Quick Shifts

Each week I bring you the top stories in the auto industry along with my commentary or sometimes amusing thoughts about the craziness that goes on in the world of cars.  

• The Empire State Strikes Back at Monthly Seat-Heater Bills.
• The Wave You Never Expected From a Honda.
• $13 Million and a Most-Wanted List: Meet the Benz Behind the Bust.
• Your Jeep Has Ads Now — Would You Like Fries With That?

The Empire State Strikes Back at Monthly Seat-Heater Bills.  New York lawmakers have finally snapped and said “enough” to the most annoying trend in modern car ownership: subscription fees for features your car already came with. Senate Bill S5708 would make it illegal for automakers or dealers to charge monthly fees for hardware that’s physically installed at purchase — meaning no more paying $14.99 a month to heat the seat you’re currently sitting on, no more “premium subscription” for brighter headlights, and no more BMW-style nickel-and-diming just to use the buttons already on the dash. Automakers could still charge for genuinely data-driven stuff — live navigation, connected safety services, OTA driver-assist upgrades — but the bill slams the door on turning your vehicle into a rolling app store where everything feels like a microtransaction. Several states have toyed with similar moves, but New York appears ready to plant the flag and say what every annoyed driver has been yelling since 2021: if you bought the car, you ought to get the car. And if this thing passes, it could set off a tidal wave — because once one state bans the “heated seat hustle,” others may follow. Frankly, the only surprise is that it took this long; even cable companies don’t charge you extra to turn on your own living-room lights.

The Wave You Never Expected From a Honda.  The Drive reports that the “Honda Passport Wave” is officially a thing now, which is hilarious considering the Passport has always lived in that weird middle lane between “I want to look rugged” and “I also need to haul Costco rotisserie chickens.” According to the story, Passport owners are flashing headlights, throwing thumbs-up, and treating each other like long-lost members of an SUV secret society. Jeep folks have been doing their little wave forever, Broncos think they invented camaraderie, and Miata drivers bond over the shared knowledge that they willingly chose a trunk the size of a lunchbox — but the Passport crowd? Nobody saw that coming. Still, it makes a certain sense: the Passport is boxy enough to look adventurous from 30 feet away, tough enough that owners imagine themselves conquering gravel driveways, and anonymous enough that a friendly wave is probably the only recognition they’ll ever get in traffic. The Drive says the hit rate is shockingly high — most Passport drivers wave back like it’s a hometown parade. Maybe it’s nostalgia for ’90s-era SUVs, maybe it’s TrailSport cosplay, or maybe Passport owners are just happier than the rest of us. Either way, if you see two Passports passing each other and headlights start blinking, don’t panic. It’s not road rage — it’s just Honda owners forming a small, wholesome, extremely unexpected cult.

$13 Million and a Most-Wanted List: Meet the Benz Behind the Bust.  The FBI just scooped up one of the rarest cars on the planet — a $13 million Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster — which is basically the automotive equivalent of finding a unicorn, lassoing it, and locking it in an evidence warehouse with a folding chair and a fluorescent light. Only six of these things exist, each built so Mercedes could go embarrass people at Le Mans, and now one of them is sitting in federal custody because its alleged owner, a former Olympic snowboarder, apparently decided to pivot from half-pipes to what prosecutors call a “global narcotics empire.” Nothing says “midlife crisis” like funding a hyper-rare V12 homologation supercar with drug-money side quests. According to the feds, the car was part of a luxury asset trail linked to the fugitive athlete, and while he remains at large, the CLK GTR definitely isn’t — it’s now parked somewhere between seized jet skis and ex-Congressman collectibles. You have to feel at least a little bad for the car: engineered to dominate endurance racing, handcrafted by AMG wizards, worth more than some zip codes, and now reduced to evidence tag #407B, waiting for a court date instead of a canyon run. Only in 2025 could a machine built for victory laps end up doing time.

Your Jeep Has Ads Now — Would You Like Fries With That? Stellantis has decided your Jeep, Ram, or Chrysler doesn’t have enough “character,” so they’ve added pop-up ads to the infotainment screen — because nothing says rugged American freedom like your dashboard nagging you to buy another car before you can even put it in Drive. Owners are firing up their vehicles only to be greeted with a full-screen “marketing notification” offering $1,500 in loyalty cash, blocking navigation, music, or whatever else you actually wanted to do. Stellantis swears it only happens while parked (how thoughtful), but that hasn’t stopped drivers from wondering when their trucks turned into Times Square with cupholders. Some say the only way to opt out is by calling Customer Care, which is basically the automotive equivalent of trying to cancel a cable subscription while the rep keeps asking if you’re sure you don’t want a “special offer.” Social media, predictably, is a bonfire of displeasure — lots of “never again,” lots of screenshots, and lots of people pointing out that if they wanted ads on a screen, they’d stay home and use YouTube. The whole thing feels like a masterclass in how to irritate loyal customers: sell them a nice vehicle, then interrupt their morning commute with a reminder to buy another one. Just what every driver wanted — an upcharge for peace and quiet.