The automated highway system was undertaken by a group formed in 1994 called the National Automated Highway System Consortium, which was composed of nine primary organizations including General Motors and the California Department of Transportation. The consortium was required by Congress to demonstrate the feasibility of driverless vehicles by 1997, something it did down to the wire in an on-vehicle demonstration showing a driver behind the wheel of a self-driving car, arms sticking out the window and sunroof. You can see it for yourself in the video below.

The technology involved was quite primitive by today’s standards, with – as the Smithsonian pointed out – such seemingly requisite technologies like consumer GPS not even existing at the time the project was undertaken. And yet, with toggle switch boxes and thick laptops offering less power than the smartphone in your pocket, a system was devised that could take a car through a series of obstacles that it successfully avoided, such as traffic barrels placed in a lane.

As with today, the idea of driverless cars and automated highways drew quite a bit of criticism at the time, with, for example, Marcia Lowe of the Worldwatch Institute saying in 1993, “Smart cars and highways have quietly emerged as the latest and most-expensive proposal to solve the nation’s traffic problems. Government spending on the little known Intelligent Vehicle and Highway Systems program is expected to exceed $40 billion over the next 20 years … despite evidence that smart cars and highways may well exacerbate the very problems they are supposed to solve.”

Why did the progress stall (again, pun intended)? According to the Smithsonian, it was due to the very legislation that provided funding to develop such technologies. The lack of direction was one issue, as well as no solid definition having ever been provided over what the Congressional legislation meant by “automated highways.” As such, while the consortium had an idea and the motivation to take it as far as it did, it lacked a solid singular goal to pursue and dissolved as funding ran out.

Still, one must admire the future mindset of those who undertook the project, and wonder where we would be today had efforts to develop such vehicles continued rather than falling back into the “idea box” – we could very well have had driverless cars in place today, or be much farther along in the process than is reality. If nothing else, this shows that automated cars are more than a novelty idea, and that it is only a matter of time before we’re all kicking back while the car does the work for us.

SOURCE: Smithsonian

Tesla sells its popular electric vehicle via its own website, as well as its expanding series of retail stores. Such is the nature of Tesla Motors, and it is working well for them, doing all the work – right down to delivering the vehicle – on its own. Consumers don’t seem to mind. That hasn’t stopped North Carolina from going after the company – and others offering direct vehicle sales – via a legislative proposal.

Under the bill, which is being pushed heavily by the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association, no car maker would be allowed to directly sell its own vehicles within the state, thus eschewing traditional conventions of dealerships. Late yesterday, the NC Senate’s Commerce Committee approved the proposal – unanimously – to block such actions. Despite its unanimous approval, the resulting bill will be reduced in some ways, such as removing wording that designates any service providing a computer that is used to order a Tesla Model S as a dealership.

Not surprisingly, Tesla Motors isn’t happy about the approved proposal, nor the thought of being forced to offer its vehicles through state dealerships. The direct sales method of offering the buying public its vehicles is part of Tesla’s image – it gives the vehicle purchase that little something extra, a feel of being super special or getting something that transcends the normal.

In fact, Tesla Motor’s VP of Corporate and Business Development Diarmuid O’Connell compared being forced to sell through dealerships as being like selling a fine wine in a mall’s food court. “They’re trying to insulate the dealer franchise model from any competition. It’s a protectionist move to lock down the market so we have to go through the middleman – the dealer – to sell our cars.”

SOURCE: News Observer

Earlier today, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon announced that they have joined the “It Can Wait” campaign, which was created by AT&T in 2012 and is slated to begin circulating advertisements on May 20. The carriers aren’t the only ones working towards eradicating texting while driving, however, with in excess of 200 organizations and companies also slated to come on board.

The goal of the campaign is to bring awareness to the dangers of texting while driving, with it primarily targeting teenage drivers. For this reason, the project is set to run radio, TV, online, and in-store advertisements throughout the summer when teenagers are more likely to engage in the activity. The campaign will run through Labor Day.

As part of the campaign, teenagers and other commuters are being encouraged to make an anti-texting-while-driving pledge, doing so on the official It Can Wait website or via its Facebook account. The campaign is also ramping up on Twitter under the hashtag #itcanwait. Videos are already circulating for the campaign, with everyone being encouraged to share stories for the public on texting while driving.

In addition to the advertisements, It Can Wait’s website also features a texting-while-driving simulation game that demonstrates the difficulties and dangerous in sending a text message while operating a vehicle. While the co-branded aspect of the campaign will end on Labor Day, the project itself will continue beyond it.

SOURCE: PC World

According to local television news station 13WMAZ, the filming began today at a local car wash, with multiple streets being closed in the area over the next few weeks. Details on the film are a bit scarce at this point still, but as filming continues, we could hear more about it in the future. However, we already know that Michael Keaton will star in the film, who is known for his roles as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1989 film, as well as Batman Returns in 1992. The movie will also star Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’s Dominic Cooper, and recording artist Kid Cudi.

As for the plot of the new film, IMDb states that Need for Speed will focus on a street racer who was just released from prison as he “joins a cross country race with revenge in mind.” At the same time, an “ex-partner” places a bounty on him at the start of the race. It sounds like a fairly typical plot to a street racing, and we can expect the usual things to happen in the film, such as explosion, cars crashing, and classic manly fist fights to even it all out. The film looks to take on the Fast and the Furious series, which will see its sixth installment release later this month.

