Fewer Chinese Auto Brands in U.S. Than Predicted
Ten years ago, as new-vehicle sales were slipping and incentives were rising, auto manufacturers faced a potentially greater issue: Chinese brands were gearing up to sell low-cost vehicles in the U.S. that threatened to undercut the established brands. The first Chinese vehicles were due to arrive as early as 2007, and industry analysts said it was almost certain they would be here by 2010. Fast forward to 2016, and the only Chinese...
Urban Planning for Self-Driving Cars
Detroit — With technologists racing to get autonomous-driven vehicles on the road in 10 years or less, America’s urban planners need to resolve a host of questions about how cities will respond to the future of transportation. A new report from the National League of Cities finds only 6 percent of U.S. cities have devoted planning resources to figuring out changes needed to accommodate self-driving vehicles. And only 3 percent have...
Auto Review: 2016 Subaru Forester Has Power, Performance and Style
Gasoline and granola doesn’t sound like the breakfast of champions to me. But green-leaning, slightly square Subaru has long managed to whip it into a sweet mix with its gentle all-wheel-drive, fuel-sipping, earth-saving image. As you know, style-challenged Subaru puts practicality and function far above performance and pretty lines — and it works exceedingly well. For the last five years, the Japanese manufacturer has grown faster...
Consumer Confidential: Carmakers’ Focus on Connected Lifestyle May Lead to Distracted Driving
Ford and Fiat Chrysler apparently have concluded that safety takes a back seat to amusement when it comes to pleasing drivers. The two carmakers announced last week amid the hoopla of the CES consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas that state-of-the-art infotainment systems in new vehicles will include both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ford’s system “allows customers to bring the smartphone technology they’re comfortable with into a...
2016 Will Bring More Innovation to Driverless Cars
News last week that Google and Ford will reportedly collaborate on building a driverless car represents a big move forward in the unfolding evolution of autonomous vehicles. But while 2016 promises to be chock-full of more tech innovation insinuating itself into our daily lives, driverless cars will probably not yet be part of the picture. Apple, Tesla, Google and Nissan are already cranking out prototypes and test-driving autonomous...
