Tesla TSLA CEO Elon Musk likes to keep reminding the world that he believes in designing everything from “first principles.” The idea is that a first principle is the most fundamental understanding of something. From that you can build based on how…
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Mazda Refuses To Give Up On Internal Combustion, Develops Engine It Says Is 20% More Efficient
Last week at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars, Mazda SVP Robert Davis stood in front of the attendees to make the case for flexibility in how we achieve reductions in energy consumption and emissions. A significant…
Model S Architect Targets Efficiency Edge Over Tesla With 2021 Lucid Air
Energy efficiency is a paramount concern if we actually want electric vehicles to truly go beyond being a niche product for early adopters. Efficiency may seem like an unwarranted concern for something that doesn’t consume any fossil fuels. But given…
With Its Big Uber Investment, Saudi Arabia Seeks To Tackle Multiple Political Problems
FILE – In this July 15, 2015 file photo, an Uber driver sits in his car near the San Francisco… [+] International Airport. Uber and advocates for the blind have reached a lawsuit settlement in which the ride-hailing company agrees to require that…
GM Exec Calls For Premium Gas To Be The New Regular
During an address to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, General Motors' vice president of global propulsion systems called for premium gasoline to become the new baseline going forward to enable more efficient engines. This is hardly…
2017 Kia Optima Hybrid – A High-Efficiency Family Sedan That Should Be Available As A Wagon
I admit it. Even as an automotive analyst, after all these years I remain completely befuddled by the American car buyer’s ongoing obsession with SUVs and aversion to station wagons. Sure, there are all the claims from the marketing experts that…
The New Hot Sport Hatch Champion Is The Honda Civic Type-R
It’s been 25 years since Honda Motor Company introduced the first Type-R badge on the NSX, but for some reason, it’s never been applied to a Honda badged car in North America. Aside from the mid-1990s Acura Integra Type-R, the hottest Hondas have…
BMW Selects Innoviz Solid-State Lidar For 2021 Automated Driving Program
Aside from Tesla, almost every other major company developing automated driving systems has concluded that lidar sensors are going to be a necessary to creating a robust sensing suite. However, this laser-based technology has been prohibitively…
If Automakers Don't Like Android Auto, They Need To Do Better
In early 2014, Apple and Google announced their plans to take over the automobile dashboard just as they had effectively taken over the mobile phone business in the preceding half dozen years. At the time, the logos of many of the world’s largest…
BMW, Intel And Mobileye Join Forces To Bring Autonomous Vehicle Fleets To Road By 2021
By the middle of the 21st century, there’s a strong probability that humans will no longer be allowed to drive in the world’s cities. By that time as much three-quarters of the planet’s population will live in urban areas, and without a dramatic…