Cars – Page 8

F1 in Miami: Like normal F1, but everyone wears pastels

Cars, F1, Formula 1 / Shannon Garcia / May 5, 2025

Yet again, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton did well in the sprint, making it to the third step of the podium. Hamilton was much closer to his Ferrari teammate Leclerc this weekend, which would perhaps be encouraging if not for the fact that Leclerc was also just slow. In fact, both Williams cars outqualified the Ferraris for the main race, although Carlos Sainz finished just behind the pair of them on Sunday.

Rain canceled Sunday’s F1 Academy race and threatened to interrupt or affect the main event. But the worst of it was some spray during the driver parade, which this time made use of some full-size Lego F1 cars. The race was to be dry, fast, and furious.

Verstappen led at the start, but his car was not fast enough to keep him there for long. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Max Verstappen had dragged his car to pole position for Sunday’s race and kept his elbows out at turn 2 at the start to force Norris off at the apex, dropping the McLaren driver from second to sixth place. A virtual safety car interrupted the race as Alpine’s Jack Doohan got wrecked. It was a terrible weekend for the Australian, who had his sprint-qualifying session ruined by his own team and is now almost certain to be replaced at the next race by Franco Colapinto.

Piastri made rather quick work of Antonelli, who was in second, then got past Verstappen to take the lead with a clinically precise move on lap 14. It took Norris a little longer to deal with the reigning World Champion, four laps in which Norris lost a second a lap to Piastri before he slotted into second place.

From there, the pair of McLarens disappeared off into the distance. Last time, I wrote about how close the entire grid has become under this latest set of rules. The race in Miami bucked that trend as the McLaren showed much faster race pace than anyone else, thanks in large part to much higher track temperatures. Third place went to George Russell, who is getting the most out of his Mercedes every time he straps in. Even so, Russell was more than half a minute behind the orange-and-black cars at the checkered flag.

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 04: Race winner Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes takes the chequered flag during the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 04, 2025 in Miami, Florida. — Piastri wins again. Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Piastri now leads Norris in the championship by 16 points.

F1 in Miami: Like normal F1, but everyone wears pastels Read More »

NASCAR, IMSA, IndyCar, F1: GM’s motorsport boss explains why it goes racing

Cars, F1, General Motors, IMSA, IndyCar, Motorsport, NASCAR, racing / 9u50fv / May 3, 2025

The late Richard Parry-Jones, who rose to CTO over at rival Ford, had a similar take: vehicle dynamics matter.

“There are people that think no one can tell the difference, you know, and I’ve always said they absolutely can tell the difference. They don’t know what it is. And the structural feel of the car going down the road, you know, people might explain, ‘It feels like a vault.’ Well, I can tell you exactly what’s going on, physically, from the parts and the tuning, and it’s an outcome that we strive for,” Morris said.

Does it need to be electrified?

The addition of electrified powertrains has certainly been one of the biggest trends in motorsport over the past decade or so. Since F1 made hybrids mandatory in 2014, we’ve also seen hybridization come to IMSA and WEC’s prototypes, and most recently, IndyCar added a supercapacitor-based system. But it hasn’t been a one-way street; this year, both the World Rally Championship and the British Touring Car Championship have abandoned the hybrid systems they adopted just a few years ago.

Win on Sunday, sell on Monday, like concrete tech transfer, is much less of a thing in the early 21st century, but marketing remains a central reason for OEM involvement in the sport. I asked Morris if Cadillac would be endurance racing with the V-Series R if the LMdh ruleset didn’t require a hybrid system.

“I think it’s an interesting discussion because you know, current EVs—the development [needed] where you can really do lapping at the Nürburgring or lapping full laps and not one hot lap, then you’re done, there’s just going to have to be development, development iteration, iteration, and that’s what racing is,” Morris said.

While the mechanical specifications of the hybrid Cadillac (and its rivals) are locked down, software development is unfettered, and Morris is not the first competitor to tell me how important that development path is now. Battery cell chemistries and battery cooling are also very active research areas and will only get more important once Cadillac enters F1. At first, that will be with Ferrari engines in the back, but starting in 2029, the Cadillac team will use a powertrain designed in-house.

NASCAR, IMSA, IndyCar, F1: GM’s motorsport boss explains why it goes racing Read More »

Republicans want to tax EV drivers $200/year in new transport bill

Cars, EV adoption / DJ Henderson / April 30, 2025

WASHINGTON, DC—The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will meet today to discuss its proposed budget legislation, and there’s a doozy in there for drivers of electric vehicles and hybrids. As part of the Republican Party’s ongoing war against science and the environment under President Trump, committee chairperson Sam Graves (R-Mo.) has included some new annual fees that will cost all drivers some, but some drivers more.

Republicans plan to use the budget reconciliation process to pass this legislation, which is an expedited process that removes some of the US Senate’s ability to stall. They’re proposing a new annual federal motor vehicle registration fee, which state DMVs would have to collect and pass back to the federal government.

If it passes, all battery EVs would be subject to a new $200 tax. Hybrids—defined as vehicles that are propelled by both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine or other power source (which would include fuel cell EVs)—will pay $100. But someone who commutes 90 miles a day in a particulate-belching Ford F-350 Duramax diesel pickup truck gets away with a mere $20 a year, and only from October 1, 2030; until then they get to drive for free.

