Philippa Kaur

Hurry, this deal won’t last. For real.
Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is out here making marketing moves on Twitter as we head into the final few days of 2020. Tuesday evening, Musk tweeted that anyone who purchases a new Tesla will receive three months of the company’s Full Self-Driving mode free of charge. Access to the software, which remains in beta and not complete, typically costs $10,000 extra just to experience it.
All Tesla cars delivered in the final three days of the year will get three months of the Full Self-Driving option for free. Delivery & docs must be fully complete by midnight Dec 31st.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2020

All new Teslas come with a form of the firm’s Autopilot system, a Level 2 partially automated technology on the SAE’s scale of autonomy, but Full Self-Driving hopes to one day live up to its name. The company rolled out the technology to limited groups of drivers earlier this year and plans expand the invites to those who paid for the option to take advantage of the features. Even Tesla says the system may do the wrong thing at the wrong time, so it’s definitely not ready for hands-free driving, but many owners found it works well with lots of supervision.

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To take advantage of Musk’s latest flash deal, buyers need to complete all documents and take delivery by Dec. 31 at midnight, so it’s probably best to shop Teslas currently in stock if you really want the Full Self-Driving freebie. We also heard earlier this month Tesla authorized its staff to toss in free Supercharging once again for anyone purchasing a new EV as the automaker pushes for record deliveries in 2020.We won’t know if the tactics worked until early next year, but Musk is sort of the master of spurring fans to purchase when it counts.

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This is Toyota’s newest EV, the itty-bitty C-Plus Pod.
Toyota
Last week, Toyota introduced the C-Plus Pod, a new electric minicar designed to improve per-person energy efficiency. This golf cart-like machine seats just two people and is super small. But despite its diminutive dimensions, it has a big mission: It’s designed to help broaden the appeal of battery-operated vehicles, at least in Japan.Looking vaguely like a Smart Fortwo, this ultra-compact car is intended for short-distance, daily use, not long-distance cruising. The C-Plus Pod is about 98 inches long, 51 inches wide and 61 inches tall. Yeah, I told you it was small. And with a turning radius of less than 13 feet, it should be more maneuverable than a shopping cart. As for weight, it clocks in at about 1,500 pounds.The C-Plus Pod’s styling is definitely more functional than flowery with utilitarian and simple lines. Reducing weight and likely making it easier and cheaper to manufacture, this vehicle’s body panels are made of plastic. For some visual flair, Toyota offers five different two-tone color schemes. Lighting the way are LED headlights and taillights.Inside this cutesy EV are just two seats, and they don’t look particularly comfortable or accommodating. The cabin is also suitably utilitarian — a frill-free zone, if you will. For easy access, the switches and controls are located on the dashboard’s cleanly designed center stack. This car’s interior is simple and honest.
Toyota
Providing the go-power is a single, rear-mounted permanent-magnet electric motor that’s juiced by an under-floor-mounted 9.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. This drivetrain layout provides a low, flat floor. The C-Plus Pod’s top speed is just 60 kph, or 37 mph, so a freeway cruiser it is certainly not. Slowing things down are front disc brakes and drums at the rear. With a low top speed and modestly sized battery pack, this Toyota offers an estimated cruising range of up to 150 kilometers (about 93 miles) on the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle test cycle, so it’d probably go a little less further if the EPA got its hands on the car. With an appropriate membership, it can be recharged at Toyota dealers that have G-Station chargers, though you can also juice it at other charging locations across Japan. A handy feature, the C-Plus Pod can also serve as a portable generator for use during power outages or natural disasters, delivering up to 1,500 Watts of power. It can supply electricity for up to 10 hours, which is super convenient.Even though it doesn’t look very robust, the Toyota C-Plus Pod meets safety standard for minivehicles. It’s also equipped with a standard pre-collision system that can detect other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. The automaker even fits the car with ever-useful parking sensors, too.Toyota will build the little machine at the automaker’s Motomachi Plant in Japan. Initially, it will be offered to select customers including corporations, local governments and other organizations. Broader availability to individual customers should start by 2022. You’d expect such a tiny car to carry an inexpensive price tag, but that’s not necessarily the case. It starts at roughly $16,000 USD at current exchange rates.

