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Uber releases fleet of self-driving vehicles to select few in Pittsburgh

Starting today, a select group of Uber users in Pittsburgh, PA will have the ability to request a self-driving vehicle. If a self-driving vehicle is in the area, Uber will send it, as well as a safety driver, to drive loyal customers to their destination. The announcement to give customers the opportunity to get a ride in one of Uber's self-driving vehicles comes roughly a year and a half after the company set up its Advanced Technologies Center in the city. On Tuesday, the company offered a few members of the press the opportunity to ride in one of the company's self-driving cars. The fleet, despite Uber's collaboration with Volvo, was comprised of 14 Ford Fusions equipped with a host of self-driving technology, reports TechCrunch. Uber is giving away free rides as a way to obtain real-world testing, which is crucial for self-driving technology. Recently, nuTonomoy beat Uber to the punch by launching the world's first autonomous taxis in Singapore. While the choice to release its self-driving cars in Pittsburgh mainly comes down to the fact that its ATC is located there, the city faces four seasons and its difficult streets that are comprised of bridges, railroad lines, and an irregular grid layout will prove to be a challenge for the autonomous cars. Since the self-driving vehicles are still being tested, the cars will come with two full-time Uber employees. One employee will loosely grasp the car's steering wheel, ready to take over if something goes awry, while the other will monitor the computer's software. As TechCrunch points out, Uber's autonomous vehicles drove in a similar manner to a regular driver. It obeyed traffic laws, mimicked a driver by coming to stops gently and at other times abruptly, as well as driving slightly into another lane to dodge a poorly-parked vehicle, reports TechCrunch. There's no word on whether regular Uber customers will get a ride in one of the company's Fusions or one of the Volvo's that its working on. Automakers and companies alike have been in a race to put autonomous vehicles on the road. Tesla recently updated its Autopilot system, Apple laid off dozens of employees to reboot its self-driving car project, and Google is working giving its autonomous vehicle the ability to detect emergency vehicles. While this is a large step for Uber, vehicles with autonomous capabilities still have a long way to go.

Volvo still undecided on offering plug-in hybrid versions of all models

The automotive world is only a few months away from getting its first real glimpse at Volvo's big gamble with the unveiling of the next-generation XC90 (pictured above as the Concept XC Coupe). We're already getting a preview of the revolutionary upgrades with the introduction of the Swede's Volvo Engine Architecture family into some of its 2015 models, like the recently driven S60. These changes are just the start, though. The real magic could be in the powertrains.
Dean Shaw, Volvo Cars North America vice president of corporate communications hinted to Autoblog a few months ago that every model sold in the US could come in a plug-in hybrid variant, starting with the new XC90. Despite confirmation rumors that this has now come to pass, Shaw told AutoblogGreen that the only thing Volvo is confirming right now is that the platform is capable of that. "We haven't confirmed that all US Volvos would be available with PHEV," he said.
Shaw did confirm that that XC90 will come with a gas and plug-in hybrid powertrain that offers "around 400 horsepower." According to Plugin Cars, the new XC90 will be unveiled in August and will make its public debut at an as-yet-unnamed auto show in the fall. Also, sometime during the 2016 model year, a plug-in hybrid variant will be added to its lineup.

Volvo Concept Coupe may see limited production

Despite the impressive production debuts from Porsche and BMW at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show - the 918 Spyder and the i8, respectively - there was one car that captured the attention of the press and the public alike, enough so that we awarded it our overall top pick of the show: the Volvo Concept Coupe. Most concepts never make it to production, but the car's reception has been so positive that Volvo's board of directors is considering to produce it in limited quantities, Auto Bild reports. Italian coachbuilder Bertone could handle the limited production run.
Styled after the classic P1800, the Volvo concept was similar to the new Porsche and BMW in that it was equipped with a high-performance hybrid drivetrain. But Volvo took a different route from there, giving the sleek coupe a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor at the rear axle. All in, the combo is good for 400 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque.
If the Concept Coupe makes it to production, it may not get the trick hybrid drivetrain mentioned above, Motor Athority reports, but a milder plug-in hybrid setup or even just a conventional fuel-burning engine. In any case, it would be a treat if Volvo produced a fully functional, street-legal Concept Coupe, though at that point we're thinking it would be due for a name change.