Source: https://www.engadget.com/canada-investment-to-electrify-mass-transit-212738694.html
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By:
Source: https://www.engadget.com/mustang-mach-e-recall-222632366.html
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By:
The USPS has unveiled its new delivery trucks, and they are adorable. The odd but obviously practical design evokes something from an old-timey cartoon, squashing and stretching as it putters along.
Source: https://boingboing.net/2021/02/24/uspss-new-trucks-deemed-adorable.html
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Rob Beschizza
Source: https://www.engadget.com/jaguar-will-only-make-electric-cars-starting-in-2025-121436428.html
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By:
Enlarge / An artist’s rendering of Archer’s first aircraft, due out in 2024. (credit: Archer)
The success of uncrewed electric drones in the last couple of decades has caused people to wonder if similar techniques could be used to create small electric aircraft to carry people.
Not only are electric motors more reliable than conventional engines, they are also light enough that you can put several of them on a single aircraft, offering an extra margin of safety. The ability to use several motors—together with sophisticated software—means greater design flexibility, opening the door to new types of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that straddle the line between a conventional airplane and a helicopter.
This technology got overhyped in the late 2010s. Uber, for example, announced in 2017 that it was aiming to launch a VTOL taxi service in Dallas and Dubai in 2020. Instead, Uber sold off its air taxi efforts to startup Joby in December 2020.
Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1741127
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Timothy B. Lee
Automakers all around the world are rushing to electrify their vehicle lineups. Some of the vehicles are fully electric, and some are hybrids. Jeep has already announced that plug-in hybrid versions of some of its most iconic vehicles, including the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, are coming under the 4xe model designation. During the big game over the weekend, a Jeep … Continue reading
Source: https://www.slashgear.com/fully-electric-jeep-wrangler-concept-teased-09658654/
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Satsuki Then
Enlarge / Yes, I am aware that photographing an electric car in front of an electricity power station is a cliché. Sorry. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
I wasn’t expecting the Ford Mustang Mach-E to draw quite as much attention as it did. Over the past few months, I’ve driven some wild-looking cars, but more people pulled out their camera phones to capture the Mach-E drive past than they did for the McLaren GT. When stopped in traffic, the Mach-E garnered more curious questions—from other drivers, as well as pedestrians—than did the Polaris Slingshot. Ford’s new battery electric vehicle definitely has mindshare, no doubt helped by the fact that over a year has passed since the production version was first unveiled to the public in November 2019.
I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say the Mach-E might be the most important new car of the year. The ubiquity of Ford dealerships makes the Mach-E accessible to people in parts of the country where brands like Tesla or Polestar have yet to reach (although, like its startup rivals, the Mach-E is configured and ordered online, not bought from a forecourt). The influence of Tesla is evident in more than just the sales process, too; the Mach-E’s minimalist interior is almost button-free and dominated by a large touchscreen. But the vehicle still offers the familiarity of the Mustang name and some of the sports car’s design cues to go with it, like the distinctive triple-barred tail lights.
Not everyone is on board with the Mach-E being called a Mustang. Car people in particular are unhappy that the long and storied name has been attached to a five-door crossover, not a two-door coupe. But Ford wants to sell the Mach-E to the mainstream, and the car-buying public at large wants crossovers, so here we are. Personally, I’m more upset that, over in Europe, Ford chose to resurrect the Puma as a crossover—I offer this anecdote only to show that, to normal people, we sound a bit obsessed when we complain about stuff like this. (Also, the fact is that plenty of Mustangs have been unexciting cars, as anyone who ever rented a V6-powered one in the mid-2000s will attest.)
Read 23 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1738211
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Jonathan M. Gitlin
Volkswagen announced a pilot program for EV battery recycling in Salzgitter, Germany, and it’s about time one of the biggest carmakers started addressing the inevitable EV question: What about the batteries?
Source: https://jalopnik.com/evs-are-gaining-steam-heres-what-will-happen-to-all-th-1846172272
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: José RodrÃguez Jr. on Jalopnik, shared by Brian Kahn to Gizmodo
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the US Department of Transportation, plans to speak with Tesla about the ‘yoke’-style steering wheel featured in its newly updated and recently unveiled Model S sedan. In the two days since the redesign was introduced, critics have argued that the steering wheel design is unsafe. READ: This is the new Tesla … Continue reading
Source: https://www.slashgear.com/teslas-new-yoke-steering-wheel-prompts-nhtsa-safety-questions-29657410/
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Brittany A. Roston
Enlarge / 158,000 Teslas will brick their infotainment screens within 3-4 years due to a design defect. (credit: Getty Images/Jonathan Gitlin)
In November, we learned that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had opened an engineering analysis into a potential defect with Tesla’s popular Models S and X battery electric vehicles. On Wednesday, the other shoe dropped, when NHTSA informed the American automaker that it has to recall 158,000 vehicles to fix defective touchscreens.
