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NHTSA, IIHS, and 20 automakers to make auto braking standard by 2022

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and virtually every automaker in the US domestic market have announced a pact to make automatic emergency braking standard by 2022. Here's the full rundown of companies involved: BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo (not to mention the brands that fall under each automaker's respective umbrella). Like we reported yesterday, AEB will be as ubiquitous in the future as traction and stability control are today. But the thing to note here is that this is not a governmental mandate. It's truly an agreement between automakers and the government, a fact that NHTSA claims will lead to widespread adoption three years sooner than a formal rule. That fact in itself should prevent up to 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries. The agreement will come into effect in two waves. For the majority of vehicles on the road – those with gross vehicle weights below 8,500 pounds – AEB will need to be standard equipment by September 1, 2022. Vehicles between 8,501 and 10,000 pounds will have an extra three years to offer AEB. "It's an exciting time for vehicle safety. By proactively making emergency braking systems standard equipment on their vehicles, these 20 automakers will help prevent thousands of crashes and save lives," said Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in an official statement. "It's a win for safety and a win for consumers." Read on for the official press release from NHTSA. Related Video: U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles McLEAN, Va. – The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced today a historic commitment by 20 automakers representing more than 99 percent of the U.S. auto market to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on virtually all new cars no later than NHTSA's 2022 reporting year, which begins Sept 1, 2022. Automakers making the commitment are Audi, BMW, FCA US LLC, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors Inc., Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Car USA.

One-off Maserati GranTurismo models celebrate the brand's past and future

The new Maserati GranTurismo is headed to the 2023 Milan Design Week to show off some of the different outfits it can wear. The Italian company's Fuoriserie department, which handles one- and few-off requests from customers, prepared a pair of one-of-a-kind coupes. Maserati calls the Design Week-bound models GranTurismo One Off Prisma and GranTurismo One Off Luce, respectively. "Prisma" means "Prism" in Italian (coincidentally, the name also appeared on a three-box version of the original Lancia Delta) while "luce" translates to "light" (as in, what the sun emits, not how you'd describe a Mazda MX-5 Miata). Both will be difficult to miss if you're walking around the show floor. Designed as a celebration of Maserati's past, present, and future, the Prisma is painted in no less than 14 different colors. Two of those colors look to the future, according to the carmaker, while the remaining 12 are colors that were offered on the GranTurismo's predecessors. Amaranto — a purple-ish color — was available on the 1947 A6 1500, and Oro Longchamps was offered on the 1973 Khamsin. Once the colors were applied to the body, over 8,500 letters that spell the name of historic Maserati models were applied by hand to create a second layer. At the other end of the spectrum, the Luce (shown above) represents Maserati's future. It's not as colorful as the Prisma but it's equally eye-catching: it features a mirror-like finish, a laser-etched pattern, and a color that the company describes as being "almost absent." We're told that this treatment makes the contours of the car blend into their surroundings, though so far we've only seen a sketch of the car — it likely looks quite a bit different when you're standing in front of it. Maserati used a recycled type of nylon called EcoNyl throughout the interior. Maserati hasn't announced what the future holds for the two design studies. They might join the company's collection, or they could end up in a lucky collector's garage. As for the regular-production model, it's scheduled to reach showrooms across the nation this month with a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 and a base price set at about $174,000. The next-generation GranCabrio convertible isn't far behind. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Maserati Ghibli GranLusso gets semi-autonomous tech and updated styling

Maserati's littlest sedan is getting a little bit of a makeover in the form a new GranLusso trim for the Ghibli. It will make its official debut at the Chengdu auto show in China, and it mostly consists of aesthetic updates. Up front, the GranLusso gets a grille that has chrome vertical bars in addition to the surround. They also appear thicker and more aggressive. The lower grille has been reshaped, with the outboard openings sweeping up and out, creating more of a smile shape. The headlights are less busy, with a very narrow LED accent strip, and square-shaped projectors. Along the side, the GranLusso gets some badges to tell everyone you got the newest fanciest Ghibli. At the back, the rear bumper has been ever so slightly reshaped at the base. Maserati claims the changes make the car more aerodynamically efficient, but don't give specifics, and frankly we can't imagine the improvement nearly enough to make any real difference to the way the car drives or performs. Styling tweaks aren't the only addition to the GranLusso though. The car will feature some type of semi-autonomous or autonomous driving technology. Again, no specific details were given. We reached out to Maserati for an explanation, and they wouldn't elaborate, saying that there should be more info when it makes its debut at the Chengdu show. No release window or pricing were given either. Related Video: