BMW is joining Mercedes-Benz and pulling out of the annual Detroit auto show. The announcement comes six weeks after the German rival said it would not attend the 2019 Detroit Auto Show.
Major exotic sports car manufacturers like Jaguar, Porsche, Land Rover, Mazda and some ultraluxury brands skipped the Detroit show this year.
The European brand decided to pull out of the annual show as the North American International Auto Show officials are planning to move the show to October starting in 2020, the event is currently held every January. They will recast it as a less-expensive show that is more focused on products and technology and likely change its name. More »
Ford is planning to test its self-driving vehicles on the streets of downtown Miami and Miami Beach.
The Michigan-based automaker has started a pilot program that includes delivery service, testing self-driving cars around the city and setting up a fleet-management center.
The company’s commercial plans for robot cars include ride-hailing and deliveries, the automaker announced a few days ago. The tests will find out what works for both customers and companies. In addition, the company needs to figure out how to run an armada of autonomous cars which means to focus on maintaining and operating a whole fleet of robot delivery cars. That is why the Detroit automaker is going to build its first operations terminal in Miami.
The vehicles arrived last week, and tests are already underway. More »
China’s Geely buys a $9 billion stake in Daimler.
Li Shufu, the founder of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. has acquired a nearly 10 percent stake in Daimler AG, the German company said in a regulatory filing Friday.
The stake, which is worth just over $9 billion at the current market price for Daimler shares, makes Li Shufu the biggest single shareholder in the maker of Mercedes Benz cars, trucks and vans and marks the biggest investment in a global automobile manufacturer by a Chinese company. More »
Sony is developing an AI-based taxi hailing system. Algorithms would predict when you are likely to need a ride.
As Sony wants to expand its artificial intelligence presence in both the commercial and business sectors, Sony is forming a joint venture with five taxi operators in Japan. The joint venture is going to launch a taxi-hailing system that will use artificial intelligence to predict customers’ demands.
Sony’s partners in the creation of an AI-powered hailing platform include Tokyo-based Taxi operators Checker Cab, Hinomaru Kotsu, Daiwa Motor Transportation, Kokusai Motorcars, and Green Cab. More »
The autonomous cars and robots will lead to mass unemployment.
Аccording to Dr. Subhash Kak, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and a leading expert from Oklahoma University, artificial intelligence, and self-driving cars could put a third of all people out of work.
Vehicles that transport people using artificial intelligence are increasingly becoming a part of our everyday life. Dr. Subhash Kak believes a third of jobs will be lost.
Dr. Kak also warns that as robots are taking control of the world, humans are heading for a dystopian future with mass unemployment. Autonomous cars and artificial intelligence are making an impact in all business sectors. Dr. Subhash Kak says that as one-third of the people in any advanced economy are engaged in transportation, those employees will lose their jobs as soon as self-driving cars become widely adopted. Kak predicts a world where robots replace humans and machines will work at a cheaper price and longer hours without getting tired. More »
According to the American Automobile Association, the number of travelers hitting the road from Wednesday through Sunday, is expected to swell to levels not seen in the last 12 years, triggering record traffic delays in some of the country’s biggest cities, including Chicago.
According to Chicago Tribune.
Fisker has filed patents for a radical ‘solid-state battery’ and technology that will slash charging times and improve range. Officials for the company claim the battery would be able to power a car for 500 miles and recharge in just a minute.
Fisker is a very small company that makes luxury electric cars. The technology will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Along with the battery module equipped with advanced thermal management, the company will also be launching its Fisker EMotion luxury electric sedan at the show.
According to the firm, its batteries deliver 2.5 times the energy density of typical lithium-ion batteries and is estimated to cost one-third of the 2020 projected price for those batteries, due to advances in materials and manufacturing.
Solid-state batteries would charge very quickly and should not have the fire issues with lithium-ion batteries. However, they are known to have a number of drawbacks, such as low power and low rate capability as a result of the layered electrode structure.
Dr. Fabio Albano, vice president of battery systems at Fisker Inc. commented that this breakthrough “marks the beginning of a new era in solid-state materials and manufacturing technologies”.
According to Autoblog.
Daimler is planning to invest $1 billion into electric car production in its Alabama plant, the company said Thursday in a statement.
Daimler will try to take on Tesla’s Model X by making Daimler the first European company to assemble electric SUV in the U.S. as it is starting to assemble electric sport utility vehicles in its facility in Alabama.
Daimler, the parent company of luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz, announced plans to invest $1 billion to start production of plug-in autos in the U.S.
The Stuttgart-based company will use the sum to expand the 20-year-old Vance facility, in Alabama, where Mercedes already makes SUVs. More »
The new Nissan Leaf will operate with just one pedal.Less than a month ahead of the official reveal of the 2018 Nissan Leaf on September 6, Nissan announced that the highly anticipated 100% electric car will be launched with only one pedal, the e-Pedal, an innovative technology that will transform the way you drive a car.
More details have been released about the second generation of the electric car.
Nissan’s brand-new version of its electric car, the Leaf, will be fully unveiled on September 6 when the car will showcase its single pedal mode for accelerating and decelerating. The company claims that this innovative concept is being introduced for the first time in a novel way and the e-Pedal is “the world’s first one-pedal operation.” More »
2018 Mustang GT hits 0-60 in under 4 seconds with an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission.
Ford announced Monday the power and torque figures for the 2018 Mustang lineup. The automaker promises impressive improvements for both models: the V8-powered GT and 4-cylinder-powered EcoBoost.
The 2018 Mustang GT will be the fastest Mustang to date, capable of 0-60 mph acceleration in less than four seconds which puts the GT ahead of the quickest sports cars, including the Porsche 911.
The new Mustang GT features an improved 5.0-liter V8 engine that generates 460 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. That is an impressive upgrade over the 2017 model with its 435 horsepower and 400 pound-feet. More »