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SEATTLE/WASHINGTON -- Virgin Hyperloop has picked West Virginia to host a $500 million certification center and test track for billionaire Richard Branson’s super high-speed travel system.

The center will be the first U.S. regulatory proving ground for a hyperloop system designed to whisk floating pods packed with passengers and cargo through vacuum tubes at 600 mph or faster.

Branson announced the decision in a press conference on Thursday, joined virtually by U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Elaine Chao, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, and U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

“Today we lay the foundation for commercial deployment and operations across the United States of America and beyond,” the company’s CEO Jay Walder told reporters.

In a hyperloop system, which uses magnetic levitation to allow near-silent travel, a trip between New York and Washington would take just 30 minutes. That would be twice as …

Transportation's moving target: Wave of relocations prompted by COVID-19

Americans are getting more comfortable with the idea of moving around again.

Quite literally. As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on, the number of U.S. residents looking to pull up roots and move elsewhere within the country is on the rise.

Whether because of concerns about being cooped up in major cities or the newfound flexibility provided by remote work, the percentage of U.S. residents requesting a move from United Van Lines rose 32 percent in September compared with the same month in 2019.

That stands in dramatic contrast to the early months of the pandemic, which brought moving activity down 26 percent in March and 31 percent in April over the 2019 data.

United Van Lines surveyed 6,000 customers between March and August 2020, and their answers offer a fascinating glimpse at how Americans are weathering the pandemic and plotting coping strategies that portend subst…

Sonic Automotive Inc. CEO David Smith spent a night in the Mecklenburg County Jail in North Carolina after he was arrested on four charges Monday, including assault by strangulation, according to the jail.

Smith, CEO of the nation's sixth-largest new-vehicle retailer, was arrested at about 9:45 a.m. Monday and taken to the jail later that day, according to police and the jail. He was released around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday.

He was arrested on a felony charge of assault by strangulation and misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment, assault on a female and interfering with emergency communication. Smith posted a $30,000 bond, according to the jail. He is scheduled back in court Oct. 20.

In a statement, Sonic's board of directors said it "remains steadfast in its support" of Smith.

“We believe in David’s leadership, honesty and transparency, which he has demonstrated throughout his tenure as chief executive officer and over 20 years of service to the com…

LOS ANGELES — After four years on the market, Honda's current Ridgeline is getting a fairly significant exterior freshening to give it more squared-off styling and chunkier proportions.

The changes come as the midsize pickup market has heated up with the debut last year of the resurrected Ford Ranger.

"The 2021 Ridgeline features all-new sheet metal from the front roof pillars forward. Design changes include a new hood sporting a pronounced power bulge, and new front fenders that emphasize the squared-off nose and more upright grille," Honda said Wednesday.

"A new front bumper highlights the toughness of the new Ridgeline's design and adds broad side vents that route air through the bumper and around the front tires and wheels, creating air curtains to improve aerodynamic performance," the automaker said.

The freshened midsize pickup goes on sale early next year. Pricing will be announced closer to the launch date.

Interior u…

Tesla Inc. has a chance at producing 500,000 cars this year, CEO Elon Musk told employees, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

Tesla said in January that 2020 deliveries should comfortably exceed 500,000 vehicles, a forecast the company has left unchanged despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This all comes down to Q4. Please take whatever steps you can think of to improve output (while increasing quality)", Musk wrote to employees Wednesday.

Such emails are traditional at Tesla, with Musk sending them out every quarter to hint at targets and potential new records.

Industry blog Tesmanian first reported on the memo earlier in the day. Shares of Tesla closed Wednesday's trading up 2.7 percent to $425.30.

Last week, Tesla said it delivered 139,300 vehicles in the third quarter, an all-time quarterly record for the electric vehicle maker. The company will have to increase deliveries to nearly 182,000 in the fourth quarter to reach its …

Ford and Lincoln customers can now receive quotes for usage-based car insurance from Ford Motor Co. websites through the automaker's Ford Insure and Lincoln Motor Co. Insure programs.

Ford Insure, a product created by Ford Motor Credit Co., leverages information about consumers' driving habits into discounts on auto insurance. The product is underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance and its affiliates.

"With 2021 models arriving, it's giving customers another convenient way to look into our usage-based insurance offering," a Ford spokeswoman said in a statement.

Customers who purchase a policy through the program immediately receive a 10 percent discount. Once they have a quote and an eligible 2020 model year Lincoln or Ford, customers can activate the feature through the connected Ford Pass and Lincoln Way mobile apps. At the end of a four- to six-month data-collection period, customers are notified whether they qualify for an a…

DETROIT — General Motors plans to reveal its long-anticipated Hummer electric pickup during Game 1 of baseball's World Series on Oct. 20.

GM, after a nearly 10-year hiatus for the Hummer name, will start production of the EV under the GMC brand in fall 2021, according to a promotional video.

"We cannot wait to finally reveal the GMC Hummer EV," Phil Brook, vice president of GMC marketing, said in a statement. "We are leaving no stone unturned on reveal day. In terms of audience reach, we anticipate this will be one of the brand's most ambitious stand-alone campaigns ever."

Game 1 of the 2019 World Series averaged more than 12 million viewers, according to the Associated Press.

Starting on reveal day, the Hummer EV will be available for customer reservations.

The Hummer EV features industry-leading "crab mode," which is a four-wheel steering capability that moves the vehicle diagonally.

The vehicle will be revealed globally at 8 p.…

As millions of Americans enter month seven (or more) of work-from-home, many companies across industries are rethinking what the work day could, or should, look like. In the automotive sector, a leading finance-and-insurance company is looking to expand the practice of its employees working remotely.

Many players in the automotive retail and finance industry also have been weighing the pros and cons of the remote workplace, and what it could become once the world is no longer grappling with this modern plague.

Protective Life, a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. that includes Protective Asset Protection, is expanding its virtual work force in three markets. Before the pandemic, just 19 percent of company employees worked remotely. Today, 95 percent work outside the office.

"With employees performing well in this environment, and many signaling they would like to continue doing so post-pandemic, Protective…