Hey, Your Top Automobile News for 31 October, 2020

Your Daily Automobile updates From Around The World [img]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [img]( [The Automobile News]( [Ford To Debut Hands-Free Driving on New F-150 Mach-E]( Ford Motor Co.’s new, hands-free driving technology will soon come standard on certain new F-150 and Mach-E models, the automaker said Friday.The Blue Oval earlier this year announced the addition of Active Drive Assist, an advancement of its driver-assistance technologies that allows for hands-free driving on more than 100,000 miles of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada. The automaker said Friday that the new technology will debut in the redesigned 2021 F-150 and the all-new electric Mustang Mach-E, both of which are in production and slated for release later this year.Ford expects to launch Active Drive Assist in the third quarter of 2021; customers who purchase certain trim levels of the new F-150 or Mach-E before the new technology is ready will have the option to buy a package that will allow the vehicles to update once it’s ready. The technology is comparable to Cadillac Super Cruise, a hands-free driving assistance feature that was first introduced in the now-defunct Cadillac CT6 sedan and is set to be available in 22 vehicles, including on some GMC and Chevy vehicles, by 2025. The program recently topped Consumer Reports’ list of driver-assistance systems.Ford’s Active Drive Assist allows drivers to operate their vehicles hands-free on prequalified highways, while they are monitored by a driver-facing camera that ensures they are keeping their eyes on the road. The camera will track the driver’s eye gaze and head position when they are using either “hands-free mode” or the hands-on “lane centering mode.” Visual cues will alert the driver to return their eyes to the road or put their hands back on the wheel.The new offering builds on Ford’s existing Co-Pilot360 technology, which includes driver-assistance features such as adaptive cruise-control, parking assistance and a lane-keeping system, among others. “As breakthroughs in new technology allow us to help reduce the stress of long highway drives, it’s important to make sure these capabilities can be enjoyed by the largest spread of people possible,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer, said in a statement. Active Drive Assist will come standard on certain F-150 and Mach-E models. Customers will have the option to add the program onto other trim levels of the vehicles. On F-150, the feature will be available for $1,595 as part of the Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 package. That package is standard on F-150 Limited and is available as an option on the F-150 Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum models.On Mach-E, Active Drive Assist will be standard on Premium, First Edition and CA Route 1 models. It will also be available on the Select trim level for $3,200 as part of a “comfort and technology” package. Customers who purchase the F-150 or Mach-E before Active Drive Assist is available can opt to add a Co-Pilot360 package that will enable the software to be downloaded via a wireless update next year. Early 2021 F-150 customers, for example, can purchase the prep package for $895, which includes a $100 discount. Once the new technology is ready for release, customers can purchase the software for $600. The feature is available for a three-year service period, after which customers must pay to re-up it. In the second half of 2021, new F-150 and Mach-E buyers can purchase the hardware and software together. No wireless updates will be needed to activate Active Drive Assist at that point.Ford says it expects to sell more than 100,000 F-150 and Mach-E models equipped with Active Drive Assist hardware in the new vehicles’ first year. It expects 80% of Mustang Mach-E vehicles will be equipped with hands-free technology. [Read More]( The post [Ford To Debut Hands-Free Driving on New F-150 Mach-E]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [Honda CR-V Special Edition Launched in India –Check out Price, New Features and More]( Honda CR-V Special Edition has several new features in safety, cosmetic and interior. Honda Cars India has launched the new special edition of the CR-V SUV to bring festive cheers to its buyers in the country.Honda CR-V Special Edition has been priced at Rs 29.49 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and comes with a host of new interior and exterior features. Among the new features in the Honda CR-V Special Edition are active cornering light, front parking sensors, 4-way power assistant passenger seat, hands-free power tailgate, door mirror auto retractable, running board, door mirror garnish and step illumination. The Honda CR-V Special Edition will be offered in 4 Cylinder, SOHC i-VTEC Petrol 2WD engine. The 1997 CC car produces maximum Power (kW [ps] @ rpm) of 113 [154] @ 6 500 and maximum Torque (Nm @ rpm) of 189 @ 4300. Honda claims Fuel Efficiency of 14.4 kmpl for the car. The interior of the Honda CR-V Special Edition boasts of premium ivory leather upholstery, 3 