Automotive

Apple iCar Designs Capture Apple’s Journey From The 80s

Computing giants Apple are known for their iconic and forward-looking product design, so it was a big disappointment for motorists and dreamers alike when, late last year, the plug was pulled on their plans to develop an Apple car.

It seems the project will continue in a different guise, with Apple’s IT experts concentrating on the development of a self-driving system which will eventually find its place in a vehicle designed by an established car manufacturer – if all goes to (the new) plan.

It’s a massive loss for those of us who fancy the latest Apple designs, but a great opportunity to imagine what might have been – so that’s just what the people over at Click Mechanic have done, creating five imaginary Apple car designs inspired by classic Mac hardware from the past thirty years. Think of it as the Batmobile meets desktop computing.

Macintosh 128K

The journey begins in 1984, when Apple released the Macintosh 128K. The angular, off-white design of the iCar Macintosh responds to those clunky early desktops that you occasionally still see in an office storeroom or Dad’s utility room. They have that sturdy look that causes IT managers and home computing nerds alike to think: “I won’t throw it out just yet, it’s sure to be useful again some day.”

Blended with the sporty look of that forward-thinking decade, it cannot help but call to mind a sexier version of the disastrous Sinclair C5.

iMac G3

Skip forward to 1998 and the splash of color we enjoyed with the iMac G3. Snub-nosed and smooth as a pebble, the iCar G3 is available in shades of blueberry, lime, tangerine, strawberry, and grape – and of course, you can see the engine through the back window.

The headlights are modeled on the G3’s banging front-facing speakers.

Power Mac G5

From the plastic 128k to the glassy G3, Apple have always managed to capture the zeitgeist in terms of chassis material.

They did it again with the anodized aluminum alloy of the PowerBook G4 in 2001.

Power and strength likewise characterize the vehicle the G4 has inspired, the Power Mac G5 car.

MacBook Air

The MacBook Air is an enduring classic that continues to evolve. Lightweight and adaptable, the vehicular version borrows that clean, speedy look – although rumors that Apple have removed the CD drive from the car stereo are sure to be controversial!

As the Air user likes to flit from café to meeting room to conference center, so the driver of the iCar Air will be very much the guy or gal around town as they take those hard urban corners at an impressive pace.

iPhone7

Which brings us right up to present day and the jet-black glass of the iPhone7. Minimal to look at, the outsider can only imagine the engine and tremendous range of features so neatly hidden within that hyper-modern exterior.

We would be thrilled to sit behind wheel.

Apple products not only reflect the time they inhabit – they lead the way for competitors and imitators to follow, as great architects always have. So be sure to study these exercises in wishful thinking closely for a hint at the kind of machine we can expect to see next from the biggest tech company on Earth.

G. John Cole is a technology writer and digital nomad. A native Englishman, he is always on the move, but can most commonly be spotted in Norway. Follow him on Twitter: @gjohncole

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New Toyota TRD Models Arrive This Fall

Toyota Racing Development, the in-house performance shop for the automaker, has turned it’s benevolent gaze upon some vehicles you may not normally think of as performance oriented, and the results are good. In this case, the three cars that TRD has gotten their grease-stained, banged-knuckled hands on are the Tundra, Sequoia, and the RAV4.

Tundra TRD Sport

The new Tundra TRD Sport is offered on both 4×4 and 4×2 models in CrewMax and Double Cab configurations. Power comes from Toyota’s ever popular 5.7-liter i-Force V8 engine, which produces 381 horsepower. TRD has added Sport Tuned Bilstein Shocks and TRD front and rear anti-sway bars to the mix, and also had a go at exterior enhancements.

The mirrors, bumpers, and hood scoop are color coordinated; there are 20-inch silver sport alloy wheels, LED headlights with a smoked chrome bezel, daytime running lights, LED fog lights, mesh grille with body color surround, and TRD Sport bedside graphics. Snazzy! Colors for the Tundra TRD Sport are Super White, Magnetic Gray, Midnight Black Pearl, Blazing Blue Pearl, and Barcelona Red Metallic.

Those last two are also good candidates for band names and/or replacements for Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.

The interior features include a TRD shift knob and TRD Sport floor mats.

Toyota says the Tundra and Sequoia are ideal for adventuresome families in need of that unique combination of performance, utility, towing ability, and comfort. To build upon that, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) is introducing the new TRD Sport grade for Tundra and Sequoia later this year. Photo: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Sequoia TRD Sport

The 2018 Sequoia SUV, called the Sequoia TRD Sport for this version, also comes in 4×4 and 4×2 and with the aforementioned 5.7-liter i-Force V8 engine. TRD Sport Tuned Bilstein Shocks and TRD front and rear anti-sway bars improve the ride and handling.

