Motor News

McLaren has submitted trademark applications for three new names with the U.K’s Intellectual Property Office, as first reported by Carbuzz.The three names are Solus, Aeron, and Aonic, and all have been filed in the Motor Vehicles category.These new names could end up being used for the successor to the 720S and McLaren’s future electrified supercars.Since McLaren Automotive started building road cars in 2011, most of its supercars have been given complex alphanumeric names. The first modern McLaren Automotive supercar was the MP4-12C, with that mouthful shortened to 12C after a year. The 12C was followed by a slew of supercars with hard-to-remember monikers, such as the 650S, 570GT, 765LT, and 620R. But recently McLaren has started using real names such as Senna, Elva, Speedtail, and Artura. Now it appears that McLaren is ditching the alphabet-soup names for good, with the British supercar firm submitting trademark applications for three new names with the United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Office, as first reported by Carbuzz.

The three names McLaren is seeking to protect are Solus, Aeron, and Aonic. All three trademark applications have been filed under Class 12, which is for “motor land vehicles and parts and fittings therefor.” There are no other details in the applications to indicate what sort of vehicles these names might belong to, but they are likely to be for all-new models unrelated to McLaren’s current offerings, although they could be used on a special edition like the Senna-based Sabre. McLaren has said in the past that it will not enter the lucrative super-SUV segment as Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Ferrari have done, and any other four-door body style is also likely out of the question. The 720S has been on sale since 2017 and could be due for a replacement soon, and at least one of these nameplates could end up on a hybrid or fully electric supercar. Solus, a term often used in stage directions, comes from Latin and means alone or by oneself, and it could perhaps end up on a hard-core single-seater in the same vein as the Ferrari Monza SP1.
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At the annual Tesla shareholder meeting on Thursday, October 7, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla will move its headquarters to Austin, becoming the latest Silicon Valley company to make the switch to Texas.Musk did not reveal when the move would happen and emphasized that Tesla will not be abandoning California, with production at the Fremont factory set to increase by 50 percent.Musk pointed to the Bay Area’s high cost of living to justify the move, arguing that many employees struggled to afford houses and ended up with lengthy commutes.UPDATE 10/8/21, 4:10 p.m.: At the same shareholder conference, Tesla provided revised launch dates for upcoming models. The Cybertruck was supposed to start production this year but it has been pushed back to 2022 with volume production taking off in 2023. The Semi, originally planned to launch in 2020, has been delayed to 2023, as has the Roadster that was first unveiled in 2017. Yesterday, at Tesla’s 2021 shareholder meeting, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla will officially move it headquarters to Austin, Texas. Tesla joins a number of Silicon Valley tech firms, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Oracle, that are shifting their main bases to Texas, enticed by the state’s low tax rates and business-friendly policies. Musk did not specify when the move would occur or where in Austin the new headquarters would be, although it is safe to assume that it will be based near the Gigafactory site that is set to be the main factory for the upcoming Cybertruck and Tesla Semi.

This official announcement was not the first time Musk had suggested a move to Texas. During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the CEO threatened to leave California after the state’s strict pandemic restrictions made it difficult to restart production. Tesla then began contraction on the Austin Gigafactory, and soon afterward Musk himself moved to the Lone Star State. Now Tesla’s central office will follow suit, but Musk made it clear that Tesla would not fully abandon California. At the shareholder meeting, Musk said that Tesla would expand in California, aiming to boost production at the Fremont plant by 50 percent. Unlike when he threatened to leave last year, Musk did not cite any political or pandemic-related disagreements with California when he announced the move to Texas. Instead, he pointed to the cost of living in the Bay Area, arguing, “It’s tough for people to afford houses, and a lot of people have to come from far away.” Musk believes that the business and living conditions in Texas will allow the company to become more productive. The new headquarters will include an “ecological paradise,” with the Gigafactory built alongside the Colorado River and Musk planning to create a boardwalk and hiking trail that will be open to the public.
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Mercedes-Benz’s battery powered EQS450+ (above) and EQS580 have an EPA range of 350 or 340 miles of range, besting their German competition by more than 100 miles.Tesla and Lucid easily beat the new Benz’s range with the Model S Long Range coming in at 405 miles and the Lucid Air Dream R AWD covering 520 miles per charge. The EQS450+ boasts the lowest drag coefficient (Cd) or any car for sale and will start at $103,360. The premium-electric-car segment is mostly about two numbers: horsepower and range. Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz announced that its new dual-motor EQS580 would have 516 horsepower and that the single-motor EQS450+ would come in at 329 horsepower, but now we’ve learned the official EPA-rated range. According to the EPA, the 107.8-kWh-equipped 580 will travel 340 miles while the single-motor 450+ with the same battery will make it 350 miles on a charge.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes credits its aggressive regeneration strategy, large battery, and the EQS’s incredibly low 0.20 drag coefficient for the range number. But while the EV Benz’s range compares favorably with the German competition, it falls behind the range of startups like Tesla and Lucid. The best a Porsche Taycan can do is 227 miles—Taycan 4S Performance Battery Plus—and the farthest an Audi e-tron GT can go on a charge is 238 miles. Yet the Benz can’t touch the Tesla Model S Long Range’s impressive 405-mile number; nor can it come close to the Lucid Air Dream R AWD’s 520 miles of EPA range.

