Enlarge/ A Tesla Cybertruck at the Viva Technology show at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on May 24, 2024 in Paris, France.
Getty Images | Chesnot
Tesla has announced two more recalls of the Cybertruck, both of which affect over 11,000 vehicles produced since the car first became available late last year. Cybertruck owners will need to bring their cars in for service because of faulty windshield wiper motors and a cosmetic piece that could come off the vehicle while it’s being driven.
Tesla previously recalled the Cybertruck in April over a faulty accelerator pedal assembly and in January for a software problem in which the font size of brake, park, and antilock brake system visual warning indicators were too small. The January recall also affected Tesla Model 3, S, X, and Y.
A new recall notice says, “the front windshield wiper motor controller may stop functioning due to electrical overstress to the gate driver component. A non-functioning windshield wiper may reduce visibility in certain operating conditions, which may increase the risk of a collision.”
The wiper motors have a gate driver that “may have been damaged due to electrical overstress during functional testing,” the notice said. The fix is to “replace the windshield wiper motor with a wiper motor that has a properly functioning gate driver component.”
The wiper motor recall affects 11,688 cars. While it is estimated that 2 percent of cars have the defect, the notice said the “recall population includes all Model Year 2024 Cybertruck vehicles manufactured from November 13, 2023, to June 6, 2024.”
Tesla said it is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the wiper motor problem. Newly manufactured Cybertrucks shouldn’t have the problem because “the supplier introduced a functional test using a lower current to prevent damage and ensure integrity of the gate driver,” the notice said.
Cosmetic applique may not stay on the car
The other new recall notice describes a problem “with a cosmetic applique along the exterior of the trunk bed trim, known as the sail applique, which is affixed to the vehicle with adhesive.” The applique or adhesion was not installed correctly on some cars, “which may cause the sail applique to become loose or separate from the vehicle.”
“If the applique separates from the vehicle while in drive, it could create a road hazard for following motorists and increase their risk of injury or a collision,” the recall notice said. The fix is to “replace or rework the sail applique such that the assembly meets specifications and ensures sufficient adhesion between the applique and the vehicle’s deck rail.”
It’s estimated that 1 percent of vehicles have the applique defect, and the “recall population includes all Model Year 2024 Cybertruck vehicles manufactured from November 13, 2023, to May 26, 2024.” That amounts to 11,383 Cybertrucks. Customers will not be charged for the fixes to the wiper motor and applique.
The problem was discovered in December 2023 when “an undelivered Cybertruck with a single missing applique arrived at a Tesla delivery center after being transported on a vehicle hauler,” the notice said. The problem was found a second time in May 2024 on a customer vehicle, and then on more cars when “Tesla surveyed and assessed the retention of sail appliques on vehicles in the field.”
Tesla said it is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the applique problem. On newly manufactured Cybertrucks, “quality control improvements to the adhesive application” should keep the piece attached to the car.
Separately, one Cybertruck owner recently alleged that his car crashed into a neighbor’s house despite him holding down the brake pedal. The driver claimed that Tesla told him, “We have reviewed logs and due to the terrain the accelerator may or may not disengage when the brake is depressed.”
We contacted Tesla about the alleged braking problem today and will provide an update if the company responds. There is video of the accident, and the driver says the incident left skid marks for about 50 feet, “almost like one motor was accelerating while the other set of wheels locked.”
Volkswagen is committing $5 billion to upstart EV company Rivian, with $1 billion in cash upfront and $4 billion over time. The companies aim to use this joint venture to deliver new vehicles “in the second half of the decade,” according to the announcement, and the cash will likely help push along Rivian’s next generation of vehicles, including more affordable models.
Enlarge/ Oliver Blume, left, CEO of Volkswagen Group, and RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian.
Rivian
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the partnership “brings Rivian’s software and zonal electronics platform to a broader market through Volkswagen Group’s global reach and scale.” VW Group, which also controls Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, and Ducati, among others, has a lot to gain from working with Rivian, particularly when it comes to software and ride control. Ars and most other reviewers have been impressed by Rivian’s drive engineering and display software on the R1T truck, R1S SUV, and the second generations of them both, which majorly reworked the underpinnings and offerings, largely through design and software choices.
Rivian, which was valued at nearly $86 billion during its public stock debut, has burned through a lot of cash, making well-liked cars that cost a lot to build. In the first quarter of 2024, it sold its cars for an average of $38,784 less than it cost to make them before expenses like research, development, sales, or marketing. Having paused production on a $5 billion truck plant and gone through rounds of recent layoffs, the firm lost $1.51 billion last quarter. Rivian reported $7.86 billion in cash on hand and $4.43 billion in debt.
Hence the likely very useful first $1 billion from VW to Rivian, a convertible note that becomes Rivian common stock after regulatory approval. Two more $1 billion payments should arrive in 2025 and 2026, with a $2 billion loan tied to the joint venture available in 2026.
Enlarge/ The Tourbillon is recognizable as a modern Bugatti, but it’s very different under the skin.
Bradley Iger
Since the launch of the hypercar-defining Veyron back in 2005, modern Bugattis have served as benchmarks for straight-line performance and no-expense-spared automotive engineering. At a time when a 300 horsepower Mustang GT was something to crow about, the quad-turbocharged, W16-powered Veyron offered more than a thousand, metric (987 hp/736 kW).
Perhaps more importantly, and in contrast to most other world-beating performance cars, the Veyron wasn’t presented as some skunkworks project that had been pushed to the ragged edge. Instead, it was a wholly realized ultra-luxury performance machine, replete with the sort of grand touring appointments you’d expect to find in a Bentley rather than a top-speed record holder.
