Toyota
Latest
Toyota will invest $500 million in Uber (updated)
Toyota plans to invest around $500 million in Uber, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the two enter an agreement to work together on driverless technologies. The publication cites sources familiar with the matter and the investment would value Uber at $72 billion. Reports surfaced earlier this month that Uber investors told the company it should consider selling off its self-driving car unit due to the substantial losses the project has racked up.
Toyota's latest hydrogen-powered semi boasts 300-mile range
Toyota has made a lot of progress on its hydrogen fuel cell semi truck since unveiling the Alpha model in 2017. The automaker has unveiled a Beta version of its Project Portal semi that promises huge improvements. For one, the zero-emissions vehicle now drives 300 miles on a hydrogen tank instead of roughly 200 -- rather important if it's going to be hauling cargo all day. It's also more maneuverable, and manages to create more cab space (including a sleeper cab) thanks in part to a "unique fuel cabinet combination."
Toyota is launching a car-sharing service in Hawaii
Automakers continue to invest in mobility just in case in the future, people don't buy as many vehicles as they do now. Toyota's the latest to take the plunge into the buzzword du jour with its new Hui car-sharing service launching in Honolulu.
Uber, Waymo and others to study the 'human impact' of self-driving cars
A group of companies have just formed a new organization that will study the impact self-driving cars could have on humans, like the millions that stand to lose their jobs to autonomous vehicles in the future. The Partnership for Transportation Innovation and Opportunity (PTIO) is being formed as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit and includes Ford, Toyota, Daimler, Waymo, Uber, Lyft, FedEx and the American Trucking Association among its members. The Verge reports that in its first six months, PTIO wants to start developing a "well-rounded and data-based understanding of the impact and implications of autonomous vehicles on the future of work," collect expertise, goals and concerns from interested parties and "foster awareness of existing and near-term career opportunities for workers during the transition to a new autonomous vehicle-enabled economy."
YouTube ran ads on AIDS conspiracy theory videos
YouTube has run into issues in the past for showing ads before inappropriate videos. In some cases it has caused companies to pull their ads from the platform and at least one firm has put together its own algorithm to identify YouTube channels on which it's safe to advertise. However, though YouTube has changed its guidelines and hired more human moderators, advertisements are still showing up alongside questionable content. Now, Adweek reports, ads from major companies are appearing before videos featuring fake medical news such as AIDS conspiracy theories.
Toyota invests $1 billion in one of Asia's biggest ride-sharing companies
Who knew that ride-sharing investments would become a large facet of Toyota's business strategy. The automotive giant has stakes in Uber, competitor Japan Taxi, and now, it's enthusiastically throwing $1 billion -- its biggest sum yet -- at Southeast Asian outfit Grab.
It’s too early to write off hydrogen vehicles
Hydrogen is either the wonder fuel of the future or a technological cul-de-sac. Toyota believes the former, and has spent the past few decades developing mass-market hydrogen cars. The automaker showcased what the technology can do, in the form of its Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), which launched in 2015. But while its Mirai might be the most visible use of the technology, it's by no means the only place these engines can work.
Senators investigate safety procedures for autonomous cars
Just a day after the NTSB released its preliminary findings on the Uber crash in Arizona, senators Edward J. Markey and Richard Blumenthal began an investigation into safety protocols for driverless car testing. In a letter sent to major auto manufacturers involved in autonomous driving systems, the senators asked several specific questions to find out what kind of procedures the companies have to ensure the safety of others during testing.
MIT teaches self-driving cars to change lanes like real drivers
Autonomous vehicles really don't know how to switch lanes as well as people do. They tend to rely on either relatively static data models that are difficult to study in the thick of traffic, or are basic enough that the car might only change lanes when it's absolutely necessary -- that is, hardly at all. MIT's CSAIL has a better way. The school has developed an algorithm that changes lanes more like humans do while respecting road safety.
Subaru's first PHEV is the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid
You're probably more likely to associate Subaru with high-powered rally cars than any kind of eco-friendly transportation, but the automaker is determined to change that perception: it just unveiled plans for its first-ever plug-in hybrid. The 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid (not yet pictured) will combine Subaru's familiar four-cylinder boxer engine and all-wheel drive with a hybrid system from long-time collaborator Toyota to bring efficiency to its familiar crossover SUV. While details of its performance are mostly under wraps, Subaru is promising a pure electric mode for those times when you're more likely to be commuting around town than off-roading (which, let's face it, is most of the time).
