Managing Automotive Blog

It’s not just planes and subs that will be unmanned. Detroit carmakers say autonomous vehicles will change transportation forever.

The checkered flag hasn’t come out yet, but in the race to start the world’s first driving business without human drivers, everyone is chasing Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.

On April 23, 2018 and May 10, 2018, Partner Russell McRory gave two presentations to automotive dealer counsel and dealer principals.

The dealers (and lenders) got a big win when the US House voted to strike down an Obama-era auto-lending safeguard a novel maneuver that consumer watchdogs warn could expose decades of federal regulation to the same fate.

Jump on the bandwagon and go for a ride …. Car makers BMW, General Motors, Ford and Renault are the big names behind a new group announced to explore the potential of the blockchain in the automotive and mobility space.

Who said that science was boring? Students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn are building a self-driving vehicle system from scratch. It’s the only way to learn, their professors say.

A few pennies saved could be a net profit earned. Dealerships are making savvy moves to combat the pressures of narrowing margins, rising insurance costs, higher wages, and an expected downturn for the personal vehicle.

Feeling chatty? Your car might soon be conversing too.

Only this course runs on self-driving technology, not a syllabus. Two self-driving, electric shuttle buses are expected to join University of Michigan’s bus service fleet this spring.

On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Hector Navarro, finding that Service Advisors at auto dealerships are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay requirement.

Good luck, you’re gonna need it. SF Motors is the newest kid on the EV block, but they may already have an edge over other startups.

From mini-vans to Jaguars? We see you, Waymo. Alphabet’s autonomous technology company is charging ahead with its driverless ride-hailing program, investing in up to 20,000 luxury, all-electric Jaguar compact SUVs despite recent competitor setbacks.

Ah, the barons of self-driving cars, and their Great Charter. Magna International, a Canadian auto-parts supplier, has partnered with Lyft to supply the ride-sharing service with kits to turn regular vehicles into self-driving cars.

There’s no need to be alarmed, but that semi only being supervised, not driven, by a human.

“Travel my way, take the highway” – lyrics Uber probably didn’t quote about their work in Arizona. For several months, Uber’s self-driving trucks have been carrying cargo on Arizona highways, according to a recent company statement.

Well, that’s a first. In its annual Energy Outlook, BP’s researchers forecast a fundamentally changed transportation industry, with more travel but less private cars and increased efficiency standards.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, VW is not shy about its regard for the company behind iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

While the Marketplace is open, GM is still getting vendors. In December, GM rolled out “Marketplace” to over 2 million GM drivers with an initial pack of features for ordering food, reserving hotel rooms and restaurant tables, and locating gas stations from your GM vehicle.

And they’re not the only ones taking note of the standout platform. Prodigy, an Alchemist Accelerator automotive sales company, recently announced that it has closed a $5.4 million seed funding round.

In Karczewski v. DCH Mission Valley, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the district court’s dismissal of an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III claim regarding the availability of temporary hand controls in vehicles for test drives.

The future, according to carmakers, does not include using your built-in navigation system as a stand for your smartphone and its Google Maps app.