Customers line up at a Tim Hortons on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. The City of Fredericton will spend $40,000 to direct motorists around a busy Tim Hortons, in the latest move by a Canadian municipality to curb traffic headaches and other concerns caused by restaurant drive-thrus.Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press Exhibited now by logjams at the corner of Wallace and Main in Fredericton, New Brunswicks north side, the biggest traffic issue now facing the city council intersection-blocking lineups into a Tim Hortons has its origins in a 2003 solution.There may be no traffic problem more Canadian than a thoroughfare snarled by a Tim Hortons drive-thru, aside from a drive-thru that backs up in part because a municipality attempted to provide easier access to a snow dump 16 years prior.Thats the situation in Fredericton, where city staff pitched the idea of a turnabout in late September only to see the issue tabled, CBC reports. Councillor John MacDermid questions which party bears responsibility for fixing the gridlock. Whose responsibility is it to deal with those unintended consequences? MacDermid asks. Is it the taxpayer or is it the users and the business owners? Drive-thru customers at the 290 Main Street Tim Hortons location pass through the traffic lights at a busy four-way intersection before quickly entering the Tims off Wallace Avenue. Not surprisingly, the lineup disrupts the intersection and creates headaches on Main Street and the opposing end of Wallace Avenue, as well.The recommendation brought to council by staff would require double-double drinkers to drive farther up Wallace Avenue, pass Tim Hortons on their way through a legal U-turn, and then venture back toward Tim Hortons for a right turn into the drive-thru. Expected to cost $40,000, the project was expected to begin before winter.Winter, of course, is partly to blame for all of the trouble. Wallace Avenue was constructed as a way for heavy truck traffic to make their way to, you guessed it, a snow dump.Tim Hortons and snow dumps: throw in a few apologies and youd have a Canadiana trifecta.Fredericton city council will revisit the issue on October
Origin: A Fredericton Tim Hortons is creating a most Canadian traffic problem
Nissan names China boss as new CEO
Nissan has named the head of its Chinese division, Makoto Uchida, as its new boss, heading up a revamped management team as the firm tries to draw a line under recent scandals. Uchida’s appointment by the Japanese firm’s board of directors was made after the sudden resignation of Hiroto Saikawa, the previous chief executive officer. Saikawa had admitted to being improperly overpaid following revelations that came to light in a report based on an internal investigation into suspected financial misconduct by former chairman Carlos Ghosn and director Greg Kelly. Uchida was a surprise choice for the CEO role, with the 53-year-old being a relative outsider, having spent much of his recent past working outside of Japan. Having joined Nissan in 2003, Uchida was appointed head of the firm’s Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng in 2018 and also took on responsibility for Nissan’s own China operation. Uchida will be joined by new chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta, who currently holds the same role for sister firm Mitsubishi. The Indian has also led the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s commercial vehicle division. Jun Seki, Nissan’s senior vice-president, who was considered one of the favourites for the CEO role, has been named vice-chief operating officer. The three will start in their new roles by the start of 2020. The three choices suggest that Nissan is hoping that bringing in new management from outside the firm’s Japanese base will enable it to move on from the Ghosn revelations. Yasushi Kimura, the chair of Nissan’s board of directors, called Uchida “the right leader to drive the business forward”, adding that they expected him “to lead the company as one team, immediately focus on the recovery of the business and revitalise the
Origin: Nissan names China boss as new CEO
Motorcycle Review: 2019 Honda CBR650R
