Toyota teases new TRD Pro ‘off-road beast’ for Chicago Auto Show
Toyota will add a new model to its TRD Pro lineup of off-road vehicles at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. The automaker already sells TRD Pro versions of the Tacoma, Tundra, and 4Runner. The 2020 Tacoma and Land Cruiser Heritage Edition models are also slated to debut in Chicago.
Land Rover gives the Range Rover Velar a dose of V8 muscle with special edition
The Land Rover Range Rover Velar was all about luxury, but Land Rover is giving it a dose of performance with the SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition. The one-year-only special edition packs a 550-horsepower V8. Land Rover claims it will do 0 to 60 mph in under 5.0 seconds.
Ducati: Electrification will affect design of motorcycles more than cars
As Ducati prepares to release its first electric model, Digital Trends spoke to Andrea Ferraresi, the company's head of design, about the possibilities electrification creates. He predicted going electric will have bigger changes on motorcycle design than on car design. Radar-based tech will change motorcycles, too.
Porsche overhauls a Carrera GT supercar, complete with silver-coated wheels
The Porsche Carrera GT went out of production about 15 years ago, and one customer wanted to give the supercar a refresh. So Porsche completely disassembled the rare Carrera GT and rebuilt or upgraded virtually every part. That included coating the outer rims of the magnesium wheels in silver.
Tesla buys a company that could help make the next breakthrough in batteries
Tesla purchased a company named Maxwell Technologies that specializes in battery tech and capacitor technology. Tesla co-founder Elon Musk is a big fan of capacitors because they store and release energy much faster than a conventional battery pack. We could one day see this tech in Tesla's cars.
Autonomous vehicles could cause gridlock by trying to avoid parking fees
A new study raises a concerns that autonomous cars could cause severe traffic jams by cruising around to avoid parking fees. Autonomous vehicles don't have the same incentive to park as manually controlled vehicles do, and can keep cruising around once its passenger has disembarked to avoid parking costs.
Tesla Model 3 handles are stylish but can freeze shut in cold temperatures
The Tesla Model 3 is undoubtedly a high-tech vehicle, with futuristic features built in an elaborate and innovative construction process. But owners of the cars who are currently living through the polar vortex-induced cold are having a rather old-fashioned problem: the door handles are freezing in place.
Redesigned Jeda Wireless Pad charger for Tesla Model 3 piles on new features
Redefined and redesigned, the second generation Jeda Wireless Pad charger for the Tesla Model 3 adds new functionality and user convenience features. Users can position smartphones in portrait mode on the Wireless Pad in the Model 3 console for everyday use, but switch to landscape mode for Google Maps or Waze.
All U.S. 2020 Toyotas will have a trial subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio
This fall, with the introduction of the 2020 model year vehicles, all Toyotas sold in the continental U.S. will include SiriusXM satellite radio installed, SiriusXM and Toyota announced in a press release. A free three-month trial subscription to SiriusXM All Access will be standard.
The Hyundai Tucson N is reportedly coming soon with 340 HP
The Hyundai Tucson may soon get a performance upgrade from the Korean automaker's N division. The Hyundai Tucson N would likely be the only performance vehicle in a market segment that typically emphasizes practicality. Hyundai reportedly plans to launch the Tucson N in two years.
Land Rover cancels the most stately (and expensive) Range Rover to date
The Land Rover Range Rover SV Coupe is a limited-edition model built to celebrate the company's 70th anniversary. Priced at nearly $300,000, it should have gone into limited production in 2019 but Land Rover has canceled the model to cut costs. The SV Coupe displayed in Geneva will remain a one-off.
Ex-Apple employee charged with stealing secret self-driving car tech
The FBI arrested a former Apple employee after finding evidence that he tried leaving the United States with stolen trade secrets. Jizhong Chen, who worked as a hardware development engineer for Apple's enigmatic autonomous car project, faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he's found guilty.
2020 Jaguar F-Type gets a limited edition, standard CarPlay and Android Auto
The 2020 Jaguar F-Type gets a Checkered Flag Limited Edition model referencing Jaguar's sports-car history. It also loses its manual transmission option, but gains standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The F-Type is still available with four-cylinder, V6, and V8 engines, though.
Audi celebrates 20 years of the TT by bringing back ‘baseball’ interior
The Audi TT is turning 20, so Audi put together a special-edition model to celebrate. The TT 20th Anniversary Edition features interior and exterior design elements that reference the groundbreaking TTS Roadster concept and early production models. The car will be available as a coupe or convertible.
Tesla’s profitable fourth quarter sets the pace for the EV sector
Palo Alto, Califrnia-based Tesla released its fourth-quarter 2018 earnings statement, reporting that the EV company turned a profit for the second consecutive quarter. Tesla's long-sought profitability is a bellwether for the electric vehicle industry as it maintains pressure on other brands.
Tesla: Model Y to share 75 percent of its parts with Model 3, coming in 2020
Tesla boss Elon Musk on Wednesday confirmed the Model Y crossover is expected to arrive in 2020, with the vehicle sharing about 75 percent of its parts with the Model 3. He said the Model Y is likely to be made at its massive Gigafactory 1 facility in Nevada. The tentative unveil date is March, 2019.
