2014 Ford F150 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2019 Chicago Auto Show photo gallery: All of the grilles

Do you like trucks? How about grilles? Like really big, shiny, chromey, in-your-face, could-be-made-by-Broil-King grilles? Well, the Chicago Auto Show is the place to be. Traditionally known as the truck show of the annual auto show circuit (at least those covered by national media), Chicago has what seems like a small national park's worth of acreage devoted to both consumer and commercial trucks. From humble extended cab Ford Rangers to a mammoth F-650 with cherry picker sprouting from its aft quarters, there's bound to be a truck for everything. And they all have grilles. So above is our gallery devoted to them, because hell, why not? Should you want to know about the trucks attached to those grilles, check out our coverage below. Heavy Duty Trucks 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD revealed, tows 35,500 pounds 2020 GMC Sierra HD revealed, has more subtle looks than Chevy sibling 2019 Ram Heavy Duty trucks get new face, 1,000 pound-feet of torque 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty revealed, adds massive gas engine Full-Size Trucks Read how all of the full-size trucks compare to each other 2019 Chevrolet Silverado First Drive 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2.7L Turbo First Drive 2019 GMC Sierra First Drive 2019 GMC Sierra AT4 First Drive 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Quick Spin Review 2019 Ram 1500 eTorque Drivers' Notes Review 2019 Ford F-150 2.7L EcoBoost Quick Spin Review 2018 Ford F-150 King Ranch Power Stroke Diesel Review Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Chicago Auto Show: All of the grilles View 40 Photos Chicago Auto Show Chevrolet Ford GMC RAM Truck chevrolet silverado

Self-driving cars' problem (besides making them work): Too many players, not enough profit

For an detailed, interactive graphic about the many players in autonomous cars, click here. FRANKFURT/DETROIT — BMW and Daimler, the world's top luxury carmakers, have announced alliances with suppliers, talking up the virtues of having a bigger pool of engineers to develop a self-driving car. But another motive behind these deals, executives and industry experts told Reuters, is a concern that robocars may not live up to the profit expectations that drove an initial investment rush. Carmakers are increasingly looking to forego outright ownership of future autonomous driving systems in favor of spreading the investment burden and risk. The trend represents a clear shift in strategy from little more than a year ago when most automakers were pursuing standalone strategies focused on tackling the engineering challenge of developing a self-driving car, rather than on the business case. "Although it is a substantial market, it may not be worth the scale of investments currently being sunk into it," said a board member at one of the German carmakers, who declined to be identified because the matter is confidential. Dozens of companies — including carmakers and tech firms like Google and Uber — are vying for a market which, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, will only make up about 10 to 15 percent of vehicles in Europe by 2030. There are sure to be losers. "It's impossible for me to believe there will be 50 successful autonomous vehicle software producers," said John Hoffecker, global vice chairman of Michigan-based consulting firm AlixPartners. In July last year, BMW became the first major carmaker to abandon its solo development of self-driving cars in favor of teaming up with chipmaker Intel and camera and software manufacturer Mobileye to build a platform for autonomous cars technology by 2021. The decision followed a trip by senior executives to visit startups and suppliers to gauge BMW's competitive position. "Sitting at other companies, one rattles off the technological challenges and safety aspects, and you come to realize that many of us are swimming in the same sludge," Klaus Buettner, BMW's vice president autonomous driving projects, told Reuters. "Everybody is investing billions.

Jay Leno is far beyond driven in his 1971 Pantera

Perhaps it's fitting that the band Pantera is known for its heavy metal music, because the DeTomaso Pantera is the automotive equivalent of a metal album. It's short, aggressive and makes a mean sound. It doesn't mess around either, with a Ford 351-cubic-inch (5.75-liter) V8 sending mountains of torque to the rear wheels. This week, Jay Leno takes us on a detailed tour of his '71 to show why it rocks.
There's a regular format to Jay Leno's Garage. It starts with Jay and maybe a guest taking a look at the car and talking about its history, and then they take it out on the open road. However, this video is practically a Pantera buyer's guide. Jay is adamant from the start that the last thing anyone should own is a stock example. To remedy this, he and his guest, the editor of the Pantera Club magazine, take viewers to school about some of the ways to turn them into even better performance machines.
No matter what you do to it, though, the Pantera requires that the driver adapt to it, not the other way around. For example, Jay isn't a big guy by most standards, but he has to cram himself into the cockpit with his shoes off and shirt partially unbuttoned just to go for a drive. Still, once out on the road, it all makes sense with that rumbling V8 and those Italian supercar looks. Scroll down to watch and learn a lot more about this uncompromising '70s performance car.