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Ford will fit auto emergency brakes on two 2019 models
Ford always seems to be on the back foot when it comes to vehicle innovation -- it only began working on a robotics team last year, for example. Now the brand is playing catch-up again, announcing plans to install automatic emergency brakes as standard on two key 2019 models, which is something its rivals have been doing for a while.
California bill would ban new fossil fuel vehicles from 2040
Under a new bill introduced this week, every single new car sold in California after 2040 would be an emission-free vehicle. The bill, introduced by San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting, is in line with Governor Jerry Brown's goal for 1.5 million zero-emission cars on the state's roads by 2025.
Facebook will pull used car ads into its Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace has been around for a year now. In that time, the social network has gotten a firm grasp on what users are buying and selling on its Craigslist rival. (It's also made sure to stop you from hocking certain things like, ahem, hedgehogs). But, cute critters were always going to be a niche category anyway. What's really popping on Marketplace are cars. And, soon Facebook will give you even more ways to track down and purchase vehicles. It's integrating listings from leading car sales and research websites (including Edmunds, Cars.com, Auction123, CDK Global and SocialDealer) to help you find your next ride.
Williams redesigns the chassis for lighter and stronger EVs
There is frequently a trickle-down from the world of high-end motor racing through to the cars on sale at your local dealership (and refrigerators). Which is why the latest project to emerge from Williams Advanced Engineering is so exciting for the future of EVs. The F1 company is showing off its lightweight electric car chassis that's designed to make electric rides lighter, safer and greener.
Lyft teams up with Jaguar to test autonomous cars
There's a lot of reasons for the folks at Lyft to be happy, and not all of them involve schadenfreude about what's going down across the street. The ride-sharing company recently scored a further $600 million in investment, $25 million of which came from Jaguar Land Rover. But it wasn't just cash that the automaker is supplying: it's also handing over a fleet of vehicles to help the pair test autonomous vehicles.
Apple gets the OK to test autonomous cars in California
California will soon have yet another company's self-driving vehicles navigating its roadways. The Department of Motor Vehicles granted Apple an autonomous vehicle testing permit on Friday, enabling the company to use public roadways in its autonomous systems experiments.
Ford concept uses drones and self-driving vans for deliveries
Ford has a vision for the future, and it's apparently one where an army of autonomous vans and drones deliver things to your doorstep. The company used VR to put visitors at Mobile World Congress in the shoes of a dinner party host missing key ingredients. Using a service called "Autolivery," the woman places an order from an app. Her package is loaded into an self-driving van, and a drone flies it up to a landing pad on the balcony on her 30th floor apartment.
Cadillac is renting vehicles as a subscription service for $1,500 a month
Variety is the spice of life, but reality is full of commitments. Buying a car typically means being stuck with a specific model for the duration of ownership. If you have enough money to burn, however, Cadillac has another option: Don't own a car. Subscribe to one. Today the company announced Cadillac Book, a "luxury vehicle subscription service" that lets you rent various Cadillac vehicles on the fly. Basically, it's an app-based rental service that carries only one brand of vehicle and costs $1,500 a month.
Ford CEO Mark Fields looks to a future beyond car ownership
Ford CEO Mark Fields has been moving the automaker into ventures outside of its normal core business of selling cars for a few years now. His LA Auto Show keynote touched on the company's current undertakings and future plans. Engadget sat down to talk with Fields about the automaker's post-car-ownership road map, its partnerships with public transportation and the company's plan to bring autonomous taxis to the market in 2021.
US automakers recall 12 million more vehicles with Takata airbags
Faulty Takata airbag inflators resulted in the recall of 12 million more US vehicles from eight major automakers on Friday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted recalls from Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Ferrari and Mitsubishi over the airbag issue, The AP reports. Dangerous inflators from Japanese company Takata have so far led to the recall of up to 40 million airbag systems worldwide. Japan's transport ministry also recalled an additional 7 million airbag systems on Friday.
Google's self-driving cars don't crash as much as humans do
Evidence is already starting to pile up that autonomous vehicles are pretty darn safe, but would you like to slap a number on it? Okay, we've got one: according to a study commissioned by Google itself, self driving cars get in one less crash per million miles driven than human-controlled vehicles. Or, in other words, a self-driving car is 27-percent less likely to crash over a extended period of time.