Tesla revamps pricing, naming system for Model S and Model X
Tesla is changing its naming scheme for the Model S and Model X trim levels, dropping the old system based on battery-pack capacity. The automaker is also cutting prices on both vehicles by $1,000. The naming changes bring the Model S and Model X in line with the Model 3.
2019 Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE turns faster lap times with an automatic transmission
The 2019 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE gets the 10-speed automatic transmission already available in the Camaro SS, and it will lap a racetrack faster than the six-speed manual version, according to Chevy. This is the same GM-Ford transmission used in certain versions of the Mustang.
Want to build self-driving cars? The University of Toronto will teach you how
The University of Toronto and online-education company Coursera are offering a specialization program in self-driving cars. The series of courses provides an overview. Despite the explosion of interest in self-driving cars, relatively little attention has been paid to training people to work on them.
Electrify America turns its network of high-power EV charging stations back on
Electrify America shut down most of its high-power charging stations across the U.S. after it uncovered a problem with a charging cable. The cable supplier put the cable through extensive tests and found no additional problems, so Electrify America's network of charging stations is once again operational.
Ford designers use virtual reality tech to draw cars around themselves
Ford designers are experimenting with Gravity Sketch, a program that lets them virtually sketch new cars in three dimensions. Ford claims this will help improve new-car designs, and make the design process more efficient. Designers at all five of Ford's global studios are using Gravity Sketch.
Lotus and Williams team up to make future sports cars greener
Lotus and Williams Advanced Engineering are partnering to develop hybrid and all-electric powertrains for Lotus' sports cars. The partnership could include an all-electric hypercar, according to one report. Dubbed "Omega," the hypercar could reportedly have over 1,000 horsepower.
A robot called Stan aims to take the stress out of airport parking
Stan is an autonomous valet parking robot that not only saves drivers lots of time at an airport, but also helps parking lots to significantly increase capacity. A trial of the technology -- developed by Paris-based Stanley Robotics -- will take place this summer at Gatwick, one of the U.K.'s busiest airports.
Finding the ‘blind spots’ in autonomous vehicle artificial intelligence
Researchers from MIT have been looking at the differences between how autonomous systems learn in training and the issues that arise in the real world. They have created a model of situations in which what an autonomous system has learned does not match actual events that occur on the road.
AAA pushes for standardized names and definitions for driver assistance tech
Consumers are confused by the variety of marketing names for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, says a recent AAA report. When automobile manufacturers use different names for assistance features, consumers also tend to be over-reliant on the technology -- a dangerous trend that could result in accidents and deaths.
Ford’s Transit Custom Nugget lines up against the Volkswagen California
Ford announced a camper van outfitted by Westfalia for the European market. Buyers can order the Transit Custom Nugget directly through Ford dealers with one of two wheelbases and a fixed or folding roof. Already sold in Germany, the Custom Nugget is now available in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.
Jaguar is creating a language so autonomous cars can talk to pedestrians
Jaguar wants to teach autonomous cars how to talk to pedestrians. After testing creepy eyes, it has switched to a technology which beams light bars on the ground that move to signal the car is stopping, turning, or accelerating. Communication is key to make autonomous cars safe, but standardization is also important.
The Tesla Model S reports for police cruiser duty in California
The police department in Fremont, California, will soon add a 2014 Tesla Model S 85 to its fleet as part of a pilot program. The agency worked with suppliers to install equipment like a light bar, a prisoner partition, and a push bumper. Police officers will test the Model S in real-world conditions during 2019.
Mercedes-Benz will let drivers add infotainment features after they buy cars
Mercedes-Benz will let customers add navigation, digital radio, and smartphone integration to certain cars after driving off dealer's lots. It's as simple as selecting the options on a car's infotainment screen. Other automakers have been reticent to offer these kinds of upgrades.
Tesla’s Advanced Summon feature will soon turn vehicles into ‘giant RC cars’
You never know what is going to happen when Elon Musk takes to Twitter. Thankfully, his most recent venture onto the platform was just to announce a new feature called Advance Summon. It will allow Tesla owners to have their car come to them or control it like a big RC car.
Ford will build a mini pickup truck slotting below the Ranger
Ford will build a smaller pickup truck that will slot below the Ranger in the automaker's lineup. But Ford was mum on whether the new mini truck would be sold in the United States. The truck is likely a replacement for the Ford Courier, which was never sold in the U.S.
Apple sheds 200 employees from its mysterious self-driving car program
Apple has dismissed 200 employees from Project Titan, its self-driving car program. We don't know whether the workers who got moved or laid off were engineers, designers, or something else. Apple may never build a car, but a spokesperson for the company reaffirmed its commitment to autonomous technology.
Think trucks are basic? The 2020 GMC Sierra HD can see through a trailer
GMC released the new 2020 Sierra 2500 HD and Sierra 3500 HD. Both trucks are considerably more high-tech than their predecessors, and the new features mostly benefit drivers who tow on a regular basis. Power comes from a 6.6-liter turbodiesel engine rated at a mighty 910 pound-feet of torque.
Hyundai has created the ‘world’s first multi-collision airbag system’
Around 30 percent of vehicle accidents involve multiple collisions, a reality that prompted Hyundai to develop what it claims is the world's first airbag capable of deploying in a multi-impact traffic accident. The South Korean automaker plans to fit the system into future Hyundai and Kia automobiles.