Weekend News Roundup February 24, 2024

Overall, the U.S. auto industry has largely recovered from the supply chain issues that drove the cost of new cars through the roof and brought the price of used cars up along with it. Not all new cars are selling below MSRP now, but enough are that you can generally expect to find a deal if you’re willing to shop around. - Collin Woodard Read More

If automakers could sell cars without tires, we’re pretty sure the bean counters in accounting would do exactly that. They probably wouldn’t even think twice about it. Since they can’t get away with that, though, all new cars come with tires, and it would be easy to assume that because the tires that come on your car were chosen by the manufacturer, they’d be the best tires you can get for that particular model. But as our friends over at Tyre Reviews recently pointed out, that’s not necessarily the case. - Collin Woodard Read More

To understand why I decided to break into the software configurations on my Polestar 2, I must first emphasize my frustrations with the NHTSA implementation for Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlights via an amendment to FMVSS 108. - Zack Wickliffe Read More

We all make dumb decisions when we’re in our teens and 20s. Thankfully, for a lot of us, the mature people in our lives offer the kind of guidance and advice necessary to ensure that we don’t completely ruin our futures with those bad decisions. Unfortunately for some, when that doesn’t happen, you end up with people in situations like Hannah, a 20-year-old licensed practical nurse in Oklahoma who recently went on the Caleb Hammer show to get advice on dealing with her mountain of debt, so much of which is car-related, it’s going to give you an aneurism. - Collin Woodard Read More

A slow trickle of Cybertrucks are making their ways into American’s hands, though the roll out has not been without some speed bumps—especially when it comes to that “stainless” steel body. It’s that same body that has provoked questions about the crash worthiness of the Cybertruck. Unfortunately, it’s a question we won’t have the answer to any time soon. - Erin Marquis Read More

When the cops show up to investigate a crash that may have been caused by a drunk driver, you’d like to think that the people involved in the crash would be the only intoxicated people on the scene. Surely, cops can be trusted to remain sober, right? As it turns out, if one of those cops is Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida, that’s not exactly a guarantee, TAPinto Asbury Park reports. And back in November, that led to a physical altercation between Guida and one of his officers. - Collin Woodard Read More

Elon Musk’s least favorite Brit, John Oliver, isn’t what you would call a big fan of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. And yet, in a rare showing of bipartisanship, Oliver is willing to reach across the aisle to work out an agreement with the conservative justice. On the season premiere of “Last Week Tonight,” Oliver announced that he’s offering Thomas $1 million a year to retire from the Supreme Court, and to sweeten the deal, he’ll also throw in a Prevost Marathon motor coach valued at about $2.4 million. - Collin Woodard Read More

Zagato has a history of somewhat polarizing designs, and the new Zagato AGTZ Twin Tail, based on the current Alpine A110 compact sports car, continues that trend. This little machine has a longer nose and removable long tail cone, ostensibly to make it more aerodynamic, but also to remind enthusiasts of the long-gone days when Alpine ran the A220 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in long and short tail configurations. This new modular sports car from Zagato is a beautiful retro-futurist view of that Le Mans effort. - Bradley Brownell Read More

If you’re cold, they’re cold—bring them inside. If you live in the frigid north where snow accumulates in drifts and you are forced to park your car outside, Nio’s new SkyRide active suspension might be just the thing you need. As shown here on the new ET9, Nio’s Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan competitor, SkyRide can independently actuate each corner to make the car move around in a shaking motion, much like a dog after a bath. It’s just so damn adorable. - Bradley Brownell Read More

You don’t exactly buy a Land Rover Range Rover Sport SV because you’re looking to be subtle. It may not be quite as in-your-face as the Lamborghini Urus, but with a 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque turbocharged V8 under the hood, it can hit 60 mph in less than four seconds, and everyone’s going to hear it from that exhaust. It also comes with massive 23-inch wheels, but as CarThrottle reports, Land Rover insists that’s as big as its wheels are going to go. - Collin Woodard Read More