Wednesday, 31 August 2016

Make Your Porsche Macan Turbo Quicker with the New Performance Package

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Every Porsche Macan is turbocharged, but there is only one capital-T Turbo—and that would be the most powerful one, rated at a healthy 400 horsepower. And it gets even burlier with the Performance package that’s now available: It adds a useful 40 horsepower, while maximum torque rises from 406 to 443 lb-ft, available from 1500 to 4000 rpm.

We recorded a 0-to-60-mph sprint of 4.2 seconds from the non Performance’d Turbo, and Porsche says the option will slice 0.4 second from that metric. If that holds up when we test a Performance-equipped model, a 0-to-60 sprint of 3.8 seconds would be truly impressive. Top speed also rises from 165 mph to 169 mph, so it seems the package will increase the already comfortable distance the Macan has put between itself and any other car in this segment, including the BMW X3, the Mercedes-Benz GLC-class, and the Porsche’s sister model, the Audi SQ5. To ensure the Performance Package variant’s supremacy is shouted loud and proud, it also includes a sport exhaust.

2017 Porsche Macan Turbo Performance Edition

Other changes brought by the kit include a lower suspension (by about an inch), new suspension geometry, uprated brakes, and the Sport Chrono package as standard. Oh, and the plastic engine cover gets an inlay that says, “Porsche Exclusive Powerkit.” The crossover can be enhanced with a number of options, such as a body kit and 21-inch wheels that share a design with with the 911 Turbo, or a Turbo interior package with carbon-fiber and microsuede trimmings.

We don’t have U.S. pricing as of yet, but it won’t be cheap: The premium for the Performance package in Germany is around €8000. The package’s availability will help the Macan stay competitive in a segment that soon will include entries like Audi’s next-gen SQ5 and the Mercedes-AMG GLC63. When the latter model comes to market, it could be time for another potential Macan derivative: An even more powerful Turbo S.

2017-Porsche-Macan-Turbo-Performance-Edition-REEL


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Make Your Porsche Macan Turbo Quicker with the New Performance Package

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2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC Coupe Debuts: A Variation on a Variation of a Theme

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2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC43 Coupe – Official Photos and Info

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2017 Ford Fusion Sport – First Drive Review

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2017 Jaguar XE EPA Fuel Economy: When Six Is Good as Four?

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A funny thing happened to Jaguar on the way to EPA certification. Its all-new 2017 XE sedan posted identical fuel-economy estimates with its four- and six-cylinder engines.

In the rear-wheel-drive models, both the 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four and the 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 deliver 21 mpg city and 30 mpg highway, according to Jaguar and the EPA. At least until we can run run our own fuel economy on U.S.-spec cars, this suggests there is no penalty for grabbing an extra 100 horsepower and 81 lb-ft of torque.

2017-Jaguar-XE-INLINE

Adding all-wheel drive to the V-6, which isn’t available with the gasoline four, nets a slightly lower figure of 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway. The 2.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-four, as expected, plays in another league efficiency-wise. Rear-wheel-drive diesel models achieve 32 mpg city and 42 mpg highway according to the EPA; all-wheel-drive cars lose 2 mpg in both tests. That matches the 2016 BMW 328d xDrive’s 30/40 rating, the only competitor to currently offer a diesel.



All XE models come with an eight-speed automatic and auto stop-start. Later, a six-speed manual will be available with the gasoline four. When the XE SVR arrives, expect city fuel economy to dip down into the teens—as if anyone choosing that high-performance model will care.

2017-Jaguar-XE-REEL


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2017 Jaguar XE EPA Fuel Economy: When Six Is Good as Four?

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2016 Honda Pilot Elite – Long-Term Road Test Update

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This Hand-Held Laser Makes Rust Literally Evaporate

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Rust is the bane of any mechanic. If you work on your car—whether it’s a beloved classic or just your daily driver—you’ve probably stared at stubborn, inevitable corrosion and wished you could banish it with the wave of a magic wand.

Sadly, magic wands aren’t real. But this hand-held, 1000-watt laser that blasts away rust, paint, and any other coating, revealing virgin bare metal in seconds is real. Yes. A frickin’ laser.

This device is called the P-Laser QF-1000. Like its rigid-mounted counterparts, the hand-held instrument is meant for industrial applications, like preparing metal for robotic welding or removing residue from manufacturing molds. As such, it’s very expensive: P-Laser told us that a low-power QF-50, with only 50 watts of muscle, costs €47,800, or more than $53,000 at today’s exchange rate. We assume that’s outside your tool budget.

How does it work? A P-Laser spokesperson explained that the system uses short pulses of laser light. When aimed at a metal surface, “the dirt layer and any oxides underneath will absorb the energy and evaporate.” The metal underneath will not absorb the laser energy, leaving nothing but a clean surface ready for welding or painting.

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We know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no: This thing won’t vaporize human flesh. Amazingly, aiming this laser blaster at your finger doesn’t even hurt at all.

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Still, if we got our hands on one of these babies, we wouldn’t be able to help ourselves. We’d be quoting our favorite scene from Goldfinger with every pull of the laser-trigger: No, Mr. Rust, I expect you to die!

This story originally appeared on Road & Track via Gizmodo.

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Driven: 2018 Volkswagen [Insert Name Here] Three-Row SUV!

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2018 Volkswagen Three-Row Crossover SUV – Prototype Drive

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2017 Acura TLX Quick-Take Review: Notice Me, Buyers, Notice Me

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2017 Acura TLX – Quick-Take Review

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Prepare for the Apocalypse—or Anything Else—with These Rad Off-Road Campers

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UEV-490 Extreme, camper, off-road

Between rising sea levels, the threat of Zika virus, and the recent news that a herd of 300-plus reindeer all were killed by one single lightning bolt, some of us here at Car and Driver (alright, just this writer) are convinced the end times are near. Now’s the time to begin preparing for our inevitable Mad Maxlike dystopian future. Fortunately, Ohio-based Conqueror North America, LLC, has us me covered, as the company begins to import three variants of South African–built, off-road-ready Conqueror camper trailers.

At the bottom end of the Conqueror food chain is the the UEV-390 Extreme. With an unladen weight of 1875 pounds, the UEV-390 includes equipment like a slide-out kitchen, a pop-up shower space, and, most important, a built-in minibar. A king-size bed is standard fare, and folding tent space can sleep additional bodies on the ground. Meanwhile, two water tanks hold approximately 40 gallons of H2O. Starting at $27,750, buyers can shell out additional coin for features like a portable toilet ($150), a folding solar panel ($485), and more.

UEV-440, camper, rv, tent

Unless you’re the lone-wolf type, though, you’ll likely want to travel with a trailer that can more comfortably accommodate friends and/or family members. With a starting price of $38,750, the UEV-440 Extreme shown above comes equipped with two queen-size beds that fold out from the trailer body. Like the UEV-390, the UEV-440 comes equipped with a slide-out kitchen, pop-up shower space, and minibar; however, customers also can add features like a television ($400), television satellite antenna ($460), a pair of interior fans ($300), an A/C unit ($3800), and other amenities including the toilet and solar panel.

Finally, there’s the top-dog UEV-490 Extreme. Equipped with an independent rear suspension and an electro-galvanized steel body, the $42,650 UEV-490 is the ultimate trailer for surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. A built-in dinette converts into a double bed, while a separate double bed folds out from the front of the trailer. Like its siblings, the UEV-490 includes a well-equipped slide-out kitchen, pop-up shower space, and built-in minibar, as well as a handful of optional feature and amenity items.



Conqueror North America is currently taking pre-orders for all three trailers, and deliveries are expected to begin in the middle of September. Let’s hope the apocalypse can hold itself back another half-a-month.

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Here’s How To Avoid Understeer

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Understeer may be the enemy of refined performance driving, but learning how to mitigate it and understanding weight transfer is something all drivers need to know. “If you do it properly,” military pilot and Bondurant student Billy Knight says, “you get around the corner a lot faster.” See what Billy means and what tips instructor Andy Lee has to offer as he takes to Bondurant Racing School’s oval for a couple of hot laps, and discover more expert driving tips from the Dodge Racing School here [click through to hub landing page on CD.com].