MIT's self-driving car can navigate unmapped country roads
There's a good reason why companies often test self-driving cars in big cities: they'd be lost most anywhere else. They typically need well-labeled 3D maps to identify curbs, lanes and signs, which isn't much use on a backwoods road where those features might not even exist. MIT CSAIL may have a solution, though. Its researchers (with some help from Toyota) have developed a new framework, MapLite, that can find its way without any 3D maps.
After Math: Robot revolutionaries
The whole "fear of SkyNet" trope is a bit moot at this point, seeing as how robots have already infiltrated our roads, skies and cafeteria-style eateries. You can already see it happening with Lyft adding 30 self-driving vehicles to its Las Vegas fleet, Sphero debuting yet another domestic robopanion, and gangs leveraging drone swarms to blindside the FBI. Numbers, because how else are we going to learn to speak the binary language of our future overlords?
Toyota will test risky self-driving scenarios at a Michigan track
It's not enough to test self-driving cars in realistic conditions -- if they're going to avoid crashes, they need to handle nightmare scenarios. Toyota is about to address that. It's building a closed test facility at Michigan Technical Resource Park (below) that will pit autonomous cars against "edge case" scenarios that will challenge the technology's limits. It's planning to subject vehicles to clogged urban landscapes, slick roads and even a four-lane highway with fast entrance and exit ramps.
Most of Toyota's cars will talk to each other by 2025
Toyota's first vehicles that communicate with each other will be up for sale in the US starting in 2021. By the mid-2020s, "most" of Toyota and Lexus' lineup will feature Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) the company says. Since 2015, the automaker has installed the tech in around 100,000 cars in its native Japan, according to Reuters. The automaker pointed toward its automatic emergency braking systems pledge from 2015 as proof of intent. Now, Toyota says 92 percent of its US sales are cars with its Toyota Safety Sense or Lexus Safety Sense braking tech as standard equipment.
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.
Bentley is the latest luxury car maker committing to EVs
Just a few weeks after Bentley unveiled its first all-electric concept convertible, a lead designer confirmed that the car company known for its gas-guzzling vehicles could start making electric cars fairly soon. Bentley is just the latest in a long line of car makers planning to go electric, of course, with Toyota, Volvo, Porsche, Audi and of course Tesla all in the race to supply our electric car future.
Toyota's 2019 Corolla Hatchback supports both Alexa and CarPlay
Toyota no longer requires that you pay the premium for an Avalon to get modern smartphone integration in its cars. It just unveiled the 2019 Corolla Hatchback, whose standard trim includes an 8-inch touchscreen infortainment system with both Amazon Alexa voice control and Apple CarPlay. There's no Android Auto, alas, but this still promises an affordable Toyota with cutting-edge voice and touch interfaces.
Toyota halts autonomous car testing on public roads
Uber's fatal pedestrian collision is producing a ripple effect in the self-driving car industry. Toyota has temporarily halted public tests of its Chauffeur autonomous system due to the potential "emotional effect" on its human drivers. It's not certain how long the pause will last or whether this is prompting a review of Toyota's technology.
Uber may offer its self-driving technology to Toyota
Lyft and Waymo might not be the only ridesharing companies developing self-driving technology with hopes of making it available to others. Nikkei has claimed that Uber is in talks to slip its autonomous vehicle system into a Toyota minivan, marking one of its first reported attempts to sell its tech to someone else. The Japanese paper said that Uber chief Dara Khosrowshahi recently met with Toyota leaders (including its American AI development lead, Gill Pratt) at his company's research center in Pittsburgh. It's not clear how far along the progress would be or what exactly was discussed at the meeting.
Toyota will stop selling diesel cars in Europe this year
You can officially add Toyota to the list of manufacturers dropping diesel from their passenger car lineups. The brand has confirmed that it's phasing out diesel passenger vehicles in Europe over the course of 2018, starting with cars like the Auris you see above -- your only choices for the hatchback are a modest 1.2L turbo 4-cylinder or 1.8L and 2.0L hybrid solutions. The company will keep diesel commercial vehicles like the Hilux truck, Land Cruiser SUV and Proace van to "meet customer needs," but that's as far as it goes.
