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    Mini Charged Edition Launched For Rs. 55 Lakh – 20 Shades of Elegance

    Mini Charged EditionYellow Pops and Red Sparks: Mini Charged Edition gets styling enhancementsMini has launched a very limited special edition of its sole electric car in India. Mini Charged Edition. The company will only sell 20 units. Very limited and quite so exclusive.Mini Charged Edition is a slightly stylised version Mini 3-Door Cooper SE BEV sold in India. Price is listed at Rs. 55,00,000 (ex-sh). Buyers can book exclusively from the shop section of company’s official website.Wired for Thrills: Mini Charged Edition’s ConnectivityStandard Mini 3-Door Cooper SE costs Rs. 53.50 lakh (ex-sh) before opting for the slew of accessories the company offers to configure. Charged Edition costs Rs. 1.5 lakh (ex-sh) to up its special character.On the outside, Mini Charged Edition wears an exclusive Chilli Red paint scheme. It plays with two different white shades to contrast Chilli Red. Roof gets a familiar/standard White finish. ORVMs, door handles, tailgate handles, headlight rings, tail light rings and logos get Aspen White shade.Mini Charged Edition – FrontTo add a more colourful character, a Frozen Red stripe on the bonnet delights. And is complemented by striking Energetic Yellow highlights. Energetic Yellow highlights are present in other areas too – above side body cladding and asymmetric 17-inch ‘Electric Power Spoke Alloy Wheels’ and an S badge at the front and rear.On the inside, Striking Yellow accents bring youthfulness to the equation. Steering wheel gets soft nappa leather, while seats are leatherette. Mini’s cute-sy appeal is accentuated by a 5” instrument cluster and 8.8” infotainment screen.Energising the Future: Bold Brand PhilosophyThese 17” alloy wheels are aerodynamic in nature and reduce air drag to maximize efficiency and range of its electric powertrain. Speaking of electric powertrain, Mini Charged Edition is similar to standard Mini 3-Door Cooper SE. This means 32.6 kWh battery and a motor with 184 bhp of power and 287 Nm of torque.White RoofDriving modes include Green and Sport. The range of this powertrain is 270 km on a single charge. Mini offers convenience of 50 kW DC charging, 11 kW AC and 2.3 kW AC which charges the battery to 80 percent in 36 minutes, 2 hours 30 minutes and 9 hours 43 minutes respectively.Mini Wired Package as standard enables navigation, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay, and a Harman Kardon audio system. Mr. Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, “MINI spreads BIG LOVE by bringing the MINI 3-door Cooper SE in Chili Red, for the first time in India. It celebrates the legendary Go-Kart feeling and instant torque, all with zero emissions.‘Charged’ branding in Energetic YellowThe MINI Charged Edition is a bold, energetic and expressive car that perfectly fits the MINI BIG Love spirit of a brave and daring brand which brings people and communities together. The MINI Charged Edition is your perfect partner for Urban Mobility. Every bit the original iconic MINI but powered for the roads of tomorrow.”Aspen White highlights More

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    Simple Dot One Name Registered – New Affordable Scooter, 180 Km Range

