Ford, Google Plan Autonomous Driving Venture Together

The fine, fine reporters at Yahoo Autos have learned that Ford and Google will announce next month a joint project to build self-driving cars.

According to the report, Google and Ford would spin off a separate company for the project, and Google would still shop around its technology to other automakers.

Both Ford and Google wouldn’t comment on Yahoo’s report, which said three sources familiar with the plans divulged the relationship ahead of their announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.

Read more
Nissan/BMW Team Up on Fast Charging; Sorry, North Dakota

Nissan and BMW announced Monday that they would add 120 public fast-charging stations in 19 states to significantly expand electric vehicle infrastructure for cars not called Tesla.

The 120 stations would supplement to Tesla’s network of more than 200 Supercharger sites around the U.S. and Canada, placed throughout the countries that serve as a backbone for long-distance EV travel. (Coast to coast records are already a thing.)

Sorry, North Dakota, still no love for you. It’s a shame. Fargo is such a super town.

Read more
Tesla To Open Up Supercharger Network To Other EVs

Tesla owners always enjoyed rapid recharging thanks to the automaker’s Supercharger network. Soon, this privilege will be extended to other EVs.

Read more
California Roads Bill May Be The Future Of US Road Funding

California electric vehicle drivers may pay $100 more in registration fees each year under a proposed bill that aims to raise $3.6 billion each year through gas taxes and fees that would repair and maintain California’s roads, according to the Associated Press (via Autoblog).

The proposed fees would be a sweeping reform to transportation funding that would increase California’s gas taxes by $0.10 per gallon, add $35 to vehicle registrations and increase vehicle fees by 35 percent over five years.

Already, gas and oil companies are lining up against the proposal.

Read more
Breaking the Law Is Safer When Everyone Else Is Breaking It

Google. While breaking privacy laws seems to be their global sport of choice, they sure do stick to the letter of the law when their autonomous cars are perusing American roads.

Oddly, that’s a problem according to the New York Times, because the rest of us operate our automobiles in a legal gray area, bending the rules to our benefit when we know we won’t get caught.

Read more
Report: Toledo Plant Gains a Jeep Pickup, Loses a Cherokee

Automotive News is reporting that Jeep will produce a Wrangler-based pickup at its Toledo, Ohio plant and shift production of its Cherokee to another site.

The details were reported by the outlet as part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ ongoing negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.

Officials from FCA didn’t comment on the report.

Read more
Eisenhower Did Just About the Worst Damn Road Trip, Ever

Atlas Obscura has a fine, fine retelling of former President Dwight Eisenhower’s treacherous slog across the U.S. in 1919, presumably before Google Maps could tell him where to go.

His 62-day, transcontinental epoch may have served as inspiration for the creation of America’s interstate highway system — not the threat of a nuclear attack and evacuation of America’s major cities, apparently — later on during his presidency.

Among the highlights: 6 mph traveling speed, biblical salts in Utah and misery in Nebraska. Pack a lunch for the long read, because it’s entertaining.

Read more
England Studying "Charge As You Drive" Inductive Charging Roads

The British government is continuing on with a study of inductive charging on England’s busy A roads a reality, reports the BBC (via Gizmodo).

Feasibility of the technology hasn’t been fully proven as of yet, but England is getting one step closer by tendering bids for off-road trials. If off-road trials are successful, you might be able to drive long distances across the UK without needing to stop to recharge. The trials are expected to take 18 months from 2016 to 2017.

Elon, you might soon lose your killer app.

Read more
Michigan to Stay Ahead of Silicon Valley With "Mcity" for Autonomous & Connected Car R&D

The facility was mostly deserted by the time I got there deliberately late to avoid politicians’ speechifying. Between the very realistic — but empty — roadways with functional traffic lights, railway crossings, and even parking meters, on one hand, and the two city blocks of obviously faux buildings, theatrical scrims really, on the other, I felt that at any second, things might switch to black and white and Rod Serling would step out from behind one of the backdrops.

