Today’s cruise ships are environmental nightmares. Just one vessel packed with a veritable petri dish of passengers can burn as much as 250 tons of fuel per day, or about the same emissions as 12,000 cars. If the industry is to survive, it will need to adapt quickly in order to adequately address the myriad ecological emergencies facing the planet—and one Norwegian cruise liner company is attempting to meet those challenges head-on.

Earlier today, Hurtigruten Norway unveiled the first designs for a zero-emission cruise ship scheduled to debut by the end of the decade. First announced in March 2022 as “Sea Zero,” Hurtigruten (Norwegian for “the Fast Route”) showed off its initial concept art for the craft on Wednesday. The vessel features three autonomous, retractable, 50m-high sail wing rigs housing roughly 1,500-square-meters of solar panels. Alongside the sails, the ship will be powered by multiple 60-megawatt batteries that recharge while in port, as well as wind technology. Other futuristic additions to the vessel will include AI maneuvering capabilities, retractable thrusters, contra-rotating propellers, advanced hull coatings, and proactive hull cleaning tech.

[Related: Care about the planet? Skip the cruise, for now.]

“Following a rigorous feasibility study, we have pinpointed the most promising technologies for our groundbreaking future cruise ships,” said Hurtigruten Norway CEO Hedda Felin. Henrik Burvang, Research and Innovation Manager at VARD, the company behind the ship concept designs, added the forthcoming boat’s streamlined shape, alongside its hull and propulsion advances, will reduce energy demand. Meanwhile, VARD is “developing new design tools and exploring new technologies for energy efficiency,” said Burvang.

With enhanced AI capabilities, the cruise ships’ crew bridge is expected to significantly shrink in size to resemble airplane cockpits, but Hurtigruten’s futuristic, eco-conscious designs don’t rest solely on its next-gen ship and crew. The 135-meter-long concept ship’s estimated 500 guests will have access to a mobile app capable of operating their cabins’ ventilation systems, as well as track their own water and energy consumption while aboard the vessel.

Next up for Hurtigruten’s Sea Zero project is a two-year testing and development phase for the proposed tech behind the upcoming cruise ship, particularly focusing on battery production, propulsion, hull design, and sustainable practices. Meanwhile, the company will also look into onboard hotel operational improvements, which Hurtigruten states can consume as much as half a ship’s overall energy reserves.

Hurtigruten also understands if 2030 feels like a long time to wait until a zero-emission ship. In the meantime, the company has already upgraded two of its seven vessels to run on a battery-hybrid-power system, with a third on track to be retrofitted this fall.  Its additional vessels are being outfitted with an array of tech to CO2 emissions by 20-percent, and nitrogen oxides by as much as 80 percent.

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Teaching a teenager how to drive is often nerve-wracking for parents, and understandably so. Putting a kid behind the wheel of a machine that weighs a ton or more can be daunting, but it’s a necessary rite of passage to get them to that glorious day when they can drive themselves to soccer practice. Some teens take to it immediately, embracing freedom and experience, but others hesitate due to reasons like apathy or even fear.

But an innovative solution to this issue came from Loxley Browne, who is the CEO and founder of Club Athena in California, a non-profit organization that teaches girls aged 12 to 18 about STEM principles via an online platform. Browne works closely with her student advisory board to create hands-on projects for the girls in the program, and one day asked her student board president, Akshaya Koramutla, how her driver training was going.

As Browne recalls, Koramutla flinched and said, “I tried driving my dad’s car in a parking lot and it was really stressful. Another car almost hit me.”

That conversation sparked an idea for Club Athena’s next project: They would take a regular street car and turn it into a driving simulator to get the tweens and teens in the program comfortable behind the wheel.

Here’s how they turned a 1997 BMW convertible into a driving simulator.

Setting the budget

In 2019, Browne kicked off an organization called Athena Racing with the intention of teaching girls go-karting skills with a racing focus. A racing enthusiast herself, Browne wanted to share her passion with girls and help grow their confidence behind the wheel. However, the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020 derailed her in-person plan and she pivoted to online classes, as Club Athena.

From that transition came FABcamp, a week-long live virtual forum designed to inspire girls in the program with expert speakers and an afternoon hands-on fabrication session from their individual locations. The BMW-based simulator, nicknamed “Simmie,” was the group’s most recent FABcamp project, starting with that conversation between Browne and Koramutla.

“The girls all play games like Forza and iRacing,” Browne says. “They love it, and the simulator gives them driving experience without an adult in the car screaming at them.”

[Related: An inside look at the data powering McLaren’s F1 team]

First, the members of the club spent a month talking to companies that make simulators, collecting feedback from experts. Motorsports simulation expert and former racer Sean Yoder is on the advisory board for Athena Racing, and he was a key asset for the project. Now CEO of Nemesis Lab, which builds high-performance simulators and gaming hardware, Yoder has an impressive background. On a previous project, he worked with Yale University Medical Research to develop software to help determine how epileptic seizures affect performance using virtual reality driving simulation during video/EEG monitoring.

Starting with an all-in pie-in-the-sky budget, the team of students—led by Koramutla, Browne, and Yoder—narrowed the budget down to a manageable number.

“The spreadsheet allowed the girls to see the different items that we would need to consider as we built Simmie,” Browne says. “It helped to define the project management and for me to talk through the different steps of the build with them.”

Building Simmie

In 2022, they found a 1997 BMW 318i convertible online that was missing a central processing unit (or CPU) and bought it for $1,200, then spent five full days just cleaning it out. They removed the engine, transmission, and gas tank and sold those components. Then they took a sledgehammer to the front dash, which Browne jokingly refers to as “deconstruction therapy.”

“We weren’t able to get some of the parts out of the car easily,” Koramutla says. “Our solution to this problem was getting our safety gear on and using our hammers and crowbars to hack away at the unnecessary materials. The most intense part of the fabrication was concentrated on the dashboard and console area. Because we would be putting gaming components into the car, we needed to create a stable environment to attach them.”

After deconstruction, they reconstructed the interior, building a new dashboard and structure for the gaming components. The BMW received a new windshield, and the team placed monitors outside the windshield for the closest simulation to driving a real car on the street. Where the engine once was now houses the new structure for all the computer components. The steering wheel was replaced by a gaming wheel and a gaming pedal set is where the brake and accelerator used to be. 

“This is an ongoing process,” Browne says. “We’re going to add a butt shaker and air vents so you feel it when you go faster. We’ll add speakers and bass to feel the rumble.”

Sharing what they learned

Browne recorded all the segments of Simmie’s build and made it available online for FABcamp participants, like a virtual shop class. Soon, she says, the video segments will be available to the public so more kids can learn.

“Akshaya was up to her elbows in the car,” Browne says. “Now she knows how to use power tools and she’ll be able to think about all of these times we used cardboard and paper to create a prototype and then create something out of metal. She wants to be a doctor, and from this experience she’ll have the confidence to walk into an invention laboratory and tell them exactly what to do to create a new medical device.”

Simmie currently resides in a shop in San Diego, and Club Athena hosts one Saturday a month when the girls can book time to play and practice driving. Sometimes, they even bring brothers or friends with them. The car doesn’t move, but its drivers can still practice cruising.  

Browne’s goal is to create talent pipelines straight out of Club Athena and create paths for girls to go on and start STEM-related careers, guiding them all the way through. Her ultimate dream is to find a visionary philanthropist who wants to take it worldwide and build an “Ironman-type lab with hundreds of acres” to test builds. Just imagine a field of Simmies standing by to help teens get more comfortable with driving. 

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The race to electrify the world’s vehicles and store energy will require batteries — so many of them, in fact, that meeting the demand we will see by 2040 will require 30 times the amount of critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel that those industries currently use.

That presents an enormous challenge, one exacerbated by the mining industry’s alarming allegations of labor crimes, environmental destruction, and encroachments on Indigenous land. There are ways to mitigate electrification’s extractive impacts, one of which may seem obvious: Recycle every battery we make. 

Doing so would reduce the world’s need to mine these minerals by 10 percent within 16 years, because the critical materials in batteries are infinitely reusable. Eventually, a robust circular battery economy could all but eliminate the need to extract them at all.

Of course, that would require recovering every EV pack at the end of its life, a sizable undertaking as the United States prepares for hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles to retire by the end of the decade. A nascent ecosystem of startups is working toward that goal, and the Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits to incentivize the practice. But some electrification advocates say those steps do not go far enough. While the European Union recently passed a regulation mandating EV battery recycling, there is no such law in the U.S. Proponents of a federal recycling standard say that without one, batteries that could be recycled might get left behind, increasing the need for mining and undermining electrification’s environmental benefits. 

“We need a coordinated federal response to truly have a large-scale impact on meeting our demand,” said Blaine Miller-McFeeley, a policy advocate at Earthjustice, which favors a federal recycling requirement. “If you compare us to the EU, we are woefully behind and need to move much more quickly.”

That movement would have to come from Congress, according to Miller-McFeeley. Historically, however, regulating recycling has been left up to the states and local jurisdictions. The Biden administration has instead been supporting the country’s budding EV battery recycling industry, mainly by making it good business to recover critical materials. 

The Department of Energy wants to establish a “battery ecosystem” that can recover 90 percent of spent lithium batteries by 2030. It has granted billions in loans to battery recyclers to build new facilities. Automakers are incentivized to buy those recyclers’ products, because part of the federal EV tax credit applies only to cars with batteries that include a minimum amount of critical minerals that were mined, processed or recycled in the U.S. or by a free-trade partner. Manufacturers also get a tax credit for producing critical materials (including recycled ones) in the U.S.

Daniel Zotos, who handles public advocacy at the battery recycling startup Redwood Materials, said in an email that a healthy market for recycled materials is emerging. “Not only is there tremendous value today in recycling these metals, but the global demand for metals means that automakers need to source both more mined and recycled critical minerals.”

Zotos said Redwood Materials agrees with the approach the federal government has taken. “The U.S. has in fact chosen to help incentivize, rather than mandate, recycling through provisions established in the Inflation Reduction Act, which we’re deeply supportive of.”

During a pilot project in California last year, the company recovered 95 percent of the critical materials in 1,300 lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride EV and hybrid batteries. The cost of retrieving packs from throughout the state was the biggest barrier to profitability, but Zotos said that expense will subside as the industry grows.

A tiny but growing secondary market for EV batteries is also driving their reuse. Most batteries will be retired once their capacity dwindles to about 70 to 80 percent, due to the impact on the car’s range. But they’re still viable enough at that point to sustain a second life as storage for renewable energy like wind and solar power. 

B2U Storage Solutions used 1,300 retired batteries from Nissan and Honda to create 27 megawatts hours of storage at its solar farm just north of Los Angeles in Lancaster, California. Photovoltaic panels charge the packs all day, and B2U sells the stored power to the local utility during peak demand in the evening. “There is more value in reuse,” said company president Freeman Hall, “and we’re not doing anything more than deferring recycling another four or five years.” 

Homeowners and hobbyists are embracing second-life batteries, too. Henry Newman, co-owner of the auto dismantler EV Parts Solutions in Phoenix, said customers buy his Tesla and Nissan Leaf batteries to convert classic cars or create DIY power storage at home. Any batteries that Newman can’t sell are picked up by Li-Cycle, a lithium-ion battery recycler with a plant in Gilbert, Arizona. 

Newman said dismantlers and customers seem to want to do the right thing. “I know there will be people who don’t follow regulation, but my experience in the last six to seven years is that the industry is pretty conscious of it and tries to mitigate throwing these things in the trash,” he said. A law could help prevent mishandling, but Newman worries about any overreach or added costs that would come with more regulation. 

But relying on the market to ensure proper stewardship is risky, said Jessica Dunn, a senior analyst in the clean transportation program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “The recycling of cars has traditionally been a market-based environment,” she said. “But we’re dealing with a completely different system now. EV batteries are big and have a lot of critical materials in them that we need to get out of them no matter if it’s economical or not.” 

Transporting EV batteries, which can weigh more than 1,500 pounds, is expensive (as much as one-third of the cost of recycling them), dangerous, and logistically challenging. Packs can catch fire if improperly handled, and they are classified as hazardous material, which requires special shipping permits. If the battery is in a remote location or is damaged, a recycler could deem it too much trouble to retrieve without a mandate to do so.

Dunn also said that not all batteries contain enough valuable materials for it to make financial sense to go through the trouble of recovering them. While most EV batteries currently contain high-value cobalt and nickel, a new generation of cheaper lithium-ion-phosphate, or LFP, batteries don’t use those metals. Tesla, Ford, and Rivian all recently announced they will use LFPs in some models.

“Just because there aren’t nickel and cobalt in them doesn’t mean that the lithium isn’t something that we should be recovering,” said Dunn. Redwood Materials said it collects lithium-ion phosphate batteries and uses the lithium within them to assemble new battery components, and that they collect all battery packs no matter their condition.

Finally, without guidelines in place, viable batteries may not be repurposed before being recycled, which Dunn said undermines their sustainability. “You’ve already put all that literal energy — and the environmental impacts that go along with that — into manufacturing these batteries,” she said. “So if you can squeak an extra five to 10 years out of them, that’s a really good option.” 

With the U.S. poised to see about 165,000 electric vehicle batteries retire in 2030, Dunn said the time to ensure no batteries are stranded is now. “We’re not seeing a big wave now, but that’s coming, and so we need to be prepared for that.”

There has been some federal movement toward a recycling requirement. The 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the Department of Energy to establish a task force to develop an “extended battery producer responsibility framework” to address battery design, transport, and recycling.

Extended producer responsibility, or EPR, is the approach that the EU took in its battery regulation that passed last December. EPR puts the onus on the manufacturer to ensure that what they produce is properly repurposed and then recycled, either by compelling them to pay for the recycling or to handle it themselves. 

Thirty-three states have such laws, covering 16 products ranging from mattresses to packaging. “It is a paradigm shift for how waste is managed in the United States,” said Scott Cassel of the Product Stewardship Institute. But Congress has never passed such a law. 

EV battery recycling might be the issue that could garner bipartisan support for one. Access to critical materials is a foreign policy and national security issue: China processes more than half the world’s lithium and cobalt, which means a steady domestic supply from recycling would help alleviate dependency on a geopolitical rival. 

Building out the infrastructure to dismantle, recover, and process battery materials could also create thousands of jobs, an accomplishment most lawmakers are happy to align themselves with.  

Republican senators alluded to both benefits when supporting the bipartisan Strategic EV Management Act of 2022, which passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act last year. It requires multiple agencies to work on guidelines for “reusing and recycling” batteries from vehicles retired from the federal fleet. 

Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said in a statement that the bill would ensure agencies could “reap the full economic benefits of EV investments … and do so in a manner that lessens our dependence on communist China.” 

These laws set in motion efforts to design recycling frameworks, but the timelines to develop them span years. In the meantime, a few states are weighing their own mandates. “The states don’t want to wait for any of these bills to move,” Cassel said. “They’re ready to act right now.”

In California, a Senate bill would require battery suppliers to ensure that all “vehicle traction batteries” be recovered, reused, repurposed, or recycled. The bill passed unanimously this week and is headed to the Assembly. Senator Ben Allen, who introduced the bill, said there is bipartisan political and industry support for creating a framework. “You need a system in place,” he said. “That’s like saying, ‘Oh, the people will drive just fine to and from work. We don’t need traffic laws.’” 

As it has been with other clean-vehicle targets, California could be a bellwether for a standard that would eventually take hold nationally.

“We’d love to create a system that could help to inform national policy,” said Allen. “And in this case, with this industry support and bipartisan backing, there actually may be a blueprint here.”

This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/technology/the-u-s-doesnt-have-a-law-mandating-ev-battery-recycling-should-it/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org

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One of the world’s busiest airports will soon showcase an innovative, undeniably cute way to speed up travelers’ entrances and exits. First announced earlier this month, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is partnering with EV Safe Charge to demonstrate how the company’s mobile electric vehicle charging station, ZiGGY, could be deployed in public spaces to economically and conveniently power up consumers’ parked cars.

[Related: Electric cars are better for the environment, no matter the power source.]

Electric vehicles are an integral component of the societal shift towards clean, renewable energy. Unfortunately, battery shortages stemming from supply chain issues alongside a need for evermore charging stations is hampering a wider adoption of green transportation. ZiGGY obviously isn’t a catch-all fix, but it’s still a novel tool that both its makers and DFW hope to highlight over the summer as part of the airport’s series of EV charging solution demos.

“We know that electric vehicles will be a big part of the future of transportation,” Paul Puopolo, DFW’s Executive VP of Innovation, said in a statement, adding their air hub is “leaning into emerging technology now so that we are prepared to meet the needs of the airport community well into the future.”

ZiGGY itself resembles a large vending machine on wheels, which makes a certain amount of sense given it dispenses electric fuel on demand. Using geofencing technology, app-based controls, and on-board cameras, ZiGGY can be deployed directly to the location of your parked EV, where a user can then connect the charging bot to their ride. To court additional revenue streams, each ZiGGY also features large video screens capable of displaying advertisements. Don’t worry about getting stuck behind it if someone is using a ZiGGY, either—its dimensions and mobility ensures each station can park itself behind an EV without the need for additional space.

Speaking with Ars Technica on Tuesday, EV Safe Charge’s founder and CEO Caradoc Ehrenhalt explained that the idea is to deploy ZiGGY fleets to commercial hubs around the world, such as additional airports, hotels, and shopping centers. “What we’re hearing from people… is the common thread of the infrastructure being very challenging or not possible to put in or not cost effective or takes too much time. And so there really is the need for a mobile charging solution,” said Ehrenhalt.

[Related: Why you barely see electric vehicles at car dealerships.]

Of course, such an autonomous vehicle could find itself prone to defacement and vandalism, but Ehrenhalt apparently opts to look on the sunnier side of things. “Ziggy is fairly heavy because of the battery,” they cautioned to Ars Technica. “It has cameras all around and sensors, including GPS, and so there potentially could be [vandalism], but I’m always hoping for the best of humanity.”

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At first glance, race cars and electric go-karts have nothing in common except for a vaguely similar shape. Both are open-cockpit vehicles with wide wheels, and they both thrive on sharp turns—and that appears to be it. 

What many don’t realize is that go-karts are often the entry point for future Indy 500 drivers, and competitors also practice in the tiny vehicles to develop muscle memory. Several companies manufacture karts, and the most recent iteration of Honda’s version is the eGX go-kart concept, which is equipped with two 10-kilo (about 23 pounds) swappable battery packs good for about 45 minutes at a time. This battery technology allows the brand to test the dynamics of electric vehicles on a smaller scale before rolling it out to the much pricier race cars (and eventually apply this insight to passenger vehicles as well). 

Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, and Odyssey owners might not realize it, but Honda’s passion starts with racing, and passenger cars reap the research benefits. Only two manufacturers make IndyCar engines, and Honda is one of them. In the last 30 years, Honda has claimed 18 IndyCar championships and 15 Indianapolis 500 wins. 

PopSci had a chance to pilot one of these eGX karts in the Indianapolis area over Indy 500 weekend. It was heart-pounding, arm-muscle-straining excitement, like a taste of the race itself (minus the yellow and red flags). We also got to speak with engineers to better understand Honda’s strategy for its entire product lineup, from power tools to cars. Here’s what we learned.  

Battery packs offer modularity and continuity

Kids interested in racing start with small go-karts and work their way up. If they have enough skill and a little luck, they’ll find themselves behind the wheel of a high-performance IndyCar or F1 machine. As they develop, drivers keep practicing with karts—albeit increasingly high-powered versions—that twist and squeal and mimic the experience of a road course race. 

“Karts are closer to the open-wheel experience than anything else,” says John Whiteman, commercial motorsports manager at Honda Performance Development. (In case you were wondering, an open-wheel car is one that has its wheels outside of the car versus underneath, like a passenger car.)

Honda Performance Development, or HPD for short, was founded in 1993 for the purpose of designing and developing racing engines along with chassis and performance parts for motorsports. HPD has a history of repurposing small engines to make gas-powered karts and quarter midgets (small racers that are about one-quarter scale of a full-size midget race car).

If you’ve ever been to an outdoor recreational karting track with friends and family, you’re familiar with the whine and buzz of the gas-powered version. Gas-powered kart engines are often shared with lawn mowers, made by other companies like Briggs and Stratton as well as HPD, and indoor tracks use electric karts so they’re not filling the air with toxic fumes. 

The eGX takes a typical electric go kart to the next level, employing two saddle packs on either side of the seat to house the lithium-ion batteries that power the kart. That way, the kart is balanced and maintains its grip with the road without adding rear bias or tip-over potential by loading the battery on one side. 

Whiteman says the swappable battery packs offer many upsides, including reduced maintenance costs and environmental benefits. Through this technology, HPD has learned more about energy storage, heat management, and vehicle weights and balances. These battery packs are already in use for small construction equipment like cordless rammers and compact excavators.

Along with reduced emissions and noise pollution, battery-pack-powered vehicles keep the equipment in commission continuously if you have a bank of these batteries that can be charging up while the others are in use. 

How race car research benefits Honda’s passenger cars

Ultimately, Honda and its HPD division are testing new ideas to find out how that translates to performance and customer satisfaction. Rebecca Johnson, HPD director of production and senior manager, says exploring electrification and sharing each division’s findings throughout the company creates opportunities to improve across the board. 

“We’re trying to train ourselves to be better at hybrids and battery packs for electrified racing,” Johnson says. “Let’s build something. Let’s make a car and let’s call it our laboratory, if you will, and let people ‘play’ and iterate on the design or technology. As we strive forward, we can put that together with what customers want.”

In 2024, the IndyCar series will run with hybrid units with 2.2-liter engines; currently, the power is all supplied by renewable race fuel. Honda is getting ready for this change by testing battery packs and a custom concept hybrid built with a tubular cage and sheet metal copied from a production CR-V crossover. It’s mind-boggling to ride in the Beast, as Honda calls it internally, as it looks like an SUV with a giant wing and sounds like a screaming hurricane inside. This is the future, and it’s pretty exciting. 

Johnson is steeped in racing culture, and she has her eyes trained forward as HPD works to maintain the visceral appeal of IndyCar and Formula One races while moving toward drastically reducing emissions.   

“We’re a racing company that happens to sell cars,” Johnson says. “Racing is in our DNA. If we can prove out tough things on a race track, we can surely make a good Civic. If you can do it at [IndyCar] level, then you should be very good at performance for a Civic owner. They want all the things that we want [for race cars] but on a different level.”

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Ford and Tesla have been rivals for years in the electric vehicle market, but a new agreement may change their relationship status. On Thursday, Ford said in a press release that its EV customers would be able to get access to 12,000 Tesla superchargers across the US and Canada by spring of next year. This will broaden the availability of charging stations by adding to the network of ​​10,000 DC fast-chargers and over 80,000 level-two chargers that Ford has been building out for the last decade. 

Most EVs on the market use the Combined Charging System (CCS) ports for fast charging. Teslas have a unique charging port called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), but its vehicle owners can use special adapters to charge at non-Tesla power stations. 

Pre-2021, it meant that Teslas could charge at public power stations, but no other EVs could charge at a Tesla station. However, starting in November 2021, Tesla started making some (but not all) of its superchargers open to non-Tesla EVs through a “Magic Dock” adapter. Drivers who wanted to use this still had to download the Tesla app on their phones in order to make it work. The Ford partnership will change that process, making things easier for people driving vehicles like the Mach-E or F-150 Lightning.  

“Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit customers will be able to access the Superchargers via an adapter and software integration along with activation and payment via FordPass or Ford Pro Intelligence,” the company said. “In 2025, Ford will offer next-generation electric vehicles with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector built-in, eliminating the need for an adapter to access Tesla Superchargers.”

[Related: Electric cars are better for the environment, no matter the power source]

As EVs become more commonplace, charging availability and range anxiety become understandable concerns for many owners. The only way to relieve that is to build a charging infrastructure that parallels the distribution of gas stations across the country. The Biden Administration has made building public chargers a priority, and last fall, the Department of Transportation said that it had signed off on the EV charging plans for all US states, as well as DC and Puerto Rico. States like Michigan and Indiana have even come up with ambitious plans to make wireless charging possible through special roadway systems. 

When it comes to smoothing over the potholes in the way of EV adoption in the US, more accessible chargers are never a bad thing. Tesla, having led the EV game for so long, seems like it’s finally ready to share its resources for the greater good. “Essentially, the idea is that we don’t want the Tesla Supercharger network to be like a walled garden. We want it to be something that is supportive of electrification and sustainable transport in general,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Thursday in Twitter Spaces, as reported by TechCrunch.  

“It seems totally ridiculous that we have an infrastructure problem, and we can’t even agree on what plug to use,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said at a Morgan Stanley conference, CNBC reported. “I think the first step is to work together in a way we haven’t, probably with the new EV brands and the traditional auto companies.”

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Learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage in many families and communities, and that means the ability to teach someone how to ride a bike is an equally important skill. The first few tries can be scary for kids, but finding the right balance, and coordination will be easier if they have a confident teacher guiding them. That’s where you come in. 

Now, it’s not entirely natural to perch atop a pair of wheels, and falling is a near-certainty until a child has found their bike legs. Challenges are part of the process, but there are a number of ways that you can help the kid you’re teaching get comfortable on two wheels with limited trouble.

Balance bikes are simple. They’re just like small regular bikes, except without pedals. Riders propel themselves forward by pushing with their feet on the ground, essentially running with the bike beneath them. New riders can walk as slow as they want while seated on the bike, and as they get comfortable, start to move faster until they naturally lift their feet and glide farther and farther. Once they’ve mastered staying upright with their feet off the ground and can turn with a combination of the handlebars and leaning, it’s easy enough for them to hop up on a regular bike and learn the nuances of pedaling, starting, and stopping. There’s often no need for training wheels at all. One study found that children who started on a balance bike learned to ride a pedal bike around 4 years old on average, while those who started on a bike with training wheels didn’t learn until they were closer to 6. 

[Related: The best bikes for kids]

I started my kids on balance bikes when they were about 2 (they’re twins), and in a couple of weeks they were zooming and gliding faster than I could keep up with on walks around our neighborhood. When we introduced pedal bikes a few months before their fifth birthday, they got the hang of riding in two short driveway practice sessions and could easily start on their own without a push a few days later. They used training wheels for a total of 30 minutes, and that was only because we bought the bikes fully assembled and they refused to wait for me to take them off before hopping on.   

Even if your kids are older, or you’re trying to teach yourself as an adult, balance bikes are a great way to start. If you can’t find a larger balance bike or don’t want to buy one, Yip suggests removing the pedals from a regular bike and lowering the seat so the rider’s feet rest flat on the ground.

Create a fun, safe space for learning

Riding can be scary at first, so it’s important that kids start off in a comfortable environment. “Start in a flat, traffic-free area, such as a park or a quiet cul-de-sac, where your child can practice without distractions or dangers,” says Peter Ballin, a former international mountain bike racer, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup mechanic, and bicycle coach out of Morzine, France. “Ideally, start them on grass so it’s softer if they fall.” They shouldn’t have to worry about navigating around dangers or running out of space. Let them focus solely on riding.

It’s also important to remember that learning new skills is uncomfortable, so don’t push kids too hard, Yip says. After all, riding a bike should be fun. If the kids aren’t enjoying it, or are getting stressed from too much pressure, they’re going to have a harder time learning. “It’s better to let the child learn at their own pace,” he says. There’s no set amount of time that it should take. In Yip’s classes, students sometimes move from a balance bike to a pedal bike in a single day, but others might take weeks or months to get comfortable with the transition—and that’s OK.  

Ballin adds that as your child improves, giving them little challenges can be a fun way to keep them engaged and pushing themselves without undue pressure. He recommends setting up simple obstacle courses for your kid to navigate, or racing against a clock to keep them motivated and excited to learn.

Don’t forget to teach safe riding habits, too

Teaching a kid to ride a bike isn’t only about guiding them through balance and pedaling. They also have to learn about safety. First is the importance of wearing a helmet anytime they’re out riding. One analysis found that wearing a helmet could reduce the risk of head injuries by 45 percent, brain injuries by 33 percent, facial injuries by 27 percent, and deaths by 29 percent. I’ve seen the value of a helmet in action—one of my kids took a pretty bad balance bike spill and landed on the road on his face. The rim of the helmet saved him from no more than a split lip. Without the helmet, I’m sure it would have been a trip to the hospital instead. 

The other important safety lesson kids need to learn are the rules of the road, both Yip and Ballin say. Make sure to teach them that they should always ride with the flow of traffic rather than against, why we stop at intersections, what stop lights and road signs mean, and who has the right of way in what situations. Even if they’re years away from being old enough to ride alone, it’s good to drill that knowledge into their heads from the start.  

Classes are another option. In addition to providing people for your child to watch, sometimes kids need to learn from someone other than a parent or caretaker, particularly if you find yourselves getting frustrated by a lack of progress. Classes can also be a validating experience for kids who might be embarrassed that they don’t know how to ride yet, Yip says. They’ll see people of all ages who are also learning to ride, and realize that there’s no shame in not having mastered the skill yet.

And once your child is up and running on their bike, so to speak, biking groups and classes are a great way to expand their, and your, knowledge about cycling. Whether it’s getting more comfortable with street riding and racing, diving into the exciting world of BMX, or heading up into the hills for some mountain biking, there are a ton of ways to expand their skills and keep them in the saddle.

The post Pro tips for teaching a kid how to ride a bike appeared first on Popular Science.

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These days, it seems like every carmaker—from those focused on luxury options to those with an eye more toward the economical—is getting into electric vehicles. And with new US policies around purchasing incentives and infrastructure improvements, consumers might be more on board as well. But many people are still concerned about whether electric vehicles are truly better for the environment overall, considering certain questions surrounding their production process. 

Despite concerns about the pollution generated from mining materials for batteries and the manufacturing process for the EVs themselves, the environmental and energy experts PopSci spoke to say that across the board, electric vehicles are still better for the environment than similar gasoline or diesel-powered models. 

When comparing a typical commercial electric vehicle to a gasoline vehicle of the same size, there are benefits across many different dimensions. 

“We do know, for instance, if we’re looking at carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, that electric vehicles operating on the typical electric grid can end up with fewer greenhouse gas emissions over the life of their vehicle,” says Dave Gohlke, an energy and environmental analyst at Argonne National Lab. “The fuel consumption (using electricity to generate the fuel as opposed to burning petroleum) ends up releasing fewer emissions per mile and over the course of the vehicle’s expected lifetime.”

[Related: An electrified car isn’t the same thing as an electric one. Here’s the difference.]

EVs also produce no tailpipe emissions, which means reductions in particulate matter or in smog precursors that contribute to local air pollution.

“The latest best evidence right now indicates that in almost everywhere in the US, electric vehicles are better for the environment than conventional vehicles,” says Kenneth Gillingham, professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale School of the Environment. “How much better for the environment depends on where you charge and what time you charge.”

Electric motors tend to be more efficient compared to the spark ignition engine used in gasoline cars or the compression ignition engine used in diesel cars, where there’s usually a lot of waste heat and wasted energy.

Creating an EV produces pollution during the manufacturing process. “Greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing an electric vehicle are almost twice that of an internal combustion vehicle…that is due primarily to the battery. You’re actually increasing greenhouse gas emissions to produce the vehicle, but there’s a net overall lifecycle benefit or reduction because of the significant savings in the use of the vehicle,” says Gregory Keoleian, the director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan. “We found in terms of the overall lifecycle, on average, across the United States, taking into account temperature effects, grid effects, there was 57 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for a new electric vehicle compared to a new combustion engine vehicle.” 

In terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with operating the vehicles, fully battery-powered electric vehicles were the best, followed by plug-in hybrids, and then hybrids, with internal combustion engine vehicles faring the worst, Keoleian notes. Range anxiety might still be top of mind for some drivers, but he adds that households with more than one vehicle can consider diversifying their fleet to add an EV for everyday use, when appropriate, and save the gas vehicle (or the gas feature on their hybrids) for longer trips.

The breakeven point at which the cost of producing and operating an electric vehicle starts to gain an edge over a gasoline vehicle of similar make and model occurs at around two years in, or around 20,000 to 50,000 miles. But when that happens can vary slightly on a case-by-case basis. “If you have almost no carbon electricity, and you’re charging off solar panels on your own roof almost exclusively, that breakeven point will be sooner,” says Gohlke. “If you’re somewhere with a very carbon intensive grid, that breakeven point will be a little bit later. It depends on the style of your vehicle as well because of the materials that go into it.” 

[Related: Why solid-state batteries are the next frontier for EV makers]

For context, Gohlke notes that the average EV age right now is around 12 years old based on registration data. And these vehicles are expected to drive approximately 200,000 miles over their lifetime. 

“Obviously if you drive off your dealer’s lot and you drive right into a light pole and that car never takes more than a single mile, that single vehicle will have had more embedded emissions than if you had wrecked a gasoline car on your first drive,” says Gohlke. “But if you look at the entire fleet of vehicles, all 200-plus-million vehicles that are out there and how long we expect them to survive, over the life of the vehicle, each of those electric vehicles is expected to consume less energy and emit lower emissions than the corresponding gas vehicle would’ve been.”

To put things in perspective, Gillingham says that extracting and transporting fossil fuels like oil is energy intensive as well. When you weigh those factors, electric vehicle production doesn’t appear that much worse than the production of gasoline vehicles, he says. “Increasingly, they’re actually looking better depending on the battery chemistry and where the batteries are made.” 

And while it’s true that there are issues with mines, the petrol economy has damaged a lot of the environment and continues to do so. That’s why improving individual vehicle efficiency needs to be paired with reducing overall consumption.

EV batteries are getting better

Mined materials like rare metals can have harmful social and environmental effects, but that’s an economy-wide problem. There are many metals that are being used in batteries, but the use of metals is nothing new, says Trancik. Metals can be found in a range of household products and appliances that many people use in their daily lives. 

Plus, there have been dramatic improvements in battery technology and the engineering of the vehicle itself in the past decade. The batteries have become cheaper, safer, more durable, faster charging, and longer lasting. 

“There’s still a lot of room to improve further. There’s room for improved chemistry of the batteries and improved packaging and improved coolant systems and software that manages the batteries,” says Gillingham.

The two primary batteries used in electric vehicles today are NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) and LFP (lithium-ferrous-phosphate). NMC batteries tend to use more precious metals like cobalt from the Congo, but they are also more energy dense. LFP uses more abundant metals. And although the technology is improving fast, it’s still in an early stage, sensitive to cold weather, and not quite as energy dense. LFP tends to be good for utility scale cases, like for storing electricity on the grid. 

[Related: Could swappable EV batteries replace charging stations?]

Electric vehicles also offer an advantage when it comes to fewer trips to the mechanic; conventional vehicles have more moving parts that can break down. “You’re more likely to be doing maintenance on a conventional vehicle,” says Gillingham. He says that there have been Teslas in his studies that are around eight years old, with 300,000 miles on them, which means that even though the battery does tend to degrade a little every year, that degradation is fairly modest.

Eventually, if the electric vehicle markets grow substantially, and there’s many of these vehicles in circulation, reusing the metals in the cars can increase their benefits. “This is something that you can’t really do with the fossil fuels that have already been combusted in an internal combustion engine,” says Trancik. “There is a potential to set up that circularity in the supply chain of those metals that’s not readily done with fossil fuels.”

Since batteries are fairly environmentally costly, the best case is for consumers who are interested in EVs to get a car with a small battery, or a plug-in hybrid electric car that runs on battery power most of the time. “A Toyota Corolla-sized car, maybe with some hybridization, could in many cases, be better for the environment than a gigantic Hummer-sized electric vehicle,” says Gillingham. (The charts in this New York Times article help visualize that distinction.) 

Where policies could help

Electric vehicles are already better for the environment and becoming increasingly better for the environment. 

The biggest factor that could make EVs even better is if the electrical grid goes fully carbon free. Policies that provide subsidies for carbon-free power, or carbon taxes to incentivize cleaner power, could help in this respect. 

The other aspect that would make a difference is to encourage more efficient electric vehicles and to discourage the production of enormous electric vehicles. “Some people may need a pickup truck for work. But if you don’t need a large car for an actual activity, it’s certainly better to have a more reasonably sized car,” Gillingham says.  

Plus, electrifying public transportation, buses, and vehicles like the fleet of trucks run by the USPS can have a big impact because of how often they’re used. Making these vehicles electric can reduce air pollution from idling, and routes can be designed so that they don’t need as large of a battery.  

“The rollout of EVs in general has been slower than demand would support…There’s potentially a larger market for EVs,” Gillingham says. The holdup is due mainly to supply chain problems. 

Switching over completely to EVs is, of course, not the end-all solution for the world’s environmental woes. Currently, car culture is very deeply embedded in American culture and consumerism in general, Gillingham says, and that’s not easy to change. When it comes to climate policy around transportation, it needs to address all the different modes of transportation that people use and the industrial energy services to bring down greenhouse gas emissions across the board. 

The greenest form of transportation is walking, followed by biking, followed by using public transit. Electrifying the vehicles that can be electrified is great, but policies should also consider the ways cities are designed—are they walkable, livable, and have a reliable public transit system connecting communities to where they need to go? 

“There’s definitely a number of different modes of transport that need to be addressed and green modes of transport that need to be supported,” says Trancik. “We really need to be thinking holistically about all these ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The post Electric cars are better for the environment, no matter the power source appeared first on Popular Science.

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Rejoice, Tacoma fans: The fourth generation of the beloved pickup is finally here, and there’s a lot to like. The midsize truck was redesigned from the ground up, retaining its off-road-capable bones and getting new skin, more power, and more options that should please truck buyers of all types. The last time the Taco, as it’s affectionately known, had a full workup was for model year 2016, so this has been a long-awaited update. 

In its popular TRD Pro trim, the new Tacoma includes brand-new seats for the driver and front passenger that ride on a shock absorber system. The purpose of these so-called IsoDynamic Performance Seats is to keep your head—and in turn, your eyes—steady and focused while driving (or riding in the right seat) on rugged terrain. If you’ve ever ridden a horse or performed in a marching band, you understand how important it is to keep your vision intact while moving. 

Let’s take a closer look at this and some of the Tacoma’s other new features. 

Shock-absorbing seats

When driving off-road, your entire body gets bounced around. Depending on the quality of your suspension system, you could be shaken like a James Bond martini. But wouldn’t it be better to float as though you’re moving in tune with the vehicle? Sheldon Brown, the chief engineer for the Tacoma, says the team started by plumping up the bolsters (the narrow pillows that surround your seat) in the seat and seat back, which snugs the occupant into the vehicle securely and comfortably. 

“We were looking to do something and provide better stabilization of the driver and the occupant in those high-speed or even some of the tactical off-road driving scenarios,” Brown told The Drive, which is owned by Recurrent Ventures, PopSci’s parent company. “If you think about, for example, a downhill skier or even if you look to the wild you see a cheetah chasing its prey. The eyes are focused and fixed, the body is moving but the head and the eyes are staying stable, so the goal here is to stabilize the upper torso, particularly the head.”

The Toyota engineering team started with a hot-formed steel tube to create the superstructure of the seats, and surrounded it with a lightweight reinforced resin for the seat pan and back frame. A swivel joint, spring-loaded ball joint, and articulation structure provides the flexibility and movement. The human body’s bone structure works closely with tendons and muscles for full range of motion; the new IsoDynamic Performance Seat is designed to move with those elements for a much less bone-jarring ride. 

Most notably, the seat can be customized to your liking. Airing it up is as simple as using a bicycle tire pump to achieve the level of pressure you like, and Toyota provides a set of recommended pressures based on your unique body mass. From there, you can tweak the comfort as desired. And, of course, you can turn off the adjustments entirely and it becomes a plain old truck seat. 

More power, more torque—and the manual remains

Available in a whopping eight variants—SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off Road, Limited, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter—the 2024 Tacoma is offered with two different powertrains and myriad shiny new accessories straight from the factory. 

Starting with the base SR, the Tacoma gets a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine making 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. Moving up to the SR5 and above, the same engine is tuned for 278 hp and 317 pound-feet of torque. Automatic and manual transmissions are available, and the manual option is largely attributed to Brown’s influence, as he is not just the engineer but a major Tacoma enthusiast. 

The star of the lineup is the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. Engineers paired the turbo 2.4-liter engine with an electric motor and 1.87-kilowatt-hour battery for 326 horsepower and an impressive 465 pound-feet of torque. Standard on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter models and available on TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, Limited variants, the i-Force Max is the most potent power combination ever offered on the Tacoma. 

“The great part about the hybrid system, which is what we just launched in the Tundra (and the motor and battery are identical, by the way) is instantaneous torque,” Brown told PopSci. “While we’re waiting for those turbos to spin up, which isn’t too long, it can really supplement the overall drive experience with an instant burst of power, especially when you’re towing or heavily laden.” 

With the i-Force Max, the truck has nearly double the torque numbers of the previous generation’s V6 capabilities. Gas mileage ranges from 19 miles per gallon to 21 miles per gallon for that model year. While we don’t know the EPA mileage ratings for the new Tacoma, Toyota has definitely made efforts to improve those numbers with a massive air dam in front that creates better aerodynamics. Don’t fret, though, off-roaders: it can be removed to increase ground clearance as necessary. 

Trailhunter vs TRD Pro

New for 2024 is the Trailhunter trim, designed for the ever-increasing overlanding population. Since 2020, the popularity of overlanding (in basic terms, camping in or near your car over long distances) has exploded, and Toyota is making the most of that trend with the Trailhunter. 

Before this trim debuted this year, the TRD Pro was the top of the line for ruggedness, but it’s built more for driving fast in the desert. The Trailhunter fills a need for go-everywhere adventurers with a whole catalog of accessories available straight from the factory, all of which can be rolled into a monthly payment versus purchasing piece by piece. Two years ago, the Trailhunter was teased at the Specialty Equipment Market Association annual trade show as a concept, and enthusiasts will be excited to see it in production. 

Toyota chose custom shocks from an Australian company called Old Man Emu to cushion the ride for both on- and off-road comfort. It’s also key for carrying a heavy load with lots of gear, which is what overlanders tend to do with on-board refrigerators from Dometic, rooftop tents, hydraulic lifts, and spare tires. For the uninitiated, Old Man Emu shocks were created Down Under, and are a popular choice to replace factored suspension components for other outdoors-focused brands like Land Rover

“In the Australian outback, Old Man Emu is the OG of overlanding,” Brown says. “They have a reputation for building good, reliable solutions for the aftermarket and we wanted to partner with them to work on the development together. This is a custom-tuned set that you can’t buy off the shelf.” 

The Trailhunter also boasts an onboard air compressor for airing up tires after an off-roading session, plus a fuel tank protector, mid-body skid plate, front bash plate, and rock sliders all designed to safeguard the truck from damage. 

Stay tuned, because the 2024 Toyota Tacoma is scheduled for dealerships later this year. As soon as we can get behind the wheel, we’ll tell you more about how it performs. 

The post The new Tacoma’s shock-absorbing seats help you keep your eyes on the prize appeared first on Popular Science.

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Formula 1, a 70-year old motorsport, has recently undergone a cultural renaissance. That renaissance has been fueled in large part by the growing popularity of the glitzy, melodrama-filled Netflix reality series, “Drive To Survive,” which Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff once said was closer to the fictional “Top Gun” than a documentary. Relaxed social media rules after F1 changed owners also helped provide a look into the interior lives of drivers-turned-new-age-celebrities. 

As a result, there’s been an explosion of interest among US audiences, which means more eyeballs and more ticket sales. Delving into the highly technical world of F1 can be daunting, so here are the basics to know about the design of the sport—plus an inside look at the complex web of communications and computer science at work behind the scenes. 

Data and a new era of F1

Increasingly, Formula 1 has become a data-driven sport; this becomes evident when you look into the garages of modern F1 teams. 

“It started really around 60, 70 years ago with just a guy with a stopwatch, figuring out which was the fastest lap—to this day and age, having every car equipped with sensors that generate around 1.1 million data points each second,” says Luuk Figdor, principal sports tech advisor with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is a technology partner for F1. “There’s a huge amount of data that’s being created, and that’s per car.” Part of AWS’ job is to put this data in a format that is understandable not only to experts, but also to viewers at home, with features like F1 Insights.

There was a time where cars had unreliable radios, and engineers could only get data on race performance at the very end. Now, things look much more different. Every car is able to send instantaneous updates on steering, G-force, speed, fuel usage, engine and tire status, gear status and much more. Around the track itself, there are more accurate ways for teams to get GPS data on the car positions, weather data, and timing data. 

“This is data from certain sensors that are drilled into the track before the race and there’s also a transponder in the car,” Figdor explains. “And whenever the car passes the sensor, it sends a signal. Based on those signals you can calculate how long it took for a car to pass a certain section of the track.” 

These innovations have made racing more competitive over the years, and made the margins in speed between some of the cars much closer. Fractions of seconds can divide cars coming in first or second place.

F1 101

For newbies, here’s a quick refresher on the rules of the game. Twenty international drivers from 10 teams compete for two championships: the Driver’s Championship and the Constructors’ Championship.

Pre-season testing starts in late February, and racing spans from March to November. There are 20 or so races at locations around the world, and each race is around 300 km (186 miles), which equals 50 to 70 laps (except for the Monaco circuit, which is shorter). Drivers get points for finishing high in the order—those who place 10th or below get no points. Individuals with the highest points win the Driver’s Championship, and teams with the highest points win the Constructors’ Championship. 

A good car is as essential for winning as a good driver. And an assortment of engineers are crucial for ensuring that both the driver and the car are performing at their best. In addition to steering and shifting gears, drivers can control many other settings like engine power and brake balance. Races are rain or shine, but special tires are often required for wet roads. Every team is required to build certain elements of their car, including the chassis, from scratch (they are allowed to buy engines from other suppliers). The goal is to have a car with low air resistance, high speed, low fuel consumption, and good grip on the track. Most cars can reach speeds of around 200 mph. Certain engineering specifications create the downward lift needed to keep the cars on the ground. 

Technical regulations from the FIA contain rules about how the cars can be built—what’s allowed and not allowed. Rules can change from season to season, and teams tend to refresh their designs each year. Every concept undergoes thorough aerodynamic and road testing, and modifications can be made during the season. 

The scene backstage before a race weekend

It’s the Thursday before the second-ever Miami Grand Prix. In true Florida fashion, it’s sweltering. The imposing Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens has been transformed into a temporary F1 campus in preparation for race weekend, with the race track wrapping around the central arena and its connected lots like a metal-guarded moat. Bridges take visitors in and out of the stadium. The football field that is there normally has been turned into a paddock park, where the 10 teams have erected semi-permanent buildings that act as their hubs during the week. 

Setting up everything the 10 teams need ahead of the competition is a whole production. Some might even call it a type of traveling circus. 

Ed Green, head of commercial technology for McLaren, greets me in the team’s temporary building in the paddock park. He’s wearing a short-sleeved polo in signature McLaren orange, as is everyone else walking around or sitting in the space. Many team members are also sporting what looks like a Fitbit, likely part of the technology partnership they have with Google. The partnership means that the team will also use Android connected devices and equipment—including phones, tablets and earbuds—as well as the different capabilities provided by Chrome. 

McLaren has developed plenty of custom web applications for Formula 1. “We don’t buy off-the-shelf too much, in the past two years, a lot of our strategy has moved to be on web apps,” Green says. “We’ve developed a lot into Chrome, so the team have got really quick, instant access…so if you’re on the pit wall looking at weather data and video systems, you could take that with you on your phone, or onto the machines back in the engineering in the central stadium.” 

This season, there are 23 races. This structure that’s been built is their hub for flyaway races, or races that they can’t drive to from the factory. The marketing, the engineers, the team hospitality, and the drivers all share the hub. The important points in space—the paddock, garage, and race track—are linked up through fiber optic cables. 

“This is sort of the furthest point from the garage that we have to keep connected on race weekend,” Green says. “They’ll be doing all the analysis of all the information, the systems, from the garage.”

To set up this infrastructure so it’s ready to transmit and receive data in time for when the cars hit the track, an early crew of IT personnel have to arrive the Saturday before to run the cabling, and get the basics in order. Then, the wider IT team arrives on Wednesday, and it’s a mad scramble to get the rest of what they need stood up so that by Thursday lunchtime, they can start running radio checks and locking everything down. 

“We fly with our IT rig, and that’s because of the cost and complexity of what’s inside it. So we have to bring that to every race track with us,” says Green. The path to and from the team hub to the garages involves snaking in and out of corridors, long hallways and lobbies under the stadium. As we enter McLaren’s garage, we first come across a wall of headsets, each with a name label underneath, including the drivers and each of their race engineers. This is how members of the team stay in contact with one another. 

The garage, with its narrow hallway, opens in one direction into the pit. Here you can see the two cars belonging to McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being worked on by engineers, with garage doors that open onto the race track. The two cars are suspended in various states of disassembly, with mechanics examining and tweaking them like surgeons at an operating table. The noise of drilling, whirring, and miscellaneous clunking fills the space. There are screens everywhere, running numbers and charts. One screen has the local track time, a second is running a countdown clock until curfew tonight. During the race, it will post video feeds from the track and the drivers, along with social media feeds. 

We step onto a platform viewing area overlooking the hubbub. On the platform, there are two screens: one shows the mission control room back in England, and the other shows a diagram of the race circuit as a circle. “We look at the race as a circle, and that’s because it helps us see the gaps between the cars in time,” Green says. “Looking through the x, y, z coordinates is useful but actually they bunch up in the corners. Engineers like to see gaps in distances.” 

“This is sort of home away from home for the team. This is where we set up our garage and move our back office central services as well as engineering,” he notes. “We’re still in construction.”

From Miami to mission control in Woking

During race weekend, the mission control office in England, where McLaren is based, has about 32 people who are talking to the track in near real time. “We’re running just over 100 milliseconds from here in Miami back to base in Woking. They will get all the data feeds coming from these cars,” Green explains. “If you look at the team setting up the cars, you will see various sensors on the underside of the car. There’s an electronic control unit that sits under the car. It talks to us as the cars go around track. That’s regulated by the FIA. We cannot send information to the car but we can receive information from the car. Many, many years ago that wasn’t possible.”

For the Miami Grand Prix, Green estimates that McLaren will have about 300 sensors on each car for pressure taps (to measure airflow), temperature reading, speed checks across the car, and more. “There’s an enormous amount of information to be seen,” Green says. “From when we practice, start racing, to when we finish the race, we generate just about 1.5 terabytes of information from these two cars. So it’s a huge amount of information.” 

[Related: Inside the search for the best way to save humanity’s data]

Because the data comes in too quickly for any one person to handle, machine learning algorithms and neural networks in the loop help engineers spot patterns or irregularities. These software help package the information into a form that can be used to make decisions like when a car should switch tires, push up their speed, stay out, or make a pit stop. 

“It’s such a data-driven sport, and everything we do is founded on data in the decision-making, making better use of digital twins, which has been part of the team for a long time,” Green says. Digital twins are virtual models of objects that are based off of scanned information. They’re useful for running simulations. 

Throughout the race weekend, McLaren will run around 200 simulations to explore different scenarios such as what would happen if the safety car came out to clear debris from a crash, or if it starts raining. “We’ve got an incredibly smart team, but when you have to make a decision in three seconds, you’ve got to have human-in-the-loop technology to feed you what comes next as well,” Green says. “It’s a lot of fun.” 

[Related: Can software really define a vehicle? Renault and Google are betting on it.]

Improved computing resources and better simulation technology has helped change the sport as a whole too. Not only does it reduce the cost of testing design options (important because of the new cost cap rule that puts a ceiling on how much teams are allowed to spend on designing and building their cars), it also informs new rules for racing.  

“One of the things pre-2022, the way that the cars were designed resulted in the fact it was really hard to follow another car closely. And this is because of the aerodynamics of the car,” Figdor says. When a car zooms down the track, it distorts the air behind it. It’s like how a speedboat disrupts the water it drives through. And if you try to follow a speedboat with another speedboat in the lake, you will find that it’s quite tricky. 

“The same thing happens with Formula 1 cars,” says Figdor. “What they did in 2022 is they came up with new regulations around the design of the car that should make it easier for cars to follow each other closely on the track.”

That was possible because F1 and AWS were able to create and run realistic, and relatively fast simulations more formally called “two-car Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) aerodynamic simulations” that were able to measure the effects of various cars with different designs following each other in a virtual wind tunnel. “Changing regulations like that, you have to be really sure of what you’re doing. And using technology, you can just estimate many more scenarios at just a fraction of the cost,” Figdor says. 

Making sure there’s not too many engineers in the garage

The pit wall bordering the race track may be the best seat in the house, but the engineering island is one of the most important. It sits inside the garage, cramped between the two cars. Engineers from both sides of the garage will have shared resources there to look at material reliability and car performance. The engineering island is connected to the pit wall and also to a stack of servers and an IT tower tucked away in a corner of the garage. The IT tower, which has 140 terabytes of storage, 4.5 terabytes of memory, 172 logical processors, and many many batteries, keeps the team in communication with the McLaren Technology Center.  

All the crew on the ground in Miami, about 80 engineers, make up around 10 percent of the McLaren team. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. The team of engineers at large work in three umbrella categories: design, build, and race. 

[Related: Behind the wheel of McLaren’s hot new hybrid supercar, the Artura]

The design team will use computers to mock up parts in ways that make them lighter, more structurally sound, or give more performance. “Material design is part of that, you’ll have aerodynamicists looking at how the car’s performing,” says Green. Then, the build team will take the 3D designs, and flatten them into a pattern. They’ll bring out rolls of carbon fiber that they store in a glass chiller, cut out the pattern, laminate it, bind different parts together, and put it into a big autoclave or oven. As part of that build process, a logistics team will take that car and send it out to the racetrack and examine how it drives. 

Formula 1 cars can change dramatically from the first race of the season to the last. 

“If you were to do nothing to the car that wins the first race, it’s almost certain to come last at the end of the season,” Green says. “You’ve got to be constantly innovating. Probably about 18 percent of the car changed from when we launched it in February to now. And when we cross that line in Abu Dhabi, probably 80 percent of the car will change.” 

There’s a rotating roster of engineers at the stadium and in the garage on different days of race week. “People have got very set disciplines and you also hear that on the radio as well. It’s the driver’s engineers that are going to listen to everything and they’re going to be aware of how the car’s set up,” Green says. “But you have some folks in aerodynamics on Friday, Saturday, particularly back in Woking. That’s so important now in modern F1—how you set the car up, the way the air is performing—so you can really over-index and make sure you’ve got more aerodynamic expertise in the room.”

The scene on Sunday

On race day, the makeup of engineers is a slightly different blend. There are more specialists focused on competitor intelligence, analysis, and strategy insight. Outside of speed, the data points they are really interested in are related to the air pressures and the air flows over the car. 

“Those things are really hard to measure and a lot of energy goes into understanding that. Driver feedback is also really important, so we try to correlate that feedback here,” Green says. “The better we are at correlating the data from our virtual wind tunnel, our physical wind tunnel, the manufacturing parts, understanding how they perform on the car, the quicker we can move through the processes and get upgrades to the car. Aerodynamics is probably at the moment the key differentiator between what teams are doing.” 

As technology advances, and partners work on more interesting products in-house, some of the work is sure to translate over to F1. Green says that there are some exciting upcoming projects looking at if Google could help them apply speech-to-text software to transcribe driver radios from other teams during the races—work that’s currently being done by human volunteers.

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Dressed in a glorious shade of green called Verde Fangio Metallic, the all-new Alfa Romeo Tonale slalomed through the city streets of Milan. After dodging pedestrians and cyclists in a dance that seemed natural to Italians and startling to visitors, we drove it onto country roads leading to Alfa Romeo’s prime proving grounds at the Circuito di Balocco test track. It was time to test out the brand’s first hybrid and its first compact crossover: the Tonale.