To make things even better, the bill requires these fees to be linked to inflation and should be increased each year, until 2034 when the tax expires for unelectrified vehicles, or 2035, the last year that EVs and hybrids would be taxed like this. So, a $200 registration fee in 2026 becomes a $250 registration fee in 2035.

Not everyone will have to pay, however. The bill exempts commercial vehicles, which should see a rush from tax avoiders to register their vehicles under their businesses, similar to what we saw during the George W. Bush administration, when a change in the tax law meant businesses could claim a $100,000 tax credit if they purchased a truck or SUV that weighed more than 6,000 lbs. Farm vehicles are also exempt from the law.

With EV adoption as low as it is in the US, the sums raised by these EV and hybrid charges will be essentially a rounding error in the federal budget, which this year should top $7 trillion. The Eno Center for Transportation calculates that this new tax will contribute an extra $110 billion to the highway Trust Fund by 2035 but that cuts to other taxes and more spending mean that the fund will still be $222 billion short of its commitments—assuming that this added fee doesn’t further dampen EV adoption in the US, that is.

Republicans want to tax EV drivers $200/year in new transport bill Read More »

Trump backs down a bit on auto industry tariffs—but only a bit

Cars, trump tariffs / Kelly Newman / April 29, 2025

President Donald Trump is set to ease up slightly on the automotive industry this week. After being warned that his trade war will result in hiked prices and fewer vehicles being built, government officials over the past two days have signaled that Trump will sign an executive order today that will mitigate some of the pain the 25 percent import tariffs will inflict.

Trump’s approach to tariffs has been nothing if not inconsistent. In this case, the White House is not dropping the 25 percent tariff on all imported vehicles, but the other tariffs imposed by the Trump administration—like the 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum that went into effect in February—won’t stack up on top.

The potential for multiple tariffs to have an additive effect on prices could have seen new car prices soar in the coming weeks; now, they are likely to just rise a lot instead. According to The Wall Street Journal, the move will be retroactive, and automakers who have (for example) paid aluminum or steel tariffs on top of the car import tariff can seek a refund for the former.

A separate 25 percent tariff on imported car parts is set to go into effect on Saturday. These are still planned to go into effect, but importers will be able to apply for small reimbursements—up to 3.75 percent of the value of a US-made car for a year, then 2.5 percent of the car’s value for the second year.

How easy the government will make the reimbursement process, and where that money will come from, has yet to be made clear.

Trump backs down a bit on auto industry tariffs—but only a bit Read More »

The BYD Dolphin review: Here’s what we’re missing out on in America

BYD Dolphin, car review, Cars / Beth Washington / April 29, 2025

Zero to 62 mph (0–100 km/h) takes 7.0 seconds, and the Dolphin tops out at 99 mph (160 km/h). DC fast charging is capped at 88 kW, or 65 kW for the smaller battery, which means it takes 29 minutes to get from 30 to 80 percent state of charge. The performance sounds rather hot hatch-y until you realize the top-spec car weighs 3,655 lbs (1,658 kg), which is a lot for a family hatchback.

BYD Dolphin interior — It’s quite dark in here. Credit: Alex Goy

The interior is fine. There are plenty of neat design quirks, like funky door handles and swoopy surfaces, that make being in there rather pleasant. It’s called the Dolphin, so you can’t expect it to take itself too seriously, but it’s refreshingly fun without seeming tacky. Drivers get a 5-inch display for speed, range, etc., and while it’s a bit on the small side, it’s not the end of the world. Everything else is run through a 12.8-inch touchscreen in the center of the car.

This screen has a party trick

It’s not any mere rectangle, though; it rotates. You can have your map, apps, and whatever else in portrait or landscape at the push of a button. Unless, sadly, you want to use Apple CarPlay. It’s landscape-only for that. It’s fun to show people that you have a wobbly screen, but after messing with it a couple of times, you’ll find your orientation of choice and keep it there.

Rear passengers are taken care of, as are the tall. There’s a 12.2 cubic foot (345 L) trunk, which isn’t the biggest in the world, but it’ll take a small family’s weekly shop and the usual household “stuff” without issue.

The main instrument panel is sparse but functional. Alex Goy

All in all, on paper at least, it seems like a pleasant thing that can fit into most families’ lives without too many issues (so long as they have a home charger).

It’s as pleasingly quick off the line as its numbers suggest, which helps in city traffic, and its electric insta-torque means overtaking on the highway isn’t an issue, either. Of course, there are drive modes to play with—Eco, Normal, Sport, and Snow—but to be honest, leaving it in Normal and cruising around is probably what you’ll end up doing the most. It doesn’t sap power at an alarming rate, nor does it dull the controls. Throttle response is smooth, and brake regen isn’t too grabby, either.

The BYD Dolphin review: Here’s what we’re missing out on in America Read More »

“We’re in a race with China”—DOT eases autonomous car rules

autonomous vehicles, Cars / DJ Henderson / April 25, 2025

For crashes where none of those conditions are satisfied, NHTSA has to be notified within 15 days if other conditions are met, including a property damage threshold, as well as if another vehicle was involved.

NHTSA is also opening up exemptions for some federal motor vehicle safety standards for US-based manufacturers. “This exemption promotes innovative designs, such as prototype vehicles, through an iterative review process that considers the overall safety of the vehicle along with the purposes for which the exemption is requested,” NHTSA wrote in a letter to the industry. So robotaxis without side-view mirrors or a steering wheel should now be easier to deploy on US streets.

