General Motors launches pre-orders for its first e-bikes

Last November, General Motors announced its plans to launch electric bicycles. It wanted the public's opinion on what the brand should be called, so it announced a crowdsourcing campaign. GM has since announced the name—ARĪV, which is pronounced like "arrive"—and has started taking pre-orders in select European countries.

GM will be releasing two models under the ARĪV brand. One is called Meld, a compact e-bike; while the other is called Merge, a folding e-bike. The Merge can be folded easily so you can roll it along on its two wheels when folded.

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Ford Mustang fans can now personalize badges, shirts and grille badges using Facebook

Since its introduction more than 50 years ago, Ford Mustang has given enthusiasts the opportunity to personalize their ride in ways no other vehicle could offer. Whether it’s the mighty Boss 302 or the 1968 Pony edition, powerful V8s and racing stripes, trick shifters, custom wheels and more – personalization has always been big for Mustang fans.

Now, in celebration of the 2018 model – which offers more personalization than ever before – fans can create and share Mustang art through the Personalize Your Pony experience on Facebook. The experience allows fans to create personalized pony art right on their Facebook pages, then use their designs to order prints, clothing and even a limited-edition grille badge for their late-model Mustang.

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GM brings Maven City app-driven car-sharing service to Canada

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Car sharing reduces congestion and helps everyone get there faster. Each shared car takes about 10 private cars off the road, and thanks to Maven, car ownership in Toronto is no longer necessary. - GM

GM has been looking at various possibilities for the future. It is all-in on EVs and has brought both the Volt hybrid and Bolt EV to market, it has brought innovative Cadillac car-rental model with BOOK by Cadillac which ensures a new, fully gassed up Cadillac delivered right to your door every month.

For the rest of us, there's Maven, which is GM's car-sharing service.  Maven is a personal mobility app that provides on-demand vehicle access for everyday life. Pricing is arounf $9.00 per hour for compact cars. GM is also entering a market with various incumbents, including Car2Go, Turo, Enterprise CarShare and the leading provider in Toronto, ZipCar.ca.

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GM's 2019 self-driving cars come with no steering wheels

Challenging the notion that autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars need to have a steering wheel for when a driver would want to take over, GM's robobar slated for release next year has no steering wheel and no pedals. The modified all-electric Chevy Bolt models are expected to be used as a fleet of taxis in the US sometime next year.

“We’ve put together four generations of autonomous vehicles over the course of 18 months,” says Dan Ammann, GM’s president. “You can safely assume that the fourth generation won’t be the last.”

Self-driving functionality is already available on some flagship Cadillac models.

Source: Wired