2019 Honda CBR650RJacob Black There are only 11 letters between F and R in the alphabet. Both are consonants. Both have soft sounds. But the difference between F and R in Hondas lexicon is immense, the former always ladled onto the companys pedestrian models while the latter is reserved for its supersports models.So, the big question for this latest test is whether the rebadging of the CBR650F as an R is just a cynical marketing exercise?The differences between the outgoing 2018 Honda CBR650F and the new 2019 Honda CBR650R are fairly miniscule. The front forks are changed. Inverted, 41-millimetre adjustable forks with compression in the left and rebound damping in the right replace the conventional Showa Dual Bending Valve units. The compression ratio is up slightly to 11.6:1 from 11.4:1, and the 650R is three kilograms lighter. That lightness is less impressive when you realize its all due to the two litre smaller fuel tank, which, at only 15.4L, brings the overall wet weight down to 208 kg. Traction control is new, and so is the slipper clutch. Both seem like performance features but really help make this Honda easier to ride. Hondas pricing is certainly interesting. At $10,199 its decent value, but there are still a few 2018s around that Honda is blowing out at $9,699 and claims $1,500 of savings on their website. Considering the small differences, theres a gap there I dont really understand. Its the same bike, with a slightly more advanced front end and a newer, sexier, but more cynical name.Thats about the end of the bad news, because, F or R, the CBR650R is still a very solid middleweight bike. The truth is, the markets hunger for hyper-aggressive, razor-sharp 600cc sport bikes has waned. Yet middleweight bikes still make sense for a raft of reasons. Insurance, fuel economy, overall cost, comfort, and ease of riding all among them. The shift towards a more accessible sportiness is a sensible one. Hondas not the only one to do it. Kawasaki has a Ninja 650 too. Done right, a 650 is a bike a you can ride around town, while still enjoying a decent level of street cred. You can keep up with larger bikes on most public roads and if you take one to the track, youll have a lot of fun. Road manners on the Honda are good. Its compliant and responsive but never jarring or harsh. Road conditions dont ever upset it. I rode the CBR650F on its press launch back in 2014. During that launch we ended up accidentally on a gravel road, and the sport-focused bike still handled the ruts, grooves and slippery surface with aplomb. The new CBR650R has lost none of that rideability. Typically Honda, typically forgiving, the 650R is far easier to ride than the trailing consonant suggests.The engine is smooth and has good tip-in. The linear, unfussy throttle response is paired with a light clutch and clean-shifting transmission. Given how gently this engine spools up, the traction control is probably overkill. Unlike the ABS, you can turn it off.The CBR650s ergonomics are good and the riding profile is moderately sporty but appropriate for city commuting too. At 810 mm, the seat is fairly high and the pegs are low which helps hide the relatively compact wheelbase of 1,450 mm and improve the amount of room for the rider. It has an upright position, and visibly less ground clearance than a proper sport bike. Again, thats appropriate for this bikes mission, and anyone who does decide to hit a few track days can always buy a set of aftermarket rearset footpegs. 2019 Honda CBR650R Jacob Black I will never stop complaining about Hondas placement of the horn, between the indicator switch and the high-beam switch. How they decided the horn is the most important button on the left-hand grip is beyond me. The screen is hard to read in direct light and the large TFT seems poorly designed. The gear position indicator is welcome, but it dominates the circular digital tach, which is squeezed tightly into one corner of the screen, leaving a very large open space in the middle. The speedo is then comically large. I do like the amount of information shown, which includes average fuel consumption. For those playing at home, my two weeks on the bike ended with an average of 6.6 L/100 km.The CBR650R is a good example of what Honda does well. A pretty bike with a solid base of performance chops in a package that is almost fool- and bullet-proof. Its easy to ride, enjoyable to ride, and just interesting enough to keep you entertained. Its also a good example of what Honda sometimes does poorly even on the four-wheeled front with an awkward instrument cluster that puts emphasis on showing off technical wizardry over and above
Origin: Motorcycle Review: 2019 Honda CBR650R
First Drive: 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S
The Taycan Turbo S might be by definition a sedan, but by all other accounts is a unabashed and unapologetic sports car.Andrew McCredie GOTHENBURG, Sweden Having just driven 400 kilometres in a 750-horsepower sports car, I felt surprisingly refreshed. No ringing ears. No sore kidneys. No rattled teeth.Welcome to the new era of the supercar road trip.To celebrate/show off its first-ever all-electric vehicle, the 2020 Taycan, Porsche invited the worlds motoring press to Scandinavia last week to begin an 18-day, 6,440-km odyssey that would cover nine countries between Oslo, Norway and Stuttgart, Germany. I had the privilege of being among the first group of journalists on the first leg between Oslo and Gothenburg, which included a lunch stop at an Ionity charging station in Strmstad, Sweden, 20-kilometres south of the border between the two countries. The first