Motor News

Chrysler showed an EV concept car called the Airflow that it says will come to market in the near future.It appears to be an electric crossover model similar in size and shape to the Ford Mustang Mach-E.We expect it to ride on the company’s STLA Medium platform, and it could arrive as soon as 2024.Chrysler’s first new model in several years looks to be an electric crossover that could wear the historic Airflow nameplate. First shown during Stellantis’s EV Day event earlier this year, we now have more information on this concept car that’s meant to showcase new technologies including electric platforms, driver-assistance features, and infotainment software. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said during the company’s Software Day presentation that it’s “more than a pure concept” and hinted that this vehicle could make its way to production by 2024, which is backed up by U.S. trademarks for the Airflow name filed in 2019 and 2021.

Stellantis

Stellantis

It’s no coincidence that this Chrysler has a similar shape and similar proportions to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, our EV of the Year winner that’s already achieving sales success in the marketplace. While we don’t know the exact size of the Airflow, it appears to be a potential competitor for the Mach-E and other compact-crossover EV models such as the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4.

Stellantis has announced plans for four new EV platforms including STLA Small, STLA Medium, STLA Large, and STLA Frame. We think that the Airflow would fit on STLA Medium. Based on previous claims Stellantis has made about its new EV models, this means it could achieve a driving range of up to 440 miles and use electric motors making between 167 and 241 horsepower. A dual-motor all-wheel-drive option is likely.

Stellantis

Inside, the Airflow features an onslaught of screens, with a giant central infotainment display that’s flanked by separate screens for the driver and passenger. There are also rear-seat entertainment screens. Connectivity features will likely include over-the-air updates and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.There’s no concrete timeline on the Chrysler Airflow’s arrival as a production model, but given that the concept has side market lights and exterior mirrors, we think it will reach showrooms sooner rather than later. Stellantis is targeting 2024 for its new platforms, so we could possibly see this Chrysler as a 2025 model in the U.S.
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The 2022 Hyundai Tucson is adding an XRT model, a new trim level first introduced on the Santa Fe earlier this year.The XRT is meant to look more off-road-oriented, but really just adds more plastic cladding and exclusive wheels.The front-wheel-drive Tucson XRT starts at $32,625, with all-wheel drive available for $1500 extra.Hyundai’s new XRT trim is expanding across its crossover lineup. After debuting it on the mid-size Santa Fe back in August, Hyundai has now revealed the first images of the 2022 Tucson XRT. The XRT model brings off-road-oriented design changes for a tougher look, but there are no upgrades under the sheetmetal. Like the Santa Fe, the Tucson XRT doesn’t even come with all-wheel drive as standard, starting at $32,625 for the front-wheel-drive model. Upgrading to all-wheel drive costs an additional $1500.

Hyundai

Despite Hyundai billing it as “rugged” and claiming that the new design is “for enthusiasts,” the XRT model effectively amounts to an appearance package. There are minor changes to the front and rear bumpers—exchanging chrome trim for additional black plastic—and beefier cladding around the wheel wells and on the side sills. The mirrors are finished in gloss black and the window trim is darkened. The XRT also rides on exclusive, black 19-inch wheels.

