self-driving cars
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The company won't produce the long-awaited $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range, but instead will offer a software-limited version of the Standard Plus car to customers.
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No more turn-signal affirmation for Tesla Navigate on AutopilotIn a blog post on Thursday, Tesla announced that drivers will no longer have to approve lane changes when the car's Navigate on Autopilot system is engaged. It's a small step, but also a pretty big leap toward self-driving cars. Navigate on Autopilot is Tesla's "on-ramp to off-ramp" self-driving...
Eric C. Evarts -
Volkswagen ID Roomzz full-size electric SUV to bow in ShanghaiLast month, Volkswagen announced that it will expand its upcoming electric-car lineup from 50 new models by 2023 to 70 new models by 2028. But it gave no indication what many of those new models will be. On Tuesday, the brand revealed the sixth new member of its upcoming ID electric family: The VW...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla starts Hardware 3 rollout: Enhanced Summon, red-light warningsLike Teslas rolling through parking lots on their own, the self-driving future is inching closer. This week, Tesla owners began to experience new features of the company's long-promised next update to its self-driving system, including Enhanced Summon, which is one of the first features of Tesla's...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Autopilot ranks next-to-last in study of self-driving systemsTesla, its owners and fans, and its CEO Elon Musk crow a lot about the capabilities of its Autopilot self-driving system. In independent comparisons, though, other autonomous driving systems keep coming out ahead. The latest is from Navigant Research, an automotive consulting firm, and the results...
Eric C. Evarts -
Toyota Corolla Hybrid, flow batteries, Greenlots, GM-Tesla pickup rumor: Today's Car NewsThe EPA released impressive fuel-economy estimates for the 2019 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Indiana professors combine ethanol, and fuel-cell tech in affordable next-gen electric-car battery. One-step Plug&Charge comes to Greenlots chargers. And a report reveals that Tesla may be supplying batteries...
Eric C. Evarts -
California documents show that higher-trim versions of the 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus won't achieve the estimated 226-mile range. GM will double its investment in engineering new electric and self-driving cars. A new study shows that electric cars are cleaner than gas, even when using electricity from coal. And results from last week's Twitter poll are in. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Results of efficiency tests for the new 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus in California show that if buyers of the 2019 Leaf Plus want to get maximum range from the car, they should stick to the base model. Costlier...
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2019 CES: Quiet year for green-car and self-driving newsAs always, the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show held this week in Las Vegas was massive. Hundreds of thousands of attendees, workers, and support staff converged at multiple venues to show off their latest wares, meet with clients, partners, and the media and try to break through the news clutter...
John Voelcker -
Volvo Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 range, self-driving Lexus: Today's Car NewsTesla bumps up the range of its Mid Range Model 3, slightly and announces it will start delivering Model 3s to China in March. Volvo teases a look at its first electric model, the Polestar 2. Faraday Future flutters its eyes open, looking for its future, as it agrees to a mutual cease-fire...
Eric C. Evarts -
Toyota's newest self-driving test car is a Lexus LS luxury sedanIf you're going to develop a self-driving test vehicle, why not make it one that passengers would enjoy riding in? Perhaps that's the logic behind Toyota's choice of its new Lexus LS large luxury sedan as the basis for the P4, its latest automated-driving test vehicle—unveiled yesterday by...
John Voelcker -
Future Tesla Autopilot chips may come from Samsung self-driving pushThe race to build self-driving cars is heating up, with Google (Waymo), Tesla, Uber, Lyft, Ford, GM (Cruise), and others all vying to build the first reliable self-driving system. Now add Korean electronics giant Samsung to that list—with a twist. Its first client could be one of the major...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla drivers log 1 billion miles on AutopilotSelf-driving systems are like teenage drivers: They get better with practice. Tesla announced in a Tweet on Thursday that its cars logged 1 billion miles driving on Autopilot. That's a key milestone, since Teslas driving on Autopilot (and driven by humans) send data about what they see on the road...
