BMW is joining Mercedes-Benz and pulling out of the annual Detroit auto show. The announcement comes six weeks after the German rival said it would not attend the 2019 Detroit Auto Show.
Major exotic sports car manufacturers like Jaguar, Porsche, Land Rover, Mazda and some ultraluxury brands skipped the Detroit show this year.
The European brand decided to pull out of the annual show as the North American International Auto Show officials are planning to move the show to October starting in 2020, the event is currently held every January. They will recast it as a less-expensive show that is more focused on products and technology and likely change its name. More »

A Cirque du Soleil acrobat died Saturday night after he fell during a performance in Tampa, Florida.

The acrobat plunged to his death in front of a horrified audience while performing the routine for the first time.

Yann Arnaud lost his grip as he swung on straps high above the stage during the show.

 

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Two-person, 110mph electric craft made by Google co-founder’s drone company begins regulatory approval process in New Zealand

Kitty Hawk is the “flying car” company that is financially backed by Google founder Larry Page. The firm has announced that it will begin the regulatory approval process required for launching its autonomous passenger-drone system in New Zealand. Kitty Hawk has already conducted secret testing under the cover of another company called Zephyr Airworks.

The all-electric craft, called Cora with a wingspan of 36ft has been eight years in the making. It can fly autonomously up to 3,000ft above ground.
The two-person craft is a 12-rotor plane-drone hybrid that can take off vertically like a drone, but then uses a propeller mounted at the back to fly at up to 110 miles an hour for around 62 miles at a time.

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Ford is planning to test its self-driving vehicles on the streets of downtown Miami and Miami Beach.

The Michigan-based automaker has started a pilot program that includes delivery service, testing self-driving cars around the city and setting up a fleet-management center.

The company’s commercial plans for robot cars include ride-hailing and deliveries, the automaker announced a few days ago. The tests will find out what works for both customers and companies. In addition, the company needs to figure out how to run an armada of autonomous cars which means to focus on maintaining and operating a whole fleet of robot delivery cars. That is why the Detroit automaker is going to build its first operations terminal in Miami.
The vehicles arrived last week, and tests are already underway. More »

Lockheed Martin allowed a rare tour of the classified F-35 Mission Simulators on Wednesday, which are in an Air Force-restricted building. It is usually open only to pilots, instructors and other key personnel.

The simulators are part of the $1 trillion F-35 program which is being developed by the defense giant at its Training and Logistics Solutions facility in East Orlando.

 

 

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