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Harley-Davidson Announces Its First New Engine in 15 Years

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Harley-Davidson’s Big Twin is the heart and soul of America’s most famous touring bikes. This fall, the icon gets an upgrade.
Last week, H-D unveiled the ninth iteration of the Big Twin, named the Milwaukee-Eight for Harley’s hometown and the eight valves on the new engine (four for each cylinder). With a 50 percent increase in intake and exhaust flow and a revamped cooling system that allows the engine to work harder without overheating, the Milwaukee-Eight produces 10 percent more torque than its predecessor, the Twin Cam, according to Harley-Davidson.

The 107-cubic-inch (1750 cc) Milwaukee-Eight is replacing the Twin Cam on Harley’s 2017 touring bikes, including the Street Glide, Road Glide, Road King, and Electra Glide models. They will start arriving at dealerships around the country this week. The CVO Limited and CVO Street Glide will get the massive 114-cubic-inch (1870 cc) version of the Milwaukee-Eight, and there is speculation that the 107-cubic-inch engine eventually will become the standard on other bikes such as the Heritage Softail. That would be the first rubber-mounted engine on that classic design.

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“We want all riders to save the date of September 23,” said Dino Bernacchi, director of U.S. marketing at Harley-Davidson, in a press release. “That weekend, Harley-Davidson dealers across the country will host open house events so riders can throw a leg over our model-year 2017 touring motorcycles and feel the difference of the all-new Milwaukee-Eight engine for themselves.”

The primary upgrade to the Big Twin is in its cooling technologies, said to be the result of thousands of hours of predictive computer modeling. The engine will produce more power, so it’s going to generate more heat, thus the need for additional cooling. Coolant is pumped through a heart-shaped passage that wraps around the “exhaust bridge” that separates the valves of each cylinder head—a small metal section that is heated from both sides of the combustion chamber.

In addition, the shallower four-valve combustion chambers of the Milwaukee-Eight retain less heat than the two-valve chambers used on the Twin Cam. The new shallow valve design combined with more rapid combustion from two spark plugs per cylinder keeps some heat from being absorbed by pistons and heads. This translates into more power and torque. A redesigned exhaust system and large-area cooling fins shunt that heat away from the rider and passenger.

The new engine also cuts down on mechanical noise by replacing old gear configurations with a drive that uses a chain and automatic hydraulic tensioner. The reduced number of moving parts means less noise and lower friction, and it also means the engine will have a slightly different sound. As Harley-Davidson told Cycle World, “We’re killing the noise so we can keep the music.”

A challenge for large-displacement two-cylinder engines has always been smoothing the short bursts of torque into a steady rate of acceleration and a smooth ride. To accomplish this, the electronic control module (ECM) of the Milwaukee-Eight was reprogrammed to interpret different throttle positions as calls for various amounts of torque output. Harley says it also used a counter-rotating internal balance shaft to negate 75 percent of the engine’s shaking. When Harley cut down the engine shaking even more, test riders rejected the new completely smooth idle, prompting engineers to purposefully retain some of the shaking at idle that’s long been a hallmark of Harley’s bikes.

Thanks to those upgrades, the Milwaukee-Eight can run at higher compression ratios—as high as 10.5:1. As a result, bikes equipped with the new Big Twin are two to three bike lengths quicker in a 0-to-60-mph sprint and one to two lengths quicker when accelerating in top gear from 60 to 80 mph, according to Cycle World.

The new engine is being rolled out with a revamped suspension system that uses “dual bending valve fork technology” for a smoother ride without compromising control. When the fork is at rest, the damping fluid is partially checked by a thin valve to keep the suspension more rigid for more predictable control. But when the suspension is compressed, damping fluid gradually moves the free edge of the valve out of the way to increase the volume of the flow path to allow more absorption of bumps in the road.



The end result of all this engine tech is what Harley hopes is the best of both worlds. The smoother ride quality should appeal to a wider range of riders, though the Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer intentionally retained some of the V-twin rattle that longtime Harley-riders have grown to know and love. With the entire touring line upgraded to the Milwaukee-Eight Big Twin, and an electric motorcycle on the horizon, Harley appears to be finally roaring into the future.

This story originally appeared on Popular Mechanics.

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2018 Genesis G70 Spy Photos: A Radical Concept Gets Toned Down for Production

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2018 Genesis G70 Spied: The Koreans Take Aim at the 3-series

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Toyota Takes the Corolla iM Rallying, Because Why Not?