The Sequoia TRD Sport’s key exterior upgrades include a new front grille and bumper grille insert, metallic black mirror caps, 20-inch alloy sport wheels in black, a darkened rear tail light housing, black satin finish, TRD Sport badging on the front doors, and a metallic black and chrome Sequoia badge on the liftgate. Color choices for the Sequoia TRD Sport include Super White, Magnetic Gray Metallic, and the new Midnight Black Metallic.

Interior features include standard black fabric or optional black leather captains chairs (these are part of the optional Premium Package), TRD shift knob, TRD Sport floor mats, and TRD Sport sill protectors.

Select 2018 RAV4 models will include optional heat/power fabric front row seats, heated steering wheel, and wiper de-icer as part of a new Cold Weather Package. Photo: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

RAV4 Adventure

The cute-ute of the latest TRD offerings is the RAV4 Adventure. The RAV4 Adventure will be available in front-wheel drive with an Automatic Limited-Slip Differential, or with Dynamic Torque Control all-wheel drive. Both come with a standard Tow Prep Package, upgraded radiator, supplemental engine oil and transmission fluid coolers, and a higher ride height suspension.

The RAV4 Adventure model will also come standard with Trailer Sway Control and Hill-Start Assist Control.

Exterior styling tweaks add large overfender flares and 18-inch five-spoke black alloy wheels, sporting the boss meat 235/55R18 tires. Lower body guards, black headlight bezels, black fog lamp surrounds, roof racks, and “Adventure” badging complete the set.

Color-wise, the RAV4 Adventure buyer will get to choose from five: Black, Magnetic Gray Metallic, Silver Sky Metallic, Super White, and one new color for the RAV4, Ruby Flare Pearl. I know, Ruby Flare Pearl sounds like a burlesque dance from the 30s, but just go with it.

The 2018 RAV4 Adventure along with the Tundra and Sequoia TRD Sport will arrive in September.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

Photos & Source: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

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2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit: Additional Eyes, Advanced Warnings

It used to be that a “Police Pursuit” or “Police Special Option” package consisted of heavy duty shocks and springs, an oil cooler, and a white paint job. Dodge aims to upgrade that by now offering an “Officer Protection Package” option on their Charger cop cars. Dodge, officially FCA US (that’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) teamed up with an outfit from Auburn, California, called InterMotive Inc., to deliver the new Officer Protection Package.

Dodge is doing it at no cost to police agencies that order the 2017 Charger Pursuit package.

Frankenstein Features

This is basically parts bin engineering at its finest. You know what parts bin engineering is, right? Just in case you don’t, parts bin engineering is when you take available cool parts your company is already making, and use them to make another car better; more efficient, perform better, upgrade this and that etc.

Most of the time parts bin engineering was focused on consumer level products, making them faster (stuffing bigger engines into smaller cars) or more luxurious (taking leather seats from an upmarket car and bolting them directly into a mid-level offering).

What Dodge is doing in this case is taking some bits and pieces that it already has in abundance; rear facing cameras and radar crash warning sensors, and installing them on police cars for officer safety.

Photo: FCA US LLC.

Additional Eyes

Dodge has taken the rear-facing camera and radar in its 2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit law enforcement vehicle and reprogrammed it to detect movement behind the vehicle. By this clever move, Dodge hopes to prevent an ambush of the officers and warn them if a subject is approaching from the rear.

Yes, police safety has been increasing for decades, but hey, if you’ve got the parts in the car already, why not tweak them a little bit, just in case?

“This technology is designed to prevent an officer from being ambushed from the rear while parked. While it does not replace vigilance, this technology acts as a second set of eyes and provides police officers with added peace of mind when they are in a parked Charger Pursuit,” said Jeff Kommor, Vice President for FCA U.S. Sales Operations, Fleet and Small Business Sales.

Fleet and small business sales are, of course, the people that make and sell things to taxi companies, delivery companies, and the like. Essentially anyone who buys cars or vans by the dozens – obviously, this includes cop cars.

Photo: FCA US LLC.

Advanced Warning

The Officer Protection Package is all about the concept of situational awareness. You know when you’re on the track, or the road, and even though you cannot see that other car in your mirrors, you know they are there. Change in air pressure, subconscious perception of a new shadow in your peripheral vision, increase in non-determined, aperiodic acoustical noise – that stuff leads to enhanced situational awareness.

You know what’s going on around you without having to look.

The Officer Protection Package is designed to improve an officer’s situational awareness further. So when a cop is parked and working inside the vehicle, filling out incident reports or logging something into the computer system, the Officer Protection Package makes use of the car’s ParkSense rear park assist system and ParkView rear backup camera to warn the officer if anyone is behind the vehicle.

The InterMotive portion of all this is a module plugged into the OBDII port. The module itself, the brain box of the operation, is secured under the dash. When the officer turns the thing on, the reverse sensors will be activated. If something comes across the sensor’s field of view, a chime will sound to warn the officer. This allows them to check behind the vehicle via the camera display. The system is also smart enough to lock all the doors, roll up the front windows, and will also flash the taillights.

