As a person who is around cars a lot, I’m frequently exposed to opportunities that might seem dangerous to normies. Whether it’s leaning over a pit wall as a 900-horsepower race car comes barreling towards me, or it’s getting between other journalists and the shrimpbarrow, I really should be getting hazard pay.
It’s not that stuff that ever worries me. I’ve flown around in Marine helicopters loaded up with ammo, and that was probably less dangerous than just driving around in New York for a week. Modern cars bring modern problems, and the most unsettling is the idea that you could get trapped in your car and not be able to get out for a very dumb reason. The Morning Dump is nothing if not a trend-watcher, and the trend seems to be that people are starting to get that electromechanical doors are bad.
I feel like I’ve written about the EU rolling back its emissions ban a million times, and while it still hasn’t actually happened, there’s now a clearer idea of what the actual impact will be. What’s the outcome of GM’s C-Suite shuffling? Uncertain, but current CEO Mary Barra may have a favorite.
Ending on something fun, it looks like Foxconn finally bought a car company. Nope, it’s not the one you were thinking.
Bloomberg Puts Out A Big Piece On Tesla’s ‘Dangerous Doors’
I don’t seem to be able to embed the video from Bloomberg, so I’ll just link it here. It’s a sobering 20 minutes or so that explains why I check the doors in every new car I get in before I do anything else.
If you read the site regularly, this won’t surprise you. It’s just logical that replacing something as vital as opening a door with some complex system like Tesla has on its vehicles (as you can see in the graphic above, you have to remove a panel in the door pocket to get out if the vehicle loses power) is inviting danger. As Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell explains in a LinkedIn post about this:
Today, we’ve published a video that makes for difficult viewing. We spoke with a mother who, as she puts it, has a hole in her heart that will never heal.
We take you inside the garage of a repair shop owner who’s quipped to his substantial YouTube following that you’re not a “true” Tesla owner until one of your door handles prevents you from entering.
We show you, in this shop owner’s words, “the scary part” — that, if you’re in the back seat of a Tesla that’s lost battery power, your way out may be tucked under a rug, behind a speaker grille or under a plastic flap.
We take you to the scene of a fiery crash where a cluster of bodies were found in the front seat, suggesting to police there was a struggle to escape the burning vehicle.
The Feds are looking into this issue, and Chinese regulators are considering banning them outright. Tesla is apparently working on a way to fix this, and other automakers, like Toyota, already have more obvious release levers. You know works great? Just a mechanical door. While being able to make the door handles flush with the car does have aerodynamic benefits, I don’t think it’s worth it.
I agree with Sam Abuelsamid, who wrote yesterday that “consumers should refuse to buy any vehicle without clearly accessible mechanical door latches and regulators should ban them outright.”
Instead Of A Ban, 35% Of New Cars Sold In The EU Will Probably Have Some Sort Of Combustion Engine After 2035
We’re at over 300 comments on David’s EREV article, and I think it’s worth clarifying a little bit what my position on all of this is. While there’s no specific “Autopian” view on almost anything, in general, we drive electric cars all the time and understand the benefits. Electric cars, in an ideal world where they were cheaper and all apartment complexes had chargers, would make a ton of sense for most people, and the more commuter vehicles that can be transitioned into EVs, the better.
Personally, I’d have bought an electric car (well, cheaply leased a Lyriq or Mach-E) if I had the charging infrastructure around me to make that a possibility. But pretending like everyone would suddenly just buy EVs tomorrow seemed like it was overlooking the necessary transition technologies. If I could press a button and make it possible for people to switch to EVs in an affordable way with all the infrastructure in place, I’d press that button.
The EU tried pressing that button and then realized that, unless it wanted to flood the continent with cheap Chinese cars, an outright ban by 2035 wasn’t going to work. The proposed framework is now for mostly EVs by 2035, with credit given to various technologies, as Automotive News reports:
If the EU’s proposal wins approval from the European Parliament and Council of Europe next year, automakers will have to reduce tailpipe emissions 90 percent from a 2021 baseline, to about 11 grams of CO2 per km, rather than 100 percent.
