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    VW Aims to Have Autonomous ID.Buzz Vans for Commercial Use by 2025

    Volkswagen announced that it plans to have Level 4 autonomous ID.Buzz vans ready for commercial use by 2025; the non-autonomous ID.Buzz is still scheduled to arrive in 2023.
    VW said that it plans to put the vans in service as a ride-sharing fleet, following the current practice of a VW Group subsidiary called Moia.
    VW previously announced that it plans to unveil autonomous ID.Buzz vans in Qatar for the World Cup in 2022. Those vans would run on semi-fixed routes.
    Volkswagen announced today that it is aiming to have a Level 4 autonomous ID.Buzz—its forthcoming electric minivan—in service for commercial use by 2025. The German automaker said that it is currently conducting field testing in Germany using technology developed by Argo AI, a self-driving startup both VW and Ford have invested in. Argo AI’s tech will be used in the ID.Buzz and rolled out in 2025.

    Volkswagen Will Share Its I.D.s

    Self-Driving Electric VW Shuttles Coming to Qatar

    VW ID.Buzz Microbus U.S. Launch Delayed to 2023

    VW said that the commercial use of the ID.Buzz vans will be similar to that of Moia, a mobility company launched in 2016 that’s part of the Volkswagen Group. Moia, which has its own Moia-specific electric van, is an ride-sharing system operating in two German cities.
    Level 4 autonomy means that the ID.Buzz van will be able to operate without human input, but only in specific geographic areas. Currently, there aren’t any automakers offering that level of automation, but Honda has said that its next generation of the Legend sedan will have Level 3 autonomy in Japan. General Motors’ Cruise started testing Level 4 autonomous vehicles in San Francisco late last year, and in 2019, Waymo expanded the availability of its completely driverless cars to more customers in Phoenix.
    VW announced late in 2019 that in 2022, it plans to unveil a self-driving ID.Buzz in Qatar for the World Cup. The van will be used as a public transit option, running on semi-fixed routes.
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    2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Achieved 190 Miles of Range in Our Testing

    We tested the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 1st Edition in our 75-mph highway range test.
    It achieved a result of 190 miles, compared with an EPA combined range estimate of 250 miles.
    That compares with a result of 220 miles for the Tesla Model Y Long Range in the same test.
    The ID.4 crossover is the first member of VW’s new electric-vehicle family, and we’ve now gotten a chance to run it through our real-world range testing. A 2021 ID.4 1st Edition model achieved a result of 190 miles in our 75-mph highway range test, against an EPA combined range estimate of 250 miles. The ID.4 recorded 82 MPGe in our test, which is close to the EPA’s 89 MPGe highway estimate.
    The version of the ID.4 we tested was a rear-wheel-drive model with a 201-horsepower electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack with 77.0-kWh of usable capacity. It carried an as-tested price of $45,190. An all-wheel-drive model is coming later on with an additional motor up front to produce a total of around 300 horsepower, and a cheaper version with a smaller battery pack will also join the lineup eventually.
    How does the ID.4’s result stack up against other comparable EVs? The Tesla Model Y Long Range, which has all-wheel drive and an 75.0-kWh battery pack, bested the Volkswagen in the same test, achieving a range of 220 miles and an average of 94 MPGe. But the Tesla was further off from its own EPA ratings of 326 miles of range on the combined cycle and 117 MPGe on the highway. See our explainer on Tesla’s adjustment factor for more information on how Teslas put up big numbers in the EPA’s tests.

    Tested: How Cold Weather Affects EV Range

    Tesla’s Secret to Big EPA Range Numbers

    It’s worth noting that the VW performed this efficiency test in 40-degree temperatures and the Tesla ran it in 75-degree weather. We’ve previously measured how cold weather can affect EV range, so we would expect the ID.4 to do better in this test in warmer weather.
    We’ll have a full review and more instrumented test results for the ID.4 soon.
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    2022 Land Rover Defender V8 Priced Starting Near $100,000

    The 2022 Land Rover Defender starts at $49,050 for the base two-door 90, an increase of $1600, and $51,850 for the base four-door 110.
    A 518-hp supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 model has been introduced for the 2022 model year, and they start at $98,550 for the two-door and $101,750 for the four-door.
    The 2022 Defenders will arrive in the summer.

