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Silicon Valley startup Ample is testing out a few battery swapping stations in California’s Bay Area for fleet drivers.
The company says that its stations can swap out a vehicle’s specially built battery modules and packs in 10 minutes.
Ample says that it’s working with five automakers, without saying which ones, to build vehicles with battery structures that work with the company’s battery-swapping stations.
One of the roadblocks to EV adoption is that charging an electric vehicle takes longer than refueling a vehicle with gasoline. Silicon Valley startup Ample believes it has figured out how to reclaim those lost moments: with its modular battery-swapping system that permits drivers to get fresh range in only a few minutes. The twist compared to many previous battery-swapping ideas is that instead of replacing one large single battery, the system instead replaces multiple smaller battery packs during a swap. It’s hoping the ability to recharge an EV in just 10 minutes will appeal to fleets, and its first customers will be Uber drivers.

At its facility in San Francisco, a beta tester driving a Nissan Leaf pulls into one of several Ample battery-swapping stations peppered throughout the Bay Area. The station is roughly the size of two parking spots and tall enough to handle large SUVs and the coming wave of electric trucks. The Leaf driver gets out and, using Ample’s smartphone app, initiates the swap procedure. Metal plates under the wheels lift up the Nissan from the floor, and an automated sled slides out from the front of the station. The sled removes a series of battery packs from under the vehicle. Within each container is a series of battery modules roughly the size of a bread box. After being detached from the Leaf, each container is whisked back into the hidden portion of the station where the modules are removed and placed on a shelf to begin charging. The system then places charged modules into the container. The sled then slides itself back under the Nissan Leaf, and replaces the packs that were removed.

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The entire demonstration of the process took roughly 15 minutes, a beta-testing speed that Ample said is slower than it’s capable of. As the beta progresses, that time will be shortened to 10 minutes, with a target to complete the entire procedure in five minutes by the end of the year.
This system is intended for fleet vehicles. While the average personal EV is likely to be charged at home overnight and is on the road for less than 100 miles a day, delivery vehicles, taxis, and vehicles used for ride-hailing services such as Uber need to be constantly on the road, and DC fast charging that takes upward of 45 minutes to replenish an EV’s battery is lost revenue.
But creating a battery swap infrastructure requires partners in the automotive world. Ample’s not in the business of swapping out factory-installed battery packs with their own system. The company will need to have automakers build special-purpose fleet vehicles set up to accept Ample’s battery packs and be ready to start using the startup’s system from day one. CEO Khaled Hassounah told Car and Driver that the startup is already working with “five of the 10 largest [automakers] in the world,” without giving names.

Ample

Currently, the company is focusing on fleet vehicles and deploying its stations in additional Bay Area locations. Long term, it’s investigating offering its service to the general public. If it catches on with automakers, the time spent waiting at a charging station to top up a vehicle’s battery may come to an end as we replace cables with tiny robotic sleds whizzing around under our vehicles to get us back on the road.
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The Honda Legend Hybrid EX is available to lease in Japan starting today, with Honda claiming bragging rights for the first production vehicle with a Level 3 autonomous system.
The Legend can pilot itself where traffic is congested and does not require constant monitoring by the driver, Honda says.
The Legend’s technology, Honda Sensing Elite, is the latest generation of Honda’s advanced driver-assist system.
The Honda Legend, the first production vehicle to be offered with a Level 3 autonomous system, has become available for lease today in Japan in a limited edition of 100. Currently, the Japanese automaker has no plans to bring the Legend with this system to the U.S., and it surely doesn’t help that Honda discontinued its American counterpart, the Acura RLX, last year.

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The Honda Legend is equipped with Honda Sensing Elite, a more advanced version of Honda’s driver-assist technology. The feature that qualifies the technology as a Level 3 system—which is still far from qualifying as fully autonomous—is Traffic Jam Pilot, a part of the system which can drive the car in certain conditions without requiring the driver to pay attention. Those conditions include congested traffic, and in such a situation, Honda says the driver can watch TV on the infotainment screen while the system is engaged.
In 2017, Audi said that it would be putting a Level 3 autonomous system in the A8. Similar to the Honda Legend, it let drivers not pay attention while the vehicle was in traffic. Those plans changed last year when Audi revealed that it would not be going forward with putting that system in the A8 due to regulatory constraints, according to Automotive News Europe, and the possibility Audi could be liable if the car was in an accident while the system was engaged.

Honda

Along with Honda’s Traffic Jam Pilot, the automaker’s Sensing Elite system has adaptive cruise with lane centering. While the system is engaged on the highway, drivers do not need to have their hands on the steering wheel. The driver can change lanes through activating the turn signal while the system is engaged, but the system can also scan the road and initiate lane changes on its own to pass vehicles while on the highway, all without driver intervention, Honda said.

Honda

Other than when Traffic Jam Pilot is activated, the driver needs to be focused on the road, and regardless of which level of the system is engaged, a camera in the vehicle monitors the condition of the driver. Different-colored indicator lights, including on the steering wheel, show the driver which level of the system is engaged.
The Honda Sensing Elite system is more advanced than other advanced driver-assist systems on the market such as Tesla’s Autopilot and Cadillac’s Super Cruise, because the driver can disengage in certain circumstances. Both of those systems—and all others currently on the market—require the driver’s attention regardless of the situation at hand.
The Legend Hybrid EX will be lease only, with a retail price of $102,000, Reuters reported today. Only 100 will be available.
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Jeep sells vehicles named Cherokee and Grand Cherokee. It also uses Mojave, the name of a Native American people and a desert in the American Southwest, as a trim designator on the Gladiator.
The Cherokee Nation has commented on the record several times since Jeep started using the name in North America in 2013 after a 12-year hiatus.
A representative of Cherokee Nation said that until recently it had been several years since it had any communication from Jeep regarding the name.
UPDATE 3/4/2021: The Wall Street Journal reports that the CEO of Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, now says he is open to ending the company’s use of the Cherokee name, and that conversation with Cherokee nation on the issue is ongoing. A representative from Jeep declined to make further comment on the matter, and representatives with the Cherokee Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For the first time, the Cherokee Nation is asking Jeep to change the name of its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee vehicles.
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“I’m sure this comes from a place that is well-intended, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car,” Chuck Hoskin, Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, told Car and Driver in a written statement responding to our request for comment on the issue. “The best way to honor us is to learn about our sovereign government, our role in this country, our history, culture, and language and have meaningful dialogue with federally recognized tribes on cultural appropriateness.”
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Jeep has been building cars that wear the Cherokee Nation’s name for more than 45 years. In that time, the company has gone on the record several times defending its decision to use the name of a Native American nation on its cars. Over the past eight years, since the reintroduction of the Cherokee nameplate to the U.S. market in 2013, the Cherokee Nation has gone on the record, too, but it had never explicitly said that Jeep should change the cars’ names.
Now, as Jeep prepares to launch the next generation of the Grand Cherokee against the backdrop of high-profile name changes in the world of sports, that has changed.
In his statement, Chief Hoskin alluded to the mainstreaming of racial justice concepts following the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, as well as those sports stories. In December, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team made the decision to drop its nickname and mascot. Last July, Washington D.C.’s NFL team announced it would stop using a nickname long considered a racial slur. The team spent last season known only as the Washington Football Team.
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Both changes were a long time coming. The National Congress of American Indians began working to address issues of Native American imagery in 1968. In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association began prohibiting colleges and universities from displaying hostile or abusive nicknames, mascots, or imagery. Last spring, the dairy company Land O’ Lakes removed the image of a Native American woman it has used on its packaging.
“I think we’re in a day and age in this country where it’s time for both corporations and team sports to retire the use of Native American names, images and mascots from their products, team jerseys and sports in general,” Chief Hoskin said in his statement.
According to Amanda Cobb-Greetham, a professor at the University of Oklahoma and director of the school’s Native Nations Center, the use of Native imagery in sports and popular culture started around the turn of the 20th century. At that time, there were fewer than 300,000 Native Americans living in the United States. “Because of the prevalence of the ideology that Native peoples would eventually disappear . . . Native Americans became part of the national mythology of the frontier and the west and the settlement of America,” Cobb-Greetham said. “And that’s when suddenly you have Native American mascots and products, cultural kitsch. Car names are a part of that.”
Jeep first used the Cherokee name in a 1974 two-door wagon (one available trim was called Cherokee Chief). It has since built cars called Cherokee continuously, but from 2002 through 2013 the cars were known as the Liberty in the North American market. When Jeep brought the Cherokee name back to its U.S. in 2013, a Cherokee Nation representative told the New York Times, “We have encouraged and applauded schools and universities for dropping offensive mascots,” but that “institutionally, the tribe does not have a stance on this.”
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That same story noted that the Cherokee Nation had not been consulted before Jeep brought the nameplate back to the U.S. The Grand Cherokee is Jeep’s best-selling vehicle, and the Cherokee is its third-biggest-selling model. Together the vehicles made up more than 40 percent of Jeep’s total sales in 2020. Since that same year, Jeep has used Mojave for certain Gladiator trucks. The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe’s reservation covers parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada near the Mojave Desert.
Last June, as protests over the death of George Floyd spurred discussions about racial justice, Chief Hoskin told the Wall Street Journal, “We hope the movement away from using tribes’ names and depictions or selling products without our consent, continues. We much prefer a cooperative effort than an adversarial one.”
The most recognized example of that type of effort is probably the arrangement between Florida State University and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. It includes a scholarship program for students from the reservation. In 2005, the Seminole Tribe issued a resolution calling its relationship with the school a “historic partnership.” The Cherokee Nation said it has no such relationship with Jeep.
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Jeep’s Response
Told of Chief Hoskin’s call to end the use of the Cherokee name on its cars, Jeep said in a statement, “Our vehicle names have been carefully chosen and nurtured over the years to honor and celebrate Native American people for their nobility, prowess, and pride. We are, more than ever, committed to a respectful and open dialogue with Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.”
But Cobb-Greetham, who is a member of Chickasaw Nation and stresses the Cherokee Nation’s sovereignty in choosing how to respond to the use of its own name, takes a different view: “If you’re going to honor somebody, give them an award. If you’re going to name a product after them, you’re selling.”
An official with Cherokee Nation says representatives from Jeep reached out to Chief Hoskin via phone earlier this month, but the nation’s stance on Jeep’s use of the name has not changed.
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Owners of 2021 Ford F-150 pickup trucks have taken to social media and online forums, posting images of rust on underbody parts on their brand-new trucks.
Car and Driver asked Ford about this issue and received a statement saying, “While some F-150 underbody steel components may show signs of surface rust, this will have no impact on part performance or life.”
It’s currently unclear how this problem happened or how many of the extremely popular pickup trucks are affected.
Some new 2021 F-150 owners are taking to the internet to complain that their brand-new trucks were shipped from the factory with heavily rusted parts, including the exhaust, differential, and wheel hubs. Ford has not explained how this could have happened, and it’s unclear how many of the popular pickups are affected by the problem. A story by the Detroit Free Press highlighted the stories of some of the customers who had eagerly awaited the first 2021 F-150 pickups, only to discover rust all over their truck’s axles, exhaust, wheel hubs, and other underbody parts.

