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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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