The news was welcomed by the automotive industry. “This technology works. It will help improve safety on the roads and increase mobility,” said Alliance for Automotive Innovation President and CEO John Bozzella. “But the ability of AV developers, investors, automakers and consumers to reach their full potential has been hamstrung by government inaction. It’s time to move to the next phase of autonomous driving in America, and that requires—urgently requires—a regulatory framework and a pathway to finally and fully deploy AVs in the country.”

Hopefully there are still enough experts left at NHTSA to handle the paperwork. Earlier this month, dozens of people directly responsible for regulating autonomous vehicle safety were dismissed at the order of Elon Musk, who counts being CEO of Tesla—which is subject to numerous NHTSA safety investigations, many involving partially automated driving—among his many day jobs.

“We’re in a race with China”—DOT eases autonomous car rules Read More »

A $20,000 electric truck with manual windows and no screens? Meet Slate Auto.

Cars, Slate Auto / Beth Washington / April 25, 2025

time to put up or shut up, internet

Owners can buy kits to add accessories and features to the Slate Truck.

Slate Auto is a new American EV startup. Credit: Slate Auto

In one of the strangest launches we’ve seen in a while, Slate Auto, the reportedly Jeff Bezos-backed electric vehicle startup, unveiled its first EV, the Slate Truck. Notably, the vehicle is capable of a claimed 150 miles (241 km) of range at a starting price of less than $20,000, assuming federal clean vehicle tax credits continue to exist.

Slate caused a lot of social media froth when it parked a pair of styling concepts (not functional vehicles) in Venice, California, advertising bizarre fake businesses. Today, the company unveiled the vehicle to the press at an event near the Long Beach Airport.

You wanted a bare-bones EV? Here it is.

The Blank Slate, as the company calls it, is “all about accessible personalization” and includes a “flat-pack accessory SUV Kit” that turns the truck from a pickup into a five-seat SUV and another that turns it into an “open air” truck. The aim, according to a spokesperson for Slate Auto, is to make the new vehicle repairable and customizable while adhering to safety and crash standards.

A rendering of a Slate Truck on the road — If you’ve ever said you’d buy a bare-bones truck with no infotainment and manual windows if only they’d build one, it’s time to get out your wallet. Credit: Slate Auto

The truck will come with a choice of two battery packs: a 57.2 kWh battery pack with rear-wheel drive and a target range of 150 miles and an 84.3 kWh battery pack with a target of 240 miles (386 km). The truck has a NACS charging port and will charge to 80 percent in under 30 minutes, peaking at 120 kW, we’re told. The wheels are modest 17-inch steelies, and the truck is no speed demon—zero to 60 mph (0–97 km/h) will take 8 seconds thanks to the 201 hp (150 kW), 195 lb-ft (264 Nm) motor, and it tops out at 90 mph (145 km/h).

Because the truck will be built in just a single configuration from the factory, Slate Auto will offer body wraps instead of different paint colors. Rather than relying on a built-in infotainment system, you’ll use your phone plugged into a USB outlet or a dedicated tablet inside the cabin for your entertainment and navigation needs. The Slate Truck will also aim for a 5-star crash rating, according to a company spokesperson, and will feature active emergency braking, forward collision warning, and as many as eight airbags.

It sounds good on paper (and it looks good in person), but the spec sheet is littered with things that give us pause from a production and safety standpoint. They present hurdles the startup will have to surmount before these trucks start landing in people’s driveways.

Slate Truck interior. — Legally, there has to be some way to show a backup camera feed in here, but you could do that in the rearview mirror. Credit: Slate Auto

For example, the truck has manual crank windows, steel wheels, HVAC knobs, and an optional do-it-yourself “flat-pack accessory SUV kit.” All of these low-tech features are quite cool, and they’re available on other vehicles like the Bronco and the Jeep, but there are a number of supplier, tariff, and safety hurdles they present for an upstart company. There is plenty of Kool-Aid for the automotive press to get drunk on—and if this truck becomes a real thing, we’ll be fully on board—but we have a lot of questions.

Can Slate really build an EV that cheap?

First, there’s the price. The myth of the sub-$25,000 electric vehicle has been around for more than 10 years now, thanks to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s perpetual promise of an affordable EV.

That vehicle may never exist due to the cost of the current battery and manufacturing technology that we use to make modern EVs. While much of that cost is tied up in the battery, prices have improved as components have come down in price. That combination has led companies like Rivian and Scout to promise SUVs that could start at around $40,000, which is much more attainable for the average buyer. But $40,000 is still wide of that $25,000 marker.

There’s also the issue of federal incentives. Without the full clean vehicle tax credit, the new Slate Truck will actually cost at least $27,500 before tax, title, and so on. Bezos’ team seems to be betting that Trump won’t get rid of the incentives, despite abundant signals that he intends to do just that. “Whether or not the incentive goes away, our truck will be a high-value, desirable vehicle,” a spokesperson for Slate Auto told Ars.

Then there are the retro and basic components Slate Auto says it will use for the truck, many of which are made in China and are thus subject to the Trump tariffs. Even though the company says it will manufacture the vehicles in the US, that doesn’t mean that the components (battery, motors, steel wheels, window cranks, and HVAC knobs) will be made stateside. If the tariffs stick, that sub $30,000 vehicle will become measurably more expensive.

