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Showing posts from 2016

Formula E Cars Zaps Onto Real Racing 3

Photo Credit: Screenshot Via Real Racing 3/EA In an ironic move, cars introduced to the Real Racing 3 app share a power source similar to that maintained in electronic devices running the popular game. As the holiday season started, the developers behind Real Racing 3 announced access to updated content made possible through a new partnership in the motorsport world. For the first time on the app, the all-electric race vehicles belonging to the FIA Formula E championship can now be wheeled by an accelerometer and touchscreen pad. The addition of FIA Formula E comprises of three race vehicles as well as the introduction of a new Hong Kong street course. Digital representations of the 2016/2017 Formula E championship batter-powered race cars are based on the SRT_01E vehicle created by a collaborative effort of companies including Spark Racing Technology, Renault and Dallara. For Real Racing 3, cars included is the Renault e.dams team's Z.E.16, NextEV NIO's TCR Formula 002

Audi Intends To Scale Up In Detroit With Q8 Concept

Photo Credit: Audi of America In less than a month, the potential of a new year in the automotive sector will be in full bloom in Detroit. For a longtime a showcase largely reserved for new cars and ideas of the American automakers, growing interests of other brands has elevated the North American International Auto Show into a pinnacle global event. German luxury car maker Audi will be among the world motoring contingent choosing the 2017 edition of the auto show in Detroit to debut their latest vehicle imagery in the form of the Q8 concept. Previewed in pair of sketches ahead of the 2017 North American International Auto Show, the Audi Q8 concept front and side exterior views reveal a sizable crossover infused with a healthy performance appetite. Featuring a long hood and long flat roof and a wide front version of Audi's Singleframe grille, the Q8 concept vehicle's outer appearance does convey an intentional sport design. Although premiering as a concept in Detroit, th

Markham's Multimatic Assembles First Production 2017 Ford GT Supercars

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company Almost two years since its initial introduction to the public at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Ford GT has enjoyed some busy duties. The supercar propelled by one of the most powerful twin-turbocharged V-6 engines ever placed inside a North American built production car has been in the spotlight even before the first vehicle was handed to its first owner. An auto show darling and driven in virtual form in Forza Motorsport 6, the racing version of the Ford GT became a quick spectacle in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Taking three class victories in the North American sports car racing series in its debut season in 2016, the year was highlighted by the LMGTE Pro category victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With a modern pedigree established, the first production examples of the 2017 Ford GT will work on cementing its status as a road car.   Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company Taking place in Markha

Alfa Romeo Confirms Canadian Pricing for Giulia Sedan

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Since the merger of Fiat Group Automobiles and Chrysler Corporation was announced, the framework for installing a greater dose of Italian content from the former company in the United States and Canada was laid. With Dodge, Chrysler and the Ram brand all heavily driven by Fiat's European influence heading into the 2017 model year, the door had also opened to a pair of brands that returned following meager presence on Canadian roads for years. The Fiat 500 that arrived in late 2010 brought one of the world's oldest running automobile brands back and has been reinforced by added models including the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. In 2014, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gave Alfa Romeo a new chance to shine again in upper part of North America (the brand had already been present in Mexico in recent years). Following the arrival of the 4C sports car and the 4C Spider that came in 2015, the Alfa Romeo name is prepared to adorn a new sedan for 2017. A new vehicle on

Honda’s Secret 30th Anniversary In Indy Car Racing

Photo Credit: Engine Developments Ltd. Too many times, forgetting an anniversary would end with someone spending time in the proverbial doghouse. This has apparently happened this year as the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season concluded with no major celebrations or recognition for what is 30 years since a major current partner of American open wheel racing began participation in the sport. The following article is a collection of the details I’ve learned as well as some insight from engine builder John Judd on what was a quiet 30th anniversary in the Verizon IndyCar Series. During the week where the 30th running of the Canadian street race now known as the Honda Indy Toronto, I was compelled to capture the flavour of the inaugural event. The viewing experience provided me some insight into a period of time where I was too young to absorb auto racing in the manner I do today. A race that featured television coverage with no regular onscreen statistics, the league used a local

