Underpinning GM’s electrification strategy is something the automaker calls Ultium. It’s a tech-heavy modular battery architecture that allows for varying cell arrangements, making it so the same battery cells can live in a low, flat pack for sportier vehicles, or in stacked, beefier packs for delivery vans and heavier-duty vehicles like the GMC Hummer EV.
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That’s a whole lot o’ light.
GM/Screenshot by Andrew Krok/Roadshow
This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the hottest gadgets of the entirely virtual CES 2021.
During her keynote speech Tuesday at the virtual CES 2021, GM CEO Mary Barra helped introduce a wide variety of shadowy teasers of its future electrified vehicles. One in particular, the upcoming Cadillac Celestiq, received some extra time and attention, and there are some pretty cool features on board.Crystal Windham, Cadillac’s director of interior design, introduced a brief preview of the Cadillac Celestiq, which she pronounces “Ce-LESS-tick.” Standing ahead of a shadowy Celestiq, likely still deep in the prototype phase, we were able to take in some interesting angles. The front end looks almost fully illuminated, with striking vertical running lights on either side and a host of lights spanning the gap between them. And yes, the badge lights up, too.
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While the outside is promising, the interior looks to really ramp things up. The Celestiq will have a clever electrochromic glass roof, which uses electricity to dim the glass covering nearly the entire roof. That part isn’t new, but what is unique here is the fact that the roof is split into four quadrants, each capable of dimming to a different level. This way, you don’t need to bargain with another occupant about how much light should enter the cabin. In addition to the clever glass overhead, screens will play a big part inside the Celestiq. On the heels of Mercedes-Benz’s Hyperscreen announcement, it appears Cadillac is cooking up something similar. The Celestiq’s dashboard will sport a pillar-to-pillar screen that will give both front occupants a whole lot of real estate for infotainment and more. The rear passengers won’t be left in the cold, either, with personalized rear screens in the back, too.Being able to dim an entire roof panel is cool, but only a part of it? That’s even cooler.
GM/Screenshot by Andrew Krok/Roadshow
Cadillac first announced the Celestiq in early 2020, but we haven’t heard much about it since. Rocking GM’s new Ultium battery system, Cadillac announced — perhaps unsurprisingly — that the Celestiq will have all-wheel drive. It’ll also have four-wheel steering, which should make it easier to pilot around town at low speeds while also boosting high-speed agility.We’re still not sure when Cadillac intends to pull back the veil in full, but getting a closer look at the Celestiq has us excited to see more. Keep your eyes on Roadshow for more information about the Celestiq, as well as a bevy of new electrified GM vehicles heading to dealers over the next several years.Hyperscreen, eat your heart out.
Screenshot via GM
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That’s Super Cruise in an EV, folks.
Chevrolet
This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the hottest gadgets of the entirely virtual CES 2021.
Chevrolet gave us another quick glimpse of its upcoming Bolt EUV during CES 2021 on Tuesday, releasing a brief teaser video showing off the electric crossover’s interior. That’s not all, though; Chevy also used its CES announcement to also confirm the Bolt EUV will debut in February, alongside a refreshed version of the standard Bolt EV hatchback.This isn’t the first time Chevy’s teased the new Bolt EUV (which stands for Electric Utility Vehicle). We’ve already seen the interior and the headlight design, and this new video of the steering wheel and gauge cluster reconfirms a particularly important detail about the EUV: It’ll offer General Motors’ excellent Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assist technology.
Super Cruise first debuted on the Cadillac CT6 sedan. It’s one of the few Level 2 automated technologies available in the US, allowing for hands-free driving on certain pre-mapped highways. GM has been decidedly slow to roll this technology out across its portfolio, but that’s all changing soon. The Bolt EUV will be the first electric Chevy to get this technology.”The Bolt EUV and refreshed Bolt EV are officially set to be revealed next month,” a Chevrolet spokesperson said in an email to Roadshow. The two electric vehicles “will go into production in summer 2021.”The new Bolt EUV is one of 12 new electric vehicles General Motors will launch across its brands over the next few years. The Bolt EUV shares a platform with the Buick Velite 7 crossover that recently debuted for Chinese customers, so expect the US version to look similar. Chevrolet will also launch an electrified truck in the coming years, in addition to already-revealed vehicles like the Cadillac Lyriq crossover and GMC Hummer EV pickup.
