AUTONEWS

Is your car's heating weak? This sign could point to an expensive engine-related fault

As the weather turns colder, drivers are increasingly turning on their car's heating. However, if cold air continues to blow from the vents even after a long drive, it may mean more than just a malfunctioning heater. This issue could indicate a problem with the engine cooling system; ignoring it can, in some cases, lead to serious and costly damage.

In vehicles with internal combustion engines, the cabin heating system is linked to the engine cooling system. Consequently, a slow warm-up of the vehicle's interior can be one of the first signs that something is wrong, reports Autonews, citing the Montenegrin outlet *Vijesti*.

Common causes include low coolant levels, a faulty thermostat, air trapped in the cooling system, or a failure of the heat exchanger responsible for warming the air inside the cabin.

Cold air or weak airflow? Experts emphasize the importance of distinguishing between two scenarios: one where the fan operates normally but blows cold air, and another where the airflow is very weak or non-existent.

If air flows normally from the vents but fails to heat up, the issue may be related to the engine temperature, coolant circulation, or the mechanism that directs warm air into the cabin.

Conversely, if the fan's output is weak, potential causes include a clogged cabin air filter, a blown fuse, or a faulty fan motor. Unusual noises coming from the dashboard—such as clicking or squealing—as well as a fan that only operates at certain speeds, can also indicate a malfunction. In such cases, it is recommended to visit an auto repair shop.

What can drivers check themselves? One of the first indicators of a potential problem is the engine temperature.

If the engine fails to reach its normal operating temperature even after a typical drive, the thermostat may be stuck in the open position. This means the engine is being overcooled, which causes the vehicle's interior to warm up more slowly and can lead to increased fuel consumption.

Drivers can also check the coolant level, but only when the engine is completely cold and the car is parked on a level surface.

The cooling system cap should never be opened while the engine is hot, as the fluid is under pressure and can cause severe burns. If the coolant level is too low, simply topping it up is not a permanent solution. A cooling system should not regularly lose fluid; therefore, its disappearance may indicate a leak or another type of malfunction.

These signs may point to a more serious fault...Pay special attention to a sweet smell inside the vehicle, a greasy film on the windshield, or damp carpeting beneath the dashboard. Such symptoms may indicate a coolant leak from the heater core—a heat exchanger located behind the dashboard.

Even more serious warning signs include traces of colored fluid beneath the car, steam escaping from under the hood, or the engine temperature gauge approaching the red zone. If any of these symptoms appear, you should safely stop the vehicle as soon as possible and seek professional assistance.

A thermostat that gets stuck in the closed position is particularly dangerous. Unlike a thermostat stuck in the open position—which causes the engine to warm up too slowly—a closed thermostat can lead to rapid engine overheating and serious damage.

Don’t wait for the first deep freeze...Although a faulty heating system might initially seem like a mere comfort issue, it can actually serve as a warning sign of a malfunction that affects the vehicle's reliability and safety.

Beyond making it difficult to warm the cabin, a defective heating system can impair the defogging of the windows, thereby compromising visibility while driving. For this reason, it is recommended to have the heating system checked before the onset of severe cold weather. Detecting such issues early can help you avoid not only discomfort while driving but also much more serious engine damage.

A weak car heater usually happens because the engine is not reaching its proper operating temperature, or because hot coolant is not flowing correctly to the cabin.

Main causes of weak car heat:

• Thermostat Stuck Open: The thermostat keeps coolant trapped in the engine until it gets hot. If it is stuck open, cold air constantly cools the engine down, leading to lukewarm or weak heat (especially while driving on the highway).

• Low Coolant Level: If your coolant is low, there is not enough fluid circulating through the Heater Core to warm the air entering the cabin. You may also have a leak.

• Clogged Heater Core: Rust, sediment, or debris can build up inside the heater core over time, blocking the flow of hot engine coolant.

• Stuck Blend Door: The internal plastic doors that mix hot and cold air might fail or get stuck, preventing warm air from reaching the vents.

• Faulty Blower Fan or Resistor: If the fan itself is weak or failing, the airflow through the vents will feel weak even if the core is hot.

Quick things you can check:

• Temperature Gauge: Drive the car for 10 to 15 minutes. The temperature needle should rise to the middle and stay there. If it stays low or drops when you speed up, your thermostat is likely bad.

• Coolant Reservoir: Check under the hood when the engine is cold to see if your coolant is below the minimum line.

• Smells or Fog: A sweet smell inside the car or a greasy film on the inside of your windshield points directly to a leaking heater core

 

AUTONEWS

Northeastern Seattle’s custom Ford Mustang lets students conduct research from the driver’s seat

It was a long way to the car seat as we know it today. Early motorists lacked individual adjustment options for their seats. It took many decades until comfort and safety features such as headrests or easy-to-use longitudinal adjustments found their way into series production. Nowadays there are a lot of high-tech car seats, up to twelve percent of the production costs of a vehicle are in the seats. Initially, the body and seats are more reminiscent of a carriage than a car.

