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Waymo self-driving taxis in Arizona are now carrying paying passengers

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Alphabet's Waymo on Wednesday launched a significant development in its costly, decade-long quest for autonomous transportation: Its self-driving taxis are now actually generating fares. With little fanfare, the company has begun charging passengers to use its driverless vehicles in a roughly 100-mile (160 km) zone in four Phoenix suburbs — Chandler, Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert — where it has been testing its technology since 2016. Producing revenue is a strategic milestone, putting Waymo ahead of U.S. rivals, primarily General Motors' Cruise Automation and Uber Technologies, which have yet to launch their own paid self-driving services. All are racing to win customers and recoup billions spent developing the technology. To use Waymo's service, dubbed Waymo One, riders must download an app and provide a credit card number, similar to ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft. A human driver will be behind the wheel, but only to intervene in case of emergency. Major challenges remain, starting with technical hurdles. A Waymo One taxi tested by Reuters last week proved slow and jerky at times. Whether customers will continue using the service once the novelty wears off remains to be seen. Regulations governing the industry across the country are an incoherent patchwork, a significant hurdle to fast expansion. Waymo would not say exactly how many of its cars would be on the road in Arizona. It said its around-the-clock service initially would be limited to "hundreds" of people invited to sign up last year. For now, pricing is roughly in line with that of Uber and Lyft. A 15-minute, 3-mile (4.8 km) drive taken by Reuters last week cost $7.59, just above the $7.22 offered by Lyft. "Over time, we hope to make Waymo One available to even more members of the public," Chief Executive John Krafcik wrote in a blog on Wednesday. "Self-driving technology is new to many, so we're proceeding carefully." 10 million miles, $1 billion The company has been testing its driverless cars for a decade. Its fleet, now numbering 600 vehicles, has logged more than 10 million miles on public roads in and around 25 U.S. cities. Alphabet does not disclose its total investment, but industry experts put that sum at well over $1 billion. Monetizing driverless technology has been slow going.

Germany threatens to ban FCA vehicles over diesel emissions dispute

Germany is threatening to ban sales of FCA products over diesel emissions. According to the newspaper Bild Am Sonntag, Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority found evidence of a so-called defeat device that shuts down certain emissions controls after running for 22 minutes. A standard diesel emissions test in the European Union reportedly takes 20 minutes to complete. FCA denies the allegations. "We believe all our vehicles respect EU emissions standards and we believe Italian regulators are the competent authority to evaluate this," the company said in a statement. The latter part of that statement drew ire from German authorities, especially after FCA declined to meet with German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt to discuss the issue. Graziano Delrio, the Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, vowed to work with German authorities on behalf of FCA. According to EU law, FCA is required to homologate its vehicles in Italy because that's where its regional operations are based. When will the diesel-scented soap opera end? We wish we knew, but our Magic 8 Ball is covered in soot. Related Video: News Source: Financial TimesImage Credit: Giuseppe Aresu/Bloomberg via Getty Government/Legal Green Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Emissions Diesel Vehicles FCA

40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.