I wasn’t in the Twilight Zone, though. I was on a gentle hillside on the north side of Ann Arbor.

Read more
The Future of Roads May Be in Lego-type Construction

Dutch company VolkerWessels is proposing a new type of roadway construction that could make it easier to remove, replace or resurface streets in the near future, Gizmodo is reporting.

The engineering firm is working with the City of Rotterdam to test its early concept. The streets are prefabricated and dropped into place. The roadways use a below-surface tunnel to house infrastructure like water, cables and utilities.

Read more
Google Sends Self-Driving Lexus Hybrids to Test in Texas

Google’s autonomous cars have made it to the Lone Star state for testing, The Detroit News is reporting.

A self-driving Lexus 450h prototype was recently dispatched to Austin, Texas for testing on that city’s streets. The cars are used to map roadways and signs for future autonomous vehicles to use. Google said the car has begun to drive itself after testing in Texas it will be sending another Lexus to Austin soon.

The search-engine giant likely selected the Texas capital because a free-range Lexus fit in very well with that city’s culture.

“We also want to learn how different communities perceive and interact with self-driving vehicles, and that can vary in different parts of the country,” an official with Google told The Detroit News.

Read more
Mass Transit In Greece Free This Week Due To Economic Crisis

Some transit authorities offer free service to encourage ridership. Greece is offering free service this week because no one has money.

Read more
Hyundai Struggles Against Infrastructure Issues To Meet Global FCV Sales Target

Global sales of Hyundai’s Tucson Fuel Cell haven’t been able to match sales targets since the FCV’s launch in 2013, though not for a lack of trying.

Read more
General Motors Repurposes Chevrolet Volt Batteries For Energy Storage

Having already recycled battery covers into animal habitats, General Motors is turning its efforts toward the Chevrolet Volt’s batteries themselves.

Read more
General Motors Announcing Entry Into Stationary Energy Storage Next Week

Forging a different path than rival Tesla, General Motors will announce its entry into the stationary energy storage market next Tuesday.

Read more
Musk: No Interest In Tesla Battery Swap Facility From Consumers

How many Tesla owners have paid a visit to the automaker’s sole battery-swap station in the world? Not enough to keep the experiment going.

Read more
Oregon First In Nation To Implement Per-Mile Road Tax Program

This July, Oregon will be the first to implement a program taxing motorists by miles driven instead of collecting at the pump.

Read more
California Hit By Rising Fuel Prices Due To Supply Issues

While most of the United States enjoys fuel prices under $3 per gallon, the West Coast can’t say the same, especially California.

Read more
Phoenix Suburb Installing License Plate Readers To Thwart Rare Burglary Activity

Police in Paradise Valley, Arizona are planning to install 15 license plate readers to aid in thwarting burglaries in the Phoenix suburb.

Read more
AAA: Average Annual Driving Costs Fall 2 Percent In 2015

According to AAA’s 2015 Your Driving Costs study, annual driving costs costs fell 2 percent to an average of $8,698 in 2015.

Read more
Tesla Unveiling Home, Business Battery Products April 30

Tesla wants more than to be in the garages of its customers as it plans to begin offering batteries for home and business energy-storage applications soon.

Read more
Japan Hydrogen Ambitions Fall Short Of March 2016 Target

Japan’s ambition to have 100 hydrogen fueling stations by next March may fall short of reality now that the deadline to apply for subsidies has passed.

Read more
ChargePoint Bringing Charging To Condos, Apartments With New Service

Live in a condo or an apartment and would drive a PHEV or an EV if only you could charge it? Charging-station producer ChargePoint might have the solution.

Read more
Virginia Tech Transforms Corn Stover Into Hydrogen

Just as corn kernels have found their way into gas tanks, corn stover could soon end up in fuel cells.

Read more
Gov. Scott Walker's Changing Ethanol Stance Sign Of Greater Issue For GOP Hopeful

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s flip-flop on the issue of ethanol may be just the tip of an iceberg that could affect his chances for the 2016 GOP hopeful.

