Fiat is Making its Cars Cheaper for 2017

Fiat is Making its Cars Cheaper for 2017
We Got a Ride in Ford’s Self-Driving Prototype. Here’s How it Went
2016 Hyundai Tucson Recalled for Acceleration Issue
Volvo Reveals Rugged V90 Cross Country
Hacker Uncovers Tesla Model S Crash Recording Function
2018 Ford Expedition Going Aluminum to Shed Pounds

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Fiat is cutting prices by at least five percent for most of its 2017 lineup to try and spur growth at the small car brand.

The 2017 500 Pop model, which is the most basic 500, will now cost $14,995, a cut of more than $1,000 compared to its original price from back in 2011. For the mid-level Lounge model, the price has been cut by $2,000, while the sport-focused Abarth is now $2,580 less than the previous model.

Fiat is also adding content to its small car lineup. For example, the brand is installing features like heated leather seats, a premium BeatsAudio sound system and 6.5-inch touchscreen with navigation on the 500L Trekking, which will see its price cut by one percent this year.

Overall, the brand is looking to simplify its offerings and will only have three trim levels available per vehicle rather than the 10 or more available on the current 500.

FCA as a whole is moving aways from small cars with the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 both getting the axe. Adding value is clearly Fiat's strategy for keeping its small cars moving from dealer lots.

[Source: Automotive News]

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We Got a Ride in Ford’s Self-Driving Prototype. Here’s How it Went

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Have you heard of the Ford GT?

It's a sexy, mid-engined supercar that went racing and won its class in the grueling 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race. Maybe you've heard of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 or the Ford Focus RS? All these cars have high-horsepower motors and a focus on driver engagement and speed. In case it's not clear yet, it seems like Ford doesn't like being left behind.

While these fast cars may be appealing to enthusiasts, the real future of the company is in autonomous driving. It's a big bet for the company and it's not the only one gambling on technology that seems plucked out of sci-fi. Not only are other automakers also trying to figure out self-driving cars, but the cleverest minds in computer hardware, software and artificial intelligence are working on it, too. Google, Apple, Tesla and Amazon among many others have tons of money and brainpower invested into figuring out how cars will drive themselves without human intervention.

Ford has the same idea. The automaker has a goal of delivering a Level 4 self-driving car by 2021 for ride-sharing applications. In order to achieve Level 4 designation, the cars will feature no steering wheel or pedals.

There are about four elements in play when it comes to self-driving cars: the technology behind the systems, the regulations, the economics behind these vehicles, and the adoption of them. The first of those, the technology, is what we can experience right now.

Ford has a number of self-driving prototypes that we had a chance to test during a recent event at the automaker's Dearborn campus. They're just like any other Ford Fusion Hybrid you've seen before, but fitted with a number of compact sensors and packed full of advanced computers. They're also driving on public roads. While the sensors are a big part of the self-driving recipe, so are maps. These self-driving cars feature a detailed map that includes stop signs, speed limits, crosswalks, intersections and other static information.

The car also features cameras, radar and LIDAR (a system like radar but uses light instead of radio waves). The radar and LIDAR help paint a thorough three-dimensional map in real time around the car, which is compared to that previously mentioned static map. The cameras are passive and are used to recognize pedestrians, traffic lights and other things that aren't detected by the other sensors.

The Ride

My test ride around the Ford campus was great in terms of showing the capabilities of the self-driving system. But, to put it bluntly, it was boring. Fortunately, I had two Ford engineers who were great at explaining exactly what was going on.

The car drives like a very smooth but cautious driver, pretty much how I drive whenever my parents are in the car. It takes no risks when making a left-hand turn through an intersection. It carefully (and quickly) calculates how far away the oncoming car is and decides whether it will edge into the middle of the intersection to wait out the traffic and complete the turn, or wait for a bigger gap in traffic. The car I was in decided to wait the traffic out for a whole light signal cycle, something a human driver would never to.

It maintains the speed limit during the drive, coolly ignoring the Dodge Charger tailgating it. It notices pedestrians coming up to a stop sign intersection and stops to let them pass. Actually, at one point, a pedestrian wanted the car to go first, but the car's lack of speech and body language meant that everyone in the car had to motion for the pedestrian to cross first. Who knows what was going on in that pedestrian's head, and who knows if in 20 years that same interaction would be as quirky.

Interestingly, the car did have a slight hiccup during my ride. While driving through an empty road, the car suddenly applied the brakes and slowed down. The engineers chuckled a bit as the car didn't come to a stop, but cautiously passed what it thought was an obstacle. It could have been a shadow, or maybe a pothole, but it was clear to everyone in the car that there wasn't anything dangerous on the road. The engineers said this was the second time that the car had noticed something in this specific spot, and that they'll analyze the data, which is being constantly recorded through the trip, to find out what could have triggered the sudden deceleration.

