Uber seeks unlikely partner in Mercedes
Germany’s Manager Magazin reports that Uber is placing an order for at least 100,000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles.
The current iteration of the SClass, which starts at a little more than $100,000, has plenty of autonomous aids, but it isn’t fully selfdriving. Both Mercedes-Benz and Uber have declined to comment rather than deny or confirm the report.
Mercedes-Benz has long been a leader in the autonomous movement. Recently, at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, Daimler’s chief executive made it clear that autonomous vehicles are part of Mercedes’ longterm strategy with hopes of having a self-driving car on the road by 2020.
He also left the door open for collaboration, believing it was necessary in the autonomous arena as long as the customer benefits in the end.
Scion FR-S to become the Toyota 86 Toyota has announced that the Scion FR-S will become the Toyota 86 for the 2017 model year. The “86” moniker is not entirely new, as the rear-wheel drive sports car is already known by that name throughout the rest of the world.
When Scion’s demise was announced in February, we expected the FR-S to be rebadged, but we were told from Toyota the vehicle names would stay the same. After some deliberation, it’s clear Toyota is changing its strategy with name changes for all of its Scion carryovers.
For the U.S. market, the Scion iM hatchback will become the Toyota Corolla iM, while the Scion iA sedan becomes the Toyota Yaris iA. There’s no official word on the Corolla iM name in Canada, but we would expect them to follow suit. It’s a different story north of the border for the Yaris iA, as it had previously converted its name to the Toyota Yaris sedan.
The 2017 Toyota 86 won’t just be about a name change. It will also receive more aggressive looks in the front with new LED tail lights and a new bumper in the back. A boost in power for the manual transmission version is also in store with a bump of five horsepower and 5 lb-ft. of torque for new performance totals of 205 horsepower and 156 lb-ft. of torque.
Honda’s Red Rider program bumps payouts Honda Canada’s Red Rider program is coming back for another year with more races and better payout incentives.
A total of $275,000 is available in prize money, which expands from a top-five placement payout to a top 10. The winning money can only be used at Honda dealerships, but that will provide current Honda riders a free way to fix and enhance their bikes.
For those of you that have never heard of the Red Rider program, it exists both in Canada and the Unit- ed States to provide a homegrown racing series for riders in various disciplines and classifications.
Naturally, it also puts bodies into Honda bikes and creates plenty of exposure for the Japanese brand.
To be eligible for these contingency incentives, riders will have to go online to Honda Canada’s website and register through a sponsoring dealer by June 1, 2016.
Norwegian Tesla fire an ‘isolated incident’ After more than two months investigating the fire of a Tesla Model S that occurred while it was plugged in at a supercharger station, the electric car company has concluded that the blaze was an “isolated incident.” A company spokesperson said the fire in Norway was caused by a short circuit in the vehicle’s electrical distribution box.
Due to these findings, Tesla will be updating its software to add an extra security measure that would immediately stop the charging process if a short circuit is detected.
Nobody in this incident was injured and Tesla owners can continue to charge at supercharging stations without worry.
Back in 2013, Tesla dealt with three separate fire-related incidents in North America. They were all connected by an impact of debris on the battery pack, but nothing else of note has surfaced since.
Buick Avista to be nothing more than a concept The Buick Avista concept was all the rage at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Only two months after the event, the concept that garnered plenty of exposure and won numerous awards for design will never get to see the production stage.
According to an interview between Buick’s vice president Tony DiSalle and Wards Auto: “(The Avista) was purely a concept and meant to generate some buzz. No other plans for now.”
DiSalle didn’t end the conversation there, adding that the design language from the Avista concept will not be used for future Buick products. Future design cues will be taken from Buick’s other concept, the Avenir.
Driverless bus system to run in Holland The race for autonomous vehicles is ripe within the auto industry, but big automotive and tech companies aren’t the only players.
In the small towns of Wageningen and Ede in the Netherlands, a selfdriving bus called WEpods (an abbreviation of the two towns) has been developed to carry up to six people to the local university.
The bus is different than other European self-driving haulers, as it uses regular roadways without dedicated self-driving tracks. It travels at a speed of 24 km/h.
The self-driving bus system was developed by a consortium of provincial officials, schools and technology firms.
When they first began the project, they approached Google for funding, only to be rejected by the technology giant. That didn’t dissuade them from their mission and the necessary funding was eventually obtained.
“The secret was developing without a lot of parties involved,” said project manager Alwin Bakker. “We were able to make quick decisions and move forward.”
Before receiving approval, the self-driving buses were tested for two months.
The program will start in May, with two buses that can be called on via an iPhone app to transport students, guests and teachers to and from Wageningen University. David Miller is a frequent contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. For more Toronto Star Wheels automotive stories, go to thestar.com/autos. To reach Wheels editor Norris McDonald: wheels@thestar.ca.