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Toyota unveils two EV crossover concepts arriving by 2025
Toyota said Monday it plans to expand its European lineup of battery electric vehicles to six models by 2026. The automaker revealed two new EV concepts, including a “close-to-production” Urban SUV and a Sport Crossover scheduled for a 2025 European launch.
Tesla plans to license its Full Self-Driving system to other automakers
Tesla set new internal records for EV production and deliveries in Q2 as Cybertruck production (sorta?) comes online.
Volvo has developed the world's first interior radar system for cars
In order to prevent heatstroke from pets and children locked inside cars, today Volvo announced the world's first interior radar system for cars, which is set to debut on the upcoming EX90 electric SUV.
Toyota’s electric concept SUV lands in the US ahead of its 2022 launch
Toyota’s bZ4X BEV concept SUV started turning heads when it debuted at Auto Shanghai earlier this year, and its journey to the United States has already begun. The automaker confirmed yesterday that the concept vehicle has officially landed in its Plano, Texas headquarters, and that it plans to begin selling the angular crossover in the US sometime next year. (Here’s hoping it gets less tongue twister-y name when it arrives.)
Amazon adds car insurance to its absurd list of services
Amazon is offering auto insurance in India through Amazon Pay and Acko General Insurance.
OneDrive makes it easier to backup your desktop clutter
Microsoft rolled out a new OneDrive folder protection feature to its business users in June -- now it's available to regular users, too. The feature lets you choose which folders you want to automatically back up to Microsoft's cloud service -- desktop, pictures or documents -- and it'll keep this activity in sync across multiple Windows 10 PCs, which is handy if you're a fan of downloading files to your desktop.
19 states vow to sue over proposed fuel efficiency rollbacks
Yesterday, the Trump administration unveiled its plan to roll back fuel efficiency standards and soon thereafter, multiple states vowed to fight the move in court. Nineteen states and Washington, DC announced they would sue to prevent the changes from being put into place, Reuters reports. "The Trump administration has launched a brazen attack, no matter how it is cloaked, on our nation's clean car standards," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said following the publication of the proposed plan. "CA DOJ will use every legal tool at its disposal to defend today's national standards and reaffirm the facts and science behind them."
Android P makes Volvo’s in-car infotainment system even better
Android Auto has been around for years. I know Android Auto when I see it. What's running inside a sleek Volvo at Google I/O isn't Android Auto. This is an automobile running full-blown Android P. We've seen no shortage of pure Android-powered cars at I/O in years past, but this crimson XC40 is different: it's one of the first cars in the world to fully integrate Google services, like Google Maps and the Play Store, right onto automotive hardware. That's right: you can finally download apps straight onto your car.
California opens investigation into Tesla factory safety
Tesla has been struggling lately to meet its automotive production targets, vowing to run its Model 3 factories "24/7." Unfortunately, they might also be underreporting serious workplace injuries, labeling them "personal medical" to avoid penalties. Now, according to a report at Bloomberg, California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is opening an official investigation into the allegations.
Tidal now works with Apple's CarPlay
Spotify, Google Play Music and the BBC's iPlayer Radio all work with Apple's CarPlay. Now Tidal users can get in on the action, too; the company tweeted the compatibility of its streaming app with the iOS-based in-car system.
Mini's new plug-in hybrid packs thrills into a compact cruiser
From the moment it appeared at the LA Auto Show, the new Mini Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid seemed to run in a different pack than other affordable EVs. That's due in large part to the Mini's heritage. Driving a Mini always meant having a good time, and the argument for strapping into a Countryman is as much about whipping around in a grown-up go-kart as it is about conserving fossil fuels.
Amazon Music's iOS app infiltrates CarPlay
Amazon Music subscribers who own a CarPlay-enabled dashboard unit are in luck. Amazon's streaming service is now available via the iOS Amazon Music app for Apple's in-car infotainment system.
