I realized just how useful Mercedes-Benz's new in-car AI assistant can be when I was driving a different car. After testing the impressive new 2026 Mercedes CLA-Class in San Francisco, I flew back to New York, but then faced several hours of driving through a winter rainstorm. That's when I realized I hadn't changed my windshield wipers in foreverone of those little errands I always mean to do but always forget about until it's too lateand that meant having less visibility than I wanted.
It's become an unfortunate norm among automakers to promise new features first and then deliver them weeks or months later via software updates. And the execution is often lousy and imperfect. But Google's software prowess and the established Android Automotive OS ecosystem mean the upcoming 2026 Polestar 4 might skip the sluggishness of these over-the-air software updatesand vastly improve navigation. The electric coupe-shaped crossover will debut Google's new Live Lane Guidance system for the first time in any vehicle.
It's a lot, and it all comes against the backdrop of President Trump's trade wars, tariffs, and the expiring EV tax credit here in the United States, all of which have really upended the car business. Just last week, the day before I talked to Mary and Sterling, GM took a $1.6 billion writedown on its EV business against falling demand.