Alfa Romeo has a 113-year history of building beautiful, powerful cars with an abundance of style. Can its new hybrid pass the test with both established and new fans of the brand? We drove one in Alfa Romeo’s homeland to find out.

The two-tone Tonale: one engine, one motor

The brand’s first all-new vehicle in five years, the Tonale is a follow-up to the popular Stelvio SUV. Situated squarely in the popular compact SUV class, the Tonale competes with gas-powered luxury models like the BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA as well as the Volvo XC40 plug-in hybrid.

Equipped with a 1.3-liter gas engine up front and a 90-kilowatt electric motor at the rear, the Tonale boasts 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. Whether driving on twisty roads or straightaways, I found the Tonale has plenty of vigor, and the responsive steering made for a great drive. The crossover also has a generous sprinkling of Italian charm, which sets it apart from others in the category. 

Drive mode selections include Alfa Romeo’s traditional D, N, and A options, which stands for Dynamic, Natural, and Advanced. Each has its own distinctive personality. Spin the dial to Dynamic for access to the full suite of power and to the highest level of brake regeneration, which sends juice to the battery. Natural is the middle-of-the-road option for daily driving, and Advanced offers a more fuel-efficient choice by running the Tonale in battery-only mode for about 30 miles.

The driver can drill down even further for more options to customize the ride. Choosing Comfort is the default suspension partner to Natural and Advanced mode, providing a softer feel. Sport mode (the preset calibration for Dynamic mode) stiffens the ride, meaning better control when you want more of a track-like experience. Alfa Romeo calls it a “dual stage valve electronic suspension” and says it’s intended to offer the driver a choice between performance and comfort.

On the track, I put it through its paces myself, and also slid into the passenger seat with a professional driver behind the wheel. That’s an unusual twist; most crossovers are marketed for staid comfort, not necessarily adventurous, quick turns and acceleration. 

Maximizing energy from the Tonale’s battery 

Driving the Tonale, I noticed that it was regenerating the battery quickly as I coasted downhill from the mountain passes on the drive route in Dynamic mode. Domenico Bagnasco, head of high-performance vehicles for Alfa Romeo, told me that the vehicle never depletes the battery completely. When the battery starts to run low, the Tonale automatically defaults to Natural mode to recharge it. If you start in Advanced to experience the all-electric range, it will switch over silently and seamlessly. Also, a touch of the e-Save button under the gear shifter helps preserve the battery’s energy by prioritizing the gas engine. 

Bagnasco has a history in performance and engineering for both Fiat and Alfa Romeo, serving as the Abarth racing model chief engineer and product development manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. That means he had a hand in the delightful Fiat 124 Spider Abarth, a Miata look-alike with a spunky ride. With the Tonale, he’s putting that experience to use and expanding upon what he’s learned from previous iterations of a long list of Italian models. 

He also shared the details of the Tonale’s brake-by-wire system, which means stepping on the brake pedal triggers an electronic signal that activates a microprocessor. Brake-by-wire systems utilize electronic sensors and actuators instead of the mechanical and hydraulic components of traditional braking setups. As a result, braking is designed to be smoother and more predictable instead of predicated solely on the uneven pressure of your foot. For the Tonale, brake action also helps recapture energy. 

Brake-by-wire systems are fairly standard fare, especially on hybrid vehicles like the Audi e-Tron and Porsche Taycan. This technology takes stopping power to the next level, compiling input from your surroundings and anticipating braking needs. For instance, if the car senses that you’re headed for a collision based on your speed and that of the car in front of you, the brake-by-wire system can apply maximum braking power for you. And it’s lighter: Dominique says the electronic brake saves 10 pounds overall.

The serpent is a plug

The crossover also includes a generous suite of driver-assist features, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure assist, and more. It’s also equipped with over-the-air software update capacity, Amazon Alexa, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All of that gilds the performance aspects of this new plug-in hybrid. Even the storied Alfa Romeo logo tells the tale in a version that’s etched onto the driver’s side rear window; the head of the biscione serpent has been stylized into a plug. 

Starting at $44,590 (including destination charges) and ranging up to nearly $60,000 with all the options on the top-level Veloce trim, the Tonale is available in dealerships now. 

The Tonale, up against its competitors, feels like the difference between a pony ride at a county fair and a pedigreed mare at a steeplechase. Sure, the Tonale could be just another compact crossover on the market. But it’s an Alfa Romeo, and there is something magical about it.

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This article was originally featured on The Drive.

Ferrari is perhaps the most well-known supercar manufacturer in the world because it has a long history of making cars people want to drive—not necesssarily be driven in. During a discussion at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna, did not mince words about how the automaker feels about self-driving cars. “There are four kinds of software. There is performance software, there is comfort software, there is infotainment software, and there is autonomous,” Vigna said. “The last one, we don’t care.”

This isn’t the first time the brand has said no to AVs. Previous executives have made many similar statements to the media. The automaker is developing an electric vehicle, though, and it says it has the in-house expertise to make it happen. In the case of AVs, it’s likely the company was not only uninterested in developing the idea as a matter of principle, but it also doesn’t have the resources to do so independently.

Business Insider reports Vigna referenced the “soul of the car” in conversation. Indeed, a Ferrari without a driver wouldn’t be much of a Ferrari at all. The brand is its own master after not taking part in the merger of FCA and PSA that created Stellantis. That means it isn’t getting high-up directives to develop AVs and it has other companies in its porfolio with which to easily share advanced technical resources.

Most other exotic car manufacturers are under the umbrella of a larger automaker. In most cases, it’s the Volkswagen group, which owns Porsche, Lamborghini, and the newly merged Bugatti-Rimac. These companies could create AVs, or at least use technology from their parent to create them. Others like McLaren—which is struggling financially—and Koenigsegg, which is very low volume and focuses most of its resources on vehicle engineering, are unlikely to independently create self-driving cars. Driver assistance systems may be independently developed or licensed from other companies, but self-driving seems farfetched, to say the least.

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A road capable of charging electric vehicles en route to their destinations could power up as soon as 2025 in one of the world’s most eco-friendly nations. As the Amsterdam-based tech site The Next Web explains, Sweden is well on track to electrifying a roughly 13-mile portion of its E20 highway spanning between Hallsberg to Örebro, both of which are located between Sweden’s two largest cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg.

The electric road system (ERS) project is overseen by the nation’s transport administration, Trafikverket, who are still determining which of three specific technologies could be best suited for the task: overhead conductive, ground-based conductive, and ground-based inductive charging. The first format utilizes an overhead pantograph design similar to those seen atop traditional trolleys and streetcars, but would be limited to large vehicles capable of reaching the tall power lines, i.e. public commuter vehicles.

[Related: Car owners: here’s when experts say you should switch to an EV.]

The other two options, however, could hypothetically also support smaller vehicles and private EVs. In a ground-based conductive format, power would transfer from specialized tracks installed either on top or below the pavement via a mechanical arm. Inductive charging would require conductive coils installed in both the roads and vehicles.

As futuristic as these ideas may sound, Sweden has already successfully tested all three ERS methods in various areas around the nation, including the towns of Gotland, Lund, and Sandviken. While much of that work has pertained to mass transit options, designers also tinkered with systems capable of supporting smaller and private vehicles as far back as 2018.

There are immense benefits to expanding ERS capabilities, beyond just the immediate convenience. According to one recent study from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, increased reliance on ERS installations alongside at-home EV charging could lower electrical grid demands during peak usage times, as well as potentially reduce vehicle battery size by as much as 70 percent. Those smaller batteries would mean less rare earth materials are harvested, leading to potentially cheaper, more accessible EV options for consumers.

[Related: Why you barely see electric vehicles at car dealerships.]

“After all, many people charge their cars after work and during the night, which puts a lot of strain on the power grid,” author Sten Karlsson, an energy efficiency researcher and professor at Chalmers, said in a release in March. “By instead charging more evenly throughout the day, peak load would be significantly reduced.”

Sweden isn’t alone in its aim to electrify portions of its roadways. As the electric transportation industry site Electrive notes, similar projects are also underway in the UK, Germain, Italy, and Israel. Here in the US, the Norwegian company ENRX recently announced plans to install a one-mile ERS prototype section within a stretch of four-lane highway near Orlando, Florida.

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In the news, it seems like electric vehicles are everywhere—from new tech developments to changing policies to increasingly interesting designs. And while the road to electric vehicles may be bumpy, reports show that it’s absolutely crucial to electrify our transportation sector in order to reach critical climate change goals. But unfortunately, the feeling of EV omnipresence doesn’t currently extend to the dealership.

According to a new study released this week by the Sierra Club, 66 percent of car dealerships nationwide did not have a single electric vehicle for sale. And out of those dealerships, only 44 percent reported that they would offer an EV for sale if they could get their hands on one. While this is a step up from previous reporting done by the Sierra Club in 2019, it’s still low considering the massive EV goals set in place by businesses and certain state legislation.

[Related: EV companies call out their own weaknesses in new clean energy report.]

“To help avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption and protect our communities, it’s important that we accelerate the transition to all-electric vehicles,” Sierra Club Clean Transportation for All Director Katherine Garcia said in a release. “Enough empty promises: The auto industry must step on the accelerator and get electric vehicles on dealership lots now.”

One of the major problems getting EVs to the dealership lots is supply chain problems involving semiconductors and batteries, but some major manufacturers are also part of the problem themselves. Major manufacturers often don’t have many EV options in the US—for example, Honda’s first EV to sell in the US won’t be available until 2024, with Toyota only starting to sell the BZ4X stateside last year. 

For dealers, selling EVs just isn’t the same money making machine as selling combustion cars. A decent chunk of a dealership’s income is from parts and service, something that just isn’t as necessary for electric vehicles, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.

“All else equal, an electric car has fewer mechanical parts than a gasoline or diesel car, which directly means that the revenue a car dealer makes from an electric car is much lower than what the dealer will make from a gas or diesel counterpart,” Vivek Astvansh, an assistant professor of marketing at Indiana University, told Vox.

Plus, investing in infrastructure can represent a huge cost, from purchasing chargers and infrastructure to retraining staff on the ins and outs of EVs. Some manufacturers, such as Chevrolet, are enacting EV standards for their dealerships, according to reporting by Vox. 

[Related: Here’s when experts say you should switch to an EV.]

It’s not all bad news, however—the ability to buy directly from EV makers such as Rivian and Lucid can put the pressure on dealerships to get the electrification started. States where policy allows for direct sales account for 615,724 EVs sold in 2022, representing 65 percent of all EVs sold nationwide, according to the report. 

And if you’re looking to find a dealership that has an EV in stock, your best bet is to try locations in the Southeast (which have a 41 percent rate of dealers with EVs) or look around for Mercedes-Benz dealerships which above 75 percent of offer EVs. 

But for dealerships, the time to act is now. There are already 1.9 million reservations or pre-orders for recently released EVs, and the percentage of EVs in new vehicle sales has tripled since 2020.

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If you have Face ID set up on your iPhone, you can unlock your device by showing it your visage instead of using a pin code or a thumb print. It’s a familiar aspect of smartphone tech for many of us, but what about using it to get in your vehicle?

The Genesis GV60 is the first car to feature this technology to unlock and enter the car, pairing it with your fingerprint to start it up.

How does it work? Here’s what we discovered.

The Genesis GV60 is a tech-laden EV

Officially announced in the fall of 2022, the GV60 is Genesis’ first dedicated all-electric vehicle. Genesis, for the uninitiated, is the luxury arm of Korea-based automaker Hyundai. 

Built on the new Electric-Global Modular Platform, the GV60 is equipped with two electric motors, and the result is an impressive ride. At the entry level, the GV60 Advanced gets 314 horsepower, and the higher-level Performance trim cranks out 429 horsepower. As a bonus, the Performance also includes a Boost button that can kick it up to 483 horsepower for 10 seconds; with that in play, the GV60 boasts a 0-to-60 mph time of less than four seconds.

The profile of this EV is handsome, especially in the look-at-me shade of São Paulo Lime. Inside, the EV is just as fetching as the exterior, with cool touches like the rotating gear shifter. As soon as the car starts up, a crystal orb rotates to reveal a notched shifter that looks and feels futuristic. Some might say it’s gimmicky, but it does have a wonderful ergonomic feel on the pads of the fingers.

Embedded in the glossy black trim of the B-pillar, which is the part of the frame between the front and rear doors, the facial recognition camera stands ready to let you into the car without a key. But first, you’ll need to set it up to recognize you and up to one other user, so the car can be accessed by a partner, family member, or friend. Genesis uses deep learning to power this feature, and if you’d like to learn more about artificial intelligence, read our explainer on AI.

The facial recognition setup process

You’ll need both sets of the vehicle’s smart keys (Genesis’ key fobs) in hand to set up Face Connect, Genesis’ moniker for its facial recognition setup. Place the keys in the car, start it up, and open the “setup” menu and choose “user profile.” From there, establish a password and choose “set facial recognition.” The car will prompt you to leave the car running and step out of it, leaving the door open. Gaze into the white circle until the animation stops and turns green, and the GV60 will play an audio prompt: “facial recognition set.” The system is intuitive, and I found that I could set it up the first time on my own just through the prompts. If you don’t get it right, the GV60 will let you know and the camera light will turn from white to red.

After the image, the GV60 needs your fingerprint. Basically, you’ll go through the same setup process, instead choosing “fingerprint identification” and the car will issue instructions. It will ask for several placements of your index finger inside the vehicle (the fingerprint area is a small circle between the volume and tuning roller buttons) to create a full profile.

In tandem, these two biometrics (facial recognition and fingerprint) work together to first unlock and then start the car. Upon approach, touch the door handle and place your face near the camera and it will unlock; you can even leave the key in the car and lock it with this setup. I found it to be very easy to set up, and it registered my face on the first try. The only thing I forgot the first couple of times was that I first had to touch the door handle and then scan my face. I could see this being a terrific way to park and take a jog around the park or hit the beach without having to worry about how to secure a physical key. 

Interestingly, to delete a profile the car requires just one smart key instead of two.

Not everyone is a fan of this type of technology in general because of privacy concerns related to biometrics; Genesis says no biometric data is uploaded to the cloud, but is stored securely and heavily encrypted in the vehicle itself. If it is your cup of tea and you like the option to leave the physical keys behind, this is a unique way of getting into your car. 

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On April 4, Australia’s Department of Defence announced the award of $12.9 million to defense giant QinetiQ for a laser weapon. The move followed years of work and interest by Australia’s government in developing lasers for the battlefields of tomorrow. What is most ambitious about the Australian research into laser weapons is not the modest funding to QinetiQ, but a powerful goal set by the Department of Defence in 2020: Australia wants a laser weapon powerful enough to stop a tank.

Laser weapons, more broadly referred to as directed energy, are a science fiction concept with a profoundly mundane reality. Instead of the flashy beams or targeted phasers of Star Wars or Star Trek, lasers work most similarly to a magnifying lens held to fry a dry leaf, concentrating photons into an invisible beam that destroys with heat and time. Unlike the child’s tool for starting fires, modern directed energy weapons derive their power from electricity, either generated on site or stored in batteries. 

Most of the work of laser weapons, in development and testing, has so far focused on relatively small and fragile targets, like drones, missiles, or mortar rounds. Lasers are energy intensive. When PopSci had a chance to try using a 10-kilowatt laser against commercial drones, it still took seconds to destroy each target, a process aided by all the sensors and accouterments of a targeting pod. Because lasers are concentrated heat energy over time, cameras to track targets, and gimbals to hold and stabilize the beam against the target, all ensure that as much of the beam as possible stays focused. Once part of a drone was burned through, the whole system would crash to the ground, gravity completing the task.

Tanks, by design and definition, are the opposite of lightly armored and fragile flying machines. That makes Australia’s plan to destroy tanks by laser all the more daring.

Tanks for the idea

In the summer of 2020, Australia’s Department of Defence released a strategy called the 2020 Force Structure Plan. This document, like similar versions in other militaries, offers a holistic vision of what kinds of conflicts the country is prepared to fight in the future. Because the strategy is also focused on procurement, it offers useful insight into the weapons and vehicles the military will want to buy to meet those challenges.

The tank-killing laser comes in the section on Land Combat Support. “A future program to develop a directed energy weapon system able to be integrated onto [Australian Defence Forces] protected and armoured vehicles, and capable of defeating armoured vehicles up to and including main battle tanks. The eventual deployment of directed energy weapons may also improve land force resilience by reducing the force’s dependence on ammunition stocks and supply lines,” reads the strategy.

The latter part of the statement is a fairly universal claim across energy weapons development. While laser weapons are power-intensive, they do not need individual missiles, bullets, or shells, the same as what a chemical explosive or kinetic weapon might. Using stored and generated energy, instead of specifically manufactured ammunition pieces, could enable long-term operation on even field-renewable sources, if available. This could also get the shot per weapon use down below the cost of a bullet, though it will take many shots for that to equal the whole cost of developing a laser system.

But getting a laser to punch through the armor of a tank is a distinct and challenging task. A drone susceptible to melting by laser might have a plastic casing a couple millimeters thick. Tank armor, even for older versions of modern tanks, can be at least 600 mm thick steel or composite, and is often thicker. This armor can be enhanced by a range of add-ons, including reactive plating that detonates outward in response to impact by explosive projectiles.

Defeating tank armor with lasers means finding a way to not just hold a beam of light against the tank, but to ensure that the beam is powerful and long-lasting enough to get the job done. 

“One problem faced by laser weapons is the huge amount of power required to destroy useful targets such as missiles. To destroy something of this size requires lasers with hundreds of kilowatts or even megawatts of power. And these devices are only around 20% efficient, so we would require five times as much power to run the device itself,” wrote Sean O’Byrne, an engineering professor at UNSW Canberra and UNSW Sydney, in a piece explaining the promise and peril of anti-tank lasers.

O’Byrne continued: “We are well into megawatt territory here — that’s the kind of power consumed by a small town. For this reason, even portable directed energy devices are very large. (It’s only recently that the US has been able to make a relatively small 50kW laser compact enough to fit on an armoured vehicle, although devices operating at powers up to 300kW have been developed.)”

April’s announcement of a modest sum to develop a domestic laser weapon capability in Australia is a starting point for eventually getting to the scale of lasers powerful enough to melt tanks. Should the feat be accomplished, Australia will find itself with an energy-hunger tool, but one that can defeat hostile armor for as long as it is charged to do so.

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Buzzwords like autonomy, artificial intelligence, electrification, and carbon fiber are common in the automotive industry, and it’s no surprise that they are hot topics: Manufacturers are racing to gain an advantage over competitors while balancing cost and demand. What might surprise you, however, is just how much 180-year-old agriculture equipment giant John Deere uses these same technologies. The difference is that they’re using them on 15-ton farm vehicles.

A couple of years ago, John Deere’s chief technology officer Jahmy Hindman told The Verge that the company now employs more software engineers than mechanical engineers. You don’t have to dig much deeper to find that John Deere is plowing forward toward technology and autonomy in a way that may feel anachronistic to those outside the business.  

“It’s easy to underestimate the amount of technology in the industries we serve, agriculture in particular,” Hindman told PopSci. “Modern farms are very different from the farms of 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and 30 years ago. There are farms that are readily adopting technology that makes agriculture more efficient, more sustainable, and more profitable for growers. And they’re using high-end technology: computer vision, machine learning, [Global Navigation Satellite System] guidance, automation, and autonomy.”

PopSci took an inside look at the company’s high-tech side at its inaugural 2023 John Deere Technology Summit last month. Here’s how it’s all unfolding.

Where it started—and where it’s going

John Deere, the OG founder behind the agricultural equipment giant, started as a blacksmith. When Deere, who was born in 1804, moved from his native Vermont to Illinois, he heard complaints from farmer clients about the commonly used cast-iron plows of the day. Sticky soil clung to the iron plows, resulting in a substantial loss in efficiency every time a farmer had to stop and scrape the equipment clean, which could be every few feet.

Deere was inspired to innovate, and grabbed a broken saw blade to create the first commercially successful, “self-scouring” steel plow in 1837. The shiny, polished surface of the steel worked beautifully to cut through the dirt much more quickly, with fewer interruptions, and Deere pivoted to a new business. Over 180 years later, the company continues to find new ways to improve the farming process.

It all starts with data, and the agriculture community harnesses and extrapolates a lot of it. Far beyond almanacs, notebooks, and intellectual property passed down from generation to generation, data used by the larger farms drives every decision a farm makes. And when it comes to profitability, every data point can mean the difference between earnings and loss. John Deere, along with competitors like Caterpillar and Mahindra, are in the business of helping farms collect and analyze data with software tied to its farm equipment. 

[Related: John Deere finally agrees to let farmers fix their own equipment, but there’s a catch]

With the uptake of technology, farming communities in the US—and around the world, for that matter—are finding ways to make their products more efficient. John Deere has promised to deliver 20 or more electric and hybrid-electric construction equipment models by 2026. On top of that, the company is working to improve upon the autonomous software it uses to drive its massive vehicles, with the goal of ensuring that every one of the 10 trillion corn and soybean seeds can be planted, cared for, and harvested autonomously by 2030.

Farming goes electric

In February, John Deere launched its first all-electric zero-turn lawn mower. (That means it can rotate in place without requiring a wide circle.) Far from the noisy, often difficult-to-start mowers of your youth, the Z370R Electric ZTrak won’t wake the neighbors at 7:00 a.m. The electric mower features a USB-C charging port and an integrated, sealed battery that allows for mowing even in wet and rainy conditions.

On a larger scale, John Deere is pursuing all-electric equipment and has set ambitious emissions reduction targets. As such, the company has vowed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 from a 2021 baseline. To grow its EV business more quickly, it will benefit from its early-2022 purchase of Kreisel Electric, an Austrian company specializing in immersion-cooled battery technology. Krieisel’s batteries are built with a modular design, which makes it ideal for different sizes of farm equipment. It also promises extended battery life, efficiency in cold and hot climates, and mechanical stability.

Even with a brand-new battery division, however, John Deere is not bullishly pushing into EV and autonomous territory. It still offers lower-tech options for farmers who aren’t ready to go down that path. After all, farm equipment can last for many years and tossing new technology into an uninterested or unwilling operation is not the best route to adoption. Instead, the company actively seeks out farmers willing to try out new products and software to see how it works in the real world. (To be clear, the farms pay for the use of the machines and John Deere offers support.)

“If it doesn’t deliver value to the farm, it’s not really useful to the farmer,” Hindman says.

See and Spray, launched last year, is a product that John Deere acquired from Blue River Technology. The software uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to recognize and distinguish crop plants from weeds. It’s programmed to “read” the field and only spray the unwanted plants, which saves farmers money by avoiding wasted product. See and Spray uses an auto-leveling carbon fiber boom and dual nozzles that can deliver two different chemicals in a single pass.

Another new technology, ExactShot, reduces the amount of starter fertilizer needed during planting by more than 60 percent, the company says. This product uses a combination of sensors and robotics to spritz each seed as it’s planted versus spraying the whole row; once again, that saves farmers an immense amount of money and supplies.

Right to Repair brings victory

Just one machine designed for farmland can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Historically, if equipment were to break down, farmers had to call in the issue and wait for a technician directly from John Deere or an authorized repair shop for a repair. Many farms are located far away from city centers, which means a quick fix isn’t in the cards. That could be frustrating for a farmer at any time, particularly in the middle of a hectic planting or harvest season. 

At the beginning of this year, John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation signed a memorandum of understanding stating that farmers and independent repair shops can gain access to John Deere’s software, manuals, and other information needed to service their equipment. This issue has been a point of contention for farmers, and a new law in Colorado establishes the right to repair in that state, starting January 1 of next year. 

However, that comes with a set of risks, according to John Deere. The company says its equipment “doesn’t fit in your pocket like a cell phone or come with a handful of components; our combines can weigh more than 15 tons and are manufactured with over 18,500 parts.”

In a statement to DTN, a representative from John Deere said, “[The company] supports a customer’s decision to repair their own products, utilize an independent repair service or have repairs completed by an authorized dealer. John Deere additionally provides manuals, parts and diagnostic tools to facilitate maintenance and repairs. We feel strongly that the legislation in Colorado is unnecessary and will carry unintended consequences that negatively impact our customers.”

The company warns that modifying the software of heavy machinery could “override safety controls and put people at risk” and creates risks related to safe operation of the machine, plus emissions compliance, data security, and more. There’s a tricky balance that both benefits farmers who want control over their investments and potentially puts those same farmers—or anyone in the path of the machinery—in peril if the software is altered in a way that causes a failure of some kind. Of course, that’s true for any piece of machinery, even a car. 

[Related: John Deere tractors are getting the jailbreak treatment from hackers]

Farming machinery has come a long way from that first saw blade plow John Deere built in 1837. Today, with machine learning, the equipment can detect buildup and adjust the depth on its own without stopping the process. Even in autonomous mode, a tractor can measure wheel slip and speed, torque and tire pressure, and that helps farmers do more in less time. 

In the life cycle of farming, technology will make a big difference for reducing waste and emissions and offering better quality of life. Watching the equipment in action on John Deere’s demo farm in Texas, it’s clear that there’s more bits and bytes on those machines than anyone might imagine.

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Earlier this week, a California judge tentatively ordered Elon Musk to testify under oath regarding the Tesla CEO’s past claims related to the EV company’s Autopilot software. The request, as reported by multiple outlets, pertains to an ongoing lawsuit alleging the AI drive-assist program is partially responsible for the 2018 death of Apple engineer Walter Huang. The request would also compel Musk to address previous, frequently lofty descriptions of the system. In 2016, for example, Musk alleged “a Model S and Model X, at this point, can drive autonomously with greater safety than a person.”

But before Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Evette D. Pennypacker issued their decision, Tesla’s legal defense offered a creative argument as to why the CEO shouldn’t have to testify: any documentation of Musk’s prior Autopilot claims could simply be deepfakes. 

Reports of the defense strategy came earlier this week from both Reuters and Bloomberg, and also include Judge Pennypacker’s critical response to Tesla’s concerns. “Their position is that because Mr. Musk is famous and might be more of a target for deep fakes, his public statements are immune,” wrote the judge. “In other words, Mr. Musk, and others in his position, can simply say whatever they like in the public domain, then hide behind the potential for their recorded statements being a deep fake to avoid taking ownership of what they did actually say and do.”

[Related: Why an AI image of Pope Francis in a fly jacket stirred up the internet.]

While there are some entertaining examples out there, AI-generated videos and images—often referred to as deepfakes—are an increasing cause of concern among misinformation experts. Despite the legitimate concerns, contending that archival recorded statements are now rendered wholesale untrustworthy now would be “deeply troubling,” Judge Pennybacker said in the reports. Although Musk’s deposition order is “tentative,” as Reuters notes, “California judges often issue tentative rulings, which are almost always finalized with few major changes after such a hearing.” 

Tesla faces numerous investigations involving the company’s controversial Autopilot system, including one from the Department of Justice first revealed late last year. Last week, a California state court jury ruled the company was not at fault in a separate wrongful death lawsuit involving an EV’s Autopilot system. Huang’s wrongful death lawsuit is scheduled to go into trial on July 31.

The post Tesla lawyers argued Elon Musk Autopilot statements might be manipulated with deepfake tech appeared first on Popular Science.

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Although Tesla’s latest Impact Report promises that “a sustainable future is within reach,” the company’s 2022 figures show just how crucial accurate measurements are in achieving the lofty goal. Released earlier this week, an expanded dataset dramatically upped the electric vehicle maker’s total carbon footprint when compared with the prior year’s available information. The larger picture? An estimated 30.7 million tons of CO2 in supply chain emissions atop previously reported categories of pollution. That’s roughly equivalent to Serbia’s total emissions in 2021. 

[Related: Tesla employees allegedly viewed drivers’ car camera footage.]

Tesla only publicly offered how much greenhouse gas the company generated in 2021 via direct operations and EV owners charging their cars—around 2.5 million metric tons of CO2. That might seem small compared to its competitors (Ford recorded 337 million metric tons of CO2 in 2022, for example), but these segments of overall emissions are just a fraction of a company’s supply chain pollution stemming from production, transportation, and indirect operations. And while those numbers weren’t disclosed for 2021, they were for last year within Tesla’s new report.

As The Verge notes, the vast difference in numbers comes down to what companies generally choose to include in these kinds of industry reports. Carbon footprints are often broken down into three “scopes,” with Scope 1 encompassing direct company emissions (i.e. factory emissions, brick-and-mortar offices, and its own vehicles for travel and commuting). Meanwhile, Scope 2 includes emissions stemming from heating, A/C, and electricity usage in company buildings like offices. Scope 3 focuses on all the extra, indirect emissions from supply chain manufacturing alongside products’ lifecycle emissions.

Most often, businesses choose to detail only Scopes 1 and 2, as they are usually smaller than Scope 3’s numbers, even when combined. This often makes a company’s carbon footprint appear much smaller than it actually is when seen as a fuller picture; a strategy often referred to as “greenwashing.” In Tesla’s 2022 Impact Report, for instance, the first two “scopes” totaled just 610,000 metric tons of CO2—a much more palatable figure for investors and consumers than the true total of over 31 million tons.

[Related: Tesla is under federal investigation over autopilot claims.]

Still, Tesla actually making its Scope 3 data available to the public offers some much needed additional transparency within the industry. Even then, however, the company’s  combined Scope 1 and 2 numbers rose a little under four percent, year-over-year. This, as The Verge also added, came even as Tesla still worked to make its EVs less carbon-intensive. Earlier this month, Tesla revealed “Part 3” of its ongoing “Master Plan” to provide sustainable energy for the entire world, estimating it will take $10 trillion in investments to fully realize.

The post Tesla’s carbon footprint is much larger than it previously disclosed appeared first on Popular Science.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

Best overall		Uniden R7		SEE IT	This detector has built-in GPS, and plug-and-play simplicity that doesn’t need a phone.
Best connected		Valentine 1 Gen2		SEE IT	If you like to customize your gear, and don’t mind pairing your phone, the app support is second to none.
Best stealth		Escort Redline 360c		SEE IT	If you want it all and money is no object, this radar detector has it.

A solid radar detector can make you more aware of what’s going on around you while you drive. It’s no secret that with the proliferation of more powerful engines and often even quieter cabins, it’s easier to go faster now than it has been in previous years. Imagine you find yourself, in a newer SUV, going up a hill and the speed limit is much lower than if it feels safe to drive. You spot the highway patrol car going the other way and you get a “slow down” wave. Maybe you get lucky and the officer doesn’t flip his lights on and turn around. A robust radar detector tells you when radar is in use, and gives drivers the opportunity to make adjustments to their speed accordingly. The best radar detectors can detect all the commonly used methods for checking a vehicle’s speed, and they do it far enough out to give you time to react. 

• Best overall: Uniden R7
• Best connected: Valentine 1 Gen2
• Best stealth: Escort Redline 360c
• Best mid-range: Uniden R3
• Best budget: Cobra RAD 480i

How we chose the best radar detectors 

As an automotive journalist of more than eight years, I’ve written for some of the biggest names in the business, and I bring that experience into my favorite space: aftermarket. Whether it’s modifications to the hard parts or to the technology in the cabin, I’m interested in learning more and finding the best the industry has to offer. For this list of radar detectors I wasn’t able to get hands-on, so I used a method of aggregating reviews from across the internet on Amazon, rdforum.org, and the hands-on reviews from Vortex Radar. 

I eliminated a number of the cheaper units right off due to poor testing results, and cut out a number of brands that were outlandishly priced. I then assembled a wide range that covered the gamut of prices out there that represented good quality for their feature sets. If there were a few radar detectors in a certain price range, I compared to see what had the most useful features and selected the best in each set. The radar detectors, and companies, represented on this list all have a history of supporting their products as well and can be thought of as a good place to start your research and shopping.

The best radar detectors: Reviews & Recommendations

Much like dash cams, radar detectors can keep your driving in check. Here’s what we found to help control your need for speed.

Best overall: Uniden R7

Uniden

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Why it made the cut: Offering an excellent value, the Uniden R7 features an amazing range, GPS for logging common false alarms, and it doesn’t require a separate mobile device to utilize the GPS.

Specs

• Directional arrows: Yes
• GPS: Built-in
• Connectivity: N/A

Pros 

• Great detection range
• Built-in GPS
• Redlight/speed camera alerts

Cons 

• Not completely undetectable to radar detector detectors
• Mute button on side of unit
• No Bluetooth/phone app integration

Uniden makes some excellent radar detectors but the company’s R7 is the best value overall. The upgraded R8 adds a few nice features over the R7 but it also adds a few hundred dollars to the price tag. That said, the R7 gets you a solid collection of features that makes it one of the best radar detectors out of the box, especially for the price point. The unit features directional arrows, multiple brightness settings, and a built-in GPS. The onboard GPS allows you to easily mark false alarms and set alerts for school zones and speed traps automatically. 

The built-in GPS eschews the need for it to connect to a smartphone for location services. But that also means the Uniden R7 must be updated via USB cable. That means you’d have to separately run an app like Waze to take advantage of data aggregation with other users. The only other downsides are the awkward side-button placement of the mute button (which you use to silence false alarms) and a mixed bag when it comes to detectability.

Best connected: Valentine 1 Gen2

Valentine One

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Why it made the cut: The Valentine V1 Gen2 is the latest version of the radar detector you probably remember from “back in the day,” but with the tech to keep up in 2023.

Specs

• Directional arrows: Yes
• GPS: via phone
• Connectivity: Bluetooth

Pros 

• Beautiful magnesium case
• Old-school LED is classic, and easy to see
• App integration is top-notch

Cons 

• GPS-enabled features require phone
• Retro looks not for everyone

The Valentine V1 Gen2 is neck-and-neck with the Uniden R7 for range and is a popular choice. The retro style is heavily reminiscent of the previous version and is wrapped in a high-quality magnesium case instead of the plastic common in many other units. The unit pairs with an app on your phone to enable a whole suite of crowd-sourced information, like GPS lockouts, muting at lower speed, and a display of which frequency has been detected. You can fine-tune a lot when it comes to this setup, so it’s fun for people who like to make tweaks to the setup they run. Android power users, I’m looking at you.

This is probably a skip if you don’t plan to pair it with your phone as it won’t have access to many of its attractive features. On the plus side, even without pairing with a phone, the arrows (which Valentine pioneered) help identify the direction of the source of the suspected speed-check. Though it seems a little basic at first glance, it’s helpful when identifying the source of a threat, especially if it’s to one side and you’re on a two-lane road, since it’s likely to be another car’s blind-spot monitor or the automatic door of a convenience store.

If you don’t have a problem bringing your phone with you to enable the extra functionality, then the Valentine V1 Gen2 is a fantastic choice. Additionally, tying that functionality in with a mobile app gives Valentine the opportunity to keep the unit relevant for longer, especially when the competition is often limited with what’s baked into the hardware from the factory.

Best stealth: Escort Redline 360c

Escort

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Why it made the cut: If you want the absolute best with all the bells and whistles—and money is no object—then the Redline 360c should be on your shortlist.

Specs

• Directional arrows: Yes
• GPS: Built-in
• Connectivity: Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Pros 

• Massive array of features
• Excellent false-alert filtering
• Mobile device integration

Cons 

• Expensive
• Suffering from availability issues

The Escort Redline 360c is easily the most expensive model on this list but taking a look at its capabilities should explain why. It offers excellent long-range detection, built-in GPS, undetectable to radar-detector detectors, and can be expanded with Bluetooth phone connectivity. The firmware also automatically updates over Wi-Fi. To top it off, the unit has a full complement of arrows so you know the direction of the signal, and high-quality OLED displays that share signal type and intensity. If you want even more information, then connecting to a phone app allows you to get real-time alerts from the community of Escort radar detector users. The unit will auto-learn as you drive and operate it, automatically filtering out common false alarms.

The main downsides to the Redline 360c are related to availability and price. Though listed for less than $800 on their website, the units were several hundred more on Amazon and in limited supply. Escort notes the issue on their website, which is likely due to the microchip shortage plaguing the country. 

Do note that there is another radar detector from Escort called the Max 360c, which is not the same as the Redline 360c. Though the primary distinction is the “detectability,” as the Max 360c is not “stealth” when it comes to radar detector detectors.

Best mid-range: Uniden R3

Uniden

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Why it made the cut: If you want radar detection, but can’t justify the eye-watering price tag of the segment leaders, the R3 gets you a good range with a limited feature set.

Specs

• Directional arrows: N/A
• GPS: Built-in
• Connectivity: N/A

Pros 

• Built-in GPS allows manual marking
• Low-speed muting
• “Stealth” to some detection devices

Cons 

• More false alarms
• No phone connectivity
• Limited speed camera detection

When you start chasing the low-price leaders there’s a lot to lose, but you don’t lose as much with the Uniden R3. The R3 can detect well at long range and even has a built-in GPS, allowing users to manually mark false alarms, improving the detector’s capability on the roads you frequent. GPS allows the R3 to mute automatically when the vehicle is at low speeds and has access to a database of stationary/marked redlight and speed cameras. The R3 can detect all the common bands, as well as laser and MultaRadar. The R3 is also only detectable at closer range on the commonly used RDD devices. 

You will have to accept some compromises. The unit lacks directional arrows (common for the price) and is more limited in its ability to detect speed cameras. Additionally, the lack of Bluetooth means you’ll have to run an app like Waze separately to get real-time updates to threats. More expensive models offer that natively. All this translates to more false alarms than the best units. More alarms can be annoying since you don’t want to have to get on the brakes for every blind-spot monitor and automatic door you pass. 

If you want detection capability on a budget, and don’t mind marking your own locations, or running another app on your phone for real-time alerts, then the Uniden R3 is a great affordable choice.

Best budget: Cobra RAD 480i

Cobra

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Why it made the cut: The Cobra RAD 480i is capital-A affordable, above all, but it gets passing marks from reviewers and covers the basics.

Specs

• Directional arrows: N/A
• GPS: N/A
• Connectivity: Bluetooth

Pros 

• Detects all the bands police use, and radar
• Bluetooth connectivity
• The price is right

Cons 

• Lacks built-in GPS
• Detection range lacking

The Cobra RAD 480i doesn’t have a fancy color display or directional arrows but it does the basics. The Cobra can detect radar and laser at a helpful distance but its real strength is in its Bluetooth connectivity. On its own, that wouldn’t be enough to set the Cobra apart from the rest, but on the back end Cobra shares data with Escort, since both brands are made by the same company. That means insights and live data come from a wide user base tied to the more expensive Escort units but at a bargain price. 

A subscription is required but, for an entry price of less than $200, it might be worth the downsides for some users. Pricing for the subscription runs $49.99 per year, or $4.99 per month. The lack of built-in GPS means you’ll need your phone paired and running Cobra’s app to benefit from the tracking and marking features. But, pairing a radar detector with a robust app and community means more coverage than is possible with apps like Waze alone.

Each unit gets a 1-year subscription with a purchase, so some buyers may want to consider a radar detector like the Cobra RAD 480i to see if it’s useful for them before stepping up to something with higher upfront investment.

Things to consider before buying the best radar detectors

The situation has changed for the majority of the country and, though there are still departments that use officers set up on the side of the road with a radar gun, more often than not they can check a vehicle’s speed while driving down the road, even going the opposite direction. That being said, the laws surrounding their use have changed as well and radar detectors aren’t legal to use in every state, so do your homework before hanging one on the windshield of your car. 

We’re absolutely not suggesting or condoning speeding, but we all make mistakes. When a modern minivan makes nearly 300 hp, not to mention the instant torque of today’s electric vehicles, it’s easy to find yourself going with the flow of traffic, even if that flow is above the posted limit. 

Legality

Before buying, and using, a radar detector you should make sure your state, or the states you’ll be driving in, have not outlawed their use. As of the time of publication, only Virginia and Washington, D.C., have banned the devices themselves but several others limit the use of devices mounted to the windshield. If you’re in a commercial vehicle, however, or on a military base, their use is prohibited across the nation. Check state and local laws before purchasing and using one.

Features

There’s a lot that goes into making a radar detector and, like many devices, you do get what you pay for. I’ve included a few budget choices as well, but think of it as a compromise, where you hear more false alerts or are getting less precise information. Though not ideal, you can balance the need for features with where you spend most of your time driving. If you’re spending a lot of your time on the highway, or in rural areas, you could skip the GPS feature. If you’re in a city, then GPS and robust filtering can help avoid false alarms every time you pass a gas station or speed sign.

Bands

You’re going to start seeing a lot of acronyms, and different letters, but the very best radar detectors will cover all the relevant bands. Simply put, if your detector beeps, it probably means something bad. X band is one of the oldest frequencies still in use, though it has been retired by most departments. This is more common in rural areas, but can often be ignored by your detector if desired. More commonly used today are the K and Ka bands, which are harder to detect at longer distances. The downside, and why good filtering and GPS are important, is that many other sources of radar operate on the same frequency. That includes automatic doors and blind-spot monitoring systems on other cars. A new technology called MultaRadar (or MRCD/MRCT/photo radar) uses the K band, but modulates the frequency it uses, making it impossible to detect if your radar unit isn’t equipped to.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the best radar detectors

Running a radar detector can be incredibly helpful for drivers looking to improve their situational awareness, whether you’re addicted to speed or you just drive a new car and enjoy jamming out and losing yourself a bit too much. If you decide to buy one of the best radar detectors remember to think about how you’ll use it, and where you’ll spend the majority of your time driving, then match your radar detector’s features accordingly.

The post The best radar detectors of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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Best for toddlers		Power Wheels Trail Racer ATV		SEE IT	It has two speed settings to choose from.
Best for beginners		Best Choice Products 12V Ride On Electric ATV		SEE IT	Chunky wheels work on a variety of terrain.
Best electric		Razor Dirt Quad		SEE IT	Give older kids more freedom to ride.

All-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, can be a great source of fun for kids. While they’re not ready for the gnarly, gas-powered vehicles just yet, there are safer models that meet the needs of smaller children. The best ATVs for kids come in a variety of sizes and capabilities. Kids as young as toddlers can ride and drive (even before they take their first steps), while older kids can ride fast laps for an age-appropriate and fulfilling thrill. No matter how you swing it, they can be a great way to learn driving skills and enjoy time outdoors. Some models are even appropriate for adult use, allowing the entire family to get in on the fun. Whether you’re a newbie to the world of ATVs or are looking to upgrade your current model, consider the options that are available for kids and how to choose the best one for their age, size, and driving capabilities. Before you make your next purchase, take a look at this comprehensive list to help you find the best kids’ ATVs.

• Best for beginners: Best Choice Products 12V Ride On Electric ATV
• Best electric: Razor Dirt Quad
• Best small ATV: Blitzshark 24V Kids Ride on ATV
• Best for toddlers: Power Wheels Trail Racer ATV

How we chose the best kids’ ATVs

When searching for the best kids’ ATV, look at these models and research aspects in order to find your best fit. When looking at bang for buck, we recommend the Razor Dirt Quad for its ability to toe the line between a child’s toy and a real ATV. It’s pricier than smaller models but offers more power, capabilities, and storage options.

We took several factors into account when researching the best electric ATVs for kids, including price, speed, battery life, reviews, safety features, terrain, size, and material. By looking at durability and how long (and fast) an ATV can move, we were able to decipher which ones are better suited for kids. 

We also included a range of styles to cover kids of different ages, sizes, and driving capabilities. Take a look at the above factors when searching for your child’s ATV and which one is best suited for your family’s needs.

Best kids’ ATVs: Reviews & Recommendations

Best for beginners: Best Choice Products 12V Ride On Electric ATV

Best Choice Products

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Why it made the cut: The Best Choice Products 12V Ride On Electric ATV is a great first-time ATV for young grade-schoolers or young kids learning to maneuver. 

Specs

• Weight: 46.3 lbs.
• Dimensions: 39.5x26x29.5 inches
• Materials: Metal and plastic components

Pros

• Bluetooth capabilities
• Includes LED headlight
• Plush backrest

Cons

• Max speed of 3.7 mph
• Max rider capacity of 66 lbs. 

The Best Choice Products 12V ATV is ideal for kids learning to ride, including preschoolers and young grade-schoolers. With a more authentic feel than “kiddie” riders, this version will help them get their feet wet with its realistic rider design. It also hosts large trade wheels and a comfortable backrest so young riders can relax and take a break.

With a LED headlight and real working horn, kids can also ride at night, or alert others they are coming through! Features like a foot pedal and a low speed help keep it safer for younger kids. Battery life is slated to last up to 90 minutes, allowing for plenty of ride time before it needs to recharge. 

With this ATV, you can also hook up any Bluetooth device so kids can enjoy music as they cruise across surfaces like gravel, dirt, grass, concrete, and even light mud (avoid the sticky stuff). Though its tires are wide and made for many terrains, they’re plastic and won’t hold up to extreme terrain or weather conditions.

Check this ATV out for riders ages 5-10, including first-time riders. 

Best electric: Razor Dirt Quad

Razor

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Why it made the cut: The Razor Dirt Quad straddles the line between kids’ toys and real ATVs so closely that kids won’t know it’s not the real thing. 

Specs

• Weight: 75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 43x24x31 inches
• Materials: Alloy steel

Pros

• Made of steel, has real rubber tires
• Speeds up to 8 mph
• Max rider weight: 120 lbs.

Cons

• 40 minutes of ride time
• No speed limiter 

When it comes to a more advanced rider, the Razor Dirt Quad is where it’s at. Suitable for small kids who know how to ride, it toes the line right up to being a real gas-powered vehicle. The quad hauls at 8 mph and will carry riders up to 120 lbs. 

Advanced features include lights and buttons that make revving noises and shatterproof plastic fenders. Meanwhile, the frame is made of real alloy steel that glides up and down even rough terrain. Knobby rubber tires help round out the rugged look and feel of this kid’s ATV. 

With a 24-volt battery, parents can rest assured the vehicle has plenty of get-up-and-go (so much so that there’s no speed limiter). Ride for up to 40 minutes before needing a recharge. Hand-operated brakes rely on twisting grips, so it feels like the real thing. As an added bonus, metal hooks are provided for vertical storage, helping you save space in the off-season, or whenever you need to tuck it away. 

Even experienced riders will need to ease into this model before parents can let them safely ride off on their own. Because this vehicle moves faster than the rest of the rides on this list, it makes safety equipment absolutely essential.

Best small ATV: Blitzshark 24V Kids Ride on ATV

Blitzshark

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Why it made the cut: This space-saving model offers plenty of ATV perks for kids without the storage commitment (or huge price tag). 

Specs

• Weight: 48.5 lbs.
• Dimensions: 42.5×27.6×29.1 lbs.
• Materials: Metal suspension

Pros

• Comes with protective gear
• Metal suspension
• Working lights and radio

Cons

• Additional shipping fee
• 2-wheel drive

When looking for a smaller model ATV, look no further than the Blitzshark 24V Kids Ride On. With metal suspension, you can get elements of a higher-level ATV, without the price tag that comes with them. At nearly half the price of rugged models, Blitzshark cuts down on weight with plastic framing and wheels. Its size also fits its lowered price, with a 12V model that hauls its smaller model to and fro with ease. 

Its lighter weight also adds battery time, lasting up to three hours, based on speed, rider weight, and terrain. This model is suitable for grass, gravel, and light ground. Real lights and a working radio round out the big kid experience. 

Suitable for riders up to 80 pounds, it comes complete with safety gear (be sure it fits properly, as a wide range of riders can use this ATV). The Blitzshark travels up to 6.5 mph and hosts soft-breaking technology to avoid jarring stops for riders. 

If you’re looking for a mid-model ATV for younger kids that won’t break the bank, but is also suitable to store in a small area, this is your pick. The Blitzshark is ideal for kids under 10 or smaller kids up to 13. 

Best for toddlers: Power Wheels Trail Racer ATV

Power Wheels

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Why it made the cut: The Power Wheels Trail Racer ATV is a great quad option for young drivers, whether or not they have steering experience.

Specs

• Weight: 25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 45.75x30x31.58 inches
• Two speed settings: 3 and 6 mph

Pros

• Drives on hard surfaces and wet grass
• Parent-controlled, high-speed lockout
• Power-lock brakes

Cons

• Short battery life
• Max weight 65 lbs.

This basic quad setup allows young toddlers (and kids up to 65 lbs.) to cruise a variety of surfaces, including wet grass. Choose from two speed settings (3 mph and 6 mph) depending on the child’s capabilities and preferences. You can also switch to parental controls to keep your ATV under control. Ideal for kids too young to drive, or for when they are getting too brave with the ATV. 

With a low frame and plenty of buttons to push, this ATV is a great toy for kids who are learning to drive, steer, and avoid obstacles in the yard. It’s also complete with smooth steering to avoid jarring or jerking movements by novice riders who are prone to jerking the handlebars when they get overwhelmed. That can lead to epic wipeouts on some other models. 

Overall, it’s a great starting ATV and ideal for young riders. 

Things to consider when shopping for the best kids’ ATVs

Before purchasing an ATV for kids, you should look into a few specific things. This will help you get the right style for your family, whether you have one child or multiple that will share the electric kids’ ATV. Use these factors to find your best fit.

Gas vs. electric kids’ ATVs

First, ask yourself this important question: do you want to run a gas engine or a model that’s battery-operated? It’s worth noting that for this article, we focused on battery-operated ATVs for kids, which are more environmentally friendly. 

Gas ATVs have far more power and can be used for long trips and bigger thrills. This is usually what experienced riders and adults ride, simply due to their advanced options and ability to carry larger riders. However, it’s worth noting that gas models come with additional expenses than their battery-powered counterparts. Aside from the fuel itself, you’ll need to keep the engine running properly with oil, filters, and a clean carburetor. There is the upkeep of tires, wheels, etc., in addition to the battery. But if that’s the thrill you’re after, it’s likely worth the extra expense and maintenance.

For this article, we’re focusing on electric ATVs, which are best for young, small, and inexperienced riders. They are more eco-friendly, more affordable, and still offer plenty of speed and movement for their size.

Safety features of ATVs for kids

Next, consider the safety features of each ATV. Obviously, helmets are essential, but depending on age and skill level (as well as the power of the vehicle), you may want to opt for extended safety capabilities. For instance, do you need a roll cage added? Do you want your child to drive on two wheels or four? The former is best for skilled or older riders. You should also look at potential speed and tire type. While toddlers will be great with plastic wheels, kids who will drive on rougher terrain will need real rubber tires of varying degrees of thickness. 

In this article, we’re reviewing four-wheeled vehicles that sit higher up off the ground, most commonly referred to as four-wheelers. Usually, low-ground options, like go-carts, need a roll cage.

Product dimensions of your kids’ ATV

Now it’s time to consider the size of the ATV itself. Where will you store it? In most cases, you won’t want the ATV exposed to the elements, so you’ll need a shed or garage of some kind where it can be parked. Its weight and measurements can also come into play. For instance, a heavier ATV could be more dangerous, require more battery power to charge, and more. This is one more area to research before making your final ATV purchase.

FAQs

Final thoughts about the best kids’ ATVs

While your little one may not be ready for full-fledged four-wheelers, there are fun, safe options out there if you’re looking for the best kids’ ATVs for children of almost any age.

The post The best kids’ ATVs in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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Jeep established its roots back in the 1940s, and the brand quickly established itself as a 4×4 expert. Rugged and utilitarian, Jeep has been an icon of off-roading ever since. For its next act, the automaker is getting electrified. Jim Morrison, senior vice president and head of the Jeep brand in North America, says it has established its line in the sand. 

“We’ve said we will be the greenest SUV brand and by 2025 all of our vehicles will be electrified,” Morrison says. “We expect half our sales to be electrified by 2030.”

Jeep’s plan includes four all-electric SUVs in North America and in Europe by 2025. The automaker debuted sneak peeks of two of those vehicles—the Jeep Recon EV and Wagoneer EV (code name Wagoneer S)—via its YouTube channel back in September of last year.

Remember, electrified in an automotive context is different from fully electric: Electrified refers to using motors to enhance and support gas-powered models for better efficiency and fewer emissions, while fully electric is a pure EV, with no internal combustion engine whatsoever. Jeep will offer both types, at least for now. Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, has ranked at the bottom of the EPA’s 2022 rankings [PDF] for fuel efficiency and carbon emissions between 2016 and 2021; Stellantis includes brands like Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and Dodge. Each of these brands is finally getting a hybrid version—Dodge unveiled the hybrid Hornet in March and Alfa Romeo is about to launch its first electrified model, the Tonale—so improvement is on the table. 

The electrified plans are well on its way: the Wrangler 4xe, Jeep’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle, made its debut for model year 2021 and the Grand Cherokee was offered as a PHEV for 2022. Since then, both have registered impressive sales, with the Wrangler 4xe taking the crown as America’s best-selling PHEV for 2022. How will the electrification of Jeep affect its off-roading credibility? 

Here’s how it’s working in the real world. 

The Jeep Magneto concept

At its 57th Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah this March, the brand showed off its newest batch of concepts intended to inspire Jeep owners to enhance and accessorize, and to entice non-Jeep owners to dream. (The Easter Jeep Safari is typically a nine-day event with day-long 4×4 trail rides throughout—basically, it’s like summer camp for off-roaders.) One of those was the Magneto 3.0 concept, a fully-electric variant of the popular Wrangler SUV. The Magneto name sounds like a superhero badge, and it’s definitely a way for the automaker to see how far it can go. 

“Magneto has been our test bed and pushed the extremes for 4×4 capability and electrification,” Morrison tells PopSci. “Over these years, we have been learning more and more about how electrification is accepted by our customers. Magneto 3.0 is exponentially better than 1.0; we learned that instant torque is cool with 1.0, then we learned you can modify it with 2.0, adding 40-inch tires and Dana 60 axles. This year, we took it up to 900 hp with Magneto 3.0, and it’s an absolute beast off road.” 

The automaker says the third time’s the charm with this version, as it expands upon the improbable combination of a six-speed manual transmission with a battery-electric powertrain. I got behind the wheel of Magneto 2.0 in Moab last year with Morrison in the passenger seat, and was impressed by the concept’s rock crawling ability; it held up to the capability everyone expects of a Jeep. 

The sounds of (off-roading) silence

Driving a Magneto and a 4xe, what I noticed most of all was the quiet. In the Magneto, of course, the vehicle is nearly silent, but it’s just a concept at this point and not available to the masses. Details on the upcoming Jeep Recon EV are slim so far, and we’ll be waiting to see what features and range it will include.

Unlike an all-electric Jeep, the Wrangler 4xe or Grand Cherokee 4xe are available now. The vehicles default to the hybrid system, and operating it in E-Save mode on the asphalt conserves the electric capacity for the trails. In the Wrangler 4xe or Grand Cherokee 4xe (those two models boast 21 all-electric miles for the Wrangler 4xe and 26 all-electric miles in the Grand Cherokee), drivers can run nearly the entire Rubicon Trail in California if they want to. 

Off-roading competitor and owner of Barlow Adventures in Arizona, Nena Barlow, has led Jeep tours at the Easter Jeep Safari and tested all three versions of the Magneto on the trails. She’s also a six-time Rebelle Rally competitor, and won the last two years in a Wrangler 4xe. Barlow also cited silence as a key benefit to driving an electrified off-roader, not just for the reduction in noise pollution but for the driving advantages, being more in tune with her vehicle. 

“The power with electric motors is just amazing in terms of the torque, the control, and the quiet,” says Barlow. “Even in the 4xe, being able to run obstacles in electric mode has spoiled me. I kind of get irritated by engine noise now; I want to hear what my tires are doing.”