two models in the all-wheel-drive Taycan fleet are the Turbo and Turbo S, with less powerful variants expected sometime next year and a Cross Turismo by the end of next year. My tester was the Turbo S.The drive route was a good mix of urban roads, twisty country lanes and major highways, each of which demonstrated different attributes of the Taycan (pronounced Tie-Con). Settling inSitting in the drivers seat, it was immediately apparent that as much design work and engineering had gone into the cabin ergonomics and aesthetics as had into the much-hyped electric powertrain system. The well-bolstered seating position and the way the meaty sport steering wheel met my eager hands felt almost identical to a contemporary 911 cockpit. This, along with the equally 911-ish silhouette of the Taycan, softened my internal criticism of Taycan press material Id read before the drive that kept referring to the sedan as a sports car. Strapped into the drivers seat, youd be hard pressed to think youre in a four-door. And unlike a 911s rear seats that dont accommodate anyone over five-feet tall (and even then if they are a contortionist), the Taycans rear seats fit a six-footer in comfort and sporty style. Likewise, the sedans trunk is a very good size (366 litres), and theres even room for a couple of backpacks under the hood up front (81 litres). Although the power button located on the dash to the left of the steering column is the same as the key ignition on Porsches since, well, forever, all Taycan comparisons to Porsche sports cars cockpits begin and end with the seating position, as the entire dash/gauge/switchgear layout of the sedan is all new, and according to Porsche, intended to bring its products into the digital age.With a central 10.9-inch infotainment display, an optional passenger 10.9-inch infotainment display and a floating centre console screen controlling things like climate functions, the Taycans dash feels very digital age indeed, the dashboard-mounted clock the only analog throwback in sight. However, its not overwhelming, which is often the case with multi-screened displays. Likewise, steering-wheel controls are kept to a minimum, limited to just audio/phone controls, a drive mode dial and a regeneration button. Ready for LaunchWith a push of that aforementioned start button, the Taycan Turbo S comes to life (not with a roar but a whisper). To put the car in gear you flip a unique toggle switch located on the dash to the right of the steering column; down for drive, up for reverse.The initial driving impressions in Oslo werent that much different from your garden-variety EV navigating city streets in morning rush hour. The acceleration was crisp, the cabin quiet and the ride silky smooth. However, when city streets gave way to country roads and with it opportunities to push the sport sedan into and through tight corners and up and over rolling tarmac, the Taycan revealed its unmistakably Porsche personality. Again, I was reminded of the press kit description, and again I understood and accepted the Taycan Turbo S as a sports car.The driving dynamics technological features of the Taycan Turbo S are extensive, innovative and include some industry firsts, and all have a profound impact on the performance and handling of this vehicle (for a deep dive on the technical specs, see David Booth’s thorough and definitive First Look of the Taycan).After an hour or so of running hills and dales through pristine Norway countryside and along waterways we met up with a highway that would take us to the Norway-Sweden border then onto the lunch stop. My co-driver was now at the wheel as we silently spirited along the motorway at 137 km/h, wind noise at a minimum and the experience not unlike that of sitting on a very comfortable high-speed train. <img src="/uploads/img/electric-cars/38-first-drive-2020-porsche-taycan-turbo-s.jpg"
Origin: First Drive: 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S
Polestar 2 gets handling-focused Performance package
Newly indepenedent performance brand Polestar has announced a chassis upgrade package for its electric fastback, the 2. The Performance Pack adds £5000 to the list price of the standard model, which will first be offered in a fully loaded Launch Edition, costing from £49,900. Included is a range of modifications aimed at enhancing the car’s dynamic appeal, in the same vein as Polestar Engineered versions of models from parent company Volvo. The 2’s front brakes gain four-piston Brembo calipers, while both axles receive adjustable Öhlins dampers and 20in forged alloy wheels over the standard 19in set. Added visual differences come courtesy of gold seatbelts, brakes and valve caps. Joakim Rydholm, chassis development chief at Polestar, said: “We spent a lot of time obsessing over the finest details of the Performance Pack chassis setup to find the car’s sweet spot; we call it the ‘Golden Ride’. “Comfortable but focused, we want you to feel positively connected to the road, the car alive and communicative but balanced and predictable. It really is unlike most electric cars. It feels Polestar.” The 2’s 402bhp twin-motor powertrain goes unmodified, meaning the Performance variant is still expected to offer 311 miles of range and a sub-5.0sec 0-62mph time. UK customers can order the 2 Performance from Polestar’s online-only dealership now, with the company anticipating deliveries to commence in July next year. An entry-level version is expected to follow, priced from around £34,500 to strengthen the 2’s position against the Tesla Model