Google reportedly plans to spin off its self-driving car business
Google's self-driving car technology might not remain Google-branded for much longer. Bloomberg sources claim that Google plans to turn its autonomous car business into a separate outfit under its parent company Alphabet's wing. Reportedly, Google hopes that the division will become a ride-for-hire business, a bit like Uber minus the driver. Since self-driving cars aren't street legal outside of testing, the vehicles might initially be limited to driving around colleges, large office campuses and other "confined" places where walking can sometimes be a hassle.
Researchers find popular car immobilizer can easily be hacked
Immobilizers are supposed to kill a vehicle's engine to prevent it from being stolen. However, a trio of researchers recently released a study that reveals the Megamos immobilizer system used by more than two dozen car manufacturers -- including Volkswagen, Porsche and Honda -- can be cracked with "trivial" effort. They would have revealed this glaring encryption flaw two years ago, when they completed the study, except that Volkswagen and European defense contractor Thales sued them to prevent its publication.
This $30 device defeats almost any keyless car or garage door
You probably don't think about thieves when you unlock your car, but Samy Kamkar certainly does. The security researcher known for his droll (and scary) hacks has created a device called "Rolljam" that cracks the wireless entry systems used by car- and garage-door makers. He demonstrated it at Defcon 2015, and here's how it works. When a victim tries to remotely open their car with a fob, they'll notice it didn't work the first time. It'll appear to work the second time, but at that point, the thief will have stolen a code they can use to open your vehicle at their leisure.
Tesla's prehensile car charger plugs itself in automatically
Keep your flying cars and robot maids, we are already living in Elon Musk's future. Tesla officially unveiled its automatic charging system today and whaaaaa? When Musk first announced its development last December, he compared it to a "solid metal snake" and he was not lying. In the video below you can see the charger bend and flex like one of Doc Oc's appendages as it pokes around the backside of a Model S before inserting a nozzle on its tip into the vehicle's charging port.
ICYMI: Jedi sword fighting, Chrysler car hacking and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929278{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929278, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929278{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929278").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A Chrysler with a smart entertainment system was proven to be hackable and the company is releasing software to patch it. A martial arts company in Singapore is teaching swordplay with light sabers. And a new MIDI device for musicians will let them sync work over Bluetooth.
3D plant scans will help build lighter, stronger cars
Don't look now, but the plants in your backyard might just shape the next generation of cars. University of Freiburg researchers have found a way to study the junctions between living plants' branches and stems using MRI scans, giving insight into how they cope under strain. The 3D images should show how you can build a lightweight, fiber-based structure that can still take some punishment -- particularly helpful for cars and bikes, where fiber already helps shed a lot of unnecessary pounds. They could help produce sturdier buildings, too. While there's still plenty of work left before plant scanning is practical, it's possible that a tree or flower could make your future ride a lot nimbler and speedier.
Keep tabs on your Volkswagen with the Apple Watch
Volkswagen America announced Tuesday that its Car-Net app is coming to the Apple Watch and will allow drivers to remotely interact with their cars using it. The Car-Net platform is VW's driver safety and fuel efficiency suite. It offers features like automatic crash emergency response notifications, remote vehicle access and "health updates" on wearing parts like brake pads -- all delivered through the Car-Net mobile app. Now, instead of fishing for their phones in pockets and purses, drivers of many 2014 and newer VW vehicles worldwide will simply have to look at their wrists to know how their cars are doing.
Europe is making in-car emergency calling standard by 2018
More than 25,700 people died driving on european highways last year. In an effort to reduce these incidents, the European Parliament has voted to outfit every new passenger car and light truck in the EU with an auto-dialing system that rings 112 (Europe's 911) in the event of a major accident. Known as eCall, it will be "a public service, free of charge for all citizens, irrespective of the type of vehicle or its purchase price," MEP Olga Sehnalova explained in a statement. They'll also be standard options for all new vehicles sold after March 31st, 2018.
ArcheAge's Auroria launches today
ArcheAge is scheduled to launch a big new update today on its North American servers. How big? Well, you can get a pretty solid idea just from the patch notes. The game is adding four new zones to be conquered and claimed by players, complete with space to build castles and houses once the claims have been made. There's also a new dungeon being added to the game, giving players uninterested in the land rush something to do with their time. New recipes have also been added for high-end weapons requiring Gilda Dust to craft. Vehicle stats have seen a rebalancing in an effort to make sure that no single vehicle is the unquestioned best in every field at all times; the vehicles retain unique abilities, but their performance is identical. Check out the full patch notes on the official site and start downloading as soon as you can since this patch is a big one. [Thanks to Robert for the tip!]
