LIDAR maker Luminar is scaling up and slashing costs in effort to dominate self-driving cars

Self-driving cars won’t change society if the sensors that allow them to “see” their environment remain too expensive to produce at scale. Until recently, the only company that made reliable LIDAR, the laser sensor that sends millions of laser points out per second and measures how long they take to bounce back, was Velodyne. But… Continue reading LIDAR maker Luminar is scaling up and slashing costs in effort to dominate self-driving cars

General Motors identified as company behind potential $45M Burton development

BURTON, MI — General Motors has been named as the company behind a secretive $45 million industrial development near the corner of Genesee and Davison roads in Burton. Mayor Paula Zelenko said Monday night that the 141-acre parcel recently purchased for $268,000 by Riverdale, Missouri-based NorthPoint Development was for a potential new GM facility.  Details… Continue reading General Motors identified as company behind potential $45M Burton development

GM confirms plan to cut 1500 workers, but says it won’t abandon small car market

Washington GENERAL Motors confirmed on Sunday its plans to eliminate a shift at an Ohio plant, idling some 1,500 employees as demand for compact cars dips. The downsizing of the workforce in Lordstown, Ohio – where GM produces the Chevrolet Cruze – was related to “historic” market changes that spelled lower demand for compact cars,… Continue reading GM confirms plan to cut 1500 workers, but says it won’t abandon small car market

Where Geely And Chery Failed, China’s GAC Could Finally Crack The US Auto Market

Sparks fly as employees work on the door of a Trumpchi brand vehicle on a production line at the Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. (GAC) plant in Guangzhou, China, on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2017. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg Late last year, GAC Motor Company (GAC Motor), a subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC), announced that it plans to begin selling… Continue reading Where Geely And Chery Failed, China’s GAC Could Finally Crack The US Auto Market

Elon Musk Comes Clean About All The Problems Plaguing Tesla’s Model 3 Production

Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the Silicon Valley-based automaker has hit upon rough times and that putting the company on solid ground could take a Herculean effort. “I’m definitely under stress,” Musk said in an interview Friday as Tesla wrestles with a series of problems related to production problems on the Model 3. Some of… Continue reading Elon Musk Comes Clean About All The Problems Plaguing Tesla’s Model 3 Production

GM Cuts Up To 1500 Jobs at Ohio Plant

General Motors said it would eliminate one of the two shifts at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant that makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan. Up to 1,500 jobs will be lost. Photo: aaron josefczyk/Reuters By Mike Colias Mike Colias The Wall Street Journal Biography @MikeColias mike.colias@wsj.com April 13, 2018 4:42 p.m. ET 0 COMMENTS General Motors… Continue reading GM Cuts Up To 1500 Jobs at Ohio Plant

Carsharing Service Membership Reaches 23.8 Million

The number of users of carsharing services worldwide is forecasted to grow from 23.8 million people in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.6 percent to reach 60.8 million people in 2022, according to a new research report by IoT analyst firm Berg Insight. Berg Insight forecasts that the number of cars… Continue reading Carsharing Service Membership Reaches 23.8 Million

A LiDAR Prodigy Cranks Up Production In The Race For Robot Car Vision Sales

Austin Russell, Luminar’s CEO and co-founder, is convinced his company has the most advanced, highest resolution laser LIDAR sensor on the market and he’s quickly boosting production to supply autonomous vehicle test fleets. One year after emerging from stealth mode Luminar, a maker of laser LiDAR sensors for self-driving vehicles led by 23-year-old optics whiz… Continue reading A LiDAR Prodigy Cranks Up Production In The Race For Robot Car Vision Sales

Thiel-Backed Autonomous Car Supplier Slashing Cost, Scaling Up

Luminar Technologies Inc., the self-driving sensor startup backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, is rolling out a cheaper-to-make version of its laser technology and ramping up production to supply the key component for autonomous vehicles. The startup released a new sensor platform Thursday that reduces the cost of its most expensive part from tens of thousands… Continue reading Thiel-Backed Autonomous Car Supplier Slashing Cost, Scaling Up

Tesla stops ‘refurbishing’ its used cars ahead of big influx of leased vehicles coming back

Tesla has changed its ‘certified pre-owned’ (used) vehicle policy this week to stop “refurbishing” its used cars just ahead of them receiving a big influx of vehicles as more 3-year leases are ending. Home Solar Power The automaker had launched the program 3 years ago and it has been tuning it over the last two… Continue reading Tesla stops ‘refurbishing’ its used cars ahead of big influx of leased vehicles coming back