A day-by-day look at everything The Auto Wire published this week, Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 7, 2026 — 46 stories in all.
Monday, August 3
Rhode Island Will Send Your Home Address to Firefighters If You Drive an EV
Rhode Island’s DMV will start sharing EV owners’ addresses with local fire departments so crews know before they arrive.
Jeep Recalled 641 Wranglers Over Cracking Steel Wheels
Jeep recalled 641 Wranglers and Gladiators after steel wheels were built too thin, ironically the failure point steel wheels are supposed to avoid.
Carvana’s Record Quarter Wasn’t Built on Used Car Prices
Carvana posted a record quarter even as government data showed used-car prices falling; the piece digs into what actually drove the profit.
Tesla ‘Fixed’ This Suspension Failure Twice Already
NHTSA opened a new probe into Tesla front-suspension failures despite two earlier recalls that supposedly solved it.
Ford’s Quarterly Loss Hides a Worse EV Number and a Very Good Trade
Ford’s $1.3B loss and raised guidance mask a rougher per-unit EV picture and one notably favorable trade.
Porsche Sold 24,000 Fewer Cars and Made a Third More Money
Porsche’s first-half results landed the same week as new job cuts, with profit up sharply despite lower volume.
What Really Happens If You Never Change Your Oil: A Timeline
A stage-by-stage explainer of what happens mechanically to an engine that never gets an oil change.
Tuesday, August 4
Ford Is Now Planning For Chinese Automakers To Land In America
CEO Jim Farley told employees to expect Chinese automakers to enter the US within a decade; the piece looks at what’s actually blocking them.
Stellantis Worker Dies in Fall at Center Line Facility
A UAW Local 1248 member died in a fall at Stellantis’s Center Line plant, the third Detroit-area worker death tied to plant renovations in two years.
Ford Buried a Timing Belt in Motor Oil to Save Gas
NHTSA says roughly 135,000 Fiesta, Focus, and EcoSport models risk engine failure tied to an oil-bathed timing belt in the 1.0L EcoBoost.
Waymo Puts Robotaxis Back On Freeways
Waymo resumed freeway service in Phoenix after a two-month pause; the NHTSA filing explains what the software got wrong near work zones.
Ford Recalls 86,543 Mustang Mach-Es
Trim that can detach, traced back to an assembly jig that outpaced the adhesive’s cure time.
Wichita’s License-Plate Cameras Misidentify Cars Up To 20% Of The Time
A resident is suing to remove the city’s 200 Flock cameras over accuracy and constitutional concerns.
Carvana Just Posted Record Numbers And Got Crushed
A companion piece breaking down the loan and dealer-fee math behind investors punishing a record quarter.
Stellantis Just Recalled 1.5 Million Ram 1500s
A seat belt anchor bolt issue spanning 2019–2026 model years.
Feds Just Legalized A Car With No Pedals, Mirrors Or Wipers
A federal order lets Zoox charge for rides in its steering-wheel-free vehicle while regulators acknowledge limits on what they can require.
Tesla’s Test Drives Have No Chaperone
An unaccompanied test drive ended with a car crashing into a hair salon and a $10.3M lawsuit, even though NHTSA cleared the pedal itself.
Mercedes’ Next EVs Are Being Built From Scrapped Cars
Mercedes and Hydro are tripling recycled-aluminum use in upcoming EVs, driven more by Europe’s new carbon tariffs than green messaging.
Wednesday, August 5
BMW Spider-Man Dash Ad
BMW pushed a Spider-Man promo to owners’ dashboards worldwide; the piece covers how and why owners have little recourse.
Alpine’s US Launch Plan Has Quietly Shrunk
Renault’s own paperwork suggests Alpine’s American ambitions have scaled back from what was originally announced.
California’s 100-MPH Crackdown Isn’t a New Law
The new FAST program can suspend a license for 100+ mph tickets pre-conviction, borrowing from a 35-year-old DUI statute.
Wall Street Says Wireless Car Updates Are a $17 Billion Business
A $17B OTA-update forecast hints at automakers using the tech to make future recalls less visible.