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Get ready for Teslas to make some weird new noises as they roll by you on the street.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
Just in time for Christmas morning, Tesla’s 2020 Holiday Update, Firmware 2020.48.25 has arrived, and in addition to some expected fun new features, Elon Musk and Co. have rolled out a brace of user experience changes, more games and some helpful upgraded visualizations. One particular new feature, however, is likely to be a bit controversial — and not just for Tesla owners.Even if you don’t actually drive a Tesla, you may soon be on the receiving end of features enabled by the update’s new “Boombox” mode, which allows Tesla drivers to customize their Model S, Model X, Model 3 or Model Y’s horn. That’s right, you can now make your Tesla’s horn honk sound like a goat, applause, La Cucaracha or a fart, among a range of other sound effects. You can even add up to five custom sounds of your own using a USB key. Musk himself touted the sound-effect upgrade on his Twitter account Friday afternoon:
Change your horn sound to 🐐, 🐍🎷, 💨 or holiday jingles with latest Tesla software update!— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2020

Boombox also enables your Tesla to make different EV in-motion driving sounds, whether you’re behind the wheel or your vehicle is being parked or pulled around in Summon mode. In other words, it probably won’t be long until you’re walking on the street and hear an approaching Star Wars TIE fighter or Clydesdale, only to turn around and realize it’s someone rolling by in a Model Y. While we can see this feature being momentarily amusing for Tesla owners and bystanders, it’s also easy to anticipate Boombox quickly becoming annoying or distracting to pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.In order to take full advantage of Boombox mode, your Tesla will need to be a newer model equipped with an external speaker. It’s also important to note that the Boombox feature comes with a on-screen caveat to “please check local laws before use in public spaces.” If you want to check out the update and hear all the new sound effects for yourself, the Tesla Owners Online YouTube channel has a solid walk-through of the update that you can watch below:
Boombox is located in the infotainment system’s Toybox menu, which also houses the system’s many games. A trio of new games, including The Battle of Polytopia, Cat Quest and Solitaire, the latter of which some Tesla owners are reporting is usable while the car is in motion (presumably for the passenger’s benefit) on Reddit.In more sober but substantive developments, the Holiday Update includes updated driving visualizations that support Tesla’s optional Full-Self Driving technology. (Obligatory Roadshow safety note: Despite the misleading name, Tesla does not yet offer autonomous driving technology.) The new visualizations should give the driver a clearer look at what’s going on around their vehicle when the tech is active, and other features have been moved around on the screen for easier access, including the one-touch access to the backup camera and wipers.

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Improvements have also been made to the system’s Scheduled Departure feature, which can now precondition a vehicle’s cabin and battery even when unplugged, as well as a rationalized menu displaying Supercharger information.Tesla’s Firmware 2020.45.25 Holiday Update is rolling out to owners of the company’s entire family of electric cars and SUVs nationwide via over-the-air update right now.  More

This new joint venture is expected to be finalized by the middle of 2021.
LG Electronics/Magna/Craig Cole/Roadshow
As the electric-car revolution slowly gains momentum, more and more companies are making investments to support this seismic shift. On Wednesday, South Korea’s LG Electronics announced it’s forming a joint venture with Canadian automotive supplier Magna International, CNBC reports. The tie-up will focus on building power inverters, electric motors and onboard chargers, among other items — components that are all required for electric vehicles. This new partnership will likely be called LG Magna e-Powertrain. Ownership of the new outfit will be split between the two parent companies, with LG holding 51% of it and Magna the remaining 49%, with a total value of around $1 billion. The deal is not complete just yet, though it’s expected to be a done deal by July of next year. Shareholder approval and other conditions still need to be met. Once the ink is dry, the new partnership is expected to employ around 1,000 people. They will work at LG facilities in Seoul, China and the US. Both Magna and LG have extensive experience building components for electric vehicles. The former makes parts for Volkswagen and the latter provides motors and battery packs to GM for the Chevrolet Bolt hatchback.This LG-Magna joint venture is the latest in a wave of partnerships and consolidations in the automotive industry. Aisin, Seiki, Denso and Toyota created a combined firm called BluE Nexus, and BorgWarner recently bought Delphi. More corporate tie-ups like these are entirely possible in the near future, which should keep things moving in the electric vehicle market.