It was a minor mistake, and had I been riding with a human behind the wheel, it'd be one that probably would have gone unnoticed. People can be distracted by everything: the phone buzzing in the cupholder, the passengers in the rear seats, the fluffy dog walking alongside its owner down the street or even the radio playing your favorite tunes. In this case, the car was distracted by something its sensors or data found, and that information is supposed to be pure and unbiased. I'd consider it an honest mistake, but if such a mistake led to more drastic issues, we'd be saying something far more critical. This is definitely an issue Ford has to sort out before its autonomous cars become mainstream.

On the topic of gathering data and sensors, Ford is quick to point out that its LIDAR will be getting a serious upgrade in the near future. Velodyne, the supplier of these sensors, is set to deliver a unit that has a range of 200 meters, while also being smaller. In addition to all these sensors, the car's computing system is beefed up, too, a necessity in order to process all this real-time data.

There's no doubt that self-driving cars are coming and the technology is already here and being improved upon. What's next is adoption, and while recent polls show that most Americans are skeptical of autonomous vehicles, Ford is still promising self-driving taxis for 2021, and Uber is currently testing its own self-driving program. Regulations are another hurdle, and one that's being handled by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Association. NHTSA is drafting a set of guidelines that will help in designing and ensuring safety on the roads. Finally, there's the cost of these self-driving cars. All those sensors and computers won't come cheap, but they'll improve and get more affordable over time.

It's interesting to see all the different aspects involved in self-driving vehicles, but the advantages are all there. The technology can reduce traffic, improve safety on the roads and even mitigate the need to even purchase a car, but a lot of development still has to be done before it becomes mainstream. While Ford is leading the race on the tracks and winning the hearts of enthusiasts thanks to cars like the Ford Focus RS, Shelby Mustang and that awesome Ford GT, the company also doesn't want to be left behind in the upcoming autonomous age.

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2016 Hyundai Tucson Recalled for Acceleration Issue

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The 2016 Hyundai Tucson is being recalled to address a software issue that could disable acceleration.

Affecting about 41,000 units in the U.S., the issue is caused by a fault in the Tucson's transmission control module that is supplied by Dymos Incorporated. Responsible for controlling the gear shifts on the Tucson's seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the module is being affected by warm weather causing it to malfunction.

"In higher ambient temperatures and specific operating conditions, the transmission clutch application logic can result in a delayed engagement when accelerating from a stop," said documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "If the accelerator pedal is steadily depressed for approximately 1.5 to 2 seconds, the vehicle will begin to accelerate and normal driving is resumed. However, if the accelerator pedal is repeatedly cycled, the vehicle will not accelerate."

SEE ALSO: 2016 Hyundai Tucson Review

If the software disables acceleration of the vehicle, it could potentially increase the risk of an accident. Hyundai is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue.

The affected vehicles were built between May 20, 2015 and May 31, 2016 and equipped with a seven-speed EcoShift dual-clutch transmission. To resolve the issue, Hyundai dealers will reprogram the transmission's computer.

The recall also affects 7,049 units in Canada.

Discuss this story on our Hyundai Forum

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Volvo Reveals Rugged V90 Cross Country

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Volvo has revealed the new V90 Cross Country, a car that taps into 20 years of the Cross Country brand, Volvo's off-road capable wagon.

This latest Cross Country will get a 65mm (2.5 inch) bump in ride height compared to the regular V90, giving it a total of 210mm (8.2 inches) of ground clearance,

The V90 Cross Country also gets a BorgWarner Gen 5 all-wheel-drive system, capable of sending up to 50% of the power to the back wheels. The system also always sends power to all wheels when it starts from a stop, to provide the best acceleration possible.

Apart from the height, the Cross Country's distinguishing visual feature will be the plastic cladding around the wheel arches. It will also feature tires specially designed for the car's off-road capabilities.

The four-wheel-drive system will work in conjunction with an off-road driving mode that's only available on the Cross Country and the XC90.

"We were very careful from the very beginning to ensure that the Cross Country concept was not just an exercise in rugged styling," says Dr Peter Mertens, Volvo's Senior VP, in a statement. "We placed high demands on real-world capability, and as we developed the segment we added the comfort and convenience elements that Volvo drivers have come to expect."

Despite that capability, though, the V90 Cross Country won't give up on a luxurious interior.

