Yesterday, US Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Joshua Hawley (R-MO) sent letters to the heads of Ford, General Motors, and Tesla, as well as the US heads of Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen, excoriating them over their opposition to the right-to-repair movement.
“We need to hit the brakes on automakers stealing your data and undermining your right-to-repair,” said Senator Merkley in a statement to Ars. “Time and again, these billionaire corporations have a double standard when it comes to your privacy and security: claiming that sharing vehicle data with repair shops poses cybersecurity risks while selling consumer data themselves. Oregon has one of the strongest right-to-repair laws in the nation, and that’s why I’m working across the aisle to advance efforts nationwide that protect consumer rights.”
Most repairs aren’t at dealerships
The Senators point out that 70 percent of car parts and services currently come from independent outlets, which are seen as trustworthy and providing good value for money, “while nearly all dealerships receive the worst possible rating for price.”
OEMs and their tier-one suppliers restricting the supply of car parts to within their franchised dealership networks also slows down the entire repair process for owners as well as increasing the cost of getting one’s car fixed, the letter states.
As Ars noted recently, more than one in five automotive recalls are now fixed with software patches, and increasingly the right-to-repair fight has centered on things digital—access to diagnostics, firmware, and connected services. The percentage of non-hardware recall fixes will surely grow in the coming years as more and more automakers replace older models with software-defined vehicles.
Over two decades of parenting has left me with a healthy appreciation for SUVs and minivans. But there comes a time when the nest empties and transportation needs change. While it’s useful to have a larger car around for road trips and hauling stuff around, one such vehicle is sufficient. The second car can be small, economical, energy efficient—the kind of car that I wouldn’t have given a second glance in the past.
When Ars first drove the Fiat 500e last spring, we were impressed with what we saw and how it drove during the few hours spent behind the wheel. But Fiat is positioning this as an ideal second car, as Fiat CEO Olivier Francois told Ars at the drive. “My ambition is not to replace your sedan or [S]UV.” The automaker wants the 500e to be your stylish but economical secondary ride.
A novel approach to branding
After spending a week with the Fiat 500e Inspired by Beauty, I can attest that the 500e does indeed make for an ideal second car, at least if you don’t have regular backseat passengers. Fiat’s tiny hatchback is also one of the most efficient BEVs Ars has ever driven, as it consistently averaged 5 mi/kWh (12.4 kWh/100 km).
Returning to US shores after a five-year absence from the market, the 500e rolls on an all-new platform designed from the ground up for EVs. That’s a great change—and here’s a weird one. Instead of buying a black 500e, one purchases the Fiat 500e Inspired By Music edition, which is black. I drove the Fiat 500e Inspired By Beauty edition, which is a striking rose gold. The 500e is also available in red (RED) and silver Marine Layer Mist (Inspired By Los Angeles).
The branding may be a bit twee, but it makes sense for a car that Francois has referred to as the “ultimate fashion accessory.” But you’re reading Ars, not our most-excellent sibling Vogue, so this review focuses more on functionality than style.
That said, the 500e is all kinds of cute. In an ocean of black, white, and gray SUVs, Fiat’s wee, rose-gold car stands out. It’s not just the color—Fiat has given the 500e a distinctive face, with the hood giving the headlight/running-light combo an eyebrow-eyelid-eyeball appearance.
Enlarge/ A rose gold car stands out in a sea of monochrome SUVs.
Although the materials feel more fast-fashion than haute couture, the 500e interior looks sharp. Seats are white, with “FIAT” embossed all over. Most importantly, the front seat feels bigger than it should. There’s never a sensation of feeling confined or penned in. Visibility is excellent (unless there’s an SUV next to you blocking your view), and storage is adequate with the rear seats folded down (unfortunately, they do not fold flat). With the back seats up, there are 7.5 cubic feet (212 L) of storage. Unlike most other BEVs, the 500e is frunkless, as the short (142.9 in/3,630 mm) chassis means the motor, power electronics, and other equipment needs to live there.
Both BMW and Stellantis are recalling hundreds of thousands of vehicles in the US this month due to airbag problems. For BMW, the problem, which potentially affects 394,029 cars, is a continuation of the Takata airbag recall, the largest automotive recall in history. Stellantis has slightly fewer potentially affected cars, with 322,000 subject to recall, but for a different problem caused by a suspect sensor in the seat belt buckle.
BMW
While the BMW recall will be sent to almost 400,000 owners, the company suspects only 1 percent of that population will have a problem that needs remedying. That’s because it wants dealers to check any cars where the owner has replaced the factory-fitted steering wheel with a Sport or M-Sport version equipped with a PSDI-5 inflator.
These inflators lack a desiccant or drying agent that would otherwise prevent the ammonium nitrate airbag propellant from taking on moisture, degrading the airbag’s performance to the point where it could overinflate and shower the interior with metal fragments. At least 24 people have been killed by defective Takata airbags in the US, which led to 42 million cars being recalled to fix the problem.
BMW’s recall affects the model-years 2006–11 323i, 325i, 330i, 330Xi, 335i, 335Xi; the model-years 2006–12 325Xi, 328i, 328Xi; and the model-years 2009–11 335d. Should inspection find a replacement wheel with a Takata inflator, it will be replaced with a new airbag module, BMW says.
Stellantis
The Stellantis recall appears to affect cars produced in Italy: the model-years 2017–24 Alfa Romeo Giulia, model-years 2018–24 Alfa Romeo Stelvio, model-year 2024 Fiat 500E, model-years 2019–23 Fiat 500X, and model-years 2019–23 Jeep Renegade.
Here, the problem is not an airbag inflator but the Hall effect sensor, supplied by ZF, on the seat belt buckle—or, more specifically, the wiring that connects that sensor to the car’s internal network. Suspect connectors were used in different models at different times, some as early as 2016 and some as late as this June. In cars with faulty Hall effect sensor wiring, the airbag may not trigger during a crash.
Stellantis says that dealers will directly wire the sensor to the wiring harness with a solder tube in affected cars.
Enlarge/ Jeep is ready to join the electric SUV fray with the new Wagoneer S, which goes on sale later this year.
Jeep
The Jeep brand has finally debuted its first purpose-built electric vehicle. It’s targeting the hotly contested SUV segment with the new Wagoneer S, which goes on sale this fall. But other than its name, it shares little with the gasoline-powered Wagoneer; the Wagoneer S uses the same EV architecture—called STLA Large—as the forthcoming electric Dodge Charger.
It looks like Jeep is using a similar playbook to Dodge and Ram as it introduces its electric models: Give them the same name and styling as a familiar bestseller to keep customers comfortable, then give them serious power output and some headline-grabbing numbers to generate a halo effect.
Powerful
That’s why the Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition will offer 600 hp (447 kW), 617 lb-ft (837 Nm), and a 0–60 mph (0-98 km/h) time of 3.4 seconds. It’s powered by a 100.5 kWh battery pack with nickel manganese cobalt chemistry operating at 400 V.
Jeep said that’s sufficient for at least 300 miles (482 km) of range on a single charge, which is far from the 4.3 miles/kWh (6.9 kWh/100 km) that parent company Stellantis said it was targeting for US-bound EVs when it originally announced the STLA Large platform. Despite the size of the pack, it should fast-charge quite rapidly, going from 5–80 percent state of charge in just 28 minutes (20–80 percent takes 23 minutes, we’re told).
Enlarge/ Don’t expect to get access to the Tesla Supercharger network.
Jeep
Native J3400 ports won’t show up until model-year 2026, so it’s CCS1 for the time being. When Stellantis announced it was adopting the Tesla-style J3400 port, it made no mention of having negotiated access to the Tesla Supercharger network, and the Wagoneer S reveal is similarly silent on the matter.
Each Wagoneer S axle is driven by a permanently excited electric motor rated at up to 335 hp (250 kW), and the front drive unit can be disconnected by a clutch for better efficiency. Befitting an SUV wearing the Jeep name, it features a range of on- and off-road drive modes.
According to the spec sheet, this is the most aerodynamic vehicle ever to wear the Jeep badge, albeit with a drag coefficient of 0.29 that’s merely average when compared to other electric SUVs.
Not cheap
If you were expecting a bare-bones cheap Jeep EV, you’ll have to keep waiting. Jeep invented the entire concept of a luxury SUV with the original Wagoneer in 1963, and it says this new Wagoneer S evolves the brand “with a new embrace of technology, luxury, and innovation.”
The Wagoneer S is 192.4 inches (4,886 mm) long, 74.8 inches (1,900 mm) wide, and 64.8 inches (1,645 mm) tall, with a 113-inch (2,870 mm) wheelbase. It’s quite heavy, with a curb weight of 5,667 lbs (2,571 kg).
Jeep
2024 Jeep® Wagoneer S Launch Edition Radar Red Interior.
Jeep
The launch edition of the Wagoneer S doesn’t lack for power.
Jeep
The Wagoneer S has user-customizable interior LED lighting.
Jeep
The Launch Edition—which starts at $71,995 and is eligible for the full $7,500 IRS clean vehicle tax credit—comes with a lot of equipment standard, including heated and ventilated seats in the front and back, a 19-speaker McIntosh sound system, and a bevy of screens that include the main instrument display, the main infotainment screen, an infotainment screen for the front passenger, and a fourth screen for the climate controls.
But in keeping with the increased social responsibility that comes with building EVs, the interior uses synthetic leather instead of cow hides, and the headliner and carpets are made from recycled materials.
“The launch of the all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S marks a new chapter in the storied history of the Jeep brand,” said Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa. “Building upon nearly a century of innovation and design, this first global EV will introduce a whole new generation of owners to an experience that is distinctly Jeep and 100 percent electric in every way. With new energy in the Jeep vehicle lineup, ranging from EV to V8, customers have never had more freedom to choose their own adventure.”
Trailhawk concept
Since the Jeep name is synonymous with off-road activity, the company also showed off a Trailhawk concept of the Wagoneer S. This “showcases what the all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S lineup is truly capable of, whether cornering tight turns with ease or traversing new ground off the beaten path,” Filosa said.
Jeep also showed off this Trailhawk concept based on the Wagoneer S.
Jeep
The interior was probably designed with dudes who collect axes and morale patches in mind.
Jeep
There’s lifted suspension for better ground clearance and a more aggressive off-road look, with body cladding protecting the Jeep’s lower extremities. The interior features a grab bar for the front passenger to hold onto while the EV negotiates steep angles, or for you to mount gear onto. There’s also a meteorite-inspired stone veneer on the dash and an octagonal steering wheel with “tactical-inspired grip section[s]” at the 9 and 3 positions.
