Motor News

There’ll be no shortage of inspiring proclamations this week at the COP-26 global climate conference, and automakers including Volvo are no exception.Volvo’s calling for a worldwide move toward a renewable electric grid, which would mean electric vehicles would have significantly lower carbon emissions.The company has a point: A German study in the mid-2010s found a Mercedes B-class charged entirely with hydroelectric power had less than half the carbon emissions of the same EV charged on the prevailing grid mix. As the COP-26 climate conference in Glasgow kicked off this week, Volvo released a new report on the life-cycle carbon emissions of its new 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge electric SUV. That report shows just how much EVs can cut carbon emissions when they’re charged entirely on renewable energy.The Swedish luxury maker, which intends to become a fully electric carmaker by 2030, called for the world’s leaders and energy providers to move much faster toward a fully renewable electric grid globally. Only then, it suggested, can EVs cut the carbon emissions associated with personal transport to the levels required to stem the worst effects of climate change.So-called Lifecycle Assessments (LCAs) of the carbon emissions of EVs over their lifetimes have long shown them to be significantly lower than those of comparable gasoline vehicles.

Volvo

In October 2011, for example, a study of the Renault Fluence sedan by its maker found the Fluence ZE electric car had lower lifetime carbon emissions than both a diesel and a gasoline Fluence. That was true not just on the French electric grid—which is largely nuclear, and emits very little carbon—but also the U.K. grid, which 10 years ago still had substantial coal in the mix. (The U.K. now goes for weeks at a time without burning coal to generate electricity.)In 2014, the Germany-based regulatory body TUV compared the life-cycle carbon emissions from a Mercedes-Benz B180 gasoline model versus the same car with a battery-electric powertrain. The carbon emissions of the electric B-class were 24 percent lower than those of the gasoline version when it was charged from a mix of power sources. TUV assumed both cars were driven 100,000 miles and recycled at the end of their lives.Fast-forward to this year, and Volvo calculates its XC40 compact SUV has a life-cycle CO2 footprint of roughly 59 tons. If its new 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge electric SUV, built on the same underpinnings, is recharged using the average global energy mix—of which 60 percent is generated by burning fossil fuels—its life-cycle CO2 may be as high as 50 tons.But what if that EV were “fueled” entirely using renewable electricity, with no fossil fuels involved? The numbers turned out to be radically lower. Charging a C40 Recharge over its lifetime with renewable energy almost halved its lifetime carbon footprint, cutting it to roughly 27 tons.That’s what TUV’s Mercedes B-class analysis found seven years ago, too: If the EV were charged entirely with hydroelectric power, its lifetime carbon was 64 percent lower than that of the four-cylinder gasoline model—and less than half that of the same electric car charged on the prevailing grid mix.So while EVs already reduce carbon emissions over their gasoline counterparts, they are capable of much more. The carbon footprints of today’s EVs will gradually lessen per mile as the grids they’re charged on gradually decarbonize—taking coal out of the mix, and replacing natural-gas generation with cheaper renewable sources.But the faster those grids go renewable, the more carbon emissions EVs will eliminate. Volvo has ambitious plans to shift to an all-electric lineup in just 10 years, but as the carmaker said in an announcement timed to the start of COP-26, the company “will need the help of governments and the energy sector” to maximize those gains and minimize carbon emissions.”We need governments and energy firms around the globe to step up their investments in clean energy capacity and related charging infrastructure,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive, “so fully electric cars can truly fulfill their promise of cleaner mobility.”
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Chevrolet is showcasing the Beast concept truck at the SEMA show this year. It’s a crazy off-roader based on the Silverado pickup with a 650-hp supercharged LT4 V-8, and it rides on 37-inch mud-terrain tires. It has 13.5 inches of ground clearance and an appropriately aggressive looks with skid plates and LED lights. Chevrolet might be showing off one of the coolest concept vehicles at SEMA this year: the Beast. It’s a 650-horsepower off-roader based on the Silverado full-size pickup with 37-inch rubber, and we think it looks like the Warthog from the Halo video game. Now all Chevy has to do is put this engine in the new Silverado ZR2 and finally join the pickup power wars against the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX.
Under the hood is a supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 engine making 650 horsepower, matching the output of the C7 Corvette Z06. It’s paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and a four-wheel-drive system with a two-speed transfer case. The Beast’s 20-inch beadlock wheels are mounted with 37-inch AMP Terrain Attack mud-terrain tires, and it’s equipped with Brembo brakes.