The problem concerns a component in the vehicles’ infotainment systems, called the Media Control Unit. Buried within the MCU is an 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory chip, which can only be written to a finite number of times. Once this number of read/write cycles is reached—something that takes between three and four years depending on how much the car is driven—the touchscreen dies. And unfortunately, that’s a real problem in a car where the touchscreen is the way almost all the controls are accessed.
Not being able to browse the Internet in your car or stream a podcast is obviously an inconvenience, especially in an high-end vehicle. But NHTSA is more concerned about the fact that if the touchscreen dies, functions like the backup camera and window defogging are lost, too, as are audible alerts for other onboard safety systems.
Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1735052
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Jonathan M. Gitlin
Source: https://www.engadget.com/massachusetts-gas-vehicle-ban-2035-200322250.html
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By:
Enlarge / Ford’s new battery-electric Mustang Mach-E starts reaching customers in the next few weeks. (credit: Ford)
In the old days, people used to flaunt their 0-60mph times. But the instant torque of electric motors means that even sedate-looking electric vehicles will embarrass a 1960s muscle car off the line when the traffic light goes green. Today, range is king—the contemporary measurement of choice is how far your whip can go on a single charge. And on Monday, Ford revealed that its new Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle has met its range goals.
The Mustang Mach-E is available with either a 75.7kWh or 98.9kWh battery pack (although that is total capacity, rather than usable). Additionally, the Mach-E can be equipped with a single motor driving the rear wheels or separate electric motors for each axle. Accordingly, the US Environmental Protection Agency has looked at the data and has certified the four variants as follows:
Deliveries of the Mustang Mach-E are scheduled to begin in December.
Read on Ars Technica | Comments
Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1725030
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Jonathan M. Gitlin
The Volvo XC40 was already a compelling luxury crossover, and the addition of an all-electric powertrain only improves it. [credit:
Jonathan Gitlin ]
After what seems like years of waiting, a bevy of new battery-electric vehicles is about to go on sale here in the US. Ford is readying the Mustang Mach-E. Volkswagen is putting the finishing touches to the ID.4. And last month in Ghent, Belgium, Volvo started production of the XC40 Recharge. It’s an all-electric version of its popular XC40 crossover, one that shares its powertrain technology and Android Automotive operating system with the Polestar 2.
US deliveries remain a few weeks away, so a proper first drive, where we spend a day with a new car like we did with the Polestar 2 this summer, will have to wait a little longer. But earlier this week, I got a chance to spend a little time with a pre-production example that Volvo made available to those of us who serve as jurors for the World Car Awards. The roads of Manassas, Virginia, were my playground, and there was no PR minder, just a request to bring it back after an hour. Here’s what I learned.
From the outside, the XC40 Recharge looks a lot like any other Volvo XC40—the easiest giveaway that you’re looking at an all-electric version is the blanked-off front that does better things for one’s drag coefficient than an open grille. From the driver’s seat, there are a few more clues. The 12.3-inch main instrument display has a different theme from other Volvos, including an attractive new full-screen map mode. In the center stack, the infotainment screen has grown from 9 inches to 11.2 inches, and although the tile-based UI looks pretty similar to Volvos running Sensus, it’s now running Android Automotive. Google’s voice recognition means it understands most of the questions you ask it, and the Google Maps-powered navigation app is smart enough to know your battery state of charge so it can direct you to charging if needed en route.
Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1720088
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Jonathan M. Gitlin
Source: https://www.reviewgeek.com/59585/minor-changes-to-teslas-cybertruck-might-be-revealed-soon/
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Suzanne Humphries
Fisker has finally found someone to build its Ocean all-electric SUV, inking a deal which the EV startup says puts it on track for production kicking off by the end of 2022. Unveiled earlier this year, the Fisker Ocean is the American automaker’s take on electrifying the best-selling body style in the US, but with a price tag significantly undercutting … Continue reading
Source: https://www.slashgear.com/fisker-ocean-electric-suv-finds-a-production-partner-and-its-not-vw-15642752/
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Chris Davies
Nissan has unveiled a 100 percent electric emergency response vehicle concept called the RE-LEAF. The vehicle is designed to be a mobile power supply following a natural disaster or extreme weather. RE-LEAF is a working prototype based on the Nissan LEAF passenger car. The passenger car was significantly modified to navigate roads covered in debris with a raised suspension. Weatherproof … Continue reading
Source: https://www.slashgear.com/nissan-re-leaf-is-an-all-electric-emergency-response-vehicle-29640343/
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Shane McGlaun
This is our first look at the 2021 VW ID.4, the brand’s new battery-electric crossover. [credit:
Jonathan Gitlin ]
On Wednesday, in an Internet livestream, Volkswagen unveiled the ID.4 crossover. Designed from the ground up as a battery electric vehicle, it’s part of a huge electrification plan that VW embarked on in the wake of dieselgate and the first of the new VW BEVs to reach these shores. More than that, it was designed with the US market firmly in mind. No edgy European hatchback or city car here—this is pure crossover.
