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Germany's automotive sector is confronting a sharp downturn, with European car sales dropping from nearly 18 million units in 2019 to about 13 million in 2025. Rising competition from Chinese manufacturers, new 25 percent US tariffs on imports, and an aging workforce have combined to push Volkswagen Group toward considering shutting four of its domestic factories, a move once thought unimaginable.
A Waymo robotaxi drove into the South Pearl Street Farmers Market in Denver on September 20, about 20 minutes before vendors were set to open, after barricades had been temporarily moved aside to let vendor vehicles through during setup. Market staff scrambled to stop the driverless car and clear its path, though no injuries occurred and organizers said it wasn't moving recklessly. Waymo says its system recognized the situation and steered itself back out, while the city plans to work with the company on protocols for future incidents.
Google has made the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS generally available, ending its beta phase. Developers can now publish compatible titles directly through Google Play's open testing and production tracks, rather than relying on early-access programs.
On June 7, 1937, Michigan State College students armed with concrete reinforcing rods confronted Lansing labor union members in what became known as the Battle of East Lansing. The clash followed a rapid wave of UAW Local 182 organizing successes in Lansing's auto industry, including a dispute at Capital City Wrecking Company where newly elected union officers were fired, triggering a strike and a court injunction against the union.
Apple's iOS 27 update introduces the revamped Siri AI experience to CarPlay, giving drivers a ChatGPT-like conversational assistant that remembers context and syncs chat history with the iPhone's Siri app. The update also lets developers build dedicated video-browsing apps for CarPlay screens, though only in cars whose automakers opt into the feature, alongside minor interface tweaks like a new MiniPlayer for media apps.
Researchers report that a young boy's cancer went into remission after receiving an experimental form of CAR T cell therapy. The treatment is part of ongoing efforts to adapt CAR T technology, previously effective mainly against blood cancers, to target solid tumors.
A young boy with hepatoblastoma that had spread to his lungs and stopped responding to chemotherapy achieved complete remission after receiving an experimental CAR-T cell treatment. The therapy, part of the CARE study, engineered the patient's own immune cells to target glypican-3, a protein found on liver cancer cells, while also boosting the cells' potency with two added immune signaling proteins. Twelve months after treatment, doctors report no detectable trace of the cancer.
A developer discovered new references to Lincoln, Freelander, and Lucid in Apple's backend code for its Car Key feature, suggesting these automakers may soon let drivers unlock and start vehicles using an iPhone or Apple Watch. Apple has not confirmed a launch timeline or specified which vehicle models will gain support. Lucid had already been named previously as a future Car Key partner, alongside brands like Acura, Cadillac, and Porsche.
Amazon has launched early fall Prime Day discounts that include a record-low $125 pre-order price on Apple's new AirPods 5 with ANC, alongside $150 off all four colors of the 1TB 13-inch M5 MacBook Air, bringing it to $1,449. The retailer is also running cash discounts on AirPods Pro 3, AirTag 2, entry-level Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, and an Anker MagSafe car charger mount.
In late 2003, Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard borrowed AC Propulsion's tZero electric roadster from Alan Cocconi to demonstrate its performance to Silicon Valley investors, including a staged event at Buck's restaurant in Woodside. Eberhard would have VCs try to touch the dashboard as he floored the accelerator, showcasing acceleration so forceful that riders were pinned back in their seats, leaving some doubting the car was truly electric.
American cancer patients are increasingly traveling to China for CAR-T cell therapy, a personalized immunotherapy that reengineers a patient's white blood cells to fight cancer. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese providers, having scaled up production, now offer the treatment for $150,000 to $230,000 versus $550,000 to $850,000 in the US, with faster turnaround and included follow-up care.
California still requires drivers to carry only $15,000 per person and $30,000 per crash in liability insurance, a threshold set in 1967 and never updated for inflation. By contrast, actuarial estimates now put the cost of a fatal traffic death at roughly $1.6 million, meaning the mandated coverage covers a small fraction of the real financial harm a driver can cause. Massachusetts, which pioneered mandatory insurance in 1927 with a $5,000 minimum (about $96,000 today), only recently raised its own outdated cap to $25,000.