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

Mercedes Will Take Legal Responsibility For Accidents Involving Its Level 3 Autonomous Drive Pilot

In an effort to get its Level 3 autonomous program approved in several countries (and U.S. states), Mercedes-Benz will be taking liability for its Drive Pilot system. When a driver activates the Level 3 autonomous system, the German carmaker will take responsibility for a crash. Mercedes is looking to get approval from the states of California and Nevada by the end of the year.


2023 Maserati Grecale Breaks Cover With Up To 530 HP, Electric Folgore On Its Way

The 2023 Maserati Grecale has been finally revealed as the latest challenger to the Porsche Macan. It’ll be available with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder mild-hybrid powertrain, with either 296 HP (300PS) or 325 HP (330 PS). The top-spec “Trofeo” version sports a 523 HP 3.0-liter V6 closely related to the unit found in the MC20. It’s good enough for 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 177 mph (285 km/h).


Mercedes-AMG’s Latest Art Cars Are Designed By UK Skateboard Brand Palace

Mercedes-AMG is partnering with Palace, a British skateboard and streetwear brand, to create four display cars. Featured are the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S, the GT 63 4MATIC+, the SL 63 4MATIC+, and the G 63, with unique paint schemes and interior finishes. The cars have been themed around the four locations that the Palace brand’s flagship stores are located in: London, LA, New York, and Tokyo.


Honda Has Opened The World’s Most Advanced Wind Tunnel In Ohio

Ohio is home to an all-new wind tunnel for Honda, with the company claiming that it’s the most advanced facility in the world. The tunnel can be used to test a variety of vehicles, from production cars to racing cars, and features fans that can operate up to speeds of 310 km/h (192.6 mph). In addition to aerodynamic testing, the wind tunnel also allows aeroacoustic testing, which will help Honda make quieter cars — an important factor as electric vehicles come to the fore.


Alfa Romeo Tonale Special Edition Hybrid Priced At €39,000 Or Nearly $43,000 In Italy

Alfa Romeo has revealed a special edition of their Tonale Hybrid, available as the company opens order books for the BMW X1 competitor. Prices for North American versions haven’t been announced as yet, but for European readers, the Tonale Special Edition starts from €39,000 Or Nearly $43,000 In Italy. Prices for the Super, Sprint, Ti, and Veloce will be revealed later, with the first cars expected to arrive this summer.


Suzuki Signs Deal With SkyDrive To Develop Electric Flying Cars

Suzuki has invested in SkyDrive, a company engaged in creating electric vertical take-off and landing craft. The two businesses will work together to jointly research and develop electric VTOLs. It comes after Porsche, Audi, and Cadillac have shown interest in exploring the space, with Hyundai investing heavily in the industry.


Watch Elon Musk Break A Dance At Tesla’s Delayed Berlin Gigafactory As It Delivers First EVs

Elon Musk decided to bust out the moves at the launch of Tesla’s newest plant in Germany. The Berlin Gigafactory is months behind schedule, and the opening saw protestors in the vicinity questioning the facility’s green aspirations. The plant will eventually help Tesla achieve its sales ambitions in Europe as it competes with local manufacturers like Volkswagen. Eventually capable of producing up to 500,000 vehicles and generating 50 GWh of batteries per year, it will be Germany’s single largest EV plant.


What Else Is Making The News


YouTube To Stream Free TV Shows With Ads

YouTube has announced that it will start streaming ad-supported TV shows. The service will initially offer 4,000 free episodes, with 100s more titles being added each week. YouTube is already home to around 1,500 movies that are ad-supported.


Gran Turismo Boss Responds To Problems 

Kazunori Yamauchi has opened up to TopGear about the problems that have plagued the release of the new installment in the Gran Turismo franchise. It comes after GT7 players have experienced significant disruption, with server outages of over 30 hours, leaving the game unplayable. There has also been an uproar over how dependent the game is on microtransactions.