Wednesday, July 30, 2025
SmartDrivingCar.com/13.10-Finally-7.30.25
10th edition of the 13th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern reach $85 billion merger deal
B. Stephens, July 29, “Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern today announced an $85 billion deal to tie their networks together and create the first U.S. transcontinental railroad.
The merged company — which will be called Union Pacific — will transform the U.S. supply chain and economy, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and preserve all union jobs, the railroads said.
UP will acquire NS in a stock and cash transaction that values NS at $320 per share, a 25% premium. The combined company would have an enterprise value of more than $250 billion. The railroads said the merger would create $2.75 billion in annual synergies within three years, through a combination of $1.75 billion in revenue growth and $1 billion in cost savings.
“Railroads have been an integral part of building America since the Industrial Revolution, and this transaction is the next step in advancing the industry,” UP CEO Jim Vena said. “Imagine seamlessly hauling steel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Colton, Calif., and moving tomato paste from Heron, Calif., to Fremont, Ohio. Lumber from the Pacific Northwest, plastics from the Gulf Coast, copper from Arizona and Utah, and soda ash from Wyoming. Right now, tens of thousands of railroaders are moving almost everything we use. You name it, and at some point, the railroad hauled it.”
The railroad will stretch 52,215 route miles, with track winding through 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast and serving around 100 ports…….” Read more Hmmmm… Finally! I spent 25 years working towards such a goal. Came within 2 weeks of a presentation to the ConRail board in 1996 with a serious proposal for it to purchase the Southern Pacific, only to be beaten to the punch by a UP move to purchase the SP, which thwarted what could have been the first transcon NAFTA RR.
Consequently, ConRail was carved up in ALK’s conference room with CSX on one side and NS on the other, and us running the numbers on the what ifs. All turned out very well for ConRail, NS and CSX shareholders, and the economy of the country. I have fond memories of those times and our team.
What will naturally follow now is a BN + CSX merger and the duopoly will be completed.
In the end, cooperation between shippers and carriers works best for both entities rather than using competition, which does little more than waste overhead to pit carriers against the other in a quest for survival of the fitter.
With these mergers on the table, I’m having thoughts of putting the band back together: George Woodward, Mark Hornung, Mike Bodden, Danni Titus, Benny Markowitz, …Déjà vu all over again. It’s great! Alain
The Real Case for Driverless Mobility 
Narrated by Fred Fishkin, Available now
Published in 2024 (but still relevant)!!! Go to Amazon.com…
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 395 / PodCast 395
F. Fishkin, July 30, “With a big rail merger in the headlines, Alain talks trains. Plus…AI policy vision in Washington, Waymo’s woes in Boston, the Model Y is a top safety pick again and the latest on Lyft, Uber and more. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 395 of Smart Driving Cars.
0:00 open
0:25 Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern reach 85 billion dollar merger deal
8:26 The administration in Washington offers vision for AI policy
10:44 Jalopnik headline… Boston flips the bird to Waymo robotaxis
13:03 IIHS gives Tesla Model Y top safety rating again
20:00 The Street report on expert witness backing Tesla in fatal autopilot crash case
22:15 TechCrunch headline.. Lyft to add autonomous shuttles in 2026 while Uber inks more self driving deals
23:20 Waymo launching autonomous vehicles in Dallas as Tesla readies robotaxi expansion
24:53 Who are robotaxi rides being targeted to?
WELCOME TO THE BRIDGING TRANSPORTATION RESEARCHERS (BTR) ONLINE CONFERENCE
We look forward to seeing you, your colleagues, students, sponsors, & other transport enthusiasts on
Wednesday + Thursday August 6 & 7, 2025!
Register here – it’s FREE!
Submit papers here – that’s free too!
Donald Trump just laid out his vision for AI policy
T. Lee, July 5, “The Biden administration often seemed ambivalent about AI. In a 2023 executive order, Joe Biden declared that irresponsible use of AI could “exacerbate societal harms such as fraud, discrimination, bias, and disinformation; displace and disempower workers; stifle competition; and pose risks to national security.”
On Wednesday, the Trump administration released an AI Action Plan with a very different tone.
“Winning the AI race will usher in a new golden age of human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people,” the document said.