f150gen14.com

Owners speaking to the Freep from across the country—many living outside of the traditional “salt belt” where vehicle corrosion is most prevalent—and more owners we found on forums claimed Ford dealers took delivery of their trucks in this rusty condition.
A video posted by truck blogger Tim Esterdahl, who lives in Nebraska, said he discovered the rust after a few thousand miles. His video shows a rear differential caked in corrosion, along with the driveshaft’s U-joint and the exhaust, while other parts like the differential’s drain plug were entirely rust-free. A thread from January 31 on F150Gen14.com features an owner in Texas who reports thick surface rust on his differential, wheel hubs, and various bolts.

f150gen14.com

f150gen14.com

So far it’s impossible to estimate how many trucks might be affected—or to understand how Ford apparently allowed so many of these parts to pass visual inspection during production.
“We are committed to delivering high-quality products and services for our Ford customers,” Ford told Car and Driver. “As with all customer feedback, we take these concerns seriously. While some F-150 underbody steel components may show signs of surface rust, this will have no impact on part performance or life.”
The first batch of 2021 F-150 pickups arrived at dealers in November. While it retains the aluminum body of its predecessor—a revolutionary design for pickup trucks that cost Ford billions—the frame and most key parts under the vehicle are steel or high-strength steel. Surface rust on vehicle undercarriages isn’t uncommon in aged vehicles, especially in our home state of Michigan where road crews aren’t exactly light on the salt, and it’s not necessarily a safety defect unless that corrosion prematurely eats away thinner-gauge metal parts like bolts. But for any new vehicle to arrive with parts that look prematurely aged is especially alarming given the strict quality control processes in place at modern assembly plants.

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Parts shortages from axle suppliers caused production delays in December for certain F-150 models. We will continue to monitor’s Ford’s response to complaints of rusty parts on the F-150.

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The 2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be available with Amazon Fire TV for Auto, which includes Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Twitch.
It’ll be viewed on the full-size SUV’s seatback screens and front seat passenger screen. Drivers can watch on the central touchscreen when the vehicle is in park.
An Amazon remote is also included, and it has a voice command function for Alexa.
The 2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will have available Amazon Fire TV capability so occupants can stream entertainment in the new luxury SUVs. Amazon previously announced at the CES technology show in January that it was partnering with Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, and BMW to offer the tech on seatback screens, as reported by The Verge. The new three-row luxury SUVs from Jeep, previewed by a concept vehicle, will be shown in production form on March 11, and they’ll arrive in mid-2021.

Jeep

Amazon Fire TV for Auto will be included in the Wagoneer’s optional technology packages. Fire TV, which includes streaming services like Netflix and Hulu as well as YouTube and Twitch, will be viewed on the Wagoneer’s rear seat screens and front seat passenger screen. The Grand Wagoneer concept vehicle was equipped with an absurd number of screens, but we don’t think they’ll all come standard equipped. The front passenger’s screen measured 10.3 inches, and the rear passengers each had a 10.1-inch touchscreen.

Grand Wagoneer Concept. 
Jeep

Grand Wagoneer Concept. 
Jeep

Privacy glass disables the driver from seeing what’s playing, but when the SUVs are in park, the driver can watch on the 12.1-inch center touchscreen. This is similar to Teslas, which have integrated streaming services that can be viewed only when the vehicle is in park. On the Jeeps, owners will be able to download certain content for watching offline.

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A remote is included with the vehicles equipped with the technology, and they have a voice-command function for using Amazon Alexa. The remote can also control the vehicle’s climate settings, maps, and other infotainment functions.
The 2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will start arriving at dealerships in mid-2021 starting at around $60,000 for the Wagoneer. Jeep says loaded Grand Wagoneers will top $100,000. The Wagoneer will be less luxurious, going up against the Chevy and GMC full-sizers, while the Grand Wagoneer will go up against the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.
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