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The glue for its new Toyota badges had barely dried before a few engineers subjected a Corolla iM hatchback (previously called the Scion iM) to some good-old backwoods rally competition. We’re not entirely sure why the Toyota R&D engineers decided to enter the nearly stock, 130-hp compact into the Rally America race through the Ojibwe Forest in Minnesota, but we can’t blame them for having a little bit of fun. And they happened to earn a third-place finish in their class along the way.

Toyota says the rally was meant to be a learning experience for the team of engineers, who originally did a test run in a separate rally event in June before competing in the Ojibwe Forest rally this past weekend. The first run was in a completely stock iM, but the team made a few modifications to the car for this latest race, swapping in beefed-up suspension components and adding extra plating to the underside of the car.

No matter how cool the iM might look with its rally wheels and huge mudflaps, we’re not expecting to see a Subaru WRX-fighting, roadgoing rally edition of the Corolla anytime soon. But the rally iM will live on, as it prepares to compete in the upcoming Lake Superior Performance Rally in Houghton, Michigan, later this year, where it will race alongside the Toyota RAV4 Rally driven by Ryan Millen.


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Tuesday, 30 August 2016

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo First Drive! (The Capital-T Turbo)

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2017 Porsche 911 Turbo – First Drive Review

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2016 Lincoln MKX 2.7T FWD Test: Power to the Rear Makes a Difference

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2016 Lincoln MKX 2.7T FWD – Instrumented Test

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Better Racer, Lesser Bargain: Mazda Improves Its MX-5 Miata Cup Race Car for 2017

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Road America Global MX-5 Cup

When Mazda announced last year that its purpose-built MX-5 Miata Cup race car would sticker for $53,000, we lauded the racer’s affordability. Having sold 108 (!) MX-5 Miata Cup cars, Mazda and Long Road Racing, its partner that actually assembles the Miatas, is gearing up for a second year of production and has implemented a few changes. The good news is that the changes improve the Miata race car. The bad news is that the price has gone up.

Although race cars don’t exactly follow model years, it’s safe to categorize the updated Miata Cup car as being ready for the 2017 racing season. The price rises from $53,000 to $58,900, thanks to a new racing-spec transmission, motor mounts, differential-housing bushings, and engine-computer tweaks. The changes are aimed at enhancing the car’s durability, namely the gearbox, which keeps a number of stock components but has been upgraded to last longer between rebuilds. Mazda has been rolling out the changes to existing customer cars (remember, the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup is a spec racing series, so the cars must all be the same), and it’s even throwing current owners an incentive to buy the new car (should they want another): Buy a new MX-5 Cup car by mid-September, and the price will be the same as last year. After that point, it jumps to the new, higher price.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Cup race car



Nearly $60,000 may seem steep for, well, a Miata, but consider that this is a brand-new turnkey race car. It comes with a full safety cage, a sealed engine, a stripped interior—basically everything you need to go racing save a seat, which Mazda specifically leaves out so drivers can pick their favorite chair. Front-running used Spec Miatas, based on either the first- and second-gen Miata, can cost nearly $40,000, so to be able to purchase a new race-prepped Miata for a bit more seems worthwhile.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Cup race car

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Better Racer, Lesser Bargain: Mazda Improves Its MX-5 Miata Cup Race Car for 2017

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Delayed by Diesel: Mid-Engine Porsche 960 Supercar Delayed By VW’s Emissions Scandal

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Last year, as Volkswagen Group’s diesel-emissions-scandal snowball began to roll down the proverbial hill, the automaker stated that every brand and model line would be put under financial review. This was as sensible move, as the scandal’s cost to VW could stretch well into the billions, meaning any nonessential projects could understandably be dust-binned for the company’s greater financial good. Per Automotive News, this is exactly what’s happening, in part, to VW Group member Porsche’s anticipated “960” mid-engine supercar.

We say “in part” because the 960, an exotic piece intended to fill in the space between the sold-out 918 hypercar and the 911 Turbo S in Porsche’s lineup, hasn’t been outright canned yet. It has, however, been subjected to lengthy delay, apparently in an effort to rally funds for settling the obligations due from Volkswagen’s diesel-emissions cheat. Originally slated to debut by 2019, the 960, according to Automotive News, won’t appear until 2026. The pricey (think $250,000) Porsche is hardly Job One in the halls of VW.



