Motor News

General Motors announced, as part of its program for the 2022 CES technology show, that its heavy-duty trucks will gain electric variants by 2035.Every light-duty vehicle from GM will be electric by 2035, with the automaker pledging last fall to end gas vehicle sales by 2040 globally.This would leave five years in which GM could sell conventional internal-combustion-powered HD trucks alongside electric versions.The pioneering electric vehicles of the 2010s were dorky cars like the Nissan Leaf, designed more for economical operation than any notion of style. A decade later, the EV craze has spread to nearly every corner of the auto industry, with a slew of brawny electric pickups—including the new Chevy Silverado EV and Rivian R1T—hitting the market and even commercial vehicles like the Tesla Semi on the way. One sector, the heavy-duty pickup, seems set to stick with internal-combustion propulsion for the time being, but as part of its program for the CES technology show this week, General Motors revealed a timeline for when its HD trucks will gain electric power, too.

“As previously announced, our plan is to have all new light-duty vehicles be electric by 2035,” GM CEO Barra said during her keynote address. “And today, I’m pleased to announce that we’ll introduce all-electric heavy-duty vehicles on that same timetable.” Barra also emphasized that the electric HD trucks will be geared towards hauling and towing while still delivering enough range, which ideally should be easier to achieve with the battery technology in 13 years’ time. It is still possible that GM will offer internal-combustion HD trucks in 2035. The company entered an agreement with five other automakers in November to end gas vehicle sales by 2040 globally, which could mean five years of overlap between the two types of powertrains. With the electric HD trucks still over a decade away, there are no details yet, and it will likely be some time before we know more about the future heavy-duty pickups.
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This 2005 Porsche Carrera GT is now the most expensive car ever to sell on the auction site Bring a Trailer.The selling price of just over $1.9 million beat the previous high by more than $400,000.To everyone who missed out on this Porsche, do not despair.Record-setting auction results have become routine at Bring a Trailer, but the just-completed sale of this 2005 Porsche Carrera GT is notable for topping them all. Selling for $1,902,000, it vaulted to the top of the auction site’s hit parade to become the most expensive car ever sold on BaT, smashing the previous high-water mark of $1.4 million set by a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster in July 2021.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

That Carrera GT prices are skyrocketing is not hard to understand. This purist machine could be considered the last analog supercar, and yet it’s also a true exotic. Its 5.7-liter V-10 is naturally aspirated yet features titanium connecting rods, dry-sump lubrication, and an 8400-rpm redline. It’s mated to a six-speed manual transaxle with a novel twin-plate ceramic clutch and drives the rear wheels. There’s no stability control, although there is traction control and ABS. Derived from Porsche’s stillborn Le Mans prototype, the Carrera GT has a carbon-fiber central tub and front structure and carbon-fiber bodywork. The control-arm suspension features pushrod-actuated horizontal coil-over shocks, and the brake rotors are carbon-ceramic. The design of the production car was hardly changed from the concept car that wowed the crowd at the 2000 Paris auto show. Upon driving it in 2004, we said simply: “We have been to the top of the mountain.”

Bring a Trailer

Obviously, any Carrera GT is desirable. This one was made more so, first by its ultralow mileage, and second by its rare Guards Red livery. It’s believed only 42 Carrera GTs in Guards Red cars were imported to the United States versus 103 Black and 362 GT Silver. This car also has two special options: the wood shift knob and a set of fitted luggage.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

This sale also garnered more than 122,000 page views—which would have put it among the top-10 most popular BaT auctions last year—and just over 700 comments. There were also 4910 auction watchers. As for the underbidders, chin up! There’s another Carrera GT on BaT right now. It’s GT Silver but it has even fewer miles: just 250. Raise high your [virtual] paddles, Porsche fans.

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The Cadillac InnerSpace concept was revealed as part of the 2022 CES technology show, which was a mostly virtual event this year.The InnerSpace is an electric vehicle with autonomous driving capability, and it eschews a steering wheel for a screen.The concept joins the PersonalSpace and SocialSpace concepts revealed at last year’s CES in Cadillac’s Halo Concept Portfolio.If you need further proof that Cadillac is moving away from its internal-combustion past, here it is. Ahead of the release of its electric Lyriq SUV, which will go on sale in the first half of 2022, Cadillac is showing this InnerSpace concept, which imagines a self-driving luxury two-person EV of the future.

Cadillac

The InnerSpace is, of course, powered by electricity and utilizing the Ultium platform that also underpins the upcoming Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado EV. Cadillac says that the platform’s wireless battery management system allows the battery modules to be spread around the vehicle. This let the designers maximize interior space and create a low floor, giving the InnerSpace a “sports-car-like” seating position with seats that can be separate or move together into a loveseat configuration.

The InnerSpace’s dramatically raked roofline features panoramic glass, and the roof and doors open in conjunction with each other to ease entry and exit. Inside, the reclined, two-person seat faces a wraparound LED display. Cadillac says passengers can choose from Augmented Reality Engagement, Entertainment, and Wellness Recovery themes on the screen.