Mercedes-Benz EQS580.
Mercedes-Benz

An important element of any car, electric or otherwise, is the price. The EQS450+ will start at $103,360, moving up to the Exclusive Level costs $3400, and the appropriately named Pinnacle Level comes in at $109,560. Pricing for the more powerful EQS580 opens at $120,160, requires an additional $3400 for the Exclusive trim, and, for those who want it all, the Pinnacle will wear a $126,360 window sticker.
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Lexus will reveal the new LX luxury SUV on Wednesday, October 13, at 12:30 p.m. ET.It’s the more upscale version of the new 300-series Land Cruiser, which won’t be sold in the U.S. Lexus has confirmed to Car and Driver that the LX600 will be sold here.The new LX is expected to use the same 409-hp twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V-6 that powers the global Land Cruiser. Toyota won’t sell the new 300-series Land Cruiser in the United States, likely because previous versions didn’t sell well here. However, we will be getting the new model in the form of a more luxurious Lexus, the luxury brand has confirmed to Car and Driver. The LX600 will be revealed on Wednesday, October 13, at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Lexus

It’s likely that the LX600 will replace the current LX570 model’s 5.7-liter V-8 engine with the new twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V-6 that’s found in the global version of the Land Cruiser and the new Toyota Tundra full-size pickup. In the Land Cruiser it makes 409 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, and a hybrid version could arrive later. It will use a 10-speed automatic transmission and have standard four-wheel drive.

A teaser image from earlier this year (above) revealed similar L-shaped headlights and the famous Lexus spindle grille, but this new image shows the SUV will have a similar boxy shape as the Land Cruiser—at least in the rear. Unlike the Toyota, however, its taillights are connected by a light bar, and the rear window is slightly more canted forward. Check back here for all the details on the 2022 Lexus LX600 next week. We’ll update this post with a link to the live reveal when one becomes available. The new LX should go on sale early next year starting at around $90,000.
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Ford will reveal the Expedition Timberline Off-Grid concept at this weekend’s Overland Expo East in Arrington, Virginia.The Off-Grid concept features mechanical upgrades for tackling tricky trails, like Fox Performance shocks, two extra inches of ground clearance, and 35-inch General Grabber tires.The Off-Grid is outfitted for camping with a roof-mounted tent, portable privacy room shower, and a trailer with a stove and a sink.A few weeks ago, Ford refreshed the full-sized Expedition SUV, introducing sharper styling and a new off-road Timberline model. Now Ford has trendily modified the Expedition for overlanding, a pastime which combines off-roading and camping. The Expedition Timberline Off-Grid concept will debut this weekend at the Overland Expo East in Arrington, Virginia and shows off the new Timberline model could be transformed into a true expedition vehicle. Ford painted the Off-Grid concept in Forged Green and added a custom topographic wrap from CG Detroit. Although the Timberline already has 10.6 inches of ground clearance, the Off-Grid concept is boosted another two inches and gains Fox Performance Elite Series 2.5-inch shocks with Dual Speed Compression adjusters and remote reservoirs front and rear. The Timberline’s stock 18-inch wheels and 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler AT tires are swapped out for 17-inch Method Race Wheels with 35-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires. DeeZee Rock Rail Hoop Steps make it easier to climb up into the high-riding SUV.

