Google’s self-driving car project took a bit of a hit last month when one of its autonomous Lexus SUVs collided with a city bus in Mountain View, California. The collision was minor and no injuries were reported, but the incident made waves due to its status as Google’s first self-driving accident where the vehicle itself was at fault.
On March 9, the Associated Press (via the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) released surveillance film of the crash online, which shows the impact from multiple angles.
As the footage shows, the white Lexus was stopped on the right hand side of the lane, waiting to merge back into traffic after encountering sandbags blocking its path. As traffic began to move, the Google autonomous vehicle (Google AV) signaled that it was returning to the center lane. A transit bus, however, was approaching from the rear. The autonomous vehicle’s safety driver assumed that “the bus would stop or slow to allow the Google AV to continue,” but it didn’t, causing the Lexus to bump into the right side of the bus.
“Our test driver, who had been watching the bus in the mirror, also expected the bus to slow or stop,” Google said in a statement. “And we can imagine the bus driver assumed we were going to stay put. Unfortunately, all these assumptions led us to the same spot in the lane at the same time. This type of misunderstanding happens between human drivers on the road every day.”
Thankfully, since the speeds were low — the Google AV was traveling at 2 mph while the bus was going 15 mph — the damage was minimal. The Lexus suffered scrapes and dents to its front left fender and bumper, while the bus ended up with a long scratch, a cracked glass panel, and one of Google’s radar units stuck in its side.
Volkswagen’s newest EVs in China are making its American and European models look unusually conservative.
With Xpeng’s help, VW has introduced 800-volt charging and advanced urban driving assistance. The new VEGA technology package brings its locally developed vehicle platforms and CEA electronic architecture under one umbrella. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen intends to update VEGA every three months. Western buyers can find pieces of that package, but not the whole thing in a Volkswagen.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?