Latest from The Drive
The Drive
an hour ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Porsche Is Using AI To Catch EV Battery Problems Before They Happen
The latest car news, reviews, and features. I'm tired of AI getting shoved into every corner of life in 2025. But, the technology does have uses in cars beyond gimmicks like fake conversational personas. Like sifting through data and identifying trends to optimize an EV battery pack, for example. That's one of the things Porsche is using AI for, and the automaker recently pulled back the curtain on how it's implementing machine learning to make its electric cars better. In a press release from earlier this month, Porsche focuses on two particular aspects of the way it's using AI to monitor battery health. First, there's the component of predictive quality assurance, which boils down to making informed insights into how the battery will age, based on data from across the company's user base. But arguably more valuable than that is the system's ability to detect anomalies, which can stop a potentially serious battery defect before it starts. Porsche doesn't explicitly mention thermal runaway in this release, but that's where my head goes as I'm reading this. In a thermal runaway, a problem with one cell quickly propagates to others. But there may be signs beforehand that something's not right, and that's why it's especially valuable that Porsche says it can monitor battery health on a cellular level and proactively warn customers, with instructions relayed through the owners' app. Porsche recently set a record at Road Atlanta for the fastest lap for a series-production electric car with the Taycan Turbo GT. Porsche Like anything related to safety in the automotive realm, you hope you never have to encounter a situation like this with your vehicle. But knowing these safeguards are in place certainly offers peace of mind. And this kind of deep learning can be leveraged in other areas, too. State of charge and charging speed, for example, should be intelligently managed for any device that incorporates a lithium-ion battery, from your smartphone to your car, to extend the pack's lifespan as long as possible. It's encouraging that Porsche seems to be using AI not to develop an in-car chatbot that will pretend to care about your problems—or something else nobody's ever asked for—but to ensure the long-term performance and safety of its products. They sum it up well in this excerpt: 'For Porsche, AI is a tool that helps the team to understand complex relationships and take all relevant aspects into account.' Using new tech to better nail the fundamentals is the kind of future we can get behind. Got tips? Send 'em our way at tips@
The Drive
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Maserati Might Be For Sale Soon: Report
The latest car news, reviews, and features. A new CEO walks in the door at Stellantis on Monday and things might be up in the air for the automaker's sole luxury brand. On Friday, Reuters reported Stellantis might put Maserati up for sale to cut its losses as the automotive giant overhauls its operations. The McKinsey consultant group was hired by Stellantis in April to reportedly take stock of how U.S. tariffs will affect Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Stellantis had planned for both of these brands, neither of which produces vehicles in the U.S., to go electric in the coming years with entire revamps of their product lines. Reuters reported two sources said among the options McKinsey is in the early stages of exploring for Stellantis is the 'possible divestment of Maserati.' A Stellantis spokesperson told Reuters , 'Respectfully, Maserati is not for sale.' The Drive reached out to Maserati for comment but hadn't heard back as of the time of publishing. Maserati has been flailing despite the introduction of new high-end product including the MC20 sports car, GT2 Stradale, and GranCabrio. The GranCabrio, in Folgore trim, marked the first and currently only electric convertible on the market today. In February, during the parent company's 2024 earnings call CFO Doug Ostermann said the company wrote down a $1.59 billion investment in Maserati. Part of that was 'the cancellation of projects prior to launch,' according to the company's investor deck. Maserati sales dropped 58% in 2024 with 11,300 vehicles sold compared to 26,600 the prior year. The drop in sales translated to an adjusted operating loss of 260 million euros ($299 million). With an electric future in sight Maserati killed its V-8 engine in 2023. But earlier in 2025 Maserati killed its electric supercar, which was to be called the MC20 Folgore, noting a lack of customer demand. It's believed that electric supercar was either done or nearly done and ready to launch soon. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigned in December. The automaker's board chair, John Elkann, has been steering the ship while the automaker interviewed CEO candidates. Antonio Filosa, a current Stellantis executive who's served as the CEO of Jeep among other positions, will step in as the new Stellantis CEO on Monday. Got tips? Send 'em our way at tips@
The Drive
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Nissan Thought Way More People Wanted an SUV That Doesn't Look Tough
The latest car news, reviews, and features. The Nissan Murano is redesigned for 2025, and y'know, it's pretty good. The issue is, it competes with lots of midsize crossovers, almost all with an off-road bent. Market research will show you that's what's popular these days, but Nissan went another direction with the Murano and made it a snazzy urban runabout. It's a bold move, and one that seems to be working out in some respects, but Nissan made so many that it's reportedly offering dealers $1,000 to $2,000 apiece to take on new inventory. Word of the increasing Murano overflow comes from an Automotive News report. It cites Cox Automotive data showing a five-month supply of Muranos at dealers across the United States, a 15% increase over the 133-day supply measured in March. This reportedly has Nissan dialing back the total number of Muranos it expects to build this year, cutting 21% from its May projections down to 47,410. With Nissan betting more on the refined and elegant ethos of the current-gen car, it was difficult to know how it would fare against the adventure-vibe competition. Nissan Vice President of Model Line Marketing Operations Jeff Pope explained to Automotive News, 'Trying to understand what kind of segment share you can get … and the volume that equates to is a little bit more difficult than looking at a traditional segment like Pathfinder. So we got aggressive [and] front-loaded a lot of [Murano] production.' Ah, yes, the Pathfinder: Nissan's other midsize crossover that's doing quite well, actually. Its lane is a little bit clearer, as it targets core buyers in the segment who like the idea of going off-road, whether or not they ever do. We've seen that trend