If you like geeking out on performance stats you’ll love Car and Driver’s latest 0-150-0 mph (0-241-0 kmh) feature, a test it first ran almost 30 years ago. But cars – and not just supercars – have become so ridiculously fast since then that this year the magazine found it had enough runway, and enough horses, to try 200 mph (322 kmh) and back. And some serious scalps were removed in the process.

The venue had a 2.2-mile taxiway, and four cars theoretically had enough firepower to crack the double century. They were the 1,234 hp (1,251 PS / 920 kW) Lucid Air Sapphire, 1,250 hp (1,267 PS) Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X, 740 hp (750 PS) McLaren 750S, and 701 hp (711 PS) Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Related: No American Road Car Has Ever Reached 60 Faster Than This Lucid

The Porsche, it turned out didn’t quite make the grade. Despite an official 200 mph (322 kmh) maximum, C/D recorded 199.3 mph (321 kmh) before the limiter intervened. Close, but no celebratory cigar.

The other three got there, and the results were pretty epic. Lucid’s enormous electric sedan completed 0-200-0 mph in just 25.7 seconds. The Corvette needed another 6.1 seconds, recording 31.8 seconds, while the McLaren finished in 37.7 seconds. Yes, a luxury four-door EV just annihilated two purpose-built sports cars.

Low Drag Equals Low Times

The Lucid’s secret isn’t complicated. It has monumental power and relatively slippery bodywork, both becoming increasingly important as speeds climb and aerodynamic drag starts demanding absurd amounts of energy. Car and Driver found the Sapphire reached 200 mph (322 km/h) more than seven seconds before the ZR1X and over 13 seconds ahead of the McLaren.

Braking gave the sports cars an opportunity for revenge. Their lower mass meant they could shed 200 mph (322 kmh) more effectively than the hefty Lucid, which needed nearly a quarter-mile (402 m) to stop. Trouble is, they’d already lost so much ground accelerating that better braking couldn’t rescue them. For me, the most mind-blowing stat of the lot is that the Lucid completed the entire run in less than a mile (1.6 km). That’s bonkers.

Head over to Car and Driver for its complete 0-150-0 mph (0-241-0 kmh) test, where you’ll find figures for everything from the Dodge Charger Scat Pack to the BMW M2 CS and even the Hyundai Elantra N.

Lucid, GM

A lawsuit filed in California late last week alleges that Lucid retaliated against a former engineering manager who says he warned about issues with the Air EV’s half-shafts, months before the automaker issued two separate recalls for the car in late 2025 and in March 2026, Runtimewire reports.

In total, 3,852 Lucid Air models have been recalled in the United States. According to the most recent recall, the half-shaft bolts on Lucid Air Pure models may not be properly secured, meaning the half-shaft could disconnect from the drive unit, resulting in an immediate loss of power.

Read: Lucid’s Fix For Losing Drive Power Is A Notification That You’re About To Lose Drive Power

According to the lawsuit he filed, Neil Milne warned Lucid of “multiple failure modes” of the part in April 2025. He says he consistently challenged Lucid’s testing, validation, and documentation for safety-critical engineering work, alleging weak manufacturing controls, insufficient auditing, and missing records for important engineered decisions. The complaint states that just 225 vehicles were recalled last October, with an additional 3,627 named in a separate recall by March this year.

The lawsuit doesn’t specify whether the faults Milne reported were the same as those listed in the recalls, though he contends the timing and similarities point that way.

In an email the complaint says was sent to Lucid product-safety officer Rick Clementz on January 13, 2026, Milne wrote, “Will say what I said originally 9 months ago. Bad design, with multiple failure modes,” Runtimewire reports. Per the same report, Lucid initially relied on a “lash detection” algorithm to analyze the Air and identify vehicles with loose half-shaft bolts while investigating the half-shaft concerns, but determined that hundreds of vehicles had slipped through, which the report links to the second recall earlier this year.