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The Hyperscreen will be optional on the upcoming EQS.
Mercedes-Benz
This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the hottest gadgets of the entirely virtual CES 2021.
Mercedes-Benz on Thursday unveiled the Hyperscreen, a massive single-piece infotainment screen that will be available on the upcoming EQS electric luxury sedan. Gorden Wagener, Daimler’s chief of design, talked to reporters in a virtual roundtable to explain more about the Hyperscreen and how it became a reality. Wagener says the idea for the Hyperscreen first came about years ago, and it all started with a sketch on the wall at Mercedes’ now-shuttered interior design studio in Como, Italy. (Mercedes has since opened a new design studio in Côte d’Azur, France. Nice work if you can get it.) “I saw the sketch and said, ‘That’s amazing, let’s make that happen,'” Wagener says. “And we did make it happen! We made it feasible with a partner, and that really amazes me. We have a vision, a little sketch there, and we made it a reality.”
The Hyperscreen spans 56 inches in total, the entirety of the dashboard, and it has about 377 square inches of screen. It’s technically three separate displays under one glass panel, all of which are OLED units with super high resolution, but the transition from screen to blank glass looks seamless. “The bigger the better,” Wagener says.When equipped with the Hyperscreen, the only physical controls on the EQS’ dashboard will be the start button and the light switch, and Wagener says that isn’t something that Mercedes will backpedal on — so don’t expect new Mercedes models to bring back more buttons and switches five years down the line. “We were pushing for the elimination of hard keys because it makes it clean and modern,” he says. “It’s a completely different thing to operate. As designers we love simplicity.”It spans 56 inches in total.
Mercedes-Benz
The Hyperscreen will be optional, with the EQS getting a setup similar to the 2021 S-Class as standard that will have a standalone gauge cluster screen and separate infotainment screen in the dash. Wagener wouldn’t give that many specifics about the base system, but he says that the EQS was designed with the Hyperscreen in mind. “We started with the Hyperscreen, that was the focus point,” says Wagener. “We always have one eye on the standard version, but we did not want to compromise the high-end version.”The dash of the S-Class (and ostensibly the base EQS) is dominated by a huge slightly curved trim panel, which is available in a multitude of wood, carbon-fiber, aluminum and piano black finishes. Fancy trim is a hallmark of any luxury car, so I ask Wagener how the Hyperscreen-equipped EQS will make up for the lack of that panel. “When the whole instrument panel is screen you have less space for traditional trim materials, but the Hyperscreen itself is the jewel of the interior,” he says. “It’s glossy, it has mega resolution, it’s sexy and simple. Seeing it in that size and brightness, it’s so much more beautiful than any trim material would do.”The passenger side of the Hyperscreen can show animated displays.
Mercedes-Benz
There will still be fancy trim, such as chrome strips around the screen and wood pieces on the center console and dashboard, but Wagener says, “We’re moving away from traditional trim materials to digital trim materials” when it comes to Mercedes’ electric cars. The passenger side of the Hyperscreen can display animated patterns or image galleries, making it essentially a virtual piece of trim. “Once you use it and can animate it, put up pictures of your loved ones, it’s so much more valuable and rich and luxurious than what you’re used to.” Wagener also pointed out the propellor-esque analog air vents, which he described as “hyperanalog.”The Hyperscreen is the type of innovation that designers dream about, stuff that’s typically reserved for concept cars, and Wagener didn’t mince words about how excited he is about it. “We will always put beauty first, we will never do an awkward solution. I’m so happy I can’t even believe it that this design vision became a reality.”
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A second EV will soon be produced alongside Volvo’s XC40 Recharge all-electric SUV.
