Items tagged with Automobiles
Ford has gone on record saying its GT supercar will compete one final time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it is not retiring from the French race quietly. Instead, it is going out with a bang. Ford and its race partner Multimatic today revealed the Ford GT Mk II, a limited edition, track-only GT with 700 horses underneath the hood and a $1.2 million starting price. "The GT Mk II unleashes the full performance potential of the Ford GT without any artificial performance limitations dictated by racing sanctioning bodies," said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product development and purchasing officer. "It’s the closest GT owners can get to the Le Mans-winning performance and exhilarating feeling...
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One of the first things you learn in driving class is to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. That is easier said then done these days, with increasingly functional mapping apps and digital displays getting in the way. To help with that, Google Assistant is heading to the Waze navigation app, Google announced on Monday. Google acquired Waze back in 2013 for $1.3 billion, and it continues to operate independently of Google Maps. Over the years, however, Google has ported several of Waze's features over to its own home-brewed maps app. On occasion, some of the features in Google Maps have also found their way over to Waze. The latter is the case here, at least technically—Google...
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Following an investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model 3 and a semi-truck, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the autopilot feature in the Model 3 was in fact engaged at the time of the accident. Interestingly, the Model 3 was traveling 68 miles per hour in a 55 MPH zone on US 441 in Delray Beach, Florida. The southbound highway where the accident happened consists of two lanes, with two more lanes going northbound, separated by a grass median. There is also a turn lane that heads into a private driveway where the accident occurred. "As the Tesla approached the private driveway, the combination vehicle pulled from the driveway and traveled east...
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Huawei is off to a good start in 2019, in terms of its overall business. The Chinese telecommunications company generated 179.7 billion Chinese Yuan (around $26.7 billion in US currency) in revenue during the first quarter, which represents a 39 percent year-over-year increase, resulting in an 8 percent jump in profits (slightly higher than last year). Those figures are not terribly surprising, since Huawei is the biggest smartphone maker in China. However, the company's financial success is noteworthy considering the war of words it finds itself in with the US government, amid repeated attempts to expand its business on US soil. Just last week, for example, the US Central Intelligence Agency...
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When I was younger—a lot younger—it seemed we were headed towards a future where flying cars would be the norm, a thought no doubt influenced by television (The Jetsons comes immediately to mind). That probably won't come to pass in my lifetime, though the widespread use of autonomous vehicles might. Several companies are invested in self-driving cars, including Apple, which not surprisingly is hoping to build the necessary technology in-house if a supplier doesn't step to the plate with an attractive offer. We've seen this play out with Apple in the mobile phone space, with the company designing its own custom Bionic processors for its iPhone family. Granted, those chips are based...
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In the early days of automobiles, we'd jam a key into the lock to unlock the door, and use that same key to turn on the ignition. Nowadays, most people press a button on a key fob or punch in a PIN combination. In some cases, a proximity sensor automatically unlocks the door. So what will tomorrow bring? Perhaps facial recognition technology, if an Apple patent is any indication. Maybe one day Apple will build its own self-driving automobile, as has been rumored for a long time now, and debut a bunch of fancy new technologies. Or maybe not. Either way, there is a patent that Apple filed a little over two years ago and was just recently published that describes unlocking a vehicle through a mobile...
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It's been nearly four decades since Porsche rolled out its first open-top 911 variant, starting with a prototype it unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt in 1981, followed by a commercial release a year later. It's been a staple option ever since. Continuing that tradition, Porsche unveiled its 2020 model 911 Cabriolet with a roof that the automaker says opens and closes more quickly than ever. The newest model features a fully automatic soft top with an integrated rear glass window. Porsche says the top structure contains magnesium elements known as bows, which is supposed to resist ballooning when pressing the pedal to the metal. It can be opened and closed at speeds up...
