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Weekly Recap: Autonomous driving goes commercial in Nevada

Nevada granted Daimler Trucks North America the first license to run an autonomous commercial vehicle on public roads in the United States Tuesday, marking another milestone in the technology's rapid advancement. Gov. Brian Sandoval and Daimler truck chief Wolfgang Bernhard promptly used the license to lap Highway 15 near Las Vegas in a newly revealed Freightliner Inspiration Truck. It was a clear signal that autonomous driving is big-rig reality, though it's still a long way from widespread use. Nevada certified two of Daimler's Freightliner Inspiration Trucks, which use the company's Highway Pilot system with a stereo camera, radar, and lane-keeping collision-prevention features to regulate the brakes and steering. The radar component has a long-range sensor that can cover 820 feet at an 18-degree angle and a shorter-range unit that stretches 230 feet at a 130-degree angle. The Inspiration trucks are based on the existing Freightliner Cascadia Evolution model used on US roads. In addition to the autonomous technologies, it also has futuristic design cues, including blue lighting in the front and a new hood and grille. While there are only two Freightliner Inspiration trucks in existence, Daimler expects to bring the Highway Pilot system into mass-produced big rigs by 2025, in time to capitalize on the market's predicted growth. The German truckmaker predicts the global hauling market will triple by 2050, and the United States will be a key part of that growth. Trucks carry 69.1 percent the nation's domestic freight tonnage and hauled 9.7 billion tons of freight in 2013, according to the American Trucking Association. Daimler expects autonomous driving to augment this growth, and perhaps evolve the role of the truck driver. Still, the company points out autonomous tech is not meant to replace drivers, but to assist them and relieve fatigue and monotony on long hauls. The driver has to stay in control for passing, in city traffic, and when hooking up the trailer. The company said autonomous driving also offers the potential for improved fuel economy – tests showed a five-percent gain – and lower maintenance costs. Daimler also said the technology could reduce congestion on the road. Much of this is attributable to the constant flow of traffic, which is aided by autonomous driving. While the benefits are becoming increasingly apparent, autonomous technology is still met with skepticism.

Malcolm Butler gets the MVP's Chevy Colorado

In the wake of the Super Bowl last week, we reported that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady intended to give the Chevy Colorado awarded to him as the game's most valuable player to Malcolm Butler instead. In our informal poll (to say nothing of the hundred-plus comments that ensued), an overwhelming 86.7 percent of you, our loyal readers, agreed that it was the right thing to do. And now that's precisely what's happened. "After consulting Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady," the automaker said in the press release below, "Chevrolet presented an all-new Colorado pickup to New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler." The rookie, as you may have seen in between the commercials, made the game-saving interception that handed his team the victory, propelling Butler to stardom. "I am ecstatic that Chevrolet has chosen to reward me with a Colorado," said Butler upon taking delivery of his new red pickup. "It is just another unreal event in what has been an incredible week." We can only imagine. Enjoy the truck, Malcolm; you've earned it. Related Video: Upon Further Review, Chevrolet Awards Super Bowl MVP Colorado to Malcolm Butler 2015-02-10 DETROIT – After consulting Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, Chevrolet presented an all-new Colorado pickup to New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, whose end zone interception preserved the Patriots' victory in Super Bowl XLIX. The Colorado was intended to be awarded to Brady, the Patriots' quarterback, in recognition of his Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award. However, Brady and Chevrolet huddled on Monday and Chevrolet determined Butler deserved recognition for his game-saving interception. "I've seen several game-changing moments in big games, and Malcom's interception last Sunday ranks up there as one of the biggest," said Brady. "I appreciate Chevrolet wanting to honor the Super Bowl's top performer, and I'm glad they have agreed to award the Colorado to Malcolm." Said Butler: "I am ecstatic that Chevrolet has chosen to reward me with a Colorado. It is just another unreal event in what has been an incredible week." The Chevrolet Colorado, 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year®, was engineered to be the most capable, most versatile and most technologically advanced midsize truck in the market. With class-leading horsepower and fuel economy along with a 4G LTE built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, the Colorado adds a new dimension to the Chevy truck line.

Chevy Bolt name just might get through US trademark office

UPDATE: GM told AutoblogGreen on June 1 that, "Our Chevrolet Legal team has been working closely with the USPT on the Chevrolet Bolt trademark. As of last week, our legal staff received consent from Yamaha to use the Bolt name. According to our legal team, our USPT application is back to active status." Also, it appears that GM has further trademarked Bolt EV and Chevrolet Bolt EV. Chevy wants to sell a 200-mile electric vehicle for around $35,000 in a few years. The Detroit automaker wants to call that car the Bolt, not to be confused with the company's other plug-in, the Chevy Volt. Unless something changes, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is going to crush GM's Bolt-flavored dreams. The USPTO has suspended GM's trademark application. The USPTO said in its suspension that there was a "likelihood of confusion" with another Bolt trademark, No. 4429759, which applies to a Bolt trademark filed by Yamaha on August 09, 2012. That's well before GM's effort to trademark the Bolt name in 2014. GM's application will remain suspended, the USPTO said, "until the earlier-filed referenced application(s) is either registered or abandoned." Maybe GM will use this setback to respond to the many criticisms of the Bolt name we've heard since it was first announced. There is another page on the USPTO's website that says GM's Bolt application is still live, but we assume that just hasn't been updated yet. Related Video: