Elizabeth Blackstock

Cummins, an Indiana-based company that manufactures and sells engines, has been hit with a $1.675 billion penalty for intentionally selling defeat devices that could bypass emissions sensors, a direct violation of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Department of Justice writes. It’s set to be the biggest ever penalty for a violation of the Clean Air Act, and it’s the second-largest environmental penalty. Cummins is said to have installed emissions defeat devices in hundreds of thousands of Ram pickup…

Tesla is recalling 120,000 U.S.-based Model S and X vehicles from 2021 to 2023. This has nothing to do with last week’s massive two-million vehicle recall over Autopilot. This time, it’s that the doors of the cars in question could pop open in crashes if the locks aren’t activated, NHTSA reports. Tesla claims that it first learned of the issue during a routine crash test on December 6, CNN reports. Since the issue was spotted by Tesla and reported to NHTSA immediately after, the company says it…

Tesla’s Cybertruck has introduced plenty of manufacturing challenges, from its massive panes of glass to its stainless steel body panels, but there’s another thing holding big-time production back: the “4680” battery set to power the pickups, Reuters reports based on conversations with nine different Tesla workers. For the 4680, Tesla is instituting a new process that relies on dry-coating electrodes. Theoretically, that method should be faster and cheaper than standard battery production, but…

Last week, a cop in St. Louis, Missouri, crashed into an LGBTQ+ bar after, allegedly, he tried to swerve to avoid something and ended up in someone’s business. While the bar’s owner was arrested for the unforgivable crime of being angry that someone drove directly into his bar, St. Louis cops didn’t even bother to run any tests to see if their fellow boy in blue was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Vice reports. Apparently, crashing into a building doesn’t provide “reasonable suspicion”…

Despite the many advances in modern automotive technology, the forward collision mitigation systems on cars, SUVs and pickup trucks still struggle to detect vehicles that aren’t also cars, the IIHS reports based on new data. Automatic emergency braking and front collision warning systems have a hard time identifying semi trucks and motorcycles, which results in more crashes with those kinds of vehicles. Let’s get right into the meat of the study: Today’s systems reduce rear-end crash rates wit…

The ever-evolving electric vehicle landscape and lingering skepticism about going green has forced automakers to get creative with their marketing and sales strategies. Microleasing, according to Bloomberg, is the latest way to get butts in seats. The whole goal is to just get a prospective EV buyer behind the wheel of an EV while they wait a few months for their dream EV to finally hit the market. Bloomberg kicks off with an example from Polestar; while the highly coveted Polestar 3 has yet to…

I live in what I’d call a “sleepy” Texas town; we boast a few thousand residents, we celebrate the arrival of every new fast food chain as a sign of civilization, and nothing big ever really happens. So why do we need six car washes? Why did we need to build four new facilities this year? And it’s not just in my little town, either; on the five-minute drive from a highway exit to my mom’s house, you’ll pass no fewer than four car washes, all within the same half-mile stretch of road. If you kee…

I’ve made a tradition out of asking you fine readers of Jalopnik for your automotive predictions for the upcoming year, and as we enter 2024, it’s time to ask it again. You’re a reader of culture and taste. What do you think is going to happen in the car world in 2024? At this point, my repeated predictions that this will finally be the year of Elon Musk’s downfall have all proved fruitless. The guy just has a massive cult of personality around him that is impenetrable, because no one wants to…

The story of sparkling wine in motorsport tends to start in the same place: with that first accidental champagne spray by Jo Siffert on the podium for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and then Dan Gurney following suit intentionally the year after. That, though, is only part of a story that had spanned decades prior to that first bubbly shower — and it’s a story that has evolved ever since. But that story started far earlier. Motorsport’s roots begin to hint at just why sparkling wine might have becom…

Even though the Tesla Cybertruck is still routinely in the headlines, there’s a good chance most of us haven’t seen much of this electric pickup. I’m talking really seen, in the form of a deep, comprehensive review in place of actually experiencing it ourselves. Thankfully, we have Out of Spec Reviews to give us an almost two-hour video of all things Cybertruck — including its floppy windshield wiper. The Cybertruck’s (singular) windshield wiper has inexplicably become one of the big talking po…

