Perspectives on Transportation & Mobility

Gotta love a good survey. According to Edmunds, consumers are ready to spend on early-stage automotive autonomy technology even if they’re still unsure about fully self-driving cars.

It seems like cartels are not just popular on Netflix these days. In documentary-worthy drama, EU authorities raided BMW headquarters to investigate an alleged cartel among German automakers.

No need to spell it out if you can just use Alphabet. The Big G’s CapitalG investment fund helped Lyft raise $1 billion in new funds. With the latest boosts, Lyft says its valuation has increased from $7.5 billion to $11 billion.

The diesel scandal is not a failure on the part of individual companies, but rather the result of collusion among German automakers that lasted for years.

Self-driving technology isn’t just about the four wheels. In a new study by Boston Consulting Group and the World Economic Forum, urban sprawl is a concern in how autonomous cars will change the composition of cities.

And they’re not products of the Detroit Three. Two self-driving electric shuttles, developed by Ann Arbor-based startup May Mobility, were the first commercial autonomous shuttles to ferry passengers within the city of Detroit.

California is getting ready for a Flintstones-Jetsons-like change. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles recently published proposed rules to regulate self-driving cars once “everyday people” eventually use the technology.

The biggest automakers in the world are being forced to follow Beijing’s lead as China takes steps to dominate in electric vehicles and technology.

While we don’t believe GM is getting into the nightclub industry, anything is possible. The automaker just announced the acquisition of Strobe, a startup that does actually make lasers. However, these are not paired with disco balls and electronic music.

So if they’re phasing out drivers, is the car going to give us a passenger rating? A behind-the-scenes look at Uber’s autonomous vehicle training facility in Pittsburgh reveals a lineup of Ford Fusions and Volvo XC90s learning how to respond to different driving situations and dangers.

Change of plans, Tesla followers – the Semi ain’t ready. Rather than releasing the Tesla Semi in late October, Elon Musk is rescheduling the unveiling to mid-November in an effort to allocate more resources to Model 3 production and battery crews to benefit Puerto Rico.

Oh the humanity! According to the results of a recent psychological study on possible human reactions to autonomous cars, the subjects were four times as likely to trust a self-driving car with a human name and voice.

Automotive practice leader Aaron Jacoby recently spoke with Automotive News about how fraud is becoming more sophisticated, organized, and difficult to track for dealerships and lenders.

We can go back to the car phone and the 8-track, just leave the GPS please. A new study by AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found that the latest high-tech driver dashboards are doing everything but allowing for safe driving.

Take time to stop and smell the gas emission-less roses. While manufacturers are installing more charging points across the US and technological improvements are making the process faster, “charging time trauma” is the new top reason why car buyers avoid electric cars.

Cue the masses! Autonomous car development, sales, and safety is officially in the car makers’ hands after the Senate greenlights legislation authorizing 80,000 safety standard exempt, self-driving cars to be sold per year within three years.

The license plate ends in ‘IPO’ and arrives in 2019. Uber’s board of directors recently voted on major internal changes that will eventually lead to the company going public.

While GM won’t say when their Cruise Automation’s software will be ready for commercial use, it’s apparently making ‘rapid progress’ and keeping investors happy.

The future looks bright after some international and domestic market pressure. With GM leading the Detroit pack and Ford following soon after, these two auto giants are headed toward an all-electric future- eventually.

The reporter said it, we didn’t: “Ford Motor Co. is making moves that investors and analysts would have called innovative had they not come several months after the competition.”

Can’t wait to cruise around town without a driver? Cadillac’s semi-autonomous Super Cruise system is here to help in the meantime.

On Friday, September 22, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross released two important statements in regard to the US Administration’s objective in the NAFTA talks, especially for the automotive sector.

Just as the iPhone spurred the app industry, smartphone thumb, and a serious dependence on our smartphones, the electric car is ready to make waves.

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce that Automotive practice group leader Aaron H. Jacoby has been named among the “Top 100 Lawyers” in California by the Daily Journal as a result of his cutting-edge legal work.

In the news: two previously unlikely partners are partnering to develop autonomous cars- who knew?