In a speech later that day, Trump vowed to use every policy lever to keep the United States on the cutting edge. ….” Read more Hmmmm… A really thoughtful expose . Alain
Boston Flips The Bird To Waymo Robotaxis
J. Hughes, July 25, “Boston’s stereotypical rudeness isn’t limited to human drivers. During a city council hearing on the matter, protesters in City Hall Plaza strongly objected to Waymo’s autonomous taxis joining the Boston traffic fray. City officials ended up siding with the protesters, agreeing that robotaxis are bad for Beantown for several reasons.
According to WGBH, several labor groups, including the Teamsters and the recently established App Drivers Union, protested against what they see as the loss of their jobs if Waymo comes to Boston. The protest was similar to Los Angeles demonstrations when service began in 2023. Some city counselors joined the group outside City Hall, heard what they had to say, and agreed with their objections. “I see you, I’m with you, and I’ll fight with you to make sure the future of Boston transportation is equitable and filled with working people at the center,” said At-Large Councilor Henry Santana…..” Read more Hmmmm… Not at all surprising. Didn’t Waymo’s advanced planning team properly identify which Boston problem(s) it was going to solve before showing up with their LiDARs exposed? Amazing!
If you are solving the safety problem, you should focus on locations that have a safety problem. Do you really think you can solve Boston’s safety problem? If you are in the entertainment or visitor’s mobility business, don’t be surprised that those already in that business may not look favorably on your intrusion. Alain
Tesla Model Y Is An IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Winner For Fifth-Straight Year
V. Vijayenthiran, July 25, “The updated 2025 Tesla Model Y has been proven to be one of the safest options on the market, continuing a trend for the electric compact crossover since its launch. The 2025 Model Y aced the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) latest round of crash safety testing, for which it received a Top Safety Pick+ award – the institute’s highest rating.….” Read more Hmmmm… And this is only for the crash mitigation portion of safety without considering the Automated Emergency Braking and the other Advanced driver Assistance features. So if you are a chronically misbehaving driver (texter, speeder, tailgater, drinker, sleeper), … you should get yourself one of these. Note to self… if misbehaving drivers do switch from Beemers, Tesla safety stats will suffer. Alain
Lyft to add autonomous shuttles in 2026 as Uber inks more self-driving deals
S. O’kane, July 25, “yft will add autonomous shuttles made by Austrian manufacturer Benteler Group to its network in late 2026, the company announced Friday. The shuttles will be deployed in partnership with U.S. cities and airports, according to Lyft, but could expand out from there if things go well.
The partnership will let Lyft use urban electric shuttles made by Benteler’s mobility division under the Holon brand. The shuttles will not have a steering wheel or pedals and will feature inward-facing seats for up to nine seated and six standing passengers, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the Benteler partnership on Friday.
The tie-up comes amid a flurry of announcements from Lyft’s main rival, Uber, which has recently added robotaxis from Waymo and WeRide in various cities around the world. Uber is also working on adding rondtbotaxis from Baidu, Pony AI, Momenta, May Mobility, Volkswagen, and Wayve, and just last week announced a deal with Nuro and Lucid Motors….” Read more Hmmmm… I can’t wait until 2026. Hope I make it. Alain
Waymo to launch driverless vehicles in Dallas, company
R. Behrndt, July 29, “ Waymo, the driverless ride-hailing service, will launch in Dallas next year, the company announced in a press release.
The driverless vehicles will be available to the public 24/7 through the Waymo app and the company’s fleet will be managed through Avis, the company said in a press release. Avis will manage the fleet, including maintenance, vehicle readiness and depot operations, Waymo said. ….” Read more Hmmmm… I wonder what problem they are solving in Dallas. Why is “autonomous” RideHailing better than “non-autonomous” ride Hailing?
Is RideHailing in Dallas experiencing a severe supply challenge? Does AVIS want to enter RideHailing? Does Waymo want to enter car rental? What is going on here?? Again, what supply challenge ae they attempting to solve? Or are they just throwing stuff against a wall trying to find anything that will stick? Alain
Expert witness backs Tesla in fatal Autopilot crash case
T. Owusu, July 28, “Benavides, 22, was standing outside of her vehicle when she was killed, while her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, was critically injured.
Tesla has argued that McGee, who has settled lawsuits brought by Benavides and Angulo’s families, was entirely at fault because their data showed that his foot was on the accelerator just before the moment of impact.
James Walker is a mechanical engineer at Carr Engineering and is a court-accepted expert at reconstructing the scene of car crashes.
Based on his own expertise and Tesla’s data, Walker concluded that McGee was fully in control of his Tesla Model S at the time of the crash, even though he had previously engaged Autopilot before the crash.
