Car Tech
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Automakers often tout “mobility services” as a potential source of future growth. It’s easy to see car- and ride-sharing services fitting in with the portfolio of mobility services but there are many more possibilities. Mercedes-Benz, or more specifically Mercedes-Benz Vans, is testing the waters with an on-demand delivery service where drones could be used to connect customers and merchants quickly and efficiently. The technology also has the potential to improve traffic by reducing the number of delivery vans on the road. Mercedes is testing the technology’s...
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Mercedes AMG F1 engine achieves 50 percent thermal efficiencyThe Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team's 2017 season has been a successful one thus far, and although the drivers deserve much of the credit, the team itself has done some remarkable things as well. Notably, Mercedes' current F1 engine achieved 50 percent thermal efficiency for the first time. In the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Watch an incredible time-lapse teardown of a Mazda MX-5 Miata engineApparently, Peter Gabriel is getting into the wrenching game. At least that's what this video has us reminiscing about. Gabriel, for those youngsters among us, is the musician who utilized stop-motion animation (among other art forms, including claymation) to create to the memorable "Sledgehammer"...
Jeff Glucker -
How the Mercedes-AMG Project One's pushrod suspension worksMercedes-AMG revealed its highly anticipated Project One hypercar at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, and while much of the conversation has surrounded the fact it boasts more than 1,000 horsepower, there's plenty of clever, if not mesmerizing, engineering going on throughout the entire car. The...
Sean Szymkowski -
How the transbrake and torque reserve work on the Dodge Challenger SRT DemonThe 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon ushers in a couple of firsts for production cars, and today, we're here to take a look at two of them in greater detail. Both the transbrake and the torque reserve system are production car firsts and they help the Demon launch with incredible force at the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Passenger Drone the latest to unveil autonomous manned flying vehicleAmerica’s Passenger Drone is the latest startup to announce plans for an autonomous flying vehicle for personal use. Passenger Drone’s design is still in the prototype stage but the company has already demonstrated the vehicle’s flying abilities, made possible by 16 electric...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The BMW Group is the latest automaker to announce the addition of Amazon’s Alexa to its cars. The cloud-based voice activation system will start appearing in all BMW and Mini models from mid-2018. Voice activation has been around for years but most systems are still finicky things that more often than not get commands wrong. Alexa is one of the better systems out there. Another is Google Home. Mercedes-Benz announced in April that it was integrating both systems in its own cars. Alexa can handle numerous functions, referred to as “skills,” and many of these are helpful in...
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Can you tune electric cars for more power?Our future will be filled with electric cars. It's where the world is moving, and the cars bringing us to this place are getting better and better everyday. Heck, the Tesla Model S P100D is one of the quickest machines on the road right now. Still, we love the combustion engine and the tuning...
Jeff Glucker -
Ford and Lyft partner on self-driving carsFord has partnered with ride-sharing company Lyft to help accelerate the rollout of a fully self-driving taxi service. It’s a goal a number of firms spanning the automotive, ride-share and tech industries are chasing, and this has led to several partnerships like the one between Ford and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hands-free highway driving now possible with Cadillac’s Super Cruise debuting on 2018 CT6Cadillac’s self-driving system known as Super Cruise makes its debut on the 2018 CT6 on sale this fall. To mark the introduction, Cadillac on Monday kicked off a cross-country trip with 12 CT6 sedans equipped with Super Cruise. The fleet is traveling from New York to California and will cross...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Porsche Cayenne deep diveIt’s the very antithesis of Porsche. Or is it? The Cayenne, an SUV, is the sports car company's second best seller, behind another SUV, the Macan. It may be an SUV, but it’s still a Porsche and that means it has to be sporty. Porsche is introducing the third generation of the Cayenne...
Kirk Bell -
Is it a bad idea to engine brake with a manual transmission?In a car with a manual gearbox, you can use that stick to your advantage in more ways than the simple act of shifting gears. If you want to slow down, instead of relying on just the brakes, you can pop your gear lever into a lower gear and use resistance from the engine to slow you down. This is...
