An analysis of how ride sharing services affect the climate, an effort to build smart homes for veterans, a recycling initiative, and testing for winter conditions and autonomous vehicles were among the items being promoted by automakers recently.

[naviga:ul]

[naviga:li]Researchers will be looking into how a more communal approach to transportation might affect climate change. National Resources Defense Council Urban Solutions and the University of California Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center plan to analyze the impact of ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft. The study seeks to determine what effect these options, as well as services allowing people to share vehicles and bicycles, have on how people get around. The NRDC says the study will help determine whether the services are helping to reduce emissions by encouraging people to drive less or even give up their vehicle or whether they are putting more cars on the road by competing with public transit, bicycling, and walking as a way to reach one's destination.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]On Veterans Day, GMC kicked off a campaign to fund the construction of smart homes for American veterans returning to civilian life with severe disabilities. People are encouraged to support the effort by using the label #enlistme on social media while making the American Sign Language symbol for house. Donations to support the initiative can be made to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which seeks to build 200 smart homes for seriously disabled veterans at a cost of $600,000 each. More information is available at

ourbravest.org/enlistme.[/naviga:li][naviga:li]Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is looking to reduce the amount of recyclable materials going into landfills with a new program at its assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. FCA has added several new recycling bins from PepsiCo throughout the plant as part of a partnership with the beverage company. The automaker says the recyclables will help support PepsiCo's Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities, which trains disabled veterans in small business management.[/naviga:li][naviga:li]Ford recently highlighted two of its vehicle testing procedures. The company has started testing autonomous vehicles at Mcity, a simulated urban environment established in July by the University of Michigan. This 32-acre site allows researchers to test self-driving systems against traffic signals, bike lanes, crosswalks, construction barriers, and other obstacles commonly found in cities. Ford also uses a climatic wind tunnel in Allen Park, Michigan, to simulate blizzard conditions of high winds and extreme cold; the testing is done with a full load of passengers and cargo to simulate real world conditions.[/naviga:li][/naviga:ul]