The Auto World

Ford is monitoring repair orders to cut customer wait times. Central team steps in to offer help when jobs exceed two days. AI is now helping dealers and techs avoid paperwork delays. We’ve all been there. You drop your car off at a dealer service center for what you hope is going to be a quick fix, and somehow it turns into a five-day relationship with a rental sedan. Ford says it’s had enough of that and now wants most repairs done the very same day. The company’s new initiative is called Uptime Assist, and the goal is simple: get customers back on the road faster and remove the black hole of uncertainty that makes service departments so frustrating . Same-day turnarounds are the dream, even if reality of stubborn software and backordered parts might still get in the way. Dealerships can enroll in the program at no cost, and Ford says improving “uptime” has become a priority across its service network. Read: Ford CEO Frustrated He Can’t Fill 5,000 Mechanic Jobs Payi...

Officer ran a stop sign at nearly 80 mph without sirens. Crash killed one person and seriously injured another. Supervisors reportedly called off the pursuit before impact. The city of Bakersfield, California , is about to fork over a record $22 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. The case stems from a fatal 2023 accident in which a now-former police officer ran a stop sign at 80 mph. He hit another car in the intersection, killing a 31-year-old driver and injuring another person in the vehicle. Legal counsel reached a settlement on February 23rd after pre-trial hearings and jury selection. Attorneys for Ana Hernandez, the injured passenger, and the family of Mario Lares, the deceased driver, accepted the offer, bringing to a close a case that has stretched on for more than three years. More: More States Are Arming Up With Mustang GTs For High-Speed Police Chases According to court filings, then-Officer Ricardo Robles was traveling at nearly 80 mph when he ran ...

Airbus and Mercedes reveal redesigned ACH145 special edition. White leather cabin is inspired by EQS and Maybach show cars. Based on the five-blade ACH145, chassis, it costs more than $10m. With prices ranging from $180,000 for poshed-up GLS or EQS SUV to almost $250,000 for an S 680 limo, any new Mercedes-Maybach model looks unobtainable to the average American. But there’s another Mercedes-branded vehicle that’s so expensive it makes all of those models look about as luxurious as a bus pass. Technically, it’s not a Mercedes at all, but an ACH145 chopper from Airbus Corporate Helicopters, the business whirlybird division of the French airplane company. But the two brands have teamed up again to create the ACH145 Mercedes-Benz Edition so that CEOs can jump from their Mercedes condo to a four-wheeled Mercedes to a five-blade one. Step inside and the cabin channels the vibe of an EQS or a Maybach concept car. There’s a wraparound layout, sculpted seats with coordinat...

Scotty Kilmer uses alarmist lingo to garner attention. That strategy now appears to be losing some force. Channel shows the potential pitfalls of such strategies. Spend a few minutes scrolling through Scotty Kilmer’s YouTube page, and you would think the man, bless his heart, has burned through all nine lives. And then found a few spares. “RIP” splashed across thumbnails. “Bye” boldly stamped all over the place. “I’m shutting down the Scotty Kilmer Channel.” It looks less like a video archive and more like a farewell tour that never quite ends. “I’m leaving Youtube.” “I won’t be recovering from this.” and “A sad day for Scotty Kilmer viewers,” are just a few of the video titles. That doesn’t even get into headlines like “ Tesla just bought Toyota,” and “ Subaru is no longer going to be sold in America .” In one screenshot alone, four different videos feature “RIP” in the lead image. Scroll down, and you’ll find more. Lots more. Five months ago, “Bye.” Six months ago, ...

Eight vehicles were seized from an unlicensed San Antonio dealership. Documents appeared altered or entirely fictitious, the sheriff says. Arrests are considered highly likely in the coming days. If there’s a dealership name that practically dares you to trust it, it’s probably “Legit Auto Group.” Yet the sheriff in San Antonio, Texas, where the dealer is based, has shut down their entire operation and seized eight cars in the process. According to Sheriff Javier Salazar, the prices were so good that everything seemed sketchy. Now, they’ve allegedly found fictitious and altered dealer documents. Former customers might have a huge headache ahead. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says investigators first spotted the business while conducting routine online research. Multiple vehicles, including a Porsche sports car, were advertised at what Sheriff Javier Salazar described as “too-hard-to-pass-up” prices. That alone was enough to trigger a closer look. More: VW Warns Bu...

Some states legally treat the Polaris Slingshot as a motorcycle. New rules could require motorcycles to use handlebar controls. The Polaris Slingshot and Vanderhall Carmel are built in the US. A new bill introduced to the lower house of Congress could spell the end of three-wheeled vehicles like the Polaris Slingshot, Vanderhall Carmel, and Morgan 3-Wheeler, potentially preventing them from being registered as motorcycles. If passed into law, the measure would narrow the federal definition of a motorcycle in ways that exclude these vehicles. In states relying on that definition, they could lose their registration path and lack a viable regulatory category. Word of the bill has sparked fierce opposition from the motorcycle industry. Read: This $36,999 Polaris Looks Bright Blue Until It Doesn’t As it stands, the federal definition of a motorcycle is very lax. A motorcycle is simply defined as a “motor vehicle with motive power having a seat or saddle for the user of t...

HP Tuners has unlocked the Z06 and ZR1 ECU. That opens the door to serious tuning potential. One ZR1 made 1,180 hp at the wheels on race fuel. The new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was already a bit ridiculous. Naturally, tuners have decided that was not nearly enough. Earlier this week, HP Tuners became the first to crack the Global B E68 ECU used in the ZR1. That same unit also runs the Z06, which means both cars have just had their digital handcuffs quietly removed. More power is now a software update away. Getting inside the ECUs used by C8 Corvette models has been notoriously difficult. It wasn’t until mid-2023 that HP Tuners unlocked the Stingray’s software, years after the car first hit the market, as GM did such a good job of encrypting the ECU as part of its Global B electrical architecture. Watch: Chevy Says The Corvette ZR1 Has 1,064 HP. Dyno Tests Say Otherwise While we’re sure plenty of Z06 owners will now appreciate being able to tune their cars, there’s only...