Cadillac

The InnerSpace concept joins two vehicles revealed at last year’s CES as part of what Cadillac calls the Halo Concept Portfolio. The PersonalSpace is a single-seater, vertical takeoff and landing concept that would allow its passenger to travel over ground traffic, while the SocialSpace is a boxy, vanlike vehicle that can seat six. Cadillac also hinted at another concept, called OpenSpace, to be revealed later.
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The 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz Microbus will be revealed on March 9, 2022. It will arrive in the United States in 2023 in its three-row passenger van configuration. Pricing is expected to start around $40,000, and both single- and dual-motor version should be available. The wait is almost over for the return of the Volkswagen bus. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess announced via Twitter that the 2024 ID.Buzz Microbus will be revealed on March 9.
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The ID.Buzz is inspired by the iconic Type 2 Microbus that was introduced in the 1950s, and its design will be appropriately retro. We’ve seen prototypes testing and VW revealed a glimpse of the production version last fall (pictured). It’ll be built on VW’s Modular Electric Drive (MEB) platform that currently underpins the ID.4 electric crossover on sale now in the States. We expect the ID.Buzz to offer a driving range of around 300 miles and both single- and dual-motor configurations providing rear- or all-wheel drive.

Volkswagen

We’ll only get a long-wheelbase passenger van version here in the U.S., and it will arrive in 2023 for the 2024 model year. It will offer three rows of seats that can be configured in multiple different ways—and they can even be removed. We expect pricing to start around $40,000 to make it competitive with other EV offerings. A commercial cargo version without windows will be sold in Europe. Check back here in March for more specs and details when the new electric Microbus makes its debut.
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The current Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is the most extreme machine ever to wear the iconic pony-car nameplate. Designed as a tool for both the dragway and the road course, the Shelby has more in common with the likes of Europe’s best sports cars than many of its fellow American-made cars. For those of us unable to get the real deal, the folks at Lego have just created a new GT500 kit for the masses.

LEGO Technic Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 42138 Model Building Kit; Pull-Back Drag Race Car Toy for Ages 9+ (544 Pieces)

LEGO
amazon.com

$49.99

This plasticized muscle car is part of the Lego Technic series, which brings a greater focus on engineering and challenging designs than your typical Lego set. The Shelby is composed of 544 pieces, and measures in at just over 3.0 inches high, 10.5 inches long, and 4.5 inches wide when finished. The general shape of the model is unmistakably American muscle, though the Mustang’s front fascia proved difficult to accurately re-create out of bricks. The same can’t be said out back, as the rear end is perhaps the most authentic-looking section of the build. The thing does look like a GT500, though it certainly looks like one made of Lego bricks.

Lego

Building a model that looks the part wasn’t the only way Lego decided to honor the Shelby GT500. Among those 544 pieces are two pull-back motors that will allow the completed Lego GT500 to do some actual racing. As this is the modern era, the toy company has even integrated some unique virtual test tracks into its Lego Technic augmented reality app. These tracks feature unique challenges for the model drag racer in your life to complete. Lego states that the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 kit is intended for builders ages nine and up, and have the kit listed as item #42138 on its website. The Shelby is $49.99, which is a lot more affordable than some of the brand’s other automotive options. It’s also gotta be one of the cheapest ways to get your hands on a GT500 of any kind right about now.

Lego

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Mercedes-Benz revealed its Vision EQXX concept as part of the CES technology show this week.The powertrain is notable for promising 620 miles of range thanks to a compact, energy-dense battery and motor, both of which Mercedes developed in-house.With 201 horsepower and a top speed limited to 87 mph, it diverges sharply from the Mercedes flagship image of the past.Mercedes has released more details about the pioneering powertrain in the Vision EQXX concept that was shown earlier this week, with the company confirming that the first car to use a version of the long-range EV powertrain will be in production by 2024.This is more than a concept car; it is a technology program,” chief technology officer Markus Schäfer told journalists in an online call after the unveiling. “All the elements on this car will make it into series production. The battery, for example, is an early prototype of the chemistry that you’re going to see in the new generation of concept cars.”

The new battery’s enhanced energy density is thanks to next-generation silcon carbide anodes that Mercedes has developed in-house, allowing the EQXX to store similar energy to the range-topping EQS’s 107.8-kWh pack in a space 50 percent smaller. Mercedes is planning to use the same technology for smaller capacity packs as well, which will be lighter and cheaper, but the company’s engineers also insist that the EQXX’s claimed 620-mile range will be achievable under everyday conditions rather than just simulated testing. “It is 1000 km on real streets, so the WLTP range [the way Europe measures electric range] will be even higher,” Eva Greiner, the drive system’s chief engineer, said. We’re promised that the Vision EQXX will be sent into the real world to prove its ability to deliver those numbers.Mercedes-Made MotorWe’ve also learned that the ultra-efficient 201-hp motor that turns the EQXX’s rear wheels is a radial flux unit that has been developed in-house by Mercedes based on the technology that it is already using. Work on it predated the company’s recent acquisition of Yasa, a British manufacturer of high-performance axial flux motors. Merc’s next generation of compact EVs will use this newly developed radial flux unit, with Schäfer confirming the plan is to also offer all-wheel drive by adding a second motor; we presume axial flux motors will therefore be reserved for higher-performance models. The EQXX (and production cars that will share its powertrain) have been designed for efficiency rather than outright speed, but even using a single motor Greiner says it can run from zero to 62 mph in a respectable 7.0 seconds, although the concept’s top speed is limited to just 87 mph.