However pragmatic the decision, color us sad. Early details of the 960’s layout and features have us salivating: A quad-turbocharged flat-eight engine, possibly with variable-compression-ratio technology (similar to that just revealed by Infiniti), bolted into the middle of a sweet body. With McLaren breathing down Porsche’s neck by offering exotic-looking goods such as the 570S priced in 911 Turbo S territory, Porsche could use a proper supercar-supercar to play in the $250,000–$350,000 space, where it would battle the McLaren 650S, Ferrari 488GTB, and Lamborghini Huracán. (The outgoing 918 Spyder, by the way, cost just shy of $1 million.) The Porsche could ride on the new VW Modular Sports Car architecture, which eventually will underpin every sports car in the automaker’s lineup, and even a future Lamborghini and an Audi. In the meantime, get ready to wait.

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It’s Your Funeral, Pal. Luckily, There’s an Utterly Fab Toyota Crown Hearse for Sale!

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1983 Toyota Crown Hearse

In the United States of America, the only usual sop to ostentation in the face to death is that the vehicle carrying the deceased to his or her final resting place has historically been built on a luxury automobile’s chassis. Japan, on the other hand, flips the script. True, the 1983 Crown was not the most pedestrian model in Toyota’s line, but compared to a Cadillac or Lincoln of the day, it’s a spare vehicle. But on an American hearse, about the only additional nods to the post-mortem sybarite are a vinyl-covered roof and ornamental carriage bars. Let’s just say the Japanese went a bit further with this one.

1983 Toyota Crown Hearse

While American-fashion funeral coaches exist in the Land of the Rising Sun, they’re referred to as “foreign style.” A properly Japanese hearse is gussied up like a rolling temple; it’s a machine with all the collective subtlety of an entire bosozoku gang’s worth of Hondas, Yamahas, and Suzukis. This particular model features straight-six power, a four-on-the-tree shifter, and round headlamps, suggesting it was crafted from a van/taxi-spec Crown, rather than one of the more uplevel models.

1983 Toyota Crown Hearse

But who needs fanciness up front when such a shindig’s a-ragin’ in the rear? The cargo area features what appears to be pale-gold brocade wall-and-upholstery, a quartet of ornate lanterns mounted from the ceiling, and of course, the mandatory lace curtains with additional bamboo privacy shades. And won’t you dig those chrome inner fenders? Outside? What is there to say about the coffin compartment’s exterior other than it’s wildly customized with stamped-brass plates featuring a floral motif. The photos tell the story much better than we could.

1983_Crown_Hearse-5

The seller claims the hearse is straight and rust free; that the only real issue is a gummed up carb from having sat in storage. The ask is a pretty heavy $39,500, but c’mon, you can’t buy a pagoda in Kyoto for that. And given that a ’71 280SL just went for $209k at Pebble Beach, you’d be hard-pressed to find a nice Pagoda for that amount, either. Viewed in the right light, it’s peanuts. Just think of all the funeral-crashing fun you’d have in the thing! If this isn’t an automobile built for hijinks, there’s not a vehicle around that is.



Not to mention, when it’s your time to go, you’ll be all set in the transport department. Have you had to shell out to have a person interred lately? It ain’t cheap. Any penny spent on this beauty is some fraction of a penny saved when you shuffle off this mortal coil. No, you can’t take it with you, but at least you’ll arrive in your final resting place in grand style.

1983-Toyota-Crown-Hearse-REEL

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Huffing Gas: Pininfarina to Build 10 Track-Only H2 Speed Fuel Cell Exotics

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Pininfarina H2 Speed

In today’s market, to be fixated on performance numbers is a fool’s errand. Most everything is fast; not everything is fun. But when a base Carrera can make the hop to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds, one would hope that a $2.5-million car with an additional 133 horsepower could do the venerable Neunelfer at least one better. Pininfarina, though, is not attempting to trade on raw, sordid speed with its H2 Speed supercar, which is now confirmed for limited production, but rather on the car’s exclusivity and its green credentials. And to be completely fair, the H2 does supposedly make it to 62 mph in those 3.4 seconds. Take that, 911 guys.