The Off-Grid comes decked out with accessories available to customers at Ford dealers, such as the Thule Tepui Explorer tent strapped to the roof, the Overland Vehicle Systems Nomadic 180-degree awning, and a Wild Land portable privacy room shower. The Off-Grid also includes a transmission shield—which Ford says is available from the factory—and plenty of auxiliary lighting for nighttime trail driving, with a 50-inch Rigid light bar above the windshield, a 20-inch Rigid light bar beneath the grille, and D-SS Rigid cube lights on the hood. There are also lights placed within the wheel wells and liftgate, and a switch to turn the lights red for optimal stargazing.
Inside, Ford has added a Luno camping mattress that can fit two, a EZ STAK aluminum storage unit, window shades, and a portable USB fan. Ford has also fitted a Clarios AGM battery to provide the electricity needed for the Off-Grid’s electronic gadgets. The Off-Grid concept is also towing a Turtleback Expedition Series Trailer, which is also shod in Method wheels and Grabber all-terrain tires. The trailer carries camping essentials like a two-burner propane stove and deep-well sink, 42-gallon water tank and six-gallon water heater with external shower hookup, and drop-down tables. After the Expedition Timberline Off-Grid debuts at Overland Expo East on Friday, it will be displayed at the SEMA show in Las Vegas beginning November 2.
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Aston Martin’s own Works division created an electric DB6 Volante a few years ago, and now another British company—Lunaz—will be converting DB4, DB5, and DB6 models to electricity.You may be stirred by the price, which is expected to exceed $1 million to completely restore the Aston and then add the powertrain.What price beauty, though? The first customers will get these starting in late 2023. This isn’t the first time we’ve told you about an electric conversion of one of Aston Martin’s classic DB models, and it may not be the last. Three years ago, Aston’s own Works classic division created a DB6 Volante with its six-cylinder engine replaced by a modular battery pack that powered a motor connected to the original gearbox. This was, we were told, to gauge demand for a factory sanctioned conversion, the lack of a production version suggesting this was lacking.But now another British company is planning to offer what seems to be a very similar car. Lunaz, which already offers electrified versions of various other classics, has said it will be offering an EV conversion for the DB4, DB5 and DB6, meaning that James Bond really could migrate himself to an EV.

Doing so would come with a substantial price tag, of course: even a rough DB5 is most of the way to a seven-figure valuation these days, with Lunaz’s heart transplant adding substantially to the “on application” price. The company is prepared to give more detail on pricing when it comes to the cheaper DB6, reckoning the conversion will “exceed $1 million plus local taxes,” with that including a bare-metal restoration as well as the new powertrain itself. They have also released images of a plug-wearing DB6 which makes the point this is a spectacularly good-looking car, regardless of the fuel it runs on.

Lunaz

Lunaz’s official release is short on technical details, but we can presume the electro-DBs will share much with the company’s earlier conversions. These use a bespoke powertrain which, in the Jaguar XK150, features a pair of motors giving a combined output of 375 horsepower to the rear axle. The XK150 uses an 80.o-kWh battery, while the larger Rolls-Royce Phantom V conversion has 120.0 kWh from twin packs, one under the hood and the other beneath the trunk floor. Given the limited spare space on a DB Aston, the use of the single pack seems more likely; Aston Works’ putative conversion used a battery almost exactly the same size and weight as the original engine. Lunaz’s car will support fast charging through a Type 2 CCS socket.

