Vehicles 136

• In a new Uber pilot program, drivers and riders can both start a recording from within the Uber app if they feel it’s warranted for safety reasons, and the other party will not be notified. Uber says neither the person who made the recording nor Uber has access to the encrypted recording unless and until a safety report is filed.
• Uber introduced the audio monitoring program in Latin America almost two years ago and will now offer it in Kansas City, Louisville, and Raleigh-Durham.
• Uber has tried various methods to improve safety for both riders and drivers. It shares data with Lyft on drivers who have been “deactivated for serious safety incidents with peers,” intending to prevent them from working for another ride-sharing company.

Uber’s safety record has never been spotless, but the company keeps trying new ways to make sure its drivers and riders stay safe. Almost two years ago, Uber introduced a feature called Audio Recording in Latin America as a way to make people using Uber there feel more safe. The feature is now available in more than a dozen countries throughout Latin America, including Brazil and Mexico.

Uber announced this week that it will soon start offering Audio Recording as a pilot program in Kansas City, Louisville, and Raleigh-Durham. Sachin Kansal, Uber’s vice president of product management, gave three reasons for offering this feature in the U.S. now: “to help encourage safe and comfortable interactions while on a trip, determine what happened, and identify the best response after a safety-related incident,” he wrote on the company blog.

Even without Audio Recording in the Uber app, anyone with a smartphone can simply record their Uber ride using the phone’s built-in tools, ofcourse. But there are some benefits to using the app’s integrated system. Uber says the recording gets encrypted using AES encryption Galois/Counter Mode and that the file gets stored on your phone in such a way that no one can access it (not even you, or Uber) unless you file a safety report with the company. At that point, Uber’s Safety Support team gets involved and will be able to listen to the recording and, if necessary, share it with law enforcement. If a user somehow deletes the recording, Uber can’t recover it since it resides on the phone.

Other technical details to know include the fact that the app can’t record audio if you are talking to someone on the phone and that only the person making the recording will know that audio in the car is being recorded (in other words, the driver is not notified if a rider starts feeling uncomfortable and hits Record). Also, the recording automatically ends not long after the trip ends, for riders, while drivers can have their entire shift recorded if they want, as the recording only stops when they go offline or they choose to end it.

Uber also already has an in-app emergency button. If a user presses it, it can relay information including license plate number, vehicle information, and live location to a 911 operator. There’s no word yet on whether this recording feature will expand to other cities beyond the three in the pilot program.

• Volkswagen’s electric ID.Buzz minivan is taking another baby step toward production, as it’s been seen cold-weather testing in northern Sweden.
• The retro-future styling has been toned down somewhat from the original concept shown back in 2017, but the van is on track to launch in North America in 2023 as a 2024 model.
• The van seen testing in these photos is still partly camouflaged, particularly on the front end around the headlamps and front emblem.

The long-awaited 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz is getting ever closer to becoming reality. These photos show it wearing very little camouflage in cold-weather testing near the Arctic Circle. From these photos, the electric minivan has lost some of its retro charm in the transition from concept to production vehicle, but it’s still looking attractive and practical.

Originally shown in 2017 at the Detroit auto show, the ID.Buzz concept was touted as a modern interpretation of the 1960s Microbus, an icon of the hippie era. The ID.Buzz will feature an all-electric powertrain and shares its structure with the smaller ID.4 SUV. We expect the base model to have rear-wheel drive and come with around 200 horsepower; an all-wheel-drive variant could offer around 300 horsepower from dual electric motors.

If the ID.4 is anything to go by, the ID.Buzz should deliver a driving range somewhere around 260 miles of range per charge. An onboard charger capable of DC fast charging is expected to be standard, resulting in charging times as little as 30 minutes to reach an80 percent charge.

Unfortunately, there are no spy photos of the ID.Buzz’s interior yet, and we don’t see a third row of seats through the windows in these photos. But we do expect the ID.Buzz to come standard with such a feature, which may help the ID.Buzz catch on with families seeking a three-row electric vehicle at an affordable price. We expect to find out more about Volkswagen’s new EV van closer to the ID.Buzz’s reveal date, which should be sometime late next year.

We recently had a chance to see a prototype of the ID.Buzz in person in Munich, Germany, where Volkswagen and partner Argo AI are testing an autonomous driving system. That prototype wore much more camo than the one seen here and had external radar and lidar sensors mounted on all sides for the computer vision system, making it hard to get a good idea of what the production van would look like.

