Despite decades of focusing our national infrastructure on personal vehicles (often at the direct exclusion and expense of other modes of transport), modern folks gets around on far more than planes, trains and automobiles these days. With our city streets and suburban neighborhoods increasingly populated by an ever-widening variety of vehicle — from e-scooters to city bikes, to autonomous EV taxis and internal combustion SUVs. The task of accommodating these competing priorities ensuring that everybody in town, regardless of physical or financial ability, can get where they're going is growing ever more challenging. 

Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Divided Communities, by civil engineer Veronica O Davis, highlights the many failings (both procedural and structural) of America's transportation infrastructure and calls on city planners to reexamine how their public works projects actually affect the people they are intended to serve. Davis deftly agues in favor of a systemic revolution to the transportation planning field demanding better and more functional training for civil engineers, more diverse voices in transportation planning projects, and undoing at least some of the community-dividing harms that America's past love affair with freeways has wrought. In the excerpt below, Davis examines the relative successes of Washington DC's Vision Zero road safety program.  

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From Inclusive Transportation by Veronica O. Davis. Copyright © 2023 Veronica O. Davis.

Reevaluating Transportation Policies

Policies lay the foundation for many decisions. For example, I worked with a city that had a policy that the curb-to-curb space could not be expanded unless there were extenuating circumstances, and even then the answer was no. That meant the roadway could not be expanded, but we could do a “road diet,” or narrowing of the roadway. As an example, if a road was sixty feet wide from curb to curb, all we had was sixty feet to work with as we developed alternatives to move the growing number of people moving into the corridor. The city’s policy decision was “Work with what you have, and if we are going to spend money to reconstruct the road, it will not be to widen it.”

Vision Zero could be a path forward as an overall framework for changing policy priorities, but it needs to be more than a plan, and it needs to be crafted with the people. Vision Zero is a concept from Sweden that recognizes we are human and we will make mistakes, but our mistakes should not lead to serious injuries or fatalities. One thing that gets muddled as people in the United States attempt to adopt Vision Zero is conflation of the total number of crashes with the total number of crashes that lead to deaths and serious injuries. Vision Zero does not demand perfect records, and it recognizes that crashes will occur because we are human. Instead, it argues that the focus should be on deaths and serious injuries. The distinction is important because crashes generally happen all over a community and people walk away from fender benders and sideswipes with minor or no injuries. Other than having a bad day, everyone is alive to recount the drama with their family and friends. But the more severe crashes tend to cluster in certain communities. If you focus on crashes regardless of the resulting injury, you may move resources from communities that need them more because they are where people are dying.

The Vision Zero plan of Washington, DC, is a great example of both successful interactions and some shortcomings. In 2015, only a few US cities embraced Vision Zero. DC’s plan was one of the first in the United States that included extensive outreach during the plan’s development. Over the course of a summer, we had ten meetings on street corners around the city, a youth summit with over two hundred young people, two meetings with special advocacy groups, and meetings with over thirty-five city agencies. We did not just inform people; we also engaged with them and used their feedback and stories to shape the plan. As an example, after talking with a group of young Black teens at the youth summit, we removed all enforcement related to people walking and biking. The young people conveyed to us that sometimes crossing the street mid-block got them away from a group of people who may want to cause them harm. The teens weighed their risk of being targeted by violence as higher than their risk of being struck by someone driving a vehicle.

In addition, we heard from people that having police enforce laws related to walking and biking put the community and law enforcement in conflict with each other. Charles T. Brown has documented in his research for his podcast Arrested Mobility how laws such as those prohibiting jaywalking are disproportionately enforced in Black and Brown communities, for men in particular. In DC’s Vision Zero plan, enforcement was instead targeted to dangerous driving behavior such as excessive speeding, driving under the influence, distracted driving, and reckless driving.

In a world where we are examining policing more closely after George Floyd’s murder, I think plans that reexamine equity in this way should take one more step. DC’s Vision Zero plan correctly focused on behaviors that lead to deaths and fatalities. However, the plan should have recommended a comprehensive evaluation of all the transportation laws and the removal of any that were not supported by data or did not lead to safer streets. If we are discussing data-driven approaches, the laws should target behaviors that lead to crashes that result in deaths and serious injuries.

