autos
TechnologyAutoblogPorsche will develop and build battery cells for electric race cars
Racing is a significant part of Porsche's heritage, and gradually adopting electric technology isn't going to keep the firm away from the track. It announced a joint venture called Cellforce whose task will be to design and manufacture battery cells suitable for high-performance race cars and a handful of high-end, racing-inspired production vehicles. Powering a race car with batteries is difficult because the technology adds weight and requires more time to charge than it takes to fill up a fuel tank.
SportAutoblogF1 leader Verstappen overtakes Hamilton to win French Grand Prix
Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap to win the French Grand Prix on Sunday and extend his lead over his title rival to 12 points. Verstappen used his car's drag reduction system to catch Hamilton on Lap 52 and pass him on the inside before zooming off to clinch his third win of the season and 13th of his career. A bonus point for the fastest lap made it a great day for Red Bull, which had never beaten Mercedes on the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France.
BusinessAutoblogOld-school automakers Ford and GM are the hot new stocks
For the last decade, the best way to play that trend has been via Tesla. Shareholders in that particular trade have been rewarded handsomely: since June 2011, the car maker's shares are up over 10,000%. Through Thursday's close, shares of Ford and General Motors were both up more than 40%, outpacing both the broader market and all of the market's buzziest names in the EV space.
SportAutoblogAcura is launching an all-out assault on Pikes Peak
Acura is gunning for multiple trophies at Pikes Peak later this month, sending no less than six vehicles to the famed hillclimb event. The fleet consists of two NSX race cars, two TLX Type S race cars, a TLX Type S pace car, and the 2022 MDX Type S making its first public debut. The all-volunteer team comprising Acura employees will be towing the more potent of the TLX race cars 1,300 miles from its base in Ohio to the Colorado venue with an MDX Type S. While a stock TLX Type S weighs 4,221 pounds, a mass that's pretty close to the 355-horsepower, 354 pound-foot flagship's towing capacity of 5,000, the race car is considerably lighter.
EntertainmentAutoblog'Forza Horizon 5' has been announced and is launching this year | Gaming roundup
In case you've been noticing a ton of video game news this past week and aren't sure what's going on, it's because the popular E3 conference, a huge trade show about all things video games, happened June 12-15. This year, on the racing side of things, we got a great surprise in the form of a "Forza Horizon 5" announcement from Microsoft. Prior to the announcement, only "Forza Motorsport 8" had been officially announced, with no hint toward another installment in the Horizon series.
LifestyleAutoblogUnleash your inner race car driver in this super-rare 2017 BAC Mono
Getting an open-wheel single-seater race car titled for street use in America is nearly impossible. Unless you're in line for a Mercedes-AMG One, the next best thing is the BAC Mono, which is manufactured in strictly limited numbers in England. BAC developed the Mono in-house on a blank slate, and it enlists the help of over 100 suppliers (95% of them British) to secure parts.
LifestyleAutoblogJunkyard Gem: 2001 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi
The General's Pontiac Division sold Bonnevilles from 1958 through 2005, which turned out to be well over half of the marque's existence. Named after the Bonneville Salt Flats, some Bonnevilles were huge but pretty quick, others were slow-motion land yachts, and some were nearly indistinguishable from their Buick and Oldsmobile brethren. The final generation, sold for the 2000 through 2005 model years, were among the quickest and most distinctive-looking Bonnevilles ever built, but they arrived in showrooms at a time when the clock was ticking for the division's very survival.
NewsAutoblogThe Black automotive pioneers who helped reshape the automotive world
From becoming the first Black American to own a “Big Three” dealership, inventing the fundamental structure of an automatic transmission, creating the traffic light, designing an iconic Bronco, breaking the boundaries of NASCAR or being the first and only Black automaker. Thompson was hired as Ford's first Black designer in 1956, after earning his degree in transportation design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. While Thompson was not the designer of record for Ford's game-changing 4x4 Bronco, he penned early sketches that are now instantly recognizable as inspiration for the final product.
BusinessAutoblogGM recalling 135,000 SUVs with plastic jacks that can break
General Motors is recalling 135,400 compact crossovers because their emergency jack can break under load. A GM test driver discovered the problem when he broke a jack during a durability test on a Trailblazer. GM started investigating in April and found 21 claims of jack failures, including one reported injury.
BusinessThe IndependentNissan Qashqai: Modernised rather than revolutionised
The best news is that the automatic transmission is a vast improvement on the previous whining, unresponsive set-up, writes Sean O’Grady
TechnologyAutoblogGM bringing Ultium battery tech to trains, hydrogen to planes
GM is setting out into both the train and aircraft world with its Ultium battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Just this week, GM announced it would work together with Wabtec locomotives for trains and Liebherr-Aerospace for planes. To be more specific, GM is planning on collaborating with Wabtec to develop and commercialize its Ultium battery tech and “Hydrotec” fuel cell systems to use in trains.
TechnologyEngadgetTool around in a real-time generated AI version of 'GTAV'
YouTuber Harrison Kinsley shared a video on GAN Theft Auto, an AI that can generate a playable stretch of Grand Theft Auto V’s gameworld on its own.
BusinessAutoblogNissan Australia builds a Warrior that takes down Raptors
Nissan is the second. It's leaving the F-150 alone and taking aim at the smaller, Ranger-based model sold overseas with a dune-hopping Navara built jointly by its Australian division and engineering firm Premcar. Don't be surprised if the Navara nameplate doesn't ring a bell: Nissan has never sold the model in America.
