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The 2022 Lotus Emira will serve as replacement for both the Elise and Exige, becoming the specialist automaker’s only sports-car line—and its last to have a internal-combustion engine.The Emira will have a choice of two engines: an AMG-sourced four-cylinder making 360 horsepower or the supercharged 400-hp Toyota V-6 currently offered in the Evora.We expect a price somewhere in the $70,000 range and a U.S. on-sale date in early 2022. New Lotus models don’t come along very often, a point made by the new Emira, which you are seeing here in production-ready form for the first time. This is the British maker’s first all-new sports car since the Evora was launched as long ago as 2009, with the Emira also set to effectively replace both the Elise (a development of a car introduced in 2001) and V-6-powered Exige S (which made its debut in 2012). The Emira will become Lotus’s only sports-car line and its last model to be powered by a combustion engine. From here onward, all new cars will be full EVs.

Like its predecessors, the Emira sits on a bonded aluminum chassis, with tightly wrapped fiberglass bodywork. The new car’s design clearly understudies that of the Evija EV hypercar, featuring a very similar front-end treatment and with heavily contoured scoops integrated into doors helping to channel air to intakes for the mid-mounted engine. At 173.7 inches in overall length, the Emira is 2.8 inches longer than the Evora but sits on an identical 101.4-inch wheelbase. Despite that, access to the cabin has been improved with a narrower sill and a larger door aperture. The Emira doesn’t have active aerodynamic elements, but Lotus says it will produce positive downforce with the forces carefully balanced between each end.
The cabin also feels much more up-to-date than Lotus’s aged outgoing models. The Emira gets a 10.2-inch central touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster as standard, although we’re glad to see the company has opted to keep conventional controls for heating and ventilation as well. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration will come as standard. Practicality has been improved with twin cupholders, twin USB and 12V charging ports between the seats and door bins able to accommodate a half-liter bottle. Active safety systems including adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, automated emergency braking, and road sign information will be offered as options—all firsts for Lotus. The Emira will be a strict two-seater, without the Evora’s “plus two” option, with the cabin space behind the seats giving 7.3 cubic feet of luggage space in addition to a 5.3-cubic-foot compartment behind the engine. As we previously reported, two engines will be offered, with Lotus now confirming that the smaller 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo will be supplied by AMG. This will make 360 horsepower, less than the same engine produces in the A45 but slightly more than the turbocharged flat-four that powers the Porsche Cayman S. Lotus will also continue to offer the 3.5-liter supercharged Toyota V-6 from the Evora, although the 400 horsepower of the car’s launch spec represents a decrease from the 416-hp Evora GT. Lotus has only released a torque figure for the V-6: 317 pound-feet, corresponding to the figure for the manual-transmission Evora.

Lotus insiders say that both engines will gain more powerful derivatives over time, and that the V-6 will ultimately be phased out as emissions standards grow tougher. (There will never be a hybrid or plug-in-hybrid version because the platform doesn’t support the need to accommodate batteries.) That means the chance to get an Emira with a manual gearbox will be a limited one, as the stick shift will only be offered with the V-6. The four-cylinder will come with a standard dual-clutch transmission. Lotus will also continue to offer a torque converter auto with the V-6. Lotus boss Matt Windle has also confirmed the car will stick with hydraulically assisted steering in place of an electrically boosted rack, this on the entirely justifiable basis of better sensation and feedback. Lotus hasn’t given comprehensive specifications yet but says the quickest version of the Emira—which we’re presuming will be the V-6—will be able to accelerate from zero to 62 mph in less than 4.5 seconds and have a 180-mph top speed. Nor do we have a detailed weight beyond the claim that the lightest version will be 3097 pounds; the Evora GT weighed 3112 pounds when we tested it. We don’t have U.S. pricing yet, but Lotus says it is targeting a European price for the entry-level version that will be close to that of the Porsche 718 Cayman S, which would translate to the low $70,000s if it holds true when the car crosses the Atlantic. Sales will begin in early 2022.

