The National Transportation Safety Board is calling on its sister agency to implement regulation requiring all vehicles sold in the US to include blood alcohol monitoring systems. The NTSB sent the recommendation to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday after completing an investigation into a horrific collision last year that involved drunk driving and the death of two adults and seven children.

“Technology could’ve prevented this heartbreaking crash — just as it can prevent the tens of thousands of fatalities from impaired-driving and speeding-related crashes we see in the US annually,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. “We need to implement the technologies we have right here, right now to save lives.”​

According to statistics published by the NHTSA, nearly 43,000 people died on US roads last year, marking the highest that number had been in 16 years. While traffic deaths fell slightly between April and June, Ann Carlson, the agency’s acting administrator, said a “crisis” was still underway on the country’s roads. “We need NHTSA to act. We see the numbers,” Homendy told The Associated Press. “We need to make sure that we’re doing all we can to save lives.”

The NTSB says all new cars sold in the US should include an integrated system that passively detects if the driver is under the influence of alcohol. It notes that such a system could be combined with advanced driver monitoring technologies to prevent accidents. Separately, the agency recommends that the NHTSA incentivize automakers to include tech that prevents speeding-related collisions. The NTSB does not have the authority to regulate or enforce any safety measures it suggests. It has been calling on the NHTSA to explore alcohol monitoring technologies since 2012.

The NHTSA also faces pressure from Congress to mandate such systems. Under last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the agency has three years to study the feasibility of various alcohol monitoring technologies and establish a final set of rules. It can seek an extension, however. And in the past, it has been slow to implement such requirements.

Volvo's EV range to date has been limited to smaller vehicles like the C40 Recharge, but it's now ready to tackle the high end. The company has announced that it will reveal the "flagship" EX90 electric SUV on November 9th. While the brand is unsurprisingly shy on details, it claims the new model will offer the best standard safety features of any Volvo to date.

The trick is an improved "understanding" of both the driver and the environment. The EX90 will supposedly include a cutting-edge sensor array that includes cameras, radar and LiDAR on the outside. In the cabin, more cameras and capacitive steering wheel sensors will detect inattentiveness and take gradually more drastic actions to protect you, including stopping the car at the side of the road and calling for help.

Some of these safety concepts aren't new. Systems like GM's Super Cruise check that your eyes are on the road, while Tesla cars will disable Autopilot and come to a stop if you don't put your hands on the wheel. Volvo is clearly hoping it offers the best safeguards of the bunch, though, and LiDAR might provide an advantage over rivals like Tesla (which doesn't use LiDAR) and Lucid (still a relatively small brand).

It's safe to say the EX90 will represent a change of tack. Instead of competing with the Tesla Model Y and other 'entry' luxury SUVs or crossovers, Volvo is more likely to aim squarely at the high end. This vehicle could serve as a halo product that draws EV buyers to the brand, even if they ultimately buy something more affordable.

Hertz is once again growing its EV fleet, announcing Tuesday that it has struck a deal with General Motors to purchase 175,000 electric vehicles from the automaker's Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop brands over the next five years. Customers will see the first offerings, namely the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, arrive on Hertz lots beginning in the first quarter next year. 

The deal, which runs through 2027, will bring a wide variety of models to Hertz's growing EV herd. Between now and 2027, the rental company expects its customers to drive about 8 billion miles in said EVs, preventing an estimated 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released. Hertz plans to convert a quarter of its rental fleet to battery electric by 2024. 

This news follows Hertz's 65,000-vehicle order from Polestar in April, which the performance EV maker has already begun deliveries on. An earlier announcement in 2021 had many believing that Tesla would be supplying the Hertz fleet with 100,000 vehicles, worth an estimated $4.2 billion, was quickly kiboshed by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Hertz is already planning to rent 50,000 Tesla EVs to Uber drivers, which now operate in 25 North American cities, there's no word on whether GM's vehicles will be offered under similar terms.

One good thing that came out of the pandemic is that more people picked up cycling. In the first three months of 2021, American consumer spending on bikes and cycling accessories increased by 34 percent year on year to $8.2 billion. However, the pandemic also saw more die and suffer injuries while biking. According to the National Safety Council, 1,260 cyclists were killed in 2020, a 16 percent increase from 2019.

It’s a problem that Ford thinks technology can address. On Monday, the automaker announced it’s working with Commsignia, PSS, Ohio State University, T-Mobile and Tome Software to explore how a smartphone app could warn drivers of pedestrians and cyclists they may not see. As someone sharing the road with a car, you would install the company's software on your phone. With the help of Bluetooth Low Energy, vehicles with Ford’s Sync infotainment system would see you as “beacons.” If the car then determines there’s the potential for a crash, it will warn the driver using audiovisual cues.