For example, the last automaker to use manual crank windows was Jeep in the JL Wrangler, and as of 2025, the company no longer offers them as an option. Ford also recently phased out hand-wound windows from its Super Duty trucks. That’s because electric switches are cheaper and readily available from suppliers—who are mostly located in China—and because automakers that offer manual and powered windows had to have two different door assembly lines to accommodate the different tech. That made building both options more expensive. Power windows are also somewhat safer for families with younger children in the backseat, as parents can lock the roll-down feature.

A rendering of a Slate SUV — It’s an ambitious idea, and we hope it works. Credit: Slate Auto

Slate Auto’s spokesperson declined to talk about partners or suppliers but did say the company will manufacture its new truck in a “reindustrialized” factory in the Midwest. A quick look at the plethora of job listings at SlateAuto on LinkedIn shows that that factory will be in Troy, Michigan, where there are around 40 jobs listed, including body closure engineers (for the flat-pack kit), prototype engineers, seating buyers/engineers, controls and automation engineers, a head of powertrain and propulsion, wheels and suspension engineers, plant managers, and more. Those are all very pivotal, high-level positions that Slate will need to fill immediately to bring this vehicle to market on the timeline it has set.

Slate Auto also hasn’t said how it will ensure that these DIY vehicle add-ons will be certified to be safe on the road without the company taking on the liability. It will likely work the way Jeep and Bronco handle their accessories, but both Stellantis and Ford have robust service networks they can count on, with dealerships around the country able to help owners who get into a pickle trying to install accessories. Slate doesn’t have that, at least at the moment. Slate’s SUV kit, for example, will include a roll cage, rear seat, and airbags. It will be interesting to see how the company ensures the airbags are installed safely—if it allows DIY-ers to do it.

Will young people actually want it?

Finally, there’s the biggest question: Will younger generations actually plunk down $20,000 or more to own a Slate vehicle that won’t go into production until the fourth quarter of 2026—more than a year and a half out—especially in the face of the economic upheaval and global uncertainty that has taken hold under the second Trump administration?

A rendering of a Slate Truck with a red and black livery — Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid have all been at the mercy of their suppliers, sinking deadlines and making prices rise. How will Slate Auto avoid that trap? Credit: Slate Auto

Data shows that while some young people have started to opt for devices like dumbphones and may prefer the novelty of no tech, they may also prefer to rent a car or rideshare instead of owning a vehicle. Given Slate Auto’s Bezos backing, I’d imagine that the company would be willing to, say, rent out a Slate Truck for a weekend and charge you a subscription fee for its use. It’s also conceivable that these could become fleet vehicles for Amazon and other companies.

Slate Auto says it will sell directly to consumers (which will anger dealers) and offer a nationwide service network. A spokesperson at Slate Auto declined to give more details about how that might all work but said the company will have more to announce about partners who will enable service and installation in the future.

Even with all the unanswered questions, it’s good to see a company making a real effort to build a truly affordable electric vehicle with funky retro styling. There are a number of things Slate Auto will have to address moving forward, but if the company can deliver a consumer vehicle under that magic $25,000 marker, we’ll be roundly impressed.

The Slate Truck is revealed to the world Abigail Bassett

A $20,000 electric truck with manual windows and no screens? Meet Slate Auto. Read More »

2025 VW Golf GTI: Buttons are back on the menu, smiles never went away

car review, Cars, First drive, Volkswagen Golf GTI / Beth Washington / April 24, 2025

What’s new?

The improvements for model year 2025 amount to new bumpers—shades of Mk2, anybody?—and an illuminated VW badge that would have made you the coolest Beastie Boy in 1986. There are also adaptive front fog lights that turn with the wheels, and VW’s improved 12.9-inch infotainment system has replaced the old 10.25-inch unit. The wireless charging pad for mobile devices is now capable of 15 W, and the much-disliked capacitive multifunction steering wheel has been replaced by a wheel with plastic buttons. Hooray!

The base GTI starts at $32,445, but you’ll want to at least splash out for the $37,420 SE if only for the fantastic ArtVelours seats that previously were only found in the Europe-only Clubsport. The best wheels are found on the $40,880 Autobahn—19-inch telephone dials that evoke the Mk5. The Autobahn also benefits from adaptive dampers, a heads-up display, a parking assistant, leather seats (with 12-way power adjustment for the driver), ventilated front seats, and three-zone climate control.

Golf interiors have always been spartan. Volkswagen

A word of warning about the infotainment. The Wi-Fi stopped working on our test car, which prevented CarPlay from operating. While there is a pair of USB-C ports up front, CarPlay over USB does not appear to be an option. VW PR was not particularly surprised to hear of this malfunction; we had been issued navigation road books for the drive to Summit Point in West Virginia for just this eventuality, but no other journalists reported problems, so it seems to be a random if annoying bug that may well afflict any VW with this 12.9-inch system, at least until VW patches it.