    Image for reference onlySimple Dot One will be the next electric scooter from Simple Energy – It will be priced lower than the existing Simple OneThe buzz around EVs seems to have reduced a little. The primary reason for this could be the reduced subsidy under the FAME II scheme. That said, this has enabled EV makers to launch lower-spec electric scooters at an affordable price point. Ola launched S1 Air and Ather launched 450S.Relatively newer entrant in the EV world is Simple Energy. The company recently launched its maiden product after a prolonged delay. Deliveries began in June 2023. Now, sources reveal that Simple Energy is developing its affordable lineup of electric scooters. The first of them will be called Simple Dot One. And this Dot lineup will sit below Simple Energy’s ‘Simple’ lineup.Simple Dot One TrademarkSimple Dot One – People’s Champ?When we first saw the name Simple Dot One, we thought this could be Simple Energy’s new charger or something of that sort. That is because Ather Energy, its stark rival, calls their charger a ‘Dot Charger’. However, our sources have confirmed that Simple Dot One will in fact be a new model lineup from Simple Energy. This lineup will take the name Dot, followed by a number of iterations or generations it will spawn in the future. Like Dot One, Dot Two, Dot Three, and so on and so forth.Simple Energy already follows a similar strategy with its flagship Simple lineup. Simple One is the first model, while future generations will take Simple Two, Simple Three, Simple Four and the likes. Just like Polestar does with its vehicles. In a previous post, we covered the company’s trademark applications ranging from Simple Two to Simple Ten along with Simple Vision, Simple Gravity and Simple Vision25. Simple Dot range will probably take a similar approach.2023 Simple One electric scooter launchedWhat to expect?As revealed by our sources, this will be a lower-spec model by Simple Energy. They also mentioned a range of around 180 km. It is likely to come with a smaller battery and fewer features than the Simple One. As of now, Simple One packs quite a lot and trumps its rivals on paper. 5 kWh battery, 212 km of range from a single charge are segment-leading.Performance-wise, Simple One promises 8.5 kW of peak power (11.4 bhp) and 72 Nm of peak torque. It has petal disc brakes and CBS (Combined Braking System) and an impressive 30L boot space. We can see slight reductions in these numbers with Simple Dot One. The impressive large touchscreen dashboard could make way for a non-touch unit.Simple Dot One will be similar in design to the Simple One. There could be slight cost-cutting in componentry to price it aggressively. Debut of the new Simple Dot One is expected in October this year while deliveries are expected to start later this year or early next year. More

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    2023 Jeep Gladiator FarOut Edition Marks the Diesel Engine’s End

    The 2023 Jeep Gladiator adds the limited-production Rubicon FarOut edition that signals the end of the truck’s diesel engine.Jeep will only sell 1000 FarOut editions, each with upgraded features and unique decals but also a hefty $71,790 price tag.With the diesel 3.0-liter V-6 ending after the 2023 model year, the Gladiator is poised to add a 4xe plug-in-hybrid powertrain.The Jeep Gladiator’s torque-rich diesel 3.0-liter V-6 will end production after the 2023 model year. To commemorate the engine’s run, Jeep has introduced a limited-production FarOut edition, which is based on the top-of-the-line Rubicon.FarOut, ManThe Gladiator Rubicon comes standard with copious off-road hardware. The FarOut edition has all that and a host of optional upgrades, including the Cold Weather package (heated steering wheel and front seats), leather interior, LED lighting package, trailering package, and myriad driver assists. Visually, the truck has body-color fenders and “FarOut” and “3.0 D” badges on the tailgate as well as black side decals and a “Diesel 3.0L” hood graphic. Jeep says it will only sell 1000 copies of the Rubicon FarOut edition. The 2023 Rubicon with the diesel starts at $59,690, but the FarOut treatment adds $12,100, which pushes the special edition’s starting price to a lofty $71,790.The 2023 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon EcoDiesel we tested wasn’t especially quick, but we appreciated its 442 pound-feet of torque and impressive fuel efficiency. On our 75-mph real-world highway route, the diesel model returned 27 mpg—6 better than the standard gas-fed 3.6-liter V-6. While the latter is currently the only other engine available on the Gladiator, the diesel’s demise paves the way for Jeep to give its pickup the 4xe plug-in-hybrid powertrain that’s available on the Wrangler. We expect the Gladiator to get that option for the 2024 model year.Meanwhile, the 2023 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon FarOut edition is now available to order through the end of September, with deliveries expected sometime in the months ahead.More Gladiator ReadingThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

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    $385,000 Fisker Rōnin Will Arrive in 2025 with 1000 Horsepower