Still, it was the numbers that instantly captivated enthusiasts and casual onlookers alike, and Bugatti would go on to reset the bar with the introduction of the 1,479 hp (1,102 kW) Chiron in 2016.
Bugatti concentrated on achieving a lower frontal area and roofline with the Tourbillon.
Bradley Iger
The Tourbillon’s oval-ish profile forms a similar shape to that of a bird of prey.
Bradley Iger
The curve around the door opening is called the Bugatti line.
Bradley Iger
Getting cooling air into the car remains an important priority
Bradley Iger
A large rear diffuser generates important downforce at speed.
Bradley Iger
In case there was any doubt, the taillights spell it out.
Bradley Iger
Bugatti
Bugatti
A Bugatti needs to be more than just fast
But now, less than a decade later, the landscape of automotive performance looks markedly different. Thanks to Rimac—which incidentally now has a controlling interest in Bugatti—those with the means can roll out of a showroom driving a street-legal vehicle that’s capable of out-accelerating a Formula One car, while other manufacturers are offering rather inconspicuous luxury sedans with more than 1,200 hp (895 kW).
Today, buyers can choose from dozens of different vehicles that are capable of blasting to 60 mph from a standstill in less than three seconds. As a result, there’s a growing sense that we’re living in a post-horsepower world, and Bugatti seems to be well-aware of this paradigm shift.
“I think we’ve reached a point where cars are so incredibly fast that it’s not the differentiator anymore,” Bugatti design director Frank Heyl noted while showing us around a Tourbillon prototype at a production studio in Long Beach, California, a few months ago. “It’s about the emotions that it generates. Your heart has to tell your brain that it’s a good decision to buy this car.”
Enlarge/ The only screen you’ll find in here is hidden from view unless the driver requests it.
Bradley Iger
It’s a sentiment that speaks volumes about Bugatti’s approach to the Tourbillon development. This time around, the focus seems to be more about engaging the senses rather than delivering headline-grabbing stats. Still, figures like 0-186 mph (300 km/h) in less than 10 seconds and 277 mph (445 km/h) top speed make it abundantly clear that the Tourbillon will be a sensational performer.
That performance, which bests the Chiron by more than three seconds and 16 mph (26 km/h) in those metrics, respectively, is due in part to the Tourbillon’s more aerodynamic shape. During our briefing, Heyl said that designers turned to birds of prey for inspiration, influence that is particularly evident at the nose of the car, where the Tourbillon’s reduced frontal area significantly lowers aerodynamic drag. While the overall look doesn’t stray too far from the Chiron, the increased emphasis on aerodynamics—as further evidenced by elements like the massive rear diffuser and sinewy front clip—also gives the Tourbillon a more muscular, purposeful aesthetic.
Enlarge/ Ford Mustang Mach E electric vehicles are offered for sale at a dealership on June 5, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
CDK Global touts itself as an all-in-one software-as-a-service solution that is “trusted by nearly 15,000 dealer locations.” One connection, over an always-on VPN to CDK’s data centers, gives a dealership customer relationship management (CRM) software, financing, inventory, and more back-office tools.
That all-in-one nature explains why people trying to buy cars, and especially those trying to sell them, have had a rough couple of days. CDK’s services have been down, due to what the firm describes as a “cyber incident.” CDK shut down most of its systems Wednesday, June 19, then told dealerships that evening that it restored some services. CDK told dealers today, June 20, that it had “experienced an additional cyber incident late in the evening on June 19,” and shut down systems again.
“At this time, we do not have an estimated time frame for resolution and therefore our dealers’ systems will not be available at a minimum on Thursday, June 20th,” CDK told customers.
As of 2 pm Eastern on June 20, an automated message on CDK’s updates hotline said that, “At this time, we do not have an estimated time frame for resolution and therefore our dealers’ systems will not be available likely for several days.” The message added that support lines would remain down due to security precautions. Getting retail dealership services back up was “our highest priority,” the message said.
On Reddit, car dealership owners and workers have met the news with some combination of anger and “What’s wrong with paper and Excel?” Some dealerships report not being able to do more than oil changes or write down customer names and numbers, while others have sought to make do with documenting orders they plan to enter in once their systems come back online.
“We lost 4 deals at my store because of this,” wrote one user Thursday morning on r/askcarsales. “Our whole auto group uses CDK for just about everything and we are completely dead. 30+ stores in our auto group.”
“We were on our own server until a month ago because CDK forced us to go to the cloud so we could implement [Electronic Repair Orders, EROs],” wrote one worker on r/serviceadvisors. “Since the change, CDK freezes multiple times a day… But now being completely down for 2 days. CDK I want a divorce.”
CDK benefits from “a rise in consolidation”
CDK started as the car dealership arm of payroll-processing giant ADP after ADP acquired two inventory and sales systems companies in 1973. CDK was spun off from ADP in 2014. In mid-2022, it was acquired by venture capital firm Brookfield Business Partners and went private, following pressure from activist public investors to trim costs.
Brookfield said at the time that it expected CDK “to benefit from a rise in consolidation across the dealership industry,” an industry estimated to be worth $30 billion by 2026. Analysts generally consider CDK to be the dominant player in the dealership management market, with an additional 15,000 customers in the trucking industry.
CDK released a report on cybersecurity for dealerships in 2023. It noted that dealerships suffered an average of 3.4 weeks of downtime from ransomware attacks, or potentially an average payout of $740,144 (or even both). Insurer Zurich North America noted in a 2023 report that dealerships are a particularly rich target for attackers because “dealerships store large amounts of confidential, personal data, including financing and credit applications, customer financial information and home addresses.”