LifestyleThe TelegraphUK’s rarest cars: 1979 Rover SD1 V8-S, one of only 10 left on British roads
Forty-two years ago, some cars aimed at the managing director class of driver opted for an understated appearance, while a few others revelled in sheer ostentation. The Rover V8-S, with its alloy wheels painted gold or silver plus chrome-plated door handles and exhaust pipe definitely falls into the latter category. More importantly, it was a vehicle in the tradition of the marque. The original 3500 SD1 debuted in 1976, and in 1977 it was joined by the 2600 and the 2300, as featured in this seri
LifestyleAutoblogFord wades into rumor-infested waters by renewing Splash trademark
Long-term employees of the United States Patent Office must be having déjà vu. After filing a trademark for the Lightning nameplate, Ford moved to protect the Splash designation it used for several years during the 1990s. Ford's entry-level Ranger received comprehensive updates that brought a more rounded exterior design and a more modern interior.
![2022 Toyota Tundra revealed in wake of online leaks [updated]](https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/T.cbx4Sf8_lu9Q6UBkQSEw--~B/Zmk9c3RyaW07aD0xMjM7cT04MDt3PTIyMDthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/ThXttBr2xOuGY9imtuTUhw--~B/aD01OTc7dz0xMDYyO2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://media.zenfs.com/en/autoblog_50/d08cc7369806089e93cc8790df3a6b86.cf.jpg)
NewsAutoblog2022 Toyota Tundra revealed in wake of online leaks [updated]
Toyota surrendered to a day of leaked images of its 2022 Tundra by contributing one of its own – and a good one at that – accompanying it with a tweet saying "some people don’t know how to keep a secret." The most popular of the leaked images was this one, which appeared to depict a styling mock-up for the eventual TRD or TRD Pro variant, boasting punched-out fenders, black-finish wheels and all-terrain tires. Rumors have suggested for a while that Toyota is working on a new turbocharged and electrified six-cylinder to replace the range-topping 5.7L V8.
SportAutoblogNurburgring names a track corner after the late Sabine Schmitz
It's still shocking that we lost racing driver and frequent "Top Gear" guest Sabine Schmitz this year. In the wake of her death, many tributes came out, but perhaps the most fitting one has come from the track that helped make her famous, the Nürburgring. The track operators announced today that the very first corner of the famed Nordschleife would be named after her; the Sabine-Schmitz-Kurve.
TechnologyAutoblogRivian details RIT pickup's thoughtful cabin and interior features
Rivian has released details about the cabin and occupant-friendly features for its upcoming R1T electric pickup. Rivian says there will be a 14x11-inch storage area under the center display for a small day pack or duffel bag. There are eight cupholders in all, two retractable units on each row's center armrest, and one in each door big enough to house a 40-ounce water bottle.
TechnologyAutoblogPorsche adds Android Auto, wireless CarPlay, 'Hey Porsche' voice commands
The latest version of Porsche's infotainment system, Porsche Communication Management (PCM) 6.0, arrives this summer and brings a host of updates. For subscribers to Apple Music, that service is further integrated into the operating system once drivers link their Apple ID to their car. Additionally, Porsche joins the "Hey, you" movement with its voice recognition system.
LifestyleAutoblog2022 Subaru Outback Review | Going further out back than ever
The Subaru Outback was already the go-to choice for those who need a vehicle for going on adventures off the beaten path, but want something other than an SUV. The 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness debuts this year as an answer for all those current owners who have been lifting their Outbacks even higher, putting on rugged tires and lamenting the novel swing-in roof rails aren't strong enough for all uses. The Wilderness does that from the factory and looks extra cool to boot.
BusinessYahoo FinanceOld car makers are the hot new trade
We're less than a week out from the halfway point of 2021.
- BusinessReuters
Car dealer Inchcape raises profit view; warns of chip shortage
The company, which sells new and used cars, including premium brands including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, said it expects 2021 profit before tax to be significantly higher than the market consensus of 216 million pounds. Inchcape, however, warned that chip shortages and the pandemic remained major sources of uncertainty as it heads in to the second half of the year, adding that the impact to the company has been limited so far. A global pandemic-driven trend towards digitisation is fuelling unprecedented demand for semiconductors, causing a shortage of these chips for the auto industry, including for UK car dealers already suffering in the wake of Brexit.
BusinessReutersCOVID deals new blow to foreign carmakers' Indian dream
Foreign automakers' hopes of a booming Indian car market are fading fast as a brutal second wave of COVID-19 infections and limited government room for more stimulus spending suggest a recovery could lag far behind China and the United States. Carmakers that saw nearly a decade of Indian sales growth wiped out in 2020 are expecting a bounce back in demand this year. "Choosing to remain in India depends on the cost benefit analysis of other international markets," the executive added, forecasting that, if the outlook remains grim, the number of automakers in the country could fall.
BusinessTechCrunchFord acquires Electriphi as it prepares to woo EV fleet customers
Ford has two electric vehicles in the pipeline — the E-Transit cargo van and F-150 Lighting Pro —aimed at commercial customers. Now, the automaker is rounding out its future EV commercial business with the acquisition of battery management and fleet monitoring software startup Electriphi. Ford is betting that the software developed by the three-year-old San Francisco startup will help it capture more than $1 billion in revenue just from charging by 2030.
EntertainmentAutoblogPorsche is developing a system to compose unique music for your drive
Modern day automobiles have done a lot to provide custom experiences for just about every driving scenario, from ambient lighting to suspension settings. Audio has also been included to an extent with better stereos and variable exhaust systems, but Porsche is going a step further. It's working on something called the Soundtrack My Life Project and having the car compose unique music that responds to your driving.