Volvo
Volvo has arguably been the auto industry’s most vocal legacy carmaker in its push for electrification. On Thursday, the company announced another step in its plans to add batteries and strip internal combustion power from its lineup of cars and SUVs.The Swedish automaker said in a statement that it will triple EV production capacity at its plant in Ghent, Belgium, even as its first all-electric Recharge models are only just now hitting North American dealers. The statement confirms that Volvo’s second pure EV will enter production in 2021, following on the heels of the XC40 Recharge, a small crossover SUV that’s also produced in Belgium alongside its plug-in hybrid sibling. The unnamed EV is tipped to debut in March.
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The electric-car ramp-up will take the Ghent plant to around 60% EV by 2022, and Volvo is widely expected to add battery-powered vehicle assembly at its other plants around the globe, including its newest factory outside of Charleston, South Carolina, which presently assembles the company’s S60 sedan in both internal-combustion-only and hybrid varieties. Volvo plans to begin assembling its XC90 flagship SUV at the same plant in 2022.Volvo, a subsidiary of China’s Geely, previously announced a company goal to have half of its global sales be from EV models by 2025. The balance would be internal combustion-powered vehicles with some level of electrification, whether hybrid or plug-in hybrid. In December, Volvo revealed plans to eventually take all electric motor production in-house.Volvo sold 661,713 vehicles in 2021, a 6.2% drop year over year. Sales were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but touts the company’s strongest second-half sales in history, with sales rising 7.4% year over year to help to offset a much steeper 21% first-half drop.
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge has big power and a little frunk
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Hurry, this deal won’t last. For real.
Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is out here making marketing moves on Twitter as we head into the final few days of 2020. Tuesday evening, Musk tweeted that anyone who purchases a new Tesla will receive three months of the company’s Full Self-Driving mode free of charge. Access to the software, which remains in beta and not complete, typically costs $10,000 extra just to experience it.
All Tesla cars delivered in the final three days of the year will get three months of the Full Self-Driving option for free. Delivery & docs must be fully complete by midnight Dec 31st.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2020
All new Teslas come with a form of the firm’s Autopilot system, a Level 2 partially automated technology on the SAE’s scale of autonomy, but Full Self-Driving hopes to one day live up to its name. The company rolled out the technology to limited groups of drivers earlier this year and plans expand the invites to those who paid for the option to take advantage of the features. Even Tesla says the system may do the wrong thing at the wrong time, so it’s definitely not ready for hands-free driving, but many owners found it works well with lots of supervision.
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To take advantage of Musk’s latest flash deal, buyers need to complete all documents and take delivery by Dec. 31 at midnight, so it’s probably best to shop Teslas currently in stock if you really want the Full Self-Driving freebie. We also heard earlier this month Tesla authorized its staff to toss in free Supercharging once again for anyone purchasing a new EV as the automaker pushes for record deliveries in 2020.We won’t know if the tactics worked until early next year, but Musk is sort of the master of spurring fans to purchase when it counts.
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May as well put that network connection to good use.
Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk loves a good tweet, and he regularly engages with owners of his company’s electric cars on the social media platform. One of his latest responses is a bit more than that — it might actually help save lives in the future.A Tesla owner this week asked Musk if it was possible for Tesla vehicles with network connections to be able to dial 911, to which Musk responded, “Absolutely.” According to the tweet, the owner needed to call emergency services, but his phone’s network was lacking signal. His Tesla’s connection, however, was active.
An idea is just an idea until it’s put into practice, and it’s unclear when Musk intends to roll this feature out. Tesla does not operate a public relations department to field requests for comment, so we likely won’t receive any sort of timeline before the feature is announced as part of a future update. While firmly in the “good idea” corner, dialing 911 through a vehicle’s network connection isn’t in the “new idea” corner. GM’s OnStar also uses its built-in network connection to route imperiled owners to the correct emergency service. OnStar is a subscription service, however, and that money helps pay for things like having a staff of advisors to help customers who press OnStar’s overhead emergency button. It’s unclear if Tesla, lacking similar infrastructure, will simply dial 911 on the owner’s behalf and route the call to the car’s speakers.
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