China bans hidden door handles in EVs
Feb. 3rd, 2026 10:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewayneGOOD! I've always thought this was a stupid idea. It probably started with Tesla, and they certainly popularized it. While it saves a few hundredths of a percent in streamlining, it is deadly. The handles are, by definition, electronic. And if your car suffers a complete loss of electric power in a severe crash, then the occupants have to engage emergency manual overrides.
Well, guess what? After a severe crash, the occupants are NOT going to be in a calm state of mind! Do you know where the manual overrides are in the back seat of some Teslas? UNDER THE FLOORMATS. The front ones can be kind of fiddly to find, and a lot of people have died while others have tried rescuing them while being unable to get the damn doors open! Including the sister in law of the former Senate Majority Leader when she accidentally backed her Tesla into a cow pond because you have to change gears on a damn touch screen?!
A friend of mine owned the first generation Tesla Roadster. He kept a five pound sledge hammer in the glove box for such a situation.
The new requirement becomes law on January 1, 2027.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp37g5nxe3lo
Well, guess what? After a severe crash, the occupants are NOT going to be in a calm state of mind! Do you know where the manual overrides are in the back seat of some Teslas? UNDER THE FLOORMATS. The front ones can be kind of fiddly to find, and a lot of people have died while others have tried rescuing them while being unable to get the damn doors open! Including the sister in law of the former Senate Majority Leader when she accidentally backed her Tesla into a cow pond because you have to change gears on a damn touch screen?!
A friend of mine owned the first generation Tesla Roadster. He kept a five pound sledge hammer in the glove box for such a situation.
The new requirement becomes law on January 1, 2027.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp37g5nxe3lo
Re: Tesla vs the competition
Date: 2026-02-04 06:25 pm (UTC)I understand Cadillac's and Ford's FSD is quite good on well-mapped roads and behaves very well, as is Mercedes. Mercedes also lights up a blue trim around their lights when its in FSD mode, but it only works in a couple of states in the USA, like CA and NV, IIRC. And Waymo is pretty incredible, I see them all over the place in Phoenix when I'm there, like a couple/few dozen every day depending on the part of town that I'm in. But they're super-loaded with sensors, and I respect that. Don't have time at the mo to read the article but look forward to it later.