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Bentley’s Bentayga hybrid is no longer the sole hybridized model in the lineup as the automaker moves closer to its pledge to go all-EV by 2030.The Flying Spur plug-in hybrid has a total of 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque from a twin-turbo V-6 and an electric motor.On electric power alone, it can go up to 25 miles, Bentley claims. First deliveries to the U.S. are coming by the end of the year.While Bentley has committed itself to offering an EV-only range as soon as 2030, until now the British luxury maker has only offered one partially electrified model in the form of the Bentayga hybrid. That number is set to double with the launch of the car you see here, a plug-in version of the Flying Spur sedan.

The hybridized Spur is set to get a brawnier powertrain than the one used by its SUV sister. This uses a 410-hp 2.9-liter V-6 with twin turbochargers packaged within its cylinder vee, working in conjunction with a 134-hp synchronous electric motor packaged between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. This can add up to 134 horsepower of assistance to the combustion powerplant, giving a system total of 536 horsepower—93 hp more than in the Bentayga hybrid—accompanied by up to 553 pound-feet of torque. But the hybrid Flying Spur will also have an electric-only mode that decouples the electric motor from the engine and can propel the car at lower speeds.According to Bentley’s figures, the hybrid’s acceleration is almost identical to that of the 542-hp Spur V-8 when both sides of its powertrain are working together. The company’s claimed 4.1-second zero-to-60-mph time is just a tenth shy of the figure of the pure combustion car. The hybrid has a lower top speed of 177 mph, a full 21 mph shy of the V-8, but that should still be plenty for most buyers. The hybrid system does bring an increase in mass, as expected; but on European numbers, Bentley said the plug-in-hybrid version weighs only 110 pounds more than the V-8 Flying Spur, while the Bentayga hybrid weighs 462 pounds more than its V-8 version.

Bentley

The Flying Spur Hybrid will default to pure electric operation each time it starts, but its electron-only range will be limited. Bentley hasn’t released a final figure yet but says the 14.1-kWh battery pack should be able to power the car for up to 25 miles under the EU’s WLTP testing protocol. That number will likely be very much a best-case scenario; the Bentayga hybrid’s similarly sized battery gives it just 18 miles of electric-only range under the EPA’s stricter testing protocol. (And, as we noted, the Bentayga also has lower highway mpg than its V-8 sister.)Beyond its EV mode, the new Spur will have both a blended Hybrid setting and a Hold mode that will maintain the electric charge so it can be used later. Like other high-end Volkswagen Group part-electric cars, the hybrid will try to use its battery in the most effective way if a destination is programmed into the navigation system, prioritizing holding charge for urban use.
Visually, little distinguishes the hybrid from the rest of the Spur range. There is a discreet badge on the front fender and a charging port at the back on the left, mirroring the position of the fuel filler on the other side. Virtue is clearly meant to be its own reward for buyers of this one. Well, that and the ability to trim their gas bills. We don’t have pricing details yet, but Bentley says the Flying Spur hybrid will reach the U.S. for the 2022 model year.
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Genesis will launch a performance-oriented Sport model of its G80 luxury car with unique styling cues.The G80 Sport will likely join the lineup as a 2022 model later this year.A rear-wheel-steering system on the Sport will enhance the luxury sedan’s performance, but Genesis hasn’t given other details of changes on the G80 Sport.We’ve praised the new Genesis G80 for setting a new standard in panache for the luxury brand, and now the automaker has doubled down by introducing a Sport trim that comes out later this year. While we aren’t sure yet if the car’s powertrain will get enhancements for this more performance-oriented model, Genesis has said the G80 Sport will receive a rear-wheel-steering system.

Genesis

We expect the G80 Sport will be offered with both turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engine options, like the current non-sport lineup, but it remains to be seen if either engine will see a boost in power for duty in the G80 Sport. We reached out to Genesis for comment but we were told detailed specs will be released closer to the car’s launch.

Several design tweaks will help the Sport look the part, including a reworked front grille and bumper, Sport-specific 20-inch wheels, a tweaked rear bumper, and a revised lower rear diffuser. The cabin will also receive new embellishments including a three-spoke steering wheel and aluminum and carbon-fiber interior trim pieces.

Genesis

Genesis will debut two new interior color schemes on the G80 Sport. The first is a black monotone look with either gray or red contrast stitching, and the second is a black and Sevilla Red two-tone scheme. Buyers will also be able to choose from new quilted or chevron-style patterned stitching. The car is said to be ready to launch in North America in the third quarter of 2021, and we expect it to be available to buyers shortly after that as a 2022 model.