The ID.4 is one of a number of new BEVs that VW is building using a big box of interchangeable parts called MEB (Modularer E-Antriebs-Baukasten or Modular Electrification Toolkit). (Yes, that is a whole lot of acronyms.) We’ve seen MEB wrapped up in a number of different concept cars over the past few years and even drove one last year. But the first production model—the Europe-only ID.3 hatchback—started deliveries across the pond a few weeks ago, following some software- and COVID-19-related delays.
That car was deemed too much of a risk for the US market, which emphatically likes its VWs as crossovers these days. I got a chance to poke around a production prototype last week, and it’s one of those rare cases where the transformation from concept to road-legal actually improved things. Size-wise, it’s a little smaller than a VW Tiguan, at 180.5 inches (4,585mm) long, 72.9 inches (1,852mm) wide, and 64.4 inches (1,636mm) tall. There are some styling tricks in effect—the black panels along the sills and the trailing edges of the C pillars—but as with the Ford Mustang Mach-E, they’re actually quite successful in detracting from some of the ID.4’s visual bulk. For those keeping score, the drag coefficient is 0.28; no word on frontal area, though.
Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1708983
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Jonathan M. Gitlin
Aviation firm announces three different concepts with aim of taking to the skies by 2035
Airbus has announced plans for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft models that run on hydrogen and could take to the skies by 2035.
The European aersospace company revealed three different aircraft concepts that would be put through their paces to find the most efficient way to travel long distances by plane without producing the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global heating.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/21/airbus-reveals-plans-zero-emission-aircraft-fuelled-hydrogen
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Jillian Ambrose
After months of teasers and announcements, Lucid Motors will finally reveal its first all-electric luxury sedan, the Air, during a live stream on September 9. But of course, the day before the big reveal, a little bit of news has trickled out.
Lucid Motors has previously alluded that it will offer a high-end variant of the Air. That flagship variant, called the Dream, is expected to cost $169,000 (or $161,500 after federal tax credits are accounted for), according to a report by Bloomberg. The report said Lucid will produce a Grand Touring variant that will be priced in the low $130,000s after federal tax credits, as well as a sub-$100,000 Touring model.
TechCrunch has learned there will be a fourth and cheaper base model priced under $80,000. It’s unclear just how much cheaper the base version of the Air will be or when it will be available; automakers often start producing their most expensive models first. If Lucid follows that strategy, the base version won’t be available until late 2021 or 2022.
A base model Air priced under $80,000 would put it in direct competition with the Tesla Model S. The base Tesla Model S has a range of 402 miles and costs $74,990. Lucid Motors has previously disclosed that Air has an estimated U.S. EPA range of 517 miles, although it’s possible that the base model will have a lower range. If the EPA validates that range, the Air would blow past every other EV on the road today, including Tesla. And if the base model has a range above 400 miles, it could further dampen sales of the Tesla Model S. Most of Tesla’s sales come from the Model 3.
Lucid has already disclosed a number of other details about its upcoming electric sedan, including that it is capable of a 9.9-second quarter mile, making it faster than most production cars on the market. But what might be more attractive to prospective customers is the vehicle’s advanced driver assistance system, which is designed to support hands-free driving on highways.
Earlier this summer, Lucid revealed that the Air will be loaded with 32 sensors, a driver-monitoring system and an Ethernet-based architecture for its advanced driver assistance system, which it calls DreamDrive. The total number isn’t what matters. The type and location — and of course, the software — does. So far, Lucid has just provided details on the hardware.
The Air will come with one lidar, radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Lidar — the light detection and ranging radar that measures distance using laser light to generate a highly accurate 3D map of the world around the car — is a noteworthy inclusion. The sensor is typically used on autonomous vehicles, not the production cars, trucks and SUVs that consumers will buy and drive. Lucid said its long-range lidar sensor will be placed in the front of the vehicle.
Lucid has previously said it will produce the Air at its new Arizona factory in early 2021, about three months later than expected due to a slowdown caused by COVID-19. Construction resumed in early June at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. At the time, the company said it was on target to complete phase one this year. Lucid Motors has also restarted vehicle development work at its California facility, which was briefly delayed due to shelter-in-place orders.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/08/lucid-motors-all-electric-air-will-start-below-80000/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Kirsten Korosec
What could be the most important model in Jeep’s range has been revealed, with the 2021 Wrangler 4xe bringing hybrid electric power to the iconic SUV. Headed to dealerships by early in the new year, the Wrangler 4xe combines a gas engine with two electric motors, and can run on EV power alone for up to 25 miles. It’s part … Continue reading
Source: https://www.slashgear.com/2021-jeep-wrangler-4xe-hybrid-suv-electrifies-an-off-road-icon-03636560/
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Chris Davies
