Industry News

While companies like Tesla were still building prototypes, Ford has already begun full-fledged production of electric trucks. Ford has partnered with DHL for zero emission vehicles, and has come out with the first electric truck called the StreetScooter WORK XL. These trucks will change the whole stratosphere of the freight industry!

While I did write extensively about the possible Ford Ranger Raptor Diesel reaching the U.S., it seems that Ford doesn’t have any plans to introduce theRanger Raptor to the free world. In his talk with Hermann Salenbauch, Ford Performance Director, Autoblog journalists found out that the Raptor “was really developed for locations where the F-150 isn’t available or popular so that all regions could have a Raptor.”

Obviously, reading between the lines shows that the Ranger Raptor isn’t actually coming to the U.S.

The GT supercar seems to be a hit among enthusiasts. To satisfy the ‘overwhelming’ customer demand, Ford has announced that the production of the GT supercar will be extended by approximately two years. For people who would like to get it this time around, the Blue Oval will start taking applications in selected markets for about a month, starting from November 8.

Ford and Volkswagen had signed the Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year that laid the foundations of a strategic partnership between the two. But what started off as an alliance to focus on jointly developing an array of commercial vehicles, is now starting to shape up as full-fledged merger to become the largest brand in the industry.

Headlights have been getting increasingly complex and advanced in the way they work, especially since it became feasible to use LED technology which made self-dimming adaptive beams a reality. But not in the United States where the law has not permitted the use of such advanced lighting techniques on public roads.

People are building anything from Lego, quite literally. The creation we’re discussing today isn’t as groundbreaking as that full-scale running and driving Bugatti Chiron, but it’s still amazing: a fully-functioning Ford Falcon engine.

This here isn’t just a scale reproduction of the inline-6 4.0-liter engine that powers some Australian Ford Falcons made out of Lego parts. No, this is a recreation that actually works, mated to a Lego ZF 6-speed gearbox.

Bentley’s taste for luxury and opulence was on full display when it celebrated the Middle Eastern launch of the new Continental GT. Instead of going the traditional auto show route, the British automaker chose to celebrate the Continental GT’s launch in the market by opening a fine-dining restoring atop Jebel Jais, the tallest mountain in the United Arab Emirates, at an altitude of almost 6,400 feet above sea level. World-renowned chef Colin Clague was also brought in to help create the restaurant’s menu. Plague combined traditional British and Middle Eastern cuisines in creating a five-course meal that was served to the restaurant’s guests. About the only downside to the restaurant was that it closed down after only seven days of operation.

Audi could be on the verge of revamping its logo after patent filings in the U.S. and Germany show two new versions of the German automaker’s iconic four rings logo. One logo resembles an outline of the current logo with the interconnected lines scrubbed out, making it look like an image of a cloud. The other logo features the same outline with only two interconnected lines. It remains unclear what Audi’s plans for these logos are, but the patent filings designate them for “vehicles and their structural parts; radiator grilles.”

John Hennessey thinks Bugatti is playing possum when it comes to the Bugatti Chiron’s top speed. Speaking with Motor Authority, the founder and owner of Hennessey Performance claims that the French automaker is “sandbaggin’” the abilities of the Chiron as the race to hit a 300-mph top speed heats up in the supercar world. If Hennessey’s claims are correct and Bugatti is intentionally downplaying the Chiron’s performance abilities, it adds another wrinkle to a budding rivalry that’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Florida residents are only now sifting through the horrific devastation wrought by Hurricane Michael, with homes and lives destroyed by heavy flooding and 155-mph winds in one of the top-four strongest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. As of this writing, the death toll sits at 13, and is expected to rise further into the weekend. Roughly 1.5 million residences and businesses are currently without power. Car dealers are also among those effected, as evidenced in these recently captured amateur photographs.

Speaking with Automotive News, Alan Mankoff, district manager for JM&A Group, described the damage in Panama City, saying, “The town is in shambles. Every store got hit hard. Panama City Toyota just finished a rehab and had not had the grand opening yet and it’s destroyed.”

Pictures reveal walls and roofs torn away, debris everywhere, water damage seeping into every crevice. He full extent of the damage is not yet known, but initial estimates put the dollar figure well into the billions. Fox Business projects upwards of $30 billion of damage.

The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado can be had with a new four-cylinder, turbocharged engine, however, the truck is now facing criticism for its poor fuel economy. According to the EPA, the Silverado with its new four-cylinder engine will deliver a combined economy of 21 miles per gallon, 20 mpg in the city, and 23 mpg on the highway.

The political atmosphere in the States is not exactly calm right now. The U.S. and China have locked horns, and it’s Ford that has to bear the brunt. Just a couple of weeks after Ford’s CEO reported that the company was set to lose $1 billion because of the trade war, it is now being said that Ford may go on a layoff spree that could see over 20,000 people losing their jobs.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he urged the EPA to increase the sales of corn-based ethanol which would allow the year-round sale of E15 gas, which up by 5 percent over the blends that are now being sold in the U.S. Currently, the Clean Air Act restricts the sale of E15 gas during the months of summer. E15 gas is a mix of fuel that contains 85% gas and 15% ethanol.

The stringent World Harmonized Light Vehicle test Procedure (WLTP) has struck again. This time, Jaguar bears the brunt. Introduced at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Jaguar XJR575 is no longer available in Europe. Since the powerful sedan is a gas-guzzler, Jaguar had no option but to retire the car in Europe.

James Murdoch, the son of billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch, reportedly has the inside track to replace Elon Musk as chairman of Tesla. The report comes from the Financial Times, which is quoting two people familiar with the matter. Tesla has not issued a comment on the report, though Musk, who is still the current CEO and chairman of the company, categorically denied the report, saying that it was “incorrect.” As it is, the younger Murdoch is a non-executive director at Tesla’s board.

Meet the world’s first full-scale hyperloop capsule, called Quintero One (quintero in Spanish means “fifth”), a 32-meter/105-foot plane without wings or windows, for lack of a better comparison. It’s expected to be “optimized and ready for passengers” in 2019, and its makers are touting it as possibly the safest form of transportation in the world.