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Michael Simari/Car and Driver

Tesla Autopilot in Model 3 and Model Y vehicles will now detect emergency lights at night in most circumstances, and will slow vehicle down.NHTSA recently launched a probe into a number of Tesla model crashes into parked emergency vehicles.Tesla warns that Autopilot may still not detect emergency lights in all circumstances.A few weeks after NHTSA launched an investigation into Tesla crashes into emergency vehicles, the automaker says that its Autopilot driver assist system can now detect emergency lights and slow down the vehicle. But only at night.The updated functionality was rolled out quite unexpectedly and was not announced by the automaker, but rather spotted by Twitter user Analytic.eth in the revised vehicle manuals.
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“If Model3/ModelY detects lights from an emergency vehicle when using Autosteer at night on a high speed road, the driving speed is automatically reduced and the touchscreen displays a message informing you of the slowdown,” a recently updated version of the driver’s manual now states. “You will also hear a chime and see a reminder to keep your hands on the steering wheel. When the light detections pass by or cease to appear, Autopilot resumes your cruising speed. Alternatively, you may tap the accelerator to resume your cruising speed.”

It’s worth noting that this functionality was added only after NHTSA launched an investigation into Tesla crashes into police and fire vehicles, suggesting that it may have been planned for some time, and that it’s also confined to the nighttime. Of course, not all Tesla crashes into emergency vehicles occurred at night, and Tesla does not elaborate just how dark it has to be outside for this functionality to kick in. This could be a bit of an issue since the majority of highway crashes or even traffic stops don’t happen at night—they happen during daytime, morning, and evening hours. But also, emergency light usage at night is far easier to spot by a human driver in the first place, from up to several miles away. So this is an improvement, but not one that can be taken advantage of during the hours when most emergency vehicle responses or traffic stops occur on highways. Tesla does note that the Model 3 and Model Y might still not detect other vehicles’ emergency lights in absolutely all situations, reiterating that Tesla drivers should keep their eyes on the road.Tesla also did not elaborate if the emergency lights had to flicker, or operate in a strobing mode, in order for Autopilot to detect them at night. For instance, emergency light bars (which are mostly LED at the moment) could simply be illuminated in a continuous mode, thus indistinguishable from taillights of other cars. So it could be the case that an emergency vehicle could be parked on the side of the road with the light bar on in a continuous mode, but might not be detected as such by Autopilot’s sensors. The number of modes that current LED lightbars use is actually pretty extensive.The nighttime limitation could be intentional, as in the daytime there could be too many light flickering effects with the sun reflecting off various surfaces to produce too many false positives.This is unlikely to be the last time we hear about semi-autonomous systems and emergency vehicles, as all developers of such systems are working on ways to address vehicle responses to different types of lights, from traffic lights to turn signals on cars via different methods, including V2V communication.

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For the Ram 1500 TRX’s second model year, Ram is adding a limited Ignition Edition that finished the 702-hp off-road pickup in a bright orange with unique bedside graphics. It’s reserved for 875 trucks, and it includes the highly equipped level 2 equipment package and orange trim in the interior. The 2022 1500 TRX Ignition Edition will be on sale at the end of the year starting at $93,280. The Ram 1500 TRX is entering its second model year with a new Ignition Edition package that gives the 702-hp off-road pickup a blazing new orange paint job and other citrus-colored accents.

Ram

These Ram 1500 TRX trucks come equipped with the TRX’s level 2 equipment package, a $7,920 option that includes things such as a leather and suede flat-bottom steering wheel, cooled front- and second-row seats, and other niceties. The Ignition Edition trucks are finished in Ignition orange with unique bedside graphics and equipped with 18-inch machine face black wheels. Their interior features Copperhead orange stitching, copper carbon-fiber accents, an orange center console badge, and orange Ram logos on the floor mats. The TRX in the driver’s screen is also finished in Ignition orange.