“In addition,” the report stated, “dealership systems are often interconnected to external interfaces and portals, such as external service providers.”
Ars contacted CDK for comment and will update this post if we receive a response. As of Thursday morning, the firm has not clarified if the “cyber incident” is due to ransomware or another kind of attack.
This post was updated at 2 pm to note a message indicating that CDK’s outage could last several days.
Clint and Rachel Wells had reasons to consider buying an electric vehicle when it came to replacing one of their cars. But they had even more reasons to stick with petrol.
The couple live in Normal, Illinois, which has enjoyed an economic boost from the electric vehicle assembly plant opened there by upstart electric-car maker Rivian. EVs are a step forward from “using dead dinosaurs” to power cars, Clint Wells says, and he wants to support that.
But the couple decided to “get what was affordable”—in their case, a petrol-engined Honda Accord costing $19,000 after trade-in.
An EV priced at $25,000 would have been tempting, but only five new electric models costing less than $40,000 have come on to the US market in 2024. The hometown champion’s focus on luxury vehicles—its cheapest model is currently the $69,000 R1T—made it a non-starter.
“It’s just not accessible to us at this point in our life,” Rachel Wells says.
The Wells are among the millions of Americans opting to continue buying combustion-engine cars over electric vehicles, despite President Joe Biden’s ambitious target of having EVs make up half of all new cars sold in the US by 2030. Last year, the proportion was 9.5 percent.
High sticker prices for cars on the forecourt, and high interest rates that are pushing up monthly lease payments, have combined with concerns over driving range and charging infrastructure to chill buyers’ enthusiasm—even among those who consider themselves green.
Financial Times
While EV technology is still improving and the popularity of electric cars is still increasing, sales growth has slowed. Many carmakers are rethinking manufacturing plans, cutting the numbers of EVs they had planned to produce for the US market in favor of combustion-engined and hybrid cars.
Electric vehicles have also found themselves at the intersection of two competing Biden administration priorities: tackling climate change and protecting American jobs.
Biden has pledged to lower US greenhouse gas emissions to 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, with widespread EV adoption a significant part of that ambition.
But he wants to achieve it without recourse to imports from China, the world’s biggest producer of EVs and a dominant player in many of the raw materials that go into them. Washington has set out an industrial policy that hits Chinese manufacturers of cars, batteries and other components with punitive tariffs and restricts federal tax incentives for consumers buying their products.
The idea is to allow the US to develop its own supply chains, but analysts say such protectionism will result in higher EV prices for US consumers in the meantime. That could stall sales and result in the US remaining behind China and Europe in adoption of EVs, putting at risk not only the Biden administration’s targets but also the global uptake of EVs. The World Resources Institute says between 75 and 95 percent of new passenger vehicles sold by 2030 need to be electric if Paris agreement goals are to be met.
Enlarge/ Rivian electric vehicles on the assembly line at the carmaker’s plant in Normal, Illinois. Its focus on luxury vehicles means many families cannot afford its cars.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images
“There is no question that this slows down EV adoption in the US,” says Everett Eissenstat, a former senior US Trade Representative official who served both Republican and Democratic administrations.
“We are just not producing the EVs the consumers want at a price point they want.”
Incenting consumers
The administration is attempting to reconcile its industrial and climate policies by offering tax incentives to consumers to buy EVs and by encouraging manufacturers to develop US-dominated supply chains.
Tax credits of up to $7,500 are available to buyers of electric cars. But the full amount is only available on cars that are made in the US with critical minerals and battery components also largely sourced in the US.
That means few cars qualify for the maximum credit. Two years on from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which set out Biden’s ambitious green transition strategy, there are only 12 models that can actually score buyers the full $7,500.
The act also offered hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and other incentives to companies building a domestic clean energy industry. The automotive sector has been one of the beneficiaries of that largesse.
Last month, the Biden administration went a step further, adding steep new tariffs on billions of dollars of goods imported from China. These included a quadrupling of the tariffs on imported electric vehicles, a tripling of the rate on Chinese lithium-ion batteries to 25 percent and the introduction of a 25 percent tariff on graphite, which is used to make batteries.
The levies were an extension of a package first imposed by then president Donald Trump as part of his trade war with Beijing in 2018, and have been under review by the Biden administration as it figures out how to respond to what it says are Beijing’s unfair subsidies to strategic industries.
Enlarge/ Joe Biden with union members last month as the president approved a rise in tariffs on Chinese-made goods, including a quadrupling of the levies imposed on imported EVs.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Few Chinese EVs are available for sale in the US. Polestar is the only Chinese-owned carmaker currently active in the country and it sold a mere 2,210 cars in the first quarter—out of nearly 269,000 new EV sales. (The company plans to add manufacturing in the US this year.)
Wendy Cutler, a former trade official and vice-president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, describes the pre-emptive levying of tariffs as a new development in global trade policy.
“This sends a clear signal to China: don’t even think about exporting your cars to the United States,” she says.
More significant than the tariffs on Chinese electric cars are the levies on lithium-ion batteries and the materials and components used to make them.
China is a key player in the supply chain for EV batteries, with companies such as BYD and CATL developing the country’s capacity over more than a decade. It dominates the processing of the minerals contained in lithium-ion batteries as well as the manufacture of battery components such as cathodes and anodes.
According to data analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think-tank, US-based carmakers have been importing a growing share of their batteries from China. In the first quarter of 2024, more than 70 percent of imported car batteries came from the country.
The tariffs will drive up manufacturing costs for carmakers in the US and that cost is likely to be passed on to consumers because battery materials and components are not currently available in large quantities from any supply chain that excludes China.
