Lifted Hummer H1 Ford Chevy Jeep Toyota Dodge on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GM Super Cruise beats Tesla Autopilot again in latest hands-free test

DETROIT — General Motors' Super Cruise once again edged Tesla's Autopilot in an evaluation of 17 vehicles equipped with active driving assistance systems (ADAS) by Consumer Reports, the testing organization said on Wednesday. A Tesla Model Y fitted with Autopilot finished "a distant second," the group said, to a Cadillac CT6 equipped with Super Cruise, which GM is rolling out to more than 20 vehicles — including its new Hummer electric pickup truck — over the next three years. Safety and insurance researchers have frequently warned of the risks of consumers overestimating ADAS systems' abilities, a misconception increased by some automakers calling their products Autopilot, ProPilot or Co-Pilot. In 2018, the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise scored higher than a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot, in a Consumer Reports test of just four vehicles equipped with ADAS. In the latest test, conducted this summer on a track and on public roads, the Cadillac scored 69 points out of a possible 100, while the Tesla scored 57. A Lincoln Corsair equipped with Ford's Co-Pilot 360 system, finished third with 52. The critical difference in the Super Cruise system is a driver-facing infrared camera to make sure he or she is paying attention to the road and is ready to take over manual control when necessary, said Kelly Funkhouser, head of connected and automated vehicle testing at Consumer Reports. The group noted that Autopilot can shut off abruptly in some situations, while Super Cruise did a better job of notifying the driver when the system is disengaging. In recent European safety testing, a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot placed sixth out of 10 systems, getting high marks for performance and ability to respond to emergencies, but falling short on its ability to maintain a driverÂ’s focus on the road. Related Video: Green Cadillac GM Hummer Tesla Safety Technology Autonomous Vehicles Electric Super Cruise

Automakers tussle over owners of 'orphan' makes

When General Motors put down several of its brands in recent years, it also let loose thousands of brand-loyal customers who will eventually need another car.
R.L. Polk Associates estimates there are more than 18 million cars from 16 discontinued makes on the road today. Those "orphan owners" have sales-hungry competitors seeing dollar signs. GM is offering Saturn owners $1,000 cash toward a Chevy Cruze, Cadillac CTS or a GMC Acadia. Ford is giving its Mercury lease customers a chance to get out of their contracts with no early-termination penalty and offering to waive six remaining payments if they drive off in a Ford or Lincoln.
Edmunds.com research shows the efforts are paying off somewhat for GM, with 39 percent of Pontiac owners, 37 percent of Hummer owners and 31 percent of Saturn owners taking delivery of another GM-branded vehicle. But that leaves as much as 69 percent of owners going elsewhere. Ford, Honda and Toyota seem to be attracting many former GM owners.

Hummer H2 burns to a crisp; now the owner won't need the hoarded gas

Here's your daily Autoblog public service announcement: Don't hoard gasoline, but if you do, absolutely do not let 20 gallons of it catch fire inside your 2004 Hummer H2. You might end up, as a Florida owner learned the hard way, with a very crispy Hummer. According to CBS affiliate WABI, in Citrus County Fire Rescue was called out to the scene at a Homosassa, Florida, Texaco station yesterday morning. The Hummer owner had just filled four five-gallon jerry cans' worth of fuel and placed them in the back of the vehicle. It's not clear what started the fire, but when emergency crews arrived the SUV was already, as the kids say, fire. The vehicle was a total loss. Photos show it completely singed and missing the hood and windows. One fender sat forlornly on the ground nearby. One injury was reported, but the individual refused to be taken to the hospital. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was called in to handle the fuel cleanup. There's been a run on gasoline across the eastern seaboard due to a shortage caused by Colonial Pipeline, one of the major refined petroleum pipelines on the East Coast. Due to lax cybersecurity measures, the company fell victim to a ransomware attack, which shut down its operations over the weekend. Hackers based in Russia demanded a payout of $5 million to release control of Colonial Pipeline's computer systems, and Colonial paid up and has since resumed operations. Between fires, fights and admonitions by politicians not to hoard — probably one of the few things Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden agree on — that's probably good advice to follow. Gas stations should be resupplied in many affected areas within days. In Tampa, Florida, a third of the city's gas stations were out of fuel on Thursday. In Miami, outages stood at nearly 40% and growing as residents rapidly filled up their tanks. The outages would make sense if the largest U.S. gasoline pipeline served those cities. But it does not. South Florida is seeing the worst outages among areas not directly impacted by the line closure. "If you want a perfect case for where hoarding has made the situation what it is, that's southern Florida," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "They should not be having any issues at all - they get gasoline from a barge." Statewide, about a third of gas stations are out of product, according to GasBuddy.