When tackling challenging terrain, it’s a huge advantage to be able to hear your tires. Drivers can hear if they’re slipping off a rock and evaluate how well the rubber is connecting to the road. There’s a crunching sound on loose terrain, and a different noise when you’re at that threshold of losing adhesion, Barlow says. 

Morrison’s daily driver is a 4xe, and he says the wildlife near his home pay him no mind. “You’re just driving around and suddenly you’re face to face with a deer,” he says. “It’s fun to go off road and connect with nature.” 

Does an electrified Jeep provide enough power?

Some have asked Barlow why she would choose the Wrangler 4xe and not the beastly 6.4-liter V8-carrying Wrangler Rubicon 392 for the Rebelle Rally. The 4xe has the same amount of torque (470 pound-feet) but less horsepower (270 hp versus 470 hp) than the 392, but the 4xe gets twice the range out of one tank of gas. 

Those worried about scraping up the battery pack needn’t fret, because the bellies are well protected. In fact, Barlow has been renting out Wrangler 4xe models to tourists for the past couple of years, and she says if renters can’t find a weak spot, no one can. 

What you’ll notice while off-roading in an electrified Jeep is the pure power to take on big hills with no hesitation. In electric mode, the vehicle pushes forward smoothly and without lag, holding on an ascent without much effort. The bigger challenge may be the charging infrastructure, which Jeep is addressing with solar-powered charging stations at its Badge of Honor trailheads.

“I believe the 4xe is the future,” Barlow says. “It has all the power and great range, and that’s the way we need to be going.” 

Correction on April 25, 2023: This article has been updated to clarify Jeep’s plans for all-electric vehicles, including the Recon EV and Wagoneer EV.

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Boasting 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque, the new Kia EV6 GT is thrilling. Press your finger on the GT button on the steering wheel and, like electrified magic, the crossover seems to catapult into hyperspace. The company boldly proclaims that the EV6 GT can go toe to toe with the Ferrari Roma or the Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder RWD, accelerating from 0-60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds. Take a moment and let that comparison sink in.

In fact, this vehicle was recently recognized with the 2023 World Performance Car title at this year’s World Car Awards. After having the EV6 GT in my possession for a test drive, I can report that it has certainly earned its accolades. 

Planning to build a crossover with supercar-like chops is no accident or stroke of luck—this is how Kia’s EV strategy has developed behind the scenes. 

Planning for a winner

Stunners like the EV6 GT have been on the books for years now, a glimmer in Kia’s eye long before it was a reality. 

The EV-dedicated chassis on which the EV6 was engineered was announced back in 2017, which means the design was in the works well before that. The Korean company’s long-term strategy is paying off: Late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that Kia achieved the largest reduction in CO₂ emissions in the U.S. market for its 2016 to 2021 vehicles. After the Biden Administration’s newest edict to drastically reduce emissions from vehicles was revealed last week, Kia and its parent company Hyundai Motor Group appear to be way ahead of the curve.

Twenty-five years ago, Kia was better known for making inexpensive cars that were more like uninteresting appliances than the attractive vehicles earning accolades now. Its rise to popularity is no accident, as the company has steadily poured money into research and development in its domestic market in Korea, which spills over into the rest of the world. For example, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Hyundai MOBIS (Hyundai’s global parts company) are banding together to invest $18 billion into EVs. The goal: to catapult Hyundai Motor Group into the global top three global automakers by 2030 with a planned total lineup of 31 EV models. 

Every year, the EPA issues a trend report on the industry’s fuel economy and emissions, and in its most recent report it called out Kia’s performance as exceptional. The automaker recognized that its fuel economy and emissions had been improving year over year, but it wasn’t anticipating doing as well as it did in the report.

“To be frank, it was a little bit of a surprise,” says Steve Kosowski, the company’s manager of long-range strategy and planning. “We knew we were doing well, but seeing it in the EPA report was a nice pat on the back for the company.”

At the intersection of EV product and portfolio planning, regulatory compliance, and charging infrastructure, Kosowski has a job that involves peering ten years into Kia’s future. Soothsayers like Kosowski tackle the tricky prospect of figuring out where the company should spend its time and money, straddling the line between practical planning (production vehicles) and wishful thinking (concept cars and futuristic prognostication). 

With future-predicting analysts like Kosowski on board, the automaker doesn’t have just an inkling about which cars are going to be a success; they have enough data to support their predictions. 

None of this means that Kia is happy to sit back and bask in its achievements. At its 2023 CEO Investor Day on April 5, 2022, Kia ramped up its electrification target even more, announcing it was aiming for 1.6 million EV sales by 2030.

Getting (way) beyond boring crossovers

Any and all success the company is seeing now is due to its meticulous planning and analysis at a micro and macro level, and the product planners read the tea leaves to see what trends are unfurling. Generally, Kosowski says, product planners start at a high level, looking at industry volumes and analyzing trends to get a forecast that is as targeted as possible.

“The first big step is to understand the regulatory requirements,” Kosowski says. “That gives you a really good calculus on how many EVs you need to sell, how many trucks you can sell, and so on. I like to look at it like a wheel: you have the consumer research spoke, the supplier spoke, the dealer spoke, and you start to get a flavor for what people like and want and what they’re willing to pay for.”

Kia seems to be cranking out hit after hit, riding on the wave of success from its Telluride SUV, which also raked in awards across the industry for its affordable, well-designed package. With SUVs taking the lion’s share of attention in the market—two in three Kia vehicles sold in 2022 were SUVs, and the company’s SUV lineup continues to expand with hybrid and plug-in hybrid options—the company is well positioned for the EV surge.

“Electrified utility was an important signal 10 years ago,” Kosowski says. “Buyers love the torque and efficiency, and they feel like they’re part of the solution [to the challenges of climate change].”

On top of that, Kia and Hyundai vehicles on the global EV platform are capable of charging up in less than 20 minutes. That’s faster than many EVs on the market and goes a long way toward adoption. Soon, Kia’s three-row EV9 SUV will become available, opening up competition in the highly desirable family segment. 

Now, if Kosowski and his prognosticating colleagues can map out a way to shore up the infrastructure so that range isn’t a concern, the EV future will roll out as smoothly as Kia hopes it will. 

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On a late summer day last year, an emergency test alert popped up for a small number of pre-selected drivers in Fairfax County, Virginia, warning of a fictitious brushfire in their area. But this message didn’t just come through a beep or buzz on their phones—it was also shared directly on the infotainment consoles in their cars, with a “fire zone” area appearing on their on-screen maps. 

These test messages were for a live demonstration of a years-in-the-making project to update emergency alerts for wildfires. While wireless emergency alerts have been available on cell phones for more than a decade, there is currently no method for sending them directly to car screens. The hope for this new system is that having an alert display in vehicles could help authorities reach people who live in areas at risk of wildfires—people who are otherwise challenging to notify through other warning methods. 

In particular, this pilot project is focused on the “wildland-urban interface,” or WUI. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), WUI areas are any neighborhoods or residential settlements at the cusp of, or even mixed in with, undeveloped land. Across the United States, more than 46 million homes are at a heightened risk of wildfires due to their location in the WUI. 

When a wildfire does occur in these areas, it can be particularly difficult to notify residents. Oftentimes, homes in WUI regions are spread out, making methods like sirens or door-knocking less viable. These areas also tend to have limited reception and internet connectivity, which can mean residents do not receive cell phone alerts. And even if the alerts do come through, they typically do not include direction information to get to safety. In recent years, multiple WUI communities have reported a lack in sufficient wildfire warnings, including those impacted by the 2018 Camp Fire in California and the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado. In some cases, community members in such areas have even developed their own apps and outlets in an effort to address this gap. 

It was after learning about residents’ frustrations following the Marshall Fire that Norman Speicher says his office began to explore other alerting options. Speicher works at the Department of Homeland Security as a program manager for the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), which is the research and development branch of DHS. His team wanted to find new ways to “bring the information to where people already are,” Speicher says, and became interested in the idea of sending messages straight to car infotainment systems, which are the built-in screens that can display your connected phone, GPS services, and other information about your vehicle.

The Virginia test in August 2022 was the first (almost) real-world trial of that idea, which the S&T is calling the WUI Integration Model. While it’s still deep in development, Speicher is confident that the team will ultimately be able to produce a system that can generate a virtual map of future wildfires and alert drivers in surrounding areas to stay away. One day, he hopes it could even be able to help drivers navigate away safely. But getting to that point requires not only new technology—it also calls for forging paths through the worlds of warnings and car systems, all without losing sight of what makes a warning message successful.

Understanding existing emergency alerts 

The WUI Integration Model is part of a warning landscape that Jeannette Sutton describes as “complicated.” An associate professor at the State University of New York at Albany’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity, Sutton researches all things related to emergency alerts, from official public warnings to social media posts. 

There are a few major pathways to warn the public of disasters in the United States, she explains. There are public-facing alerts that require no effort from residents—like sirens, highway billboards, and messages sent through radios or TVs. There are also opt-in measures, like following emergency agencies on social media and specific apps or messaging systems that emergency managers in some municipalities use to send local residents messages. 

Then there is the wireless emergency alert system, which sends geographically-targeted messages straight to your cell phone. This operates as an opt-out measure, meaning all capable phones will receive these warnings unless someone takes action to turn them off. (For example, if you have an iPhone, you can check your preferences by going into Settings, then selecting Notifications and scrolling all the way down until you see the Government Alerts section.) In the 11 years since this program launched, the Federal Communication Commission says it has issued more than 70,000 messages sharing critical information. 

[Related: A network of 1,000 cameras is watching for Western wildfires—and you can, too]

To actually get these wireless emergency alerts to your cell phone, emergency officials use FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS, which is a kind of one-stop shop for all national broadcast warnings. Emergency officials craft messages that IPAWS can understand, which are then sent through to the correct alerting pipeline, whether its wireless emergency alerts to cell phones or dispatches through radio and TV. This system is also a key player in the new WUI Integration Model.

From IPAWS to your infotainment system

In order to bridge the gap between IPAWS and car consoles, S&T began working with FEMA, consulting firm Corner Alliance, and HAAS Alert, a business specializing in digital automotive and roadway alerts. These partnerships have been particularly helpful in understanding just how infotainment centers function, says Speicher. He describes this particular arm of the automotive industry as a “Wild West” since different automakers have various approaches—some develop their own proprietary infotainment consoles, while others work with third-party providers. Plus, there are various systems that can be integrated with the infotainment centers, like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Speicher says his team was able to develop a system that would serve car brands that work with Stellantis, an automaker whose brands includes Chrysler, Jeep, and a host of others. The multi-company partnership operates with HAAS serving as a conduit between an outpost of the IPAWS system and Stellantis.

So, when a disaster happens, the model operates like this: an emergency manager drafts the necessary alert into IPAWS, from which it is added to an open-platform feed. HAAS then picks up the message, decodes and processes it, and redistributes it to Stellantis, which in turn pushes the message out to its network of vehicles. From there, location services within the Stellantis infotainment consoles determine if the alert is relevant to display. 

In the case of the demo last summer, the Fairfax Office of Emergency Management in Virginia sent out the test alert, which was distributed through infotainment consoles to other members of the project team who drove within a one-mile radius of the fake fire. Speicher says the test was valuable as a proof of concept but also was helpful in revealing additional needs and opportunities for future development. 

One major area of interest for Speicher is working with navigation services like Google Maps and Waze. Both navigation systems currently offer basic alerts, which indicate areas where there are hazards like fires or flooding, but Speicher says he is eager to explore partnerships with these providers that might allow for more specific navigation offerings in the future. That could include not only showing where a hazard is, but offering directions to avoid it or leave it. Speicher says they are also looking into providing alerts once someone has left the fire zone, as well as figuring out how these console alerts could be translated into other languages. 

Making up the messaging

From Sutton’s perspective as a risk communications researcher, the biggest question with this new model is what the actual messaging looks and sounds like. In her experience, this is a critical area that has traditionally been overlooked in the past when it came to developing emergency alerts. For example, she says early wireless emergency alerts were actually found to fail to motivate people to take protective action—she and other researchers found people were actually more likely to seek out additional information instead. IPAWS has since tweaked its allotted amount of characters and better targeted its messaging to make warnings clearer for recipients. 

With this new WUI Integration Model, Sutton believes the delivery and design of the alert is particularly important given the fact that recipients will be driving. That means the message needs to be easily and accurately digested.

“They also have to solve the potential problems that could arise with people being notified about a significant event, which is very disruptive,” Sutton added, as the typical alert sounds or display used on cell phones might be too jarring for a driver. 

In a press release from S&T about the program, Speicher said such behavioral science is being factored into the design of the model, with the goal of creating a “standardized messaging format” that can be easily recognized by drivers. 

What’s next, and what you can do now 

Speicher says the next WUI Integration Model test is currently slated for July, and he teased a number of other emergency messaging developments that are also in the works, including a way to distribute alerts through streaming providers like Netflix or Hulu. But for now, there are a few ways to increase your likelihood of receiving relevant emergency alerts. 

Experts strongly recommend keeping on those wireless emergency alerts, which tend to be the best way to stay in the loop. If you have opted out in the past and are interested in turning them back on, check your phone settings for both emergency and public safety alerts. You can also look up your state or local office of emergency management to better understand your area’s risks and any opportunities to stay more informed. In some cases, there might be additional apps you can download for more specialized alerts, such as ShakeAlert, an earthquake alert system for Western states. 

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This article was originally featured on The Drive.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed Wednesday perhaps its most sweeping changes to vehicle emissions controls in its history, a far-reaching measure that could effectively mandate a tenfold increase in EV sales by the middle of the next decade. Under the proposed plan, electric-car sales would comprise more than two-thirds of overall light-duty new car sales and nearly half of all medium-duty car sales by 2032. The plan would also ratchet up emissions targets for internal combustion-powered vehicles by roughly 13 percent every year from 2027 to 2032, compared to 5-10 percent increases proposed for 2023-2026 model-year cars. The EPA’s proposal will likely face a mountain of legal challenges before it’s adopted. Still, regulators said they would build in language that would make the standards tougher to repeal for subsequent administrations.

“By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris administration’s promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel and maintenance costs for families,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

The EPA said its proposal could save the average new-car buyer $12,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle, compared to an ICE engine. The proposal for light- and medium-duty vehicles was accompanied by a proposal for heavy-duty fleets to electrify 25 percent of their trucks and half of all new buses to be electric by 2032. This week the EPA also proposed recalculating how efficiency is measured among electrified vehicles to represent the impact of those cars more accurately in Corporate Average Fuel Economy figures. Combined, the total impact of the EPA’s suggested regulations could vastly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced on America’s roadways. However, the ambitious targets exceed President Joe Biden’s initial target of 50 percent EV sales by the decade’s end. 

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers in America, CEO John Bozzella called the proposal “aggressive by any measure. By that I mean it sets automotive electrification goals in the next few years that are … very high,” he wrote, according to Automotive News. 

Automakers and unions are likely to push back against the regulations, which they’ve said could cost jobs and further hike the prices of new cars. Last year, EV sales accounted for less than 6 percent of overall vehicle sales and 2 percent of heavy-truck sales. In addition to building battery facilities in the U.S. that won’t come online for several years, automakers have warned that existing and planned charging infrastructure may not handle such a dramatic increase in EVs, and critical mineral supplies wouldn’t be enough. The Biden administration has offered trillions in spending to accelerate both while pushing forward with ambitious targets. The EPA doesn’t have the mandate to quantify overall vehicle sales but instead can set targets to force automakers to otherwise comply with those stringent rules. 

Going forward, the plan will be open to public comment and face scrutiny from legislators and others, likely including legal challenges. 

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Contemporary automotive advertising is filled with so much footage of breathtaking, smoke-filled power slides that you might assume today’s factory hot rods can perform these maneuvers on their own. But while vehicles like the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf R and the new Audi RS3 have unique powertrain modes that are tailored to these stunts, and BMW’s latest M3 has a Drift Analyzer that will actually score your latest sideways exploits, the successful execution of a drift involves more than simply yanking the steering wheel, mashing the throttle, and hoping for the best. 

The exact definition of what drifting is tends to vary depending on who you ask, but the general concept is pretty straightforward: Drifting is a performance driving technique in which the driver intentionally causes the rear end of the vehicle to rotate outward through a corner, and then the car’s direction of travel is controlled by counter-steering (turning the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the turn) and adjusting throttle and brake inputs in order to maintain the intended line. This clip provides a great summation of the physics behind it, while this charmingly old-school Engineering Explained video dives deeper into the methodology.

Originally popularized in Japan during the 1970s, drifting has since gone on to become one of the fastest-growing motorsport disciplines in the United States, and the Formula Drift series is leading the charge. A few days before this season’s opener in Long Beach, California, Toyota invited a group of journalists out to Irwindale Speedway—about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles—to get some drift training from factory team drivers Fredric Aasbø and Jhonnattan Castro in the automaker’s latest performance cars. Although a few hours of instruction probably wasn’t enough for me to master the practice, I did gain a much better understanding of the fundamentals. And perhaps more importantly, it made me feel like an absolute hero behind the wheel. 

Editor’s note: Drifting on public streets or other public places is dangerous and illegal. Toyota’s program was conducted on a closed course under the watchful eye of professionals. If you’re interested in learning how to drift, we’d suggest signing up for a course with a school like Drift 101 or Drift University.

What cars need to drift

The day kicked off with an in-depth look at the team’s competition cars. Aasbø’s GR Supra and teammate Ryan Tuerck’s GR Corolla may share a lot with their road-going counterparts from a visual standpoint, but underneath the skin, these are brutal, purpose-built machines. 

Both cars’ turbocharged and nitrous-injected power plants send upwards of 1,000 horsepower exclusively to the real wheels. They also feature highly customized suspension systems that provide these cars with far more steering angle than the stock version would have, a design that allows the driver to rotate the rear end of the car further out while still keeping the front wheels pointed where they need to be in order to maintain control. And as you’d expect, the gutted interiors of these race cars also feature a hydraulic hand brake system that provides the ability to lock up the rear wheels on demand, a feature that drivers often use to help initiate drifts at speed. 

The showroom-stock GR Corolla, GR Supra, and GR86 that I piloted that day had none of those things, but it turned out that I didn’t need much more than a rear-wheel drive car (or one with an all-wheel drive system that has an adjustable torque bias), a manual transmission (or an automatic with ability to hold a specific gear), and a couple of traffic cones in order to learn the basics of drifting. 

The first round of training placed us on a slalom course with the GR Corolla. While the GR Corolla is capable of drifting thanks to its sophisticated all-wheel drive system, this exercise was really intended as a way to establish a baseline understanding of car control. It was a necessary step not only due to the varied levels of experience of the students, but also because the course’s layout—which included a sharp hairpin turn after we’d built up some speed through the cones—was designed to help drivers identify where the limits of grip are when you’re driving a vehicle in a performance setting. And as I soon discovered, that’s a crucial component in successfully initiating a controllable drift.

Understanding understeer

The second activity put me at the helm of a GR Supra with Aasbø riding shotgun to provide instruction. “I want you to start circling that set of cones over there in first gear,” he explained. “Build up some speed, get the car to understeer, and then show me that you can recover it.” 

Understeer is a situation in which the front tires run out of grip before the rear tires do, and the result is that the car continues traveling straight ahead rather than going in the direction that the steering wheel is pointed. Virtually every road car on sale today is tuned to understeer when you exceed the limits of grip because it’s fairly easy to regain control when it happens. After I purposely ran wide of the tight circle that I had created around the cones by feeding in too much throttle and allowing the front end to push, then bringing the car back into line by easing off of the throttle, Aasbø was satisfied that we were ready to step it up. “OK, now I want you to put the car into oversteer and correct it.”

The process was similar to our understeering exercise in that we circled that set of cones and brought the car up speed. But at the point at which the front tires were starting to lose grip and causing the car to understeer, instead of easing off of the throttle, I actually fed more throttle in. Doing so caused the Supra’s rear tires to lose traction, and that in turn allowed the back end of the car to rotate toward the outside of the turn. To correct this, I quickly turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the rear end’s rotation (so, in this case, I turned the steering wheel clockwise as the rear end of the car rotated counter-clockwise) and eased off of the throttle to bring everything back into shape.

‘Hold the slide’

I was feeling pretty confident in myself at this point, but that soon changed. “OK—now hold the slide,” said Aasbø. 

I figured it would be another cakewalk—after all, the rear-wheel drive Supra’s short wheelbase and 382hp turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine make it easy to create oversteer. Yet each time I tried to keep the car held at an angle, I would invariably get too much rotation from the rear end and just spin the car. “You’re getting greedy with the throttle,” Aasbø noted. “You have to be a little more delicate.”

I was a bit frustrated by the time I arrived at the third activity, but I was also determined to figure out where I had lost the plot. The exercises here were essentially identical to the ones that Aasbø and I were working on in the Supra, but this time around I was driving a GR86 with Castro sitting in the passenger seat to provide the training. 

I theorized that this smaller and lighter sportscar would be less of a handful, and that its 228hp naturally aspirated engine would probably make it easier for me to pinpoint the sweet spot in the throttle than it had been with the GR Supra, as turbocharged cars tend to ramp up power more dramatically as the revs go up. But much like my time in the Supra, things immediately went a little too sideways once Castro asked me to attempt to hold a slide. After my third spin, Castro offered a suggestion. “Widen the circle a bit and bring the car up to speed. Once you feel the front end start to lose grip, feed in just a little bit of throttle and adjust things from there.”

Getting the drift 

Out of nowhere, it just suddenly clicked, and I realized that the spins had more to do with my lead-up to the slide rather than anything I was doing during the slide itself. In the Supra I had been subconsciously trying to skip a crucial step: Getting the car up to the speed at which it wants to understeer. Hubris had gotten the best of me—I’d been approaching at a lower speed, hammering the throttle in order to compensate for that, and attempting to “catch” the back end as it came around in order to hold the slide. 

Perhaps with more seat time that approach would be feasible, but as a drifting newbie, the ramp-up method proved to be a much easier path to success. Within a few moments I’d reached a point where the car was so stabilized, it seemed like I could drift the GR86 around those cones until the tires gave out. But in the interest of leaving some tread for the other students, I relented after about a half-dozen full revolutions.

Armed with a renewed sense of confidence, I headed back to the Supra to prove to myself that my breakthrough with the GR86 hadn’t been a fluke. Sure enough, Castro’s suggestion worked wonders here as well, and within seconds I was putting the car into graceful slides instead of frantically trying to prevent it from swapping ends. 

“Hey, look at the drift king over here!” Aasbø exclaimed from the retaining wall after I finally brought the car to rest. And to be honest, after doing two or three consecutive revolutions around those cones with engine wailing and tire smoke billowing out from behind the Supra’s wheel wells, I kinda felt like one.

Before heading home, I got a chance to ride along with Aasbø in his competition car—a thoroughly visceral experience that reminded me of just how deep the drifting rabbit hole goes. The car was sideways for almost the entire time we were on track, yet he was still able to place the car exactly where he wanted it to be at any given moment. The fundamentals might come together in an instant, but it’s clear that mastery takes many, many years of practice.

More advanced drifting maneuvers like transitions (changing directions while maintaining the slide), and clutch-kick initiation (causing the rear end of the car to step out by quickly engaging and disengaging the clutch) will have to wait for another day, but I feel like the groundwork has been laid. 

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In August of last year, Toyota announced an additional investment of $2.5 billion in its new battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina. That’s on top of the $1.29 billion the company started with in November of 2021 when the new facility was established. And it’s well before the first battery is made on site, with production scheduled for 2025. It’s Toyota’s first-ever battery plant in North America and will qualify the brand’s vehicles for the $7,500 federal rebate for EVs.

Toyota isn’t waiting on its US battery timeline before pushing its newest plug-in hybrid to the market: the 2023 Prius Prime. Now sporting a larger 13.6 kilowatt-hour battery and a giant boost in all-electric range over the previous generation, the 2023 Prius Prime is the best version the brand has ever launched. And, in our opinion, the best in the Prius lineup.

Here’s what we know about Toyota’s newest plug-in hybrid.

Launched in 1997, the original Prius was touted as the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger vehicle. Over the last two decades or so, the Prius’ status has held steady, attracting celebrity fans and making a name for itself as a pioneer. Toyota has taken its learnings from the Prius and created a whole family of hybrid vehicles, boasting fuel efficiency while allaying range anxiety for those who want electrification but don’t wish to go all electric.

The Prius Prime, which was introduced in 2012, is the plug-in version of the popular hybrid. The Prime offers a key advantage over the typical Prius: it offers all-electric driving. For 2023, the Prius Prime SE now comes with up to 44 miles of all-electric range, a whopping 75 percent more than the 2022 offers. The XSE and XSE Premium models are boosted to up to 39 miles, as they are a bit heavier than the SE version.

The 44-mile number is notable because it exceeds the average number of miles Americans commute every day. According to research from AAA, people in the US drove about 33 miles per day in 2021, but the US Department of Transportation says that number was closer to 37 per day as of May of 2022 as the pandemic effect started to abate.

[Related: Hyundai’s new Ioniq 6 is a long-range EV with Art Deco vibes]

Toyota says it takes about 11 hours to recharge the Prius Prime with a household 120-volt outlet. Practically, you could plug in your car and a coffee maker at the same time. For faster charging, it takes four hours using a 240-volt outlet or home charger. And, of course, once the all-electric range runs out, the hybrid kicks in and you’ll enjoy fuel efficiency of about 52 miles per gallon in the SE trim or 48 mpg in the XSE and XSE Premium versions. 

The automaker launched its reborn 2023 Prius hybrid at the end of 2022. It has significantly more power – Toyota increased the horsepower by 60 percent, from 121 to 194, and the Prius is showing off its improvements in a sleek new body. As a follow up, the Prius Prime takes that a step further. Using the same 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine as the regular Prius, the Prime squeezes out 220 horsepower. 

Aside from the power surge, why would anyone choose the Prius Prime over a regular Prius? By the numbers,  the latter offers more overall range (644 miles versus 600 miles) and a lower price tag (the Prius is $28,545 versus the Prius Prime at $33,445). Plus,  the Prime is available only with front-wheel drive while the Prius is offered with electric all-wheel drive. Aside from that 44-mile all-electric range, the Prime’s advantage comes down to speed. 

With an all-electric battery pack pushing the Prius Prime, the car can zoom from zero to 60 miles per hour in a swift 6.6 seconds. For reference, that’s 0.4 seconds faster than a Prius and only slightly slower than Toyota’s GR86 sports car. Consider that the manufacturer’s RAV4 Prime, which has a 0-60 time of 5.7 seconds, is second only to the Supra sports car in Toyota’s lineup. That may explain why dealerships have a hard time keeping RAV4 Prime models on the lot, and the same is likely to be true for the Prius Prime. 

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The automotive industry may be going through an electric car revolution, but at the same time, actual cars seem left behind. The shift to EVs has been heavy on electric crossovers like the Tesla Model Y, and pickups like Ford’s F-150 Lightning, while the traditional sedan and hatchback shape has been left by the wayside. Pickup trucks, crossovers, and SUVs are quickly becoming the de facto choice among most consumers, regardless of whether those vehicles are electric or gas-powered. But thankfully, Hyundai has embraced the sedan and delivered an interesting aero steampunk electric four-door that doesn’t resemble anything else on the road.

Hyundai’s latest and greatest EV, the Ioniq 6, is ultra-aerodynamic and chic, eschewing the practicality associated with a hatchback or crossover shape (and the easy cargo storage that comes with that configuration), but for good reason. The vehicle’s targeted clientele includes the young professionals and millennials who aren’t necessarily focused on outright practicality. Instead, those customers want design, style, driving engagement, and range; they’d rather trade off practicality to get those things.

And thus, the Ioniq 6 is a very different-looking vehicle from its sister model, the Ioniq 5, despite sharing a platform. While the Ioniq 5 is a practical crossover-shaped retro homage to Hyundai’s first car, the Pony, the Ioniq 6 takes a different route. The Ioniq 6 feels like a pastiche of 1930s-era aerodynamic streamlined cars like the Chrysler Airflow or the Stout Scarab, but mixed in with an obscure callback to 1990s-era efforts from Hyundai itself. Add in a dash of square video-game-like pixel details in the taillights, and that’s the Ioniq 6.

Regardless of how you might feel about the execution, the Ioniq 6 is a visually striking car. From the side view, the very short nose quickly sweeps into the main arch that comprises most of the Ioniq 6’s cabin. Then, that arch gently flows into the rear trunk area, terminating in a rear overhang and decklid that visually appears to make the rear of the car look longer than the front. 

The Ioniq 6 is organic in its form—an odd, funky-looking design that somehow works. The result is a car that appears delicate, petite, and low-slung, with just a touch of retro; if you squint, the front fascia and overall shape feel like a strangely modernized, ultra-sleek version of the 1996 Hyundai Elantra. 

The Ioniq 6 is different from its siblings

It is easy to think that with the shift to electrified transit, every EV will look, feel, and drive the same. After all, the Ioniq 6, Kia EV6, Genesis GV60, and Ioniq 5 all share a technology platform: Hyundai’s Electric Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP for short, forms the basis of most new Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia EVs, including the forthcoming EV9 seven-passenger crossover. That’s a very diverse range of products, and they all share common motor, battery, and platform designs. So, does that mean they’ll be the same car?

In a word, no. Hyundai’s engineering team went to work differentiating the Ioniq 6 from its platform kin. The Ioniq 6 aims for a more engaging driver-centric experience, without compromising a composed and smooth ride. The engineers learned from the Ioniq 5, and they’ve tweaked and changed things about the Ioniq 6, just to make it that much different from the Ioniq 5, and in turn, other E-GMP platform vehicles. Hyundai likens this to chess pieces, where each model has a different role, but they’re all part of the same cohesive lineup. 

[Related: Hyundai’s new Ioniq 6 is a long-range EV with Art Deco vibes]

Inside, much of the Ioniq 6’s interior instrument panel and dashboard elements are shared with the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. This means a twin-screen setup controls most of the interactions, for the radio and other general controls. A line of physical buttons for HVAC controls and volume sit underneath it. Most of the user interface screens and infotainment setups are the same as other EV Hyundai and Kia products, which means that they’re good. Those systems are easy to use and well organized. If using their systems is too hard, the Ioniq 6 comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

But, that’s where the similarities between the Ioniq 6 and other Hyundai and Kia products ends. The center console sits close to the driver and passenger, coming up to meet the dashboard. The door panels are simple and switchless. The switches for the windows and locks have been moved to the center console. It’s more claustrophobic than the Ioniq 5, but here, it feels distinctly sporty. 

How the Hyundai Ioniq 6 drives

The Ioniq 6 doesn’t drive like its E-GMP siblings, either. Piloting the Ioniq 6 around the curvy roads of Scottsdale, Arizona was a delight. The car silently and accurately slinks around curves, with the precision of sci-fi cyberpunk killer snake assassin. Whereas the Ioniq 5 feels soft almost to the point of wallowy, the Ioniq 6 is dialed in. The less-upright seats and lower center of gravity make the Ioniq 6 feel more engaging on curvy roads, unlike the Ioniq 5.

The Ioniq 6 doesn’t weigh that much less than the Ioniq 5, and yet, the Ioniq 6’s character is lighter and more jovial, compared to the serious and utilitarian Ioniq 5. The steering is more engaging than the Ioniq 5, although it’s not quite as sharp as the Tesla Model 3. Driving the Ioniq 6 against its platform-mates gives the impression that Hyundai’s engineers took the command to make the Ioniq 6 a sharp-handling sedan very seriously.

The motivating power for the Ioniq 6 comes in one of two forms. In rear-wheel-drive models, a single rear-mounted motor fed by either a 53 kWh battery (for standard range) or 77.4 kWh battery (for long range) turns the rear wheels. It’s good for a healthy 225 horsepower (149 horsepower in the standard range), and 258 ft/lbs of torque. The higher-equipped, dual-motor, AWD trims can produce 340 horsepower and 448 ft/lbs of torque. That will shunt the car from 0-60 in under 4 seconds. Both trims are more than adequate on the street, allowing for brisk performance no matter which motor and battery combination.

The Ioniq 6’s standard-range 53 kWh battery pack is smaller than the Ioniq 5 standard range’s 58 kWh battery. Yet, the Ioniq 6 can go further on a smaller battery pack. Even in the smallest model, Hyundai claims a range of 240 miles. The Nissan Leaf can’t go as far as the Ioniq 6, and the Bolt can crest 258 miles (or 247 miles in EUV form). The range-leading SE trim in single motor, rear-wheel form can achieve 361 miles on a single charge, which is very impressive for a relatively small 77.4 kWh battery. This is part of how optimized the Ioniq 6 is compared to its EV kin on the same platform. Its wind-cheating shape allows Hyundai to do more with less. 

The Ioniq 6 is normal, but also not normal

The Ioniq 6 is strange to look at, but nice to drive. True, it is not without its shortcomings; there is no wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The front trunk could likely only comfortably fit one roll of discount paper towels, and the aerodynamic shape means that headroom for rear passengers is compromised, especially when equipped with the optional sunroof. 

But, for many, those gripes will be fairly minor inconveniences and not outright deal breakers. The Ioniq 6’s direct competition, the Tesla Model 3 and the Polestar 2, feel and look as if they’ve driven out of the future. However, those cars can have frustrating user interfaces and Teslas have related quality-of-build concerns. And both those cars are online-oriented buying experiences. 

By comparison, the Ioniq 6 should be able to be purchased at any Hyundai dealer. Plus, the infotainment dials feel just like any other Hyundai or Kia product. It has physical buttons that don’t require pawing through complicated computerized screens to operate. It’s a very simple, uncomplicated car at its core. That’s a huge asset for those interested in going electric, but turned off by the convoluted techno-wizardry that is inherent to new EV models.

Even the pricing of the Ioniq 6 is attractively normal. The base Ioniq 6 standard range will start at $42,715, including the destination fee. That’s about $2,000 cheaper than the Tesla Model 3, although it can’t go quite as far—it’ll travel a mere 240 miles compared to the 272 of the Model 3. But for $46,615, (about $2,000 more than the base Model 3 long-range RWD), the Ioniq 6 can go nearly 100 miles further. That’s a really attractive deal.

That’s kind of the ethos of the Ioniq 6; it’s unconventional to look at, but everything else is satisfyingly conventional and has a strong value. For drivers who want an eye-catching EV that can go the distance, the Ioniq 6 is worth a look. 

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A new investigation from Reuters alleges Tesla employees routinely viewed and shared “highly invasive” video and images taken from the onboard cameras of owners’ vehicles—even from a Tesla owned by CEO Elon Musk.

While Tesla claims consumers’ data remains anonymous, former company workers speaking to Reuters described a far different approach to drivers’ privacy—one filled with rampant policy violations, customer ridicule, and memes, they claim.

Tesla’s cars feature a number of external cameras that inform vehicles’ “Full Self-Driving” Autopilot system—a program that has received its own fair share of regulatory scrutiny regarding safety issues. The AI underlying this technology, however, requires copious amounts of visual training, often through the direction of human reviewers such as Tesla’s employees, according to the new report. Workers collaborate with company engineers to often manually identify and label objects such as pedestrians, emergency vehicles, and roads’ lane lines, alongside a host of other subjects encountered in everyday driving scenarios, as detailed in the Reuters findings. This, however, requires access to vehicle cameras.

[Related: Tesla is under federal investigation over autopilot claims.]

Tesla owners are led to believe camera feeds were handled by employees sensitively: The company’s Customer Privacy Notice states owners’ “recordings remain anonymous and are not linked to you or your vehicle,” while Tesla’s website states in no uncertain terms, “Your Data Belongs to You.”

While multiple former employees confirmed to Reuters the files were by-and-large used for AI training, that allegedly didn’t stop frequent internal sharing of images and video on the company’s internal messaging system, Mattermost. According to the report, staffers regularly exchanged images they encountered while labeling footage, often Photoshopping them for jokes and turning them into self-referential emojis and memes.

While one former worker claimed they never came across particularly salacious footage, such as nudity, they still saw “some scandalous stuff sometimes… just definitely a lot of stuff that, like, I wouldn’t want anybody to see about my life.” The same former employee went on to describe encountering “just private scenes of life,” including intimate moments, laundry contents, and even car owners’ children. Sometimes this also included “disturbing content,” the employee continued, such as someone allegedly being dragged to a car against their will.

Although two ex-employees said they weren’t troubled by the image sharing, others were so perturbed that they were wary of driving Tesla’s own company cars, knowing how much data could be collected within them, regardless of who owned the vehicles. According to Reuters, around 2020, multiple employees came across and subsequently shared a video depicting a submersible vehicle featured in the 1977 James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me. Its owner? Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

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The world’s first fleet of autonomous commuter buses is slated to go into service next month in Scotland. This follows at least one successful trial run in January alongside financial backing boosts from the UK government. On May 15, Stagecoach’s self-driving vehicles will begin operations along a 14-mile route that includes Edinburgh’s historic Forth Road suspension bridge. According to the BBC, a total of five single-decker vehicles will be in service, carrying roughly 10,000 passengers per week.

Stagecoach—akin to Greyhound in the US—announced their autonomous buses will travel along pre-selected roads and bus lanes at a top speed of 50mph, while handling traffic lights and roundabouts. Although each bus requires no human drivers, two staff members will still be aboard at all times—one to sit in the driver’s seat to monitor piloting systems, while another to assist passengers, take tickets, and help as needed.

[Related: An autonomous EV with no steering wheel is hitting the road in California.]

The project comes as part of the UK government’s Project CAVForth endeavor. “CAV” stands for “connected autonomous vehicles.” Launched in 2019, CAVForth’s rollout of the autonomous bus fleet next month will mark a culmination of over four years’ of research, planning, and development. Similar CAV projects are planned in Sunderland and Belfast.

“This is an exciting milestone for this innovative and ambitious project, and I very much look forward to seeing Project CAVForth take to the roads next month,” Scotland’s Minister for Transport, Kevin Stewart, said in a statement, adding that the route “will really help Scotland establish its credentials on the world stage.”

Fully autonomous vehicles have long been a goal for major automakers and companies, with plenty of startups vying for a stake in the industry. Investors aren’t only looking to roadways for autonomous options—plans are also underway to develop similar systems for the freight train industry. Still, the technology frequently makes headlines for less-than-desirable reasons, and often faces both public and regulatory pushback.

Some of the most notable recent markers stem from issues pertaining to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta autopilot mode, which company CEO Elon Musk has touted as being close to driving owners “to your work, your friend’s house, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel” as recently as last fall. In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a recall of FSD Beta technology that affected over 360,000 vehicles.

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The sleek new all-electric Ioniq 6 looks very different from the original Ioniq EV. It doesn’t even look like the Ioniq 5, for that matter. It’s based on Hyundai’s Prophecy concept, which was unveiled in 2020. But the Ioniq 6 is measurably more aerodynamic than that concept or the Ioniq 5, with design inspiration from the fantastical, Art Deco 1930s-era Stout Scarab.

Looks are only sheet-metal deep, however, and the technological underpinnings are what makes Hyundai’s newest EV so interesting. The inner workings of the Ioniq 6 include an updated battery module with improved cooling functions and so-called “hairpin wiring” that packs more energy into a smaller space.

Here’s how all those things work together to create more range and power for this EV.

Aerodynamics and “Pop-Tart” battery cells

When Hyundai launched the Ioniq 5 nearly two years ago, it was a big improvement over the original Ioniq EV from 2016, which topped out at 100 miles per hour and offered only 124 miles of range. The Ioniq 6 has taken things up another notch, maxing out at an impressive 361 miles of range with the rear-wheel-drive Long Range version of the EV. That’s 58 miles better than the best of the Ioniq 5 options and nearly triple the range of the original.

How did Hyundai make that kind of progress over a quick couple of years? One key factor is the aerodynamic improvements, on display with a swoopy ducktail in the back, active air flaps, and a low-to-the-ground nose. The coefficient of drag, which quantifies the aerodynamics, is 0.21 for the Ioniq 6, compared with 0.29 for the boxier Ioniq 5. (For efficiency, you want that number to be as low as possible.) At its starting price of $42,715, the Ioniq 6 has no business showing off a drag coefficient that is better than cars that cost three times as much, but it does.

Another important element is the battery design, which in the case of the Ioniq 6 is built into Hyundai’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). Also used as the underpinning platform for the Ioniq 5, this versatile platform acts as the ground floor for a row of battery modules.

“Each battery module is made up of individual cells that are stacked neatly, like a stack of Pop-Tarts,” Dean Schlingmann, Hyundai manager of electrified management systems explains. “We can vary the number of modules and configurations depending on the segment and what the goals are for that vehicle.”

With the packaging improvements Hyundai has made to the battery module, the automaker has been able to reduce the part count significantly, which lightens the vehicle overall. Energy density increased by 7 percent. 

“We can cram more electrons in [the battery], which means more EV range or [heating and air conditioning] usage, wherever you want to use it,” Schlingmann says. 

Amping up the density with flat wires

For all intents and purposes, Schlingmann says, the Ioniq 6 motor is identical to the Ioniq 5’s, but with improvements to the motor winding design. Hyundai uses hairpin winding technology, named for the metal pins used in a salon for elaborate hairstyles, and this technology is widely known to be more efficient, with a higher power density and performance under a variety of hot and cold settings.

“Instead of using a perfectly round wire that goes through some of the winding gaps in the motor housing, we have more of a flat, rectangular wire. The [hairpin wiring] fills the gaps in the spaces around the motor itself more efficiently,” Schlingmann explains. “The more dense you can get the wire (or the more fill you can achieve in those gaps) the more power or performance—or whatever characteristic you’re looking to push with the motor—you can do so more effectively.”

The effectiveness lends itself to other applications, as well. Schlingmann helped develop the vehicle-to-load (V-to-L) capability for the Ioniq 6. This function takes advantage of Hyundai’s bidirectional power capability and allows access for customers to 110-volt power. There is an interior outlet available in Limited trim, and users can also export power with a V-to-L connector accessory. 

Schlingmann personally tested several plug-in devices with the Ioniq 6: air compressors and even a welder, which like an air compressor is not recommended but shows that pickup trucks aren’t the only electric vehicles that can power up a house. If you want to plug in a blender and whip up a smoothie on the road, you can do that. It might not be the ideal camping vehicle because of its ground clearance, but it could be useful for camping at less-remote sites. 

Range is the magic word

At $42,715, Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 is priced to compete with the Tesla Model 3, which starts at $44,380. The EPA says the Model 3 will get 272 miles of EPA-estimated driving range with the base rear-wheel-drive model, and up to 358 miles with the Long Range model (compared to the Ioniq 6’s max range at 361 miles). 

Both of these EVs can charge up quickly. In 15 minutes, Tesla’s SuperCharger network can pump 200 miles of range back into a Model 3. The Ioniq 6 can go from 10 percent to 80 percent charged in 18 minutes. Automakers are eager to kick the ball down the road and get customers to start buying EVs, and that charge-up time makes a difference.

Most trims of the new Ioniq 6 are on sale now at dealerships.

Read our full review, here.

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For decades, Automobili Lamborghini has built its reputation on creating supercars with large-displacement engines. Mid-mounted naturally aspirated V12 combustion engines have been its signature since the debut of the classically stunning Miura in 1966.

But change is on the horizon, and Lamborghini’s rivals at Ferrari and McLaren have already begun the shift toward turbocharged smaller-displacement engines to maximize efficiency. Characteristically, Lamborghini is plotting a different course. Battery-electric Lamborghinis are on the CAD screens of the company’s engineers, but before they debut, Lamborghini aims to give its naturally aspirated V12 models a fitting send-off with a hybrid-electric assist.

The Revuelto is that V12 tribute model. As is customary, the car’s name comes from a traditional Spanish fighting bull. Revuelto was famous in 1880, so you’re forgiven if you haven’t heard of him. The word means “mixed up,” and it was chosen in reference to the Revuelto’s combination of combustion and electric power. The bull was said to be mixed up because eight different times he leapt out of the ring into the crowd in the stands.

The Revuelto is a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle

In a step toward the electric future, Lamborghini has for the first time ever added a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that boosts efficiency and, crucially, lets the Revuelto drive into the fashionable city centers of Europe, where there are often prohibitions on combustion power. This is only the first from Lamborghini, which will electrify its entire portfolio in coming years, states chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann during my visit to Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy headquarters to view the Revuelto.

“The Miura and Countach established the V12 engine as an icon of Lamborghini,” notes Winkelmann. 

“However, things change and we have new challenges in front of us right here and right now,” he continues. “Geopolitics are a constant companion to all of our planning.” 

The company will roll out a hybrid-electric Huracan by the end of 2024, with the first battery-electric cars arriving in 2028 or 2029. Considering the likely finite lifespan of the Revuelto, one might expect that Lamborghini would make the vehicle simply an evolutionary development, but instead they went the extra mile with a full redesign. 

The Revuelto features an all-new carbon fiber platform, an all-new combustion engine, an all-new transmission, and even a new drivetrain layout in the chassis. The chassis is 10 percent lighter and 25 percent stiffer than before, and employs a new carbon fiber front impact structure in place of the Aventador’s aluminum structure.

The Revuelto’s V12 engine, explained 

The new 814-horsepower, 6.5-liter, L545 V12 engine still rides behind the cockpit, nestled in an all-aluminum rear subframe that is where the rear suspension attaches. At a time when rivals’ engines are muted by turbochargers, you’ll hear the Revuelto’s song better than ever, because the L545 now spins to a 9,500-rpm rev limit and explodes each combustion stroke with the force of a 12.6:1 compression ratio rather than the Aventador’s 11.8:1 ratio.

This 12-cylinder beast is even 37 pounds lighter than the Aventador’s power plant. As the Revuelto contains the last Lamborghini V12, we can chart the progress from the original engine in the Miura, which displaced 3.5 liters, spun to 6,500 rpm and churned out 280 horsepower under the more optimistic rating system of that era.

The Miura’s V12 rode side saddle, bolted transversely across the back of the cockpit, with its transaxle behind it. Its replacement, the Countach, rotated the V12 90 degrees into a longitudinal position and routed power to a transmission installed ahead of the engine. This “Longitudinale Posteriore” location was the source of the Countach’s LP500 designation, and the layout has remained that way ever since.

Until now. The Revuelto’s 8-speed dual-clutch paddle-shifted transmission was designed by Lamborgini’s engineers and is built by Graziano, the same company that built the Aventador’s transmission and also supplies them to McLaren for that company’s sports cars like the Artura, which is also a plug-in hybrid. The Aventador’s single-clutch automated manual transmission was consistently criticized for clunky shifts, so the buttery smooth action of the new dual clutch should be a dramatic improvement, especially in urban driving.

The gearbox contains a 147.5-hp electric motor from Germany’s Mahle that boosts the power going to the road. The electric motor also serves as the V12’s starter, and provides the Revuelto’s reverse function, eliminating the need for a reverse gear in the transmission. This motor can also work as a generator, letting the combustion engine recharge the battery pack when driving in Recharge mode.

This gearbox is a transverse design, mounted behind the longitudinal engine, which provides abundant packaging benefits. But crucially for the hybrid-electric Revuelto, this location leaves the car’s center tunnel vacant, so there is space there now for the car’s 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack.

The Revuelto’s battery and electric motors 

Yes, 3.8 kWh is a tiny battery. Lamborghini engineers wanted to minimize the amount of mass the battery would add to the car, and the short six miles of electric-only driving range should be enough to get the Revuelto to the trendy urban club’s valet parking line on electric power. 

The Revuelto is all-wheel drive thanks to a pair of 147.5-hp electric motors under the front hood. These are Yasa axial flux motors from Britain, another similarity to the McLaren Artura, which also employs compact pancake-shaped axial-flux motors.

The V12 and trio of electric motors produce a combined 1,000 horsepower. Remember that combustion engines and electric motors produce their peak power at different speeds, so you can’t just add up the peak power of all the motors in a hybrid system to calculate the actual horsepower total. They combine to push the Revuelto to 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds and to a top speed of more than 219 mph.

Revuelto’s performance also benefits from advanced aerodynamics in a body shell that incorporates extra space for improved comfort. There’s an extra inch of headroom to make it easier to operate while wearing a helmet for track driving and the added 3.3 inches of legroom is a blessing, as the front wheel wells intrude into the footwell of mid-engine cars like the Revuelto.

Despite the added size, the Revuelto optimizes the balance between drag and downforce using adaptive aerodynamics, such as a rear wing that can lie flat for less drag or stand up for traction-boosting downforce. The transverse transmission leaves more space under the car’s rear, so the diffuser ramps upward at a steeper angle, contributing to the 74 percent increase in rear downforce.

At the front, downforce is increased by 33 percent thanks to a complex front splitter. That’s the chin jutting out from beneath the front bumper, and on the Revuelto it has a radial leading edge in the center between the headlights and slanted outer edges that provide downforce and create vortices (like the ones you might see off airplane wing tips in humid air) to push airflow away from the drag-inducing front tires.

The engine is exposed (kind of) 

Revuelto’s coolest styling detail is its exposed engine. While typical cars have their engines covered with sheet metal hoods, and exhibitionist supercars have recently showcased their power plants beneath glass covers, the Revuelto’s combustion V12 is on proud display through an opening in the engine cover. At least, it appears to be. That’s because the engine wears a plastic cover that looks like a crinkle-finish intake plenum, so that is what is actually visible from outside the car. 

The engine’s exhaust note is authentic, even if the engine itself is wearing a mask. Since this is the final V12, and to draw a contrast with turbocharged rivals with fewer cylinders, Lamborghini engineers prioritized Revuelto’s sound, says chief technical officer Rouven Mohr. “It is not only about the numbers,” he says, referring to the car’s impressive performance. “It is also about the heart. The sound. And the Revuelto is the best-sounding Lamborghini ever.”

Engineers specifically targeted the sharp frequencies in the engine’s exhaust note to cultivate a mellower bellow, he explains. And in an unprecedented Lamborghini capability, the car’s six miles of pure electric driving range means that you can also drive completely silently when exiting your neighborhood in the morning. Your neighbors will surely think this combination of roar and snore is the best kind of “mixed up” at 6 am.

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The latest Android Auto update is one of the biggest yet for Google’s in-car interface, giving users more control than ever over how the software looks on their car dashboard.

If you’re completely new to the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay experience, these are the interfaces that pop up in compatible vehicles when you connect your Android or iPhone device. They’re essentially extensions of your phone, giving you access to select apps including maps, music, and messaging.

The internal Google codename for this latest Android Auto update is Coolwalk, though you won’t see it mentioned anywhere officially. It brings with it a split-screen design, streamlined widgets, and a new app launcher.

The interface will also give whatever media playback app you’re using a second screen typically showing recommendations for what to play next. You can access it by swiping left or right on the corresponding icon. As you drive, if you don’t use any of the map destination shortcuts, the media app widget will expand to fill that space.

Depending on your car’s dashboard screen you’ll also see shortcuts to your most-used apps on the side of the widgets or underneath them. Tap any of these shortcuts to make the selected app fill the screen. You’ll also recognize the colorful microphone icon, which you can tap to give voice commands to the Google Assistant.

In the lower-left corner of the Android Auto screen, you should also see a monochrome icon that will either show nine dots or two squares and a rectangle, depending on what’s on screen. Tap this to cycle between the widget view, the full-screen view, and the app launcher, which shows all of the apps available inside Android Auto.

But maybe you don’t want to see all the Android Auto-supporting apps you have on your phone crowding your car’s dashboard screen. If there are some you know will never use while on the move, you might want to declutter the app launcher by hiding them from view. You’ll need to set this up on your phone, so don’t do this while driving. From Settings, pick Connected devices, Connection preferences, Android Auto, and Customize launcher. From there, uncheck the box next to any app you don’t want to see in the dashboard interface. You’ll notice some tools, like Google Maps, Phone, and Settings, are not optional, so you won’t be able to hide them from the app launcher.

Go back to the Android Auto menu to switch between night and day (dark and light) modes for maps and customize the interface in various other ways. From this menu, you’ll also be able to enable Taskbar widgets, which will display a new bar along the bottom of the interface so your media playback controls are available at all times.

Customize your Android Auto settings

The renewed Android Auto also offers a selection of customizations you can access from the interface itself. Again, toggling them will require some concentration and focus, so make sure not to play around with them while your vehicle is moving. Get to the app launcher by tapping the nine-dot icon (you may have to access it by touching the widget icon first), and pick Settings.

The first selection of settings covers notifications, so you can choose whether or not you get alerts whenever there’s an incoming message on your phone. There’s also the option to show the first line of conversations and to play a chime on these alerts. Turn off the Suggestion cards setting and you won’t see smart prompts like the option to call a contact you communicate with a lot or navigate to a specific home or work address.

[Related: Your Android phone may soon be able to start your car]

Further down you can set whether Android Auto starts up automatically when it connects and whether the audio you were playing most recently starts up automatically. In our experience, not all media apps obey the rules set down by this setting, so you might still find audio playing (or not playing) no matter what this option is set to.

As well as accessing settings you can get on the phone (such as day and night mode for maps), there’s also a Wallpaper option. Tap this and you’ll be able to access a selection of different patterns and photos. Wallpaper doesn’t show up on the widgets view, but you will see it when you’re accessing menus and the app launcher.

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Earlier this month, a new kind of electric boat was demonstrated in Colombia. The uncrewed COTEnergy Boat debuted at the Colombiamar 2023 business and industrial exhibition, held from March 8 to 10 in Cartagena. It is likely a useful tool for navies, and was on display as a potential product for other nations to adopt. 

While much of the attention in uncrewed sea vehicles has understandably focused on the ocean-ranging craft built for massive nations like the United States and China, the introduction of small drone ships for regional powers and routine patrol work shows just far this technology has come, and how widespread it is likely to be in the future.

“The Colombian Navy (ARC) intends to deploy the new electric unmanned surface vehicle (USV) CotEnergy Boat in April,” Janes reports, citing Admiral Francisco Cubides. 

The boat is made from aluminum and has a compact, light body. (See it on Instagram here.) Just 28.5 feet long and under 8 feet wide, the boat is powered by a 50 hp electric motor; its power is sustained in part by solar panels mounted on the top of the deck. Those solar panels can provide up to 1.1 kilowatts at peak power, which is enough to sustain its autonomous operation for just shy of an hour.

The vessel was made by Atomo Tech and Colombia’s state-owned naval enterprise company, COTECMAR. The company says the boat’s lightweight form allows it to take on different payloads, making it suitable for “intelligence and reconnaissance missions, port surveillance and control missions, support in communications link missions, among others.”

Putting sensors on small, autonomous and electric vessels is a recurring theme in navies that employ drone boats. Even a part of the ocean that seems small, like a harbor, represents a big job to watch. By putting sensors and communications links onto an uncrewed vessel, a navy can effectively extend the range of what can be seen by human operators. 

In January, the US Navy used Saildrones for this kind of work in the Persian Gulf. Equipped with cameras and processing power, the Saildrones identified and tracked ships in an exercise as they spotted them, making that information available to human operators on crewed vessels and ultimately useful to naval commanders. 

Another reason to turn to uncrewed vessels for this work is that they are easier to run on fully  electric power, as opposed to a diesel or gasoline. COTECMAR’s video description notes that the COTEEnergy Boat is being “incorporated into the offer of sustainable technological solutions that we are designing for the energy transition.” Making patrol craft solar powered and electric starts the vessels sustainable.

While developed as a military tool, the COTENERGY boat can also have a role in scientific and research expeditions. It could serve as a communications link between other ships, or between ships and other uncrewed vessels, ensuring reliable operation and data collection. Putting in sensors designed to look under the water’s surface could aid with oceanic mapping and observation. As a platform for sensors, the COTEnergy Boat is limited by what its adaptable frame can carry and power, although its load capacity is 880 pounds.