The XRT features approach lighting and side steps for easy entry into the Tucson’s handsome interior. The XRT model will only come with black cloth seats and a black headliner, echoing the exterior modifications. All Tucson XRTs will also feature roof cross rails and a tow hitch. The XRT is based on the Tucson SEL with the Convenience package, and is only available with the non-hybrid 187-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder powertrain. Hyundai says the 2022 Tucson XRT is arriving at dealerships now.
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Everyone in Michigan with a car-insurance policy is getting a $400 refund check next spring, the state’s governor announced today.The money comes from the surplus in the state’s Catastrophic Claims Association fund, which built up because all drivers were previously required to pay for unlimited personal injury coverage.The state fund will hand over the surplus to insurance companies in early March, and the insurers will issue the refunds within 60 days after that.The state of Michigan has been infamous for having the highest auto insurance rates in the country. There’s a reason for it: the state has had a mandatory unlimited personal injury protection requirement on auto insurance since the 1970s. But that requirement was overturned under insurance reform after July 1, 2020. Now Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced that drivers are getting some of that money back.In early March 2022, the governor’s office announced today, insurance companies will be receiving some of the $5 billion surplus currently sitting in the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) fund. Within 60 days after that, the insurers will be cutting checks to drivers for $400 each. Everyone in Michigan who had a car-insurance policy in force on October 31 is eligible, and drivers do not have to do anything to get this money.The one exception to the $400 refund is for vehicles with “historical vehicle” plates. Their owners will get $80 refunds.Created by Michigan’s state legislature in 1978, the nonprofit MCCA assesses insurance companies a fee that changes each year, intended to cover catastrophic medical claims resulting from Michigan auto accidents. In turn, the insurance companies pass the cost to drivers. Although the law was changed in 2019 so that drivers no longer must pay for unlimited coverage, the Detroit News reported today that about 80 percent of Michigan drivers have elected to keep the higher level of coverage anyway.The MCCA said there were other reasons besides the change in the law for its massive surplus, including higher-than-estimated returns on investments as well as fewer catastrophic claims because people have driven less during the COVID-19 pandemic.Since the insurance-reform law that went into effect in July 2020 was intended to make car insurance more affordable, it came with an amnesty program for uninsured drivers. The 18-month amnesty period expires on New Year’s Day 2022. Under it, uninsured drivers are allowed to get new insurance policies without penalties. Detroit mayor Mike Duggan told the Detroit News last month that more than 100,000 previously uninsured drivers have become insured in Michigan since the reform law went into effect.
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In a new Uber pilot program, drivers and riders can both start a recording from within the Uber app if they feel it’s warranted for safety reasons, and the other party will not be notified. Uber says neither the person who made the recording nor Uber has access to the encrypted recording unless and until a safety report is filed.Uber introduced the audio monitoring program in Latin America almost two years ago and will now offer it in Kansas City, Louisville, and Raleigh-Durham.Uber has tried various methods to improve safety for both riders and drivers. It shares data with Lyft on drivers who have been “deactivated for serious safety incidents with peers,” intending to prevent them from working for another ride-sharing company.Uber’s safety record has never been spotless, but the company keeps trying new ways to make sure its drivers and riders stay safe. Almost two years ago, Uber introduced a feature called Audio Recording in Latin America as a way to make people using Uber there feel more safe. The feature is now available in more than a dozen countries throughout Latin America, including Brazil and Mexico.Uber announced this week that it will soon start offering Audio Recording as a pilot program in Kansas City, Louisville, and Raleigh-Durham. Sachin Kansal, Uber’s vice president of product management, gave three reasons for offering this feature in the U.S. now: “to help encourage safe and comfortable interactions while on a trip, determine what happened, and identify the best response after a safety-related incident,” he wrote on the company blog.Even without Audio Recording in the Uber app, anyone with a smartphone can simply record their Uber ride using the phone’s built-in tools, ofcourse. But there are some benefits to using the app’s integrated system. Uber says the recording gets encrypted using AES encryption Galois/Counter Mode and that the file gets stored on your phone in such a way that no one can access it (not even you, or Uber) unless you file a safety report with the company. At that point, Uber’s Safety Support team gets involved and will be able to listen to the recording and, if necessary, share it with law enforcement. If a user somehow deletes the recording, Uber can’t recover it since it resides on the phone.

Other technical details to know include the fact that the app can’t record audio if you are talking to someone on the phone and that only the person making the recording will know that audio in the car is being recorded (in other words, the driver is not notified if a rider starts feeling uncomfortable and hits Record). Also, the recording automatically ends not long after the trip ends, for riders, while drivers can have their entire shift recorded if they want, as the recording only stops when they go offline or they choose to end it.Uber also already has an in-app emergency button. If a user presses it, it can relay information including license plate number, vehicle information, and live location to a 911 operator. There’s no word yet on whether this recording feature will expand to other cities beyond the three in the pilot program.
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In a dispute between two manufacturers of luxurious, suedelike auto trim materials, the maker of Alcantara (the fabric seen inside a Maserati MC20, above) has claimed victory in an Italian court against the maker of Dinamica.Both companies market their products as targeting environmental sustainability, but Alcantara said Dinamica’s claims were misleading, and the court agreed.With this victory, Dinamica can no longer be marketed as the one that’s most environmentally friendly—an important selling point for a product often used to replace leather.The world of automotive color, trim, and materials is a world of beauty and elegance; it is rarely associated with corporate drama. But don’t be fooled. Behind the scenes, the competition can be just as ruthless as in any other business. Case in point: one of the top players in automotive interior materials, Alcantara, has taken Miko, the maker of Dinamica, to court in Italy over what it said were misleading advertising claims. Both companies make a suedelike fabric that’s found as interior trim in many higher-end vehicles, often as an alternative to leather. Now Alcantara has won a resounding victory in court that means Miko can no longer claim “green” superiority in its advertising.The drama pertains to the environmental friendliness of both materials, perhaps the key topic for automakers as these artificial materials are increasingly touted as a more sustainable alternative to traditional leather. Miko has claimed that Dinamica is “friendly to the environment” and “the natural choice.” Perhaps most offensive to Alcantara, Miko also advertises its product as “the first and only microfibre that guarantees eco-sustainability throughout the production cycle,” the court said. This led Alcantara to file suit, and now the court of Gorizia, Italy, has ruled in the company’s favor.

