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.
Mad Max Mode Meets the Feds. Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving setting called “Mad Max Mode” has landed the company right back in federal crosshairs. The feature, which reportedly lets Teslas drive more aggressively—accelerating hard, passing frequently, and rolling stop signs like a caffeinated commuter—has caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Regulators have asked Tesla for more information, noting that drivers remain legally responsible no matter how much the software takes over. That’s not exactly breaking news, but it’s another reminder that Tesla’s marketing often drives a little faster than reality. The name alone feels like a dare, as if the software’s motto is “what could possibly go wrong?” Still, owners eager for a thrill might see it differently: a glimpse of a future where cars act out every impatient instinct we’ve ever had on the freeway. The problem is, that future may arrive before the rulebook catches up. For now, Tesla can call it innovation, NHTSA can call it investigation, and the rest of us can call it what it is—a really bad idea to name a driver-assist feature after a movie where everyone crashes.
Nap Time’s Over: Tesla Driver Snoozes, Cop Car Loses. A man in South Barrington, Illinois gave new meaning to the phrase “letting the car do the driving” when he reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel of his Tesla and slammed into a parked police cruiser. According to local reports, the driver told officers the car was on Autopilot and should have avoided the crash on its own—a defense that didn’t impress anyone wearing a badge that day. The police vehicle’s rear end was heavily damaged, though no one was seriously hurt, which is more than you can say for the driver’s pride or insurance premiums. Investigators said the Tesla’s driver-assist system was engaged, but as every manual and lawsuit has stated a hundred times, that doesn’t mean the car is self-driving. The human is still responsible, even if that human is counting sheep instead of scanning the road. The driver was cited for multiple violations, adding yet another headline to Tesla’s long list of unintended adventures. It’s the latest reminder that “Full Self-Driving” isn’t a sleep aid, and “driver assistance” isn’t permission to take a nap—no matter how comfortable the seats are.
Naked Ambition: The Search for the Best Car to Have Sex In. Our friends at Jalopnik sparked one of its more colorful reader debates this week by asking a question few car sites would dare, including ours: what’s the best car to, ahem, get romantic in? The whole thing began after a Jeep Grand Wagoneer ad jokingly dubbed itself “the best car to have sex in,” forcing Jalopnik to clarify that it never made such a claim—and that no one on staff is about to “test drive” the theory in a press loaner. From there, readers jumped in with surprising enthusiasm, nominating everything from Suburbans and Sprinter vans to Miatas and pickup beds, depending on whether you value space, stealth, or scenery. Some even debated seat-folding angles like engineers, proving that car enthusiasts can turn anything into a spec sheet. Jalopnik kept the tone PG and funny, using the moment to highlight how cars aren’t just transportation—they’re stages for life, stories, and, occasionally, questionable decisions. It’s a reminder that automotive passion sometimes means exactly what it sounds like.
GM Shoots Itself in the Foot—With a Beretta. Back in the late 1980s, Chevrolet thought “Beretta” would make a sharp name for its new sporty coupe—until the legendary Italian gunmaker of the same name aimed a lawsuit squarely at General Motors. The firearms company argued that GM’s use of the Beretta name infringed on its long-held trademark, and after a few legal volleys, the two sides reached a truce worthy of a law-school case study. GM agreed to donate $500,000 to the Beretta Foundation for Cancer Research and Treatment, and as part of the settlement, a single Chevy Beretta was delivered to Beretta’s U.S. headquarters, where it’s been sitting proudly in the lobby ever since. It’s a funny bit of automotive lore that shows just how tangled branding can get when a car company and a gunmaker share the same moniker. The Chevy Beretta soldiered on until 1996, remembered more for its name than its performance, while the original Beretta brand kept right on firing. It’s proof that sometimes the most memorable car stories aren’t about horsepower at all—they’re about the names we give them and the lawyers who notice.