Category Archives: connected vehicles

First Look – The 2027 Trendsetting Toyota Prius Hybrid

Posted on 17 July 2026 by Ken Zino

The 2027 Toyota Prius (NYSE: TM, 7203T)* is expected to arrive at Toyota dealerships this summer with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, of $28,755 plus a Dealer Processing and Handling fee of $1295. The top of the range MSRP is … Continue reading →

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Honda Recalls ~326,000 Odysseys for Bad Rearview Cameras

Posted on 8 July 2026 by Ken Zino

“The defect was caused by two contributing factors. First, the specification for the rearview camera housing boss hole was inadequate for the mounting screw. Second, due to variations in the positioning of the housing on the assembly jig, the mounting screw is susceptible to being misaligned during assembly. As a result, the stress generated during screw fastening exceeded the material strength of the boss, causing it to crack. Through environmental exposure (thermal expansion/freezing of trapped water), these cracks can expand, allowing water to penetrate the interior of the assembly,” Honda told NHTSA. [This causes the printed circuit board (PCB) to corrode and fail – AutoCrat.] Continue reading →

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Stellantis Pro One to Unveil an Autonomous Commercial Van

Posted on 2 July 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA. STLAM.MI)* said today it will unveil a so-called “Box-on-Wheels,” a new autonomous concept that is part of its recovery plan* to becoming a provider of integrated logistics solutions. Stellantis Pro One debuts at IAA Hannover in September … Continue reading →

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Sudden EV Power Loss – Toyota BZ, Lexus RZ, Subaru Solterra Recalled

Posted on 29 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (NYSE: TM, 7203T) is recalling ~21,000 model-year 2026 Toyota BZ, Lexus RZ, and Subaru Solterra battery electric vehicles. The Denso-supplied electronic control unit (Battery ECU) that controls the high-voltage battery may experience a fault, resulting in a sudden loss of drive power.

 “Toyota observed certain diagnostic data during development testing of a new Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) model. After investigation, Toyota found that the memory in the battery ECU can fail an operation check because a part of the memory address location utilized by the battery control IC overlaps with a part utilized by the monitoring IC. The monitoring IC could repeatedly overwrite data at the same memory address used by the battery control IC when the memory operational check cycle matches the monitoring IC’s write operation cycle,” Toyota said in the mandatory  safety defect recall filling made published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning. Continue reading →

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Connectivity Snags Haunt Improvements in New-Vehicle Quality

Posted on 25 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“As more technology is introduced into vehicles, keeping the experience simple matters more than ever,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at JD Power. “The biggest gains in quality come from features that are easy to use—simple controls, less-intrusive driver assistance and software that works the way customers expect. When technology becomes too complicated, the likelihood of customers experiencing a problem rises considerably.” Continue reading →

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Carry Over Pricing Planned on the 2027 Subara Solterra

Posted on 19 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Subaru of America* (Subaru Corp. NASDAQ: FUJHF) this week said that pricing for the new 2027 Subaru Solterra EV starts at $38,495 MSRP,** the same as the outgoing model. The 2027 Subaru Solterra EV arrives at retailers nationwide this fall. However, a lot can happen given the whims, wars and tariffs of the Trump mis-administration. The 2027 Subaru Solterra EV is assembled in Gunma, Japan. We will see if the announced pricing and model lineup hold.

“The 2027 Subaru Solterra EV continues with the same lineup as the 2026 model year: Premium, Limited, Limited XT, and Touring XT. Subaru Solterra XT models (Limited XT and Touring XT) carry over their upgraded dual-motor setup, compared to the rest of the lineup, producing 338 horsepower and supplying a zero-to-60-mph elapsed time of less than 5 seconds. Solterra Premium and Limited models are powered by dual electric motors with an output of 233 horsepower,” Subaru said in a release. Continue reading →

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Electrify America Opens Another Hyper-Fast Charging Station

Posted on 17 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“This large-format station showcases the next evolution of charging infrastructure, combining high-power charging with integrated battery energy storage to deliver reliable capacity at scale,” said Rob Barrosa, Electrify America President and CEO. “By incorporating advanced storage technology, we’re able to bring Hyper-Fast charging to locations that have traditionally been difficult to serve, while making it easy for customers to integrate charging into their daily routines in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara.” Continue reading →

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Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri Speaking on Decisions That Will Shape the Next Decade of Automotive Manufacturing

Posted on 9 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“There is no single future. We are no longer moving towards one predictable outcome. We are navigating in multiple plausible futures or paths at a time, and you see that in the different adoption curves. Across regions, you see different investment logic across companies and obviously different policy priorities by margin. Electrification is a good example. The direction is clear for the long term. But the pace and the path are not uniform, and that creates fragmentation. Product mix evolves differently by region. We are seeing that investment timing varies. Industrial policies influence footprint decisions in real time.