The folks behind The Fast and the Furious series have been milking the movies for everything they’ve got, so we’re not expecting much out of this upcoming release. With a release date pegged for March 14 of next year, we have a long way to go before we’ll get to see it, but hopefully it’ll give the street racing movie genre a much-needed reboot, which is something that has been wanted for several years now.

VIA: Polygon

SOURCE: 13WMAZ

The 2013 Nissan Leaf has many standard safety features, such as the side air bags, curtain side airbags, child safety door locks, a traction control system, and more that were part of the features earning it another Top Safety Pick title. The vehicle received “Good” ratings down the board, according to the itemized list, which you can check out here.

The 2013 Leaf was put through a moderate overlap front test crash, a side impact crash test, and a roof strength crash test, with the only one not performed being the small overlap front test. For the three different testing categories, the Leaf was rated as “Good.” While such a rating is good for any car, it is worthwhile to point out that the Leaf is an electric vehicle, which are criticized by some as being less safe.

Said Nissan’s Director of Electric Vehicle Sales Erik Gottfried: “Driver and passenger safety are top priorities for Nissan and the ‘Top Safety Pick’ designation by IIHS reflects the design and innovation that have gone into this car to make it a practical, no-compromise electric vehicle. The new, U.S.-assembled 2013 Nissan LEAF provides customers with a remarkable level of value, comfort and security at prices competitive with gas-powered cars in a fun-to-drive package.”

[via Green Car Reports]

The first quarter of this year saw Tesla producing their 10,000th Model S vehicle body – and they’d better get a move on if their suggestions of rates of orders are correct. Tesla Motors noted this week that they’ve reached an order rate greater than 20,000 per year worldwide, and not just in the United States. Tesla notes that though the Model S has only been delivered to North American customers at the moment, they’ve seen “significant potential” in both Europe and Asia.

The company has suggested that they’ll be building right around 5,000 Model S vehicles in the second quarter of 2013, some of them headed for Europe for delivery in the third quarter of the year. The company has also raised their target for sales on this electric vehicle to 21,000 unit deliveries by the end of the year, worldwide.

“I think we’ll see at least 10,000 units of demand per year in Europe, and at least 5,000 in Asia.” – Deepak Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer

“Do not take these numbers as final in any way, but if I’m asked to speculate I could say 15,000 units for North America, 5,000 for Europe, and 1,000 for Asia [by the end of the year].” – Elon Musk

In the announcement mass this week regarding their first quarter of 2013, Tesla also noted that they’d exceeded their targets for deliveries, made a significant expansion in gross margin, and generated a profit of $15 million. That is, again, the first time the company has made a quarterly profit in the entirety of the company’s 10-year history. Producing approximately 400 Model S cars per week certainly must have had shareholders either nervous or pumped up – that’s a lot of metal with potential to hit the road.

[via Tesla Motors Live Conference]

The company sold 4,900 vehicles during the three month period, raking in $562 million in revenue, which is up a whopping 83% from last quarter’s $306 million. After it was all said and done, Tesla profited $11 million, which is barely pocket change, but it marks the first time in the company’s ten-year history that they’ve finished in the black.

Throughout the first quarter, Tesla claims that they built “400 or more” Model S vehicles per week on average, and they beat their original guidance of 4,500 cars for the quarter, shipping almost 5,000 Model S cars during the past three months. The company also reduced the amount of time it takes to building a Model S, lowering that time by around 40%, which allowed them to build more units.

Currently, Tesla says that they’re receiving orders for new cars at a rate of around 20,000 per year globally. However, Tesla doesn’t sell cars outside of North America, but the company hinted that there is an interest in selling Model S cars to regions in Europe and Asia. The company made a lot of announcements this quarter, including a new financing plan and a new warranty program that aims for guaranteed customer satisfaction.

Of course, Ferrari’s new LaFerrari has a hybrid component, so the company is at least meeting halfway, but an all-electric vehicle will most likely never be built inside of Ferrari’s factories. It’s certainly possible, however, that when a new boss takes over Ferrari, we could see a change in that belief, but for the time being, no electric cars are in the works for the company.

Montezemolo also discussed Ferrari’s production plans for the rest of the year, and it seems they’re going to keep numbers down for the most part. The chairman says that Ferrari will keep its production run below 7,000 cars this year in order to maintain exclusivity, which Montezemolo compared to desiring and waiting for “a beautiful woman.”

While Ferrari plans to make less cars this year, Montezemolo says that the company’s revenues and profits would match last year’s. Under 7,000 cars in one year is quite exclusive, and not one of those cars will sport an electric motor. We suppose most people still love hearing the throaty sound of a V12 gasoline engine.

[via Yahoo]

Both Android and iOS devices working with Amazon Cloud Player are ready for action with Ford SYNC AppLink-equipped vehicles. The iOS version has been outlined this week with dashboard controls as well as voice recognition abilities. Users will also be hearing their tunes with high-quality 256kbps audio straight from their vehicle’s speaker system.

With Amazon’s system, users will have the ability to play music wirelessly from their iOS device or through their Cloud Player. With Cloud Player, music is accessed through Amazon’s online archive, this allowing the user’s vehicle and iOS device to free up local storage space for alternate media.

This push is affecting the 2013 Ford Fiesta, Mustang, Focus, C-MAX Hybrid, E-Series, F-150, Expedition, Fusion, and Super Duty models, and will quite likely be appearing on future vehicles with Ford SYNC AppLink embedded as well. This connectivity should be appearing on and with your vehicle and iOS device starting today. Android users should, by all means, have had this connectivity working nicely since February – if you’re still waiting, make a move!

