The Auto World

Ford is recalling 288,314 Explorers over roof rail covers. The components can come loose and fly off the vehicle. 47,749 Hyundai Konas may have a bad rear seat buckle. Ford is recalling 288,314 Explorers that can lose their roof rail covers while driving. This poses a danger to other road users and one accident has already been reported. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, some 2016-2019 Explorers are equipped with roof rail covers that can loosen over time. If this happens, owners may notice a visible gap between components or hear a rattle while driving. More: Ford Recalls 661,000 Explorers Over Detaching Roof Rail Covers The trim pieces have been a problem for Ford as the company initially conducted a “customer satisfaction” campaign in 2020, which sought to address roof rail covers that could become loose, show a visible gap, rattle, or detach. This was done under the guise of an extended w...

Texas spent $4.5 million on four Chevy Tahoes for its state police. Only $600,000 of that total actually paid for the four SUVs. The rest funded gear from Cognyte that sweeps nearby cellphones. Seeing a line item including four Chevrolet Tahoes for a total of $4.5 million seems like the kind of thing that triggers an audit yesterday. In reality, the SUVs in question were almost incidental. Texas taxpayers are footing the bill for these police vehicles, each of which is loaded up with Israeli surveillance technology. These aren’t simple AI cameras, either. The engineering in these SUVs allows police to gather private data en masse. According to procurement documents obtained by The Drive , the Texas Department of Public Safety approved an emergency purchase worth $4,487,500 from Cognyte, an Israeli surveillance and intelligence company that competes with U.S. analytics firm Palantir in the government and security sectors. The company dev...

The Freelander 8 will initially be launched in three First Edition colors. JLR-Chery has also confirmed an autonomous parking function for the 8. The new rugged SUV will launch in multiple markets later this year. Additional details have been announced for the new Freelander 8, unveiled earlier this year and set to go on sale soon, not only in China, but also in the UK, the Middle East, and Australia. While it follows a familiar recipe for rugged, boxy SUVs, it seems to be a compelling package. Created through Jaguar Land Rover’s joint venture with Chery , the Freelander 8 will come in eight distinctive colors, three of them reserved for the special First Edition model. That trio consists of Dancing Silver and Lucent Lime, both with satin finishes, and Immersive Purple, a deep pearlescent shade that looks classy and fun. Read: Freelanders Were Known For Cheap, Plasticky Interiors But Not Anymore The rest of the palette includes D...

Bentley skipped synthetic engine noise for its first electric car. Drums, viola, and bass guitar shaped the finished soundtrack. The brand says rhythm matters more than recreating engine noise. Automakers developing EVs have all been wrestling with the same question: how do you replace the emotional engagement of a great-sounding engine? Hyundai , Porsche, BMW, Dodge, and others have turned to synthesized engine notes pumped through speakers. Bentley, however, believes it’s chasing the wrong answer. Rather than trying to replicate the sound of an actual engine, the British luxury brand thinks a drummer might be the key to making its first EV feel special. Bentley calls the soundtrack for its upcoming all-electric Torcal SUV the “Bentley Dynamic Symphony,” and unlike many of its rivals, the company insists it isn’t trying to fool drivers into thinking they’re behind the wheel of a V8. Instead, it says the goal was ...

China launched roughly 650 new or updated vehicles within six months. The 30 all-new models arriving each month matches US annual output. Cutthroat rivalry at home forces Chinese automakers to innovate faster. Western automakers’ model lines are so much bigger than they were 30 years ago that there’s a regular turnover of new models for us at Carscoops to write about. But it’s nothing compared with the Chinese brands, which churned out around 650 new or updated vehicles during the first half of 2026 alone, a pace that makes even the smartphone industry seem restrained . More: The First Chinese EVs Reaching Canada Aren’t The Bargains Buyers Were Promised To put that into perspective, that’s getting on for four launches every day. Meanwhile, Bank of America’s latest Car Wars study projects just 159 new vehicle launches in the US spread across the next four years, Bloomberg reports. Even BYD Is Exhausted...

A camouflaged Polestar 4 SUV hit the track for development testing. Spy photos reveal the redesigned tail with a hatch and a rear window. The prototype is likely the performance flagship with dual motors. Blame Washington for missing out on this one. The U.S. declined to authorize Polestar to sell cars here after the 2027 model year, right as the brand is gearing up for its next big debut. That model is a new variant of the 4, due in September. Shortly after the official teaser surfaced , a camouflaged Polestar 4 SUV prototype turned up lapping the Nurburgring, giving us our first proper look at what American buyers will not get. More:  Buy A New Polestar For $25,000 Off. Small Catch, It’s Leaving The US The SUV badge oversells it, since the spy shots point to something closer to a slightly raised wagon. As the more practical counterpart to the existing Polestar 4 Coupe, it brings in a flatter roofline, a set of roof rails, and ...