spread to essentially every category—heck, even supercars. But not the Murano. Those HVAC controls are still some of the strangest I've encountered on a test car. They're touch-capacitive, so you press on the wood-grain-esque trim to toggle them. Very urban indeed. Caleb Jacobs This city-centered Murano redesign may have helped it stand out so far in 2025. Deliveries rose to 8,702 in Q1, an 84% increase over the same period last year. That means it's digging itself out of the massive hole left by the old Murano, which outsold only the Mazda CX-70 and Toyota Crown Signia in its category in 2024, because those models only first hit the market in 2024. Leaving the Murano alone for so long is why some Nissan dealers believe they're in this position. It went a decade without any serious updates before this new model dropped late last year. One retailer who spoke with Automotive News and asked to remain anonymous said, 'Nissan let the model age so much that loyal Murano customers left the brand.' If they ever get those customers back in the showroom, they might like what they find. I enjoyed the Murano for its decisive character when I reviewed it late last year, and with styling like that, it certainly stands out. We'll just have to see if it's enough to pluck people away from the four-wheeling five-seaters that everybody is clamoring for. Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@
The Drive
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
This $800K Mercedes 190E Evo Restomod Will Actually Race at the Nurburgring 24H
The latest car news, reviews, and features. It's easy to get cynical about restomods. HWA's reimagined Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II, for example, looks incredible. But it also costs just short of $800,000, and there's been no shortage of projects like it as of late, taking collector cars that already demand top dollar under the knife for a guaranteed profit. HWA, though, is coming at this from a different angle. The 190E Evo II wasn't just a '90s performance icon—it was a race car proven on Europe's greatest tracks by HWA itself, which managed Mercedes' DTM program. In that tradition, the company has decided to do the same with its new Evo, and will campaign two examples in next year's Nürburgring 24 Hours race. The cars will compete in the race's SP-X class, which is reserved for vehicles that don't adhere to any criteria. While HWA hasn't said who will drive them, Roland Asch and Klaus Ludwig, who are also no strangers to Mercedes touring cars, will help develop them on the Nordschleife. The cars' 'appropriate modifications in performance, weight, and safety systems' will be detailed at a later date, HWA said in a press release. HWA rolled out a liveried Evo for the announcement, paying homage to the Sonax-sponsored machines that it campaigned in the early '90s. Ludwig drove a 190E that looked similar to the 1992 DTM title. The new rendition looks good, but I always preferred the version of this scheme with silver and red, rather than the flat white. It's unclear if this is how the cars will look on race day next year, but for what it's worth, the Evo cleans up surprisingly well in bright sage, too. Driver Klaus Ludwig poses with an HWA Evo prototype. Gruppe C Photography/HWA The HWA Evo incorporates a three-liter, twin-turbo V6 making 444 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed transaxle. To make one, HWA receives an original 190E Cosworth donor and guts it, stripping it down to its bare chassis before washing it in a chemical bath and rebuilding everything from there. The suspension is double-wishbone with electronically adjustable dampers all around, the body is carbon fiber, and the final article weighs 2,980 pounds. HWA has already started building these and is only planning to make 100, total. There are apparently still a few build slots left, per this latest bulletin from the company, so you haven't missed your chance. And if you want to tune in for this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours, it kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
The Drive
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
This Georgia Estate Comes With Its Own Go-Kart Track for $11.5 Million
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Got gasoline in your veins and $12 million or so burning a hole in your pocket? If you want to roll up your sleeves and put in some work maintaining a Hampton, Georgia, horse farm with outbuildings aplenty, look no further. We've seen our share of fancy car-holes around here, but any time a property offers dedicated tarmac for horsepower-based shenanigans, we take notice. This time around, we've got a listing that is billed as a 357-acre private estate, but after browsing the listing photos, I'm left with the impression that it was maintained as a business retreat more so than a private residence. The abundant directional signage alone suggests that the property regularly hosted outsiders, and if you look at the east entrance on Google Street View, it still has signage for 'Longwate Farms.' Between the 20,000-square-foot log house (cleverly dubbed the Loghouse) and the finished space included in the various satellite buildings, the listing claims a total of 30,000 inhabitable square feet. The Loghouse goes hard on the modern log cabin aesthetic and boasts a massive attached carport. It also has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a massive custom kitchen, a 12-seat theater with 'rumble' seats, a gym, and a sauna. OK, so there's no built-in car wash, but the attached garage visible in photos can hold cars two deep, fitting six or more within its confines. And if parking is your priority, well, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Mosey on over to the go-kart track and you'll find another metal barn that could easily swallow a pretty hardcore car collection. If that's not enough, there are three more equipment sheds nearby to house the property's maintenance equipment, and they each have some room to spare. The track itself is essentially a skidpad with modular barriers, allowing the buyer to configure (or expand) the setup to their heart's content. Still not enough? There's always the Chickenhouse. The listing says this is set up to serve as a bunk house (with five additional bedrooms) and offers two enclosed vehicle bays and two open bays for RV storage. There are also multiple RV pads and hookup sites scattered all over the property, just in case you're less concerned with parking vehicles than living in one. Do you have loved ones who want nothing to do with your gearhead habits? Fear not, this spot's got you covered. Between the Smokehouse entertainment venue (with its own stage and seating for 24) and the horse barn, there's plenty of space for activities, and there's existing fenced space to let your four-legged friends run amok, whether you're talking about man's best friend or something of the equine persuasion. Got a tip? Send it in: tips@