“Historically, success came from getting the forecast right. Today’s success comes from staying effective when the forecast is wrong. So the shift is pretty fundamental from optimizing for one expected future to building systems that can perform across several realities. So that’s a different capability and increasingly a competitive one,” said Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri. Continue reading →

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Ralph Nader Arises Again in Uber Legal Accountability Bout

Posted on 5 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader has released an open letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi condemning the company’s efforts to limit legal accountability for crashes involving rideshare drivers and autonomous vehicles. It objects to Uber’s push for federal legislation sponsored by Representative Vince Fong (Republican – Bakersfield, CA) that would limit the company’s legal exposure for crashes involving drivers using its platform. Continue reading →

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Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover Sign MOU on Tech Development

Posted on 20 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA. STLAM.MI) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to collaborate on product development in the United States. Under the terms of the non-binding MOU, Stellantis and … Continue reading →

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Volvo Cars and Google Gemini Add AI Tech

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“The EX60 provides an ideal platform to explore the future of contextually aware driving experiences,” said Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Global Software Engineering at Volvo Cars. “Working closely with Google as a lead device partner allows us to help bring the latest advances in AI into the automotive environment faster and more collaboratively than ever before.” Continue reading →

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Coming Soon Chinese-Built Jeeps?

Posted on 15 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Dongfeng Motor has always taken the transformation and revitalization of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co., Ltd. (DPCA) as a key strategic priority, fully supporting and advancing its sustainable development. Through the signing of this strategic cooperation, by integrating Hubei’s industrial strengths, Stellantis’ global layout advantages and Dongfeng’s intelligent electric vehicle technologies, a new path featuring complementary strengths and win-win outcomes for all parties has been forged. This will undoubtedly inject strong momentum into DPCA’s transformation,” said Qing Yang, Dongfeng Group Chairman. Continue reading →

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BMW N.A. Starts Preferred Pricing at IONNA Charging Sites

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“BMW firmly believes in an electric future, and it’s no secret that reliable high-speed charging infrastructure remains essential to the continued growth of the electric vehicle market,” said Shaun Bugbee, Executive Vice President, BMW of North America. “We currently offer one of the broadest portfolios of premium electric vehicles in the U.S., with the next-generation BMW iX3 arriving in the U.S. later this year. As our electric vehicle offerings continue to expand, initiatives like this help ensure our customers enjoy a seamless ownership experience wherever they travel.” Continue reading →

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First Glance – Acura Hybrid SUV

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Honda will reallocate more development and production resources into hybrid models to accelerate the market launch ahead of the original schedule and increase the number of compelling products,” said Toshihiro Mibe, global CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. “We have made steady progress in the development of hybrid vehicle technologies, where Honda has strengths, based on our belief that hybrid models will continue to be the key to addressing environmental challenges.” [Today Honda posted its first Japanese full-year loss in history taking ~$9 billion in costs ‌to restructure its electric-vehicle business. Honda also dumped its longer-term EV sales forecast.-AutoCrat] Continue reading →

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California Starts $1 Billion Rebate Program for Electric Trucks

Posted on 13 May 2026 by Ken Zino

The California Air Resources Board (CARB)* today announced retailer enrollment is now open for the California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR) for electric medium‑ and heavy‑duty trucks. CCFR is financed with revenue utilities generate from the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The innovative [and planet-saving initiative in AutoInformed’s view despite the ongoing efforts of the Trump Administration’s Environmental Pillaging Agency, aka EPA] plan is expected to become the largest utility-administered rebate program for electric trucks in the country. This year $250 million will be available. There will be more than $1 billion in total rebate funding expected through 2030. Continue reading →

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