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Companies working on autonomous and driver assistance technologies did not need to report any incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about times when their vehicles did not work as advertised. Now they do.For at least the next three years, any of the more than 100 companies working on autonomous (AV) and driver assist (ADAS) technologies will need to file reports about any crash that resulted in more than a minor scrape, as well as monthly reports if they have zero crashes.NHTSA will collect this information and release it to the public, but there are carveouts for legitimate confidential information.There are more than 100 companies testing autonomous vehicles or autonomous driving technologies in the U.S. This little tidbit comes from a new Standing General Order issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that requires all of these companies to let the federal government know when any of their AVs are involved in a crash more serious than a fender bender. This represents a policy change from the previous presidential administration, when the Department of Transportation said it didn’t want to discourage innovation with too many regulations. NHTSA sent its order to 108 autonomous technology companies, ranging from Aimotive to Zoox, to let them know that they are now responsible for submitting detailed crash information when there’s been a crash and a car’s Automated Driving Systems (ADS) or Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) was engaged. Level 2 ADAS includes many common safety features on today’s vehicles, including things like lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control and branded collections of these technologies including Tesla’s Autopilot and GM’s Super Cruise.

The order reads, in part: “Given the rapid evolution of these technologies and testing of new technologies and features on publicly accessible roads, it is critical for NHTSA to exercise its robust oversight over potential safety defects in vehicles operating with ADS and Level 2 ADAS.” NHTSA said it needs this information to keep roads safe for all users, which is why companies have to report incidents that involve airbags deploying, someone dying or being sent to the hospital, a vehicle that ended up being towed, or if someone outside the vehicle, like pedestrians or bicyclists, was involved.Safety advocates say the new requirements are overdue and will help the public understand what’s happening with all of these new driver assistance and EV technologies. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety president Cathy Chase said in a statement that the new crash reporting requirements will help NHTSA determine just how safe, or not safe, crash avoidance and automated driving systems are, and make this information available to the public.”It is particularly timely for NHTSA to adopt this new reporting requirement given the paucity of data collected by the voluntary Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative,” she said. “History and experience have repeatedly shown that voluntary agreements fail to yield accurate, comprehensive and reliable results.”

Companies will not be able to hide behind claims of confidentiality to keep from reporting any incidents. NHTSA said it will recognize three categories of information that might actually be confidential: which version of a company’s technology the vehicle was using, whether or not the vehicle was within its operational design domain at the time of the incident, and some of the narrative the company is required to write down to explain what happened. So, for example, if a company’s technology wasn’t designed to work in sleet, the company still needs to report that its car crashed while it was sleeting, but the public will not necessarily learn that this tech is sleet challenged. NHTSA did make it clear that “Making a request for confidential treatment does not ensure that the information claimed to be confidential will be determined to be confidential.”NHTSA will make the crash data collected through this order, not including legitimate confidential information, publicly available over time. The companies subject to the order have one day from learning about a crash involving ADS/ADAS to file an initial report with NHTSA, and 10 days to follow up with more details. If one of the 108 companies doesn’t have any incidents, it must file a monthly report to that effect. NHTSA’s order is in effect for the next three years.
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Croatian EV startup Rimac takes control of Bugatti, merging its hypercar-making operation with the 112-year-old marque and acquiring a 55 percent stake in the new Bugatti-Rimac.Cars from the two brands will be badged and built separately, but future Bugattis will use Rimac’s high-performance electric drivetrains.Porsche takes the remaining 45 percent stake in Bugatti-Rimac on behalf of Volkswagen and retains its 24 percent share in the Rimac Group.UPDATE 7/5/2021, 2:30 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional details.Croatian EV startup Rimac has taken control of Bugatti, with two all-new Bugatti models engineered by Rimac set to appear by 2030. A 2000-hp hybrid hypercar with a naturally aspirated combustion engine comes first, followed by Bugatti’s first full EV. Bugatti will merge with Rimac’s hypercar business, which makes the Nevera (pictured above), to create a new company, Bugatti-Rimac. The two brands’ cars will continue to be developed and badged separately. Rimac will hold a 55 percent stake in the new entity, which will begin to trade in the current quarter. Porsche, which has been given responsibility for Bugatti by their joint parent Volkswagen, will hold the remainder.

