Tesla showed its new prototype home charger this week–a robotic, self-guided arm that will automatically mate the charger to the Tesla’s on-board port.

The new charger will work in tandem with Tesla’s “autopilot” feature. After the owner parks the car in the driveway, it will drive itself into the charging area in order to mate with the port.

Self-parking is just the latest implementation of Tesla’s automated driving systems. It relies on extra sensors, now totaling a dozen components, that allow the car to analyze its immediate line of sight. Long-range radar and 360-degree ultrasonic sonar complement the camera views, identifying both solid and ‘soft’ objects ahead of and around the vehicle.

For example, rather than simply providing a blind-spot warning, the car can steer itself into the adjacent lane when the driver activates the turning signal.

Highlighting Tesla’s focus on camera-based environmental awareness, the system can read speed-limit signs to automatically prevent law-abiding drivers from accidentally exceeding the posted speed.

Check out the prototype in action in the video below.

Serial entrepreneur and TrueCar CEO Scott Painter will step down from the car-buying service he started by the end of 2015.

“After a decade of building TrueCar from an idea into a public company, I have come to the conclusion reached by many founders and entrepreneurs in my position: It is time for a change,” Painter said in TrueCar’s Q2 earnings release.

Painter will continue to serve as Chairman of TrueCar’s Board of Directors. Painter, a self-proclaimed “car guy,” along with existing board members Bernie Brenner, Tom Taira and Jim Nguyen, co-founded the service a decade ago.

Christopher Claus, a former executive with USAA, will direct the board’s search for a new CEO.

“I am honored to begin serving as the Lead Independent Director and look forward to working closely with the leadership team to build upon and execute the vision that Scott has created, as well as maintain a strong partnership with the company’s largest affinity partner, USAA,” Claus said.

The company’s second quarter was marked by yet more losses. Revenue ($65.3 million) and web traffic (more than 6 million views) both increased compared to 2014, and helped soften the blow of the $14.7 million net loss.

Have you always wanted to attend a competitive automotive event, but find the danger of motorsports off-putting? You’re in luck. American Trucking Associations has just the thing for you.

Next Thursday marks the start of the 78th annual “Super Bowl of Safety”–the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships.

More than 400 drivers from around the country will compete in America’s Gateway City for the title of Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion.

“Safety is the trucking industry’s top priority,” said ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, Raleigh, N.C., “and each year, the industry’s commitment to safety is displayed at the NTDCs. The competitors here are the safest drivers on the highway and an example for us all.”

Jackie Stewart would be proud.

The event features 431 competitors from all 50 states, including 39 first-time participants, representing 85 different companies.

The festivities begin on August 13 with the Breakfast of Champions, followed by three days of competition behind the wheel on a challenging driving course and other tests of their knowledge of safety and of the industry. Check out highlights from the 2014 championship below.

Note: The above image was not provided by the American Trucking Associations, nor does it represent the events involved. That’s a semi-truck jumping a Lotus F1 car, for crying out loud.

Nissan announced Friday that it is suspending its LM P1 World Endurance Championship program to instead focus on addressing the issues that plagued the team’s effort at Le Mans.

Nissan entered three of its brand-new GT-R LM NISMO cars in this year’s running of the legendary endurance race. Only one finished, and that car spent a substantial portion of the race in the team garage. Most of the cars’ failures were attributed to issues with their ERS, without which many of the cars’ other systems were not functional.

“We have many areas to work on – not least ensuring that we have the best ERS option available to us. The team is pushing hard on track, in the wind tunnel and at NISMO’s various facilities around the world to deliver the long list of improvements we know that we need,” said Ben Bowlby, Nissan LM P1 technical director.

The automaker emphasized that this only affects the LM P1 program. Nissan’s other global motorsports programs (Blancpain Endurance Series, Super GT, GT Academy, etc.) are not being suspended.

“We know people will be disappointed, but be assured that nobody is more disappointed than us,” said Shoichi Miyatani, president of NISMO. “We are racers and we want to compete, but we also want to be competitive. That is why we have chosen to continue our test program and prepare the GT-R LM NISMO for the strong competition we face in the World Endurance Championship. When you innovate, you don’t give up at the first hurdle. We are committed to overcoming this challenge.”

Nissan LMP1 technical director Ben Bowlby defended the program during qualifying, when problems first started to appear. He pointed out that the cars are new, requiring extensive development and tuning work ahead of and during their racing debuts.

The GT-R LM Nismo features a unique front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, providing some aerodynamic advantages thanks to a low hood. The GT-R’s twin-turbocharged V6 engine provided weight over the front wheels to improve grip, but special traction-control management and other tricks were required to mitigate understeer.

Approximately half of the GT-R LM Nismo’s 1,250 horsepower is delivered by electric motor, however the hybrid system may have been the Achilles heel at Le Mans. The system was reportedly disabled on all three cars, including the finisher. The technology is rumored to be headed to the road-going GT-R, regardless of the racing program’s fate.

Live images by Ben Hsu.

A settlement in the ongoing legal battle over a Texas company’s use of the DeLorean Motor Company name hit a snag this week as last-minute changes by the defense drew the ire of the plaintiff’s attorney.

Sally DeLorean, widow of John Delorean, filed a lawsuit against DeLorean Motor Company of Texas in January claiming the company was using (and licensing out) her departed husband’s name and intellectual property without permission.

According to an Associated Press report, the suit alleges that DMC of Texas has been illegally using the DeLorean name to sell hats, pens, notebooks, key chains and other items, and has illegally licensed the name and images to other companies including Nike, Mattel, Urban Outfitters and Apple.

Sally DeLorean claims there was never a formal relationship between DeLorean and the Texas company, saying it started out as an exchange for DeLorean enthusiasts. DMC of Texas says that characterization is inaccurate, and that its business operated as it does today long before John DeLorean’s death, and that he was aware of and unconcerned by the company’s operations.

DMC of Texas also builds DeLorean automobiles from components purchased in the wake of the DMC bankruptcy, and had highly publicized plans to build an all-electric version. It has yet to materialize beyond a prototype that was demonstrated to media in 2011.

R. Scott Thompson claims DMC’s lawyers are seeking to have DeLorean’s estate say on the record that its case had no merit and also “consent to the use by the Defendant of the name DeLorean for virtually any purpose,” he wrote.

An attorney for the Texas-based DeLorean Motor Company denied the accusation, saying DMC simply wants to make sure this settlement protects the company against future lawsuits over the use of the name.