Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
The Feds, the States and Self-Driving Cars
May 2 2016 // A big question looming is whether the federal government or state governments will play the primary role in setting standards for self-driving cars. Historically, the federal National Highway and Transportation Safety...
The Hartford Profit Fell 30% in Q1 Due to Higher Auto Losses, Lower Investment Income
Apr 29 2016 // The Hartford reported disappointing personal lines result for the first quarter of the year, which along with decreased investment income contributed to a 31 percent drop in profit for the quarter. First quarter 2016 net...
Young Consumers More Trusting of Autonomous Vehicles: J.D. Power
Apr 29 2016 // Trust in automation technology including driverless cars is very much age dependent, as younger consumers have a notably higher level of confidence in the technology than their older counterparts, according to the J.D....
AAIS Offers Its First Personal Auto Program for Insurers; Includes 60 Endorsement Options
Apr 28 2016 // The property/casualty insurance advisory organization AAIS has unveiled its first standardized personal auto insurance program for use by insurers that it says is the first new auto program available to the industry in...
Volvo to Launch Autonomous Driving Trial in London in 2017
Apr 28 2016 // Swedish car maker Volvo will begin an autonomous driving trial in London in 2017. Called “Drive Me London,” the UK trial will use real families in semi-autonomous cars. Starting with a handful of AD cars next...
Robot Cars Complain About Humans’ Poor Roads, Lane Markings, Signage
Apr 28 2016 // Volvo’s North American CEO, Lex Kerssemakers, lost his cool as the automaker’s semi-autonomous prototype sporadically refused to drive itself during a press event at the Los Angeles Auto Show. “It...
Alabama Jury Orders Dollar General to Pay Injured Truck Driver $925K
Apr 27 2016 // A jury in Lauderdale County, Alabama has returned one of the largest personal injury verdicts in the county’s history, finding Dollar General at fault for injuries sustained by a Kentucky delivery driver five years...
Reuters Special Report: How Google Is Winning Acceptance of Driverless Vehicles
Apr 27 2016 // The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Plaza in Austin, Texas is a strip mall with a pet-accessories store, a Thai restaurant and a yogurt shop, an unlikely venue to display the high-tech future. But one Saturday morning in March,...
New York Among States With Highest Rate of Motorcycle Theft
Apr 27 2016 // The New York Insurance Association (NYIA) advises that motorcycle thefts in New York increased by 23 percent from 2014 to 2015. According to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), motorcycle thefts...
Ratings of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. and Subs Affirmed
Apr 26 2016 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of Columbus, Ohio-based State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. (State Auto) and its...
Who Wins, Loses In a Driverless Car Economy?
Apr 26 2016 // The automotive and tech companies pursuing the driverless car share a utopian belief: Autonomous vehicles will benefit society, eventually saving most of the nearly 33,000 people each year killed in road accidents in...
Oklahoma Law Limits Fines for Failure to Show Proof of Auto Insurance
Apr 25 2016 // Legislation now signed into law by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin will keep some motorists with insurance from receiving a fine when they fail to carry their insurance verification form. House Bill 2473, by state Rep. Ken...
California Uber and Lyft Car Rental Decision Delayed
Apr 25 2016 // The first major product of General Motors Co.’s $500 million investment in Lyft Inc. was a short-term car-rental program. Last month, the companies began leasing Chevrolets in Chicago for up to eight weeks as part of...
Trucking Firm to Settle Fatal Crash of 5 Georgia Students for Millions
Apr 25 2016 // The employer of a tractor-trailer driver blamed for a fiery interstate crash that killed five Georgia nursing students has agreed to settle wrongful death lawsuits for large sums, with at least one victim’s family...
Motorcycle Helmet Repeal Bill Defeated in Louisiana House
Apr 22 2016 // A bid to repeal Louisiana’s motorcycle helmet requirement narrowly failed in the state House. House Bill 337 fell shy of the 53 votes needed to advance to the Senate for consideration. Lawmakers voted 49-46 in...
A.M. Best: Ratings of National Unity Insurance Downgraded, Withdrawn
Apr 22 2016 // A.M. Best reported it has both downgraded and withdrawn the ratings for National Unity Insurance Company (National Unity) in San Antonio, Texas. National Unity specializes domestic non-standard auto business, as well as in...
Groups: California Auto Repair Regs Will Increase Auto Insurance Rates
Apr 22 2016 // As the California Department of Insurance stages hearings on proposed regulations designed to give more money to auto body repair shops, a handful of property/casualty insurance trade associations are voicing their...
Rental Car Firms Losing Out to Ridesharing
Apr 22 2016 // Taxis aren’t the only ones that may be stressing out about Uber Technologies Inc. Transactions from the ride-hailing startup have surpassed rental cars among American professionals, according to Certify, the...
California High Court to Review Industry Custom in Liability Cases
Apr 21 2016 // The California Supreme Court has granted review to consider when and if evidence of industry custom and practice is admissible in a strict products liability action. In Kim v. Toyota Motor Corp. plaintiff William Jae sued...
Stolen 1981 Ferrari Recovered After 29 Years: NICB
Apr 21 2016 // A 1981 Ferrari GTSI that has been missing for 21 years has been recovered, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The car, reported stolen in 1987 from Newport Beach, Calif. while on consignment at a...
