The Next Ten Years: NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #520
We wanted to do something special for Issue #520 because it marks ten years of uninterrupted weekly NMA e-newsletters that, we hope, have provided entertaining (if not thought-provoking) perspectives. To carry on that tradition, NMA and NMA Foundation directors were asked to provide mini essays for the occasion. No one likes homework but they tackled […]
What Was Car Safety Like in the 20th Century?
Similar to air travel, many believe the “Golden Age” of automobiles passed by us. It’s simply a lazy take to reminisce about cars built decades ago and say everything was built better back then based on nostalgia. It’s natural to let out some ooh’s and ahh’s when we see classic cars speed past us on […]
Who knew that General Motors could be so Nimble…
In the direction of nimbleness, General Motors announced this week they were closing down five North American plants, letting go 14,000 hardworking folks (15 percent of the company’s US work force) and up to 25 percent of their worldwide administrative staff. GM let go all these folks because they worked on sedans and the hybrid […]
Will Autonomous Cars Cause the Centralization of the Auto Industry?
From guest writer Tom Butcher Autonomous technology will utterly transform our relationship to cars and travel in the coming years. I think we can all agree on that. Driverless cars are on the way and are set for testing on public roads in the UK by 2021, China by 2025 and Russia by the end […]
What Do Young Drivers Think About Driverless Cars and Mobility as a Service?
Decades ago, we would only dream about cars that could drive themselves. Now, self-driving cars are the newest solution to a lesser pollution and the new experience of sitting in the driver’s place without the need to get involved. Personally, I believe that driverless cars and mobility as a service is a great thing, especially […]
US Bill Seeks to Protect Self-Driving Vehicle Manufacturers
From Gary Massey, a Chattanooga Personal Injury Attorney with the law firm of Massey & Associates, P.C. A bill pending in the United States Senate would, among other things, allow manufacturers and operators of self-driving vehicles to require end-users to enter into binding, confidential arbitration in order to resolve matters, including personal injury disputes. The […]
Are We Really Ready for RoboCars?
By the end of the year, Waymo plans to release upon the world (in Arizona specifically) robotaxis that can be summoned with the press of a button. Are we ready to forgo our personal vehicle and step into a transportation pod that controls us in an intimate and even perhaps a provocative way? Probably not. […]
Connected Cars Need to First Get Connected
Connected cars will likely happen long before autonomous vehicles (AVs) are fully adopted. Not only will automakers need to master the nuances of V2X (vehicle-to-everything), the industry will also need to adopt standards that every automaker uses along with city and state governments. These standards not only will need to be robust but also protect […]
Perils of the Part-Time Driver
Big Brother has been riding shotgun for years, but he’s never been able to actually watch what we do in our cars. That’s about to change. He’ll soon be able to tell whether we’re sleeping or texting or doing other things unrelated to driving. Which isn’t the bad part. BMW just publicly revealed their new […]
Top 5 Smartest Futuristic Cars
From James Bond to Back to the Future, the movie world has always pushed the boundaries in the functionality and practicalities of cars. But what about in real life? Recent technological advancements are seeing some equally innovative concepts come to life. In this article we explore some of the newest technologies on the market and […]