Managing Automotive Blog

This is one survey request you might want to open. This week, the US Department of Transportation published several notices for public comment involving automated cars, trucks, buses, and light rail.

Automakers have tasted tech and they are ready for their next course. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance recently announced a new venture capital fund, named Alliance Ventures, that will be dedicated to startup technology investment.

The name’s Fisker, Henrik Fisker. The Los Angeles-based Danish expat known for designing the Aston Martin DB9, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the BMW Z8, and many more iconic cars is staging a comeback in the electric car industry.

Neural networks driving autonomous vehicles—a giant leap for self-driving cars and a big question for regulators.

And the third time seems to have charmed critics. Toyota Research Institute has released details about Platform 3.0, which is built on a Lexus LS 600hl hybrid luxury sedan, and will officially debut the autonomous research vehicle at CES 2018.

As 2017 came to a close, so did the auto industry’s sales streak.

Buy next year’s holiday décor, the sweater you actually wanted, and self-driving tech for 50 percent off!

Several automakers are already building up the heavy-duty electric vehicle market.

How do Teslas fit into country music? Elon Musk recently made new production promises on Twitter, saying that his company would make a pickup truck after the release of the Model Y, an electric SUV slated for 2019.

PCs just got a popularity boost in Silicon Valley.

If your smartphone feels old after a year, what about your car?

Auto upgrades and accessories? There’s an app for that.

Big Auto’s take on the Epcot classic is open for business in Michigan. The American Center for Mobility, a 500-acre test track for autonomous cars, welcomed its first participants, Visteon Corp. and Toyota Motor North America, last week.

The major automotive dealership vendor is running a full court press. Cox Automotive has sued CDK Global for anti-competitive behavior intended to eliminate competition in dealership data integration, breach of contract, engaging in unfair trade practices, and the defamation of Cox.

For those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, as Santayana optimistically said. Automakers making bold new strides into tech territory are also vividly remembering the smartphone wars and other court battles that have dominated Silicon Valley.

Boston city officials signed off on the Lyft/nuTonomy pilot program, which will be limited to the Seaport District’s startup hub, in October, and the cars are now up and running.

Did none of these developers read a cautionary tale called Frankenstein in school? The artificial intelligence boom is upon us, but researchers across numerous disciplines are scrambling to fully comprehend AI’s abilities and anticipated impacts across the economy.

Previously reluctant to show the autonomous vehicles it is developing, General Motors now wants to signal its progress in getting them to market. For more than a year, General Motors has tantalized investors with plans to build its future around self-driving cars.

Oi! That new battery’s got a bit of a Musk about it. Australia, the world’s largest coal exporter, is now also home to the world’s biggest battery for wind and solar energy.

Automotive practice leader Aaron Jacoby recently spoke with the Los Angeles Times about how as the year draws to a close, new car sales for 2017 have been marked by demand for SUVs rising to unprecedented heights, while interest in traditional passenger cars has plummeted.

Both Leandra English, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s deputy director, and Mick Mulvaney, the White House’s pick for interim head, have shown up for work.

Uber has announced a new deal with Volvo. Under the agreement, Uber plans to purchase as many as 24,000 self-driving Volvos once the technology is production-ready, putting the vehicles into its extensive ride-hailing network.

Want to take your Tesla for a joyride … through the air? In a tease that would be utterly ludicrous if it had come from practically anyone else, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted Sunday that a “special upgrade” of the company’s new Roadster supercar may be capable of briefly flying.