Is there a more perfect project to build out of LEGO? Teslas angular Cybertruck shocked the world when it was revealed, completely devoid of any curved lines.Now, you could build your own desk-sized Cybertruck, if this project gets enough votes.The LEGO Cybertruck design was shared on the site LEGO Ideas, where users can submit their own LEGO set concepts and have people vote on them to become official products. The Cybertruck was submitted by user BrickinNick.Concepts go through a period where they collect votes, and when they hit 10,000, theyre reviewed by the company as a potential future product. The Cybertruck project has 592 more days to reach that 10,000-vote mark, and its already surpassed more than half that. Its more than just a cool design BrickinNick has a good reason for wanting to see a LEGO Cybertruck on store shelves.Teslas mission has always been to accelerate the worlds transition to sustainable energy, BrickinNick says. This aligns with the LEGO Groups goal of sustainability and leaving a positive impact on the planet. As of yet, EVs have only been marginally represented in the LEGO set catalog. The striking yet fun design of this LEGO Cybertruck would be an amazing way to get kids and adults alike excited about EVs and all the good they can do for our environment. The project also relies on Tesla granting LEGO a license to produce the brick truck. Whether the LEGO version or the Telsa version comes out first is the real race, since theres more than a year on the clock for LEGO fans to vote on the thing.If you just cant wait for a scale Cybertruck that long, one graphic designer has already released a template for a papercraft version you can print off and fold into a model yourself. Now if youll excuse us, we have to use the office printer for unrelated
Origin: LEGO, please make this blocky Tesla Cybertruck kit a real thing
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Cadillac is going back to real names for its cars as it switches to EVs
The 2016 Cadillac Escala concept. Cadillac is changing its naming scheme back to actual words, ditching the alphanumeric convention that, to some, has felt less-than-personable these past few years.The rollout of the electric vehicles is the time well start to move back toward naming, said Cadillac President Steve Carlisle.The name change comes as Cadillac prepares to launch a host of new battery-electric vehicles, according to Automotive News.The original alphanumeric nomenclature was the brainchild of Johan de Nysschen, Carlisles predecessor, who also worked at Audi and Infiniti. The idea behind it was to give a more European feel to the brand as well as a clear hierarchy, with names like XT5 and CT6, but it also meant dropping historic names like Seville, DeVille and Eldorado. Were entering the decade as an internal-combustion-engine brand, he said. Well exit the decade as a battery-electric brand. Its the end of the ICE age for Cadillac.Cadillac will gradually be converted into GMs EV brand; it plans to have 20 all-new electric vehicles by 2023. As Carlisle stated, by 2030 the majority of Cadillacs will be electric.As for the brands current vehicles, theyll likely receive a refresh sometime in the future before fully transitioning to EVs. The brand-new Escalade is set to be revealed in February, and will be transitioned to an EV eventually, though not before it gets Cadillacs Super Cruise hands-free driver-assist system, with a few improvements, such as automated
Origin: Cadillac is going back to real names for its cars as it switches to EVs
This lower-priced Porsche Taycan is the real Tesla-killer
The Porsche Taycan 4SPorsche Take a good look at the Taycan on these pages. Sexy as the Turbo and Turbo S we showed you last month, isnt it?And, like the Turbo and Turbo S, this new 4S has twin permanent-magnet electric motors on both axles (hence, all-wheel-drive), a fully-touchscreened interior and, as you can plainly see, the sportiest silhouette in the entire electric sedan segment.It is, again like the Turbo and Turbo S that wowed us at their Niagara Falls world unveiling, the electric vehicle writ Porsche.Buy you know what it doesnt have? The one thing it doesnt share with its two siblings, the feature that, in its absence is going to wow potential EVers all the way to Porsche dealerships?The outrageous price tag.While they did indeed wow the world, the Turbo and Turbo S versions of the Taycan also shocked for their price tag. At $173,900 for the base Turbo and a seriously wallet-challenging $213,900 for the Turbo S, the original Taycans put it to Teslas Model S in every way but affordability.Not the new 4S. At $119,400 for the base version, it is not just a bargain by Taycan standards, its almost exactly the same price as a plain old Panamera 4S. Wow! Double wow! The Porsche Taycan 4S Porsche Now, there are some sacrifices. The base cars battery, for instance, is a smaller, single-layer 79.2-kilowatt-hour affair (the Turbos two-deck 93.4-kWh affair, now dubbed Performance Plus, is available as an option).Horsepower is down some, the base car offering 522 horsepower while that Performance Plus option bumps things to 562 hp. But the 4S still has twin electric motors, still drives all four wheels and still scoots to 100 kilometres an hour in 4.0 seconds (slower, of course than the Taycan Turbos 3.2 seconds, but faster than every non-Turbo Panamera in Porsches lineup).Range, according to the European WTLP standard, is 407 kilometres for the base model; 463 km for the Performance Plus. The base cars maximum charging ability is also slightly reduced, with peak charging power at 225 kilowatts; the Performance Plus can take a faster-charging 270 kW. The Porsche Taycan 4S Porsche Technologically, the 4S uses the same 600-amp (rear) and 300-amp (front) inverters as the Turbo Taycan. And, in fact, the innovative two-speed transmission in the rear (for maximum acceleration from a stop) and single speed-gearbox in front is used as on the more expensive models. Ditto for the adaptive air suspension, which is also standard on the 4S. The base 4S even boasts six-piston front brake calipers.In other words, while it is obviously aimed at a different clientele, and we do not have information on the exact interior spec and standard equipment, the 4S has not in any way been neutered. We expect it to be just as sporty, albeit a little less rapid, than the Turbo and Turbo S Taycans.Porsche Canada is taking orders now and expects to start delivering the Taycan 4S in the summer of