US trade officials draw parallels with the solar industry. The cost of photovoltaic panels fell worldwide as Chinese manufacturers, benefiting from subsidies, lower labor costs and growing scale, came to dominate the industry.
That has been a boon for consumers, but resulted in production and jobs shifting from the US to China. Washington does not want a rerun of this process in the automotive sector.
“The idea that we should just open our gates and have a bunch of systematic Chinese economic abuses . . . and that that’s the answer to climate change is incredibly naive and short-sighted,” says Jennifer Harris, a former economic adviser to Biden.
In an election year, the issue is politically charged too. Michigan and Ohio, both home to large numbers of auto workers, are swing states in the presidential election. Both Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump are trying to appeal to working-class voters there.
Preserving jobs in the US auto industry as it moves towards green technology is largely about the supply chain. More than half the 995,000 people employed in the auto industry across the US are making parts, rather than assembling vehicles, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
EVs already threaten these jobs because their powertrains comprise fewer components than cars with traditional engines and transmission systems. The United Auto Workers union, arguing for a “just transition” to clean energy, fought during its six-week long strike last autumn to have battery plants in the US covered by the same contracts that protect workers at plants making petrol-powered vehicles, winning an agreement with General Motors.
Financial Times
Ilaria Mazzocco, chair in Chinese business and economics at CSIS, says the reduced competition and rising cost of imported battery components could delay price decreases for US consumers.
“It’s not just that the same car costs less in China, it’s that in China you have a wider variety,” says Mazzocco. “US automakers will have the leisure of not having competition, and they’ll be able to focus on making these high-cost trucks”—a reference to larger sedans and SUVs, which have bigger profit margins.
“That’s just what the Biden administration feels they need to do on the political front, because they need to prioritize jobs,” she adds.
Price and infrastructure
Electric vehicles face other barriers to mass adoption. Affordability, lack of charging infrastructure and range anxiety all remain concerns for mainstream US car buyers.
The price for a new EV averaged just less than $57,000 in May, compared with an average of a little more than $48,000 for a car or truck with a traditional engine.
The starting price for a Tesla Model Y, by far the most popular electric vehicle in the US, was just less than $43,000 during the first quarter. The Ford F-150 Lightning, the electrified version of the best-selling pick-up truck in the US, was teased at $42,000 when it went on sale in May 2022 but now starts at $55,000—more than $11,000 above the petrol-powered F-150.
Used EVs are cheaper, with a vehicle less than five years old costing about $34,000, according to Cox Automotive. But they remain more expensive than used cars with traditional engines, which average about $32,100—and they make up just 2 to 3 percent of used vehicle sales.
Enlarge/ esla Model Y vehicles at a dealership in Austin, Texas. Elon Musk has suggested that the carmaker would launch ‘more affordable’ models in the coming year or so.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Ford and Stellantis, which owns brands such as Dodge, Ram and Jeep, are promising $25,000 EVs for the US market in the next few years. General Motors plans to revive the Chevrolet Bolt as “the most affordable” EV on the market. Tesla chief Elon Musk also told investors in April that Tesla would launch “more affordable models” this year or early in 2025.
But these models will still face obstacles like a dearth of charging infrastructure. Overnight charging at home is the preferred method of replenishing an EV, but this is only really an option for those who can install a charger on their property. Those living in apartment complexes in states like California, where a greater share of people drive EVs, are more reliant on public charging facilities.
While there are about 120,000 petrol stations nationwide, according to the US Department of Energy, there are only 64,000 public charging stations in the US—and only 10,000 of them are direct current chargers, which can replenish a battery in 30 minutes rather than several hours. Charging stations also can be inoperative or have long lines when drivers arrive, forcing them to go elsewhere.
Potential buyers also worry their EV may not travel as far on a single charge as they require. While electric vehicles are well suited to the short trips that make up most driving, many Americans also use their cars and trucks for longer distances and worry that charging en route may add to their driving time, or even leave them stranded. Cold weather and towing a load can both diminish an EV’s range.
“What we’re seeing is the pace of EV growth is faster than the rate of publicly available charger growth,” says John Bozzella, chief executive of US auto trade group the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
Two strategies
Many global carmakers are making big investments in US manufacturing plants, in response to the government’s incentives. But in the light of slowing EV sales growth they are shifting that investment towards hybrid vehicles, which use battery power alongside a traditional engine.
Last month, executives from GM, Nissan, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Ford all said that tapping into demand for hybrids was a priority. Ford chief executive Jim Farley told investors at a conference “we should stop talking about [hybrids] as a transitional technology,” viewing it instead as a viable long-term option.
Hyundai said it was considering making hybrids at its new $7.6 billion plant in Georgia. US competitor GM said in January that it would reintroduce plug-in hybrid technology to its range, though chief executive Mary Barra recently affirmed she still saw EVs as the future.
Bozzella says that even with the tariff protection measures and US subsidies in place, he was unsure how long it would take for the US auto industry to produce EVs that could compete with heavily subsidized Chinese vehicles on pricing.
“There is no question that EVs built in the US now, and built by American companies now, are absolutely competitive with EVs around the world,” he says, citing Tesla.
“If what you mean is competitive at price points . . . well that’s a different matter entirely, and my answer to that is: I’m not sure.”
Van Jackson, previously an official in the Obama administration and now a senior lecturer in international relations at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, says electric cars still need to fall in price if the market is to grow substantially.
“How do you bring workers along and increase their wages, and have a growth market for these products, given how expensive they are?” he asks. “I’m an upper-middle-class person and I cannot afford an EV.”
