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BMW, Mercedes ponder challengers to Uber

With autonomous vehicles seemingly just on the horizon of actually arriving to consumers, companies in the auto industry are already thinking about how the innovations could radically change how they do business. For example, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are considering a time where they might transform into ridesharing companies, according to Reuters. It almost sounds like the sci-fi motoring world Bob Lutz is predicting. The German brands foresee a future where some people hail their driverless cars like taxis and use them for short trips. The automakers could run those fleets, essentially making them Uber competitors. In fact, Tesla is reportedly mulling the idea, and Google might be, too. Alternatively, ridesharing services could buy the companies' models directly. "New mobility concepts will emerge with autonomous vehicles, which are robot cars. Fleet management will become a much more significant business," Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW board of management member in charge of Mini, said to Reuters. With BMW's DriveNow and Daimler's Car2Go car-sharing services, both automakers are already experimenting with alternative ways to get their vehicles on the road. It's not too hard to imagine one of the brand's peppering a few autonomous cars into those fleets someday to test these new theories in the real world. "The ability to use a car, and then walk away is a serious business," Ian Robertson, BMW's head of sales and marketing, said about the future of driverless tech to Reuters. Related Video:

Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

F1 cancels season-opening Australian Grand Prix over coronavirus

Workers pack up in pit lane after the cancellation of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Friday. / AP   MELBOURNE, Australia — As thousands of fans queued to get into the Australian Grand Prix, seemingly unperturbed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Formula One teams and drivers were packing up to leave. The rapid spread of the virus left organizers with little choice Friday but to cancel the season-opening race, particularly after McLaren withdrew because a team member tested positive for the COVID-19 illness and following heavy criticism from six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The two practice sessions that usually showcase what the teams have been improving in the off-season were less than two hours from starting when the decision was publicly announced. Principals of nine F1 teams and organizers met overnight and “concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead," a joint statement by FIA, motorsport's governing body, local organizers and F1 said. “It's been a very fluid situation," F1 chairman Chase Carey said. “We're all disappointed not to have it, but I think we've made the decision we had to make." “It's not like it came out of the blue," Carey told a news conference beside the F1 paddock that ended in light rain. “A week ago, when teams started traveling here, we felt it was the right decision (to stage the race). Clearly the situation changed in the interim." Practice, qualifying and Sunday's race were all scrapped, casting doubt over the Bahrain Grand Prix which is scheduled to be held next week and the Vietnamese GP, scheduled for April 5. Authorities in Bahrain have already said no fans will be allowed into the circuit. Carey said a decision on whether or not to go ahead with the the race would be made in coming days. The Chinese GP has already been postponed from April. Hamilton used the first official news conference with F1 drivers in Melbourne to say he was shocked that organizers planned to proceed with the Australian Grand Prix, which regularly attracts more than 300,000 people over four days. McLaren's decision to withdraw was ultimately the catalyst for the cancellation. That person and 14 other McLaren team members have been placed in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel for 14 days. Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG Petronas team said it sent a letter to the FIA and F1 requesting the cancellation and had commenced preparations to leave before the decision was publicly announced.