According to Ford, its approach has a few advantages. One is that Bluetooth LE is nearly ubiquitous. The technology has been part of the Bluetooth protocol since 2009, meaning every modern smartphone has access to it. If you own a Ford vehicle, you won’t need to bring your car to a dealership for a hardware upgrade since the Sync system features Bluetooth compatibility. The other advantage of using Bluetooth LE is that your car won’t need to see pedestrians and cyclists before it can warn you. Ford and T-Mobile are also working on a version of the app that uses 5G instead of Bluetooth LE.

In practice, the company’s approach is reminiscent of the COVID exposure notification apps some countries and states deployed at the beginning of the pandemic. As you may recall, those also used Bluetooth LE. However, despite backing from Apple and Google, they were never effective due to low usage. In Canada, for instance, the federal COVID Alert app was only downloaded 6.9 million times and logged 63,117 positive tests. Put another way, nowhere near enough Canadians downloaded the software to make it an effective contact tracing tool. Ford's app is likely to experience some of the same issues. 

As an avid cyclist, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen riding their bikes at night without an LED light to make themselves visible to traffic. On the other hand, statistics suggest motorists have been driving more aggressively in recent years, leading to the aforementioned increase in cyclist deaths as well as vehicle crashes. Any kind of intervention would be welcome, but Ford's app isn't likely to be a meaningful solution if it ever comes to market. While the Bluetooth LE solution to COVID had only one uphill climb, apps like Ford's have two: adoption by cyclists and adoption by automakers.

Tesla has crossed another significant manufacturing milestone. As caught by Electrek, the automaker shared on Saturday that its Texas Gigafactory recently produced its ten thousandth Model Y SUV. The achievement could be good news for those hoping to buy a Cybertruck next year. Tesla plans to build the pickup truck primarily in Texas. The automaker initially expected to begin volume production in 2021 but then delayed the Cybertruck to 2022 and then 2023.

According to multiple reports, one of the reasons Tesla’s next EV hasn’t arrived yet is due to a bottleneck related to the company’s next-generation 4680 battery cells. In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the technology would lead to electric vehicles that cost less than cars with combustion engines. At that point, however, Tesla and battery partner Panasonic had yet to produce the cells at scale, and it was only this past June that they looked ready for a production surge.

That’s why the Model Y milestone is interesting. In April, Tesla began selling a new variant of the SUV that features 4680 battery cells. It can travel 279 miles on a single charge and starts at $59,990. On Saturday, Tesla didn’t say how many of the new Standard Range AWD variants it has produced to date. However, Electrek estimates the Texas Gigafactory is currently manufacturing more than 1,000 Model Y vehicles every week and that the plant is likely on track to begin making 2,000 units every seven days. 

National Drive Electric Week is right around the corner. Plug In America, the Electric Vehicle Association, environmental organization Sierra Club and Nissan (one of the main sponsors) are all backing the initiative, which aims to highlight the benefits of having an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid. Between September 23rd and October 2nd, EV owners will show off their rides and chat to folks curious about making the switch at events across the US (some are taking place in Canada and Mexico as well). Many dealers are taking part too. 

The website has a list of dozens of events. You can see which ones are happening in your neck of the woods by punching in your zip code or city. Alternatively, you can see all the events on a map view. With many jurisdictions phasing out sales of new gas-powered cars in the coming years, it may not be a bad idea to have more clarity on EVs and what it's like to own one sooner rather than later.

Uber has expanded its Comfort Electric service "nationwide" to 24 US cities, letting users request rides in all-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2 and Ford Mustang Mach-E. It also expanded to Vancouver in British Columbia, which has the highest sales rate of zero-emission vehicles in North America.

Comfort Electric launched last May in several cities as part of the Uber Comfort service. That allows riders to request extra legroom and other high-end features for a 20-40 percent premium over Uber X trips. It's separate from the Uber Green service, which gives drivers an extra fee for electrified vehicles. Uber Green allows both EVs and hybrids, though, while Comfort Electric is limited to EVs.

Uber said that its partnership with Hertz "helped pave the way for the expansion of Comfort Electric, with more than 25,000 drivers renting a Tesla." Last year, Hertz announced that it would order 100,000 Teslas, and shortly afterwards, said it would make up to 50,000 of those available for rent solely to Uber ridesharing drivers in the US.

The service is now available in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore-Maryland, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, NYC Suburbs, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St Louis, Vancouver (Canada) and Washington, DC — up from 11 cities previously.

The expansion looks like a small step in Uber's goal of becoming a zero-emissions platform in the US and Canada by 2030. It has promised to spend $800 million to help drivers transition to all-electric vehicles by 2025. California will require ride-hailing services to be all-electric by 2030, and other states like New York also plan to ban sales of gas-burning cars. 

Jeep is making good on its commitment to release a "4xe" plug-in hybrid variant of each of its SUV models by 2025 with Stellantis executives taking the stage at the 2022 Detroit Auto Show Wednesday morning to unveil the 2023 Jeep Wrangler Willy 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe 30th Anniversary edition. Both models will be on display through September 25th.