Origin: Polestar 2 gets handling-focused Performance package
Top 10 Best Luxury Electric Cars 2019
It’s a mark of the maturity of electric car technology that there is now a small but very fast-growing market for premium-branded EVs – and that every manufacturer is desperate to be seen to be at the very forefront of it. Some of them are offering a luxury angle, others a performance bias – and some a bit of other. Some cars within it are big, others not so big. And while some come from established automotive industry powers, others are from more ‘disruptive’ outfits. Whatever you’re looking for, if you’re looking for the longest-legged and least compromised electric cars in the world, this chart is where you’ll find them. This is where Teslas do battle with Mercedes’ EQs, BMW i cars, Audi E-trons and even new-groove Porsches. As a result of the infancy of this segment, a few of the cars we’ve listed aren’t quite on the market yet but are expected very soon – and where that’s the case, we won’t rank them until we’ve driven them. Whether here or not quite here, however, they are all reasons for the early-adopting EV crowd to get very excited. Best Premium Electric Cars 2019 1. Porsche Taycan Porsche has hit the electric car market with exactly the sort of impact you’d hope that an industry powerhouse of its stature might make. The Taycan, a four-door fast grand tourer that’s slightly smaller than the company’s existing Panamera model but is certainly not the lesser car of the two, inspired Editor-at-large Matt Prior to acclaim it as “the best electric car in the world” when he drove it in September – although he counselled readers “not to think that there’s all there is to it.” Tested in top-of-the-range, 751bhp, near-£140k Turbo S specification, the Taycan impressed us with its deft and well-controlled handling, its super-responsive and urgent performance – but mostly for its clear driver focus, which remains rare to find among electric cars. Surprisingly tight body control (considering it’s a 2.3-tonne car), fine steering response and beautifully tuned controls really distinguish the car’s dynamic character which, claimed Prior, “is enough to make it more enjoyable to drive than any other current four-door Porsche.” Due to be available in several less powerful versions, with WLTP-certified battery range of up to 280 miles and capable of charging at up to 270kW, the Taycan represents the state of the electric-car art in so many ways. UK driving impressions and more in-depth tests are coming soon. 2. Mercedes-Benz EQC An outright triumph in our electric SUV group test in September heralded the arrival of a new all-electric champion for people looking to combine practicality with performance, and luxury with sustainability in their next big car purchase – while also securing a car that can easily be used on a daily basis on UK roads. The Mercedes EQC 400 brushed aside challenges from Jaguar, Audi and Tesla on route to its big moment, overcoming all by virtue of its technology-laden and upmarket interior, its impressive blend of comfort and driver appeal, and its first-rate infotainment and navigation systems. Sharing its platform with the related GLC, the EQC has twin electric motors, torque-vectoring four-wheel drive, and combined peak ouputs of 402bhp and 564lb ft. WLTP-verified battery range is 259 miles officially, with our tests suggesting that at between 80- and 90-per cent of that is reproducible in mixed real-world driving. The EQC has plenty of driving modes, and there’s much complexity to get to grips with in configuring its many battery regeneration settings and semi-autonomous driver assist systems to your liking. But negotiate that hurdle and you’ll find the car very drivable and rounded at its best, as well as every bit as classy and luxurious as you’d want a £70,000 family car to be. 3. Jaguar I-Pace The first luxury electric car from a mainstream manufacturer to directly challenge Tesla at the high end, the I-Pace delivers on its brief with standout handling dynamics, first-rate interior quality and a striking design that’s slightly more SUV than saloon. It sets the standard for ride and handling among its all-electric peers, delivers strong performance from its twin 197bhp motors, and feels like what a premium-branded electric car should: an unshackled, clean-sheet design. The rarity of 100kW public chargers around the UK road network dents its potential as a long-range tourer somewhat, as does the car’s slightly below-par showing on real-world range (220 miles is a result worth celebrating) – although at least the former will improve quickly over time as infrastructure grows. If you’re unlikely to rely on public rapid charging facilities or routinely to trouble the outer limits of the car’s electric autonomy potential, it’s a car we’d consider before any rival. 