This Nissan Leaf’s festive lights are powered by regenerative braking Nissan is this year showcasing its holiday cheer, alongside its renewable EV technology, with a Leaf dressed up as a Christmas tree. “The car is brighter than Rudolph’s nose,” says Nissan, which decked the Leaf’s halls with thousands of lights, baubles and a few reindeer on the roof, and hooked them up to the car’s regenerative energy system. The Japanese automaker says the festive lights display is powered by two of the hatchback’s regenerative functions: the e-Pedal, which allows drivers to get going, accelerate, slow down and stop using only the accelerator pedal; and ‘B mode,’ which generates energy under braking the normal way. So, it’s not a Christmas miracle — rather just solid, smart energy technology. “Santa shouldn’t be the only one with a festive mode of transport. We wanted to make the Nissan LEAF more fun at this time of year whilst driving home a very important message,” said Helen Perry, Head of Electric Vehicles for Nissan Europe.According to Nissan, the newest EV has the potential to regenerate enough energy over 18,000 km of driving to provide 20 per cent of the domestic electricity demanded by the average European household, or to power 266 Christmas trees with 700 incandescent lights for an hour, or to power 297 turkey-roasting ovens for one hour and subsequently give everyone food poisoning from undercooked poultry. The five-door Nissan Leaf arrived in North America back in 2010 and is now in its second
Origin: This Nissan Leaf’s festive lights are powered by its own regenerative braking
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Hyundai Autron’s next-gen autonomous car software to be powered by BlackBerry
2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N LineBrian Harper / Driving Hyundai is tapping Canada-based tech company and former cellphone giant BlackBerry to help develop its advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving software. Does this mean the next Elantra will be getting a trackball control for its center screen!? Doubtful. What it does mean is Hyundai Motor Group’s software research and development company, Hyundai Autron, will use BlackBerry’s QNX OS for Safety system, already embedded in over 150 million cars on roads today, to build “competitive automotive and mission-critical systems in a cost-effective and safe manner.” This could impact features like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure, smartphone connection and more. “Hyundai Autron develops the Hyundai Motor standard software platform based on the international AUTOSAR standard,” said Dae-Heung Moon, CEO at Hyundai Autron, in a press release. “Powered by BlackBerry QNX technology, together we will deliver ADAS and autonomous driving software platforms that will set a new standard for the automotive industry.”BlackBerry was a major player in the cell phone market of the 2000s (RIP, BBM) but stopped making its popular keyboard and trackpad devices in 2016. Today the Waterloo, Ontario-based company focuses on software solutions and outsources production of phones to partner companies.BlackBerry will demonstrate what this new standard looks like when it showcases the QNX OS for Safety at CES in Las Vegas in January 2020.
Origin: Hyundai Autron’s next-gen autonomous car software to be powered by BlackBerry
Ford Bronco may be powered by Ranger’s 2.3-litre EcoBoost
The all-new Ford Bronco will be one of eight SUVs in Ford’s North American lineup by 2020 — and one of two off-road SUV offerings. Theres been no shortage of digital and actual ink spilled about the upcoming Ford Bronco.Weve seen spy photos, guesses re: its removable roof system, and rumours regarding available powertrains.Now, we learn a little bit more about that latter part.Speculation about the Broncos available engine comes to us courtesy of Off-Road.com, where it has been reported that the trucklet has appeared as a 2021 model on the parts lookup tool at are you ready for this? Canadian Tire.Thats right, folks; it appears that your local wrenching hut has more details on the new Bronco than anyone.According to images taken with a smartphone and posted on the site, a tablet-style lookup tool tasked with selecting the correct spark plug for ones vehicle displays a 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine as the only option for the 2021 Ford Bronco.This isnt the first time that this engine has been speculated to end up between the fenders of the new Blue Oval off-roader, but it is neat to see a semi-formal confirmation of such.It isnt a stretch of the imagination to envision that 2.3-litre engine, also found in the Ranger, as an option for Bronco. After all, common belief has the new off-road focused SUV being built in the same factory as the Ranger and sharing some key drivetrain components. That they may also share engines is not a surprise at all.Thinking laterally, finding the F-150s 2.7-litre EcoBoost V6 on the options list would be a very sweet treat, indeed. Any news about Bronco is worth printing, given the hype and excitement surrounding the model. Other rumours include the appearance of two- and four-door models, the ability to jettison its roof and doors, and the chance of a hybrid model.Tom Petty had it right: waiting is the hardest part. The new Ford Bronco should appear sometime within the next twelve
Origin: Ford Bronco may be powered by Ranger’s 2.3-litre EcoBoost
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