Cars
Ford will be Testing SDA Units Next Year

The craze around self-driving automobiles has brought the interest of a lot of car manufacturers. One of the interested parties is Ford Motors, the company will be testing its new set of SDA units next year. The automaker said on Thursday that it would test self-driving prototypes in various pilot programs with partners such as Lyft.
Bear in mind that this doesn’t mean they are rushing production in said units. Ford still doesn’t have any kind of scheduled release for public SDA units until 2021. Also, while Lyft might be partnering with Ford in order to accommodate tests, they are quite unsure about whether or not to partner up or make their own on-demand transport service.
Ford also would test new business models that involve its SDA units, including the movement of people and goods. The plan consists of shifting production of a future battery electric vehicle to Mexico to free up capacity at its Flat Rock, Michigan, plant to build the self-driving vehicles in 2021, according to spokesman Alan Hall.
The Flat Rock plant, as consequence, will be having a harder investment and produce more jobs. Ford is boosting investment to $900 million from $700 million and adding 850 jobs. Both of the vehicles are planned to run on the next-generation Ford Focus lineup.
The electric vehicle, whose more-advanced battery system will enable a driving range of more than 300 miles, will go into production in 2020 at Ford’s Cuatitlan plant, in Mexico. Suppliers say they will also build a new hybrid crossover vehicle around the same time.
All the while, the self-driving vehicle proposal from Flat Rock will have a hybrid system. In other words, they are going to be using a gasoline engine and an electric motor at the same time. This is in accordance to the latest laws that have been prohibiting the use of pure gasoline engines.
Cars
BMW predicts a drop in sales as rising prices reduce consumers’ purchasing power

FRANKFURT — BMW’s quarterly net profit increased 23 percent to 3.18 billion euros ($3.1 billion), largely due to high car prices, but the company cautioned that rising inflation and interest rates will start to impact on sales in the coming months.
Increased profits are being seen despite decreased sales volumes caused by problems in the supply chain, such as the lack of semiconductor chips, which has slowed production for automakers throughout the world.
CEO Oliver Zipse stated in a statement that the company was on track to reach its annual goals because “our outstanding third quarter results highlight that flexibility fosters resilience.”
BMW and other automakers have been able to hike prices because to robust demand and low inventories, but economists believe that consumers will begin to rein down significant purchases as recession chances increase and central banks raise interest rates.
BMW predicted that its above-average order books will “normalize, especially in Europe” in the coming months as a result of rising inflation and interest rates, which would reduce the purchasing power of consumers.
BMW’s finance director Nicolas Peter, though, said the company anticipates its “good momentum” to carry over into 2023, despite full-year sales being somewhat lower than in 2021 and sales of full-electric vehicles expected to treble.
The company said that it expects an operating margin of between 7% and 9% for the full year.
However, the manufacturer saw a 35% increase in revenue to 37.18 billion euros ($36.49 billion) in the third quarter despite global sales falling 9.5% from the same period last year.
BMW’s pretax profit of €4.1 billion was higher than the consensus estimate of €3.4 billion.
Higher costs for raw materials and energy, as well as the price of gaining control of the Chinese joint venture Brilliance, contributed to the 2.7 billion euro increase in costs reported by the firm compared to the same time in the previous year.
Cars
By 2035, all new car sales in New York and California will be hybrid or electric vehicles.

According to Governor Kathy Hochul, New York will follow California’s lead and require that all new automobiles, trucks, and SUVs sold in the state be either electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids. By 2026, 35% of new cars must be zero-emission vehicles, and by 2030, 60% must be. By 2035, all new school buses must have zero emissions. The rules won’t go into effect until after a public hearing. According to Governor Kathy Hochul, New York will follow California’s lead and require that all new automobiles, trucks, and SUVs sold in the state be either electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids. By 2026, 35% of new cars must be zero-emission vehicles, and by 2030, 60% must be. By 2035, all new school buses must have zero emissions. The rules won’t go into effect until after a public hearing.
Hochul directed the state’s environmental agency to establish regulations resembling those imposed by California, which bans the sale of all vehicles powered only by fossil fuels by the year 2035. These regulations, which went into effect this month, with the goal of selling 9.5 fewer internal combustion engine (ICE) only vehicles by 2035 while reducing passenger vehicle pollution by 25% by 2037.
“We had to wait for California to take a step because there’s some federal requirements that California had to go first — that’s the only time we’re letting them go first,” in a press conference yesterday, the governor said.
Cars
Self-Driving To Be Standard In The 2020’s

Technology in vehicles has seen amazing leaps in the past several years. Only eight years ago things like Bluetooth or WiFi in vehicles were not standard. These amenities were only reserved for luxurious vehicles are standard in even the most economical model of cars now. Companies like GM and Ford purchasing self-driving startups and expecting to release new vehicles in the next few years with self-driving capability.
Companies like Tesla have had self-driving vehicles for a few years. And even Google has experimented with self-driving technology. There have been some hiccups and a few other misuses of the technology. This should not stop the progress of the technology. The technology is still in its early stages but I would expect the minor things to be fixed within the next few years. Many other major car manufacturing companies are predicting to have a self-driving vehicle within the next few years.
While its too soon to tell how this technology will affect future traffic laws, it is likely to make some marvelous changes in the future. Road trips will definitely change with such advances. It can only be hoped that it positively affects us more than any harm it might cause in the future.
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