Last fall, Tesla released a beta version of Autopilot, a software upgrade that would let the car take over some driving functions, including steering, cruise control, and lane changes. Today, the company announced some sad news: the first fatal crash in of one of the company’s vehicles while in autopilot mode happened in northern Florida in May. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Airbags In 2001 To 2003 Hondas And Acuras Are The Most Dangerous, Need To Be Fixed Now
By 6.30.16
Since people now tend to keep our cars longer than we used to, there are still plenty of model year 2001, 2002, and 2003 cars from Honda and Acura still on the road. Recent tests show that each time one of the vehicles’ airbags deploys, there’s up to a 50% chance that it will rupture, posing a serious risk to drivers and passengers. [More]
Hertz Partnering Up With Uber, Lyft To Supply Drivers With Rental Cars
By 6.30.16
Don’t have a car, but want to work for Lyft or Uber as a driver? Hertz is hoping it can squeeze some extra miles out of its older cars with new deals it’s just announced to supply rentals to the ride-hailing companies. [More]
FDA: Stop Eating Raw Cookie Dough Or Making Home-Made Play-Dough For Now
By 6.30.16
For years, raw chocolate chip cookie dough was a forbidden treat. Everyone said — rightly or wrongly — that you shouldn’t consume it because the uncooked eggs could make you sick. Then came special commercial dough preparations that worked around that, and there was much rejoicing (and many ice cream sales). But now, alas, cookie dough is back off the table, as are any other uncooked treats… and this time, it’s all down to the flour. [More]
Toyota Recalls 1.4M Vehicles For Airbag Issues That Aren’t Related To Takata
By 6.29.16
After nearly two years of telling you about cars being recalled because of shrapnel-shooting Takata airbags, it’s almost a refreshing change of pace to report on an airbag recall that has nothing to do with the auto parts maker. However, Toyota’s latest recall of 1.4 million vehicles bears a striking resemblance to the Takata problems. [More]
Uber Will Start Tracking Driver Behavior Through Its App
By 6.29.16
The next time your Uber driver takes a turn too fast or slams the brakes at the last second, Uber will know. The company says driver behavior will start to be tracked through its app soon. [More]
CDC Figured Out The General Mills Flour Recall Because Some People Leave Flour In Bags
By 6.28.16
When you buy a new bag of flour, what do you do? Do you dump the bag out into a bin or canister in your kitchen, or do you scoop it out of the bag it came in? Both methods work fine, but it was the members of Team Bag who helped the Food and Drug Administration solve the mystery of a recent nationwide E. coli outbreak. [More]
Regulators Close Investigation Into Confusing Gear Shifter Linked To 68 Injuries, 266 Crashes
By 6.28.16
A week after the death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin was potentially linked to the confusing gear shifter in recalled Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles, federal safety regulators revealed they have closed an investigation into the issue following Fiat Chrysler’s recall of vehicles now tied to 68 injuries and hundreds of crashes. [More]
Volkswagen To Pay At Least $15B To Settle Federal Allegations In Dirty Diesel Scandal
By 6.28.16
Nine months after the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board revealed that Volkswagen had used so-called “defeat devices” in nearly 500,000 diesel-engine vehicles in the U.S. to skirt emissions standards, the carmaker has finally reached a partial settlement package with the agencies, along with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Comission, to the tune of $15 billion. [More]
Ford Dealership Swipes Video Game Art For Ad; Doesn’t Understand How DMCA Works
By 6.27.16
We live in an age where a digital copy of just about any piece of artwork is obtainable for free with a couple of clicks and taps on your computer or phone. That doesn’t mean you can just use said artwork in an ad to tell people about some deal on a 2016 Ford Focus. [More]
Uber Adding Pandora Integration For Drivers; Offers Six Months Of Ad-Free Service
By 6.27.16
Uber drivers looking to jam out with their riders now have another option. On top of allowing passengers to use Spotify on their journey, Uber has added Pandora integration to its drivers’ app, and will offer drivers six months of ad-free service at no cost. [More]
10 Chinese Companies You Should Probably Know About
By 6.27.16
Many of the most common household brand names in America are not American companies, and that’s been true for decades. When it comes to technological innovation especially — from cars to phones and every appliance in between — we’ve become used to huge numbers of goods coming from countries in Asia. [More]
HP And Sony Recall Laptop Batteries Due To Possible Overheating And Fires
By 6.27.16
Lithium-ion batteries are part of items that we use every day and we hardly think about them, but they can cause explosions and fires if they’re prone to overheating. That’s the case for batteries that are part of laptop computers sold in the last few years by HP and by Sony, and now those batteries have been recalled. [More]
Uber Switching To Upfront Pricing Model, Ditching Surge Icon (While Keeping Surge Prices)
By 6.24.16
While Uber is changing its app to make it easier for customers to see what they’ll pay for a ride upfront, the new version will make it harder to know when “surge pricing” has taken hold. [More]
Report: VW To Pay $10.2B To Settle Emissions Issues
By 6.23.16
It doesn’t pay to cheat. That’s the lesson Volkswagen will likely learn next Tuesday, when the (extended) deadline expires for filing a final settlement agreement to resolve its use of emissions-cheating “defeat devices” in more than 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. According to one report, VW’s “clean diesel” debacle will cost the carmaker $10.2 billion. [More]
How Much Do Uber Drivers Actually Earn? $13.25 An Hour Before 2016 Fare Cuts
By 6.23.16
Minimum wage laws don’t apply to drivers for ride-hailing apps. Since they’re independent contractors and must cover all of their vehicle expenses themselves, it’s difficult to figure out how much a driver makes at a glance without knowing what their expenses are. However, it turns out that Uber ran these numbers before a recent price cut, and provided raw data to Buzzfeed after the company’s calculations were leaked. [More]
Confusing Gear Shifter Recall Expanded To 13,000 Maserati Vehicles
By 6.23.16
Days after the death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin was potentially linked to the confusing gear shifter in recalled Jeep vehicles that can appear to be in “Park” when they are not, Fiat Chrysler has announced an expansion of the recall to include some Maserati models.
[More]
Chevy Cruze Owners Sue Carmaker Over Alleged Use Of Emissions “Defeat Device”
By 6.22.16
A week after General Motors was hit with a potential class action lawsuit related to the carmakers admission that it had incorrectly calculated the fuel economy on several SUV models, the company’s Chevrolet division is facing a second lawsuit alleging it tricked consumers into paying more for diesel-engine Chevy Cruze Turbo sedans equipped with emissions-cheating software. [More]