    EV startup Fisker, which recently began delivering its Ocean SUV, has released additional information about the Rōnin halo car first revealed last week.Production of the Rōnin will be limited to just 999 units, with prices starting at a whopping $385,000.The 1000-horsepower powertrain will shoot the Rōnin in a claimed 2.0-seconds while also providing a targeted range of around 600 miles. Last week, California-based startup Fisker unveiled three electric vehicles that will join the Ocean crossover in its lineup over the coming years. Along with a subcompact crossover called the Pear and a pickup truck called the Alaska, Fisker showed off a flashy four-door sports car, dubbed the Rōnin after the eponymous John Frankenheimer film famous for its thrilling car chase scenes. Now Fisker has released additional information on the Rōnin, including the price and expected arrival date.FiskerFisker will only build 999 examples of the Rōnin, with the startup automaker aiming to begin deliveries in the second half of 2025. According to CEO Henrik Fisker, the Rōnin is meant to serve as a modern version of the “classic grand touring car” for “people who love to drive.” But the Rōnin is still supposed to be practical—despite the slinky body, the convertible sports car has seating for five people and is said to “provide exceptional cargo capacity.” Fisker pitches the Rōnin as a response to the trend of high-performance SUVs from iconic brands, with the electric platform allowing for a capacious cabin but smaller overall dimensions. The Rōnin will offer blistering performance, with a claimed 1000 horsepower from the three-motor powertrain and all-wheel drive contributing to a claimed 2.0-second run to 60 mph. Fisker also claims the Rōnin will be capable of a 170-mph top speed, and the automaker is targeting a 600-mile range. The Rōnin is based around a lightweight aluminum space frame and rides on carbon-fiber 23-inch wheels.FiskerThere are plenty of flamboyant supercar touches such as front and rear butterfly doors and a carbon-fiber hardtop that retracts into the trunk to provide open-air driving. There is also only one set of door handles on the rear doors—the front doors are opened by swiping the handle or using your phone. The cabin is said to be decked out in sustainable, recycled materials and will center around a 17.1-inch screen, although the shadowy image of the interior doesn’t give a detailed look at the design. Order books for the Rōnin are already open, and Fisker says the 1000-horsepower grand tourer will cost $385,000. Although the targeted delivery date is only around two years away, Fisker did not say where the Rōnin will be built. The company doesn’t own any factories, contracting assembly of the Ocean out to Magna Steyr in Austria and planning to have the Pear built by Foxconn in Lordstown, Ohio. The model shown at Fisker’s product launch last week did not look production-ready—it was the only vehicle that didn’t move under its own power and didn’t have a visible interior—so we wouldn’t be surprised if the Rōnin gets delayed.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More

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    Gran Turismo Movie Opens Today – We Saw It and Didn’t Hate It