The long-rumored deal sees Rimac, which was founded in 2009 and to date has delivered only a handful of cars, take majority ownership of a marque established a century earlier and with one of the most illustrious histories in the automotive world.Bugatti will merge with Rimac’s hypercar business, which has just begun building the Nevera (pictured above), to create a new company, Bugatti-Rimac. The two brands’ cars will continue to be developed and badged separately. Rimac will hold a 55 percent stake in the new entity. Porsche, which controls Bugatti on behalf of their joint parent Volkswagen, will hold the remainder.”This is a great responsibility,” Mate Rimac said as he announced the deal dressed in shorts and running shoes alongside the suited Porsche CEO Oliver Blume. “We are standing on the shoulders of giants here. Bugatti defined the hypercar, and we have to make it a success not only in terms of its products, but also profitable.”Sources close to the deal say that talks began two years ago when the Volkswagen Group approached Rimac to help it develop a hybrid version of the Bugatti Chiron. Rimac offered to create an entirely new hybrid hypercar with a naturally aspirated engine for less than it would have cost to update the existing car. Instead of buying the bulk of the new car’s engineering from Rimac, Volkswagen offered the startup a merger. The sources said VW had been considering shuttering Bugatti rather than commit the investment required to make it fully electric in time.

Bugatti’s headquarters in Molsheim, France.
Bugatti

The current Rimac Automobili will be renamed the Rimac Group with an unchanged ownership structure. Mate Rimac, the company’s 33-year-old founder, has the largest stake at 37 percent. Porsche is the second-largest shareholder, having built its 24 percent share over the past three years. Hyundai is third with 12 percent.The new Rimac Group will hold the majority share in its new Bugatti-Rimac subsidiary. A new, separate business named Rimac Technology and wholly owned by the Rimac Group will continue to develop and sell the company’s high-performance EV powertrains and autonomous driving systems to major carmakers. It has already completed around 30 such projects and is working with at least 10 major carmakers, including its two OEM shareholders as well as Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin. Rimac Technology’s turnover is expected to exceed the hypercar maker’s by around four to one. To preserve the tech company’s independence and ability to supply other carmakers, Porsche is not expected to increase its stake in the Group. With its 45 percent holding in Bugatti-Rimac and its 24 percent stake in the Rimac Group, Porsche will indirectly own the majority of the new merged company, and it gains the same exposure to Rimac’s existing, record-breaking Nevera and its future hypercars. But Blume was clear that Porsche doesn’t want and won’t have operational control, with Mate Rimac becoming CEO of all three companies. “As a shareholder we want a real entrepreneur as CEO,” he said. “It is our clear strategy to pass operational control to Mate.”Rimac-branded cars will continue to be built in Croatia with the company moving to a spectacular new $240 million “campus” near the capital, Zagreb, in 2023. Bugattis will still be assembled at the company’s château and atelier in Molsheim, eastern France, where it was established in 1909. Both brands will use powertrains developed and made by Rimac Technology in Croatia.Mate Rimac hinted heavily that future Bugattis may have more than two seats and two doors. “In its heritage, Bugatti has models that are more than just hypercars,” he said. “There’s an opportunity for Bugatti in the future to have very interesting cars that are completely different to other models on the market, while Rimac remains a maker of very high-performance sports cars. But we haven’t figured that out ourselves yet.”The idea of Bugatti being passed to such a young entrepreneur and his relatively unproven startup may cause raised eyebrows among Bugatti customers and aficionados. But there are plenty of parallels between Mate Rimac and Ettore Bugatti. Rimac got his start at age 20, when he bolted an electric motor from a forklift truck into his old BMW 3-series. Bugatti did something similar at age 17, fitting a combustion engine to a pedal tricycle. By 20 he’d designed and shown his first car and, like Rimac, licensed his first designs to existing carmakers. The firm he founded has been reborn twice before: once when bought by Romano Artioli in 1987, resulting in the EB110 of 1991, and again when acquired by Volkswagen in 1998, with the Veyron going into production in 2005. “Bugatti’s fourth chapter starts now,” Rimac said, “and with Porsche at our backs I believe we can do incredible things.”
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Tesla owner Pat Larson has invented his own automatic charger.A Raspberry Pi computer serves as the brains of the operation.The charger uses a camera and a smart light bulb to position its long arm that connects to the car’s charging port.Earlier this month, YouTuber Pat Larson flaunted his “Tesla Automatic Charger” in a new video. The robotic charger can automatically connect to the car’s charging port with an arm-like apparatus that uses a camera, a Raspberry Pi computer, and a bit of machine learning. It’s the kind of charging technology that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased before, but hasn’t yet delivered. So let’s take a look at Larson’s charging setup to see what’s going on under the hood.
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The Raspberry Pi is “the brains of everything,” Larson says in the YouTube video. To start, the system moves back and forth on linear bearings, aligning roughly with the charging port area of the car. A linear actuator (basically, a joint) pivots the charging arm mechanism away from the wall and toward the parked Tesla.An automated servo motor “rotates the charging handle out when it’s needed,” Larson explains. Then, an ultrasonic distance sensor gives feedback to the computer so that the charging arm doesn’t strike the car. Finally, a tiny camera snaps pictures and feeds them back to the computer system to help line up the charging arm mechanism. The Raspberry Pi is equipped with a machine learning framework called TensorFlow, which helps the system understand where to move based on the photographic evidence. There’s also a light to illuminate the right spot, just in case it’s dark inside the garage. In the video, Larson presses a button to boot up the system, then watches as the “fairly complex TensorFlow model” kicks into gear slowly. “It’s not a fast process,” he says. The arm navigates away from the wall, while the bright light centers on the spot where the arm should go. Then, the software opens the charging port using the Tesla API.

