Skip to main content

Posts

THE CHINESE ARE COMING - REFERENCE MARK

THE CHINESE ARE COMING - REFERENCE MARK Time to adjust your worldview a bit farther east. The Chinese auto market is larger than that of either the U.S. or Europe. Soon, it will be larger than the U.S.  and  Europe. That will have dramatic impact on the kinds of cars Western consumers can buy, as automakers adapt their designs and component sets to the desires of the world's largest customer base. This shift also might affect which brands are sold here, as the writing is on the great wall that Chinese car companies desire global expansion. As the U.S. and European markets aren't going to get any larger, that means the new Chinese brands are going to take market share out of  someone's  hide.  Lynk & Co , a luxury arm of Geely (which also owns  Volvo ), wants to sell 125,000 cars a year in America. If that happens, Lynk & Co would outsell  Lincoln  Motor Co.   VIEW 69 PHOTOS There are already a couple of Chinese-built vehicles on sale in America: the 

2019 BYTON M-BYTE FIRST LOOK: MEGA-BYTE

A couple of years ago, at the press introduction of the  Toyota Prius  C in San Diego, I was chatting with chief engineer Satoshi Ogiso, a central figure in the history  Toyota 's hybrid technology. As we both stared at a Prius parked at the curb, I asked him what worried a guy like him about the future. He answered more quickly than I expected (I'm paraphrasing here): "Startup car electric car companies. A gasoline engine has thousands of parts, and it takes a big company with a lot of resources to manufacture. But an electric motor is cheap with one moving part. The barrier for an electric car startup is very low. I worry about them."   VIEW 45 PHOTOS Five years later, his fear is realized: The entire drivetrain of the imminently arriving China-based Byton—its motors and powertrain electrics from Bosch, its underfloor battery pack from  BMW -supplier CATL, with prismatic cells chargeable at a 180 kW rate—has been outsourced. This particular version of O
2020 BMW 7 SERIES REFRESH BRINGS MORE POWER, LARGER GRILLE BMW promises a quieter cabin on the refreshed model, too. This has been achieved with new shielding in the rear wheel arches, improved sound insulation near the B-pillar and other areas, and thicker glass for the windscreen, side windows, and rear window.   VIEW 60 PHOTOS Inside the cabin, the 7 Series adopts the latest iDrive operating system. There is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which has been redesigned so that there is room for a navigation map in the center. Standard features on the 2020  BMW 7 Series  include soft-close automatic doors, wireless charging, gesture control, Wi-Fi hotspot, a Harman/Kardon surround sound system, and ambient lighting. Drivers can make use of BMW's personal assistant to ask for parking suggestions, traffic information, and more. The refreshed 7 Series arrives in April. Pricing has not yet been announced. Source: BMW #taxiserviceernakulam #taxiserviceinernakula

MCLAREN 600LT SPIDER WILL DO 196 MPH WITH THE TOP DOWN

MCLAREN 600LT SPIDER WILL DO 196 MPH WITH THE TOP DOWN McLaren has revealed the 600LT Spider, the fifth car to carry the Longtail name. Prices for this 592-hp beauty start at $256,500. Just like the coupe, the Spider features a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine pumping out 457 lb-ft of torque. McLaren estimates the convertible will do 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds, an identical time to the coupe. Hitting 124 mph should take 8.4 seconds, or 0.2 second slower than the coupe. Top speed is 201 mph with the roof up, or 196 mph with it down. McLaren says the Spider retains the structural rigidity of the coupe thanks to its carbon-fiber MonoCell II chassis. It needs no additional structural strengthening, and therefore is only 110.2 pounds heavier than the coupe for a dry weight of 2,859.4 pounds. Despite the 600LT Spider being a convertible, its fixed rear wing makes the same amount of downforce as the coupe's: 220.5 pounds at 155 mph.  VIEW 18 PHOTOS Drivers can operate the thr