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IIHS: High numbers of drivers treat partially automated cars as fully self-driving

WASHINGTON — Drivers using advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla Autopilot or General Motors Super Cruise often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite warnings, a new study has found. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an industry funded group that prods automakers to make safer vehicles, said on Tuesday a survey found regular users of Super Cruise, Nissan/Infiniti ProPILOT Assist and Tesla Autopilot "said they were more likely to perform non-driving-related activities like eating or texting while using their partial automation systems than while driving unassisted." The IIHS study of 600 active users found 53% of Super Cruise, 42% of Autopilot and 12% of ProPILOT Assist owners "said that they were comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving." About 40% of users of Autopilot and Super Cruise — two systems with lockout features for failing to pay attention — reported systems had at some point switched off while they were driving and would not reactivate. "The big-picture message here is that the early adopters of these systems still have a poor understanding of the technologyÂ’s limits," said IIHS President David Harkey. The study comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is scrutinizing Autopilot crashes. Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened 37 special investigations involving 18 deaths in crashes involving Tesla vehicles and where systems like Autopilot were suspected of use. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla says Autopilot does not make vehicles autonomous and is intended for use with a fully attentive driver who is prepared to take over. GM, which in August said owners could use Super Cruise on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads and plans to offer Super Cruise on 22 models by the end of 2023, did not immediately comment. IIHS said advertisements for Super Cruise focus on hands-free capabilities while Autopilot evokes the name used in passenger airplanes and "implies TeslaÂ’s system is more capable than it really is." IIHS in contrast noted ProPILOT Assist "suggests that itÂ’s an assistance feature, rather than a replacement for the driver." NHTSA and automakers say none of the systems make vehicles autonomous. Nissan said its name "is clearly communicating ProPILOT Assist as a system to aid the driver, and it requires hands-on operation.

The Infiniti Q60 Black S gets an F1 KERS system

This is the Infiniti Q60 Black S that will be debuting at the Geneva Motor Show, sporting some intense bodywork and an F1-inspired powertrain. It exists to draw a closer parallel between the Renault F1 program and the Infiniti brand – a relationship that's surely easier to understand in Europe than it is here, but so be it. Other than the wild bodywork, which includes a heavily sculpted front fascia, bigger side sills, two howitzer-sized exhaust pipes, and a massive rear wing, there's the F1-inspired KERS system. Exactly what that will be is up in the air; the F1 system is complex and expensive. While Infiniti says they want to engineer a road-going solution that's as similar as possible to the F1 KERS system, it's likely it'll be watered down a bit for production. View 12 Photos All in all, the 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 and the KERS system should combine to produce about 500 horsepower. That's all well and good, if it makes it out of concept car purgatory. Remember the Q50 Eau Rouge, the last Infiniti that got car enthusiast's undivided attention? Well, it got canceled. We're not sure what the appeal of an F1 tie-in would be to American shoppers, so who knows if the Black S will emerge as a rest-of-world special, or at all. In any event, we should have more details around Geneva, so stay tuned. Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Geneva Motor Show Infiniti Coupe Concept Cars Performance Videos Original Video 2017 Geneva Motor Show infiniti q60

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.