2007 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab 4x4 Cummins on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Could self-driving cars stop terrorist attacks?

Terrorists have taken to using a weapon that's easy to obtain and can do a lot of damage: ordinary vehicles, driven into crowds. A Department of Homeland Security-FBI bulletin from 2012 warned that "vehicle-ramming offers terrorists with limited access to explosives or weapons an opportunity to conduct a homeland attack with minimal prior training or experience." CNN recently listed nine vehicle-based terrorist attacks that have occurred within the past year, and in just in the past three months incidents in New York, Edmonton and Barcelona have claimed more than 20 lives and injured dozens after ISIS-affiliated drivers plowed into pedestrians. The deadliest so far was a Bastille Day attack in Nice, France that killed 86 people after a terrorist drove a truck into a crowd following a fireworks display. CNN also reported that "Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch encouraged its recruits in the West to use trucks as weapons," and noted that a 2010 article in the terrorist group's webzine called for deploying a truck as a "mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah." Such attacks have been more common in Europe and other places where guns are harder to get, making vehicles violent and readily available weapons. But it's not only ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorists that have turned cars into weapons. A man with white nationalist ties drove a Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counter-protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring dozens more. Some believe that autonomous vehicle technology could help stop these tragedies. "Terrorist attacks like the one in New York are a good example of why we need AVs more quickly," Caleb Watney, technology policy associate at the R Street Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, recently told the website Inverse. Dr. Junfeng Jiao, director of the Urban Information Lab at the University of Texas, told Inverse that "these tragedies may be taken into account by the makers such as Tesla and Google" when developing autonomous technology. "This is a huge opportunity for the next generation to de-weaponize cars," he added. Many vehicles already have forward collision warning with emergency autonomous braking, and a few combine it with pedestrian detection, although the latter technology typically works at speeds below 20 mph.

Star Wars Episode VII ad is a force for Dodge

Happy Star Wars day! Some of you might be bleary eyed and begging for coffee after attending midnight screenings of Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens last night (*raises hand*) but the show must go on. And for Dodge, that show has been all about Star Wars. While the entirety of FCA joined the tie-in marketing campaign for the long-awaited JJ Abrams blockbuster, Dodge made out the best. According to Wards Auto, the brand's The Force Gathers spot took the top spot in this week's most engaging automotive ads, capturing nearly a quarter of share-of-voice ratings and garnering over a quarter-of-a-million earned online views. Since the ad began airing earlier this month, it's scored over 430,000 views on YouTube alone. The relatively simple ad evokes Darth Vader and his legions of storm troopers. In the 30-second spot, a black Viper leads six long columns of white Chargers, Challengers, and Durangos while John Williams' iconic Imperial March blares in the background. It ends at the stand of an overwhelmed pair of valets outside a screening for Episode VII. We've embedded the spot at the top of the page if you haven't seen it. Check it out, and may the Force be with you. Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens is in theaters today. Related Video:

Will GM leave Europe? | Autoblog Podcast #504

On this week's podcast, Greg Migliore joins David Gluckman to discuss the possibility of GM selling off its Opel division to France's PSA (also known as Peugeot and Citroen). They also recap what they've all been driving lately, and the episode wraps up with Spend My Money buying advice to help you, our dear listeners. And, thankfully, no dad jokes this week. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #504 Topics and stories we mention Dodge Durango Infiniti QX30 GM's version of Brexit could mean selling Opel Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:36 GM and Opel - 25:47 Spend My Money - 39:00 Total Duration: 54:46 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Dodge GM Infiniti infiniti qx30