He is skeptical about whether shutting the world’s dominant producer of EVs and related componentry out of the US market will reduce the price of the cars and encourage uptake.
“The tariffs are buying time,” he says. “But towards no particular end.”
Enlarge/ Car designer Henrik Fisker poses with a Fisker Ocean at the Salvation Army California South Division’s annual Sally Awards in June 2022.
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Fisker, the second EV firm started by legendary BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, has filed for bankruptcy and intends to sell its assets and restructure its debt. The almost inevitable outcome comes months after it paused manufacturing amid cash flow shortages, safety probes, and devastating reviews of its only product, the Fisker Ocean SUV.
Fisker’s statement about the filing notes the firm’s production of the Ocean “twice as fast as expected in the auto industry” and delivering “the most sustainable vehicle in the world.” However, a Fisker spokesperson writes, “[L]ike other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently.”
Rumors of Fisker’s bankruptcy have been circulating since March when the company suspended production of its Ocean for initially six weeks and then indefinitely. A month earlier, the company reported $273 million in 2023 sales but more than $1 billion in debt. Fisker’s stock was pulled from the New York Stock Exchange in late March. Amid what many saw as a generalized weakening of EV demand, Fisker was particularly vulnerable.
The Fisker Ocean, on display at Mobile World Congress in 2022.
YouTube tech reviewer and podcaster Marques Brownlee, who reviews cars on his Auto Focus channel, cut right to it: “This is the Worst Car I’ve Ever Reviewed.” Brownlee’s video pointed out disconcerting software issues, including an excessively slow response by the central display, irregular warning lights, and key fob issues. Fisker did itself no favors with its reaction to the video review, which involved trying to track down Brownlee’s borrowed Ocean and alternately chastising and cajoling the dealer who loaned it to him.
Brownlee posted on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday that “everyone’s commenting that I killed them, but truth is they were doomed long before any of my videos.”
The second Fisker auto bankruptcy
Fisker is technically the second EV company started by Henrik Fisker to stall out of the gate. Fisker Automotive made the Fisker Karma, a plug-in hybrid (or “range extender”) sports GT, that broke down on Consumer Report’s test track before it could be actually tested and had a fire-risk recall. Fisker Automotive spent $1.4 billion making roughly 2,500 cars before it filed for Chapter 11 in 2013. This latest version of Fisker reported 6,400 vehicle deliveries by mid-April.
Fisker is seeking to sell its assets, worth between $500 million to $1 billion, with liabilities between $100 million–$500 million, according to its filing. The company, formed through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), contracted Canadian firm Magna to manufacture its cars. Adobe and Google are among its largest creditors.
Fisker said in its filing that in limited operations, it would work at “preserving certain customer programs.” No specifics about parts, warranty, or software updates were included. Ars reached out to Fisker to inquire about these items and will update the post with a response.
Enlarge/ The introduction of model year 2025 brings a retractable hard-top option for the McLaren Artura, plus a host of other upgrades.
McLaren
MONACO—The idea of an “entry-level” supercar might sound like a contradiction in terms, but every car company’s range has to start somewhere, and in McLaren’s case, that’s the Artura. When Ars first tested this mid-engined plug-in hybrid in 2022, It was only available as a coupe. But for those who prefer things al fresco, the British automaker has now given you that option with the addition of the Artura Spider.
The Artura represented a step forward for McLaren. There’s a brand-new carbon fiber chassis tub, an advanced electronic architecture (with a handful of domain controllers that replace the dozens of individual ECUs you might find in some of its other models), and a highly capable hybrid powertrain that combines a twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine with an axial flux electric motor.
More power, faster shifts
For model year 2025 and the launch of the $273,800 Spider version, the engineering team at McLaren have given it a spruce-up, despite only being a couple of years old. Overall power output has increased by 19 hp (14 kW) thanks to new engine maps for the V6, which now has a bit more surge from 4,000 rpm all the way to the 8,500 rpm redline. Our test car was fitted with the new sports exhaust, which isn’t obnoxiously loud. It makes some interesting noises as you lift the throttle in the middle of the rev range, but like most turbo engines, it’s not particularly mellifluous.
The new engine map means the upper half of third gear will give you a real shove toward the horizon.
McLaren
The Artura Spider’s buttresses are made from a lightweight and clear polymer, so they do their job aerodynamically without completely obscuring your view over your shoulder.
McLaren
The Artura Spider is covered in vents and exhausts to channel air into and out of various parts of the car.
McLaren
You could have your Artura Spider painted in a more somber color. But Orange with carbon fiber looks pretty great to me.
If you look closely, you can see the transmission hiding behind the diffuser.
Jonathan Gitlin
Combined with the 94 hp (70 kW) electric motor, that gives the Artura Spider a healthy 680 hp (507 kW), which helps compensate for the added 134 lbs (62 kg) due to the car’s retractable hard top. There are stiffer engine mounts and new throttle maps, and the dual-clutch transmission shifts 25 percent faster than what we saw in the car that launched two years ago. (These upgrades are carried over to the Artura coupe as well, and the good news for existing owners is that the engine remapping can be applied to their cars, too, with a visit to a McLaren dealer.)
Despite the hybrid system—which uses a 7.4 kWh traction battery—and the roof mechanism, the Artura Spider remains a remarkably light car by 2024 standards, with a curb weight of 3,439 lbs (1,559 kg), which makes it lighter than any comparable car on the market.
