Tag Archives: autonomous vehicles

FCA Sells Minivans to Google’s Waymo for Driverless Use

Google’s self-driving wing Waymo – a clear threat to established automakers – will expand its fleet with an agreement to add up to 62,000 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans. Given Chrysler’s dubious safety record, it’s a risky proposition in AutoInformed’s view. Continue reading

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Transformation to Mobility Company? Ford Returns to Detroit.

As part of an $11.1 billion investment in global electric vehicles announced earlier this year, Ford says it will sell electrified vehicles that “offer exciting experiences and enhanced capabilities based on what people need and want – including the all-new Mustang-inspired battery-electric SUV in 2020.” Continue reading

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Autonomous Vehicle Sales to Pass 33 Million Annually in 2040

Based on what appears to be semi-educated hunch, IHIS claims that the United States will lead the world in deployment and early adoption of production autonomous vehicles as early as 2019 – effortlessly omitting Chinese owned Volvo – while Europe and China are expected to begin adding considerable volume from ~2021 onward. Continue reading

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Ford Dropping Car Business – Reallocating $7B in Capital

It’s time for Ford to reorganize yet again. This time around it’s as radical a turnaround plan as ever seen in Dearborn with Ford essentially ceding the car market to other major auto makers and reallocating the $7 billion saved to bets – with wildly uncertain odds – in the connected car and autonomous car areas, as well as the newly emerging interactive road system. Continue reading

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U.S. Sales Drop in September. Domestics Struggle with Cars

September U.S. auto sales dropped notably when compared to September 2016, but were still relatively strong, according to AutoData. It said that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in September was 17.76 million units compared to 18.05 million units a … Continue reading

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Autonomous Vehicles Buying Stampede – GM and Strobe

LIDAR uses light to create high-resolution images that provide a more accurate view of the world than cameras or radar alone. As self-driving technology continues to evolve, LIDAR’s accuracy will play a critical role in its deployment. Long gone is the original fantasy that State and Federal road markings would be adequate. – they don’t even work for human directed vehicles. Continue reading

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FCA Joins BMW, Intel, Mobileye on Autonomous Driving Development

“To advance autonomous driving technology, it is vital to form partnerships among automakers, technology providers and suppliers,” said FCA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, whose financially fragile company or parts of it are being explored for possible sale by a Chinese automaker.
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New Car Buyers Bullish on Self Driving Vehicles. Maybe

More than 52% of new car buyers expect to own at least one self-driving automobile in their household in the next 10 years, according to a Bosch study. The survey reached 1,000 U.S. based new car buyers, aged 18 or older, who have purchased or leased at least one vehicle within the last five model years, and intend to buy or lease a new vehicle again in the future. Continue reading

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Autonomous Vehicles to Cut Auto Insurance Biz 71% By 2050

Autonomous vehicle and related driver assist technologies could upset the auto insurance market by 71%, roughly $137 billion by 2050, according to the latest research by KMPG. Continue reading

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Former NHTSA Head Rosekind’s Zoox Move Questionable

In an inadvertent parody of Claude Rains’ assertion that he is shocked that gambling is going on, it’s alleged by Consumer Watchdog that the credibility of the autonomous vehicle policy issued last year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -aka NHTSA – is undermined because former NHTSA chief Mark Rosekind has taken a job with autonomous vehicle developer Zoox. Continue reading

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Dellenback of Southwest Research Institute Receives SAE Award

The award recognizes “exceptional work as a leader in the design, development, and deployment of intelligent transportation systems.” Continue reading

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2017 SAE World Congress – Automated Technology, Autonomous Vehicles Star

Serving as a global forum of industry leaders, inventors, and disruptors from Detroit to Silicon Valley and everywhere in-between, th SAE World Congress promises three days of “active learning, high-powered collaboration, and technological discovery.” Continue reading

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Robert Bosch Invests in TetraVue for Lidar Skills

In theory, TetraVue’s expertise helps to address challenges with automated vehicles encountering unexpected and dangerous obstacles during operation. TetraVue’s core technology differentiation is claimed to be their patented “light slicer” technology, which uses time and distance measurements to find optical intensities using standard CMOS sensors. Continue reading

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Ford Places $1B Bet in Argo AI on Autonomous Vehicles

The very small Argo AI team of specialists in robotics and artificial intelligence is led by founders Bryan Salesky, CEO, and Peter Rander, COO. Both are alumni of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Center and former heads of the self-driving car teams of Google and Uber, respectively. Continue reading

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Infiniti QX50 Concept to Debut at 2017 NAIAS

The mid-size Infiniti QX50 Concept is an outgrowth of the QX Sport Inspiration that appeared debuted last April in Beijing. Continue reading

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