The Beast is a four-door truck based off the Silverado with two spare tires in the bed and it looks like an oversized side-by-side. It has a 126.9-inch wheelbase with 13.5 inches of ground clearance. It’s nearly 10 inches wider than a standard Silverado. It looks appropriately beastly with plenty of LED lights, skid plates, and an off-road suspension setup. Control arms are employed up front with adjustable dampers with external reservoirs and a live axle out back. Two 7.0-inch LCD screens monitor the Beast’s performance data, including pitch and roll. The driver and passenger are buckled in with four-point harnesses in Recaro performance seats. Chevrolet will showcase the Beast at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada this week alongside other Colorado, Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban concept trucks.
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Audi has revealed an ultra-luxury version of the A8 L called Horch.It features an upgraded rear seat and some exterior differences.The A8L Horch is unlikely to come to the U.S. market but will be sold in China.Audi now has its own answer for Mercedes’ ultra-luxury Maybach subbrand, but this new posh version of the A8L called Horch appears unlikely to come to the U.S. anytime soon. Debuting for the China market, the Horch has a sumptuous rear-seat setup and some exclusive exterior styling cues, much like the Maybach version of the S-class.
The Horch name comes from deep in Audi’s history, as it refers to August Horch, one of the German automaker’s founders. The moniker is displayed prominently on this special A8 L’s fenders and inside on the seats and throw pillows. There’s also a special logo seen on the chunky wheels that are exclusive to this model and a small emblem on each of the rear doors.

Naturally, the Horch treatment is for the extended-wheelbase version of the A8, as the rewards are most obvious in the rear seat. The two-place setup features power seat adjustments, heating and cooling, massage, and a screen to control all sorts of climate functions. There are also two rear-seat entertainment screens. The front cabin appears mostly the same as the standard model but does feature diamond-stitched upholstery on the seats and door panels.
Audi hasn’t yet shared what’s under the hood of the A8L Horch, but we think it’s likely to have either a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 or a plug-in-hybrid powertrain. The full details will be released at the Guangzhou auto show this month.
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The automotive world is undergoing dramatic change with the rise of electric vehicles, and the motorsport sphere is also preparing for a more sustainable future. Earlier this month, Formula 1 declared it would switch to a synthetic fuel in 2025 that it says will produce zero net carbon-dioxide emissions. Electric racing series have cropped up recently, but F1’s announcement solidifies the sport’s intention to stick with internal combustion, and the decision is finding support among the series’s drivers. At a panel interview at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Pierre Gasly—who drives for the Honda-powered Alpha Tauri team—explained how the change will make F1 more environmentally friendly while maintaining the character of the sport that made him, and many others, fall in love with it in the first place. “I remember the first time I saw F1 cars, I was five or six years old,” the 25-year-old said. “What I remember mainly from it was the sound, and the goosebumps it gave me.” Gasly knows firsthand that the aural sensation of watching race cars pound around a circuit is one of the biggest draws for fans. “It will be amazing to have a green F1, [but] still keeping the identity of our sport.”

The transition to synthetic fuels is not the only major shift coming to F1, with a new set of technical regulations for next year that aim to simplify the aerodynamics to promote closer racing. Gasly said he had recently tried the 2022 car in the simulator and acknowledged that the reduced downforce will make the cars around two seconds slower per lap. Still, the young Frenchman is excited, as he seems willing to sacrifice some speed for more chances to battle at the top of the field with more equal cars. “Racing wheel to wheel should be easier, and as a racer that’s what I want,” he said. “At the moment, you kind of have two races within one race. I want to have as many opportunities as possible to overtake and to fight for podiums.” While Gasly did earn his first victory in F1 at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, it took a series of unpredictable events to get his midfield car to the front of the pack. The Alpha Tauri driver therefore seems eager—with the help of the new regulations—to show off the driving skills that allowed him to conquer the 2016 GP2 championship and land a coveted seat in F1 in the first place. For a driver of Gasly’s talent, the new regulations show the potential for a career full of podiums and wins.

