Here’s a full recap of everything The Auto Wire published this week, Monday July 27 through Friday July 31, 2026 — recalls, lawsuits, earnings, theft rings, robotaxis and more, all in one place with links back to the original stories.
Friday, July 31
Honda And Nissan Shared Car Software: What A Joint OS Would Really Change
Honda and Nissan are reportedly circling a shared vehicle operating system, even though their existing in-house software architectures don’t line up neatly. Read more →
Ford Wanted to Patent a Car That Locks You Out and Drives Itself to the Junkyard. The Government Said No.
The patent office rejected Ford’s bid to patent a self-repossessing car, technology that has quietly existed in subprime auto lending for two decades. Read more →
Hertz Fleet Depreciation Lawsuit: What The DPU Collapse Really Means
A lawsuit digs into Hertz’s fleet depreciation troubles, arguing a disposal problem the company said was fixed resurfaced within weeks. Read more →
Thursday, July 30
A Truck Driver Rammed Down Three License Plate Cameras in Rural California. Flock Safety Barely Noticed
A Pismo Beach man is accused of driving roughly 150 miles into Monterey County just to knock down three license-plate reading cameras. Read more →
Mercedes Recalled 310,000 Cars Over a Rollaway Risk, and the Parking Brake Was Never the Problem
Mercedes-Benz is recalling more than 310,000 vehicles because a corroded door-lock switch, not the brake itself, can stop the parking brake from engaging. Read more →
This State’s New AI Truck Cameras Aren’t Really About Safety. They’re About Lawsuits.
New Hampshire is adding AI dash cameras to its DOT fleet, joining several states that adopted the tech mainly to manage liability rather than crashes. Read more →
Inside the Senate Connected Vehicle Bill: Airbags, Batteries and the 15% Rule
A Senate bill aimed at Chinese connected-car technology also reaches into airbags, battery electronics and used-car repair parts rules. Read more →
2026 Audi A6 IIHS Ratings: The Cheapest Trim Has the Best Headlights
The 2026 Audi A6 earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating, but its pricier trims actually score worse on headlight performance than the base model. Read more →
Stellantis Is Profitable Again. It Also Just Told You Which Of Its 14 Brands Don’t Matter.
Stellantis returned to profitability, and its new FaSTLAne 2030 plan quietly reveals which of its fourteen brands are getting real investment. Read more →
Audi H1 2026 Results: Profit Held, Guidance Cut, and a CFO Asking VW for Help
Audi’s first-half profit held up even as revenue fell roughly ten percent, and the automaker cut guidance while leaning on Volkswagen for support. Read more →
Wednesday, July 29
Californians Are Turning Against Newsom’s EV Mandate. Someone Should Tell Them It’s Already Dead.
A new poll shows Californians turning against the state’s EV mandate, even though the underlying rule already collapsed in a federal fight months ago. Read more →
Rivian Blamed Its Mechanics for a Falling-Apart Rear Suspension. Two New Crashes Say That Wasn’t the Whole Story
NHTSA opened a new investigation into Rivian’s rear suspension after two more crashes, well beyond the vehicles already covered by an earlier recall. Read more →
A Cop Allegedly Ran a Stolen-Car Ring on the Side. Her Badge Wasn’t the Scary Part — Her Database Login Was
A Maryland officer is accused of using her own department’s database access to help run a year-long VIN-cloning car theft operation. Read more →
Toyota Takes A Third Of cellcentric: What The Fuel Cell Truck Deal Really Buys
Toyota is joining Daimler and Volvo’s cellcentric hydrogen fuel-cell venture, buying into truck technology that still faces steep cost and infrastructure hurdles. Read more →
Toyota And Nissan’s Kyushu Plants Just Got Hit By A Killer Earthquake — Again
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake forced Toyota’s Lexus plant and a Nissan factory in Kyushu to shut down, the region’s second major disruption in a decade. Read more →
BMW’s New Mexican-Built EVs Arrive In 2027 — Their Batteries Are Still Just Visiting
BMW’s new Neue Klasse EVs will roll out of a Mexican plant in 2027, but their batteries still aren’t local enough to clear USMCA cleanly. Read more →
Wally Darwish Got the Deal of a Lifetime on Ten Dealerships. He Just Got a $30 Million Bill for Treating Them Like His Personal ATM
A judge ordered the owner of a ten-dealership group to pay $30 million after allegedly treating the businesses’ accounts like personal funds. Read more →
Mahle’s Diesel Range Extender For Electric Trucks Faces A Bigger Problem Than Physics
Mahle previewed a diesel range extender for electric trucks, a design that runs into new EU weight and emissions rules almost as fast as it solves range anxiety. Read more →
Stellantis Just Sold Its Car-Sharing Business to a Company That Buys Other People’s Failures for a Living
Stellantis sold its Free2move car-sharing fleet to Mutares, a firm known for buying up struggling business units. Read more →
Corvette Clocked At 130 In A 45: Inside Florida’s Dangerous Excessive Speeding Statute
A Florida Corvette driver’s arrest for hitting 130 mph in a 45 zone highlights the state’s little-understood excessive-speeding statute and its penalties. Read more →
Tesla Just Crossed $100 Billion in Revenue. Its Operating Profit Got Cut By More Than Half.