The relatively modest output of the new motor is also what allows the battery pack to use air cooling rather than liquid cooling. This might look technically retrograde compared to the wider EV market, where almost all cars now use liquid cooling (the Nissan Leaf being the notable holdout). But careful temperature management through what is described as a cooling plate on the base of the cell pack means the EQXX can do without the use of a more energy-intensive cooling system, part of its impressively frugal six-mile-per-kWh consumption. That’s about 50 percent better than the longest-range Tesla, the 405-mile Model S, which gets roughly four miles per kWh.Despite air cooling, Schäfer promises the new powertrain can still support respectably rapid charging speeds, with the targeted ability to support rates that will able to add at least 186 miles of range in 15 minutes by the time production versions reach the market. He also makes the point that if you have a 600-mile plus battery pack, you won’t need to worry about charging it nearly so often.
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Goodyear’s tire prototype is made 70 percent from sustainable materials, the first step towards the company’s goal of a 100 percent sustainable tire by 2030.New materials were developed for the tire, including polyester from recycled plastic bottles and surplus soybean oil.Goodyear will also start testing an airless tire on delivery robots at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.Concepts including the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX and Chrysler Airflow headlined the 2022 CES technology show this year, but tire manufacturer Goodyear also made two announcements that could have big implications for the future of driving. Goodyear unveiled a tire that is made 70 percent from sustainable materials and also announced that it will begin testing an airless tire on small delivery robots. In 2020, Goodyear set a goal to create a tire constructed entirely from sustainable materials by 2030, and this new tire prototype is the first major step towards that ambition. The sustainable materials in the tire help reduce Goodyear’s reliance on petroleum-based products. Carbon black—which reinforces and lengthens the life of the tire compound—is traditionally made by burning petroleum, but instead Goodyear created carbon blacks from methane, carbon dioxide, and plant-based oil, resulting in fewer carbon emissions in the production process.

Goodyear also utilized surplus soybean oil from the food and animal feed industries to help keep the tire’s rubber flexible in changing temperatures. Silica, meanwhile, is needed to boost grip and lower fuel consumption, so Goodyear created a new form of silica made from a byproduct of rice processing, called rice husk ash, that often ends up in landfills. Goodyear also crafted tire cords by recycling the polyester found in plastic bottles. The sustainable tire is only a demonstration product for now, but Goodyear’s developments bode well for the future.

Goodyear

Along with the eco-friendly tire prototype, Goodyear announced a test program for a non-pneumatic, or airless, tire. The tire will be tested by Starship Technologies, which builds and operates more than 1000 last-mile autonomous robots that deliver packages and food. The airless tire is meant to extend tire life and decrease maintenance for Starship’s fleet, and the testing will take place at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. This is not the first time we’ve seen airless tires, with Michelin testing its own version on Chevy Bolts back in 2019.
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BMW’s iX Flow concept, shown at CES this week, can change colors, as long as it is a shade of gray. The iX Flow is covered in E Ink, the same material used in e-readers like the Kindle.The tech allows instant personalization and can help the iX Flow be more energy efficient. At the 2022 CES technology show, BMW revealed two new products due to reach customers in the near future: the 2023 iX M60 electric SUV and a 31-inch screen with integrated Amazon Fire TV. But BMW also showed off its wild imagination by unveiling a radical concept called the iX Flow. Based on the iX SUV, the Flow is wrapped in something called E Ink—the material used in the displays of e-readers like the Kindle—which allows it to change color in the blink of an eye.

BMW

At the moment, the iX Flow can only shift through shades of white, grey, and black, but BMW suggested that adding vivid colors isn’t out of the realm of possibility. The E Ink wrap consists of millions of microcapsules containing negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. This microcapsules—which have a diameter equal to the thickness of a human hair—can be stimulated by an electrical field to bring different amounts of each pigment to the surface of the microcapsule, changing the shade of the car.

BMW

BMW sees a few use cases for the E Ink technology in future BMWs. First off, the color-changing wrap would allow the driver to adjust their vehicle’s appearance based on their aesthetic preferences. E Ink could also make the car more efficient—in hot, sunny settings, the iX Flow could turn white to reduce the amount of heat absorbed by the body of the car and decrease the reliance on the air conditioning. In cold weather, the iX Flow could switch to black to absorb as much heat as possible and lessen the energy required for the heating system. Having the climate control systems using less juice from the batteries would help an EV maintain a longer range in more extreme temperatures. BMW also suggests applying the material to the interior to prevent certain surfaces, like the dashboard, from heating up too much when left in the sun.

The E Ink technology is also very energy efficient itself, only using energy during the quick color-changing phase, since the E Ink does not require a current to maintain the chosen shade. BMW has not elaborated on the production possibilities of the E Ink technology seen on the iX Flow, but suggested that applying the material was not unrealistically expensive and that we could see E Ink eventually making its way onto production vehicles.
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