Car Tech
-
The German supplier at the root of Dieselgate aims to diversify into the world of plug-ins and EVs, but hasn’t quite let go of diesel yet.
-
Tesla Navigate on Autopilot drives itself poorly, Consumer Reports finds
Consumer Reports tests automatic lane changes on Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot and finds it creates safety concerns.
Eric C. Evarts -
GM builds new electric architecture for EVs, self-driving cars
General Motors is building some of its future vehicles with a backbone that can support over-the-air updates and better overall security.
Eric C. Evarts -
Hyundai system purifies cabin air, raises awareness about pollution levels
Particulate matter from diesel engines is one of the primary concerns for a system that uses lasers and informs occupants of cabin air quality.
Bengt Halvorson -
Report: Autopilot was engaged when Tesla Model 3 crashed into semi
A preliminary report released on Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed an important piece of information in the fatal crash involving a 2018 Tesla Model 3 earlier this year: Autopilot was engaged. On March 1, the Model 3 was traveling southbound on U.S. 441—a...
Bengt Halvorson -
Smartphone-based customization coming to Hyundai and Kia electric cars
Drivers could carry their own settings into Hyundai and Kia plug-in vehicles, whether owned or part of car-sharing fleets.
Bengt Halvorson -
Nidec has a new in-wheel motor system that could be mass-produced for an electric car as soon as 2023. But old obstacles like weight and cost remain.
-
2019 CES: Quiet year for green-car and self-driving news
As always, the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show held this week in Las Vegas was massive. Hundreds of thousands of attendees, workers, and support staff converged at multiple venues to show off their latest wares, meet with clients, partners, and the media and try to break through the news clutter...
John Voelcker -
Tesla sales, VW tech, electric Harley-Davidson: Today's Car News
With final sales reports out from the whole auto industry, we built some context around Tesla's end-of-the-year sales numbers. The Model 3 is setting the pace among luxury cars. Volkswagen buys wireless tech from Volvo. Harley-Davidson announces pricing and a date for buyers interested in...
Eric C. Evarts -
Toyota's newest self-driving test car is a Lexus LS luxury sedan
If you're going to develop a self-driving test vehicle, why not make it one that passengers would enjoy riding in? Perhaps that's the logic behind Toyota's choice of its new Lexus LS large luxury sedan as the basis for the P4, its latest automated-driving test vehicle—unveiled yesterday by...
John Voelcker -
2019 Audi e-tron side-camera system: Is the U.S. missing out?
Side-camera systems, replacing side mirrors, have been one of the de rigueur symbols of the future on auto-show concept cars for, well, pretty much this entire century so far. While we’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of such systems for nearly as long—they’re not allowed...
Bengt Halvorson -
Elaborate engine: Variable-compression Infiniti yields small efficiency gains
Turbocharging has mostly not lived up to its billing of being the savior of internal-combustion engine technology. Earlier this decade, facing increasing fuel economy requirements, automakers rushed to boost fuel economy by adding turbochargers to lots of small engines. The problem is, many of them...
Eric C. Evarts -
Researchers claim their RCCI engine has hit 60 percent thermal efficiency on the test bench, which would represent about a 50 percent improvement over the best modern engines.
-
1970 Clean Car Race: How college teams helped bring about emission limits on new cars (and show up Detroit) after the first Earth Day.
Looking back on the 1970 Clean Air Car Race is a good reminder that innovation doesn't always start at the top.
Eric C. Evarts -
Toyota details next-generation hybrids, more efficient gasoline engines
Cars with plugs may be the cleaner and greener future, but at the moment, they make up only about 1 percent of global sales approaching 100 million vehicles a year. That means that automakers continue to work ceaselessly on more efficient gasoline engines and lighter vehicles to put them in. Last...
John Voelcker -
What percent of US full-size pickup trucks will plug in by 2025? Twitter poll results
If the U.S. is serious about reducing carbon emissions from road vehicles—under the current administration, the jury remains out—pickup trucks are key. More than half of the reduction in fuel consumption in pickup trucks projected under corporate average fuel economy rules comes from...
John Voelcker -
What green tech best suits pickup trucks in 2030? Twitter poll results
U.S. car buyers have increasingly ignored passenger sedans and hatchbacks and replaced them with utility vehicles of various sorts, and that's a trend that shows no sign of abating. One reason is that crossovers and SUVs now get better fuel economy than they did 10 years ago, when owning one...
John Voelcker -
How Silicon Valley startup boosted MPG in 2019 Chevy Silverado pickup truck
It looks like GM's investment arm, GM Ventures, has borne some real-world, fuel-saving fruit. Sophisticated engine-control algorithms under the hood of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup truck, which make the truck's V-8 engines more efficient, came from work done by a company in which...
Mark Stevenson -
The industry trade journal WardsAuto has been giving out "Best Engine" awards for 24 years now, and this year's list includes some interesting choices. For starters, there are no engines from German manufacturers on the list: The sole luxury recipients this year are Infiniti and Jaguar. But more importantly, and for the first time ever, four of the winners are electrified—and two aren't engines at all. DON'T MISS: Three Hybrids On Ward's '10 Best Engines' List For 2016 For 2018, Wards declared two hybrid powertrains worthy of its accolades. The reworked 2.5-liter Atkinson Cycle inline-4...
-
New approach to electric-car battery cooling: immerse cells in coolant
Regardless of how your vehicle is powered—whether it be an internal-combustion engine or a battery pack powering an electric motor—most powertrains have a common enemy: heat. For Taipei-based XING Mobility, heat is a major concern for its high-performance Miss R model as its battery...
Mark Stevenson -
Commercial tests of self-driving Chevy Bolt EV to launch in many cities in 2019
General Motors officials made a bold announcement on a Thursday conference call with investors: the automaker plans to launch commercial autonomous fleet operations beginning in 2019. The Detroit-based automaker's vision for commercial, autonomous ride sharing will begin with self-driving Bolt EV...
Mark Stevenson -
2019 Infiniti QX50 crossover to debut variable-compression engine
Efforts by automakers to increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions have intensified in recent years as emission rules have tightened and the effects of climate change are better analyzed. While electric cars and hybrids will grow in popularity, the internal-combustion engine remains the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota electric cars could use airless tires if research pans out: report
Although electric cars offer numerous benefits in engineering, design, and zero-emission operation, their overall weight remains a hurdle for automakers, especially as bigger batteries with longer ranges become more important. It now appears that Toyota may look to airless tires as a way to cut...
Sean Szymkowski -
"Death of the internal combustion engine" is now a thing
The very first working four-cycle internal-combustion engine was invented by Niklaus Otto in 1876, and in due course it changed the world. A quarter of a century later, gasoline engines, steam-powered vehicles, and electric drive competed on an equal basis, but by 1915, it was clear the gasoline...
John Voelcker