Production Begins In Windsor For 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Minivan

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Purposed to be the choice family shuttle heading into 2017, the Chrysler Pacifica premiered less than a year ago at North American International Auto Show in Detroit centered on rising the bar for comfort, practicality and advanced technology, Advertised as a vehicle with 40 firsts in the minivan category, the 2017 Pacifica's momentous roll-out is bolstered by remarkable available equipment such as Forward Collision Warning-Plus, hands-free sliding door and liftgate opening, a Stow 'n Vac integrated vacuum supplied RIDGID and a rear seat Uconnect Theater entertainment suite consisting of internet-enabled 10-inch touchscreens that can be used to play built-in games. In addition to innovations made in the name of safety and comfort for the new Chrysler minivan, the Pacifica would be the first Fiat Chrysler Automobiles product sold in North America with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.   Featuring a modified version of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engin

Canadian Auto Insurance Company Offers New Discount For Vehicles With Automatic Emergency Braking

Photo Credit: Toyota Canada Inc. Like it or not, the next decade of motoring is embracing a reality where advanced technologies will play a more involved role. While optimistic futurists are hedging bids that full self-driving autonomous will be emerging, a more plausible driving future appears more likely to the supported by sensors, cameras and software in a manner that could make a noticeable effort in reducing collisions. One of the more remarkable technology is an automatic emergency braking system that has gained rapid acceptance as a collision avoidance tool. In what has been a relatively short period of time, this automotive safety advancement's potential of reducing severe accidents can now be a tool for car insurance savings in many parts of Canada through one provider. Through Aviva Canada Inc., drivers of vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking are entitled to a discount of 15 percent to relevant auto insurance policies. As Aviva becomes the first auto

EA Makes Real Attempt To Make Amends Following Real Racing 3 Update Uproar

Photo Credit: Real Racing 3/EA Earlier this month, there was an uproar over the virtual racing app Real Racing 3 as the publisher made some controversial changes during a recent update. Many users complained on social media that aspects relating to the vehicle handling has been altered drastically. As someone who plays Real Racing 3, I concur with the comments there were noticeable changes to the driving dynamics in the game namely more aggressive brake assist and more contentious AI of competitors. Last week, a video link was added to Real Racing 3 related to what is called the R3 Version 4.7 McLaren update.  In the message, a producer for Real Racing 3 described the changes to the game as unintentional saying it was meant to be limited to a specific component of the racing experience that leaked into updated game. Although the producer's comment on the vehicle controls has not been consistent with what is currently experienced, he did acknowledge a change in the AI. Within

Real Racing 3 Adds Experimental McLaren MP4-X Concept

Photo Credit: Image from Real Racing 3/Electronic Arts A recent update of Real Racing 3 has spawned some good and bad traits for the popular racing app. Starting with the good news, Real Racing 3 is currently offering players to gain access to new McLaren-branded vehicles. Production-based 570GT and 675LT have been added alongside a radical concept racer. The most stunning ride introduced to the app racing game, the McLaren MP4-X was concocted as an extreme example of a Formula 1 car matched with the limits of real-world technology. Sculpted as an advanced hybrid race car last year as an exercise of McLaren Applied Technologies, the MP4-X's electrical power system consists of generation through typical means such as braking as well as through solar cells. Electrical power is stored in thin batteries orchestrated around the vehicle for weight optimization. Although Formula 1 is already exploiting hybrid race car technology, the McLaren MP4-X's application is beyond th

Laser Light Show Comes To US With 2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition

Photo Credit: Audi AG It's been more than two years when the beam of some vehicle headlights gained intensity in Europe. In 2014, the first use of laser lighting technology debuted on a pair of niche vehicles (the European BMW i8 and a limited 99-car run of the special edition Audi R8 LMX. Generating a powerful white illumination using an indirect shine of a laser (a laser is projected through a mirror into a phosphorous lens), laser automotive lights may represent the next progression beyond LEDs as a high-beam source. As this lighting concept is slowly becoming a potentially bright opportunity for greater driver visibility during the nighttime, North America has not been involved in the efforts to highlight the use of laser lights. The prohibition on laser lights served as a reminder towards decades where the North American standards for vehicle lighting tends to lag behind European rules. Uncertainty with the technology has prevented its availability at the initial release

