The FBI Warns That Car Hacking Is a Real Risk

It’s been eight months since a pair of security researchers proved beyond any doubt that car hacking is more than an action movie plot device when they remotely killed the transmission of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee as I drove it down a St. Louis highway. Now the FBI has caught up with that news, and it’s warning Americans to take the risk of vehicular cybersabotage seriously.

In a public service announcement issued together with the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the FBI on Thursday released a warning to drivers about the threat of over-the-internet attacks on cars and trucks. The announcement doesn’t reveal any sign that the agencies have learned about incidents of car hacking that weren’t already public. But it cites all of last year’s car hacking research to offer a list of tips about how to keep vehicles secure from hackers and recommendations about what to do if you believe your car has been hacked—including a request to notify the FBI.

“Modern motor vehicles often include new connected vehicle technologies that aim to provide benefits such as added safety features, improved fuel economy, and greater overall convenience,” the PSA reads. “Aftermarket devices are also providing consumers with new features to monitor the status of their vehicles. However, with this increased connectivity, it is important that consumers and manufacturers maintain awareness of potential cyber security threats.”

The FBI and DOT’s advice includes keeping automotive software up to date and staying aware of any possible recalls that require manual security patches to your car’s code, as well as avoiding any unauthorized changes to a vehicle’s software and being careful about plugging insecure gadgets into the car’s network. Most of those tips stem directly from last year’s research demonstrations: After hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek hacked the Jeep in July, Chrysler issued a 1.4 million vehicle recall and mailed USB drives with software updates to affected drivers. And the next month, researchers from the University of California at San Diego showed that a common insurance dongle plugged into a Corvette’s dashboard could be hacked to turn on the car’s windshield wipers or disable its brakes.

The announcement also notes that drivers should be careful about offering physical access to their vehicles to strangers. “In much the same way as you would not leave your personal computer or smartphone unlocked, in an unsecure location, or with someone you don’t trust, it is important that you maintain awareness of those who may have access to your vehicle,” the announcement reads. (If only the FBI felt quite so strongly about keeping intruders out of your iPhone.)

Not much in the FBI’s warning is new information, says Chris Valasek, one of the two Jeep-hacking researchers. But he says the imprimatur of the FBI could make the threat of car hacking real for anyone who hasn’t considered the growing risk of digital attacks on connected vehicles. “It seems super delayed,” says Valasek. “But it’s good advice…people take the FBI seriously.”

Valasek says the most significant part of the announcement may be its request that anyone who suspects their car has been hacked to get in contact with the FBI, along with the car manufacturer and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Until now, Valasek says, he and his fellow Jeep hacker Charlie Miller have themselves been bombarded with messages—credible and not-so-credible—from people who believe they’re car hacking victims. “Charlie and I get emails all the time from people who say ‘my car’s been hacked!'” he says. “The FBI is more than welcome to take that over.”

Source: http://www.wired.com

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Autonomous cars aren't perfect, but how safe must they be?

As autonomous car technology rapidly progresses, makers of the cars face the difficult question of how safe they must be before they're ready to move people on highways and city streets.

Right now, companies such as Google, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz are testing the cars in a small number of cities to demonstrate they can be safer than human drivers. They also must figure out what level of risk is acceptable to both government regulators and a potentially skeptical public.

Government statistics show that human mistakes are responsible for 94 percent of the 33,000 traffic fatalities each year. Autonomous cars won't get drowsy, distracted or drunk, so in theory they could eliminate those mistakes and save an estimated 31,000 lives a year.

But as a Valentine's Day fender-bender involving a Google autonomous Lexus and a public bus shows, cars that drive themselves can make mistakes.

"We cannot expect any technology, any solution to be perfect all the time," says Raj Rajkumar, a computer engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University who has led autonomous vehicle research for 15 years. "We live in a very uncertain world where lots of things happen."

Given that, regulators and would-be passengers may have to accept that the cars will cause a limited number of crashes, including deadly ones, if overall they save thousands of lives.

"We should be concerned about automated vehicles," says Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies the technology. "But we should be terrified about today's drivers."

