Just as Volkswagen cleans up the remnants of its dirty diesel scandal, the folks at Fiat Chrysler find themselves on the receiving of a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department accusing the carmaker of rigging its own diesel engines to fool emissions tests. [More]
cars
Is The Honeymoon Over For Pittsburgh & Uber’s Driverless Car Program?
By 5.22.17
Compared to Uber’s ugly, contentious one-week test of self-driving cars in San Francisco , the ridesharing company’s nine-month-old self-driving program in Pittsburgh has been rather peaceful. But after a number of broken promises, some city leaders are reportedly regretting this arrangement. [More]
Waymo And Lyft Teaming Up To Work On Self-Driving Cars
By 5.15.17
If Uber and Google haven’t already stopped wearing the Best Friends Forever necklaces they exchanged way back when, well, they’re definitely chucking those things in the garbage now: Google’s Waymo is partnering up with Uber’s sworn enemy, Lyft, to collaborate on autonomous vehicles. [More]
BMW Owners Say Their Parked Cars Are Going Up In Flames
By 5.11.17
When you park your car, turn the engine off, and walk away, you have a reasonable expectation that when you return the vehicle will be in the same spot and in the same condition as when you left. But some BMW owners say they’ve returned only to find their car in flames. Now, these owners and fire officials from across the country are asking why. [More]
The Real Problem With Self-Driving Cars: They Actually Follow Traffic Laws
By 5.11.17
In the century or so that people have been driving, two different sets of rules have developed: The official laws that we’re supposed to obey, and the unofficial code of the road that bends and often breaks those laws. For example, we all know — whether we like it or not — that many highway drivers are going to exceed the speed limit. But what happens when you introduce self-driving cars that are designed to always follow the rules and don’t understand why other drivers are extending their middle fingers in their direction? [More]
Hyundai Will Review TV Ad Featuring Profoundly Irresponsible Driver
By 4.25.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Hyundai has decided to give some additional thought to a new ad for the Sonata where the driver gleefully tests the car’s semi-autonomous safety features by behaving like a reckless buffoon. [More]
Supreme Court: General Motors Can’t Use Bankruptcy To Avoid Lawsuits Over Deadly Ignition Defect
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The Supreme Court has denied General Motors’ legal efforts to use its 2009 bankruptcy to block lawsuits over injuries and financial losses related to the carmaker’s long-ignored ignition switch defect. [More]
States Will Go To Court To Stop EPA Rollback Of Fuel-Efficiency Standards
By 3.15.17
President Trump has made it known that his administration intends to oblige the auto industry’s request to roll-back longterm standards for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency in most new vehicles. However, some states say they will go to court to fight carmakers’ attempts to undo these guidelines. [More]
No, Improved Gas Mileage Doesn’t Put Car Ownership Out Of Reach For Low-Income Americans
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Automakers are currently asking the Trump administration to rescind federal fuel economy standards, claiming that these rules make cars more expensive and put car ownership out of reach for low-income Americans. However, a new report contends that the data doesn’t support this argument. [More]
Some Younger People Are Buying Cars So They Can Drive For Ride-Sharing Services
By 3.1.17
For many drivers, the best part of having your own car is that you don’t have to deal with anyone else — you can blast your music, sing at the top of your lungs, or eat a tuna sandwich, and there’s no one to judge you. But some younger drivers now may have a new reason to buy a car: To become a driver for Uber or Lyft. [More]
Tesla Wants To Bundle Car Sales With Insurance And Maintenance
By 2.23.17
Usually when you purchase a new vehicle, you know you’ll have to buy insurance separately, and — depending on the terms of the sale — pay for maintenance costs somewhere down the proverbial and literal road. Tesla says it’s planning to eventually bundle all of that together for one price. [More]
Automakers Ask New EPA Chief Pruitt To Rescind Mileage, Greenhouse Gas Standards
By 2.22.17
Now that Scott Pruitt — the former Oklahoma Attorney General who repeatedly sued the Environmental Protection Agency — has been sworn in as the Administrator of the agency whose policies he once attacked, auto industry lobbyists are calling on the EPA to put a stop to longterm fuel-economy and emissions standards locked in by the previous White House. [More]
Dash Cams: Coming To A Dashboard Near You
By 2.16.17
You’re driving calmly along when, suddenly, a small truck sideswipes your passenger door, taking your sideview mirror with it. Your heart is pounding and you both stop, whereupon the other driver starts shouting that you swerved into his lane—when you know for a fact that you did no such thing. Now it’s just your word against his. Anticipating the headache of filing a police report and arguing over the insurance claim, you think, “If only I had a video!” [More]
Walmart To Start Selling Cars At Dozens Of Stores
By 1.24.17
It was just a matter of time: More than a year after Walmart-owned Sam’s Club began selling customers cars, taking on Costco’s long-running auto program, and with Amazon dipping its toes into the industry, Walmart is finally following suit. [More]
Car Dealers Aren’t Great At Explaining New Safety Features To Buyers, Claims New Study
By 1.10.17 — Updated: 1.11.17
If you’re buying a new car, you expect the salesperson will hit you with all the impressive-sounding lingo and tech phrases that could possibly apply to a vehicle. However, a new report suggests that when it comes to informing car-buyers about new vehicle safety technologies, dealership sales staff might not have all the information. [More]
You Can Drive A Different Cadillac Every Day — If You’ve Got An Extra $1,500/Month
By 1.5.17
Want to cruise around town in a luxury vehicle but can’t decide which car you want to commit to? Cadillac thinks it has a solution with a new subscription service that gives members access to an array of Cadillacs for a flat monthly fee. [More]
You Have Until Jan. 15 To Lock In Unlimited Access To Tesla Superchargers
By 1.3.17
If you were bummed when Tesla Motors announced it would be ending the program that gives Model S and Model X owners free access to the company’s Supercharger stations, take heart: you’ve got about 12 additional days to buy a Tesla vehicle and lock in a lifetime of unlimited charging. [More]
Uber Admits Its Self-Driving Cars Have A Problem Handling Bike Lanes
By 12.20.16
The rules of the road don’t just cover cars — there are conveyances of the two-wheeled variety out there as well. Considering many human drivers don’t understand how to share the streets with bicycles, it’s somewhat unsurprising that Uber is admitting that its autonomous vehicles are having a hard time dealing with them as well. [More]