Eric C. Evarts -
Since Tesla’s Autopilot was introduced back in October 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made extravagant claims about its superior safety. Last month, reacting to what Musk considers sensationalized media coverage of Tesla accidents, the company released the first of its promised quarterly safety updates. The report claimed that, compared to the U.S. automobile crash rate of one every 492,000 miles, Teslas in the second quarter of 2018 had an accident “or crash-like event” every 1.92 million miles. With Autopilot engaged that dropped to one in every 3.34 million miles. In other...
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50 million VWs, Faraday Future exodus Tesla Track Mode: Today's Car NewsVW announced plans to build almost as many electric cars as it did diesels. Faraday Future's last founding executive steps away. Tesla introduces Track Mode on Model 3 Performance cars. And we hear which electric car our Twitter followers would buy in our latest poll results. All this and more on...
Eric C. Evarts -
Another owner sues Tesla over Autopilot rear-end crashAnother Tesla owner whose car crashed while Autopilot was engaged has sued the automaker claiming false advertising In September, a woman whose Tesla crashed into the back of a stationary fire truck at speed while driving on Autopilot in Utah sued the automaker with similar claims. On Tuesday...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla removes Full Self Driving option from website for all modelsFriday marked exactly two years since Tesla announced that every one of its cars was being produced with the hardware needed for Full Self-Driving. Friday was also the first full day that Tesla removed the option from its configurator—at the same time that it introduced a new $45k Model 3 Mid...
Bengt Halvorson -
Teslas to get new self-driving, Autopilot chip in spring 2019Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk took to Twitter Tuesday to announce that owners will get a new Autopilot chip in about six months that will be much more powerful and enable the company's long-awaited Full-Self Driving Mode. In a series of tweets, Musk said that owners who have prepaid for...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla rolls out new Version 9 software–without full-self-driving featuresTesla chief executive Elon Musk on Friday announced that the company released its long-awaited Version 9 software update, but without the full-self-driving features that he promised back in June. Instead, the new software now rolling out to all Model 3's, Model S's, and Model X's makes improvements...
Eric C. Evarts -
In the latest ranking of automaker self-driving systems, Tesla's popular Autopilot system ranked second to Cadillac's Super Cruise system. The ratings come from Consumer Reports, which tested the cars on its test track and on local highways, in both lead and following positions. The organization rated the systems on their capability and ease of use; how they ensured that drivers stay engaged and don't become complacent; and to what degree the systems allow drivers to engage them in circumstances where they're not designed to be used. Consumer Reports noted that none of the systems qualify as...
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Volvo puts Ikea-like living room in self-driving concept carWith its latest self-driving car concept, Volvo wants to take on the airline industry. Without a need for a steering wheel, Volvo opened up the interior of its 360c concept to accommodate a coffee table, a card table, a desk, and even a first-class airline-style bed. The company says the...
Eric C. Evarts -
IIHS: Self-driving systems aren't that, and aren't ready for prime timeSelf-driving systems aren't ready for prime time, says a new report by IIHS. The Institute tested five cars: two Teslas, a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz, and a Volvo, all with systems that earned top marks in its tests of advanced driver safety aids. In new tests on its track and on public roads, all of the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla will roll out new Autopilot later this monthTesla announced Wednesday that it would release a complete update to its Autopilot system later this month, including new self-driving capabilities. The new version, which Tesla owners and fans have long-awaited, will update the system with faster hardware as well as new optical software that CEO...
Eric C. Evarts -
Oil analysts predict peak consumption in 2036Most people buy electric cars to reduce oil consumption, but oil companies keep selling more oil every year. Now, a new study by oil industry consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts that the demand for oil will start to decline as early as 2036, when autonomous cars become more popular. That forecast...
Eric C. Evarts -
How autonomous vehicles will compound electric-car benefitsA lot of ink has been spilled over self-driving cars lately—whether they'll work, how they work, and the potential for accidents. What hasn't been discussed as much is how autonomous vehicles could help the environment. Self-driving vehicles go hand-in-hand with electrification, said Raphael...
Eric C. Evarts