“Tailpipe” is a critical word: For the first time, automakers can count external, carbon neutral sources toward their fleet emissions — 7 percent can be European-made low-carbon “green” steel, while 3 percent can be from biofuels, e-fuels or hydrogen powering ICE cars.
They would still be subject to fines of €95 per gram of CO2 over the 11 g/km target.
By the European Commission’s own analysis, up to 35 percent of new cars sold after Jan. 1, 2035, could have combustion engines.
Reducing emissions by 100% would be awesome, but reducing them by 90% is also pretty awesome.
Is Sterling Anderson Going To Be The Next GM CEO?
Not since Yul Brynner helmed Matra has a proud man with a shorn head run a major car company. Could that streak finally end with Sterling Anderson, who is reportedly in line for the top job at General Motors?
Anderson joined the company as chief product officer in June after working for Tesla and co-founding the autonomous trucking company Aurora Innovation Inc. The understanding when he was hired, according to people familiar with the matter, was that if Anderson can satisfy Barra’s demand for him to bring cutting-edge software and self-driving technology to GM cars, he has a good shot at succeeding her.
It’s a daunting challenge, but one that draws on the experience of the 42-year-old Anderson. Barra wants him to bring more computing power to every corner of GM’s vehicles, with software controlling more mechanical functions like steering and braking, and to create features that could generate long-term revenue from subscriptions. More broadly, he will also ride herd on a renewed push to make the company’s money-losing electric vehicles profitable.
Anderson’s ascension to the top job has been discussed but isn’t a done deal, and even it it happens, it may not be a quick journey. Barra, who turns 64 next week, isn’t obligated to retire at any age and may well decide to keep going, said the people familiar with her thinking, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. GM President Mark Reuss, 62, also has gas in the tank and could play a role in the succession plan.
I could see Reuss doing it for a short period of time while Anderson takes on the President role, and then transitioning into the job. Also, we’re the same age! A GM CEO my age would feel very strange.
Update: For… reasons, I was sent this comment from a GM spokesperson:
“Sterling came to General Motors in June 2025, and holds the position of Chief Product Officer. Any discussion of a future role is premature and speculative.”
Foxconn Buys Luxgen On The Cheap
Remember when the entire Japanese automotive industry had a minor meltdown over the idea that Taiwanese mega company Foxconn was going to buy Nissan? That didn’t happen. Or, well, it hasn’t happened yet.
In the meantime, Foxconn has looked a little closer to home, according to Nikkei Asia:
Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, a joint venture established by Foxconn and Yulon in 2020, currently focuses on research, development and design of electric vehicles. Following the deal, it will have full access to Luxgen’s assets, including staff, distribution channels, marketing resources and repair and maintenance capacity across the island.
The deal will need to be approved by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission and is likely to be reviewed in the first quarter of 2026, the two companies said.
Foxtron CEO Adam Chen said in a press conference on Friday evening that his company will buy a 100% stake in Luxgen and take charge of its operations, “creating a complete EV value chain from products, sales, to services.”
Trying to buy Nissan and ending up with Luxgen is a little like trying to buy the Giants and ending up with the Padres or, well, like trying to buy the Padres and ending up with the Hartford Yard Goats (Go Goats!).
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Yo La Tengo is in the middle of its Hanukkah residency, in which it performs every night and brings out special guests like Matt Beringer or, last night, Norah Jones. I remember being in Austin for that first SXSW where she materialized and, you know what? “Don’t Know Why” still slaps.
The Big Question
What’s an absolute deal-killer when it comes to buying a car?
Top graphic image: Tesla
Probably the first deal breaker that comes to mind is not having physical controls for everything. I like being able to turn on the heat, etc without going through menus.
