Technology

In theory, battery-swapping is a good way for electric vehicles to remain on the road longer. Depleted battery packs can be removed in favor of a fully charged replacement, and EV owners won’t have to worry as much about the amount of range they have left in the batteries. The whole process is quicker than charging a depleted battery and the process of replacing and installing sounds easy, or so it seems. Reality, however, paints an entirely different picture. Battery-swapping comes with a much more complicated procedure behind it, so much so that Volkswagen has no intention of offering the technology in the U.S. or any other market in the world. The only potential exception? China.

In case you’re already dreaming of one day owning an electric car that will allow you to browse your social media accounts on your mobile phone or doze off as the car brings you to work, you might want to hold off on those dreams. A new study conducted by autonomous vehicle consortium Venturer suggested that laws should be put in place to ban drivers from doing those things when they’re inside a moving autonomous car.

Honda’s Sensing safety system is fitted on one million vehicles in the U.S. today, but that number is going to pale in comparison to Honda’s plans for the system moving forward. According to the Japanese automaker, Honda Sensing will come standard on all 2022 model year vehicles, a huge increase from the current lot of models that are already carrying the safety system.

Someday, maybe in the not-too-distant future, drones will become the go-to mode of transportation for postal delivery services. But, like everything else that’s trying to get off the ground — literally, in this case — a few hiccups are to be expected. Take what happened to this drone in Russia, for example. It’s a Russian postal drone that’s making its maiden voyage as part of a test run organized by the Russian Post. Everything goes smoothly in the beginning, but it only takes a few seconds before the drone malfunctions and crashes full speed into a three-story brick building. Welp.

In the face of 1,000-horsepower sports cars and commuter-mobiles that can drive themselves, the world of mass transit has a bit of catching up to do. However, it’s looking like Hyperloop tech is now gaining some serious steam, as evidenced by a recently released video from Virgin showing off a full-scale pod in action.

In the video, we see the prototype vehicle at speed on a test track out in Nevada. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t provide any specs or technical data, so we don’t know the top speed achieved or how long the pod was on track, but we do know that last year the company said it achieved upwards of 240 mph in testing.

This latest vehicle, dubbed the Vision 2030 Hyperloop Pod, was unveiled just last week during a visit from Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Minister of Defense. The middle eastern company hopes to implement the technology nationally in the next few decades.

Using magnetic levitation and partially evacuated tubes, Hyperloop pods can travel at very high rates of speed, free from friction and with very low air resistance. One proposed route in the U.S. would connect Los Angeles and San Francisco, whisking travelers to and fro in as little as 30 minutes, a huge time savings compared to the 6 hours it would take by car.

We’ve seen automakers team up for a variety of reasons, including the sharing of platforms to streamline development and drive down costs. Now, BMW and Daimler are teaming up for a combined effort to create the latest mobility services for customers.

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Unlike most automakers, Mazda is one of the few companies that have yet to offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. That’s about to change, though, because the Japanese car brand is finally relenting. Beginning with the 2018 Mazda 6 that will hit dealerships this summer, Mazda will finally offer either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. In the case of the 6, all trims except for the base Sport model will carry the apps as standard equipment.

The hype train carrying the Lincoln Aviator is real, folks. The luxury automaker’s first plug-in hybrid SUV has officially reached its destination at the New York Auto Show, and as expected, it’s packing a serious amount of technology we normally don’t see on any of Ford’s other brands. Off the bat, we found out that the Aviator will carry technological bells-and-whistles like pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, and Ford’s new driver-assist system. But the feature that really has us intrigued is the automaker’s “Phone as Key” technology.

The Mercedes S-Class is regarded by some as the Pinnacle of all luxury Saloons. It’s got the style, luxury, technology (and the price tag) to find itself in the hands of those who refuse to settle for anything but the absolute best. Technology is a big part of this, and the S-Class has plenty of it, making even something as simple as a seat complex and beyond functional. With the most recent facelift of the S-Class, Mercedes took technology to a whole new level, and the seats got their own dose of upgraded technological goodness, leaving some to wonder just what the hell is beneath the skin.

After all, the seats of the S-Class perform quite a duty. They have heating and ventilation, adjustable back and lumbar support, and there’s even some active and passive safety features all encased under all of that plush leather. That’s cool and all, but have you ever wondered what’s really under there? To perform all of these various functions, there have to be fans, airbags, motors, and heating elements, right? Well, you could say there’s a lot, and since What’s Inside got their hands on an S-Class seat, you can see all of it for yourself without tearing into a seat that will probably cost you $10,000 to replace.

Check out the video below!

Mercedes-Benz is joining a host of other automakers in offering a new kind of ownership experience that will allow customers to drive the car of their dreams without actually owning them. Just like Volvo, Cadillac, and Porsche, the German automaker is in the final stages of developing a pilot program for a flat-rate vehicle subscription service, called “Mercedes me Flexperience.” The goal of this is service is to offer an alternative way to “owning” a Mercedes without actually having to buy it outright. The program is already available in a few countries, but it could also find its way into the U.S. as early as this year.

One of the problems with any rechargeable battery is that, after so long, they don’t hold a full charge or deliver full amperage anymore. And, such is the case with EV batteries. So, as time goes on, there will be more and more “junk” EV batteries that would otherwise need to be disposed of. Well, Nissan has an answer to this, and it isn’t disposing of them. It’s taking them in their useless-to-a-car state, attaching a solar panel to them, and using them to power streetlights that run independently of the electric grid.

As of now, it’s just a working project, but the prototype will go through initial testing on March 26 and the 4R battery reclamation factory in Namie, Japan. If everything goes according to plan, the streets of Namie will start to see them popping up in places needed the most, helping to speed up the recovery effort that has been ongoing for the last seven years following an earthquake and tsunami that rocked the region.

With that said, Nissan has released a little video that goes into a little more detail of Project: The Reborn Light. Go ahead and check it out for yourself.

Mazda is diving deep into the pool of lithium-ion batteries with the intent to develop 12-Volt lithium-ion batteries to serve as replacements for lead-acid starter batteries in cars beginning in 2021. The Japanese automaker is teaming up with ELIIY Power Co., Ltd. and Ube Industries, Ltd to develop the technology that can be used in creating a new battery solution that has the potential to make its models lighter, faster, and more fuel-efficient.

As more and more services and goods move away from the real world in favor of some kind of online option (remember CD stores?!), automakers are looking to build their own digitized alternative. The latest to offer car buyers an online buying service is Ford, which just announced the initial rollout of its Ready.Shop.Go program.

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BMW has set its fair share of automotive records, but the German automaker is now setting its sights on a different kind of world record. In partnership with the Drone Racing League, Bimmer is going to help build the world’s fastest drone with the goal of breaking the current speed record of 163.5 mph. The extent of the collaboration wasn’t made specific, but a big part of it involves BMW lending its technical know-how and wind tunnel at its Aerodynamic Test Center to help the DRL break its own record.

In a bid to make its cars safer, Subaru will look to double down on its high-tech Eyesight suite of features. Unfortunately, that could mean the death of its manual transmission offering, which so far is not compatible with Eyesight.

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