    The movie Gran Turismo opens today for “sneak preview” in many theaters and nationwide on August 25.Based on the PlayStation video game of the same name, it also takes its story from the real-life adventures of racer Jann Mardenborough, who got his start via PlayStation’s GT Academy.Watch for spoilers ahead, but we confess we enjoyed this movie. At this point, hating on motorsports movies is a required activity to retain car-guy cred. You drive stick, you went to Radwood before Hagerty bought it, and you can name every automotive inaccuracy in every racing movie from Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life in 1913—real racing almost never involves having to rescue a lady tied to the railroad tracks—to the recent Ford v. Ferrari in 2019—The Corvette hood! It’s wrong!Sony PicturesWe’re certainly not immune, having hated on our share of vehicular cinema. So we went into the screening of Sony Pictures’ video-game docudrama Gran Turismo with a ready serving of jaded irritation in our hearts. Know what? It’s not that bad. Initially, hearing Sony was making a Gran Turismo movie, we assumed it would be a cartoonish fictional piece; an empty-headed, bang-shifted, action movie at best, a chaotic two-hour commercial for the PlayStation Gran Turismo video game (sorry, driving simulator) at worst. While there is plenty of product placement in Gran Turismo, the plot is based on a true story and has some genuinely thought-provoking and heart-pounding moments among the crashes and clichés. If You Keep Going, Watch for SPOILERS AHEAD Gran Turismo is more than loosely based on the story of a racer who got his start in Nissan PlayStation’s GT Academy, which was a marketing move by Nissan and Sony to take high-performing drivers from the virtual world of online Gran Turismo competition to real-life race cars. Many of the participants did go on to race in GT and endurance classes. The movie follows Jann Mardenborough, the 2011 winner, who went on to a class podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, although it makes free with what years and in which cars events occurred. Sony PicturesYes,Gran Turismo does stupid movie things like, my personal peeve, constantly have the drivers glare at each other through the side window.Right off the bat, yes, Gran Turismo does stupid movie motorsports things like have the driver put their foot down mid-straightaway and suddenly have more speed, or send crashing cars skyward in balls of flame, or—a personal peeve—constantly have the drivers glare at each other through the side window as if they aren’t locked in neck restraints and hopefully paying attention to their racing lines. It also compresses years into months, invents people who didn’t exist, and rearranges Mardenborough’s timeline in multiple ways to make for uninterrupted drama. We’re not going to list every instance, because we’d be here all day, but know that if you’re writing a school paper on Mardenborough, Gran Turismo is not a reliable source for your facts. This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Now, if you just want to spend some time in a nice air-conditioned theatre with the sound of racing cars and some pleasant-faced actors to look at, you could do far worse than a ticket for Gran Turismo. Archie Madekwe plays Mardenborough with an earnest sweetness. It’s refreshing to have a racing main character whose primary personality characteristic isn’t aggressive confidence. Madekwe, who grew up in London, not only didn’t have any racing experience going in, but didn’t even have a driver’s license when he accepted the role. “I would get home from this other job I was filming, and take a driving lesson that night. The producers kept on phoning me. ‘Have you passed yet? Have you passed yet?’ and as soon as I did, they sent me a simulator, and then I had to learn to drive in the game too.” The real Mardenborough does much of the on-track stunt driving in the film, but Madekwe is proud to say that all the gaming scenes in the film are his driving.Stranger Things’ David Harbour Is a StandoutThe scene stealer is Stranger Things’ David Harbour, again playing a gruff adoptive father figure. Harbour plays fictional driving coach Jack Salter, who battles his own failures as he attempts to ready Mardenborough to face off against snobs in Porsches and rich, mean boys in golden Lamborghinis. This seems to involve a lot of dropping heavy emotional stuff on Mardenborough as he’s on track, which we would argue is a poor approach to coaching, but their relationship in the movie is the most developed and engaging of the movie. Some Weak PointsMost of the other characters are supporting at best, the bad guy being a bad guy just because we need one, the girl invented because it’s 2023 so we need one. Two, really: Mardenborough’s fictional love interest is played by Maeve Courtier-Lilley, and his scrappy fellow GT Academy participant will be a familiar face to Corvette racing fans, Emelia Hartford. Both are pleasant; neither is necessary to the story. Sony PicturesOne wishes for more detailed character development of either of Mardenborough’s parents, who travel the typical movie arc from lovingly disgusted with his gaming ambitions to supportive once he proves it’s a possible career—or the Nissan marketing executive based on Darren Cox. In the movie he’s reimagined as Danny Moore, played by Orlando Bloom with such bad hair that the real Cox should be offended. Moore’s character bounces between heroic out-of-the-box thinking in coming up with the GT Academy and an intriguing, but never followed up on, moment of villainy when he attempts to rig the academy results in favor of the more polished and more white second-place finisher. Visually, Gran Turismo is torn between director Neill Blomkamp’s gritty realism and an obvious Sony push for pandering to video-game fans. The occasional game graphics that overlay the action could be funny or expository if they happened more regularly, but as it is, they take the viewer out of the story without adding much but a reminder as to who paid for the movie. Otherwise, the shots are wide and exciting, the cars dice it up with a sense of physicality, and it’s a pleasure to see endurance racing and scenes of contemporary Le Mans on the big screen. Trivia moment: The final Le Mans scenes were shot in Hungary, at the Hungaroring F1 track, which was dressed up to look like France. The first half of Gran Turismo is slow, so eat your popcorn and take your bathroom breaks then. The second half, which follows Mardenborough’s push to qualify for a license and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is much more energetic. It may be unrealistic in its superfast leap from gamer chair to GT qualifying, but it’s interesting to see depictions of multiple race losses on screen. These days, when fans bemoan even a momentary slump in a favorite driver’s performance, it’s good to get a reminder that the real world involves a lot of backmarker moments. Sony PicturesThe slough of Mardenborough’s despond comes towards the end of the film when a crash at the Nürburgring results in the death of a spectator. This is based on a real event in Mardenborough’s career, although one that happened several years after Le Mans. In interviews, Mardenborough says that including the incident was important to him. “It’s part of my life. It is my life . . . It’s a very dark moment in my career and in my life as a person,” he told the Daily Express. We were surprised to see it depicted, not just because it’s a shocking moment in the story, but because it takes the plot somewhere much darker and sadder than the rest of the movie seems to be leading. In the end, there’s plenty to hate on in Gran Turismo, if you desire to keep the tradition alive, but there’s also a lot to like, from the unusual hero to the detailed pit boxes and track backgrounds. If nothing else, you’ll come out with a desire for a PlayStation setup, which is likely Sony’s main goal. FilmographySenior Editor, FeaturesLike a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews.     More