    Land Rover has added a 518-hp supercharged V-8 to its two-door Defender 90 and four-door Defender 110. They’ll go on sale in the summer starting at $98,550 for the two-door and $101,750 for the four-door—that’s approximately double their starting prices. The Defender 90’s $49,050 base price is up $1600 for 2022, while the 110’s $51,850 starting price remains the same. The V-8 models are considerably more expensive than America’s V-8-powered off-roader, the 470-hp Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, which starts at $74,995 for a Launch Edition model, but they’re more than $30K cheaper than the 416-hp Mercedes-Benz G550.

    View Photos

    Land Rover

    The lowest price point is $49,050 to get into the 2022 Land Rover Defender 90 (the two-door model), which is powered by a standard turbocharged four-cylinder. A 3.0-liter inline-six is available on more expensive models, which start at $60,850 for the 90 X-Dynamic S and $66,450 for the 110 SE.
    For the four-door Defender 110, the base model starts at $51,850, the same as the previous model year, while higher trims see increases ranging from $200 for the S to $3000 for the X.
    All models, including the new V-8, are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive, and all have a new option of a curved 11.4-inch touchscreen, with a 10.0-inch screen remaining standard.

    Land Rover Defender Gets 518-HP Supercharged V-8

    Tested: Defender 110 Refines an Off-Road Icon

    View Photos of the 2022 Land Rover Defender V8

    For 2022, new Defender V8 90 and 110 models are available, and they start at $98,550 and $101,750. They’re powered by a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 that produces 518 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque. Land Rover says the two-door will sprint to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 149 mph. Both V8 models are available in a special Carpathian Edition, finished in Carpathian Gray with Land Rover’s satin protective film, a black roof and tailgate, “V8 Carpathian Edition” badging, and black trim pieces. They start at $105,350 for the 90 and $108,550 for the 110.

    View Photos

    Defender V8 interior with 11.4-inch screen.
    Land Rover

    A new Defender 110 XS Edition comes with body-colored lower cladding and lower wheel arches, along with unique 20-inch wheels. Additional equipment includes an electronic air suspension and the 3.0-liter inline-six. It’s available in Silicon Silver, Hakuba Silver, Gondwana Stone, or Santorini Black and starts at $73,250.
    The 2022 Land Rover Defender, including the new V8 models, will go on sale this summer.

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    Replacing a BMW M3 for $20,000: Window Shop with Car and Driver

    The Window Shop crew has a special guest this week, the witty and hilarious Zack Klapman of the Smoking Tire podcast. Klapman and Matt Farah work together on a number of projects, including their One Take series on Youtube, but one thing that Farah won’t touch is Klapman’s E46 BMW M3. Like so many M3s of that vintage, his example perpetually throws a check-engine light, which got us thinking: Perhaps we should find Klapman a replacement for his unreliable car. Even if he doesn’t want our help, we’re doing it anyway.So we called up contributor John Pearley Huffman, who presents a tasty 2005 6.0-liter Pontiac GTO with a manual gearbox. Huffman gets huffy about several matters, including aftermarket radios, the finishing order of a C/D Mustang/GTO comparison test, and how easy it is to heel-toe downshift his built-in-Australia Pontiac. Deputy testing director K.C. Colwell throws the M3 owner a curveball by selecting an overlanding-friendly vehicle, but Klapman is smitten with the choice. Plus, a suspiciously inexpensive Lotus Esprit makes an appearance thanks to contributor Jonathon Ramsey’s incredible ability to find sketchy listings that look and smell like scams.If you were wondering how many episodes it’d take before we presented a car with an Eagle badge, you now have your answer: 48. Deputy editor Tony Quiroga finds what has to be the nicest Eagle Talon on earth. But is his rare, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive cream puff enough to take the win? Watch and see.
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    Hero MotoCorp Model Wise Sales, Exports Jan 2021 – Splendor, Passion, Pleasure