4. Tesla Model S The car that persuaded the world that an electric saloon could be a viable alternative to a combustion-engined one, and that made the EV break into the luxury-car big
Origin: Top 10 Best Luxury Electric Cars 2019
James Ruppert: Get pumped up for a mid-noughties diesel
I am always relieved to discover that it isn’t just me who reckons motor cars, for some of us anyway, are a bit too complicated for their own good. If your requirements are fairly modest and you want to spend money on a mortgage or food, then constantly upgrading to the latest model is not the best policy. Steve is like me and wasn’t at all sure what he should do with his lovely 2003 Audi A4 in Ming Blue with 160,000 miles when he had the offer of a friend’s 2008 Jaguar X-Type Tourer with 50,000 miles, a full service history and new clutch. Both cars are diesels. The issue was that Steve’s A4 has sickly air-con and fixing it is way more than the car is worth. But that is not necessarily the point. If a car is doing a job, then it’s often worth sticking with it. There is 160,000 on the clock of Steve’s A4, though, so maybe some bits are wearing out. More to the point, the X-Type he has been offered is in superb condition. So I told him he’s better off spending a bit more and going for the Jag. Anyway, let’s stick with this, as that era of diesels did not deserve to die and, more lately, be drowned in AdBlue. Steve, like many others, needs a car that can cope with lots of short city work and doesn’t have a silly diesel particulate filter (DPF). If you wanted a town runabout with 50mpg-plus potential and a very groovy on-trend boxy style that doesn’t cost £26,000 like one of those new-fangled Honda Es, what about a Lupo? These teeny Volkswagens came with a 1.4 engine and Pump Diesel technology. A 2002 one in tidy condition and with the Sport moniker starts at £595. More ambitious sellers try and get a more substantial £1500. It is tiny, though. Fun, but tiny. I’d be inclined to go for a VW Passat, but then again, what could be more exciting than an Alfa Romeo badge? So why not go for a pretty 156 JTD? The Sportwagon is not the biggest estate car in the world, so just regard it as a largish hatch. I came across a 2002 example with a solid 160,000 miles and lots of recent work, such as clutch and cambelt, for £1200. Then again, a Peugeot 406 is another wonderful blast from the past. A 2.0 HDi estate makes all sorts of sense and I found a 65,000-mile 2002 example. It was on offer for £1800. That was with a dealer. Provided you don’t want to go inside Ultra Low Emission Zones, there are still excellent reasons for looking back into the early 2000s for one of those rather excellent old-school diesels. Steve did. What we almost bought this week Dodge Ram 3500 5.7: Memories of a second-generation Ram 8.0 V10 sampled in 1998 are still vivid, but until one falls into our hands again, this more modest third-gen 5.7 double-cab of 2004 will do. It has done only 59,000 miles and the seller, a Dodge specialist, says it’s rust-free with an immaculate interior. He wants £8000 for it. Tales from Ruppert’s garage We got a letter in the post from Porsche. I believe it is recall number R/2019/204 and there are 11,745 vehicles affected by it. This recall was issued on 29 July 2019. Basically, it is all about the automatic gearbox because the selector lever cable plastic sleeve may break. The remedy is to replace it. All we have to do is book it in with our local dealer, who isn’t very local at all. So we are trying free up some time to do this. It takes around an hour and I am not sure if there is much to do there apart from test drive a Taycan. Reader’s ride Audi A4: Well, this is nice. Here’s Steve’s lovely A4 (see above) and he doesn’t like the direction modern diesel engines have been going in: “The world has gone backwards and produced an engine with little or no low-end torque and lots of DPF problems. “That’s why I bought a 2003 A4 PD TDI 1.9. The PD engine has solenoid-operated injectors running in oil. Even the cables run in oil. I also like the north-south layout of engine/transmission, which allows equal-length driveshafts and superb weight distribution.” Readers’ questions Question: My 2007-reg Focus ST has lost power. It’s making no unusual mechanical noises, but I’m sure I can hear it whistling. I’m worried