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Waymo picks Detroit factory to build self-driving fleet by mid-2019

SAN FRANCISCO — Alphabet Inc's Waymo said on Tuesday it had chosen a factory in Detroit to mass produce self-driving cars, looking to the historical heart of the auto industry to build the vehicles of the future. The company's chief executive, John Krafcik, said in a blog post that Waymo would partner with American Axle & Manufacturing to lease and repurpose an existing Detroit facility that will be operational by mid-2019. The facility belongs to American Axle, next to the GM Hamtramck facility that is at risk of being shuttered, and is across the Detroit River from Windsor, where the Chrysler Pacificas that Waymo uses are built. Presumably Waymo will do the self-driving fitment of Pacificas at the new facility. Waymo said in January it had chosen Michigan for its first production facility, adding it would receive incentives from the public-private partnership agency, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and create up to 400 jobs over time exclusively related to self-driving. Krafcik said in his blog post Tuesday that it's the "perfect facility," with up to 200,000 square feet to expand into. He said Waymo will hire the region's auto manufacturing talent. Waymo plans to buy 62,000 Pacificas and 20,000 Jaguars and convert them for autonomous driving. By 2022, it intends to conduct about 1 million trips per day. In a sea of rivals, Waymo is generally thought of as far ahead in the self-driving race. It already operates a robotaxi service in Arizona that it plans to expand geographically over time. Global automakers, large technology companies and startups are all engaged in self-driving efforts, but experts expect it will be years before systems are ready to be rolled out in all areas, with software and regulations among the many challenges. Waymo is competing with rivals General Motors and Uber Technologies to deploy such vehicles for the masses. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also announced the company plans to launch a robotaxi service in 2020. Waymo, which has been working on self-driving technology for a decade, provided few new details. American Axle, with which Waymo is partnering for its Detroit facility, was formed in 1994 when an investment team purchased five plants that General Motors had put up for sale. GM plans to end output at its last Detroit factory next year, after announcing in November a plan to halt production at five North American assembly plants and cut about 15,000 jobs.

The best Super Bowl car commercials from the last 5 years

If you've been dipping into the Autoblog feed over the past days and weeks, you wouldn't even have to be a sports fan to know the Super Bowl is coming up. Automakers have been teasing their spots for the big game, dropping them days early, fully-formed onto the Internet and otherwise trying to amp up the multi-million-dollar outlays that they've made for air time on the biggest advertising day of the year. And, we're into it. The lead up to the Super Bowl is almost akin to a mini auto show around these parts; with automakers being amongst the most prolific advertisers on these special Sundays. The crop of ads from 2015 looks as strong as ever, but we thought we'd take a quick look back at some of our favorite spots from the last five years. Take a look at our picks – created from a very informal polling of Autoblog editors and presented in no particular order – and then tell us about your recent faves, in Comments. Chrysler, Imported From Detroit Chrysler, Eminem and a lingering pan shot of "The Fist" – it doesn't get much more Motown than 2011's Imported From Detroit. With the weight of our staffers hailing from in and around The D, it's no wonder that our memories still favor this epic Super Bowl commercial (even though the car it was shilling was crap). Imported really set the tone for later Chrysler ads, too, repeated the formula: celebrity endorsement + dramatic copy + dash of jingoism = pulled car-guy heartstrings. Mercedes-Benz, Soul teaser with Kate Upton One of our favorite Super Bowl commercials (and yours, based on the insane number of views you logged) didn't even technically air during the game. Mercedes-Benz teased its eventual spot Soul with 90-seconds worth of Kate Upton threatening to do her best Joy Harmon impression. (Teaser indeed.) It doesn't win points for cleverness, use of music, acting, or any compelling carness, but it proved that Mercedes' advertisers knew how to make a splash in the Internet Age. And, hey, it's still classier than every GoDaddy commercial. Kia, A Dream Car. For Real Life Like the Mercedes video above, the initial draw here is a pretty lady; in this case the always stunning Adriana Lima. But this Kia commercial really delivers the extra effort we expect while scarfing crabby snacks and homemades, too. First of all, Motley Crue. Second, a cowboy on a bucking rhino. Enjoy yet again.

Automakers are putting pancakes in your car, when all you want is a parking spot

The Dashboard Act was introduced June 24 in Congress by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Its name notwithstanding, it isn’t about cars. Rather, “Dashboard” is an acronym for “Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broader Oversight and Regulations on Data.” The purpose of the act is to make sure that companies disclose to consumers how their data is being used by companies like Facebook and Google — how their data is being monetized. Oddly enough, the Dashboard Act does have something to do with automotive companies, too. Why? Because OEMs have determined that people have plenty of time on their hands when driving — much of which is just sitting in traffic (according to the 2018 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, U.S. drivers sit for an average of 97 hours last year). So what better thing to do than shop? And presumably, like credit-card companies, theyÂ’re benefiting from facilitating commerce. Coincidentally, also on June 24 FCA announced it is launching Uconnect Market, an in-vehicle commerce platform. Explained Alan DÂ’Agostini, FCA's global head of connected services, “Our customers live busy lives, and our goal with the Uconnect platform is to provide an advanced portfolio of services to make their daily drive more convenient, productive and enjoyable. “This is why we are launching Uconnect Market, as we continue to ramp-up our connectivity efforts around the world with the goal of having all new FCA vehicles connected by 2022.” Uconnect Market, which will begin rolling out this year, allows people to buy things like DominoÂ’s Pizza and Shell gasoline and make reservations through Yelp via the touchscreen in the vehicle. This is similar to GMÂ’s Marketplace, which it introduced at the end of 2017. This allows you to order from ApplebeeÂ’s, Starbucks, TGI Fridays, ExxonMobil, Wingstop, and even book travel on Priceline.com. And in keeping with the third company in the Detroit Three, Ford offers the Amazon Alexa App, which provides a variety of functions from controlling smart devices in oneÂ’s home to, for Amazon Prime members (of which there are estimated to be more than 100 million in the U.S.), ordering organic kale from Whole Foods. All through your dashboard. Earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, BMW Group introduced “BMW Natural Interaction,” a system that combines voice, gestures and even gaze to interact with the vehicle.