Lunaz

Lunaz also promises “uprating [sic] of brakes, suspension, and steering, while interior comfort and convenience is brought up to modern standards through the provision of air conditioning and the sensitive integration of latest infotainment, navigation systems, and full Wi-Fi connectivity.” The biggest question with any such conversion is existential: does it really deserve to exist? Lunaz says it will carefully remove the existing engine so that owners can keep them against a future change of heart, but it is very hard to imagine a world in which the near silence of an electric motor will feel like a better soundtrack to a classic Aston than that provided by its DBR2 six-cylinder, wuffling through triple carburetors. The environmental benefits of performing such radical and expensive surgery can also be questioned. The gentle duty cycle of a typical DB Aston would seem to make it unlikely that the energy and carbon costs of an electric conversion would ever be repaid in terms of reduced tailpipe emissions. As with cars like the Everrati Porsche 911 we drove earlier this year, the Lunaz seems to be aimed at a far distant future when combustion engines are either banned or become impossible to keep running. Lunaz says the first deliveries of electric DB models will take place in the third quarter of 2023.
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General Motors announced its new Ultra Cruise hands-free driving system will debut in 2023 on a future Cadillac model. The system will work on more than two million miles of every type of road in the U.S. and Canada, joining Super Cruise, which is currently available and only works on highways. Ultra Cruise uses a combination of cameras, radar, and lidar and has a 360-degree view of the car. General Motors is adding another tier to its hands-free driving technology with its new Ultra Cruise system that it claims will work in 95 percent of driving situations. It will sit above Super Cruise, which is currently available and works on over 200,000 miles of highways across the U.S. and Canada.

Ultra Cruise will add to that number of roads, working on more than two million miles in the U.S. and Canada at launch. The goal is to reach more than 3.4 million miles, GM says. Its main competition will be Tesla’s Full Self-Driving tech (it’s not really full self-driving), which is still in Beta status and not widely available. However, Tesla’s system can currently only be engaged on roads with lane paint, and GM says that Ultra Cruise can be engaged on subdivision streets, which would give it a leg up on FSD. Ultra Cruise uses a combination of cameras, radars, and lidar; that last one is a big deal as it’s the first case of this tech being deployed on a vehicle sold to the public in the U.S. Super Cruise uses lidar map data stored onboard, but doesn’t use a sensor. GM says the system’s functions will show on a dynamic display, which will have a 360-degree view of the car. The system will follow navigation and speed limits, react to traffic control such as traffic lights (much like Tesla’s FSD), avoid close objects, and, like Super Cruise, perform automated lane changes. GM says the system will improve itself over time based on real-world learnings and also can be updated over the air. The system will adopt Super Cruise’s driver attention camera that’s located on top of the steering wheel column and tracks drivers’ eyes to make sure they’re paying attention to the road. We tested Super Cruise along with numerous other automakers’ driver-assist systems and found that GM’s system can be tricked with eyeball glasses and be engaged without a driver in the seat. GM says that Ultra Cruise will be reserved for more luxurious models in its lineup, and Cadillac will introduce the tech in 2023, likely on the upcoming Lyriq electric crossover. Super Cruise will be reserved for its “mainstream models” such as the Chevy Silverado, which recently added the tech.
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Chevrolet announced that the all-electric Silverado will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 5, 2022.Chevy showed a teaser displaying the fixed-glass roof that will be an option on the non-commercial version of the Silverado EV.The Silverado EV uses General Motors’ Ultium battery technology that will also be found in the GMC Hummer EV, and it is expected to arrive as a 2023 model.The electric pickup truck wars are heating up, with entries from Rivian, GMC, Tesla, Ford, and more set to hit the road in the near future. While we have known for over a year that an electric Chevrolet pickup is on its way, Chevy has now confirmed that the all-electric Silverado will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2022. Chevrolet provided a shadowy teaser image with the announcement, showing a top-down view of the truck which reveals a fixed-glass roof. Chevy says that the glass roof only be available on certain trim levels of the retail truck, meaning it won’t be offered on commercial versions, and we think it’s likely to be a costly option. Chevrolet has confirmed that there will be a commercial-grade fleet version of the Silverado EV that will presumably do away with many of niceties that will be optional on the non-commercial truck.

The electric Silverado will be based on the same Ultium battery platform that will also underpin other upcoming electric GM products such as the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq. General Motors estimates that the Silverado EV will offer up to 400 miles of range on a single charge, a fair bit more than the Rivian R1T’s 314-mile EPA range. Chevy also announced previously that the Silverado will come with rear-axle steering, which will significantly tighten the turning radius by slightly turning the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the fronts.The gas-powered Silverado, which just received a refresh for the 2022 model year, is expected to live alongside the electric truck for the foreseeable future. We expect the Silverado EV to go on sale for the 2023 model year, by which point the electric pickup segment will be crowded.
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