synd-vehicle-history
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The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 has been named the official pace car of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, and with 755 horsepower on tap it will be the fastest, most powerful car to ever handle pacing duties in the race's 100-plus-year history. A blue example of the Corvette flagship will be used for the premiere event of the IndyCar season, which is scheduled for May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It will be fitted with the 2019 ZR1's available eight-speed automatic transmission and ZTK Performance Package, the latter adding the car's high-wing option. Like all 2019 ZR1s, it will have a...
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Honey, I shrunk the platform: Ford Focus introduces new small car skeleton for automaker
The new Ford Focus doesn't only represent the next step for the compact car, it also opens a new chapter for Ford small cars. It ushers in Ford's new scalable unibody platform for small cars, and we'll be seeing a lot of the architecture in the near future. According to an Automotive News...
Sean Szymkowski -
Custom Nissan Armada Mountain Patrol wants to be the best overlanding SUV
Off-roading draws a dedicated following that pursues a variety of enthusiast avenues. Nissan wants to capitalize on that love affair and plans to show off a pretty wild Armada, but the brand wants fan input first. Next month, Nissan will unveil the Armada Mountain Patrol, which it hopes will be the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volvo trials car pickup and delivery service
Volvo wants to expand the number of luxury services it offers. The Swedish luxury brand recently completed its first trial of a car pickup and delivery service in California, and on Wednesday Volvo announced that the pilot program will pave the way for a future valet service across the United...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volkswagen to install 2,000 fast chargers across US by end of 2019
Volkswagen and its Electrify America unit announced plans to install 2,000 fast chargers at 500 stations across the country by the end of 2019. VW's announcement on Wednesday included news that it also plans to install numerous chargers at 100 Walmarts in the U.S. The plan is part of VW's agreement...
Sean Szymkowski -
2019 Jaguar XE and XF get 300 Sport trim
Jaguar on Thursday unveiled a new 300 Sport trim for the XE and XF, though the availability of the trim in the United States remains unknown. Introduced for 2019 and designed for models equipped with the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4, the 300 Sport trim adds a number of sporty touches...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Polestar's been conducting extensive tests of prototypes for its Polestar 1 since the high-performance luxury coupe was shown last fall. This has included long stints at one of the coldest places on the planet. Polestar engineers took prototypes north of the Arctic Circle during the winter, where temperatures drop as low as -18 degrees F (-28 degrees C). There, they were able to test the reliability of the car's plug-in hybrid powertrain as well as fine-tune the dynamics. In particular, the engineers focused on the torque vectoring system, which is enabled by two rear electric motors with...
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BMW's biggest battery will have 120-KWH capacity, over 400 miles of range
The BMW Group's plans for an electrified future will arrive in several stages over the next seven years, and part of the strategy will include a whopping 120-kilowatt-hour battery pack capable of providing over 400 miles of range. The battery specifications were noted in an Automotive News...
Sean Szymkowski -
BMW shows off next-generation digital instrument cluster
BMW has given us a peek at its forthcoming digital instrument display, and it promises to offer customizable information and greater ease of use. In the Tuesday announcement at Digital Day 2018, BMW said the new digital gauge cluster will be part of what it calls Operating System 7.0. The system is...
Sean Szymkowski -
American automakers lobbying for 91-octane gasoline as the new regular
Our gas is listed in a range of octane offerings, but American automakers are looking to simply that. By doing so, they say, they'll clean up the air, boost fuel economy, and save us money at the pump. According to a report in Automotive News, GM, Ford, and FCA are working with the U.S. Council for...
Jeff Glucker -
Global Rallycross is likely dead, 2018 events cancelled
Following major changes to the series this year, Red Bull Global Rallycross is likely dead. The series, not to be confused with the FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX), has reportedly been struggling for months with a series of lawsuits and unpaid bills, Jalopnik reported on Tuesday...
Sean Szymkowski -
Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen departs brand
A major executive shuffle played out on Wednesday as General Motors announced Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen is leaving the brand, effective immediately. Replacing the now-ex Cadillac boss is Steven K. Carlisle, who was most recently managing director and President of GM Canada. De Nysschen...
