Good morning and welcome to our daily digest of automotive news from around the globe, starting with…

QOTD: What Cars Are You Looking Forward To Next Year?

A new year dawns, and there’s plenty of new metal lined up for 2022. So what new car are you most looking forward to seeing? The new Bronco Raptor, perhaps? A redesigned 7-series? Or maybe the new Cybertruck from Tesla: Let us know!

2023 Corvette Z06 Spotted Filming Commercial With Porsche Cayenne Camera Car

Chevrolet’s marketing team has been caught filming another commercial for the upcoming C8 Corvette Z06, this time at a racetrack. The footage, reportedly captured at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, shows the new car in Accelerate Yellow sporting the Z07 performance package, chased by a Porsche Cayenne camera car.

Abarth To Build Five Units Of The 1000 SP Based On The Alfa Romeo 4C Spider

Head of FCA Heritage, Roberto Giolito, has confirmed to Auto Italia Magazine that the Abarth 1000 SP has gotten the green light, although production will be limited to just five units. The 1000 SP was shown in 2021, based on the carbon fiber monocoque of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider. Like the Alfa, it will also feature a mid-mounted 1,742cc engine that sends power to the rear wheels.

An Increasing Number Of U.S. Cities Are Using License Plate Reading Cameras

Many U.S. cities are now using cameras with automatic license plate recognition. Besides taking note of the license plate of every vehicle that passes by, the fixed automated license plate readers store a description of the vehicle type and color while checking with the police’s database. The system helps track stolen cars, wanted suspects, or missing persons. But the use of these cameras has prompted privacy concerns for some citizens.

Grab Some Popcorn, Ford’s Mike Levine And Tesla Fans Are Bickering About EV Quality Issues

If you want some social media amusement, we suggest you head over to the latest “twitterstorm” triggered by Ford’s North American Product Communications director Mike Levine sharing a tweet from a disgruntled Tesla Model Y owner. Before too long, many more Tesla owners and unhappy Ford owners began to pile on the Twitter thread, suggesting that Ford has quality issues of its own that it should be focused on resolving.

Waymo Will Use Autonomous Ride-Hailing Minivans Designed By Geely’s Zeekr

Waymo is partnering with Zeekr, a premium EV brand under the Chinese Geely umbrella. The automaker will build EVs that will be used for autonomous ride-hailing in the U.S. So far, Waymo has been offering its autonomous services using vehicles based on the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and the Jaguar I-Pace EV, respectively.

Rivian Pushes Back Deliveries Of Long Range R1T And R1S To 2023

Rivian is pushing back delivery dates again, this time for R1T and R1S vehicles with “Max” battery packs. Construction of these 400-mile capable vehicles will be pushed back to 2023, as the company shifts focus on fulfilling orders of cars with the “Large” 314-mile battery pack instead.

What Else Is Making The News

Elon Musk Says Humans Will Land On Mars In 10 Years

Speaking on an episode of the Lex Fridman podcast, Elon Musk has said that even in a “worst-case scenario,” humans will land on Mars in 10 years. The best case would be in five years, with Musk adding that determining factors include engineering the spacecraft. “The fundamental optimization of Starship is minimizing the cost per ton to orbit and ultimately cost per ton to the surface of Mars.”

Indian iPhone Factory On Probation

Apple has put one of Foxconn’s Indian iPhone factories on probation after protests over food poisoning and living conditions. It comes after an audit found that both dining rooms and dorms were not up to standard, reports the BBC.