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A “Kia Challenge” on TikTok encourages people to break in and steal Hyundai and Kia vehicles with key-based ignition systems, and they’re responding in record numbers.The challenge started in Milwaukee and is rampant there, but that city is only part of what has become a nationwide problem.Vehicles produced by the two brands accounted for 67 percent of all stolen vehicles in Milwaukee in 2021.Ever pop into the gas station to pay for your gas, only to come rushing back out because your child or other passenger tried to open the door from inside the locked car and set the car alarm blaring? All modern cars have some form of a security system in place. Teslas even feature a Sentry mode that utilizes the vehicle’s exterior cameras to ward off potential thieves. But despite the best efforts of automakers and car owners, there are ways for people to steal a car, especially if they figure out how to exploit a weakness. Lately, you may have heard of an internet trend referred to as the Kia Challenge, which started on the TikTok social media app. The trend involves thieves filming themselves breaking into a car and taking it for a joyride before dumping the car and abandoning it.Thanks at least in part to the TikTok encouragement, thieves have been targeting Kia and Hyundai vehicles that use key-based ignition rather than the push-button start found in newer vehicles, including most newer Hyundais and Kias. According to the owner of an auto-repair shop quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, thieves know they can break a back window on these brands of vehicles without setting off the alarm system. Once in the car, they can have the car running and are driving away in under one or two minutes.How a Stray USB Cable Can Be Your UndoingThe thieves claim that if they pull back the covering on the bottom of the steering column, they can start the vehicle with nothing more than a USB cable. Outside of becoming a twisted viral trend, the reason these brands have become targeted is that many models lack a crucial anti-theft device known as an engine immobilizer. Engine immobilizers use a transponder, often with a two-code system where your car and corresponding key play a quick game of telephone to verify who is really trying to turn the engine over. Until November 1, 2021, vehicles produced by Hyundai that used physical key ignition systems did not include immobilizers. A Kia spokesman told C/D that “the majority of” U.S.-market Kias do have an immobilizer, but universal application of the safety feature didn’t start until the 2022 model year.

Ignition on Taylor Browne’s 2020 Kia Sportage when the thieves were done with it.
Taylor Browne

From Tide Pods and Flossing to Grand LarcenyThe TikTok trend that’s contributing heavily to the problem seems to have started when a group calling itself “Kia Boyz” produced a video tutorial shot in Milwaukee showing how to steal a Hyundai or Kia. As the chart below from the Milwaukee Police Department shows, the city has seen record numbers of stolen vehicles in the past two years, with Hyundai and Kia models becoming the main target of crimes. It has become enough of a problem that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police Department is offering free steering wheel clubs to all students, staff, and faculty who own a car from either brand.One student, Luke Rapisarda, had his 2016 Kia Sorento stolen in August 2021. Rapisarda told Car and Driver that his car was stolen in the early morning while parked on the street in Milwaukee. He explained that the thieves pulled down the steering column covering and used his own USB charging cable to turn the ignition. The car was found eight days later in the town of Brookfield, 15 miles away. The front driver’s-side tire was flat, and the vehicle had been damaged inside and out. According to Rapisarda, the insurance company filed it as a total loss.

’Kia Boyz’ tag on armrest of Luke Rapisarda’s stolen 2016 Kia Sorento.
Luke Rapisarda

Taylor Browne told C/D that she parked her 2020 Kia Sportage in an uncovered, paid parking lot within Milwaukee’s Third Ward. A co-worker of Browne’s noticed someone break the rear window of her vehicle and started recording a video on her phone from an office window, once the thief was inside. Browne’s unfortunate incident shows just how easily thieves can steal these cars. The recorded video is 39 seconds in total, with the now stolen vehicle seen at a distance driving away with 12 seconds remaining in the video. We don’t know exactly how long it took the thieves from breaking in to driving away, but it was somewhere under the one-minute mark. Browne’s experience proved to be even scarier than Rapisarda’s: her car was recovered a week later sporting three broken windows and three bullet holes on the driver’s side. Browne told C/D that her insurance company deemed the car to be totaled.