Automakers are making a lot of heavy crossovers and SUVs now, so I mostly have to drive heavy crossovers and SUVs these days. Consequently, any time in something that doesn’t sit a foot off the ground is a refreshing change. Even more refreshing is the 3,188 lb (1,446 kg) curb weight. Sure, a few hundred pounds of the metastasizing weight of modern cars comes with better crash protection, and mod-cons like ventilated seats add a bit of mass, but the Golf has all that stuff and still tips the scales at less than a ton and a half. More of this, please.

2025 VW Golf GTI: Buttons are back on the menu, smiles never went away Read More »

Bicycle bling: All the accessories you’ll need for your new e-bike

Accessories, bikes, cargo bike, Cars, cycling, e-bikes, Features / Shannon Garcia / April 23, 2025

To accompany our cargo bike shopper’s guide, here’s the other you’ll want.

Credit: LueratSatichob/Getty Images

If you’ve read our cargo e-bike shopper’s guide, you may be well on your way to owning a new ride. Now comes the fun part.

Part of the joy of diving into a new hobby is researching and acquiring the necessary (and less-than-necessary) stuff. And cycling (or, for the casual or transportation-first rider, “riding bikes”) is no different—there are hundreds of ways to stock up on talismanic, Internet-cool parts and accessories that you may or may not need.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing! And you can even get creative—PC case LEDs serve the same function as a very specific Japanese reflective triangle that hangs from your saddle. But let’s start with the strictly necessary.

This article is aimed at the fully beginner cyclist, but I invite the experienced cyclists among us to fill the comments with anything I’ve missed. If this is your first run at owning a bike that gets ridden frequently, the below is a good starting point to keep you (and your cargo) safe—and your bike running.

First thing’s first: Safety stuff

Helmets

I once was asked by another cargo bike dad, “Are people wearing helmets on these? Is that uncool?”

“You’re already riding the uncoolest bike on earth—buy a helmet,” I told him.

For the most part, any helmet you pick up at a big box store or your local bike shop will do a perfectly fine job keeping your brains inside your skull. Even so, the goodly nerds over at Virginia Tech have partnered with the Insurance Institute for Highways Safety (IIHS) to rate 238 bike helmets using the STAR evaluation system. Sort by your use case and find something within your budget, but I’ve found that something in the $70–$100 range is more than adequate—any less and you’re sacrificing comfort, and any more and you won’t notice the difference. Save your cash.

Giro, Bell, Smith, POC, and Kask are all reputable brands with a wide range of shapes to fit bulbous and diminutive noggins alike.

Additionally, helmets are not “buy it for life” items—manufacturers recommend replacing them every four to five years because the foam and glues degrade with sun exposure. So there’s a built-in upgrade cycle on that one.

Lights

Many cargo e-bikes come with front and rear lights prewired into the electric system. If you opted for an acoustic bike, you’ll want to get some high-lumen visibility from dedicated bike lights (extra bike nerd bonus points for a dynamo system). Front and rear lights can be as cheap as you need or as expensive as you want. Depending on the brands your local bike shop carries, you will find attractive options from Bontraeger, Lezyne, and Knog. Just make sure whatever you’re buying is USB-rechargeable and has the appropriate mounts to fit your bike.

Additionally, you can go full Fast and the Furious and get nuts with cheap, adhesive-backed LEDs for fun and safety. I’ve seen light masts on the back of longtails, and I have my Long John blinged out with LEDs that pulse to music. This is 82 percent for the enjoyment of other bike parents.

A minimalist’s mobile toolkit

You will inevitably blow a tire on the side of the road, or something will rattle loose while your kid is screaming at you. With this in mind, I always have an everything-I-need kit in a zip-top bag in my work backpack. Some version of this assemblage lives on every bike I own in its own seat bag, but on my cargo bike, it’s split between the pockets of the atrociously expensive but very well thought-out Fahrer Panel Bags. This kit includes:

A pocket pump

Lezyne is a ubiquitous name in bike accessories, and for good reason. I’ve had the previous version of their Pocket Drive mini pump for the better part of a decade, and it shows no sign of stopping. What sets this pump apart is the retractable reversible tube that connects to your air valve, providing some necessary flexibility as you angrily pump up a tire on the side of the road. I don’t mess with CO2 canisters because I’ve had too many inflators explode due to user error, and they’re not recommended for tubeless systems, which are starting to be far more common.

If you spend any amount of time on bike Instagram and YouTube, you’ve seen pocketable USB-rechargeable air compressors made to replace manual pumps. We haven’t tested any of the most common models yet, but these could be a solid solution if your budget outweighs your desire to be stuck on the side of the road.

A multi-tool

Depending on the style and vintage of your ride, you’ll have at least two to three different-sized bolts or connectors throughout the frame. If you have thru-axle wheels, you may need a 6 mm hex key to remove them in the event of a flat. Crank Brothers makes what I consider to be the most handsome, no-nonsense multi-tools on the market. They have tools in multiple configurations, allowing you to select the sizes that best apply to your gear—no more, no less.

The M20 minitool from Crank Brothers. Credit: Crankbrothers

Tube + patch kit

As long as you’re not counting grams, the brand of bike tube you use does not matter. Make sure it’s the right size for your wheel and tire combo and that it has the correct inflator valve (there are two styles: Presta and Schrader, with the former being more popular for bikes you’d buy at your local shop). Just go into your local bike shop and buy a bunch and keep them for when you need ’em.

