On today’s show…Lexus upgrades its flagship sedan…Ford teams with Lyft on autonomy…and vacuum maker Dyson confirms it’s working on an EV for 2020. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.

FORD & LYFT PARTNER TO TEST AUTONOMOUS CARS
In an effort to speed up development of its autonomous ecosystem, Ford just announced it’s partnering with Lyft. It hopes that one day when a person opens the Lyft app and orders a ride that both Ford and Lyft software will work together smoothly to quickly dispatch a self-driving vehicle. The first step is to get the two software platforms to interface with each other and during that time, Ford will add traditional vehicles to Lyft’s fleet. Autonomous Ford vehicles will be added at a later date as the companies work toward a day when customers can be taken to their destination without a driver. Ford and Lyft will also focus on which cities to launch in and what kind of infrastructure will be necessary to service and maintain a fleet of self-driving vehicles.

1ST PUBLIC TEST OF DRONE TAXI
Last month, Daimler invested $30 million in a German company called Volocopter, which is developing a drone-like vehicle to be used in the taxi market. And earlier this week, Volocopter staged the first public test of its drone taxi in Dubai. Bloomberg reports, the vehicle reached about 650 feet in the air and flew autonomously for about five minutes before landing itself. The drone seats two people and is electrically powered. Volocopter is aiming to bring its drone taxi to market next year but pricing hasn’t been announced yet. There’s been a lot of activity in this field recently and if you want to learn more about it, make sure you check out our upcoming Autoline This Week, that takes a deep dive into this topic. One of our guests in that show is former Vice Chairman of General Motors Bob Lutz and even a gearhead like him believes taxi drones hold a very promising future.

Bob Lutz, former GM Vice Chairman
“And I think frankly, the automobile industry is showing huge myopia. And saying ‘No, no, no we don’t do that stuff. If it doesn’t have four wheels and travel on a highway, we’re not interested.’ But they should be thinking mobility. And the future is exactly what Jon (Guest) is going to do here. And I would very much like to see the U.S. get very actively involved in this. Because if we don’t, India and China are going to take it all.”

You can watch that show tomorrow afternoon on our website, Autoline.tv or on our YouTube channel.

SAUDI ARABIA LIFTS DRIVING BAN FOR WOMEN
And congratulations to the women of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom decided to join the 21st Century and finally lifted a ban that prevented women from driving. The new policy goes into effect next June.

And we’ll be back with more right after this.

TOYOTA BEEFS UP HYBRID PRODUCTION IN THE U.S.
Toyota is the leading producer of hybrid vehicles and it wants to keep it that way. The automaker is investing over $370 million in five U.S. manufacturing plants to support production of hybrid powertrains. It will mark the first time Toyota has produced a hybrid powertrain in the U.S. The investment will also go towards getting its plant in Alabama ready for the automaker’s New Global Architecture.

DYSON CONFIRMS IT’S DEVELOPING AN EV
In August we reported it was likely that vacuum maker Dyson was working on an electric vehicle and now we have confirmation. In a letter to employees, Dyson’s founder confirmed the company is working on an EV that it’s targeting to launch in 2020. There are more than 400 people working on the project and it’s investing 2 billion pounds to bring the EV to life. A billion pounds will help develop the vehicle’s solid-state battery, technology it purchased from Sakti3, while the remaining billion pounds is for design and construction of the car, which is said to be “radical and different.”

TESLA DROPS NVIDIA, PICKS UP INTEL
And in other EV news, Bloomberg reports Tesla’s infotainment system will now be powered by components from Intel instead of chip maker Nvidia. Even though Tesla is a relatively small company, this is a big win for Intel as it tries to drum up more business in the automotive industry.

CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS ENGINE BAN
And in another not-so-good sign for the internal combustion engine, California is considering following China by banning the sale of vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel engines. The California Air Resources Board says the governor of the state, Jerry Brown has asked, “why haven’t we done something already.” While a ban in the state of California is at least a decade away, that’s really not that long in automotive terms.

Coming up next, a look at the updates to the 2018 Lexus LS.

LEXUS UPDATES ITS FLAGSHIP SEDAN
New products are what the car business is all about. That’s what brings customers into the showrooms. So it’s important to keep up with what’s new in the market. Here’s the latest from Lexus which just introduced the new version of its flagship sedan, the LS. As you can see, it features new styling, the company’s signature spindle grille has been updated and the wheel arches are more pronounced. The LS is built on Lexus’s new platform for luxury vehicles, which the company says helps improve ride and handling. It’s also lower, longer and wider than the outgoing model and is available with the latest driver assist and safety technologies. The car, which comes in both rear and all-wheel-drive, is standard with a new twin-turbo 3.5L V6 gasoline engine that’s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. That set-up cranks out 416 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque. The LS is once again available with a hybrid. The system combines a naturally aspirated 3.5L V6 with two electric motors and a lithium-ion battery. The rear-drive hybrid gets 28 MPG combined and has a range of over 600 miles. But if you’re looking for something a little sportier, you can opt for the F SPORT model, which features chassis tuning enhancements, larger brakes and special wheels, to go along with unique trim and materials compared to the base model. The 2018 LS goes on sale next February in the U.S. with a starting price around $75,000.

And don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Our special guest is the product manager for the new Volkswagen Tiguan. If you have any questions about the CUV, send them our way to viewermail@autoline.tv and then join us live at 3PM eastern time for some of the best insider discussions in the automotive industry.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and making Autoline Daily a part of your day.