A Hellcat supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 powers the 1500 TRX, and it produces 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. In Car and Driver testing, the TRX reached 60 mph in 3.7 seconds on its way to a 12.3-second quarter mile at 110 mph, making it the quickest pickup truck we’ve ever tested. The 2022 1500 TRX Ignition Edition is limited to just 875 trucks, and Ram says they’ll be on sale starting at the end of the year. Pricing starts at $93,280, which is nearly $20,000 more than the TRX’s base price.
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Porsche is about to turn the 718 into a fully electric sports car that will go on sale in the U.S. in 2025.There will be a lot more overlap with the 911, but since the cars will have fundamentally different propulsion technologies, Porsche is not concerned about cannibalization. More powerful versions of this future 718 will have a front motor, making the electric 718 the first all-wheel-drive version of the nameplate. A few months ago, we speculated on Porsche’s plans to turn the 718 into a fully electric car. Now we have gathered additional material from different sources within and outside the company. Not only did we get confirmation that it will be a full battery-electric vehicle, we also gathered that it will be fundamentally detached from the 911—which, we learned, will retain its combustion engine beyond 2030 and may not even become hybridized.

The 718 will continue to be sold in both Boxster and Cayman form. And while the last word has not been spoken, it is almost 100 percent certain that the Boxster will retain its fabric top instead of moving to a fixed-roof solution. Its body style will remain relatively close to the current models, but it will feature Porsche’s new “electric front” with wider headlights, just like on the Taycan. The next 718’s design has just been previewed by the Mission R concept car at the Munich IAA auto show. Without the wild aero, and scaled down in its aggressive demeanor, the Mission R gives a good idea of what a production 718 Cayman could look like.We haven’t seen the interior yet, but we are assured it will be the brand’s most futuristic yet, more forward-looking than the Taycan and a massive leap from the conservatively styled current 718 cockpit. In designing the user interface, Porsche is keeping the customer base in mind: In China, the most important market, the average age of a 718 buyer is just 31. We are told, “This will be the most modern Porsche.”Sports-car fans have been concerned that an electric 718 could become excessively heavy; a Taycan, after all, comes in between 4568 pounds for the entry-level model with the small battery and 5199 pounds for the Turbo S Cross Turismo, despite its not-exactly-spacious package. The 718, on the other hand, will be almost a miracle of lightweight technology: The internal target weight is under 3650 pounds.

Porsche Mission R concept.
Porsche

Porsche achieves this by putting the 718 onto a newly developed sports-car platform that is said to be far more than a shortened version of the PPE platform. Economies of scale will be realized with electronics and invisible components, but a lot of components related to dynamics remain unique. Power ratings are still up in the air, but we have learned that the entry-level versions, priced to significantly undercut the 911 and stay within reach of the current 718, will have a rear motor. Higher-powered versions will add a front motor, making the electric 718 the first all-wheel-drive iteration of the nameplate. Like the Mission R concept and unlike the Taycan, the next 718 will get a single-speed drive.Inadequate range is the elephant in the room for EVs, and this is especially true of pleasure machines like the 718. We are told that 250 miles of range is the acceptable minimum and that “more is better.” And Porsche is working hard on increasing both range and charging performance.

In terms of power, the top-level versions will reach well into 911 territory. But Porsche is not concerned about overlap because the choice between the electric 718 and the gasoline-powered 911 will represent fundamentally different technologies. And we expect it to remain that way, since Porsche is not entertaining a scenario in which it would turn the 911 into an EV. Hybrid technology is a no-go for the fully electric new 718, and it is by no means decided for future iterations on the 911, where it would incur a hefty weight penalty. As far as racing is concerned, the Mission R could pave the way for a fully electric racing series, but nothing is decided yet.The next 718, which will most likely keep its name, is slated for a market launch in 2024. It will come to the U.S. as a 2025 model, unless plans are pushed back. The current, gasoline-powered model could be sold alongside the electric one briefly. The duration of its production run will be determined by the upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulation, which could wreak havoc on the further refinement of gasoline engines.
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