Ford has confirmed that it’s going to be raising prices for its base-model 2024 F-150 Lightning by roughly $5,000. This isn’t the first time Ford has toyed with the pricing for its electric pickup truck, but with its biggest competitor, the Tesla Cybertruck, still undergoing countless delays and still more expensive than the Lightning, Ford has a little wiggle room for some MSRP adjustments. The base-model Ford F-150 Lightning will now start at $54,995, which represents a $5,000 increase over i…

In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Mahindra Racing Formula E team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal AI creation, who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I guess there were just no human women dying to work in motorsport when it came time for Mahindra to hire someone! Ava Rose, who goes by th…

The Republic of Singapore has long prided itself on being one of the world’s rare anti-corruption havens — but things are changing now in a wild saga that involves Formula 1’s Grand Prix in the city-state. Transport Minister S. Iswaran has resigned after being charged with corruption, CNN reports, and part of that corruption involves allegations that he accepted gifts from Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng, a hotel tycoon who helped bring F1 to Singapore and serves as the sole shareholder of t…

As dawn broke over Daytona International Speedway, the 2024 Rolex 24 was still set to crank on for seven more hours, but already the pit lane was full of haunted faces. Exhausted crew members may very well have started their work day over 24 hours prior, and many would continue on for hours after the checkered flag. They’d battled the humid, inky fall of night and would now challenge themselves to remain in fine form as the sun crested the horizon. They’d changed tires, mended wings and noses, i…

This past weekend, I made myself a promise: I would stick it out at Daytona International Speedway for the entire duration of IMSA’s Rolex 24. I would let myself nap as needed, but by god, I was going to make sure I did all 24 hours of the season-opening endurance event. And so I did. And I lived. And if you’re looking to attending your first-ever endurance race this year, then I’ve got plenty of tips to help you not merely survive the race, but to thrive. Physically Prepare Yourself My bigges…

The last time I climbed in a UTV, I was a mere child, and the boxy machine failed to leave much of an impression on me. Now, 15 years down the road, these vehicles are absurd pieces of equipment that can crest over 300 horsepower right from the showroom floor — and it really doesn’t take many modifications to get them up to racing spec. I had a chance to really see these machines do battle during the 2024 Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship, one of the first events of this year’s King of the Hammers…

Ah, to be a woman in a male-dominated industry! During a hearing regarding amendments to Minnesota’s safe and sick time law, first officer Laura Haynor introduced herself as a pilot for Delta. In his immediate response, state senator Gene Dornink asked her about her typical week as a stewardess. Whoops! Beginning at the start of 2024, Minnesota introduced an earned sick and safe time law that requires employers to provide leave for state employees that work at least 80 hours a year. The law all…

On Friday, March 15, 2024, a Boeing 737-8000 flight landed safely in Medford, Oregon despite the fact that it was missing an entire body panel, which had fallen off mid-flight, NBC News reports. It’s the latest public failure for the company’s aircrafts. Thankfully, no one was hurt. According to several news sources, there was no indication that there were any issues with the plane while it was in the air, so pilots had no reason to declare an emergency. No one noticed the missing panel until a…

If you watched IndyCar’s $1 million exhibition race at Thermal Club on March 24, 2024, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d tuned into a glorified advertisement for the California club track. As commentators flaunted the trackside mansions — with their private chefs and Lamborghini-equipped garages — fans had to wonder: Is this live event even for me, a dedicated IndyCar viewer? Or is this just a frankly ridiculous attempt at emulating the most off-putting elements of Formula 1? Thermal Clu…

In my driveway, right now, I have four cars. If you combined them all together, I’d probably have the equivalent of one good, decently functioning vehicle — but even then, I doubt I’d have functional brakes. For me, that never-ending maintenance cycle is probably the worst thing about vehicle ownership; right when I think I’ve got one vehicle all sorted, the next one farts out. Today, I want us all to revel in the horrors of car ownership. Jalopnik readers, what do you find to be the worst part…