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Government probes GM’s troubled 6.2-liter V8 engine again. 36 engines reportedly failed after GM completed the recall fix. Original recall covered 597,630 trucks and SUVs like the Tahoe. GM’s engine problems continue to grow as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation is looking into dozens of reports about engine failures. These have already sparked a recall and lawsuits, but the latest investigation is focused on failures that occurred after the supposed fix. More: Lawsuit Says GM’s Fix Won’t Save Your V8 From Dying The government has received 36 complaints about 6.2-liter L87 V8 engines that failed following the remedy. The original recall involved 597,630 vehicles, from the 2021-2024 model years, and was due to connecting rod and/or crankshaft components that may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage or failure. Engine teardown analysis found this could be traced back to two key issues. The first was “rod-bearing damage from sediment on connecting rods and crankshaft-oil galleries,” while the second was chalked up to “out of specification crankshaft dimensions and surface finish.” Also: GM’s V8 Is Fueling Lawsuits Faster Than Ford Can Issue Recalls To address the issue, dealers were instructed to inspect the engine and make repairs or replacements as necessary. If vehicles passed the inspection, they were switched to a higher viscosity oil, which also necessitated a new oil fill cap and oil filter replacement. Questions Over Repair Quality Michael Gauthier / Carscoops Fast forward to today and the new investigation is seeking to determine the “adequacy of the remedy” for the recall. It involved an assortment of trucks and SUVs including the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra as well as the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe / Suburban, and GMC Yukon. The government isn’t saying much else at this point, but the original recall suggested that only 3 percent of the 597,630 vehicles were impacted. This would equate to 17,929, but the issue appears far more widespread than that. In fact, the original recall noted the company had identified 28,102 field complaints potentially related to engine failure due to crankshaft, connecting rod, or engine bearing issues. Of these, 14,332 involved allegations of loss of propulsion. If that wasn’t serious enough, GM also identified 12 crashes and 12 injuries that could be related to the issue.

Mercedes wants to cut trunk wiring using spring-loaded contacts. Patent replaces flexible tailgate wires with mechanical switches. Taillight complexity added weight, wiring, and higher repair costs. As vehicles grow more sophisticated, so too does the tangle of wiring that powers their features. Wiring harnesses have long been big, heavy, and complicated, and now they’re getting even more intricate as manufacturers load their latest models with more tech than ever. To address this growing web of cables, Mercedes-Benz has come up with a novel approach that could simplify things around the tailgate or trunk area. Read: Porsche Patents A Crazy New W12 Engine To reduce the number of wires running into these movable panels, Mercedes has filed a patent for a surprisingly analog solution. The design might not reinvent the wheel, but it could help shed some bulk and streamline certain electrical connections. Rethinking the Rear End The newly filed patent, first spotted by CarBuzz, was registered with Germany’s intellectual property office. It outlines a spring-loaded mechanical switch designed to sit inside movable panels like a tailgate. Rather than routing wires through flexible conduits, the switch would transfer power to rear lights through physical contact points. Such a solution would be particularly useful for vehicles where the taillights move with the tailgate, necessitating longer wires to be run to them. Those flexible wiring covers seen near trunk hinges exist purely to accommodate this movement, adding cost, bulk, and additional failure points over time. Included in the patent is a depiction of what looks to be the rear-end of the current GLS, which has taillights that split in two when the tailgate is open. In this case, the switch could send power from the outer sections of the light to the rest of the light. Shorter wiring paths could then feed into the switching hardware rather than looping through the tailgate itself. An Old Trick in a New Context Using spring-loaded contacts like this isn’t a novel idea and has been used for decades, albeit it isn’t frequently seen in the automotive space. It could work well, helping to save a small amount of weight and complexity by reducing the number of wires running into the tailgate. The challenge lies in the environment. Tailgates tend to collect grime, especially on vehicles that see a lot of use in bad weather or off-road. Electrical contacts in these spots would need to be well protected and self-cleaning to remain reliable over time. If not, the whole system could fail with something as simple as a layer of dust. No current Mercedes model uses switches like this, and just because the carmaker has this patent, that doesn’t mean any of its future vehicles will use such switches. While the concept is clever, making it both practical and reliable could demand significant effort from the company’s R&D team. That kind of investment may not come quickly, so it’s hard to imagine this showing up in production anytime soon. Simplifying Complexity Also: Why You May Never Replace A Whole Mercedes Headlight Again Still, the idea does align with Mercedes-Benz’s recent push toward more modular, repair-friendly components, an approach aimed at reducing waste by allowing individual elements to be serviced rather than replaced outright, including headlamps.