Jeff Glucker -
Say you’re away on vacation and someone you trust, perhaps a close friend or family member, needs to borrow your car. With the 2019 Volvo XC40 arriving next spring, you’ll be able to grant a person access to the car via an app. The person borrowing the car will be able to access and start it all with a smartphone, so you don’t need to physically hand over a key. (Keys are so yesterday, don’t you know?) And you'll be able to keep tabs on the time the car is used and the miles racked up through the app. There’s no option to accept payment for use of the car just...
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Luxury automakers focus on too much "stupid" tech, Genesis performance boss saysGenesis' performance chief Albert Biermann had some harsh words for the brand's German rivals. The former BMW M boss of 30 years said rival brands invest too much in unnecessary technology, and it gives Genesis a clear path forward for quality and longevity. "It’s all marketing, first of...
Sean Szymkowski -
BMW might ditch car keys all togetherThe days of grabbing keys to gain access to one's car may be a thing of the past in future BMWs. The automaker has recently questioned the need for car keys altogether, according to a report by Reuters. During last week's 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, Ian Robertson, BMW's board member responsible for...
Sean Szymkowski -
Mercedes wants to let you find any destination with 3 wordsI feel old telling you this...but I don't quite understand how this is going to make your navigation system easier to use. Perhaps my inner old man is coming out, but I'm not typically one to rail against fresh technology and new ways of doing things. I'm talking about the announcement last week...
Jeff Glucker -
GKN Drivelines introduces off-the-shelf torque-vectoring eAxleLast week we saw Bosch reveal its "e-axle" off-the-shelf" electric powertain solution for automakers who don't have the means or inclination to develop their own. Now another company is doing something similar. GKN Driveline, a leading supplier of automotive drivelines and technologies, introduced...
Jeff Glucker -
Samsung SDI's latest electric-car battery cells: energy capacity up 50 percentCompanies that fabricate lithium-ion battery cells rarely stage elaborate displays at global auto shows. Korean maker Samsung, though, feels its latest advance in electric-car battery tech warranted its booth at this week's 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. Samsung SDI, which supplies battery cells to the...
Sean Szymkowski -
It's always amazing to see what tire manufacturers are dreaming up for the future. Most of the time, it's a concept based in the distant future when nano bots are able to repair your self-healing tires as your autonomous pod whisks you to an AI-controlled beachfront home. This time, however, Continental is looking a bit closer in the not-too-distant future and its focus is on safety. Both the ContiSense and ContiAdapt concept tires were shown off at the Frankfurt auto show. With each, the main goal is on creating a tire than can adapt and provide a safer driving experience based on a number...
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Porsche InnoDrive first drive review: automating enthusiasmWith the self-driving car on its way, our days as drivers are numbered. Eventually, some accursed batch of engineers in a shadowy automotive tech center will put all the pieces in place and birth the first truly autonomous vehicle. Assuming Skynet doesn't become self-aware shortly after and kill us...
Brandon Turkus -
5 things you need to know about the Mercedes-AMG Project OneThe closest thing to a homologation special we're likely to see out of Formula 1, the Mercedes-AMG Project One is one very special car. On the sidelines of the Frankfurt motor show, we sat down with AMG's Rene Wollman. His business card calls him the Project One's "Project Leader," but he's much...
Andrew Ganz -
The McLaren F1 was almost all Formula 1 technologyIt's hard to believe it's been a quarter of a century since the McLaren F1 took the world by storm. The now-legendary F1 has been heralded by car enthusiasts of multiple generations thanks to its world-record setting top-speed run and cutting-edge technology. Mind you, this car was built long...
Sean Szymkowski -
Ford loves patents and just added one for active thigh supportFord has been on quite the patent kick as of late. The Blue Oval has recently filed patents for odd steering wheels, an interesting integrated bike rack, a system for a removable steering wheel and pedal box, and even a self-leveling cupholder. Ford is looking to bring some innovative new features...
Jeff Glucker -
Williams Advanced Engineering debuts off-the-shelf EV platformAutomakers spend millions to design and engineer vehicle platforms, but some suppliers think a switch to off-the-shelf solutions may be an essential part of future vehicles. To capitalize on this, Williams Advanced Engineering, the technology offshoot of the Williams Formula 1 team, has revealed...
Sean Szymkowski