Once the circuit board overheats, it can cause the cars’ 12-volt battery to drain and one of several indicator lights to turn on on the instrument panel, which means that owners will be aware of the issue when it happens. However, if drivers ignore the warning lights (which we all do sometimes, right?), the engine could eventually stall and start a fire in the trunk.

Thankfully, though, the issue doesn’t affect the rechargable lithium-ion battery that’s a part of the cars’ electric hybrid system. If you’re curious to know whether your specific car is or will be affected, General Motors says that most of the incidents reported have happened within the first 1,000 miles of driving with the cars. No accidents or injuries were reported.

We actually took a look at Buick’s latest LaCrosse and Regal hybrid models during the New York Auto Show back in March. These new models aren’t a part of the recall, as they’re the 2014 models. The new cars come with the company’s next-generation IntelliLink infotainment system, which we got our hands on as well.

[via LA Times]

According to the announcement, the Design Vision GTI was made by Volkswagen’s Head of Design Klaus Bischoff and his team, which gave the vehicle a boost inside and out, tossing 20-inch wheels and an autonomous body into the mix. Power is substantially increased from the standard Performance model’s 230 horsepower to 503 horsepower/6500rpm, giving a 186mph top speed.

Such power enables the Design Vision GTI to hit 62mph in a reported 3.9-seconds, a speed that demands carbon-ceramic brake discs behind wheels specially designed with vents to let the brake gas dissipate. There’s a DSG dual-clutch transmission and 3.0-liter V6 TSI direct-injection engine, a step up from the standard 2.0-liter four cylinder offering.

Inside, drivers find a design meant to make driving a simple task, allowing hands to stay on the wheel as often as possible. There are paddle shifters, center console controls, and three drive modes: Track, Sport, and Street. In addition, there is also an electric kill switch and a button that triggers a fire extinguisher. Finally, in the center console the designers tossed in a real-time updated display with a map of the racing track with other racers’ positions.

[via Volkswagen]

What the audience will find in this push for the film is an advertisement for an Audi vehicle stocked with infotainment system, light-up bits and pieces, and a presentation that makes Leonard Nimoy’s ride look like a bit of a joke. Of course that’s the point, as the new age – with Quinto, aka Spock from the newest series of Star Trek movies – makes way as the old – Leonard Nimoy, stays cool.

You’ll find Nimoy making reference after reference not just to Star Trek in more form than one, but to his own professional (read: odd) past as well. For an extended period of his vehicle trip in this video he sings a new rendition of the classic “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”, a song which he sang for a variety show in 1967 by he name of Malibu U. Because we live in an age where all things digital can be preserved, you’ll be treated to this epic masterpiece as well, right this minute.

Please mind the 60′s pixie women, if you can. Zachary Quinto meanwhile stays par for the course, ready to appear as Spock for the film Star Trek Into Darkness later this month – on the 17th of May, mind you. It’s also rumored that Quinto will be returning to the most terrifying television show of all for another season soon: American Horror Story. Can’t be too silly for that one.

The recall affects BMW’s 3-series and M3 vehicles from 2002 to 2003, and according to data from the NHTSA, there are about 1.3 million of these vehicles in the US, with just over 42,000 of them being recalled, which means that only a small percentage of these cars are affected by the malfunctioning airbag.

The faulty airbags, made by Takata, were produced from April 2000 to September 2002 at one of the company’s plants in Washington state, according to the NHTSA. The propellant components in the airbag’s inflator may have been produced with an insufficient “compaction force,” leading to malfunctioning when the airbag is activated,

However, the recall most likely won’t affect all the cars involved. BMW spokesman Dave Buchko said that all five car manufacturers involved in the massive Takata recall, there was only about a small handful of improper deployments (around a dozen total) of airbags that have been reported among over 3.4 million vehicles affected.

[via Reuters]

However, Musk is wanting self-driving technology that’s more like the autopilot system in airplanes, mentioning that the word “self-driving” implies that the car is “going to do something you don’t want it to do.” Instead, Musk says that autopilot would be perfect, and says that cars “should have it.”

While Bloomberg reports that Musk is currently in talks with Google, it seems as if he wants to implement his own system for self-driving cars, rather than just use Google’s technology. Musk says that “Google’s current approach is that the sensor system is too expensive.” Instead, he claims that “an optical system” would be better, which is an array of cameras that can tell what’s going on just by looking at the surroundings.

Toyota demonstrated a similar system to what Musk describes back in January, and the auto maker is also an investor of Tesla, so we could see the two companies work together possibly on a new self-driving technology. However, it’ll be a long while before self-driving and autopilot cars hit the mainstream. Until then, save up your money.

UPDATE: Elon Musk said over Twitter that making autopilot Tesla cars is “important,” but it’s not yet a “top priority” for the company. Musk says that production of autopilot cars is still a “few years” away.

UPDATE 2: Musk further comments via Twitter that the report from Bloomberg is “off-the-cuff” and that there is “no big announcement here.”

[via Bloomberg]

According to the report, Tesla Motors receives up to $35,000 in credits for every Model S electric vehicle it sells, a substantial number on top of the car’s sticker price. The credits have been a financial staple of the auto maker, and likewise gives it a boost that is unique to Tesla Motors – no other car manufacturer gets so much in credits. As Chrysler’s CEO pointed out last month, for example, its taking a $10k hit on every Fiat it sells in California.

