- Self-Driving Car Safety Legislation Stalls in the Senate – WSJ: WASHINGTON-Legislation to remove regulatory obstacles to the development of self-driving vehicles is running into problems in the Senate, dimming prospects for the quick passage that many had expected. The bill, known as AV Start, would set out a…
- 2019 Chevrolet Corvette C8: new pictures of 700bhp mid-engined supercar – Autocar: The Corvette C8 will be the most drastically altered model in its family tree… Next-generation American supercar looks set to move its engine rearwards in a bid to improve balance
- In a Change of Mind, China to Retain Local EV Subsidies – Bloomberg: Central and provincial-level incentives have been key to making electric vehicles more affordable to mainland buyers, helping the market surpass the U.S. as the world’s biggest in 2015. The pace of growth is attracting companies including Tesla Inc.,…
- You Should Buy the Range Rover Velar for the Touchscreen Alone – Bloomberg: The big takeaway from the configuration is that it allows you to seriously multitask without complicating things or distracting you. The system simply increases the amount of information and control available to you at any given time; it’s a true mind…
- Billionaire Bets On a World Without Car Crashes – Bloomberg: As the industry tries to adjust to the self-driving future, the information gathered by Uber and its ilk could prove extremely valuable. Autonomous cars will spew out as much as four terabytes of data an hour. Getting those data before rivals might…
- Samsung SDI Turns to Used Phones for Cobalt as Prices Surge – Bloomberg: Rising demand amid the electric-vehicle boom and a lack of major alternative sources has seen prices more than triple since the start of 2016. … Recycling will be essential because mining of raw materials won’t be enough to meet the world’s needs if…
- Hyundai Motor launches all-new Veloster in domestic market – Yonhap: Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker by sales, on Monday launched the all-new Veloster coupe in the domestic market in a move to diversify its product lineup. The one-plus-two-door Veloster comes with 1.4-liter turbo and 1.6-liter turbo…
- Mark Cuban wants to ‘put the fear of God’ in Elon Musk – Yahoo: Mark Cuban saw a way to compete with fellow billionaire, Elon Musk, when Dr. Catlin Powers walked into the Shark Tank with Solsource, a solar-powered grill. “Our classic Solsource model is fast, powerful, and durable,” Dr. Powers explained, “It heats…
- India faces bumpy electric vehicle ride – Nikkei: Electric vehicles accounted for 0.02% of the Indian car market in 2016 and is far behind global leaders in EV usage. Norway heads the pack with EVs making up 29% of the local car market, while the Netherlands and Sweden have sizeable EV markets as…
- Call Chicago the ‘Snow Show’ – Automotive News: Nissan used the show to highlight a one-off concept roadster it called the 370Zki, which traded in the 2018 370Z’s four wheels for a set of rear-drive tracks and front skis. General Motors’ GMC brand showed a heavy-duty Sierra concept pickup it called…
- Ford Will Pump Out More Profitable Big SUVs to Fund Its Future – Bloomberg: Ford Motor Co. is spending $25 million more at its Kentucky factory to pump out more of the profitable big sport utility vehicles that are critical to funding its ambitious — and expensive — electric and self-driving vehicle plans. The investment…
- Ford’s robotic arm nicknamed “Kong” picks up Navigators like toys – Detroitnews: Kong loads 2018 Expedition and Navigator bodies onto skids at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky
- Subaru’s ‘Love’ campaign began with Chevy’s Tim Mahoney – Automotive News: “The work was so good they came along for the ride,” said Mahoney, who had been at Subaru from 1984 to 1999 before taking over marketing at Porsche Cars North America. In 2007, he was a year into his second stint with Subaru. When he came back he said…
- Nissan pondering capacity relief – Automotive News: Nissan North America has said for years that its rising U.S. sales will consume its available factory capacity, making it necessary to build another North American assembly plant. Late last year, Jose Munoz, Nissan’s global chief performance officer,…
- Ford tweaks the Edge to Titanium Elite – Automotive News: Ford unveiled a freshened 2019 Edge in January at the Detroit auto show, alongside an ST performance variant. But for the Chicago show, Ford introduced a Titanium Elite appearance package for the five-seat crossover. The package builds on the top trim…
- Self-driving fleets a service opportunity – Automotive News: Second, until vehicles service, maintain and manage themselves, as opposed to just drive themselves, car dealers, well-positioned in all cities with distinct metropolitan centers, or “islands of autonomy,” are a natural to own, maintain and manage…
- The D-Type can be beat – Automotive News: both old and new versions – is powered by Jaguar’s legendary double-overhead-camshaft inline-six. Although no official times have been booked yet for the upcoming I-Pace – it’s due this fall – Jaguar Land Rover officials say the battery-powered…
- E-Pace: A Jag that’s a serious off-roader – Automotive News: Jaguar is trying to create some marketing space between its crossovers and those of its competitors from Audi, Infiniti, Mercedes, Porsche and BMW by endowing the E-Pace with serious off-road capability. Jaguar has an advantage here because the bones…
- Porsche to double green car spending – Automotive News: About $612 million of the investment will be used to develop variants of the Mission E battery-powered sports car, Porsche said without giving details of the variants. The Mission E is coming out globally in 2019 but may not go on sale in the U.S….
- Ford plans to ramp up production of the Explorer and Lincoln Navigator amid soaring demand – CNBC: With demand for its redesigned full-size SUV’s surging, Ford is expanding production of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The automaker will be increasing production of the two SUV’s by approximately 25 percent. Both models are manufactured at…
- Production BMW X7 scheduled for LA motor show launch – Autocar: The BMW X7 will be shown in full production form towards the end of 2018 BMW’s largest SUV will focus on the US and Chinese markets but will be sold in the UK from February 2019; there will be a hybrid version
- A Farm Town’s Electric Dreams Threatened With Chinese Billionaire’s Fortune – Bloomberg: Jia Yueting promised to take on Elon Musk with his Faraday electric-car factory in California. … of gutsy ideas from their new employer, Chinese tycoon Jia Yueting, who vowed to revive the 1 million-square-foot building and assemble a luxurious…
- HK-Listed BAIC Motor In Talks With Daimler JV To Transfer Certain Assets – Nikkei: Beijing-headquartered carmaker BAIC Motor said its board agreed on Friday to transfer certain assets of its Beijing branch to subsidiary Beijing Benz Automotive. Details of the asset transfer are still under negotiation and the parties have not yet…
- Citroën boss: fleet buyers could be final nail in coffin for diesel – Autocar: 75% of Citroën C3 Aircross sales are petrol-powered variants CEO Linda Jackson expresses concern for the future of diesel, with fleet buyers looking to follow private buyers in deserting the fuel
- Hong Kong-Listed Dongfeng Motor’s January Vehicle Sales Up 17.3% On-Year – Nikkei: Hong Kong-listed Dongfeng Motor Group sold a total of 298,077 vehicles in January, a 17.3% rise year-on-year. In the same month in 2017, the Chinese state-owned vehicle maker sold 254,219 units. Sales of passenger vehicles rose 13.5% to 261,443 units…
- In the Debate on Who Will Own Cars, Hyundai Picks Uber, Grab – Bloomberg: The chief of the Franco-Japanese Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance, said in November that the traditional model is here to stay and alternative forms of mobility would only make a marginal impact. Uber’s Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden has…