Next, the actuator swings out the large portion of the arm with the charger tip. Finally, the pivoting charger head fully aligns itself flush with the charger port. The charger head spots the hole by identifying the bright Tesla “T” that always shows when the charging port is open. The charger lines itself up perfectly and pushes into the slot, activating the charging port. Larson explains that all of the software runs over the internet, which technically means the system could go out if there were an internet outage—a “weak point in the system,” he admits. But of course, in that scenario, he can just plug the charger in himself.
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Automatic chargers have long been a Tesla talking point. In the past, Musk has even talked about the idea of an official Tesla-branded automated charger. But that was in 2015, with no news since. Musk did, however, confirm last year that the “metal gear snake” automatic charger is still on Tesla’s development road map. For now, plan to plug in your charger yourself.

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Automakers are packing their upcoming electric pickup trucks with all kinds of useful and unexpected features, like the Hummer’s Crabwalk and the Ford F-150 Lightning’s offboard power setup.In a new Twitter video, Rivian’s CEO reminds us that the upcoming R1T will feature a Camp Kitchen in the vehicle’s modifiable Gear Tunnel.Two cooking elements, a four-gallon sink, and a 30-piece equipment set are part of the deal. And, really, when was the last time you bought a new car that came with a teakettle?

Rivian

The electric-truck wars have started, and now we’re in the phase where automakers highlight the unusual features their plug-in pickups offer as a way to stand out from the competition. Ford spent plenty of time during the recent launch of the F-150 Lightning talking about the EV’s ability to power a construction site’s worth of tools for three days. GM’s upcoming GMC Hummer EV can drive diagonally using a feature called Crabwalk. And Tesla has made all sorts of claims about its angular Cybertruck, including multiple pull-out tables in the rear that can be used as a mobile kitchen.
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Not to be outdone, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe tweeted this video of his company’s Camp Kitchen feature, which was already announced way back in 2019. This small countertop includes a two-burner induction cooktop and a collapsible sink with a spray faucet and a four-gallon water tank. Everything slides in and out of the R1T truck’s body in a so-called Gear Tunnel that’s located just behind the rear seats.The Camp Kitchen is one of many available accessories for the 11-cubic-foot side-access Gear Tunnel. The 1440-watt induction stovetop draws power from the R1T’s 135.0-kWh “large pack” traction battery.

Rivian

The Camp Kitchen isn’t cheap—the package costs $5000 on top of the R1T’s nearly $70,000 starting price—but it comes with more than just the burner and the sink. The built-in mini-kitchen’s drawers come with custom molded insets that have a place for every fork, knife and spoon of the included 30-piece kitchen set from Snow Peak. Spatulas, tongs, a can opener, titanium cutlery, a water kettle, and more are all part of the package. Rivian says the inserts are so well designed you won’t hear a rattle when you drive all of these utensils around town.