California has been heavily pursuing zero-emissions vehicles, with that reality reinforced last month via the publication of a roadmap by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, in which it detailed the state’s plans for rolling out hydrogen stations and the number of fuel-cell vehicles it expects to see in the coming years based on current and estimated growth rates.

Despite accusations that California is playing favorites, the state’s Air Resource Board is quoted as saying: “We are in the air pollution business, not the car business. There is some jealousy of Tesla going on here.” As far as Tesla Motors goes, the maker saw Model S sales tally in at 2,650 last year, and expects the number of sales to jump drastically this year to 20,000 units. Such a number will bring in substantial environmental credits, which will then sell for an even more substantial amount to other car makers.

[via LA Times]

Of course, this isn’t the first time Terrafugia has waved around a flying car, having first done so way back in late 2006 with the Transition, a work-in-progress that was said to function as both a car and a personal air vehicle. Not surprisingly, the Transition isn’t zipping around our skies, but that hasn’t stopped the company from unveiling its latest ambitions, the TF-X.

The TF-X is said to be a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) vehicle with four-seats and a plug-in hybrid system under the hood. According to the announcement, Terrafugia has already discussed the vehicle with the FAA, which it says is agreeable to the technology. It also goes on to say that the Transition is “nearing” production, with the TF-X concept eventually going a step farther.

Said Terrafugia’s CEO Car Dietrich: “This is the right time for us to begin thinking about the future of the company beyond Transition® development. We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation.”

[via Terra Fugia]

The Jetta GLI, Beetle turbo, and 2013 Beetle are all going to be updated with a Gen 3 EA888 engine, which is a 4-cylinder 2-liter turbocharged engine that offers drivers 210 horsepower, a small boost over the current 200-horsepower offering. With the new engine, these vehicles will also see a (very) slight increase in their mileage ratings, to the tune of between 1 and 2 MPG. Not a huge increase, but like all things it’ll add up in the long-haul.

Although the cars will get better mileage than the current models, the updated MPG won’t be advertised on the 2013 models, instead being rolled out to the 2014 models after the government okay’s the figures. Looking at the current models, the Jetta GLI is rated at 24MPG in the city, and the Beetle turbo is rated at 22MPG in the city. So for the updated models, we’ll be seeing something like 24MPG and 26MPG, respectively.

Volkswagen says it will be rolling out R-Line bumpers on the Beetles, with coupe model offering a 6-speed transmission and a starting price of $30,135. The Jetta GLI will be seeing the addition of LED tail lights on all of its models. Consumers can also expect to see new rear bumpers, 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, and more. No mention of the dates when the new vehicles will hit dealerships.

[via USA Today]

New loans will be extended by 11, going from 63 months to 72 months, in order to give buyers the ability to get lower monthly payments. The company faced recent criticism that their financing plan was a bit vague, and some of the math didn’t quite add up. For instance, the company said that the out-of-pocket cost of a Model S would be in the $500 range per month, but monthly payments would actually be around $1,200.

Furthermore, Tesla is now also guaranteeing a resale value of 50% after three years, which is up from 43% previously. Beforehand, the company agreed to match the resale value of the Mercedes S Class, but they’re now including any and all premium non-limited edition sedans, which sounds like a pretty sweet deal from the looks of it.

Musk admits that their initial financing plan “wasn’t quite right,” and he’s giving credit to the critics who called out the company on the confusing financing plans. Musk says that these people “were right,” and the company is “upping the ante by providing the best resale value guarantee in the automotive industry.”

The rear axle steering feature is quite unique and rather odd to think about. Essentially, the steering angle of the rear wheels can be adjusted by up to 2.8 degrees, and this changes depending on how fast you’re going. The rear axle consists of “electro-mechanical actuators” that change the degree of the rear wheels, so when you turn the 911 Turbo going under 30 mph, the rear wheels are ever so slightly turned in the opposite direction, which shortens the wheelbase, giving the car better cornering abilities.

At speeds above 50 mph, the steering system steers the rear wheels parallel to the front wheels, which extends the wheelbase and gives the car better stability at high speeds. It’s an interesting concept, and one that allows the car to go under 7:30 at the Nurburgring, according to Porsche. As for the engine, the 911 Turbo sports 520 horsepower, while the Turbo S has 560 horsepower.

Unfortunately, though, the new car won’t come with a manual transmission option, but Porsche claims that the 911 Turbo S can reach 60 mph from a standing position in just 2.9 seconds, which is mighty quick for a production car. As for price, The 911 Turbo will cost $148,300, while the 911 Turbo S begins at $181,100.

The approval, however, didn’t stop livery cab drivers and others from continuing to go after the program, and today they saw at least a temporary victory, with Appellate Division Associate Justice Helen E. Freedman tossing out an emergency injunction against the e-hailing program and calling for a fast review by a panel of judges in appeals court.

The livery cab drivers’ attorney Randy Mastro said in an email to Bloomberg: “This faux ‘pilot program’ is so fundamentally flawed and illegal in so many respects that it had to be stopped. And now it once again has been.” Such a change comes at a bad time for the e-hailing service Hailo, which had temporarily been denounced for working outside of the rules of the program, but that just received its approval by the TLC today.

The current expectation is that the panel of judges will hear the case some time this month, although that hasn’t been officially confirmed. All of this follows the lift on the first ban that took place last week by NY Supreme Court Justice Carole Huff, who addressed and dismissed many of the claims against the program, including ones about facilitating discrimination and making things harder on the elderly.