The Park Tool patch kit has vulcanization glue included (I’d recommend avoiding sticker-style patches)—they’re great and cheap, and there’s no excuse for excluding them from your kit. Park Tool makes some really nice bike-specific tools, and they produce This Old House-quality bike repair tutorials hosted by the GOAT Calvin Jones. In the event of a single failure, many riders find it sensible to simply swap the tube and save the patching for when they’re back at their workbench.

With that said, because of their weight and potentially complicated drivetrains, it can be a bit of a pain to get wheels out of a cargo bike to change a tire, so it’s best to practice at home.

A big lock

If you’re regularly locking up outside an office or running errands, you’re going to need to buy (and learn to appropriately use) a lock to protect your investment. I’ve been a happy owner of a few Kryptonite U-Locks over the years, but even these beefy bois are easily defeated by a cordless angle grinder and a few minutes of effort. These days, there are u-locks from Abus, Hiplok, and LiteLok with grinder-resistant coatings that are eye-wateringly expensive, but if your bike costs as much as half of a used Honda Civic, they’re absolutely worth it.

Thing retention

Though you may not always carry stuff, it’s a good idea to be prepared for the day when your grocery run gets out of hand. A small bag with a net, small cam straps, and various sizes of bungee cords has saved my bacon more than once. Looking for a fun gift for the bike parent in your life? Overengineered, beautifully finished cam buckles from Austere Manufacturing are the answer.

Tot totage

Depending on whether we’re on an all-day adventure or just running down to school, I have a rotating inventory of stuff that gets thrown into the front of my bike with my daughter, including:

An old UE Wonderboom on a carabiner bumping Frozen club remixes
A small bag with snacks and water that goes into a netted area ahead of her feet

And even if it’s not particularly cool, I like to pack a camping blanket like a Rumpl. By the time we’re on our way home, she is invariably tired and wants a place to lay her little helmeted head.

Floor pump

When I first started riding, it didn’t occur to me that one should check their tire pressure before every ride. You don’t have to do this if your tires consistently maintain pressure day-to-day, but I’m a big boy, and it behooves me to call this out. That little pump I recommended above? You don’t want to be using that every day. No, you want what’s called a floor pump.

Silca makes several swervy versions ranging from $150 all the way up to $495. With that said, I’ve had the Lezyne Sport Floor Drive for over 10 years, and I can’t imagine not having it for another 20. Mine has a wood handle, which has taken on some patina and lends a more luxurious feel, and most importantly, it’s totally user-serviceable. This spring, I regreased the seals and changed out the o-rings without any special tools—just a quick trip to the plumbing store. I was also able to upgrade the filler chuck to Lezyne’s new right-angle ABS 1.0 chuck.

No matter what floor pump you go for, at the very least, you’ll want to get one with a pressure gauge. Important tip: Do not just fill your tires to the max pressure on the side of the tire. This will make for an uncomfortable ride, and depending on how fancy of a wheelset you have, it could blow the tire right off the rim. Start with around 80 PSI with 700×28 tires on normal city roads and adjust from there. The days of busting your back at 100 PSI are over, gang.

Hex wrenches

Even if you don’t plan on wrenching on your own bike, it’s handy to have the right tools for making minor fit adjustments and removing your wheels to fix flats. The most commonly used bolts on bikes are metric hex bolts, with Torx bolts used on high-end gear and some small components. A set of Bondhus ball-end Allen wrenches will handle 99 percent of what you need, though fancy German tool manufacturer Wera makes some legitimately drool-worthy wrenches.

If you have blessed your bike with carbon bits (or just want the peace of mind that you’ve cranked down those bolts to the appropriate spec), you may want to pick up a torque wrench. They come in a few flavors geared at the low-torque specs of bikes, in ascending price points and user-friendliness: beam-type, adjustable torque drivers, and ratcheting click wrenches. All should be calibrated at some point, but each comes with its own pros and cons.

Keep in mind that overtightening is just as bad as undertightening because you can crack the component or shear the bolt head off. It happens to the best of us! (Usually after having said, “I don’t feel like grabbing the torque wrench” and just making the clicking sound with your mouth).

Lube

Keeping your chain (fairly) clean and (appropriately) lubricated will extend its life and prolong the life of the rest of your drivetrain. You’ll need to replace the chain once it becomes too worn out, and then every second chain, you’ll want to replace your cassette (the gears). Depending on how well you’ve cared for it, how wet your surroundings are, and how often you’re riding, an 11-speed chain can last anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 miles, but your mileage may vary.

You can get the max mileage out of your drivetrain by periodically wiping down your chain with an old T-shirt or microfiber towel and reapplying chain lube every 200–300 miles, or counterintuitively, more frequently if you ride less frequently. Your local shop can recommend the lube that best suits your climate and riding environment, but I’m a big fan of Rock’n’Roll Extreme chain lube for my more-or-less dry Northern California rides. The best advice I’ve gotten is that it doesn’t matter what chain lube you use as long as it’s on the chain.

Also, do not use WD-40. That is not a lubricant.

That’s it! There may be a few more items you’ll want to add over time, but this list should give you a great start. Get out there and get riding—and enjoy the hours of further research this article has inevitably prompted.

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Tesla’s Q1 results show the financial cost of Musk’s support for Trump

Cars, elon musk, elon musk doge, Tesla, Tesla earnings / Shannon Garcia / April 23, 2025

For Q1 2025, Tesla took in $595 million in regulatory credits. Net income amounted to just $409 million.

