Car FYI

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Despite the fact many of us are still enjoying the second-half of the summer of 2017, auto companies have already geared themselves for the future. With months remaining, we are already setting sights on 2018 vehicles in dealerships and on the road. A brand-new Toyota Camry, the super-sleek Kia Stinger and perhaps the odd Tesla Model 3 are some of the centerpieces for a year yet to come. For manufacturers, realizing the technology and designs for 2018 involved several years of development prior to the customary auto show debut. During the same time the 2018 automotive reality is taking shape, Mazda is launching a profound vision for their brand 12 years beyond next year. Described by the automaker as “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030", long-term intentions of Mazda to flourish towards the end of the next decade through addressing environmental, safety and customer enjoyment factors. Systems adhering to the Mazda Proactive Safety philosophy aims to consid...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Today, Tesla Motors officially declared an action transpired in regards to autonomous and self-driving that many have feared as well as expected to happen. In a company blog posting, Tesla Motors announced their company was contacted by the United States NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) as a preliminary investigation has been opened into the self-driving Autopilot program installed on a Tesla Model S involved in a crash resulting in a death. A fatal accident where an activated Autopilot system is suspect for being a leading factor, a male occupant of a Tesla Model S sedan died when the vehicle collided with the trailer of a transport truck. The explanation of the crash seems to indicate the limitations of this certain self-driving aid technology in detecting white objects in high light conditions. According to the blog account, the tractor trailer was perpendicular to the Model S where the all-electric vehicle drove under the bot...

Yesterday, a monumental display in 21st century automobile technology proceeded under the presence of a large motorsports crowd. As the content of a previous article on Car FYI announced , a special Audi RS7 concept car lapped Germany's famed Hockenheimring lacking one detail typically associated with lapping vehicles; a driver. Taking part ahead of the main race for the 2014 DTM series finale at the world famous race track, An exhibit of computer-controlled autonomous driving provided by Audi was placed behind the starting line of the Hockenheimring. Driven into the P1 starting spot by a human, the doors of the vehicle opened to a small reception of press and other Audi-related personnel. Preparations for the live display Piloted Driving has arrived to an ambitious live display. While Audi previously tested the RS7 Piloted Driving concept car leading up to the one-lap performance on Sunday, the perceived freshness of the technology could have left the window open to any va...

On Sunday, drivers of the German DTM series will converge for their final race of the 2014 season at the famed Hockenheiming. A league of drivers topped by BMW's Marco Wittman in 2014 (Wittman has locked-up this year's championship), DTM sees Audi RS5, BMW M4 and Mercedes C-Class race cars muscled around race tracks due to the direct result of the human element at the controls. For the last race weekend of 2014, a special, attention-grabbing Audi RS7 Sportback will be navigated around the famed German road course absent a driver. Scheduled to make an appearance on-track Sunday prior to the main feature for DTM, the Audi RS7 Piloted Driving concept vehicle will negotiate the 4.574-kilometer Hockenhiemring circuit guided only by its autonomous drive technology. A 560-horsepower supercar many human drivers will simply long to wheel, the Audi RS7 five-door coupe  conversion to a driverless concept vehicle involved few changes...