“For the last 1.2 miles, or about 75 seconds, the driver’s foot is on the accelerator pedal the whole time. He’s taken control,” Walker testified, according to Law360.
“He was driving the car; the car wasn’t driving him.”
McGee dropped his phone while driving down the street on that fateful night. He was looking for the device, not at the road, when the crash occurred.
McGee had testified that he was not alerted that a crash was imminent, and only realized something was amiss when he felt the road turn from pavement to gravel once he reached the end of the street.
However, Walker contradicted that testimony, telling jurors that data showed McGee’s car sent an alert 1.65 seconds before impact and brakes were applied 1 second before impact.
McGee’s car tore through a stop sign at 61 mph and hit the Chevy Tahoe at 52 mph.
The plaintiffs argue that Tesla is at least partially responsible for the crash because it overpromised on what “Autopilot” is capable of while underdelivering on what it could actually do.
“I thought it would assist me if I made a mistake,” McGee, 48, a partner in a Florida private equity firm, told a jury in the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida. “It didn’t warn me of the car and the individuals, and hit the brakes.”
McGee was charged with careless driving in October 2019 and ordered to complete 16 hours of traffic school.
Tesla has argued that McGee is solely at fault and that there is nothing Autopilot or any other platform could have done to prevent the crash.
“He’s rummaging around for his phone, and he runs through the intersection,” Joel H. Smith, a lawyer for law firm Bowman and Brooke, said in his opening statement. “This can happen in any car, at any time. This is not about Autopilot.”
Editor’s note: story has been updated to remove a reference to Full Self-Driving technology, which wasn’t involved in this crash.
….” Read more Hmmmm… Unfortunately, NHTSA has treated Automated Emergency Braking as a crash mitigation system and not a crash avoidance system. IIHS has conducted numerous tests showing these systems simply do not brake early enough to avoid crashing. NHTSA is more worried about the false braking problem than the crash avoidance problem and thus allows automakers to over rely on crashing mitigation systems and continue to allow crashes to happen; thus, early braking is implicitly interpreted as a false alarm especially when the driver has their foot on the accelerator.
Thank you for the”Editor’s note. Alain
HandyRides Update
A. Kornhauser, July 30, “All set to take delivery of the first two cars of our fleet” Hmmmm… OK! Alain
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Previous SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast/PodCasts
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 394 / PodCast 394
F. Fishkin, July 18, “The battle between Waymo and Tesla in the robotaxi arena as both plan expanded service areas. Autonomous heavy machinery. Tesla’s Dojo 2 Supercomputer. Plus Uber, May Mobility, VW and more on Smart Driving Cars episode 394 with Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin. Tune in and subscribe.
0:00 open
0:34 From Forbes.com- The Waymo-Tesla Robotaxi Battle
4:23 Bedrock Robotics from Waymo veterans doing autonomous heavy machinery
9:17 Waymo posts it has officially driven 100 million fully autonomous miles
12:00 Waymo coming to Philadelphia and New York City
13:07 Property Casualty 360 report that Uber has eye on commercial auto insurance reform
15:38 From Not a Tesla App Tesla’s Dojo 2 supercomputer enters mass production
18:45 …also Tesla reportedly updates robotaxi app
21:42 May Mobility launches ride hail api
26:40 HSBC analysts reportedly say potential market for driverless taxis is widely overestimated.
29:25 Automotive News piece on where robotaxi rivals stand
30:15 VW robotaxi wants to rival Waymo and Tesla
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 393 / PodCast 393w/ Michael Sena: Is Elon Musk the Henry Ford of our day?
F. Fishkin, July 6, “Is Elon Musk the Henry Ford of our day? In which ways? Some surprises, perhaps, in a Mobility Musings essay from Michael Sena who joins Alain and Fred for episode 393 of Smart Driving Cars. Plus- the Tesla robotaxi rollout and the coverage of it, Waymo, VW, driverless systems in China, Malcolm Gladwell and more.
0:00 open
0:35 Musings on Mobility: Is Elon Musk the Henry Ford of Our Day? Essay by Michael Sena.
14:00 What will Musk’s legacy be?
16:56 Should consumer look at the man or the car?
18:14 Alain’s take on the coverage of Tesla’s robotaxi rollout
21:40 What are the really significant accomplishments of Ford and Musk?
27:30 Alain recommends book An Immense World – How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us 29:00 Alain is also linking to PBS NOVA report on new images from the Rubin Observatory
30:25 South China Morning Post- How does a Chinese driverless system compare with Tesla’s?
