Category Archives: connected vehicles

Nissan OKs First Bi-Directional Charger for LEAF

Usage of the approved charger will not impact the LEAF’s battery warranty. Moreover, in theory,  it allows some business owners to use a Nissan LEAF to help reduce energy costs. Bi-directional charging technology means that it is possible to charge the LEAF and also send energy stored in the vehicle battery back to the building or the grid. This could save money with their local electric utility, as well as cut the total cost of ownership of the vehicle. Continue reading

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GM Expanding Super Cruise Hands-Free Driver Assistance

Super Cruise accelerates or brakes the vehicle to maintain a selected following gap from a vehicle ahead, steers to maintain lane position, and on some models when offered, can perform both driver and system-initiated lane changes to pass slower traffic and to move from a lane that may be ending, while monitoring the driver’s head position and/or eyes in relation to the road to help ensure driver attention. Continue reading

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GM: Virtual EV Specialists Available for Free Consult

The online program offers a space (screen?) for real conversations about EVs. EV Live will also help prepare GM dealers, employees, fleet and commercial customers, utilities and third-party collaborators for the all-electric future that virtually all automakers and some policy people think is coming. Continue reading

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OnStar Adds Motorcycles and Integrates Amazon Alexa

Motorcycle riders can now have 24/7 access to Emergency Advisors (1) and tailored Roadside Assistance (2). This service is available to all OnStar Guardian Members in the US and Canada. Continue reading

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All Porsche Taycan EVs Can be Upgraded to 2023 Specs

“This campaign will allow our customers to benefit from the continuous further development of the Taycan. We have extensively optimized the model series in almost every respect since 2019,” said Kevin Giek, Vice President Model Line Taycan. Continue reading

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GM and Pilot to Build Coast-to-Coast EV Fast-Charging Grid

The network of 2000 charging stalls, co-branded “Pilot Flying J” and “Ultium Charge 360”, will be powered by EVgo eXtend and open to all EV brands at up to 500 Pilot and Flying J travel centers. GM customers will receive special benefits such as exclusive reservations, discounts on charging, a streamlined charging process through “Plug and Charge” and integration into GM’s vehicle brand apps providing real-time charger availability and help with route planning. This collaboration is targeting the installation of charging stalls at 50-mile intervals across the US. For GM, this development is one more step in its ~$750 million investment in EV charging infrastructure. Continue reading

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Infotainment: Mercedes-Benz Group and ZYNC

Through ZYNC, Mercedes-Benz customers will be able to access a range of third-party global and local streaming services. The first application of ZYNC is planned for the end of this year in the EQS and S-Class in Europe, with rollout in further models and markets planned for 2023. Continue reading

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Automaker Profits Post-Covid Hiding Supplier Weakness

The continued trend delivers a “complex backdrop for an industry committing $526 billion through 2026,” AlixPartners’ analysis finds, to fund the shift to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). The transition, now taking place amid a weakening economic outlook, could cost automakers and suppliers $70 billion if not effectively managed, the analysis finds. There are several implications for consumers here – not all of them benign. Continue reading

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Safety Performance of Advanced Vehicle Technologies Murky

The set of crashes, which automakers and operators reported to NHTSA from the time the SGO was issued last June, are clearly important. They provide NHTSA with direct information about crashes that occur with vehicles that have various levels of automated driving systems deployed at least 30 seconds before a crash occurred. Continue reading

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Stellantis and Samsung SDI JV to Build EV Batteries in Kokomo

The joint venture company will invest more than $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) and create 1400 new jobs in Kokomo and the surrounding areas. The investment could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion (€2.9 billion). The new facility will supply battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North American assembly plants. Continue reading

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BMW iX Flow Connected Directly to the Brain?

“We have already introduced further improvements for the technology since CES,” said Stella Clarke, project lead of the BMW iX Flow. “Previously, the changes between color patterns only took place in a gradual transition. Now, the control electronics have been tweaked to enable instantaneous transformations, resulting in an even more stunning visual effect.” Sounds like a stoner on speed to AutoInformed. Keep truckin’. Continue reading

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Lamborghini Joining IMSA GTP LMDh in 2024

Since 2016, Lamborghini has posted 15 victories in the WeatherTech Championship GTD class, including consecutive wins at the Rolex 24 in 2018, ‘19 and ’20. Continue reading

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Restricted Sale of Genesis GV60 EV Starts Today at $60,000

The GV60 will be offered in two packages in the United States. Initially, the 2023 Genesis GV60 will only be sold at some Genesis retailers in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. It is as much a biometric information sales experiment as it is a vehicle. Customer response will be worth watching. No range numbers were in the release? Continue reading

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SEC Charges Autonomous Vehicle Supplier NVIDIA with Shoddy Disclosures

NVIDIA is a US-based artificial intelligence (AI) computing company that is a significant automotive supplier for an important building block in a network of several individual ECUs (Electronic control units)  used in automated and driverless vehicles. It goes by the name Drive Pegasus. Continue reading

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Stellantis Hackathon – Hardware Enhanced by Software

It’s the latest example of the direction that mobility tech companies, aka automakers, are taking as the industry moves from only “hardware” involving stamping, welding and bolting to software-defined vehicles. Many if not all automakers are racing to  grow from their old blacksmithing ways. Continue reading

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