Louisiana Senator David Vitter has introduced legislation that would regulate three-wheel vehicles that are closer to cars but currently classified as motorcycles.
As the name implies, the Autocycle Safety Act creates the ‘autocycle’ classification for enclosed motor vehicles, standardizing safety rules and other issues at the federal level.

More than half of US states already have laws for three-wheel cars, such as the Polaris Slingshot and Elio Motors’ upcoming made-in-Louisiana trike. In other states, drivers are typically required to follow motorcycle rules with certain provisions, such as mandatory helmets, that make little sense for enclosed occupants.

“Creating this recognition for autocycles will ensure their safety, create jobs, and encourage the same entrepreneurial spirit that created motor vehicles and motor cycles,” Vitter said in a statement.

The legislator has not yet published the bill, leaving specific details unclear.

Maserati has no plans to chase the Porsche Macan with an SUV model smaller than the upcoming Levante, the Italian automaker’s chief executive has revealed.
Compact utility models are all the rage right now, but Maserati CEO Harald Wester says a sub-Levante model isn’t in the cards. Instead, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Maserati’s parent company, will rely on the group’s other brands to fill the needs for smaller SUVs.

“We are an extremely complex multi-brand group and to have everyone doing a little bit of everything is not the right way,” Wester told Autocar. “We have nameplates that cover that ground, or that plan to cover that ground.”

He added: “In this business, you should never say ‘no’ in a dogmatic way, but my personal opinion is that Maserati wouldn’t want to go below the Levante in size.”

Alfa Romeo could fill the gap between FCA’s Jeep and Maserati with an up-scale small SUV of its own.

Despite the decision not to field an SUV in the red-hot compact ranks, Maserati still expects its sales to rise to 75,000 units on the back of the Levante SUV. Seemingly in the making for years, Maserati will formally unveil its first-ever utility model at the 2016 Detroit auto show.

The GM Ignition Switch Compensation Fund has raised the total number of victims eligible for compensation to 180 in its weekly update.
The 180 victims represent 67 fatalities, 11 “Category One” injury victims and 102 “Category Two.” The categories differentiate those victims whose injuries resulted in permanent deformities or brain injuries (Category One) from those who simply required immediate hospitalization and treatment (Category Two).

The deadline to submit claims for potential compensation was January 31st of this year. More than 4,000 claims were submitted, and as many as 3,000 of them were rejected due to ineligibility or poor/inadequate documentation.

Lawmakers attempted to convince GM to extend the deadline a second time, but the automaker rejected the proposal.

While no more claims can be submitted, the total number of eligible victims will continue to rise as fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg’s team continues to review applications and receive follow-up documentation for prior claims.

Lamborghini has announced a price tag for its new range-topping Aventador.
Unveiled in Geneva, the LP 750-4 Superveloce edition will command $489,600 (including gas-guzzler tax) when it arrives in US showrooms, marking a nearly $100,000 premium over the base model.

The extra cash pays for a retuned engine, bringing the 6.5-liter V12′s output up to 750 horsepower. Weight has been reduced by 110 lbs, helping shave a tenth of a second from the standard Aventador’s 2.9-second zero-to-62mph time.

The company has also upgraded the suspension, improving grip at turn-in, while the body has been revamped to increase downforce by 170 percent and improve efficiency by 150 percent.

“The reception this vehicle received at its North American debut at the Amelia Island Concours this weekend matches the level of enthusiasm we saw from the global audience in Geneva,” said Lamborghini chief Stephan Winkelmann.

US buyers will get a chance to pick up an Aventador Superveloce this summer.

Image by Ronan Glon.

An driverless Audi SQ5 is about to embark on a cross country drive, from San Francisco to New York.

Earlier this year, an autonomous Audi A7 Sportback drove from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. That trip covered 550 miles and arrived just in time for a big media welcome. The upcoming journey will cover seven times that distance, 3,500 miles in all, and arrive in time for the New York Auto Show.

The brains behind this project is not Audi, but automotive supplier Delphi. According to an article in Wired, Delphi simply chose the Audi “because it’s cool.” Fitted with a camera, LIDaR, as well as mid-range radar at each corner and along its bilateral axis, the team will collect terabytes of data in hopes of quickening driverless cars’ arrival on the market.

Leaving March 22, the trip will take eight days, broken up into 8-hour stints. Unlike Google, Delphi does not plan to exceed the speed limit. However, it should be noted that a human being will take control of the car when it’s not on the highway. The New York Auto Show begins April 1.

Uber, the mobile app-based car-for-hire service, has agreed to purchase a small fleet of electric cars from Chinese automaker BYD.

