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Woman throws coffee at man over handicapped parking spot

A Toronto area busybody started a decidedly un-Canadian altercation over a woman illegally parking in a handicapped parking spot this week. He now regrets his decision to film it. On March 21, Ryan Favro confronted a young woman outside the Tim Hortons in Toronto as she approached her jeep with two cups of iced coffee. The situation quickly escalated, and ended with the woman hurling obscenities and both of her coffees at Favro before driving off. Favro quickly uploaded his video to Facebook where it quickly became viral, garnering more than a million views and spreading as far as New Zealand. Toronto Police caught wind of the video, which clearly shows the woman's face and the license plates of her Jeep, and issued her a warning. "We've cautioned her for assault and parking in a disabled spot, which is really what we can do under the circumstances," said Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash. Favro changed his mind about the public shaming by mid-week and, in a futile attempt to put the genie back in the bottle, he removed the video from his Facebook page. "I don't want to grind this woman into the ground," he said. "There has to be a way for her to recover." His attempt to walk back his video and make the situation go away have not been particularly successful, however. Although he took the original video down, it has been copied and posted so often by now that it has become impossible to completely erase it. His attempts to do so, and his post about it on Facebook, have received some mixed feedback. "If the guy was feeling remorse for publishing it [the video], perhaps he should not have posted it online and just go to police," said Facebook user Laura Dixon. Repeated requests by the Toronto Star to interview Favro have gone unanswered News Source: TheStar.com Chrysler Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles Videos parking toronto coffee parking lot handicapped parking

Stellantis wants to outfit cars with AI software to drive revenue

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis announced a strategy Tuesday to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands, hoping the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform the car company into a “sustainable mobility tech company,” with business growth coming from features and services tied to the internet. That includes using voice commands to activate navigation, make payments and order products online. The company is expanding existing partnerships with BMW on partially automated driving, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn on customized cockpits and Waymo to push their autonomous driving work into light commercial vehicle delivery fleets. StellantisÂ’ embrace of artificial intelligence and expansion of software-enabled vehicles is part of a broad transformation in the auto industry, with a race toward more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in automobiles. Ford and General Motors also are banking on dramatically increased revenue from similar online subscription services. But the automakers face immense competition for monthly consumer spending from movie and music streaming services, news outlets, Amazon Prime and others. Stellantis, which was formed from the combination of PSA Peugeot and FCA Fiat Chrysler, said the software would seamlessly integrate into customers' lives, with the capability of live updates providing upgraded services over time. New products will include the possibility to subscribe to automated driving features, purchase usage-based car insurance or even increase the power of the vehicle with a tune-up to add horsepower. As a baseline, Stellantis generates 400 million euros in revenue on software-generated services installed in 12 million vehicles. To meet the targets, Stellantis will expand its software engineering team of 1,000 to 4,500 in North America, Asia and Europe. More than 1,000 of the expanded team will be retrained in house. Stellantis also announced a new partnership with Foxconn to develop semiconductors to cover 80% of the companyÂ’s needs and simplify the supply chain. The first microchips from the partnership are targeted to be installed in vehicles in 2024.

Sergio rethinks FCA-GM merger idea, dismisses critics

After many public overtures, Fiat Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio Marchionne has claimed his company won't be making a hostile takeover bid for General Motors. This is despite widespread speculation that FCA's desire to merge was motivated by its allegedly dire situation. As one unnamed GM exec who spoke to Automotive News earlier this year put it, "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?" "We are not choking. We are in relatively decent shape," Marchionne told journalists attending an FCA shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, AN reports. "We have been publicly rebuffed, we have been rejected and you cannot force these things. I don't want to. At the moment, we have no intention to do anything hostile." Instead of focusing on merging with GM, or any other partners for that matter, FCA will refocus on implementing its ambitious five-year investment plan, which would see it dump $52 billion into its various brands, with a particular focus on Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. So far the attempt has largely been unsuccessful, especially as it relates to the Italian brands. Earlier this week, additional reports emerged that claimed Alfa was pushing back the Giulia and an unnamed CUV while reassigning resources to updated versions of the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks. This is not the first time we've heard about trouble for the Giulia, of course. For Masearti, though, it was the first we'd heard of delays for Alfieri sports car, which allegedly won't appear in 2016, as promised. We can expect a proper breakdown of FCA's adjusted plans when Marchionne and Company reveal an updated product slate next month. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Alfa Romeo Chrysler Fiat GM Jeep Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA