Insights on Automotive

Well, it looks like Waymo and FCA US are getting along. Google affiliate Waymo will purchase up to 62,000 additional Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans from FCA US starting later this year to begin a national expansion of the company’s public driverless ride-hailing fleet, the two companies said.

Kon’nichiwa Motor City. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp will invest $2.25 billion in General Motors Co’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise, the companies said, a deal that validates the venerable Detroit automaker’s leadership in self-driving cars and sent GM shares up nearly 13 percent.

Say it isn’t so! Tea leaves are notoriously imprecise when it comes to divining the future, but as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has left us no other signs about what the next five years hold for the automaker he is about to leave, tea leaves will have to do.

Location, location, location. Mapping startup Mapbox Inc said it is teaming up with Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and Softbank Group Corp’s ARM Holdings chip unit to deepen its push into providing maps for self-driving cars. Mapbox does not make a mapping app itself.

If you can’t beat them, join them!

Following a tweet from President Donald Trump that there was “big news coming soon” for the automotive industry, the Department of Commerce (DOC) formally announced on May 24, 2018 an investigation into the impact of certain automotive imports on US national security interests.

It’s not just planes and subs that will be unmanned. Detroit carmakers say autonomous vehicles will change transportation forever.

It’s not just planes and subs that will be unmanned. Detroit carmakers say autonomous vehicles will change transportation forever.

The checkered flag hasn’t come out yet, but in the race to start the world’s first driving business without human drivers, everyone is chasing Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.

On April 23, 2018 and May 10, 2018, Partner Russell McRory gave two presentations to automotive dealer counsel and dealer principals.

The dealers (and lenders) got a big win when the US House voted to strike down an Obama-era auto-lending safeguard a novel maneuver that consumer watchdogs warn could expose decades of federal regulation to the same fate.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 30 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as leaders in their field.

Jump on the bandwagon and go for a ride …. Car makers BMW, General Motors, Ford and Renault are the big names behind a new group announced to explore the potential of the blockchain in the automotive and mobility space.

Big brother is starting to watch and pay attention. Advocates for automation have maintained that the recent tragedies involving autonomous cars shouldn’t detract from the likelihood that driverless technology is eliminating human error and making driving safer.

Who said that science was boring? Students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn are building a self-driving vehicle system from scratch. It’s the only way to learn, their professors say.

A few pennies saved could be a net profit earned. Dealerships are making savvy moves to combat the pressures of narrowing margins, rising insurance costs, higher wages, and an expected downturn for the personal vehicle.

Arent Fox is pleased to announce the launch of a new Blockchain group that pulls together attorneys from a number of the firm’s top practices to help clients navigate this emerging technology.

Conditions are icy, and we’re not talking about the road. Recent autonomous technology incidents involving Uber and Tesla have hit the breaks on the AV START Act’s progress in Congress.

Feeling chatty? Your car might soon be conversing too.

Only this course runs on self-driving technology, not a syllabus. Two self-driving, electric shuttle buses are expected to join University of Michigan’s bus service fleet this spring.

On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Hector Navarro, finding that Service Advisors at auto dealerships are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay requirement.

Good luck, you’re gonna need it. SF Motors is the newest kid on the EV block, but they may already have an edge over other startups.

From mini-vans to Jaguars? We see you, Waymo. Alphabet’s autonomous technology company is charging ahead with its driverless ride-hailing program, investing in up to 20,000 luxury, all-electric Jaguar compact SUVs despite recent competitor setbacks.

Political letters: an underappreciated variation on political memos. Five Democratic US Senators released a letter on March 14 that urged changes to the Senate autonomous vehicles bill.

Political letters: an underappreciated variation on political memos. Five Democratic US Senators released a letter on March 14 that urged changes to the Senate autonomous vehicles bill.