Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Mid-cycle refresh sharpens styling, updates tech, adds new engine – and new AT4 model.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.18, 2019
The new 2020 GMC Acadia AT4 edition puts the emphasis on off-roadability.
GMC has lifted the covers on an update of its popular Acadia SUV, and it offers more changes than you’d typically expect from a mid-cycle refresh.
The 2020 GMC Acadia opts for a more classic, ute-like face, with a more boxy, upright grille framed by now-standard LED headlamps and C-shaped LED running lights. The front and rear fascia also get new treatments.
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The 2020 refresh sees some all new features added to the midsize ute, including a new turbo engine. But one of the more significant moves comes with the addition of the new Acadia AT4. Something of a counterpoint to the upscale Acadia Denali, the AT4 model puts the emphasis on serious off-road capabilities.
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Tags: 2020 gmc acadia, 2020 gmc acadia review, auto news, car news, gmc acadia at4, gmc acadia denal, gmc acadia pic, gmc news, midsize SUV, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Chevrolet, Crossovers/CUVs, First Look, GM, GMC, Markets, Product Reveals, SUVs, Sales, Technology, Trends, U.S./North America | No Comments »
Rumored GM investment could yet follow.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.15, 2019
The Rivian R1T pickup will boast 400 miles range, according to the company.
Just a week after announcing a major investment in an autonomous vehicle development company, online retailer Amazon said Friday it will become the lead investor in a new, $700 million round of financing for Rivian, the Detroit-based battery-electric company.
Rivian is in the final stages of developing two all-electric models, the full-size R1T pickup and R1S sport-utility vehicle. It is aiming to challenge not only electric vehicle rival Tesla but the established Detroit automakers that have long dominated the full-size pickup market.
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Rumors of a deal between Amazon and Rivian began to circulate earlier this week, though some reports had suggested that General Motors would also come up with some financing. Sources tell TheDetroitBureau.com that this remains a possibility and suggest that Rivian could have more announcements coming. The automaker has scheduled a news conference for the New York International Auto Show in mid-April. (more…)
Tags: Rivian Tesla competition, Rivian electric truck R1T, Rivian gets $700M from Amazon, Rivian investment funding, Rivian news, Rivian talking with GM, Rivian talks with Amazon, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Business, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Executives, Funding, GM, Investors, Markets, Personalities, Rivian, Sales, Technology, Trends, U.S./North America, Waymo | 2 Comments »
The bikes can travel nearly 40 miles on a charge.
by Joseph Szczesny on Feb.15, 2019
The new ARĪV Merge, in red, and Meld are new eBikes created by General Motors' Mobility division.
General Motors is taking the first step in launching its bike business by launching ARĪV, its new eBike brand in Western Europe.
GM sold off its European passenger car business to PSA in 2017 said the ARĪV line will includes two innovative, integrated and connected eBikes: the Meld, a compact eBike, and the Merge, a folding eBike. The name ARĪV was selected as part of a global crowdsourcing campaign announced in November 2018.
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“The crowdsourcing campaign allowed us to bring consumers into the development of our brand,” said Hannah Parish, ARĪV director. “Combine that with our products and our blend of bike and automotive talent, and the result is a unique brand DNA.” (more…)
Tags: ARIV eBikes, GM eBikes Germany Netherlands Belgium, GM eBikes selling in Europe first, GM's electric bikes, General Motors creates eBikes, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, gm news, joseph szczesny, new GM eBikes, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Asia Pacific, Automakers, Automobiles, Business, China, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Europe, GM, Markets, Sales, Technology, U.S./North America | No Comments »
New report: sticking point centers around autonomous vehicle program.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.14, 2019
Ford CEO Jim Hackett, left, and VW AG CEO Herbert Diess downplayed the immediate impact their new deal.
When Volkswagen and Ford announced a joint venture focused on light commercial vehicles last month, the two automakers also confirmed they were looking at a variety of other possible partnerships – including autonomous and electrified vehicles – but there are growing signs that the negotiations aren’t going as well as expected in several areas.
As TheDetroitBureau.com reported earlier this week, talks on aligning VW and Ford electric vehicle programs are faltering because of significant differences in strategy – and now, reports the Reuters news service, there may be serious challenges surfacing that could prevent them from teaming up on the development of autonomous vehicles, as well.