SAIC ER6’s Alcantara interior at Auto Shanghai 2021.
Alcantara

Alcantara, one of the most luxurious materials you can get in an automotive interior, was developed in the early 1970s. Resembling the properties of suede leather, it was a hallmark of premium and luxury cars from such makers as Lancia and Maserati before it trickled down to many other brands such as Alfa Romeo and Porsche. It is especially well suited to sporty cars because it makes the surface of seats and steering wheels grippy. Porsche’s Andreas Preuninger told Car and Driver in 2017 that he loves the stuff; so do a lot of other people. Over the years, the success of the brand has attracted competitors including Miko, which started making its Dinamica material in 1997 and currently supplies interiors for the Land Rover Defender V8 and the Volkswagen ID.4 (below), among others.Both are synthetic. The website for Miko’s product, Dinamica, describes the material as “a microfiber which resembles suede and is obtained through an innovative process for recycling polyester.” It’s manufactured by immersing fabrics in a “water-based polyurethane bath without the use of organic solvents.” Alcantara, too, is concerned with its environmental friendliness and even publishes an annual Sustainability Report. The Italian court’s ruling says Miko inaccurately advertised its product as the “green” choice and claimed it was 100 percent recyclable, something that the company has not yet achieved.

Dinamica interior in a VW ID.4.
Miko

The court found that Miko’s advertising could adversely affect the older company’s sales, stating in the ruling: “It is likely that it will not affect the consumer’s choice as to the car he or she will purchase, but it could certainly guide the choice of material used for the interior trim and thus benefit Miko.” The Italian court’s verdict is a huge blow for Dinamica: Not only will the company have to stop the “green” claims immediately, it is also required to correct them on a number of Italian and international media outlets and to put the court’s verdict on the homepage of its website, where you can admire it right now.
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Honda has announced pricing for the updated 2022 Passport mid-size SUV.There are fewer trim levels than before, with the lineup now including EX-L, TrailSport, and Elite.The EX-L comes with either front- or all-wheel drive, while the other two models come standard with AWD.Honda has reworked the 2022 Passport lineup, pushing it towards the higher end of the price spectrum in the mid-size SUV class. The previous base Sport trim level is gone, meaning the EX-L with front-wheel drive now serves as the starting point and starts at $39,095. That base price is $5080 more than the 2021 Passport Sport’s and is several thousand dollars more expensive than the base prices of competitors such as the Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Edge, and VW Atlas Cross Sport.The TrailSport model is new to the lineup for 2022 and starts at $43,695. It and the top Elite trim, starting at $46,665, both come standard with all-wheel drive, while AWD is a $2100 option on the EX-L. A 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 280 horsepower is standard across the board.

The EX-L comes with a fair amount of standard equipment for the money, including leather seats that are heated in front, 20-inch wheels, a sunroof, a power tailgate, and blind-spot monitoring. The TrailSport adds visual tweaks meant to make it look more rugged, along with 18-inch wheels and different tires, an 0.4-inch wider track, a navigation system, and a roof rack. The Elite adds cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, and heated rear seats.

