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In future, it will be possible to travel in a car without having to steer or control it. The technology already exists for what are known as autonomous vehicles. At this time, there are just a few production cars from companies like Tesla and Mercedes-Benz which have autonomous capability where the car is fully controlled by computer as it moves along the highway.

But while some countries allow such vehicles to operate – and only in specific public highways – regulations in Malaysia do not permit a vehicle to be driven without driver control. The present laws require the driver to be in control at all times.

So it is obviously a very serious offence when a driver decided to go to sleep and let his car drive on ‘autopilot’ on a Malaysian road This came to the attention of the police after a local DJ, Gatita Yan, uploaded a post on her Instagram page which showed her boyfriend, Tay Wee Shen, seemingly asleep with his hands off the steering wheel. Another picture also showed his feet not on the pedals, suggesting that the car (a BMW) was running with its cruise control in operation.

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By 2040, the country is expected to have 1.5 million electric vehicles (EVs), the Dewan Rakyat was told.

The aim, according to Minister of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, follows a global shift to EVs from internal combustion engines (ICEs) that use petrol and diesel.

He said that the new goal is higher than the previous goal of 90,000 EVs by 2040 set by the Planning and Implementation Committee for Electricity Supply and Tariff (JPPPET).

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It has been confirmed that Audi’s electric SUV, the Q8 e-tron, will officially enter the Malaysian market.

This jumbo-sized EV went through a hefty update including an increase in its battery capacity. In the front, the e-tron gets a new single-frame grille, different badges and a light bar that stretches between the headlights that seems to be fast becoming a signature of VW group cars.

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A think tank has praised the government’s move to implement targeted subsidies for fuel.

Nevertheless, according to Carmelo Ferlito of the Center for Market Education, Putrajaya lacked the expertise necessary to carry out such efforts on a large scale.

He said the purpose of the government implementing targeted subsidies was to “determine whether and how targeted subsidies work.”

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During the 1970s, as vehicle safety became a more important topic, the US Department of Transport initiated the Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESV) Program. The objective of the program was to encourage carmakers to develop safer vehicles by 1981.

Many carmakers took part in the program which offered an opportunity to share as well as test new safety technologies and ideas. Companies which sold cars in America, in particular, developed prototypes which met the more stringent US safety regulations.

The program saw over 20 ESVs being developed, with many new technologies and features that would eventually find their way into production models in the years that followed. After 1981, the companies continued their work on safety, sharing new developments at conferences. These conferences, generally held every two years, have been entitled the International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (‘Experimental’ was changed to ‘Enhanced‘ in 1991).

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Although cars are considered to be of greater interest to men than women, the fact remains that the number of women drivers is also high. In the USA, for example, half of the licensed motorists are female and generally, there is a trend of more women driving and owning cars themselves.

The carmakers have never taken women for granted when designing and equipping cars. Even if they do not drive the car themselves, they are often considered as being influential, especially if the purchase is made by a couple.

However, as John Gray’s book, ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus’, has explained, there are differences in the way men and women think, and this extends also to how their needs and expectations when it comes to cars. They may be similar in most aspects but prioritisation may be different.

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