    Image – RGB BIKES
    Hero Splendor was the best-selling product by the company in both domestic and overseas markets in January 2021

    Hero MotoCorp continued to sell large volumes of two-wheelers at the start of this new year and clearly outnumbered its rivals by a fair margin. Although the manufacturer did face a slight drop in sales in the domestic market last month. Against a sales volume of 4,90,286 units in January 2020, the company recorded a sales volume of 4,67,753 units last month.
    Domestic Sales- Splendor, HF Deluxe, Passion Pro Lead Charts
    This meant YoY sales declined by 4.60 percent while it held a market share of 32.71 percent. As usual, Splendor was the biggest contributor to Hero’s sales volume as the commuter bike raked in 2,25,382 units for the OEM in January 2021. Last year during the same period, the figures stood at 2,22,578 units which translated to a YoY growth of 1.26 percent.
    Splendor was followed by another entry-level motorcycle HF Deluxe which recorded sales of 1,34,860 units last month as opposed to 1,91,875 units in January 2020. This translated to a YoY decline in sales by 29.71 percent.
    Passion Pro followed in next to occupy the third spot. The Star City-rival raked in 43,162 units last month against last year’s 26,905 units, therefore, registering YoY growth of 60.42 percent.
    Hero MotoCorp Domestic Sales Jan 2021
    Strong numbers by scooters
    Glamor took the fourth spot after it recorded a sales volume of 22,681 units in January 2021. During the same month last year, Hero sold 40,318 units of the 125cc bike which translates to a decline in YoY sales by 43.74 percent.
    Glamor was followed by the company’s entry-level scooter offering Pleasure Plus. Hero dispatched 18,603 units of Pleasure in January this year. In comparison, the company dispatched only 4,239 units in January 2020 which translated to an impressive YoY growth of 338.85 percent. Pleasure was followed by Destini 125 with a sales volume of 9,484 units last month against a paltry 394 units sold in January 2020. This translates to a massive YoY growth of 4674.56 percent.
    The seventh spot was occupied by the Maestro brand of scooters which raked in 6,388 units for the manufacturer as opposed to 656 units in January 2020 with an impressive YoY growth of 873.78 percent. The eighth and ninth places were taken by Xtreme 160R and Xpulse 200 with a humongous YoY growth of 4674.56 percent and 1159 percent respectively.
    Hero MotoCorp Exports Jan 2021
    Exports- Splendor Leads
    As far as exports are concerned, Splendor was leading the charts again with 5,671 units shipped to overseas markets. In comparison, the company shipped 2,732 units of Splendor in January 2020 which meant a YoY growth of 107.58 percent.
    It was followed by Xtreme 150 which recorded 2,675 units shipped abroad last month against January last year’s 230 units. This meant it registered a YoY growth of 1063 percent. HF Deluxe took the third spot after it registered sales of 2,675 units in January 2021 thus recording a decline in YoY sales by 17.52 percent.
    Products such as Duet (1,794 units) and Hunk (1,566 units), which have been discontinued in India, were also shipped overseas in decent numbers. A total of 18,113 two-wheelers were shipped by Hero last month against a total of 13,533 units dispatched during the same period last month. More

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    BMW R nineT And Scrambler India Launch Price Rs 16.75 L Onwards

    New BMW R nineT
    BMW Motorrad India will import R nineT and R nineT Scrambler motorcycles as completely built-up units (CBU)

