Industry
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When Lamborghini was cranking out the Gallardo, it had a major hit on its hands. Over the course of ten years, the Italian supercar marque produced over 14,000 examples. That's 1,400 Gallardos churned out on average each year between 2003 and 2013. Now with the Gallardo's successor, the Huracán, Lamborghini has switched production into hyperdrive. In just three years since the car's launch, Lamborghini has produced a total 9,000 Huracáns. That's more than double the rate of production compared to the Gallardo, and it isn't just a step up for the snack-sized sibling on the Lambo...
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Tesla installs solar panels at Puerto Rico hospitalTesla is a busy company these days, as is chief executive officer Elon Musk. While the company and Musk juggle Model 3 production bottlenecks, an electric semi reveal, and more, it also landed in Puerto Rico recently to help restore power to the United States territory. Much of the island remains...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volkswagen delivers its 150 millionth car: a Golf GTEThe Volkswagen brand spans more than 150 markets around the world, and over the course of decades, it's finally delivered its 150 millionth car. And fittingly, it's an electrified (and rather sporty) vehicle: a Golf GTE plug-in hybrid. The brand delivered the milestone car in Norway, also fitting...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Jeep Wrangler confirmed for LA auto show; Ram, Jeep detail future productsFiat Chrysler Automobiles finally confirmed what many expected: The 2018 Jeep Wrangler (JL) will make its formal debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. Thanks to a handy production flow chart from Jeff Bennett, FCA's corporate and financial communications chief, we not only learned of the 2018...
Sean Szymkowski -
Holden’s secret plan to build a Zeta-based SUVBefore there was the Alpha and Omega, General Motors had a platform for rear-wheel-drive large cars called Zeta. Developed in Australia by GM’s local subsidiary Holden, the platform was economical enough to use in non-premium cars but it was also a bit on the heavy side. (It featured in the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
European Union launches battery cell alliance to compete with AsiaBattery cells are poised to become the most important component in future vehicles as the industry moves away from internal-combustion engines and toward battery-electric vehicles. With an increased demand for battery packs, battery cell production will be paramount, and the European Union plans to...
Sean Szymkowski -
McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray has just launched a car manufacturing outfit. Called Gordon Murray Automotive, the new company is a spinoff of Murray’s eponymous design company formed in 2007 and responsible for the iStream production process. Gordon Murray Automotive will look to utilize iStream for low-volume production to be sold under the Gordon Murray label and will present its first model, described as a flagship, in November. The company could also end up producing cars for rival firms. iStream features Formula 1-derived construction and materials technologies that help keep...
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New bosses at Bentley, Bugatti as Wolfgang Dürheimer steps downVolkswagen Group veteran Wolfgang Dürheimer is relinquishing his head roles at Bentley and Bugatti, the automaker confirmed Friday. Current Audi Sport chief Stephan Winkelmann, who led Lamborghini for a decade prior to joining Audi, has been assigned the top job at Bugatti. He will start the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
End of the road for Australian car productionIt’s a sad day for automotive enthusiasts in Australia, and a few in other parts of the globe, as the country’s car industry comes to a grinding halt. On Friday, General Motors’ local subsidiary Holden turned the lights off at its plant in Elizabeth, South Australia, ending 69...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hyperloop One rebrands as Virgin Hyperloop One following sizable investmentThe CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, may have initially proposed the idea of the Hyperloop, but the legendary entrepreneur only began work on his own Hyperloop system recently after offering the idea to the world a four years ago as an open-source project of sorts. In the meantime, a...
Sean Szymkowski -
Audi's future might not include V-10, W-12 engines; V-8 safe for awhileAudi, like many other automotive brands, will focus on electrification and self-driving technology in the future. But, a shift in thinking will likely come at the expense of large engine displacements. Newcomer to the brand, Peter Mertens, came aboard this year as Audi's board member for technical...
