Mercedes E-Class – Another giant step on the road to automated vehicles.
The BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG said today that they are putting their cooperation on development of next-generation technology for automated driving “temporarily” on hold.
In what appears to be the automotive equivalent of marriage counseling or an analysis of the financial aspects of a pre-nup, the companies said: Following extensive review, the two companies have arrived at a mutual and amicable agreement to concentrate on their existing development paths – which may also include working with current or new partners.
The series-produced version of the BMW iNEXT will assume the role of a new technology flagship; production at Plant Dingolfing is slated to begin in 2021.
Both companies claimed that the collaboration may be “resumed at a later date.” They also claimed that both organizations’ approach to safety and customer benefits in the field of automated driving remains “highly compatible.”
The BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG are, of course, both working independently on current generations for highly automated driving. Arguably they are among the leaders in the emerging technologies. Continue reading →
Top Five Air Pollution Actions to Improve Health, Climate
The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), AirQualityAsia and The Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society at Boston College today released an evaluation of 22 practical interventions undertaken to reduce air pollution. While some efforts that replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources improve both local health and favorably impact climate change, other, often politically popular programs are of limited value on either front.
“There has been an assumption that adverse conditions impacting climate change and air pollution are the same thing. This is not necessarily true,” says Richard Fuller, Board Chair of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution and a co-author of the report. “We wanted to see where the overlaps are, where investments can be directed that will improve health and also impact climate change.”
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