Read more
Feinstein-Toomey Bill Seeks To Push Other Biofuels Over Corn Ethanol

With one attempt shot down thus far, two U.S. senators are issuing a standalone bill to reduce the use of corn-based ethanol at the pump.

Read more
Schockmel: CLEPA Members Ready For Autonomous Opportunities

Amid the glitz and glamour of the 2015 Geneva Auto Show, European auto supplier group CLEPA proclaimed its members would have a part to play in the autonomous game.

Read more
Report: Autonomous Vehicles Radically Altering Landscape In Coming Decades

Seven years from now, commercial and industrial autonomous vehicles could set a path toward a a future where the cityscape and beyond are radically changed.

Read more
Chicago's Yellow Light Intervals Generating More Fines

Ever notice how the traffic lights in Chicago switch from yellow to red quicker than in other cities? That’s because the city changed the formula.

Read more
MIT: Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication A Breakthrough Technology

In the next year or so, vehicle-to-vehicle communication will be seen as a breakthrough technology, per the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Read more
Nissan: EV Charging Infrastructure Surpasses Fuel Stations In Japan

Driving around Japan in your EV of choice? Range anxiety likely won’t be an issue, as the nation has more charging points than gas stations.

Read more
Hyundai, South Korean Government Opening Fuel-Cell Innovation Hub

Hyundai Motor and the South Korean government are coming together to open a hydrogen innovation center to help spur a creative economy.

Read more
Volkswagen To Invest $10M In EV Charging Infrastructure Through 2016

Hoping to encourage federal investment, Volkswagen is putting up $10 million for EV charging stations to be ready by 2016.

Read more
DOD: Connected Technologies Growing More Vulnerable To Sabotage

As connected technologies make inroads into vehicles et al, the growing possibility of sabotage has the Department of Defense and DARPA on notice.

Read more
Washington State Looking To Encourage EV Adoption Via Legislation

Legislators in the state of Washington have a slate of bills in mind that would encourage more EV adoption in order to help reduce air pollution.

Read more
Study: US Better Off Funding EV Charging Infrastructure Over Tax Incentives

According to a new study, federal funding of EV charging infrastructure would do more to increase EV adoption rates than what tax credits do now.

Read more
Obama Budget Proposes Tax On Corporate Foreign Earnings For Roads

President Barack Obama unveiled his annual budget Monday, which includes a proposition to tax corporate foreign earnings to fund the nation’s roads.

Read more
California University First In State Certified To Sell Hydrogen

Cal State L.A. now has the first hydrogen fueling station in California certified to sell the fuel by the kilogram.

Read more
BMW, Volkswagen Team With ChargePoint For Bi-Coastal Network

More charging stations are on the way for EV owners, thanks to a new partnership between BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint.

Read more
Tesla Share Price Plummets After Musk's NAIAS 2015 Visit

Tesla shareholders felt lighter Wednesday after the automaker’s stock price fell from just over $200/share to $186.09/share after CEO Elon Musk’s announcement at the 2015 Automotive News World Congress in Detroit — held during the 2015 Detroit Auto Show — that his company wouldn’t be profitable until the start of the 2020s.

Read more
Connected-Vehicle Tech Takes Center Stage At 2015 CES

You’ve seen the 2016 Chevrolet Volt at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show; now see what else automotive-related is debuting at the annual tech show in Las Vegas.

Read more
Toyota Grants Royalty-Free Use Of Over 5K Hydrogen Patents

Last year, Tesla granted every one of its competitors full access to its myriad of patents, in the hope they would, in turn, build more EVs.

This year? Toyota is doing the same with its hydrogen fuel-cell patents to help spur on further FCV development.

Read more
Uber CEO Indicted By South Korea For Violating Transportation Law

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been indicted in South Korea alongside the local branch of the California-based transportation network company for violating the nation’s prohibition on non-licensed livery drivers.

Read more
Subaru Cancels Plans For US-Made XV Crosstrek

Were you hoping to buy an American-made Subaru XV Crosstrek? You can breathe now.