Stellantis

The Wrangler Willy 4xe, named after the venerated first-generation military Jeeps that debuted in WWII, matches a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 with a 17kWh, 400-Volt battery pack to deliver 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque along with 49 MPGe and 21 miles of electric-only range. Its Selec-Trac full-time 4WD system and Dana 44 axles ensure that the Willy 4xe will be just at home at a trailhead as it is a Whole Foods. Yeah, you're going to need "bougie grocery store" money if you want a Willy, which will arrive with an MSRP of $53,995 (excluding $7,500 tax credit and $1,595 destination). Per Jeep, "LED headlamps and fog lamps, Alpine 9-speaker premium audio, all-weather floor mats, rear limited-slip differential, rock rails, black grille, and 17-inch black-painted alloy wheels wearing LT255/75R17C mud-terrain tires" will all come standard as well as a "Willys" decal on the hood. Order banks for the new model open today with deliveries scheduled to start fourth quarter 2022.

The Grand Cherokee 4xe 30th Anniversary edition (wow, that's a mouthful) isn't so much a new model as it is a new optional package. The GC 4xe already offers 56 MPGe and 25 miles all-electric range in addition to the same 375 HP / 470 lb-ft torque that the Wrangler does (unsurprising since the two run identical powertrains), with the 2022 model year Grand Cherokees being available in the Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, and Summit trims. 

Stellantis

The 30th Anniversary package will feature a blacked out exterior — 20-inch black rims, special-edition badging and body-color rear fascia, lower moldings, sill claddings and wheel flares — with dual exhaust and a dual-pane sunroof. The interior offers black capri leather seats, wireless phone charging and a nine-speaker Alpine audio system and Uconnect 5 with a 10.1-inch touchscreen. The 30th Anniversary package will retail for $4,500 on top of the $58,465 you'll need for the rest of the vehicle. Orders for the Grand Cherokee open later this year with deliveries set for early 2023.

The world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer is going electric. On Monday, Honda announced it would introduce “10 or more” electric motorcycles by 2025. The majority of those won’t be available in North America, with the automaker set to focus most of its attention on Asian and European markets. Don’t expect many performance models either. Honda shared a slide showing the silhouettes of 11 potential electric models, and all but four look like mopeds.

The good news is that the remaining full-sized models are the ones that are likely to make their way stateside. Honda is developing a new “FUN” platform and plans to introduce three “large-size” EV models in Japan, the US and Europe between 2024 and 2025. It’s also working on a kids-sized bike based on the same powertrain and solid-state battery technology to power all of the models it plans to introduce before the second half of the decade.

Honda

At the same time, the company said it would continue to produce internal combustion engine models, but pledged to make them more environmentally friendly by introducing more “flex-fuel” motorcycles that can use E20 and E100 ethanol-based fuels in 2023 and 2025. However, those models won’t be available in the US.

Honda plans to make its motorcycle business carbon neutral by 2040 and for electric models to account for about 15 percent of its motorcycle sales by 2030. All of that amounts to an electrification strategy that doesn’t seem particularly urgent but is in line with other automakers like Ford and GM.

Zero Motorcycles has unveiled its latest lineup of MY23 electric motorcycles, with the highlight being the new DSR/X adventure bike. Designed for both off-road or highway use, it delivers 100 horsepower and an impressive 166 foot-pounds of torque, providing enough power to climb steep hills or hit a top speed of 112 MPH. 

With a 17.3kWh battery (upgradeable to 20.9 kWh), the DSR/X is good for 180 miles of city range or 85 miles on the highway. The standard Level 2 charger can take it to a 95 percent charge in two hours, or you can upgrade it to a 6KW rapid charge to hit the same level in an hour. 

That's solid for an e-motorcycle, but range is pretty crucial for adventure bikes and gas-powered models can still go much further. To that end, Zero has partnered with adventure mapping country Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) to provide a library of "attainable, achievable and available routes to follow on electric motorcycles from coast to coast," the company said. 

Zero Motorcycles

The other key feature of the DSR/X is the bike's new Cypher III+ operating system that integrates Bosch's full Motorcycle Stability Control suite, including off-road capabilities. The system is designed to deliver traction and stability, with features like linked braking to improve modulation and "Vehicle Hold Control which provides confidence and steadiness even on the steepest slopes," Zero wrote. 

Zero Motorcycle's DSR/X is available in either sage green or white pearl, and is now arriving at dealerships at a base price of $24,495. The company unveiled three other MY23 SR (street-riding) models, the high-powered SR/S ($23,995) and SR/F ($23,795), both equipped with 17.3kWh batteries and fast 6.6 kW charge speeds. The SR model ($19,995) offers a 14.4kWh battery and stock 3kW charger..