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Cadillac put a 33-inch 9K touchscreen in its new CT5 luxury sedan
Cadillac just unveiled the 2025 CT5 luxury sedan and it ships with an intriguing tech-forward feature, a 33-inch 9K touchscreen display. The LED screen curves toward the driver in a “single, continuous screen” that spans the entire viewing area. This screen is fully customizable and integrates with a variety of third-party apps.
Hitting the Books: 'Vision Zero' could help reclaim roads from American car culture
'Inclusive Transportation' by Veronica O Davis highlights the many failings (both procedural and structural) of America's transportation infrastructure and calls on city planners to reexamine how their public works affect the people.
Tesla selects Monterrey, Mexico as the site of its next Gigafactory
Tesla will build its next Gigafactory in Mexico
Michigan approves digital license plates by startup Reviver
The state joins California and Arizona in giving the all-clear to digital plates.
Tesla settles with EPA over Clean Air Act violations in California
The US EPA has reached a settlement with Tesla after the agency found that the automaker violated the Clean Air Act at its factory in Fremont, California.
Tesla sales continue to surge in the face of chip shortages
The shrinking supply of components has slowed car sales for almost everyone except Tesla.
GM will deliver over-the-air updates to 'most' vehicles by 2023
Today, General Motors unveiled its new electronics system. The platform will make "smartphone-like" over-the-air software updates possible, and it should be rolled out in most GM vehicles by 2023, the company says. We'll see it first in the 2020 Cadillac CT5 sedan, which should go into production later this year.
Tesla's high-end Model S and X just got a lot cheaper
Tesla just made its high-end vehicles more reasonably priced for potential buyers. In addition to launching the long-awaited $35,000 Model 3, the automaker has also slashed the prices of its higher-end Model S and Model X configurations. The long-range Model S and Model X vehicles now cost $83,000 and $88,000, respectively, down from $96,000 before savings. That makes the long-range Model S just $4,000 more expensive than the base version, despite having a range that's 65 miles longer and a top speed that's 15mph faster.
BMW M550i review: Equal parts luxury and power
Cruising along on the autobahn at 220 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour) is equal parts exciting and anxiety-inducing because my brain can't shake the feeling I'm still breaking the law. That concern didn't stop when I pulled over. I also experienced some apprehension about using BMW's Display Key to control the $73,900 BMW M550i sedan.
Lexus is the latest carmaker to offer a subscription service
Just a day after a report about BMW's planned car subscription service, Lexus has announced its own take on the concept. The Lexus UX compact luxury crossover will be available via purchase, lease and a brand-new subscription option in December of this year. Details on how such a service will work — as well as vehicle pricing — will be announced closer to when the UX goes on sale. In addition, like the 2019 Corolla Hatchback, the new Lexus UX will come with CarPlay and Alexa functionality.
Honda will use targeted Facebook videos to encourage recall repairs
As the Takata airbag recall -- the largest ever US auto recall -- continues, Honda has been looking for new ways to reach customers who haven't yet brought in their vehicles for repair. And the company's next move, as Reuters reports, is to target Honda owners through Facebook. Using the tool that allows advertisers to target particular subsets of Facebook accounts, Honda will match email addresses of those with recalled vehicles to Facebook users. According to the Associated Press, at least some of the messages geared towards those Facebook accounts will be videos from Honda owners who were injured from the faulty Takata airbag systems. You can see one of the public service announcements below.
Michelin’s 3D-printed tire is as stunning as it is futuristic
Looking at Michelin's new concept tire (dubbed the "Vision") is like staring at a mesmerizing painting of future wheels. The blue webbed structure looks nothing like a typical black tire, but feels just as sturdy. It also boasts a unique set of advanced environmentally friendly features. Many of these principles are already being used in existing tires, while others are still fairly abstract ideas. The Vision is a proof of concept, combining ideas old and new, and it gives us a glimpse at Michelin's plans for what it calls "sustainable mobility."