[via Bloomberg]

Additions like the Infotainment system in this year’s Corvette add a significant amount of weight – at 31.5 pounds on its own, this system weighs more than any other single totally new element in the vehicle. According to GM Authority, a list of items from bigger breaks to new structural safety requirements add their own bulk to the system. New seats come in at 17.2 pounds, a larger fuel tank adds 3 pounds, reinforced differential and half shafts at 18.5 pounds, and together a 35.2 pound addition is included in Active Fuel Management (AFM), variable valve timing, and direct injection.

The total estimated weight of the Corvette C7 coup without the Z51 package was confirmed this week by Chevrolet to be 3,298 pounds (1,496 kg), that is 90 pounds (41 kg) heavier than the standard 2013 Corvette C6 coupe’s curb weight. Weight additions in the Z51 performance package are not yet confirmed, but have been estimated at between 150 and 200 pounds on top of it all.

According to Chevrolet, the weight is not going to bring you down. On the contrary, they’ve made it clear that this model will be more capable and handle better than any model in the past, and they’ve made every effort to emphasize the luxury points throughout the vehicle since it was first revealed.

Says Nissan, the 2014 GT-R Track Edition is meant to take the popular GT-R car up a notch, heading towards the realm of competition racers. To facilitate the differences, the Track Edition features things like specialized brake cooling guides, carbon fiber air ducts, and – instead of normal backseats – a quilted cloth. Other cars in the GT-R family include the GT-R Black and the GT-R Premium.

Both of those GT-R models are cheaper than the Track Edition model, with the Black being priced at $109,300 and the Premium being priced at $99,590. The Track Edition in particular will have a very limited production of 150 vehicles, which are already on sale at select Nissan GT-R dealers across the United States. Both the Black and Premium editions are also available.

Unlike the other GT-R models, the Track Edition features Bilstein DampTronic gas-pressure shock absorbers and high spring rates, giving it an updated suspension system. Nissan says that the Nurburgring was heavily used in the suspension’s development, putting it through testing and aiding with benchmarks. The front seats are high-grip, the tires are nitrogen-filled, and the rear spoiler is handmade from carbon fiber.

[via AutoBlog]

A long time ago, car dealers ended up getting their state lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban the direct sale of cars straight from the manufacturer. This was a precaution to prevent auto makers from undercutting the car dealers. However, Sterling McCall, who is a popular retired car dealer based in Houston, says that this kind of ban is hogwash.

McCall says that “we ought to welcome competition — and the innovation — that Tesla brings, just as dealerships already compete to sell more gas-powered, hybrid and natural gas vehicles from the country’s larger manufacturers.” McCall continues by saying that this is essentially something that the public wants.

However, it’ll be a hard fight Musk and company, as Tesla was recently denied a dealer license in Virginia for the same reasons that they can’t sell cars in Texas. Musk is currently urging lawmakers to introduce a new bill that would either reverse the ban, or simply allow direct sales in these states.

The image was tweeted by Idealab founder Bill Gross, along with a claim that the self-driving car collects almost 1GB of data every second (yes, every second). This data includes imagery of the cars surroundings in order to effectively and safely navigate roads. The image shows that the car sees its surroundings through an infrared-like camera sensor, and it even can pick out people walking on the sidewalk.

Of course, 1GB of data every second isn’t too surprising when you consider that the car has to get a 360-degree image of its surroundings at all times. The image we see above even distinguishes different objects by color and shape. For instance, pedestrians are in bright green, cars are shaped like boxes, and the road is in dark blue.

However, we’re not sure where this photo came from, so it could simply be a rendering of someone’s idea of what Google’s self-driving car sees. Either way, Google says that we could see self-driving cars make their way to public roads in the next five years or so, which actually isn’t that far off, and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is even interested in developing self-driving cars as well. However, they certainly don’t come without their problems, and we’re guessing that the first batch of self-driving cars probably won’t be in 100% tip-top shape.

[via BuzzFeed]

This initial test was done at a runway at California’s Mojave Air and Spaceport this morning – Monday, that is, the 29th of April. This test was done with carrier mothership WhiteKnightTwo, it carrying SS2 to an altitude of around 47,000 feet (14,300 meters) where the smaller craft test-fired a rocket engine that would, or will, eventually carry it to its space-bound top height.

This test is only the very first in a set of tests that will eventually prove the craft viable for real human use. British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, owner and founder of Virgin Galactic, Virgin Airlines, Virgin Mobile, etc, spoke this morning of the event in brief, suggesting his day thus far has been “ridiculously exciting”. With flight tickets set at the moment at an expected two hundred thousand dollars a person, it’s not difficult to see more than one reason why Branson would find this day a positive one.

According to Virgin Galactic, they plan on running their first official full space flight by the end of the calendar year. This flight may or may not be working with user-purchased tickets at that time.

Virgin Galactic is a concept born not just of Branson’s wishes to head to space, but of the company’s ever-expanding aims to bring consumers entertaining experiences in travel. Such is a flight aboard a Virgin Airlines flight, complete with posh interiors and wireless phone chargers in specialized waiting rooms at the airport. After Virgin Galactic takes off for real, we expect Virgin Volcanic to head below our Earth with a giant drill – it’d only be right.

UPDATE: A video has been released showing this event, specifically the bit where the SpaceShipTwo breaks the speed of sound – watch for it now.

[via Space]

The 9-speed transmission will also be implemented into the Chrysler 200 as well as the Dodge Dart. All in all, the company hopes to sell 200,000 cars equipped with the transmission. In a statement released by Scott Garberding, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing at Chrysler, he says that the new transmissions are critical to Chrysler’s goal of meeting fuel economy requirements over the next few years.