Passport TrailSport
Honda

Honda says that the 2022 models will start arriving at dealerships this winter, but some inventory of 2021 models is likely to remain if you want to try to get a deal on the less expensive Sport trim level on its way out.
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Porsche has finally joined the Vision Gran Turismo program, which first launched in 2013 for Gran Turismo 6.The Porsche Vision Gran Turismo is an electric supercar with wide fenders and a beefy rear diffuser.Porsche’s creation will be available to drive in Gran Turismo 7, which comes out March 4, 2022.When Gran Turismo 6 debuted back in 2013, development studio Polyphony Digital launched Vision Gran Turismo, a program that saw real-world automakers design fantastical concept vehicles that would only ever exist in the virtual world of the video game. Many brands got involved, from Mercedes-Benz to Lamborghini to Mazda, but one major holdout was Porsche. Now Porsche has entered the ring, revealing its own Vision Gran Turismo, a low-slung supercar that will appear in Gran Turismo 7 when it’s released on March 4, 2022.

Porsche

Gran Turismo 7 Launch Edition – PlayStation 5 – PlayStation 5

PlayStation
amazon.com

$69.99

The Porsche Vision Gran Turismo is fully electric, the German brand says, but it takes on mid-engine sports-car proportions. The concept has an extremely wide track, with the fenders rising from the low-set hood up and over the wheels. There are rectangular headlights with air intakes integrated around them, which Porsche says references the Taycan, and the rear end features the thin light strip now ubiquitous on Porsches. A massive diffuser sits underneath illuminated “Porsche” branding, while an aggressive splitter extends from the front bumper. Inside, there is a curved hologram display and a low seating position. Porsche says the concept car’s interior is made (at least in the digital world) from entirely vegan materials. This is Porsche’s first time designing a concept that solely exists in a video game, and while the Vision Gran Turismo will never actually hit the road, anyone can get behind the wheel of Porsche’s latest sports car when Gran Turismo 7 hits the shelves next year, provided you have a Playstation 4 or 5.
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Some Ford Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs, which share a brake system, are being recalled now because NHTSA has determined that they may not stop in a short enough distance in some circumstances.A total of 114,996 vehicles, mostly 2021 models with a few 2022s, will be recalled starting in early January.Ford said it has not heard of any related accidents or injuries to date. Ford will recall almost 115,000 2021 and 2022 model Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs because of a potential reduction in the vehicles’ power brake performance related to the rear brake lining. Ford said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries caused by this issue. NHTSA has identified the cause as the friction coefficient of the rear brake-caliper linings being below specification. A NHTSA chronology explains that the agency conducted a stopping-distance test compliance audit on the 2021 Bronco Sport. It found that it took almost 192 meters (630 feet) to stop when the brake power assist unit was inoperative, compared with the federally regulated distance of 168 meters (551 feet). Ford told NHTSA that its internal certification tests from December 2018 resulted in a stopping distance of just under 150 meters (492 feet). When Ford re-tested a vehicle under the same circumstances, itfound that it took almost 178 meters (584 feet) to stop.

2021 Ford Escape.
Ford

“During certain situations, the driver may have to apply more brake pedal force, and the distance required to stop the vehicle may be extended, increasing the risk of a crash,” NHTSA said in a letter to Ford.The 2021–2022 Escape uses the same brake system as the Bronco Sport, so the NHTSA compliance test also relates to that vehicle. The reason not all 2021 and 2022 Bronco Sports and Escapes are being recalled is that this problem only affects vehicles built without a vacuum sensor in the brake vacuum booster. On vehicles that have a vacuum sensor, the brake system is able to detect a booster malfunction and the ABS module can compensate for the out-of-spec friction. Any Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs equipped with an electronic brake booster “are not affected by this issue because they have higher system pressures if the booster malfunctions,” NHTSA said.The potentially faulty brakes were installed on 2021 and 2022 Bronco Sport SUVs between January 27 and November 11, 2021, while the affected Escapes were built between December 14, 2020, and October 26, 2021. Ford said it is still confirming the total number of affected vehicles, which currently stands at 114,996 in the U.S. That number includes 65,429 of the 2021 Bronco Sport and 12 2022 models, as well as 49,553 2021 Escapes and two from 2022. The brake linings were supplied by Continental’s unit in Mexico, Continental Automotive Mexicana, according to Automotive News.Ford hasn’t shipped any Bronco Sports or Escapes from either its Hermosillo or Louisville assembly plants since November 9. The automaker will start notifying customers January 10 to bring in their vehicles for a fix. In the meantime, Bronco Sport and Escape owners can check the NHTSA recalls website to see if their vehicle is involved.

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