Cars are the technology of the future. The Verge brings you new car reviews, auto show insights, deeply reported investigations, and news from the frontlines of autonomous and electric vehicle development. We bring you updates from major companies like Ford, GM, Mercedes, and VW as well as digital upstarts like Uber, Google, and Tesla. Cars are among the biggest computers that we’ll ever own, and we know computers. We also bring you news and analyses from the growing effort to reduce the number of cars crowding our cities and the fight to reduce oil consumption, cut CO2 emissions, and shift to more sustainable sources of energy.
The car was expected to sell for around $1.1 million, but the polarizing EV absolutely shattered that at auction. The proceeds from the sale of chassis #0 will be going to charity, but it’s still a wild price for a car that starts at $600,000 retail.
SV stands for Supervolce, or ‘super fast.’ And that’s an apt description for this heat-seeking missile of a sports car.
The German automaker must have gotten an earful from owners, because after a brief, stick-less interlude, the 911 Carrera S is getting its manual transmission back. The Porsche 911 Carerra S with MT Package (starting price $169,450 for the coupe, $183,350 for the cabriolet) shares its six-gear transmission with the Carrera T, and comes exclusively in rear-wheel drive. Manual transmissions aren’t for everyone, but plenty of Porsche people still prefer them.
The FIA has recognized the Hydromax’s Speed Week runs at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, measuring 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph for an average of 406.320 mph, as the new record for a hydrogen internal combustion-powered vehicle.
JCB makes heavy equipment and shoved two “production-based” hydrogen digger engines into a slim frame to set the record, with British driver and outright land speed record holder Andy Green behind the wheel.
Two people have filed a class action suit against Mercedes-AMG, claiming that a raised metal logo on the seats of certain models literally brands them on hot days. According to the Associated Press:
Lahigani, a Los Angeles resident, had leased a new 2026 Mercedes-AMG E-Class vehicle from an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership in Los Angeles, according to the suit. He reported receiving second-degree burns on his back on May 31, after entering his vehicle wearing a tank top. A board-certified dermatologist subsequently documented first- and second-degree burns, describing the injury as “AMG inscribed.”
Here’s a nine-second clip of a concept car the company says will kick off a “bold new era for Acura design” next week at Monterey Car Week. Acura’s future models will feature the new design language, starting with the fourth-gen RDX Hybrid Acura revealed a prototype of earlier this year.
Ford says its Fathom electric truck will start at $28,350, just a few thousand more than Slate’s. There’s good reason to be cautious about how long that lasts.
Codiusprime:
I think if you can actually buy a base model at 28,350 a year after release, this will be a win. We all know what happened to the cheap Maverick though. I’ll continue to believe all of this when I see it. Not to mention the dealerships sabotaging this effort at every turn.
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The automaker only announced the new 4-door electric sedan last spring and it’s already adding a new variant. The Mercedes-AMG GT 53 will be a new high-performance model arriving in US dealerships in 2027. Mercedes has used the 53 badge for its electrified 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engines. Now it will be applied to an all-electric sedan with a dual-motor 800V architecture, 536 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, and a 0-60 acceleration in 3.4 seconds.
Now that BMW has shown off its M Concept Neue Klasse, M division head Frank van Meel talked to Autocar, saying that the future M3 EV’s “heart of Joy” controlled quad-motor setup could create racing and driving dynamics that the combustion engine M3 doesn’t match:
“You can brake the inner wheels, accelerate the outer ones and can get out of turns in a completely different way. It’s a new era of vehicle dynamics… if you’re into racing or driving dynamics, you might say the electric one is the best M3.”
Shortly after confirming it was looking at closing plants and cutting up to 100,000 jobs, the world’s 2nd largest auto company posted miserable financials and a desperate outlook as it lays the ground work for a radical overhaul of its business under threat from Chinese upstarts.
The first new Prelude in 25 years has a hybrid powertrain and simulated shifting. But don’t let that deter you.
Chip Motors is the latest startup with aspirations to disrupt the golf cart market. Its $15,000 EV can only go 25 mph, but it can park itself using remote operators.