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The interior has been faithfully recreated, with power and battery gauges replacing the original’s fuel and oil pressure ones.

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I’m probably the first person to drive a Bugatti while wearing a Spice Girls mask.
Bugatti
While I’ve done a couple of autocross events and been a passenger on track in everything from a Mercedes-AMG GT R to a NASCAR Toyota Supra and Ken Block’s Hoonitruck, I’ve never actually driven on a race track before. At least I hadn’t until a few weeks ago, when I headed to Willow Springs to drive a brand new, very rare, very expensive Bugatti.Without any context, that statement is simultaneously impressive and confusing, as it seems like quite an intense way to experience driving on a track for the first time. But look at the photo above and everything will make a lot more sense: It’s the new Baby II, a tiny and slow electric toy car that’s really meant for children.
Bugatti Baby II is an electric scaled-down Type 35 race car for kids
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Bringing back BabyThe original Bugatti Baby prototype was built in 1926. It was an electric Type 35 scaled down to half size, built by Ettore Bugatti for his son Jean. After showing the car to customers and getting a positive response, Bugatti put it into production and around 500 were sold from 1927 to 1936. Bugatti decided to recreate the Baby for the company’s 110th birthday, and thus the new Baby II was born.In order to create the Baby II, Bugatti did a complex 3D scan of an original Type 35 and shrunk it down to three-quarters scale, as that bigger size is better suited to kids today than the original half-scale car. At just 110 inches long, the Baby II is almost as short as a Smart Fortwo. Bugatti brought a real Type 35 to Willow Springs to visually compare against the Baby (though sadly not to drive), and it’s pretty incredible to see the two cars next to each other. The Baby II looks almost identical. The Type 35’s groundbreaking front axle is perfectly recreated, as are the steering and suspension components. Even Bugatti’s “Macaron” badge in the grille is spot on, made of solid silver.In the place of the original Type 35’s fuel pump is a rotating handle on the machined metal dashboard that acts as the gear selector, and there’s a physical handbrake mounted on the right side of the car. The Type 35’s fuel pressure and oil gauges are replaced by a battery and power gauge, and there are additional buttons for the lights and horn. For my 5-foot, 9-inch self, getting into the Baby II is fairly easy — I basically just hop in feet first. The wooden Nardi steering wheel is fully removable — it’s the smallest quick-release steering wheel out there — and the pedals are adjustable. In fact, the pedals are the only modern part of the car, having been modeled after those found in the Chiron.Starting the Baby II is easy. There’s a traditional key slot on the right side of the dash, and all you have to do is insert the metal key and twist it, then turn the gear selector to drive. Getting acclimated to the controls only takes a moment, and then it’s time to hit the track. “It’s windy out there, so watch out,” a Bugatti representative warns as I get ready for my laps. “The car gets really drifty when it’s windy.” Great!The Baby II is a faithful recreation of the Type 35.
Bugatti
‘Slow car fast’ to the maxBugatti offers three different versions of the Baby, with two different powertrains. The base model has composite bodywork, the smaller 1.4-kilowatt-hour battery back and the “standard” powertrain. With that you get a 1.3-horsepower Novice mode with a 12-mph top speed and a 5.4-hp Expert mode with a 25-mph top speed. Jumping up to the Vitesse model like the one I’m driving gets you a carbon-fiber body, while the top-end Pur Sang has handmade aluminum body panels; both have the long-range 2.8-kWh battery pack.Along with the bigger battery pack, the Vitesse and Pur Sang also get the “high-performance” powertrain, and boy oh boy are they not lying when they call it high-performance. In addition to the Novice and Expert modes, which are indicated by a turtle and rabbit icon and selected when you twist the key, the high-performance models get a derestricted mode that I’ll get to in a bit.I decide to start out in the Expert mode for my first couple laps, because why not. Even with just 5.4 hp the Baby II is quick, getting to its 25-mph top speed in no time. You hear fun whirring noises from the electric motor, but otherwise the car is as silent as any other EV. The Baby II has regenerative brakes that are so strong I pretty much never need to touch the actual brake pedal, and I’m able to keep the accelerator floored nearly the whole time. The steering is quick and direct, and the Baby II’s diminutive size makes it easy to place.Everything about the Baby II is made to perfection.