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    1980 Pontiac Trans Am with a Burt Reynolds Connection up for Auction on Bring a Trailer

    The original Smokey and the Bandit was so popular, the studio couldn’t stop at just one.Smokey and the Bandit II reprised Burt Reynolds in the titular role, again costarring with a black-and-gold Pontiac Trans Am, this time a Turbo model.This 1980 Turbo Trans Am wears that same livery and is signed by Reynolds himself.Car and DriverForty-six years ago, audiences cheered on a cowboy-hatted ne’er do-well as he headed eastbound and down, loaded up and trucking. Equipped with little more than a CB radio, a total lack of respect for the law, one heck of a mustache, and a screaming quick Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, the man they called Bandit stole our hearts. Now you too can roll like the Bandit in a car literally bearing his signature.Bring a TrailerUp for auction on Bring A Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is this 1980 Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am with just 9000 miles on the odometer. Apart from the model year, it’s an identical match for the car Burt Reynolds drove in 1980’s Smokey and the Bandit II, complete with gold accents and that iconic screaming chicken on the hood.Iconic is a word that gets a bit overworked in the automotive world, but a Bandit Trans Am deserves it. When it rolled onto screens in the original 1977 movie, Firebird sales skyrocketed. The second-generation Firebird was late in its run, but Pontiac was so overwhelmed with demand that it actually pushed off the development of the third-gen model a few years.Bring a TrailerThe original first Bandit car was a 1976 model with snowflake-style wheels and a “6.6 Litre” sticker on the hood. The cars were fitted with the front clip from the ’77 model, and only one of the four survived filming.Bandit II saw both Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason (as the memorable Sheriff Buford T. Justice) reprising their roles, but a new Pontiac for the Bandit to drive. Pontiac knew getting its latest product in front of Bandit fans was key, especially as emissions restrictions had seen its larger displacement engine options taken off the table. Thus, Bandit would now drive a Turbo Trans Am, with a 4.9-liter V-8 equipped with a Garrett TB305 turbocharger. A three-speed automatic was the only transmission option.Bring a TrailerWhen new, stock power levels were rated at a modest 210 horsepower, but a stout 345 pound-feet of torque gave the Bandit plenty of grunt to spin those BFGoodrich tires. This example has the desired Y84 Special Edition package, which includes those glass T-tops, 15-inch gold Turbo wheels, and quad exhaust pipes—everything you need.Bring a TrailerBest of all, this car bears the gold signature of Burt Reynolds himself, written on the dashboard. Reynolds died in 2018, and back when the Bandit films were entertaining crowds, he was one of the biggest box office draws of them all.Related StoriesHe’d have other roles of course, but the one that went the distance was as everyone’s favorite Bandit. A black-and-gold Pontiac Firebird Trans Am was a big part of that character, and this one looks like a great way to relive the magic. Just keep an eye out for those smokeys. The auction ends August 15.Contributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