However, the Toledo Machining Plant isn’t the only plant that Chrysler will invest in. It will also be investing into more plants located near Kokomo, Indiana, as well as establishing another manufacturing site in Tipton, Indiana in order to increase productions of the transmission. These plants, alongside its current Transmission Plant I, will focus on assembling the actual 9-speed transmission.

The investment in the Toledo plant will be used to install more equipment and tools into the plant to increase assembling capacity. The installation will take place in Q3 2014 and is expected to finish by the end of that year. This new investment adds onto Chrysler’s previous $72 million investment into the plant that it made back in 2011 to help modernize production for both its 8-speed and 9-speed torque-converters. In total, Chrysler has invested $5.2 billion in U.S. operations since June 2009. To keep up with the latest news on Chrysler, or the automotive industry in general, be sure to check out our Cars Hub.

[via Auto Blog]

With the spare tires being over or under-inflated, they can fail without warning the driver, leading to an bigger risk of crashing. 2013 Nissan Altima owners are expected to receive their recall notifications beginning May 3rd. They will be asked to bring in their vehicles to their nearest, authorized Nissan dealer who will proceed to inspect and fix the spare tire issues at no charge.

This isn’t the first time that Nissan issued a recall for the 2013 Nissan Altima. Earlier in March, Nissan recalled the vehicle due to a potential problem with the airbags. The airbags would improperly deploy during a crash, which could have led to injury, and worse, death. Alongside the 2013 Nissan Altima, the Nissan Sentra, the Nissan Pathfinder SUV, and the 2013 Nissan Leaf EV were all recalled as well.

Just last week, Nissan also issued a recall for around 20,000 of its 2013 Pathfinder and 2013 Infinite JX vehicles as well. The vehicles potentially had faulty brakes due to one component in the brakes being manufactured incorrectly. The faulty component could potentially reduce the braking power of the affected vehicles, resulting in an increased chance of crashes. Customers with the affected vehicles are expected to receive their recall notifications in early May as well.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Tesla started selling its Model S vehicles back in the middle of 2012, and it has plans of delivering 20,000 of its vehicles this year. So far its shipments are limited to North American consumers. Customers are able to purchase a Model S thanks to Tesla’s financing tool that will allow customers to pick up a Model S for virtually no down-payment and with monthly payments of $500 a month for 36 months. Elon Musk also promises customers that they can sell their Model S back after 36 months for the “same residual value percentage as the iconic Mercedes S Class.”

However, despite Tesla’s growth in sales last quarter, it still won’t reach the sales of GM and Nissan, who both sold 30,000 of their rechargeable vehicles last year. Tesla, being a small business, is limited to sales in only the United States and Canada, and until it can sell its Model S vehicles to other countries, it may have a tough time. According to one analyst, its small size will put it under financial pressure. John Wolkonowicz, an auto analyst in Boston, states,

“Tesla’s small size, relative to GM and Nissan, will keep the electric-car maker under financial pressure. The auto business is all about capital intensity, you have to spend money to keep improving your products and develop new ones. A small little auto company like Tesla, I just don’t think they can do it.”

Regardless, Tesla is doing well so far. The company says that in its 10-year history, it will be reporting its first-quarter profit on May 8th. The company also plans on repaying its loan from the Department of Energy 5 years in advance. Tesla’s vehicles appeal to customers not just because of their build quality, but also because of the company’s policies that assure that its customers will receive high quality service when purchasing their vehicles. Alongside the financing tool, Tesla will also provide a complete warranty program that will cover “essentially anything that happens to your vehicle”. The program will last for 8-years after you purchase your vehicle.

[via Bloomberg]

This particular problem isn’t terribly troublesome, but does have the potential to cause a crash if the brake pedal or accelerator can’t be pressed properly. Says Subaru, the backing on the floor mats wasn’t made correctly, and because of the problem are prone to curling up when they get too warm, such as on a hot summer day. Upon curling, they could interfere with the pedals.

According to the report, this problem hasn’t caused any injuries, but has been the cause of unintended accerlation that resulted in runaway vehicles, a situation that could have a fatal outcome. The total number of vehicles involved in this recall tally out to 10,137, and will see the auto maker replacing the mats with new ones. Recall notifications are expected to go out to affected vehicle owners this month.

This is Subaru’s second recall this month, with the first happening back on April 9 due to brake lines that could corrode when they come in contact with salt water. That particular recall involved 200,000 Outback and Legacy vehicles made from 2005 to 2009. And that recall followed one shortly before thatinvolving a remote starter glitch that made the cars start up on their own.

[via Wall Street Journal]

A total of 120 car dealerships have joined forces to file an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Carfax, rallying against what they say is its anti-competitive practices and other related issues. The dealerships are located across the nation, spanning from California to the East Coast and back again.

Such a high number of dealerships exceed what the plaintiffs, represented by Bellavia Blatt Andron & Crosset, expected, with their attorney saying they anticipated between 25 and 50. Such wasn’t the case, with many more proving eager to take part in the push against Carfax and its alleged devious actions, which include charging higher-than-industry-norm rates for dealers to pull up vehicle history reports and exclusive agreements that leave its competitors without a leg to stand on.

For example, the lawsuit says that Carfax has exclusive agreements that requires dealers to purchase its history reports. With dealers in this vice, the company then jacks the price up, charging more than is considered within the normal range. Another problem is the exclusive agreements it is said to have with AutoTrader.com and Cars.com that require dealers who list used cars on the sites to only provide history reports from Carfax.