Pininfarina H2 Speed

According to Automotive News, the production H2’s specs track closely with what the Italian design house announced when unveiling the prototype earlier this year in Geneva. The chassis is that of an LMP2 car, modified to carry a fuel-cell system from GreenGT. Output should be “at least 503 horsepower,” which doesn’t seem like all that much in this day of Hellcats of Chirons. The price? $2.5 million, and Pininfarina says it has buyers lined up. What’s more, the company claims that the H2 Speed isn’t a loss leader at that price. Apparently, limited-production bizarro toys are now the way forward for the design house. Given that the H2 Speed concept was inspired by the company’s ’69 Sigma concept, based on a Ferrari 312 F1 chassis, we’re anxious to see what happens when its designers re-imagine the glorious 512S-based Modulo for the modern-day playboy.



There’s just one issue as we see it. A Tesla Model S P100D is $2,365,000 cheaper, allegedly gets to 60 about a second quicker, seats everybody, and can be topped up with energy anywhere there’s an electrical plug. Oh, and it can be driven on the street. Still, for H2 intenders—who probably already own Teslas—Pininfarina’s new machine is as good an excuse as any to buy track-day hydrogen tanker.


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Monday, 29 August 2016

2016 Toyota Sienna AWD Test: Behind the Times, But Still Good

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2016 Toyota Sienna AWD – Instrumented Test

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Here’s How to Master Throttle Application, According to An Expert

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Entering and exiting a corner smoothly: How hard could it be? It sounds simple to keep a car pointed in the right direction and keep sliding to a minimum, but when the car is a 707-hp Dodge Charger Hellcat, all bets are off. Will our driving student, military pilot Billy Knight be able to keep the Hellcat from knocking over the cones, or will it be an exercise in drifting away? Watch and find out, then discover more expert driving tips from Bondurant instructor Andy Lee and the Dodge Racing School here.

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GM Recalls 367,000 Crossovers for Potential Windshield-Wiper Fault

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Although Chevy's Equinox is quite dated, it hasn't affected the small ute's ability to rack up top-20 sales numbers. Available with either a 2.4-liter inline-four or a 3.6-liter V-6, the portly crossover is proof that sometimes core competency trumps cutting edge when to comes to appeasing the masses.

General Motors is recalling 367,808 crossovers in the U.S. for potentially faulty windshield wipers, according to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain have ball joints in the windshield wiper linkages that can rust and separate from their mounts, which can cause one or both wipers to become stuck or inoperative. GM discovered the problem after a Canadian employee reported it in December, and after recalling the vehicles in Canada, the company found elevated warranty claims in the U.S. and decided to recall U.S. models this month. Dealers will replace the wiper linkages at a later date.



In October 2015, GM recalled 31,000 crossovers for wiper motors that could overheat and catch fire.


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Long-Term Road Test Introduction: The 2016 Honda Civic Is Back with Something to Prove

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2016 Honda Civic Sedan – Long-Term Road Test Review

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Wind River Systems Working on Transferring Outer Space to the Automotive Space

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Conventional wisdom insists that all the modern intelligence encompassing software, consumer electronics, social media, electric cars, and autonomous vehicles resides in Silicon Valley. And that today’s car companies, especially the three in Detroit, are heading the way of the buggy whip because their thinking is sluggish and their automaking craft too antiquated to keep pace with the rapidly accelerating connectivity, mobility, and automated-transportation movement.

Marques McCammon, connected-vehicle solutions general manager at Wind River Systems, recently burst that bubble at a suburban Detroit gathering of the world’s leading telematics experts. The word he used to pop obsolete thinking is ‘partner,’ specifically in the phrase, “When you set out to build something that must work, you need a great partner.” In essence, success is more likely when West Coast and Motor City forces set their sights on the stars together.

McCammon, who characterizes his early career as metal bending, cut his teeth in the car business with stints at Chrysler and the aftermarket specialty firms ASC and Saleen. Later, he was the chief marketing officer for Aptera, a three-wheel electric-car startup operation that went down in flames in 2011.