spoke leather steering wheel, 8-way power driver seat with 4-way lumbar support, 4-way power assistant passenger seat – new premium wood finish garnish on dashboard & doors, adjustable seatbelt height, 2nd row 60:40 split with recline, silver inside door handles and tonneau cover. On the exterior the Honda CR-V Special Edition has Full LED Headlights with Auto On-Off, LED Guide Type Daytime Running Light (DRL), LED Front Fog Lights, LED Turn Indicators Integrated on Door Mirrors, LED Tail & Brake Lights, LED High Mount Stop Lamp, panoramic sunroof, roof rails, tailgate spoiler, bumper skid garnish with silver paint, r18 diamond cut alloys wheels, front signature chrome grille, door lower garnish with chrome accent, chrome tailgate garnish, chrome garnish around fog lights, chrome beltline & windowline garnish, shark fin antenna and front & rear mudguard. The car has 17.8cm Touchscreen Advanced Display Audio, Seamless Smartphone Connectivity (Android Auto & Apple Carplay).For safety, it has Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) Body Structure, Dual i-SRS Airbags for Driver & Front Passenger, Front side Airbags, Curtain Airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Agile Handling Assist(AHA) and Hill Start Assist (HSA). [Read More]( The post [Honda CR-V Special Edition Launched in India –Check out Price, New Features and More]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [This Is The Best Sports Car BMW Ever Made]( The Z3 M and Z4 M are excellent, but they lack the ambition and the pedigree of what truly is BMW’s greatest sports car: the 1979-1981 M1. - Defining BMW’s best sports car is a muddier exercise than you might think. Many of BMW’s greatest achievements and the vehicles which have given the brand its image haven’t been sports cars. The M3, M5, M6 and more recently the M2 and M4 are BMW’s line(s) of mainstream performance cars, but they’re all based on ordinary two and four-door sedans, not on bespoke sports car architecture. That’s not to diminish the well-earned reputations of any of the great M-cars. They’re phenomenal, for the most part, and they offer people a balance of performance and usability that most other brands try in vain to imitate. They’re the standard-setters for sports sedans. But these excellent vehicles are not sports cars, so we’re going to have to dig deeper. There are a few models that come to mind. The i8, for instance, has a complex and clever drivetrain and is made of space-age materials – not to mention its concept car looks – but it’s not a pure drivers’ sports car. Then there’s the Z3 M and Z4 M, both of which are excellent, but they lack the ambition and the pedigree of what truly is BMW’s greatest sports car: the 1979-1981 BMW M1. The M1 was a joint venture between BMW and Lamborghini, born out of necessity to meet homologation requirements to compete in Group 5 racing. Its body was drawn up by Italdesign and its chassis was engineered by the man whose company still makes race frames for some of the biggest categories in motorsport. It used the first truly performance-tuned BMW inline-6 that would later power the original M5. It was a coming-together of the best automotive minds of its era, a segment-defining supercar with the backing of a brand the size and magnitude of BMW. And yet, less than 500 were ever made.Despite its sales failure, the BMW M1 is the brand’s best-ever sports car, and here’s why: It’s A Technical Marvel The story of the BMW M1 begins in the mid-1970s when BMW entered into a partnership with Lamborghini to help them design and manufacture a mid-engined sports car to compete against Porsche in sports car racing. Gianpaolo Dallara designed the tubular space-frame chassis under Lamborghini’s supervision. Dallara would later found a company in his own name to develop and build racing chassis, and it currently builds chassis for IndyCar, Formula E, Formula 2, and a laundry list of other series. The body, which was made of lightweight fiberglass, was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign, where the bodies were also built and mated to their chassis. The final assembly was to be completed by Lamborghini, however, financial troubles forced them to abandon the project having built only seven prototypes. Control of the project returned to BMW in 1978. The production process may have been a convoluted mess, but the end result was sublime. Here was a lightweight, tube-frame sports car with a mid-mounted “M88” 3.5l inline-6 engine that also had air conditioning and an interior that met BMW’s standards of quality for the time, which were much higher than the average exotic car make. These little luxuries, which make the M1 one of the easiest late-70s/early-80s supercars to live with, don’t weigh the car down much. It came in at 1,300kg, which is a bit more than a Lotus Esprit of the same era, but it made more power than even the turbocharged Lotuses. On the topic of power, the M1’s engine was good for 277 ponies, which it generated at 6,500 RPM. That’s enough for a top speed of 260 km/h (162 mph). It sounds phenomenal, due in no small part to its iconic velocity stacks, which were covered by