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    Tork Kratos Electric Motorcycle Gets New Base Variant At Rs 42.5k Less Than Before

    Tork Kratos Urban TrimAs opposed to the standard model, Tork Kratos R Urban trim gets a lower top speed as well as lower drive rangePune-based 2W EV maker Tork Motors has introduced a new model in its lineup. Called Tork Kratos Urban, it sits below Kratos R and forms the new base model for the brand. There is a reduction in performance and range with the base model. But the price is welcoming at Rs. 1,67,499 (ex-sh).Ever since the reductions in FAME II subsidy, we have seen EV makers take a step back and re-evaluate their product positioning. Now that the price safety net from the FAME II scheme is reduced drastically, 2W EV makers are looking towards inexpensive models to establish a lower price point.Tork Kratos Goes ‘Urban’ – The new base modelOla did it with S1 Air and Ather did it with 450S. Tork Motors is following the same approach. The new Urban trim for Kratos R seems to be catering to users for everyday city commutes. The new base Urban trim for Kratos R sits below Kratos R. It brings the affordability factor into the equation. As opposed to Kratos R, Urban trim costs Rs. 42,500 less.As standard, Urban trim comes with just City ride mode enabling 70 kmph top speed and 100 km of range. There are three colours to choose from. Streaky Red, Oceanic Blue, and Midnight Black. Where powertrain is concerned, there is not a single change with Urban trim as opposed to Kratos R.Tork Kratos X Electric MotorcycleWe’re talking about the same IP67 certified 4 kWh Li-ion battery and a patented ‘Axial Flux Motor’ with 96% efficiency as Kratos R. But as opposed to Kratos R with 105 kmph top speed and 180 km of range from a single charge, Urban trim packs 35 kmph less top speed and 80 km less range. Despite having identical powertrains.Full set of features unlocked for Rs. 20,000Tork Motors has achieved this via software. Urban trim only gets ‘City’ ride mode. Hence performance of ‘Sports’ mode and range of ‘Eco’ mode is not available. For buyers who only look at their motorcycle as a daily commute from point A to point B, new Urban trim for Kratos R makes a lot of sense.For buyers craving more range or performance, Tork Motors offers the full range of features at Rs. 20,000. These features are multi-ride modes (Eco, City & Sports), reverse mode, fast charging, in-app navigation, live dash over Bluetooth, vehicle locator, anti-theft system, geofencing, charging point location, OTA updates, ride analytics, track mode analytics, smart analytics and guide me home lights.Tork Motors offers the full range of features for Urban trim buyers only for a duration of one month. Post which features get locked. If a buyer wants to have these features unlocked for life, they can get it by paying Rs 20k within the first 6 months of the purchase. Booking can be done on company’s online portal or by visiting any Tork experience Zones for Rs. 999. More

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    2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ’s Charging Is a Work in Progress

