Volvo puts Ikea-like living room in self-driving concept car

Volvo 360C conceptWith its latest self-driving car concept, Volvo wants to take on the airline industry. Without a need for a steering wheel, Volvo opened up the interior of its 360c concept to accommodate a coffee table, a card table, a desk, and even a first-class airline-style bed. The company says the self-driving capability and Ikea-like interior furnishings...

IIHS: Self-driving systems aren’t that, and aren’t ready for prime time

Tesla Model S Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]Self-driving systems aren't ready for prime time, says a new report by IIHS. The Institute tested five cars: two Teslas, a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz, and a Volvo, all with systems that earned top marks in its tests of advanced driver safety aids. In new tests on its track and on public roads, all of the systems made mistakes that could be fatal without...

Tesla will roll out new Autopilot later this month

Tesla AutopilotTesla announced Wednesday that it would release a complete update to its Autopilot system later this month, including new self-driving capabilities. The new version, which Tesla owners and fans have long-awaited, will update the system with faster hardware as well as new optical software that CEO Elon Musk says will improve safety. Pete Bannon, a...

Oil analysts predict peak consumption in 2036

Natural gas flaring from oil well [licensed under Creative Commons from Flickr user Sirdle]Most people buy electric cars to reduce oil consumption, but oil companies keep selling more oil every year. Now, a new study by oil industry consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts that the demand for oil will start to decline as early as 2036, when autonomous cars become more popular. That forecast comes much earlier than many big oil companies...

How autonomous vehicles will compound electric-car benefits

Navya autonomous bus in Sion, SwitzerlandA lot of ink has been spilled over self-driving cars lately—whether they'll work, how they work, and the potential for accidents. What hasn't been discussed as much is how autonomous vehicles could help the environment. Self-driving vehicles go hand-in-hand with electrification, said Raphael Gindrat, the founder and CEO of Bestmile, a...

BMW reveals its self-driving, electric iNext vision for the future

Teaser for BMW iNext debuting in 2021At BMW's annual shareholders' meeting in Germany on Thursday the company released a teaser image of its future iNext electric car. The image shows an SUV silhouette similar is size to an X5, BMW's mid-size SUV. The iNext is designed to be a technology showcase for BMW: electric propulsion, full self-driving, and advanced interfaces, said BMW CEO...

Jaguar I-Pace electric car to join Waymo’s self-driving car fleet

Waymo Jaguar I-PaceBritish carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo said Tuesday the carmaker would sell Google's autonomous-car technology arm up to 20,000 of its new all-electric Jaguar I-Pace SUV to be used in self-driving service by 2020. While last week's news focused entirely on the fatal crash of a Volvo converted by Uber to autonomous operation—apparently...