For the last year, legislators in Springfield have been trying to work through a variety of issues raised by skeptics of the autonomous vehicles, known as AVs.

The plan, if finalized next year, would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year.

Several overnight ramp and lane closures are scheduled to take place over the next week to facilitate the reopening of lanes on the north end of the work zone, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

Automakers and independent analyses have indicated that the tariffs could raise prices, reduce sales and make U.S. production less competitive worldwide.

The pause comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the “big 3” automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, on Wednesday, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Express lanes are set to reopen Jan. 13 pending successful completion of testing, which will begin Jan. 2, weather permitting, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. 

CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks Wednesday. That led to an outage that has continued to impact operations.

The image of a fully loaded, 80,000-pound driverless truck weaving around cars on a super-highway at 65 mph or more may strike a note of terror. A poll conducted in January by AAA found that a decisive majority of American drivers — 66% — said they would fear riding in an autonomous vehicle.

The models affected include Ford Bronco Sport SUVs made between 2021 to 2024 and the Ford Maverick pickups made between 2022 to 2023, specifically totaling 456,565 units.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was the second year in a row that fatalities decreased. The agency also released final numbers for 2022 on Monday, saying that 42,514 people died in crashes.

The construction is part of the second phase of a three-year, $150 million project to rehab the I-90/I-94 Kennedy Expressway from the I-94 Edens Expressway junction to Ohio Street.

The move reflects the importance of ethanol to agriculture. The fuel additive consumes roughly 40% of the nation’s corn crop, so higher sales of ethanol could mean greater profits for corn farmers.

US auto safety regulations enacted in 2022 were supposed to finally allow ADB headlight, something for which the auto industry and safety groups had long been asking for. But, according to automakers and safety advocates, the new rules make it difficult for automakers to add the feature.

After two years of above-average gas prices, next year is expected to bring relief at the pump for drivers, according to GasBuddy’s annual fuel price outlook report released Thursday.

A complaint filed with the agency shows that on Oct. 23, the inflator on a 2014 X3 exploded, shooting a large gold-colored metal disc that a surgeon had to remove from the driver’s lung.

President Joe Biden put on a red United Auto Workers shirt on Thursday as he celebrated a labor deal that will reopen the Stellantis plant in Belvidere, Illinois.