1994 Ford Ranger Extended Cab on 2040-cars

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VW walks away from Aurora after self-driving startup partners with FCA

BERLIN — Volkswagen has ended its partnership with self-driving car software firm Aurora, two days after the Silicon Valley start-up said it would build autonomous platforms for commercial vehicles with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. "The activities under our partnership have been concluded," a VW spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday following an earlier Financial Times report on the move which said VW now wanted to work with Ford Motor Co on autonomous driving. Ford's majority-owned subsidiary Argo AI is building an automated "driver" that could compete with Aurora's technology. Aurora said Tuesday "Volkswagen Group has been a wonderful partner to Aurora since the early days of development of the Aurora Driver." The company's statement added that it continues to work "with a growing array of partners." The autonomous vehicle industry is still in its infancy, and alliances and strategies are fluid. Aurora has sought to remain independent and serve a number of would-be autonomous vehicle makers rather than be acquired. Aurora, which said in February it had raised $530 million in new funding, also has partnerships with Hyundai Motor Co and China's Byton to develop and test self-driving systems for automakers, fleet owners and others. After announcing its partnership with Aurora in early 2018, VW last June began discussions with Ford to develop a range of commercial vehicles, later extending the discussions to include electric vehicles and Argo's autonomous driving technology as part of an alliance designed to save billions in costs. VW and Ford have not announced partnerships involving electric or autonomous vehicle technology. Green Chrysler Fiat Ford Volkswagen Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles

Road & Track names its 2013 Performance Car of the Year

Road & Track recently staged its first annual Performance Car of the Year test, pitting 13 new and updated performance cars against each other on track, then graduating the top six to a road test before picking a winner. Additionally, the magazine staff picked the best automobiles of the year in eight categories.
But first, let's cover the PCotY segment. Here's the list of cars brought to the comparison test: Audi R8 V10 Plus; BMW 435i; BMW M6 Competition Package; Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51; Ferrari F12 Berlinetta; Ford Fiesta ST; Jaguar F-Type V8 S; Jaguar XFR-S; Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model Wagon; Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series; Mini John Cooper Works GP; Nissan GT-R Track Edition; and Porsche Cayman S.
To find out the results of the comparison, head over to Road & Track's website or check the press release below, where you'll also find the magazine's top-rated vehicles in eight categories. Want more? Head over to the 2013 PCotY hub. But before you do that, take a stab at guessing the winner of PCotY (we'll give you one hint: it isn't a Porsche).

Jim Farley to lead Ford of Europe

"We are excited to see Jim and Stephen take on these new roles as they bring unique skills, experience and fresh perspectives to these critical positions." - Mark Fields
Ford marketing chief Jim Farley is taking over the company's troubled European operations as part of an executive shuffle confirmed on Friday morning.