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The key issue, the news service says, is Ford’s demand that the German carmaker invest at least $500 million in its own autonomous vehicle program. That would be in line with the investment Honda recently made when it decided to partner up with General Motors on autonomous vehicle research. (more…)
Tags: Ford VW autonomous vehicles, Ford VW news, Ford VW partnership talks, TheDetroitBureau.com., VW Ford agreement, VW Ford discussions, Volkswagen Ford partnership, auto news, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Asia Pacific, Automakers, Automobiles, Business, China, EVs, Europe, Executives, Ford, Markets, NAFTA, Personalities, South America, Technology, U.S./North America, Volkswagen | 1 Comment »
Expected to be one of 12 all-electric models from luxury brand.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.14, 2019
Audi's newest addition to its EV family is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show, and the company gave us a peek a the new Q4 e-tron.
The Volkswagen Group last week confirmed plans to roll out “50+” battery-electric vehicles by 2025 and, it seems, fully a dozen of those will be sold through its high-line luxury brand.
The first of these, simply dubbed the Audi e-tron, is set to go on sale later this year, while a production version of the e-tron GT Concept unveiled at last November’s L.A. Auto Show will hit the road next year. And now, ahead of next month’s Geneva Motor Show, we’re getting a first look at the Audi Q4 e-tron that will follow by no later than the first half of 2021.
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As the Q4 name suggests, the next all-electric model will be a crossover, reflecting the fact that battery-electric vehicles won’t be immune from the rapid shift from cars to light trucks sweeping across the global auto industry. (more…)
Tags: Audi e-tron line-up, Audi teases Q4 e-tron, Audi using MEB, Audi's dozen EVs, TheDetroitBureau.com., audi electric vehicles, audi geneva motor show, audi news, auto news, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Asia Pacific, Audi, Auto Shows, Automakers, Automobiles, China, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Europe, Events, Executives, Geneva, Luxury Vehicles, Markets, NAFTA, Personalities, SUVs, Sales, South America, Technology, Trends, U.S./North America, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Deal could be announced this month, according to Reuters.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.12, 2019
Rivian founder RJ Scaringe showed off the the R1T all-electric pickup at the LA Auto Show.
Battery truckmaker Rivian Automotive is reportedly in negotiations with both Amazon and General Motors on a deal that could be worth as much as $2 billion.
The deal would give the two companies a minority stake in Rivian, a start-up based in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, according to a report on Reuters.
Breaking News!
The proposed deal could help GM, in particular, add a battery-electric pickup to its line-up, something archrival Ford Motor Co. has said that it is already working on. A senior executive at GM last month told TheDetroitBureau.com that the carmaker is “considering” an all-electric truck.
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Tags: Rivian, Rivian news, auto news, battery truck, car news, electric truck, electric vehicle, gm electric pickup, gm news, gmc, gmc electric, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, rivian gm amazon, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Auto Shows, Automakers, Automobiles, Business, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Financials, Ford, Fuel Economy, GM, GMC, Investors, Los Angeles, Pickups, Rivian, Sales, Technology, Trends | No Comments »
Comfort reminiscent of a luxury car with truck utility.
by Joseph Szczesny on Feb.12, 2019
The 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie offers comfort reminiscent of a luxury car, but offers plenty of truck utility.
Pickup trucks are hot now and no truck is getting more attention than the Ram 1500, which is ringing up scores of plaudits.
The honors, among them North American Truck of The Year for 2019, are well deserved.
Reviews You Can Use!
For anyone who has driven traditional pickup for work, climbing into the cab of a Ram 1500 Laramie is a revelation as it has the kind of comfortable luxury one traditionally associates with full-sized luxury sedans. (more…)
Tags: 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie, FCA news, Ram 1500, Ram Hemi, Ram Laramie, Ram full-size truck, Ram pickup truck, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, joseph szczesny, new Ram Laramie, ram news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, FCA, First Drive, Infotainment, Markets, Pickups, Ram, Reviews, Safety, Safety, Technology, Technology, U.S./North America | 1 Comment »
A combined VW-Ford battery-car program seems to have come un-plugged, however.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.11, 2019
An under-the-skin look at VW's modular MEB battery-car platform reveals the skateboard-like layout.
