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Waymo Recalls 3,800 Robotaxis After Software Glitch Raises Highway Safety Concerns

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Autonomous driving’s most visible success story hits another speed bump.

Waymo, the autonomous ride-hailing company owned by Alphabet, has issued a voluntary recall affecting approximately 3,800 robotaxis after identifying a software issue that could allow its vehicles to enter closed highway work zones at normal driving speeds. The recall, announced through a bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), adds to a growing list of challenges facing the industry’s most advanced self-driving operation.

According to federal regulators, the software defect could cause Waymo vehicles to incorrectly navigate through highway construction areas that have been closed to traffic. While there have been no reports of injuries or confirmed crashes linked to the issue, the potential consequences were serious enough for the company to proactively limit highway operations while engineers develop a fix.

“We identified an area where we can improve vehicle performance near highway work zones,” Waymo said in a statement. The company noted that it voluntarily restricted highway driving, informed regulators, and initiated a software recall while working on corrective updates.

Unlike traditional recalls that often require vehicles to visit service centers, Waymo’s latest action highlights the unique reality of software-defined transportation. The affected Jaguar I-Pace-based robotaxis aren’t being pulled from service. Instead, the recall serves primarily as a formal notification that the company intends to deploy updated software across its fleet.

The issue arrives at an awkward time for Waymo, which has spent years positioning itself as the autonomous driving industry’s benchmark for safety and reliability. Highway operation represents one of the most technically demanding environments for self-driving systems, requiring vehicles to process rapidly changing traffic conditions, construction zones, lane closures, and high-speed decision-making.

Waymo only recently expanded its highway operations. In Phoenix, the company’s robotaxis first gained approval to operate on freeways in 2024, initially carrying employees before eventually transporting paying passengers. Prior to that milestone, highway driving required the presence of a human safety driver behind the wheel.

The recall also marks the company’s second major software-related action in just over a month.

In May, Waymo recalled 3,791 vehicles after one of its autonomous Jaguars entered a flooded roadway in San Antonio. The unoccupied vehicle was swept away by flash-flood waters, though fortunately no injuries were reported. Earlier recalls have addressed even more concerning scenarios, including instances in which some Waymo vehicles failed to properly stop behind school buses displaying active stop signs and flashing warning lights.

Taken together, the incidents illustrate the difficult reality of autonomous vehicle development: even systems capable of handling millions of miles of routine driving can struggle with edge cases that human drivers encounter only occasionally.

Yet despite the recent recalls, Waymo’s broader safety record remains impressive. The company says its autonomous fleet has been involved in 92 percent fewer crashes resulting in serious injuries or worse compared with human drivers operating over similar distances. Waymo also reports a 92 percent reduction in crashes involving pedestrians.

Those figures help explain why regulators have generally allowed the company to continue expanding service despite periodic software corrections. In the world of autonomous driving, recalls increasingly resemble smartphone updates rather than traditional automotive defects—a reminder that the cars of the future may spend as much time receiving code revisions as they do getting mechanical maintenance.

For Waymo, the latest recall is unlikely to derail its expansion plans. But it does reinforce a reality that has followed autonomous vehicles since their inception: even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence still has lessons to learn when the road ahead suddenly changes.

Source: Waymo

NEW CARS

2027 Dacia New Spring Trades Cheap-and-Cheerful Roots for a European Future

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The Dacia Spring has always been an automotive outlier. It wasn’t particularly fast, sophisticated, or refined, but that was never the point. What made it remarkable was its price tag. For years, it stood as one of Europe’s cheapest electric vehicles, offering a no-frills route into EV ownership. Now, Dacia is preparing to rewrite the formula.

Meet the New Spring.

Yes, that’s officially the name. Dacia has confirmed that its upcoming electric city car will retain the Spring badge but add a “New” prefix to distinguish it from the existing model that will continue to be sold alongside it. The naming strategy may be confusing, but the car itself represents a much bigger shift than a simple facelift or model-year update.