Taylor Browne’s 2020 Kia Sportage.
Taylor Browne

10,471 Cars Were Stolen in Milwaukee in 2021; 67 Percent Were Made by Hyundai or Kia

While the internet trend started in Milwaukee and certainly still plagues the city, with more than 3300 Hyundai and Kia vehicles stolen so far this year, the trend is not solely due to a TikTok challenge, and it’s not isolated to that city. The publication Urban Milwaukee acknowledged that, reporting that thefts in Chicago are up over 750 percent year over year and in Saint Petersburg, Florida, more than 40 percent of stolen vehicles were made by either Kia or Hyundai. According to this report from Denver7, thefts in that city have become so numerous that the insurance company Progressive restricted coverage for these brands. All of this is happening even though, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), no vehicles from either manufacturer made it into the top 10 most stolen vehicles in the country in 2021. That’s good. But when you look at Wisconsin data, seven of the top 10 spots come from those manufacturers. In Colorado they account for three. Milwaukee Police Department: Motor Vehicle Theft by Year(data courtesy of Milwaukee Police Department)201920202021YTD 2022Motor Vehicle Thefts3495450710,4715666% Kia/Hyundai Related6%20%67%59%How the Carmakers Are RespondingA Hyundai spokesperson told Car and Driver that all of its vehicles produced after November 1, 2021, come standard with immobilizers. The automaker points out that all of its vehicles “meet or exceed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards” and that the company is working with local law enforcement to make steering wheel locks available for affected owners. Beginning October 1, 2022, the company will also begin selling a Firstech/Compustar security kit which it says targets the method of entry thieves are using to get into the vehicles. The company has not announced pricing for this kit, but a quick check of Best Buy shows that at retail, Compustar remote access systems range from $75 to $600.C/D also contacted Kia, and a spokesperson said that, although no vehicle can be made “completely theft-proof,” the majority of Kias in the United States now include key-fob and push-button start, making them harder to steal. All Kia models produced for the 2022 model year will have engine immobilizers equipped either at the beginning of the model year or as a running change, the spokesperson said. Kia also noted that it has been and will continue to provide steering wheel lock devices to local law enforcement at no cost, and those agencies are offering them for free to citizens with at-risk vehicles to protect. Kia also offers a paid Stolen Vehicle Recovery service to assist in the recovery of stolen vehicles and asks owners to call the Consumer Assistance Center at 800–333–4542 if they have questions.So, what’s a car owner to do? The addition of immobilizers for the 2022 model year is certainly a step in the right direction for Kia and Hyundai, as is the companies’ willingness to work with local law enforcement to provide steering wheel clubs. Aside from that, the best defense to these thefts right now seems to be parking your car in a secure location, and that’s a good idea no matter what brand of car you own. A closed garage or at the very least a steering wheel club will hopefully be enough to deter teenagers seeking the thrill of a joyride in your car.
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• This 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado is currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer.• The 1966 model year was the first for the massive front-wheel-drive coupe.• The no-reserve auction ends August 30.In the mid-1960s, General Motors was a market-dominating colossus, and its industry-leading design department was arguably the engine of its sales success. Of all the many designs turned out by GM’s five passenger-car divisions during that period, one of the cars that best demonstrates the company’s styling prowess under design boss Bill Mitchell is the Oldsmobile Toronado, particularly in its debut year of 1966. A look at this Autumn Bronze example currently up for sale on Bring a Trailer—which like Car and Driver is part of Hearst Autos—shows why.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

First, there’s the sheer scale of the thing. Riding on a 119-inch wheelbase, the Toro stretched 211 inches from stem to stern, making the close-coupled coupe about as long as today’s Cadillac Escalade. A good portion of that length is the miles-long hood, at the leading edge of which are the hidden headlights. Despite the ultra-long nose, the proportions are remarkably balanced, with the backlight sweeping almost uninterrupted into the decklid. More impressively, the Toro is noted for its complete absence of a shoulder at the window line. In a feat of body engineering, the wide C-pillars merge seamlessly into the quarter panels. The body’s shoulder line is pushed down almost to the mid-point of the wheels, giving the car a particularly low-slung appearance.

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The Toronado wasn’t just a styling tour-de-force, the car is also famed for being the first U.S.-built front-wheel-drive car since the Cord of the 1930s. At the time, the exotic technology was seen in just a handful of cars sold here, such as the BMC Mini. Oldsmobile was the spearhead, with the Cadillac Eldorado following suit on the same platform for 1967 (the Buick Riviera, meanwhile, was also built on the E-body platform but was rear-wheel drive).