The seating position is extremely upright and high. Of course, there are no adjustment options and despite the noble leather upholstery, the driver is sitting on a soft board. Anyone who had to drive this vehicle for more than half an hour definitely got off with back pain. As time progressed, the seats continued to consist of a solidly fixed bench, but the seating position shifted significantly. In early rudimentary cars, occupants sat on chairs with feet placed directly on the floor, whereas in cars from the 1930s, the seats were fixed, resembling the configuration seen in modern vehicles today. However, there are still no adjustment options, and we searched in vain for the thigh support.

Cars from the 50s already offer a more comfortable seating position. Now the seats can also be adjusted lengthwise. Of course, this method is rudimentary and complicated, but it works. This construction allows drivers and passengers of larger and smaller sizes to travel comfortably. In addition, it is also possible to fold the backrests of the front seats forward, facilitating easier access for rear-seat passengers. But there is no sign of a headrest or side support here, and comfort takes its toll because the adjustable seat frame must be considered quite critically when it comes to occupant safety.

By the end of the 70s, thanks to the extendable telescopic rod, the height of the seats could be adjusted with relatively low effort. Furthermore, during this period, an optional headrest is already being used, the first sign that safety is becoming a development criterion alongside comfort. By the 90s, the length, height and angle of the seats were adjustable in all directions. They offer good lateral support, sufficient thigh support and, of course, the headrest which is nowadays legally required.

Today, a driver's seat with multiple options weighs 35–40 kg and is a complex system consisting of a metal frame, upholstery, covers, various hydraulic shock absorbers, electric motors, heating filaments, fans, cables, and connectors. A modern seat consists of a total of around 500 parts. After the drivetrain, the driver's seat is one of the most expensive components in the vehicle. Manufacturers usually offer their cars to their customers with basic seats, which can be upgraded with options such as massage or heating and ventilating functions.

Seats are important for safe driving. Ergonomic seats play a key role in minimizing physical strain and fatigue, thereby supporting sustained attention and concentration. This helps prevent rapid decreases in focus, consequently aiding in accident prevention. In modern vehicles, an airbag is installed on the side of the backrest towards the body, the purpose of which is to reduce side collisions. The far-side airbag is a novelty in vehicle development. This airbag is designed to prevent the driver and front passenger from colliding in the event of a side impact by deploying from the seat and inflating towards the headliner. This new type of airbag protects those in front rows from injuries due to interaction between passengers. These brand-new concepts can prevent about one-third of serious injuries related to the side collision. In 2020, the first series featuring the utilization of far-side airbags in a passenger car was observed.

 A tall garage gate on Northeastern University’s Seattle campus rolled up to reveal the snarling headlights of a Ford Mustang Mach-E wrapped in the signature Husky red-and-white color scheme.

Behind the wheel of the sleek, all-electric SUV was Xian Li, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and instructor of the Robotics Sensing and Navigation course. Though Li admitted to being an aggressive driver in his own car, he steered the Mustang past the nearby downtown headquarters of Amazon, Microsoft and Meta with careful precision. After all, he said, there was precious cargo to protect.

Equipped with an array of cameras, navigation sensors, and an onboard computer, the Mustang serves as a sporty, drivable data-collection tool for students and faculty on Northeastern’s Seattle campus. The car soaks up images and navigation data at a clip of 10 gigabytes per minute. It provides information that Li said is ripe for analysis and experimentation.

The nearly 5,000-pound vehicle is one of the campus’s most unusual research platforms, exposing students interested in robotics, computer vision and autonomous driving to hardware constraints, operational challenges and environmental factors that cannot be captured in simulations alone. Li encourages them to use the data collected from the Mustang to build and test their own navigation algorithms.

“Not all students have access to something like this,” said Xinlei Li, a master’s student in electrical and computer engineering who helped Li mount several of the Mustang’s sensors in the spring of 2026. “I always wondered whether I would ever drive something like this, so this is pretty cool to me.”

Autonomous driving technology allows vehicles to draw from their surrounding environment to make informed movements. The technology helps vehicles with safe driving behavior such as staying within painted freeway lanes, using road signs to identify the proper speed limit, or recognizing a crossing pedestrian in time to stop. Different kinds of onboard cameras and sensors collect data on traffic conditions, obstacles and the movement of nearby vehicles.

Northeastern’s Mustang is equipped with four cameras, a LiDAR scanner to generate three-dimensional maps, radar to measure the speed and distance of other objects, a GPS system to track location, an inertial measure unit (IMU) to calculate acceleration, altitude and other movements, and eight terabytes of onboard storage. The various components are strategically bolted to the car’s roof, strapped to the interior console and headrests or secured in the trunk.

“The more data you get, the more surroundings that the robot will understand, so that they can perform better in the real world,” said Xinlei Li, who had previously collected sensor data as part of his co-op with Kentucky-based moving walkway manufacturer Beltways. The challenging part is understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each sensor type, and learning how to combine them to generate the clearest picture of the environment, he said.

