Google Seeks Partners for Self-Driving Car Production

Google Seeks Partners for Self-Driving Car Production
Honda UK, Toyota UK Face Off on Twitter
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Teaser Confirms Geneva Debut
Range Rover NW8 Comes Together as Abbey Road Tribute
Tesla Model X goes All-Wheel Drive Only
Top 10 Cars of the 2015 Detroit Auto Show

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Google is busy developing its self-driving car technology and is looking for partners to help bring it to market.

The internet giant is in talks with the world's largest automakers and suppliers to speed up its push to bring a fully autonomous car to the mass market. The first fleet of Google cars that will being testing on public roads this year were manufactured by Roush.

Suppliers that Google has contacted include Bosch, ZF Lenksysteme, Continental and Roush. Automakers that Google has contacted reportedly include General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG.

Google says that it expects its autonomous car to be ready for production in 5 years time, putting them in line with Nissan which also has a 2020 goal of releasing a self-driving car.

Regulatory problems with autonomous vehicles are seen as one of the major issues in the way of getting self-driving cars on the roads, but Google says it sees no issues in particular. The company also says that it has been keeping the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration up-to-date on everything happening with the project to make sure there are no surprises when the car is ready to be sold to the public.

[Source: Automotive News]

Honda UK, Toyota UK Face Off on Twitter

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Disclaimer: this isn't newsworthy. At all. It's just entertaining and I couldn't resist rounding it all up. OEM social media accounts that understand how to have fun are like the hidden packages in Grand Theft Auto.

[View the story "Cheeky Battle Breaks Out Between OEM Twitter Accounts" on Storify]

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Teaser Confirms Geneva Debut

Aston Martin will be showing off a road-going version of its Vantage GT3 race car at the upcoming 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

Range Rover NW8 Comes Together as Abbey Road Tribute

Land Rover has just debuted the third and final "Inspired by Britain" special edition Range Rover Evoque.

Tesla Model X goes All-Wheel Drive Only

Tesla has quietly offered up new information on its upcoming crossover.

Top 10 Cars of the 2015 Detroit Auto Show

You might have heard that the Detroit economy is on the upswing and so is the North American International Auto Show.

Nissan Close to Ending Range Anxiety: Exec

For drivers of electric vehicles, running out of juice on the road is a serious concern that has come to be known as range anxiety.

Acura Plans for More Powerful NSX Variants

Acura unveiled its second-generation NSX hybrid sports car this week in Detroit with relatively few details about performance.

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Teaser Confirms Geneva Debut

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Aston Martin will be showing off a road-going version of its Vantage GT3 race car at the upcoming 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

Although the brand hinted as much in a recent teaser video, Aston's PR Manager tweeted a new teaser image of the car with the caption, "Geneva 2015," confirming that the high-performance variant of the Vantage will bow at the show in Geneva.

As would be expected from a race car, the Vantage GT3 should be about 220-pounds lighter than the Vantage S while the 5.9-liter V12 will likely be tuned to make more power than the current 565 hp. Being born on the racetrack also means that the GT3 will sport plenty of aerodynamics bits to increase downfoce including a large rear wing.

Discuss this story at our luxury lifestyle forum

Range Rover NW8 Comes Together as Abbey Road Tribute

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Land Rover has just debuted the third and final "Inspired by Britain" special edition Range Rover Evoque.

Called the NW8, the new Evoque is a tribute to Abbey Road and joins the SW1 Monochrome and SW1 Color special editions. The name NW8 refers to the postal code preface used for North Western London addresses in and around the Abbey Road area.

The NW8 will only be available painted white with a red roof, side view mirrors and badging. The 20-inch wheels, side vents, grille and bumper inserts all receive black paint while the headlights and fog lights get a darker tint.

Inside, a choice of Taurus leather Ebony seats with Pimento perforated inserts or Ebony seats with perforated Ebony inserts will be offered. Of course, as this is a special edition, embroidered headrests are standard equipment along with a red rotary driver selector and steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. To finish off the custom interior, a white gear lever insert with red graphics is also included.

Aside from barefooted Beatles crossing the street, Abbey Road is known for the large zebra crossing adorning the aforementioned bands album cover. Land Rover has included this design detail into the special edition Evoque with wide stripes plastered on the tread plates, seat tags and key fob.

To ensure the Range Rover Evoque NW8 remains exclusive, only 1,000 examples of this special edition will be built worldwide.

Tesla Model X goes All-Wheel Drive Only

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Tesla has quietly offered up new information on its upcoming crossover.

The Model X will be offered with Tesla's dual-motor all-wheel drive setup as standard equipment, a technology that was recently added to the brand's Model S sedan. Posted on its consumer website, Tesla also confirmed that three different powertrain variants will be available: a 60 kWh, 85 kWh, and 85 kWh Performance package.

Two electric motors, one on the front axle and another on the rear, will power the Model X, using Tesla's constantly variable torque split system to route power to the appropriate wheels.

Range for the new Model X should be close to what is found in the Model S, sitting around 300 miles with the 85 kWh battery.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that the first Model X crossovers are expected to be shipped to customers this summer.

Tesla also reconfirmed that the "Falcon Wing" doors will be present when the Model X reaches production. "These doors fold up and out of the way allowing easy access to the third row seat, even from the narrowest of parking spaces," says the website.

Discuss this story at our Tesla forum

Top 10 Cars of the 2015 Detroit Auto Show

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You might have heard that the Detroit economy is on the upswing and so is the North American International Auto Show.

You could say the COBO Center just got a mid-cycle refresh and as you can guess it's bigger, better and more efficient (sort of) than ever before. But time is short and what you really care about is inside, so what are you waiting for?

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Car Reviews

Thursday, 15 January 2015