Bugatti
Now, I won’t say that the Baby II is the ideal way for a first-timer to learn a race track, as it’s so small and so relatively slow that it doesn’t really matter what racing line I take or when I choose to brake for a corner. But it’s certainly fun as hell, and its simplicity means I can see exactly what the steering, suspension and wheels are doing as I zip around the course. I feel every single bump and dip and rock in the road, every surface and gradient change. It makes me think about how race car drivers will walk a track before a race to get acclimated — maybe they should just do some laps in a Baby II instead.The Baby II isn’t comfortable, though. In fact it might be the most uncomfortable car I’ve ever driven, and I used to own a lowered and horribly stiff old Volvo. Unlike the Type 35, the new Baby has adjustable dampers, but I don’t think they make much of a difference. Oh, and then there’s the driver’s “seat.” I put that in quotes because it’s more like a leather-covered park bench, and there’s no seatbelt. So I just kind of bounce around gripping that skinny wooden wheel. Cool, right?After getting a feel for the track, it’s time to activate the top speed mode, which removes the electronic limiter. This is done by inserting the Speed Key, a mini version of the Chiron’s similar key, into a slot on the left side of the dash. This raises the Baby II’s maximum velocity from 25 mph to a blistering 42 mph.The Speed Key unlocks the Baby II’s full potential.
Bugatti
On paper, 42 mph doesn’t sound very fast at all. But when you’re in something this small and basic, with a completely open roof and no semblance of safety features, 42 mph might as well be 400 mph. The Baby II also accelerates to its top speed much quicker in this mode (it takes a little over six seconds), and I actually have to use the mechanical brakes this time, as the regen isn’t enough. The car feels looser too, with those skinny Michelin tires losing grip a lot quicker and in more situations above 30 mph, requiring me to put a lot more thought into the lines I’m taking through corners.Yet nearly the whole time, I’m laughing my ass off. The Baby II is just so much fun. The sense of speed is immense, as is the sense of relative danger. I just keep pushing the Baby II harder and harder, trying to find the car’s limits without sending it into a spin. Oh, and the Bugatti rep wasn’t lying about the wind making it drifty.In normal circumstances the Baby II with the larger battery can go around 30 miles on a charge, but I can only do about six hot laps with the speed-limiter off before the car goes into limp mode, forcing me back to the paddock. The 48-pound battery can be recharged in a few hours, or you can just open the hood, take it out and plop in a new one. (Bugatti will sell you extra batteries if you want.)The battery pack is fully removable and replaceable.
Bugatti
Actually, money can buy you happinessThis is a drive I’ll remember forever. The Baby II left me sore after just 15 minutes. My upper body and face got absolutely whipped by the air, and I even got stung by a freaking bee through my helmet. But it was so, so worth it. I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day — really, the rest of the week. I can’t imagine that any other vehicle would be more fun on a track than the Baby II, at least a small and tight one like Streets of Willow.Bugatti is only going to build 500 examples of the Baby II, and when it was first announced for sale last year the entire production run was spoken for in a matter of weeks. But if you’re super rich and hoping to get one as a last-minute holiday gift for your kid (or yourself), there’s good news: Bugatti says some reservation holders have pulled out during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving a handful of build slots open. If you’re interested you can apply online, with slots handed out on a first come, first served basis.You’ll have to shell out a ton of money, though. The base Baby II costs $36,600, and it only comes in the classic French Racing Blue. The $53,000 Vitesse models offers up a range of vintage Bugatti colors and leather options, as does the $71,400 Pur Sang. Yes, $71,400 — more than the cost of a Porsche 718 Cayman T. Of course, you can also spec your Baby II to match your Chiron if you so desire.People say that money can’t buy happiness, but that’s not true. Money can buy you a Bugatti Baby II, which is the closest thing to pure automotive happiness I’ve ever experienced. Make mine purple with bright blue leather.