Self-driving cars, like those from Tesla, already boast powerful autonomous driving systems, but the domain still has a long way to go. Li said Tesla’s vehicles and their advanced “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” capabilities have only reached Level 2 on a six-level scale of self-driving sophistication, from Level 0 to Level 5, according to a taxonomy published by SAE International, a professional association of engineers. A vehicle at Level 5 would require no intervention or thought on the part of the passenger, Li said, meaning they could safely fall asleep during long-distance drives. 

The electric car soaks up images and navigation data at a clip of 10 gigabytes per minute. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University(Northeastern University)

Vehicles with Level 5 capabilities currently do not exist, nor will they in the next decade, Li said. Their eventual consumer cost is anyone’s guess, he said, as the legislation and regulations to allow for complete self-driving would need to be established before any such vehicle hits the market.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is not manufactured with full self-driving capabilities. Instead, it has Ford BlueCruise, an SAE Level 2 hands-free system that keeps the car within highway lanes and manages cruise control as long as drivers keep their eyes on the road. 

But Li and his students are working to hack the vehicle and implement more advanced autonomous features – an effort to bring the car closer to SAE Level 3, he said. By integrating and customizing certain algorithms in the controlling parts of the car, such as its steering and thruster, Li hopes he and his students can one day make the Mustang fully self-driving.

The lessons learned from sensor data collection can also be applied outside the personal mobility space, he said.

For example, Xinlei Li – who is not related to Xian Li – said he has used navigation data to develop technology that can help the visually impaired move around in unfamiliar spaces. 

Vittoria Bitton, who is pursuing a master’s degree in computer vision and machine learning at Northeastern Seattle, researched the ways that environmental imagery could aid search-and-rescue operations in areas with low visibility.

Bitton arrived at Northeastern with nearly a decade of professional experience, having worked with computer vision pipelines and secured a senior software engineer position with electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian before her December graduation. In Li’s class, she acts as a mentor to students at earlier stages of their careers. 

Bitton’s contributions include explaining the technical aspects of the Mustang’s sensors and suggesting components to add for future cohorts’ use – such as an onboard neural processor, which uses a machine learning model to recognize complex patterns.

She recommended that Li and his team think about using AI to create a perception system inside the vehicle, which would use the onboard cameras and sensors to interpret and build a real-time three-dimensional rendering of the surrounding environment.

Another idea is “hacking the car so that students can understand the architecture of an EV,” she said after Li’s class met inside the garage. 

Students and faculty at Northeastern University in Seattle have transformed a Ford Mustang Mach-E into a high-tech mobile research platform. Led by Professor Xian Li, the initiative uses the all-electric SUV as a laboratory on wheels for a course on Robotics Sensing and Navigation.

The vehicle, wrapped in the university’s signature red and white color scheme, travels the streets of Seattle, collecting vast amounts of environmental data.

Technical details and functionality:

• Massive data collection: The car captures images and navigation information at an impressive rate of 10 gigabytes per minute.

• Integrated sensors: The Mustang is equipped with a comprehensive suite of tools, including LiDAR, radar, advanced cameras, GPS, and inertial sensors.

• Practical objective: Students use this data to analyze and experiment with autonomous driving algorithms. The focus is on enhancing safety-critical behaviors, such as lane-keeping, identifying speed limits via traffic signs, and early pedestrian detection.

• In-depth exploration: Beyond navigation, students work on developing AI-based perception systems to generate real-time 3D renderings of the surroundings, while also exploring the vehicle’s own electrical architecture.

The project stands out for creating a hands-on learning environment where programming errors and real-world testing are integral parts of the robotics innovation process.

Northeastern University

AUTONEWS

The unexpected key to extending EV battery life found in “oxygen release”

What if a battery could become more powerful as it ages? Much like wine developing a deeper flavor over time, researchers in Korea have uncovered the mechanism behind a battery material that can deliver greater usable capacity after repeated charging and discharging.

A research team led by Professor Jihyun Hong (Department of Battery Engineering at POSTECH) with Dr. Gukhyeon Lim and a team led by Professor Kyu-Young Park (Department of Battery Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering at POSTECH) with Ph.D. student Hojun Lee have identified the origins of performance degradation in manganese-based cathode materials, which are considered promising candidates for next-generation electric vehicle batteries. More importantly, the team proposed a new strategy for turning what has traditionally been regarded as a weakness of the material into a potential performance advantage. The study was published in Energy & Environmental Science, a leading international journal in the field of energy research. Recognizing its potential impact, the journal's editors selected the paper as a Hot Article, placing it among the top 10% of published articles.

The electric vehicle industry is actively searching for cost-effective next-generation battery materials capable of competing with inexpensive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries manufactured in China. One of the most promising candidates is the lithium- and manganese-rich layered oxide (LMRO) cathode.