Not much more is known about the COTEnergy Boat at this point. But what is compelling about the vessel is how it fits into similar plans of other navies. Fielding small useful autonomous scouts or patrol craft, if successful, could become a routine part of naval and coastal operations.

With these new kinds of boat come new challenges. Because uncrewed ships lack humans, it can make them easier targets for other navies or possibly maritime criminal groups, like pirates. The same kind of Saildrones used by the US Navy to scout the Persian Gulf have also been detained, if briefly, by the Iranian Navy. With such detentions comes the risk that data on the ship is compromised, and data collection tools figured out, making it easier for hostile forces to fool or evade the sensors in the future.

Still, the benefits of having a flexible, solar-powered robot ship outweigh such risks. Inspection of ports is routine until it isn’t, and with a robotic vessel there to scout first, humans can wait to act until they are needed, safely removed from their remote robotic companions.

Watch a little video of the COTEnergy Boat below:

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As we’ve learned over the past few years, almost anything that connects to the internet, uses Bluetooth or any other wireless protocols, or simply has a computer chip inside can be hacked—and that includes cars. There are just too many potential vulnerabilities across all these surfaces for hackers to exploit, and every time there’s a software update, there is a chance that new ones get introduced even as the old ones are patched out. (Seriously, keep your software up-to-date, though. It’s the best way to stay as secure as possible.)

With that in mind, researchers from French security firm Synacktiv have won $530,000 and a Tesla Model 3 at Pwn2Own Vancouver, a security competition where “white hat” hackers and security researchers can win the devices with previously unknown vulnerabilities (that they discover and exploit)—plus a cash prize.

The team from Synacktiv demonstrated two separate exploits. In the first, they were able to breach the Model 3’s Gateway system, the energy management interface that communicates between Tesla cars and Tesla Powerwalls, in less than two minutes. They used a Time of Check to Time of Use (TOCTOU) attack, a technique that exploits the small time gap between when a computer checks something like a security credential and when it actually uses it, to insert the necessary malicious code. For safety reasons, they weren’t hacking a real Model 3, but they would have been able to open the car’s doors and front hood, even while it was in motion. 

The second exploit allowed the hackers to remotely gain root (or admin) access to the mock Tesla’s infotainment system and from there, to gain control of other subsystems in the car. They used what’s known as a heap overflow vulnerability and an out-of-bounds write error in the Bluetooth chipset to get in. Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness at Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), told Dark Reading, “The biggest vulnerability demonstrated this year was definitely the Tesla exploit. They went from what’s essentially an external component, the Bluetooth chipset, to systems deep within the vehicle.” 

According to TechCrunch, Tesla contends that all the hackers would have been able to do is annoy the driver, though the researchers themselves aren’t so sure. Eloi Benoist-Vanderbeken, one of the Synacktiv researchers, told TechCrunch, “[Tesla] said we wouldn’t be able to turn the steering wheel, accelerate or brake. But from our understanding of the car architecture we are not sure that this is correct, but we don’t have proof of it.” Apparently they are looking forward to fact-checking Tesla’s claim as soon as they get their hands on their new Model 3. 

This is the second year in a row that Synacktiv has been able to hack a Tesla. Last year the French security team were also able to exploit the infotainment system, but weren’t able to gain enough access to the rest of the system to win the car. 

It’s worth noting that Tesla was a willing participant and provided the car to Pwn2Own. It—along with all the other companies involved—uses the competition as an opportunity to find potentially devastating “zero day” or undiscovered vulnerabilities in their devices so they can fix them. Apparently, the company is already working on a patch for these latest bugs that will roll out automatically. 

As well as Tesla, some of the big names at Pwn2Own were Oracle, Microsoft, Google, Zoom, and Adobe. An exploit using two bugs in Microsoft SharePoint was enough to win Star Labs $100,000, while two bugs in Microsoft Teams won Team Viettel $75,000. Synacktiv also picked up another $80,000 for a three-bug exploit against Oracle’s Virtual Box. 

In total, contestants found 27 unique zero-day bugs and won a combined $1,035,000 (plus a car). 

The post These hackers revealed security vulnerabilities in a Tesla—and won a car appeared first on Popular Science.

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The Dodge brand leans heavily into performance, with commercials talking about “the brotherhood of muscle” and cars with names like “Demon” and “Hellcat.” So it’s no surprise that when releasing its first electrified vehicle, Dodge came up with a crossover to meet the market demand for family-friendly vehicles that includes a concession to in-your-face swagger. The new vehicle is called the Hornet, and it’s available in both a gas-only (GT) and a plug-in hybrid version (R/T).

Chris Piscitelli, one of the designers of the all-new Hornet, says the vehicle’s stinging-insect namesake is “a nasty little thing.” He says that with a mischievous grin, clearly happy with the association; the five-seater exudes intentional personality. In both drive and looks, the Hornet exhibits the Dodge legacy in the form of a small SUV that feels more like a hot hatch than a family car. 

The Hornet R/T (that stands for road/track) offers a unique feature called PowerShot. When the driver chooses Sport mode and pulls both paddle shifters (for changing gears in manual mode) simultaneously, the system tacks on a bonus 30 horsepower. Then, stepping on the accelerator and mashing it down through a palpable click triggers a mechanism called a detent that tells the car to get moving. Pronto.

Dodge’s first electrified vehicle

This is Dodge’s first foray into electrification, and the brand is not taking any chances with its reputation. In its base iteration, the Hornet G/T is propelled by a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that Dodge labeled the Hurricane4. As a plug-in hybrid, the Hornet R/T combines a turbo four-cylinder 1.3-liter engine and a single electric motor mounted to the rear axle, and together it’s good for 288 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque. During the presentation, Dodge representatives said the Hornet’s closest competitor is the Mazda CX-5, which gets 256 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque.

Dodge vehicle synthesis senior manager Brian Del Pup has worked with the automotive companies under the Stellantis umbrella (including Dodge and Chrysler) for the last two decades or so. He says the team pushed the Hornet to be as true to the brand as possible, stretching the limits of what a typical crossover—like a Subaru Outback or a Honda HR-V—might be.

“A lot of [crossovers] are appliances, and people buy them to get from point A to point B and that’s it,” Del Pup tells PopSci. “There’s a lot of things that we did with this vehicle to make it fun and make it stick out. It’s a plug-in hybrid, but that wasn’t the focus. The focus was, ‘Hey, how much performance can we get out of this architecture?’ And ‘How can we make it perform like a sports car?’ It had to feel and drive like a Dodge.”

Part of that vision included the PowerShot for the Hornet PHEV, complete with the detent that requires mashing the pedal to the floor. Other vehicles use that type of tactile click to indicate the pedal is near the end of travel, and it announces the initiation of a more aggressive maneuver. 

During testing, Del Pup was sitting in the passenger seat and encouraged me to press the accelerator more firmly until I could feel it; soon we were traveling at a much higher rate of speed as though we were experiencing a tiny wrinkle in time. 

Boosting the power, 15 seconds at a time

In the Hornet R/T, a PowerShot activation shaves 1.5 seconds from the 0-to-60 time for a total of 5.6 seconds from a dead stop. That said, the feature doesn’t offer a never-ending buffet of power boosts. Depending on the battery health and state of charge, the actual boost will vary, and it lasts for about 15 seconds. 

“[PowerShot works best] at a higher state of charge and when the battery is at temperatures that high-voltage batteries like, which is around 72 degrees,” Del Pup explains. “When you deviate from that, it will still allow a PowerShot, but it may take some away based on where the system is.”

It also requires a 15-second cooldown period between activations. Unlike a video game, however, it doesn’t limit the total number of PowerShots per drive. 

Plugging the Hornet R/T into a Level 2 charger fills up the battery in about 2.5 hours, Dodge says. The 15.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack is capable of 30 miles of all-electric driving under ideal conditions, which is about three miles short of the average American commute (according to AAA). The EPA hasn’t released fuel economy numbers for the R/T, but we expect those to beat the 21 miles per gallon city/29 miles per gallon highway numbers from the Hornet GT. 

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Nestled in the heart of California’s high-tech Silicon Valley is the Alliance Innovation Lab, where Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi work in partnership. The center is a cradle-to-concept lab for projects related to energy, materials, and smart technologies in cities, all with an eye toward automotive autonomy.

Maarten Sierhuis, the global director of the laboratory, is both exuberant and realistic about what Nissan has to offer as electric and software-driven vehicles go mainstream. And it’s not the apocalyptic robot-centric future portrayed by Hollywood in movies like Minority Report.

“Show me an autonomous system without a human in the loop, and I’ll show you a useless system,” Sierhuis quips to PopSci. “Autonomy is built by and for humans. Thinking that you would have an autonomous car driving around that never has to interact with any person, it’s kind of a silly idea.”

Lessons from space

Educated at The Hague and the University of Amsterdam, Sierhuis is a specialist in artificial intelligence and cognitive science. For more than a dozen years, he was a senior research scientist for intelligent systems at NASA. There, he collaborated on the invention of a Java-based programming language and human behavior simulation environment used at NASA’s Mission Control for the International Space Station.

Based on his experience, Sierhuis says expecting certain systems to fail is wise. “We need to figure there is going to be failure, so we need to design for failure,” he says. “Now, one way to do that—and the automotive industry has been doing this for a long time—is to build redundant systems. If one fails, we have another one that takes over.”

[Related: How Tesla is using a supercomputer to train its self-driving tech]

One vein of research has Nissan partnering with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to develop an uncrewed rover prototype for NASA. Based on Nissan’s EV all-wheel drive control technology (dubbed e-4ORCE) used on the brand’s newest EV, Ariya, the rover features front and rear electric motors to navigate challenging terrain. 

Sierhuis calls the Ariya Nissan’s most advanced vehicle to date. It is a stepping stone toward combining all the technology the lab is working on in one actual product. He and the team have switched from using a Leaf to an Ariya for its hands-on research, even simulating lunar dust to test the system’s capabilities in space.

‘There is no autonomy without a human in the loop’

There is an air of distrust of autonomous technology from some car buyers, amplified by some high-profile crashes involving Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving” vehicles.

“It’s hard for OEMs to decide where and how to bring this technology to market,” Sierhuis says. “I think this is part of the reason why it’s not there yet, because is it responsible to go from step zero or step one to fully autonomous driving in one big step? Maybe that’s not the right way to teach people how to interact with autonomous systems.”

From the lab team’s perspective, society is experiencing a learning curve and so the team is ensuring that technology is rolled out gradually and responsibly. Nissan’s approach is to carefully calibrate its systems so the car doesn’t take over. Computing is developed for people, and the people are at the center of it, Sierhuis says, and it should always be about that. That’s not just about the system itself; driving should still be fun.

“There is no autonomy without a human in the loop,” he says. “You should have the ability to be the driver yourself and maybe have the autonomous system be your co-driver, making you a better driver, and then use autonomy when you want it and use the fun of driving when you want it. There shouldn’t be an either-or.”

[Related: Why an old-school auto tech organization is embracing electrification]

The Ariya is equipped with Nissan’s latest driver-assist suite, enhanced by seven cameras, five millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic sonar sensors for accuracy. A high-definition 3D map predicts the road surface, and on certain roads, Nissan says the driver can take their hands off the wheel. That doesn’t mean a nap is in order, though; a driver-attention monitor ensures the driver is still engaged.

New driver assistance technologies raise questions about the relationship between technology and drivers-to-be: What if someone learns how to drive with a full suite of autonomous features and then tries to operate a car that doesn’t have the technology; are they going to be flummoxed? Ultimately, he says, this is a topic the industry hasn’t fully worked through yet.

Making cities smarter

The Alliance Innovation Lab is also studying the roads and cities where EVs operate. So-called “smart cities” integrate intelligence not just into the cars but into the infrastructure, enabling the future envisioned by EV proponents. Adding intelligence to the environment means, for example, that an intersection can be programmed to interface with a software-enabled vehicle making a right-hand turn toward a crosswalk where pedestrians are present. The autonomous system can alert the driver to a potentially dangerous situation and protect both the driver and those in the vicinity from tragedy.  

Another way to make cities smarter is by improving the efficiency of power across the board. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average home consumes about 20 kilowatt-hours per day. Nissan’s new Ariya is powered by an 87-kilowatt battery, which is enough to power a home for four days. Currently, Sierhuis says, we have a constraint optimization problem: car batteries can store a fantastic amount of power that can be shared with the grid in a bi-directional way, but we haven’t figured out how to do that effectively.  

On top of that, car batteries use power in larger bursts than inside homes, and the batteries have limited use before they must be retired. However, that doesn’t mean the batteries are trash at that point; on the contrary, they have quite a bit of energy potential in their second life. Nissan has been harnessing both new and used Leaf batteries to work in tandem with a robust solar array to power a giant soccer stadium (Johan Cruijff Arena) in Amsterdam since 2018. In the same year, Nissan kicked off a project with the British government to install 1,000 vehicle-to-grid charging points across the United Kingdom. It’s just a taste of what the brand and its lab see as a way to overcome infrastructure issues erupting around the world as EVs gain traction.

Combining EV batteries and smart technology, Nissan envisions a way for vehicles to communicate with humans and the grid to manage the system together, in space and here on Earth.

The post The tricky search for just the right amount of automation in our cars appeared first on Popular Science.

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This article was originally published on The Drive.

When it’s your decision to do so, sliding across the pavement like slippery socks on a vinyl floor is an adrenaline-spiking thrill unlike any other. When it’s not your decision to do so, however, sliding across the pavement is a fear-instilling event that will leave you questioning why you’re waiting to take that bucket-list trip to the Grand Canyon.

Scary skids are significantly more likely when dealing with precipitation, but it doesn’t have to be sleet, snow, or ice. Regular plain rain can be just as dangerous if the evil stars align and your car begins to hydroplane. 

Hydroplaning is covered in regulatory driving tests, but it’s not something you fully understand until you experience it. It’s impossible to completely avoid it for your entire life, so the only thing you can do is prepare yourself for when it occurs. The Drive’s editors have gathered a guide to explain what hydroplaning is, when and why it occurs, and how to handle yourself when lightning does strike. Get your notebook and learn something new below.

What is hydroplaning?

Hydroplaning, also referred to as aquaplaning, is when water, sometimes mixed with other contaminants, gets underneath an automobile’s tires’ contact patches and separates the tires and vehicle from the road surface. The car is then technically riding on slippery wetness rather than the grippy road because the tires cannot displace the water fast enough.

When does hydroplaning happen?

Hydroplaning occurs when the amount of water on the road overwhelms the tires’ abilities to remove water from underneath the tire through the tire tread grooves. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean it only happens when there’s a massive amount of precipitation raining down from the sky. Depending on how bald your tires are or how underinflated they are, it could even happen on a slippery road surface during a light rain.

Hydroplaning is also more likely to occur at higher speeds. 

Why does hydroplaning happen?

Hydroplaning occurs when the amount of water on the road overwhelms the tires’ abilities to remove water from underneath the tire through the tire tread grooves. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean it only happens when there’s a massive amount of precipitation raining down from the sky. Depending on how bald your tires are or how underinflated they are, it could even happen on a slippery road surface during a light rain.

Hydroplaning is also more likely to occur at higher speeds. 

Where does hydroplaning happen?

Technically, hydroplaning can occur anywhere there is smooth pavement or a surface that can trap water underneath the tires. This is especially true on roads with standing water like runoff or puddles. Because of the speed, it might be more likely to experience hydroplaning on a highway.

How to protect against hydroplaning

There are precautions you can take that will help prevent hydroplaning. 

• Make sure your tires are appropriate for the season and conditions. Certain designs have extra sipes to clear water.
• Make sure the tire is properly inflated.
• Make sure the tire has enough tread.
• Follow a strict tire rotation schedule.
• Avoid sudden movements like quick turns or hard acceleration or braking.
• Limit your speeds during rain.
• Don’t use cruise control in slippery conditions.
• Avoid puddles.
• If a road is crowned, the water will puddle easier on the outside of the road, so stick inside.

How to react when you’re hydroplaning

*French Montana voice* Don’t panic. 

1. Resist your immediate urge to overreact.
2. Let off the gas.
3. Firmly hold the steering wheel. 
4. If you’re sliding straight ahead, keep the wheel straight. If you’re sliding toward the edge of a turn, turn the wheel slightly in the direction the car is moving. Just be aware that the direction of your tires will matter when you regain traction, so you don’t want them all twisted up.
5. Ride it out until you feel the car regain traction.
6. Pull over, take a deep breath and calm down before you get back on the road.

The post A driver’s guide to hydroplaning and how to handle it appeared first on Popular Science.

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Lexus, Toyota’s luxury arm, just started delivering its first all-electric vehicle to dealerships in the US. Starting at $59,650, the RZ 450e is offered in two flavors—Premium and Luxury—and it will play a starring role in the Lexus lineup as the brand works toward an all-electric product offering by 2035. Highlights for this new car include a steer-by-wire system with a controller that looks like it belongs in a commercial jet; radiant heaters to warm your feet and legs where a glovebox usually sits; and silky-smooth acceleration that distinguishes the RZ from its competitors.  

Here’s what sets it apart and what it’s like behind the yoke—more on that detail in a bit.

Two motors

The public got its first glimpse of the RZ 450e when it was unveiled last spring. The RZ was built with some familiar parts and design elements borrowed from Toyota’s bZ4X, including the “skateboard” platform the Subaru Solterra also uses. Automakers build EVs on these flat surfaces as a painter uses a blank canvas, creating unique structures unencumbered by engine and transmission placement. The lithium-ion battery is distributed under the subfloor of the vehicle, establishing an even weight balance and sports car feel when cornering.  

Effectively, that’s where the resemblance ends. The RZ employs two motors instead of one (as in the bZ4X or Solterra), and combined, the dual-motor setup delivers a total of 308 horsepower. Even more importantly, the RZ is tuned for luxury customers with incredibly smooth acceleration and a quiet cabin enhanced by active sound control, which balances unwanted cabin noise with directed sound frequencies. When testing it recently in Provence, France, my driving partner and I found we could carry on a conversation in normal voices with no problem, even on somewhat bumpy rural roads.

Inside the cabin, Lexus is now using more bio-based sustainable materials like plant-based “polyester,” or simulated suede (Lexus calls it Ultrasuede) replacing the yards of leather from previous model years. The RZ’s 14-inch touchscreen was first seen in the Lexus NX when the brand finally replaced the often-criticized touchpad that held court in the console of many Lexus vehicles. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and Wi-Fi connectivity is available for up to five devices. 

A panoramic moonroof is also standard in both trims of the RZ. At the base Premium level, the roof has a special coating called low-e, or low emissivity, to keep the interior cool by blocking some wavelengths of light. Or, you could jump up to the Luxury variant for upgraded dimmable glass that Lexus calls Dynamic Sky. In either case, Lexus opted to remove the motor-driven automatic shade present in many cars with a glass roof. By doing so, the RZ affords more head room and more importantly, it shed 12.8 pounds from the total vehicle weight. 

Steer-by-wire

Also unique to the RZ is an optional steer-by-wire system that Lexus is calling a “game changer.” It’s not the first car to include a U-shaped steering control, typically called a yoke in the aircraft world. A couple of years ago, Tesla dabbled with yoke steering and then offered a retrofit traditional steering wheel for those who didn’t like it. Lexus is not going down that road for good reason: the steering systems are completely different. 

The RZ’s steer-by-wire option is not just a reshaped wheel in the way Tesla attempted. There is no mechanical link between the steering wheel and steering rack with a steer-by-wire setup, as it would be in a car with a traditional steering system. Instead, information is relayed electronically (“by wire”). While a traditional steering wheel can be turned all the way around for a total of about 720 degrees, the steer-by-wire controller tips only 150 degrees in either direction.

“Up until now, there have been other [steer-by-wire systems] but this actually extends the capability by far,” Lexus assistant chief engineer Yushi Higashiyama told PopSci. “Of course, there will be customers who prefer the traditional steering system. The reason why the RZ team took on the challenge of implementing the steer-by-wire system is because that’s also taking on the challenge of the future of electrification and what’s coming next.”

Lexus representatives advised us to take it slow the first time out to get used to the difference in motion, but we found it to be very intuitive and easy to adjust to. Making a 90-degree turn required a gentle twist instead of a hand-over-hand turn, and I thought the steering felt more like a direct connection from my arm motion to the car itself. The RZ is engineered such that the steering ratio adjusts depending on how fast you’re driving, which is intended to feel agile at low speeds and stable at higher speeds.

Before you get too excited about it, know that the steer-by-wire option won’t be available at launch. Lexus has not revealed when it will offer the alternative steering choice; all that the representatives will reveal right now is “not yet.” Incidentally, this feature is called One Motion Grip—OMG, for short—in Europe, and Lexus decided that abbreviation would not play as well in the US market.

Does the RZ offer enough range? 

Because it’s an EV, range anxiety is still a concern for buyers in the US. The Biden administration’s new rollout of standards for EV charging stations, powered by $7.5 billion in federal funding, is aimed at standardizing charging stations across the country. That should help alleviate apprehension, but the market has plenty of room to grow. Still, it may be a surprise to some that the RZ was launched with a range of 220 miles with the standard 18-inch wheels, or 196 miles with the upgraded 20-inch wheels. Bigger wheels mean less rolling resistance and decreased range. 

With a DC fast charger, the RZ’s battery can top up from zero to 80 percent in about 30 minutes. At home with a Level 2 charger, expect it to recharge from zero to 100 percent in roughly 9.5 hours. 

Lexus knows that the RZ’s range is lower than some of its competitors, but Aono says that most RZ buyers will opt for home charging, and that the range is still far above what they need on a daily basis. To entice potential customers who might be skittish about buying an EV, the brand is offering a new benefit called Lexus Reserve. This dealer-led program allows RZ owners to borrow any other available Lexus car from the dealership for free for a total of 30 days over the first three years. That way, if an RZ owner wants to take an extended road trip that exceeds the range, they can borrow a gas-powered GX SUV, for example, to bring the family.

“Americans’ daily average is 40 miles,” Aono says. (According to research from AAA, that number was about 33 in 2021.) “Are you going to be driving 200 miles [in a day]? Probably not. Instead of worrying about that, you can swap your vehicle. We want to make sure our customers are comfortable.”

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Amplitude modulation transmissions, better known as AM, have been a mainstay in traditional car radios for decades. But consumers’ adoption of electric vehicles could soon end the avenue for easy-to-access public safety announcements—and emergency response experts are sounding the alarm.

AM radio may be most often associated with rural church pastor sermons, local high school football coverage, and colorful talk radio hosts, but it actually still serves an extremely vital purpose—few sources are as reliable during disasters and emergencies. These messages can travel the farthest on low radio frequencies, and AM operates on some of the lowest: between 525 to 1705 kHz. Time and again, they inform upwards of 47 million Americans of real-time federal and state information for hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, wildfires, and other major public safety incidents.

[Related: Pete Buttigieg on how to improve the deadly track record of US drivers.]

Unfortunately, many current electric vehicles’ propulsion systems generate electromagnetic noise that can interfere with AM signals. Both Tesla and Ford have already dropped AM support in their vehicles, including the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning, and emergency management professionals are worried the cuts could spread.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, seven former administrators of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent a letter on Sunday to both Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and several congressional committees, urging legislators to guarantee continued AM radio support in carmakers’ EVs. According to FEMA via WSJ, an estimated 75 radio stations operating on the AM band covers over 90 percent of the entire US population, and are reinforced by backup comms equipment and generators allowing them to continue issuing crucial information in the event of an emergency. Although EVs’ arrival are needed to speed transitioning to a green transportation industry, losing an affordable, easy-to-maintain, and reliable safety tool could create major problems in the future.

[Related: EV companies call out their own weaknesses in new clean energy report.]

Sen. Ed Markey (D, Mass) previously drew attention to the situation in December 2022 via a letter to 20 EV manufacturers, urging them to commit to continue AM availability in their products. The WSJ reports that the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a group representing major carmakers in the US, pledged a commitment to “maintaining access to safety alerts,” and has been meeting with the National Association of Broadcasters to discuss possible solutions.

For now, at least two automakers—Hyundai and Toyota—have stated they have no plans to remove AM radio support from their EV models, although representatives for the latter company conceded to WSJ that AM radio static “is a challenge” in its electric models.

Correction (March 16, 2023): AM stands for amplitude modulation, not amplitude modification.

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On January 24, Prerak Patel’s new 2023 Tesla Model Y was delivered. Five days later, according to tweets from Patel’s account, the car’s steering wheel fell off while he was driving. Luckily, no one was hurt. But this wasn’t an isolated incident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the exact same issue has happened to another Model Y. It was enough for the NHTSA to begin looking into the problem, which they estimate could affect over 120,000 cars.

“I wasn’t sure what to do,” he said in an interview with Scripps News. “I was really scared—kids were scared too.”

The exact cause of the issue, according to the NHTSA document, is a manufacturing defect. The retaining bolt, the part of the steering wheel designed to keep it in place and attached to the rest of the steering mechanism, was missing. The report says that both cars received repairs before being delivered that involved removing the steering wheel. 

According to the NHTSA, after being delivered, the steering wheels were held in place by pure friction until they eventually experienced “complete detachment.” In Prerak Patel’s case, that happened while he and his family were on the highway. Luckily, there was no car behind him, and Patel was able to stop safely. After making sure his family was safe, Patel started a thread on Twitter to ask Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the company’s customer support for help. 

The NHTSA investigation is just the latest in a long string of Tesla mishaps. As early as 2018 and 2019, Tesla owners posted videos of poor build quality on their newly delivered cars. Tesla has consistently ranked near the bottom of the Consumer Reports reliability survey, placing second to last in 2021 and 19th out of 24 brands in 2022. But in addition to the manufacturing defects and reliability issues, the so-called self-driving software has also faced regulatory scrutiny.

[Related: Massive new Tesla recall focuses on dangers of self-driving software]

In February, the NHTSA announced a recall of hundreds of thousands of Teslas because of issues in their autopilot system. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) system has been linked to fatal accidents. That NHTSA report explains that the FSD Beta was driving unsafely around intersections and ignoring speed limits. The problems were reportedly set to be fixed by an over-the-air software update. 

Tesla isn’t the only automaker to cope with a serious problem like the steering wheel coming off. Not long after Toyota’s first electric SUV, the BZ4X, was released, the company quickly recalled the EVs they had begun delivering because of problems that could lead to the wheels—the ones the vehicle rolls on—completely falling off. After an investigation, Toyota discovered that part of the issue was that a wheel supplier had been manufacturing the wheels to a different specification. Just 260 vehicles were affected. 

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It’s hard to go faster on the road than in a Formula One car, which can reach top speeds of 220 miles per hour. The so-called pinnacle of motorsport races takes place around the world, from Australia to Sao Paulo. And after an exciting week of preseason testing, the 2023 season got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit on March 5. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen won for Red Bull Racing, with his teammate Sergio Perez in second. There are 20 drivers across 10 teams in F1, and none of the other 18 drivers finished within 30 seconds of Verstappen. Only time will tell if the other teams will be able to catch up.

Below F1 are Formula Two and Formula Three, which are called the feeder series, and function in a similar fashion to baseball’s minor leagues. They’re mostly young drivers attempting to prove their worth by competing against each other for a spot in the big leagues. It’s how most drivers gain one of the 20 seats currently available in F1. (All three F1 rookies this season, Nyck DeVries, Oscar Piastri, and Logan Sargeant, drove at least one season in F2.)

But like any other vehicle with an internal combustion engine, Formula One vehicles burn fossil fuels, which is a problem in a world that must decarbonize to combat climate change. Beyond the 20 Formula One cars racing on tracks every other weekend, there are the massive transportation costs to move the teams and drivers across the globe and the millions of fans traveling to and from the racing circuits.

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Formula One’s governing body, realizes that. In November 2019, F1 and the FIA announced plans to become fully carbon neutral by the end of 2030, and the plans to make that transition are already underway. 

Formula One currently uses a hybrid fuel that’s 10% biofuel and will make the transition to fully renewable fuels in 2026, meaning all carbon output by the cars will be offset by the production of the fuel. There will be other regulatory changes as well. 

Now, F1 has announced that their feeder series will be following along. Starting with the opening sprint race of the 2023 season at Bahrain last weekend, F2 and F3 cars will use a blend consisting of 55% “Advanced Sustainable Fuel.” And by 2027, according to The Race, the feeder series aim to use a type of sustainable, carbon-captured fuel called e-fuel.

What are sustainable fuels?

“Sustainable fuel” is a catch-all term for a bunch of different alternative ways of producing fuels for planes and cars with the goal of reducing their carbon footprint. It includes biofuels, which recycle organic materials into fuel (this is what F1’s hybrid fuel is) but also carbon-capturing e-fuels that are made by taking carbon from the air, which is what F2 and F3 plan to switch to in 2027. But what all sustainable fuels have in common are their low net carbon emissions.

When it comes to e-fuels created by carbon capture, Nikita Pavlenko, the fuel program lead at the International Council on Clean Transportation, says there are two different sources—getting it directly from the atmosphere, or getting it from smokestacks: “You have a fuel that is pretty close to zero carbon, just produced from renewable electricity and carbon dioxide captured from the air or from a smokestack.” While F1 is allowed to source their carbon from so-called point sources (Pavlenko says this is almost always taken from smokestacks), F2 and F3’s fuel must be fully sourced by direct-air carbon capture technology.

That strict direct-air carbon capturing is what differentiates e-fuel from biofuels and other sustainable power sources, and according to Pavlenko, it’s a very new technology. The F2 and F3 experiments will be one of the first large-scale applications of e-fuel, which has implications for the future of transportation. Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, the chief technology officer at Aramco, who will supply the e-fuel, tells The Race that the FIA understands this is a hard goal to reach because of how underdeveloped carbon capture technologies are but is committed to setting the course. 

Pavlenko says he’s excited that F1 is pursuing e-fuels, because of their very prohibitive cost. “F1 would be one of the use cases that’s best able to support the cost difference,” he says. “It’s a relatively small quantity [in relation to the quantity of non-sustainable fuels] and I assume there’s a high willingness to pay.”

Even better: EVs

There are some concerns, however. The FIA will have to ensure that its e-fuel is made using renewable energy sources. Much like electric cars, producing e-fuel using electricity created by fossil fuels simply moves the source of emissions rather than limits it. In addition, Palvenko says that e-fuel generally has more applications in aviation than on the road, where using electric vehicles is the generally best way to go.

In the past 20 years, F1 has exploded in popularity, thanks to new ownership and a series on Netflix. But as it’s gone global, it’s come under increasing scrutiny for its sustainability, or lack thereof. The FIA is making an effort, however. Even before the fuel changes, F1’s sister electric-only series Formula E launched in 2014. Only time will tell if the two series will eventually merge, but anyone who’s watched Formula E can confirm that the racing is just as electric as the cars are.

The post How the Formula races plan to power their cars with more sustainable fuel appeared first on Popular Science.

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Best high-resolution		Rove R2- 4K Dash Cam		SEE IT	Can record up to a resolution of 2160p and can be controlled by your smartphone.
Best with extra safety features		Nextbase 622GW Full 4k HD in Car Dash Cam		SEE IT	Provides 4K enhanced night vision, front and rear protection, and an emergency SOS system.
Best large-screen		AUTO-VOX V5PRO		SEE IT	This model doesn’t require a car charger or hardwire kit, and it provides GPS tracking.

Dash cams are an affordable and convenient car accessory that any driver should consider adding to their personal or work vehicle. Ensuring that you have a record of your time driving can make a huge difference when dealing with unexpected collisions, tickets, and other traffic-related incidents, opening up the possibility of saving money on insurance and even limiting your liability in some situations by providing proof. Dash cam systems come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and usually operate by automatically recording footage to an internal drive or some form of removable media, like a microSD card. Some systems even offer safety features that will augment an otherwise basic automotive package, making them a cost-effective and highly customizable alternative to purchasing dealership upgrades. The best dash cam for your purposes will be one that fits well into your existing routine and offers you extra peace of mind when you’re behind the wheel.

• Best high-resolution: Rove R2- 4K Dash Cam
• Best high-capacity: BlackVue DR900X-2CH
• Best with extra safety features: Nextbase 622GW Full 4k HD in Car Dash Cam
• Best large-screen: AUTO-VOX V5PRO
• Best space-saving: Garmin Dash Cam Mini
• Best budget: Pathinglek 3-Inch Dash Cam

The best dash cams: Reviews & Recommendations

Best high-resolution: Rove R2- 4K Dash Cam

ROVE

SEE IT

The Rove R2 offers 4K video recording and a small screen-based interface with button controls and extended control via WiFi. This is an incredible value that packs a G-sensor, parking mode, slow-motion video, and a large f1.8 aperture, along with a full 150-degree field of view.

Best high-capacity: BlackVue DR900X-2CH with 256GB microSD Card

Amazon

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The BlackVue DR900X-2CH is a great option for capturing no-compromise 4K video at high capacities. It’s hardwired to your fuse panel to allow for uninterrupted operation as well as parking mode, and it’s even compatible with nano-SIM cards for LTE connectivity and cloud uploading so you can potentially expand your storage even further.

Best with extra safety features: Nextbase 622GW Full 4k HD in Car Dash Cam

Nextbase

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The 622GW from Nextbase is a cut above the rest when it comes to safety thanks to the ability to detect accidents and alert emergency services if you become unresponsive. This car dash cam has Alexa built-in and records in 1440p resolution at 30 frames per second.

Best large-screen: AUTO-VOX V5PRO

AUTO-VOX

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The Auto-Vox V5PRO is a fantastic option for retrofitting older vehicles or installing in models with limited space. It fully replaces your existing rearview mirror with a reflective surface that doubles as a 9.5-inch screen, and it offers front and rear recording and parking monitoring. This is a dash cam, rearview mirror, and backup camera all in one.

Best space-saving: Garmin Dash Cam Mini

Amazon

SEE IT

If you’re thinking small, the Garmin Dash Cam Mini is a robust option with your name on it. The incredibly compact unit attaches to your windshield and records 1080p footage at a 140-degree angle straight to a micro SD card. Controls and footage review are available over WiFi via the proprietary app.

Best budget dash cam: What you get for under $50

Dashboard cameras under $50 lack some of the quality ones might expect from more expensive products, which could be an issue if resolution and picture clarity is a priority. Still, it’s better to have a dash cam than to have none at all, so if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit on the flexibility of your device, something like the Pathinglek 3-Inch Dash Cam might do the trick. Be aware that at these prices, reliability and user-friendliness are not always guaranteed even in the best budget dash cams.

Things to consider when buying the best dash cams

There are so many types of dash cam products on the market that it can be hard to know where to begin. Like most recording devices, dash cams are available in a wide range of recording resolutions and media size compatibilities. Some models place extra emphasis on added safety features or screen functionality, but many with these extra features struggle to maintain an unobtrusive form factor. In this article, we’ll go over a few key considerations to help you find the best dash cam for your particular situation.

How high should the resolution be?

If the most obvious feature of a camera is its ability to capture and store video and images, the next logical consideration is determining the quality of the images. For dash cam imagery to be effective at documenting potential traffic events and other unexpected incidents, the resolution and subsequent level of detail that a model can deliver should be a clear sticking point. Most basic models run at a minimum resolution of 1080p and offer a wide-angle lens that can effectively capture events outside your car, and these specs are usually adequate in the vast majority of situations.

Situations that might necessitate a higher image resolution include driving larger vehicles that sit higher above the road surface, thereby expanding the field of coverage required by a dash cam in order to effectively capture and translate on-video events. Rideshare drivers may also benefit from a higher resolution as an added degree of insurance due to the need to record both inside and outside the car.

Some models are capable of capturing video at resolutions of up to 4K, which is optimal for working drivers in any situation where insurance and liability are key considerations. The high-level detail of the images provided by a 4k system can typically capture a great level of detail at longer distances, which can assist in contextualizing events and paint a clearer picture of driver accountability.

What type of screen is best?

Some dash cams are minimalist in design and sport simple functionality using onboard button controls, but the large majority of dash cams include a screen interface of some kind, varying widely in form and finish. A screen is one of the most accessible design features that can allow users to optimize their dash cam system, and it’s hard to recommend a model that doesn’t include one unless the exclusion is an intentional design feature.

The most basic use of a dash cam screen is to assist users in proper setup and framing of the image in their camera’s view to ensure that the footage contains the desired area, but screens can also display a whole range of pertinent information, including recording time, GPS coordinates and safety assist features. Screen interfaces are also useful in granting users quick access to advanced settings and menu control without the need to click through a variety of arcane button combinations, which can no doubt come in handy if you’re trying to make a quick adjustment to your dash cam while you’re behind the wheel.

Some models integrate rear backup camera compatibility, enabling you to install and view rear camera imagery while in reverse right from the dash cam screen. Even more impressively, these models usually exist in traditional rearview mirror form factor, allowing users to install them in place of their factory mirror and enjoy normal rearview functionality with the added bonus of backup and dash camera technology in an unassuming and subtle package. Every driver has their own tastes when it comes to using screens and adding them to their car, and fortunately, there are enough models of dash cam both with and without screens to satisfy the techie and the minimalist in all of us.

Are you short on space?

Sometimes, there’s just not enough space on your dashboard to warrant adding more car accessories. Whether you drive a smaller car, have a car with a short windshield, or you use a phone holder and can’t spare the extra space, there are plenty of reasons why a bulky dash cam will serve to harm more than help in certain situations. Fortunately, smaller form factor dash cams are available from a variety of manufacturers, and they’re designed to offer maximum functionality and convenience while keeping these situations in mind.

In addition to saving on space, it’s important to consider whether a dash cam is large or eye-catching enough to warrant its removal from your car each time you park. Some models are big enough that they may be targeted for theft and end up resulting in situations where your car sustains unintended damage simply because there’s a high-tech device with a camera sitting on your dashboard. In situations like this, opting for a subtle design or a small and compact form that can easily hide out of view behind your rearview mirror is desirable.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the best dash cams

Regardless of your style of driving or specific situation, there are more reasons to drive with a dash camera than there are to go without. They offer an added level of safety and liability protection that is extended even further when considering options that integrate cloud recording, app support, and backup camera compatibility. If you want to get the most out of your car, a dashboard camera is one of the most affordable and convenient car accessories to mitigate many of the potential unknowns of getting behind the wheel.

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On March 3, the Department of Defense announced it would be sending mobile bridges to Ukraine. The bridges are the signature part of the Pentagon’s 33rd offering of existing US equipment to supply Ukraine, since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. These vehicles that can place bridges, along with the other equipment sent, are reflections of the shape of the war so far, and offer a glimpse into the tools the Biden Administration expects Ukraine to need in the coming spring thaw.

An Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge, or AVLB, is essentially a portable and durable structure that is carried, placed, and then removed by a modified tank hull. The specific Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges that will be sent to Ukraine are ones based on an M60 tank chassis, our colleagues at The War Zone report. 

Rivers, chasms, and deep gaps in terrain can form impassable barriers to militaries, allowing defenders to concentrate forces at existing bridges or crossings. Getting over such a gap can necessitate flying to the other side, though that depends on an air transport force capable of massive movement and a cleared landing zone. It could mean physically building a new bridge, which can take time and is vulnerable to attack. Or it could mean bringing the bridge to the battlefield on the back of a tank and plopping it down as needed.

“These vehicles are designed to accompany armored columns and give them the ability to cross rivers, streams, ditches and trenches. The bridges are carried on the chassis of armored vehicles and launched at river or stream banks. Once the crossing is finished, the vehicle can pick up the bridge on the far bank and carry on,” the Department of Defense said in a release about this latest drawdown.

The exact number and model of the AVLBs sent to Ukraine is not yet known, though the general family is M60, or derived from the M60 Patton tank. That makes the models of a particular Cold War vintage, designed for the lighter armored vehicles and tanks of that era. Variants of the M60 AVLB have seen action in Vietnam, and have seen use in training exercises with NATO as well as in wars like Iraq.

The bridges are stored folded in half. When put in place by the vehicle, the bridges span 60 feet, can support up to 70 tons, and are 12.5 feet wide. Setting up the bridge takes between 2 and 5 minutes, and retrieving the bridge, which can be done at either end, takes about 10 minutes. 

Some heavier vehicles, including modern combat tanks, can only use the bridge at slower speeds and over narrower gaps. The US Army and Marine Corps are working on a new bridge and launcher capable of supporting Bradley fighting vehicles and Abrams tanks, to better meet the needs of the US military.

Even with limitations, the bridges will expand how and where Ukrainian forces can operate and move. Being able to rapidly span a narrow but otherwise impassable river dramatically expands how and where an army can move and attack, creating room for surprise. 

In addition, the announcement of the drawdown package notes that the US is sending Ukraine “demolition munitions and equipment for obstacle clearing,” which can facilitate both cleaner retreats and surprise advances. War leaves battlefields littered with craters, ruins, unexploded bombs, and deliberately set mines. Blasting a way through such hazards can restore movement to otherwise pinned forces.

Beyond the bridges and demolition equipment, the latest drawdown includes three kinds of artillery ammunition. The HIMARS rocket artillery systems, invaluable for Ukraine’s fall offensives, are getting resupplied with more rockets. The United States is also supplying Ukraine with 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, for howitzers donated by the US and NATO allies to the country. These weapons use different ammunition than the Soviet-inherited stock that made up the bulk of Ukraine’s artillery before the war, and are still the overall majority of artillery pieces on hand today. But supplies for Soviet-pattern ammunition are scarce, as it’s also the size used by Russia, and Russia aggressively bought up existing stockpiles of the rounds around the world.

The fourth kind of ammunition included in the drawdown is 25mm, or the kind used by Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. This tracked, turreted, and armed craft are more a form of fighting transport than a tanks, despite their appearance, but their 25 mm cannons are useful against all sorts of vehicles below the heavy armor of a tank. The package also includes tools for maintenance, vehicle testing and diagnostics, spare parts, and other of the less flashy but still invaluable work of ensuring vehicles can stay functional, or at least be repaired and brought back into use quickly.

Taken altogether, the latest drawdown of equipment fits the pattern of supplies to Ukraine this year. US supplies continue to give Ukraine the tools to fight existing artillery duels along grinding front lines, as well as building up the armored forces and accompanying features, like mobile bridges, needed for a future offensive.

The post Ukraine is getting mobile bridges from the US. Here’s how they can help. appeared first on Popular Science.

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Best overall		Peerless Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain		SEE IT	Peerless Auto-Trac chains offer excellent traction while being one of the easiest sets of tire chains to install.
Best for trucks		Security Chain Company Quik Grip		SEE IT	These large chains offer maximum durability to support the weight of heavy duty pickup trucks.
Best budget		Security Chain Company Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain		SEE IT	These large chains offer maximum durability to support the weight of heavy-duty pickup trucks.

When driving on snowy and icy roads, often the one thing that can keep you from getting stuck is a good set of tire chains. These vehicle accessories consist of metal chains that install around the wheels of your vehicle to maximize traction in snowy and icy conditions, making them a necessity for those who live in regions that see extreme winter weather each year. In fact, some states even require snow chains if traveling in certain mountainous areas during extreme winter weather. Finding the right set can be challenging, as not all tire chains are identical. They come in different sizes, materials, and tread patterns to suit different types of vehicles and varying severities of winter weather. Many models are designed to be easy to install, reducing the time one has to spend out in the cold. Learn what features are vital to consider when shopping for these winter weather vehicle accessories and find out why the models below are some of the best tire chains on the market.

• Best overall: Peerless Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain
• Best heavy-duty: AutoChoice 6 Packs Car Snow Chains
• Best low-profile: Glacier Passenger Cable Tire Chain
• Best for trucks: Security Chain Company Quik Grip
• Best budget: Security Chain Company Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain

How we chose the best tire chains

In reviewing more than 25 sets of tire chains for this article, we considered what sets best suit vehicles ranging from smaller cars to large SUVs and heavy pickup trucks, keeping the following considerations in mind:

Traction: Although traction isn’t the only thing, it’s clearly the most important factor in tire chains. We chose only models that provided ample traction.

Durability: I only included chains made from steel alloys that could hold up to supporting the weight of a vehicle in difficult weather conditions. This included traditional tire chains and those that use steel rollers or coils.

Installation: Tire chains are typically installed in extreme winter weather on the side of a road or in a snow-covered driveway. With this in mind, we only chose tire chains that one could capably install in these conditions. Tire chains with self-tightening features outranked those that required manual tightening.

The best tire chains: Reviews & Recommendations

Whatever kind of vehicle you drive, you don’t want to go out in the winter without the best tire chains, because even the best heated gloves, socks, and vests (even a battery-powered electric blanket) don’t keep you as comfortable as getting home and out of the storm safely. We’ve rounded up the best options on the market. from heavy-duty to budget-friendly picks.

Best overall: Peerless Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain

Peerless Auto Trac

SEE IT

Why they made the cut: This pick eliminates the major headache with tire chains—putting them on—with an innovative design that essentially automates the installation process, making them one of the most user-friendly options on the market.

Specs

• Material: Manganese alloy chain
• Shape: Diamond
• Size options: 14 to 20 inches

Pros

• Easy to install
• Excellent traction with a diamond-shaped pattern
• Durable steel alloy construction

Cons

• A little on the heavy side

Tire chains generally aren’t user-friendly. Most require you to jack the car up to properly tighten them to the wheel, which often involves paying someone else to do the work. That’s not the case with Auto-Trac’s Peerless tire chains, which use a tensioning system that automatically tightens the chains to the wheel. To install, simply attach the internal cable to the tighteners that run around the outside sidewall of the tire and begin driving to activate the ratcheting system that tightens the chains.

The diamond pattern of this set of chains not only facilitates the automatic ratcheting system, creating a tight grip around the tires, but it also makes for better performance by creating more surface area and improving traction.

In addition to being easy to install, this set is durable, thanks to its manganese steel alloy construction and heavier gauge chain links. Of course, that gauge also makes these chains on the heavy side at 15 pounds for the set. With sizes ranging from 14 to 20 inches, this set of chains is one of the more versatile options on the market, capable of fitting light trucks, SUVs, and cars.

Best heavy-duty: AutoChoice 6 Packs Car Snow Chains

AutoChoice

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Why they made the cut: The thickness and coverage of these chains take the traction one can get from a set of tire chains to another level. And while the installation may take longer, it’s less complicated.

Specs

• Material: Steel
• Shape: Squares
• Size options: 14 to 20 inches

Pros

• Heavy-gauge chains provide optimal traction
• Separate pieces make them easier to install
• Fits a wide variety of tire sizes

Cons

• Installation is more time-consuming
• Expensive

One look at this set of tire chains from AutoChoice, and one can see that they are much beefier than other models, thanks to sets of six thick chains for each tire. With their thicker gauge and square design, these chains dig into snow and ice to provide ample traction. The chains are divided into six separate pieces per wheel—a six-pack—which attach independently. The chains have thick straps that consist of tendon material that thread through the rims and tighten to the wheel in a similar fashion to ratcheting tie-down straps.

This design has both positives and negatives. By having separate pieces, they’re easier to install, as there is no need to untangle and line up a single stretch of chain or jack up the wheel. Simply apply one set, then move on to the rest. On the flip side, attaching six separate sets of chains to each wheel is time-consuming.

While this set of tire chains is on the pricier side—you’ll need to buy a set of six per wheel—it does include some useful extras, including two pairs of gloves, a long hook to help with mounting, and a fiber-absorbent towel.

Best low-profile: Glacier Passenger Cable Tire Chain

Glacier

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Why they made the cut: Although there is a trade-off in traction, we love the low-profile design of this set of chains, which makes them suitable for most cars.

Specs

• Material: Steel rollers
• Shape: Square
• Size options: 14 to 20 inches

Pros

• Fits type S low-profile vehicles
• Lighter weight makes them easier to install
• Affordably priced

Cons

• Traction isn’t as good as standard tire chains

Tire chains can be tricky with passenger vehicles with S clearance, which means there is limited space between the wheel well and the tire. Adding the additional thickness of snow chains can damage the car as the chains scrape against the wheel well when the suspension flexes. In fact, some car manufacturers will even void warranties if they find that a car has used chains that are too bulky for the wheel well.

Glacier solves that problem by creating tire chains that aren’t really chains at all. Glacier’s tire chains actually consist of a set of hardened steel rollers that run perpendicular to the tire treads and secure to a thick gauge wire cable that runs the circumference of the tire’s outer sidewall.

The result is a tire chain with a low enough profile that it can fit S-clearance passenger vehicles. And, at 6 pounds, these chains are also easier to install than heavier sets. Keep in mind that there is a trade-off. While these roller-style chains will improve vehicle traction for snowy weather, they don’t provide the same traction as a set of traditional tire chains.

Best for trucks: Security Chain Company Quik Grip

Security Chain

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Why they made the cut: Though they may be tougher to install, you can’t argue with the fact that these chains offer the superior traction and durability that heavy-duty trucks driving on snow-covered roads require.

Specs

• Material: Alloy steel chain
• Shape: Square
• Size options: 15-20 inch

Pros

• Durable all-chain construction
• CAM tightening system makes installation easier
• Thicker gauge chains provide superior traction

Cons

• Harder to install than other types
• Won’t work with low-clearance vehicles

Larger trucks and SUVs require heavy chains that won’t break under intense weight or extreme conditions. Thanks to their durability, these thicker steel alloy manganese chains are one of the best options for full-size trucks. They’re even rated to work with farm equipment and dual-wheeled trucks.

Security Chains’ tire chains have a square configuration design, which provides maximum start-up traction. We like this set in particular because of the integrated CAM tightening system that eliminates the need to use tensioners to tighten the chains. The Quik Grip chains that don’t have this feature are less expensive, but we think it’s worth the additional cost to save the hassle of purchasing tensioners separately.

Even with the CAM tightening system, these chains are more difficult to install than other options, but the superior durability and traction they offer make them a must-have for heavy-duty trucks that face severe winter weather. Remember that these chains won’t fit trucks with S-class clearance requirements.

Best budget: Security Chain Company Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain

Security Chain

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Why they made the cut: These tire chains are inexpensive and versatile, capable of fitting most cars, trucks, and SUVs. We also like the design, which makes them easier to install than other tire chains by eliminating the need for manual tightening.

Specs

• Material: Alloy steel coils
• Shape: Diagonal
• Size options: 14 to 20 inches

Pros

• No need to manually tighten
• Low profile makes them compatible with most vehicles
• Affordably priced

Cons

• Steel coils do not provide as much traction

This versatile set of tire chains from Security Chain is easy to install, affordably priced, and will fit vehicles with restricted clearance around the wheels. They consist of alloy steel traction coils thinner than standard chains, making them compatible with most cars. They only require a quarter-inch of sidewall clearance, so they’re suitable for most cars and SUVs as well as trucks.

These tire chains are also easier to install than other models thanks to rubber connectors that hold the coils taught, eliminating the need to tighten the chains manually.

This set of chains also preserves handling better than bulkier chains while preserving such important safety features as anti-lock brakes, traction control, and all-wheel drive. Keep in mind there is a trade-off. The low profile and limited coverage of the coils do provide less traction than larger sets of tire chains.

Things to consider before buying tire chains

Traction

Perhaps the most important trait to consider is how well the chains will keep you from getting stuck. The rule of thumb is rather straightforward when it comes to traction. The thicker the chain and the more coverage on the tire tread, the better the traction. Chains with heavier gauge steel links will dig into snow better than coils or rollers, providing better traction. Keep shape in mind as well: Square-shaped chains may provide better traction for getting started but diamond-shaped chains provide better directional traction, which means better handling.

Material

Please pay attention to what the chains are made from, which will determine their durability. Generally speaking, a steel alloy with manganese is considered “high strength” steel, which can better withstand the pressures exerted on it when functioning as a tire chain. While chains may have superior strength, steel alloy rollers and coils are also quite strong. In addition to the chains, pay attention to other materials they use to hold them in place. While rubber and thick nylon straps may be durable enough for cars and light trucks, heavy-duty trucks require all-chain construction.

Size

Size is important because the tires must be compatible with the size of the tires on your vehicle. Tire chains are not one size fits all. Most models of tire chains come in a broad range of sizes to suit different tire sizes. Tire chain manufacturers include size charts that correspond to the model numbers of their products. Check the size of your tires (printed on the sidewall of each tire) and match that size to the right model tire chain.

Installation

Most likely, you’ll be installing tire chains in inclement weather, so it’s important to purchase chains that you can install as quickly as possible. If you have a car or small truck, consider purchasing a set of tire chains that are self-tensioning. Self-tensioning chains take a little more work to install initially, but they don’t require you to tighten (and retighten) the chains manually.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the best tire chains

• Best overall: Peerless Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain
• Best heavy-duty: AutoChoice 6 Packs Car Snow Chains
• Best low-profile: Glacier Passenger Cable Tire Chain
• Best for trucks: Security Chain Company Quik Grip
• Best budget: Security Chain Company Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain

Choosing the right tire chains requires finding a product balancing good traction and easy installation. The Peerless Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain excels on both fronts, making it one of the best all-around tire chains you can put on your car or truck. If you’re looking for a set of chains to outfit your heavy-duty pick-up truck, then consider going with Security Chain Company Quik Grip, which offers superior traction and durability.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio, to video games, to cameras, and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

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Concept cars are designed to be flights of fancy—showpieces that give automakers the chance to put their creativity on display. Quite often, a concept car represents just a blip on a timeline and a blast of buzzy excitement, later shelved in a museum for all of us to marvel at a company’s foresight or folly. 

A concept, by definition, is an idea; in this case, a concept car is an idea that takes the temperature of the public to see how buyers might react to a set of features and designs. Automakers don’t necessarily release a concept every year, and they have to balance the cost of building a vehicle that may or may not ever see the light of the production line. While it’s true that some concepts fade into oblivion, others become successful models that carry many of the same characteristics as the concept. Even those that are wildly futuristic and wacky lay the groundwork for innovations to come. 

Most recently, truck maker Ram announced the 1500 Rev, the production version of its Revolution EV concept. The Revolution (not the Rev) was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, with some exciting features, like coach doors (which open at the center like French doors in a home), and a glass roof that adjusts its tint electronically. But when the production version launched at the Chicago Auto Show in February, some expressed disappointment in how much it looked like its gas-powered sibling. Where were the cool removable third-row seats from the concept? Where was the storage tunnel to hold long objects?

To be fair, automakers—especially when they’re large, public companies—are beholden to not just manufacturing and safety regulations but their shareholders. In the case of the Ram 1500 Rev, the company will build the production vehicle on the new all-electric architecture from its parent company Stellantis instead of the one used by the gas version of the 1500 truck.

Otherworldly concepts

There’s a long history of wild concept cars, many of which never became actual production models.

Consider the otherworldly Berlinetta Aerodynamica Tecnica series commissioned by luxury automaker Alfa Romeo in the mid-1950s. These three cars featured unusual, gorgeous bodies that evoke sea creatures in motion. And somehow, all of them survived in remarkable shape and sold as a set for more than $14 million at auction in 2020. These concepts, which never became production vehicles, were more art than realism, unlike recent modern offerings. 

In 2021, Genesis unveiled its X Concept EV, a sleek coupe with wraparound parallel LED lights defining its curves. Last year, it followed up with the X Concept convertible that peeled back the top and showed off more futuristic details. To our great joy, Automotive News reported that the X Convertible recently got the green light for official production. 

