Articles by David Welch

The State of Autonomous Driving: Shuttles vs. Moonshots in Big Stakes Race

May Mobility Inc.’s boxy white-and-green self-driving shuttle pulls up to a damp corner in downtown Detroit. Its big doors swing out revealing a safety driver and six seats that face each other. It’s more comfortable than a subway car or …

Nations with National Regulatory Policies Outpacing U.S. on Driverless Cars

Cars that drive themselves are finding the clearest paths to showrooms in the U.K., Germany, South Korea and Singapore, where governments have enacted legislation allowing autonomous vehicles to be tested on public roads. And China’s not far behind. Those nations …

After Uber Crash, Florida Still Welcomes Free-Range Robot Cars

Florida has been trying to lure self-driving cars to the state for testing on public roads, shaping laws that are much more lax than places like California and New York. The fatal accident last week in Arizona, another state that’s …

GM to Pilot Airbnb-Like Service for Autos This Summer

General Motors Co. plans to start a pilot program this summer that will enable car owners to rent out their vehicles when they aren’t using them, according to people familiar with the matter. The tests will begin in early summer …

Drivers Aren’t Going Away Anytime Soon, Say Driverless Car Leaders

Carmakers and tech companies have fallen over one another in recent weeks to show the strides they’ve made with self-driving cars. At CES — usually a stage for bragging about futuristic bona fides — top executives are instead tamping down …

Trump Regulation Approach Likely to Stall Connected Vehicles

The technology that gives cars superpowers to see around corners and through walls won’t be on the first self-driving rides hitting the road in the next few years. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems, known as V2V, are regarded as essential for fully …

Takata Bankruptcy Filing Could Happen Next Week in Japan

Takata Corp. plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as next week, paving the way for a sale of the 84-year-old Japanese air-bag maker behind the biggest safety recall in automotive history. The supplier is expected to seek protection in …

Takata Takeover Deals Scrutinized for Handling of Recall, Liability Costs

Takata Corp. and some of the world’s biggest carmakers face an extensive — and expensive — to-do list as they try to resolve the worst safety crisis in the auto industry’s history. Executives for the Tokyo-based maker of air bags …

Regulators Investigating Fatal Collision of Tesla on Autopilot

U.S. regulators are investigating a fatal accident involving a Tesla Motors Inc. sedan that was driving on autopilot, drawing scrutiny to a key technology the electric-vehicle maker is betting on for the future of self-driving cars. The crash involved a …

GM Settles Ignition Victims Claims for $600 Million

General Motors Co. paid less than $600 million to settle claims by victims of its flawed ignition switches, a slightly smaller sum than what the automaker told investors it expected to pay, after a 20-month-long compensation process led by Kenneth …