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No Buggy for us. Boo.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen has, in the past, said the shift to electric cars will help it bring more emotional vehicles to life. While we’re pumped to see the ID Buzz come to life, it looks like that emotion won’t translate to production versions of the ID Buggy or ID Ruggdzz. The word comes directly from VW CEO Ralf Brandstätter, who told Autocar in an interview published Monday the automaker will pursue more mass-market cars over the niche models.VW declined to comment further on Brandstätter’s remarks, but it’s a bit of a bummer to say the least. Though there’s a little bit of hope. The CEO said the ID Ruggdzz, in particular, may still have a place in the future. Right now, however, it’s nowhere near a priority. The ID Buggy has a different fate. “We won’t do this car,” he said plainly.

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The reborn Buggy was supposed to come to life via a partnership with e.Go Mobile, though since the VW deal in 2019, the firm filed for bankruptcy and the deal is void. Bummer. Please don’t tell our Emme Hall, who drove an ID Buggy prototype last year.While the “emotional” stuff moves to the back burner, VW is absolutely chasing economies of scale with its EVs instead. The automaker’s just getting started in the US with the ID 4 SUV, but in Europe the ID 3 kicked things off last year. And ID 5 coupe-over will hit Europe next, while a production version of the ID Vizzion and Space Vizzion concepts will arrive in 2023, according to the CEO. Word has it VW’s killing off the Passat, likely to make room for these electric cars. And to better cater to Europe, an ID 1 and ID 2 are in the cards — a small hatchback and subcompact crossover. The former sounds like a poor candidate for the US, but the ID 2 could potentially find a slot here. We could also see an ID 4 GTX bow as a high-performance version of the new electric SUV.
Looking at the Volkswagen ID Buzz concept never gets old
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I’d love to see the Mint come to life.
Steven Pham/Roadshow
We’ve got a lot of love for Genesis recently, with cars like the GV70 and G80 in the pipeline, and next year, the Korean luxury brand is ready to go electric. In among a wide-ranging flood of announcements Thursday from Genesis’ parent company Hyundai, the automaker said it plans to roll out two new electric cars next year.Hyundai plans to go big on EVs in the future with more than 12 of them coming by 2025, mostly via Hyundai’s new sub-brand Ioniq. Kia will get its own models as well and all three brands, Genesis included, will utilize the new E-GMP EV platform Hyundai detailed earlier this month.

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We can only speculate on what form the two Genesis EVs will take, but the brand showed two electric concept cars in the past. The first was the Essentia, which took the form of an electric grand tourer. It stunned crowds at the 2018 New York Auto Show, but the brand never gave a final word on if it was meant for production. That same year, one report said it would enter production as a limited-run model with a lofty price tag. Perhaps Genesis wants to make a big statement as it dives into electrification, should a production Essentia come next year.The other concept is the Genesis Mint, a darling electric city car that also found a lot of love at the 2019 New York Auto Show. Again, Genesis was tight-lipped on the possibility for production, but the company believes populations will continue to move to city centers. Theory is that will spur a desire for smaller, premium cars. As much as the Mint would be awesome, it seems like an electric SUV is more in line with today’s car buyers, especially in the US. It’s tough enough to move EVs, and building a super compact one may not reach as many buyers as Hyundai wants.But we’ll see. Genesis has taken some big steps in its short time as an actual Hyundai division. Maybe it will surprise us again.

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