Moreover, this plan offered recommendations and strategies and did not go further. After the Vision Zero plan was shared, communities were all demanding safer streets. This calls to mind the discussion [in chapter 2] of Montgomery County and the tension about who would get resources. All streets could be safer, even if incrementally, and without guiding principles for more of an “emergency room” structure. DC’s Vision Zero program led to resources going to where there was advocacy but not necessarily to the areas that needed the investment the most. If you have an opportunity similar to this, I emphasize the importance of putting in a framework that allocates resources to communities and areas experiencing high rates of fatalities and serious injuries, which tend to be the areas with high numbers of Black, Latino, or low-income residents or all of these.

Tesla has started notifying owners that they can transfer the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature they purchased to a new vehicle, as long as they take delivery within the next three months. During the automaker's Q2 2023 investor call, Elon Musk announced a "one-time amnesty" that will allow owners to transfer their FSD. Now, Twitter user Keith Dahlenburg has posted a screenshot (via Not A Tesla App, The Verge) of the offer, along with its rules and conditions. 

Perhaps the most pertinent condition is that owners can only take advantage of this one-time amnesty if they take delivery of a new Tesla vehicle between July 20th and September 30th, 2023. It can't be applied retroactively, so those who've taken delivery before and after those dates unfortunately have to pay for access again. And FSD doesn't come cheap — Tesla raised its price to $15,000 last year. That's an enormous price jump for early adopters who were able to snag the feature for $5,000 years ago. Now, they can get a new model without having to pay for the feature again. 

Owners who choose to take the transfer offer will have to forfeit the capability in their current vehicle. Tesla will remove FSD from their old EV up to a week before their scheduled delivery date, and they can't get it back even if they cancel their purchase for a new car. That said, Tesla also doesn't guarantee delivery by the time the promo is over, so owners could still miss the offer if their deliveries unfortunately get delayed. 

Tesla remains the top US EV producer with a new internal record internal record with 479,700 vehicles built and 466,140 of them delivered in Q2, up ~87 percent YoY.

The company made headlines in Q2 after opening its previously-proprietary charging port design to the rest of the industry. Mercedes, Volvo, Rivian, and GM vehicles will use the design for their North American models beginning in the 2024 model year. Texas went so far as to require its state-funded EV charging stations accommodate the standard. Tesla's charging network station capacity has grown by a third from this time last year, with 48,082 chargers in total spread across 5,265 stations, globally.

The first production Cybertruck rolled off the assembly line this quarter as well, though you couldn't see much of the vehicle from its official release photo. The Cybertruck line has entered tooling, according to the company, and is expected to begin steady production sometime next year.

"We are now testing Cybertruck vehicles around the world for final certification and validation," the company wrote in its Q2 investors deck. "This might be the most unique vehicle product in decades; with that comes trialing and testing new technologies."

This past quarter has seen a number of scandals at the company including its executives accused of being overpaid by a cool $735 million dollars since 2017 as well as Elon being suspected of misappropriating company funds to build a glass house. Not a fancy aboratorium, not a metaphor for Twitter, a literal "glass house."

Wednesday's investor deck specifically noted Tesla's "commitment to being at the forefront of AI development" with the start of production for its Dojo training computers, which will be used to help Autopilot developers iterate future designs and features. Details were sparse but we do expect company executives to further discuss this initiative during the Q2 investors call which begins at 5:30pm ET.

Stay tuned to Engadget for up to the minute breaking news from that call, as well as whatever wacky and problematic-for-Legal statements CEO Elon Musk shares.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Ford is shaving up to $10,000 off the cost of an F-150 Lightning across all variants, bringing the electric truck somewhat closer to its initial pricing. The base F-150 Lightning Pro is dropping by nearly $10,000 to $49,995. Savings are more modest at the other end of the scale, with the company cutting just over $6,000 from the top-end Platinum Extended Range model's price. That trim now has an MSRP of $91,995.

The automaker says upgraded plant capacity, its ongoing efforts in scaling cost and production and improved battery raw material costs are helping it to bring prices back down. Its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan is closed for now while it upgrades the facility in the aim of producing 150,000 F-150 Lightning trucks there each year. The company says there will be greater availability of the EV as early as October.

Ford increased the price of every trim last August and again for the base model in December and March due to supply issues and increased material costs. For the last few months, the F-150 Lightning Pro has cost around 50 percent more than its initial pricing.

The company hasn't been able to bring the F-150 Lightning back to its original starting price of $40,000 just yet, though these price cuts will be welcome news to those who have been on the fence about getting one. Folks who place an order for a XLT, Lariat or Platinum trim by July 31st will get a $1,000 bonus, while Ford notes that buyers will be eligible for as much as $7,500 in tax credits. Orders are now open to everyone.