Tesla’s revenue topped $100 billion for the first time, but operating profit fell more than 57 percent as costs and pricing pressure ate into margins. Read more →
Waymo I-Pace Burns After 33-MPH Rear-End Crash In Atlanta: What Actually Caught Fire
A Waymo robotaxi caught fire after a 33-mph rear-end collision in Atlanta, raising questions about the Jaguar I-Pace’s battery placement and recall history. Read more →
Ford’s Explorer and Aviator Can Now Recline Their Own Driver’s Seat, No Passenger Required
Ford issued a new seat recall for the Explorer and Aviator after finding the driver’s seat can recline on its own while the vehicle is moving. Read more →
Tuesday, July 28
Tesla’s ‘Free Supercharging For Life’ Promise Just Triggered A Class Action Payout — And The Loophole That Caused It Is Still Legal
Tesla settled a class action over idle fees charged to early buyers who were promised free Supercharging for life. Read more →
Ford’s Latest Recall Letter For Almost 400,000 SUVs Is Basically Just An IOU
Ford’s newest recall notice covers nearly 400,000 Explorers and Aviators, but offers owners no actual fix until 2027. Read more →
Norway Went Hunting for a Chinese Kill Switch in a Bus. It Found Out Every Connected Vehicle Already Has One
Norwegian testers found a manufacturer-controlled kill switch in a Chinese-built electric bus, and similar remote-access systems already exist in many connected cars. Read more →
Waymo and Uber Are Breaking Up Again, and This Time It’s About Who Vacuums the Back Seat
Waymo may end its Uber robotaxi partnership in Austin and Atlanta, in a dispute that’s really about who controls the vehicle fleet. Read more →
Philly Recovered 30 Stolen Hondas In A Month. The Arrest Count Is Still Zero, And That’s The Real Story
Philadelphia recovered 30 stripped Honda vehicles in a single month but made zero arrests, showing recovery and prosecution aren’t the same thing. Read more →
Trump Got a Drag Race and Signed a Corvette. GM Got Something Way More Valuable.
President Trump toured GM’s Milford Proving Ground for a tariff-themed photo op, overshadowing GM’s quieter move to hedge its propulsion bets. Read more →
Waymo’s Robotaxis Are Racking Up Austin Parking Tickets Because Free Curb Space Beats a Real Garage
Waymo’s Austin robotaxis have racked up thousands of dollars in parking fines, exposing a curb-space business model cities never priced for. Read more →
A Rental Car Theft Ring Shipped Stolen SUVs to Ghana for a Year. The Weak Link Wasn’t the Car.
A federal case shows a rental-car theft ring shipped stolen SUVs to Ghana for a year, exploiting weak identity checks rather than any flaw in the cars themselves. Read more →
Volkswagen Quietly Recalled 57,851 Atlas SUVs Over Vanishing Backup Cameras While Loudly Selling You the Next One
Volkswagen quietly recalled nearly 58,000 Atlas SUVs over a vanishing backup camera image just as it launches the redesigned model. Read more →
Trump’s ‘More Than Your Parents’ Line Was The Least Interesting Thing Said At GM This Week
Trump’s tariff-boosted GM soundbite got the headlines, but GM’s own guidance tells a more complicated story involving a Supreme Court refund and shrinking parts jobs. Read more →
Tesla Says a Supplier Held Its Cybertruck Tooling for Ransom. Owning the Dies Was Never the Same as Controlling Them.