Google is testing a fleet of 56 autonomous cars on the streets of Mountain View, California; Austin, Texas; and Kirkland, Washington. The cars have driven themselves almost 1.5 million miles, with a person as backup in the driver seat. The company also uses a simulator to test the cars in a variety of scenarios. Other companies such as Nissan, software firm Cruise Automation and parts suppliers Bosch and Delphi also are testing on public roads. Test cities also include San Francisco, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.

Chris Urmson, head of Google's self-driving car program, wrote in a January blog that during the past two years, drivers took control 13 times when its cars likely would have hit something. He noted that the rate of human intervention is dropping and he expects it to keep falling.

In the bus crash, Google for the first time admitted its car was at least partly responsible. The computer and human driver assumed the bus would yield as the car moved around sandbags. Instead, the bus kept going and the car hit its side. Google has updated its software.

In about a dozen other crashes on city streets, Google blamed the human driver of the other vehicle.

Google wants to make cars available to the public around the end of 2019, assuming its data shows the time is right for deployment.

A Virginia Tech University study commissioned by Google found that the company's autonomous cars crashed 3.2 times per million miles compared with 4.2 times for human drivers. But the study had limitations. The human figures were increased to include an estimate of minor crashes that weren't reported to police. All autonomous car crashes in California, however, must be reported. The study also didn't include potential crashes that were avoided when human backup drivers took control.

U.S. traffic deaths have declined steadily for most of the past decade, from 43,510 in 2005 to 32,675 in 2014. But estimates show they spiked 9 percent in the first nine months of last year due mainly to increased miles traveled, texting and other distractions.

If autonomous cars are the answer to sharply reducing those figures, they'll first have to gain the public's trust. A January poll by AAA found that three-quarters of U.S. drivers are "afraid" to ride in an autonomous car. A University of Michigan poll found similar results in Japan, China, India and elsewhere.

Unlike Google, which wants to test cars without human drivers, automakers and parts companies are rolling out autonomous features as they are ready.

The AAA poll found that drivers are somewhat comfortable with the individual features of autonomous driving such as automatic emergency braking. Separate studies have shown those features can cut crashes. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says autonomous braking alone would prevent 700,000 rear crashes per year if installed on all cars.

On Thursday, transportation officials and automakers said they agreed to make automatic braking standard in nearly all cars within the next six years.

General Motors has plans to soon test autonomous cars by carrying employees around a technical center near Detroit. Still, John Capp, director of global safety and vehicle programs, sees humans behind the wheel for the foreseeable future.

"We can't afford to tarnish safety by doing experimentation on the roads," he says.

The burden of proof will be on companies to show that the technology is safe, Adam Jonas, a Morgan Stanley auto analyst, told investors recently.

But even with that evidence, some governments may still be reluctant. "No mayor wants to be the first elected official blamed for the death of a citizen by a robot," Jonas wrote.

Yet cities, seeing potential job growth and safety benefits, already are competing for wider use of the cars, he wrote.

In Austin, Mayor Steve Adler says Google cars in his city haven't caused any crashes, and he believes they bring safety benefits. "We don't get perfection with regular drivers either," he says.

Adler sees allowing the cars in small, controlled areas that expand as the cars prove themselves safe.

Colby Huff, a radio host from Springfield, Illinois, wouldn't ride in one. While others would welcome the car handling a daily commute, Huff doesn't think programmers are infallible.

"There's just too much that can go wrong in something that weighs a ton or so," he says. "It's not worth my family's safety to trust a machine."

Source: http://phys.org

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China’s Baidu to test driverless cars in the U.S.

Baidu Inc. will soon start testing autonomous cars in the U.S., part of the Chinese tech giant’s effort to introduce a commercially viable model by 2018.

The move, disclosed by Baidu’s chief scientist Andrew Ng in an interview, is a significant step for the company, which is trying to get ahead in the race to build autonomous cars and is now calling on the resources of its Silicon Valley tech center to advance the effort.

At the same time, Baidu is advocating for better coordination with the U.S. government, which the company says is necessary to get self-driving cars on the road.

Central to the push is Ng, an artificial-intelligence scientist who conducted groundbreaking research at Stanford University and at Alphabet Inc.’s Google. He’s also a co-founder of online-learning company Coursera Inc.

Late last year, Beijing-based Baidu became the latest technology company to publicize its intention to develop self-driving cars. As cars increasingly come to resemble robots, nontraditional car makers are gaining a wider berth into the automotive industry.