In fact, picking a comparable car is a little tricky. Ferrari will sell you a convertible hybrid in the shape of the 296 GTS, but you’ll need another $100,000 or more to get behind the wheel of one of those, which in truth is more of a competitor for the (not-hybrid) 750S, McLaren’s middle model. Any other mid-engined drop-top will be propelled by dino juice alone.
What modes do you want today?
Enlarge/ It’s easy to drive around town and a lot of fun to drive on a twisty road.
McLaren
You can drive it using just the electric motor for up to 11 miles if you keep the powertrain in E-mode and start with a fully charged battery. In fact, when you start the car, it begins in this mode by default. Outside of E-mode, the Artura will use spare power from the engine to top up the battery as you drive, and it’s very easy to set a target state of charge if you want to save some battery power for later, for example. Plugged into a Level 2 charger, it should take about 2.5 hours to reach 80 percent.
The car is light enough that 94 hp is more than adequate for the 20 mph or 30 km/h zones you’re sure to encounter whether you’re driving this supercar through a rural village or past camera-wielding car-spotters in the city. Electric mode is serious, and the car won’t fire up the engine until you switch to Comfort (or Sport, or Track) with the control on the right side of the main instrument display.
On the left side is another control to switch the chassis settings between Comfort, Sport, and Track. For road driving, comfort never felt wrong-footed, and I really would leave track for the actual track. The same goes for the Track powertrain setting; for the open road, Sport is the best-sounding, and comfort is well-judged for everyday use and will kill the V6 when it’s not needed. Sport and Track instead use the electric motor—mounted inside the case of the eight-speed transmission—to fill in torque where needed, similar to an F1 or LMDh race car.
As some Ars readers may recall, I reviewed The Maven Cargo e-bike earlier this year as a complete newb to e-bikes. For my second foray into the world of e-bikes, I took an entirely different path.
The stylish Maven was designed with utility in mind—it’s safe, user-friendly, and practical for accomplishing all the daily transportation needs of a busy family. The second bike, the $4,299 Mod Easy Sidecar 3, is on the other end of the spectrum. Just a cursory glance makes it clear: This bike is built for pure, head-turning fun.
The Mod Easy 3 is a retro-style Class 2 bike—complete with a sidecar that looks like it’s straight out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Nailing this look wasn’t the initial goal of Mod Bike founder Dor Korngold. In an interview with Ars, Korngold said the Mod Easy was the first bike he designed for himself. “It started with me wanting to have this classic cruiser,” he said, but he didn’t have a sketch or final design in mind at the outset. Instead, the design was based on what parts he had in his garage.
The first step was adding a wooden battery compartment to an old Electra frame he had painted. The battery compartment “looked vintage from the beginning,” he said, but the final look came together gradually as he added the sidecar and some of the other motorcycle-style features. Today, the Mod Easy is a sleek bike reminiscent of World War II-era motorcycles and comes in a chic matte finish.
When I showed my 5-year-old son a picture of the bike and sidecar, he was instantly enamored and insisted I review it. How could I refuse? He thoroughly enjoyed riding with me on the Maven, but riding in the sidecar turned out to be some next-level fun. He will readily tell you he gives it a five out of five-star rating. But in case you want a more thorough review, my thoughts are below. I’ll start with some general impressions and then discuss specific features of the bike and experience.
The Mod Easy Sidecar 3 at a glance
General impressions
The Mod Easy Sidecar 3.
Just the bike, which is sold at $3,299
Beth Mole
The Mod Easy Sidecar 3.
Beth Mole
Again, this is a stylish, fun bike. The bike alone is an effortless and smooth ride. Although it has the heft of an e-bike at 77 pounds (without the sidecar), it never felt unwieldy to me as a 5-foot-4-inch rider. The torque sensors are beautifully integrated into the riding experience, allowing the motor to feel like a gentle, natural assist to pedaling rather than an on-off boost. Of course, with my limited experience, I can’t comment on how these torque sensors compare to other torque sensors, but I have no complaints, and they’re an improvement over my experience with cadence sensors.
You may remember from my review of the Maven that the entrance to a bike path in my area has a switchback path with three tight turns on a hill. With the Maven’s cadence sensors, I struggled to go through the U-turns smoothly, especially going uphill, even after weeks of practice. With the Mod Easy’s torque sensors (and non-cargo length), I glided through them perfectly on the first try. Overall, the bike handles and corners nicely. The wide-set handlebars give the driving experience a relaxed, cruising feel, while the cushy saddle invites you to sink in and stay awhile. The sidecar, meanwhile, was a fun, head-turning feature, but it presents some practical aspects to consider.
Below, I’ll go through key features, starting with the headlining one: the sidecar.
I enjoyed riding the Tenways CGO800S far more once I stopped thinking of it as a bike, and more like the e-bike version of a reasonable four-door sedan.
It is a bike, to be sure. It has two wheels, handlebars, pedals, and a drivetrain between feet and rear cog. It’s just not the kind of bike I’m used to. There are no gears to shift between, just a belt drive and five power modes. The ride is intentionally “Dutch-style” (from a Dutch company, no less), with a wide saddle and upright posture, and kept fairly smooth by suspension on the front fork. It ships with puncture-proof tires, sensible mud guards, and integrated lights. And its 350 W motor is just enough to make pedaling feel effortless, but you’ll never quite feel like you’re winning a race.
I also didn’t feel like I was conquering the road when I was on the CGO800S so much as borrowing my aunt’s car for an errand. The “Sky Blue” color helped cement the image of a modern-day Mercury Sable in my head. It’s not meant for no-power riding, and its battery isn’t a long-hauler, with a stated 53-mile range. It’s comfortable, it’s capable, and maybe we’ve long since reached the stage of the e-bike market where some bikes are just capital-F Fine, instead of them all being quirky experiments.