a plastic shroud from the factory that most owners remove to hear more induction noise. It Had Its Own Racing Series With A Formula 1 Connection BMW’s original goal for the M1 was to compete against Porsche in Group 5, but by the time the production nightmare had been sorted following Lamborghini’s abandoning of the project, the racing series it was designed for had stopped. Instead of scrapping the whole thing, BMW instead created its own one-make series for the Group 5 M1s called BMW Procar Series to act as a supporting series for the 1979 and 1980 Formula 1 World Championships. The idea was simple: the five F1 drivers who set the fastest times in the Grand Prix practice sessions would get to take part in a race with identical M1 Procars against other top drivers from different series and private owners, in the run-up to the planned F1 race. Some great names got a chance to participate, including Mario Andretti, James Hunt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Clay Regazzoni, and Niki Lauda, who won the overall series in 1979. He lost the title to Nelson Piquet in 1980. The drivers were great, and so were the cars. The BMW M1 Procar was more than a simple wide body and big wing kit. It had wider wheels and tires for grip, a stiffer chassis for better handling, and a roll cage to protect the driver. It had plastic windows and a stripped-out interior to save weight, and the engines were thoroughly reworked to make almost double the factory power. The “M88/1” racing engine produced 470 horsepower at an ear-splitting 9,000 RPM. The noise is biblical, and what a sight it must have been to see these cars, which were all painted in stunning liveries, blasting around F1 circuits like Monaco. After two years of tagging along to the F1 circus, some of the Pro-Cars were reworked to participate in other series, including racing at Le Mans and even in America in IMSA GTO. BMW’s engineers knew there was more to be had from this car, and they produced a turbocharged version of the inline-6, dubbed “M88/2,” that put out 1,000 horsepower. To my knowledge, it never raced. It Drives Like Nothing Else Reviewers who have had the good fortune of driving these things describe them as incredibly friendly and engaging vehicles. They don’t have the heavy clutches or dim-witted transmissions of most period exotics. They lack power steering, but otherwise, they’re as easy to drive as any other BMW of the time. They’re quick cars too. Even the road-going M1s feel quick, due in no small part to their size and the telepathic throttle response from the engine. The noise, as I’ve said, is sublime, and it cannot be understated how much that plays into the car’s character. The power delivery is described as predictable and linear, without any sudden surges or dead zones that are sometimes inherent in old-school twin-cam engines. Its road feel is described as nimble, but with a solidity that the ultralights like the Lotus Esprit don’t have, by simple nature of its weight. It feels steady on the road like most German cars do, but with the agility and eagerness of a supercar. The M1 remains one of the automotive world’s best stories. It was a Frankenstein’s monster of parts manufactured in Italy and Germany, it was abandoned by Lamborghini and it never turned a wheel in the racing series for which it was initially designed. But BMW gave the car another life, perhaps a better one, and for a brief moment it had the world’s attention. It is also deeply significant in another way. This was the first “M” car. Before the M1, there was no M3, M5, or M6. In fact, the M1’s engine was used in the very first M-badged sedan, the E28 M5 in 1984, and we all know how that story goes. Without the M1, BMW’s most famous line of performance cars may never have existed.And for all that, the BMW M1 is the best sports car BMW has ever made. [Read More]( The post [This Is The Best Sports Car BMW Ever Made]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [This Is What The 2021 Telluride Means For KDM In America]( The Kia Telluride is a striking change from the normally conservative design language we’ve come to expect from KDM cars. The days where you could only buy a decent built car from Germany and Japan are well and truly over. In the second decade of the 21st Century, cars built and designed in Korea have a lot more to offer than just being cheaper than everything else on the market. They’re actually very well built now. As prices for new German and high-end Japanese cars rise higher and higher, Kia, in particular, has made the most of this vacuum in the market. The Kia Telluride is Kia’s attempt to bring a direct competitor to the Mazda CX-9, Volkswagen Atlas, and the Toyota Highlander. This being one of the most competitive car segments in America, Kia better have brought their A-game when designing this SUV if they didn’t want to be humiliated. Luckily, the people at Kia got this memo, and their Telluride is a striking change from the normally conservative design language we’ve come to expect from KDM cars. If you’re in the market for a three-row, family grocery getter for around $30,000, maybe this article will convince you to take a trip down to your local Kia dealer. 