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View Interior Photos of the 2025 Ford Expedition

View Interior Photos of the 2025 Ford Expedition

Car and Driver25-06-2025
The steering wheel is a squircle, and the buttons don't have labels—you have to rest a finger on each one to figure out what it does.
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Safety Bodies Urge EU Not To Let US Vehicles Skirt Safety Rules
Safety Bodies Urge EU Not To Let US Vehicles Skirt Safety Rules

Forbes

time4 hours ago

  • Forbes

Safety Bodies Urge EU Not To Let US Vehicles Skirt Safety Rules

Independent European road safety bodies are concerned that the U.S. will skirt around the EU's ... More crash-safety regulations as part of any trade deal. Photo: Guido Kirchner/picture alliance via Getty Images. Europe's peak independent transport safety bodies have urged the European Union not to follow Japan's lead and allow U.S.-made vehicles to be sold to European customers without passing European safety regulations. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has insisted that the EU should not allow American companies to sidestep EU safety regulations in the interests of lowered tariffs with the U.S. The Trump administration this week announced a trade deal with Japan, the centerpiece of which is a 15% reciprocal tariff on goods exported from Japan to the U.S. - which has American automakers concerned. But the fine print of the deal showed that American automakers would now be allowed to sell their vehicles into the Japanese market - without passing Japanese domestic crash or emissions regulations. News stories today hinted that the EU was preparing to sign a similar deal, allowing its automakers to export to the U.S. for a 15% tariff rather than building cars there, with the same circumvention of its crash-safety regulations, which are considered the toughest in the world. Autonomous emergency braking, ntelligent speed assistance and pedestrian protection are some ... More features mandated under EU law that are not mandatory in U.S. cars. Photo: Getty. In a statement released today, the ETSC expressed deep concern that the move could undermine years of crash-safety science and improvement and urged the EU to reject any such deal and insisted vehicle-safety standards were public protections, not trade barriers. 'We are deeply concerned by the trade deal reached this week by the governments of Japan and the United States, which reportedly removes domestic Japanese safety testing requirements for American-made vehicles exported to Japan,' the statement read. "This move sets a dangerous precedent - one that could undermine road safety in countries that have led the world in automotive safety regulation. 'Allowing vehicles to bypass proven national safety standards for the sake of trade expediency risks turning back the clock on decades of progress in reducing road deaths and serious injuries.' Signatories to the statement include the the Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council (Antonio Avenoso), the Acting Director General of the FIA's Region 1 (Diogo Pinto), the Executive Director of Transport & Environment (William Todts) and the President of the International Federation of Pedestrians (Geert van Waeg). Others involved included leaders of the European Consumer Voice in Standardization, Cities and Regions for Transport Innovation and the European Cyclists' Federation. Leading the pushback were Michiel van Ratingen, the Secretary General of Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) and the CEO of Global NCAP, Richard Woods. NCAP programs have been responsible for enormous steps forward in consumer awareness of vehicle crash safety and, more lately, in driver-assistance systems. 'Reports indicate that Japan will now allow U.S. vehicles to enter its market without being subject to Japan's specific crash testing or safety compliance requirements. We urge the European Union not to follow suit,' the statement continued. "Trade talks must not become a backdoor to regulatory weakening. Vehicle safety standards are not trade barriers; they are public protections backed by science and evidence. Weakening or bypassing them would lead to real and measurable harm - particularly to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. "The EU has consistently adopted some of the world's most effective vehicle safety regulations, culminating in the General Safety Regulation that is currently in force. These rules mandate technologies such as automated emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance, and pedestrian protection - none of which are currently required for vehicles sold in the U.S. 'We urge EU leaders to maintain this position, and to state clearly that no deal on vehicles will be accepted unless all products placed on the EU market meet existing European regulatory requirements in full.'While the Trump administration has insisted that its tariff war would bring jobs back to America, it was the Toyota Motor Corp whose shares boomed on the Japanese tariff announcement, rising 13% to a seven-month high yesterday. The Big Three U.S. automakers called for caution on the tariffs yesterday, with the head of the American Automotive Policy Council (which represents Ford, GM and Stellantis) insisting they would harm American manufacturers, rather than helping them. 'Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers,' the council's head, Matt Blunt, said in a statement. Auto Drive America, which represents automakers who sell imported vehicles in the U.S., had a different take, and urged Trump to reach similar deals with the EU, Mexico and South Korea. 'We share President Trump's vision to make the U.S. the worldwide center of automotive production, and our member companies need stability in order to create an environment where we can maintain our competitive edge both in the U.S. and on the global stage,' Auto Drive America said in a statement. The Trade War has been a collection of ups and downs that have driven automakers to despair, given that all U.S.-built cars contain at least 15% foreign-made parts. The irony is that American cars have been sold tariff-free in Japan for decades, but have failed to garner interest due to being too large and inefficient for Japanese tastes. Now, they'll be at least 15% more expensive to Japanese buyers.

Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some 'rough quarters' ahead
Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some 'rough quarters' ahead

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some 'rough quarters' ahead

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla shares sank Thursday after CEO Elon Musk said the company could face a 'few rough quarters' as it transitions to a future focused less on selling cars and more on offering people rides in self-driving cars. Late Wednesday, the electric vehicle maker reported another quarter of lackluster financial results, with revenue dropping 12% and profit falling 16%. Many prospective buyers have been turned off by Musk's foray into right-wing politics, and the competition has ramped up in key markets such as Europe and China. Tesla faces the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit and stands to make much less money from selling regulatory credits to other automakers after recent changes to federal tax law. President Donald Trump's tariffs on countries including China and Mexico will also cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said on its earnings call. Musk spent the call talking less about car sales and more about robotaxis, automated driving software and robotics, which he says is the future of the company. But he acknowledged those businesses are a ways off from contributing to Tesla's bottom line. Tesla began a rollout in June of its paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to introduce the driverless cabs in several other cities soon. Musk told analysts that the service will be available to probably 'half of the population of the U.S. by the end of the year — that's at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.' 'We're in this weird transition period where we'll lose a lot of incentives in the U.S.,' Musk said, adding that Tesla 'probably could have a few rough quarters' ahead. He added, though, 'Once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I would be surprised if Tesla's economics are not very compelling.' In early trading Thursday, Tesla share were down 8% to around $305. Sign in to access your portfolio

Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some 'rough quarters' ahead
Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some 'rough quarters' ahead

Associated Press

time6 hours ago

  • Associated Press

Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some 'rough quarters' ahead

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla shares sank Thursday after CEO Elon Musk said the company could face a 'few rough quarters' as it transitions to a future focused less on selling cars and more on offering people rides in self-driving cars. Late Wednesday, the electric vehicle maker reported another quarter of lackluster financial results, with revenue dropping 12% and profit falling 16%. Many prospective buyers have been turned off by Musk's foray into right-wing politics, and the competition has ramped up in key markets such as Europe and China. Tesla faces the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit and stands to make much less money from selling regulatory credits to other automakers after recent changes to federal tax law. President Donald Trump's tariffs on countries including China and Mexico will also cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said on its earnings call. Musk spent the call talking less about car sales and more about robotaxis, automated driving software and robotics, which he says is the future of the company. But he acknowledged those businesses are a ways off from contributing to Tesla's bottom line. Tesla began a rollout in June of its paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to introduce the driverless cabs in several other cities soon. Musk told analysts that the service will be available to probably 'half of the population of the U.S. by the end of the year — that's at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.' 'We're in this weird transition period where we'll lose a lot of incentives in the U.S.,' Musk said, adding that Tesla 'probably could have a few rough quarters' ahead. He added, though, 'Once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I would be surprised if Tesla's economics are not very compelling.' In early trading Thursday, Tesla share were down 8% to around $305.

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