Aurelia Butler

Tesla begins offering the yoke style steering as a $1000 option, after removing it as a standard feature from the Model S and Model X electric vehicles.The automaker is still expected to offer the yoke in the Cybertruck, the first deliveries of which are expected to begin in a matter of weeks.Tesla has not made the yoke part of a steer-by-wire system, unlike Toyota, though it is understood to have been working on such a system for the next generation of vehicles.Tesla’s yoke steering arrived without much prior warning, landing in the Model S sedan in 2021 just as the automaker was readying an update for the now decade-old model. It also arrived seemingly without any prior demand for such a feature from buyers.Initially offered as a standard feature in the Model S without the option of a regular steering wheel, the yoke quickly drew mixed reactions from Tesla fans and owners, with quite a few YouTube videos demonstrating some shortcomings as well as some advantages, like the ability to see the instrument cluster better.But a number of industry observers pointed out early on, the yoke worked in Formula 1 cars because the steering ratio was dramatically different, requiring far less than a 360-degree rotation lock to lock.It’s Going AroundIn Teslas, on the other hand, the yoke required a few spins of the wheel to go from lock to lock, making it notably less advantageous for in-town driving and maneuvers in tight quarters. Tesla also removed the column stalk that controlled driving modes in the process of adding the yoke, migrating that function to the touchscreen.The automaker responded by eventually making the yoke a $250 optional feature rather than a standard item, but not before quite a few Model S and Model X cars had been sold with the yoke steering. Tesla also started offering retrofits of the round steering wheel to yoke-equipped cars for $700, in effect charging owners who had wanted to get rid of a standard feature.Now, the price of the yoke option has ballooned to $1000, making it a curious and somewhat pricey option for those wanting a more sci-fi experience in the Model S or the Model X. Recent glimpses of Tesla Cybertruck interiors pictured the cabin equipped with a revised yoke.The yoke never made it into Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y, which have accounted for the overwhelming majority of Tesla sales for the past several years.But Tesla’s yoke steering saga did not unfold in a vacuum. Less than a year after the updated Model S arrived with a yoke in 2021, Toyota demonstrated its own yoke system headed for the bZ4X electric SUV. One of the main differences between the two systems was that Toyota’s was part of a steer-by-wire system, while Tesla simply offered different hardware. Tesla has indicated in the past that it would like to develop a steer-by-wire system for its vehicles, which has been a relatively niche technology for the past decade, offered sporadically and once even sparking a recall in the Infiniti Q50 a decade ago.It remains to be seen just where Tesla’s fluctuating interest in the yoke will go from here. The automaker’s most recent glimpses of Cybertruck interiors pictured the cabin equipped with a revised yoke, with the company so far not indicating whether a more traditional steering wheel will be an option at all. This question should be answered in the next few weeks as the first Cybertruck deliveries are slated to start, barring any changes in that schedule.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.  More

There was already a large gap between states in terms of electric vehicle adoption. While California is one of the most heavily electrified car markets in the world, many states have almost no charging infrastructure and tiny EV sales volumes. That gap is only growing, according to new data from J.D. Power. The analytics firm’s August E-Vision Intelligence Report noted that EV adoption has ticked up year over year, up one point on the company’s scale that measures adoption rate. The scale measures what percentage of buyers choose an EV when one is available in their preferred class, price range, and from a preferred brand. Nationwide, that number reached about 21 out of 100.Ready to Shop?Unsurprisingly, the adoption score went up in the states with the most EV adoption—California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, Maryland, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Massachusetts. Yet in the states where EV adoption is already lowest, the number actually went down. Across Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Wyoming, Louisiana, South Dakota, West Virginia, and North Dakota, fewer buyers adopted EVs in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022.This may be because a wider variety of EVs are on sale now, widening availability without a matching increase in demand in the least EV-friendly states, or it could be due to political or economy factors. Charging availability has long held things back too, with a disproportionate number of the nation’s public chargers clustering in just a few states. California Will Be Majority EVsRegardless of the cause, the growing divide may lead to a drastically fragmented auto market a decade from now, according to J.D. Power forecasts. The disparity between states is staggering on this timeline. By 2035, in California—the state with the most EV adoption—94 percent of all cars sold will be electric. In North Dakota, the state with the lowest EV adoption rate today, J.D. Power predicts that EVs will make up just 19 percent of sales.For perspective, that’s lower EV penetration than most analysts expect to see in California this year. Clearly it’s impossible to make accurate predictions about the auto market in 2035—it’ll depend on political, economic, consumer, and technology factors that are inherently impossible to know with certainty—but one thing is clear. The U.S. market is becoming less homogeneous, and automakers are going to have to prepare to sell cars in widely disparate state environments.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Reviews EditorArguably the most fickle member of the Road & Track staff, Reviews Editor Mack Hogan is likely the only person to ever cross shop an ND Miata with an Isuzu Vehicross. He founded the automotive reviews section of CNBC during his sophomore year of college and has been writing about cars ever since. More

Nissan is working on a new generation of the Murano, as indicated by these spy photos.The new fourth-generation model appears to have an interesting design and a swoopy overall shape.We expect the new Murano to arrive early next year as a 2025 model.The current, third-generation Nissan Murano has been around for a while now, but it appears that a replacement is finally on the horizon. These spy photos show the new fourth generation of Nissan’s two-row mid-size SUV offering, which should debut within the next few months as a 2025 model.The Murano has always been a fashion-forward crossover, and the new model appears to continue that with distinctive-looking slim front headlights, an interesting window treatment with a kicked-up C-pillar, and a sharply angled rear hatch that make it look like the many SUV “coupe” models found in the luxury segment. Black five-spoke wheels indicate that Nissan will likely continue to offer the Murano with some sort of Midnight appearance package.Brian Williams|Car and DriverWe expect the new Murano to continue to share its underpinnings with the three-row Nissan Pathfinder, which means front-wheel drive will be standard with all-wheel-drive optional. This also means the trusty 3.5-liter V-6, which produces between 284 and 295 hp in the Pathfinder, will soldier on in the Murano. However, we’re hoping that Nissan will swap out the old Murano’s continuously variable automatic transmission for the smoother nine-speed automatic transmission found in the Pathfinder.Rumors previously suggested that the Murano could use Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system that employs an electric motor to power the car and a gasoline engine to serve as a generator. This system is already used in many Nissan models abroad, but we haven’t heard any updates on when or if it’s coming to the U.S. market so it remains to be seen whether or not it will ever make its way to our shores.Brian Williams|Car and DriverWe’re still waiting to see a glimpse of the 2025 Murano’s interior, but we expect it will share design elements with the Ariya electric crossover’s plush cabin. Two rows of seats providing five-passenger capacity will be standard, and the new model will surely offer a larger infotainment screen than the current car’s dated 8.0-inch display.Look for more information on the new 2025 Nissan Murano to come within the next few months as Nissan prepares to reveal the next-gen SUV. It’ll likely go on sale sometime in 2024, with prices starting in the mid-$30,000 range.More Nissan SUVsThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More