By Mark Boada, Senior Editor

At the SmartDriving Summit at Princeton University this past month, host Professor Alain Kornhauser asked why Americans weren’t buying more hybrid vehicles: “Their fuel efficiency and their resale values are better, so where are all the hybrids?”

The question is justified. Since they were introduced into the U.S. market in 1999, hybrid vehicles have accounted for a bit more than 2 percent of the passenger cars sold. This is despite the fact that for the consumer who keeps his or her new car for 6.5 years (the national average), a hybrid makes financial sense. Its better fuel economy can save the owner thousands of dollars over that period compared to a gasoline-fueled car, and hybrids retain their value better when resold. Combined, these factors more than offset a hybrid’s higher initial price.

But for sedan fleets, it’s a different story.

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The Detroit News

Michigan’s Democratic senators have signed onto a bill that allows automakers to apply credits for model years as far back as 2009 to help comply with federal auto emission rules that require automakers to produce car and truck fleets that average around 41 miles per gallon by 2021.

Backers of the measure say the change will help “streamline” federal emission standards by addressing conflicts in existing rules that are enforced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmentalists and consumer advocates argue the measure would weaken U.S. gas mileage rules by allowing automakers to get credit for previously achieved mileage improvements.

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The New York Times

A Seattle law firm that specializes in suing automakers has filed a class-action lawsuit against General Motors, accusing the company of programming some of its heavy-duty pickup trucks to cheat on diesel emissions tests.

News of the lawsuit was enough to send the company’s shares down almost 2 percent on Thursday. It is the latest sign of the intense scrutiny of the methods that automakers have devised to meet stringent diesel-emissions regulations, an issue that has led to major legal cases against Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler.

General Motors denied the allegations. “These claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend ourselves,” it said in a statement.

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Consumer Reports

Americans like their high-tech driver-assistance features, but more are growing uncomfortable with the concept of giving full control to a self-driving vehicle, a new Massachusetts Institute of Technology study has found.

Survey respondents reported feeling much more comfortable with technology that assists drivers, such as automatic emergency braking, rather than the idea of fully self-driving technology—and the confidence gap between the two is widening.

Drivers were asked the maximum level of automation they’d be comfortable with, and 59 percent said “features that actively help the driver, while the driver remains in control.” That’s up from 40 percent in last year’s survey.

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Property Casualty 360

The U.K. is ahead of the U.S. in preparing for driverless cars

Since the creation of the first personal auto policy more than 100 years ago, auto insurance policies have all had similar goals: to protect the vehicle owner and driver in the event of an accident, theft or other damage to the vehicle.

With the invention and innovation of self-driving cars, the entire transportation system must adjust to humans as passengers only, and not drivers. The question arises: What sort of insurance will be required to cover incidents involving self-driving vehicles?

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CNBC.com

The recent CEO shuffle at Ford suggests it’s getting serious about self-driving cars: On Monday, it promoted its head of “Smart Mobility,” Jim Hackett, to the CEO role.

But statistics show that Ford — and every other car maker — is way behind Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, when it comes to testing autonomous cars on real roads.

In the year that ended on Nov. 30, 60 Waymo cars drove more than 635,000 miles in autonomous mode on public roads in California.

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SmartCitiesWorld

The Nevada Centre for Advanced Mobility (Nevada CAM) and tech firm Nexar have today announced a strategic partnership that will create the first statewide vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network in the US.

Nexar connects cars in the world’s largest open vehicle-to-vehicle network. The collaboration is designed to enhance safety on Nevada’s roads and highways, spur economic development and job creation, and introduce a series of smart transportation systems.

The latter will optimise infrastructure management, regional planning and inform policy throughout the state.

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The Detroit Bureau

Drivers of small cars have long known that they are at greater risk when involved in collisions with larger vehicles.

However, the risk is increasing, according to a new study.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report suggests that traffic fatality rates are on the rise overall, but noted that of the top 10 vehicles involved in fatal crashes, five are minicars and three are small cars. The vehicle at the top of the list if the Hyundai Accent.

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Wired

Look inside a modern car, and you’ll see many of the same materials that formed the earliest automobiles.

Leather, wood, metal, and cloth convey a sense of luxury, a connection to the beloved way things were. You may see synthetic stuff too, materials born of the jet and space ages.

Radical and often questionable ersatz substances like vinyl, Fiberglas™, wood grain veneer, velour, and injected plastics climbed into the car as symbols of technological sophistication and durability.

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How we handle our mistakes is critical, and we often agonize over them. We especially like this Forbes article, not because it’s political, but because the author reminds us of how to expertly take responsibility and move on.

Forbes

My advice to President Trump – as well as to anyone who has made a mistake (which includes all adults) — is to recall the words that Ronald Reagan used in closing to his TV address on Iran-Contra.

“Now, what should happen when you make a mistake is this: You take your knocks, you learn your lessons, and then you move on. That’s the healthiest way to deal with a problem… You know, by the time you reach my age, you’ve made plenty of mistakes. And if you’ve lived your life properly — so, you learn. You put things in perspective. You pull your energies together. You change. You go forward.”

No tweets. No excuses. Accept responsibility. Make amends and move on.

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