What is a self-driving car?

Tesla CybercabA self-driving car is a vehicle that can transport passengers safely from point A to point B without any human intervention. These vehicles can range from privately owned vehicles to commercial fleet vehicles dubbed robotaxis to something in between, such as most recently Tesla's Cybercab concept and its 20-passenger people-mover, the Robovan...

Ford Active Drive Assist vs. Tesla Autopilot: How the systems might compare

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-EOn Thursday, Ford gave us the first details about a driver-assistance feature the company has hinted about in its upcoming all-electric 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. The system, which will debut on the crossover next year, will offer hands-free driving on divided highways for indefinite periods of time. Ford's system, which piggybacks on its latest...

Cruise Origin launches the driverless future of electric mobility

Cruise Origin driverless vehicleDuring the launch of the Cruise Origin driverless car, GM’s Cruise declared driving as we know it—and ride-sharing as we know it—obsolete. “This is the end of the human-driven, gasoline-powered single-occupant car, and the beginning of the future—the future beyond the car,” boomed a voice. The Origin seats six...

Driverless cars could dramatically increase traffic in Europe

Waymo self-driving car depot in Chandler, ArizonaAn increase in driverless cars that some in Europe anticipate will occur between now and the year 2050 could result in what one research group likens to "rush hour that lasts all day." The report, released last month from Europe's Transport & Environment, calls the potential "Wild West" unregulated increase in driverless cars a threat to...

Canoo won’t let you buy the EVs they’re developing for 2021 on

Canoo electric carCanoo doesn’t want to sell you a car. It wants you to subscribe to one—one of the electric vehicles that it’s conceived and will repair, maintain, and recondition. The ambitious California company, formed by some Faraday Future refugees in 2017 and once called Evelozcity, emerged from stealth mode Tuesday—with a set of...

BMW reveals steering wheel for self-driving iNext electric SUV

BMW iNext steering wheelOnce cars are able to drive themselves, drivers—er, occupants—shouldn't need steering wheels to control them. Yet when BMW teased a new picture of its planned self-driving, electric iNext SUV last month, the photo showed nothing more than a steering wheel—which itself is not even round. BMW says that in the iNext the driver is no...

Study: Americans have little confidence in EVs, less in self-driving cars

Chevrolet Bolt EV Cruise Automation test mule in San FranciscoCar shoppers know electric-cars are good for the environment, but relatively few would consider buying one, according to results released Tuesday by J.D. Power and Associates. In its first-ever Mobility Confidence Index, 61 percent of respondents told the automotive polling juggernaut that they agree that electric cars are better for the...

Tesla Navigate on Autopilot drives itself poorly, Consumer Reports finds

Consumer Reports Tesla Model 3 testing Navigate on Autopilot [CREDIT: Consumer Reports]Tesla says it has improved its self-driving Navigate on Autopilot system with its latest software update. Consumer Reports begs to differ. Last month, Tesla updated its Navigate on Autopilot software to allow its cars to change lanes automatically, without prompting or warning the driver. This gives the system the ability, for example, to navigate...

Report: Apple once attempted to buy Tesla

Tesla Model S Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]Tesla has long been called the Apple of automakers for its alternative approach, its rampant fan base, and its Silicon Valley roots. But the interest could go deeper. Financial analyst Craig Irwin of Roth Capital Partners revealed Tuesday that Apple tried to buy Tesla in 2013, but was rebuffed. He said that the tech company bid $240 a share for...

GM builds new electric architecture for EVs, self-driving cars

General Motors next-generation electrical platformAs future cars go electric, self-driving, and more connected with the outside world, they're going to faster connectivity inside the vehicle. To that end, General Motors just introduced a new electronic platform for its vehicles that it says can carry 4.5 terabytes of processing power per hour, five times what the current system can carry. It will...

AAA survey finds more optimism over self-driving cars than in EVs

Image from 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric-car ad by Ourisman Chevrolet, Rockville, MarylandMore Americans think most cars will be able to drive themselves in 10 years than the number who think most cars will be electric in that time frame. That's according to a survey released Thursday by AAA, the nation's leading automobile club and provider of roadside assistance. According to the organization's latest Green Car Guide, only 40 percent...