Carfax said it can’t comment on the issue.

[via Automotive News]

The Taxi and Limousine Commission announced earlier this evening that it has approved Uber, making it the first to get the go-ahead for offering electronic yellow taxi-cab hailing in New York City. The 12-month program for testing the effects of what it refers to as e-hailing in the state officially starts counting down from today. The announcement states that more services will be approved in the future.

The TLC has added a section on e-hailing to its website, and will update it with those who are officially authorized to provide their service in New York City. You can check out the list here for yourself. Taxi drivers are forbidden from using services that have not gone through the proper channels and received the go ahead, something that is a sticking point for the 5,000 or so using Hailo, which just launched a beta program. A TLC spokesperson told Gizmodo “it appear that Hail-O is operating outside of [the e-hail program].”

Said the TLC’s Chairman David Yassky: ” There are several other companies in various stages of our approval process with others sure to join them, and we are excited about the prospect of seeing the universe of choices expand. The passengers have spoken and the Bloomberg administration listened…people want the opportunity to decide whether new technology can improve their taxi experience, and today, that option is available to them.”

[via Gawker]

The program spoken about here will work with current owners of the Tesla Model S and will cover essentially anything that happens to your vehicle just so long as you didn’t intentionally make it happen yourself. In fact, they go so far as to cover all damage excluding intentional damage, colission, or the opening of a battery pack by non-Tesla crew.

“Except in the cases of a collision, opening of the battery pack by non-Tesla personnel or intentional abuse (lighting the pack on fire with a blowtorch is not covered!), all damage is covered by warranty, including improper maintenance or unintentionally leaving the pack at a low state of charge for years on end.” – Tesla Motors

If you’ve got your car in for repairs, this program lets you grab a loaner car that, if you enjoy using more than the car you own, can be purchased at a price lower by 1% per month of age and $1 per mile. Using this program will allow the Tesla fleet on the road to never turn in to an “aging fleet of overused cars”, as they say.

“We’re focused on the things that needed the most attention, it started with the design and engineering of the car, then went to the production of the car… now we’re focusing on a warantee program for the world’s best car.” – Musk

This system works with the Model S, but we’re expecting it’ll be pushed to whatever other vehicles are released by the company in the future as well. If you yourself own a Tesla vehicle, please feel free to contact SlashGear with your input on the new warrantee system, whether your satisfied or not. Have a peek in our Car hub for more information on the vehicle universe in general and head down to the timeline below to track Tesla’s change in the very recent past!

With the 2014 Corvette Stingray, Chevrolet has promised a carbon fiber hood, a carbon fiber removable roof panel on coupe models, and an aluminum frame all around. These vehicles work with a five-position Drive Mode Selector able to work with 12 vehicle attributes, seven-speed manual transmission with Acrive Rev Matching, and seating that’s made with magnesium frames – also bringing eight-way power adjustment.

These vehicles are aiming to be a perfomance set of cars with a price point that allows them to stand alone, with the coup coming in at $51,995 suggested retail and the Convertible coming in at $56,995. Both vehicles include a $995 destination fee and exclude the cost of tax, title, and licenses. Drivers will also be able to purchase a Stingray coupe with a collection of top-tier options that’ll cost $73,360, this vehicle including such features as a 3LT interior package with leather-wrapped interior.

This 3LT interior package also works with a Bose 10-speaker surround-sound audio system, SiriusXM Satellite radio, and a color heads-up display. This top-tier package also includes the Z51 Performance Package which works with “high performance gear ratios,” transmission-cooling system, larger wheels, upgraded “unique” chassis tuning, and the ability to accelerate from 0-60 mph in under four seconds.

Be sure to check out SlashGear’s Car Hub for more information on all of the high-tech next-level releases coming to a road near you soon, and very soon!

The 405′s expansion is an ambitious project that has been a thorn in the side of residents forced to deal with it, including Musk, who uses it to commute from Hawthorne and Bel-Air. The original project was budgeted $1 billion, a figure that has long passed away with the announcement that things won’t wrap up until next summer with an additional 100 million being tacked onto the price tag. Residents are losing patience.

Says the LA Times, Musk stated he would pay to add workers “as a contribution to the city and my own happiness. If it can actually make a difference, I would gladly contribute funds and ideas. I’ve super had it … The 405 … varies from bad to horrendous. It just seems people in Los Angeles are being tortured by this … I don’t know why they aren’t marching in the streets.”

Los Angeles County supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky also expressed frustrated with the project, calling it “horribly managed” while lambasting the contractors working on it. He says the problem with getting things moving is a lack of funds, and that the overbudget costs are already something they’re having problems covering. Adding additional costs on top of the excess expenses over the initial budget will only compound the problem.

[via LA Times]

The 2014 Spark hasn’t hit the market yet, slated for Oregon and California later this year. The numbers indicate, according to General Motors, that it will save drivers up to $9,000 in fuel over the course of a five-year period. In addition to its high fuel rating, this electric car is also said to be on the verge of setting the new acceleration benchmark for urban EVs, clocking in at less than 8 seconds in the 0 to 60mph test.

Such a benchmark is made possible, says GM, by the Spark’s oil-cooled electric motor, which features a permanent magnet design that outputs in excess of 100 kW of power and 400 lb-ft of torque. Recharging the Spark has been expedited via approval for an SAE combo charger that enables DC Fast Charging, resulting in an 80-percent charge in 20 minutes. General Motors says this is the first EV to offer the feature.

General Motors’ Executive Chief Engineer for Electrified Vehicles Pam Fletcher said: “Being able to provide our customers with the best overall efficiency of any retail EV has always been a key target for the Spark EV engineering team. We’re poised to deliver to the market an EV that’s not just efficient, but also thrilling to drive thanks to the 400 lb-ft torque output of its electric motor.”

[via GM]

The issue with current biofuels is that they are composed a hydrocarbon chains that differ from those of gasoline. Although most of them can still be used in modern engines, they won’t play well with the vehicle and will cause problems, such as poor gas mileage and eventually engine corrosion, resulting in car death or high repair bills. Such limitations have prevented us from producing and using biofuels as a green alternative.

The University of Exeter’s John Love didn’t accept this, and sought to create a biofuel that can be used in the place of gasoline, something he eventually succeeded at. His breakthrough was achieved by taking Escherichia coli bacteria, more commonly called E. coli, and splicing its DNA with genes from bacteria found in soil, camphor tree, and blue/green algae. He then provided the bacteria with sugar, resulting in enzymes.

The E. coli bacteria’s enzymes were then converted into fatty acids, and then the fatty acids were converted to hydrocarbons. What made this different than other projects of a similar nature, however, is that the resulting hydrocarbons are identical to the hydrocarbons found in gasoline. This is the first time such a result has happened, and has left the researcher and his team looking into a solution for mass-scale production of the biofuel.

[via New Scientist]

Hydrogen stations are the gas station equivalent for those who drive fuel cell vehicles. According to the California Fuel Cell Partnership, 68 such stations could be operational by 2016. Such a number of stations could service 10,000 to 30,000 hydrogen cars, although whether there will be that many fuel cell cars on the road by then is still questionable.

According to the CaFCP, current estimates peg the number of fuel cell cars on California roads at 53,000 by 2017, a quantity that will require about 100 stations to sustain. One of the main concerns of those vehicle owners will be access to hydrogen stations, and whether they will be located in such a way that owning a hydrogen car doesn’t prove impossible or highly inconvenient.

Aiming to strike a balance between too may hydrogen stations and too few, as well as avoiding putting them where they’re less needed or likely to thrive, the CaFCP has fingered five locations it calls “cluster communities,” which are comprised of: Berkeley, Irvine, San Francisco’s South Bay Area, Orange County’s coastal area, and Santa Monica. Ideally, each station will feature 5 – 7 gas pumps per one hydrogen pump.

[via Digital Trends]
Image via CaFCP

Koenigsegg says that the only metal part of the wheel is the air valve that allows for filling up the tire. The company also claims that the wheel’s strength is “much higher than any forged aluminium wheel,” and it weighs a lot less than a traditional wheel. According to the auto maker, it’s carbon fiber wheel weighs 40% less than a forged aluminum wheel.

The video above demonstrates the lightness of the Aircore wheels, and while Koenigsegg didn’t reveal any technical specifications for the new carbon fiber wheel, we can clearly tell that the wheel has “5950 gram” inscribed on the wall of the wheel, which converts to around 13 pounds, which is quite impressive.

As for the car that the new wheels are being equipped on, the Agera R is claimed to have a top speed of 273 mph, which is faster than the Bugatti Veyron, which recently held the record for the world’s fastest car. Koenigsegg says that the Agera R can go from 0 mph to 200 mph in 17.68 seconds, and vice versa in just 7.28 seconds.

[via OppositeLock]

This system has Ross Brawn, Team Principal at Mercedes AMG Petronas commenting on how good it will be for them to have data transferred from the racetrack back to their factories in Brackley and Brixworth with the technology Tata Communications offers up. This solution is said by Tata Communications to be both swift and secure, both of these elements being rather vital to the operation of a Formula One race team in this day and age.

Tata Communications Managing Director of F1 Business Mehul Kapadia made it clear that because the modifications and improvements made to every car in this race during the year is essentially constant, real-time communication between the cars straight from the track back to headquarters for Mercedes AMG Petronas will prove to be valuable.

Tata Communications works with what is the world’s first wholly-owned subsea fibre ring to have circled the globe – and it still circles the globe, of course, working with the company’s network as part of 500,000 km of subsea cable and over 200,000 km of terrestrial network fibre. Having struck a deal last year with Formula One Management, Tata Communications shook hands on a multi-year technology service and marketing agreement. This deal will bring connectivity to all Formula One race locations through the future with its wholly-owned subsea fibre ring.

Have a peek in SlashGear’s own Car hub for more information on the state of the automotive industry and hit up our Mercedes tag portal for more on the larger world of that particular vehicle brand. Great technologies are afoot!

Wester says that people instead need to discuss “the efficiency of how the battery is charged, since “it varies strongly from region to region, depending on how the energy is produced.” And even while all-electric cars are still in their infancy and have room to evolve, Wester says that not even the best electric car technology is “ahead of the internal combustion engine.”

At this point in time, he does have a good point. You would have to evaluate and consider all that has been done to generate and deliver electric cars, including the emissions that were given off when manufacturing the cars, including the trucks that the cars were delivered on. Essentially, you would have to get to the roots of both energy sources (gas and electric) to find out which one is better.

Of course, it’s possible that Wester isn’t dissing electric cars themselves, but rather just the term “zero emissions,” arguing that making an electric car still requires energy that can give off emissions. Then again, when auto makers refer to “zero emissions,” they’re mostly referring to the emissions (or lack thereof) that the car itself gives off. What do you think?

[via China Car Times]

Image via Flickr