Subaru drivetrains is another. I actually really like the last gen Outback, but the drivetrain is a deal breaker for me. That 2.0 / 2.5 / CVT really needs to be put out of its misery.
Having just replaced the door handle cable that snapped on my 92 F-250 (more of a PITA than I thought it would be) I can somewhat appreciate an electrical solution. However, my snapped cable was never a safety issue as I could crank down my window and open the door from the outside handle. I would have probably never fixed it except that it would fail inspection like that.
A Marine. Respect. No spaghetti arm beta male.
Pretty sure Matt is not a Marine.
The ‘electric doorhandles’ should never have been approved. It’s fine someone wanted to put them on a car, but who approved that? “What if the electricity is out? How do they open? … ” Why didn’t anyone ask the question and what does that say of government regulations? It’s clear what happens if we let the industry sort it out themselves.
Regarding the whole EU EV thing ; too little too late ; we’ve been talking about Tesla for a decade and only recently the people who decide our future started to move and then demanded everyone to move mountains with bare hands ; it’s fine to ban ICE cars, but how can you ban sales if the current factories and models are just half-assed models. And yeah if everyone would buy an EV tomorrow we’d have a problem ; we need time for a proper transition from diesel and gasoline to electrons.
But that doesn’t have to be a big problem requiring tons of extra powerplants and a triple sized electric grid ; locality is the answer. We don’t need to move electrons from hundreds of miles away to your charging EV ; get them local. Solar panels, wind turbines, tidal energy ; plenty of options to create smaller sources of electricity near people so you get smaller hubs instead of asking for the design of terawatt powerplants and 1 million volt transport. Just do it in our own backyards.
Texas did it. Not without its flaws (2021 blackout), but it shows a WHOLE STATE can be independent from a national grid. Now imagine that on a smaller scale with solar panels and windturbines at the edge of cities and villages. Heck the flyover states could play a major role here if we decide that NIMBY is something we cannot solve and people rather pay a buck per kilometer to go from A to B than to put wind turbines on public land. Instead of hundreds of square kilometers of just corn and wheat and soy beans for China, it could be dotted with tons of wind turbines generating electricity which then could be moved everywhere if we decide that we actually CAN build some metal posts with a wire between them to transfer the tons of electrons from the flyover states to the rest of the country. It really sounds “difficult” right?
2035 is 10 years away. It is sad that the EU buckled to the indecisive manufacturers. 10 years is a completely different new car for most people. For people who lease cars it is perhaps as many as 3, 4 or even 5 new models. Why could we not force the manufacturers to get on with it and produce decent EV models so by the time of 2035 there would be a ton of useful, affordable cars to choose from? Now the whole transition is going to be delayed well into 2040, maybe 2045 or worse to 2050. All that time the lovely oil rich countries which aren’t counting in freedom units but in burqas and golden toilet seats are going to impose their will on us. From Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran to Russia ; don’t we want to get rid of those guy’s influence on us?
Seems like a good start.
Putting aside every other tech anti-feature in modern cars (which disqualify everything), I’m deeply opposed to SUVs/crossovers on principle.
If I start driving a crossover, I’ve lost what remains of my self-respect.
As a vocal Slate Auto fan, I’m aware of the contradiction, but the SUV kit is optional, it’s a two-door, and doesn’t have the bulky, overstyled, middle-of-the-venn-diagram look about it.
Those stupid electric door handles…the people responsible for approving those as a concept should not be allowed in positions of authority.
It is simply a miserable violation of good taste and efficient design; negative value to the world, a shame on all humanity by relation.
The fact it’s also a horrific safety issue that’s killed people is awful on top of something that shouldn’t exist in the first place.
I’m opposed to SUVs & Crossovers but ended up driving one anyway. 1st Gen Highlander hybrid I bought used. I was shopping for a minivan, but the Highlander was sitting right next to the Sienna I test drove. The Highlander was cheaper, with less mileage, and got better mpgs.
