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Volvo's EX90 electric crossover will offer an "invisible shield of safety" with a novel placement of lidar, the remote sensing technology that uses laser light pulses to render precise images of the environment around the vehicle.

While automakers typically embed safety sensors in the grille or front fascia, Volvo positioned the lidar unit on the EX90's roofline. For good reason.

Volvo Cars exterior design boss T. Jon Mayer describes the unit as the eyes of the vehicle, and placing it in the grille would be like having "eyes on your knees," limiting vision to the vehicle directly in front.

"If you put it up high, you can see above that car and beyond," Mayer said.

Volvo said the EX90's lidar, from Luminar, can detect pedestrians up to 820 feet away, even at highway speeds.

Designers considered integrating the lidar under the windshield but discovered the rake compromised performance.

Beyond early detection, the roof mount protects …

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Extreme weather prompts EV charging question

Record heat waves in California and severe hurricanes in Florida point to a weakness in electric vehicle adoption: How do people charge during extreme weather events when power may be lost?

It's not a theoretical question. California leads the nation in EVs. During a record Labor Day heat wave, state officials asked EV owners to avoid charging during peak electricity use times to avert power outages.

Three weeks later, Hurricane Ian landed as a Category 4 storm on Florida's southwest coast and knocked out power for weeks in the hardest-hit areas.

As EV adoption grows, charging before, during and after natural disasters presents a challenge, especially given a shortage of public chargers, lack of access to home charging and the increasing regularity of such events.

"We're starting to see the impacts of climate change more and more frequently," said Katherine Stainken, vi…

Carvana Co. said Thursday it recorded a net loss of $508 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30, noting it continues to grapple with inflationary pressures and rising interest rates that are causing consumer demand for used vehicles to wane.

The loss is larger than both Carvana's $506 million first-quarter loss and the $68 million loss it posted for the same period a year ago. The Tempe, Ariz.-based company said high used-vehicle prices and rising interest rates, in particular, led to softening demand as consumers zeroed in on affordability. The online used-car giant also said the current interest rate environment forced lower sales conversion rates and fewer profits per vehicle sold, resulting in fewer profitable sales.

Carvana generated revenue of $3.4 billion for the quarter, down 3 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The retailer sold 102,570 cars and trucks in the third quarter, down 8 percent. The profit it made per vehicle retailed fe…

National Automobile Dealers Association CEO Mike Stanton joins Jamie Butters to talk about the NADA's new guiding principles for the evolving retail landscape and how they are being received. Stellantis revenue jumps with help from better chip supplies. GM names a new OnStar chief. And BMW wants existing suppliers to provide parts for its EVs.

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On a stage below the twin spires of Churchill Downs racetrack, Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley choked up while addressing hundreds of local factory workers for the reveal of the automaker's redesigned heavy-duty pickup line.

"Kentucky matters," he said Sept. 27. "All of you matter. And the Super Duty matters."

The next 12 months could prove the sincerity of Farley's emotional statement.

There's no doubt the Bluegrass State is key to Ford's future. The automaker is investing $700 million in its Kentucky Truck Plant to build the next-generation Super Duty, which is among its most profitable vehicles. And it's spending $5.8 billion with a partner on two new battery plants in central Kentucky that are slated to open mid-decade.

But what's less clear is how much Ford's other assembly plant in the state matters to the company.

Louisville Assembly, about a half-hour drive southwest of Kentucky Truck, produces the Ford Escape — the automaker's thir…

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., the Detroit-based maker of drivetrain components with longtime roots to General Motors, is attracting preliminary interest from suitors including Melrose Industries Plc, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

London-listed Melrose is weighing a combination of its GKN Automotive unit with American Axle, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. A deal could help GKN Automotive build scale in the car-parts industry and gain a public listing in New York.

Shares of American Axle gained as much as 23 percent in New York trading Thursday, the biggest intraday gain in more than two years. They were up 16 percent to  $10.57 in afternoon trading, giving the company a market value of about $1.19 billion.

American Axle has also had contact with other industry peers including BorgWarner Inc. and Dana Inc. to gauge their interest in potential tie-ups or a…

The latest report from Assurant® outlines EV market trends and the opportunities they’re opening for your dealership’s F&I team.

Factors driving EV demand:

Lower costs of production due to advances in technology Massive investment by government and industry Mass market interest due to proliferation of models Rising oil prices and increased consumer environmental awareness Opportunities opened for your teams: Tailored F&I products that cover EV batteries Sales team training designed to turn increased EV inventories into sales A digital retailing strategy that supports your overarching approach

Connected and autonomous vehicles will transform the world of transportation as we know it. Although autonomous and self-driving vehicles are still years away from widespread usage, 5G networks deploying today will provide the broad coverage, speed, and low latency needed as a foundation for anticipated advances in transportation.

The decision by Tesla Inc. directors to authorize a $55 billion pay package for CEO Elon Musk in 2018 was marred with conflicts of interest and improper disclosures about the performance benchmarks he’d be held to, a disgruntled investor argued in a court filing.

Musk, the world’s richest person and Tesla’s largest shareholder, must face a Delaware judge at a Nov. 14 trial over the claim by investor Richard Tornetta, who claims the billionaire engineered the windfall pay deal by pushing it through a “supine board.”

Musk dictated the “framework and financial terms, which remained fundamentally unchanged” throughout the board’s approval process, Tornetta’s lawyers said in a Delaware Chancery Court brief unsealed Wednesday.

Legal experts say the case will spotlight the role of courts in regulating executive compensation, and shine a light on the Musk’s peripatetic management of Tesla and other companies he owns. Last month, the entrepreneur closed his $44 …

Lyft Inc. said Thursday it would lay off 13 percent of its workforce, or about 683 employees, in the ride-hailing firm's latest cost-cutting step to cope with a weakening economy.

As decades-high inflation hits consumer spending and drives up costs for businesses, companies across sectors are cutting jobs and downsizing their operations to preserve profits.

Lyft's latest move is expected to result in a charge of between $27 million and $32 million in the fourth quarter. It follows 60 job cuts earlier this year and a hiring freeze in September.

The company, which is slated to report third-quarter results on Monday, said the layoffs would not impact its previously issued forecast for the period. It expects revenue of $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion and adjusted core profit of $55 million to $65 million.

The San Francisco, Calif.-based company's shares were down 1 percent.

"The announced reduction in force is a proactive step as part of the c…

Dealership technology company Cars.com Inc. swung to a net loss in the third quarter, citing higher valuations of earnout payments for its acquisitions of automotive financial technology company CreditIQ and Accu-Trade, a provider of vehicle appraisal and valuation data and logistics technology.

Cars.com, of Chicago, said Thursday that it posted a net loss of $2.9 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with net income of $2.4 million a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue rose 5.1 percent to $164.6 million, with dealership revenue up 4.4 percent, the company said. It saw growth in its Dealer Inspire digital business, which offers websites and digital retailing tools, and in Accu-Trade. Dealership customers grew to 19,585 as of Sept. 30, up 556 from a year earlier and up 68 from June 30. Monthly average revenue per dealership was stable at $2,334, compared with $2,332 a year earlier.

"We're particularly pleased with our steady and sustained performanc…