Calling McCammon a master of landing on his feet is no exaggeration. Wind River (WR) is one of those familiar garage-to-riches stories. Founded in 1981 by an escapee from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, WR quickly became one of the leading computer-science enterprises. Their VxWorks operating system for embedded devices launched in 1987, and was crucial to the success of one NASA mission after the other: Clementine moon probes, space-shuttle control systems, Mars rover exploration. VxWorks also is a go-to favorite for commercial and military aircraft including the B-1 bomber, Boeing 787, and Grumman unmanned combat planes. In other words, this is rocket science in its purest form.

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In 2009, WR became a subsidiary of Intel, one of the world’s most successful semiconductor chipmakers. That year WR also founded an alliance to develop an open-source infotainment platform with six leading ‘metal benders’: BMW, GM, Peugeot/Citroën, Delphi, Visteon, and Magneti Marelli. Two years later, the first BMW system was ready for implementation.

Now McCammon is a fountain of wisdom gained from his access to rocket science brought down to earth of road use:

“Don’t boil the ocean. Set realistic goals and minimize the scope of the program when its success is a must.

“Focus on the rocket, not the launchpad. In other words, the consumer experience is what matters most.

“Nurture the architects. They are, after all, responsible for innovation. Never isolate the inventors from recent discoveries.

“Enable the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly.

“The software needed for autonomous driving is similar to what’s used to land a Rover on Mars in that it cannot fail. Safety and security must be intertwined.”



In essence, this is the transfer of Wind River’s VxWorks software from outer space to the automotive space. One of the first liaisons is with the Austrian-based firm TTTech which is developing an electronic control unit called TTADrive for future automotive use. In 2014, Audi and TTTech showcased a prototype of this equipment in a self-driving car at the Consumer Electronics Show.

While Wind River has other car-centric projects in the works, due to the proprietary nature of these relationships, they’re hesitant to acknowledge implementation timetables or even the brands they’re collaborating with. At least the model for future success is evident: advancing 100-plus years of car building expertise to new heights with software that’s already explored the heavens.

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See and Experience the Citroën CXperience Concept at the Paris Auto Show

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french, paris, motor, show

Citroën’s new CXperience concept car is a combination of compelling style and Gallic weirdness. Set to debut at next month’s Paris auto show, the sleek sedan is a preview of a possible Audi A7-fighter from the French brand.

Like the fastback from Ingolstadt, the CXperience banks on the theory that sex sells. Low and wide, the 191-inch long CXperience pushes its big, 22-inch wheels to the edges of its shapely bodywork. The result is a Citroën with looks that could to appeal to the masses and not just a small set of Francophiles.

That isn’t to say the CXperience isn’t without its design quirks, though. Take for instance, the flaps at the bottom of the front bumper cover—they open and close to assist in aerodynamics. While this idea is nothing new, most automakers hide active aerodynamics behind bodywork. Not Citroën. Similarly, the trim strips that frame the CXperience’s grille extend out to sideways Vs and become the daytime running lights; a trio of rectangular LEDs below comprise the headlights.

paris motor show, 2017, french

The CXperience’s interior is almost Scandinavian in its simplicity. A massive dashboard-mounted screen is sandwiched between curved-wood upper and lower elements; and more curved wood appears on the console, door panels, and seatbacks. Citroën notes that the big, rectangular screen can be configured as one single screen or to show separate displays for both the driver and front passenger. Additional smaller screens at the front of the door panels serve as monitors for the door-mounted side-view cameras. Not one to leave its quirky French heritage behind, though, Citroën also fitted the CXperience with a single-spoke steering wheel (inspired by the classic DS), wrapped the front-seat cushions up onto the console, and bathed the interior in a searing hue of citrus yellow.

french, paris, motor, show, interior, yellow, screen

Under the CXperience’s shapely bodywork sits a plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Powering the front wheels is a combustion engine and electric motor with an eight-speed automatic transmission positioned between the two units, while a separate rear-mounted electric motor powers the rear wheels. When all three power sources are firing, the CXperience marches forward with the pull of 300 horses. Alternately, the CXperience can travel up to 37 miles in all-electric driving.



Although still a concept, the CXperience is a promising peek into Citroën’s future. And with talk of the brand returning to our shores within the next decade, it’s possible a CXperience-like Citroën will be something Americans can experience as well.

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