Honda shows off its first electric SUV, the Prologue

After announcing the very cute Honda E and a long-term collaboration with GM, Honda has made its EV ambitions clear. But it’s still lagging behind most other carmakers—especially its closest rival Toyota, which is rolling out its first mainstream electric car this year. To whet our appetites a bit, Honda has revealed a teaser image of the Prologue, its first electric SUV launching in 2024. And, well… it looks pretty much like what we’d expect from a Honda SUV.

The lone image, which is just a render and not a photo of the Prologue in action, shows off the SUV’s clean body lines and beefy tires. The Prologue is a design collaboration between its studios in Los Angeles and Japan, and it was also developed together with GM. There’s a bit of old and new here, for sure, but its relatively plain aesthetic makes Toyota’s BZ4X look practically radical in comparison.

Honda plans to unveil 30 new EVs by 2030, with expected sales of 2 million units. After kicking off sales of the Prologue in 2024, Honda plans to start producing and selling new EVs based on its e:Architecture in 2026, and it’ll have affordable EVs (also developed with GM) in 2027. You’ll find the Prologue first in Zero Emissions states, but it should start heading to more states in the US afterwards. 

Honda dealership with EV upgrades
Honda

There’s only so much we can learn from a single render, but it’s still helpful to see that Honda has its eye on the EV ball. The company also plans to bring Level 2 and fast-charging to dealerships around the US, as well as some slightly more modern building designs.

Ford’s Argo AI begins driverless vehicle operations in Austin and Miami

Ford’s self-driving Argo AI unit has hit a major milestone. On Tuesday, it began driverless operations in Austin and Miami. The company’s cars aren’t carrying paying customers just yet, but they’re now allowed to ferry Argo AI employees without a safet…

Rivian recalls 502 R1T trucks due to an airbag sensor issue

Rivian is recalling some of its R1T electric trucks because of an issue with airbag sensors. The vehicle may not disable an airbag when a child is sitting up front, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing spotted by The Verge. This is Rivian’s first recall and it covers 502 R1T vehicles that were built between September 2021 and April 2022.

Although the NHTSA recommends that children aged under 13 should be in the back seat, that’s not always possible for various reasons. Airbags, which can deploy even in a minor accident, can injure or kill children who are sitting in the front seat. 

Rivian said the recalled vehicles “fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, ‘Occupant Crash Protection.'” The company said no injuries have been associated with the issue. 

The front passenger seats in the recalled EVs will be replaced for free at Rivian service centers — it currently has 20 of those in the US. The company said it will inform affected customers by phone, email, text and in-vehicle messaging as soon as possible. It will also mail notices to them by July 1st.

A Rivian spokesperson sent Engadget the following statement:

Rivian has determined that on certain R1T vehicles, the front passenger seat may not deactivate the front passenger airbag as required if a child seat or child is in that seat. In the event of a crash which deploys the front passenger airbag, a seat with this improper calibration may increase the risk of injury for any child or child seat occupant sitting in the seat. We are contacting those with affected Rivian vehicles, and they will receive a passenger seat replacement free of charge at a Rivian service center. In the meantime, infants and children should not be placed in the front passenger seat of affected Rivian vehicles until a front passenger seat replacement is complete.

Update 5/12 2:29PM ET: Added Rivian’s statement.

Android Auto is getting a major UI update

After all the big hardware and software announcements during the I/O 2022 keynote presentation, today Google is sharing some updates for cars with Android Auto and vehicles with infotainment systems based on Android Automotive. 

Detailed as part of Google’s “What’s New with Android for Cars” session, the most important upcoming change is a refreshed UI for Android Auto focused on making it easier to navigate, control media and communicate with others while driving. To accommodate the larger displays in new cars, the company is making split screen view standard across all devices so that you can see directions, music and texts all at the same time. That means you’ll be able to quickly pause a song or see a new message without having to navigate through a bunch of menus and settings. 

To better support the wide varieyty of screen sizes in new vehicles, Google is adding mor
Google

On top of that, Google is also improving support for adaptive layouts that can more easily adjust to the growing variety of displays in new cars. So regardless of if you have a sweeping extra-wide display on your dash or a tall portrait-orientated screen, the Android Auto UI can still show all your pertinent info. Meanwhile, to improve hands-free controls, the Google Assistant is better contextual suggestions for things like returning missed calls, texting arrival times and more. 

