Who is behind the wheel? Self-driving cars offer huge benefits—but have a dark side

Policymakers must apply the lessons of the horseless carriage to the driverless car

A new kind of vehicle is taking to the roads, and people are not sure what to make of it. Is it safe? How will it get along with other road users? Will it really shake up the way we travel? These questions are being asked today about autonomous vehicles (AVs). Exactly the same questions were posed when the first motor cars rumbled onto the roads. By granting drivers unprecedented freedom, automobiles changed the world. They also led to unforeseen harm, from strip malls and urban sprawl to road rage and climate change. Now AVs are poised to rewrite the rules of transport—and there is a danger that the same mistake will be made all over again. read more »

Diesel cars still polluting above legal limit, campaigners warn

Dozens of new models of diesel cars emit harmful nitrogen oxide pollution that exceeds the latest pollution standards, campaigners warn.

Results from "on-road" test results for new Euro 6 diesel models approved for sale in the months before new pollution limits came into force showed half were more polluting than would soon be allowed, Greenpeace said.

The environmental group claimed the results undermined industry claims that new diesels were the "cleanest in history."

Parts Suppliers Call for Cleaner Cars, Splitting With Their Main Customers: Automakers

In the debate over how quickly to make American cars pollute less, the nation’s auto-parts makers are now in open disagreement with the automakers that buy the countless transmissions, turbochargers and other components that make up modern automobiles.

Car manufacturers would like to roll back standards dating from the Obama administration that mandate a deep cut in auto emissions. The rules, which require automakers to nearly double the average fuel economy of new cars and light trucks by 2025, are the single biggest step the United States has taken to combat climate change.

Automaker groups say the Obama-era rules fail to take into account the rising demand for larger vehicles, which pollute more and make progress on overall emissions more challenging. The Trump administration is reviewing the rules for possible revision.

But on Thursday, five groups representing the country’s major auto suppliers urged the country to stay the course. In an unusual joint statement, the suppliers said that “It is in the nation’s best interest” that the United States continue to develop and manufacture “the cleanest and most efficient vehicles in the world.”

Monument-filled, traffic-clogged Rome to ban diesel cars by 2024

Rome, one of Europe’s most traffic-clogged cities and home to thousands of ancient outdoor monuments threatened by pollution, plans to ban diesel cars from the center by 2024, its mayor said. read more »