31:05 Volkswagen’s MOIA unveils ID Buzz turnkey solution for full autonomous mobility services
32:40 Back to the question- why pursue driverless mobility?
37:05 Malcolm Gladwell is saying driverless cars are too safe..
41:02 Brief…very brief…update on HandyRides
42:00 GM’s Cruise Cars are back on the road?
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 392 / PodCast 392 – 7Tesla, Ford, Waymo and more
F. Fishkin, July 1, “What is the significance of a Tesla Model Y delivering itself to a consumer? What happened when Reuters and Business Insider reached out to Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser for comment on Tesla’s robotaxi launch issues in Austin? Join Alain and co-host Fred Fishkin for that plus Ford, Waymo and more on episode 392 of Smart Driving Cars. Tune in and subscribe!
0:00 open
0:40 Tesla Model Y delivers itself to consumer
5:18 With Tesla robotaxi launch in Austin … Reuters and then Business Insider contact Alain for comments on reported problems
17:30 Ford CEO favors Waymo’s LiDAR approach over Tesla’s vision only self driving
20:55 OBI lists pricing insights on Waymo, Uber and Lyft..
25:55 Upcoming online conference from Bridging Transportation Researchers
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 391 / PodCast 391 – Robotaxis from VW-Waymo-Tesla
F. Fishkin, June 19 “VW ID.Buzz Robotaxis coming? Waymo expands. Tesla robotaxis launching. All that and more on epsidoe 391 of Smart Driving Cars. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin and subscribe!
00:00 open
00:39 VW ID. BUZZ robotaxis coming? Alain says call me!
3:30 Teslas safer than Waymo?
7:20 Waymo expanding…
9:49 to NYC too?
10:12 Some Texas legislators ask for a delay in Tesla robotaxi launch
21:20 Elektrek reports Amazon to test humanoid robot deliveries with Rivian vans
24:55 The Verge reports US DOT wants more self driving cars without pedals or steering wheels
27:47 Yahoo Finance headline..Nearly 75 percent of riders fear robotaxi safety, yet pay more for Waymo
29:45 The Times of London headline on UN report that terrorists could hijack AI driven vehicles
32:15 Techcrunch report on Wayve and Uber plan robotaxi launch in UK
33:15 Tesla robotaxi rollout can be tracked online
35:00 Real case for driverless mobility… and update on ITN America
38:00 MSN report on FRA and FTA project to receive funds from previously awarded grants
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 390 / PodCast 390 – w/ Michael Sena: Gov’t. roles-Musk-Waymo-Uber & more
F. Fishkin, June 6 “What should governments be doing for robotic vehicles? What did they do for human driven vehicles? Mobility Industry Insights publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin to explore that plus the latest on Elon Musk as robotaxis are readied, Waymo, Uber, TRB and more. Tune in and subscribe.
0:00 open
0:44 Mobility Industry Insights: Should governments do any more for robot driven cars than they did for human driven vehicles?
16:20 What governments could do if they wanted to make driving more safe
18:18 Governments are doing things…but doing the wrong things
24:14 In Japan they are planning for some separate roadways for robotic vehicles
26:17 Tesla has planned to launch robotaxis in Austin next week- how would they be controlled? Differences from Waymo?
33:00 FinanceBuzz report on autonomous vehicle safety, accidents and reporting
39:00 Why aren’t intelligent cruise control and automatic emergency braking systems working together?
44:20 How old does a person really need to be to drive? Why is age relevant? Does it need to be a human? What about responsibility in robotic vehicles?
50:29 From TechCrunch …a patent infringement case that could disrupt Uber and others
51:22 The Transportation Research Board revamping committee structure and activities- TRB value.
1:02:00 What is needed to solve the safety problem?
1:08:00 Space X posts video titled Elon Musk, Mars and Beyond: The Road to Making Humanity Interplanetary
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 389 / PodCast 389 – Tesla, Aurora, Waymo and more
F. Fishkin, May 29 “We’re back with episode 389 of Smart Driving Cars as Alain Kornhauser wraps up his 53rd year teaching at Princeton University. Today, Alain and co-host Fred Fishkin looks at the coming launch of Tesla’s robotaxis, Musks departure from Washington and the company’s safety report. Plus, Aurora brings back human drivers, a battle over autonomous farm equipment in California, Waymo continues to grow and more. Plus…a tip of the cap to some great senior thesis work by Alain’s students. Tune in and subscribe.
0:00 open
0:37 Tesla sets June 12 date for robotaxi launch
2:24 Tesla hiring humans to control robotaxis
4:13 Battle over automated farm equipment in California
6:03 Tesla safety report claims autopilot 10 times better at avoiding crashes
12:03 Aurora putting humans in driver seats again
13:40 NY Times reports driverless trucks are here with big promises
17:46 Way expanding to San Antonio and Houston
21:10 Warren Buffet asked about insurance shift with self driving cars
29:27 Senior Thesis work highlight in Smart Driving Car newslettter
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 388 / PodCast 388 – Aurora, Waymo, NHTSA & more
F. Fishkin, May 4 “Commercial driverless trucks are on the road in Texas. A big accomplishment for Aurora! Plus.. a DOT research grant gets terminated, Waymo’s safety study and partnership with Toyota and NHTSA amends ADAS reporting rules. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 388 of Smart Driving Cars.
0:00 open
0:30 Aurora launches commercial driverless trucks
6:05 DOT cancels grant to Research Foundation of CUNY
7:50 Waymo releases study showing reduction in serious crashes and improved safety
13:45 Waymo partnering with Toyota
16:12 NHTSA amends order for ADAS reporting
19:40 Star Base now an official city in Texas
21:50 Alain wrapping up another semester at Princeton
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 387/ PodCast 387– The Last(?)Dispatcher w Michael Sena
F. Fishkin, Feb. 25 “Keeping cars out of cities? The parking meter is turning 90 this year. We learn more about that and more from The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena. Plus ..self driving cars, AI, the Black Hawk tragedy and more. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 387 of Smart Driving Cars.
0:00 open
1:10 Michael Sena on parking meters turning 90 and what they are being used for now
8:15 The Pope and a cautionary approach to AI
13:05 For now…at least…the last edition of The Dispatcher
16:57 There’s another book on the way
18:30 Henry Ford…and the road today to driverless mobility
29:35 AI and Deep Research
37:10 the Black Hawk – American Airlines tragedy. What we’re learning.
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 386 / PodCast 386 – DeepSeek, HandyRides, Waymo, Tesla & more
F. Fishkin, Feb. 2 “DeepSeek and AI, HandyRides Inc. arrives, women providing taxi rides on motorcycles in Kenya, Waymo expanding to more cities and Tesla bringing front bumper camera to Model Y. Welcome back to Smart Driving Cars! Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for all of that and more on episode 386. And remember to subscribe.
0:00 Open
1:21 AI code editor, DeepSeek and more
6:22 HandyRides Inc. now exists
7:05 From NY Times: Women on motorcycle taxis giving rides in Kenya and a piece on driving in Vietnam
14:36 Timothy Lee piece…speculating DeepSeek not responsible for crashing NVIDIA stock
16:50 Waymo expanding to more cities including Las Vegas and San Diego
19:58 More DeepSeek discussion
25:16 new edition of The Dispatcher out from Michael Sena
26:17 The work that lies ahead to provide mobility to those who need it
29:15 Why are there still rear ending crashes
29:35 New Tesla Model Y will have front bumper camera
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 385 / PodCast 385 – w Michael Sena … GM Cancels Cruise, Waymo progresses and NHTSA’s New Rules for Driverless
F. Fishkin, Dec. 22 “With GM putting an end to the Cruise robotaxi venture, Waymo reaching 5 million rides and NHTSA proposing new rules for driverless vehicles, there’s plenty of news to end the year. The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena joins Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for a look at those stories and more on episode 385 of Smart Driving Cars! Tune in and subscribe.
0:00 open
1:17 Nobel Prize for Physics awarded to Princeton’s John Hopfield. Alain’s tribute.
1:54 GM shutters Cruise robotaxi venture
13:26 Waymo has now delivered over 5 million driverless rides
26:49 NHTSA proposes new rules for self driving cars
34:55 The Dispatcher Musings…back to Scranton
38:14 Closing out the year with long time friends and kudos to Alain’s students
SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 384 / PodCast 384 – The Election, Musk, Tesla, Waymo & more with guest Michael Sena
On episode 384 of Smart Driving Cars, Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin are joined by The Dispatcher publisher Michael Sena. This time out- the election, Elon Musk, Tesla, Waymo, Aurora and a tribute to the late Paul Michel Lion III
0:00 open
0:55 From The Dispatcher -a look at the presidential election and the process
10:01 Princeton’s Bob Vanderbei maps out the electorate one again
14:30 The involvement of Elon Musk, pre-election and post-election and Michael’s look at the Robotaxi event.
