The Auto World

Automakers are testing humanoid robots for repetitive jobs currently performed by humans. BMW admits its experimental humanoid is still slower than flesh-and-blood factory workers. Some experts question whether human-shaped robots offer meaningful productivity gains. Humanoid robots are supposed to revolutionize car production, eventually handling tedious jobs without breaks, benefits or complaints. There’s just one small problem. Right now, some aren’t actually very good at it. BMW admits the humanoid it’s testing in South Carolina is still slower than the humans it could eventually replace. The robot, built by Figure AI, has been trialed at BMW’s Spartanburg plant moving components from containers into trolleys. It can walk, grab parts and haul the trolley around, but BMW logistics VP Ulrich Wieland told the New York Times that “they’re still slower than humans,” while stressing that development is ...

Range Rover’s fifth model breaks from the SUV mold entirely. It launches all-electric, though a hybrid version could follow later. The GT slots in beside the Evoque, Velar, Sport and flagship. Range Rover is preparing to push the envelope with an all-new addition to the lineup called the GT . It’s an all-electric, off-road tourer that brings a sedan top with SUV pretences, making it the automaker’s fifth model behind the Evoque, Sport, Velar and Range Rover. It won’t cause the sort of uproar that greeted JLR’s upcoming Jaguar Type 01 , but nobody at Gaydon is expecting a unanimous verdict on this one either. Future Cars: Our Mazdaspeed 6 Revival Ditches The Turbo Four For 536 HP Of Electric Power Its near sedan-coupe format leans into the more opulent, soft-road side of the brand, yet isn’t a direct replacement for the Velar, as some reports had previously suggested. Curious? Read on as we table all there...

A 1980 Toyota Corolla KE70 sedan has been converted into a ute. Build has a wide bodykit, air suspension, and round LED lights. It is offered in Poland with an asking price of €9,500 ($11,000). A tidy rear-drive Japanese classic turning up on the used market is reason enough to open the listing. This one, sitting in Poland, asks more of you than that. It left the factory as a two-door Toyota Corolla KE70 sedan and now exists as a vintage widebody pickup finished in mint green, which is either the best or the worst thing to happen to a KE70 in the last four decades. The donor car rolled off the line in March 1980, and the project began with a full teardown and restoration before anyone reached for a cutting wheel. Removing the rear section of the roof left a single-cab silhouette that reads more Hilux than Corolla. The catch is that the bed and tailgate don’t look functional, so this is a show car wearing a workhorse costume. Mo...

Orange County deputies are stopping motorists who block the left lane. Florida law requires drivers being overtaken to move right when practical. Speed differences matter, but road design influences how drivers behave. Florida drivers need to be especially careful to go at exactly, or very close to, the speed limit or risk a ticket. That’s essentially the message from local law enforcement after a new campaign targeting left-lane campers. The result is the opportunity for police to ticket either those going too slow or those overtaking at speeds above the limit. In terms of revenue generation, it’s a win-win. In terms of road design and speed limit-setting, it seems like a lose-lose. Under Florida Statute 316.081, a driver on a road with two or more lanes in the same direction cannot continue in the far-left lane when they know, or reasonably should know, that a faster vehicle is overtaking them from behind. There are sensible exce...

Servicing carries fatter margins than new car sales, cushioning falling dealer profits. Dealership service profits climbed sharply even as pandemic-era sales margins faded. Repair chains are grabbing customers just as dealers increasingly need their business. Selling you a new car might be the glamorous part of the dealership business, but fixing it can be far more profitable. In fact, one industry expert says dealers need only $1 in additional service revenue to offset $10 they lose from new-car sales. Suddenly those workshop reminders you keep getting make a lot of sense. That stat comes from Erin Kerrigan, founder and managing director of dealership advisory firm Kerrigan Advisors. She told CNBC that new-car margins are around 5 percent while service margins can hit 50 percent even when customers aren’t being charged $2,195 for an AMG air filter . “If you lose $10 of new vehicle revenue, you only have to pick up $1 of service to...

A Hong Kong shop crafts paper cars for traditional funerals. Replicas include the AE86, Tesla Model S, and Alfa Romeo Giulia. The paper models are designed to be burned during the ritual. In the West, a car enthusiast’s family orders a birthday cake shaped like the model he’s spent a decade talking about, and that’s usually the extent of the tribute. Head to the far East and the gesture works differently, because the gift isn’t handed over while the recipient is still around to appreciate it. It waits until after the funeral. More: From Bugattis To Broncos, China’s Mecides Is The Mother Of All Replicas Paper offerings are standard at Chinese funerals. Houses, clothing, stacks of money, all of it built to be set alight rather than kept. The traditional practice of Zhizha holds that fire and smoke can transfer a physical object into the spirit realm, where the deceased takes ownership and gets to enjoy it in th...