Passed Over For A Promotion And Then Terminated

After Milne raised concerns about the half-shafts, he alleges Lucid progressively stripped him of his authority, allegedly starting by moving him out of his senior-manager role for power-electronics systems and onto thermal programs. In February this year, he was told his performance rating “does not meet expectations,” and he claims he was passed over for a charging leadership role because he had raised the half-shaft concerns.

Milne alleges Lucid retaliated against him for whistleblowing and has also accused the EV maker of wrongful termination. According to the complaint, he is demanding a jury trial and seeking lost pay, bonuses, equity, and benefits, along with punitive damages, legal fees, and damages for emotional distress.

After trekking thousands of miles by plane, boat and foot, family and friends of Wisconsin ace pilot Richard I. Bong have secured a piece of World War II history for northern Wisconsin. 

The post Wingtip from wreck of fighter plane flown by ace pilot Richard Bong brought to Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.

Back in late 2024, basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal commissioned West Coast Customs to build him a one-off Lucid Air Coupe roomy enough for his 7’1″ frame. Eighteen months on, Shaq’s bespoke EV has landed in a salvage lot after a crash. If you back your own skills with a wrench, you could buy it, fix it up, and own a unique Lucid.

Just how far the modifications go isn’t fully clear, and nobody’s confirmed whether the wheelbase was stretched. According to Road & Track, West Coast Customs pushed the front seats back for extra legroom. The second-row seats survived the redesign, so the Air still seats five, or maybe four with Shaq at the wheel.

Read: Shaq’s New Ride Is This Stunning Lucid Air Coupe

Copart

Visually, the car also looks a little different, most notably thanks to the fact that it’s a two-door and sits on a set of aftermarket, tightly-spoked black wheels. Sadly, Shaq’s ride is now in desperate need of some repairs.

There’s no word on how the unique Lucid was crashed or whether Shaq was behind the wheel at the time, but with some TLC, the EV might be able to return to the roads. The front bumper has been removed, and one of the radiators is busted and will need to be replaced.

A Big Lucid For A Big Man

Copart

In addition, the headlights are missing, and the hood has been damaged, so it will need to be replaced as well. If there’s a shred of good news, it’s that the rear half of the EV appears unscathed, which should help to minimize repair costs.

As for what specific Lucid Air variant the car is based on, well, that isn’t known. What the Copart listing does confirm is that it’s an all-wheel-drive model. It’s also been driven just 2,898 miles (4,663 km), so it’d be a shame if someone didn’t try to repair it.

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Lucid has forcefully denied speculation that it could file for bankruptcy, going so far as to send a cease-and-desist letter to the publication that claimed the automaker was weighing Chapter 11 protection or a take-private deal. The company’s response has been unusually aggressive for a matter it insists carries no substance, escalating from a public rebuttal to legal action and a regulatory filing in a matter of days.

Read: Lucid To Lay Off 18% Of Its US Workforce, Just Four Months After Cutting 12%

It all started earlier this week, when media outlet @EV_carba (Electric-Vehicles.com) reported that it had heard from unnamed sources that Lucid had been in talks with advisor AlixPartners, which reportedly urged it to restructure in the US and Europe and to prioritize the Gravity SUV. That could mean filing for bankruptcy protection or going private, prompted by the company’s struggling share price and pressure from Saudi Arabian investors.

The CEO Responds

Lucid quickly responded to the report. Writing on LinkedIn, chief executive Silvio Napoli labeled the reports “false,” although he did not deny that the EV maker is working with outside advisors to improve.

“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private,” he said. “Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period. As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.”

$LCID has delivered a cease-and-desist letter to @EV_carba regarding reporting that falsely claimed the company was considering bankruptcy or a take-private transaction. Those claims have been publicly and unequivocally denied, including in an SEC filing. pic.twitter.com/9P0PocFdCl

— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 15, 2026

“We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.”

Screenshots have since emerged online showing the cease-and-desist letter that Lucid sent to electric-vehicles, the website that published the report. It said that “publication of inaccurate factual statements concerning a publicly traded company is extraordinarily serious,” noting it “undermines investor confidence, creates unnecessary uncertainty, and can materially distort the market’s assessment of the company.”

