The Jeep Wrangler, the car most people are probably thinking of when they hear about “a Jeep,” will take a leap forward into the world of alternative powertrains in 2020 when it gets a plug-in hybrid variant. The PHEV version of the Wrangler was announced at the LA Auto Show this week (via Roadshow) alongside an EcoDiesel and standard gas versions. There’s not much… Read More
Category: transport
GM and Cruise on track to field a self-driving ride hailing service by 2019
GM and Cruise have articulated more specifically when they want to put their self-driving service on the roads, at today’s investor call for the company from San Francisco. GM said that they can make it happen within two years, with a fleet ready to go to work by 2019 based on the company’s current rate of progress. The commercial launch was previously revealed to happen within… Read More
Volvo’s car subscription service sounds like good way to get the new XC40
Volvo has a subscription car service, whereby you can get a new vehicle for a flat monthly fee, including insurance, maintenance and service. It’s not the first carmaker to provide this kind of ownership alternative, but it may have the best deal in the business at the moment, with its ‘Care by Volvo’ exclusively for the new XC40 SUV. The deal works thusly: Pay a monthly… Read More
Cruise’s self-driving launch plan doesn’t include small-scale pilots like Waymo’s
Cruise spent some time this week detailing its plans for self-driving deployment, and one of the key features of its approach is how it differs from that of some of its competitors. “We’re not going to do small-scale pilots,” explained Cruise CEO and cofounder Kyle Vogt during a press briefing prior to a Cruise self-driving vehicle ride along. “We’re [also] not… Read More
Waze gains support for HOV lanes, motorcycles and voice activation
Waze is getting a few new features today that are either firsts for any navigation app, or just functionally super convenient, including an option to optimize routes for travel by motorcycle, routing that incorporates use of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and the ability to have Waze listen for a voice trigger phrase passively and then interpret voice commands for both navigation and… Read More
Lucid moves its electric car ambitions into a spacious new HQ
Lucid, one of the companies that looks like it could have the best chance to potentially field a true all-electric competitor to Tesla’s Model S, is moving its headquarters to a new facility in Newark, California — one with twice the space of its current base of operations in Menlo Park. Read More
Tesla’s electric Semi truck starts at $150,000, reservations now live
The Tesla Semi, the automaker’s all-electric transport truck, will retail starting at $150,000 for a version with 300 miles of range, and will also be available in a $150,000 version with 500 miles of range. Interested parties can pre-order them with a base reservation price of $20,000 – or, if they want a “Founders Series,” they can get one for $200,000, with the… Read More
Lyft gets approval to test self-driving cars on public roads in California
Lyft is the latest company to be added to the ever-growing list of those permitted to test their self-driving technology on California state public roads. The California Department of Motor Vehicles added Lyft to the list recently (via Axios), following Lyft’s foundation of a self-driving technology development center earlier this year, and its announcement that it would work on both its… Read More
Uber data breach from 2016 affected 57 million riders and drivers
Uber faced a data breach in 2016 that affected some 57 million customers, including both riders and drivers, revealing their names, email address and phone numbers. That affected group included 50 million riders and 7 million drivers; around 600,…
View More Uber data breach from 2016 affected 57 million riders and driversBaidu and electric vehicle startup NIO lead $195M investment in Chinese limo booking app
Chinese internet giant Baidu is continuing its push into the automotive space after it led a RMB 1.3 billion ($195 million) Series B investment in Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, an offshoot of the state-owned Shouqi Group which was Beijing’s first licensed ride-hailing app. NIO Capital, the investment arm of billion-dollar electric car startup NIO, and Silk Road Huachuang joined… Read More
Uber adds live location sharing and more for easier pickups
Uber has added some updates to its rider app designed to make the pickup process easier in time for the busy holiday travel season. The biggest change is probably that you can now do live location sharing within the app, letting you temporarily share with your driver exactly where you are – all within your control from the main Uber screen. This should help avoid those moments when… Read More
Uber orders 24,000 Volvo XC90s for driverless fleet
Uber has entered into an agreement with carmaker Volvo to purchase 24,000 of its XC90 SUVs between 2019 and 2021 to form a fleet of autonomous vehicles, according to Bloomberg News. The XC90 is the base of Uber’s latest-generation self-driving test car, which features sensors and autonomous driving computing capability installed by Uber after purchase on the XC90 vehicle. The deal is said… Read More