Tesla claims a supplier held Cybertruck tooling “for ransom,” a dispute that shows automakers often don’t fully control equipment they’ve already paid for. Read more →
Car Dealers Keep Falling Into The Same PPP Trap, And One Whistleblower Won’t Stop Collecting
Two car dealer groups paid the DOJ a combined $3.6 million after getting caught by the same whistleblower exploiting the same PPP loan loophole. Read more →
Tesla Just Admitted Its Cars Aren’t All Equal Anymore, and the Proof Is Buried in a Chatbot Update
Tesla’s 2026 summer software update adds Grok voice commands, but also reveals which older Teslas are quietly being left behind. Read more →
This Crew Stole Two Dozen Muscle Cars Each for Street Takeover Clout. The Law That Caught Them Predates the Muscle Car Itself.
Ten people accused of stealing dealership muscle cars for street takeover clout were caught partly thanks to a law dating back to 1919. Read more →
GM Built 250,000 EVs That Could Power the Grid. The Hard Part Was Never the Technology
GM’s new study on EVs powering the electrical grid reads less like a tech breakthrough and more like a pitch to utilities and regulators. Read more →
Rivian Just Posted a ‘Profit.’ The Cars Themselves Are Still Losing Money.
Rivian posted its first quarterly profit, but the gain reportedly came from software and regulatory credits rather than actual vehicle sales. Read more →
Monday, July 27
Ford’s Empty Spanish Factory Found a Savior: The Chinese Company It Sold Volvo To in 2010
Ford and Geely, the company that once bought Volvo from Ford, will now build cars together at Ford’s underused Spanish factory. Read more →
DeKalb County Paid $19 Million for a No-Bid Decade of Car Surveillance
DeKalb County’s ten-year, no-bid, $19 million license-plate camera contract with Flock has now produced its first felony case. Read more →
Rivian Just Learned That ‘The Tariffs Were Illegal’ And ‘You’ll Get Your Money Back’ Are Two Different Sentences
Rivian had to sue to get back tariff payments a court already ruled illegal, showing a refund isn’t automatic even after winning. Read more →
A Stolen Ford Explorer Beat Ontario’s Anti-Theft Tech. A Fast-Food Receipt Still Busted the Teen Inside
A stolen Ford Explorer defeated Ontario’s anti-theft technology, but a fast-food receipt left behind still helped police track down a teen suspect. Read more →
That $19.99 Car Wash Membership Isn’t Selling You Clean Paint. It’s Selling Wall Street a Subscription.
A $55.5 billion car wash market report shows subscriptions and private-equity roll-ups are reshaping who owns your local wash. Read more →
LAPD Quit Flock’s Camera Network Two Weeks Ago. Connecticut’s Smallest Towns Just Reached the Same Conclusion.
LAPD suspended its use of Flock’s license-plate camera network, and several small Connecticut towns reached a similar decision days later. Read more →
Ford’s Bronco Fire Fix Costs About a Dollar a Truck. Guess Who’s Stuck With the Rest of the Bill.
Ford’s Bronco fire recall covers more than 565,000 trucks, and while the physical fix is cheap, the paperwork and wait times aren’t. Read more →
GM Just Spent $430 Million Upgrading Two Factories, and Electric Cars Weren’t Invited
GM is spending $430 million upgrading two U.S. factories, and notably, none of that investment expands electric vehicle production. Read more →
Genesis Just Recalled 94,760 Cars Over a Fuel Leak It Already “Fixed” Once Before
Genesis recalled nearly 95,000 vehicles for a fuel-pipe leak that mirrors a defect NHTSA flagged back in 2021. Read more →
Volkswagen Fought EU Tariffs On Chinese Cars In 2024. Now Its Own Best-Seller Got Smoked By A Brand Called Jaecoo, And VW Wants Tariffs Yesterday
Volkswagen fought EU tariffs on Chinese-made cars back in 2024, but now wants them imposed quickly after a Chinese rival brand outsold its own bestseller. Read more →
That’s every news and feature story The Auto Wire published this week. Garage Deals roundups were left out of this recap. Click any headline above to read the full story.