The V90 Cross Country "will continue the genuine tradition of the Volvo Cross Country with a new recipe: The blend of powerful off-road capability in a most elegant, sophisticated, tailored wagon suit," says Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Cars, in a press release.

The V90 Cross Country will come with two four-cylinder gas engines, and two four-cylinder diesels. These will produce between 190hp and 320hp. They can send power through a six speed manual or an eight speed automatic gearbox. No word yet on which of these will be available in America, but the chances of seeing a diesel on this side of the Atlantic are poor.

Production is set to begin this fall at Volvo's Torslanda Plant in Sweden.

This article originally appeared on Swedespeed.com

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Hacker Uncovers Tesla Model S Crash Recording Function

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This week a North Carolina computer programmer proved he'd discovered a previously not-known-about crash camera function in a Tesla Model S that records events from a collision.

The system uses the camera eye to capture imagery that could be considered evidence for Tesla cars that suffer an air-bag deploying crash, but the function found by a hacker has never been disclosed by either Tesla or federal authorities.

Described to Inverse, the discovered functionality – presumably also equipped in the Model X – was made by Jason Hughes, a Tesla owner and tinkerer, who hacked into a salvaged center display unit he bought to access the car's last moments on the road.

Hughes tweeted a clip of the Tesla's last fatal seconds after its driver opted to go through a yellow light at 57 mph and met a white Acura nearly head on as the Acura turned left in front of it.

The image shows, he said, what appears to be a violation of the Tesla's right of way by the white Acura, but like memories in a corpse, the image was found in the remains of a ruined car, unbeknownst to anyone.

Hughes' sleuth work to hack into the system began when he suspected a data dump must occur when an Emergency Braking event occurs.

"I kind of knew what I was looking for, since I had messed with it on my own car," Hughes said to Inverse. "It's not too terribly difficult. You have to basically gain root access to the MCU, and such. Tesla's likely going to make that more difficult. I won't say it's simple, but it's not impossible."

Out of necessity, the quality of the otherwise clear-enough image is very low, said Hughes.

SEE ALSO: Fatal Tesla Model S Crash in China Blamed on Autopilot

"It has to send these messages over the CAN bus very quickly to save them from the camera to the MCU [Media Control Unit]," Hughes said to Inverse, "so they have to be dumbed-down resolution so that they can actually make it to the MCU before anything bad happens to it in a crash."

The data transfer appears to take place when the airbags deploy, and the lag time is still "about 20 seconds."

In the case of the May death of the driver of an Autopilot equipped Model S in Florida, Hughes surmises the sudden decapitation of that Model S at 74 mph after striking a semi trailer left insufficient time for that event to be recorded.

Not said, but true as well is that car's driver, Joshua D. Brown, was reported to have never touched the brakes, so no Emergency Braking event occurred. Ultimately however, it's unclear if the crash cam function might have still worked after the collision and airbag deployment.

As true of the function itself, Tesla has not reported whether this is the case, and neither have federal authorities who have been investigating the crash. Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been involved after the crash which garnered much public attention, and led to an update for the Autopilot system.

While dash cams are becoming increasingly popular, it appears Tesla for reasons known to itself chose to double up the use of the camera eye used in the Autopilot function for this last bit of forensic evidence, but then keep it to itself.

It's believed many more benign crashes at least therefore do have evidence stored in them that is not disclosed, and that can even die with the car, assuming it is totaled and salvaged.

As for the unit Hughes found and cracked into, its images might have been useful to know about, had the driver known about it.

"In this case," Hughes said, "it's obvious to me that the car making the left turn jumped in front of the Model S. I think that would've been useful in their insurance claim."

This article originally appeared on Hybridcars.com

[Source: Inverse]

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2018 Ford Expedition Going Aluminum to Shed Pounds

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The next-generation Ford Expedition, due to hit the market in 2017 as a 2018 model year vehicle, will use aluminum body panels to help save weight.

The brand confirmed the news to its investors, along with its plan to introduce four all-new SUVs in the near future to further capitalize on the hot segment.

Moving to an aluminum body will help the Expedition shed several hundred pounds, therefore increasing fuel efficiency. Currently, only the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is available with Ford's large SUV, and though nothing was mentioned by the brand about powerplants, it would make sense for Ford to offer it with at least the small 2.7-liter EcoBoost available in the F-150.

Ford wants to challenge GM in the large SUV market, where its Expedition is outsold by the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban. Through August 2016, the two Chevy nameplates have combined for just over 14,000 units sold while Ford's SUV has seen just over 5,000 units moved.

Discuss this story at our Ford Forum

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Car Reviews

Thursday, 15 September 2016