The hard part about being opposed to SUVs & Crossovers is just that the reasonable alternative barely exists in the US anymore. Minivans are great utility, but they are a large vehicle and not everyone needs that size–if I would have bought the Sienna, the third row would have gone unused 99% of the time. Wagons barely exist anymore outside of high end European luxury vehicles. Hatchbacks are a dying breed.
Prior to the Highlander, I had a Honda Fit. That was an excellent commuter car, worked great for hauling two kids around, and even handled family camping trips just fine. But then I got a dog. Lovely as it was, the Fit wasn’t quite enough for 2 kids and a dog on a camping trip. The only vehicles readily available at my cheapass price point were minivans or crossovers. Wagons were either way too expensive (an E-class wagon on a teacher budget?), or too old for me to really consider as a daily driver.
The Highlander is a good example of what happened. Crossovers basically ate wagons and it started in the design room. The Highlander has the same platform as the Camry. A Camry wagon could have been developed, but instead was developed as the Highlander.
It sucks, but for the many people who need the kind of space a wagon had, but don’t regularly need the space of a minivan, a crossover is kind of the only affordable option.
I hope you do hold out and never get an SUV/crossover, but if you do, don’t kick yourself too much.
Thanks for the Norah Jones video. I remember the song. Never saw the video. What a sweet voice!
Deal killer? A whiff of anti-freeze in the cabin. From experience, that is not going to be fun or easy to fix. And in a non a/c car, renders defrost counter-productive.
What is a deal killer for me?
If new, crewcab only choice in a pickup. I need that six foot bed as a minimum.
If used. Accidents and lack of maintenance.
Electronic door handles are fine, i don’t quite get them, but whatever. Mine, if i don’t close the door hard enough, will fully close the door for me, cool i guess.
Making the manual override separate and hidden is stupid.
Mine as far as i know if a half pull for electronic, full pull for manual override.
“Barra wants him to bring more computing power to every corner of GM’s vehicles, with software controlling more mechanical functions like steering and braking, and to create features that could generate long-term revenue from subscriptions.”
I guess GM gotta GM
They just get worse and worse. No words.
I don’t have a lot of choice in what the market offers right now-but I can list the things I DON’T want in a vehicle in order of importance.
Combustion engine
Electronic door locks(the Tesla kind)
Glass in the roof
Missing buttons
Piano black trim
Screens having more volume/area than my tablet.
Camera guidance systems(like Tesla)
Only stocking AWD models(this is more of an issue with my local Honda dealer)
“What’s an absolute deal-killer when it comes to buying a car?”
At this point EVERYTHING about modern (post pandemic) cars kills my interest in them except fuel economy. That is the ONE and ONLY thing that tempts me.
So when the time comes I’ll probably end up with something pre pandemic. With sidewall.
My decidedly pre-pandemic car, a ’17 V6 Accord gets nearly 40 mpg on the highway. Around town, about half that. Fully paid for and with ~72K on the clock, I can’t make a case to trade or sell it to get something newer. Yet. And I’ve got 68 years on my clock. And I still like how it drives. And how the doors open. And how they shut with a very solid thunk. Very late 60s/early 70s Mercedes thunk. Just very solid sounding.
I have a Gen7 Accord. Good car.
I had a 3G and now a Gen 9 (I think) sedan and they have both been great to drive. A little loud with road noise. But the ride/handling balance is great. A CR-V we owned was also loud, but agile for what it was.
I am open to other brands, but Honda has been very good to me, mechanically. The car before my current Accord was a ’01 VW Jetta TDI, which was fun to drive, but a bit needy and VWAG did me wrong over injection pumps and will never see another cent from me as a result.
The only non consumables in nearly 20 years of ownership I can think of have been:
Headliner: DIY $100
PS O ring + fluid: DIY $10
A/C Schrader valve + freon: DIY $30
Intake hose: DIY $25
Rear window motor: DIY $45
Other than that just pads, tires, blades, bulbs, batteries, fluids and filters.