Shares Plummet, Then Rebound

Lucid also directly blamed the report for prompting a sell-off of its shares, noting prices fell from $5.51 to as low as $2.37, causing “serious injury to a number of investors.” The stock shed more than half its value at Tuesday’s intraday lows and was halted several times for volatility before the denial pared the damage, leaving it down about 16 percent at the close.

However, the recovery came fast. As The Motley Fool reported, shares rocketed 28.8 percent on Wednesday to close at $5.95, slightly above where they traded before the report broke, on volume of 55.6 million shares, roughly 169 percent above the three-month average. The rebound stretched into a second day, with the stock climbing another 12 percent on Thursday to trade around $6.69, back above its 50-day moving average for the first time since the rumors surfaced.

Regardless of where the truth lies, it’s obvious that things are not going that well for Lucid. In June, it said it was laying off 18 percent of its US employees, just four months after a separate round of layoffs cut its local workforce by 12 percent.

Patrick Industries and LCI Industries, the parent company of Lippert Components, have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger that would create one of the largest component suppliers serving the recreational vehicle, marine, housing and transportation industries, including the school bus market. The transaction remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and is expected to close during the first half of 2027.

Under the agreement announced June 30, LCI shareholders would receive 1.244 shares of Patrick common stock for each LCI share they own. Following the merger, Patrick shareholders would own approximately 52 percent of the combined company, while LCI shareholders would own the remaining 48 percent. Lippert acquired Trans/Air and Freedman Seating last year.

Patrick CEO Andy Nemeth would lead the combined company as chief executive officer, with Patrick Director Todd Cleveland serving as board chair and Lippert Interim CEO Johnny Sirpilla serving as vice chair. Headquarters remain in Elkhart, Indiana.

During a joint investor call, Patrick executives described the transaction as a combination of complementary businesses rather than a traditional acquisition, emphasizing expanded product offerings, broader aftermarket capabilities and increased engineering resources. Leadership said the companies share similar operating cultures and customer-focused strategies, positioning the combined organization to deliver more integrated solutions across multiple end markets.

For the school transportation industry, the proposed transaction would bring together several suppliers already familiar to school bus manufacturers and operators. Lippert has expanded its presence in the commercial and school bus markets through acquisitions that included HVAC manufacturer Trans/Air Manufacturing and seating supplier Freedman Seating. Those businesses will become part of the combined Patrick organization if the merger receives approval.

Patrick said the merger is expected to generate more than $150 million in annual run-rate synergies through purchasing efficiencies, supply chain optimization, manufacturing improvements and corporate cost reductions. Company officials added that the combined business is expected to produce stronger cash flow, maintain disciplined capital allocation and continue investing in automation, product development and strategic acquisitions.

Executives told investors the combination is intended to strengthen relationships with original equipment manufacturers by offering a broader portfolio of engineered components while increasing scale across manufacturing, distribution and aftermarket support. Patrick also highlighted Lippert’s established aftermarket distribution network as a strategic advantage that could help reduce dependence on cyclical OEM production.

The transaction must still receive approval from shareholders of both companies, satisfy customary closing conditions and obtain required regulatory clearances before it can be completed.

This article written with the assistance of AI and company press releases.

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Related: Lippert Grows School Transportation Reach with Acquisition of Freedman Seating
Related: Trans/Air Says Acquisition a Strategic Business, Culture Move for Family-Run Company
Related: Update: I Squared Completes Acquisition of National Express School Bus Contractor

The post Proposed Merger Would Include Trans/Air, Freedman Seating appeared first on School Transportation News.

Wisconsin health and environmental advocates are hailing a federal appeals court decision that upheld the Biden administration’s tighter limits on soot pollution after two dozen Republican-led states challenged the rule. 

The post Wisconsin groups say federal appeals court ruling to uphold soot pollution limits is a ‘win’ appeared first on WPR.