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Major automakers and tech groups on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to take steps to speed deployment of self-driving cars, citing a number of regulatory hurdles. The Alliance For Automotive Innovation, a group representing nearly all major automakers, Consumer Technology Association, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association and other groups in a letter called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to quickly implement a national performance-based framework and to assert the federal government's role as sole regulator of self-driving vehicle hardware and software. "If the federal government fails to act to advance sensible AV policies we will cede our leadership in this...

Quote of the Week: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry FordTalk about chaotic markets. Donald Trump’s on-again off-again tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico caused markets to see-saw last week.Regardless of what happens next, the uncertainty could now weigh on markets until permanent trade deals are negotiated.The auto industry is right in the crosshairs of these tariffs and is understandably under pressure. The outlook for automakers was already looking shaky with electric vehicle sales losing momentum and consumer spending beginning to slow.On the other hand, pessimism creates opportunities. So...

The fundamental problem is this: electronic technology advances far too rapidly to be something that gets permanently integrated into a car that you may want to own for more than, say, five years or so. There’s nothing that ages an otherwise perfectly-fine car more dramatically than integrated technology that was cutting-edge when the car was new.

Illinois had some rare, good news yesterday.Stellantis, the Big 3 auto maker, announced it will be investing $1.2 billion in its Belvidere assembly plant and bringing back about 1,500 jobs there.You’ll never know who really got it done if you listen to Illinois’ leadership.It was a “dramatic turnabout,” as the Detroit Free Press put it.As you may remember, Gov. JB Pritzker announced to much fanfare in October 2023 that the Stellantis facility in Belvidere, idled with layoffs just before the previous Christmas, would be reopened. But no deal was ever signed and, last year, Stellantis indefinitely postponed any Belividere expansion,...

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president earlier today, but the Biden administration rammed through a number of last minute decisions before that took place. One of them was the finalization of a loan to Rivian worth up to $6.6 billion. The Department of Energy said the money will be used to finance the development and construction of a new manufacturing plant near Social Circle, Georgia. The facility will span approximately nine million square feet and have the capability to build up to 400,000 crossovers and SUVs annually. The plant will build models based on Rivian’s new midsize...

The government of Brazil stopped issuing work visas for Chinese electric carmaker BYD after local authorities rescued 163 Chinese nationals working in conditions “analogous to slavery” at a BYD factory under construction in the city of Camaçari, Bahia, Reuters reported Friday. BYD, a company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is building the plant at a location once occupied by American carmaker Ford, which sold the location to the local Bahia government in 2023 after Ford ceased all operations in Brazil in 2021. Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on December 23 that construction work on BYD’s factory in...

Despite nearly 1,000 cars being set ablaze, hundreds of thousands of people in France welcomed the New Year with largely peaceful celebrations, according to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. Retailleau announced late on Wednesday that 984 cars went up in flames across the country. Some 420 people were arrested, 310 of whom were taken into police custody. The minister called the figures unacceptable. "This violence is the product of a brutalization embodied by cowards and thugs who attack the property of often humble French people who do not have the means to protect their vehicles in private car parks." But the...

Residents of Victoria’s most populous region have to pay upwards of $400 just to work on their own vehicles, after a local government area imposed strict rules around private land use earlier this year. The City of Casey in Melbourne’s south-east, which includes suburbs like Cranbourne and Berwick, requires residents to apply for a private land use permit if they’re planning to store more than two unregistered vehicles for up to 90 days, store long heavy vehicles, and even dismantle, repair or service vehicles. Residents of the local government area must provide a site plan that illustrates where the activity...

Last year, global vehicle production reached 93.5 million units, representing a 2% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and a significant 17% rise from 2022.This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, visualizes the share of motor vehicles produced by the top 30 countries in 2023.The figures come from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, and includes both passenger and commercial vehicles.Which Country Produced the Most Cars in 2023?Below, we show the total number of motor vehicles produced by each of the top 30 countries, as well as their share of global production.RankCountry/RegionRegionTotal Car ProductionShare of Total Production1🇨🇳 ChinaAsia30,160,96632.2%2🇺🇸...