None of this should be cause for concern, unlike the many times in the past that Tesla almost went out of business, Musk told investors on a call last night. “It’s been so many times. This is not one of those times. We’re not on the ragged edge of death, not even close,” he said.

I’m coming back!

The good news—if you’re a Tesla investor, at least—is that Musk says he will be spending more time at the electric car company in the coming months. He was hired by President Trump as a “special government employee,” a loophole that allows someone to be appointed to a senior government position without any of the congressional scrutiny that would normally accompany such a significant job. The proviso is that such positions can legally only last for 130 days, and Musk should reach that total in the next few weeks.

The flip side is that his secretive involvement with the DOGE wrecking ball looks set to continue. “I’ll have to continue doing it for, I think, probably the remainder of the president’s term, just to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back, which [it] will do if it has the chance,” Musk told investors last night. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Musk said his DOGE group would now generate just 15 percent of the vast savings he originally claimed—and even this smaller amount was disputed by the Times.

Musk says he expects to still devote 20 to 40 percent of his working time to the government, meaning Tesla must still compete for his attention, alongside SpaceX and other, lesser ventures.

Autonomous, real soon now

Tesla remains “absolutely hardcore about safety,” Musk said, despite the Cybertruck being more likely than the infamous Ford Pinto to burst into flames. “We go to great lengths to make the safest car in the world and have the lowest accidents per mile in. So—and look, fewest lives lost,” Musk said on last night’s call. In 2024, an analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s vehicle fatality rate data found that, actually, Tesla was the deadliest brand of car on sale in the US.

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2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS first drive: A big ride and handling upgrade

car review, Cars, Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, First drive / DJ Henderson / April 22, 2025

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Before letting us loose on the freshly laid tarmac of Ten Tenths Motor Club, Chevrolet was at pains to tell us that the new Blazer SS “is not a track car.” Sure, there’s a “competitive mode” to the suite of electronic settings and the fastest 0–60 mph time of any SS-badged Chevy to date. The upgrades have been focused on making the Blazer EV “stop, go, and turn” better, and you don’t need to be driving hard to appreciate the benefits.

The Blazer EV had a rocky start. When we first drove it at the end of 2023, it felt a little unfinished, and a few days later unreliable software stranded another journalist and led to a nationwide stop-sale on the then-new EV. By last March, the software was fixed and the Blazer EV was back on sale, now cheaper than before.

Watts new?

While other Blazer EVs are available with front- or rear-wheel powertrains or with a smaller battery pack, the SS only comes with all-wheel drive and the larger 102 kWh battery pack. Nominal power output is 515 hp (384 kW) and 450 lb-ft (610 Nm), which jumps to 615 hp (458 kW) and 650 lb-ft (880 Nm) if you engage the “Wide Open Watts” mode.

The styling changes for the SS trim are subtle. Jonathan Gitlin

The battery chemistry is the same as lesser Blazers, but the SS makes good use of new silicon carbide inverters in the rear drive unit that minimize energy losses and segmented magnets in the motors that reduce heat buildup. There are bigger brakes, better tires, and the suspension benefits from stiffer anti-roll bars and springs, a faster steering ratio, and new monotube dampers that (together with the springs) do a far better job of controlling the Blazer’s ride than the bits fitted to the Blazer EV RS I last drove.

Oftentimes, the performance variant of an EV suffers from reduced range as a consequence of the added power and bigger wheels. But the Blazer EV SS still manages an EPA range estimate of 303 miles (488 km), significantly better than the less powerful AWD option (which uses the smaller 85 kWh battery pack). DC fast-charging maxes out at 190 kW—I’d love to give you a 10–80 percent fast-charge time, but Chevy only quotes “78 miles in 10 minutes” when it comes to charging stats.

2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS first drive: A big ride and handling upgrade Read More »

F1 in Saudi Arabia: Blind corners and walls at over 200 mph

Cars, F1, Formula 1, racing / 9u50fv / April 21, 2025

After four years of the same technical rules, there’s not much left to find.

Max Verstappen pilots his Red Bull out of the garage during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Credit: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

The Formula 1 race in Saudi Arabia last night was the fifth race in six weeks. The latest venue is a temporary street circuit of a breed with Las Vegas. It’s a nighttime race set against a backdrop of bright-colored lights and sponsor-clad concrete walls lining the track. Except in Jeddah, many of the corners are blind, and most are very fast. As at Suzuka, qualifying was very important here, with just a few milliseconds making the difference.

Although it’s far from the only autocratic petrostate on the F1 calendar, some people remain uncomfortable with F1 racing in Saudi Arabia, given that country’s record of human rights abuses. I’ve not been, nor do I have any plans to attend a race there, but I had my eyes opened to a broader perspective by a couple of very thoughtful pieces written by motorsport journalist and sometime Ars contributor Hazel Southwell, who has attended several races in the kingdom, including as an independent journalist. Feel free to blast the sport in the comments, but do give Hazel’s pieces a read.

