Motor News
MotorWeek tracks auto industry news, focusing on crash tests, safety ratings, new advances in technology and the latest from auto shows around the world.
2019 Frankfurt Motor Show
Electric cars have quickly gone from a distant future idea to dominating today’s headlines. As seen at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. With its first public showing, the all-electric Porsche Taycan sedan took a starring role at Frankfurt. It an EV rocket with up to 750-horsepower. Porsche held on to the spotlight with the 911 Carrera 4 Coupe and 911 Carrera 4… Read More
Side Cameras/Lane Keeping
With more and more cameras watching how we drive… there soon could be another set of electronic eyes helping us drive smarter. The idea has popped up on auto show concepts cars for decades. Replacing traditional outside side rear-view mirrors with video cameras. Already allowed in some countries, but not the U.S., the images would be displayed on monitors… Read More
Wireless Charging
The future of mobility may be heading towards a high-tech combination of electric power and autonomous driving. But, consumers are not yet ready to plug in and relinquish control. A survey by J.D. Power and SurveyMonkey reveals there’s a lack of confidence about the future of self-driving vehicles, with a neutral feeling about EV’s. They found 39% are not… Read More
Future Cars/Bye-Bye Beetle
Automakers working together to save money is nothing new… but the push for electric vehicles and autonomous driving… is stepping up the pace of these partnerships. Ford and Volkswagen are accelerating their plan to co-develop future vehicles. The two companies announced they are now investing in autonomous vehicle platform company Argo AI. Both Ford and VW… Read More
Autonomous Myths
As vehicles are becoming more automated, there appears to be a lot of confusion about what they can and cannot do. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety looked at how drivers perceive current semi-autonomous driving aids. IIHS found the system “names” easily mislead drivers into thinking they no longer have to pay attention to the road. Today,… Read More
Airless Tires
The costly path towards a wide range of electric vehicles is causing more and more rivals to link up to share the load. Toyota and Subaru are the latest. They plan to jointly develop a single, versatile electric vehicle platform. Initially they will use it to share a new small electric SUV, which will be sold under each company's own brand. This new platform… Read More
IIHS Backseat Safety
While a lot of attention is focused on protecting the driver and passengers in the front seats of new cars, there’s now rising concern about how those in the back fare in a crash. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety looked at 117 frontal crashes where those in rear-seats were killed or seriously injured. The most common injury was to the chest from the… Read More
Major EV Investment
There’s a surge of electric vehicles coming to the auto industry. Some brands are embracing EV’s faster than others. Ford is one of those making a bigger commitment to going electric. Their latest move… the blue oval company is investing $500 million in Rivian. They’ll help develop a next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford. It will be based on… Read More
Pickup Truck Crash Tests
Pick-Up trucks offer a big ride… but some protect their passengers better than others. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested 11 small and large pick-ups in the passenger-side small overlap front test at 40 mph. This simulates when the front corner of the truck hits another vehicle or a stationary object like a tree or utility pole. Three large… Read More
2019 New York International Auto Show
It’s Spring and the 2019 New York International Auto show was in full bloom. The fourth generation Toyota Highlander 3-row crossover arrived with more dynamic styling. It rides on a new platform with V6 and revamped hybrid powertrains. New too, the Toyota Yaris becomes a more useful 5-door. New York is the first public showing for the redesigned Ford Escape.… Read More