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Aurora releases Aurora Driver Beta 2.0

Green Car Congress

It also debuts new capabilities and critical improvements to prepare the Aurora Driver for commercial launch, including: Advanced highway and suburban capabilities, including more complex construction zone navigation, key for hauling freight across the country. New commercial route with enhanced mapping for daily maintenance.

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Ford Transit passenger van sales up 30% through June; outselling minvans

Green Car Congress

Ford reports that sales of its full-size Transit passenger vans are up 30% year-on-year through June, partly driven by growing numbers of large families are turning to the Transit instead of minivans. According to Ford, Transit vans outsold every other van in the United States over the first half of 2016, including minivans.

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FCA unveils Chrysler Portal concept: next-gen family transportation for Millenials; electric, semi-autonomous, connected, flexible

Green Car Congress

The four modes or generations of family transportation have been defined as station wagons, minivans, SUVs and crossovers; millennials will seek their own version of a family vehicle. There are more than 20 available technologies designed to engage, inform and connect the driver and passengers. Third space.

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President Obama Announces 48 Projects to Receive $2.4B in Grants for Next-Generation of Batteries and Electric Vehicles; To be Combined with $2.4B in Industry Cost-Share

Green Car Congress

Expansion of manufacturing for existing electric drive power electronics components for both passenger and commercial vehicles. Increasing US capacity to manufacture hybrid systems for the commercial truck market. Develop, validate, and deploy 220 advanced plug-in hybrid electric pickups and minivans. Allison Transmission, Inc.

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How Carmakers Are Responding to the Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

This is from "Commercializing Plug-In Hybrids" (pdf), the current CalCars 24-slide presentation about PHEVs available along with other documents at CalCars Downloads. DaimlerChrysler has presented plug-in hybrids in commercial vans that have enough room to store the batteries, but the technology is not quite ripe for cars."Plug-in

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