vehicles
Latest
Android Auto's latest updates let you take Zoom and WebEx calls on the road
Google unveiled a range of software updates for Android Auto and vehicles equipped with Google-powered dashboards.
BMW’s iX SUV sets the automaker on the correct EV path
Roberto Baldwin takes BMW's iX EV out for a first drive. If you can get past the grille, it's shaping up to be a great SUV, and one that puts the German automaker on the right EV path.
Ford, BMW and Honda cut production due to global chip crisis
Car makers Ford, Honda and BMW have reportedly joined tech companies Apple and Samsung in flagging production cuts caused by the global chip shortage.
EV maker Karma wants to power electric cars with a methanol fuel cell
Karma is working on something different from its normal EVs — hydrogen cars that use methane as a base fuel.
Infinity Ward disables all 'Warzone' vehicles after game-breaking bug emerges
Infinity Ward temporarily removed all 'Call of Duty: Warzone' vehicles to prevent a game-breaking glitch.
Ford disinfects police cruisers by 'roasting' them
Ford's software cranks the heat in police cruisers to disinfect them and slow the spread of COVID-19.
Volvo will sell cars with built-in LiDAR beginning in 2022
Volvo is working with Luminar to make LiDAR available for its cars beginning in 2022.
Ford shares a year's worth of self-driving car data
Ford is releasing a comprehensive self-driving dataset to help academics and researchers.
Mini's 2020 Cooper SE zips around town powered by electrons
When the first Minis rolled off the assembly line in 1959, the diminutive front wheel drive cars practically sipped fuel through equally miniscule 850 - 1275 cc engines. 70 years later, the latest Mini has done away with the need for gasoline completely. This is the Mini Cooper SE, 2020's all-electric iteration of the iconic British automobile.
BMW shows off an AR windshield concept for the 2021 iNext
BMW thinks that we'd like to interact with our cars in a more humane way than we do today, engaging them in conversation. But that's never just using words, but with gestures, body language, and our gaze, which we use to convey meaning to one another. That's why the company is showing off the BMW i Interaction EASE, a concept windshield for self-driving cars that actually analyzes our nonverbal signals to help us get more out of traveling.
Current CO2 emissions will heat up the Earth by more than 1.5˚C
Even if we stop building power plants, factories, vehicles and home appliances immediately, we're on track to increase the global temperature by more than 1.5˚C -- the goal limit proposed by the Paris Agreement. Those existing, CO2-spewing offenders will generate an estimated 660 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, and it will only take 580 billion tons to tip us past 1.5˚C. It gets worse. If we continue to operate existing power plants for their useful lives and we build the new facilities already planned, they'll emit two thirds of the carbon dioxide necessary to boost temperatures by a full 2˚C.
Toyota will add automatic engine shut off and auto-park to all new vehicles
Beginning with model year 2020, Toyota will include automatic engine shut off and auto-park features in its new vehicles. If a vehicle is left running for a predetermined amount of time, the engine will automatically shut off. If a driver exits a vehicle without putting it in park, it will automatically shift and/or apply the parking brake.
Hertz launches monthly car rental subscription starting at $999
Today, Hertz announced a new vehicle subscription service, Hertz My Car. For a monthly fee, users will have access to select sedans, crossovers, SUVs and trucks. The service follows on the heels of a similar, but more expensive, pilot program that Enterprise launched last month.
Apple worked on biometric unlock for cars
Unlocking your car with a key is so passé. If you've got the right car, you can already use your smartphone as a car key, and Hyundai is slated to release a vehicle that can be unlocked with a fingerprint later this year. Now, it seems that Apple is working on a system that also let drivers gain access to their vehicles via biometrics.
Mercedes and NVIDIA team up to build next-gen AI vehicles
From modular vans to autonomous cars -- and, as recently revealed at CES, gesture-based controls -- Mercedes has some big ambitions for the next generation of its vehicles. Now, it's announced that AI company NVIDIA will be the team to help it achieve them.
Ontario kills EV subsidies to reduce gas prices
Last month, Ontario elected a new provincial government; Doug Ford's Conservative Party, which has already begun enacting its key policies. That includes an immediate end to an electric and hydrogen vehicle subsidy, as well as incentive programs for EV chargers. The aim? To gut a cap-and-trade program that was designed to encourage folks to ditch their planet-killing gas guzzlers.
Apple hires ex-Waymo engineer for self-driving project
Apple may not be as loud about its plans to create a self-driving car as Google or Uber, but the company is still in the game. According to The Information, Apple has just hired Jamie Waydo, a prominent engineer from Waymo's autonomous vehicle unit.
General Motors is 3D printing parts to make EVs more efficient
The virtues of 3D printing have long been touted by a vast range of manufacturers, so it was only a matter of time before the EV industry got in on the action. General Motors has announced that, alongside design software company Autodesk Inc, it's creating lightweight 3D parts that'll help it meet its ambitious plan to add 20 new electric battery and fuel cell batteries to its global lineup by 2023.
German court says cities can ban diesel cars
Germany has already made its commitment to cleaner vehicles clear by calling for a ban on combustion engine cars starting by 2030. Now, in a landmark ruling, a top court says cities have the right to ban diesel motors in an effort to improve air quality. The decision will potentially affect 12 million cars on Germany's roads.
Waymo starts testing its autonomous cars in Atlanta
Waymo started offering free autonomous rides in Phoenix last April as a way to promote its self-driving cars. The Alphabet-owned company has been trying to ramp up its own ride-sharing service to compete with Uber and Lyft, offering a driverless taxi service Waymo hopes to use in covering a region larger than London. Now, Waymo is expanding beyond Arizona, launching a test program set to launch in Atlanta, Georgia.