Source: http://www.msn.com

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BMW Counters Apple Threat With Self-Driving, Electric Car Push

(Bloomberg) -- BMW AG plans for a self-driving, electric car to supplant the 7-Series sedan as its flagship model in the coming years, responding to the challenges posed by the likes of Apple Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc.

The BMW iNext, to be rolled out early next decade, embodies the company’s vision of the future. The electric car will drive itself, link to cloud computing services and interact with the driver beyond knobs and buttons. It marks a further shift from the Autobahn thrills that have made BMW the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles.

The effort to keep ahead of traditional rivals and automotive newcomers with high-tech, clean-running vehicles will largely be funded by gas guzzlers. That includes rolling out more high-performance M models, new derivatives of the 7-Series as well as the X7 -- a big, new sport utility vehicle -- in 2018.

“We are taking advantage of the growth potential in the high-margin segments,” Chief Executive Officer Harald Kruegersaid at a press conference in Munich, his first major strategic statement since becoming CEO last May. “The evolution will continue to fund the revolution in the coming years.”

A decade after taking the top spot in the global luxury-car market, BMW is at a crossroads. Years of rolling out new models ranging from coupe-like SUVs to seven-seat wagons have left the company with few niches that could spur growth. While traditional rival Mercedes-Benz pushes to reclaim the crown, car-sharing service Uber and newcomers like Tesla Motors Inc. and possibly Apple add to the pressure.

“BMW’s strategy review touched on the topics that all carmakers are dealing with,” including connectivity, autonomous driving and vehicle emissions, said Sascha Gommel, a Frankfurt- based analyst at Commerzbank. “All of these technologies are costly.”

BMW is particularly exposed. Unlike Daimler AG’s Mercedes and Volkswagen AG’s Audi, the parent of the BMW, Rolls-Royce and Mini brands isn’t part of a broader group. That means its current lineup needs to fund the investment, while at the same time meet demands by regulators for cleaner cars. To offset the emissions of M performance models, BMW plans plug-in hybrid variants of its bread-and-butter models.

The company aims to find the balance to maintain its pretax profit margins at a minimum of 10 percent through 2020. The process will include weeding out poor-performing models like the Mini coupe, as it walks a fine line between profit, growth and investment.

The stark contrast between what regulators want and what customers are willing to pay for is evident in the sales of BMW’s M and i subbrands. Sales of high-performance M models surged 39 percent last year to more than 62,000, double the sales of the i3 and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.

‘Take Risks’

In the near term, growth will likely slow. BMW predicted earnings will rise only slightly in 2016, compared with a forecast of solid gains last year. Revenue from the automaking segment will also grow slightly, assuming the political and economic environment remains stable.

Krueger’s “Next” strategy marks the biggest shift since 2007, when then-CEO Norbert Reithofer pushed the upscale carmaker to invest billions to reduce fuel consumption, produce its first electric vehicle and pioneer the mass production of carbon fiber. The challenges now are much more diverse, and the payoff remains uncertain.

“We need to act swiftly in the digital world and be prepared to take risks,” including adding more services like ride-sharing, said Krueger. “Maximum flexibility is needed to stay our course in an uncertain environment.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisabeth Behrmann in Munich at ebehrmann1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Reiter at creiter2@bloomberg.net Benedikt Kammel.

Source: http://www.msn.com

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2017 Acura NSX: Hypercar technology at a supercar price

This has been a very long time coming, a long time waiting for some proper seat time in the successor to one of the most important sportscars of the '90s -- and of the early '00s, for that matter. It's the new 2017 NSX, thoroughly modernized and precision-engineered to an incredible degree. In fact, some might say over-engineered with its four-motor hybrid system, electronic all-wheel drive and nine-speed dual-clutch transmission. That's a lot of moving pieces, but only one thing matters: How does it feel to drive?

The answer to that question is: "Very well indeed." But, before we delve into the necessary driving impressions, let's take a moment to discuss just what it is that makes this thing go.

The details

Though the NSX is far from a traditional looking car, its powertrain is even less-so. The original NSX was powered by a mid-mounted V-6 that, at its peak, put 290 horsepower to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The new NSX also has a V-6 somewhere in the middle, but that's about where the similarities end.