If there’s one thing we’d bet no production Rimac Nevera will do, it’s slide around in the mud. Most will be sparingly driven on pavement through perfect weather to local Cars & Coffee events, only to be tucked into climate-controlled garages all other days of the week. The pre-production car you see above is set to be used as a crash test mule for U.S. homologation, so company founder Mate Rimac figured he’d give it a proper sendoff by drifting it around the dirt and mud.

This dark-blue Nevera is Rimac’s first pre-series car, meaning it was the first car to come off the production line. It’s used to make sure everything would go smoothly once production actually kicks off. It’s been put through dozens of track and road tests, as well as customer previews, media drives, and show events. In fact, this was the very Nevera our friends at Road & Track drove for their review

Because the car needs to be crashed to satisfy the U.S.’s homologation rules, Mate thought it a good idea to use the car to put on a show at the build site of the company’s future factory, which is currently just a dirt lot. He doesn’t hold back one bit, pulling off massive slides through the dirt and slinging tons of mud right at the camera. By the end of the day, the whole car was covered.

It’s unlikely any future Nevera owner would do this with their own car, so we’re glad Mate was brave enough to have a bit of fun in this one before it’s inevitably driven into a wall at high speed.

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• Details are pretty much zilch for now about this teaser posted by Shelby American on social media, but that isn’t stopping speculation about what’s to come next month. All we know is that it’s supposed to be “something special” and will arrive in the middle of December.
• Will it be a new Shelby GT350? A GT500KR? A Shelby Bronco? Or none of the above?
• No idea, but we do know that Shelby showed off a modified Mustang Mach-E concept at SEMA this month, so that’s something.

When it comes to the ratio of generating comments with the fewest number of words, Shelby American is doing well. Simply by posting a picture of a current-gen Mustang not that well hidden under a cloth wrap, the company said the following on Facebook: “December 15, 2021 . . . something special will be unveiled.” Now, 1200 Likes and 590 Shares later (as of this writing), the people are curious about what spruced-up Ford might arrive next month.

The most likely guess, based on the car under wraps in the picture, is another Shelby-modified Mustang. Motor1 notes that December 15 is an important date in the history of the Las Vegas-based tuner: December 15, 2009, is when Shelby Automobiles again became Shelby American.

Speculation across the internet—informed and wildly uninformed—as to what Shelby has up its sleeve ranges from a Shelby-modified Shelby GT350 to a new GT500KR. Some voices are claiming the news will be about a Shelby Bronco model, which might seem ridiculous considering the obviously non-Bronco shape of this teaser. Then again, as the Ford Authority blog has stated, 2022 Ford Bronco production will start on, you guessed it, December 15.

Or maybe this is just a corporate news announcement and there won’t be a new vehicle involved at all, making the draped Mustang just the “pic for attention” present on so many online posts.

While we speculate, we can familiarize ourselves with some of Shelby’s recent doings. Shelby displayed the modified Shelby Mustang Mach-E concept shown above at SEMA earlier this month. This model was equipped with special Recaro racing seats, graphene-infused composite materials, and the traditional blue and white stripes on the exterior. Ford also began taking pre-orders for the 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 on November 15. This model has a starting price of $76,695.

• Vietnamese automaker VinFast plans to expand to North America with two new electric SUVs.
• The compact VF e35 and VF e36 look attractive with styling by Pininfarina.
• Claimed electric range for the smaller e35 is as high as 310 miles per charge while the larger e36 is supposedly good for up t0 422 miles.

UPDATE 11/18/21: This story has been updated with additional information about the VinFast company.

After announcing Los Angeles as its home base for a new North American operation, Vietnamese automaker VinFast is turning its sights on launching two new electric SUVs. The company’s ambitious plans include production models of the compact VF e35 and the mid-size VF e36. Both wear stylish bodies designed by Pininfarina and boast claimed driving ranges as high as 422 miles per charge.

Two different sized battery packs will be available on each model. The compact VF e35 will come standard with a battery that should deliver around 285 miles per charge but a larger battery with up to 310 miles of range will be optional. The mid-size VF e36 will come with either a 301- or 422-mile range.

VinFast Global CEO Michael Lohscheller told Car and Driver that the company’s first two EV models will initially be produced in Vietnam and imported to the U.S. and Canada, but that there is a plan to localize production in North America starting in the second half of 2024.