I did replace the front lower control arms of the advice of a dealer inspection. The indie shop that finished my disaster of a DIY added salt to the pain by telling me the original arms were still serviceable. So I’m not counting them. That’s the last time I listen to advice from a dealership. At least the indie gave me a pity discount.
There are a few squeaks, rattles, buzzes and whatnot I haven’t been able to track down. So it’s not as solid as yours. At least not yet.
On the bright side I realized a few months ago I hadn’t checked the valve clearances since the car was new! They turned out to all be dead center of optimum. I never have to add oil between 10k changes and it still passes smog with flying colors. Not bad for 170k!
Not much to complain about there.
I still complain about that control arm fiasco.
Username checks out!
Join us! Buy an Accord. They’re even built in the USA!
Perhaps eventually. I loved my Fit Sport. I’ve been dailying a T100 SR5 for the last 5 years and it’s been a dependable workhorse but I’m about ready for a little more comfort now. Cheap bastards unite!
Solidarity!
You can have fancy, flush, electrically actuated door handles that are still mechanically linked to the latch. You can also have a different arrangement on the inside than the outside.
Physical button guy here. Lack thereof will make me move right past with my choice. 100% why I still have my 2017 car instead of the 2022 version.
“ Electric cars, in an ideal world where they were cheaper and all apartment complexes had chargers, would make a ton of sense for most people, and the more commuter vehicles that can be transitioned into EVs, the better.”
Where is the “in a perfect world, where climate change doesn’t threaten to destroy the planet and Internal Combustion Engine cars only maintain a price advantage because of entrenched government subsidies” language on the other side of the argument?
The door handles were neat when Tesla was a niche product, just the Model S, oh fancy door handles on a $100k car, it was dumb but cool, similar to older Deloreons and Lamborghinis you can’t get out of in a rollover. When everyone started doing it, on $50k regular consumer cars, that’s very dangerous, feel like it should be a test added to IIHS testing, ability to get out of the car in a crash, doors that fail without power deducts 3 stars.
As I recently got a newer car I think the deal breakers for me would’ve been the lack of physical controls and those dumb kind of doors. Actually we leased a new car this year and bought another as my daily was totaled, and in both instances I wanted real door handles, real hvac controls, wiper controls, no rotary shifter, and now that I have a power liftgate, that is a life changer and I don’t think I can go back.
And as we got both a BEV and PHEV, wanted the charging door to just pop open with a push like many gas flaps we’ve had for years, none of this craziness like on the Blazer where half the fender is motorized to lift open to expose…an outlet, it’s a charge port, not the warp core of the Enterprise, just keep it simple.
I prefer physical HVAC controls and physical knobs for tuning the radio and volume. HVAC in the screen almost had me crash a GTI on the test drive, and since I live in MN, I wear gloves in the winter so its not a matter of getting used to it. Mittens are bad for touch screens.
Volume and tuning are probably a little more unusual but I am still an avid terrestrial radio listener, and have 3-4 local stations that I alternate between. In my car I use presets, but in my wifes I prefer the tuning knob. Also knobs are mitten friendly.
I still think the old 3 knob system in my 97 Jetta GLX was great: Fan, Direction, Temperature. Could be used purely by feel and muscle memory. Admittedly single zone only. And not automatic obviously, but with how simple it was to change that was a non-issue.
I still hold that you’re not a good engineer if you think that handle design is fine. I don’t care how small the risk is when the consequences are that high, for no benefit (to the consumer at least).
No benefit? Do you not know how envious the neighbors are? Six figures and greater risk is a small price to pay for the smug satisfaction that comes from rubbing one’s success in the faces of ones lessers.
Ha! That’s extra funny to me, as I had a second part to my comment I deleted before posting. That maybe people who derive their self-worth from the possessions they own will ‘benefit’. Proud to think alike with a Cheap Bastard.
We are the bent!