The Gear Tunnel could become a popular way for Rivian R1T owners to customize their rides. As designed, the Camp Kitchen is made up of three main parts, each of which installs onto the R1T’s “shuttle system” that allows the components to slide into and out of the body. Rivian has said the shuttle system platform was “developed to support a range of future Gear Tunnel accessories,” and, based on the responses to Scaringe’s tweet, a standard workbench would be a popular options, as would two turntables and a microphone.

Rivian

For overnight outdoor adventures, Rivian will offer a separate package that includes a three-person tent that mounts onto the top of the bed for $2650. The Skyrise HD Medium Rooftop Tent has a 56-by-96-inch footprint, is 48 inches tall, and comes from Rivian’s partnership with Yakima. Opting for the tent package brings with it a set of Rivian Cargo Crossbars that sit across the truck bed. You can find it all on the Rivian configurator.Rivian says will start deliveries of the R1T (and the similar R1S electric SUV) in January 2022.
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We’ve finally had our first taste of the 2021 Ford Bronco, and it was worth the wait. Ford’s newest ute is refined on-road and off, and if you’re one of the horde of people awaiting your date with the delivery truck, it’s time to get properly excited. Read our review here. This Week in SheetmetalVolvo debuted an EV SUV concept intended to showcase the brand’s evolving design direction. In true Volvo style, safety is an obvious focus—the car features a roof-mounted lidar sensor supplied by Volvo’s autonomous driving partner Luminar.

E-Legend

E-Legend, a German EV startup, says it will hand-build 30 copies of an electric Audi Quattro rally car revival. E-Legend says the EL1 will have 805 horsepower and a 249-mile range, but we wouldn’t bet our lunch money on ever seeing one on the road. Porsche will put its most powerful V-8 ever, a 631-hp twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter beast, in the forthcoming Cayenne Turbo GT. Porsche says the V-8 will launch the Cayenne to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, but it’ll cost you. The Turbo GT will cost $182,150 when it goes on sale in the U.S. next year. We spied a camouflaged version of a convertible we believe to be the Mercedes-Benz CLE-class. If we’re right (we’re basing our speculation on a recently renewed trademark), the CLE will be a new model for the brand, available as a coupe or a droptop, and would replace the C- and E-class coupe and convertible variants. Promises, Promises

A push to convert the global vehicle fleet to EVs by 2035 picked up fresh steam this week when Canada said it would ban the sale of new gas-powered light vehicles by 2035 and Volkswagen said it would stop selling internal-combustion engine vehicles in Europe the same year. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said the 2035 ban was a necessary steppingstone on the way to the country’s goal of producing net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. VW board member Klaus Zellmer said the company is hoping EVs will account for 70 percent of its European sales by 2030, but that an end to gas-powered car sales in the U.S. and China will come later, though still before 2050. So far, EVs account for just 3.5 percent of new vehicle sales in Canada. EVs and hybrids made up 12.4 percent of Volkswagen’s European sales in 2020.

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Halfway ThereThe second quarter came to an end this week, bringing the usual crop of forecasts and sales reports. The news is broadly good, as automakers notched huge gains compared to the dismal first half of last year. Every brand that had reported sales as of our writing reported double-digit sales gains despite the ongoing global semiconductor shortage that has been fouling production plans all year. Toyota’s second-quarter sales nosed ahead of GM’s by 5116 units. GM is the longstanding sales leader in the U.S. market. The industry still has rough waters ahead. Ford announced new plans for plant shutdowns related to the microchip shortage this week, plus a planned shutdown of the plant that builds the Bronco and Ranger due to an unrelated parts shortage. Stellantis lost an unknown number of new cars to a heavy rainstorm that flooded the Detroit-area shipping yard where the vehicles were being stored. And industry analysts warn that surges of new variants of the coronavirus, especially in countries with limited access to vaccines, could continue to affect microchip supply.Further Reading Read about the details of the not-dead-yet bipartisan infrastructure proposal that President Biden has said he will sign into law if given the opportunity.The New York Times has an examination of the Monterey Car Week auctions ahead of the event’s August return.Or read in the Wall Street Journal about the increasingly common phenomenon of dealers charging well above sticker price for the few new cars on their lots.

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