    Bookings for the new BMW R nineT and R nineT Scrambler open from today at all BMW Motorrad India dealerships. The R nineT classic roadster is priced at Rs 18,50,000 while the R nineT Scrambler carries a price tag of Rs.16,75,000 as the come in as CBUs (ex-sh prices).
    The new launches bode well for the manufacturer, which has seen bike sales improve in recent times. Buyers can also select from a range of accessories and lifestyle merchandise for the R nineT and R nineT Scrambler which is on offer at all BMW Motorrad showroom in the country.
    Colour Options and Design
    BMW R nineT is being offered in color options of Blackstorm Metallic/Brushed Aluminium, Option 719 Aluminium, Mineral White Metallic/Aurum and Night Black Matt/Aluminium Matt. The BMW R nineT Scrambler gets colors of Granite Gray Metallic, Cosmic Blue Metallic/Light White, Black Storm Metallic/Racing Red and Kalamata Metallic Matt.
    Both motorcycles boast of individual styling with use of quality material and excellent craftsmanship with particular detail to every feature. The R nineT is a classic roadster and hence gets distinctive styling features with a circular headlamp unit, twin pod instrument cluster, spoked wheels and a twin can exhaust.
    New BMW R nineT Scrambler
    The R nineT Scrambler sports a circular headlamp and single pod instrument cluster along with a twin can exhaust positioned under its seat, telescopic suspension and rides on 5 spoke alloy wheels fitted with knobby tyres. The bike weighs a total of 222 kgs and has fuel tank capacity of 18 liters.
    Engine and Riding Modes
    The two new bikes from BMW Motorrad share the same engine. This 1,170cc, air/ oil cooled, 2 cylinder, 4 stroke engine gets DOHC cylinder head, 4 valves and two chamshafts along with a shaft drive and offers 107 hp power at 7,520 rpm and 119 Nm torque at 6,000 rpm. The engine allows for acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 200 km/h.
    Two riding modes of Rain and Road are offered on the BMW R nineT and R nineT Scrambler. In Rain mode, throttle response combines with Automatic Stability Control (ASC) for added safety when the rider accelerates on slippery or wet road conditions. Road mode ensures a more balanced throttle response and ASC control on dry and non-slippery road conditions.
    New BMW R nineT Scrambler
    Braking is via twin disc brakes in the front and single disc at the rear while the two bikes are equipped with ABS Pro, Dynamic Brake Control (DBC), Automatic Stability Control (ASC) and travel-dependent damping (WAD).
    BMW Motorrad has introduced standard warranty for 3 years along with unlimited km on the two bikes which can be further extended to 4th and 5th year at an added cost. Buyers can also avail Road Side Assistance, 24x7x365 day package.
    New BMW R nineT More

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    New Bajaj Pulsar 160 NS Spied Testing – Launch Likely In 2021

    Image – Jupiter Lobo
    The new Bajaj Pulsar NS 160 gets significant cosmetic revision while the hardware appear to be retained

    The Bajaj Pulsar NS family of street fighters aged rather well. Started its innings with a 200 cc variant almost a decade ago, the NS nameplate later spawned a popular 160 variant with identical styling. The competition has come up with modern and better equipped compact displacement naked motorcycles, prompting Bajaj Auto to revisit the drawing board.
    New Bajaj Pulsar NS 160 spotted testing
    A prototype of what appears to be the next generation Bajaj Pulsar NS has been spotted testing on the public road for the first time. The air-cooling fins on the engine block strongly indicate that this is a 160 cc variant. The tyre sizes, thin front telescopic forks and box section swing arm also point towards the smaller engined variant.
    The revised bodywork appears to be production ready but the finer details are concealed by the camouflage. The most significant visual change is the fuel tank which now features longer extensions. The headlamp is also completely new with a compact projector unit and a redesigned casing.
    The tailpiece continues to retain familiarity but we expect the taillight to undergo revision. It is reasonable to assume that the new Bajaj Pulsar NS 160 will receive an updated fully digital instrument console. Spy images are credit to automotive enthusiast Jupiter Logo.
    Image – Jupiter Lobo
    Specifications
    The time proven 160.3 cc air / oil-cooled single-cylinder motor is expected to be carried forward. The underbelly exhaust has been done away with in favour of a conventional canister in a bid to meet the stricter emission standards. In its current avatar, the motor produces a healthy 17.2 hp and 14.6 Nm of torque, and is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. Changes, if any, are likely to be nominal.
    The perimeter frame, suspension and braking setup appear to have been carried forward without any changes. The sporty compact displacement naked motorcycle is equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear discs with single-channel ABS.
    Bigger engined variant on its way?
    It is only a matter of time before the Pulsar NS 200 receives a successor and it is expected to adopt the bigger 250 cc liquid-cooled motor from the Dominar. A bigger engine would help create a sufficient distance from its 160 cc sibling in terms of market positioning and pricing, while also strengthening the brand’s quarter liter lineup.
    Rivals
    The new Bajaj Pulsar NS 160 will be pitted against the TVS Apache RTR 160, Hero Xtreme 160R and Yamaha FZS-FI. The brand pull and a modern design should give the new naked Pulsar an edge over its rivals. We expect the new motorcycle to be ready for the market sometime in the second half of this year to take advantage of the festive season. Expect a marginal increase in the price from current INR 1.10 lakh (Ex-showroom). More

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    Hero Xpulse 200 Modified To Look Like An Enduro Bike – Adventure Ready

    Hero Xpulse 200 Modified
    Hero Xpulse 200 competes against entry-level adventure tourer motorcycles such as Royal Enfield Himalayan and KTM 250 Adventure

    At Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom), Hero Xpulse 200 is by far the most affordable adventure motorcycle in India. It may not be the best looking bikes but it gets the job done for the purpose it has been built. Apart from being a good touring machine with decent off-road capabilities, the fact that it is super affordable makes it a fan favourite among biking enthusiasts looking for an entry-level adventure tourer.
    It is also a fan favourite when it comes to aftermarket modifications and is one of the most sought after customised bikes in India currently. Over the years we have seen many examples of a modified Xpulse 200, some of them quite tasteful in fact. The latest case is one such example.
    Customised Design
    This piece of Xpulse 200 owned by an enthusiast named Tushar Doultani has been modified to look like an enduro bike. Getting into the details of its design, its stock circular headlamp has been replaced with a square-ish aftermarket unit.
    It also wears a new headlamp cowl to suit its squared-off arches. The modified bike also gets a straight-line handlebar with aftermarket knuckle guards. The owner has ditched the factory fitted rearview mirrors.
    Hero Xpulse 200 Modified
    Switching to its rear end, quite a few interesting mod jobs have been carried out. The most prominent highlight being the aftermarket fender which completely alters the bike’s visual appeal. An almost vertical tail section gives it a much needed enduro look. It has been installed at an angle very similar to its saddle. To top it off, the custom paint job makes it look ready for a dirt rally.
    Hero Xpulse Rally Kit
    However, all the above mentioned modifications look good mainly because the bike has been installed with Hero’s official rally kit. The bikemaker offers a rally kit with Xpulse 200 which comes with a bunch of components that make the bike much more friendly in tough off-roading conditions.
    The package includes an adjustable cartridge front suspension unit, a preload-adjustable rear suspension and chunkier Maxxis tyres. Also part of the kit are an extended gear pedal, extra-long side stand and handlebar risers. It also gets a flat and taller bench-style seat which is useful for long-distance touring.
    Hero Xpulse 200 Modified
    Engine Specs & Features
    Xpulse 200 draws its power from a 199.6cc, single-cylinder, oil-cooled engine returning an output of 17.8 bhp at 8,500rpm and 16.45 Nm of peak torque at 6,500rpm. This unit is paired with a 5-speed gearbox. On the feature front, it is offered with a full-LED headlamp and a digital instrument cluster and Bluetooth connectivity for navigation and call alerts.
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