Study: Ram Has the Worst Drivers of Any Auto Brand
While specific auto brands don’t make people worse drivers, it seems to be true that certain types of drivers gravitate toward different makes and models. A recent study from LendingTree found that drivers of some brands rack up more accidents, DUIs, and other citations at much higher rates than others.
Ram drivers were the worst of the 30 brands LendingTree analyzed, with 32.90 incidents per 1,000 drivers between November 2022 and 2023. Only Tesla and Subaru came close, with 31.13 and 30.09 incidents, respectively.
Breaking things down further, Tesla drivers had the highest accident rates, followed by Ram and Subaru. The study also found that BMW drivers had the highest DUI rates, with almost twice the number of DUIs of the second-closest brand, Ram.
TomTom Creates AI-Based Conversational Assistant for Vehicles with Microsoft
Digital mapping specialist TomTom has partnered with tech giant Microsoft to create an artificial intelligence-powered conversational assistant for vehicles.
The assistant will allow users to "converse naturally with their vehicles" and enable voice interaction with infotainment, location search, and vehicle command systems, the company said.
TomTom, which competes with Google Maps and the world's biggest mapping platform HERE, used various Microsoft services like its Azure OpenAI Service to create the voice assistant. The voice assistant can be integrated into other automotive infotainment systems and is also built into TomTom's Digital Cockpit, an open, modular in-vehicle infotainment platform, the Dutch map maker said.
US Rules Could Force Early Production Halt to Some Gas Vehicles
A group representing major automakers urged the Biden administration to make significant changes to three proposed vehicle rules, warning they could force car companies to hastily stop building some gas-powered vehicles.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation warned the proposed rules "could prematurely force abandonment of many internal combustion engine vehicles and their associated revenue, reducing the availability of capital necessary for automakers to fund the EV transition."
Referring to "overlapping, duplicative and sometimes conflicting objectives" in the rules, Alliance CEO John Bozzella also said that the Energy Department's proposed revision of EV compliance value calculations for NHTSA's CAFE program would devalue EV fuel economy by 72%.
Wheels Hosts 11th Annual Results+ Fleet Performance Summit
It was the celebration of the year for Wheels last week when they hosted their 11th annual Results+ Fleet Performance Summit.
More than 200 clients representing 175 organizations congregated in Chicago to participate in what is now the largest corporate buyer forum in the fleet industry.
The Summit is about celebrating client success – recognizing leadership and hard work, with the goal of achieving excellence together.
Wheels’ CEO, Shlomo Crandus, explained, “Results+ is a significant platform not just for learning and collaboration, but also for celebrating accomplishments and fostering innovation and creativity."
2024 IRS Business Mileage Rate of 67 Cents Informed by Motus Cost Data, Analysis
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has unveiled the 2024 business mileage standard rate of 67 cents, leveraging data provided by Motus, a leader in mobile workforce reimbursement solutions.
For over four decades, the cost data and analysis provided by Motus have been the cornerstone of the IRS business mileage standard.