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A 425-cubic-inch V-8 provided more than ample thrust. One auction commenter recalls riding with his father (an Oldsmobile rep) in a first-year Toronado when his dad was pulled over for doing 95 mph on a desert highway. The brakes, however—power drums at all four corners—are widely regarded as a fade-prone weak point, and several commenters recommend swapping in front discs, which Oldsmobile soon made available. Note that a C/D test of the facelifted ’68 model equipped with the optional discs still noted some pretty hairy stopping behavior, so careful following distances may be advised.

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The interior eschews bucket seats and console in favor of a front bench seat, the better to show off the novelty of the car’s flat floor. The speedometer is a rotating drum, and the gargantuan doors are so long that they feature a second inside door handle at the rearmost point of the armrest, to allow rear-seat passengers to exit.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

This car is said to have been restored under previous ownership, but it’s not quite perfect. The selling dealer notes an inoperative horn, wipers, and radio pushbuttons. None of that seems to have dampened bidder enthusiasm, however, as the price currently sits at $23,500 with four days to go. More

Audi has officially announced that it will enter Formula 1 in 2026 as an engine supplier.Which team Audi will supply its F1 engine to will come by the end of 2022, but Sauber—which also announced the end of its partnership with Alfa Romeo today—seems a likely candidate.Audi said F1’s new power unit regulations, which will bring a 100 percent sustainable fuel and increased use of electric power, were crucial to its desire to join the sport.A little more than a week after Formula 1 approved new engine regulations that will go into effect in 2026, Audi officially announced its plans to compete in the premier open-wheel motorsport series. Audi’s entry into F1 coincides with the start of these new engine rules, with the German automaker announcing its intent to start supplying engines for the 2026 season. Audi will develop its power unit at the Audi Sport facility in Neuburg, the first time in more than a decade an F1 powertrain will be assembled in Germany.

Formula 1

One of the stated goals of F1’s revised engine regulations is to attract new power unit suppliers. Starting in 2026, the turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 engines used in Formula 1 will run on a 100 percent sustainable fuel, while the electric portion of the hybrid powertrain will produce three times the power as today’s setup, two factors that Audi explicitly stated were critical to its decision to join F1.Starting in 2026, the MGU-K, which harvests kinetic energy and deploys electrical energy via the crankshaft, will see its output nearly triple to 350 kilowatts, or about 469 horsepower. This will boost the total system output to well over 1000 ponies. The MGU-H, which currently harvests heat energy via exhaust gases in the turbocharger and can deploy electrical energy to reduce turbo lag, will be removed from the F1 power unit in 2026. The increased reliance on electricity will see the amount of fuel used in a race drop from 100 kg to 70 kg, while the removal of the MGU-H, along with other measures, is intended to decrease costs.

Formula 1

The announcement came with images of a Formula 1 car mocked up with Audi livery. That said, take this image with a grain of salt as it may not be indicative of what the actual Audi-powered F1 cars will look like during the 2026 season. Audi will not field its own team, but it will provide powertrains to at least one team. The brand said it will reveal which team they plan to partner with by the end of 2022. This team will likely be Sauber, which also announced today that its technical and commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo will end after the 2023 season. Alfa Romeo-Sauber is currently in sixth in the championship, which would be the team’s best result since 2012 if it can maintain this position.

The possibility of Audi joining Formula 1 has been rumored for years. Audi says it is currently focused on hiring personnel and sourcing the technical infrastructure and buildings needed to develop the power units. These components should be in place by the end of the year, giving Audi three years to prepare its power unit before the 2026 season kicks off. With Porsche also said to be entering F1 as an engine supplier, potentially with Red Bull Racing, 2026 is set to be an important year for the biggest global motorsports series.
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We took delivery of a long-term Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing in March of 2022.After respecting the 1500-mile break-in period, we hit the track for initial performance testing.After about 15 standing-start launches, the LT4 V-8 started misfiring severely. Our elation after taking delivery of a 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing for a 40,000-mile long-term test quickly turned to despair after its 668-hp supercharged V-8 suffered a catastrophic engine failure during our initial test session. After respecting the 1500-mile break-in period—keeping the revs below 4000 rpm and not sitting at a constant speed for extended periods—we hit the test track with just over 1800 miles on the odometer to log its initial performance figures.

General Motors

General Motors

We took our time playing with the Blackwing’s exceptionally adjustable launch-control feature that allows the driver to select separate launch-rpm and slip-target settings, and then tried a few unassisted dances on the pedals with our ham hocks to see if we could beat it (we could). After about 15 launches, we were almost ready to call it when disaster struck. While coasting to the far end of the straightaway after a run, a host of warning messages popped up on the gauge cluster, all tied to a severe misfire.