LMROs require less expensive nickel and cobalt while storing approximately 20% more energy than conventional nickel-based cathode materials, making them attractive for batteries that could potentially be both less expensive and capable of longer driving ranges.

However, LMROs have a critical drawback. Their capacity gradually decreases with repeated charging and discharging, while their operating voltage also declines. Previous studies attempting to identify the cause have reported different final structures inside the cathode, leaving the fundamental mechanism governing these structural changes unresolved.

The POSTECH team examined how the internal structure of the cathode evolved over hundreds of charge-discharge cycles. Initially, lithium and transition-metal atoms are neatly arranged in separate layers, resembling bricks stacked in an orderly wall. As charging continues, however, some of the oxygen atoms that stabilize this framework gradually escape from the material. This is similar to a well-organized drawer whose contents gradually become jumbled over time. 

As these oxygen atoms are removed, lithium and transition-metal atoms begin to migrate across their original layers and mix with one another. Eventually, the highly ordered layered structure transforms into a disordered rocksalt structure, in which the cations no longer follow their original long-range ordering. 

The researchers discovered that the amount of oxygen lost from the material acts as a key trigger determining how extensively the internal structure becomes disordered. They further demonstrated that oxygen loss can be controlled by how deeply the battery is charged—in other words, by how high the charging voltage is raised. Deeper charging led to greater oxygen loss, while the resulting oxygen vacancies progressively accumulated and drove structural rearrangement within the cathode. 

Improving battery energy density and cycle life by controlling oxygen-vacancy concentration(image above)

The most surprising finding came afterward. Oxygen loss would normally be regarded as a clear sign of battery degradation. However, as the cathode became disordered and transformed into a new structure, additional pathways through which lithium ions could move were created. As a result, the amount of usable capacity actually increased. By carefully controlling the degree of oxygen loss and the resulting structural evolution, the researchers demonstrated that the cathode retained 98.4% of its initial performance even after more than 200 charge-discharge cycles, showing remarkable long-term durability.

Structural disorder in battery materials has traditionally been regarded as an undesirable aging phenomenon that should be avoided. This study, however, demonstrates that when such structural evolution is precisely controlled, it can instead become a design tool for improving battery performance.

Professor Jihyun Hong said, “From an industrial perspective, our study shows that battery degradation can be delayed and battery lifetime extended simply by controlling parameters such as operating temperature and the surface environment.”. He added, “By regulating oxygen loss and thereby either promoting or suppressing structural disorder, it may become possible to design next-generation electric vehicle batteries optimized for different applications.”. Professor Kyu-Young Park, a co-corresponding author of the study, said, “By integrating precise materials characterization with computational materials science, we were able to address a problem that had remained unresolved for nearly two decades. The collaborative research environment within POSTECH's Department of Battery Engineering, which encourages interaction and cooperation among researchers through the Specialized Graduate School Program, played a decisive role in making this work possible.”

This research was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy through the Korea Planning & Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), the Ministry of Science and ICT through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).

Researchers at the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea have discovered that controlling oxygen release in lithium- and manganese-rich oxide (LMRO) cathodes can turn structural wear into a performance advantage, allowing for the retention of 98.4% of capacity after more than 200 charge-discharge cycles.

Key research findings:

• Innovative material: The study focuses on lithium- and manganese-rich layered oxides (LMRO), which store approximately 20% more energy than traditional nickel-based cathodes while using less cobalt and nickel.

• Voltage control: The amount of oxygen released is directly dependent on the depth of charge (the level of the charging voltage).

• Structural reorganization: Rather than merely causing degradation, the controlled loss of oxygen and the formation of vacancies create new pathways for lithium-ion movement, increasing the material's usable capacity over time.

• Long-lasting performance: This method enables the battery to maintain 98.4% of its initial performance after more than 200 cycles of use.

POSTECH 

 

AUTONEWS

Hyundai Elantra N Monochrome

Thirty-six years ago, Hyundai began production of the Elantra sedan, which has since spanned seven generations. In August, the eighth generation of the model—known as the "Avante" in its home market—arrived in South Korea. A sporty "N" version of this new generation is set to debut next year; in the meantime, Hyundai has revisited the current (or outgoing) Elantra N—a model whose TCR racing variant has secured numerous victories in the touring car class.

The CN7-series sports sedan has received a new variant dubbed the "Hyundai Elantra N Monochrome." Exterior changes focus on a more understated design; most notably, the vibrant accents previously found along the lower perimeter of the body and behind the wheels have been removed. The brake calipers are now finished in the same color as the body, with two exterior paint options available: Abyss Black Pearl and Performance Blue. This "Monochrome" sports sedan also features new forged wheels with a unique design.

