Drive a Different Car Each Month With Mercedes Flexperience
Joining other automakers with subscriber programs, Mercedes-Benz has been running its pilot program, Flexperience, in Germany before coming to the U.S. market.
Four different tiers are being created, tied to its familiar product range: A-, C- E- and S-Class, and subscribers will be able to swap in and out of any vehicle in that segment up to 12 times annually.
The final pricing has not been determined, according to Mercedes’ global sales chief Britta Seeger. “Up to now, in all the tests, all that we have seen, what we’ve asked the customer to pay was a profitable basis.”
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
Nissan Sets New Electric Vehicle Goal: Sell 1 Million Annually by 2022
As part of Nissan Motor's new plan to sell one million EVs annually by 2022, the company will develop eight new all-battery electric vehicles (EVs) and launch what it calls an “electric car offensive” in China under different brands.
Nissan is also taking its electric ambitions to its luxury Infiniti brand with models beginning in 2021 will be either fully electric or powered by the company’s “e-Power” gasoline hybrid technology.
"The company said it expects that electrified vehicles, which include its e-Power models, will make up 40% of the company’s sales in Japan and Europe by 2022 and 50% by 2025. In the U.S., the expectation is about 20% to 30% by 2025, while in China it’s 35% to 40%."
Read the article at Fortune.
Will Being ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ Become Irrelevant with Autonomous Trucking?
With self-driving trucks on the horizon, the thought of no one behind the wheel raises concerns about reliability, capability and, most of all, safety.
Even though companies are focusing on highway driving, autonomous trucks won't have a human driver’s trained habit of looking 12 to 15 seconds down the road for oncoming hazards — crucial when piloting a 70-foot long, 13-foot high, 80,000-pound truck that takes twice the distance to stop than a car.
“Who’s going to insure these trucks if there’s no one driving them or if someone is just passed out in the cab sleeping?” says Norita Taylor of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents the heartbeat of the trucking industry: people who own their six-figure rigs and pay for them by contracting out their time.
Read the article at USA Today.
Trump was Wrong When he Proposed to Raise the Gas Tax by a Quarter; it Should be Raised by a Dollar
We all know that U.S. infrastructure is in need of serious repair, but the Highway Trust Fund is substantially underfunded with the current gas tax.
To meet current spending levels the tax would need to be 31.6 cents per gallon, and to maintain existing conditions and performance, the tax would need to be 46.6 cents per gallon. The upward amount the tax could be without affecting supply or demand is $1.00.
"Most of us do not even notice the gasoline tax as the federal and state (if any) taxes are already built into the advertised per gallon pricing. So a rise in gas prices because of a rise in the tax would be not salient to consumers. But, we all would notice the better roads, bridges, and airports should the tax rise."
Read the article at Forbes.
EPA to Revise Obama-Era Tailpipe Rules
In agreement with automakers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided that vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions standards are too aggressive and need to be revised.
The tailpipe rules enacted by President Barack Obama’s administration, were aimed at slashing carbon emissions from cars and light trucks by boosting fuel economy to a fleet average of more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025.
"The EPA has completed a draft decision outlining their rationale and the move is widely expected to result in weaker targets that will be easier for automakers to achieve as sales skew toward SUVs, pickups and other light trucks."
Read the article at The Detroit News.