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035. The incoming Trump administration is likely to try to reverse the action. The California rule is stricter than a federal rule adopted this year that tightens emissions standards but does not require sales of electric vehicles. EPA said its review found that opponents of the two waivers did not meet their legal burden to show how either the EV rule or a separate measure on heavy-duty...

A few years ago, automakers were celebrating record profits as the pandemic created shortages of new cars, allowing them to raise prices. Now the hangover is setting in. Nissan, the Japanese automaker, is laying off 9,000 employees. Volkswagen is considering closing factories in Germany for the first time. The chief executive of the U.S. and European automaker Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat and other brands, quit after sales tumbled. Even luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz are struggling. Each carmaker has its own problems, but there are some common threads. They include a tricky and expensive technological transition, political...

Elon Musk added nearly $7 billion to his net worth Wednesday as Tesla’s shares rallied to a new intraday high amid a broader surge for tech stocks, as analysts have held optimism for the automaker in the weeks since the election.

Ian takes a drive in a fully restored Dion Bhuton with 8 HP

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - A former CIA software engineer was convicted on Wednesday of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks from the spy agency, in one of the biggest such thefts in CIA history.

"What's the best car?" Getting asked that question is an occupational hazard in this business. (And, yes, we realize that it's not actually hazardous, at least compared with the occupational dangers faced by, say, ironworkers who build skyscrapers or zookeepers who feed lions.) When you drive and test hundreds of cars every year—as our editorial team collectively does—it's a natural query. And our annual 10Best awards provide the answer. Since 1983, we've been conducting this exercise: We identify the very best of what's available, not merely our favorite new models introduced for a given year. An onslaught of new or...

The 1960s were a revolutionary period for the automotive world. This was the decade when you saw an exciting fusion of style, performance, and innovation that drove the car industry forward. Considered by many as the golden age of motoring, vehicles from the 1960s not only reflected the cultural shifts of the era but also set standards in design and engineering that would influence generations to come.

Executives at Ford Motor Company, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis are begging President-elect Donald Trump to keep in place President Joe Biden’s Electric Vehicle (EV) mandates. The plea comes as automakers have invested billions in EVs that have failed to turn a profit. In March of this year, Biden issued a federal regulation to begin phasing out gas-powered cars, requiring American automakers to produce EVs and ensure that by 2032, the majority of new cars sold in the U.S. market are electric. Since then, Ford, GM, and Stellantis have staked their futures on EVs. The results have been bleak as...

Daniel Alman from Squirrel Hill @DanielAlmanPGH Jaguar commercial from 40 years ago vs one from today: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IJX05mJ8tz4 https://youtube.com/watch?v=rLtFIrqhfng #Jaguar #JaguarCommercial #JaguarCars #Woke #Idoocracy #Marketing #WorstCommercials #TV #TVCommercial #TVCommercials #Television #Horrible #Awful #BigMistake #BadIdea 10:32 PM · Nov 21, 2024

Cars once represented a pillar of the American dream — mobility and independence. But they've become something of a luxury product, and customers and auto dealers are growing frustrated. The average price for a car in the U.S. is nearly $50,000, an increase of close to 30% in the past five years, according to Kelley Blue Book. Monthly payments are also near an all-time high. A record number of owners are underwater — paying more than the vehicle is worth — according to Edmunds. Despite record profits in 2023, automakers face challenges: the need to invest billions into software and...

hezni Carrion of La Crosse, Wis., was seven months pregnant when her 2012 Ford Taurus began having “extreme problems” that cost more than she could afford to repair. While there is a public bus system where she lives, the schedule was too limited for her needs and she didn’t feel safe on the bus, particularly with a baby on the way, Carrion said. A dealership gave her $1,500 for her broken car, which it had to tow, and she put the money toward buying a used 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe that cost $14,895. Despite this car being three years older,...