Additionally, the front and rear bumpers, the rear spoiler, and the carbon-fiber side-mirror caps have been subtly revised. The Hyundai Elantra N Monochrome measures 4.71 meters in length, 1,825 mm in width, and 1,415 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2.72 meters. The interior has also been updated: the sedan now features dark Alcantara upholstery with blue stitching and matching accents, along with a monochromatic Alcantara steering wheel equipped with black buttons. The Hyundai Elantra N Monochrome comes standard with a 2.0-liter T-GDI turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 280 hp (290 hp with overboost) and 392 Nm of torque. The engine is paired with either an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) or a 6-speed manual transmission. Power is delivered to the front wheels via an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. This sporty "monochrome" sedan will be available in South Korea, Canada, Australia, and several other markets.

 

AUTONEWS

When diesel prices rise, every freight mile matters

The price on a fuel pump is easy to see. The miles embedded in everything you buy are harder to track.

Before a bag of rice reaches a grocery shelf or a replacement part arrives at a factory, it travels through a physical network of highways, rail lines and connections. When diesel gets expensive, those journeys become more expensive, too. 

On Oct. 20, the national average price of diesel stood at approximately $6.32 a gallon, compared with $3.62 a year earlier, according to AAA.

Understanding how far goods must travel helps experts assess freight costs. Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a more realistic way to estimate those miles, calculating distances along the highways and railways goods use instead of straight lines between locations.

Their study, "A dataset of inter-county distances along the real-world highway and railway networks in the contiguous United States," published in Scientific Data, a Nature Portfolio journal, introduces a dataset with more than 15.2 million county-to-county distance records across the contiguous United States. It gives researchers a more accurate foundation for studying the cost of moving goods.

Deniz Berfin Karakoc is an assistant professor of industrial engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU. She studies large transportation networks and how to move food and other essential commodities more efficiently.

“A straight line can tell you how close two counties are geographically, but it cannot tell you how far goods need to travel along highways or railways,” Karakoc says. “We wanted to give researchers a consistent way to measure those network distances at the county scale.”

That conclusion comes as Austin, Texas-based Magnus reported that the U.S. average retail diesel price rose to $6.29 a gallon in September, up $0.78 from the end of August and 68% above September 2025 levels. Those numbers came from the firm’s “September 2026 Diesel Fuel Snapshot” report.

In fact, September 2026 marked the highest monthly average in U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly data dating back to 1994. All four September weeks priced above $5.00, bringing the 2026 total to 25 weeks above that threshold.

The speed of the price increase from August to September matters most for carriers whose surcharge programs reset monthly or are based on prior-period averages. When prices rise this fast, a surcharge priced off last month’s average trails what trucks are actually paying at the pump, and the difference comes out of carrier margin on every load until the surcharge table catches up. At 6.5 miles per gallon, a surcharge that trails the pump by $0.78 a gallon costs a carrier 12 cents a mile, or about $300 per truck on a 2,500-mile week.

“A fuel surcharge is supposed to make fuel neutral, it’s not supposed to be a profit builder for either side or a huge cost burden for the carrier,” said Matt Cartwright, founder and CEO of Magnus Technologies. “September showed how fast that balance breaks when diesel sets a new record hitting above $6.00. If your surcharge resets based off of last month’s price, you’re paying September’s price at the pump while only getting paid on August’s price. The fix is to re-rate against the published index every week, so both sides know what’s reasonable.”

Instead of waiting for fuel prices to normalize, leading companies are taking four steps to help counter the impact of the surge in diesel fuel costs.

Take control of fuel surcharges. Shippers can establish their own surcharge schedules in carrier contracts, pegged to the US Energy Information Administration’s published weekly diesel prices. This creates a more predictable, auditable reimbursement mechanism. Companies that use carriers’ surcharge tables can negotiate limits on how frequently those tables change and how large adjustments can be.

Shift eligible freight to rail. Rail costs significantly less per mile than truckload shipping, and one railcar can carry the equivalent of four full truckloads. It is slower and less flexible on delivery windows, so it’s most appropriate for nonperishable, time-tolerant freight, not just-in-time or temperature-sensitive goods. Better planning matters, too: Avoiding expedited shipments where possible, particularly premium air freight, can eliminate a significant source of unnecessary expense.

Reduce wasted miles and fuel consumption. Leaders work with carriers to find loads for trucks that would otherwise return empty, reducing both empty miles and fuel consumption. Companies operating private or dedicated fleets can also use telematics to identify excessive idling, inefficient routes, driving behaviors, and maintenance issues that increase fuel use. Individually, these actions may appear incremental, but when implemented systematically, they can produce sustained fuel savings.

Manage inbound freight as rigorously as outbound. Suppliers may seek price increases as their transportation costs rise. Procurement teams need transparency into the freight component of supplier pricing so they can distinguish legitimate cost pressure from broader price increases. Where scale permits, companies can also evaluate whether managing inbound transportation directly through their own logistics organization creates greater leverage.

Diesel volatility is a reminder that freight should be managed as a strategic cost, not simply a transportation expense. Companies that understand their exposure, establish disciplined surcharge mechanisms, and continuously optimize their networks will be better positioned to protect margins through the current spike and whatever comes next.