With an initial fleet of 25 cars in the Chicago area, the pilot program hopes to test viability of the BYD e6 wagon before expanding to other cities. Uber’s plan is to help aspiring drivers easily buy or lease cars as they work for the company. According to the report in Reuters, Uber spokesperson Lauren Altmin says, “We’ve seen interest in the program already from current and potential Chicago [drivers].”

The BYD e6 cars themselves are sold through Green Wheels USA, a Chicago-area EV dealership. With a range of 186 miles, the e6 is already in use in London by a local chauffeur service. London has one of the steepest congestion charges in the world, but electric vehicles are not subject to the fee.

BYD is one of China’s largest automakers and is noted for having Warren Buffet as an investor. It hopes that the deal will help its cars make inroads into the US market. The e6 is its only model for sale in the US.

For its part, Uber hopes to expand the program to “a couple hundred” cars by the end of the year.

Mitsubishi has published a dark teaser image that previews the facelifted 2016 Outlander. The crossover is scheduled to make its public debut at next month’s New York Motor Show.
The teaser image reveals precious little but earlier spy shots show that the Outlander’s rear end benefits from bigger tail lamps connected by an elegant strip of chrome trim and a new bumper with faux brushed aluminum trim and nearly vertical fog lights.

Although the front end is a lot less visible it appears to gain more angular headlights, a new radiator grille and chrome accents that bring it in line with the XR-PHEV II concept that was presented in Geneva earlier this month. The usual assortment of new alloy wheel designs and paint colors rounds out the updates.

Mitsubishi is keeping technical details about the 2016 Outlander under wraps so we’ll have to wait to see if there are any mechanical updates to complement the new look. Currently, the Outlander is available with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 166 horsepower and 162 lb-ft. of torque and a 3.0-liter V6 that generates 224 ponies and 215 lb-ft. of twist.

Rumors indicate the 2016 Outlander will finally get the fuel-sipping plug-in hybrid drivetrain that is available in Japan and across Europe, but nothing is official at this point.

Mitsubishi will introduce the 2016 Outlander online in the coming weeks.

Hyundai’s Indian arm has introduced a more rugged-looking version of the i20 hatchback called Active.
Visually, the Active stands out from the standard i20 hatchback thanks to faux brushed aluminum trim on both bumpers, plastic cladding over the wheel arches and at the bottom of the doors as well as silver roof rails. A slightly raised ground clearance adds a finishing touch to the trail-ready look.

Inside, the Active is nearly identical to the standard i20 but it packs a long list of standard features including automatic A/C, aluminum pedals, an eight-speaker sound system and keyless entry. Buyers can choose whether they want Tangerine Orange or Aqua Blue accents on the dashboard, the center console and the seats.

Like the standard i20, the Active can be ordered with a number of gasoline- and diesel-burning four-cylinder engines sourced from the Hyundai parts bin. All engines send power to the front wheels and Hyundai is not planning on offering all-wheel drive, making the Active a soft-roader in spirit only.

The Hyundai i20 Active will go on sale across India in the coming weeks, but the automaker has not revealed how much of a premium it wil carry over the standard i20. Similarly, whether or not the Active will be sold in Europe is up in the air.

A yet-unnamed rear-wheel-drive Nissan production coupe could appear at the Tokyo Motor Show this fall.

Japanese magazine Best Car‘s April 10th edition will feature a rendering of a rear-wheel-drive coupe on the cover. Japanese press have also reported that Nissan officials have spoken about a “newly nostalgic direction.” It should be noted, however, that Best Car is known in its home country as a frequent speculator and that its images are purely the magazine’s speculation and not anything official from Nissan.

Clearly the much lauded Nissan IDx concept is evoked, but playing along for a moment if the renderings are to be dissected, the design sees much more Skyline than what most saw in the original IDx, the Datsun 510. The angled roofline is pure GT-R, as is the blocky rear end and “surf line” traveling up the rear quarter panels.

In fact, the alternate sports version in the background wears the livery of Nissan’s Skyline GT-R touring cars of the early 1970s. Perhaps that is implied to be the NISMO version.

While the cars exhibit the “floating roof” C-pillars that is already propagating across the Nissan line on cars like the new Murano and upcoming Maxima, it lacks the “V-motion” grille Nissan designer Mamoru Aoki is pushing for all new models. In fact, the original IDx unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show was quickly refreshed to include this styling cue before making its North American debut at the 2014 Detroit show last year. The lack of this important cue indicate the illustration is not based on any solid evidence.

For its part, Nissan has declined to say whether the IDx will in fact reach production, or whether it will retain its concept car looks.