Also under the Hyundai Motor Group, Kia introduced a streamlined concept in 2011 that eventually gave way to the Stinger, which was widely lauded by the industry as a game-changer for the Korean manufacturer. Engineered by a former BMW vice president of engineering and sketched out by celebrated former Audi designer, the Stinger was finally launched to the world in 2017. It was taller than the concept and included more buttoned-down design features on the outside, but under the hood the performance was impressive, especially the 365-horsepower GT model. A moment of silence for the now-discontinued Stinger, please. Hope springs eternal, as rumors of an all-electric Stinger have been swirling. 

On the gas-powered side, the raw and rowdy Dodge Viper started life as a concept showcased for the first time at the 1989 Detroit auto show. Using an existing truck engine as its base, the concept evolved over three years into the 1992 Viper RT/10 and delighted fast-car enthusiasts for more than two and a half decades until it was discontinued in 2017. 

From Revolution to Rev

In the same automotive manufacturing family as the Viper, the Ram 1500 Rev moved quickly from concept to production. And while the Rev may not be exactly the same as the Revolution, it retains the benefit of sharing some parts with the gas-powered Ram 1500 pickup. That will both speed production and keep the cost on the manageable side. Ford did the same thing for its F-150 Lightning, which is purposely built to feel familiar to F-150 customers to avoid alienating its loyal base. 

The 1500 Rev will not be equipped with the removable jump seats from the concept, which could have turned the Ram pickup into the first third-row truck. Ryan Nagode, Ram/SRT’s chief designer for interiors, was inspired to add the track seating when he noticed parents hauling around stadium seats to make hours of sitting on the bleachers at their kids’ sporting events more comfortable. He wondered if something like that could be incorporated into the truck and successfully integrated the idea into the cabin of the Revolution concept. 

“There have been vehicles in the past with jump seats, and I think there is a lot of reality built into these ideas,” Nagode told PopSci at the Concept Garage of the Chicago Auto Show in February. “Obviously, some of these things take a little pushing and pulling with the engineering team, but I think it’s not far-fetched.” 

Alas, those seats won’t be included in the Rev, but the seeds of creativity could feasibly show up sometime in the future. 

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You may not have heard of the Speciality Equipment Market Association, but SEMA, as it is known, hosts a massive event annually to showcase the hottest parts and technology in the automotive industry. But with cars changing, and new types of vehicles emerging in the space, the 60-year-old organization debuted SEMA Electrified in 2019 to highlight gas-free machines and parts. Since then, the section has grown from a handful of features to 60 exhibits encompassing 21,000 square feet.

That’s a big leap for an organization that was founded by a bunch of performance equipment makers making a living from gas-guzzling hot rods. And yet it makes sense, says SEMA director of vehicle technology Luis Morales. Everything about the EV market is growing, including the aftermarket for spare parts, accessories, and components. It only makes sense to give these cars their share of the automotive spotlight—even if some of the event’s audience may be anti-electric.

“There are going to be diehard gas or diesel fans who may be hesitant to convert, and that’s fine. We love where we came from,” Morales told PopSci. “Then again, we also want to bring in all the new options that are coming out to the market.”

Encouraging electrification in the aftermarket

Long before the Prius and other electrified cars were even a twinkle in Toyota’s eye, SEMA formed as an alliance of manufacturers in 1963. Then, gas-powered vehicles were in full swing while alternative fuels were a far-off futuristic idea. As hybrid and electric technology started to take off, leaders at SEMA started to notice not just new powertrains but innovations like portable battery packs and full conversion kits.

SEMA vice president of marketing RJ de Vera points to California-based EV West as an example of a company seeing incredible success selling electric car parts, conversion kits that turn a gas-powered car into an EV, and charging accessories. Interest in full conversions is growing as parts for older gas-powered cars become scarce; after all, an electric motor is made up of just a few components, while combustion engines can contain hundreds of parts. 

Conversion kits are a hot aftermarket item, de Vera says, some with wait lists that are two or three years long. EVs don’t require an engine, fuel tank, or fuel pumps, for example, and really just one moving part: the motor. 

[Related: Chevy’s first electrified Corvette, the E-Ray, is a heavyweight built to be quick]

“That seems to be more and more of an interest point for a lot of enthusiasts that are doing a restomod,” de Vera says. Restomod is the process of revamping a classic car with more modern technology.  “They might be thinking it’s going to be such a pain to get the original engine or get gaskets or things that are no longer made, especially for quirkier vehicles. An EV conversion becomes a lot more enticing because the powertrain is so simple.”

Discovering enthusiasm within the EV market

As recently as the 2018 SEMA show, EVs were scarce and aftermarket parts even more so. However, slowly, then all at once, interesting new niche companies emerged. For instance, companies like Juice Technology, which was founded less than a decade ago, are now selling portable EV chargers that weigh just a few pounds and are capable of charging even at temperatures as low as -22 degrees F or as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s music to an EV owner’s ears, since temperature fluctuations can affect range and charging in a big way. A portable charger for an EV means that it can be toted around for emergencies like a charging bank for a smartphone; it’s meant to offer a bit of a respite from range anxiety with a quick burst of power to get you to the next charging station. 

“Range anxiety is the reason everybody is focused on getting a car with the most mileage they can get per charge, and that drives up the price of the vehicle, which can make EVs a little bit less attractive to the consumer,” Morales says. Portable chargers could ease that. Plus, it’s kind of an old automotive practice, but just in a slightly newer form. 

“If you look at the overland scene, for example, there are trucks that go camping 30 or 40 miles off road. You’ll notice that they carry their spare fuel, just in case they run low on fuel,” he adds. “[These portable chargers] can get you out of a situation where you need to get to a charging station as opposed to calling a tow truck.”

Whether it’s devices, parts, alternative fuels and powertrains, or new technology, SEMA leadership is striving to embrace it all. Not to mention there’s a lot of room for small startups to think creatively, chip away at current challenges, and grow fast in the space. 

“It’s not just about [internal combustion] vehicles or EV vehicles,” de Vera says. “It’s really about the culture of being a proud vehicle owner and having that passion for automotive culture as well as aftermarket customization and modification. And that’s really our message: to make sure that the love for cars and modifying cars and customizing them stays around for generations.” 

Correction on March 6, 2023: This article has been updated to correctly describe SEMA as the Speciality Equipment Market Association, not the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association.

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A weird thing is happening in the dwindling market for sports cars: These low-slung, tarmac-shredding scalpels are getting jacked up and heading off the twisty paved roads and into the dirt for some bushwhacking fun.

It may seem like a contradiction to take a vehicle prized for its low center of gravity and grippy track-ready rubber, lift it up for some ground clearance, and then mount knobby balloon tires. But that’s exactly what Porsche has done with its new $220,000 911 Dakar model, and Lamborghini is rolling out the Huracan Sterrato with a similar intent. The Porsche charges into the dust with 473 horsepower, while the Lamborghini is packing 602 horsepower. This isn’t some loony mistake. These companies are responding to what enthusiasts have been doing for themselves in recent years, as custom “safari” 911 builds have become all the rage.

Think this is a bout of temporary insanity that will soon run its course? Then don’t look at the motorcycle market, where Ducati did exactly the same thing with its traditional sport bikes when it created the Scrambler in 2014. That bike’s debut set off a bomb in the then-stagnant motorcycle market, and now Benelli, BMW, Husqvarna, Indian, Royal Enfield, and Triumph all offer their versions of scramblers. These bikes all feature knobby off-road-capable tires, long-travel suspension that can soak up bumps, and a high-mounted exhaust raised up out of harm’s way when trail riding.

Ducati has turned that single model into an entire sub-brand, with a whole family of variations on the Scrambler, including the inevitable versions with street-oriented tires that turn the off-road sport bikes back into street bikes!

Scrambler motorcycles have become the motorized equivalent of classic rock, based on this description by J.D. Power. “Nowadays, the term scrambler motorcycle refers to a distinct look, with a vintage stripped-down style that combines the functionality of older models with the versatility of modern manufacturing.” They have even become the subject of academic scrutiny, as demonstrated by the publication of “Scrambler: A Type of Motorcycle” by the International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology.

No less an authority than Pirelli, the company tasked with providing the dual-purpose on-road/off-road tires for many scrambler motorcycles, says the name comes from the scrambling of parts from the two types of machines, evoking an image of a cook scrambling eggs together. 

Now Pirelli will find itself with the challenge of coming up with similarly scrambled tires for its four-wheeled customers, too. “I absolutely believe there’s that opportunity,” says Ducati of North America CEO Jason Chinnock.

“We saw this as an opportunity to grow the Ducati brand by bringing in a product that was unintimidating, was easily accessible, and evokes a smile,” he adds. That accessibility might be important. Today’s sports cars have become so incredibly capable that their owners may not feel they have the ability to maximize their performance. And outside of racetracks, they sure don’t have much opportunity to do so.

Scrambler-ized sports cars that have cushy, long-travel suspension and balloon tires are a lot more comfortable in daily use and when there’s a chance to hit a trail or a dune, they’re up to the task.

A lifted Miata for $250

Chinnock says he likes what he sees in the 911 Dakar, because “it is definitely a 911.” Adapting for the outback hasn’t changed the car’s character. Carmakers have known this, as Porsche famously won the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally with a lifted version of its 959 sports car. A third Porsche, running the course as a support vehicle for the two prime cars, finished sixth!

In 1982, Ferrari entered a modified 308 in the Monte Carlo Rally, though that race runs entirely on asphalt, however poor the surface may be in places. And Nissan won the East-Africa Safari Rally with a 240Z sports car in 1971. Normally, the protagonists in such events have been fierce off-road machines built using the body shell of compact hatchbacks over a purpose-built off-road chassis.

In 2016, Mark Rivera got the notion to create a grassroots off-road sports car and lifted a Mazda MX-5 Miata to create a car that’s fun to drive in the dirt. His company, Paco Motorsports, started with a simple three-inch lift kit that added ground clearance and permitted installation of off-road tires. “We’re not off-road guys, we just wanted to play in the snow a little bit,” Rivera explains. But then he posted pictures on social media, and “the internet kind of went crazy.” 

A nice thing about the lift kit is that it doesn’t fundamentally modify the car, so owners can switch it back to a regular Miata if they decide to. But demand quickly grew from the simple lift kit to the Offroadster, a play on the convertible Miata’s roadster body style. “This was popular, so now we’ve got to go real big,” Rivera says, recalling what he was thinking at the time. “We did the suspension design in CAD to get all the wheel travel we can get and we softened the suspension so the wheels can move through the whole range of motion.”

Customers can choose between the $250 3-inch lift kit, a so-called “medium kit” for about $2,000, or a complete Offroadster conversion kit for about $8,500.

An off-roading Lamborghini for $270,000

At the other end of the spectrum, Lamborghini is offering the Sterrato version of its Huracan super sports car at a starting price of $270,000. “With the high-speed all-terrain concept of the Sterrato, we have uniquely combined the driving experience of a true super sports car and the fun of driving a rally car,” explains Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr in the company’s press release for the Sterrato. “Lamborghini cars always deliver emotion: the Sterrato delivers a new degree of driving thrills,” he promises.

This proliferation points to the potential for these safari-style builds (Indian carmaker Tata owns the trademark to the Safari name, so unless they cut a deal, other manufacturers won’t be able to use that word in a car’s name) to become a full-fledged product segment. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, told Britain’s Car magazine  that’s exactly what he’s thinking. “Why not a third pillar, besides sporty GT and heritage models? Why not off-road, too?” he asked. “Now we will see how the market success of the Dakar pans out,” Blume continued. “And then maybe there will be more to come. The door is now open…”

It remains to be seen what else Porsche will drive through that open door, but if the motorcycle market is any prediction, we can hope to see a golden age of dirt-flinging sports cars that, as a bonus, turn out to be more comfortable to drive than their street-centric progenitors. 

The post From Miatas to Lamborghinis, these sports cars are meant for dirt, not asphalt appeared first on Popular Science.

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The mapping service and tech providers at TomTom have released their annual global traffic index, and most cities remain costly pains in the trunk to navigate in a vehicle. In their 56-country survey, TomTom researchers assessed 389 cities and metro areas for their average rush-hour travel times, fuel costs, and CO2 emissions to identify the trickiest towns, as well as a handful of car-friendly locales. The team also included a fuel cost and CO2 emission calculator for gas, diesel, and EV to keep everyday drivers, urban planners, and policy makers informed.

[Related: Roads in the US are getting deadlier.]

According to the report,  traffic data such as speed, acceleration, time, and distance were provided to TomTom via their products and services to identify patterns and averages. They then combined the traffic info with map data such as slopes and road health alongside the Graz University of Technology’s “Passenger car and Heavy-duty Emission” (PHEM) Model to estimate fuel consumption. A machine learning model was trained on these data sets, and then used to estimate global emissions and consumption on a total of 543 billion km of its database’s floating car data (FCD).

So how do the cities stack up? London remains the worst city to cruise by far, averaging over 36 minutes to traverse just 10km (roughly 6 miles) of roads via car, and nearly two minutes longer commute times from the prior year. Bengaluru, India, came in a distant second place, averaging a little over 29 minutes for the same distance.

The first American town to show up on TomTom’s ranking is New York City in 19th place, which takes residents around 24-and-a-half minutes to travel 10km in a car. As for stateside cities in general, Washington, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago all also scored relatively poorly.

[Related: Pittsburgh hopes to use AI to cure traffic congestion.]

When it comes to winners, however, Orlando has seen the most year-to-year improvement in vehicle time by far, shaving off an average of 30 seconds of drive time to just 10 minutes and 20 seconds. Although there are numerous ways to assess the rankings, in terms of simply American shortest commutes, Oklahoma City provides the quickest drive times at an average of just 8.4 minutes per 10km.

As convenient and helpful as all these rankings and estimators are, this data underscores just how important it is for global transportation to speed up its shift towards renewable energy sources and increase reliable public transit options to cut down on pollution and resource waste. It’s easier to get to work and back in a car in some cities in large part because they are designed to be extremely car-friendly. Both compact and sprawled cities can benefit from strengthening public transit infrastructures to accommodate local populations. 

Check out the worst and best US cities below.

Worst American cities for commuting in a car (in time per 10 km distance)

1. New York City—24min 30s
2. Washington, DC—20min 40s
3. San Francisco—20min 30s
4. Boston—18min 40s
5. Chicago—18min
6. Baltimore—17min
7. Seattle—15min 30s
8. Philadelphia‚15min 20s
9. Pittsburgh—14min 30s
10. Miami—14min 30s

Best American cities for commuting in a car (in time per 10 km distance)

1. Oklahoma City—8min 40s
2. Knoxville—8min 40s
3. San Diego—8min 40s
4. Dayton—9 min
5. Syracuse—9min 10s
6. Detroit—9min 10s
7. Albany—9min 10s
8. Fresno—9min 10s
9. Jacksonville—9min 20s
10. Raleigh—9min 20s

The post Here are the world’s worst and best car commutes, ranked appeared first on Popular Science.

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Solar canopies built above parking lots are an increasingly common sight around the country—you can already see these installed at university campuses, airports, and lots near commercial office buildings. Because the sun is a renewable resource, these solar canopies reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with energy production. 

The clean energy benefits are clear: A 32-acre solar carport canopy at Rutgers University in New Jersey, for instance, produces about 8.8 megawatts of power, or about $1.2 million in electricity. They also make use of existing space to generate clean energy rather than occupying croplands, arid lands, and grasslands.

There may be other perks to adding solar panels over parking lots, too. Research shows that the benefits of solar canopies can be taken a step further if electric vehicles (EVs) are able to charge right in the parking lot. People can tap into this potential by installing EV chargers in solar carports, which makes charging more accessible for owners and creates a small-scale local energy grid for the community. The expense of installation and other barriers, though, can make deployment challenging. 

EV charging in the carport

A solar carport canopy with 286 solar modules is able to produce about 140 megawatt-hours of energy per year for EV charging, according to a new Scientific Reports study. That’s enough to provide electricity to more than 3,000 vehicles per month if each car parks for an hour. The authors say charging EVs this way can generate 94 percent lower total carbon dioxide emissions than electricity from traditional grid methods. 

To maximize these benefits, smart technology that controls the timing and speed of charging is critical, says Lynn Daniels, manager at RMI’s Carbon-Free Transportation program who was not involved in the study. Smart charging allows users to optimize energy consumption by charging only when prices are cheaper due to low-energy demand or when more renewable energy is available on the grid.

[Related: Solar energy company wants to bolt panels directly into the ground]

EV ownership is growing so swiftly that entire electric grids are at risk of being stressed. If most owners across the US Western region continue to charge their EVs during nighttime, peak electricity demand can increase by up to 25 percent, according to a 2022 Applied Energy study. Accessible daytime charging at work or public charging stations would help address this problem and reduce GHG emissions.

There are ways to maximize emission reductions when smart-charging electric vehicles, according to a recent report from RMI, a nonprofit organization focusing on sustainability. “Our report found that, today, charging one million EVs at the right times is equivalent to taking between 20,000 and 80,000 internal combustion engine vehicles off the road,” says Daniels. If EVs represent 25 percent of vehicles by 2030, “emissions-optimized smart charging,” he adds, would be the equivalent of removing an additional 5.73 million automobiles with combustion engines.

A source of revenue, goodwill, and more

Solar canopies provide vehicles with protection from rain, sleet, hail, and other inclement weather, says Joshua M. Pearce, whose research specializes in solar photovoltaic technology and sustainable development at Western University in Canada. The shade they provide also means car owners may require less cooling from air conditioning at start-up because the vehicle didn’t stay under the sun. But that’s not all they can do.

A solar carport canopy with EV charging can be an opportunity for site owners to earn money if drivers have to pay a fee to charge their cars, says Daniels.

On the other hand, if businesses or large-scale retailers provide EV charging for free, Pearce says, that may develop goodwill with customers. Shoppers might spend more time and money while waiting for their cars to charge, allowing business owners to earn even more profit, he adds. And shopping centers have lots of potentially convertible areas: If Walmart deployed 11.1 gigawatts of solar canopies over its 3,571 Supercenter parking lots in the US, that would provide more than 346,000 solar-powered EV charging stations for 90 percent of Americans living within 15 miles of a store, according to a 2021 estimate.

[Related: What you need to know about converting your home to solar]

Solar canopies also save energy, since about 5 percent of electricity is lost each year as it travels from a power plant to your home or business. If the electricity the solar panels produce is used directly by the buildings they’re connected to or the EVs charging in the parking lots, transmission losses can be reduced, says Pearce.

The widespread deployment of solar canopies across parking lots may be an opportunity to create a small-scale local energy grid as well. The electrical grid is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, intentional physical attacks, and cyberattacks. Solar systems in parking lots can be used as anchors for microgrids—local, autonomous power systems that can remain operational while the main grid is down—that could make communities more resilient, “similar to how the US military uses solar to improve national security,” says Pearce.

Logistics of transforming parking lots

Upfront capital costs are the primary roadblocks to solar-powered carports with EV charging, says Pearce. The physical structure needs to be taller and more robust than a conventional solar farm, requiring more materials like metal and concrete, he adds. EV chargers also cost money, increasing the price even further. Commercial EV charging stations can cost around $2,500 to $40,000 for a single port. An installation often requires permits and approval from local authorities or inspectors, all of which are additional expenses and barriers to faster deployment.

The design of the solar array may be a challenge, too. “There’s a trade-off between right-sizing the solar array for current EV charging needs versus anticipated future demand and the costs of the solar array,” says Daniels. “The solar array design and location on the site can create significant variability in installation complexity and project costs.”

Daniels recommends raising awareness about the currently-available tax credits and other incentives, such as the federal solar tax credit that can deduct 30 percent of total commercial solar installation costs. There is a tax credit of 6 percent (with a maximum credit of $100,000 per unit) on commercial charging equipment as well, given that it is placed in a low-income community.

When it comes to new regulations, Pearce suggests that policymakers begin with a small step, like mandating solar-powered carports with EV charging capabilities for new surface parking or government-owned lots. After that, requirements for other locations like public universities could follow, he adds.

States or municipalities could also offer incentives other than the existing federal solar tax credit. To encourage state agencies, government offices, businesses, and nonprofits to install EV-charging solar canopies over parking lots, the Maryland Energy Administration’s Solar Canopy and Dual Use Technology Grant Program is offering grants. In 2019, one of these grants enabled IKEA to install a 1.5-megawatt solar canopy with EV charging stations at its Baltimore store.

Moreover, offering low- or no-interest loans to small- and medium-sized businesses can help them “keep up with the big firms investing millions in solar now simply to make money,” says Pearce. In general, if the federal government hopes to break one of the biggest barriers to the installation of solar canopies with EV charging capabilities, reducing upfront costs would be the key.

The post Why your community’s next solar panel project should be above a parking lot appeared first on Popular Science.

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This article was originally featured in Knowable.

Franklin Chang-Díaz gets into his car, turns on the radio and hears the news about another increase in the price of gasoline. But he sets off knowing that his trip won’t be any more expensive: His tank is filled with hydrogen. His car takes that element and combines it with oxygen in a fuel cell that works like a small power plant, creating energy — which goes into a battery to power the car — and water vapor. Not only will Chang-Díaz’s trip cost no more than it did yesterday, it will also pollute far less than a traditional gasoline-powered car would.

Chang-Díaz would like to have a public hydrogen station nearby whenever he needs to fill his tank, but that isn’t possible yet, either in his native Costa Rica or in any other Latin American country. He ends up instead at the hydrogen station he built himself, as part of a project aimed at demonstrating that hydrogen generated with renewable energy sources — green hydrogen — is the present, not the future.

A physicist, former NASA astronaut and the CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company, Chang-Díaz has a clear vision. Green hydrogen, he believes, is a fundamental player in lowering emissions from transportation and converting regions that import fossil fuels — such as his small Central American country — into exporters of clean energy, key to avoiding the catastrophic effects of global warming.

According to data from the Inter-American Development Bank, the most polluting sectors in Latin America to which clean hydrogen technology could be applied are transportation (which generates 40 percent of the region’s CO₂ emissions) and electricity and energy (36 percent of emissions). And Chang-Díaz is not alone in his belief in the promise. Large-scale hydrogen transportation will be part of the future, says Nilay Shah, a chemical engineer at Imperial College London. “By 2050, hydrogen could deliver 18 percent of the global energy supply … 28 percent of which would be destined for the transport sector,” he and his colleagues note in an article on the application of hydrogen in mobility technologies in the 2022 Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

But for green hydrogen to become an important player in the world’s energy resources, the technologies for obtaining it will need to be developed on a large scale. Latin America wants to be part of this future and is already preparing, with projects throughout the region.

Not all hydrogen is the same

Hydrogen is the lightest chemical element: Its nucleus has only one proton, orbited by an electron. It’s also the most common: Up to 90 percent of the atoms in the universe are believed to be hydrogen atoms. In its gaseous state (H ₂), it is tasteless, colorless and odorless. In the terrestrial environment, it is usually found in more complex compounds, such as two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom to form a water molecule (H ₂O), or four hydrogen atoms bonded to one carbon atom to form methane (CH ₄). If we need the hydrogen atoms alone, we must uncouple them from these compounds.

The use of hydrogen as an energy source is not new. For decades, NASA mixed H₂ gas with oxygen to generate the energy needed to lift hundreds of tons and send its shuttles into space. The US Department of Energy lists it as a safer fuel than fossil fuels because it is non-toxic and dissipates quickly in the event of a leak, since it is lighter than air.

At present, hydrogen as an energy source is mainly used in the production of petroleum derivatives, steel, ammonia and methanol. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2020 the world’s population consumed about 90 million tons of hydrogen — equivalent to only 2.5 percent of global energy consumption. Latin America uses only 5 percent of this hydrogen, mainly in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile. It is mostly dirty hydrogen, which pollutes the planet due to the processes used to obtain it.

Depending on how it is derived, hydrogen can be classified as gray, blue, green — or even black. Gray hydrogen is generated using fossil fuels — natural gas especially, in the case of Latin America. In a process called steam reforming, carbon monoxide (CO) and water vapor (H₂O) are subjected to high temperatures, moderate pressure and a catalyst, producing carbon dioxide (CO ₂) and hydrogen (H ₂). If coal is used instead of gas to generate the heat necessary for steam reforming, the hydrogen is then considered black — the worst of all, from an environmental point of view.

Blue hydrogen uses gas or coal in the same steam reforming process, but in this case 80 percent to 90 percent of the carbon emissions end up underground through a process called industrial carbon capture and storage (CSS). Finally, green hydrogen — also called clean hydrogen — uses electrical energy generated by renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, to separate the water molecule into its two elements, hydrogen and oxygen, by means of an anode and a cathode in a process called electrolysis.

Currently, less than 0.4 percent of the hydrogen utilized in Latin America is green; the rest is linked to fossil fuels. In fact, in 2019, hydrogen production for the region required more natural gas than all of the gas consumed in Chile, a country with 19 million inhabitants. And it generated more polluting emissions than those produced in a year by all the cars in Colombia, a nation with some 7 million vehicles.

Globally, 4 percent of hydrogen production is already the result of electrolysis, but the remaining 96 percent still requires gas, coal or petroleum derivatives.

Toward green hydrogen

With the goal of producing more and more green hydrogen, several projects on different scales are taking shape in Latin America.

• The Brazilian company Unigel plans to inaugurate a $120 million plant in 2023, which will produce 10,000 tons per year of green hydrogen — the equivalent of 60 megawatts (MW) — in its first stage.
• Sener Ingeniería Mexico announced in August 2022 the creation of the first of a series of small plants, of about 2.5 MW.
• Chile, for its part, is already seeing some of the fruits of its National Green Hydrogen Strategy, launched in 2020. This South American country says it plans to “conquer global markets” in 2030, mainly Europe and China, where it aims to send 72 percent of its production. The port of entry to Germany will be Hamburg. “With its great potential for green hydrogen production, Chile is on the verge of becoming an exporter of global magnitude,” said the mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschenscher, during the signing of a cooperation agreement in September 2022.
• Uruguay launched the Green Hydrogen Sector Fund, with $10 million non-reimbursable funding from the government to finance projects. In August 2022, nine companies won a spot, some with names such as “Green H ₂ Production for Forest Transport” and “Palos Blancos Project: green hydrogen, ammonia and fertilizer production plant with wind and solar photovoltaic renewable energy.”
• And in Costa Rica, Chang-Díaz is helping lead the way to add green hydrogen to the country’s portfolio of clean energy sources (about 99 percent of electricity in Costa Rica is generated through sources such as the sun, wind and water from dams). In July 2022, Chang-Díaz demonstrated on social media how he fueled his car, at a prototype station, with green hydrogen produced in his own country.

While some Latin American countries may benefit from the production of green hydrogen, others will benefit from large-scale consumption of the clean energy source. For example, Trinidad and Tobago, which consumes 40 percent of the region’s hydrogen for its oil refining processes, emits 12.3 metric tons of carbon per person per year (by comparison, Costa Rica emits 1.6 metric tons per capita per year, according to 2019 World Bank data). If Trinidad and Tobago used green hydrogen in its processes instead of gray hydrogen, its carbon footprint would be significantly reduced.

Other countries are being creative and are not yet focusing on either production or consumption of green hydrogen. Panama, for example, seeks to become a storage and commercialization node for the element, like the air and maritime transport hub it already is. As part of this national energy transformation plan, called Green Hydrogen Roadmap, the authorities of this country signed a memorandum of understanding with Siemens Energy. Panama also has plans to produce some of its own green hydrogen eventually: The Ciudad Dorada Biorefinery, expected to begin construction this year, will have the capacity to generate 405,000 metric tons.

“Green hydrogen technology is developing worldwide and by 2030 Latin America will be the third region in the world with the most projects, after Europe and Australia,” says José Miguel Bermúdez, chemical engineer and energy technology analyst at the IEA.

For Shah, the reason for this growing interest is clear: Many Latin American countries have the potential to generate more clean energy than they need. “Let’s take Chile, for example,” he says. “The amount of potential for renewable electricity is probably 10 times more than the amount of electricity you need in the country.” Exporting that clean energy from Chile or Costa Rica in the form of electricity over long distances is complicated and expensive. But using it to create hydrogen and transport it in tanks to practically any place in the world is realistic, he says, although it will require investments — just as investments in oil tankers and gas pipelines were once needed.

But, Shah adds, green hydrogen could also be transported with existing infrastructure if it is used to create popular products, such as ammonia (NH₃, a nitrogen atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, a compound widely used in agriculture) or synthetic fuels.

Challenges to be solved

After the production and distribution of green hydrogen comes its myriad uses. To power car batteries, it’s combined with oxygen in a fuel cell and generates water vapor and energy. To manufacture iron, hydrogen is used to transform one molecule of iron oxide (Fe₂O ₃) into two molecules of iron (Fe) and three molecules of water (H ₂O) at high temperatures — fossil fuels are currently used for this purpose. Processing this iron further, with more energy, produces steel.

The manufacture of cement also requires high temperatures, currently generated with fossil fuels: The IEA indicates that as much as 67 percent of hydrogen demand in 2030 could come from this industry. In addition, hydrogen combined with carbon in the Fischer-Tropsch process generates synthetic fuels, which are cleaner than traditional fossil fuels. Aircraft are already allowed to fly on up to 50 percent synthetic kerosene.

Some 50,000 hydrogen vehicles are already on the road worldwide, Bermúdez adds. Projections are that the number will soon skyrocket — China alone expects to have 1 million on its streets by 2035 — but experts agree that, in the short or medium term, hydrogen will not completely replace the most polluting fuels; instead, it will be one alternative in a matrix of different options, such as traditional electric cars or solar-powered airplanes. However, the experts also agree that it will be a significant option, not a marginal one.

“There will be a series of technologies and areas of opportunity that do not have to be specifically the same in all the countries of our region,” says Andrés González Garay, a process engineer at the chemical company BASF and a coauthor of the article on hydrogen production and its applications to mobility in the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “It is also true that hydrogen, although it can be applied in a lot of areas, will not make sense in all of them, and it will depend a lot on our political, social and economic systems.”

To arrive at the more environmentally friendly scenario that green hydrogen offers, its production should be increased as soon as possible and, at the same time, its consumption needs to be encouraged, Shah says. “Global hydrogen production is expected to grow six to 10 times between now and 2050,” González Garay says, and the increase is projected to be mainly in clean hydrogen.

The role of governments will be pivotal, the scientists say. “If governments become the first users of hydrogen — for their buildings, for their vehicle fleets, for their other operations, for power generation — they become the customer. Then they can create the supply chain of hydrogen and give confidence to the producers that there is a market,” Shah says.

Adds Bermúdez: “The public sector needs to put the regulations and support programs in place to accelerate the private sector. Public policies are needed to force demand for green hydrogen…. If Latin America does not position itself well and start producing and closing agreements, it runs the risk of being left behind.”

Chang-Díaz, for his part, fears that countries like Costa Rica, despite producing almost all its electricity through clean renewable sources, risk moving too late to take advantage of the wave of green hydrogen that is already beginning to rise. In December 2022 he participated as a speaker at an international meeting held in San José, the capital of his country. But at the same time, a few kilometers away, the bill to support the green hydrogen sector, which has been under discussion for months, has not advanced in the Legislative Assembly.

So, at least for now, Chang-Díaz will remain the only one in his country who can travel in a car that uses green hydrogen as fuel.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.

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Take a closer look at a Toyota Tundra pickup truck, and among other places, you’ll see ridges embedded in the housings of the taillights and headlamps. The shape of these 2- to 3-inch lumps evoke a distant memory of the submarine game piece in a Battleship board game, and might go unnoticed if you’re not looking for them.

But once discovered, you can’t unsee them, and you’ll find yourself hunting for them on everything from the Toyota Tacoma to the brand’s Sienna minivan. Technically, they’re called aero stabilizing fins, or ASFs, but Toyota aerodynamics and ride handling specialists Cory Tafoya and Jesse Rydell say they’re affectionately called fish fins.

Here’s how they work, and why engineers use them on vehicles. 

Small but mighty engineering 

Odds are that you’ve noticed tiny symmetrical dimples all the way around any average golf ball. These depressions have a purpose: Unlike a ping-pong ball, which must travel only short distances, golf balls are designed to soar into the air for hundreds of yards at a time. The dimples reduce air friction, directing disruptive air around the back to reduce drag and create a smoother flight. 

“There’s no question a multi-layer cover and technologically advanced core will help your game,” Jonathan Wall wrote for Golf.com. “But without those dimples on the cover, you’re basically driving a Lamborghini with a Ford Pinto engine.” 

In the automotive world, modern race cars employ a longitudinal “shark fin” along the spine, not for a fierce look but to maintain stability by directing airflow and pressure properly. Off the track, everyday drivers on US highways and city streets don’t need that kind of performance, but they definitely appreciate stable, smooth driving dynamics, and that requires a slightly different tool to direct airflow. These components, also sometimes called vortex generators, do something a bit counterintuitive: by creating air vortices, they help the air hug the sides of the vehicles. 

In general terms, a fish fin, or ASF, causes the flow of air to follow the side surface of the vehicle more closely, affecting the ride in a positive way. With extensive testing in the wind tunnel and on the track, they started to find that even though those fins were very small, they were having a noticeable improvement on ride and handling, Rydell tells PopSci.

“If we can avoid random disruption of airflow, it has an effect on the dynamics of the vehicle,” says Tafoya. “The high-level idea is to control the air in a way that’s consistent every time you drive it, or to try to make it as consistent as possible. And if we can keep that airflow close to the vehicle, we can manage what the driving dynamics feel like.”

‘I drove two and a half hours for this piece of plastic?’

The first time Mike Sweers, the executive chief engineer for the Toyota Tundra, Sequoia, Tacoma, and 4Runner vehicle programs, saw these aero stabilizers, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He had been called to Japan for meetings, and one of his teams invited him to the proving grounds, far from the office. When Sweers arrived, the team presented a new solution that they said could reduce body roll and increase stability of the Tundra as it passed large vehicles, like 18-wheel trucks. 

“’The vehicle becomes much more stable if we put these wings on the vehicle,’ they told me,” Sweers remembers. “And I’m thinking, ‘oh, this sounds great,’ and I’m looking at graphs and data and that, and I’m thinking they’re going to take me out and they’re going to have some big aircraft wing on the side of the truck, right? Then the guy reaches in his pocket [and pulls out an ASF] and says, ‘This is our proposal.’” 

Sweers thought to himself, “I drove two and a half hours for this piece of plastic; are you kidding me?’” But as he placed the fish fins on the truck, tested it on the track, and pulled it off and tested it again, he was convinced. He spent four hours on the track that day, noting the stability while passing or experiencing crosswinds. 

Balancing road noise, drag, and driving dynamics

Tafoya says he sees the influence of the fish fins on straight stability, as they generate disruption in the airflow that creates a tighter stream around the vehicle. It may seem paradoxical that a lump creating disruption in airflow channels can direct the air, but that’s exactly what it does. With that tighter airstream, drivers feel a more precise steering field. 

“Sometimes, people will allude to some vehicles not having a very defined center or feel it’s kind of vague in the steering,” he says. “And [ASFs] actually do help to improve those characteristics too.”

Employing a wind tunnel for testing, Toyota engineers use smoke visualization (smoke trails that demonstrate air flow) to see where the flow is fastest. That helps the engineers decide where to place the fish fins to maximize efficiency. 

And as it turns out, designers and engineers interface fairly often to talk about these small pieces of plastic. There’s a balance to ensure that factors like road noise and the amount of drag on the vehicle are not affected. 

“We have it down to where we know kind of what areas we can apply [ASFs] and avoid disruption to other functions,” Tafoya says. “Surprisingly, for such a small feature it takes a lot of time in negotiation.” 

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Tesla is carrying out a recall because of issues with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta, according to an announcement posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, which cites the software’s potential to cause crashes. The supposed fix will come in the form of a free software update issued over the air.

According to the announcement, certain Teslas with the FSD Beta engaged could “act unsafe around intersections, such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution.” The software also could encounter problems with “changes in posted speed limits.” The recall affects all 2016-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles, 2017-2023 Model 3s, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles utilizing FSD Beta. All told, as many as 362,758 could be affected.

Tesla’s autopilot technology employs machine learning and cameras to aid in steering, lane changes, braking, and speed changes. Alleged incidents, some fatal, involving cars with versions of the software have been reported over the years, while the electric vehicle maker continued to offer public testing subscriptions to its customers.

[Related: Tesla is under federal investigation over autopilot claims.]

At the end of 2021, over 475,000 vehicles faced a recall due to front trunk hood and rearview camera issues. As CNBC reports, Tesla has never disclosed the exact number of vehicles using FSD Beta, but CEO Elon Musk said in the company’s most recent earnings call that it had been deployed to “roughly 400,000 customers in North America.” He added during the call that, “This is a huge milestone for autonomy as FSD Beta is the only way any consumer can actually test the latest AI-powered autonomy.” Musk tweeted today contesting the word “recall,” while Tesla plans to release a free over-the-air (OTA) software update.

[Related: YouTube pulls video of Tesla fan testing autopilot on kid.]

In October 2022, news leaked that the Department of Justice was conducting an ongoing investigation into alleged misleading and false claims regarding its “Autopilot” systems, which still explicitly requires a human driver behind the wheel at all times. As recently as last fall, Musk said FSD mode was close to being able to drive people “to your work, your friend’s house, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel.” Tesla also faces investigations from the state of California over similar statements. Last month, the NHTSA said it was “working really fast” on another “extensive” Tesla Autopilot probe that could affect more than 830,000 vehicles.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has called terms like Autopilot “extremely problematic.”

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South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia have developed a software fix that is intended to stop a recent social-media-fueled theft wave. Over the past few years, thousands of Hyundai and Kia vehicles have been stolen as videos demonstrating how easy certain models were to start without a key spread on YouTube and TikTok. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the fix will be available free of charge and will roll out over the coming months.

Most modern cars are fitted with an immobilizer system that prevents them from being hot wired or started without the correct key. A chip in the key communicates with the electronic control unit (ECU) in the car’s engine. When the driver attempts to start the car, either by turning the key or pushing a button, the chip sends a signal confirming that they are using the right key for the car, and the ECU allows the engine to start. If a thief tries to start a car without the correct key—say, using a screwdriver—then the ECU doesn’t receive the signal and prevents the vehicle from turning on. While immobilizers won’t stop dedicated, technologically advanced thieves, they make it much harder for opportunists.

Unfortunately for car owners, the Hyundai and Kia models targeted in the recent thefts don’t have an immobilizer. The simple chip system in the key can be bypassed by connecting a USB phone charger to a specific circuit accessible in the steering column, and the car can then be started with a screwdriver. 

According to a report by CNBC last year, police around the country have noted a sharp spike in TikTok-inspired thefts. The fallout was bad enough that multiple cities have pursued legal action against the two Korean automakers. There’s also a class action lawsuit, and some insurance companies are refusing to cover the impacted models. NHTSA claims that there have been at least 14 crashes and eight deaths. 

According to NHTSA, the software fix will roll out to the approximately 3.8 million affected Hyundais and 4.5 million affected Kias in a number of phases starting later this month. The specific models aren’t being widely publicized for somewhat obvious reasons, but they are mostly the more affordable ones that use a mechanical key rather than a fob and push-button. If you want to learn more about your vehicle, NHTSA recommends contacting Hyundai (800-633-5151) or Kia (800-333-4542) for more information.

The update makes two changes to the theft alarm software in the cars. It increases the length of time the alarm sounds from 30 seconds to one minute and also prevents the car from starting if the key isn’t in the ignition. 

This isn’t the first time that a software update has been used to add anti-theft features to a line of cars. Back in 2021, Dodge rolled out an update to its high horsepower Charger and Challenger models that were apparently being targeted by key-spoofing thieves. While already fitted with an immobilizer, the update added an additional layer of protection that limited the engines to just three horsepower if the correct pin wasn’t entered.

As well as the software update, affected Hyundai and Kia customers will receive a window sticker to alert would-be thieves that the vehicle has the anti-theft measures installed. While it won’t add any extra security, it might stop some thieves before they break a car window. 

In a more old school fix, Hyundai and Kia have also been working with law enforcement agencies to provide more than 26,000 steering wheel locks to affected vehicle owners. The steering wheel locks have been sent to 77 agencies in 12 states. The Department of Transportation’s NHTSA suggests contacting local law enforcement to see if one is available if you own an affected car. 

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Zoox, a self-driving car company owned by Amazon, announced yesterday that it had successfully tested its futuristic-looking robotaxi with passengers on public roads in Foster City, California. The company claims that this is the first time “a purpose-built autonomous robotaxi without traditional driving controls” (you know, elements like a steering wheel and pedals) has transported real humans on open public roads. Unfortunately, if you’re hoping to flag down one of these vehicles, there’s a catch—for the foreseeable future it’s for Zoox employees only. 

It’s rare these days to see some positive news about driverless cars. After a rollercoaster few years, the current situation has mostly been bad news for the highly speculative, typically miles-from-turning-a-profit autonomous-vehicle industry. In the past few months, Ford and Volkswagen-backed Argo AI shut down, Alphabet-owned Waymo laid off a number of workers, and self-driving truck company TuSimple cut its workforce by 25 percent. Meanwhile, GM-owned Cruise is under investigation from security regulators even as it rolls out its robotaxi service, and at the Super Bowl last weekend, a 30-second ad from The Dawn Project called on the DOT to ban Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. Last year, TechCrunch went so far as to declare that “self-driving cars aren’t going to happen,” and with the recent spate of news, it’s easy to agree with that prediction. 

[Related: Pete Buttigieg on how to improve the deadly track record of US drivers]

But into this news cycle rolls the cutesy toaster-like robotaxi with plans to merrily ferry people about in the California sun. 

Zoox’s electric robotaxi looks different from a typical vehicle. By removing the steering wheel, gearstick, and other manual controls, Zoox has been able to reimagine what a vehicle can look like. It seats four people facing each other, like in an old horse-drawn carriage, minus the horse. Plus, with no need for a driver, it doesn’t really have a front or a back, so it can drive bi-directionally. It has four-wheel steering to make it easy to maneuver through narrow streets and into tight curbside pick-up spots. Zoox has also packed in a huge 133 kWh battery so it can keep trundling all day. (For reference, a Tesla Model S Dual Motor has a 100 kWh battery while the base Model 3 has a 60 kWh battery.)

[Related: Why this Amazon-owned company is bringing its autonomous vehicles to Seattle]

Of course, manufacturing a cool concept vehicle is very different from actually operating a robotaxi service in the real world. To get to the point where the California Department of Motor Vehicles would let it operate on the state’s public roads, Zoox had to complete rigorous testing on private and semi-private roads. Even without traditional controls, Zoox claims its vehicle meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)—though admittedly, it says that it “self-certified.”

February 11 marked the start of a planned robotaxi shuttle service for Zoox employees between the company’s two main office buildings in Foster City. The route is roughly a mile and requires the robotaxi to navigate left and right turns, traffic lights, cyclists, pedestrians, other vehicles, and all the general chaos of California roads at speeds of up to 35 mile-per-hour. Since the service will only be available to full-time workers, Zoox won’t actually charge for it—and there is no firm timeline for when it will expand to other routes or the general public. For that, Zoox would need additional permits from the California DMV. In other words, it’s still unclear if robotaxis will be a real thing that happens or if progress will continue to stall. 

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Ford’s 2024 Mustang Dark Horse is the automaker’s turn-it-up-to-11 version of its iconic muscle car. With a powerful 5.0-liter engine cranking out 500 horsepower, this iteration of the seventh-generation Mustang is made for speed, and for track enthusiasts.  It’s packed with goodies like an interactive digital interface in the cabin along with special ducts to keep the Brembo performance brakes cool. 

The new Blue Ember metallic paint is available only on the Dark Horse, and the color-shifting blue-to-purple finish evokes a mood ring if your mood is “go fast but be chill about it.” This Mustang features blue-themed Recaro sport seats that sit low inside, and a hollow shift knob crafted from blue lightweight titanium, if you choose the manual transmission option. 

But the showstopper is the set of sleek carbon fiber wheels wrapped in track-ready Pirelli P Zero tires. Here’s what these high-tech wheels are all about.

Light, strong rims equals more speed

The Dark Horse is the first performance variant of the Mustang in more than two decades, and Ford opted to equip it with super-light carbon fiber wheels, which are more often spotted on pricey supercars. Ford says it’s the first time a Mustang has worn carbon fiber wheels other than the Shelby GT350 and GT500 (those ended production in 2020 and 2022, respectively), and they look great on the Dark Horse. 

Ford partnered with an Australian company called Carbon Revolution for the 19-inch wheels; this is the first time the brand is using five-spoke single-piece carbon-fiber rims.. At a shade over 20 pounds each, these carbon fiber wheels are about 37 percent lighter than the standard aluminum wheels available on the Dark Horse. Less overall weight increases speed, so the wheels take the potential speed of the Mustang up a notch. 

Carbon fiber is a polymer, which is a class of materials made of repeating chains of molecules. It’s extremely strong and light, which is why race car builders and supercar companies use it extensively. It’s also expensive, so companies like McLaren invest a fair amount of money to create carbon fiber tubs, which are the frame-like structures on which their cars are made. In fact, the British company spent more than 50 million dollars to build the McLaren Composites Technology Center to create lightweight carbon fiber and composites to save weight and generate more energy-efficient cars. 

Mass production automakers like Ford use carbon fiber sparingly to maintain an attractive price point. You’ll see this material surrounding gear shifters, on dashboards, and in door sills, but using it in greater quantities is reserved for a much smaller number of cars. For instance, the one-off Hellucination was built for Ralph Gilles, the lead designer for Stellantis (the parent company for Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and others), and featured a striking carbon fiber body encasing a supercharged V8. That’s not something you’ll see too often on the street. 

A plasma arc spray 

Carbon Revolution used a plasma arc spray process on the inside of the front wheels to protect them from brake heat. Inspired by aerospace technology, where it’s often used on turbine engine blades, the plasma arc spray process is also used on open-wheel race cars for durability.

“The process of plasma spraying is when powdered material like metals and ceramics are fed into a plasma flame spraying machine,” explains Carbon Revolution founder and chief technology officer Ashley Denmead. “The process melts the powder with very high temperatures and sprays it at the target part to be coated. The molten powder particles then solidify again when they hit the target and cool down on impact. The coating created for the wheels is multiple layers of different materials. The resultant coating reflects the brake heat away and also prevents conduction of it into the wheel while minimizing the weight penalty.”

This process results in wheels made for driving fast and braking hard, and Ford’s Dark Horse wheels were subject to a slew of testing. Carbon Revolution says it adheres strictly to Ford’s stringent wheel testing criteria, which uses more than 200 tests for structural and environmental validation.

Interestingly, only the front wheels are treated, and Denmead explains to PopSci that it’s not that they forgot about the back wheels. The front brakes generate much more heat, and in the process of testing the team determined with Ford that only the front wheels needed this thermal management.

“During repeated hard driving on track, with a lot of heavy braking it is possible that the brakes would get so hot (up to 1800°F) that they could damage the resin in the wheels,” Denmead says. “This sort of driving would likely far exceed what most people would do even on a track day, but it is important for us and our customers that our high-performance wheels can perform all day long on the track and the road.”

The Dark Horse will be available this summer. Count us in to put it to the test. 

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Two up-and-coming electric vehicle companies, Polestar and Rivian, aren’t mincing words about their industry’s shortcomings. In a new report commissioned by the automakers from global management consulting firm Kearney, experts warn the EV economy remains “far off track” from doing its part to meet targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement. Signed by 196 countries in 2015, the Paris Agreement aims to keep the world’s temperature from increasing more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The team-up between two technically competing carmakers is outside the norm, but as Ellen Broomé, a spokesperson for Polestar, explained to The Verge on Thursday, the report’s “shocking and sobering” data confirmed their suspicions that “everything was moving too slow.”

[Related: A new solution could keep old wind turbine blades out of landfills.]

“We have both been frustrated by the lack of an honest, data- and science-led pathway for the car industry to remain in line with [Paris Agreement’s] 1.5-degree limit,” they added.

As the new report explains, despite the rising interest in EVs alongside automakers’ commitments to retiring internal combustion engines, companies’ primary focus on eliminating greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions is simply not enough. Instead, Kearney’s conclusions urge businesses to rapidly increase investments in renewable energy power grids, as well as reducing emissions generated across their entire supply chains. Polestar and Rivian concede carmakers haven’t been traditionally involved directly within these separate industries, but urge rethinking the approach to such topics in order to meet climate change goals. Potential avenues include vehicle companies investing more heavily in clean energy companies, or starting their own projects in the field.

[Related: Honda’s newest Accord hybrid is a sleek, brawny beast.]

One of the main areas requiring improvement is battery sourcing and construction, by far the largest source of pollution within EV production. Automakers must simultaneously focus on vastly reducing emissions, the authors of the report argue, alongside revising what materials are used in the batteries themselves.

The report’s conclusions depict an extremely tall order, one that will require unprecedented cooperation between automakers across the board to accomplish the already lofty goals. “We need to come together to create a plan to tackle the challenge and deliver on that plan as quickly as possible,” the paper’s authors urged.

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You can barely throw a rock in America without hitting a Honda Accord. More than 12.5 million Accords have been sold in North America since 1982, and Honda says 98 percent of those were built in the USA. The latest iteration of Honda’s Accord is now available, and it packs in some new tech upgrades along with improvements to the hybrid powertrain.

Here’s what’s new under the hood, and what it’s like to drive it.

Solid lines, subtle updates

There have been ten previous generations of Accords, and this model kicks off its eleventh. The 2023 Accord is a product of Honda’s intention to amp up its hybrid sales. Honda is actively chasing a 50 percent sales target for the hybrid versions of the Accord, and of its six trims, only the two lowest of the bunch are offered with a gas-only, no-electric-motor option. It’s clear that Honda is checking a box for gas-only fans as a transition, while gently steering its customers away from the lesser trim levels.

And for good reason: While it looks and feels very familiar, the newest Accord hybrid has been to the gym. It’s pumped up with a strengthened core and tweaked powertrain that’s more efficient.

The freshest Accord in the stable is longer and broader than the previous generation, giving Honda’s cash-cow sedan a sleeker profile and a livelier front end that one might attribute to a sportier vehicle. That’s due, in part, to structural updates to the chassis with new brace bars that increase the rigidity of the ride; the result is a smoother ride that absorbs mild bumps in the road like a member of a top-tier college marching band glides across the football field at halftime.  

The lineup starts at $28,390 for the gas-only Accord LX model. Then, the first hybrid skips over the EX (also a gas-only model) up to the Sport for $32,990. At the top of the lineup, the Touring trim is decked out with all the goodies, along with the hybrid powertrain, for $38,985 and up.

Engineered with electrification in mind

Behind the wheel, I expected a pleasant ride, and I wasn’t disappointed. The Accord hasn’t lasted for 11 generations for nothing, after all. It’s an all-around favorite, with solid fuel economy figures (44-48 mpg combined for the hybrid and 32 mpg combined for the gas-only trims) and plenty of value packed in for the price.

Testing out the new Accord Touring in each of its three main drive modes (Normal, Eco, and Sport), I found that Normal makes the most sense for the majority of the time. Reserve the Eco mode only for long highway drives when you’re already moving at a good clip, because the stunted acceleration is a bummer otherwise. Sport mode was the most exciting, with a zip that made it easy to pass and merge from highway ramps onto the freeway. It also adds a weightier feel to the steering, which firms up the driving experience.

[Related: Pete Buttigieg on how to improve the deadly track record of US drivers]

Honda opted to equip the hybrid models (Sport, EX-L, Sport-L, and Touring) with an all-new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with the same two-motor hybrid-electric system that debuted in the 2023 Honda CR-V. Together, the Accord hybrid is good for 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque. Gas-only models may be cheaper, but they sacrifice horsepower, torque, and fuel efficiency in the exchange.

The two-motor hybrid system includes an electric generator motor, which supplies power to the battery; an electric propulsion motor to drive the front wheels; an Atkinson-cycle gas engine that feeds power to the battery and propulsion motor; a new, smaller intelligent power unit that protects and controls the battery; and a power control unit that acts as the brains of the hybrid system. 

There’s a prominent button on the console with an “e” printed on it in stylized script, and pushing it notifies the Accord to maximize your electric drive mode as much as possible, defaulting to electric over gas.

“[Pressing the button] doesn’t necessarily make the vehicle more efficient,” says Chris Martin, a communications manager with American Honda. “Let’s say you are trying to pull quietly out of your driveway or out of your neighborhood. You have to manage the throttle carefully to avoid activating the gas engine, and by pushing this button the car is going to require you to give it a little bit more throttle before it engages the gas engine. Kind of like a quiet mode.”

What’s different about the 2023 Accord hybrid system?

Previously, Honda situated the two motors in-line longitudinally, with the generator motor connected directly to the engine and the propulsion motor connected to the front wheels. Engineers for the new Accord hybrid nestled the two electric motors side-by-side instead (in the same configuration used in the new CR-V) allowing for the propulsion motor to be bigger and stronger. Honda eschewed heavy rare-earth metals for this system, which contributes to a higher top speed. The new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine brings a promise of reduced emissions, with 22 percent less nitrogen oxides and 24 percent less total hydrocarbon emissions.

Martin says the entire core package has been improved in many ways, with an eye on improving handling and making the car quieter, smoother, and safer. The Accord chassis itself is responsible for many of the improvements that improve the drive versus the prior model. 

While Honda’s hybrids don’t claim one-pedal driving—the brand calls it “one-pedal like”—the Accord hybrid comes close. (One-pedal driving allows the driver to use just the accelerator without moving their foot to the brake, as the car slows or even stops as soon as they lift their foot off the accelerator. That’s a big benefit in stop-and-go traffic, when a light tap to the accelerator is all you need to move forward.) The new Accord features paddle shifters on the left and right side that control the amount of braking regeneration up to six levels; on the maximum regeneration setting the vehicle will slow considerably when you take your foot off the accelerator. The four-wheel disc brakes are slightly squishy, so prepare to press down a little further than expected.

On the technology front, the new Accord receives over-the-air software updates, making it easy for Honda to push out updates and plug any potential problems. Honda gifted its sedan with a camera offering a 90-degree field of view in the front, which is nearly double the amount on the previous Accord. And the radar was relocated behind the Honda logo on the grille, which bumped up its field of detection from 50 degrees to an astonishing 120 degrees. This, combined with updated driver-assist technology, helps to avoid collisions and more easily discerns objects from people and signs, for example. 

Honda uses a Google built-in system that’s standard on the top Touring trim, including Google Maps and Google Play enhanced by a speech-to-text service that also controls interior functions like climate control. 

Tip-toeing into the EV age

Much like Toyota has been saying for several years, as well as supercar makers like Lamborghini, Honda is not rushing headlong into the EV age with the purpose of being first. The brand seems content to take it slow. Honda has said publicly that it’s committed to 100 percent electric vehicles by 2040. The pathway to get them there, though, is not just to start selling all EVs right now, Martin says. Their first EV will be the Prologue in 2024, which Martin refers to as a “toe in the water for the next generation of EVs.”

Last year, Honda launched the CR-V hybrid and hoped to incentivize customers to make the switch with attractive two-year lease deals. That stopgap allows the brand to hold onto electric-hungry customers, marking time until the all-electric Prologue SUV is ready for its debut. 

“We’ve got more than the Prologue coming,” Martin says with a wink in his voice. “We haven’t announced a lot of things, but obviously as we’re going to be selling a hundred percent [EVs] by 2040 there are a lot of other products in the pipeline.”

In the meantime, car buyers can climb into the muscular 2023 Accord and enjoy both the legacy this sedan offers plus all of the new technology and engineering Honda brought to the table.