Beyond driving directions...For anyone accustomed to getting driving directions on a phone, that might sound like a problem already solved. Commercial routing tools can calculate trips between specific addresses. But studying transportation across thousands of counties requires a standardized dataset that supports comparisons across an entire country and across transportation modes.

Existing freight information often covers regions too large to support detailed county-level analysis. Without suitable distance data, researchers sometimes rely on calculations based on latitude and longitude. Those approximations capture geographic separation but cannot follow a highway around an obstacle or trace the connections in a rail network.

Organizing distances by county allows researchers to pair the dataset with existing estimates of goods moving between counties to better assess transportation costs. 

Karakoc, along with industrial engineering graduate student Yongxin Cai and data science graduate student Xinyan Li, started with federal transportation maps and county boundaries. They converted highway and railway segments into networks of nodes and links, then calculated the shortest paths between representative locations within counties.

Think of a vast collection of connected line segments. Each segment carries a distance. The task is to find the combination connecting two locations with the smallest total mileage.

The resulting dataset includes highway distances for 2,863 counties and railway distances for 2,649. It is publicly available, giving other researchers a foundation they can combine with information about commodities, shipment volumes, fuel consumption or transportation costs.

The dataset could help researchers explore how fuel prices affect the cost of moving goods. Combined with information about fuel efficiency and shipment volumes, these distances could offer a clearer picture of how transportation costs vary across suppliers, locations and routes.

From miles to making decisions...Consider a hypothetical food distributor comparing two suppliers. One might appear closer in a straight-line calculation but require a longer highway trip. Establishing that difference would be one step toward comparing transportation costs. Shipment size, vehicle efficiency, delivery schedules and other operating conditions would determine the rest.

“This dataset provides a foundation for asking more detailed questions about transportation costs, infrastructure and supply chains,” Karakoc says. “By representing the distances along actual networks, we can help future analyses better reflect the geography that freight has to navigate.”

The researchers checked their method against broader freight-flow information and compared samples of county-to-county distances with independent road and rail routing systems. Those comparisons showed strong overall agreement, although individual routes differed. The data are intended as a benchmark for broad freight analysis, with limits that matter for practical use.

A shortest path is not necessarily the fastest or cheapest route. The dataset does not incorporate all directional restrictions or operating constraints. Its representative county locations are not individual warehouses, highway interchanges or freight terminals. And a rail connection on a map does not, by itself, establish that a particular shipment can use it.

Those details would need to enter any analysis intended to guide a real shipment.

Ross Maciejewski, director of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, says that the value of the work extends beyond examining current fuel-price spikes.

“This publicly available dataset gives researchers a shared starting point for studying transportation costs, emissions and supply-chain disruptions,” Maciejewski says. “Instead of building their own distance estimates, they can focus on what those distances mean for the movement of food, medicine and other essential goods.”

Where should a company build a warehouse? Which suppliers are best positioned to serve it? Where would a new transportation connection help? 

Distance informs each of those decisions. By measuring it along actual roads and rails, Karakoc’s new dataset could help researchers evaluate the options with a clearer understanding of the journeys involved.

When diesel prices rise, every freight mile matters... As diesel prices soar, efficiency in freight transport becomes a matter of financial survival. In October 2026, the national average price for diesel in the United States reached approximately $6.32 per gallon—a drastic jump from the $3.62 recorded a year earlier. This sudden increase means that every mile traveled has a direct impact on the profit margins of both trucking companies and independent owner-operators.

The impact on supply chains... Rising fuel costs trigger a ripple effect, driving up the price of everything from basic commodities to industrial components:

• Mismatches in fuel subsidies: Surcharge programs often rely on averages from the previous month. When diesel prices climb rapidly, carriers must cover the difference out of their own pockets until the rate schedules are updated.

• Squeezed margins: With diesel hovering near $6.30 per gallon, fuel costs can consume nearly half of an independent driver’s gross earnings.

• Empty miles: Moving trucks without cargo—known as "empty miles"—becomes an unsustainable loss, as the vehicle continues to consume expensive fuel without generating any revenue.

New approaches and technologies...To navigate this brutal macroeconomic landscape, the logistics sector and the academic community are adopting new strategies:

• More realistic routing: Researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) have developed an advanced method for estimating freight costs by calculating the actual distances along the highways and railways used, moving away from the traditional approach of measuring straight-line distances between two points. • Efficiency-focused training: Commercial driver training programs are revamping their curricula with a strong emphasis on smart routing and the reduction of engine idling time.

• Market visibility: According to logistics experts at Fare Lanes, having real-time visibility into rate fluctuations is crucial for brokers and shippers to recalculate costs without disrupting supply chains.

TOYOTA

Toyota tests new four-cylinder engine in GR86 future FR Concept

Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division tested the GR86 Future FR concept—powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine—during a race in the Japanese Super Taikyu endurance series at the Okayama circuit.

A mid-engine sports car, believed to preview the long-awaited successor to the MR2, drew the most attention during the Super Taikyu endurance race. However, it was not the only intriguing machine Toyota brought to the Okayama International Circuit. Gazoo Racing also used the event to test the GR86 Future FR concept—an experimental prototype in which a turbocharged three-cylinder engine has been replaced by a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit.