Tesla’s 1.2 Million-Car Suspension Probe
NHTSA’s filing on a fresh suspension probe undercuts the market’s shrug at the news.
BYD’s Commercial Trucks Grew 183% In July
Commercial vehicle sales spiked even as BYD’s overall 2026 numbers stayed down.
Kia ‘Fixed’ Its Telluride’s Flaming Seats In 2024. The Fix Could Catch Fire, Too
Kia’s 2024 “park outside” fix has itself been recalled.
Toyota And Hyundai Are Being Investigated Over Your Driving Data
Australian regulators are probing connected-car data privacy, a practice GM already paid a US fine over.
A Billion-Dollar Kentucky Battery Plant Went Bankrupt
Ascend Elements settled a $7.5M DOJ fraud case tied to a plant now owned by an unpaid contractor.
Grupo Antolin’s Own Bondholders Say the Restructuring Vote Was Rigged
Noteholders want the bankruptcy case moved to Michigan, with implications for Ford, GM, and Stellantis.
Savannah Just Benched Six Employees Over Flock Camera Misuse
Six city employees placed on leave; Georgia framed as catching what other states aren’t checking for.
Flock’s AI License Plate Readers Are Wrong Most Of The Time
Roseville, CA police data showed a majority-wrong rate on felony alerts.
VW’s Atlas Water Pump Can Cause ‘Catastrophic Engine Failure’
VW settled via a claim-form process rather than issuing a formal recall.
Ram Recalled 1.5 Million Trucks Over a Seat Belt Bolt
A companion piece noting Stellantis had already flagged the quality issue to investors beforehand.
IIHS Releases Zero Driver Death List
Six vehicles hit zero driver deaths in the new study; a second ranking shows who bears the cost of that safety.
Thursday, August 6
Ford Just Blew Up the Assembly Line It Invented
Ford is ditching its own century-old assembly approach for a strategy aimed at undercutting a used Tesla Model Y on cost.
Deadliest Cars And Trucks Of 2023
New IIHS fatality data shows the same SUV, the VW Atlas, appearing twice on the list.
JLR Cuts 300 Office Jobs As Breakeven Math Turns Brutal
JLR’s full-year margins collapsed to 0.7%, tightening pressure to hit breakeven.
Double Your Entries Before August 9th: Win a 1967 Corvette + $10K Cash
A giveaway promotion for a two-time NCRS Top Flight 1967 Corvette Convertible plus $10,000 cash.
Ford Killed 10% of Its Own Sales Last Month
A 10.2% July sales drop reportedly tied to deliberately cutting the Escape and rental-fleet volume.
Tesla Takes Its Self-Driving Patent Fight To The Supreme Court
Tesla wants the Court to overturn a ruling shielding Patent Office refusals to review its self-driving patents.
Rivian’s R2 Launch Quarter Looks Great Until You Read The Segments
Revenue jumped 27%, but the automotive business is still losing money per vehicle.
Friday, August 7
ZT Automotive Buys Charlotte McLaren and Rolls-Royce Stores
Houston-based ZT Automotive acquires the Charlotte McLaren and Rolls-Royce dealerships.
Rivian Kills Alexa
Alexa support is gone across all R1 vehicles; the piece breaks down what owners lose versus what the paid Connect+ tier covers.
DoorDash Will Deliver Your Car Battery in Under an Hour
New under-an-hour parts delivery, notably without AutoZone, O’Reilly, or Advance Auto involved.
Cadillac’s 2028 Eyes-Off System
GM’s eyes-off driving system for the 2028 Escalade IQ, including new lidar hardware, repair-cost and legal-classification questions.
Cadillac Teases a Motorsport-Derived Reveal for Monterey
Fresh off an endurance-race win, Cadillac teased an August 14 reveal at the Quail.
GM’s Next Camaro Reportedly Gets Four Doors and a Manual
A new report claims a four-door 2029 Camaro built on a platform shared with Cadillac and Buick sedans.