Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Urmson Leaves as Head of Google’s Self-Driving Car Project
Aug 9 2016 // Chris Urmson, chief technical officer of Google’s self-driving car efforts, said he’s leaving as the Internet company moves the project from research into the creation of products. “I am ready for a fresh...
North Carolina Tackles Insurance Rate Evasion Fraud, Updates Captive Laws
Aug 9 2016 // North Carolina has made several changes encompassing fraud, captives and flood insurance regulations to its state insurance laws. New legislation, House Bill 287, was approved June 30 by state lawmakers and signed into law...
Houston Police: Men Used Laptop to Reprogram, Steal 100-Plus Vehicles
Aug 8 2016 // Two men jailed in Houston and accused of using pirated computer software to steal more than 100 vehicles may have exploited an electronic vulnerability to advance auto theft into high-tech crime. Michael Arce, 24, and...
N.C. Tackles Insurance Rate Evasion Fraud, Captive Insurance
Aug 8 2016 // North Carolina has made several changes encompassing fraud, captives and flood insurance regulations to its state insurance laws. The legislation, House Bill 287, was approved June 30 by state lawmakers and signed into law...
Allstate Q2 Profit Hurt by Catastrophes, Auto Loss Costs
Aug 4 2016 // Allstate Corp. reported that consolidated total revenue increased by 2.0 percent to $9.2 billion in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the prior year quarter, as higher insurance premiums outweighed declines in net...
State Auto Financial Reports Net Loss of $24.6M in Q2 2016
Aug 4 2016 // Columbus, Ohio-based super regional insurer, State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC), has reported a second quarter 2016 net loss of $24.6 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, versus net income of $2.7 million, or $0.06 per...
‘Star Trek’ Actor’s Family Sues Fiat Chrysler in California over Rollaway Death
Aug 3 2016 // The parents of the late “Star Trek” movie actor Anton Yelchin sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV for negligence and product liability on Tuesday over the rollaway crash of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that killed their...
Greenlight Re Seeks Recovery in Mortgage Market After Construction, Vehicle, Florida Losses
Aug 3 2016 // David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., the reinsurer seeking to reverse underwriting losses, is pushing into the mortgage-guaranty market after being burned by fraudulent claims on property policies in...
Dog Crashes Owner’s Car Into West Virginia Wal-Mart
Aug 3 2016 // Witnesses say a dog was at the wheel of a car that slowly crashed into a West Virginia Wal-Mart. Shoppers told WSAZ-TV that two dogs were in the car – one in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger’s seat...
Tesla Searching for Explanation of Tesla Autopilot Crash
Aug 2 2016 // Tesla Motors Inc. told U.S. Senate Commerce Committee staff it is considering two theories that may help explain what led to the May 7 fatal crash that killed a Florida man who was using the car’s...
10 Arrested in North Carolina Staged Auto Accident Ring
Aug 2 2016 // Nine residents in Pitt County, North Carolina, were arrested in connection with an alleged staged auto accident ring, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI). Investigators allege...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Pass Ridesharing Bill
Aug 1 2016 // Massachusetts lawmakers over the weekend passed a bill regulating transportation network companies, or ridesharing firms like Uber and Lyft, that includes requirements for background checks on drivers, vehicle safety...
Driver’s Response to GPS Turns Car On End
Aug 1 2016 // Police in Vermont say a car ended up almost vertical when the driver swerved quickly in response to her GPS ordering her to “turn around.” The car was suspended almost vertically on guy wires attached to a...
Insurer Not Liable for Defense of NASCAR’s Stewart in Ward Death
Aug 1 2016 // A federal judge ruled Friday that the insurance carrier for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart does not have to defend or indemnify him in a lawsuit brought by the family of a driver who died after being struck by Stewart’s...
ITC, Compare.com Team Up to Expand Online Auto Insurance Quote Services
Jul 28 2016 // Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, and Compare.com, based in Richmond, Va., have partnered to help provide more auto insurance quotes to online insurance shoppers, the companies...
Safety Board Finds Automated Tesla Involved in Crash Was Speeding
Jul 27 2016 // Federal investigators probing the deadly wreck in Florida of a Tesla car that was using automated driving technology have found that the vehicle was speeding when it hit a truck. The U.S. National Transportation Safety...
Treasury Adopts 2 Percent Formula for Defining Auto Insurance ‘Affordability’
Jul 25 2016 // Industry Says Affordability Definition Will Lead to Confusion on Price If the average auto insurance liability premium paid by consumers in minority and low-income neighborhoods is more than 2 percent of the median income...
Michigan Says Man Was Selling Fake Auto Insurance in Parking Lot
Jul 22 2016 // The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) has told a man who the department says has been selling fake auto insurance in a parking lot after hours to stop. The DIFS issued a Cease and Desist Order...
How Tesla Liability in AutoPilot Crash Could Turn on Data Collected by Car
Jul 21 2016 // The large volume of data Tesla Motors Inc. collects from its cars on the road has armed it with information to publicly counter, and possibly legally defend, claims about the safety of its Autopilot driving-assist...
Motor Insurers Need to Adapt to Ward Off Competition from Car Manufacturers
Jul 20 2016 // As internet-connected and, eventually, driverless vehicles roll off production lines, traditional motor insurers need to adapt to ward off competition from car manufacturers. Insurers have struggled for years to make a...