Handy, no? It’s sort of like cars that automatically lock your doors for you when you hit 10 mph or leave the headlights on for 30 seconds so you can find your house keys.

The Officer Protection Package is already in the hands of “dealers” (i.e. fleet sales people have them in stock), and can be easily installed by the law enforcement agency’s motor pool mechanics, if departments want to go that route (think of slightly older cars and stuff like that).

The Officer Protection Package is available on all 2017 and future Dodge Charger Pursuit orders.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

Photos & Source: FCA US LLC

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2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel Delivers Unprecedented Fuel Economy

Those looking for a fuel efficient car this year might be literally blown away by the 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel Sedan. The car delivers an EPA-estimated 52 miles per gallon on the highway, the highest highway fuel economy of any non-hybrid/non-EV in America.

While that number is impressive, The 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel is actually part of a larger initiative by the automaker.

“Chevrolet is dedicated to offering customers a wide range of propulsion options,” said Steven Majoros, Director of Chevrolet Marketing.

Transmission Options

Based upon the EPA highway estimate, the 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel with the six-speed manual transmission can travel over 700 miles on a single tank of fuel. The six-speed manual returns an EPA-estimated city mileage of 30 with 37 combined. A new, highly optimized Hydra-Matic nine-speed automatic transmission is also available. When equipped with the latter, EPA estimates are 31/47 city/highway and 37 combined.

Engine & Emissions

The 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel Sedan is powered by an Ecotec 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder turbo-diesel. It creates a solid 137 horsepower (102 kW) and 240 lb-ft. of torque (325 Nm). Chevrolet received a passing grade from the U.S. government for the engine, meeting the strictest environmental standards for validation, including Tier 3 Bin 125 emissions standards.

The vehicle also includes start/stop technology for additional fuel conservation.

Connectivity & Pricing

The 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel comes with a variety of infotainment options too, including things like the available OnStar with 4G LTE connectivity and built-in Wi-Fi hotspot. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also available and compatible with the Chevrolet MyLink system. Last year, Chevy owners took full advantage of such connectivity and tipped the scales on data usage.

Pricing starts at $24,670 including the $875 destination charge. The 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel Hatch will follow the Cruze Diesel Sedan later this year, but arrive as a 2018 model.

“We know customers are looking for the right combination of fuel efficiency, driving dynamics, and more,” Majoros added. “With the EPA-estimated 52-mpg highway Cruze Diesel Sedan, they can get it all.”

Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.

Photos & Source: Chevrolet

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Chevy Redline Editions Announced

At the Chicago Auto Show, Chevrolet announced the introduction of the Redline special edition series. And by special edition, they mean slapping some badges and trim onto cars. Specifically, the Redline special edition is offered on nine Chevrolet cars, trucks, and crossovers, and Redline is the broadest cross-portfolio special edition ever offered by the brand.

And that, honestly, is saying a lot. Because making these half-baked “special editions” is something all American car companies have been doing ad nauseum since time immemorial.

Chevy’s Redline offerings come with black wheels with red hash marks, black nameplates with a red outline, blacked-out grilles, and black Chevrolet bowtie logos.

There’s more doo-dads and gee-gaws affixed here and there, depending on the model. The Silverado and Colorado Redline pickups have red tow hooks, for example, while the Camaro Redline gets black hash marks above the wheels. Chevy says it’s a design cue taken from their long heritage in motorsports, but everyone usually just calls them Grand Sports Stripes.

The various packages are offered on the Cruze LT (both sedan and hatchback), the Malibu LT, the Camaro LT/SS (both coupe and convertible), and Chevy’s crossover platform rides: Trax LT, Equinox LT, and Traverse Premier. For the trucks, it’s Colorado LT, Silverado Double Cab LT Z71, and Crew Cab LTZ Z71.

This whole idea of the Redline special edition has been knocking around since the 2015 SEMA Show in Los Vegas. Chevy says since everyone loved it so much at SEMA, they decided to make a production run and expand the Redline editions to cover nine vehicles in their car, truck, and crossover segments.

Brian Sweeney, U.S. Vice President of Chevrolet shard his views.

“Redline is another example of Chevrolet bringing SEMA concepts to showrooms. The SEMA show has proven to be a great way to identify customization trends in the industry, and quickly apply those trends to our most popular Chevrolet models. Based on the strong interest Redline attracted at the show, we believe they will be very popular with customers looking for standout cars, trucks, and crossovers,” he said.

No word specifically on how much the Redlines will run you, but you know, most of these things are never too terribly expensive. Silverado Redlines are the first available but orders can be placed at Chevrolet dealerships now for others in the lineup. All Redline vehicles will be available for purchase by the end of 2017.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

Chevy Redline Edition Gallery

Photos & Source: Chevrolet

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