The 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship is headed to Indiana. Top-seeded Indiana won its first ever football championship on Monday, outlasting the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes 27-21 in a game that started murky but ended in a thriller. Things started relatively slow for both sides, as Indiana took just a 10-0 lead into halftime with Miami’s offense getting nothing going on the ground or over the top. But, as usual in low-scoring college first halves, the script flipped in the final two quarters. Miami woke up to put the pressure on the Hoosiers, but Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza stepped up and Hurricanes QB1 Carson Beck couldn’t. Beck had the chance to deliver a game-winning drive, but forced a deep pass that was picked off. Indiana held on 27-21, winning the program’s first ever football title in its debut appearance while Miami’s wait since 2001 persists, despite being at home in Hard Rock Stadium. Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers: MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL COVERAGE College Football Dec 18, 2025 Who has the most College Football Playoff appearances, championships? NCAA Football Dec 9, 2024 These schools have the most Heisman Trophy winners in college football history College Football Dec 6, 2025 Indiana had the most losses in college football history. Now it's a championship contender. WINNER: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana The Heisman winner and potential No. 1 pick had all the eyes on him tonight. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but he displayed the grit and poise needed at the next level. Mendoza threw for 186 yards on 16 of 27 completions, while also rushing for the key 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He’ll still need to polish his game more to truly thrive in the NFL, especially if the Las Vegas Raiders believe he’s the QB1 that can elevate their trajectory. But for now, he can bask in the moment. LOSER: Carson Beck, Miami On the other hand, it was a slightly different story for Miami’s QB1. Carson Beck, 23, could’ve had his moment to change the narrative on his college career — and boost his potential draft odds in the process. He overcame a slow start and displayed much better command in the second half, finishing with 232 passing yards and a touchdown on 19 of 32 completions. But the lone pick might just summarize his five-year collegiate run best — a competitive college option but not at the level required to win the majors. WINNER: Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami Most eyes were on Mendoza’s legitimacy to go No. 1, but Miami had an opportunity to show off some of its skill players as well. Malachi Toney, a rising 18-year-old wideout, seized his moments and will be one to watch for the future. Junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. also stood out, and he could even be NFL ready if he declared. Fletcher Jr. reflected Miami’s stagnant offense in the first half but helped open it up in the second, ending the game with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He enjoyed a career-best 57-yard run, also the second-longest touchdown in a BCS final. LOSER: Third-down efficiency Indiana’s defense ranked among the top in several defensive statistics this season, and getting off the field on third downs was a major reason why. The Hoosiers at one point limited Miami to being 0-for-6 on third downs. Miami finished with a 3-for-11 rate, while Indiana went 6-for-15. Miami’s defense delivered an underrated performance, but Mendoza helped chip at the margins where Beck couldn’t. Had the Hurricanes improved their rate in the first half, apart from the doinked field-goal try, this could’ve been a different ball game. WINNER: Curt Cignetti, Indiana In an era where there’s a power vacuum at the college football summit, Indiana might have something brewing. The Hoosiers are far from a football powerhouse, but they’ve flipped from being terrible to national champs in two years under Curt Cignetti. The 64-year-old is revered by his players and has built a sturdy culture beyond Mendoza,…

A Newport Beach boutique owner said Monday that she’s frustrated and fed up after her shop became the latest burglary victim. Jennifer Sprenger, the owner of the Bella Abby and Ava Boutique on Coast Highway, said a group of men broke into her store at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday after smashing the glass and kicked the door down. Sprenger said the burglars appeared to know what they wanted as they ransacked the shop and went for the most valuable items. “They go right for all the Chanels and the Hermès, and they just load up bag. And they’re out within three minutes,” the boutique owner said. The boutique owner said the burglars appeared to know what to grab from her shop. Surveillance video showed the quick action by the three burglars as well as their getaway vehicles: a brand new BMW and Mercedes with temporary plates from a car dealership. “They don’t have your standard plates on,” she described. Sprenger said luckily she has good insurance, which can help her get through the incident, but she said she, like other business owners, are “tired of being robbed and pillaged.” “We really need the help from the community to help this to stop. This is just a terrible thing,” she said. “We need to find these people.” Sprenger said while she’s installing steel doors to prevent another burglary, she wants the three people in the video footage to be arrested. “They are going out into the Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Southern California areas, and they are robbing people,” she said. “It would be great to get some of the bags back.”