    On Wednesday in New York City, the wraps came off the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ.The new Escalade is a full-size battery-electric SUV with three rows of seats, all the luxury Cadillac can offer (for under $340,000, anyway), and a projected 450 miles of range.At the unveiling event, several Cadillac executives and GM president Mark Reuss spoke with Car and Driver about the car’s technology and its place in the market. Here’s what we learned.play iconThe triangle icon that indicates to playThe 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ does carry Cadillac badges and have its own sheetmetal, shape, and interior, but the underpinnings of the Escalade IQ are actually straight from the GMC Hummer EV. To be fair, both are from GM’s Ultium modular battery architecture, which comes in a remarkable variety of sizes and formats—from the hulking, absurdly fast Hummer EV all the way down to a future generation of Chevrolet Bolt EV. The same platform used by the IQ also underpins the Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck and its counterpart, the GMC Sierra EV.Get the Full Details and SpecsThe electric Escalade’s specifications will sound awfully familiar to any Hummer EV owner, though. It has the same 24 battery modules as the Hummer EV pickup, providing more than 200 kilowatt-hours of energy, front and rear motor units, rear-wheel steering, and 800-volt charging (but not operating) capability as the electric off-roader. Wheelbases of the electric Hummer pickup and the Escalade differ by less than an inch, but that Hummer offers quicker acceleration: 3.0 seconds to 60 mph using the special “Watts to Freedom” (WTF) mode, while the Cadillac’s zero-to-60 time is quoted at “less than five seconds” with its own special mode, which has the more dignified name of Velocity Max. Second Escalade IQ Version?GM president Mark Reuss very briefly teased the idea that in the future, a second variant of the Escalade IQ might appear, “for those buyers who want more room.” Asked if he meant a stretch version like today’s Escalade ESV, Reuss grinned. “I didn’t say bigger,” he said. Then he changed the subject. Different Proportions, Less IntimidatingThe IQ that debuted on Wednesday is visually more different than you might expect compared with the current Escalade, although the dimensions are similar. Its overall length of 224.3 inches is between that of today’s standard model and the stretched ESV (at 211.9 and 227.0 inches), while its 76.1-inch height is a fraction of an inch shorter and its 94.0-inch width (with mirrors extended) is more than a foot wider.On the other hand, the IQ’s 136.2-inch wheelbase exceeds those of both the standard and ESV versions (120.9 and 134.1 inches, respectively), pushing the wheels to the corners as much as possible to allow more length for the battery between the two axles. We didn’t get a chance to see the present and future Escalades side by side, where the differences in dimensions might have been more visible. But aerodynamics is a tough discipline; any EV must push aside as little air as possible to minimize the turbulence that causes drag and eats energy. GM claims the Escalade IQ is 15 percent more aerodynamic than any previous full-size SUV.Importantly, in an era where the height of large trucks blocks drivers’ views of people outside the vehicles, the IQ’s cowl height of 54.0 inches above the ground equals that of the gasoline/diesel Escalade (by our rough measurements of each vehicle at the event). It should feel familiar to existing Escalade drivers, though the roofline falls toward the angled rear window.Perceptually, it’s still a very large and imposing SUV. But the raked liftgate and the beveled nose with its smaller grille or shield make it somewhat less intimidating than the gasoline Escalade with a flatter hood and more bluff front end with its huge radiator intake. And the IQ certainly doesn’t have the long, square tail and upright liftgate of the gasoline versions.Charging Ports In the gallery of press images provided to reporters, there’s a shot of a fast-charging cord plugged into the Escalade IQ’s charging port. It’s very clearly the CCS standard that GM has used for eight years now. Wait, you say, didn’t General Motors announce in June it will switch over to the Tesla connector (known as NACS) and give its drivers access to the Tesla Supercharger network, following Ford’s similar groundbreaking announcement of the same thing the month before? Well, yes. But, didn’t GM also announce it is among the seven automakers who have jointly committed to funding their own nationwide DC fast-charging network of 30,000 charging stations, starting next year—one that will use the CCS standard as well as the Tesla connector? Yes, that too.To make matters even more confusing, one day before the Escalade IQ broke cover, GM said all Ultium vehicles will offer vehicle-to-home (V2H) backup-power capability, more formally known as bidirectional charging, by 2026. This ability is built into the spec for the CCS connector, but not the Tesla connector. While the Tesla plug is electrically capable of feeding power out, the company hasn’t implemented it, perhaps because Tesla sells PowerWall backup batteries to homeowners—and enabling its cars to serve the same function could damage that business. Nonetheless, the Escalade IQ promises V2H capability via an