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In 2009, Prince Albert II of Monaco asked experimental vehicle manufacturer Venturi to take a crack at designing an electric vehicle that could handle the harsh cold of Antarctica. Over the next 12 years, the company went to work. After testing out two full prototypes, the company pulled off a final product launch on June 1, 2021. The Venturi Antarctica, as the vehicle is called, has been transporting scientists and lab equipment in eastern Antarctica since December 2021.

Designing an electric vehicle for the harsh climate of Antarctica is no easy feat. The battery and other components have to be able to tolerate the frigid Antarctic temperatures, and there needs to be space to store research equipment and transport the researchers comfortably. Venturi has experience with experimental electric vehicles going back to 2000, and has competed in Formula E, the top-tier electric car racing competition in the world, since its inaugural season in 2014. 

[Related: Boaty McBoatface’s new mission is more serious than its name]

According to Venturi, scientists based at the Belgian Princess Elizabeth research station have driven the Antarctica EV over 500 kilometers (310 miles) in just one summer of use. The vehicle has a range of 50 kilometers (31 miles), with space for a second battery if the scientists need more range. However, its range can vary depending on how compact the snow it has to drive on is, and scientists started noticing some problems. 

As climate change has affected global temperatures, Antarctica has warmed. Average temperatures on the icy continent ranges from a frigid -50 degrees Celsius (-58 F) inland to around -10 C (14 F) on the coasts, and the vehicle, designed for the extra cold, needed tweaks to tolerate the relative warmth. Venturi instructed researchers to limit trips to 40 kilometers (25 miles), and is beginning work on modifications to restore the vehicle to its true glory. 

Since Antarctica is covered almost entirely in snow, the Antarctica EV uses a continuous track system, just like you’d expect on a snowcat or a snowmobile. The treads spread the 5,500 pounds of vehicle over its entire surface area, preventing the Antarctica EV from sinking into the snow like a wheeled vehicle would. But the warmer temperatures have caused the snow to stick to the sprockets that drive the treads, creating unwanted vibrations that could further damage the vehicle. The company has since redesigned and replaced the sprockets in an attempt to keep the vehicle in working order.

Increasing temperatures also made it more likely for the cabin, which is packed with electronics and exposed to the sun, to overheat. To balance that out, Venturi has had to install a new ventilation system for a more comfortable riding experience. They also made a new cooling system for the power electronic systems themselves.

Venturi announced on January 24 that their next set of improvements will be focused on redesigning the treads and increasing the vehicle’s range in Antarctica. Barring any other unforeseen circumstances, these should allow the vehicle to putter around the ice and snow of the southern continent more and more in the years to come.

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Something remarkable has happened in Hoboken, New Jersey over the past six years: No one has died in a traffic crash since early January, 2017. 

But Hoboken, with a population of some 60,000 people, unfortunately is not representative of the United States as a whole, where traffic deaths have risen since the beginning of the pandemic. In 2020, more than 38,800 people died because of traffic crashes, a nearly 7 percent increase from the year before. And then they climbed again in 2021, up by more than 10 percent compared to 2020 and hitting nearly 43,000. 

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg draws a comparison between this problem and casualties from firearms. “Most Americans know that there’s a difference between the rate of gun death in the US and in most developed countries. I’m not sure most Americans know that something similar is going on with roadway deaths,” Buttigieg tells PopSci. “Not the same disparity—but a comparable pattern, where a lot of other places that also have cars and drivers and advanced economies don’t have the level of carnage that we do.” 

That carnage has continued into 2022, although initial data from the first nine months of that year suggest that traffic deaths may have declined a tiny amount compared to the same time frame in 2021. But pedestrian and cyclist deaths still continued to climb last year, as they have throughout the pandemic—vulnerable people on the roads are being killed by vehicles, and in climbing numbers. 

Here’s why experts think it’s been happening, how technology can help (even as it also causes problems), and what to know about the simple changes that Hoboken has made to try to make its streets safer. 

Why did traffic deaths spike as the pandemic began?

“One prevailing theory is that you saw less traffic, higher speeds, and the crashes that happened were more likely to be fatal,” Buttigieg says. 

That’s a big piece of the equation, says Leah Shahum, the director of the Vision Zero Network, a nonprofit that aims to help connect communities with one another to fight traffic deaths. Another underlying issue is that “we’ve supersized our roads,” she says, allowing people to speed when congestion is absent. “And then secondly, our vehicles are getting a lot bigger.” 

Buttigieg also notes that in general, the tech inside some vehicles right now acts as a double-edged sword. 

He mentions in-car systems where the vehicle might track your eyes to see if you’re paying attention while cruise control is engaged. “What that means is that we have some technologies that are being developed to protect you from over-reliance on some of the other technologies that are being developed,” he says. “And it just shows you what a complicated and sensitive time we’re in.” 

Complicating the landscape are terms like “Autopilot,” the Tesla feature whose name alone implies that the vehicle is on a type of autopilot, like an aircraft. “There is no commercially available technology that doesn’t require that you be paying attention and driving,” Buttigieg says. “Words like ‘autopilot’ I think are extremely problematic.” 

[Related: What can ‘smart intersections’ do for a city? Chattanooga aims to find out.]

Tesla is in the crosshairs of the Justice Department and reportedly the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a part of the DOT. (Meanwhile, an option from Mercedes-Benz called Drive Pilot achieves what’s known as Level 3 autonomy, but is only legal in Nevada and comes with a speed restriction.) 

“I think we also need to recognize the responsibility that exists outside of just the technical design of the vehicle, to how you market, how you talk about it, and what expectations you create for drivers,” Buttigieg says.

How do you protect against ‘murderous’ human drivers? 

Advanced driver assistance tech can be a benefit, too, he argues. “I think we need to be very thoughtful about emerging technologies because they hold huge promise,” Buttigieg adds. “The track record of human drivers is borderline murderous.” 

He says that there is potential for in-vehicle tech to help improve the situation, arguing that it could “represent a major safety” improvement. But there are also low-tech changes that cities can make to their streetscape that can protect people from driving machines made of metal, glass, and plastic. 

Hoboken holds clues. The current mayor, Ravinder Bhalla, says that when he was a council member, an 89-year-old woman, Agnes Acerra, was killed in 2015 while crossing Washington Street after being struck by a vehicle. Bhalla attended Acerra’s funeral and wake. “That’s when it really hit home for me,” he says. “In the years that have passed, we’ve made multiple improvements that could have avoided that crash.” 

One of those, he says, are curb extensions. A curb extension, as the name implies, extends the sidewalk space out into the street to about the width of a car. “It reduces the distance that someone like Agnes would have to cross the street, thereby reducing the possibility of being hit by a vehicle,” Bhalla says. “It increases the visibility for both pedestrians and drivers” because the curb extension makes it harder for a vehicle to park right next to the crosswalk. 

They’ve also reduced the speed limit to 20 mph in the city. Shahum, of the Vision Zero Network, says that changes like these are important. “Most importantly, at the local level at least, it really is about redesigning streets—it really is about slowing drivers down so that there’s more safe, comfortable, shared space,” she says. 

[Related: It’s an especially dangerous time to be a pedestrian in America]

Bhalla says that they have made a tweak to the way the signals work when pedestrians cross, too. “Pedestrians have 30 seconds to cross Washington Street,” he says. Baked into that time is a “pedestrian-only interval” that lasts seven seconds. “All traffic lights are red, and only pedestrians can cross the street” during that time, he says. 

Bhalla’s advice to other cities is to move both slowly and quickly, depending on the issue. The slow approach refers to routine street maintenance, and using that moment to make safety tweaks. “We do that on an incremental, block-by-block basis, and I think over time, in the aggregate, the data shows positive results,” he says. The fast approach refers to acting when something urgently needs a change, like examining areas with high accidents. 

It’s not copy-paste from place to place, though. “Find out what works well in your own community, and do those things as well as possible,” he says. 

Can you change culture? 

Pedestrian deaths in the first three-quarters of 2022 climbed by 2 percent, and cyclists deaths by 8 percent, even as the total traffic fatalities declined a tiny bit. In 2020, more than 6,500 pedestrians were killed because of traffic crashes, and some groups are much more vulnerable than others: the DOT reports in the Safety Strategy they released last year that people who are American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders are all more likely to be killed as pedestrians. 

“There are a lot of measures that we can take that make a difference” with the pedestrian and cyclist fatality problem, Buttigieg says. That involves “making sure that we have more separated bike lanes, making sure that we have better lighting—basically reducing the frequency and the severity of situations where a pedestrian or bike and a vehicle can cross each other’s paths to begin with.”

[Related: US pedestrian deaths are reaching a new high]

“Part of it also I think though, beyond the physics of it, is frankly the culture—making sure that drivers are aware,” he adds. 

So how does one go about changing culture, and trying to get drivers to pay attention? He points out that street engineering can play a role in how people act. “We know that if the road is designed a certain way, it can force you to pay attention at a complex intersection, or nudge you toward driving at a safe speed,” he says, “and so these are among the things that I’m eager to see developed through the hundreds of planning grants that we’re supporting in different communities around the country.” 

Those grants total hundreds of millions of dollars and were announced on Wednesday. For example, they include $9 million for a “Complete Streets Project” on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles that will “include new pedestrian crosswalks and signals.” On the other coast, a project in Boston is also getting $9 million for changes like “raised crosswalks, pedestrian island refuges, street right-sizing, curb extensions,” and more. Here’s the list. 

The cultural issue is on Bhalla’s mind, too. “There is a certain culture and cultural adaptation that’s occurring in Hoboken,” he says. “We’ve come to realize that everyone is a pedestrian at some point, even if you’re a motorist.” After all, he says, drivers have to walk to their cars to get in them in the first place. 

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The name Lamborghini evokes powerful acceleration and large engines, with oodles of cylinders and a sound to match. But the supercar builder isn’t blind to the electrification movement. And while Lamborghini is not yet phasing out its thundering herd of combustion engines, the brand is moving towards a compromise that feels true to itself: internal combustion plus an electric motor. 

In 2019, Italy’s Raging Bull automaker teased its future with a hybrid, the V12 Sián FKP 37. The vehicle went above and beyond with 819 horsepower, the company’s most powerful model ever. However, with a $3.5 million price tag, it wasn’t made for the masses (nor even an average Lamborghini buyer). Only 63 were made in honor of the year Lamborghini was founded, and collectors snapped them up quickly. The Sián, which means “lightning” in Italian, contains a 48-volt electric motor that adds 34 horsepower to V12; it was made to showcase the brand’s capabilities and show a hint of what’s to come. Here’s what’s next.

Vitamin V12 deficient

The leadership team is making it clear that it’s not the right time for the Raging Bull to go all electric. All in due time, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann says.

“If you would have asked me five or six years ago, I would have been convinced that hybridization would happen, but I’d have my doubts on the execution and acceptance,” Winkelmann told PopSci. “Now, it’s a generational issue. We have a lot of young fans who are telling us we’re on the right path in terms of sustainability.”

While an all-electric vehicle is slated to be revealed in 2028, Lamborghini is first launching a hybrid-powertrain successor to its top-of-the-line Lamborghini Aventador sports car before the end of Q1 2023. 

[Related: Behind the wheel of the thunderous Lamborghini Aventador]

“We have to take care that we have this kind of emotional attachment, but always the technology will find a way,” Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr told PopSci. “Even if I personally like the combustion [engine], it would be a mistake to think that there will be no tipping point.”

Mohr says they are not following the engine-downsizing trend, pairing a smaller powerplant with an electric motor to compensate for power. The plan is to take existing internal-combustion vehicles and add power in the form of electricity, so the electric motor isn’t a replacement but an enhancement, with the benefit of hopefully fewer CO2 emissions.  

Rumors hold that the follow up to the Huracán, which is more compact and less expensive than the Aventador, will be a V8 hybrid, which is a smaller engine than the current V10. Whether or not the whispers are true, Lamborghini isn’t yet willing to say. It’s too soon to talk about that, Winkelmann told PopSci.

The heart of the bull

In the last couple of years, the automotive market has flipped inside out. The pandemic affected the supply chain in ways no one anticipated, but even more surprising to Lamborghini was the uptake of luxury products in the aftermath. Lamborghini broke its own sales records for 2022, delivering 9,233 vehicles worldwide: that’s a stunning ten percent over the sales figures for 2021. Lamborghini launched its SUV, the Urus, in 2017, which has been an explosive seller for the brand. Winkelmann says 80 percent of its new customers are Urus buyers; breaking into the SUV segment also helps attract more female buyers.

In the meantime, in 2021 Lamborghini shared the details of its Direzione Cor Tauri (“Heart of the Bull”) program, which lays out a roadmap for a nearly two billion dollar cash infusion. This, the highest-ever investment in the company’s history, translates directly to the development of hybrid and all-electric cars to get the Italian automaker primed for the switch to EVs in the next few years. That funding will be welcome as the automaker shifts its design and production to include electrification. Software and its upkeep will be another significant line item as driver-assist technology advances.

[Related: Behind the wheel of McLaren’s hot new hybrid supercar, the Artura]

Machine learning, for example, will allow engineers to do new things. Imagine there’s a kind of algorithm Lamborghini could use to train its motorsports teams to be better drivers on the track. “You can have an intelligent stability control, for example, that understands exactly your driving style, analyzes it, and helps you enter the corners [more efficiently],” Mohr said.

It may seem incongruous to tie advanced driver-assist tech to a supercar for people who love to geek out on cars and live to drive. What’s the attraction of a car that takes over for you when a car like a Lamborghini Huracan—or even the Urus SUV—is designed for the sheer pleasure of driving it? The technologies Lamborghini is looking at can enable a driver to improve their driving skills and enjoy the limits of the car, Mohr says.

The sounds of silence

For the 2023 Rolex 24 endurance race at Daytona International Speedway this month, Lamborghini fielded five teams: four in the GT Daytona class and one in the GT Daytona Pro category. The distinctive sound of the Raging Bull Huracáns echoed across the lanes, its voice calling out clearly. One of those teams was the only all-female lineup, the Iron Dames, piloting a can’t-miss-it hot pink Huracán. 

Motorsports like this endurance race give manufacturers a chance for research and development in high-stress situations for the cars. It also gives them an ear to the ground to listen to the fan base and get more insight on what’s needed to improve. 

What Lamborghini is hearing now is that the younger generation is demanding more sustainability, and they want to see change. The other is an open question about a personality crisis for supercars when EVs take over. EVs are much quieter than combustion engines, and that will affect not just motorsports events but everyday satisfaction while driving the cars. 

Mohr, who grew up admiring a poster of a purple Lamborghini Diablo on his wall, says he’s not about to let the brand lose its grip on the super sports car community. While both he and Winkelmann say they don’t have an answer to the sound question quite yet, they know it’s going to be uniquely Lamborghini. 

Mohr says people often suggest to him that he might have enjoyed working for Lamborghini 20 years ago instead of today, but he disagrees. “I say no, because from the engineering perspective, you now have much more freedom,” Mohr says. “To influence this kind of new generation of cars, this is a good change. I want to ensure that in 20 years I still like to buy cars, and if they are only boring cars, it will be really a mess. Because at the moment, to be honest, there are a lot of boring cars on the market that I will not buy. And I can see that in the electric world the dream of Lamborghini is continuing on. It’s pretty exciting.” 

The Huracán and other models by the Bull remain a touchstone goal for many, and Mohr welcomes the challenge to make sure it lives up to its reputation as it shifts into hybrid, and eventually all-electric, mode. 

“The favorite part of my job is the fact that I can influence the dream cars,” Mohr tells PopSci. “Because at the end of the day, every Lamborghini is a dream. It’s not like [with] volume manufacturers, they [launch] a kind of icon of the brand every 20 years. In our case, you work permanently with dreams.”

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Despite all manner of warnings and hesitations, semi-autonomous driving cars are increasingly taking to the roads across the country. Nowhere is this more apparent than in tech-friendly cities like San Francisco, where companies like Waymo and Cruise already offer residents app-based driverless taxi services. According to a recent dispatch from Wired, however, local SF city officials are extremely frustrated with the unintended municipal consequences they argue stem from the rushed rollouts—and they’re seeking to put a pause on the trend.

[Related: Self-driving EVs use way more energy than you’d think.]

According to Wired, a joint letter sent by three San Francisco agencies to a California regulator lays out a host of concerns regarding these driverless taxi services, citing unintentional wasting of municipal resources and taxpayer money. In particular, the message from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the Mayor’s Office on Disability cites three separate occasions since December 2022 in which 911 responders were dispatched to Cruise vehicles. Once arrived, the emergency officials found that Cruise’s “unresponsive” passengers who failed to answer their car’s two-way voice link system were simply snoozing en route to their destinations.

“Taxpayer funded emergency response resources used for nonemergencies undermine their availability to members of the public in true nee[d],” argues the city agencies.

The worrisome examples are only the latest in a string of similar mishaps supposedly generated by robotaxis screwing up while on the job. In October, multiple outlets reported on apparent traffic jams caused by Cruise vehicles inexplicably stopping and blocking surrounding cars’ travels. Similar occurrences also waylaid fire trucks as recently as last week, when firefighters battling a major blaze were confronted with an oncoming Cruise car nearing their hoses that wouldn’t stop. According to the San Francisco agencies’ letter, first responders only managed to halt the vehicle by shattering its front window. A similar situation also occurred last May.

[Related: An AI that lets cars communicate might reduce traffic jams.]

In their letter, the companies’ critics urge more access to more detailed technical information regarding the robotaxis’ AI performance and decisions, as well as the implementation of certain safety benchmarks alongside data like total traveled miles and statistics regarding unexpected stops. As Wired explains, because self-driving cars’ testing and deployment is overseen by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles and the Public Utilities Commission, individual cities have little say regarding robotaxis’ parameters on their streets. Signs like last week’s letter show that city officials aren’t happy with the current system, and hope to have more of a role in determining how the new technology can, or should, serve their residents.

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Vehicle electrification is a major step toward decarbonizing the transportation sector, the biggest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US. In 2020, it accounted for 27 percent of the country’s emissions, more than half of which came from light-duty vehicles.

Replacing fossil fuel-powered automobiles with electric vehicles (EV) provides significant benefits for environmental and human health. Not only will carbon emissions decline, but air quality also improves, and there are fewer negative health outcomes due to pollution, says Daniel Horton, assistant professor at the Northwestern University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

New research also shows that vehicle owners may see reductions in their transportation energy burden, or the percentage of their income that is spent on vehicle fuel. In a new Environmental Research Letters study, researchers found that more than 90 percent of vehicle-owning households in the country would shrink GHG emissions and their transportation energy burden if they switched to EVs.

“Due to the fuel cost savings, EVs effectively reduce the percentage of income that households have to spend on vehicles,” says Joshua Newell, professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan and an author of the study.

Newell and his colleagues estimated fuel costs in terms of US dollars per mile. They created an equation that included the gasoline price for vehicles with internal combustion engines. For EVs, they used the levelized cost of charging (LCOC), which accounts for electricity prices as well as charging location, time of day, and power level. According to the study, areas with high transportation energy burden reductions have lower LCOC compared to gasoline prices, smaller temperature- and drive cycle-related impacts on fuel consumption (like how extremely cold temperatures tend to affect battery performance or how batteries or fuel cells adapt when vehicles conditions change abruptly), or both. 

Unequal benefits of driving an EV

Widespread deployment of EVs would effectively double the number of households with a low transportation burden, based on the authors’ modeling, which they defined as spending less than 2 percent of their income on fuel annually. However, the study also revealed that more than half of the lowest-income households (based on area median income) would continue to have a high energy burden—spending more than 4 percent of their income on fuel annually—despite driving an EV.

[Related: Thousands of EV chargers will soon line America’s highways.]

Currently, higher-income households and those with higher levels of education dominate EV ownership in the country. Vehicle-related energy costs are a relatively small portion of higher-income households’ monthly income, but they can be sizable chunks for lower-income households, says Newell.

Additional factors that contribute to this energy burden include vehicle miles traveled, fuel consumption, and electricity and charging infrastructure costs. Newell says suburban and rural households tend to experience a higher energy burden due to the lack of public transit and greater travel distances to services and jobs. 

Since the lowest-income households are not distributed uniformly in the US, the study mapped where high-energy burden communities are clustered, which were concentrated in the Midwest, Alaska, and Hawaii. This would enable policymakers and planners to “develop targeted strategies to address the uneven distribution of burdens as society transitions from internal combustion vehicles to EVs,” says Newell.

The authors recommend localized approaches to improve the benefits of EV adoption, which include regional subsidies for charging infrastructure, reducing the cost of electricity, and expanding access to cycling, walking, and other forms of low-carbon transportation.

EV policies can boost accessibility

Incentives such as tax credits to lower the upfront costs of buying new and used EVs are critical for accelerating their adoption, says Newell. The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law last August, currently provides significant tax credits for these purchases.

Individuals who purchase a new EV, whether it’s the plug-in or a fuel cell kind, may qualify for a clean vehicle tax credit of up to $7,500. However, there are different rules for the tax credit depending on when the vehicle was purchased. To check if you and your vehicle qualify, visit the Internal Revenue Service websites for vehicles purchased before 2023 or those in 2023 and beyond. Those who buy a used electric vehicle starting in 2023 may also be eligible for a tax credit that equals 30 percent of the sale, with a maximum credit of $4,000.

[Related: Self-driving EVs use way more energy than you’d think.]

Other policy interventions that may increase EV accessibility for older and lower-income households include incentives for new and used vehicles that aren’t necessarily tied to taxes and programs that target low-income households. For instance, low-income California residents who live in a district that implements the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program may receive up to $1,500 for scrapping their old, high-polluting vehicle. Those who choose to replace their old vehicle altogether with a cleaner, more fuel-efficient one may get up to $4,500.

Aside from purchasing incentives, access to charging infrastructure is also critical in the transition of light-duty passenger fleets to EVs in lower-income communities, says Horton, who was not involved in the new study. According to the study, increasing access to residential or cheaper public charging is a major factor in establishing the fair distribution of benefits and burdens among everyone, especially for renters and rural, lower-income, or multi-family households.

All of these solutions hope to balance out a major barrier to EV adoption—they are costly for many. “EV batteries make up about one-third the cost of the vehicle,” says Newell, “and until these costs are reduced through economies of scale and technological improvements, EV incentives are needed to achieve price parity with gasoline-powered vehicles.”

The post EV adoption doesn’t lighten energy costs for all American families appeared first on Popular Science.

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This article was originally featured on High Country News.

A few weeks ago, Mark Leary and his crew began to plow the snow off the frozen Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska. Every year, once the river freezes and the snow is cleared from the ice, dozens of trucks, snowmobiles and other vehicles from more than 17 different villages whiz back and forth atop it. This is the Kuskokwim ice road, whose main stem can extend over 300 miles, connecting the bulk of the region’s population.

“Oh my gosh, you gotta see it with your own eyes,” said Leary, the director of operations for the road and an employee of the Native Village of Napaimute, the entity that leads the effort to establish and maintain it. “The traffic on it is huge. There’s a steady stream of vehicles all day long going up and down on the ice road.” 

There has been an ice road of some sort on the Kuskokwim River since vehicles first arrived in the region. But Leary said the tribe saw a need to begin maintaining it about a decade ago to facilitate transportation of wood products during the winter, and to keep the route safe and clear for the thousands of residents who live along the river. Now, however, a changing climate and more erratic winter storms are making ice roads like this one less reliable and harder to keep safe and passable all winter long.

Frozen rivers provide a relatively smooth and solid corridor for traveling in the North. They have been used for thousands of years and still connect rural communities across the state. Today, most residents and businesses along the Kuskokwim use the ice road to carry mail and freight, get to the hospital or clinic, and even transport school basketball teams to games in nearby villages. There is no other road connecting the communities; without it, people would have to rely on air travel, which isn’t always an option because of bad weather or exorbitant costs.

“This is a real road,” Leary said. “It is real, and it’s a necessity, not a novelty.”

Ice roads are also important for industry in the Arctic, especially on Alaska’s North Slope, where resource companies use them so operators can avoid driving on tundra when traveling between base camps and exploration and development sites. “The ice roads you see on TV, they have an industry behind them — oil companies and mining companies,” Leary said. “This road that we plow on the Kuskokwim River is for the people who live here. For the few months that it exists, it makes life much more convenient and much, much cheaper.”

Adrian Boelens, who has lived in the Yup’ik village Aniak her whole life, said she uses the ice road a lot. “I remember a time when my little brother-in-law broke a tooth,” Boelens said. “We have a clinic (in Aniak), but their medical services are limited. Bethel” — a major hub in the region — “has the next biggest hospital, and that’s easiest to access. He had to go down with a truck to get his tooth repaired so he didn’t lose the tooth.”

Boelens and her family also use the ice road to go ice fishing, visit friends, travel to nearby villages for basketball tournaments, and drive to Bethel to buy appliances, recreational gear and raw materials, like lumber. “Getting that stuff thrown in with air carriers is expensive,” she said. “Utilizing the ice road for that is a huge benefit. We had a water pump go out once, but we drove down to Bethel with our truck to pick up a water pump because it was just cheaper and easier.”

Leary and the dozen or so people on his crew maintain the ice road with three graders and three plow trucks. The annual cost depends on inflation, weather and how many miles the crew can plow. In past years, the Kuskokwim River ice road has cost more than $300,000 to maintain, Leary said. This year, he added, it may be more, since fuel has surged to about $9 a gallon, and the markers used to guide drivers have doubled in price, from $16 two years ago to $32 this year.

For most of the last decade, maintenance costs have been covered by donations from residents, businesses, city governments, tribal governments, village corporations and the regional corporation in the area. “We reached out to everybody along the river to help pay for it, and the support was huge,” Leary said. “One time, it almost made us cry. We were plowing back to Kasigluk, 50 miles below Bethel. The people of Kasigluk literally passed the hat, pitching in $5, $10, $20 each — whatever they could afford. When we got out there in the middle of the night, they came down to the river with an envelope in their hand. Their contribution was like $300-something. It paid for one guy’s wages.”

In recent years, Leary and his crew have advocated for more state support. Every state entity in the area uses the ice road, including the Alaska State Troopers. Each time Leary saw a trooper on the ice road, he took a picture and emailed it to state officials. After that, Leary said, the state contributed 4,000 uniform trail markers — used to designate villages, hazardous areas and even scenic views — fulfilling the crew’s “longtime dream,” Leary said. Before, they marked the road with whatever they had, including tree branches. Now, people can easily tell when they’re on the official ice road.

Last year, the Alaska Legislature began giving the crew a grant to help cover the costs of maintaining the ice road. This year, the crew is also, for the first time, receiving federal money: Lawmakers included ice road maintenance funds, distributed through a state program called Safe Ice Roads for Alaska, in a 2021 trillion-dollar federal infrastructure bill. The program allows entities to apply for up to $500,000. As a result, Leary’s crew is operating on full public funding this year.

But money isn’t Leary’s only worry. Unprecedented weather and warming from climate change are shortening the ice road’s season and hampering its reliability; warm winter storms can thaw rivers in places, making ice roads hazardous or impassable. According to the Alaska Department of Resources, Division of Lands, the winter tundra travel season on the North Slope has shrunk from about 200 days in the 1970s to about 120 days in the early 2000s.

“What I’ve observed is we have lost our pattern,” Leary said. “There’s no reliable seasonal pattern.” It used to be that the river would be frozen by mid-October; not anymore. “There’s just nothing that we can count on. We don’t know from year to year. We just don’t know. We watch and observe, and deal with it.”

Note: This story has been updated to correct that Mark Leary is an employee of the Native Village of Napaimute, not a tribal member.

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It might not be the first name that springs to mind when it comes to high-performance automobiles, but Honda has a deep-rooted history in motorsport as both a competitor and a supplier in racing series such as Formula One. 

But for regular folks, its high-performance production car efforts have been less visible, particularly in the United States, and that’s due in part to the automaker’s habit of attaching the Acura nameplate to performance vehicles like the NSX and Integra for this market. 

The disconnect is also bolstered by the fact that while the Civic Type R has been a well-known commodity in Europe for more than two decades, the model didn’t make its debut stateside until 2017. For the uninitiated, the Type R is no run-of-the-mill Civic. Tuned for the track, it boasts the power and poise to take on sports cars costing multitudes more, yet it also manages to retain all of the inherently pragmatic elements of a five-door hatchback. Don’t believe us? Just ask the current F1 champ. 

When it did finally land on our shores in 2017, the Type R was introduced in one fully-loaded specification for just under $35,000 and quickly earned accolades for the masterful blend of engaging performance and everyday practicality that Honda had achieved. But its exterior design—a wild mixture of scoops, vents, wings, and curves—was not as warmly embraced, and that largely relegated the Civic Type R to the performance diehards who were willing to tolerate its polarizing aesthetic. Now underpinned by the eleventh-generation Civic architecture, the Type R has returned with a host of technological and performance upgrades, along with a more mature aesthetic that emphasizes function over form.

Refining the formula

Considering the near-universal praise for the Type R’s driving manners, Honda probably could have slapped new bodywork on it and called it a day. Instead, the automaker chose to scrutinize the car from stem to stern in order to find aspects to refine and improve. The 2023 model is lower, longer, and broader than its predecessor, boasting a front “track” (the distance between opposing wheels on the same axle) that’s an inch wider, while the rear track grows by three-quarters of an inch. Those changes necessitated the development of unique flared fenders in order to accommodate the additional girth. 

In fact, every body panel forward of the A-pillar is unique to the Type R. While this bespoke sheet metal provides a more aggressive and purposeful look, it’s also designed to enhance airflow for more efficient engine and brake system cooling. Like its predecessor, the new Civic Type R also features a large, functional rear wing that improves high speed stability, but this time around it’s a more visually understated piece that yields better rear visibility. Combined with the aerodynamic elements integrated into the front bumper, underbody, side skirts, and rear diffuser, Honda says that the new car delivers more downforce with less drag and achieves the strongest aero balance of any Type R model ever developed.  

Under the hood is an updated version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine from the previous Type R. Although it’s not particularly exotic (a nearly identical power plant can be found in the engine bay of a 2022 Honda Accord 2.0T), tweaks to the turbocharger design bump the engine’s peak output to 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, making this the most powerful Civic Type R ever produced as well as the most powerful Honda vehicle ever sold in the United States. The reworked engine scores a more robust cooling system with a bigger radiator and a larger diameter fan, and it breathes through a new active exhaust system for a livelier soundtrack. 

Power is sent to the front wheels exclusively through a six-speed manual transmission that can automatically match the engine’s RPM when downshifting for smoother transitions. The gearbox is matched up with a lightweight flywheel to deliver urgent throttle response as well as a new shifter for shorter, more satisfying throws. 

As with its predecessor, a mechanical limited-slip differential is standard equipment in the Type R, as are upgraded brakes with four piston Brembo calipers and 13.8-inch rotors up front. The suspension, meanwhile, is noticeably firmer than a standard Civic in order to provide responsive handling and stability during performance driving maneuvers, but its three-mode adaptive dampers allow the system’s stiffness to range from relatively soft to track-ready. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires are also part of the deal, but if you want even more grip, the track-oriented Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is available as a dealer-installed option as well. 

The interior is still decked out in the Type R’s signature red-and-black motif, but the approach follows the exterior’s newfound sense of aesthetic restraint. New sport seats up front offer more substantial shoulder and thigh bolstering to keep occupants firmly planted when the going gets sporty, but changes to the internal structure are also on hand to enhance body support for better everyday comfort. 

A new 9-inch infotainment display with a Bose audio system is also part of the package. Along with sharper graphics, improved input response, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, the new system offers enhanced real-time telemetry and other performance data through Honda’s LogR software. A Type R-exclusive digital gauge cluster is also on board and offers unique layouts for the Comfort, Sport, and +R driving modes in order to put information that’s relevant to the driving situation front-and-center. 

A dedicated switch on the center console lets you quickly change between those drive modes, while a press of the +R button will immediately set all of the vehicle’s adjustable attributes to their most aggressive settings. The new Type R now includes an Individual drive mode as well, which allows you to create a customized preset rather than being saddled with the default programming of the Comfort, Sport, and +R modes. Want +R throttle response with Comfort’s suspension firmness? You got it. 

Even at a notably more grown-up MSRP of just under $45,000—like the outgoing car, the new Type R is only available in one fully-loaded specification—the Civic Type R is an admirably comprehensive performance package. But what makes it special is how effectively all works together.

Behind the wheel 

In recent weeks we’ve put the new Civic Type R through its paces on-track at Sonoma Raceway and carved corners throughout Napa Valley as well as the Angeles National Forest. We’ve also just used the Type R like a normal, everyday runabout in LA, and the number of cars we’ve tested that can handle all three scenarios as well as this car does could probably be counted on one hand. 

While they lack heating and ventilation features, and also require a bit of extra effort to get into and out of versus its garden-variety counterparts, the sport seats in the new Type R are some of the best we’ve ever sat in. The shoulder and thigh bolsters are aggressive enough to keep the driver and front passenger firmly planted during performance driving maneuvers, yet these chairs also manage to be comfortable enough for extended stints on the road, and finding an agreeable driving position requires minimal fuss despite the relatively limited amount of adjustability available. It’s an impressive feat of design, and it sets the tone for the rest of the driving experience. 

Honda has a well-earned reputation for developing some of the best manual gearbox setups in the industry, and the Civic Type R doesn’t disappoint on this front either. The automaker’s meticulous focus on driver engagement translates to a clutch pedal with just the right amount of resistance to feel substantial, but not taxing, and it’s paired with a shifter that offers satisfying, tactile precision. 

Despite all of the performance-focused engineering found throughout the Type R, what’s immediately impressive is how easy it is to live with on a day-to-day basis. It is, after all, a Civic hatchback, and that means room for five adults and a substantial 24.5 cubic-feet of cargo capacity with the rear seats upright. 

Hard plastics here and there remind us of the base Civic’s $25,000 starting price, but the cabin is generally a pleasant place to spend some time. Both the infotainment system and digital gauge cluster feature sharp, bold graphics that are thoughtfully laid out and easy to read at a glance, and the row of F1-style shift lights that are positioned just above the latter—which come to life as the engine approaches its 7000 RPM redline—are a cool, functional touch. Thankfully, and unlike a number of other automakers in recent years, Honda has also chosen not to abandon physical knobs and buttons in favor of capacitive controls, which often prove to be frustratingly difficult to use on the go. 

While the Type R is happy to operate under the radar with a subdued exhaust note, a compliant ride, and relaxed driving manners not unlike a garden-variety Civic in Comfort mode, switching over to Sport or +R mode reveals its true nature. Its 315hp might not seem like much in a world where 800 horsepower factory-produced muscle cars exist, but in a car that weighs several hundred pounds less than a Porsche 911 Carrera, it’s more than enough grunt to keep things interesting both out on the street and when hunting down apexes on a road course. 

Automakers typically shy away from producing powerful front-wheel drive cars due in part to torque steer, a situation where the tires are pulled off-center—or simply away from the intended path—during hard acceleration. Over the years, engineers across the industry have attempted to correct this issue while retaining a conventional strut front suspension design with limited success, so Honda decided to develop a unique dual axis strut suspension for the Type R in order to properly address the problem. 

By adding a damper fork to the suspension design, Honda separated the steering knuckle from the damper, allowing the components to move separately from one another. The design also improves the suspension’s ability to vary camber, which lets more of the tires’ contact patch stay connected to the road during high-speed cornering, and it benefits the suspension’s caster angle as well. You can dive into the details of how it works here, but the big takeaway is that the dual axis design not only reduces torque steer to the point of being virtually non-existent, it also yields one of the most responsive and communicative high-performance steering systems on the market today—front wheel-drive or otherwise. 

Combined with the gutsy turbocharged engine, satisfying gearbox, and ample stopping power from those big Brembo brakes, this is an immensely entertaining machine when hustled, yet it remains civil enough to be used every day, rain or shine. Although its matured look has brought an elevated cost of entry along with it, the new Civic Type R is one of the most well-balanced performance cars on sale today at any price, and the value of that is hard to overstate. 

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It was just a few short years ago that Chevrolet debuted the first mid-engine version of its venerable all-American Corvette. After more than six decades punctuated with whispers and rumors, the mid-engine ‘Vette was finally a reality, and it was all-new from the ground up for model year 2020. That eighth generation (commonly called C8) Corvette was touted as the quickest one in history, leveraging better weight distribution and improved responsiveness.

Now Chevy has done it again, launching a new sports car on January 17 that shakes up the market. The 2024 Corvette E-Ray is electrified for the first time in the car’s history, moving the General Motors company toward its electrification goals. 

Here’s how we got here.

Seven decades of power

General Motors set hearts aflutter back in 2015 when it filed an application to patent the name E-Ray. Eight years later, the hybrid sports car is finally a reality. In fact, the E-Ray was launched 70 years to the day after the first Corvette prototype debuted at Motorama in New York City on January 17, 1953. Every one of the first batch of Corvettes was white with a red interior, only available with a convertible top.

While the Corvette is best known for its roaring V8, the first ‘Vette was built on a modified passenger car chassis and was propelled by a 3.9-liter inline-six engine called the “Blue Flame.” In 1955, Chevy upped the ante with a 4.3-liter V8 making 195 horsepower paired with a three-speed manual.

[Related: Behind the wheel of the most technically advanced Corvette on the market]

In 1966, the Corvette was the first to get the 427 cubic-inch engine, one of several powertrain options that included a 300-horsepower small-block 327 cubic-inch engine along with the larger 427, which came in 350-, 390-, and 425-horsepower versions. With stats like these, it’s no surprise that the Corvette’s appeal has grown through the decades with everyone from early astronauts like Alan Shepard to President Joe Biden counted as fans.

In 2019, the last year of the front-engine Corvette, the car was available with a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 in 455- and 460-horsepower flavors. The Z06 came with a supercharged version making 650 horsepower and the even fiercer ZR1 was good for 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque. 

As for the forthcoming E-Ray, it pairs the 6.2-liter V8 from the gas-powered mid-engine 2022 model (called Stingray, a term that has been in the Corvette family since the 1960s) with an electric motor for a total power output of 655 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque. This combination gives the E-Ray all-wheel drive, and the brand says the E-Ray is the quickest production Corvette in history, boasting an impressive zero-to-60 miles per hour time of 2.5 seconds.

The E-Ray is a heavyweight 

That very first Corvette weighed less than 2,900 pounds. Over the decades, Chevy’s sports car has steadily gained heft, tipping the scales at about 3,600 pounds in 2020. Electrified powertrains like the one in the E-Ray are heavier than gas-only engines, requiring revised calculations for everything from the frames to the axles to the wheels and tires.

Chevrolet says the coupe version of the E-Ray will weigh in at 3,980 pounds, and the convertible adds 76 pounds for a total of 4,056. That’s a heavyweight sports car, compared to McLaren’s plug-in hybrid Artura at 3,303 pounds. It’s still lighter (and exponentially less expensive) than the ultra-exclusive all-electric $2 million Rimac Nevera, which is 4,750 pounds.

[Related: Strapping into the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray to take turns at 1.3 Gs]

Starting at about $60,000, the reimagined mid-engine 2020 Stingray was a shockingly affordable American stunner. The E-Ray, however, starts at a whopping $104,295 and tops out at $120,000 or more with options. 

While it may not be as destined to be as affordable for the masses as the gas-only Stingray, it still handily beats the price of rivals such as McLaren’s Artura and the Ferrari 296 GTB. Plus, the E-Ray doesn’t require a plug like the McLaren and Ferrari; the E-Ray’s small 1.9-kilowatt battery pack regenerates energy when the car slows and brakes. Unlike an all-electric vehicle, the hybrid E-Ray leans heavily on the gas-powered engine and uses the battery to increase torque and conserve fuel. 

Stealth mode and more

The E-Ray will also have a lower and wider stance; it’s 3.6 inches wider overall than the Stingray and offers a bit more elbow room. Plus, the tech of the new electric motor will affect how this iconic vehicle sounds.

Believe it or not, the delightful roar of a V8 isn’t music to everyone’s ears. When in hybrid mode, the Corvette will retain its distinctive growl. However, those who prefer a less-flashy approach in the neighborhood will appreciate Stealth Mode, which is a quiet all-electric drive mode that operates up to 45 miles per hour (let’s hope that doesn’t surprise pedestrians). 

EVs are quiet by nature, but automakers like Ford have created ways to make gas-powered vehicles quieter as well. You might remember the debut of Ford’s “Good Neighbor Mode” on the 2018 Mustang, which muffled the muscle car’s voice by adapting the active exhaust function.

As the US continues to explore new ways to bolster the EV infrastructure in terms of charging stations and alternate energy, the E-Ray is timed perfectly. While this iteration doesn’t ever need to be charged because it’s a hybrid, we expect to see an all-electric version next. 

In the meantime, expect to see the 2024 Corvette E-Ray available for sale later this year.

The post Chevy’s first electrified Corvette, the E-Ray, is a heavyweight built to be quick appeared first on Popular Science.

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Colorado State University freshman Danika Fickler has drag racing in her blood—and her name. Her middle name, Carrera, is Spanish for “race,” and it was given to her by her drag-racing champion parents. Fickler’s father, Kyle, notched his most recent National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) win in 2019 at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas and her mother, Debra, won her class at the same track from 2005 to 2007. In many ways, that track is their home. Kyle and Debra even honeymooned there, and now Danika Fickler is making a name for herself in the family business.

If you’re a drag racing fan, you’re familiar with a variety of vehicles on the strip in 75 classes from street roadsters, to souped-up sedans, coupes, trucks, and more. All of it is governed by the NHRA, which sets the rules for drag racing at facilities across North America. That includes Fickler’s home track, Heartland. 

Here’s a look at Fickler’s career so far as well as the Blazer’s history—and the tech that makes it go. 

400 horsepower (or more)

Piloting a 1986 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, Fickler, who is 19 years old, spent part of her senior year of high school racing. Heartland Motorsports Park started a new High School Points class two years ago, and she signed up, eager to continue her trajectory as a racer. She and the Blazer found their way to an NHRA championship event in September of last year as she finished out her season and got ready to start college, so it’s been a great vehicle for her. But what really makes it special is that Fickler bought it from her godmother Beth Hyatt, a fixture in the drag racing scene herself.

Hyatt’s husband Tim, who died in 2015, had built out the Blazer with all the muscle it needed to be a hot rod. While the body, brakes, and fuel tank are original, just about everything else is built with aftermarket parts, including its powerful small-block 355-cubic-inch Chevy V8 racing engine.

[Related: This Florida teen is making a business out of rebuilding old-school auto tech]

The 1986 Chevy S-10 Blazer wasn’t born to be a track monster. It was originally built with a 2.8-liter overhead-valve V6 making 125 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque, which is a far cry from what Fickler’s drag racer gets with its 400-hp replacement engine. That horsepower figure is an educated guess, Fickler tells PopSci, because the engine has never been measured on a dynamometer. (A dynamometer, or “dyno” for short, measures torque, which allows for the calculation of horsepower with a standard formula: torque times revolutions per minute divided by 5,252.) 

It’s sturdy, too, and Fickler has learned to trust the vehicle and herself. 

“The only time [we almost] crashed the Blazer was when my dad and I first took it out to the track,” she says. “Other than that, I’ve felt the car break on me once and it had to sit for two months. It was scary to get back in the car because I didn’t want something to make the car break again. It’s a thing where you get in the car and pray, ‘Please shift, please shift.”

Even more important, Fickler learned how to take the laws on regular roads that exist for safety very seriously. When she was racing quarter midgets (a one-quarter-scale version of a midget race car, which is in itself a tiny car) and then junior dragsters as a kid, she practiced controlling the car in various situations to avoid potential mishaps. 

“You see so much bad stuff happening to other people [on the roads],” she said. “Speeding at ridiculous high speeds is dangerous, and there is ten times more danger doing that on regular roads.” 

The psychology of drag racing

Not everyone can be born into a racing family, and Danika encourages anyone with an interest to try it. She’s seen people show up at test and tune events (those are basically open call opportunities for anyone to try drag racing for fun) at Heartland and they get hooked. 

“It may seem complicated, at first,” she said. “If you’re not born into it, you might think it’s hard,  but the drag racing community is so helpful. If you indicate you need assistance, someone will help you.” 

For Fickler’s races, the vehicles line up at the staging area each with a “dialed” time that predicts the amount of time it will take for that car to complete a straight-line quarter mile. The cars don’t have to have the same dialed time; if one car is predicted to be slower, it starts first and the other jumps off the line after the difference has elapsed. 

“You’re either chasing or being chased,” Fickler told the Wall Street Journal last year. “If you go quicker than your dialed time, you are disqualified. So you want to beat the other person by the smallest margin possible. In order to do that, you are working both the gas and the brakes.”

After 10 years of motorsports, Fickler isn’t planning to stop any time soon. Now that she has her diploma and finished out the season that she started during her senior year of high school, she can no longer compete in the High School class. She is planning to get her Super Gas license, which means she’ll be able to race what the NHRA describes as “primarily full-bodied cars and street roadsters,” using electronic timers and throttle stops to “run as close to the class standard without going under.”

That means her 55,000-mile Blazer will be retired soon, but it’s staying in the family. Currently, the market for mid-80s Blazers is hot, but it’s special to the Fickler clan—so it’s not going anywhere. Meanwhile, Fickler is pursuing a degree in psychology, which might sound like an odd choice for a racing enthusiast until she notes that both of her parents were lawyers and drag racers at the same time. The college student is planning to come home to Topeka to race at Heartland to hone her skills and stay competitive while exploring new tracks across the country. 

“I was racing the three same guys over and over again,” Danika said. “The class will be much bigger for me, with more rounds. One of the biggest things I learned is that you don’t plan to win a race, you plan to win a round.”

In September, Fickler won an NHRA championship event and finished second in points for the season. 

The post Meet the college freshman who races a souped-up Chevy Blazer and studies psych appeared first on Popular Science.

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Despite the rapid rise in vehicles’ collision avoidance systems (CASs) like radar, LiDAR, and self-driving software, nighttime navigation remains a particularly hazardous endeavor. While only a quarter of time behind the wheel takes place after the sun sets, an estimated 50 percent of all traffic fatalities occur during this time. Knowing this, the natural inclination for many researchers might be to develop increasingly complex—and, by extension, energy hogging—CAS advancements, but one recent study points towards a literal bug-brained method to improve safety for everyone on roadways.

As detailed in new research published in ACS Nano from a team at Penn State, insects like locusts and houseflies provide the key inspiration behind the new novel collision prevention programming. Many current systems rely on real-time image analysis of a car’s surroundings, but the accuracy is often severely diminished by low-light or rainy conditions. LiDAR and radar tech can solve some of these issues, but at a hefty cost to both literal weight and energy consumption.

[Related: What’s going on with self-driving cars right now?]

Commonplace bugs, however, don’t need advanced neural networks or machine learning to avoid bumping into one another mid-flight. Instead, they use comparatively simple, highly energy efficient, obstacle-avoiding neural circuitry to navigate during travel. Taking this into account, the Penn State researchers devised a new algorithm based on the bugs’ neural circuits reliant on a single variable—car headlight intensity—for its reactions. Because of this, developers could combine the detection and processing units into a much smaller, less energy consuming device.

“Smaller” is perhaps a bit of an understatement. The new, photosensitive “memtransistor” circuit measures only 40-square micrometers (µm) of an “atomically thin” construction comprised of molybdenum disulfide. What’s more, the memtransistor needs only a few hundred picojoules of energy—tens of thousands of times less power than current cars’ CASs require.

[Related: Self-driving EVs use way more energy than you’d think.]

Real-life nighttime scenario testing showed little, if any, sacrifice in the ability to detect potential collisions. While employed, the insect-inspired circuits alerted drivers to possible two-car accidents with between two- and three-second lead times, giving drivers enough time to course correct as needed. Researchers argue that by integrating the new bug-brained circuitry into existing CAS systems, vehicle manufacturers could soon offer far less bulky, more energy efficient evening travel safety protocols. Unfortunately and perhaps ironically, however, the study fails to mention any novel way to avoid those inspirational bugs smacking into your windshield while on the highway.

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Last December, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles as part of its Clean Trucks Plan, clean air regulations that aim to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHG) and pollutants from the transportation sector. This new rule is the first time pollution standards for buses, semi-trucks, and commercial delivery trucks have been updated in more than 20 years.

The main focus of the new standards is nitrogen oxides (NOx), irritant gasses released by gasoline and diesel engines. Regulations tackling the reduction of other GHG emissions (like carbon dioxide and methane) would follow in the spring, EPA Administrator Michael Regan told The New York Times. Revised GHG standards for all heavy-duty vehicles might not start until the model year 2030.

When heavy-duty vehicles emit NOx, they “react in the atmosphere to form pollutants like fine particulate matter and ozone,” says Noelle Eckley Selin, professor in the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “These pollutants are damaging to human health, as they lead to cardiovascular and respiratory issues.”

[Related: The EPA wants more ‘renewable’ fuel. But what does that actually mean?]

Heavy-duty vehicles contribute about 23 percent of GHG emissions from the transportation sector, making them the second-largest contributor only behind light-duty vehicles like cars. New vehicles, starting with the model year 2027, are required to comply with the updated clean air standards. The EPA says the new regulations are more than 80 percent stronger than the current ones, which also cover a broader range of the vehicle’s operating conditions.

For instance, NOx emissions are high when vehicles idle or operate in stop-and-go traffic—so-called low-load conditions that aren’t subject to current emission standards. Yet these low-load operations are estimated to account for most of the vehicle’s NOx emissions during a typical workday, which is why the scope of the new standards will include them as well. The new rule also requires manufacturers to make sure that emission control systems function properly and aren’t prone to tampering by the drivers.

According to the EPA, the new rule can reduce the NOx emissions of heavy-duty vehicles by 48 percent in 2045. By then, the agency expects the pollution reduction to have provided substantial health benefits, resulting in 18,000 fewer cases of childhood asthma, 3.1 million fewer cases of asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms, and 78,000 fewer lost days of work.

Emission reduction in the transportation sector would not only reduce health burden, but also support environmental justice and equity, says Eri Saikawa, associate professor of environmental sciences at Emory University. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles cause a disproportionate impact on people of color and low-income communities because they are more likely to live or attend school near major roadways, resulting in greater-than-average exposures to these pollutants.

[Related: Urban sprawl defines unsustainable cities, but it can be undone.]

To mitigate air pollution and climate change, Saikawa emphasizes the need to also reduce emissions of black carbon, a short-lived but potent climate pollutant that heavy-duty vehicles produce as well. It is not yet clear if black carbon emissions would be addressed in the updated EPA regulations to come.

Even though air pollution in the US has significantly improved over the past decades, Selin says it remains harmful at current levels. Additional policies, especially those striving for net zero goals, would have plenty of potential to reduce other aspects of air pollution. “Efficiency improvements and emissions reductions will be important, but ultimately addressing the impacts of climate change and air pollution together will require zero-emission alternatives,” she adds.

The White House has major federal actions in place that will accelerate and advance the use of clean heavy-duty vehicles. The production of new technologies like zero-emission heavy-duty trucks is also expected to increase in the near future, helping support the effectiveness of the Clean Trucks Plan.

“This is a difficult sector to decarbonize, and this will require innovations in technology as well as new policy actions,” says Selin. Coordinated efforts to tackle the sector’s environmental impacts, she adds, will be vital to ensure those affected by air pollution receive the “greatest possible benefit.”

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Truly self-driving cars are still at least a few years down the road—but if the day does come when the software becomes a de facto means of navigation, a new study indicates it’s going to need to be much more energy efficient. If not, autopilot features could ostensibly neutralize any self-driving electric vehicles’ environmental benefits. According to a new study from researchers at MIT, statistical modeling indicates the potential energy consumption needed to power a near-future global fleet of autopiloted EVs would generate as much greenhouse gas as all of the world’s current data centers combined.

The physical locales which house the massive computer arrays powering the world’s countless applications today generate about 0.3 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions—roughly the annual amount of carbon produced by Argentina. Researchers estimated this level would be reached from the self-driving tech in 1 billion autonomous vehicles, each driving just one hour per day. For comparison, there are currently around 1.5 billion cars on the world’s roads.

[Related: Tesla is under federal investigation over autopilot claims.]

Researchers also found that in over 90 percent of the models generated, EV computers would need to use less than 1.2 kilowatts of computing power just to keep within today’s realm of data center emissions, something we simply cannot achieve with current hardware efficiencies. For example, in another statistical model analyzing a scenario in which 95 percent of all vehicles are autonomous by 2050 alongside computational workloads doubling every 3 years, cars’ hardware efficiencies would need to essentially double every year to keep emissions within those same levels. In comparison, the decades’ long accepted industry rate known as Moore’s Law states that computational power doubles every two or so years—a timeframe that is expected to eventually slow down, not accelerate.

The parameters for such scenarios—how many cars are on the roads, how long they are traveling, their onboard computing power and energy requirements, etc—might seem relatively clear , but there are numerous unforeseen ramifications to also consider. Autonomous vehicles could spend more time on roads while people multitask, for example, and they could actually spur additional demographics to add to traffic, such as both younger and older populations. Then there’s the issue of trying to model for hardware and software that doesn’t yet exist.

And then there are the neural networks to consider.

[Related: Tesla driver blames self-driving mode for eight-car pileup.]

MIT notes that semi-autonomous vehicles already rely on popular algorithms such as a “multitask deep neural network” to navigate travel using numerous high-resolution cameras feeding constant, real-time information to its system. In one situation, researchers estimated that if an autonomous vehicle used 10 deep neural networks analyzing imagery from 10 cameras while driving just a single hour, it would generate 21.6 million inferences per day. Extrapolate that for 1 billion vehicles, and you get… 21.6 quadrillion inferences. 

“To put that into perspective, all of Facebook’s data centers worldwide make a few trillion inferences each day (1 quadrillion is 1,000 trillion),” explains MIT.

Suffice to say, these are serious hurdles that will need clearing if the automotive industry wants to continue its expansions into self-driving technology. EVs are key to our sustainable future, but self-driving versions  could end up adding to the energy crisis.

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There are a multitude of wonderful aspects about electric vehicles—they have a low carbon footprint, are pretty easy to maintain compared to gas guzzlers, and affordable options seem to be expanding. But, just like most solutions, they come with drawbacks—when an EV gets in a crash, it can be more expensive and more destructive than a typical accident. 

One reason why an EV crash can be so disastrous is their weight. To get an electric car from place to place requires energy that utilizes batteries. And for cars that can handle a lot of range and power, those batteries add up. For instance, a GMC Hummer EV weighs over 9,000 pounds, around 2,900 of which is just batteries. Similar distinctions exist between the electric and ICE (internal combustion engine) versions of the Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, Volvo XC40 EV, and RAV4 EV. These electric versions may have lost the need for gasoline—but they’ve taken on some serious weight in return.  

The startling difference between EVs and their ICE counterparts was the focus of a keynote speech at the Transportation Research Board annual meeting on Wednesday from National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy.

“The U.S. transportation sector accounts for the largest portion of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and I firmly believe it is a human right to breathe clean air,” she said. “But we have to be careful that we aren’t also creating unintended consequences: more death on our roads.”​  

[Related: The 3 most exciting automotive reveals from CES 2023]

These concerns aren’t particularly new, at least when it comes to concerns about heavy vehicles in general. As far back as 2011 Michael Anderson, a University of California professor of economics, published a study that found that being hit by a car 1,000 lbs heavier than your own results in a 47 percent increase in the probability of your fatality. 

Nowadays, when there are not only big cars but big electric cars on the road, it can be worrisome for drivers in small cars, whether they are electric or gasoline powered. “What matters is less the average weight than the heterogeneity,” Anderson told Bloomberg last year. “There could be a window where it’s pretty unsafe to be driving (small, gas-powered vehicles) and getting into multi-vehicle accidents.”

