Technology

The 2020 Tesla Model Y is close to making its big debut, but before it does, let’s take a moment to speculate on what it’ll offer in terms of range, output, handling, and acceleration!

The sheer size and magnitude of the Geneva Motor Show manifests itself in a variety of ways. Cool concept cars can be seen in all corners of the show, but there are a few special oddities that you can discover if you look hard enough. One of the more curious stands belongs to Brembo, the Italian brake manufacturer whose products you see on just about every performance car in the world. Brembo showcased a handful of interesting concept brakes. All concepts stood out for the same reason, and it’s not because they feature a revolutionary brake technology. These Brembo brake concepts gain your attention because of how colorful and vibrant they are. Imagine your cars with these brake calipers on them? It would add some personality to your ride, don’t you think?

The Geneva Motor Show was filled to the brim with concepts. There were supercar concepts, EV concepts, luxury car concepts. You name it, they were there. But, believe it or not, the coolest concept that was on display at the show might not even belong to an automaker. It’s called the Aero Tiltrotor Tire Concept, and it comes from Goodyear. While it looks like a traditional tire, the Aero Tiltrotor Concept is far from a traditional tire. It can serve the usual purpose of a tire, albeit without any air in it, but it’s more important feature is its ability to turn into a propeller for flying cars. Yep. It’s a tire that doubles as a propeller for flying cars. All those dreams you had of one day driving a car that could fly like Doctor Emmett Brown’s DeLorean could turn to reality if these tires end up in production. That’s probably not happening soon, but the thought that a concept version of one now exists is pretty darn cool.

The 2019 Geneva Motor Show is overflowing with new tech concepts, including this fresh entry in the crossover segment from Nissan. It’s called the IMQ, and although we’re not really into the weird exterior styling, features like the torquey hybrid powertrain, futuristic interior, and intriguing tech ideas make it worth a look.

Kia reports that it has sold over 270,000 Niro crossovers since it launched the compact crossover model in 2016, and some 100,000 of those sales were to European customers. It’s the brand’s fifth-most-popular model in Europe, so that’s why it’s chosen to reveal the refreshed versions of the Niro hybrid and Niro plug-in hybrid at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, one of the most important auto shows on the Old Continent.

Hispano Suiza Cars is back after more than 70 years and it will bring its latest creation to the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The Carmen has been described as the "next-generation electric hyperlux grand tourer” and was teased with a few pictures of its silhouette. This electric wunderkind will wear the interiors of a uber-luxurious car and pack the engine of a hypercar. For starters, it’s offered with a thousand ponies under the hood!

Audi has offered a system called Traffic Light Information (TLI) on some of its models since 2015 (in cities where vehicle-to-vehicle V2I infrastructure was implemented), and now it is adding a new supporting system to it called Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA). It is available on post-2017 model year A4 and Q7 models and, on paper, it sounds really useful as it recommends what speed you should travel at in order to catch “the green wave.”

The first-ever M versions of the X3 and X4 broke cover somewhat unexpectedly in February 2019, joining the larger X5 M and X6 Mto complete BMW’s four-vehicle lineup of beefed-up SUVs. And, while the X3 M, the first of its kind in 16 years, is big news, there’s even bigger news under its hood, where BMW dropped a brand-new high-performance engine. It’s called the S58 and replaces the already iconic S55.

The more utility you can add to a pickup, the better it becomes. That’s a given, but how do you improve on the formula? It seems as though GMC found a way with its Multipro Tailgate and 2019 Sierra, which offers multiple configurations for improved access to the box, extended holding capacity, and a second-tier loading height. Now Ram is getting in on the action with its own take on the configurable tailgate concept, offering up something it’s calling the Multifunction Tailgate on all seven trim levels of the 2019 Ram 1500. Granted, GMC was the first in this space, but we think Ram might have the better tailgate this time around.

Look, we all know you absolutely must have that order of novelty toilet paper and oversized truck nuts as quickly as possible. After all, that’s why you signed up for Amazon Prime, right? Well, as a follow-up to the retail giant’s flying delivery drone concept, it looks like Amazon may shoot for something a little more down to Earth, namely six-wheeled autonomous delivery robots.

The 2020 BMW 7 Series is now official, and as expected, it’s bringing some serious technological artillery to bear. Here are the most important features to pay attention to, as they may be headed to the rest of Bimmer’s lineup before you know it.

As my wife will be quick to tell you, I can occasionally get a little paranoid when it comes to modern digital technology. I don’t like being tracked. I don’t like how cameras are everywhere and always turned on. I don’t like anything that even carries a whiff of 1984. As such, the Intelligent Personal Assistant in the new 2020 BMW 7 Series makes me nervous. However, at the same time, the geek in me thinks it’s pretty damn cool.

The trend towards electric and electrified vehicles, as well as other power alternatives to what we now call conventional engines (of the internal combustion variety), is clear and more and more of these vehicles are being sold each year. In fact, a recent report by the Financial Times states that even though the peak year for internal combustion-engined cars was expected to be 2022, it is now believed that the peak year was in fact 2018.

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show has now officially reached full chat, and many of the major automakers are there to show off their latest and greatest gadgets and concepts. Kia is among them, arriving in Vegas to debut its vision for an autonomous, intelligent, highly connected transportation system that can understand your moods and adapt itself accordingly.

Hyundai Mobis, the parts and services division of Korean auto giant, took part in the festivities of the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show with a concept that embraces the role that lights play — yes, lights — in improving the safety of autonomous driving vehicles. Called the Communication Lighting Concept, the coupe-like creation’s importance isn’t grounded in its appearance, but more so in the technology it carries. In this case, the concept is equipped with an assortment of lights and displays that it uses to communicate its intentions to pedestrians and commuters alike, alerting them of potential dangers and hazards on the road. Hyundai Mobis says that the technology can be rolled out in a quick and cost-effective manner, though that would still depend on the willingness of automakers to incorporate the technology into their own vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia announced the commercialization of autonomous vehicles by 2021 and the full-scale production of autonomous vehicles by 2030. Yet, in a video about the future of electric and autonomous vehicles it published only days ago, Hyundai and Kia graphically showcased the features of the inductive charge system and proposed an autonomous valet service for its cars. The technology will land on Hyundai-Kia cars in the future, but it won’t reach mass production until electric vehicles reach Level 4 of autonomy. According to projections, this will happen around 2025.

Nevertheless, the system Hyundai-Kia proposes could noticeably improve the efficiency of the charge ports by automatically controlling the vehicles after the charge is complete. In short, the vehicles will move to a free parking spot after the recharge process.

Furthermore, the technology will probably solve the problem of jams in parking locations.