Automotive

The European Union plans to launch legal action against Italy for failing to properly police allegations of emissions-test cheating by Fiat Chrysler following the Volkswagen scandal, EU sources said.

EU regulators say Italy has failed to convince them that the so-called defeat devices used to modulate emissions on its vehicles outside of narrow testing conditions are justified. "The Commission decided today to send a letter of formal notice asking Italy to respond to concerns about insufficient action taken regarding the emission control strategies employed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group (FCA)," a statement said.

Uber wants to launch a system of flying cars to move people around cities, with a goal of putting demonstration projects in place by 2020. "I hate that term (flying car), but we’ll have to live with it," the company’s chief product officer, Jeff Holden, said at the Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas. The vision was published in a 99-page white paper last year.

The ride-sharing giant announced a series of partnerships to manufacture “vertical takeoff and landing” (VTOL) vehicles and put networks in place, a system dubbed Uber Elevate.

A wealth of studies have suggested a link between exposure to air pollution and a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. But according to an epidemiological study, adults who were exposed to traffic-related air pollution had lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol that could increase their cardiovascular disease risk.

For the new research, lead author Griffith Bell, Ph.D., of the University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle, and colleagues studied 6,654 adults and found people exposed to higher levels of fine and ultrafine particles in traffic pollution tended to have lower levels of HDL cholesterol in their blood.

The latest Tesla software update brings anticipated new features to Autopilot 2.0 cars, including Summon, which calls your car to you from its parking spot, but it also has a lighter side, as Tesla software updates tend to.

Tesla added a new Easter Egg (a goofy software gag generally slightly hidden from view) to its vehicles with the 8.1 update, and this time it’s a sketch pad. The 17-inch touchscreen that dominates the Tesla Model S center panel is basically already a huge digital surface primed for drawing, so it’s a natural add-on – not counting that most of the time you’re going to be using the screen while driving, of course.

The cost of making a car in the UK could increase by £2,370 ($2,930) in the event of a hard Brexit, according to research published by PA Consulting Group. The tariffs would apply to both imported and exported cars with the report stating carmakers would be likely to pass any price increases to buyers.

The report explained that the increased cost of manufacturing could be the case if the UK falls back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules post Brexit. It warned that the 10% WTO tariffs on exporting and importing with the European Union (EU), could force some manufacturers in the UK to relocate outside the country.

The canton of Valais is 160,100 francs richer after an anonymous bidder bought the car licence plate VS 1, with the letters standing for the Canton of Valais in western Switzerland, in an auction that finished on Tuesday last week.
The figure is the highest amount ever paid for a vehicle registration plate in the Alpine country and "surpassed expectations", said the cantonal authorities in a statement.

Uber Technologies’ self-driving cars could be returning to California soon after state authorities permitted the company to test the vehicles. The ride-hailing company is now listed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles as one of over 20 companies, including Waymo, Tesla and Baidu, that have been issued autonomous vehicle testing permits as of Wednesday.

Uber received a permit to test two Volvo SUVs on public roads, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said. Regulators also approved 48 people as backup drivers who must sit behind the wheel in case the prototype cars malfunction, according to agency spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez.

General Motors will cut production and eliminate 1,100 workers at a plant in Michigan as it shifts production of a sport utility vehicle model to another factory in Tennessee. Most are hourly workers, with about 14 salaried.

The Lansing Delta Township plant will cease output of GMC Acadia SUVs on May 12, Tom Wickham. About 800 new jobs were created in that state as a result – and GM announced in January that it was adding a third shift in Spring Hill.