Although the production GR86 has never featured a turbocharged engine, it is worth noting that its racing counterpart did. A few years ago, Toyota equipped this coupe with the 1.6-liter engine found in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla—which produces approximately 300 hp—to test synthetic fuels using a 1.4-liter, reduced-displacement version created by shortening the piston stroke. Now, that engine has been replaced by a newly developed, naturally aspirated 2.0-liter unit.

The powertrain, codenamed G20E, is part of Toyota’s new family of smaller, lighter four-cylinder engines. The Japanese automaker has been teasing these engines for some time, including their use in the GR Yaris M concept and a subsequent coupe, where a 2.0-liter engine is positioned behind the driver. In the GR86 model, it sits under the hood and produces approximately 220 hp.

While this is significantly less power than that of the G16E-GTS engine, removing the turbocharger has reduced the weight at the front of the car. Turbo lag is no longer an issue, and Gazoo Racing driver Kazuya Oshima told *Car Watch* magazine that the engine can rev higher than the development team had anticipated. The naturally aspirated configuration should also provide a more direct and predictable throttle response, particularly when accelerating out of corners.

Beyond replacing the boxer engine found in the production model—and the turbocharged engine used in the racing version—the concept features several other changes. It utilizes a double-wishbone suspension setup at both ends to further enhance handling, with engineers currently testing various suspension geometries. Interestingly, Japanese media report that this particular GR86 carries the internal nickname "Levin"—a name historically associated with the sporty versions of the Corolla.

That's a far cry from the G16E-GTS, but removing the turbocharger has made the front end lighter. Turbo lag is obviously gone, and Gazoo Racing driver Kazuya Oshima told Car Watch magazine that the engine revs higher than the development team expected. The naturally aspirated setup should also make throttle response more immediate and predictable, particularly when accelerating out of corners.

Aside from ditching the road car's boxer engine and the race car's turbocharged setup, the concept brings other changes. It also uses double-wishbone suspension at both ends to sharpen handling further, with engineers testing various geometries. Interestingly, Japanese reports say this GR86 is internally nicknamed "Levin," after the sporty Corolla nameplate.

Toyota has yet to confirm what will power the next-generation GR86, and the new 2.0-liter engine shouldn't be taken as a guarantee that the production car will abandon its current powertrain. Nevertheless, this race car provides an intriguing look at the solutions Toyota is exploring for future sports cars.

Since Toyota is only now testing the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine in a race car, don't expect it in the next-generation GR86 anytime soon. The development program still has a long way to go, and engineers will need time to fine-tune the powertrain before considering it for a production model. If the engine makes the cut, it could take a couple of years to reach the road. For now, Toyota hasn't confirmed whether the next GR86 will ditch its Subaru-sourced 2.4-liter boxer engine for an in-house four-cylinder.

The Toyota GR86 Future FR Concept is a track-testing prototype developed by the Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) division to validate mechanical solutions expected to define the future of the brand’s road-going sports cars.

The vehicle recently made its debut at a round of the Super Taikyu endurance racing series at the Okayama Circuit in Japan, serving as a true "test mule" for the next generation of the GR86.

1. The end of the Boxer engine (Goodbye, partnership with Subaru?)... The concept’s major paradigm shift is the abandonment of the Subaru-supplied Boxer (horizontally opposed) engine, which powered the first two generations of the sports car. The GR86 Future FR Concept adopts an inline four-cylinder engine developed in-house by Toyota. Should this configuration reach production, the model would achieve complete design independence.

2. The all-new naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine (G20E)... Although Toyota previously tested a turbocharged version based on the 3-cylinder block found in the GR Yaris, this new prototype returns to natural aspiration (no turbo), prioritizing an "analog" driving experience.

• Codename: G20E (part of a new family of smaller, lighter, and highly efficient engines).

• Power: Approximately 220 hp.

• Dynamic advantages: Removing the turbocharger and its auxiliary components has reduced weight at the front of the vehicle. Torque delivery is now completely linear, and the engine is capable of reaching much higher RPMs with smoother operation.

3. Enhanced dynamics and chassis:

• Layout: The engine has been positioned in a "front-midship" configuration (set further back within the engine bay), which significantly optimizes the car's weight distribution. • Suspension: The original setup was replaced with an independent, double-wishbone configuration on all four wheels, refining handling through corners.

• "Levin" Nickname: Within Gazoo Racing, the prototype was given the codename "Levin"—a direct homage to the classic, rear-wheel-drive sports versions of the Corolla (from the AE86 era) that have been immortalized by automotive culture.

This is an interesting development because the GR86 has always relied on Subaru-sourced boxer engines, even though Toyota has helped shape the coupe's character. Switching to an in-house inline-four would mark a significant departure from that formula, potentially suggesting Toyota is taking a more independent approach to developing the next-generation sports car.