Origin: This lower-priced Porsche Taycan is the real Tesla-killer
Pininfarina wants to build an SUV and become a real automaker
Pininfarina BattistaDerek McNaughton Just months after revealing its incredible electric Battista hypercar, Pininfarina is already watering down looking to expand its brand by announcing itll build an SUV.The move no doubt stems from the fact that to be able to make any money in todays automotive world, you need to build a great all-rounder, and for everybody, thats been an SUV.Pininfarina wants to realize its potential as full-fledged automaker, with volume models on top of its flagship super-EV.The Battista makes 1,900 horsepower, but we dont expect Pininfarinas SUV will. What we do expect is that it will be extremely luxurious, electric and exclusive. It will ride on Pininfarinas new skateboard platform, still in development, set to underpin a few new models. The platform is being jointly developed with an unnamed supplier, and will likely be licenced to other brands to offset development costs.Pininfarina does not want to join up with a brand like Porsche, as tempting as that may be; the German automaker is currently developing a similar EV platform that will underpin the Taycan and the Audi E-Tron GT. Pininfarina says the platform works for cars, but wont support a vehicle like the high-riding SUV its developing. As for performance, the SUVs likely to come fitted with lithium-ion battery packs with a capacity of 100 to 124 kWh, will carry the vehicle up to 600 kilometres on a single charge.The SUV will likely fall in the 200,000- to 400,000-euro range ($300,000 to $600,000) meaning it will compete with offerings from Bentley and Rolls-Royce, as well as the upcoming Aston Martin SUV set to revive the Lagonda
Origin: Pininfarina wants to build an SUV and become a real automaker
Montreal Grand Prix proves a real moneymaker—from speeding tickets
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (44) of Great Britain leads the pack at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix, Sunday, June 11, 2017 in Montreal. A six-day provincial crackdown on speeders launched by Quebec police forces on June 7 the start of Montreal Grand Prix weekend saw more than 12,700 tickets handed out by police, about 50 of them for extreme violations of the posted speed limit.Extreme speeding violations occur when speed limits of 60 km/h or less are exceeded by 40 km/h or more; when limits of more than 60 or 90 km/h are exceeded by 50 km/h or more; and when the limit of 100 km/h is exceeded by 60 km/h or more.The crackdown was a joint effort of Quebec police forces and the provinces automobile insurance board (SAAQ), and coincided with the kickoff of June 7 thru 9 Grand Prix weekend in Montreal.While police officers working in 7,000 speed traps handed out the more than 12,000 tickets across the province, Quebecs photo radar network was activated more than 30,000 times by vehicles exceeding the speed limit during the week-long crackdown; two-thirds of those incidents occurred during the Grand Prix
Origin: Montreal Grand Prix proves a real moneymaker—from speeding tickets
Honda’s Urban EV concept gets a real name: ‘e’
Name of Honda’s urban electric car confirmed: ‘Honda e’Honda Honda’s small Urban EV concept with throwback styling caught the attention of just about everybody when it was revealed at the Geneva auto show a couple years back, and Honda has just announced the production model’s name: Honda e. A simple name for a simple car. The Honda e gained a lot of love for its resemblance to the original Honda CVCC (the car later rebadged Civic) and will surely get a lot of love for what it can offer, as well. Honda says, for example, the e will deliver over 200 km of range, and that the battery cells supplied by Panasonic will fast-charge to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes. The e will also be rear-wheel-drive, so it might actually be quite sporty. Honda decided to build the vehicle after over 22,000 customers in Europe expressed interest in buying it, showing there would probably be a good market for small EVs for urban areas. The e will be a great addition to Honda’s vision of electrifying its entire lineup by 2025. Honda’s Electric Vision, renewed and emboldened at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, is for 100 per cent of the brand’s European sales to feature electrified powertrains by 2025, the automaker said in a release. The Honda e, presented as a production prototype in Geneva, is Honda’s first model to benefit from a dedicated EV platform and takes a bold step with its design and technology. The compact electric car offers trademark Honda driving dynamics, aided by the sporty rear-wheel-drive format and advanced electric powertrain. Production and sales of the Honda e will hopefully start later in 2019, and we sincerely hope that Honda finds a way to make the e available in
Origin: Honda’s Urban EV concept gets a real name: ‘e’
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