2023 Tesla Model 3 on 2040-cars

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Why we can't have better headlights here in the U.S.

It wouldn't be a European auto show if we weren't teased with at least one mainstream vehicle we can't have here. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, the small but vocal contingent of shooting-brake buffs lamented that the Mazda6 wagon won't be coming to our shores, although they can take comfort in the fact that the vehicle won't get the torquey 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine we'll get here. Mercedes-Benz also announced a new headlight technology in Geneva that likely won't be available here anytime soon. It's just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mercedes-Benz's new Digital Light system that debuted in Geneva uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. The Digital Light headlamps works with the vehicle's cameras, sensors and navigation mapping to adjust lighting for the given location and situation and to detect other road users. The Digital Light technology also serves as an extended head-up display of sorts by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. And it can even project lines on the road in a construction zone or through tight curves to show the driver the correct path. Digital Light will be available on Mercedes-Maybach vehicles later this year, although like any technology it's bound to trickle down to less expensive vehicles. That is, if we ever get it here in the U.S. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting, has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art car headlights to the U.S. The German luxury automaker's recently introduced matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on U.S. roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists with brights by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the U.S. either.

Tesla Model S track tested at Buttonwillow raceway

Many television viewers will know about the concept of a seven-second delay that allows producers to bleep any loose profanity during live shows before they make it to air. And we're imagining the driver of a Tesla Model S shooting down California's Buttonwillow Raceway may have cursed a bit once the electric vehicle's power limiter kicked in to keep the battery's heat down, because that added about seven seconds to the typical lap time around the 3.1-mile course, Teslarati says. Power-limiter not withstanding, the luxury EV appeared to do pretty well around that circuit, which is located near Bakersfield and about 130 miles north of Los Angeles. One happy dude at Teslarati turned in laps as low as 2:19 and change, beat out a Porsche 911 in acceleration and managed to keep the car on the track. The Tesla topped out at 113 miles per hour, but all that speed consumed electricity at about three times the typical rate. That means that, for the first 10 laps (which were the fastest), the 33 miles of actual distance used up 90 miles worth of range. And with the track's 240-volt outlets working to various degrees and Tesla's nearest Superchargers 50 miles away, there were some potential problems making sure the car could do all the driver wanted. But they're problems we'd love to have. Check out the 11-minute video of the escapade below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Dealers' suit against Tesla dismissed in MA court

Tesla has been facing resistance from dealer associations with its factory-owned dealerships since the start-up automaker first started selling cars, but it won another big case in Massachusetts when a judge dismissed a lawsuit brought on by the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association (MSADA). According to Automotive News, the case was dismissed after the judge said the association "lacked standing to sue" despite the fact that MSADA executive vice president quotes the state law as saying, "A factory cannot own a store."
The latest lawsuit follows a similar suit from back in October where the MSADA attempted to prevent Tesla from opening a store in a suburban Boston mall; the electric car maker received approval to open another store in Natick, MA, which brought on this second lawsuit. It's unlikely this is the last we've heard about this issue in Massachusetts and in other states, but Tesla seems to be coming out victorious in each case so far. While laws pertaining to dealerships vary state to state, factory-owned dealers are usually noncompliant with state law - a lesson Chrysler learned back in 2011.