35 Years Of Progress Let’s begin with a short history of Korean cars in the US market. They first arrived on U.S soil in the mid to late 1980s, a time when Americans were still struggling to recover from last decades oil crisis, and struggling even more to grasp the concept of small, fuel-efficient imports. Even still in 1986, the Hyundai Excel was released and sold surprisingly well despite not being very well built. We imagine the six-ish grand price tag may have helped inflate that number. This opened the flood-gates for Hyundai as well as their prime domestic competitor, which is, of course, Kia. For much of their time in the US market, KDM cars were the cheaper alternatives to popular Japanese cars, while these cars didn’t hurt as much to buy upfront than a Toyota or a Honda, but also offered little in the way of style, comfort, or refinement. Just have a look at an old Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent if you want a refresher on just how far the brand has come in a quarter-century. Big, Boxy, Beautiful You’d be forgiven for suspecting the Telluride is actually a Ford Explorer when looking from a medium distance. We’re sure the striking resemblance is anything but coincidence. A common complaint among new SUV’s is that they all tend to share styling cues. That being said, the Telluride is still a handsome looking thing. The square yet muscular body harkens back to a time before cross-over SUV’s were the norm. A time when aerodynamics and fuel efficiency was sacrificed in the name of maximum headroom and comfort. Then again, the Telluride isn’t any bigger or smaller than any other full-size SUV. Its length is right in-between the Honda Pilot and Nissan Pathfinder, so we don’t think the Telluride will be impossible to park in a crowded city like maybe a Chevy Suburban or Cadillac Escalade might be. A Much Improved Cabin The biggest improvement to KDM cars that we see in terms of build quality comes in the interior. Anyone who may have driven the old Kia Sportage or Sorrento back in the day, be prepared to have your mind blown. The new Telluride’s interior is the very best of what KDM manufacturers have to offer. Where there once would’ve been nasty hard touch plastics and not much of anything else, there’s now plush leather, tactile feeling switches, and a nice looking wood grain across the dashboard. The Infotainment/Navigation screen is tied with the Pathfinder for biggest in its class as well. From this screen, you can access the Tellurides “Drivers Talk” feature, which uses a microphone to amplify the driver’s voice, so they don’t have to shout at the people sitting all the way back in the third row. Cargo space is also first in class at 87 cubic feet, almost 10 more than the equivalent Nissan Pathfinder. So then, lots of features for mom and dad up front, but what about the little tikes? Well, the Telluride leads its class in passenger legroom as well. The third row is easily accessible and can accommodate an adult if necessary, but expect this to be used by smaller children, who’ll undoubtedly peak a boo their heads at passing traffic from behind the Tellurides integrated window-shades. Has The Guts Under The Hood Gone are the days when it was acceptable for an SUV to be slow. In the Telluride, power comes from a 3.8 liter direct-injected V6, which puts out a class-leading 291 horsepower. This gets the big SUV to 60 mph in just over seven seconds. This means the Telluride should have no problem cruising vast swaths of interstate roads for seven-plus hours with your kids in the back sleeping, all while doing 80 miles an hour consistently. What’s even more spectacular is despite all this power, the Telluride still leads its class in fuel economy with 23 mpg combined. When you factor in that the Telluride doesn’t require premium fuel, Kia pretty much knocked it out of the park in the engine department. All said and done at just over 30 grand, the Kia Telluride is so much more than a great bargain. It’s also a landmark moment for Korean cars in foreign markets. Ever since Japanese imports became too good for us Americans to poke fun at, KDM cars became the butt of every joke from every “Bro” with nothing constructive or of substance to say. In 2020, these people sure do have egg on their faces because the American consumers speak primarily with their wallets, and KDM is now the new in-thing. [Read More]( The post [This Is What The 2021 Telluride Means For KDM In America]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](        ------------------ Connect with TheAutomobileNews on Facebook and Twitter [fb](  [tw]( ------------------ You received this email because you operate or create content for a website/service and based on your website it seemed like this could be important information to you and your users. TheAutomobileNews daily newsletter is managed by [Postbox Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.]( C-4/5, IBD Emporia, Kolar Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA, 462042 Want to change how you receive these emails? [Update your preferences]( or [Unsubscribe]( Â