Ralph Nader has issued a gloomy forecast for the automotive industry’s autonomous future.

Proponents have hailed self-driving technology as the next revolution in vehicle safety, potentially with bigger implications than seatbelts and airbags, however Nader predicts that such features will actually exacerbate problems caused by drivers who are not paying attention to the road.

“It’s leading to the emerging great hazard on the highway, which is distracted driving,” the safety advocate told Automotive News.

Nader argues that automakers are trying to turn cars into “entertainment arenas” and “mobile offices,” promoting technology that is not yet good enough to deal with all potential emergency situations. The limitations of current autonomous prototypes are well known, though Nader goes further in arguing that removing a person from the responsibility of driving will effectively reduce the driver’s experience and ability to deal with emergency situations.

“The driver is losing control to the software, and the more the driver loses control to the software, the less the driver is going to be able to control the car down the road,” he said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has pushed for more vehicles to integrate automatic emergency braking and other semi-autonomous features. The agency has stopped short of implementing widespread rules for fully self-driving vehicles, however, citing the need to resolve “technological issues as well as human performance issues” before moving forward.

Many advocates of autonomous technology would disagree with Nader’s assessment, likely arguing that collision-avoidance systems already save lives and a fully self-driving car would be much safer than the average human-piloted vehicle. Some view the technology as the next revolution in automotive safety, switching from an accident-survival mindset to a focus on avoiding accidents altogether.

Nader’s commentary coincides with the 50th anniversary of his pioneering work, Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. The book is credited with pressuring automakers to prioritize safety over styling in vehicles. Legislators soon passed legislation to make seatbelts a standard feature, setting the stage for the NHTSA’s formation just a few years later.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety several years ago released a video (embedded below) of a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air head-on collision against a 2009 Malibu, highlighting 50 years of safety improvements.

BMW is reportedly still debating wether to develop a stretched i3 or switch to a sedan bodystyle for the next i-Series model, expected to be labeled the i5.

Recent rumors suggest the lengthened adaptation of the i3 would ride on the same all-aluminum platform but with over four inches of additional rear legroom and more cargo space. It would presumably ditch suicide doors in favor of a traditional entryway behind a B-pillar.

Other reports have pointed to a midsize sedan with a coupe-like profile, similar in size to the 3-Series sedan, or a high-roof five-door hatchback likened to the Toyota Prius v.

“You will see more i products, and we are in the final stages of deciding what the next car will be and when you’ll see it,” said BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson, according to an Autocar report.

In either case, the next i-Series model is expected to carry forward the i3′s powertrain with a choice between a pure electric vehicle or a range-extended hybrid. It could get a larger battery than the i3, potentially bumping electric range up to 200 miles for the EV variant.

BMW has hinted at an unveiling next spring, coinciding with the company’s 100th birthday. Rumors suggest production will begin later in the year, with a price tag somewhere around $60,000 or more.

Our spies across the pond caught Bugatti’s new hypercar almost completely undisguised Monday, showing off the front end of the car that we now know will officially be called the Chiron.

The Chiron will adopt many of the design cues we saw on Bugatti’s Vision Gran Turismo concept. Some features set to carryover include an open rear-end design, central exhaust outlets and a circular side-blade treatment.

The fully exposed front end reveals narrow, sinister headlamps flanking Bugatti’s signature upright-oval grille. Stacked side grilles and ducts dominate the lower fascia and lead into the massive aero features on the Chiron’s flanks.

Under hood we’re expecting a hopped-up version of the Veyron’s quad-turbocharged W16. Thanks to the addition of direct-injection and electric turbos, the Chiron should produce 1,500 horsepower and 1,106 lb-ft of torque. Sending power to all-four wheels, the Chiron will be capable of accelerating from 0-60 in about 2 seconds. Top speed is runored at 288mph.

Perhaps even more eye-popping than those figures, the Chiron will reportedly sell for $2.4 million, or roughly $1 million more than the Veyron’s original asking price.

Bugatti will begin limited sales of the Chiron (just 500 units are tipped for production) shortly after the car’s Geneva debut.

Photo by Brian Williams.

Volkswagen executives allegedly became aware last year that some vehicles may have overestimated fuel efficiency figures.

The company recently acknowledged ‘irregularities’ with its reported CO2 output levels for some models, including gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. Mostly affecting Euro-spec cars, the misreported CO2 numbers consequently allowed fuel-efficiency ratings to be inflated.

The additional issues were claimed to be discovered “under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows” connected to the diesel-emissions scandal, however a unnamed sources have told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that executives already knew of problems in 2014.

In one case, the Polo TDI BlueMotion was burning diesel at rates 18 percent higher than VW’s promised mpg figures. Then-CEO Martin Winterkorn allegedly responded by pulling the car from the market this spring, rather than publicly acknowledging the discrepancy.

If true, the report potentially hints at more legal trouble for the disgraced automaker. Prosecutors are still investigating criminal wrongdoing, either against the company as a whole or individual workers and executives.

“The offering of the Blue Motion TDI Polo was suspended in all markets due to subdued demand,” the company said in a statement published by Reuters. “We are currently testing all models built from 2012 for differences in CO2 levels from the listed values.”

Subaru announced ahead of its November reporting on Monday that it has broken its all-time U.S. single-year sales record, with nearly a full month left in the year.

As of the end of the Black Friday shopping weekend, Subaru has beat its previous best single-year total of 513,693 vehicles sold, which was set at the end of 2014.

Subaru says the backbone of their sales is formed by the Forester, Outback and Crosstrek, which alone have accounted for more than 350,000 units sold so far this year.

At the end of October, Subaru was up nearly 15% over 2014 with 480,331 total units sold YTD. Analysts are not expecting November to be as strong as October, when the automaker moved more than 50,000 cars, but a strong finish is expected, and with another month to go, it’s not inconceivable that Subaru could finish the year close to the 600,000 mark.

Stay tuned to Leftlane for the November sales rundown.