Volvo Sticks With Uber Despite Autonomous Crash and Stolen Tech Litigation

After Friday’s high-speed crash, it’s back to business as usual for Uber’s autonomous programs. Last week, one of the company’s self-driving Volvos was struck by a flesh-piloted crossover — causing Uber to temporarily ground its entire test fleet. With the exception of the wrecked unit, all of those vehicles are now back in action as the business attempts to get on with R&D while simultaneously moving its legal dispute with Waymo out of the public eye.

Meanwhile, Volvo’s 300-million-dollar alliance with the ride-sharing company remains unperturbed. In the crash’s aftermath, Volvo maintained that it would continue to support Uber and preserve the partnership.

Read more
Buzzfeed's Autonomous Auto Enthusiast: "So Go F*ck a Tailpipe If You Love Cars So Much", Vox Echoes: "Ban Human Drivers ASAP"

There’s a post over at Buzzfeed in which Matt Honan tells us that the future of automobiles is autonomous and how it’s going to be awesome. His conclusion makes me think that he’s not part of the car enthusiast tribe:

Cars are giant, inefficient, planet-and-people-killing death machines.

Read more
  • Rna65689660 For Los Angeles, this is super cheap housing. For it surely will be not going anywhere very often. Park it at Wallyworld for 3 days, then move to the next lot.
  • MaintenanceCosts This is half a car, because half the time it will be in the shop.
  • Mm3 ^^^ Sounds like a bunch of dudes who have never owned a Land Rover/Range Rover
  • 2ACL The seller is opting out of the 200,000 mile overhaul, and so should anyone else whose wrenching proficiency isn't seasoned dealership tech-level at a minimum. I can't think of an appropriate use for this other than a left-field choice for an overlanding rig project. There's already an expectation of spending lots of money on one, and some of the potentially troublesome systems like the air suspension will be addressed, if not discarded outright.
  • FreedMike Sounds like an excellent way to waste a ton of money.