The LT4’s even cylinder bank where all the damage occured.
General Motors

What happened? That’s a good question, one that wasn’t answered conclusively even following a complete teardown at GM’s powertrain headquarters in Pontiac, Michigan, where the engine went after it was removed by our local Cadillac dealer. The damage was limited to the even-numbered cylinder bank, with cylinder six taking the brunt of the carnage; its cylinder walls were scored, and aluminum plucked away from the edge of the piston and sprayed on top of it as well as on the exhaust valve. The severe temperature and pressure also blew off the ground strap at the end of the spark plug, and even the cast-iron cylinder liner showed some pitting.Bad fuel could have caused this kind of pre-ignition or knocking, but then both banks would have been affected. So small-block assistant chief engineer Mike Kociba thinks it was likely one of two things that happened: Either the fuel supply on that side of the rail was somehow depleted—a contaminant restricting the flow somewhere—or a similar blockage in the cooling system that allowed things to get too hot. But, during the teardown, they didn’t find such a blockage in either system.

General Motors

General Motors

Kociba assured us it had nothing to do with the severity of our use, and that the engine can happily do standing-start launches all day. Furthermore, he said that of the roughly 20,000 supercharged LT4 variants of the Gen V small-block V-8 the company has sold to date—in the C7 Corvette Z06, Cadillac CTS-V, Camaro ZL1, and now the CT5-V Blackwing and Escalade V—ours is the first and only such failure.However, this isn’t the first time a Gen V small block let go in our hands. The naturally aspirated LT1 V-8 in our long-term 2014 Corvette needed to be replaced after a connecting-rod bearing failed, likely due to a metal burr that originated from the block or oil-filter threads. With our CT5, it took about six weeks for our local dealer to remove the engine, receive a new one from GM, and install it. And then, of course, we had to take it easy once again during a second break-in period. Then we again hit the test track for much hard running, and this time it took it in stride, clocking a sprint to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and 11.7 seconds through the quarter-mile at 124 mph, and shrugging off repeated runs. Just as we’d expect from one of the fiercest-ever sports sedans. More

Aftermarket supplier GFC has designed a platform camper specifically for the Ford Maverick that costs $7700.The platform camper features a 7.5-foot-tall, pop-up living area and a 50-inch-by-90-inch sleeping surface with a foam mattress.GFC says the entire unit weighs 255 pounds and fits within the outline of the Maverick’s truck bed.The Ford Maverick is an excellent little pickup truck, with a useful 4.5-foot cargo box and an affordable price tag that starts just north of $22,000. Now, aftermarket supplier GFC gives Maverick owners the opportunity to pursue their overlanding fantasies with a new $7700 platform camper.Specifically designed for Ford’s tiniest truck, the GFC platform camper has a sleep surface that measures 50 inches wide and 90 inches long. Along with a two-layer foam mattress, it also features a 7.5-foot-tall, pop-up living space. All of this fits within the outline of the truck’s bed, and—measured above the roof-mounted antenna—it adds 6.5 inches to the Maverick’s overall height when closed.

GFC

What’s also neat about the GFC camper is that it has a modular floor with a removable section that creates a pass-through so you can stand in the truck bed and use the other section as a desk. Plus, the roof itself is made of a translucent composite material that’s said to reflect the sun and turn direct light into diffuse light. Likewise, GFC says it provides insulation, too. If people want to hang items such as an awning or lights, the platform has racks that extend from the aluminum frame. There are also three separate side panels that can be individually raised and locked.