Richard Rincon with benporterphotography

Masashi Yamamoto, Honda’s F1 managing director, was also present at the event. He oversees the development of Honda’s engines for its F1 customers, the Red Bull and Alpha Tauri teams. Last year, Honda announced that 2021 would be its final season, capping off a run as an engine supplier that started in 2015 with McLaren. When Honda departs, Red Bull will take over the engine program, building the same design on their own with Honda advising the team next season. When asked whether one year was enough for a smooth transition, Yamamoto-san expressed his confidence. “It’s not an easy challenge at all, but Red Bull is very keen on doing it,” he said, via a translator. “They are really prepared for that.”And although Honda may be leaving F1 behind, the lessons the company learned in the pinnacle of motorsport will have a long-term impact on Honda and its road cars. While Yamamoto-san did not provide specific examples of the technology transfer, he explained that F1’s nonstop, high-pressure atmosphere helps the engineers become quicker and more efficient. “We’ve got 22 races this year, which is so many, almost one each week,” he said. In order to stay competitive, “engineers have to make improvements every week, so many trials and errors, and that provides lessons to go back to mass production.” Honda’s journey as an F1 engine supplier has not always been smooth sailing. The company endured three seasons of dismal performance with McLaren before switching to work with Red Bull and its junior team, formerly called Toro Rosso. But Honda has clearly put in the work, with a Honda-powered Red Bull currently sitting atop of the Drivers’ Championship after Max Verstappen won the U.S. Grand Prix, and Red Bull a close second in the Constructors’ standings. There are still five races left in the 2021 season, but Honda looks poised to leave F1 with a bang, before its talented engineers return to instill future Honda road cars with the same race-winning, and possibly championship-winning, ethos.

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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Don’t worry, the “where’s the problem, we have a solution” squad over at Ford has been busy, apparently, with figuring out a way to make your truck’s exhaust tips disappear.Well, at least retract back into the safety of the rear of the truck when you’re going off-roading, for example, in order to allow for better departure angles.The idea is called ETRM, for “exhaust tip retract module,” and it appears in an application Ford filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office..It’s nuts what some people will hang off of their truck’s rear bumper. A new Ford patent shows that strange ideas can be a part of the entire back end of a truck. Say hello to the retractable exhaust tailpipe.

While this kind of chrome turtle head has elicited its share of ridicule online, it’s not like having an exhaust tip that doesn’t stick out as far is a worthless idea. Especially when installed on a truck that is going to see some off-road time, thinking about departure angles is a worthwhile experience. Ford’s patent even says a system like this “reduces a probability of vehicle tailpipes contacting a ground surface in an off-road condition.” Ford calls this invention the “exhaust tip retract module,” or ETRM. The idea here, as Ford takes great pains to point out in its patent application, which was published earlier in October, is not just to extend the tailpipe, but to retract it to protect it. The ETRM “enables the exhaust tips to be retracted a certain length when in an off-road mode in order to take the exhaust tips out of the way and changing the limiting component to be a rear bumper instead of the tips,” the application reads, after talking about two other, similar patents for retractable exhaust tips that didn’t solve the off-road problem. Ford really thinks it’s solving a problem here.What are the benefits of a tailpipe that moves instead of just building the exhaust system so that the tips don’t stick out in the first place? you might ask. The obvious answer is that Ford knows how worried some truck drivers are about how they might appear to the outside world if their exhaust tips don’t poke out. Or, in Ford’s words, “the application of this system does not interfere with the looks, styling, or aesthetics of a vehicle.”Ford’s ETRM patent was filed in both the U.S. and Europe, according to CarBuzz, which first surfaced the application, so if Ford ever wants to build a real-world ETRM, it might do so on both markets. It is worth noting, though, that a lot of European cars have faux tailpipes due to insurance policies. If the actual tailpipes are too close to the rear bumper, a small rear-end accident can cost more if the exhaust system gets damaged.

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Neiman Marcus and Barrett-Jackson have teamed up for a special edition 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup truck for this year’s edition of the luxury retailer’s Fantasy Gifts list.Only one will be offered for sale, making it extra exclusive, and it features a custom interior designed by Barrett-Jackson CEO Craig Jackson; the price is an impressive $285,000.The lucky recipient will get free delivery of the vehicle to the location of their choice within the continental U.S., as well as several other experiences including a trip to the 2022 Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson auction event.Every year, More

Toyota revealed specs for its new bZ4x electric crossover that will enter production in the middle of 2022. More U.S. details will be available next month. It uses a roughly 64.0-kWh battery pack and is available in either front- or all-wheel-drive configurations with up to 215 horsepower. We expect the bZ4X to have EPA range figures between 200 and 230 miles when it makes its way to the U.S. in 2022. Toyota’s new electric crossover, the bZ4x, will arrive in the U.S. in the middle of next year, and the Japanese automaker has released some global specs that give us an idea of what our version will offer. We expect most of these details will be similar when the U.S. version is unveiled in November. Seven more electric BZ (for Beyond Zero) models will follow by 2025, Toyota says.