Volkswagen is plugging into battery power in a big way, the German automaker planning to launch 50 or more all-electric models by 2025, an aggressive push that will have it betting heavily on a single new platform it is developing. Dubbed the MEB, this flexible, modular “architecture” will be used to underpin the vast majority of battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, that will be offered by VW’s dozen different passenger car brands.
The MEB has been a topic of discussion between VW and Ford Motor Co., the two companies recently launching a joint venture to develop light commercial vehicles. They also are exploring ways they may be able to work together on the development of electric vehicles, possibly using the new VW platform — though a senior Ford official cautioned that this might prove more difficult than originally hoped.
Beyond the Headlines!
“The future, for us, is really a dedicated EV platform,” said Matthew Renna, vice president of e-Mobility for Volkswagen’s North American Region, a platform “flexible enough to cover a broad gamut of products ranging from an entry level subcompact up to models like the ID. Buzz minivan and even midsize SUVs.
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Tags: Audi e-tron, VW MEB, auto news, car news, ford news, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, volkswagen electric, vw battery car, vw electric, vw ford, vw ford ev.electric vehicles, vw id buzz, vw meb platform, vw news
Posted in Audi, Auto Shows, Automakers, Automobiles, Business, Chicago, China, Concept Cars, Crossovers/CUVs, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Environment, Europe, Ford, Fuel Economy, Investors, Markets, Porsche, SUVs, Sales, Sports Cars, Technology, Tesla, Trends, U.S./North America, Volkswagen | No Comments »
T. Rowe Price halves stake from 10.12% to 5.2%.
by Michael Strong on Feb.11, 2019
The mad rush to blow out Model 3s at the end of the year has left Tesla with very few Model 3s to deliver.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that the company would face some stiff headwinds in the early part of this year, and now some of those issues are now coming to light … as are the consequences.
The company’s last recent round of layoffs were unexpected, but were initially seen positively as analysts suggested the company would need to find ways to cut costs. However, according to Reuters, one of the teams that were cut significantly should have raised alarm bells sooner.
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Reuters reports that Tesla’s delivery team saw 150 of 230 employees lose their jobs. The Las Vegas-based group was largely responsible for delivering the company’s savior vehicle: the Model 3. (more…)
Tags: T. Rowe Price cuts Tesla stake in half, Tesla Model 3 news, Tesla Model 3 problems, Tesla Model 3 stock empty, Tesla T. Rowe Price, Tesla out of cheaper Model 3s, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, michael strong, tesla news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Asia Pacific, Automakers, Automobiles, Business, China, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Europe, Executives, Investors, Markets, NAFTA, Personalities, Sales, Sedans, South America, Technology, Tesla, Trends, U.S./North America | 1 Comment »
Technology is going to lead, but old school rules will ensure success.
by Joseph Szczesny on Feb.08, 2019
Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of Global Operations, meets with the media after the announcement that Ford would pump $1B into the Chicago plant.
As the auto industry stands on the cusp of a huge upheaval, Ford Motor Co. is pursuing a strategy that not only looks to new technology, but also relies on the deft use of the manufacturing skills that were instrumental in the company’s rise more than a century ago.
Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, Global Operations, said the billion-dollar investment the company is making in its manufacturing operations in Chicago, where the company has some 6,000 blue-collar workers and plans to add 500 more in the few months, will depend utilize both the latest automation but also the human touch.
The Last Word!
“We’re going to have a new, highly-automated paint shop and body shop,” said Hinrichs talking about Ford’s future plans with reporters at the Chicago Auto Show. But Ford is also depending on the skill of its employees to build the new Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator.as well as specialty vehicles such as the police interceptor that is based on the Explorer. (more…)
Tags: Ford $1B Chicago investment, Ford Chicago Assembly Plant, Ford China plans, Ford future production, Ford's Joe Hinrichs, Hinrichs says manufacturing will set company's tone, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, ford exports to china, ford news, joseph szczesny, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Asia Pacific, Auto Shows, Automakers, Business, Chicago, China, Europe, Executives, Ford, Markets, NAFTA, Personalities, Politicians, SUVs, Sales, South America, Technology, Trends, U.S./North America, UAW, Union | No Comments »