over-the-air software update during the 2025 model year. Know Your EVsWe asked GM president Reuss about the state of the charging landscape today, and how we should sort all this out. He confirmed the adoption of the Tesla connector—”We’re doing it as fast as we can”—but also “compatibility with the SAE standard” (the Tesla connector is not actually a technical standard as yet). He did add the qualifier “for now” to CCS compatibility.Okay, so does that mean future GM Ultium EVs will switch over from one connector to the other, or could they have both? “That will change with time,” Reuss said. “We don’t have a definitive answer today, on where it goes, what the ultimate [arrangement] is. We have to be able to do both.”We surmise GM’s battery and charging engineers are digging into the Tesla plug and connector and software right now—trying to understand how it works, its safety margins, and how to make it compatible with vehicles that don’t run on Tesla OS software. Stay tuned on this one.GM’s own Mobile Phone InterfaceIf you expect Android Auto or Apple CarPlay capability as a standard feature in any new car you consider, you’re out of luck for any of the upcoming GM vehicles on the Ultium architecture—including the Escalade IQ. GM will discontinue the standard phone mirroring capability starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, for which deliveries should start this quarter or next.Car and Driver asked Reuss what will replace those functions. Under GM’s replacement systems, he said, drivers and passengers will be able to do everything they can do now using either of those two connectivity protocols. And he acknowledged the skepticism among reporters and vehicle shoppers on hearing the familiar Android Auto and Apple CarPlay would no longer work.When reporters get access to the Blazer EV, sometime this fall, we’ll see how it works in practice. Until then, the jury is clearly out.Tough Timing for GMThe Escalade IQ debut came at a tough time for GM. It has struggled to get its first high-volume Ultium cell plant, in Ohio, up to full-scale production to provide the volumes of cells needed to supply the tens of thousands of Ultium vehicles a month it projects it will sell by the end of the year. In the words of one battle-scarred battery engineer, getting a new cell chemistry, in a new plant, with new staff, up and running at sufficient volume and acceptable yields, is “really, really, really, really, really, really, really hard”—and GM is doing that twice in one year. Reuss said the company is now “fully capacitized” at its first cell plant, with the second one in Spring Hill, Tennessee, following closely behind. If so, the company’s EV sales figures for the third and fourth quarters of this year had better reflect it. For the first half of the year, the bulk of GM’s electric-car sales were the two-car lineup of aging Bolt EV and EUV models, both compact hatchbacks using a seven-year-old battery architecture. The Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EVs are already in production (though Hummer sales halted due to a months-long battery recall), and the Chevy Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV, plus the GMC Sierra EV, are hot on their heels—with the electric Escalade now added on top of that.GM Goes Traditional, Follows TeslaWhen GM developed the EV1 almost 30 years ago, it was a highly aerodynamic two-seater by necessity. The lead-acid battery technology of the time simply didn’t hold enough energy for its weight to propel a conventional four-seat vehicle. Then came the Toyota Prius, in several generations of increasingly odd-looking vehicles—and the Nissan Leaf which followed in 2010 was blatantly, distinctively unusual looking. It was also a compact hatchback, then the most popular vehicle type globally, if not in North America. GM’s own Chevrolet Volt was also a compact hatchback, with the additional complication of being a plug-in hybrid—a powertrain that to this day salespeople and shoppers don’t necessarily understand.But throughout automotive history, new and advanced technologies have come in at the high end, either in luxury or sporting vehicles. From the first electric self-starter in 1912—on a Cadillac—to automatic transmissions, disc brakes, turbochargers, and all the rest, high-end vehicles offered more profit margin to offset the costs of the new technologies.Tesla understood this; it started with a high-performance Roadster, at a six-figure price, then followed it with the mass-produced Model S at prices of $50,000 and above. Now GM, with its emphasis on the Hummer EV and Escalade IQ, plus their Silverado and Sierra EV pickup siblings, is putting its EV technology first into high-end vehicles as well. Get the Full Story on the Escalade IQContributing EditorJohn Voelcker edited Green Car Reports for nine years, publishing more than 12,000 articles on hybrids, electric cars, and other low- and zero-emission vehicles and the energy ecosystem around them. He now covers advanced auto technologies and energy policy as a reporter and analyst. His work has appeared in print, online, and radio outlets that include Wired, Popular Science, Tech Review, IEEE Spectrum, and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He splits his time between the Catskill Mountains and New York City and still has hopes of one day becoming an international man of mystery. More