Research is already underway to make EV batteries lighter, denser, and safer. Nevertheless, it’s crucial that policymakers, corporations, and consumers are aware of the risks that EVs pose to everyone on the road.

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Government incentives might encourage you to add another goal to your new year’s resolutions in 2023: reducing your carbon footprint. Starting this year, Americans can take advantage of a stream of tax credits to make their homes, cars, and businesses more sustainable thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The new legislation narrowly passed Congress after a lengthy political battle in the Senate last August. Considered one of President Biden’s signature achievements, the $440 billion package provides money for clean energy and lowers drug costs for older people, among other things. The government plans to pay for the credits through raising taxes on corporations that make over $1 billion in profit per year, taxing stock buybacks and investing in the Internal Revenue Services to catch tax cheats. If all works out as planned, the package will actually bring in $300 billion extra dollars, which will go towards paying off government debt.

Climate policy experts like Rachel Cleetus, the policy director for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, see the IRA as the stimulus the country needs to make America’s energy infrastructure more sustainable, even if it’s just an initial step to meeting emission reduction goals. Cleetus says the law is the culmination of years of work.

“It’s a moment of relief, more than anything else,” she says. “Clean energy is already so competitive in the marketplace, here in the US and around the world, and this will really tip the scales in favor of accelerating that momentum around renewable energy, wind, solar, etc.”

With a receipt and tax form, consumers can save up to thousands of dollars on everything from electric cars to solar panels to two-pane windows. As you take stock of your sustainability resolutions this year, review how to apply for IRA credits.

“By being proactive, consumers can have a plan to make the most cost-effective upgrades for their specific housing and local policy circumstances once IRA funding is made available,” says Dan Esposito, a senior policy analyst at the an energy and climate policy think tank, Energy Innovation.

What are the tax credits?

There are two main buckets of credits you might qualify for: electric vehicle credits and home improvement credits. The first is purchasing an electric vehicle. To reap maximum benefits from the credits, you’ll want to make sure that it complies with a long list of technical and trade manufacturing requirements, like making sure the vehicle’s final assembly was in a US facility. 

Consumers should pay special attention to electric vehicle credits because they will most likely give buyers “the biggest bang for their buck,” Esposito wrote in an email to PopSci. A new electric vehicle can qualify for up to a $7,500 credit and used vehicles could be $4,000. (You can find more details about IRA tax credits from electric vehicles in our guide.) 

“The tax credits for electric vehicles are generally most impactful in terms of reducing one’s climate footprint, as the average US passenger vehicle emits roughly 60 percent more greenhouse gases than the average US home using natural gas,” he says. “However, the [exact] climate benefit depends on several factors, such as the vehicle you currently have (hybrid vs. gas guzzler), how often you drive, the climate you live in, and your home’s insulation,” Esposito writes.  

[Related: Check before you buy: Here are the new EVs that qualify for the clean vehicle tax credit]

The second bucket of IRA credits can be collected by reducing your home’s emissions through switching to renewable energy and making it more energy efficient. Consumers can save money on a range of products designed to reduce their home’s reliance on fossil fuels. You can get money for putting a solar panel on your roof. You can also get money from buying energy efficient products like two-pane windows that better insulate your house. You can also receive a $300 tax credit for purchasing a heat pump, instead of the typical furnace or energy inefficient air conditioners that most Americans own. 

If you plan to replace both the furnace and an air conditioning unit, then the tax credit for heat pumps could be worthwhile as well. How much you actually get back in credits, however, will vary from house to house—wiring might need to be upgraded or a heat pump designed to tolerate colder climates. “The timing of when these credits will become available will vary by state, with state energy offices set to play the dominant role in facilitating their rollout,” Esposito writes. “In the meantime, homeowners can assess the state of their house to determine which upgrades to seek out in the coming years.”

While renters might be locked out of some credits that require home ownership, they are still eligible for many incentives. It might be worth it to make the long-term investments if they plan to stay in their rental space for a year or more, Cleetus says.

[Related: How heat pumps can help fight global warming]

“The question for renters is obviously, how long are you going to be in a place? And is that something that you and your landlord want to split the cost?” she says. “In some cases, you can recoup the cost within a year, so even if you’re renting for just a year, it might make sense to do it.”

For example, it might make sense to purchase a more energy efficient air conditioner that will save you money on heating and cooling bills in the long run. And with the insulation-related tax credits, you can recoup the cost faster, perhaps in a year or two, than you would otherwise, according to Cleetus.

What to know before filing for the credits

Consumers should research what tax credits they can take advantage of before they buy any green products, says Susan Allen, senior manager for tax practice and ethics with the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants (CPA). 

The amount of money you get will differ depending on your income, the number of dependents you have, and if you rent or own your home, so it’s important to do your research before buying anything that could have a tax credit or an upfront discount, Cleetus and Allen say.

“Planning before you buy helps you make the most informed decision on the ultimate savings you can accomplish,” Allen says. “If you can work with a CPA tax or financial planner, wonderful. They can help guide you and maybe save a lot of time and headache while you might be trying to navigate it.”

One of the best ways to make sure you can cash in on the credits is to ask the manufacturer before you make a purchase, Allen says. Car dealers will be aware of which vehicles qualify for the credits and appliance companies that manufacture electric stoves or other green products will likely know how much you can save. 

Cleetus says stores should start adopting labels that indicate if a product is eligible for tax credits. “That’s the kind of thing that will be really impactful, so that people don’t have to search,” she says. 

[Related: The Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS could kick US climate policy back into action]

If you don’t have an accountant, you can also take advantage of a number of government guides, Allen and Cleetus say. Consumers can refer to the White House’s interactive clean energy website, which helps users determine what credits are available to them. The Department of Energy published a list of the credits people can save specifically on green energy and energy-efficient household appliances. The Internal Revenue Services details the cars eligible for electric vehicle credits. For those who want a more thorough breakdown of the credits, the White House also published a 183-page guidebook. And further guidance is still coming out, Cleetus says. 

And while the tax credits can help you save money on clean energy investments, the IRA doesn’t quite live up to what the country promised during global climate negotiations.The US pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030. The package aims to reduce emissions by about 40 percent. “It’s not enough, for sure. From a science perspective, we know we have to go further, faster,” Cleetus says. 

Still, the IRA is a vital step in accelerating the nationwide transition to clean energy infrastructure. “It’s important to think about this in a holistic way,” Cleetus says. “These tax credits will go a long way towards many, many households lowering their carbon footprint. But they’re also part of a broader system that has to shift.”

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Hurricane Ian caused billions of dollars in damage when it hit Florida in the fall of 2022. Along with $112 billion in damages, 152 fatalities, and countless uprooted lives, the fallout included at least 12 electric vehicle fires caused from lithium-ion batteries coming into contact with saltwater flooding in from the ocean. Unlike standard fires, however, these battery blazes require a significant amount more water to quell them due to their unique chemical reactions, with the International Association of Fire Chiefs suggesting somewhere between 3,000 and 8,000 gallons of sustained dousing.

It’s an unfortunate downside to EVs’ lithium-ion power sources, especially as coastal flooding increasingly becomes the norm, but a promising new alternative could one day be available to carmakers. Thanks to novel breakthroughs at the University of Central Florida electric cars could one day embrace saltwater instead of avoiding it entirely.

[Related: Rain, storms, and mudslides batter California.]

A research team at UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center recently unveiled a new form of aqueous battery that replaces lithium-ion batteries’ notoriously volatile, extremely flammable organic solvents with actual saltwater. What’s more, the new EV power source detailed in the team’s study published in Nature Communications appears to be safer, faster charging, and pack just as much punch as existing batteries.

Saltwater is a death sentence for traditional lithium-ion setups, corroding and subsequently short circuiting the battery, which can then interact with internal solvents to cause fires. By utilizing a saline solution’s metal ions (including potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium) as the battery’s liquid electrolytes, however, UCF’s new design proved much more stable while also charging faster than its lithium-ion competition.

[Related: The 3 most exciting automotive reveals from CES 2023.]

Aqueous batteries aren’t a new concept, but until now they’ve shown themselves to be extremely unstable and liable to form minute, corrosive metallic structures known as dendrites. The team’s new battery, however, relies on a “forest-like” 3D zinc-copper anode design containing a thin zinc-oxide protective layer. This nano-engineered covering allowed scientists to precision control the electrochemical reactions for increased stability and charging capabilities.

The result, says research lead Yang Yang, an associate professor at UCF, is a potentially revolutionary battery to “remain safe even if they are used improperly or are flooded in saltwater.” While it is still likely a while until we start seeing Ford F-150 Lightning trucks barreling down flooded roads thanks to aqueous saltwater batteries, the new innovations could soon address one of lithium-ion batteries’ most concerning hazards, thus encouraging the rapidly-approaching EV transition. 

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On January 6, the Department of Defense announced it was going to send 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The long-awaited move comes amidst a flurry of announcements from NATO nations about sending armored vehicles to Ukraine, as the country’s fight against the Russian invasion lurches inevitably towards its second year. 

The Bradley is an armored transport, with tracks and a small turret. It is tank-like in appearance, though the Bradley’s gun is much smaller than what’s mounted on a main battle tank like the M1 Abrams fielded by the US military. Its inclusion in the aid package comes after public calls from Ukraine’s President Zelensky for countries to send them high-end military equipment, including tanks.

“It’s not a tank, but it’s a tank killer,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon Press Secretary, said at a press conference on January 5. “A Bradley is an armored vehicle that has a firepower capability that can deliver troops into combat.  So, again, it will provide a significant boost to Ukraine’s already impressive armor capabilities.  And we’re confident that it will aid them on the battlefield.”

[Related: Ukraine is getting upgraded Soviet T-72B tanks]

In the January 6 announcement of US aid to Ukraine, the 50 Bradley vehicles share a line with 500 TOW anti-tank missiles, as well as 250,000 rounds of 25mm ammunition. The TOW, an acronym that originally stood for “Tube Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided” and now stands for the “Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wireless-guided” missile, is a kind of anti-tank missile that often is mounted on the side of Bradley turrets. This is the primary weapon to be used against tanks, and has been for decades. 

The 25mm ammunition, fired by the Bradley’s 25mm Bushmaster cannon, means that a Bradley can destroy targets like light vehicles, walls, and even helicopters. The weapon can fire armor-piercing ammunition, giving it some ability to fight with the gun against heavier armor, though that is at best a secondary use. Bradleys can sometimes fire ammunition using depleted uranium penetrators, which can punch through armor and also carry long-term environmental and health risk to civilians who might encounter them after the battle, especially if the rounds have not been properly disposed of.

Beyonds its weaponry, the Bradley can carry six or seven passengers inside. Dismounted, those soldiers can fight in support of the vehicle, before loading up and driving away as needed.

War of maneuver

One way to understand the Bradley is not in relation to tanks, which outclass it in firepower, but compared to the vehicle it was designed to replace. The M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, first introduced in 1960, were designed as a “battle taxi,” or a way to get soldiers where they needed to be to fight. The M113s were initially outfitted with machine guns, but unlike the sturdy cannon and missiles of a Bradley, the M113 was not designed to fight on its own in battle. Instead, the role of the M113 was to carry troops quickly to where they needed to disembark and fight.

The M113 is still in service today, and the Pentagon announced the aid to Ukraine would include 100 M113 APCs, alongside the 50 Bradleys provided. The M113 needs a crew of two to operate, and can carry 11 soldiers and their gear in addition to that. While a modest difference from the Bradley’s passenger capacity, it can add up: The 50 M113s can carry 550 soldiers, while 50 Bradleys can at best transport 350 troops.

[Related: What the future holds for the Army’s venerable Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle]

In addition to the Bradleys and the M113s, the same aid package includes 55 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs. These machines, used heavily by the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, are big troop transports with V-shaped hulls, capable of deflecting the explosive blast from roadside bombs into injuries instead of immediate deaths. Landmines, common across the war, have been exacerbated by the risk of unexploded weapons fired across the battlefield. MRAPS provide a way for Ukraine to more safely move forces across those hazards.

Rounding out the mobility aid portion of the package, the Department of Defense aims to provide 138 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), popularly known as Humvees. These are light transports, which move soldiers quickly and can cross terrain, like marshes or rocky fields, that may trap heavier vehicles.

[Related: The Army’s new light tank can venture where its beefier cousins can’t]

Tanks are a threat in combat in part because they require specialized equipment, like massive cannons or anti-tank missiles to destroy. But one major way to limit the impact of heavy armor is to launch fast offensives where the tanks aren’t, and then make sure anti-tank weapons are in place before a counter-offensive. Bradleys, with TOW missiles, offer added punch. The combined fleet of MRAPs, M113s, and Humvees supporting the Bradleys ensures that Ukrainian forces will have greater freedom of movement. 

While the United States is not at this moment providing Ukraine with heavy armor to fight heavy armor, it is preparing the aforementioned slew of vehicles that let Ukraine pick when and where to fight battles. 

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ON A GOOD DAY, assuming decent weather, little traffic, and skills behind the wheel, a cab ride from John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens to downtown Manhattan should take about 45 minutes. Yet who can reliably predict New York City traffic? That trip could last twice as long on a bad day.

Now assume you could avoid the streets entirely and get to lower Manhattan in minutes. By some estimates, more than 200 startups are racing to deploy what popular culture has dubbed flying cars. And, by their admittedly optimistic estimates, there’s a chance that the 45-minute drive on pavement from JFK will be converted to a 10-minute flight through the air by the end of this decade.

Leaders in the quest to make cabs airborne believe everyday passengers at places like airports will exchange treks on four wheels for sorties through the skies. “Being able to fly over traffic and reach your destination in a much more predictable time will be very appealing,” says John Criezis, head of mobility operations for Overair, a California-based maker of flying taxis. Market studies commissioned by NASA predict that by 2030, as many as 750 million flights will ferry passengers to and from destinations near or within US cities each year.

So let’s be glass-half-full and assume companies overcome the pervasive technical challenges of air taxis: updating hundred-year-old flight controls, manufacturing durable carbon-fiber structures, crafting designs capable of vertical and forward flight, developing batteries that last a long time and don’t overheat. (Oh, and getting clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration.) On top of that, there still remains another puzzling question. How will we manage all this new traffic in the sky?

In the search for answers, it helps to first consider what the fleet will look like. Regardless of what midcentury Popular Science may have promised us (er, sorry), these will not be family sedans that soar to Grandma’s house. Many of the proposed aircraft feature a fixed wing with multiple rotors that pivot for takeoff and landing. These lithium-battery-powered electric VTOLs—aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing—are meant to flip the script on traditional public transportation. “We intend to function…as an aerial ride-sharing service, to move people in and around our cities,” says Andrew Cummins, director of strategy and business development at Archer Aviation. For that to work, VTOLs will need places to land and corridors through which to fly.

Initially, Archer, Overair, and many of their counterparts expect to use existing infrastructure. They hope to rent space at some of the 5,000 public-use airports and heliports in the US. Pick any big city, and the idea is the same: Land at the airport and walk outside, past the rows of wheeled taxis, to a VTOL waiting to speed you to a helipad atop some downtown edifice mere blocks from your meeting. (And vice versa.) Last October, air-taxi company Joby Aviation announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Delta Air Lines to ferry flyers this way in NYC and Los Angeles.

Eventually, cities will also need dedicated landing and parking areas for fleets of VTOLs—known in the biz as vertiports. Situated on the top floors of parking garages or in large parking lots, these are the spots where 6,000-pound VTOLs will recharge, be maintained, and take off.

Suchithra Rajendran, a professor of systems engineering at the University of Missouri, has spent the last five years mapping out how such a network might look in the Big Apple. By analyzing two years’ worth of taxi data—both the number of voyages taken and the pickup and drop-off points—Rajendran’s model recommends 17 vertiports, with 84 VTOLs flying among them. Assuming four passengers per flight, that adds up to 6,500 riders making 1,600 trips every day.

Models from air-taxi companies also assume a big market. In huge cities like NYC and LA, where drivers make roughly 50 million trips every day, they project that there are perhaps 5 million riders who would be better served by VTOLs.

Figuring out the choreography of where all those flying contraptions will go is currently the job of Brock Lascara, a systems engineer at MITRE, a nonprofit research org funded by the FAA. For starters, you won’t see them zipping between buildings, he says: Cruising altitudes will reach a couple of thousand feet, which is what’s necessary to hit optimal speeds of 150 miles per hour. At the same time, the taxis can’t contest existing controlled airspace (up to 10,000 feet above sea level) intended for passenger jets during takeoff. Lascara adds that specific urban corridors—VTOL-only pathways near airports and through cities—will have to be established. Those avenues will let airliners know where commuter birds will be and let VTOL pilots know where they can, and can’t, fly.

Still, no one wants to trade congestion on the street for gridlock in the sky, which means there’s another problem to be worked out. “A big constraint point is the vertiports themselves,” says Lascara. One way around the potential commotion is through a technique called vectoring. Already used in air traffic control, it would send various VTOLs, all jockeying for landing space, on different routes to the same destinations. One craft might fly in a straight line while another swoops in a semicircle, providing enough time for the first one to land, drop off passengers, and take off again before the other needs to touch down.

Zooming so close to an urban grid will also create its own aerodynamic complications. That’s why Lascara’s counterpart, systems engineer Mike Robinson, is involved in his own MITRE project to predict how turbulent winds created by the canyons between buildings might affect flight. By running a simulator called JOULES—Joint Outdoor-Indoor Urban Large Eddy Simulation—Robinson’s team has been able to map out the wind hazards in places like Atlantic City, Chicago, and swaths of NYC. That data could help nail down where to situate vertiports so buffeting breezes don’t rattle a VTOL as it comes in for landing.

As for what to do when a storm blows in? “The weather’s the weather,” Robinson says, shrugging. We might find that there are many days when a flying taxi just can’t get airborne. The good news? Unlike when an airplane is grounded, we still have an alternative—if we can bear the traffic.

This story originally appeared in the High Issue of Popular Science. Read more PopSci+ stories.

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The annual Consumer Electronics Show may be known as a venue for tech companies to show off gadgets like folding screens, smart watches, televisions, and even random gizmos like a “Smart Hose Timer.” But CES is also a place for automakers to reveal how they’re embracing technology, too. A few rose to the top with high-profile launches that caught our eye. These are the three unveilings we thought were the most fascinating.

Ram Revolution electric truck concept

The biggest automotive moment from the show may well have been the splashy reveal of the much-anticipated Ram Revolution, an all-electric pickup truck. Ford is already selling its Lightning EV and Chevrolet’s Silverado EV will go on sale this spring, so while it may seem that Ram is catching up, it appears that it may be right on time in the grand scheme of things.  

President and chief analyst at AutoPacific Ed Kim says the importance of the Ram Revolution, the truckmaker’s first EV, can’t be overstated for the North American market. Kim was on the show floor at CES and saw the launch in person. 

“In the EV world, there is so much discussion about EV pickups,” Kim says. “We have already seen Ford and GM’s EV trucks, and we’ve been waiting to see what Ram would come up with. Yes, the Revolution is a concept, but the brand did have a real production frame on the show floor. It’s more than a flight of fancy.” 

Ram’s gas-powered 1500 pickup received a major overhaul a few years back, with the brand inserting its excellent UConnect infotainment system into the new model with a large optional screen. The electric Revolution concept took that a step further with not just one but two 14.2-inch displays, and the lower screen can be removed to use as a separate tablet when the truck is parked. 

The body style also showcased the possibilities of what can be done with EVs when designers don’t have to work around massive engines that take up a lot of space. “Here’s a truck you can use to carry an 18-foot pole or log with a pass-through from the nose to the tailgate,” Kim said. “What’s interesting about that feature is that it really does demonstrate just how much an EV car or truck can change the basic architecture of a vehicle. In an ICE vehicle, you can’t run something through the truck. Electric motors are miniscule compared to an engine, and you can do a lot with that.”

The Revolution features three rows, with highly configurable second- and third-row seats. Its extra-long cab allows a limo-like experience when the second row is pushed back or when more passengers need to ride along, all three rows can be pressed into service. Fully independent rear suspension is a step above where it is now. It should drive more like a big, nice SUV than a pickup truck after it goes on sale in 2024.

BMW i Vision Dee

Ram wasn’t the only automaker making waves at the show. BMW showed off a flashy concept car called i Vision Dee (that last word stands for “Digital Emotional Experience”) featuring a color-changing exterior. Working with company E Ink, BMW had the i Vision Dee covered in 240 different panel segments that can alter the appearance of the car into 32 available hues, controlled by a smartphone. 

“With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showcasing what is possible when hardware and software merge,” BMW Group chairman Oliver Zipse said.

Last year at this time, BMW unveiled a similar concept exterior with comparatively limited capabilities. The concept from last year could only change from white to black to gray, laminating the body of the car with an electrophoretic film (which separates charged molecules) containing “microcapsules the diameter of a human hair,” BMW said. As the company explained it, each capsule contains differently charged particles which become visible when an electric field is applied. 

Beyond the wild exterior, the BMW i Vision Dee showcased a virtual dashboard that displayed on the windshield instead of the usual spot and integrated that with virtual reality. It also debuted a new voice assistant, Dee, that operates more like an artificial reality bot than a simple voice  command prompt. 

While it’s unlikely the i Vision Dee will become a production car, BMW still hopes to draw attention to one of its new EVs and to its vision for future technology.

Volkswagen debuts the ID.7

Fans of the Passat were crushed that Volkswagen discontinued the gas-powered sedan, and the ID.7 is the German brand’s peace offering in the form of an EV. It also serves as hopefully a better follow-up to the electric ID.4, which has been plagued with software challenges that have prevented the brand from dominating the EV segment in ways it hoped. The ID.7 is six inches longer than the now-defunct Passat, with a higher roofline that shows echoes of Mercedes-Benz’s EV lineup. 

Interestingly, the new ID.7 is a sedan like the Passat, which bucks the crossover/SUV trend automakers have followed in recent years. 

“The last 10-15 years has seen the sedan market decline dramatically and people want more crossovers,” Kim said. “You can see the details and proportions of the ID.7, and it looks like a traditional sedan. I do think it is important to point out that even though consumers have been less interested in sedans than SUVs, in the EV universe we have seen one particular product that bucked that trend—and that’s the Model 3.”

Kim believes sedans may make a bit of a resurgence in the EV segment because of the success of the Model 3 and also because sedans are more aerodynamic. With a lower profile, sedans typically achieve better range; since range anxiety remains a main concern of EV shoppers and rejectors, a sedan can add more appeal. 

Masked in “smart camouflage” to obscure the design details for now, the ID.7 model at CES was covered in “at least” 40 layers of paint to create 22 disparate electrified illuminated zones. We probably won’t see that paint scheme in production, however.

Hungry for more news out of CES? PopSci’s gear team has created three different roundups of the coolest stuff they noticed last week.

And watch the reveal of the Ram Revolution Concept, below.

The post The 3 most exciting automotive reveals from CES 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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An intersection is a complex place, even when regulated by a traffic signal. They’re full of vehicles with potentially distracted drivers trying to inch across the asphalt, and pedestrians with different levels of mobility attempting to use crosswalks. Throw bikes and other two-wheelers into the mix, and it can get hectic and hazardous, especially for the people not protected in machines made of metal and glass. 

There are other aspects of a modern urban streetscape as well, like operators of electric vehicles who want to find a place to charge. 

Experts hope that integrating more data-collection tech, in addition to traffic signals, can potentially help with issues like these. Chattanooga, Tennessee, is planning to create 86 new so-called smart intersections that are monitored by sensors such as lidar and cameras. 

The goal of making an intersection smart is “to be able to make sense of that intersection” based on the information provided by the sensors, says Mina Sartipi, the director of the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. It will help them answer questions like: “Where are the cars? Where are the people? How close do they get to each other? How safe is it for a wheelchair [user]? Do we allow a disabled person, or an elderly [person], or a mom or a dad pushing a stroller, enough time to cross the street or not?” 

Adding the sensors will “make that environment observable,” she adds. 

[Related: It’s an especially dangerous time to be a pedestrian in America]

The project is supported by a $4.57 million grant from the US Department of Transportation, and builds on an already existing testbed of 11 other smart intersections in the same city. All told, the city will have nearly 100 smart intersections once the new ones come online. 

The DOT grant, she says, “basically brings transportation, energy, and people together.” The energy element comes from trying to connect people driving electric vehicles to charging stations if they need it, taking into account variables like if a station is available. 

Gathering data from intersections involves sensors like cameras and lidar, which use lasers to detect objects. And intersections, like people, are not all the same. “We do pay attention to the needs of each intersection as well,” she says. “It’s not necessarily copy-paste.” 

With lidar—which is also a key sensor that autonomous vehicles use to perceive the world around them—the data from those will be interpreted by a computer vision company called Seoul Robotics. “We interpret the information by looking at the objects that it sees in that world,” says William Muller, the vice president of business development at the company. “Those main three objects that we look at are people, vehicles, and bikes.”

“Because it’s all three-dimensional, it’s highly accurate,” he adds. “We’re within centimeters of accuracy, of knowing where those objects are in the three-dimensional space.” In an ideal world, the system could know if someone is crossing an intersection slowly, and the signals could take that into account—or even warn vehicles to be aware of them. 

To the west and south of Chattanooga, on an old airport runway in Texas, is a smart intersection used for research purposes at Texas A&M University’s RELLIS campus. “There’s a lot of paved surface there,” says Srinivasa Sunkari, a senior research engineer at Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Part of what makes the intersection smart, he says, is the detection sensors that it has, such as radar and a fish-eye camera. The intersection does not have regular traffic passing through it, but is used for tests. 

Sunkari says that smart intersection initiatives like in Chattanooga, “when done smartly, and when implemented with the right infrastructure, it gives an opportunity to improve pedestrian safety.” 

The project in Chattanooga starts later this year and is expected to last for three years. While connecting EV drivers with charging stations is the main focus of the $4.57 million grant, having nearly 100 intersections with rich sensor data flowing from them should allow researchers to study various aspects of them and ideally optimize the streetscape.

The post What can ‘smart intersections’ do for a city? Chattanooga aims to find out. appeared first on Popular Science.

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One of the biggest issues holding back many drivers from making the switch to electric vehicles is the comparative lack of supportive infrastructure like public charging stations. After decades of fossil fuel guzzling cars traversing the country, the US now hosts an estimated 145,000 gas stations compared to around just 53,000 EV charging locales. But this week at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to provide a sizable boost to the grid over the next few years—drivers can soon expect another 2,500 fast chargers at over 400 sites around the country within the next four years.

The news came courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Chief Technology Officer Markus Schäfer, who also reiterated the company’s goal to make battery-powered EVs more accessible to the public.The company  aims to become carbon neutral by 2039. To accomplish the project, Mercedes-Benz is partnering with the battery storage provider MN8 Energy and solar power company ChargePoint as its North American partners for the new stations.

[Related: Mercedes vehicles will soon be getting game-quality graphics on their hyperscreens.]

And before you ask—don’t worry, you won’t need a swanky EV Benz to use the upcoming locations. Schäfer explained that plug-and-charge compatibility will be integral to the stations, so that any EV owner can refuel as needed.

Strategic locales are key to Mercedes-Benz’s newest EV endeavor. As Ars Technica highlights, many public electric vehicle power stations are currently relegated to the outskirts of shopping center parking lots, making the visits uncomfortable and potentially unsafe for drivers at certain times of day or night. As such, sites will be chosen “with food outlets and restrooms situated nearby,” as well as provide security features like surveillance cameras to offer “a safe and secure charging environment.” As for the number of stations at each location, drivers can expect a minimum of 4 and as many as 30 individual charging ports.

Although the overall cost isn’t cheap—roughly $1.1 billion split between Mercedes-Benz and MN8 Energy over the next few years. But, EVs are key to the world’s transition to a fully renewable energy structure, and many more of these kinds of projects will be needed to ensure that becomes a reality. As such, similar plans from the European carmaker are expected in both China and Europe down the line. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz has a  2030 deadline for a complete transition to electric car manufacturing. 

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This article was originally featured on The Drive.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released its list of vehicles that qualify for a clean vehicle tax credit.

The list is available on the IRS website, with the tax credit scheme taking effect from January 1, 2023. Customers purchasing eligible vehicles may be entitled to a tax credit of up to $7,500, depending on certain income tests. Buyers must earn less than $300,000 in household income if in a couple for tax purposes, or $150,000 if single. As covered earlier by The Drive, vehicles aren’t solely eligible based on a make and model basis. The individual vehicle itself must have been assembled in the US, too.

Notably, the tax credit is also only applicable to vehicles under certain price limits. To remain eligible, MSRP must be below $80,000 for vans, SUVs, and pickups, or $55,000 for other vehicles. This has the unintended side effect of creating some weird edge cases. For example, the five-seat model of the Tesla Model Y doesn’t count as an SUV. Thus, with an MSRP of above $55,000, it’s not eligible for the credit. However, the seven-seat models are counted as SUVs, and thus qualify for the credit as the relevant limit is $80,000, instead.

Overall, US manufacturers are well-represented in the list. The Chevrolet Bolt, Bolt EUV, and Cadilliac Lyriq are present for GM. Meanwhile, Ford’s growing range of EVs also makes the list, including the Escape Plug-in Hybrid, F-150 Lightning, and Mustang Mach-E. The Lincoln Aviator and Corsair are present too, both in Grand Touring trim. Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 are present, as per the above noted price restrictions, as are the Rivian R1S and R1T.

Chrysler and Jeep both make the list too, albeit without any full EVs. Instead, the Stellantis brands instead attract credits for plug-in hybrids, with the Chrysler Pacifica, Jeep Wrangler 4xe, and Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe.

Other manufacturers with vehicles on the list include VW, Volvo, Nissan, BMW, and Audi. Beyond that, other automakers have signed agreements with the IRS to qualify under the scheme. However, they are yet to submit lists of their eligible models to the government agency. This includes Jaguar, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, and Mercedes Benz, among others.

The scheme will face further changes as soon as March, as the Treasury Department firms up battery sourcing requirements. At that point, the rules will shift to consider the source location of battery components and critical minerals used in the vehicle’s construction. Vehicles that don’t comply with the full requirements may only be eligible for a lesser tax credit.

While some countries are rolling back EV credits, the US is currently going full-steam ahead. The aim is to not just spur uptake of electric vehicles. The scheme also hopes to incentivize the construction of both vehicles and the batteries themselves in the US, all the way back to the sourcing of the raw mineral components. In any case, if you’ve got your eye on a particular EV that qualifies for the scheme, you might be best placed to order it sooner rather than later.

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Imagining a 9,000-pound GMC Hummer EV racing a 3,600-pound Corvette Z06 sports car evokes an image of an elephant lined up next to a cheetah. Considering that the Hummer EV’s Ultium battery pack alone weighs nearly as much as the Corvette, the question of which will win seems obvious. 

Not so fast, though: YouTuber Austin Everett of Speed Phenom recently pitted his own Z06 against the massive all-electric truck, and the results were much closer than you might think. 

Here’s what a race like this can teach us about the difference between being fast and being quick—and what aspects of a vehicle contribute to those qualities.

Quick vs fast

For a traditional drag race, two vehicles generally start side by side on a flat, straight quarter-mile strip. A device called a “Christmas tree” sits between them, initiating a light sequence that usually switches from amber to green for go. During a race, a red light indicates an infraction of some kind at the start. For an amateur head-to-head drag race (don’t try this at home, kids), someone can signal the cars manually. 

While horsepower makes a car fast in terms of its top speed, getting the jump at the starting line is about quickness, and torque plays a starring role. The 2023 Corvette Z06 boasts 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, for which Chevrolet claims a 0-to-60 mph time of 2.6 seconds. Equipped with the Z07 Performance Pack (like Everett’s vehicle), the car can achieve that acceleration in 2.8 seconds. 

In contrast, the Hummer EV has an astounding 1,000 horsepower and brags of 11,500 pound-feet of torque. To be clear, the latter number is the sum of four motors, one at each wheel, each generating between 380 and 400 lb-ft of what enthusiasts call “grunt.” As is, the powerful EV truck can reach 60 mph in about four seconds. But in a setting called “Watts to Freedom” mode, the Hummer EV can shave a second from that time.

Surprising (and unsurprising) results 

Electric cars like the Hummer EV turn stored energy into speed nearly instantaneously, versus gas-powered cars like the Z06, which employ a mechanical process to convert fuel to energy. Still, on this particular chilly day for the competition in question, the Z06 raced to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and the Hummer EV reached that speed in 3.8 seconds. 

Driving the Hummer in WTF mode (remember, that technically stands for “Watts to Freedom”) provides an unexpected thrill if you haven’t experienced it before. WTF mode enables peak torque for a few seconds, much like launch mode in gas-powered cars. When I tried it, my face broke into a wide, uncontrolled grin that erupted into a laugh. The sensation of being propelled into the space ahead with that kind of force in such a big car feels like being strapped to a bullet train. 

During Speed Phenom’s test, the big Hummer EV rocketed off the line, as expected. Everett said it was faster than Chevrolet’s vaunted sports car up to about 40 mph. By the time each vehicle reached 60 mph, however, the internal-combustion-powered Z06 made up the time and then some. In the end, the Corvette handily won the competition, but it wasn’t the pounding many might expect between the sleek car and the hulking EV. 

Ultimately, while torque is impressive up front for the GMC, the Chevy won with sustained torque and horsepower that carried it to the finish line. Contributing to the Hummer EV’s relative lag is its bulky weight and off-road-ready 35-inch tires, which are fantastic for tackling dirt and rock but less so for speed. 

EVs are getting even quicker

For the uninitiated, a reminder: EVs can be really quick, and that’s thanks to several factors. As Car and Driver explains it, EVs quickly deliver maximum torque due in part to the front and rear motors providing additional traction to all four tires. As a result, EVs can “channel more of their power to the pavement than if they had two-wheel drive and to launch from rest aggressively with minimum or no wheelspin.” EVs also ride on specially-designed wheels and tires crafted to carry the extra weight of electric components. 

As an extreme example, a few months ago, I took a spin in a 1,914-horsepower Rimac Nevera, which cranks out 1,741 lb-ft of torque for its $2 million-plus price tag. “Do you mind if I drive fast?” the Rimac engineer asked me, before flattening the back of my head to the passenger seat with an explosion of power. Further, Rimac’s engineers claim a 0-60 mph time of less than one second is possible. 

For those without that kind of balance in their bank account, even Kia’s new EV6 GT claims an impressive 576 hp and 546 pound-feet of torque for about $50,000. With that level of power, Kia says its humble four-door crossover matches up to a Porsche Taycan, Ferrari Roma, and Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder RWD for acceleration. 

In the real world, most people don’t need massive torque or horsepower to enjoy the ride. On the other hand, it does feel good to dust that obnoxious tailgater every now and again. 

Watch the competition, below:

The post Which vehicle would win—an electric Hummer or a Corvette? appeared first on Popular Science.

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Since the launch of its unfortunately named MP4-12C sports car in 2011, McLaren Automotive has built every vehicle using a version of the same carbon fiber chassis and V8 engine. A decade later, McLaren is launching version 2.0 of the company’s product line, with a new hybrid-electric V6 powertrain bolted into an all-new carbon fiber chassis tub structure. 

The vehicle embodying this change is called the Artura. It is McLaren’s first production hybrid and it signals the direction for the rest of the company’s products. Their very first hybrid was the limited-production P1 hypercar, and the Artura shows how this technology has trickled down to more mass-produced models.

Shredding the curves and catapulting down the straights of the infield road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the $289,000 (as tested; base price is $233,000) Artura convincingly upholds the legends of Mika Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Emerson Fittipaldi, and other famous drivers who’ve piloted McLaren Formula 1 cars to world championships.

The howling turbocharged V6 engine would have been right at home in Prost and Senna’s ‘80s turbo-era McLarens, though at 3.0 liters, the Artura’s engine is double the size of the power plants in those old race cars. Senna would have envied the alacrity of the Artura’s shifts in comparison to the H-pattern transmission of his F1 car at that time.

Impressively, despite the wholesale change of hardware, McLaren has managed to preserve the feel that the Artura is still a McLaren. The bodywork is born of the same family as existing models like the 720S, the cockpit feels similar, and the driving dynamics put me right into a McLaren frame of mind.

Like legos 

This new carbon fiber platform is even stiffer and lighter than the one the company has used previously in vehicles like the 600LT or 720S, thanks to an additional decade of know-how. More importantly, it is made from 72 pre-formed sections of carbon fiber rather than the 500 separate pieces used by technicians previously. This reduces the variability and accelerates the manufacturing process. “We’ve had a big reduction in the hours needed to make it,” reports chief engineer Geoff Grose. “It is a more consistent process than with human intervention.”

The Artura’s new M360 engine is a V6 arranged with 120 degrees between the two banks of three cylinders. Sixty degrees is the norm for clean-sheet V6s. (V6s created by slicing two cylinders off a V8 are 90-degree engines, but those require balance shafts to offset their inherent imbalance.) For the next generation of its engines, McLaren has gone to a much flatter 120-degree V-shape that mounts the turbochargers inside that shallow valley atop the engine rather than on the outside as is normal practice. This contributes to a lower center of gravity for the Artura, which lets the car change direction more easily.

This engine is made as small as possible by the use of 3D printing to create the sand cores used to cast its block and heads. The features inside this engine are too small to create by conventional techniques, according to Grose. “It allows the shortest possible gaps between the cylinder bores, just 2mm,” he says. “That is a really tight, thin core. This 3D printing technology is really good for enabling that.”

It’s electric

Computer optimization modeling apparently points to this 120-degree turbo V6 engine layout, as it is the same arrangement Ferrari reached for the 296GTB, that company’s analog to the Artura. This combustion engine churns out 577 horsepower and 431-lb.ft. of torque. 

But wait, there’s more! The Artura also includes a compact, lightweight electric motor bolted between the M360 engine and the Artura’s new dual-clutch transmission.

[Related: Why plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles are worth a look right now]

This electric motor produces 94 horsepower and 166 lb.-ft. of torque, with the e-motor’s torque contribution coming at the lower end of the combustion’s torque curve. The result is a peak of 671 hp and 531 lb.-ft. in combined output. More importantly, the duo’s combined torque delivery is nearly constant from low rpm, so the Artura accelerates out of turns more like an electric car.

Together, the electric and gas motors push the Artura to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds and across the quarter mile in 10.7 seconds. The EPA Miles Per Gallon Equivalent rating is 39 MPGe, thanks to the plug-in hybrid’s battery. The big improvement over the Artura’s 18 mpg when running on gas only illustrates how the plug-in system not only fortifies low-speed power for acceleration, but also delivers fuel-sipping efficiency.

Getting in gear

The Artura clicks up through the gears seamlessly thanks to its eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The computer can do these shifts for you, or you can click the steering wheel-mounted shift paddles. Ferrari and Lamborghini fix the paddles to the steering column so that they are always where the driver expects them. In McLarens they turn with the steering wheel, like they do in race cars. 

However, the steering wheels on race cars never turn so far that the driver has to reposition their hands, so they can always click up with the right paddle and down with the left.  Street car steering wheels, on the other hand, crank through a couple turns from one side to the other, leaving the driver with no idea where the shift paddles are when turning. However, it is unusual to do much shifting while turning so much, so maybe this quirk doesn’t really matter.

[Related: Anyone can drive a supercar, but truly tapping its potential is another matter]

The transmission is all-new, with eight speeds in place of the previous seven. Some of the extra space for the added gear came from the elimination of the reverse gear. Now, the Artura just spins its electric motor the other direction to move the car backwards. The car has an electric-only top speed of 81 mph, so in theory, the Artura would be able to go up through the gears to reach that same speed while going backwards, but I did not test this theory. The EPA says it will go 11 miles on electric power alone.

Overall top speed is 205 mph, which also went untested because there is no space for such velocity at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and no permission for such speed on the wide-open desert roads in Nevada where the car could actually achieve terminal velocity. Hunter S. Thompson would likely have pumped the Artura’s tires up to 80 psi and given it a go (as he claimed to have done with his Cadillac in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but I have a stronger aversion to breaking the law than he apparently did.

Under pressure

You’ll know all about the Artura’s tire pressure because the car’s new Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires have pressure sensors embedded into the tires themselves rather than mounted on the wheel at the fill valve. This allows a more accurate measurement, according to McLaren, letting the car understand when the driver has intentionally reduced tire pressure for more grip while driving at the racetrack. This prevents the computer from giving low-pressure warnings when the driver has intentionally lowered the pressure.

McLaren has preserved its hydraulic power steering system for the Artura, eschewing the electric power steering others use for the superior steering feel provided by a hydraulic system. Because the combustion engine switches off at times, the hydraulic pump is electric-powered so the steering doesn’t care what the engine is doing.

Speaking of turning, you’ll need to slow the Artura down from time to time, and McLaren continues to set the industry standard in brakes. While Lamborghini’s carbon ceramic brakes are comfortable to drive on the street, they get vague and imprecise on the track. Other brands like Ferrari and Porsche deliver on the track, but their carbon ceramics are grabby and squeak embarrassingly in street driving. 

In contrast, McLaren’s carbon ceramics are angelic on the streets and devilishly good in the brake zones where you hammer the brake pedal just for turns, exhibiting exemplary behavior in everyday driving and delivering the confidence-inspiring precision and consistency needed to light up the front rotors on my Flux Green track test car. Truly, the best performance in both situations.

McLarens are also known for their ability to deliver both an unexpectedly posh ride in street driving with crisp handling response in mountain switchbacks and the race track. That’s courtesy of the company’s Proactive Chassis Control system of cross-linked hydraulics that uses wheel motion on one side of the car to help manage what happens on the other side.

Instead of that Proactive Chassis Control system, the Artura features Tenneco’s Proactive Damping Control shock absorbers, which are like the computer-controlled active shock absorbers everyone else uses. The Artura is the starting point of McLaren 2.0, so look for Proactive Chassis Control to appear on other models built on the Artura’s new chassis and drivetrain in the future. The Artura’s more commonplace shocks don’t deliver the best-of-both-world’s experience of smooth ride and crisp handling that we’ve come to expect from other McLarens, but pricier future variants surely will.

While the exterior bears a family resemblance to other McLarens, the aluminum skin is “superformed” with a blast of hot air rather than stamped by conventional dies. This permits the car’s crisp character lines and the precise body gaps. My street test car was sprayed in a striking shade called Ember Orange, which was challenging to make practical for mass production, according to Head of Colour and Materials Design, Jo Lewis. It was worth the effort she put into getting Ember Orange from her computer screen to the production line.

Likewise, all of the McLaren 2.0 upgrades are clear successes. The Artura shows that it is possible to preserve continuity without being stuck in the past, as this car delivers the contemporary technology and performance supercar buyers demand.

The post Behind the wheel of McLaren’s hot new hybrid supercar, the Artura appeared first on Popular Science.

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Best for luxury crossover vehicles		Pirelli Scorpion Winter P265 Winter Tire		SEE IT	Perfect snow tire for luxury crossover vehicles.
Best for cars		Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 Winter Tire		SEE IT	Great way to navigate through a suburban snowstorm.
Best for light trucks		Firestone Winterforce LT 225 Winter Snow Tire		SEE IT	Gives light trucks and emergency vehicles great control.

Stop slipping and sliding during the cold winter months and arm your car, truck, or SUV with proper snow tires. The best snow tires are more rugged than all-season tires and have the specialized treads needed to clutch the road during harsh conditions. But with so many car tires available, how do you know which tires offer great snow performance and which will be a waste of money? Understand how these tires for snow work and learn what to look for when shopping for these unique rubber lifesavers. From affordable options to get you through the winter to more robust snow tires for those living in a permanent winter wonderland, here’s how you can find the right tire at the right price for the right terrain.

• Best for cars: Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 Winter Tire
• Best for light trucks: Firestone Winterforce LT 225 Winter Snow Tire
• Best for luxury crossover vehicles: Pirelli Scorpion Winter P265 Winter Tire
• Best for off roaders: BFGoodrich All-Terrain Tire LT285
• Best for less than $60: Nexen Winguard Ice Plus Winter Snow Tire

The best snow tires: Our picks

What makes the best modern snow tire the best? It must be up to the job, whether it’s picking up groceries or picking up tree trunks. The type of vehicle and the specific tasks you want to accomplish should be the first things to think about when shopping. Thankfully, most online retailers provide search tools that pinpoint the type of tire you’ll need.

Best for cars: Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 Snow Tires

Bridgestone

SEE IT

You wouldn’t wear flip flops in a snowball fight, and shouldn’t trust standard tires in winter weather. Even if you only need to drive to the office and back, Bridgestone Blizzak tires can make a world of difference. They are great on snow and even better on wet slush, channeling the winter weather away from the tire. And when you need to stop suddenly, the Bridgestone snow tire is dependable. Solid ice will still be slippery with these tires, but for typical suburban roads it’s tough to beat the traction.

Best for light trucks: Firestone Winterforce LT 225 Winter Snow Tire

Walmart

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Firestone is known for their high-quality tires and the Firestone Winterforce LT series is no different. The Firestone Winterforce LT 225 Winter is rated for severe snow service equipment and excels at clinging to the road in deep snow. It’s also pretty good on light snow and slick surfaces. You can add studs to the tire for even greater traction. And for a truck tire, it isn’t prohibitively expensive. The Firestone snow tire is good for light trucks and SUVs that need to navigate through more than flurries.

Best for luxury crossover vehicles: Pirelli Scorpion P265 Winter Tire

Walmart

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The Pirelli Scorpion winter tire is perfect for drivers who need to get to job sites even in snowy conditions. They can handle a load of 2,337 pounds, and are relatively quiet. While on the pricey side, Pirelli snow tires are made of durable material that will last for several winter seasons. They handle great in deep snow, dry roads and everything in between. Even ice isn’t much of a challenge for these PIrelli tires. They can turn a luxury SUV such as an Audi SQ5 into a winter-weather driving machine.

Best for off-roaders: BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 Tire

Walmart

SEE IT

All-terrain tires, like all-season tires, are not specifically designed for snow. But the BF Goodrich tire can handle mud and dirt just as well as snow and ice. The molded aggressive tread bites into snow without issue, and handles well even on dry asphalt. If you want to go on winter adventures through windy mountain roads, the BF Goodrich all-terrain tire will make the journey easier and safer. 

Best budget: Nexen Winguard Ice-Plus Winter Tires

Walmart

SEE IT

What can you expect from cheap ones? Surprisingly good winter weather traction. These Nexens are not made for high-speed, high-performance snow driving. But for those who keep it under 100mph and still want to travel through wet winter weather, these do a pretty good job. Cheaper tires won’t last as long, so it’s a good thing the tires are affordable. If you’ve never used snow tires and want to see if they make a difference, this is a good entry-level product at a great price. 

What to consider when shopping for the best snow tires

Just because it says “snow tire” on the label doesn’t mean it’ll be a great fit for your vehicle. Look for specific thread types and features that will work for your environment. But don’t get overwhelmed by stats. They are not as complicated as they appear.

Why choose snow tires? Better gas mileage and safety.

The biggest benefit of any snow tire is its handling in winter weather. When snow, ice, slush, or water cover the driving surface, a tire for snow will send precipitation flying away from the wheel. They’re designed with more tread depth and grooves to prevent hydroplaning; you’ll notice a difference between one for snow and a regular tire when making turns and coming to a complete stop. 

They also offer more than safety on winter roads. They also increase gas mileage. When standard tires slip and slide on snowy surfaces, your vehicle isn’t getting the optimal gas mileage. And if the tire is underinflated, it only makes things worse. They are designed to cling to the road, giving you proper traction and increasing gas mileage. They are also designed to work in sub-zero temperatures. 

While the result may be minimal, those extra miles-per-gallon will add up over time. If you’re worried about the cost of the tires, factor in the bonus gas mileage—a good investment in safety becomes a good investment in fuel economy.

For the best snow performance shop for aggressive tire tread patterns.

The treads and channels in the snow tire are engineered to move water and snow out of the way. The deep cuts and serrated voids on the rubber surface is what separates a snow tire from a regular tire. Thanks to the jagged cuts and small holes that suck up water, dedicated tires for snow are much better at grabbing the road than so-called all-season tires. 

How do you know if the tread will really stand up to a storm? Look for the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF). This mountain icon will appear on the sidewall of a tire rated for snowy conditions. It’s a good place to start when considering snow-tire specs. 

For serious driving in areas where winter weather is the norm, you should look for an aggressive tread pattern. These dramatic saw-tooth designs are better at maintaining traction. They still have the 3PMSF certification, but go above and beyond other all-season tires. Put another way, not all 3PMSF-rated tires will be great for blizzard conditions and deep snow. Make sure the product is labeled as a winter tire, not just an all-season tire. And for even more gripping power, you may want to consider studded tires.

You can also try tire sipping. Tire sipping means making small cuts into the tire for better handling. Some auto shops will sip your tires for you. While tire sipping won’t turn a regular tire into a winter-rated tire, it may increase traction a bit.

When to use studded tires and when it’s illegal

Metal or rubber studs can be added to specialized snow tires. These tiny nuggets extend past the tread and help the tire grab onto icy roads. For those who drive on ice, a studded tire can make a huge difference in how the vehicle handles. If you want substantial snow performance, studs are the way to go. But the studs do have drawbacks. 

First, and most importantly, studs are not permitted everywhere. Only six states (Colorado, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont, and Wyoming) allow drivers to use studs without restrictions. Other states have date restrictions (fall to spring). And some states ban studs altogether. Why?  Because the studs are great on snow and ice, but destructive on dry asphalt and cement. 

Second, studs need to be installed, which can take time. Each stud is attached to the tire with a stud gun into pre-designated holes. You cannot add studs to any tire. Only those made for studs can handle the added prongs. 

And third, studs are noisy. While you may not notice it, everyone around you will. Studded snow tires can be great for some locations and emergency vehicles, but are not ideal for every driver.

Make sure the tires are suited for your truck

If you drive a truck, keep in mind that not all truck tires are the same. Light service trucks won’t need the same tire as a heavy-duty pickup. Depending on the size of your truck and the load you’re carrying, you will need specific tires made for snow. For those driving a lifted truck (with modified suspension for big tires) hauling large loads, you may need studded tires for proper handling. Regular snow tires won’t be up to the challenge. 

If you’re more concerned with speed than snow, you can opt for a performance tire. These all-season tires lack the snow-crunching tread of snow tires, but can do a fair job on wet and slushy roads.

Affordable tires don’t necessarily mean you sacrifice quality

Tires can be expensive, but you should be able to find high-quality options that won’t break the bank. Cheaper ones can be just as good at trekking across the winter road. The big drawbacks are that the tread won’t last as long, the tire will be made of slightly weaker material, and they’re probably not ideal for big trucks. But for driving a car or SUV, cheaper snow tires can still be a useful alley in the war against winter. 

FAQs

The final word on the best snow tires

Fight back against winter weather with high-quality options. The best snow tires will be built to channel water and slush and prevent snow from building up in the tread. And with optional metal studs, your car, truck, or SUV will be ready for blizzard-like conditions. (But before you opt for the studs, make sure they are permitted in your area.) No matter what type of vehicle you’re driving this winter, the proper tires for snow make sure the season is safe and manageable. Add the best windshield snow cover to your shopping cart, and you’re all set for this winter!

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Quantum researchers at Ford have just published a new preprint study that modeled crucial electric vehicle (EV) battery materials using a quantum computer. While the results don’t reveal anything new about lithium-ion batteries, they demonstrate how more powerful quantum computers could be used to accurately simulate complex chemical reactions in the future. 

In order to discover and test new materials with computers, researchers have to break up the process into many separate calculations: One set for all the relevant properties of each single molecule, another for how these properties are affected by the smallest  environmental changes like fluctuating temperatures, another for all the possible ways any  two molecules can interact together, and on and on. Even something that sounds simple like two hydrogen molecules bonding requires incredibly deep calculations. 

But developing materials using computers has a huge advantage: the researchers don’t have to perform every possible experiment physically which can be incredibly time consuming. Tools like AI and machine learning have been able to speed up the research process for developing novel materials, but quantum computing offers the potential to make it even faster. For EVs, finding better materials could lead to longer lasting, faster charging, more powerful batteries. 

Traditional computers use binary bits—which can be a zero or a one—to perform all their calculations. While they are capable of incredible things, there are some problems like highly accurate molecular modeling that they just don’t have the power to handle—and because of the kinds of calculations involved, possibly never will. Once researchers model more than a few atoms, the computations become too big and time-consuming so they have to rely on approximations which reduce the accuracy of the simulation. 

Instead of regular bits, quantum computers use qubits that can be a zero, a one, or both at the same time. Qubits can also be entangled, rotated, and manipulated in other wild quantum ways to carry more information. This gives them the power to solve problems that are intractable with traditional computers—including accurately modeling molecular reactions. Plus, molecules are quantum by nature, and therefore map more accurately onto qubits, which are represented as waveforms.

Unfortunately, a lot of this is still theoretical. Quantum computers aren’t yet powerful enough or reliable enough to be widely commercially viable. There’s also a knowledge gap—because quantum computers operate in a completely different way to traditional computers, researchers still need to learn how best to employ them. 

[Related: Scientists use quantum computing to create glass that cuts the need for AC by a third]

This is where Ford’s research comes in. Ford is interested in making batteries that are safer, more energy and power-dense, and easier to recycle. To do that, they have to understand chemical properties of potential new materials like charge and discharge mechanisms, as well as electrochemical and thermal stability.

The team wanted to calculate the ground-state energy (or the normal atomic energy state) of LiCoO2, a material that could be potentially used in lithium ion batteries. They did so using an algorithm called the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) to simulate the Li2Co2O4 and Co2O4 gas-phase models (basically, the simplest form of chemical reaction possible) which represent the charge and discharge of the battery. VQE uses a hybrid quantum-classical approach with the quantum computer (in this case, 20 qubits in an IBM statevector simulator) just employed to solve the parts of the molecular simulation that benefit most from its unique attributes. Everything else is handled by traditional computers.

As this was a proof-of-concept for quantum computing, the team tested three approaches with VQE: unitary coupled-cluster singles and doubles (UCCSD), unitary coupled-cluster generalized singles and doubles (UCCGSD) and k-unitary pair coupled-cluster generalized singles and doubles (k-UpCCGSD). As well as comparing the quantitative results, they compared quantum resources necessary to perform the calculations accurately with classical wavefunction-based approaches. They found that k-UpCCGSD produced similar results to UCCSD at lower cost, and that the results from the VQE methods agreed with those obtained using classical methods—like coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) and complete active space configuration interaction (CASCI). 

Although not quite there yet, the researchers concluded that quantum-based computational chemistry on the kinds of quantum computers that will be available in the near-term will play “a vital role to find potential materials that can enhance the battery performance and robustness.” While they used a 20-qubit simulator, they suggest a 400-qubit quantum computer (which will soon be available) would be necessary to fully model the Li2Co2O4 and Co2O4 system they considered.

All this is part of Ford’s attempt to become a dominant EV manufacturer. Trucks like its F-150 Lightning push the limits of current battery technology, so further advances—likely aided by quantum chemistry—are going to become increasingly necessary as the world moves away from gas burning cars. And Ford isn’t the only player thinking of using quantum to edge it ahead of the battery chemistry game. IBM is also working with Mercedes and Mitsubishi on using quantum computers to reinvent the EV battery. 

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The driver of a 2021 Tesla Model S says a Full Self-Driving (FSD) Mode malfunction is behind a Thanksgiving Day eight-vehicle crash on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge. The accident  resulted in two children receiving minor injuries. The incident, made public on Wednesday via a local police report and subsequently reported on by Reuters, is only the latest in a string of wrecks, some fatal, to draw scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

As The Guardian also notes, the multi-car wreck came just hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the $15,000 autopilot upgrade would become available to all eligible vehicle owners in North America. Prior to the expansion, FSD was only open to Tesla drivers with “high safety scores.”