Sean Szymkowski -
Mercedes-Benz electrification plans: charting the changesMercedes-Benz is currently constructing a battery plant in Kamenz, Germany, the second of five such plants that will be in operation in three continents by the start of the next decade, including one in the United States. The U.S. plant will be constructed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at a cost of $1...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Your next Mini could be sourced from a plant in China if a report from Bloomberg proves accurate. Mini’s BMW Group parent is allegedly in talks with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor over a deal to start Mini production in China, for local sale as well as export. The majority of Minis are produced at a plant in Oxford, United Kingdom, with the remainder sourced from a plant in the Netherlands. The Oxford plant last year celebrated the completion of the three millionth modern Mini, production of which started in 2001. Starting in 2019, the plant will also be churning out electric cars...
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Volkswagen Group promises electric trucks and buses by 2018Volkswagen Truck & Bus, the Volkswagen Group’s commercial vehicles unit responsible for the Man and Scania brands, and also a strategic partner of Navistar in the United States, is the latest to announce a commitment to electrification. The company wants to introduce electric vans and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
California will allow self-driving cars with no human driver on public roads next yearCalifornia is anything but the wild West when it comes to testing self-driving cars. The state requires automakers and technology companies to adhere to strict regulations. Most notably, there must be a human driver behind the wheel of any self-driving car. Next year, California will change that...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota starts testing Project Portal fuel cell semi truckToyota in April revealed a fuel cell-powered semi-trailer truck as part of its Project Portal program which aims to determine whether there’s a viable future for the zero-emission technology when it comes to heavy-duty applications. On Thursday, the automaker announced that the truck is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Germany’s Wiesmann back in businessA niche German sports car marque known for retro roadsters powered by modern BMW engines is making a comeback. Wiesmann, currently led by Mercedes-Benz veteran Mario Spitzner, is working on a new sports car and on Tuesday signed a deal to source V-8 engines from BMW M—most likely the BMW...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hyundai looks to make car buying easier via transparent pricing, full refundsBuying a car should be fun but for many the process can be tedious and in some cases harrowing. The process usually involves trekking to a number of dealerships and hoping there’s someone available to serve you and arrange a test drive if necessary. Then there’s the completely...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla laid a blueprint for electric car infrastructure with its Supercharger stations, but Porsche may be aiming to perfect it and spread the benefits with its own 320-kilowatt fast-charging stations. The luxury and sports car brand installed its first prototype 350-kw, 800-volt station in Berlin, Germany, in August, and it has followed that unit up with the "Porsche Turbo Charging" technology at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Stuttgart. To showcase Porsche Turbo Charging, it brought a special demo car: a battery-powered version of a Porsche Cayman. Porsche calls it the Cayman e-volution...
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FCA CEO Marchionne says Tesla, electric cars not viableFiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE: FCAU] CEO Sergio Marchionne hasn't exactly been an ally to electric cars. This is the same executive who urged consumers to not buy the Fiat 500e electric car since FCA lost thousands of dollars with each one sold. Marchionne once again cast doubt on the viability...
Sean Szymkowski -
iPhone, Galaxy…911? Porsche joins the car-subscription raceIn an effort to embrace the ever-changing automotive industry, Porsche announced today its own vehicle subscription service: Porsche Passport. The service offers on-demand access and white-glove delivery to its entire lineup of vehicles for a monthly fee. Just like your smartphone, it will be...
Sean Szymkowski -
SURUS: GM's modular platform for silent, self-driving trucksWhile some automakers look to electrify conventional trucks, General Motors has taken a much more radical approach in its development of next-generation commercial vehicles. Meet the Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, or SURUS for short. Unveiled on Friday ahead of the fall meeting of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Sport lineup to grow to 16 cars by 2020Things are about to get a lot busier at Audi Sport in the coming years as the official motorsport and performance arm of the brand with the four rings launches a barrage of new models to catch up with BMW M and Mercedes-AMG. Audi Sport models include all the RS cars as well as the R8 supercar and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Maker of Citroën and Peugeot cars starts US comeback with Seattle car sharingFrench auto giant PSA Group, the maker of Citroën, DS, Peugeot, and now also Opel cars, is committed to a presence in the United States. But PSA isn’t rushing things. Instead, the automaker will test the waters with a car sharing app, as outlined by CEO Carlos Tavares in 2016. Called...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran