Toyota Forms 'Strategic Partnership' With Uber (theverge.com) 92
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Toyota and Uber are forming a "strategic partnership" which will include an investment by the Japanese automaker in the San Francisco-based ride-sharing company. Under the agreement, Uber drivers can lease their vehicles from Toyota and cover their payments through earnings generated as Uber drivers. Toyota says it will invest an undisclosed sum in Uber, which is already the most valuable technology startup in the world. A partnership between Toyota and Uber could help the ride-sharing company solve a lingering question surrounding its self-driving ambitions, namely where its going to get a fleet of cars to equip with its autonomous technology. Toyota, which is the world's largest car manufacturer, is taking self-driving technology very seriously. It recently established the Toyota Research Institute to develop AI technologies in two main areas: autonomous cars and robot helpers for around the home. Last month, Google, Ford, Volvo, Lyft and Uber joined a coalition to help spur the development of self-driving cars, ultimately to make them arrive to the market faster. Meanwhile, Apple made an investment in Uber's Chinese rival Didi.
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But how do you fight the dealer when in most states they can put a mechanics lien on the title?
What the hell is a mechanics lien? The one time I took my car to a dealer and they wanted to charge me for labour when no work was done I told the manager that if he thinks I owe them money they can pursue me in court - they don't get to arbitrarily repossess my vehicle without a court getting involved.
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Could you elaborate on how are they forcing you, exactly?
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Re: I can't wait! (Score:4, Funny)
Listen friend, do you think you could drive my mother-in-law to the grocery store on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays? There's a case of whiskey in it for you.
Johnny Cab (Score:2)
Editors are asleep again... (Score:3)
namely where its going to get a fleet of cars to equip with its autonomous technology.
namely where it's going to get a fleet of cars to equip with its autonomous technology.
FTFY.
It would reduce the Uber-rapes (Score:1)
Hey, self-driving Uber (or Lyft, etc.) cars would probably reduce the number of rapes and robberies by Uber drivers.
OTOH, Self-driving cars are known to cause traffic accidents – because they obey the speed limits, etc. very exactly.
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but would really want to get into an gypsy auto drive car? vs an one that controlled under rules more like an taxi?
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Do you have statistics for the aforementioned rapes and robberies? -PCP
http://bfy.tw/66gm [bfy.tw]
Why post as AC, troll?
To everyone else, I am not feeding a troll. Click the link...
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OTOH, Self-driving cars are known to cause traffic accidents – because they obey the speed limits, etc. very exactly.
No they don't. I have Tesla Autopilot, and it will happily drive at whatever max speed I set, even if it is well over the limit.
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This lame beta level software named "autopilot" do not qualify as self-driving car. It will happily disconnect at any moment when it gets confused just before crashing the car and let a driver to hold the bag of liability as if driver somehow was "in control".
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Right under your nose . Not even TFA, TFS!
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If you go to most manufacturers and tell them you don't have a job, but you want to buy a decent car so you can work as an Uber driver, they probably wouldn't give you a lease based on an intention to work.
Whereas, if this deal with Toyota integrates with Uber, they can look at your past Uber driving history and determine if you're a good risk, and if you don't provide enough rides and won't be able to make payments, they can monitor that and terminate the lease to
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Try reading ass-hole.
Why would Uber want self-driving cars? (Score:2)
Why would Uber *want* self-driving cars? Sure, it eliminates the need to pay people and again replace workers with robots, but then Uber would have to admit they are are a Taxi company if they *own* the vehicles.
There's only one way this works: Again, they contract out to people who own the self-driving cars, but anyone that owns such a car would need to have a real job, not a below-minimum-wage Uber job. The car owner goes to work and then, upon reaching his destination, then releases his car to go make mo
Ride-sharing company? Uber? (Score:1)
Ride sharing? (Score:2)
Uber is NOT ride sharing. Stop calling it that.