[Related: Tesla is under federal investigation over autopilot claims.]

Although Full Self-Driving Mode has drawn consistent criticism and scrutiny since its debut, Musk has repeatedly attested to the software’s capabilities, going so far as to take interview questions from the driver’s seat of a Tesla engaged in the feature. FSD Mode utilizes a complex network of AI, sensors, machine learning, and camera systems to supposedly control the basics of driving in real time, such as steering, speed, braking, and changing lanes. According to the Thanksgiving Day crash’s police report, the driver claims his car suddenly and inexplicably slowed from 55 mph to around 20 mph while attempting to switch lanes, resulting in a rear-end collision that set off a chain of related wrecks.

[Related: YouTube pulls video of Tesla superfan testing autopilot safety on a child.]

The police report makes clear the crashes’ cause is still unconfirmed, and that the driver still should have been paying sufficient attention to take control of the vehicle in the event of FSD malfunctioning. Tesla’s own website cautions that its Autopilot and FSD Modes “do not make the vehicle[s] autonomous.”

Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened 41 investigations involving Teslas potentially engaged in Full Self-Driving Mode—19 people have died as a result of those crashes. Yesterday, the carmaker began notifying Tesla owners around the world of a complimentary, 30-day trial of its Enhanced Autopilot software, which supposedly offers automated lane changes, parking, and navigation.

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The electric vehicle spotlight is typically trained on range and charging speed, along with battery makeup and sustainable materials. However, EV news rarely gives enough credit to one unsung-but-critical factor: tires. EVs are heavier than their gas-powered cousins, and as a result, the electric motors generate more on-demand torque, which puts additional pressure on the vehicles’ rubber shoes. Tires made for EVs use special tread compounds and patterns and are engineered to take on the heavier components, as well as more torque strain.

Reducing tire drag

Companies like Pirelli, Goodyear, and Continental have actively ramped up research and development of tires designed specifically for EVs. Rolling resistance is an important aspect of tire construction for EVs, as it directly affects both range and ride quality. Continental Tires defines rolling resistance as “the amount of energy a tire uses over a defined distance.”

Reducing rolling distance requires a shallower tread depth and narrower footprint, along with harder tread compound and stiffer sidewalls. By decreasing tire “squirm,” or excess movement, EV-specific tires are designed to improve efficiency – or more aptly, to avoid losing energy.

“Rolling resistance coefficient is always the issue when designing for EVs,” Pirelli Chief Technology Officer Ian Coke told PopSci. “You have to understand the compromise between lowering the rolling resistance to match range and maximize performance. It’s a big challenge.”

Building from scratch

Two years ago, a two-woman team driving a pre-production Rivian R1T pickup truck competed in the Rebelle Rally, a grueling 1,500-mile off-road competition. The R1T had been in production for several years at that point, but testing it out in a tough desert environment at the rally laid bare its strengths and weaknesses. Emme Hall, the R1T driver, found one of those strengths to be the custom-designed Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain tires.

“The Scorpions are usually set to 48 [pounds per square inch] for street use, but I kept it around 35 psi most of the time, airing down to 20 psi when I hit the soft sand of Big Dune, Dumont Dunes and Glamis,” Hall wrote for CNET. “These Scorpions took everything I could throw at them without a hiccup.”

The key to a safer, more efficient, and quieter ride, Pirelli’s Coke says, is to create the tires for a new EV from the ground up. EV drivers tend to wear out their tires an average of 20 percent faster than those operating a traditional gas-powered vehicle, so using the same tires non-EVs do could cause a fair amount of hassle, as they must be more frequently exchanged. 

“It’s very important to us that the tires we provide are tailored to the vehicle itself,” Coke said. “[A manufacturer] program starts at least three years before it’s launched. We’re designing the tires as the vehicle is being designed.”

[Related: As electric vehicles get bigger and faster, they also get more dangerous]

And those tires are built with a prescribed air pressure in mind for that particular vehicle. Altering that formula could cause skids, slides, and worse. Coke told Forbes that “while increasing air pressure in a tire does lower rolling resistance…it also reduces the tire’s ability to grip at the same time, which can be a dangerous trade in adverse conditions, when hard braking or when cornering loads push traction to the limit.”

What’s next? 

Rivian isn’t the only EV maker with bespoke tires; some Tesla models and the new Volkswagen ID.3 wear original equipment tires formulated by Continental. There are countless other examples in the works or already on the market also. 

For example, GMC’s Hummer EV rides on specially engineered 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory tires made for both on- and off-road performance. While we know that GMC will introduce the Sierra EV pickup in 2023, we don’t know what kind of tires it will have. The brand has indicated that the new Sierra EV will include the same CrabWalk feature as the Hummer EV, a GMC-exclusive feature that syncs the turn and angle of the rear and front wheels, allowing diagonal movement of the vehicle at low speeds. That combination of movement and weight will certainly require rubber shoes that can handle the stress as well as those on the Hummer EV or Rivian R1T.

In the meantime, companies like Goodyear and Michelin are working toward the next EV frontier: airless tires. These types of tires use a unique system of spokes to support the outer ring instead of air, effectively eliminating flat tires Whether these can support EV heavyweights is still in question, but the sustainability factor is attractive, as airless tires require fewer replacements.

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This article was originally featured on The Drive.

One of the most satisfying feelings in an electric vehicle is instant torque. Us car lovers crave the feeling of being pressed back into our seats, and while a high-powered internal-combustion car gives that feeling, so does a hyper-efficient EV.

Instant torque can also translate into very quick acceleration. In fact, we’re seeing battery-powered vehicles achieve supercar-level zero-to-60 MPH sprints despite tipping the scales two or three times heavier than gasoline-powered exotics. While this can be fun for the driver and vehicle occupants, it’s becoming clear that these bloated EVs easily could pose a danger to other cars and pedestrians on the road—and no regulators have stepped up to tackle these problems yet.

The 2022 Hummer EV’s electric motors generate 1,000 horsepower and 1,200 pound-feet of torque—that’s enough power to propel the 9,100-pound vehicle from zero to 60 MPH in just three seconds. Consequently, a Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae takes around 2.8 seconds at just over one-third of the weight. In either case, that’s a lot of speed very quickly, but in the event of a crash, the Hummer generates more than 2.5 times the force at 60 MPH than the Aventador.

It’s hard to say how often supercar owners actually crash their vehicles. According to Automotive News, safety officials don’t have data corresponding to supercar crashes, but information on high-performance motorcycles is available. In fact, most crashes for sport bikes occur within the first 120 days of ownership. Perhaps there’s some correlation to the number of news stories that show new owners crashing high-performance cars within hours or days of buying them.

A prime example is YouTuber Edmond Mondi. Several weeks ago, Mondi posted a video to Instagram showing the Hummer EV’s supercar-like acceleration from a standstill launch. The video generated a bit of controversy given that it was filmed from the driver’s seat while the Hummer was barreling towards multiple lanes of cars in stopped traffic. Weeks later, we reported that Mondi totaled his Hummer EV just hours after picking it up from the dealership, as revealed in a later-published YouTube video.

With rapid acceleration and massive weight, it’s fairly obvious that there will be crashes from drivers, likely both new and seasoned. How deadly those crashes will be is still something that researchers will need to gather data to determine.

One study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that being killed in a car accident is a roughly 1-in-500 chance. The same study determined that being in a crash with a vehicle 1,000 pounds heavier than your own increases the risk of baseline fatality by 47%. It’s not immediately clear how this scales with modern battery-electric vehicle weights (for example, a 3,300-pound Toyota Camry being involved in an accident with a Hummer EV—a difference of 5,800 pounds).

Realistically, it’s hard to imagine a solution to what is potentially a public safety problem except for regulation. Sure, automakers can offer in-car warnings or geofence speed and performance to racetracks or certain designated zones (like the Japan-market Nissan GT-R in the late 2000s), but hackers will undoubtedly treat it like a cat-and-mouse game to defeat these restrictions. Realistically, it’s inconceivable to think that an automaker would willingly cripple the selling points of their performance cars in the name of safety.

Consumers want the option to go fast. It’s a sexy selling point of a sports car and akin to having the option of drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and performing myriad other tasks that pose risks to the user’s own health. The problem is that a huge 4.5-ton EV stretching its legs at a full sprint on the public road poses a threat to other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. No automaker or consumer wants to have more government oversight on a product they manufacture or own—I certainly don’t. But at some point, we have to accept that there will be people who will die because of product misuse in the name of exhilarating acceleration, and even one will be one too many.

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On Thursday, Uber announced a partnership with the robotics manufacturer Cartken that will send a fleet of miniature self-driving robots into Miami, Florida. These little vehicles won’t be driving people though—just snacks.

Based in Oakland, California, and started by a team of former Google engineers, Cartken already deploys their automated, six-wheeled delivery vehicles delivering food and other small items across multiple college campuses. But as The Verge notes, Uber claims this will be the “first formal partnership with a global on-demand delivery app beyond” universities.

[Related: Uber’s latest goals involve more delivery and more EVs.]

Cartken’s line of small, fully electric, automated delivery vehicles are manufactured by auto supplier Magna, and can carry around 24 pounds of items in its cargo storage. While they only clock in at speeds slightly slower than pedestrians, an embedded camera system allows the robots to maneuver around obstacles and adjust in real-time to the environment around them. Each Cartken robot can deliver within a several mile radius depending on battery change, which makes them ideal for relatively small areas such as school campuses and the Miami’s Dadeland commercial shopping complex, where they are making their UberEats debut on Thursday before potential expansions throughout the county and in other cities.

Uber has openly pursued automated driving and delivery services for years now, although the path towards accomplishing this goal has been anything but smooth. In 2018, a self-driving Uber car in Arizona struck and killed a pedestrian, putting at least a temporary halt to the company’s aims of fully automating fleets. Earlier this month, the company appears to have restarted the plans via the introduction of self-driving taxi options in Las Vegas alongside expansion plans for Los Angeles —although a human safety driver will still remain behind the wheel for the time being.

[Related: Study shows the impact of automation on worker pay.]

While potentially convenient for hungry consumers, the Uber-Cartken teamup belies wider industry aims of increased automation. A diminished need for human labor is directly related to cost efficient advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. Corporations such as Uber are literally banking on this automation to be cheaper and faster than its current employees. The Cartken fleet may be cute to look at roaming around sidewalks and campuses, but every additional robot is potentially one less delivery job for a gig economy worker already strapped for cash.

Earlier this year, Uber also announced a partnership with Nuro, makers of a much larger, street traveling autonomous vehicle capable of delivering roughly 24 bags of groceries at a time to customers in Houston, Texas, and Mountain View, California.

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A 600 acre, 1,500 employee electric vehicle battery recycling facility will soon break ground outside of Charleston, South Carolina, providing a major boost in clearing one of the biggest hurdles currently facing EV adoption. Once completed, Redwood Materials’ Battery Materials Campus will break down end-of-life lithium-ion batteries into their raw materials such as copper, cobalt, and nickel within its 100 percent electric factory facilities. From there, new cathode and anode products can be built and subsequently used once again in future EV manufacturing, thus extending material lifespans while lowering overall vehicle costs for consumers.

According to Redwood’s estimates, the campus will eventually be able to provide 100 GWh in recycled components per year—enough to annually power an estimated 1 million EVs—and can eventually scale upwards as demand grows. The startup already has a similar facility in Nevada, which announced its own expansion earlier this year.

[Related: Why solid state batteries are the next frontier for EV makers.]

Redwood’s newest project is located in what is becoming known as America’s Battery Belt—a region stretching from the Midwest to the Deep South increasingly focused on the production of electric vehicles and EV components. Green energy and EV advocates argue that shifting production stateside is crucial for economics, the environment, and human rights. Currently, the vast majority of EV parts such as the rare earth minerals needed for batteries are mined overseas in countries like China, resulting in massive ethical and ecological concerns. As Engadget notes, the company alleges its methods lowers battery component production’s CO2 emissions by around 80 percent when compared to current standard Asian supply chain outputs.

Charleston’s geographic location is a strategic choice, given its ports. As CEO JB Straubel explained in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, there currently aren’t enough recyclable EV materials to meet industry demands, and importation is still a necessary step in the process. Straubel estimates that between 40 and 60 percent of its Redwood Materials’ South Carolina facility products will be made from recycled materials.

[Related: You throw out 44 pounds of electronic waste a year. Here’s how to keep it out of the dump.]

One of the biggest hurdles in electric vehicle adoption is the e-waste generated from depleted “end-of-life” lithium-ion batteries. Thankfully, industry pushes such as Redwoods’ latest venture furthers our capability of breaking down these power sources and recycling the bulk of what would otherwise be relegated as potentially harmful trash. Construction on South Carolina’s Battery Materials Campus is set to begin early next year, with an eye to begin initial recycling processes by the end of 2023.

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A curious phenomenon took hold in the criminal world over the past years, and it has left Toyota Prius hybrids all over the country with a missing underside piece. Thieves have been sliding under the cars with cordless reciprocating saws to slice off the catalytic converter, a key part of the vehicle’s emissions management system.

Prius models from 2004-2009 have become big targets. Green Car Reports says the theft rate for Prius models from those years were more than 40 times higher in 2020 than it was four years earlier, based on information from the Highway Loss Data Institute. But there is a reason that criminals are absconding with this particular component. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stated in a 2021 release that reduced mining production in recent years have caused prices for rare metals (like those used in catalytic converters) to skyrocket.

What is a catalytic converter and why steal it? 

If your catalytic converter (or cat, for short) is missing, you’ll know pretty quickly. Once you start up the car, it will sound and smell different than usual, as the exhaust gasses will be pushed out straight into the air with no filter. Don’t mistake a cat for a muffler, though. Mufflers and cats are both exhaust system components, but mufflers reduce the pressure of exhaust gasses and catalytic converters convert fumes into less-harmful gasses. 

Inside a catalytic converter, metals like platinum, rhodium, palladium, and a ceramic honeycomb structure work together to break down carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide contained in emissions directly from the engine. Then it traps the harmful molecules and releases outputs like hydrogen, water, and carbon dioxide. 

Theft rings know they can slice-and-grab a cat in a few minutes and sell the part for $1,000 or more. Just last month, federal, state, and local law enforcement partners busted a ring of thieves, dealers, and processors who profited by tens of millions of dollars on stolen catalytic converters. 

Advantages of the new Prius

The new Prius will come with a bigger engine and better, faster-charging batteries. The engine in the 2023 Prius has been upgraded from a 1.8-liter to a 2.0-liter version, and it’s paired to a new lithium-ion battery pack that replaces last year’s nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) version. Lithium-ion batteries are known to charge faster, perform better across various temperature changes, and hold their charges longer than NiMH batteries. Toyota says that this 2023 Prius battery in particular is 14 percent more powerful compared to their previous NiMH battery. Plus, the car’s body style has been improved drastically, featuring a lower roofline, a wider stance, and larger wheels. The 2023 model got a full refresh inside and out. It offers a 60 percent increase in horsepower, 16 percent increase in torque, and a frame that is reinforced for rigidity, which improves the ride quality.  

Should we be concerned about cat theft in the newest generation of the Prius? The brand didn’t say no, but Toyota Prius Chief Engineer Satoki Oya told PopSci that a reduced quantity of rare metals in the newest generation catalytic converter might make it less appealing to thieves. Although looks-wise, it wouldn’t appear too different.

Automotive journalist Amelia Dalgaard reported that the Prius “is particularly attractive to thieves because the cleaner the exhaust, the cleaner the converter, and the more valuable the metals.” It may be tricky to completely cut down on all cat thefts, so automakers will have to continue finding new ways to utilize fewer rare metals. In the meantime, etch your VIN on your catalytic converter to give it a fighting chance for tracking, or consider putting a sensitive alarm on it. 

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Now in its fifth generation, the Ram 1500 pickup truck was originally born as the Dodge Ram in 1981. It made the moniker switch in 2010, and soldiered on as your average full-size pickup truck until it was treated to a full makeover for model year 2019, earning accolades the brand hadn’t seen before. In sales numbers, the Big Three truck manufacturers compete for customer dominance, with the Ford F-150 handily leading the market and the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 trailing behind in a relatively distant second and third.

In that order, the automakers have released their versions of all-electric pickup trucks. Ford launched its F-150 Lightning EV last year, and Chevy plans to start selling its Silverado next year for model year 2023. Meanwhile, Ram is hyping its version of a full-size electric truck, aiming to unveil the Ram Revolution Concept on January 5 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares will take the stage for the keynote.

What we know so far

One of the first questions that pickup truck tire-kickers ask is how much the vehicle can tow and haul. Ram hasn’t answered that query definitively yet, but CEO Mike Koval enthusiastically set the bar high, saying the Revolution would “push past” its competitors’ “core attributes,” like hauling and towing. Considering the F-150 Lightning claims 10,000 pounds of towing capacity and the Silverado EV has advertised matching numbers, it’s almost a certainty that Ram is shooting to beat that. 

As for other automakers, Tesla says its Cybertruck will tow up to 14,000 pounds, but after three years with not a single Cybertruck on the road, it’s difficult to muster the energy to buy in.

Rivian is the current outlier with its R1T offering an estimated 11,000 pounds of towing capacity. On the surface, the R1T seems to be significantly more expensive than the Lightning or Silverado EV, with a starting price of $67,500. Ford put together a similar strategy for its F-150 Lightning, starting at just under $54,000 and soaring to nearly $83,000 with the extended range battery that improves both towing and distance between full charging. And, while the Silverado EV costs $42,000 for its Work Truck variant, that’s a stripped-down model that won’t appeal to many; the cost is estimated to jump up to $75,000 for the well-equipped LTZ trim. 

As for range, Ram says the Revolution will achieve 500 miles on a full charge, which is more than the Lightning (230-320 estimated miles), the Silverado EV (up to 400 miles) and the Rivian R1T (314 miles). Tesla claims the Cybertruck will get 500 miles of range, but imaginary trucks can’t travel far. 

Where it could set itself apart

A new teaser video of a clay model appears to show a two-door single-cab truck, which is different from the Lightning, Silverado EV, Hummer EV pickup, Cybertruck, and R1T, all of which are four-door vehicles. However, spy photographers captured pictures of the Revolution mocked up with a crew cab and long bed, which suggests that perhaps the Ram 1500 BEV (battery electric vehicle) will be available in a variety of body styles like the gas-powered version. 

Stellantis reporting specialists Mopar Insiders snapped the spy photos, and the reporter developed some assumptions based on what the pictures show. Referencing Stellantis’ EV Day 2021 event, Mopar Insiders recalled a claim that vehicles built on the new EV-ready frame architecture will include individual electric drive modules (EMDs) capable of 330 kilowatts (443 horsepower) each and that each frame can accommodate up to three of those modules. Considering the Lightning uses two EDMs and the GMC Hummer EV uses three as well, Insiders believes a Ram Revolution with three motors can generate up to 990 kilowatts, or more than 1,320 horsepower. (That’s a lot.) 

On top of that, Koval said the Revolution will be enhanced by a gasoline or diesel-fueled range extender. You can think of a gas-powered range extender as the exact opposite of a hybrid, which harnesses the power of an electric motor to boost the initial torque. Ram has experience with hybrids, as it launched its eTorque mild hybrid system in 2019 on the Ram 1500. Ram’s eTorque replaces the traditional alternator and adds more functionality for a quieter ride, improved fuel economy, and better towing and hauling capability.  

The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, has become a popular platform for technology and vehicle reveals; in fact, GM CEO Mary Barra unveiled the Chevrolet Silverado EV at the 2021 event. While Ram is trailing the Silverado by a year, that may not be a detractor for the Stellantis brand considering all-electric trucks are still such a new entity. Truck buyers are still skeptical of towing numbers and range when it comes to EVs, and the uptake is going to take more time. By the time the Revolution arrives in dealerships in 2024, the market (and the beleaguered supply chain, which has struggled to manufacture the necessary chips that run the electronics systems) will hopefully be ready.

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When you’re running late for work, the last thing you want to do is wait 15 minutes for your engine to heat up and your windshield to slowly defrost. While your car’s de-froster will eventually get the job done, you can speed up the process by spraying a de-icer on your car’s windows and mirrors. Here are some de-icing sprays that will do the cold work for you.

Related: Best windshield snow covers

De-icer sprays to keep your windows clear: Our picks

Best overall: CRC Ice-Off Windshield Spray De-Icer

Amazon

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This 12-ounce can melts snow, ice, and frost off your car’s exterior windows. With built-in “power jet technology,” boasts a powerful nozzle that promises to penetrate thick ice. This spray works even in subzero temperatures and on frozen car locks.

Best with scraper: Prestone AS242 Windshield De-Icer

Amazon

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Weighing in at 11 ounces, this de-icer is one of the largest cans available. You won’t need to spray much for it to work either. What’s more, its lid doubles as an ice scraper that’ll help you hit the road quicker.

Best car-safe: Penray 5216 Windshield Spray De-Icer

Amazon

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This 11-ounce can of Penray works to de-ice your car in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Fahrenheit. As long as you immediately turn on your windshield wipers after spraying, your windshield will be free of ice before you finish spraying all your windows.

The post Best de-icer sprays for your windshield of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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We may be decades away from replacing fossil-fuel-powered vehicles with a fully electric fleet, but at the same time, EVs have continued their impressive gains on US roadways. But the most innovative companies in the automotive industry are looking beyond just batteries and charging infrastructure. They’re making the most of what we’ve got while doing the heavy lifting that goes unnoticed: Making vehicles lighter, more aerodynamic, more useful, and less wasteful. They’re also giving us faster and extremely entertaining cars—and we’re here to honor their technical brilliance.

Looking for the complete list of 100 winners? Check it out here.

Grand Award Winner

Vision EQXX by Mercedes-Benz: The slipperiest EV

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This year, Mercedes-Benz introduced a one-off, world-beating car with an altruistic purpose: To make the most out of the heavy batteries at the core of the growing EV fleet. The numbers for the Vision EQXX are otherworldly for an EV: 3,900 pounds of car and 747 miles on a single charge. It’s slow by EV and gasoline standards, yet modesty was the mission. So how did they do it? Here’s one trick: Its body can extend its sweptback tail at speed another eight inches, helping cut drag by half that of a normal sedan or crossover. To further augment efficiency, Mercedes-Benz opted for a Formula 1 subframe, magnesium wheels, tiny side-view mirrors, and a 100-kWh battery that the company claims is half the size and almost a third lighter than the powerpack in their production EQS sedan. Reducing mass and improving efficiency are old mechanical concepts that all manufacturers need to revisit if EVs are to succeed in the gasoline era. For that to happen, however, the breakthroughs must be this dramatic. Though it’s only a concept, the Vision EQXX may be the spark that ignites that reality.

Uconnect 5 by Jeep: Putting the passenger in command

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Large SUVs typically allow the people in the back to zone out and watch whatever’s on the screens in front of them. But in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, all the fun is in the shotgun seat—and won’t distract the driver. The Uconnect 5 infotainment system can run up to eight independent displays, including a 10.3-inch touchscreen built into the passenger-side dash. To reduce distraction, Jeep tints the display so it’s a faint glow to the driver while still looking bright to the passenger. You can connect an Xbox to the HDMI port, stream a ton of titles with the built-in Amazon Fire TV, control the 360 cameras, and set the navigation system by sending a chosen route to three of the driver displays. Best of all, there’s no ugly screen-mounting hardware to clutter the polished black dash.

Pilot Sport EV by Michelin: When tires go electric

Michelin

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Electric vehicles—performance models especially—put the strain of extra mass and torque onto their tires. The Pilot Sport EV is the first of a growing segment of EV-specific treads designed to improve both range and grip. Typically, a manufacturer can increase range by reducing the rolling resistance—the slowing effects of friction—at the expense of grip. These Michelins find balance by putting different parts of the tire in charge of handling torque and mass: The center of the tire has a grippier compound to take the brunt of an EV’s torque, while the shoulders are optimized for lower rolling resistance. It’s a mix they honed over the last eight years on Formula E racers. Compared to the company’s gold standard, the Pilot Sport 4S, the Pilot Sport EV increases range by as much as 20 percent with nearly the same level of traction. 

Android Automotive OS  by Google: A car OS from an OS company

Google

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Google’s suite of car-specific software has been mediocre for the past several years. Android Auto projects a limited array of Android apps onto a car’s infotainment display; then there’s regular old Android, which is tablet software that many automakers modify for their vehicles. In either instance, their interfaces feel half-baked. Enter Android Automotive OS, which is Google’s first operating system developed specifically and only for cars. Through it, the voice assistant, maps, keyboards, and the Play store run faster and function more intuitively than a smartphone connected to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay ever could. Thanks to it, the experience on the latest Volvo, Polestar, and Chevrolet vehicles is dramatically better than anything those automakers had ever coded themselves.

GR Corolla by Toyota: A three-cylinder powerhouse

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In 2022, it’s rare to see automakers develop all-new gasoline engines. To see Toyota craft an engine with as much output per liter as a Bugatti Chiron? That’s a cosmic event. The G16E-GTS spews 300 turbocharged ponies from three tiny cylinders displacing only 1.6 liters. This is the ferocious heart of the 2023 GR Corolla, an ordinary-looking hatchback. On the Morizo Edition, the turbocharger pumps 26.3 PSI of air through the intake—a monstrous amount that the fortified engine block can handle. First offered overseas in the smaller GR Yaris, this engine transforms the humdrum Corolla—the world’s best-selling car of all time—into an everyday sports car. It’s comfortable, practical, gets 28 mpg on the highway, and will absolutely embarrass a Porsche on a twisty road. 

FC1-X by Nitro: Rally racing at its most extreme

Nitro

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The FC1-X is what happens when motorcycle stuntman and record-breaking rally driver Travis Pastrana and a Swedish race team agree that Red Bull’s Rallycross is too slow. The FC1-X is a custom, 1000-horsepower electric car that zaps to 60 mph in 1.5 seconds and can land a 100-foot jump. A major reason: The car’s silicon carbide inverter is a fraction of the size and weight of a typical EV’s inverter—the device that converts the battery’s DC output to AC for the motors—and the battery can handle major power draws without overheating. It’s unique to Pastrana’s Nitro Rallycross series. As it evolves, FC1-X stands to influence the next generation of EVs—for both the track and the road.

Super Cruise by General Motors: Best hands-free system

GM

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General Motors’ Super Cruise strikes an ideal balance between hands-free driving assistance—giving the human operator a break—and safety. Using a network of laser-scanned highways at 10 times the accuracy of a GPS map with a full suite of ultrasonic, radar, and infrared cameras, Super Cruise can operate on more than 400,000 miles of marked US highways, including executing automatic lane changes. Most important, however, is when it won’t operate: Super Cruise will disable the system for the entire drive if the driver looks away for too long, a road is unmapped, the vehicle’s data connection goes dark, or any number of failure points to keep the person behind the wheel engaged. Next up is Ultra Cruise, which promises “door-to-door” hands-free driving, but that may be years away.

Hummer EV by GMC: A maneuverable behemoth

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Let’s get this out of the way. From the standpoint of energy consumption, the GMC Hummer EV is wasteful—and, at nearly 10,000 pounds, it’s a behemoth. Its battery pack is twice the capacity of the best Tesla Model S but delivers 80 percent of the EPA-estimated range compared to that vehicle. But underneath this super truck’s extravagance is a mind-blowing method of four-wheel steering. CrabWalk sounds too ridiculous and motion sickness-inducing to be true, but it is: All four wheels can steer the truck diagonally. The rear rims steer in tandem with the front at up to 10 degrees, enough to let this massive vehicle dance sideways like a crustacean that needs to parallel park, moving up to 25 mph. 

Nevera by Rimac: The most powerful production car

Rimac

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A Croatian scientist who converted his broken BMW to run on electricity is now, at age 34, the CEO of a hypercar company that’s fresh off a merger with Bugatti. Mate Rimac’s dream machine, the 1877-horsepower Nevera, has four electric motors and the stiffest carbon fiber monocoque—that’s a combination of the car’s frame and body—around. It’s the world’s fastest EV: 258 mph. Car enthusiasts with $2.4 million to blow will soon show us the evidence. But more importantly, Rimac’s other partners, which include Hyundai and Porsche, will benefit from the company’s EV expertise in future cars costing a fraction of that price.

MotoE by Ducati: The hottest electric racing bike

Ducati

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The heavy batteries that can be packaged easily in a car are harder to incorporate into a motorcycle that needs to balance. Instead of allowing a bulky, off-the-shelf battery pack to dictate the bike’s design, Ducati designed the battery on its MotoE—which the entire field of the 2023 FIM MotoE World Cup will ride—so that it functions as an integral part of the bike’s central frame instead of a bulky add-on. Two separate cooling systems (one for the 18-kWh battery, the other for the 150-hp motor and inverter) ensure the MotoE can sustain 171 mph and then pit for a recharge without needing to cool down. It might not be the first electric racing bike, but it is the first such bike that customers will ultimately want to ride on the road. 

The post The biggest automotive innovations of 2022 appeared first on Popular Science.

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The past year has been marked by serious challenges, from the ongoing climate emergency, a subsequent increase in extreme forest fire frequency, and the devastating war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. But we’ve also seen true innovation in the field of crisis response. More exact location systems will help emergency services find people in trouble quicker. Better respirator technology is rolling out, designed to help wildland firefighters breathe a little easier. And fire trucks are finally starting to go electric. This year’s best emergency services and defense innovations offer paths out of tight spots, aiming to create a safer future—or at least a better way to handle its myriad disasters.

Looking for the complete list of 100 winners? Find it here.

Grand Award Winner 

Wildland Firefighter Respirator by TDA Research: A lightweight, field-rechargeable respirator for forest firefighters

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Forest fire fighters need a lightweight wearable respirator to protect them from inhaling smoke. The Wildland Firefighter Respirator, by TDA Research, uses a hip-mounted pump to pull air through a HEPA filter, channeling it to a secure but loose-fitting half-mask (a helpful feature for people who haven’t had the chance to shave while in the field). A sensor in the system detects air flow direction, letting the pump only blow at full strength when the user inhales. Importantly, the device weighs just 2.3 pounds, which is only about 10 percent the weight of a typical urban firefighting Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. About the size of a 1-liter water bottle, the respirator is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. To recharge in the field or away from a generator, that pack can also draw power from 6 AA batteries. Bonus: Even though it was designed for safety professionals, the device could also become civilian protective gear in fire season.

Connect AED by Avive: Connecting defibrillators to those in need, faster

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Avive’s Connect AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is designed to be a life-saving device that’s also smart. The devices can automatically do daily maintenance checks to ensure they can perform as needed, thanks to WiFi, cellular, bluetooth, and GPS. Plus, with that connectivity, 911 operators could alert nearby Connect AED holders to respond to a called-in cardiac arrest, saving time and possibly someone’s life. Once a person has been defibrillated, Connect’s connectivity also lets emergency room doctors see data the device collected, such as the patient’s heart rhythm, as well as the device’s shock history, complete with timestamps. The Connect AED also has a backpack-like form factor and touch screen for intuitive use.

Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations by Ames Research Center: Letting drone pilots clear skies for aerial emergency vehicles 

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The sky above a forest fire can be a dangerous, crowded place, and that was before forest fire fighters added drones joined the mix. Developed by NASA, the Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations project (STEReO) is developing tools for managing the complicated airspace above an emergency. In the spring of 2022, a NASA team field-tested a STEReO’s suitcase-sized prototype device, called the UASP-Kit, to monitor drones safely in the open airspace around prescribed burns. By tracking transponders on crewed aircraft, the UASP-Kit can play a sound through tablet speakers, alerting drone operators when helicopters and planes fly close to where they are operating. That hopefully lets drone pilots get their equipment to safety without risking aerial collision.

Locate Before Route by AT&T: Pinpointing the emergency 

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When a person in an emergency calls 911 for help, that call is routed, based on its location, to the closest 911 operator. For cell phones, that meant matching the call to the nearest tower and hoping it sent the call to dispatch in the right county. But in May 2022, AT&T announced the nationwide rollout of a better system. Leaning on the improved location services on iOS and Android phones, AT&T’s Locate Before Route feature can pinpoint the location of the emergency call within 50 meters, sometimes even as precisely as 15 meters. This better location information should allow the call to be routed to the best dispatch center, ideally helping responders arrive faster. That data can only be used for 911 purposes, and helps first responders get where they’re needed quickly, nationwide.

GridStar Flow by Lockheed Martin: Helping to power defense with renewable energy

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The US military is a massive consumer of fossil fuels, but if it wants to use more renewable energy, it needs a way to store that electricity to power vital functions. GridStar Flow, developed by Lockheed Martin for the US Army, is a massive battery complex that takes advantage of the space of Colorado’s Fort Carson to go big. It will store up to 10 megawatt-hours of juice, thanks to tanks of charged electrolytes and other equipment. Construction at Fort Carson broke ground on November 3, but the company has already tested out a smaller flow battery in Andover, Massachusetts. Using electrolytes that can be derived from commodity chemicals, GridStar Flow offers a power storage and release system that can help smooth the energy flow from renewable sources.

Volterra Electric Firetruck by Pierce: A more sustainable, quieter fire truck

Pierce

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Fire trucks are big, powerful vehicles, but they run on diesel, a polluting fossil fuel. The Pierce Volterra truck can deliver all that power on an electric charge, and it can also run on diesel fuel if need be. Already in use with the Madison, Wisconsin fire department, but with contracts to expand to Portland, Oregon and Gilbert, Arizona underway this year, the Volterra has enough battery power for a full day as an electric vehicle. The electric power helps complement a transition to renewable energy, but it also comes with immediate benefit to the firefighters: the vehicle doesn’t spew exhaust into the station. The quiet of the electric engine also lets firefighters coordinate better on the drive, and can help cries for help be heard when the responders arrive on site.

Vampire Drone by L3Harris: Taking down drones from kilometers away

L3Harris

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Drones are increasingly a part of modern battles, seen in wars across the globe but especially with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with both countries using a range of uncrewed aircraft to scout and fight. In August 2022, the Department of Defense announced it would send a new tool to aid Ukrainian forces as a way to counter Russian drones. Made by L3Harris, the Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) system is a rocket launcher and sensor kit that can be mounted to a range of vehicles, providing a means to damage and destroy drones at a range of at least three miles. The laser-guided rockets, directed by a human operator, explode with a proximity fuse, making near misses into effective takedowns. 

Emergency SOS via satellite by Apple: Locating lost hikers with satellites

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For hikers lost in remote parts of the United States and Canada, calling for help means hoping for cell phone coverage, or waiting for a serendipitous rescue. But Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite, announced September 2022, will let people with an iPhone 14 transmit emergency messages via satellite, provided they can’t first establish a cellular connection. Texters will have a tap-through menu to create an information-dense but data-light report, and provided trees or mountains don’t block the signal, they can transmit crucial information, like what kind of injuries someone has sustained. With a clear view of the sky and fifteen seconds, a cry for help can reach space and then, even better, rescuers on Earth.

The post The most helpful emergency services and defense innovations of 2022 appeared first on Popular Science.

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Scrappy Italian brand Fiat has risen from the proverbial ashes once again. Launched way back in 1899, Fiat established itself in the US in 1908 and has weathered storms through the two world wars, twice departing the American market to regroup. Now a subsidiary of auto conglomerate Stellantis, which also owns brands such as Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Ram, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo, Fiat is finding its footing with an expansion of its small-car lineup. Only this time, it’s as an EV manufacturer. 

Seeing an opening with the departure of the Ford Fiesta from the market this year, Fiat showcased a trio of super-chic 500e models mocked up with designer-brand interiors at the LA Auto Show on November 18. The ultra-compact, Euro-stylish Fiat 500 has always been adorable and represents la dolce vita (“the sweet life” in Italian) that Americans find charming. In EV form as the 500e, its appeal expands exponentially. 

Lavishly festooned with design elements from luxury brands Giorgio Armani, Kartell, and Bulgari, the 500e models on display were intentionally set up to lay out the brand’s direction and pricing structure. Fiat boss Oliver François told Autocar UK that making small electric cars affordable is a challenge, but he’s tapping into all the resources of its parent company to leverage experience and manufacturing synergies. 

“The only super-profitable, easy way to go electric is to make it super-premium, because you embed the horribly high cost of batteries into something that is anyway expensive,” François said. 

Fiat called the 500e “irresistibly cool, small and Italian” and a “fashion accessory” in its November 17 press release, indicating the automaker’s branding strategy. Combining the electrification trend with fashion is a bet the brand can win, especially in Europe where small cars are more common. However, in the US, where consumers have been in the middle of a love affair with large SUVs and trucks, these vehicles represent a welcome step in the other direction—if people can be convinced to buy them. 

At some point, we may get an Abarth version of the 500e, too. Following the tracks of its (sadly) now-defunct 124 Abarth, the new 500e Abarth will be a performance-focused option available later on, with no confirmed date currently in place. The result of a glorious partnership with Mazda, the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth was based on the popular MX-5 Miata and shared many of its attributes. However, the 124 Spider Abarth possesses a spunky attitude that reveals itself on the autocross as the back half slips around with a delightful wiggle not unlike the wagging tail of an exuberant dog. The 500e may not have the same swagger and is narrower and taller than its 124 counterpart, but the 500 model has always been equally eager to please in all kinds of driving conditions. Except, perhaps in the snow (unless it’s hard-packed).

In Europe, the 500e is available with a 23.8 kilowatt-hour battery pack good for 100 miles of range or a 42 kWh battery pack capable of 199 miles on a full charge. On the surface, that sounds shockingly inadequate, until you consider that this car is made for the urban environment where owners will be driving it short distances from charger to charger. It’s the right car for the city for short commutes and tight parking, but it may not be the best choice for a road trip. 

According to Consumer Guide’s Tom Appel, gas- and electric-powered versions of the 500 were available in the US between 2012 and 2019, with the caveat that the 500e was offered only in California and Oregon. Appel expects the new Fiat model to be offered more broadly for the 2025 model. The North American 500e will launch officially at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show with availability expected in the first quarter of 2024.

The post Fiat wants its small new EV to be a luxurious ‘fashion accessory’ appeared first on Popular Science.

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Electric scooters have become a hot-ticket mode of transportation: they’re a light and efficient way to get around, and easier to park than cumbersome cars. However, they’re also notoriously expensive. You can save $200 on NIU’s Kqi3 Pro, one of the best electric scooters we’ve tested. This Cyber Monday deal brings the Kqi3 Pro down to $600, the lowest price we’ve seen yet.

NIU Kqi3 Pro Electric Scooter, $599.25 (Was $799)

This scooter can go up to 20 miles per hour and lasts up to six hours (up to 31 miles) per charge, which makes it perfect for short trips to the store or a joyride around the beach or park. We found the Kqi3 very easy to handle, even for someone who hasn’t used an electric scooter before, and were impressed at how well its beefy tires handled small bumps, rocks, and other obstacles.

The switch that allows you to fold the handlebars over the Kqi3’s frame is easy to depress when moving your scooter into a car or other tight space and won’t get triggered accidentally. It’s easy enough to fold and unfold the Kqi3 that we never found it annoying to transport it in and out of the home. The Kqi3 Pro is an excellent electric scooter for new riders and would be a fantastic holiday gift this season for someone looking to ditch their car once in a while.

If you’ve been looking for the right time to pick up an electric scooter (for yourself or someone else), this Cyber Monday deal makes today the perfect opportunity.

More zippy electric scooter Cyber Monday deals

• NIU KQi2 Pro $449 (Was $599)
• isinwheel Electric Scooter $299.97 (Was $499.99)
• Tifgalop Electric Scooter for Adults $1,599.99 (Was $1,898)
• Hiboy S2 Pro $498.99 (Was $999.99)
• Gotrax G4 Electric Scooter $501.99 (Was $799.99)
• Wheelspeed Electric Scooter $279.99 (Was $539)
• JOYOR S5 Electric Scooter $699 (Was $799)
• Gotrax Apex XL Electric Scooter $343.99 (Was $449.99)
• Hiboy S2 Electric Scooter $399.99 (Was $549.99)
• Hiboy Titan PRO Electric Scooter $1,199.99 (Was $1,799.99)
• Hiboy S2R Electric Scooter $363.98 (Was $569.99)
• OKAI ES50B Electric Scooter $278.08 (Was $369)
• Scooter Electric Scooter $399.99 (Was $699.99)
• Hiboy KS4 Pro Electric Scooter $534.99 (Was $849.99)
• Inmotion S1 Adults Electric Scooter $799 (Was $949)

More of the best Cyber Monday deals and Black Friday sales still available

• TV deals
• Computer deals
• Portable generators
• Audio deals
• 3D printer deals
• Apple deals
• Telescope deals
• Walmart deals
• Appliance deals
• Fitness deals
• Generator deals
• Coffee deals
• Deal: LG OLED TV
• Deal: Shark vacuum
• Deal: Anker Power Station
• Deal: Vitamix blender

The post Get NIU’s Kqi3 Pro Electric Scooter for $200 off this Cyber Monday appeared first on Popular Science.

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This article was originally featured on The Drive.

It’s no secret that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on tuners. The regulatory body has essentially declared war on companies who manufacture and sell “emission defeat devices,” and its enforcement is enough to scare just about anybody into compliance, including eBay.

That being said, if you’re looking to pick up a new “off-road only” performance part, eBay likely won’t be your go-to website for much longer. The e-commerce giant has quietly banned the sale of emission defeat devices in many forms, including handheld tuners, test pipes, oxygen sensor spacers, or other products designed to improve the performance of a car while also defeating certain emission controls.

The banning of these types of performance products was recently noticed by Road and Track after a user in an automotive Facebook group reported that they were unable to list a Hondata tuner for sale on eBay. When attempting to list the tuner for sale, the user was reportedly met with an error informing them that it was a prohibited item.

“eBay is not currently allowing any tuners, regardless of functionality, in order to ensure compliance with our policy prohibiting defeat devices,” Read the error received by the user, “Please do not relist.”

As it turns out, hardware and software tuners were quietly banned under eBay’s restricted items policy. It’s not immediately clear when this policy went into effect, however, it would appear that this is a relatively new addition to the company’s public listing policies. An eBay spokesperson later confirmed the banning of these devices to R&T.

“Products that bypass, defeat or render inoperative emission-control systems aren’t allowed, either on their own or when combined with other hardware or software,” reads eBay’s policy on prohibited items. The policy officially prohibits the following items from being sold on its platform:

• ​Tuners, services, software or devices that modify the performance of vehicles, such as cars, trucks and off-road vehicles
• Aftermarket standalone (non-OEM) electronic control unit (ECU), including full electronic fuel injection (EFI) conversion kits
• Powertrain or exhaust parts intended for “race only” or “off-road only”
• Active fuel management/Dynamic fuel management or auto start-stop disablers
• Blocking plates for emission control systems
• Products that remove factory catalytic converters (CAT) or diesel particulate filters (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF)
• Throttle response controllers
• Exhaust servo eliminators
• Devices intended to bypass or reduce flow to oxygen sensors

EBay goes on to cite an EPA Enforcement Alert issued in 2020 as justification for banning these items. Historically, the EPA has primarily been targeting defeat devices for diesel vehicles, however, individual states like California have also jumped into the mix to condemn non-approved ECU software. Should eBay be found to be compliant in the sales of these devices, the company risks being fined upwards of $4,800 per occurrence by the EPA under the Clean Air Act.

I checked at the time of writing and did find a few products which would seemingly violate the listing guidelines (like Hondata tuners, old Apexi SAFCs, start-stop disablers, and catless downpipes), but had a difficult time finding O2 sensor spacers, Cobb AccessPorts, and other popular devices. It’s possible that eBay is tuning its enforcement of this policy, or that certain items are flying under the radar for now.

Regardless, the banning of these items on eBay opens up a door with consequences behind it that nobody in the automotive scene wants to see. Thankfully, eBay-adjacent payment processor PayPal hasn’t banned these items, meaning that people can still find solace in knowing that they can use platforms like Facebook Marketplace and automotive forums to still buy and sell these types of goods and pay with most peer-to-peer payment apps. Even so, the legality of on-road use still remains a problem—whether or not the EPA comes cracking down on these items in the future is still to be seen.

The post The EPA is making eBay crack down on some car part sales appeared first on Popular Science.

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At the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago, the number of outdoor activities increased rapidly. Off-roading and overlanding (adventure traveling in a vehicle combined with camping) pursuits have been front and center ever since, and bicycle riding is on an upswing. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a US-based nonprofit that promotes the transformation of unused rail corridors into trails for hiking and biking, says its trail counters showed an average increase in trail use of 51 percent for 2021 compared to 2019. This number continues to expand.

Bike riding isn’t just for outdoor fun, however. Cars and city streets are making room for more cyclists, and e-bikes could help reduce emissions and smog while offering benefits for riders. E-bikes are a less-sweaty way to get around compared to manual cycling since they have an electric motor that can give the  bike a boost. That brutal hill on the way to work? Easy to get up with motorized wheels.

More e-bikes, fewer cars in city centers

Robin Stallings, the executive director of Texas-focused bicycle advocacy and education organization BikeTexas, told PopSci that e-bikes could replace cars in many urban settings.

“We need to at least get some people out of their trucks to make room for the rest of us,” Stallings told NPR. Continuing the conversation with Houston Public Media, he said: “You take up less footprint, less space, you have fewer parking issues [with bikes]. And you save a ton of money on gasoline and car payments and insurance.”

To be clear, e-bikes aren’t motorcycles; the two modes of transport have different rules. Vehicles must fit into one of three classes to qualify as an e-bike: class 1 covers bikes that use pedal assist up to 20 mph; class 2 covers bikes that also include a throttle along with pedals and can travel at speeds of up to 20 mph; and class 3 is an expansion of class 1 with e-bikes that can reach speeds of up to 28 mph. 

Protecting cyclists on the road

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, bicycle trips make up only 1 percent of all trips in the United States, but bicyclists account for more than 2 percent of fatalities involving a motor vehicle. Every year, nearly 1,000 cyclists are killed and more than 130,000 are injured on US roads. The cost impact from health care expense plus lost lives and work productivity is estimated to be around $23 billion.  

Nonprofit bike advocacy organization League of American Bicyclists’ executive director Bill Nesper says US roads weren’t always built to prioritize cars the way they are today. In fact, the first vehicles to use paved roads were carriages and bicycles. Members in the organization have witnessed the evolution since it was founded in 1880, several years before cars became commonplace. It wasn’t until after World War II that our streets became so car-centric, Nesper says. Community groups like Strong Towns call city infrastructure roads “stroads” (street plus road) and are trying to bring more attention to the unsafe conditions it presents for pedestrians and bikes.

“It’s absolutely true that people moving and getting around by foot and by bike is an afterthought, you know, if thought about at all,” Nesper told NPR.

Organizations like BikeTexas and the League of American Bicyclists have successfully lobbied lawmakers to add bike-only lanes to city streets, especially as the number of cyclists increases.

E-bike battery safety critical

Claudia Wasko, Vice President of Bosch eBike Systems Americas, stresses the importance of e-bike battery safety. To this end, she notes that Bosch voluntarily adheres to testing by safety certification company Intertek to the Underwriter Laboratories (UL) 2849 Safety Standard. Intertek gives E-bike companies the UL 2849 certification after carefully examining the electrical drive train, battery, and charger systems.

Bosch’s Kurt Hoy says the manufacturer voluntarily creates components with extra layers of safety beyond the legal requirements and certifications. Bosch competes with the likes of Brose, Shimano, and Yamaha for e-bike market share, and Hoy says it’s critical to look for a product with stringent standards, because there are plenty of companies pairing a substandard motor with a bike and selling it for pennies on the dollar online. Honestly, high-quality e-bikes aren’t cheap; I tested a Tern with a Bosch motor that provided 400 percent assist that retails for about $5,000.

That said, part of what customers are paying for is the safety factor, and cheap e-bikes with poorly maintained or damaged lithium-ion batteries have a much greater potential to catch fire.

Legislation under consideration for e-bikes and batteries

Delivery cyclists swapping batteries between subpar bikes are unknowingly contributing to the risk, and organizations in big cities like New York are considering bans on sales of second-hand electric vehicle batteries along with batteries that haven’t been approved by a nationally recognized testing lab like UL. 

“As e-bikes and e-scooters become more popular, unregulated knockoff parts including batteries and chargers are flooding the market, sometimes with disastrous consequences,” Molly Hurford wrote on Bicycling.com. 

Companies using multiple safety protocols are highly unlikely to have batteries or chargers that catch fire because each component in the devices is isolated from the others. Bosch, for instance, encases individual lithium-ion cells in its batteries in flame-retardant plastic and tightly seals the compartment to protect it from water.

Charging is a critical point for e-bikes, and Wasko says her company’s battery management system can detect high temperatures and immediately shut down the battery. That protocol protects owners from “deep discharging” and overcharging their e-bikes, which can cause excessive heat that leads to a fire. Responsible brands should comply with laws and certify their systems to voluntary and/or mandatory standards and norms, she says.

With all that added in, e-bikes may be a considerable investment. But for those living in crowded urban areas with limited parking, it could still be a smart one. For one, an e-bike costs a fraction of the price of a car and doesn’t require costly trips to the gas station or electric charging station. The key is to purchase and use bikes that are tested at a qualified testing laboratory, and it should serve for years to come. 

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Did you know there’s a specific term for the times when you encounter sudden, inexplicable vehicle congestion on the interstate despite no discernible culprit such as rubbernecking or an accident? It’s called a “phantom traffic jam,” and was first identified around 12 years ago by researchers in Japan conducting a simple experiment. Despite telling 20 human drivers to all drive at a constant speed around a circular track, even the briefest instances of individuals’ pressing their brake pedals compounded on one another, resulting in those recognizable traffic fits and starts.

This automotive variation on the “butterfly effect” has been carefully studied ever since, and a research group is now approaching the finish line on a potential solution devoid of any sort of half-baked “self-driving” system. As Associated Press recounts, a recent experiment has shown instances of phantom traffic jams can be reduced by linking cars’ into a single communication network via utilizing newer vehicles’ adaptive cruise control systems.

[Related: The future of open city streets could start with smarter traffic lights.]

An increasing number of cars often come equipped with a sensor array that automatically can slow or speed up cruise control depending on how close you are to the vehicle ahead of you in traffic. Researchers recently set 100 cars traveling in a 15-mile circuit along Nashville’s I-24 from about 6 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. each morning with their smart cruise controls not only enabled, but able to connect with one another. By creating a web of information from multiple cars at varying distances from one another on the road, AI algorithms could adjust drivers’ speeds while taking into consideration conditions far ahead of them. The exact numbers are still being calculated, but the AP notes that one researcher explains, “It’s unquestionable that enhanced automotive technology can significantly reduce phantom traffic jams when implemented at scale.”

It’s important to note that this is most certainly not self-driving car tech, but instead a strengthened driver assist system that can be scaled upwards to create a network of sharable information for vehicles. As such, commuters could hypothetically see such programs on the road far before any kind of real self-driving car. “This is not autonomous driving. This is something we could realize very soon,” explained Liam Pedersen, a deputy general manager for research at Nissan who assisted in the experiment.

[Related: Autonomous driving project Argo AI is shutting down.]

Better traffic conditions won’t only easy commuters’ morning and evening stress levels—by reducing the number of stop-and-starts, vehicles will use less gas, and therefore emit less pollution. It remains to be seen if enough automakers will be keen to participate in such a system, although at least one company employee is eager to see it happen. “I certainly hope so,” Pederson told AP when asked if they hope carmakers will join a potential future program, explaining that “the system works best when lots and lots of cars participate.”

The post An AI that lets cars communicate might reduce traffic jams appeared first on Popular Science.

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Golems, leprechauns, and new-generation versions of the classic Volkswagen bus are all mythical creatures of fantastic legend, but unlike the others, at long last, the Volkswagen ID.BUZZ is a real, drivable machine, and Popular Science got a chance to take one for a spin.

Imagine getting to drive the automotive equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster—that’s the feeling of piloting a real-life all-electric 2023 VW ID.BUZZ down everyday streets, surrounded by mere mortal vehicles. The outrageous throwback styling puts smiles on the faces of passers-by, and it will probably be difficult to stop with one at a public charger without an impromptu Q&A session.

This ID.BUZZ is not a concept, not a pre-production prototype, or any other form of not-real vehicle like that crazy Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 we track tested. VW has whetted fans’ appetites for a new version of the classic bus with three different concept vans between 2001 and 2016, before finally showing the concept version of the ID.BUZZ production model in 2017.

Our test vehicle, however, is a European-market configuration, so while this ID.BUZZ is not imaginary like a sasquatch, it is also not exactly the vehicle that Americans will be able to buy when they arrive in US dealers.

Instead, this example ($67,000 base price), is a short-wheelbase (118 inches), two-row, five-seat model that we will not get in America. We’ll get a longer model with three rows of seats to hold seven passengers. But otherwise, this test vehicle is an accurate representation of what we can expect to find in dealers. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until 2024 to take one home, as VW focuses on fulfilling orders in Europe, where the van is already on sale.

However, if you want the electric driving experience of the ID.BUZZ without the cool nostalgic styling, hefty price tag, or lengthy wait, the company’s ID.4 crossover SUV delivers much of the same experience today, as both vehicles share their Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB is the German acronym) platform and dashboard controls and displays. 

Volkswagen’s original bus was built on the platform of the Beetle compact car, producing a people hauler that, while much-loved by the Baby Boom generation as it took them to Woodstock, was comically underpowered. Westfalia camper versions sported a pop-up tent on the roof, and later iterations switched from air cooling for the engine to water cooling to help boost power. The VW EuroVan was the last version of the bus imported to the US, ending its run here in 2003. 

And now, finally, electric versions are here.

What it’s like to drive the ID.BUZZ

The shared platform between the ID.BUZZ and the ID.4 means that there is an 82-kilowatt-hour battery pack (which has a usable capacity of 77 kWh) powering a 201-horsepower electric motor that can accelerate the bus to 60 mph in 10 seconds. The driving experience is similar to that of the ID.4, with a twist shifter to select drive or reverse, numb electric power steering that gives little feeling for the road, and an impressively tight turning circle that makes it easy to pilot the vehicle into parking spaces.

Twist the shifter into Drive and then twist it a second time to set it to the high-regeneration mode that recharges the batteries when you lift off the accelerator pedal. However, while this vehicle delivers much of the one-pedal driving experience, the ID.BUZZ does not come to a complete stop when taking your foot off the accelerator, so in stop-and-go traffic you still have to dance between the accelerator and the brake.

The longer US model will need more space to turn around because of its stretched wheelbase, but the tight turning radius of the Euro-spec version suggests that even a longer model will still be easy to line up for a parking space.

For now, the ID.BUZZ is saddled with the same unfortunate ID.COCKPIT capacitive-touch controls for functions like door locks and volume control that infuriate many drivers in the ID.4. We can only hope that VW will swap those controls for the US model with some decent physical knobs and buttons.

The cabin in the ID.BUZZ is also reminiscent of the ID.4. While the styling is very different, the hard, unfriendly materials used on most of the interior surfaces are the same. The upholstery in our test vehicle’s seats was a nice combination of throwback plaid fabric on the contact surfaces of the seats that actually touch the occupants and easy-to-wipe-clean vinyl.

What they won’t be able to change is how VW’s engineers matched the MEB platform to the ID.BUZZ body. For one thing, the van is about six inches wider than the ID.4, but the seats seem to have stayed in the same location inside the vehicle. That pushes the doors further from the occupants, making the armrests on the door panels uselessly distant.