Car ads keep glorifying speed while broadcast rules obsess over seat belts and ignore speeding, and horsepower hype is called mostly useless for real driving. In Europe, some brands accept lower Euro NCAP scores—often split by trim and optional safety packs—while U.S. ratings feel like everyone gets five stars as testing lags and funding stays thin. A federal bill would tack on an annual EV fee to help pay for roads. Waymo's earn side-eye for flooding blunders, blocking fire stations, and questionable “evidence” from a doctor-backed pro-AV letter, while bold promises claim humans will barely drive in 10 years. NYC may force repeat speed-camera offenders to install GPS-based speed limiters with a daily fee. Recalls include Jeep Cherokee rollaway risk, Tesla and Mercedes display/camera glitches, plus Waymo flood-response issues, and an AV Ride probe for crashes and red-light behavior.

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• https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/more-car-ads-promote-vehicle-performance-despite-dangers-of-speed
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/buying/why-some-carmakers-are-intentionally-settling-for-lower-safety-scores/ar-AA23uFoK
• https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/bipartisan-bill-in-congress-includes-130-annual-ev-registration-fee/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/nyregion/nyc-speed-limiters-cars-frequent-speeders.html
• https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/waymo-recall-floodwater
• https://opmed.doximity.com/articles/an-open-letter-from-the-medical-community-on-america-s-road-deaths
• https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2026/05/18/elon-musk-sees-broad-use-of-self-driving-cars-without-human-monitors/90144524007/
• https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V290-1107.pdf
• https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V283-7135.pdf
• https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V281-7837.pdf
• https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26E026-6527.pdf