Category Archives: safety

NHTSA Shouldn’t Cut National Autonomous Vehicle Regs!

AutoInformed thinks that more than US auto industry jobs are at stake here. AV technology can reduce congestion, improve safety for passengers and pedestrians, and spur unknown innovations to help the United States lead the global automotive industry. Continue reading

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Toyota Starts Free Autonomous Shuttle in Indianapolis

he route was designed to increase mobility options by providing a connection from the Vermont Station – along IndyGo’s Red Line – to areas west of downtown. The route also circles the IU Health University Hospital and the Riley Hospital for Children campuses. Riders can plan their trips on Google Maps and see live updates of a shuttle’s location.  Continue reading

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Hyundai Motor Group Buys Boston Dynamics from SoftBank

“By acquiring Boston Dynamics and securing a leading presence in the field of robotics, the Group takes another major step toward its strategic transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. To propel this transformation, the Group has invested substantially in the development of future technologies, including autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), Urban Air Mobility (UAM), smart factories and robots,” said Hyundai Motor Group. Continue reading

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Ram HD Cab Chassis Vehicles with Cummins Diesels Recalled

The Cummins engine calibration software may not warn about low oil volume. This safety defect can result in engine compartment fires caused by oil leaks started by connecting rod failures. Continue reading

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Toyota Research Inst. Claims Advances in Home Use Robotics

As TRI shows in a new video, this system allows robots to make generalizations in a range of scenarios, including in different homes. The somewhat humorous video (comments welcomed here by the non-androids of AutoInformed), released on National Selfie Day, shows these new capabilities on film, as the un-named robot is seen recording itself as it performs these new skills around a house. It is less cranky, humoours and personable than R2-D2, a tough act to follow for anyone competing in the Artoo-Detoo defined field. After all, it was developed by engineers, not Hollywood – Where is George Lucas when you need him? Continue reading

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Park It! Wheels Falling Off Ford 2021 Super Duty Pickups

Owner notifications begin this week. Customers will be instructed not to drive their vehicle until it can be verified that the front-wheel hub extender nuts are tightened to specification – by contacting their dealer to have the service completed at their location or towed to a dealership. The Ford reference number for this recall is 21S26. Continue reading

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The Growing Non-Exclusive Dieselgate Club – Fraud Charges Also in France for Renault on Diesel Emissions Levels

The investigation opened on 12 January 2017 on older generations of diesel vehicles, Renault s.a.s. was placed under examination on 8 June 2021 on the charge of deceit, aka fraud. Investigators accused Renault of “fraudulent strategies” used by top managers for more than 25 years to falsify the emission test results, including its longtime chief Carlos Ghosn. The EU Parliament adopted legislation last November that will allow US-style class action lawsuits against companies accused of wide-scale fraud. Continue reading

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Stellantis – Diesel Emissions Probes for Consumer Fraud

The Stellantis Group, which was established in January 2021, also said it will continue its predecessors’ policies and cooperate fully with the justice system in order to resolve this matter expeditiously. It, of course, has no other good options. Stay tuned for the next chapter of Dieselgate, where major automakers used software to cheat on emissions tests. Continue reading

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Toyota NA Expands Parkopedia Use for Payment Services

The new service covers only 60,000 off-street parking locations with more than 6,000 reservable locations across the USA, using Parkopedia’s payment system to manage transactions. The platform enables drivers to register their payment details using a single secure digital account and then pay for their parking within activated locations. The parking reservation information and navigation can then be accessed via the vehicle head unit. Continue reading

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Dutch Court Rules Shell Must Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The ruling sets a significant precedent. It clearly opens the door to climate change litigation against other energy companies, such as Total, BP, Exxon, Mobil, or Chevron, among others. Ultimately, when all the legal maneuvering to escape culpability is over from well-financed Big Oil, fossil fuel suppliers will be forced to increase and/or speed emission reduction plans and their implementation. Continue reading

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Wheels Falling Off Ram Trucks. More Than 446,000 Recalled

In an unusual statement FCA said: “routine customer data analysis led to an FCA US investigation that discovered certain service and owner’s manuals contain incorrect lug-nut torque instructions. Accordingly, the corresponding vehicles may have had their lug nuts over-torqued, a condition that could conceivably compromise studs and lead to wheel separation.” Continue reading

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Ford Recalls 2013-21 Transit Connect Vans for Rollaways

A damaged or missing bushing could prevent the shifter from moving the transmission to the intended gear position.  This could allow the driver to move the gear shift lever to park, turn the vehicle off, and exit the vehicle with no instrument panel warning message or warning chime indicating the vehicle is not secured in park. This latest safety defect covers 192,080 vehicles in the U.S. and federal territories and 12,629 in Canada. Continue reading

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FAA Cuts Boeing a Deal on More 737 Airworthiness Violations?

Boeing, debatably, profited from such interference when the Trump Administration refused to ground the 737 Max despite growing incidents and fatalities. It’s a reasonable bet that Boeing and Barr wanted to cut ties with Trump after he lost the presidential election last November. Continue reading

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Ford to Up Electrification Spend to $30B by 2025. Wants 40% All-Electric Global Volume By 2030

Well, one wild card is the great unknown about the future of internal combustion engines that Ford is heavily dependent on. Will the change to EVs mean big write offs or mark downs of the value of existing plants, tooling and the elimination of jobs? Another potentially negative is Ford’s dismal record of introducing and then incurring huge warranty costs of complex vehicles with electronics. It has cost stockholders billions of dollars. Fixing these huge warranty costs is potentially worth $1-$2 billion annually given recent history. Continue reading

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Volkswagen, Argo AI to Start Autonomous Driving Tests

Current conventional automaker wisdom (wishdom?) has is that light commercial vehicles are the first, logical place for using autonomous transportation of people and goods. “Our aim with the self-driving version of the ID. BUZZ is to ease commercial deployment of transport and delivery services starting in 2025,” said divisional director Christian Senger during a digital press conference. VW Mobility service provider MOIA will first launch autonomous service in Hamburg, Germany. Continue reading

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