The price of the F-150 Lightning is dropping just after Tesla started production of the Cybertruck over the weekend. Tesla has cut prices of its EVs several times this year to help it increase delivery figures and make it more competitive in an increasingly crowded market. As it happens, F-150 Lightning owners will be able to top up their vehicle's battery at more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the US and Canada starting in early 2024.

Electric vehicle startup Canoo has delivered its first shipment to NASA. This week, a trio of the company’s Crew Transportation Vehicles (CTVs) arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Although they look like they’re made for exploring the surface of the Moon, the vans are designed to carry astronauts to the KSC’s launch pads, starting with NASA’s forthcoming Artemis 2 mission.

According to Canoo, the vans, based on the company’s existing lifestyle vehicle design, can carry fully-suited astronauts, as well as flight support crew and any equipment they may need. “The vehicles have an exclusive interior and exterior design that will provide astronaut and crew comfort and safety while on the nine-mile journey to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center,” the company said, adding it would share interior shots of the vehicles later this year.

Canoo

The Artemis 2 mission will see NASA launch its first crewed mission to the Moon since the end of the Apollo program in 1972. Four astronauts will travel around the satellite during the 10-day flight. During Artemis 2, NASA plans to conduct additional tests of its Orion capsule and Space Launch System (SLS) super heavy-lift rocket to ensure both spacecraft are safe for future crewed missions to the lunar surface.

As for Canoo, this is a chance for the automaker to drum up interest for its EVs. In May 2022, the company warned investors it was running low on cash. Since then, it announced an agreement with Walmart to provide the retailer with 4,500 EVs. The company also delivered a test vehicle to the US Army. Still, even with those deals in place, it has a long way to go before achieving financial sustainability.

After multiple years of delays, it looks like the Cybertruck is finally on its way to consumers. On early Saturday morning, Tesla tweeted out a photo of a Cybertruck that recently rolled off the company’s Giga Texas assembly line in Austin. “First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas!” the automaker said of the image.

As Electrek points out, the vehicle in question is likely a production intent model Tesla designed to identify the most efficient way of making the new vehicle at scale. The fact the company shared a photo of a finished Cybertruck would suggest it’s on track to meet the most recent timeline Elon Musk set for the oft-delayed pickup.

At the start of the year, Musk predicted Cybertruck volume manufacturing would begin in 2024, adding limited production would likely kick off “sometime this summer.” More recently, he told investors Tesla would hold a Cybertruck delivery event in the third quarter of 2023. “[It] takes time to get the manufacturing line going, and this is really a very radical product," Musk said in April. “It's not made in the way that other cars are made." To that point, the Cybertruck’s signature stainless steel frame involves complicated manufacturing techniques that aren’t normally used in the production of other cars. Tesla has also encountered repeated bottlenecks involving its next-generation 4680 battery.

The company's original (and very optimistic) release date for the Cybertruck was 2021. At the time, Tesla said the vehicle would start at $39,900 for the single-motor variant, with the three-motor model coming in at $70,000. The automaker has since said that it has yet to decide on final pricing, and that the cost of the Cybertruck could be based on multiple factors, including supply chain shortages and the state of the economy.

Hyundai has debuted its electric Ionic 5 N at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The automaker says this high-performance version of the Ioniq 5 can go from zero to 62MPH in as little as 3.4 seconds and that it has a top speed of 161MPH.

The company revamped the entire Ioniq 5 for this model, which is its first performance N-brand production vehicle. The EV has front- and dual-motor variants. Opt for the latter and Hyundai says the Ioniq 5 N will be able to produce 641 horsepower when a boost mode is active. In normal operation, you may get 600 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque, though the automaker acknowledged that these numbers aren't final.

Although the Ioniq 5 N has the same battery pack that previously stored 77.4 kWh of usable energy, revised chemistry means the EV can eke out 84.0 kWh, as Car and Driver notes. There's an upgraded thermal management system for the battery, which includes an "increased cooling area, better motor oil cooler and battery chiller," Hyundai says, all of which should help to maximize performance.

Hyundai

There's a new regenerative braking system with 40cm-diameter discs at the front and 36cm ones at the rear. The EV is lower and wider at the bottom than the standard Ioniq 5 to accommodate wider tires on the 21-inch wheels. A more prominent diffuser that should increase downforce extends the length by 80mm as well.

Hyundai hasn't yet announced pricing for the Ioniq 5 N, which is slated to go on sale in early 2024. The company has yet to reveal the EV's range as well, though we should learn both key pieces of information in the coming months.