After months of rumors, Honda finally confirmed that it’s killing off the electric Prologue SUV in the US after just two years of sales, CarBuzz reports.
The automaker already pulled the plug on its Honda Zero series of EVs before they even got out of the factory. And after ending sales of the Prologue, that’s exactly the number of EVs that Honda will be left with in the US: zero.
Last year, Ford introduced an app-based kill switch for its F-series trucks, enabling owners to remotely kill the engine from inside the Ford Pass app. Now the company is bringing that feature to more models, including Bronco Sport, Expedition, and Mustang Mach-E, according to The Drive.
Volkswagen’s cost-cutting crusade could result in model cancellations at all of the auto giant’s brands, including the all-electric Porsche Taycan, Cayenne Coupe, and 718 successor. Other models to get the ax include the VW Jetta and Taos, and the Audi Q5 Sportback and Q6 E-Tron Sportback. VW’s profits have slumped as it faces billions in tariff costs and stiff competition from China.
The Drive has new pics of Ford’s $30,000 prototype electric truck, giving us our best look at the pint-sized truck’s real door handles and giant interior touchscreen. But maybe the most interesting aspect, as noticed by mobility investor Reilly Brennan, is the new camouflage that features soccer balls, sail boats, hearts, and other emoji-like symbols. No poops, fortunately.
It follows last year’s EXP 15 “design concept,” and follows Bentley tradition by taking its name from the El Torcal de Antequera natural landmark in Andalusia, Spain. Bentley’s CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser says it “may just be the most considered car in our history.” We’ll find out more on September 23rd.
BMW’s Neue Klasse-ified SUV launched this week, including an all-electric iX5 with 800-volt charging that can add 170 miles of range in 10 minutes and go from 10-80 percent in 22 minutes, plus a 17.9-inch in-car display with Alexa, CarPlay and Android Auto.
But we’re really just looking at those familiar-looking headlights. (And that new statue.)
You might remember I took a break from Decoder last year — we had a baby, so I took some leave. In my place, we had an excellent slate of guest hosts, and we’ve been working hard to bring you those episodes in full video since we launched our official Decoder YouTube channel.
So today, we’re featuring a really great interview conducted last fall by my very good friend Joanna Stern, now the founder and CEO of New Things, and Ford CEO Jim Farley. Watch it here, or read the full transcript here.
The fire occurred in Martin County late last week after “a brake pad from the trailer hauling the six Teslas ignited and quickly spread to the vehicles,” according to local news outlet WPTV. Both lanes of Florida’s Turnpike and part of I-95 were shut down as toxic fumes and smoke clouded the area.
When the Google Meet UI for Apple CarPlay launched in April, Google said Android Auto would follow soon, and now it’s here, with the rollout set to finish by June 26th. If you want to take a work call while in the car, you can see your schedule, dial colleagues, or join calls (audio only, both ways) without picking up your phone.
The recall comes just weeks after Waymo vehicles drove past ramp closure signs in Arizona and entered closed lanes in San Francisco, according to a filing with the NHTSA. The company paused freeway service last month due to the issue, which it’s fixing with a software update.
The Autopian spotted the highly anticipated EV in Long Beach this week. Although it was heavily camouflaged, the outlet was able to estimate its measurements to be around 64-inches tall and about 195-inches long, which would make it a little smaller than a Ford Maverick. That’s extremely interesting to me as a person who thinks most trucks today are way too big for their britches. Sure, it’s no kei truck, but for Ford, it’s practically microscopic. Bring on the baby trucks!
Now that Audi has an F1 team, it apparently feels ready to put the supercar label on something for the first time. A press release says it will release 499 Nuvolaris starting in the first half of 2027.
They will combine an 800 hp V8 turbocharged engine in the middle with three electric motors that can produce up to 110 kW each, capable of pushing it to an estimated 350 km/h, or 217 mph, and 0 to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds.
The new Coupe version of the Cayenne is a little more compact, but a lot more powerful.
