Daily Recap: Tuesday, February 24, 2026
27 episodes
BMW is stepping back from Level 3 autonomous driving while European automakers deal with sharp sales declines and a shifting EV landscape. The shows also covered BYD's new 1,500kW charging infrastructure, Chang'an's solid-state battery work, and practical topics like family hand-me-down cars and maintenance routines. Porsche 911s, Camaros, and Corvettes came up in the performance conversations, along with suspension tuning and the ongoing plug-in hybrid versus battery electric debate.
BMW and Automotive Industry Shifting Away from Level 3 Autonomous Driving
BMW is replacing its Level 3 autonomous driving system, which cost about $7,000, with a new Level 2 system priced at $1,700.
The company determined that its Level 3 technology was expensive, only available in Germany, and only operated in certain conditions.
From Autoline Daily:
"The technology was only available in Germany, It only operated in certain conditions and it was expensive about seven thousand bucks. By comparison, the new Level two system costs seventeen hundred bucks."
This shift reflects broader industry movement away from higher-level autonomy toward more affordable driver-assistance systems.
From EV News Daily:
"BMW and Mercedes backing away from Level 3 autonomy"
Headlines
European Auto Industry Faces Massive Sales Decline and EV Market Shift
European new car sales fell more than 3% in January, with battery electric vehicle sales up 14% to 189,000 units and plug-in hybrid sales up 32% to nearly 100,000 units.
Diesel car sales have collapsed dramatically to only 68,000 units last month, down from accounting for nearly 50% of new cars sold a decade ago.
From Autoline Daily:
"New car sales fell more than three percent in January... Sales of PHEVs hit nearly one hundred thousand units for the month, up a whopping thirty two percent, while pure battery electrics were up fourteen percent with one hundred and eighty nine thousand units sold."
German automakers have experienced a 33% decline in shipments to China, contributing to broader industry challenges.
From CarEdge Live:
"That shipments for these German automakers to China, for many of them down 33%, we've seen a huge decline in the number of vehicles that are actually being exported from German automakers in particular to that market."
Episode Spotlights
DAILY: Breakthrough Battery Claims, Slate Spotted Testing and Kia Brings PV5 To Canada | 24 Feb 2026 — EV News Daily
On Slate's electric pickup truck range specifications:
"A 71.2 kilowatt hour pack, front wheel drive. Overseas testing puts the range around 260 miles, that's about 420 kilometres."
He Cummins-Swapped a 1977 Chevy Suburban - Here’s Why — The Diesel Podcast
On the Cummins 12-valve engine specifications for the suburban swap:
"The engine itself, Patrick, is a DNJ precision extreme 12 valve engine. And then we did the evil man of evil fabrication compound turbo set up. It's a S 300 to S 400. I think it was right around 800, 850, right, Marco, we wanted."
If You Only Listen To One
When Were Cars At Their Best, Conflicted About Mustangs, Sold On EVs | Episode 1,034 — Everyday Driver Car Debate
Debates when the golden era of cars was, weighs in on Mustangs, and features a listener who switched to EV commuting with a used Model 3 under $20,000.
By the Numbers
Most-Discussed Cars
| Car | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Porsche 911 | 5 |
| Chevrolet Camaro | 5 |
| Chevrolet Corvette | 5 |
| BMW M3 | 4 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 3 |
| Jeep Wrangler | 3 |
| Cadillac Lyriq | 3 |
| Cadillac Escalade | 3 |
Trending Terminology
| Term | Mentions |
|---|---|
| horsepower | 4 |
| battery electric vehicles | 3 |
| suspension | 3 |
| plug-in hybrid | 4 |
| autonomous vehicles | 2 |
27 episodes. 301 car mentions. 443 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.