The Verge » Transportation
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Cars are the technology of the future. In Verge Transportation, we bring you new car reviews, auto show insights, and news from the race toward self-driving, autonomous electric vehicles between companies like Uber and Tesla.
The Verge » Transportation
17h ago
Image: Getty
New York City announced a new permitting system for companies interested in testing autonomous vehicles on its roads, including a requirement that a human safety driver sit behind the steering wheel at all times.
As cities like San Francisco continue to grapple with the problems posed by fully driverless for-hire vehicles, New York City is trying to get ahead of the problem by outlining what it calls “a rigorous permitting program” that it claims will ensure applicants are “ready to test their technology in the country’s most challenging urban environment safely and proficiently ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
2d ago
Image: Polestar
The Polestar 4 is going on sale next month, and when it does, the price will be slightly different than the electric crossover coupe was originally announced.
Last year, Polestar said the 4 would start at around $60,000. Today, the Swedish (by way of China) automaker is adjusting that starting price down to $56,300 (including a $1,400) destination charge) for the long-range single-motor rear-wheel drive version. Meanwhile, a dual-motor Polestar 4 with standard Pilot pack will start at $63,400 (also including the destination charge).
The Polestar 4 will go into production starti ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
3d ago
The all-electric SUV set a new record as the first globe-trotting EV.Image: Ford
Ford neglected to share the maximum range of its newest all-electric Explorer when it announced the Europe-only EV last year. We’ve gotten those details today, however, in an announcement Ford made detailing specs and availability. It came alongside word that it’s set a new world record with renowned traveler Lexie Alford as the first to circumnavigate the globe with an electric vehicle.
The Explorer EV’s 375-mile range (602km) is above average for the American automaker and impressive for an SUV in general, even ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
3d ago
Image: Nissan
Nissan has laid out a new plan to electrify 16 of the 30 vehicles it produces by 2026, with the rest using internal combustion instead. For those of us in North America, the company says it plans to release seven new vehicles in the US and Canada, although it’s not clear how many of those will be some type of EV.
Nissan says the US is getting “e-POWER and plug-in hybrid models” — each of those uses a mix of electricity and fuel for power. At the moment, the only all-electric EVs Nissan is producing are the Ariya SUV and the perhaps endangered (or maybe not) Leaf.
In 2021, Nissan ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
1w ago
Boom’s XB-1 demonstrator took off for the first time last week. Image: Boom
Aviation startup Boom Supersonic took a major step today toward its goal of returning commercial supersonic aviation to the skies, after the company’s prototype aircraft, the XB-1, left the ground for the first time this week. The short, subsonic flight over the Mojave Desert came years later than expected, but it shows that Boom is at least still making progress.
The XB-1 took off Thursday at 7:28AM PT, reached a maximum altitude of 7,120 feet, and a top speed of 246 knots (283 mph). It landed 12 minutes later at 7:40 ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
1w ago
Image: Ford
Buried in the 88-page antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Apple is a reference to everyone’s favorite phone-projection system, CarPlay.
The DOJ says that, like smartphones, vehicle infotainment systems have become a new way in which Apple exhibits anticompetitive behavior to harm consumers as well as its competitors.
Apple’s plans to introduce a more immersive version of CarPlay, in which the system displays key aspects of the vehicle’s functions like speed and HVAC, are further evidence of the company’s illegal monopoly over smartphones, prosecutors say ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
1w ago
Image: BMW
BMW announced a new concept car, the Vision Neue Klasse X, that the automaker says will inform the direction of its future lineup of electric vehicles. The vehicle is a crossover SUV with BMW’s distinctive kidney-shaped grilled (extremely distinctive, but we’ll get to that in the second) and a bunch of innovative features, especially around its battery and electric architecture, that suggest there’s a lot of exciting stuff to come in BMW’s future.
For years, the automaker has been planning for the next stage in its EV evolution. The third phase is called the Neue Klasse, the first v ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
1w ago
Photo by Kevin Carter / Getty Images
The Biden administration announced new automobile standards aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2032 while also allowing automakers to meet their targets at a slower pace than originally proposed.
The new standards were not as strict as the proposal laid out by the Environmental Protection Agency last year, in which automakers would have been required to reduce emissions by over two-thirds by 2032. Car companies and the autoworkers union opposed the plan, citing recent slower sales growth of electric vehicles and the popularity of some hyb ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
1w ago
The Cowboy Cross in “mushroom” with the inverted front suspension fork clearly visible.Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
Cowboy — the independent and financially healthy maker of sophisticated and highly advanced e-bikes — just took the wraps off its first all-roader that lets riders more easily escape cobblestoned city streets for greener pastures.
To do that, Cowboy’s new Cross e-bike features fatter 60mm tires and suspension systems built into the front fork and seat post to soak up bumps along the way. It’s also fitted with grippier pedals to avoid foot slips when bouncing around, a large ..read more
The Verge » Transportation
1w ago
Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
The speed in which automakers will have to phase out their gas-powered vehicles in favor of ones that are all-electric will be determined Wednesday, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to release its new vehicle emissions rules.
Environmental groups are hoping for a sped-up timeline that will put the country on the path to an all-electric fleet by the early part of next decade, while automakers are pushing for a slower adoption that allows the industry to meet consumers’ needs.
First announced in April 2023, the EPA’s original pr ..read more