Lohscheller also detailed the company’s European plans, which includes launching these battery-electric models in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. While he wouldn’t comment on sales goals for either continent, Lohscheller acknowledged the plans are ambitious.

“More important is we launch a brand and I think that is a very important and also careful exercise,” he said. “Obviously everybody has ambitious volume including ourself, but for me most important is that we position the brand right. Get our first customers very excited, very happy about that. That matters more than any sales volume.”

VinFast was founded in 2017 and, according to a report from Reuters, sold 30,000 vehicles in its home market of Vietnam in 2020. That same report said the company has not yet turned a profit and suggested an initial public offering in the United States could provide funds needed to help get the brand off the ground. VinFast is part of the larger Vingroup empire, shouldered by billionaire entrepreneur Pham Nhat Vuong.

As shown at the 2021 Los Angeles auto show, the VF e35 and VF e36 look fairly complete, but similar to other upstart automakers showing production-intent concepts, they need a bit more polish before heading to production. The interior of the e35, also styled by Pininfarina, appears to be stylish and comfortable–although we were unable to sit inside it at the show. The e36 doesn’t appear to be as close to being production ready as the smaller model, as it was displayed without an interior at all.

• The 2023 Mazda CX-50 is a new crossover model that joins the lineup and looks to be similar in size to the CX-5.
• It will offer the same 2.5-liter and turbo 2.5-liter inline-four engine options as most other Mazda models, with a hybrid coming later.
• The CX-50 will be built in the U.S. and is set to go on sale in the spring of 2022.

Mazda’s newest crossover, the 2023 CX-50, looks to capture the same successful formula as its existing SUVs: attractive looks, a luxurious interior, and—we hope—an engaging driving experience. While Mazda isn’t providing dimensions, it appears to be similar in size to the CX-5, giving Mazda yet another entrant in the popular compact-crossover segment. Although the two models will be sold alongside each other for the time being, we expect the CX-50 to eventually replace the CX-5, much like what happened with the smaller CX-30 and the CX-3.

Mazda is pitching the CX-50 as more of an off-road-oriented SUV with higher ground clearance than the CX-5 and available rugged-style accessories, but it is still a unibody crossover and based on the same transverse architecture as the Mazda 3 and CX-30. Mazda says it’s slightly longer than the CX-5 and claims that it has more room for rear-seat passengers. Mazda’s upcoming longitudinal architecture and inline-six engine won’t arrive until the larger CX-70 and CX-90 crossovers make their debut.

The CX-50’s styling plays up this rugged angle with lots of black plastic cladding around the wheel wells, front and rear bumper trim meant to look like skid plates, and black and silver wheels. It’s also available in a trendy tan exterior color called Zircon Sand, and the models pictured here feature accessories including a roof rack, hood graphics, and optional all-terrain tires. Apart from these add-ons, we like the handsome, squared-off shape and the modern-looking headlights and taillights and think the CX-50 looks even better than the already stylish CX-5.

The familiar 2.5-liter inline-four will be under the hood, both in naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms that will likely produce around the same 187 hp and 250 hp as they do in the CX-5. All-wheel drive will be standard equipment, and a six-speed automatic transmission pairs with both engines. A hybrid model will join the lineup later, but Mazda isn’t yet sharing details on that powertrain other than saying it will feature a Toyota hybrid setup. Otherwise, Mazda claims that there are no parts shared between the CX-50 and the smaller Toyota Corolla Cross that’s built in the same factory.

The CX-50 is a five-seater, and from what we can see of the interior it looks to feature a similar dashboard design as other Mazda models. A touchscreen mounted on the upper part of the dash is controlled by a knob on the center console. The more expensive trim levels feature plush materials such as leather upholstery, available in a nice shade of brown, and a panoramic sunroof will be optional. Like other Mazdas, we expect the CX-50’s cabin to trend closer to the luxury end of the spectrum than many of its mainstream competitors, including the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

The CX-50 will offer a new drive-mode selector that includes off-road and towing modes in addition to the Sport mode that is offered on most current Mazdas. These settings adjust features such as throttle response, steering feedback, and the tuning of Mazda’s G-vectoring control system.

Mazda hasn’t yet released pricing for the CX-50, but we expect it to cost a bit more than the CX-5, which starts at $27,945 with all-wheel drive. It will be built at Mazda’s new factory in Alabama that is shared with Toyota and will start production in 2022, going on sale in the spring.