Tesla CEO Elon Musk is moving forward on plans to bring a pickup truck to market – though he said it will have to wait until the launch of a new compact electric SUV to be called the Model Y.
The Tesla vehicle would likely be "slightly bigger" than Ford's bestselling F-150 pick-up to allow it to contain an unspecified "game-changing" feature.
But pickup buyers are also some of the most loyal in the U.S. and even after nearly two decades trying to crack the full-size market import brands Toyota and Nissan barely rank as asterisks on the sales charts.
Read more of the article at BBC News.
Automatic emergency braking has been shown to reduce the odds of a frontal crash, saving lives and preventing serious injuries and is rapidly becoming standard gear on cars sold in the U.S.
IIHS and NHTSA estimated the technology will prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries annually by 2025 when AEB is expected to be standard on all new vehicles.
“IIHS is pleased to see that automakers are steadily moving toward the shared goal of putting standard AEB into every new car they sell,” said David Zuby, executive vice president and chief research officer of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which conducted the latest study with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “This is a big win for safety on our nation’s roads, which will see fewer crashes and injuries because of this commitment.”
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
The Verge
In these very early days of autonomous technology, Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google-parent Alphabet, understands the need to build trust among the public and announced it would be partnering with an insurance startup to cover riders in its soon-to-be-released driverless ride-hailing service.
Trov, a five-year-old insurance tech startup based in Danville, Calif., said it would work with Waymo to insure passengers for lost and damaged property and trip-related medical expenses.
The car insurance industry is scrambling to respond to autonomous technology, with experts predicting that uncertainty about liability could delay testing, deployment, and market penetration of these vehicles.
Read the article at The Verge.
We are beginning to see more of a divergence between vehicles that are used for utility and mobility and vehicles that are driven for pleasure.
We are excited to announce that Walter Bond, NBA star and acclaimed business speaker, has joined our roster of monthly thought leadership columnists. He was a keynote speaker at last fall’s AFLA conference and absolutely mesmerized the audience. Bond knows a thing or two about teamwork and his debut article tells us how we can be impact players for our team. We all want to up our game!
John Wysseier talks of A Paradigm Shift in Fleet Safety in the first video clip of a recent interview with The CEI Group's new CEO and president. Away from the industry for ten years, he offers a unique and interesting perspective.
“The fleet industry is facing the most dynamic era of technological and process change in its history,” says Mark Boada is his piece: To Succeed in Turbulent Times, Fleet and Procurement Need to Partner.
We think this is going to be an exciting year in fleet!