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 20: Fireworks light the sky at the end of the race during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 20, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. — Fireworks, drones, lasers, floodlights, LEDs… you’d think this was compensating for something. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Red Bull really doesn’t want next year’s engine rules

Despite a meeting last week that was meant to put the matter to bed, the ongoing saga of changes to next year’s powertrain rules just won’t go away. From 2026 until 2030, the new powertrains will use a V6 that provides 55 percent of the car’s power and an electric hybrid motor that provides the other 45 percent. So that means an F1 car will only be able to make its full 1,000 hp (750 kW) if there’s charge in the battery. If the pack is depleted or derates, the car will have just 536 hp (400 kW) from its V6 engine.

Getting these new powertrains right is a big challenge, but it’s one that almost all the OEMs and teams are on board with. Despite the introduction of supposedly carbon-neutral fuel next year, hybrid powertrains are why companies like Audi and Cadillac are joining and why Honda is coming back. So the idea to ditch them after a couple of years in favor of throwback V10s got turned down in Bahrain.

The problem is Red Bull, which is currently Honda’s partner. Next year, Red Bull will use a V6 engine of its own making, with hybrid technology supplied by Ford. And for the last couple of years now, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has been warning that the cars will run out of power halfway down the straights at tracks like Monza or Baku.

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 20: Alexander Albon of Thailand and Williams reacts to the sound of the fireworks in the media pen during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 20, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. — No, Alex, I can’t believe they keep talking about changing the rules again, either. Credit: Kym Illman/Getty Images

Yesterday, The Race reported that there’s yet another proposal to change next year’s engine regulations, one that would reduce the amount of energy deployed by the hybrid systems during the race. “What we desperately want to avoid is a situation where drivers are lifting and coasting from halfway down the straight,” Horner told The Race.

“It will be interesting to see” is among the list of banned phrases among the editors at Ars Technica, but between these complaints about the powertrains rules and other concerns about the moveable aerodynamics being introduced in 2026, I think it applies here. Are next year’s rules a big misstep? Will the active aero work or the narrower tires? I can’t wait to find out.

As I noted, qualifying was a game of milliseconds, best illustrated by this ghost car comparison video between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. According to the stopwatch, there was just a hundredth of a second between them. Less than a second covered the top 10 in qualifying. In Q2, where 15 cars compete for those 10 spots in Q3, there was just 1.1 seconds between first and last. And a second was all the difference between 1st and 18th in Q1.

That is far closer than F1 has ever been—many longtime fans can remember the days when the gap between first and second on the grid might be more than a second. And the reason is also why overtaking has become harder, despite aerodynamic rules meant to make passing easier.

Over the years, F1’s technical rules have become increasingly prescriptive, and the current set is quite rigid in terms of how a car must be designed. Even something like weight balance front-to-rear is tightly controlled, and after four years of the same rulebook, the teams have all gotten a good enough handle on things that the difference comes down to the finest of margins.

Those last few milliseconds are found in clean air, however. Following in someone’s wake isn’t anything like the problem it used to be in terms of losing front downforce, but it’s still worse than it was in 2022 or 2023.

Max got Maxxed, Lando got Lewised

Throughout practice, it looked like McLaren’s car was much faster than anyone else’s, but Piastri only lined up second, and Norris had to start 10th after wrecking early in Q3. At turn 1, Piastri got alongside Verstappen, then made it cleanly to the apex. Rather than concede the place and stay within the track limits, Verstappen chose to run across the painted surface that’s out of bounds, using it to gain a second or more on the orange car behind him.

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 20: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 cuts across ahead of Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W16 Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the (12) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W16 and the rest of the field during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 20, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. — Piastri made the corner; Verstappen did not. Credit: Clive Rose – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Although lap 1, turn 1 incidents are treated more leniently by the stewards than the rest of the race, Verstappen’s actions (and his failure to yield the place back to Piastri) earned him a five-second penalty, which all but ensured Piastri the win after the mandatory tire-changing pit stops had cycled through.

The advantage of running in clean air was such that Verstappen would probably have held onto first place had he not been issued the penalty. And those predictions of McLaren’s long-run pace turned out to be off the mark—Verstappen finished less than three seconds behind the McLaren.

There was more overtaking behind those two. Charles Leclerc got his Ferrari past the Mercedes of George Russell in the late stages of the race to snatch third, and McLaren’s Lando Norris recovered from 10th place to 4th at the finish. Norris has lost the lead in the driver’s championship to his younger teammate, though, and while it’s probably too early to be talking about momentum, Piastri is gaining some.

A telling moment came when Norris had to get past Lewis Hamilton, who was having a torrid time in his Ferrari. Overtaking at Jeddah was helped a lot by having three zones for the drag reduction system, but you had to be smart about where you made your move.

The second DRS zone led to the final hairpin (turn 27), but overtaking someone here just gives them the opportunity to use their DRS to overtake you almost immediately, as the third zone runs the length of the start-finish straight, just after that hairpin. We saw this to good effect when Hamilton and Verstappen fought for the title in 2021, but apparently Norris didn’t get the memo. He twice tried to overtake Hamilton going into turn 27 rather than after it, and both times, Hamilton took advantage of his error.

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 20: Race winner Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 20, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. — Piastri in victory lane. History warns us that teams with two equal drivers and the best car often lose out on the driver’s championship to an extremely good driver in a slightly lesser car and a less quick teammate. Will 2025 be like 1986 and 2007? Credit: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Those extra laps behind Hamilton could have cost Norris the final spot on the podium, something he may well rue at the end of the season when all the points are added up.

Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica’s automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC.

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