it’ll cost a bomb to fix. James Davies, Exeter Answer: Don’t despair. It sounds like the oil diaphragm has failed, a common problem on early, second-generation STs. You can check by removing the dipstick. If the whistling stops, it’s the diaphragm. The good news is that you can fix it yourself since it’s fairly accessible. (You can see it below the top of the engine on the left-hand side. It’s covered by a round plastic cap.) Detach and move aside the airbox and trunking to access it. Pop off the cap and remove the diaphragm. A new one is £20. John Evans Question: Are RDE2 diesels on sale now or must buyers still pay more road tax and company car tax while car makers recover from the dash to WLTP? Steve Lynch, Burgess Hill Answer: Although this new, tougher version of the Real Driving Emissions test, which will run alongside WLTP, doesn’t come into
Origin: James Ruppert: Get pumped up for a mid-noughties diesel
Nova Scotia used car salesman sentenced for almost $40k in fraud
In this file photo, unsold Hyundai Tucson crossovers sit at a dealership in Littleton, Colo.David Zalubowski / Associated Press In this latest episode of Used Car Salesmen Behaving Badly, a metal-moving bloke from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia has been sentenced to 44 months in the slammer after being found guilty of excessive financial chicanery. In most cases, it seems Michael David Surette took money for cars that were never delivered.The man was also fined tens of thousands and ordered to reimburse the customers he defrauded to the tune of $38,841. Those offenses took place between 2015 and 2018 during his tenure as a salesman at a place called Used Car Factory 21. To cap it all off, for part of that time he was on probation for previous fraud-related convictions. Lovely.Court records for the case read like a horror story of financial fraud, with person after person listed as being unlawfully defrauded. Not to excuse any sort of fraud, but it is especially galling that most of the incidents were for less than $5,000, suggesting they were targeted actions against people buying cheap used cars. Indeed, one victim was noted by the judge as having a minimum wage part-time job that sometimes began at 500 a.m. After borrowing more than $3,900 for a vehicle he never obtained, the man still had to walk to work 30 minutes each way. The fraud amounts ranged from $12,624 to just $600.In a damning indictment of the privilege from which he grew, the 53-year-old Surette is described as having enjoyed a great childhood in a home where he did not experience abuse nor witness any substance addictions.The author of the pre-sentence report noted that Surette stated he accepted responsibility for his actions. With respect to the offences before the Court, Mr. Surette expressed I guess I had no reason to do it, I shouldnt have done it. I guess opportunity.Considering the credit received for time already spent in custody, Surette will spend another 30 months as a guest of the prison system.Stay vigilant,
Origin: Nova Scotia used car salesman sentenced for almost $40k in fraud
Lamborghini plots all-electric four-door GT for 2025
Lamborghini’s fourth model line, a 2+2 grand tourer inspired by the 2008 Estoque concept, is due to be given the green light to arrive by 2025 – and, in a shock development, could become the brand’s first fully electric car. The four-seater, which has been chosen after being evaluated against a possible third mid-engined supercar, will sit alongside the entry-level Huracán supercar, the range-topping Aventador and the Urus SUV. Early debates questioned whether the 2+2 would be front or mid-engined, but a far more radical approach is now under serious consideration, according to Lamborghini RD boss Maurizio Reggiani. “If you look at the timing for a fourth model line, there is the potential that this will be the right time for a full-electric vehicle,” he said. Reggiani added that such a car could use a platform from the broader Volkswagen Group, of which Lamborghini is a member. The most likely candidate would be a development of the current PPE architecture, the high-end electric platform used by the new Porsche Taycan and upcoming Audi E-tron GT. Such a move would help Lamborghini achieve the necessary economies of scale to reduce the significant cost of developing a pure-electric model with the capabilities expected of a Lamborghini. Reggiani touched on the perennial issue of how to combine performance and range but said: “Performance will be important (in a 2+2). We must be fast but not quite in the same way as we need to be in our super-sports cars. A fourth model line will be something a little bit different.” A range of at least 350 miles would be expected of a grand tourer, and possibly much more given the maturity of the EV market by 2025. It’s also hard to imagine Lamborghini buyers accepting 0-62mph acceleration beyond 