Most importantly, the New Spring abandons its Chinese origins.

The original Spring arrived in 2021 as a heavily reworked version of the Renault Kwid EV, built in China and riding on the aging CMFA-EV platform. While Dacia refreshed the car substantially in 2024 and boosted performance with updated powertrains and batteries in 2025, the underlying architecture remained unchanged.

The New Spring changes all of that.

Instead of being sourced from China, the newcomer will be built in Europe and will ride on Renault Group’s modern AmpR Small platform. That’s the same architecture underpinning the upcoming Renault Twingo E-Tech, giving Dacia access to a far more advanced foundation than the outgoing model ever had.

A recently released teaser image reveals only the rear of the vehicle, but it already suggests a more mature design direction. The tailgate appears upright and practical, while square-shaped LED taillights and clean body surfacing emphasize functionality over fashion. It remains unmistakably a city car, but one that looks considerably more substantial than its predecessor.

Dacia hasn’t revealed the cabin yet, although the company promises “four real seats and a real trunk”—a subtle acknowledgment that space and practicality remain central to the Spring’s mission. Expect a minimalist interior focused on durability and usability rather than luxury. The brand’s increasingly popular YouClip accessory system will likely make an appearance, allowing owners to customize storage solutions and interior accessories.

The real story, however, lies beneath the sheetmetal.

Technical specifications remain under wraps, but industry expectations point toward a setup borrowed largely from the Renault Twingo E-Tech. That would mean an electric motor producing around 80 horsepower paired with a 27.5-kWh battery pack. Those figures may not sound impressive, but they represent a meaningful improvement over the entry-level Spring’s modest output and should provide more than enough performance for urban environments.

Dacia’s gamble appears well-founded. Since its launch, the Spring has found nearly 210,000 buyers across Europe, proving that affordability can outweigh concerns about range, performance, or prestige. For many consumers, it wasn’t the best EV—it was simply the one they could actually afford.

That affordability equation is changing, however.

Dacia says the New Spring will start below €18,000. While that would still make it one of Europe’s least expensive electric cars, it represents a significant increase over the outgoing Spring, which was available in Germany earlier this year for roughly €11,900.

The higher price should bring meaningful gains in technology, safety, performance, and overall refinement. In other words, Dacia appears ready to move the Spring from bargain-basement transportation to something approaching a genuinely modern EV.

What won’t change is the basic formula. The New Spring will retain compact dimensions, five doors, and city-friendly proportions, as confirmed by previous design sketches. It’s still designed for crowded urban streets, tight parking spaces, and buyers who prioritize practicality over prestige.

Only now, it seems, Dacia wants those buyers to have a little more car for their money.

And for the first time, the Spring may be more than just the cheapest EV in Europe—it might actually be one of the most compelling.

Source: Dacia

NEW CARS

2027 Porsche Taycan Debuts E-Shift System, New Infotainment, and Manthey Track Package

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Electric cars have spent the better part of a decade convincing us that instant torque and silent acceleration are enough. Porsche isn’t so sure.

For 2027, the German automaker is giving its Porsche Taycan a surprising new feature: simulated gear changes. Called E-Shift, the system adds eight virtual gears, steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles, artificial shift shocks, engine-braking effects, and a revised soundtrack designed to make Porsche’s electric sports sedan feel a little more like the company’s gasoline-powered icons.

It’s a move that acknowledges a reality many enthusiasts have been reluctant to admit. EVs may be objectively quicker than their internal-combustion predecessors, but they’re not always as engaging. Porsche’s answer isn’t to fight electrification—it’s to inject more theater into it.

A Taycan That Pretends to Shift

The new E-Shift system is available across the Taycan lineup and comes standard on the range-topping Taycan Turbo GT. Drivers can leave the system in an automatic mode or use paddles mounted behind the GT Sport steering wheel to work through eight simulated gears.