All this is to say I didn’t have any real issues with the CGO800S itself, beyond some notable matters of build quality and wonky display software. There are e-bikes in the same $1,700 price range that look far more slick, have more traditional bike shapes and postures, or have a lot more range or power. But here’s this package of comfort, convenience, and capability, and once you get it assembled and tuned up, it’s quite handy.
Part of the Tenways’ CGO800S unboxing. If seeing a collection of wheels and handlebars makes you uneasy, you’d do well to contact your local bike shop.
Kevin Purdy
Not the most helpful cable-routing instructions I’ve seen. Not the worst! But “Connect the wires and organize” could use some hinting.
Kevin Purdy
Not the smoothest setup experience
Tenways has a lot of work to do in shipping the CGO800S to customers and helping them get it set up. The bike ships with both wheels, handlebar, cabling, rack, and battery separate from the frame. That would be fine if everything went to plan. The instructions are not the worst I’ve seen ship with an e-bike, but they’re not easy if you don’t have experience.
The whole of the front cabling setup is a sentence repeated twice on one page: “Insert the connectors into the outlet hole at the lower part of the handlebars, and organize the outlet.” There are icons and illustrations vaguely indicating that you should match the colors of each connector end. There is no suggestion of which cables should be taut, which should have some slack to them, or what a good look for a finished “organized outlet” should be. Another page described the setup of the front headlight, mudguard, and front fork in a similarly vague fashion, leaving me to wrench and re-wrench the same nuts three times.
The front wheel I received was also significantly out of true (not properly rounded), such that I couldn’t use its disc brake until it was fixed. I’m not being hyperbolic about a perceived imperfection: I’ve built my own bike wheels, I’ve trued dozens of wheels for guests at a bike-fix clinic, and this wheel was pretty rough. I was able to get it close enough with a zip tie on the frame, but given that I’m a reviewer receiving this wheel, it seems like some inspection steps are missing.
One of the major data brokers engaged in the deeply alienating practice of selling detailed driver behavior data to insurers has shut down that business.
Verisk, which had collected data from cars made by General Motors, Honda, and Hyundai, has stopped receiving that data, according to The Record, a news site run by security firm Recorded Future. According to a statement provided to Privacy4Cars, and reported by The Record, Verisk will no longer provide a “Driving Behavior Data History Report” to insurers.
Skeptics have long assumed that car companies had at least some plan to monetize the rich data regularly sent from cars back to their manufacturers, or telematics. But a concrete example of this was reported by The New York Times’ Kashmir Hill, in which drivers of GM vehicles were finding insurance more expensive, or impossible to acquire, because of the kinds of reports sent along the chain from GM to data brokers to insurers. Those who requested their collected data from the brokers found details of every trip they took: times, distances, and every “hard acceleration” or “hard braking event,” among other data points.
While the data was purportedly coming from an opt-in “Smart Driver” program in GM cars, many customers reported having no memory of opting in to the program or believing that dealership salespeople activated it themselves or rushed them through the process. The Mozilla Foundation considers cars to be “the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy,” given the overly broad privacy policies owners must agree to, extensive data gathering, and general lack of safeguards or privacy guarantees available for US car buyers.
GM quickly announced a halt to data sharing in late March, days after the Times’ reporting sparked considerable outcry. GM had been sending data to both Verisk and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the latter of which is not signaling any kind of retreat from the telematics pipeline. LexisNexis’ telematics page shows logos for carmakers Kia, Mitsubishi, and Subaru.
Ars contacted LexisNexis for comment and will update this post with new information.
Disclosure of GM’s stealthily authorized data sharing has sparked numerous lawsuits, investigations from California and Texas agencies, and interest from Congress and the Federal Trade Commission.
Enlarge/ What can I say? It was tough putting the Brompton C Line Electric through its paces. Finding just the right context for it. Grueling work.
Kevin Purdy
There’s never been a better time to ride a weird bike.
That’s especially true if you live in a city where you can regularly see kids being dropped off at schools from cargo bikes with buckets, child seats, and full rain covers. Further out from the urban core, fat-tire e-bikes share space on trails with three-wheelers, retro-style cruisers, and slick roadies. And folding bikes, once an obscurity, are showing up in more places, especially as they’ve gone electric.
So when I got to try out the Brompton Electric C Line (in a six-speed model), I felt far less intimidated riding, folding, and stashing the little guy wherever I went than I might have been a few years back. A few folks recognized the distinctively small and British bike and offered a thumbs-up or light curiosity. If anyone was concerned about the oddity of this quirky ride, it was me, mostly because I obsessed over whether I could and should lock it up outside or not.
But for the most part, the Brompton fits in, and it works as a bike. It sat next to me at bars and coffee shops and outdoor eateries, it rode the DC Metro, it went on a memorial group ride, and it went to the grocery store. I repeatedly hauled it to a third-floor walkup apartment and brought it on a week’s vacation, fitting it on the floor behind the car driver’s seat. And with an electric battery pack, it was even easier to forget that it was any different from a stereotypical bike—so long as you didn’t look down.
Still, should you pay a good deal more than $3,000 (and probably more like $4,000 after accessories) for a bike with 16-inch tires—especially one you might never want to leave locked up outside?
Let’s get into that.
The Brompton C Line, pre-fold (mid-beer).
Kevin Purdy
Step 1: Release a clasp and pull the bike frame up, allowing the rear wheel to swing forward underneath.
Kevin Purdy
Step 2: Loosen the clamp and fold the front half back to align with the rear wheel, lining up a little hook on the wheel with the frame.
