Electric Mini promises sporty performance, ride
BMW-owned Mini debuted its Electric Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany (Sept. 16-24), promising to unveil a full production version in 2019. The plug-in electric concept “moves the brand’s urban tradition into the electric age, and in doing so spices up the conventional notion of electric mobility.” The debut follows the launch of the Mini brand’s first electrified production model, the Mini Countryman Plug-in Hybrid this year. The car combines a drive system “that is always quick off the mark” with a precisiontuned suspension, said BMW AG board chairman Harald Krüger. The design provides “an optimal balance” between agility and weight, he said, being fun to drive while being “completely suitable for everyday use.”
Steering wheel meets artificial intelligence
Jaguar Land Rover’s “steering wheel of the future” could one day become the only part of one of its cars that people actually own, the company teased ahead of the wheel’s introduction at the annual Tech Fest in London, Sept. 7. The Sayer steeringwheel concept is the first voice-activated artificialintelligence steering wheel able to carry out hundreds of tasks, Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement. Do you need to be at a meeting two hours away by 8 a.m. tomorrow? “Ask Sayer from the comfort of your living room and it will work out when you get up, when a car needs to autonomously arrive at your door and even advise which parts of the journey you might enjoy driving yourself.”
BMW i3 city car adds a sportier version
With a major refresh, new technology and a new, sportier variant, BMW’s all-electric i3 city commuter car is poised to continue its run up the sales charts, the automaker said. The new i3s model delivers higher output, model-specific chassis technology and enhanced handling and design features. It offers “driving pleasure along with zero local emissions, premium quality and a new level of connectivity technology.” With 14 more horsepower, “the power and torque of the furtherdeveloped drive system represent an improvement of up to 40 per cent, BMW said in a statement. With specially developed springs, dampers and anti-roll bars, the i3s hits 100 km/h from rest in less than seven seconds.
Pizza served up hot, and autonomously
Dominos Pizza has enlisted the help of Ford Motor Co. in an industry-first collaboration to understand the role that self-driving vehicles can play in pizza delivery. As part of the testing, being conducted in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan, researchers from both companies will investigate customer reactions to interacting with a self-driving vehicle as a part of their pizza experience. “As delivery experts, we’ve been watching the development of self-driving vehicles with great interest,” said Dominos CEO Patrick Doyle. Over several weeks, he said, randomly selected Dominos customers in Ann Arbor will have the opportunity to get their delivery from a Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle, which is manually driven by a Ford safety engineer and staffed with researchers.
Autonomous drive system ‘fits any car,’ supplier says
Global-automotive-parts-maker Magna International has announced a drive system that it says automakers can use to make any car capable of driving itself. The company will work with various automobile manufacturers to integrate the MAX4 system into the next generation of autonomous vehicles. It’s a Level 4 autonomous system, meaning once given a destination it can proceed there without any further attention paid to it by the driver. Built on the same fundamentals as other manufacturer systems using cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors, Magna said the MAX4 doesn’t infringe on cargo or interior space, and does not use awkward-looking sensors on the vehicle exterior.