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Well, I found my next car, now I just need a windfall of cash and a 'money is no object' attitude. When that time comes, I have every intention of buying a McLaren 720S Spider, the newest supercar from the British automotive company. It combines ridiculous power and speed with an open-top design (similar to Ferrari's 488 Pista Spider), making it one heck of a drool-worthy convertible. "The new McLaren 720S Spider offers an unparalleled blend of extreme performance, crafted luxury, driver involvement and daily usability—all with the additional exhilaration of open-air driving whenever required. As the most accomplished convertible supercar ever, the new Spider delivers across a remarkable...
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The gear heads at Mercedes-Benz are building an even faster version of the AMG GT called the AMG GT R Pro, because can you ever have enough speed and grunt? That's not a question that ever needs to be asked at AMG. The new Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro is all the answer anyone needs, and it's "closer to motor racing than ever before." Mercedes-Benz is planning to reveal the speedy upgrade at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month. It's one of the largest auto shows in the world with over 1,000 vehicles to ogle, including cars, trucks, SUVs, electric vehicles, and more. Ahead of the show, Mercedes-Benz took to Instagram to tease the AMG GT R Pro with an action shot from the racetrack. We only get...
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BMW seems acutely aware of the criticism some have had for the more recent 3 Series iterations, so it's gone and retooled the sedan, giving it a bigger design, making it more tech savvy, and a punchier look. Or as BMW puts it, the 2019 model 3 Series "takes the signature characteristics of a BMW and turns the volume up several notches." The dial has quite been turned up to 11, though certainly the latest 3 Series is a bolder, more aggressive representation of the sporty sedan. It has T-shaped air intakes in front of both wheel wells, sleeker looking twin LED headlights, a "kidney grille" with a single surround for the two elements, slim L-shaped 3D rear lights, and a twin-pipe exhaust system....
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Chevrolet is spearheading a mobile effort to encourage drivers both young and ol, to put down their smartphones when behind the wheel of an automobile. Ironically (at first glance) the automaker is doing this through a mobile app, Call Me Out, available for Android devices. It's a unique app, however, in that it encourages drivers to put their phone down. That way it works is the app takes recorded messages by family and friends—or whoever—and plays them back to drivers when they pick up their phone. Let's say Erica goes out for a drive. Erica is easily distracted by her phone, whether it's reading text messages or cycling through Spotify playlists. Through the Call Me Out app, her...
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Electric vehicles are growing in popularity, and it certainly helps that some of the newest designs carry the same aggressive looks and performance (at times) as their gas guzzling brethren. Some EVs are even ultra-sporty. That seems to be what Ford is after with an all-electric vehicle in the making, one that takes its inspiration from the company's iconic Mustang. Ford teased the upcoming EV by releasing a sketch of the rear end, and boy is it a beauty. In fact, it would be easy to mistake the sketch, as shown above, for a Mustang. That is precisely the point—Darren Palmer, product development director of Ford's Team Edison division, stated in no uncertain terms that the all-new, fully-electric...
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If you wait long enough, what's old becomes new again, to a new generation. We see this not only in fashion, but also technology—just look at the success of Nintendo's NES Classic and SNES Classic Edition game consoles. Mercedes-Benz is going back even further, though. Some 81 years after introducing its W 125 hit the racetrack, the automaker is paying homage to its sleek design with a new electric vehicle concept. Mercedes-Benz unveiled its new Vision EQ Silver Arrow show car during Monterey Car Week, which is an event for car aficionados and collectors from all over the world. The Vision EQ Silver Arrow is a one-seater vehicle designed in the same general shape as its record breaking...
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German automaker Audi is not messing around with its latest concept car, the PB 18 E-Tron. For all intents and purposes, this nifty (and futuristic) looking vehicle is an electric hypercar (or supercar, if you prefer the term) with copious horsepower and torque for plenty of get up and go, never mind that it's rocking a battery operated drive system. The PB 18 E-Tron features three electric motors, one up front and two more in the rear. Those latter two are centrally located between the steering knuckles, each driving one wheel via half-shafts. They combine to deliver 600 horsepower to all four wheels. Or in terms of electric power, they deliver 150 kW to the front axle and 450 kW to the rear,...
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