Kevin Purdy
Step 3: Remove the battery (technically unnecessary, but wise), loosen a clamp holding up the handlebar, then fold it down onto the frame, letting a nub tuck into a locking notch.
Kevin Purdy
Step 4: Drop down the seat (which also locks the frame into position), rotate one pedal onto the tire, and flip the other pedal up.
Kevin Purdy
Learning The Fold
Whether you buy it at a store or have it shipped to you, a Brompton C Line is possibly the easiest e-bike to unpack, set up, and get rolling. You take out the folded-up bike, screw in the crucial hinge clamps that hold it together, put on the saddle, and learn how to unfold it for the first time. Throw some air in the tires, and you could be on your way about 20 minutes after getting the bike.
But you shouldn’t head out without getting some reps in on The Fold. The Fold is the reason the Brompton exists. It hasn’t actually changed that much since Andrew Ritchie designed it in 1975. Release a rear frame clip and yank the frame up, and the rear wheel and its frame triangle roll underneath the top tube. Unscrew a hinged clamp, then “stir” the front wheel backward, allowing a subtle hook to catch on the rear frame. Drop the seat and you’ll feel something lock inside the frame. You can then unhinge and fold the handlebar down, or you can keep it up to push the bike around on its tiny frame wheels in “shopping cart mode.”
If you forget the sequence of the fold, there are little reminders in a few spots on the bike.
Kevin Purdy
After maybe five attempts, I began to get The Fold done in less than a minute. After around a dozen tries, I started to appreciate its design and motions. The way a Brompton folds up is great for certain applications, like fitting into a car instead of using a rack, bringing on public transit or train rides, tucking underneath a counter or table, or fitting into the corner of the most space-challenged home. It can also be handy if you’re heading somewhere you’re wary of locking it up outside (more on that in a moment).
Have electric vehicles been overhyped? A casual observer might have come to that conclusion after almost a year of stories in the media about EVs languishing on lots and letters to the White House asking for a national electrification mandate to be watered down or rolled back. EVs were even a pain point during last year’s auto worker industrial action. But a look at the sales data paints a different picture, one where Tesla’s outsize role in the market has had a distorting effect.
“EVs are the future. Our numbers bear that out. Current challenges will be overcome by the industry and government, and EVs will regain momentum and will ultimately dominate the automotive market,” said Martin Cardell, head of global mobility solutions at consultancy firm EY.
Public perception hasn’t been helped by recent memories of supply shortages and pandemic price gouging, but the chorus of concerns about EV sales became noticeably louder toward the end of last year and the beginning of 2024. EV sales in 2023 grew by 47 percent year on year, but the first three months of this year failed to show such massive growth. In fact, sales in Q1 2024 were up only 2.6 percent over the same period in 2023.
Tesla doesn’t break out its sales data by region anymore, but its new US registrations were down by as much as 25 percent, month on month, as its overall marketshare of EVs closes in on 50 percent this year; by contrast, Tesla was 80 percent of the US EV market in 2020. (Overall, Tesla’s global deliveries fell by 8.5 percent.)
The other sick patient in addition to Tesla is Volkswagen. Despite local production of the ID.4 crossover in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the brand saw EV sales fall by 37 percent in Q1. It has also abandoned plans to bring the ID.7 electric sedan to North America, and the long-awaited ID. Buzz microbus has yet to reach US showrooms more than eight years after it was first shown here.
But all this noise has been enough to spook executives into action. Both Ford and General Motors took the embarrassing step of rolling back their electrification goals, all but admitting they bet on the wrong horse. Instead of turning away from new internal combustion engine products, we’re set for a new flurry of hybrids—just don’t expect any of them to show up before 2026.
GM’s difficulty in ramping up its new family of EVs built around the UItium battery platform has been well-documented. The end of production of the Chevrolet Bolt, which sold for less than $30,000, didn’t help; with the little electric hatchback (and the slightly stretched Bolt EUV) no longer contributing to the sales charts, GM’s Q1 EV sales fell by 21 percent.
The problems with assembling Ultium cells into battery packs appears to be in GM’s past now. Cadillac Lyriqs are starting to become a common sight on the road, and GM CEO Mary Barra told Bloomberg that GM expects to build between 200,000 and 300,000 Ultium-based EVs this year, a huge increase over the 13,838 it managed to ship last year.
Meanwhile, Ford’s EV “slump” is nothing of the kind. In May, it sold 91 percent more F-150 Lightnings than last year. E-Transit sales were up 77 percent. And the Mustang Mach-E showed growth of 46 percent. In total, Ford’s EV sales for the first five months of this year were up 87.7 percent on 2023, helped no doubt by the company’s price cuts.
High double-digit sales growth (in Q1 2024) has also been occurring at Hyundai and Kia (up 56.1 percent), BMW (up 57.8 percent), Rivian (up 58.8 percent), Mercedes (up 66.9 percent), and Toyota (up 85.9 percent).
“As anticipated, Tesla’s sales took a hit, influencing the overall market dynamics. However, a few brands saw significant EV sales increases, achieving over 50 percent year-over-year growth,” said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive. “As noted in January, we are calling 2024 ‘the Year of More.’ More new products, more incentives, more inventory, more leasing and more infrastructure will drive EV sales higher this year. Even so, we’ll continue to see ups and downs as the industry moves toward electrification.”
“We view the current headwinds that EV sales are experiencing in the US and Europe as short-term in nature. The buildup of charging infrastructure, availability of affordable EV models with a fall in battery prices, combined with government regulations, will drive sustainable BEV growth in the long run,” said Cardell.