At I/O 2022, Google announced that Android Auto is getting support for more streaming video apps with the addition of Tubi TV and Epix Now.
Google

Finally, for owners of cars with systems based on Android Automotive (such as new vehicles from Ford, Volvo and others), Google is expanding your in-car entertainment options with wider support for video streaming apps. Earlier this year at CES, Google announced the ability to stream clips from YouTube, and now the Tubi TV and Epix Now apps will be added soon. Just remember, you can only watch videos while the car is parked, so don’t try to stream and drive. And in the future, the company says it also has plans to let passengers stream content from their phones to their vehicle’s built-in display, though there isn’t a concrete timeline for when that will be available yet. 

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire Del Mar is its most affordable electric motorcycle yet

After months of teasing, Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire brand has unveiled its second all-electric motorcycle, the new middleweight Del Mar. Built on the brand’s new Arrow platform, it features a 60 kW motor capable of accelerating the EV from zero to 60 m…

部份 BMW 車款出廠時未搭載 Android Auto 或 CarPlay

據 Automotive News Europe 所取得的 BMW 聲明所言，為了應對晶片短缺 BMW 更換了供應商，但新的晶片目前還不能完整支援 Android Auto 或 Carplay。因此車主只能暫時忍耐一下，直到預計最晚六月底時獲得 OTA 更新。…

Some BMWs are shipping without Android Auto or CarPlay to avoid delays

Due to the ongoing chip shortage, BMW is temporarily shipping some vehicles without support for Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, according to report from Automotive News Europe (which we found through 9to5 Google). According to a statement the company gave to Automotive News Europe, BMW has changed suppliers and begun using a chip that does not fully support Android Auto or CarPlay. As a result, the company continued in its statement, affected vehicles will receive an over-the-air software update by “the end of June at the latest.”

As 9to5Google notes, you can check if your recently purchased vehicle is affected by checking for “6P1” in the car’s production code. It also seems that all of the vehicles in question were manufactured in the first four months of 2022, and have final destinations in the US, France, Italy, Spain and the UK.

This is not the first time that BMW has delivered cars missing certain non-essential features in order to avoid shipping delays. Last fall, the company omitted touchscreen features from some vehicles, also due to the global chip shortage. And BMW is hardly the only automaker to take this tack either. Last fall, around the same time BMW was grappling with the touchscreen issue, Tesla decided to ship some cars without USB ports. Then, earlier this year, Ford, shipped some Explorer SUVs without rear climate controls. 

In the case of BMW’s missing Android Auto and CarPlay support, it could be worse. As Automotive News Europe notes, when Mercedes-Benz was faced with a similar dilemma, it chose not to include the requisite chips in some vehicles, at which point customers would be forced to bring their cars into a ship to have them installed later.

Volta’s electric urban delivery trucks will come to the US in 2023

You might soon see more electric trucks ferrying cargo around town. Volta has revealed that it’s bringing its urban delivery EVs to the US, starting with a test fleet of 100 Class 7 (16.5 US tons) Zero trucks coming to Los Angeles in mid-2023. American production should start in 2024, with an “experienced” manufacturer chosen late this year. This inaugural truck will be followed by lighter-duty Class 5 (9.8-ton) and Class 6 (13-ton) models in 2024 and 2025.

The Class 7 Volta Zero’s range is short, with modular batteries offering between 95 to 125 miles of driving. That’s more than enough for city deliveries, however. Volta is also betting that 250kW DC fast charging will ease any range anxiety. You completely recharge the Zero in slightly over an hour at the right station. Moreover, the company has taken advantage of the switch to electric motors to improve safety — a lower, center-mounted driver’s seat should reduce the usual truck blind spots.

There’s pressure for Volta to move quickly. Fellow Swedish company Volvo has already introduced multiple electric medium-duty trucks, and American rival Freightliner has the eM2. Still, these are typically conventional designs that just happen to be electric, rather than from-scratch EVs. Volta might reel customers in simply by making a more compelling case for ditching diesel- and gas-based fleets.

GM’s vehicle data might help make roads safer

GM is the latest automaker hoping its car data will help governments improve road safety. The company partnering with Inrix on a Safety View cloud initiative that gives crash, vehicle and “vulnerable road user” (think pedestrians and construction workers) data to US transportation officials. If all goes well, local governments can both prioritize new road safety projects and gauge the effectiveness of their current efforts.

The data is tailored for the Transportation Department’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, not to mention various agencies’ Vision Zero (zero road fatalities or serious injuries) plans.

It’s no secret why GM and Inrix might want to share car info with the government. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $5 billion for the DOT’s Safe Streets program. That’s a lot of potential business from government clients that could be eager to modernize their roadways as much as possible. Whatever the motivation, it might be worthwhile if road safety improves based on real-world data that was previously difficult to obtain.