As a person who is around cars a lot, I’m frequently exposed to opportunities that might seem dangerous to normies. Whether it’s leaning over a pit wall as a 900-horsepower race car comes barreling towards me, or it’s getting between other journalists and the shrimpbarrow, I really should be getting hazard pay.
It’s not that stuff that ever worries me. I’ve flown around in Marine helicopters loaded up with ammo, and that was probably less dangerous than just driving around in New York for a week. Modern cars bring modern problems, and the most unsettling is the idea that you could get trapped in your car and not be able to get out for a very dumb reason. The Morning Dump is nothing if not a trend-watcher, and the trend seems to be that people are starting to get that electromechanical doors are bad.
I feel like I’ve written about the EU rolling back its emissions ban a million times, and while it still hasn’t actually happened, there’s now a clearer idea of what the actual impact will be. What’s the outcome of GM’s C-Suite shuffling? Uncertain, but current CEO Mary Barra may have a favorite.
Ending on something fun, it looks like Foxconn finally bought a car company. Nope, it’s not the one you were thinking.
Bloomberg Puts Out A Big Piece On Tesla’s ‘Dangerous Doors’
I don’t seem to be able to embed the video from Bloomberg, so I’ll just link it here. It’s a sobering 20 minutes or so that explains why I check the doors in every new car I get in before I do anything else.
If you read the site regularly, this won’t surprise you. It’s just logical that replacing something as vital as opening a door with some complex system like Tesla has on its vehicles (as you can see in the graphic above, you have to remove a panel in the door pocket to get out if the vehicle loses power) is inviting danger. As Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell explains in a LinkedIn post about this:
Today, we’ve published a video that makes for difficult viewing. We spoke with a mother who, as she puts it, has a hole in her heart that will never heal.
We take you inside the garage of a repair shop owner who’s quipped to his substantial YouTube following that you’re not a “true” Tesla owner until one of your door handles prevents you from entering.
We show you, in this shop owner’s words, “the scary part” — that, if you’re in the back seat of a Tesla that’s lost battery power, your way out may be tucked under a rug, behind a speaker grille or under a plastic flap.
We take you to the scene of a fiery crash where a cluster of bodies were found in the front seat, suggesting to police there was a struggle to escape the burning vehicle.
The Feds are looking into this issue, and Chinese regulators are considering banning them outright. Tesla is apparently working on a way to fix this, and other automakers, like Toyota, already have more obvious release levers. You know works great? Just a mechanical door. While being able to make the door handles flush with the car does have aerodynamic benefits, I don’t think it’s worth it.
I agree with Sam Abuelsamid, who wrote yesterday that “consumers should refuse to buy any vehicle without clearly accessible mechanical door latches and regulators should ban them outright.”
Instead Of A Ban, 35% Of New Cars Sold In The EU Will Probably Have Some Sort Of Combustion Engine After 2035
We’re at over 300 comments on David’s EREV article, and I think it’s worth clarifying a little bit what my position on all of this is. While there’s no specific “Autopian” view on almost anything, in general, we drive electric cars all the time and understand the benefits. Electric cars, in an ideal world where they were cheaper and all apartment complexes had chargers, would make a ton of sense for most people, and the more commuter vehicles that can be transitioned into EVs, the better.
Personally, I’d have bought an electric car (well, cheaply leased a Lyriq or Mach-E) if I had the charging infrastructure around me to make that a possibility. But pretending like everyone would suddenly just buy EVs tomorrow seemed like it was overlooking the necessary transition technologies. If I could press a button and make it possible for people to switch to EVs in an affordable way with all the infrastructure in place, I’d press that button.
The EU tried pressing that button and then realized that, unless it wanted to flood the continent with cheap Chinese cars, an outright ban by 2035 wasn’t going to work. The proposed framework is now for mostly EVs by 2035, with credit given to various technologies, as Automotive News reports:
If the EU’s proposal wins approval from the European Parliament and Council of Europe next year, automakers will have to reduce tailpipe emissions 90 percent from a 2021 baseline, to about 11 grams of CO2 per km, rather than 100 percent.
“Tailpipe” is a critical word: For the first time, automakers can count external, carbon neutral sources toward their fleet emissions — 7 percent can be European-made low-carbon “green” steel, while 3 percent can be from biofuels, e-fuels or hydrogen powering ICE cars.
They would still be subject to fines of €95 per gram of CO2 over the 11 g/km target.
By the European Commission’s own analysis, up to 35 percent of new cars sold after Jan. 1, 2035, could have combustion engines.
Reducing emissions by 100% would be awesome, but reducing them by 90% is also pretty awesome.
Is Sterling Anderson Going To Be The Next GM CEO?
Not since Yul Brynner helmed Matra has a proud man with a shorn head run a major car company. Could that streak finally end with Sterling Anderson, who is reportedly in line for the top job at General Motors?
Per Bloomberg:
Anderson joined the company as chief product officer in June after working for Tesla and co-founding the autonomous trucking company Aurora Innovation Inc. The understanding when he was hired, according to people familiar with the matter, was that if Anderson can satisfy Barra’s demand for him to bring cutting-edge software and self-driving technology to GM cars, he has a good shot at succeeding her.
It’s a daunting challenge, but one that draws on the experience of the 42-year-old Anderson. Barra wants him to bring more computing power to every corner of GM’s vehicles, with software controlling more mechanical functions like steering and braking, and to create features that could generate long-term revenue from subscriptions. More broadly, he will also ride herd on a renewed push to make the company’s money-losing electric vehicles profitable.
Anderson’s ascension to the top job has been discussed but isn’t a done deal, and even it it happens, it may not be a quick journey. Barra, who turns 64 next week, isn’t obligated to retire at any age and may well decide to keep going, said the people familiar with her thinking, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. GM President Mark Reuss, 62, also has gas in the tank and could play a role in the succession plan.
I could see Reuss doing it for a short period of time while Anderson takes on the President role, and then transitioning into the job. Also, we’re the same age! A GM CEO my age would feel very strange.
Update: For… reasons, I was sent this comment from a GM spokesperson:
“Sterling came to General Motors in June 2025, and holds the position of Chief Product Officer. Any discussion of a future role is premature and speculative.”
Foxconn Buys Luxgen On The Cheap
Remember when the entire Japanese automotive industry had a minor meltdown over the idea that Taiwanese mega company Foxconn was going to buy Nissan? That didn’t happen. Or, well, it hasn’t happened yet.
In the meantime, Foxconn has looked a little closer to home, according to Nikkei Asia:
Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, a joint venture established by Foxconn and Yulon in 2020, currently focuses on research, development and design of electric vehicles. Following the deal, it will have full access to Luxgen’s assets, including staff, distribution channels, marketing resources and repair and maintenance capacity across the island.
The deal will need to be approved by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission and is likely to be reviewed in the first quarter of 2026, the two companies said.
Foxtron CEO Adam Chen said in a press conference on Friday evening that his company will buy a 100% stake in Luxgen and take charge of its operations, “creating a complete EV value chain from products, sales, to services.”
Trying to buy Nissan and ending up with Luxgen is a little like trying to buy the Giants and ending up with the Padres or, well, like trying to buy the Padres and ending up with the Hartford Yard Goats (Go Goats!).
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Yo La Tengo is in the middle of its Hanukkah residency, in which it performs every night and brings out special guests like Matt Beringer or, last night, Norah Jones. I remember being in Austin for that first SXSW where she materialized and, you know what? “Don’t Know Why” still slaps.
The Big Question
What’s an absolute deal-killer when it comes to buying a car?
Top graphic image: Tesla
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