OnStar And IBM's Watson Making An Elemental New Pairing

Photo Credit: General Motors 1980s television show Knight Rider gave audiences a likable impression of a vehicle controlled by a computer-based artificial intelligence that had seemed futuristic until recent years. In a new partnership between General Motors and IBM, we really have to wonder if our connected automobiles may evolve into our own personal K.I.T.T. by the end of 2017. Set to be available on two million General Motors automobiles with OnStar 4G LTE connectivity, enhanced driver management and productivity functions inside a vehicle's cabin will be made possible through the Watson cognitive mobility platform. Becoming OnStar Go, the new connected in-car technology will provide users with a greater level of efficiency as the system adjusts to personal preferences. Working alongside other corpororate partners Mastercard, ExxonMobil, iHeartRadio Parkopedia and Glympse, the Watson-aided OnStar Go can provide services to operators at a near instant. Traffic informatio

Genovation Welcomes Pre-Orders For 205.6-MPH Electric Corvette

Photo Credit: Business Wire Does $750,000 US electric car sound costly or is it worth it for the world's fastest street legal all-electric car? Genovation Cars, a small American company based in the state of Maryland, had spent years creating an electric vehicle for the high-performance market. Converting one of the oldest running nameplates into a green supercar, the seventh generation Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport coupe was transformed into the Genovation GXE, The GXE emerged as record-setter this past July becoming the quickest public road-worthy electric car 205.6-mile per hour (330.881 kilometers per hour) run at Kennedy Space Center in Florida certified by the International Mile Racing Association, On the same week as reports that Audi pulled the plug on its R8 e-tron supercar after a very short construction run, Genovation has started accepting orders for its intended limited production vehicle. At a cost of $750,000 in the currency of Canada's southern neighbo

Henrik Fisker Attaches His Name To New All-Electric Plans

Photo Credit: Fisker Inc. The electrified luxury car marketplace has become the new promised land for 21st century motoring. Long-established companies such BMW, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors have offered vehicles that can operate primarily on electrical power for at least a short distance. However, relatively newer production car builders such as McLaren and Tesla Motors found opportunities to claim a piece of the high-end vehicle segment. Halfway in 2017, a new but familiar Fisker Inc. will rejoin the electrified luxury vehicle market in a completely fresh manner. Nine years ago, automotive designer Henrik Fisker founded a company that applied the expertise behind the style of the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9 into a radical sedan. Fisker Automotive set out to create a luxury car based on the plug-in hybrid powertrain, First revealing the elegant Fisker Karma in 2008 , the vehicle transcended the confides of traditional electric car styling seen at the time. The Karma's f

Chevrolet Bolt EV Charge In Canada With $42,795 MSRP Price Tag

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy At the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, General Motors' volume-leading division Chevrolet made a bold presentation of a concept representing the notion of the bowtie brand's first serious production vehicle not to be powered by an internal combustion engine. Besides the existence of the all-electric Bolt EV Concept, Chevrolet made a bold-looking pledge of an affordable battery-powered vehicle that can be driven to a range beyond 200 miles (320 kilometers). The original Bolt EV Concept quickly morphed into the production-ready all-electric concept car preserving a surprisingly hefty account of the design features touted on the auto show floor almost two years ago. A subcompact hatchback with a share of economy and technology, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will soon need to face the test of persuading a mass market to realistically consider an option to gasoline power. As the early 2017 arrival of the all-electric Chevy is being

Fastest Bug On the Salt Flats: Volkswagen Beetle Exceeds 205 Miles Per Hour at Bonneville