Alternatively, the two companies could still be collaborating, with Toyota leading the engine while Subaru contributes elsewhere. Neither scenario has been confirmed, but the prospect of a Toyota-developed powertrain in the GR86 raises questions about how the partnership might evolve for the next generation.

Toyota has yet to confirm which engine will power the next-generation GR86; the new 2.0-liter unit should not be taken as a guarantee that the production model will move away from its current powertrain. Nevertheless, this race car offers an intriguing glimpse into the solutions Toyota is exploring for its future sports cars. Since Toyota is only now testing a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine in a race car, it should not be expected to appear in the next-generation GR86 anytime soon. The development program is still far from complete, and engineers will need time to further refine the powertrain before considering its use in a production model. Even if the engine successfully clears all development stages, it could still be several years before it finds its way into a road-legal vehicle. For now, Toyota has not confirmed whether the next GR86 will move away from the Subaru-sourced 2.4-liter boxer engine in favor of an engine of its own design.

This is an interesting development, as the GR86 has historically relied on boxer engines supplied by Subaru—even though Toyota played a key role in shaping the coupe's character. A shift to an in-house four-cylinder engine would mark a significant departure from the established formula and could suggest that Toyota is taking a more independent approach to the development of its next-generation sports car.

Another possibility is that the two companies could continue their collaboration, with Toyota leading engine development while Subaru contributes in other areas. Neither scenario has been confirmed, but the prospect of the GR86 featuring a Toyota-developed powertrain raises questions about how the partnership between the two companies might evolve for the next generation.

Regardless of whether another joint project between Toyota and Subaru takes shape, it is clear that Toyota remains committed to its affordable sports car. The GR86 has carved out a unique niche in the market as a relatively affordable, rear-wheel-drive coupe—at a time when cars designed for driving pleasure are becoming increasingly expensive and complex. It belongs to a breed of vehicle that is slowly fading away, yet not quite extinct.

Now that Toyota is testing engines from the G20E family in both front-engine and mid-engine sports cars, it appears the company is exploring various potential applications for its next-generation powertrains.

Autonews

 

BMW

Is the 2026 BMW iX3 better than the new Mercedes-Benz GLC in cone testing?

At well over 5,000 pounds, the new BMW iX3 is quite a heavy beast for a vehicle in the compact SUV segment. You can thank the big battery for that, of course. The question is: Does the heavy electric powertrain significantly impact the iX3’s agility? To answer that, km77 subjected the electric BMW to the dreaded moose test to see how effectively it could complete the evasive maneuver. Designed to see how safely a car can avoid a sudden hazard, it’s the ultimate test of a vehicle’s roll control, how well it manages understeer/oversteer, and whether the electronic stability control system does its job.

The vehicle used for the test is the 50 xDrive, which is the same iX3 model that arrived in the U.S. first. An even quicker variant, the iX3 M60, was unveiled earlier in October and arrives later. The vehicle that conducted the moose test had a few extras, including substantial 22-inch wheels.

The testers first took the iX3 out for the slalom test, where it had to navigate its way through a series of cones. The driver appreciated the iX3’s precise steering and resistance to excessive body roll. It finished the slalom in 22.7 seconds, matching the Porsche Macan (gas model). It was fractionally slower than the more powerful Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4Matic EQ (22.6 seconds).

The BMW iX3 performs roughly on par with or fractionally behind the Mercedes-Benz GLC in cone and moose tests, matching its top-speed avoidance limits while staying tightly matched in slalom timing.

The BMW iX3 completed the slalom test in 22.7 seconds, while the Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4Matic EQ was fractionally faster at 22.6 seconds.

Slalom test performance:

BMW iX3:

• Finished the cone slalom in 22.7 seconds.

• Praised for precise steering, resistance to excessive body roll, and good weight management despite its heavy battery pack.

• Matched the gas-powered Porsche Macan's time.

Mercedes-Benz GLC:

• Finished the cone slalom in 22.6 seconds, beating the iX3 by just one-tenth of a second.

• Benefited from features like rear-axle steering and air suspension options that enhance agility and composure in tight transitions

Test performance breakdown:

• Moose Test (Evasive Maneuver):

• The BMW iX3 manages a maximum clean completion speed of around 73 km/h (45 mph), frequently experiencing notable understeer due to its heavy battery pack.

• The Mercedes-Benz GLC (depending on the hybrid or electric variant tested) hits similar evasive speed thresholds around 74 km/h, though it also relies heavily on stability control intervention and exhibits early understeer.

• Slalom test:

• In tight slalom courses, the BMW iX3 completes runs in roughly 22.7 seconds, keeping pace closely with its rivals and finishing a fraction of a second behind the electric Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4Matic.

• Handling Dynamics:

• Reviewers note that while the BMW iX3 feels responsive and features precise steering, its heavier weight and high-capacity battery can make it feel a bit skittish over bumps compared to the settled composure of a Mercedes GLC.

by: Autonews