German officials: Tesla shouldn't say 'Autopilot' in its ads
Just days ago, Germany's Federal Motor Authority sent letters to Tesla owners warning them that their cars' "Autopilot" feature is strictly there for driver assistance, not driver replacement. As it turns out, those letters were just the opening salvo. According to a report from Reuters, the German government is asking Tesla to stop using the term "autopilot" in its advertising entirely out of concerns that people misinterpret its purpose.
Ford's new robots can build cars, make coffee
This new robotic technology could be a big help to assembly workers and offer more design freedom. Ford Motor Company announced today its early testing of a new type of assembly line robot that were co-developed with German robotics company KUKA Roboter GmbH with the intention of assisting human line workers. Two of these three-foot-tall machines are in use at the Cologne, Germany factory, where they assist human workers to install shock absorbers on Ford Fiestas. These workers would have originally had to juggle the shocks and tools to install them, but now the robot helps them position and install the parts.
Nissan announces a suite of auto-drive features
Nissan is getting in on the semi-autonomous driving function game, having launched a suite of them on Wednesday. Unlike Tesla's automated options, Nissan made sure to stress they're intended only to assist rather than outright replace drivers.
The After Math: Google I/O 2016 Edition
Google unleashed its 2016 developers conference on Mountain View, CA this morning. The company debuted a bunch of new products including its answer to Amazon's Alexa, dubbed Google Home; a new VR headset called Daydream (along with a new VR section for Play) and two new messaging apps, Allo and Duo. Google also showed off some of the new features we can expect in the upcoming Android N operating system, a full-blown overhaul of the Android Wear ecosystem, updates to Android Auto and some new tricks for Google Pay. Did I miss something? Yeah, probably. So check out our comprehensive coverage of the event here.
GM gets serious about car-sharing with new 'Maven' service
Move over, Zipcar. General Motors just announced the launch of Maven, a new car-sharing service meant to ease personal transport woes. Public transit is great (when it works anyway), but some situations just call for cars and GM's eager to try filling in gaps its competitors have left wide open. This isn't the first time GM has experimented with car-sharing — it launched a similar service called Let's Drive NYC for tenants of one apartment building last October. With Maven's launch, GM is no longer a company that looks at cars purely as products; they're a service now, too.
Hyundai teases the Ioniq, its first all-electric vehicle
Hyundai is planning to officially debut its Ioniq EV next month, but there's something rather unique about the new model. Not only will it arrive in an all-electric version, but the automaker will have gasoline-electric and plug-in electric hybrid options, too. Hyundai says that this is the first time a vehicle will be sold with three different environmentally-friendly powertrain options to choose from. Today the company offered a second look, which includes interior and exterior renders, following the first teaser earlier this month.
Apple talks to California DMV about self-driving cars
According to a new report from The Guardian, Apple recently discussed self-driving cars with the California Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The report says that Cupertino's senior legal counsel Mike Maletic met with the DMV's self-driving car experts and other officials for an hour last month. Back in August, The Guardian also discovered that Apple was looking into a test site for so-called Project Titan, the company's rumored automotive project, at a former military base near San Francisco. As you might expect, Apple isn't commenting further and the DMV only spilled that the focus of the meeting was to go over the state's self-driving vehicle regulations. Details are still scarce on the project as a whole, but we do know that Apple recruited automotive talent to come work for the company a while back. And as The Guardian points out, it'll have to disclose a lot more if it wants to secure a permit for testing. [Image credit: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images]
Chevy's 2016 cars can keep charging phones from overheating
Early summer on the East Coast hasn't been its usual level of brutal this year, but it's only a matter of time before smartphones start wigging out in the heat. Things only get trickier when you're charging up in your sweltering car, so Chevy cooked up an "active phone cooling" system to keep gadgets from overheating in their 2016 range of vehicles. Don't get too carried away, though: That's just a high-falutin' name for an air vent that points at a warm phone while it's wirelessly charging.
