavericks now come with a larger 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.CLARIFICATION 7/31/24: This story has been updated to state the Maverick’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine now makes 238 horsepower versus its previous 250-hp output.The Ford Maverick is entering its fourth model year with a visual evolution, updated tech, and increased capability for hybrid models. Our favorite compact pickup truck has proven popular since launching in 2022. With the new facelifted version, Ford looks to increase the Maverick’s value by packing it with more tech and expanding the lineup—the Tremor is now a standalone trim. The big news pertains to the hybrid models, which can now be optioned with all-wheel drive on the XL, XLT, and Lariat trims. Ford says it was the number one request from owners. Along with adding all-wheel drive, hybrid Mavericks can now add the optional Tow package, matching the turbocharged four-cylinder’s 4000-pound tow rating. The truck’s available powertrains still consist of the 191-hp hybrid 2.5-liter four-cylinder that comes standard as well as the optional 2.0-liter turbo four, which sees its output drop from 250 to 238 horsepower.The Maverick’s visual changes add more distinction between trim levels. The headlights now have black accents, and the top trims add LED running lights. The front bumper now extends upwards into the headlight housing which takes on the shape of the number “7,” but the aesthetic looks strange to some of us—like partially boarded up windows. Still, each trim level now comes with a unique grille design, and the overall changes result in a Maverick that looks fresh but also familiar. Inside, it’s impossible to ignore the new infotainment touchscreen, which has grown from a modest 8.0 inches to a comparatively huge 13.2 inches. All Mavericks come with the larger screen, which utilizes Ford’s Sync 4 software and has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The updated infotainment system also has a 5G WiFi connection that allows the Maverick to receive over-the-air updates. Tech upgrades are rounded out with the addition of a 360-degree camera as well as Ford’s Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Pro Trailer Backup Assist features. The trailer assist and backup assist are optional on the XL and XLT trims but standard on the Lariat and Tremor. The top trims also have standard adaptive cruise control and lane-centering. However, the full lineup has improved active safety systems.All the 2025 Ford Maverick’s improvements come with slightly higher pricing. For instance, the base XL trim now starts at $27,890, an increase of $2375 compared with last year’s model. The XLT hybrid starts at $30,390, the AWD EcoBoost Lariat starts at $37,130, and the AWD Lariat hybrid starts at $38,330. The new Tremor model sits at the top of the lineup and starts at $41,390. Order books for the new Maverick open on August 1, with deliveries expected to begin later this year.More on the MaverickJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More