Those sketches traditionally see endless iteration and refinement from all angles before being turned into 3D models by hand, some dying in the digital world, others sculpted into clay to better visualize lines and profiles. That’s just the beginning of a design and development process that often takes a half-decade or more.

That means many new cars hitting dealerships this summer were first sketched in 2020 or 2021, initiatives kicked off when alternative fuel incentives were widespread, EV chargers were spreading like wildfire, and internal combustion’s days were numbered.

Today, everything has changed. The Trump administration’s second act has quashed all sorts of EV incentives while slinging tariffs and import/export restrictions. Auto manufacturers that once pledged to go all-electric by the end of the decade are now shoving engines into anything that moves and factories are hurriedly being re-tasked to dodge the worst of the import restrictions.

Amidst all that, we have the agentic AI boom, which an increasing number of manufacturers are leveraging to reel in that 60-month new car design and development window. As with most aspects of AI, the potential is huge. So, too, are some more disturbing ramifications.