Bans on texting and hand-held cellphone use are raising awareness of distracted driving, but inconsistent enforcement is a significant barrier to solving the problem. Thirty-four states now ban texting while driving while ten states and the District of Columbia ban all motorists from using hand-held cellphones while driving. Automakers, wireless providers and those creating smartphone applications are trying to set limits so their features are more likely to be used safely. The U.S. Department of Transportation is conducting research on emerging vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology that could play a key role in preventing accidents from driver distraction in the future.
General Motors Co. and South Korea's LG Corp. are partnering to develop a new lineup of battery-powered vehicles aimed at cutting the cost and time required to create electric cars. LG will cover half the cost of creating a future portfolio of electric and hybrid vehicles and then become GM's supplier on anything the companies jointly create. The new arrangement increases LG's role to include everything from on-board battery chargers to climate-control and possibly in-vehicle entertainment systems. GM hopes the partnership will help it move past rivals in the race to develop electric and gas-electric hybrid vehicles to meet the new U.S. fuel economy requirements.
Buyers looking at the new Ford Focus Electric will have a chance to go even greener by adding an optional solar charging system. Ford is partnering with SunPower Corp., Silicon Valley's largest supplier of solar power arrays, to provide a 2.5 kilowatt rooftop charging system that could replenish a drained lithium-ion battery pack in about 10 hours. After a deep discount of more than 40% off the normal price tag, the rooftop system will still cost $10,000 after receiving a federal tax credit. Charging a Focus Electric from the grid each day would cost about $10 a week, making the payback period for the SunPower system about 20 years.
Chrysler has stopped production of its Ram Dakota compact pickup, which may lead to up to 150 layoffs. CEO Sergio Marchionne has said the Dakota will be replaced with a lifestyle vehicle that's "car-based," also from the Ram brand. The Dakota sold over 177K units in 2000, but last year that number trickled to just over 13,000 units.
Significance of the Data Kelley Blue Book predicts that new-car sales and leasing slumps of recent years will impact used-car values for years to come In response to supply reductions, average value of 1- to 3-year-old used vehicle has increased from $15K in 2008 to more than $23K in 2011, nearly16% each year It will […]