Category Archives: engineering

GM to Up Deliveries by Dropping Stop-Start on Pickups, SUVs

The bad news is GM’s gas mileage increasing stop-start system is being dropped on some models of the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV SUVs. Stop-start will also be dropped for the moment on certain light-duty Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. The semiconductor or microchip shortage is expected to last through 2021, and possibly until sometime in 2022. Continue reading

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General Motors Expands Access to OnStar Guardian App

OnStar Guardian offers Mobile Crash Response, which uses smartphone sensors to detect crashes and alert an Emergency-Certified OnStar Advisor. Continue reading

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Toyota Via KINTO to Sell Cars That ‘Evolve in Tune With People’

In a vast advancement – in press release theory so far, that is – from evolving auto industry efforts to personalize vehicles, they started this endeavor by offering today, through KINTO*1, the new GR Yaris Morizo Selection, a car that can be updated with the latest software tailored to each customer. Continue reading

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Honda Supplying Electric Power Unit for Commercial Work

Taking advantage of the characteristics of the electrified power unit, the eGX accommodates the needs of work equipment use in places where it is difficult to secure adequate ventilation and in use environments where users want to avoid equipment noise as much as possible, such as during nighttime and in residential areas. Moreover, the eGX improves operability and ease of maintenance, which will reduce the user’s workload. The eGX also contributes to the users’ zero-emission goals, said Honda. Continue reading

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Volkswagen, Carmel, IN to Test Cameras and Machine Vision Software to Speed Traffic. Potential Privacy Threats?

The city will have a dashboard that gathers data from various locations and highlights key learnings. The software does not track individuals or individual vehicles; it automatically pixelates faces and license plates. Still, there are privacy concerns here. The software also does not store images, but only the counting data it generates, as a further form of privacy protection. Still, there are privacy concerns here as there is no assurance that tracking could be enabled. Continue reading

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Out of this World! Secret Lockheed Martin, GM EV Revealed

“This alliance brings together powerhouse innovation from both companies to make a transformative class of vehicles,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space. Continue reading

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Ford Introduces All-Electric F-150 Lightning Pro – Bring Money

Ford is the only automaker, thus far, to offer an 80-amp charge station as standard equipment with the so-called extended-range truck. It uses the only dual onboard charging system in the industry to cut the 15%-to-100% charge time to roughly eight hours for the hoped-for EPA-estimated 300-mile-range. This might help “reduce charging infrastructure investments and battery wear,” but this is Ford speculating about what remains a core issue with EVs – the ability to charge them and America’s outdated grid and infrastructure that the Republicans refuse to cooperate with job-creating Democrats to update. Continue reading

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First Look – Kia EV6 Joins Electrification Parade

The 11kW on-board charger (OBC) for Level 2 recharging from 10-to-100% in – gasp – 7 hours, 10 minutes (240v AC, at 40-amps) for the larger 77.4 kWh battery versions. No wonder Last Mile Navigation provides walking directions to the driver’s actual destination if the vehicle is parked between 0.1 and 1.2 miles away. Continue reading

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EV Pickup! Ford is Betting Lightning Can Strike Twice

Two giant questions lurking the floors of the Dearborn Glass House are: When Ford builds it next year in 2022 will they come; Can Ford build a complicated new technology vehicle without a series of recalls, glitches and bugs that have been standard equipment on previous high-technology launches including the current generation Explorer? (See AutoInformed* below) Another unknown is EV tax credits. The maximum Federal tax credit is $7,500 for any vehicle no matter the cost. It ceases for automakers at 200,000 total EVs sold. Both General Motors and Tesla have hit the subsidy wall and currently do not qualify for the $7,500 tax credit. The Biden Administration could change this. Continue reading

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Stellantis, Foxconn JV for Digital Cockpits, Connected Services

Leaving the marketing babble aside, Mobile Drive will combine Stellantis’ global vehicle design and engineering with Foxconn’s development in the changing software and hardware realms of smartphones and consumer electronics. Continue reading

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Ford DIY COVID-19 Air Filtration Kit?

The study found that box fan air cleaners like this can serve as an effective low-cost alternative for mitigating airborne transmission risks in poorly ventilated spaces. In addition to the peer-reviewed article, research conducted by Well Living Lab, founded as a collaboration between Delos and Mayo Clinic, found similar air purifiers were effective at improving air quality in poorly ventilated areas. Continue reading

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Toyota FY2021- Net Profit Surges 10% on $20.6B in Revenue

In particular, sales of electrified vehicles of 2,155,000 units or 112.3% of the previous fiscal year presents a serious challenge to would be competitors who are late to a game that increasingly is the only game in town or will be given the trend of current regulations. Continue reading

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Renault Sport Cars Becomes Alpine Cars

The challenges of that lofty goal were on full display yesterday during the Formula One race in Spain. The Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon scored two points at the  Spanish Grand Prix after finishing in ninth place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with home favorite Fernando Alonso outside the points in seventeenth or in his case Formula None. Mercedes-Benz and Honda dominated the race. The team remains fifth in the Constructors’ Championship. Continue reading

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Solid Power – More Money from BMW, Ford, Volta Energy Technologies for Solid-State EV Batteries

Of the three companies in the new agreement, BMW Group is the clear leader in electrification. Its Neue Klasse presented at its annual conference in March said this new generation of vehicles, which will be launched by the middle of this decade, will be uncompromisingly electric, digital, circular – and clearly focused on all-electric drivetrains. (All-Electric BMW i4 Shown, Q1 Financial Results of BMW Exceed Market Expectations) Continue reading

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Ford Ion Park – New Global Battery R&D Site in Michigan

It is supposed to accelerate research and development of battery and battery cell technology, including future battery manufacturing – areas where Ford is lagging behind other automakers, notably General Motors in the US and global makers such as Nissan, Toyota and Honda. Continue reading

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