Read more
Tesla Opens Battery Swap Pilot Program In California

It’s official: As of this week, select Tesla Model S owners will be able to swap battery packs in a pilot program along the route between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Read more
Detroit 2015: Honda FCV Concept Ready For North American Debut

With the FCX Clarity now out of the picture, Honda is looking forward to the FCV’s replacement, a preview of which is set to bow at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.

Read more
Sandia Labs: Underground Geologic Formations Hold Future Of Hydrogen Storage

Part of hydrogen becoming a viable energy option in the United States is infrastructure, which isn’t much at present. Should business pick up, however, hydrogen would need to be stored as cheaply as possible to facilitate greater adoption.

Read more
Toyota Increasing Mirai Production To Meet Strengthening Demand

Its looks leave the B&B cold, and is powered by a fuel whose infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired. So, how popular could the Toyota Mirai possibly be? Better than you’d expect.

Read more
Fuel Prices To Hit $2.55 By Christmas With Help From OPEC

Is your wallet feeling heavier these days, despite all of the blackened Thanksgivings and cybernetic Mondays meant to liberate you from your money? It’s about to become more so, thanks to an early Christmas present from OPEC.

Read more
Accuracy Issues Real Reason For Free Hydrogen For FCV Owners

Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell owners will be able to refuel their new FCVs for free for three years, but only because it’s hard to put a price on hydrogen.

Read more
Honda UK Launches First Commercial Solar Hydrogen Facility

In a partnership with various organizations, including Briggs Equipment UK, BOC and the Swindon Borough Council, Honda UK has launched its first commercial-scale hydrogen production and refueling facility in its hometown of Swindon, England.

Read more
NYC Lowers Speed Limit To 25 MPH For Safety Reasons

Sammy Hagar may not be able to drive 55, but thanks to new legislation limiting rate of travel in New York City to 25 mph, the Red Rocker would be dying to hit the double nickel.

Read more
B&B Reject Red-Light Cameras In Three States On Election Night

Tuesday, the B&B made their voice known on the issues affecting them, including a set of referendums on the infamous red-light traffic camera.

Read more
Daimler, Volkswagen Urge Independence From Google Data Platform

Google knows what you’re thinking. If you decide to search for brown diesel manual station wagons that bring out your inner American, Google will auto-complete that very phrase as one of its suggested searches as soon as you type out the word “bro.”

Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG aren’t too thrilled with this electric eye’s ability, urging its fellow automakers to develop automotive data platforms that would secure sensitive customer information from the Mountain View, Calif. tech giant.

Read more
GM Invests $63M Into Lansing Delta Township Expansion

General Motors is gearing up to spend $63 million on expanding its Lansing Delta Township plant — home of the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse — as part of an overall $300 million improvement plan involving the automaker’s Michigan properties.

Read more
Ethanol Advocates Conduct Pre-Election Ad Campaign Blitz

In less than a week, the B&B will head out to the polls to decide the direction the United States will take for the next two years.

Big Ethanol, too, is interested in the direction taken.

Read more
NYC Taxi Association Take Taxi Of Tomorrow Fight To Albany

Clutching dearly onto their fleet of Panthers, New York’s taxi industry is heading up to Albany to contest the $1 billion plan to replace their vehicles with Nissan’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” NV200.

Read more
Auto Industry Groups Join Forces To Secure Vehicle Communications

A pair of auto manufacturer groups are coming together to form a consortium meant to prevent crackers — the correct term for those whose goal is to give computer security a good thrashing — from busting up a given vehicle’s communication system, one that has the blessing of the federal government.

Read more
Daimler Expanding Sprinter Production To North America

When Daimler begins production of its next-gen Sprinter, quite a few of the vans will be leaving an assembly line somewhere in North America.

Read more
Jaguar Land Rover Evaluating Locales For North American Plant

The United Auto Workers may soon need to add another transplant to convert as part of its Southern strategy: Jaguar Land Rover is considering setting up shop in the Southeastern United States as part of its global expansion plans.

Read more
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.