3.0sec. Previously, Lamborghini had eschewed anything but its naturally aspirated V10 and V12 powertrains, but given the demands of legislation, it recently unveiled the limited-production Sián – its most powerful and fastest-accelerating car yet and also its first hybrid. The Sián uses the Aventador’s 6.5-litre V12 mated with a 48V gearbox-integrated electric motor, collectively producing 808bhp. Power is not stored in a conventional lithium ion battery but rather generated by a supercapacitor unit three times as powerful as a cell of the same weight and three times lighter than a battery with the same output. A regenerative braking system sends power to the supercapacitor unit under deceleration and acts as a power boost. Although the Sián is a hybrid, many elements of this system – not least the innovative supercapacitor technology and regenerative braking – could be carried over to an electric car. Talking about the introduction of a fourth model line, Reggiani said: “We first need to establish and consolidate the Urus line. It took 10 years to establish our V10 model, from when the Gallardo launched in 2003 through to the Huracán, so we need to make sure we do the same with the Urus.” He added: “There’s a minimum of four years in advance of launching a model to develop it.” That means such a car must start progressing from 2021 at the latest to be ready for 2025. The styling of the grand tourer will reflect the aggressive lines common among Lamborghini’s lineup. But given its cruising credentials, it’s set to have a more mature design, more closely aligned to the Urus than the Aventador and Huracán and with strong influence from the Estoque, despite that concept now being 11 years old. The realisation of a fourth model line relies much on Lamborghini’s growing sales, particularly of its Urus. Considered the Italian firm’s cash cow, the Urus will give Lamborghini the financial security to continue producing extravagant supercars and now, as well, fund the development of a fourth model line. The SUV formula has already had a dramatic impact. In the first six months of 2019, Lamborghini sold 4554 cars, a 96% rise on the same period last year. The Urus accounted for almost 60% of its sales. The 2+2 is most likely to be built, like the Urus, at the Sant’Agata Bolognese plant. Three more pioneering Lambos Miura: The first two-seat supercar to feature a rear/mid-engined drivetrain layout, the Bertone-designed Miura is among the most revered Italian cars ever made and regarded as the genesis of modern supercar development. Sesto Elemento: Based on the Gallardo, the Sesto Elemento is a limited-run 562bhp track car composed largely of carbonfibre and weighing less than a tonne. Just 20 were made and they sold out before completion at nearly £2 million each. With a high-output electric motor on each wheel, this concept previewed Lamborghini’s future powertrains. Key features included self-healing bodywork, a kinetic energy recovery system and a structurally integral battery
Origin: Lamborghini plots all-electric four-door GT for 2025
Chrysler may re-label the Voyager the ‘Grand Caravan’ in Canada
2020 Chrysler VoyagerFCA Chrysler’s new-old Voyager minivan nameplate might wear a Dodge Grand Caravan badge in Canada and wind up being the inevitable replacement for that aging model, according to a new report from Allpar.com.Its all a bit confusing, as the Grand Caravan is supposed to be discontinued come May 2020, but for us Canadians, the nameplate won’t be tossed out but instead tossed over to the Chrysler division to sit on its new economy-spec version of the Pacifica van, the Voyager.The reason FCA wants to keep the Dodge nameplate around in Canada might purely be for marketing, reasons as Canadians seem to covet the Dodge more than the Chrysler.In 2018 the Dodge Caravan outsold every other minivan on the market, including the Chrysler Pacifica, so this could be a chance for FCA to subtly move some of that success toward the Chrysler brand.The Voyager is really nothing more than just a re-badged version of the lowest L and LX trim Pacifica anyway. It seems weird to have a totally different nameplate for whats essentially the same van in a neighbouring market, but maybe the plan will work for FCA.While the current Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica are similar only in minivan body style, they have vastly different styling and a vastly different price. The Pacifica can be as cheap as $36,995, but the Grand Caravan undercuts that by another $5,250.If these rumours are true, the Grand Caravan name would continue to be worn by the cheapest minivan, and would likely still be the best-selling, if FCA keeps it around. The Pacifica, meanwhile, will be positioned as a step up for buyers who are hoping for a more luxury-minded
Origin: Chrysler may re-label the Voyager the ‘Grand Caravan’ in Canada
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