The first Rolls-Royce EV, the Spectre, is going on sale soon at a cool $425,000 — and at that price, purchasing slots will be limited, to say the least. But any buyers planning to flip one for a quick profit may want to think twice. CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said that any customers attempting to resell their Spectre models for profit will be banned for life from ever buying another Rolls-Royce from official dealers, according to a report from Car Dealer.

"I can tell you we are really sanitizing the need to prove who you are, what you want to do with the car – you need to qualify for a car and then you might get a slot for an order," he said. And anyone who violates the policy and sells the Spectre for a profit is "going immediately on a blacklist and this is it – you will never ever have the chance to acquire again."

The British, BMW-owned company isn't the first to impose bans on flipping its vehicles. Last year, GM said it would ban buyers from flipping Hummer EVs, Corvette Z06's and other vehicles within 12 months under the threat of limiting the transferability of certain warranties. On top of that stick, it offered a carrot in the form of $5,000 in reward points for customers who kept their eighth-generation Corvette Z06's for at least a year.

With a potential lifetime ban, Rolls-Royce's rules are even more strict, but some secondhand dealers aren't happy. A London dealer told Car Dealer that he had already agreed to pay a £50,000 ($65,000) premium for two Spectre EVs, and will have them for sale "within two weeks of it being launched" this fall. "I do not think it is fair for carmakers to tell customers who have spent close to half a million pounds on a car what they can do with it," he said. 

The Rolls-Royce Spectre has generally received positive reviews, as you'd hope at such a price. A 102kWh battery pack gives it a 329 mile WLTP range, and it should be relatively quick for a 2.9 tonne (3.19 ton) vehicle thanks to the 576 HP/664 pound-feet powertrain. "Only a Rolls-Royce, maybe a Bentley, really lets you close the door on the world, like a house deep in parkland," said Autocar — though you might be able to buy that parkland house for less. 

If you’ve ever wanted to point that ole’ growth ray at your childhood toys, UK-based The Little Car Company has got you covered. The organization has built an adult-sized version of the Tamiya Wild One RC car that took the kid world by storm back in the 1980s, as reported by Car and Driver. This is a fully electric vehicle with eight swappable battery packs that add up to an advertised 124 miles of range.

The Wild One Max has got plenty of get-up-and-go, with a top speed of 62 mph. However, the main draw is just how closely this full-size vehicle resembles its fun-size cousin. Just look at this thing. Even cooler? The EV makes its public debut next weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England, which is where many manufacturers unveil wacky automobile concept designs.

This is more than just a concept car, though, as it’s going to be street legal and available for purchase, with an estimated cost of around $45,000. You won’t be able to cruise the hills of Virginia with this beast, however, as it’s only launching in the UK due to US-based federal vehicle standards.

The Tamiya Wild One Max was originally announced back in 2021, but the design has changed significantly since then. It’s bigger, more powerful and, of course, more expensive, as the original design was set to cost around $8,500. The new design also features a revised front suspension system, an interior that fits two occupants and an overall weight of 1,100 pounds.

Interestingly, manufacturer The Little Car Company is better known for shrinking classic cars into smaller-sized collectibles and not the other way around. It looks like the company has gone from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids to Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. More power to ‘em.

If you’re in Europe with cash to burn, you can purchase an optional Road Pack along with the EV that includes a windscreen, a pair of tiny wipers, mirrors, mudguards and detachable lights. Though this vehicle qualifies as a quadricycle in Europe, thus allowing it to be registered for road use, you won’t be able to take this thing on highways.

BMW is expanding its electric motorcycle lineup — well, really, its electric scooter lineup. The new CE 02 is smaller than the recently available CE 04 and targets a younger buyer.

In fact, BMW doesn't even want to call it a scooter. Instead, it’s calling it a eParkourer. Yes it’s a mouthful and yes it’s mostly just marketing shenanigans, but the CE 02 looks like a classier version of the Honda Rukus with an EV powertrain inside.

BMW says it has a range of over 55 miles for the 11kW version and a top speed of about 59 miles per hour. So it’s definitely built as an around-town source of transportation. Unfortunately, we don’t have any idea what it’ll cost. The larger, most powerful, and longer-range CE 04 starts at $12,700 just to help set some expectations.

BMW also showed off Motorrad companion smartglasses that display speed, speed limit, gear (for gas bikes), and turn-turn-directions. The glasses work with any of the company’s current crop of bikes that use the Motorrad app, and again don't have a price yet.

The CE 02 will be available in the spring of 2024, while the smart glasses will be available this summer. Watch the video below for the full story.