The new motor is 3.5 liters, twin-turbocharged to make an even 500 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. That's a huge bump over the original -- but not enough for Honda's engineers. They've also grafted on a small electric motor onto that V-6, then paired that with two more electric motors up on the front axle. Yes, that's four total sources of oomph (one internal combustion, three electric) with a combined power output of 573 hp and 476 ft-lbs.

Do the math and you'll see that's basically twice the power of the original in a 3,800-pound package. Yes, it has all-wheel drive, but the vast majority of that drive is restricted to the rear wheels. So, too, the car has a strong rearward weight bias: 58 percent on the back axle.

Power gets to those rear wheels via a nine-speed, dual-clutch gearbox and is modulated across the axle with a proper, mechanical limited-slip differential. Suspension is adaptive, magnetorheological damping able to be toggled into one of two modes, one for comfort, the other for somewhat less comfort.

My first full day in the car would start out in the less-comfortable option.

On the track

Thermal Springs was the venue, situated just outside Palm Springs, California. It's a tight course, with a series of orderly turns that make the most of the available real estate. Thanks to a longish back straight I was quickly able to get a feel for the (optional) carbon ceramic brakes, which did not disappoint despite temperatures hovering in the mid-90s. Initial bite is strong and clean, unlike most hybrids I've driven, and brake pedal feel stayed firm -- although, given the car's brake-by-wire system, that feeling is largely synthetic in nature.

Steering, too, is firm and quick, so quick that you can do an entire lap without your hands leaving 9 and 3 on the wheel. Not a fan of shuffle-steering? This is the car for you. However, after a few sessions I couldn't help but feel like the steering was too firm, as if the car were resisting my inputs rather than assisting.

Steering weight is one of the many parameters the car modifies as you cycle through the four driving modes: Quiet, Sport, Sport+ and Track. On Track you get maximum power and the most liberal interpretation of stability control, as well as the stiffest suspension and the most firm steering. Unfortunately, unlike the simpler (and far less expensive) BMW M4, in the NSX you cannot select individual parameters to create a custom driving mode. So, there's no way to get maximum power and handling from the car without also selecting the firmest steering. That's a little disappointing.

Source: http://www.cnet.com

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Mercedes-AMG heaps on more performance frosting with GLC43

When it was called the GLK-Class, Mercedes chose not to give it a high-performance AMG trim. Now that this compact crossover has been redesigned and renamed the GLC-Class, that decision has been reversed, and the result is the 2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC43, debuting at the New York International Auto Show.

Meant to slot in above the base GLC300, the GLC43 follows the same formula that every other -43 has up to this point -- give it more power, slightly more aggressive looks and plenty of AMG badging. It's even got the same power output from its 3.0-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder engine as two other models -- 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque.

Whereas the GLC300 is available in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive flavors, the GLC43 is AWD-only. Its 4Matic system even shares the same rear bias as the C43 Coupe -- 31 percent front, 69 percent rear (heh). Adjustable sport-tuned air suspension is also standard on the GLC43 -- just like it is on the E43.

AMG-specific bits abound, inside and out. It's got larger inlets and a "diamond" style grille up front, quad tailpipes out back, AMG-specific wheels, larger brakes, a sportier steering wheel and other AMG-specific interior elements. Just like -- you guessed it -- every other -43.

Mercedes' decision to shoehorn this motor into anything with a three-pointed star is commendable, but it's all starting to melt together into one congealed mass. It's almost like I've written damn near the same story already. Oh, wait, I have. Thrice. Over the course of a single winter. At least the E43 had a different horsepower figure.

Source: http://www.cnet.com

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Toyota teases glowing new Prius ahead of New York Auto Show

One of the bigger announcements at the New York International Auto Show won't be a trillion-horsepower hypercar -- it'll be a sedate, environmentally friendly Prius of some sort. Not every piece of big news has to involve going 200 mph, after all.

We're about a fortnight away from New York, and Toyota released a teaser to build some hype around "the next mechanical marvel in the Prius lineup," or so sayeth the three lines of text accompanying said teaser image.

Details are incredibly scant, but from the teaser's silhouette, we can see a set of wraparound LED taillights that look just a bit different than those on the current Prius hatchback. Automotive News believes it's a new plug-in hybrid variant, but anything is possible.

Except, of course, a trillion-horsepower Prius hypercar.

Source: http://www.cnet.com

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