Sean Szymkowski -
Buick on Wednesday revealed a new electrified car called the Velite 6 that's due to hit the Chinese market this year. It's a follow-up to the Velite 5 extended-range electric sedan Buick launched in China last year, the brand's biggest market. However, unlike the Velite 5, which is really just a rebadged Chevrolet Volt, the Velite 6 is a standalone model that doesn't resemble anything else in the General Motors fleet. The car is a compact hatch with seating for five. The Velite 6 also differs from the Velite 5 in that it has two different electrified powertrains: plug-in hybrid and pure...
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Pininfarina PF0 hypercar will do 0-60 in under 2 seconds, debut in 2019
Mahindra, the parent company of Italian design firm Pininfarina, on Friday announced the formation of Automobili Pininfarina, a new automotive brand specializing in high-end electric cars. A soft-launch for Pininfarina will happen this year with a small run—just 12 cars—of the H2 Speed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Lexus ES first look
A redesigned Lexus ES is coming for the 2019 model year and Lexus on Wednesday released the first full photo of the car and confirmed its debut at next week's 2018 Beijing auto show. So far the design of the new ES looks to be a slightly sharper, more athletic take on the current model's themes...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 BMW M2 Competition coming to delight purists, slay tracks
Purists should be delighted with the 2019 BMW M2 Competition. The hotter version of the M2 will boast 405 horsepower from its twin-turbo inline-6, as well as 406 pound-feet of torque, increases of 40 and 63, respectively. That's enough to launch the car from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds with the 7-speed...
Kirk Bell -
Conversation starter: V2X technology will let Toyota and Lexus cars "talk" in 2021
In 2021, the Toyota and Lexus vehicles will be able to "talk" to each other, to other cars, and to the infrastructure. The brands both plan for an aggressive rollout of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications via Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC)...
Sean Szymkowski -
Byton sedan concept coming in June
Byton seemed to come out of nowhere when it showed up at the 2018 Consumer Electornics Show in January with a cool-looking SUV concept and confirmed the start of production for next year. But the SUV is just one of at least three electric cars Byton is planning. Another is a sedan, a concept of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Acura sells a compact SUV based on the bones of the Honda HR-V in China. It's called the CDX, and Acura first revealed the vehicle two years ago at the Beijing auto show. At this year's auto show in the Chinese capital, which runs next week, Acura will introduce a new hybrid version of the CDX. No details have been released but we've heard the powertrain will pair the standard CDX's 1.5-liter inline-4 with a single electric motor. Peak output is expected to hover around 160 horsepower. Acura is yet to commit to launching the CDX in the United States, though that isn't for lack of demand for...
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Mercedes-Maybach teases Ultimate Luxury SUV concept
Mercedes-Maybach has given us our first look at a concept set to debut this month at the 2018 Beijing auto show. Maybach has released a teaser sketch and video that provide a glimpse at the concept's interior, which is lined in leather and accented with polished metal and blue ambient lighting...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Goodyear developing tires for needs of electric cars
Tires are a critical component of the driving experience, and electric cars bring their own challenges. Battery-electric vehicles weigh more, produce greater torque than traditional vehicles from a stop, and usually require low rolling resistance. Goodyear has a future tire solution in development...
Sean Szymkowski -
To outmaneuver Navigator, Cadillac offering $10,000 off Escalade
Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] can't keep up with Lincoln Navigator demand, and the automaker already announced production increases for the hot-selling full-size SUV. Rival Cadillac likely won't have a new Escalade for a couple more years, but General Motors' luxury brand is putting some cash on the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Minnesota man arrested for spreading nails on road to punish speeders
A 75-year-old central Minnesota man has been arrested after police discovered he'd spread nails across the road outside of his home to punish speeding drivers over the course of a few months. Police charged Joseph Kurimay with one count of damage to property after an investigatioln into the nail...
Sean Szymkowski -
Watch the Devel Sixteen launch in the desert
Last November, Dubai-based Devel Motors shocked the world and proved many naysayers wrong when it unveiled a production version of its Sixteen hypercar. Now, we have some running video of the car somewhere in the desert with a sinister sounding idle and exhaust note. The Instagram video simply...
Sean Szymkowski