Photo Credit: Volkswagen of America 1935 was defined by two milestone events in automotive history. In Germany, the first two prototypes of the 'People's Car" were  constructed with guidance of Ferdinand Porsche. These vehicles quickly emerged as the precursor of the Volkswagen Beetle serving as an influential design ranked alongside the Ford Model T in significance. In the United States on a massive bed of salt in Utah, British speed record setter Sir Malcolm Campbell bettered an effort from a previous outing on Daytona Beach. On September 3rd of 1935, Campbell piloting his Rolls-Royce engined Blue Bird sailed to a 301.129-mile per hour land speed that stood for two years. 80 years after both moments, Volkswagen and the Bonneville Salt Flats combine for a new historic achievement. The stage for land speed records since the early part of the 20th century, the Bonneville Salt Flats, the sight of a yellow compact car exceeding the performance threshold defining most s

Bidding Farewell To Last Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Results In Sizable Charity Auction Bids

Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Motors North America At noontime eastern time on September 15th, a 1600th and final vehicle in Mitsubishi Motor's performance lineage in North America was sold. For a week, a 303-horsepower 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition was the focus of a monumental event capping the 11-year history of the car in North America. Through an Ebay charity auction aiding  Feeding America Riverside & San Bernardino Counties and Second Harvest Food Back of Orange Country,  bidding for the last 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution sport sedan resulted in a victory for the party that agreed to pay $76,400 US ($100,412.56 Canadian). Over $30,000 US above the retail sticker assigned to the Lancer Evolution Final Edition, the 60 bids used within the Ebay auction were devoted to a well-dressed Diamond White Pearl coloured car wearing significant US1600 numbering on an interior plaque.  Speaking in regards to the active contest for the last of the last for a s

Recharging A Plug-In Hybrid Luxury Dream: The Karma Revero

Photo Credit: Karma Automotive At the turn of the decade, the prospect for automobiles moving with literally a revised kind of energy was becoming not only a means to reduce gasoline consumption but a future fashion icon. In the late 2000s, inflated fuel prices eventually hurt everyone in the pocketbook as both the working class as well as the wealthier elite. In fact buyers who could afford high-end luxury vehicles, there was a humanizing reality when poor fuel mileage of their heavyweight premium cruisers combined with potentially lower income as a result of a massive global economic recession of 2008. While markets rebounded, fresh memories has led to creative visions of a new luxury car genre attempting to exploit electrified powertrains for an uncompromising road-going performance. In 2007, a start-up auto company seeing an entry position in a premium electrified vehicle category conceiving a plug-in hybrid sedan. Co-founded by Bernhard Koehler Henrik Fisker, an automotive

An Ethical End Of An Evolution: Mitsubishi's Final North American Performance Icon Being Auctioned For Charity

Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Motors North America Mitsubishi had warned us years ago about an unsettling change. In 2011, Mitsubishi Motors confirmed the tenth iteration of the Lancer Evolution was to be the final version of the high-performance compact sedan built by the Japanese automaker as the company devotes future development to general small cars and electric vehicles. Still, when 2015 approached, the Final Edition run of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution was a sad monument to a generation. Offered in Japanese since late 1992, North American audiences were dealt a shorter time with the Evolution existing on the continent since the 2004 model year. For the time Canadian and American drivers have been able to put three Evolution models through its paces, the immense power of a turbocharged/intercooled engine married to Super All-Wheel Control produced a velocities few could have expected from a vehicle of its stature. The last run of 1,600 North American-issued 2015 Mitsubishi

LaFerrari Production To Reach 500 Mark To Benefit Italian Earthquake Victims

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy At the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the most advanced formation of Italian sports car technology and design of its time was unveiled to the world . Called the LaFerrari, the spiritual successor to the Enzo supercar exhibited active aerodynamics and a hybrid powertrain system called HY-KERS. Besides causing a great deal of confusion on how to properly pronounce the vehicle's name (would we refer to it as Ferrari LaFerrari or just the LaFerrari), the hypercar's factory quoted 949-horsepower generated collectively between a gasoline-fueled 6.3-liter V-12 engine and a pair of electric motors was channeled into the rear wheels for spectacular launches to a top speed up to 217 miles per hour. After the 499 planned LaFerrari models were produced, strong demand paved the way to the open-top version. The 2017 LaFerrari Aperta will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show at the beginning of October. Every essence of the ultra-performance machine represe