Apple CarPlay now supports Google Play Music
If for some reason you're an iOS and CarPlay user that also manages your tunes with Google Play Music, you're in luck. Google's music service is now compatible with Apple's in-car system, which means you can control things from the safety of your car's display rather than fiddle with your iPhone while on the road.
Samsung's auto-reply app fights distracted driving
Let's be honest: too many of us are using our phones while driving. It's a problem and it's dangerous, but we do it anyway. Samsung knows this and has come up with a new app cleverly named In-Traffic Reply to help. The app, currently in beta, aims to keep you safe while allowing you to answer messages you get while you're behind the wheel.
ICYMI: Airbus and Italdesign exhibit a Pop.Up future
Today on In Case You Missed It: Airbus and Italdesign demoed yet another flying car concept at the Geneva Auto Show this week. Dubbed "Pop.Up" the modular and autonomous vehicle can transform from a four-wheeled car to a quadcopter, depending on your destination and habits. The Pop.Up system uses an AI to determine which form will result in the most efficient travel method, and will then attach itself to air or ground pod modules to get you there. While the broader idea is to produce a fleet of Pop.Up's that can be summoned at will by users, the concept faces some significant challenges in actual development such as battery technology and legal regulations.
Behind the wheel of GM's 238-mile range electric car
Chevy's new Bolt shows up in San Francisco's SOMA district at the height of rush hour. It comes around the corner evading cars, buses and wandering Giants fans on their way to the game a few blocks away. It's urban chaos and it's the exact environment the long-range EV will encounter when new customers drive it out of showrooms sometime before the end of the year.
Google's self-driving cars are more cautious around kids
If you've got spawn traipsing through the streets of Mountain View in search of sweets tonight, you needn't fear Google's self-driving cars... much. While there's something a little unsettling about an autonomous car -- even a cute one -- coming at you on Halloween, Google says they're at least programmed to act differently around children. In the days leading up to this most creepy of holidays, the company's self-driving car team had parents trot their tots in front of parked vehicles to give their sensors and software more experience detecting "children in all their unique shapes and sizes, even when they're in odd costumes". Good idea -- your author used to dart in the street for really no reason at all, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Google's cars are already "jittery" in their cautiousness, but a little extra practice couldn't hurt, especially when they're still not great with people on bikes.
Wave goodbye to manual car seat controls with gesture tech
It sounds a bit like an infomercial: Tired of using manual controls and levers to adjust your car seats? There's got to be a better way! And now of course there is, thanks to researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC. The researchers, in conjunction with Isringhausen GmbH & Co. KG, have developed a fully functional prototype that allows drivers to adjust a seat using only hand gestures.
Tesla's first acquisition is a Michigan auto parts maker
Tesla's just made its first acquisition: a tool and die shop based in Grand Rapids, Michigan (roughy 150 miles west of Detroit) that makes automotive stamping parts. As The Detroit Free Press reports, the current Riviera Tool will eventually become Tesla Tool and Die and will retain its current employees, possibly hiring more in the future. It gives the electric vehicle company a stake in the original motor capitol of the world, and is a sign of Elon Musk's ground-based baby working to alleviate supply chain issues. Ironically enough, the State Shaped Like A Hand doesn't allow Tesla to sell its cars locally. Update: A Tesla spokesperson has confirmed the purchase to Engadget.
Rinspeed reimagines the BMW i3 EV as a self-driving car
Rinspeed did a fantastic visual recreation of the Tesla Model S as a moving living room last year, and now it has given the BMW i3 EV a similar treatment. The Swiss car restorer and conjurer of futuristic concepts has reimagined the i3 as a self-driving car with rather far-out features in a new concept called "Buddi." For instance, it's equipped with a robotic arm that can move the steering wheel in front of either front-seat passenger or to the middle if nobody wants to drive. That robotic arm can curiously wind the in-car watch, as well, if the camera monitoring it determines that its battery is almost depleted.