GFC

How heavy is the add-on camper unit? GFC says it weighs 255 pounds. Subtract that from the Maverick’s 1500-pound payload rating, and owners can use the remaining 1245-pound capacity for camping gear or whatever else they want. GFC also says the roof of the platform can support up to 500 pounds, and the camper portion can be opened as long as it’s supporting 75 pounds or less.For those looking to buy a GFC platform camper for their Maverick, the company says it can be available as soon as eight weeks. GFC also offers to install the camper at its facility in Bozeman, Montana, but it’s unclear if that costs extra. A GFC spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to our request for clarification. For those who want it shipped and installed on-site within the next six months, they’ll have to pay $750 if they live in the west region, $850 in the midwest, and $1000 in the east, and fuel costs can affect that price, per the company’s website.
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Citing “significant material cost increases” and “rapidly evolving market conditions,” Ford announced increased pricing on the 2023 model year Mustang Mach-E as order banks reopen for the popular EV.There are some added features to come with the price increase, notably two new color choices, newly standard driver-assist technology, and a small increase in range.Orders for the 2023 Mach-E will reopen on Tuesday, August 30. Customers with unscheduled orders for 2022 models will be offered conversion to a 2023 model order.Ford announced updated pricing for the Mustang Mach-E, which will see increases across the lineup. The entry-level Select RWD trim level equipped with standard range will increase by $3000, while the top-end GT AWD trim equipped with the extended-range battery will increase by $7900. Destination charges have been raised by $200. According to a release from Ford, starting this fall, Premium models equipped with all-wheel drive will see EPA-estimated range figures increase by 13 miles to an estimated 290 miles. During our 75 mph highway range test, which we conducted prior to this update, the Mach-E with the long-range battery made it 250 miles on a single charge.

Ford

Ford is bringing two new colors to the lineup, Carbonized Gray Metallic and Vapor Blue Metallic, which replace outgoing Dark Matter Gray Metallic and Iced Blue Silver Metallic. The Nite Pony package will also be available to order for Premium models with the extended battery and for GT Performance edition Mach-Es. As partial recompense for the increased price, Ford is adding the Co-Pilot360 driver assist package as a standard suite of features throughout the Mach-E lineup. Co-Pilot360 includes safety features including precollision assist, blind-spot monitoring, lane keeping, and auto high-beams. The Select trim model will gain access to a 90-day trial period of BlueCruise hands-free driving, but the owner will need to pay to enable it beyond that 90-day period.
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Perhaps the greatest advancement of the modern Ferrari is that you don’t need to drive it a billion miles per hour in order to enjoy it. While superlative speeds are easily accessible with an 829-hp V-12 and relatively low weight of the 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3, reaching for them brings considerable danger to your license, if not the safety of everyone on the road around you.

This video comes from our recent review of the SP3 in the Netherlands, where we drove for a few hours on public roads before heading to Circuit Zandvoort, home of the Dutch Grand Prix, for a handful of low-speed laps. The generally flat topography of the country and the immense popularity of biking there mean that opportunities for speed are few and ill advised. That’s not to say the drive was uneventful. Straight as the roads may be, they are also narrow. And often used by tractors. The SP3’s 80.7-inch width makes it wider than a Ford F-150, and this combination led to several exceptionally close encounters, one of which is shown at the beginning of this video. Fortunately, the encounters never went past close. And though the speeds remained low, we found much to enjoy from the SP3’s steering, engine response, and ride quality. Watch the video for more details and read our review for more information. More

Kia announced the reveal of the EV9 electric SUV will happen in the first quarter of 2023.Kia has yet to confirm that the EV9 will come to the U.S., but we believe it will.New images show the production EV9 testing in camouflage, and it looks very similar to the concept shown in 2021.UPDATE 8/25/22, 4:25 p.m.: Kia confirmed to Car and Driver that the EV9 will go on sale in the United States in the second half of 2023.This spring, Kia confirmed that the EV9 concept first seen at the Los Angeles auto show in November 2021 would go into production sometime in 2023. Now the Korean automaker has revealed that the electric full-size crossover will have its global debut in the first quarter of next year. Kia also published a series of photos of the production EV9 undergoing testing.

Kia

Kia has yet to confirm that the EV9 will be available in the United States. Since it’s a large SUV and because the concept was unveiled at an American auto show, we believe the EV9 will make it stateside, although it will likely go on sale in Europe first. We have reached out to Kia for comment and will update this story if we receive a confirmation.

The new images show the EV9 testing at Kia’s Namyang R&D facility in South Korea. Kia says the EV9 has gone up against a four-wheel-drive climbing hill, rough terrain track, deep-water wading test, and a cobblestone road to evaluate ride comfort. The EV9 has also been assessed on a high-speed circuit and tracks that test the handling in low-friction scenarios. While we can only see the front end of the EV9, it looks very similar to the concept, with vertical headlights and two horizontal trim pieces. The body itself is less chunky than the concept’s, but the upwards kink on the window line has carried over. Kia says that the EV9 will become the brand’s flagship model when it arrives in 2023.
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