42:20 Tesla’s quarterly vehicle safety report 47:48 A tribute Alain’s PHD Advisor at Princeton, Paul Michel Lion III.
48:28 Waymo is now valued at 45 billion dollars 49:59 Aurora’s Chris Urmson says we are on the brink of a new era in mobility and logistics 52:25 Michael comments further on Waymo and its role at Alphabet (Google)
59:54 The Autopian report on Google/Waymo patent application for system to take over automatically if it detects a bad driver behind the wheel.
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SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 382 / PodCast 382 – SpaceX, Cybercab and John Hopfield. Space X wows with catch, Tesla’s Cybercab event and the potential impact on mobility, and Princeton’s John Hopfield captures 2024 Nobel Physics Prize. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for the takeaways from the latest headlines and more. Tune in and subscribe! 0:00 open 0:30 SpaceX wows with landing 8:38 Tesla’s Cybercab event-Alain’s take on the ups and downs 18:22 Elon uses the elevator analogy! 21:12 Forbes piece- Can’t Get a Cybercab? Wave Down a Waymo. 22:40 AutoEvolution: 5 Polarizing Facts from Tesla’s We Robot Cybercab Unveiling Event 26:26 Presentation from Alain’s students on shared mobility at Next Generation Systems Conference 27:45 More on Cybercabs and questions about insurance 39:02 Princeton’s John Hopfield wins Nobel Physics Prize! SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 381 / PodCast 381 – w Michael Sena: data privacy, Northvolt, Tesla and more. 0:00 open 0:54 Vehicle telecommunications and data privacy battle 22:40 What happened to Sweden’s Northvolt 27:17 The efforts to stop the importing of inexpensive Chinese vehicles. Is the rest of the world toast? 45:55 Tesla prepares for the robotaxi unveiling October 10 54:35 Reuters reports Waymo discussions with Hyundai on vehicle platform and remarks from Waymo co-CEO at University of Michigan 1:00:35 Two of Alain’s students deliver at the Next Generation Systems Conference SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 380 / PodCast 380 – w Michael Sena SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 379 / PodCast 379 – Time to Pivot-Hamburg-Waymo-Tesla & more SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 378 / PodCast 378 – Cry’n Shame GM’s Cruise abandons the Origin purposely designed robotaxi in favor of the Chevy Bolt. Former CEO Kyle Vogt calls it disappointing. Plus the audiobook version of The Real Case for Driverless Mobility arrives. Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 378 of Smart Driving Cars. SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 377 / PodCast 377 – What would GreenVille MOVES look like The push towards affordable driverless mobility continues on episode 377 of Smart Driving Cars. Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin show what GreenVille Moves would look like. Plus ..the EU mandates speed limiters, Tesla adding parental controls for teen drivers and more. 0:00 open 0:49 Congrats to Alain’s students who took part in the Henley Royal Regatta 2:04 Launching of HandyRides continues for affordable mobility 3:15 Demo of what GreenVilleMOVES would look like 33:30 EU is mandating speed limiters 34:15 Tesla update to give parents control over teen driver speed and more 39:50 The Drive report on Mercedes engineer criticism of Tesla FSD and its impact on public attitudes toward autonomous driving tech. 42:04 The Verge report on Distance Technologies windshield AR heads up display 45:00 Ken Pyle’s Viodi piece on Smart Driving Car Summit SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 376 / PodCast 376 – a mobility start-up is launched July 1st marks the launch of a new mobility start-up! Join Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for details. Plus..GM Cruise pays for crash report delays, Rimac robotaxis and automakers ask for reconsideration of automatic emergency braking rules. SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 375 / PodCast 375 Elon Musk talks Tesla robotaxis and more. Maybe for Brownsville? F. Fishkin, June 15, ” With Elon Musk divulging more about how Telsa robotaxis may operate, Princeton’s Alain Kornhauser demonstrates how they could be used to serve Brownsville, Texas. And the plan could be replicated anywhere. Plus the latest on Waymo and Cruise. Join Alain and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 375 of Smart Driving Cars. 0:00 open 0:30 Musk talks robotaxi business, Tesla Semis and more new vehicles 15:27 Alain shows how a Brownsville MOVES mobility service could work. 36:19 Waymo issues software and mapping recall following telephone pole crash in Phoenix 43:10 GM investing 850 million dollars in Cruise and resuming operations in Houston
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