The bZ4x is similar in size to Toyota’s best-seller, the RAV4. It has a 6.3-inch longer wheelbase and is slightly longer and lower than the gas-powered crossover. It’s built on the e-TNGA electric vehicle platform that Toyota developed alongside Subaru, which will also underpin the upcoming Subaru Solterra. The photos of the bZ4x shown here are still of a prototype model, but we don’t expect the wacky styling to change much for the production model. The bZ4x uses a roughly 64.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and the single-motor version provides front-wheel drive and 201 horsepower. A dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration has 215 horsepower. Toyota claims that all-wheel-drive models will reach 62 mph in 7.7 seconds. Based on the WLTP range targets Toyota released, we expect EPA range to come in at about 230 miles for the front-drive model and 200 for the all-wheel-drive variant. That would make it fall short of the Ford Mustang Mach-E (up to 305 miles of EPA-estimated range) and the Tesla Model Y (up to 326 miles). Toyota claims that on a 150-kW fast charger, the bZ4X will replenish 80 percent of its battery in 30 minutes. Solar panels on the roof will be available that Toyota says can replenish just over 1000 miles of driving range per year.

Toyota

A yoke-style steering wheel (pictured) will be available, similar to the one on the new Tesla Model S and X, but there’s a key difference on Toyota’s execution that makes it more palatable. The bZ4X limits the total rotation of the steering wheel to 150 degrees, using a steer-by-wire system to turn the wheels an appropriate amount based on the driver’s input so you never have to go hand-over-hand during tight maneuvering. Toyota’s new infotainment system, which uses voice controls, displays on a large center-mounted touchscreen, and Toyota says the car will improve over time through over-the-air updates. Production of the Toyota bZ4x is scheduled to start in the middle of 2022, so expect to see the new electric crossover at dealerships toward the end of the summer.
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Panasonic has debuted its 4680 cylindrical battery that was previewed at Tesla’s Battery Day event last year.The battery will purportedly store five times as much energy and cost half as much to build as the 2170 lithium-ion cells Tesla currently uses in the Model 3 and Y, which are also provided by Panasonic.Panasonic has also entered into an agreement to supply batteries for the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle, product of an American startup that expects to start building the car in late 2022.Battery technology is constantly evolving, and the latest advancement comes from Panasonic, which revealed a prototype of its new 4680 battery cell. Automotive News reports that the advanced-technology battery is due to power future Teslas, saying the 4680 batteries will have five times the storage capacity of current Tesla battery packs and will cost 50 percent less to build. This is the first time Panasonic has unveiled the 4680 battery. Tesla’s earnings report issued earlier this month said it was testing battery packs using the 4680 cells. Panasonic constructed a test line for the new format earlier this year. 4680 refers to the battery’s dimensions: 46 millimeters (1.6 inches) wide by 80 mm (3.1 in) tall. Tesla claims that there will be a 100-fold increase in battery production by 2030 thanks to the new battery type, and that the new cell design produces six times the power of current cells. Tesla is one of the only automakers using cylindrical cells, and the additional energy capacity of the new 4680 cell isn’t magic, it’s simply a lot larger than the current ones Tesla employs. On a purely volume basis, the 4680 is 5.5 times larger than the 2170 cells currently used in the Model 3 and Y battery packs and 8.0 times larger than the 18650 cells used in the Model S and X (the 18650 is slightly larger than a typical AA battery).

The head of Panasonic’s battery operations, Kazuo Tadanobu, said at the meeting, “We have developed this because of the strong desire of the other party, and we think this can only lead to stronger ties.” Panasonic has a battery manufacturing plant in Nevada, supplying the Tesla Gigafactory. According to Electrek, Tesla claims the first vehicles with the 4680 battery cells will be delivered next year. Tadanobu also said that Panasonic does not intend to build cheaper lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for standard-range Teslas, even though Tesla’s report said the company plans to start using those in its “standard range” vehicles worldwide.

Canoo

Along with building the 4680 batteries for Tesla, Panasonic will also supply batteries to American electric startup Canoo, which recently announced an agreement with the Japanese electronics corporation. The batteries will power the Lifestyle Vehicle that Canoo predicts will begin production in the fourth quarter of 2022, with Dutch contractor VDL Nedcar building the vanlike vehicle for the European and American markets. Canoo said they chose the Panasonic batteries—which will not be the Tesla-specific 4680 format—for their proven reliability. Canoo is claiming a range of 250 miles from a 80.0-kWh battery, with the base panel van version starting at $34,750.

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