Unlike some novelty sound effects we’ve experienced in other EVs, Porsche appears to have gone all-in on the illusion. Each virtual gear carries its own acceleration profile, while noticeable shift jolts and simulated drag torque recreate the sensation of engine braking. A virtual rev limiter, shift lights, and a digital tachometer complete the experience.

The company says the accompanying Porsche Electric Sport Sound has also been reworked to react to vehicle load and virtual engine speed. The result is intended to make the Taycan feel less like a one-speed electric appliance and more like a traditional performance car building speed through the gears.

Whether enthusiasts embrace the concept remains to be seen, but Porsche deserves credit for addressing a criticism often leveled at EVs: they’re astonishingly fast, yet sometimes emotionally distant.

Manthey Turns the Taycan Into a Track Weapon

If simulated gears sound playful, Porsche’s other major Taycan update is anything but.

For the first time, Porsche’s motorsport partner Manthey is offering a factory-backed performance package for an electric model. Previously reserved for hardcore GT products such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Manthey kits have become synonymous with Nürburgring-focused performance.

Now the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT joins that club.

The new Manthey Kit includes extensive aerodynamic, chassis, and powertrain revisions aimed at extracting even more performance from what is already one of the fastest production EVs on sale. The package’s credentials were established on Germany’s most demanding circuit, where Porsche development driver Lars Kern recorded a 6:55.533 lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, setting a new benchmark in the electric executive-car category.

More importantly for buyers, the kit can now be specified directly from the factory instead of being installed solely as an aftermarket upgrade.

Seven Hundred Kilometers on a Charge

Performance isn’t the only focus.

Porsche has also squeezed additional efficiency from the Taycan through new low-rolling-resistance summer tires developed for rear-wheel-drive variants. Combined with the larger Performance Battery Plus pack, the company claims a WLTP driving range of up to 700 kilometers (435 miles).

While WLTP figures tend to paint a more optimistic picture than EPA estimates, the number nevertheless underscores how far the Taycan has evolved since its launch. Early versions impressed with their charging speeds and performance but lagged behind some competitors in outright range. The latest updates continue Porsche’s effort to close that gap without compromising the car’s dynamic character.

A Much Smarter Cabin

The interior sees one of its biggest technology upgrades since the Taycan’s debut.

Porsche’s latest Porsche Digital Interaction interface arrives with a cleaner visual design, significantly faster processing power, and a more smartphone-like user experience. The automaker says the new Porsche Communication Management system delivers up to five times the computing performance of the previous setup.

A customizable home screen built around widgets allows drivers to prioritize navigation, media, phone functions, or vehicle data. A detailed 3D model of the owner’s car—rendered in its actual exterior color—sits at the center of the interface and serves as a shortcut to key vehicle controls.

Voice control has also received a substantial overhaul. The AI-supported Voice Pilot can understand more natural speech patterns, perform Google-backed points-of-interest searches, and handle follow-up questions without requiring drivers to repeat the “Hey Porsche” wake phrase every time.

Wireless smartphone charging jumps to 25 watts, while over-the-air updates can now be downloaded and installed entirely in the background.

The Bigger Picture

The most interesting aspect of the 2027 Taycan isn’t necessarily the Nürburgring record or the added range. It’s Porsche’s willingness to acknowledge that performance is about more than numbers.

Most EV manufacturers have focused on making electric cars faster, quieter, and more efficient. Porsche is taking a different path. By adding virtual gears, synthesized mechanical sensations, and a more dramatic soundtrack, the company is trying to preserve the emotional qualities that have long defined its sports cars.

Whether fake shifts become a must-have feature or remain a curiosity, they represent something notable: one of the world’s most respected performance brands openly experimenting with ways to make electric driving feel less digital.

And in a market where nearly every EV is chasing the same formula, that may be the most Porsche thing of all.

Source: Porsche

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