Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Nissan’s Strange Obsession with Autonomous Chairs Strikes Again

Nissan’s Strange Obsession with Autonomous Chairs Strikes Again

Nissan’s Strange Obsession with Autonomous Chairs Strikes Again

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Nissan is starting to show its love for autonomous chairs.

After unveiling the self-parking office chair earlier this year, the Japanese automaker has introduced the ProPILOT Chair, named after the company's flagship autonomous driving technology. Like the driving technology found in Nissan's vehicles, the ProPILOT Chair detects and automatically follows the chair ahead of it, maintaining a fixed distance while travelling along a set path. Designed to appeal to those that have had to wait in line for hours outside a crowded restaurant, the ProPILOT Chair essentially eliminates the tedium and physical strain of standing in line.

SEE ALSO: Over-Engineering Award Goes to Nissan's Creepy Self-Parking Office Chair

The company is conducting plenty of real-world testing with the chair and between now and December 27, restaurants across Japan can apply to use the chairs by tweeting their name and website along with the hashtags #NissanProPilotChair #Wanted. The chairs will appear at selected restaurants starting next year, but in the meantime, people can check it out from September 29 through October 2 at the public gallery at Nissan's Global Headquarters in Yokohama.

Nissan's ProPILOT driving technology is currently only available in Japan on the redesigned Serena.

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class Facelift Caught Testing on AMG S63 Variant

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More details on the upcoming Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift have surfaced.

First spied testing earlier this year, photographers have now caught both the standard S-Class model and the Mercedes-AMG S63 testing in Southern Europe. The latest prototypes now sport the new tail lights with updated graphics as well as a camouflaged rear bumper. Up front, the new bumper is still heavily camouflaged on both the standard and S63 models, but we get a clearer picture on how the headlights will look on the standard model.

SEE ALSO: Mercedes S-Class Spied Inside and Out with New E-Class Tech

The AMG prototype being tested appears to be an early one, since the current headlights are still being used. As a result, for now, only the bumpers are camouflaged for the high-performance variant.

An earlier leaked roadmap revealed that the facelifted S-Class is planned for release by mid-2017.

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Buick Envision is First Chinese-Built Vehicle in IIHS Crash Testing, Scores Top Marks

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The new Chinese-built Buick Envision has been given the highest accolade possible from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Named a Top Safety Pick Plus, the Buick Envision is the first Chinese-built vehicle to be tested by the agency ever. With top 'good' ratings in the small overlap, moderate overlap, front crash, side crash and head restraint tests along with an 'advanced' rating for its Front Automatic Braking, the Envision took the top honor. The Envision's standard Forward Collision Alert system earned a basic rating.

When equipped with the automatic braking feature, the Envision avoided a collision at 12 mph during testing while a reduction of 9 mph was recorded when the Envision was run into something at 25 mph.

SEE ALSO: 2016 Buick Envision to Start at $43K

The only area the Envision didn't score the best marks was in how easy its child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware is to use. It was rated 'marginal' in this area.

Watch the Envision go through its IIHS crash testing below.

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Nissan Plots Compact EV Smaller Than Leaf

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Nissan, like so many other automakers, is planning to bolster its all-electric vehicle lineup. 

According to Auto Express, the Japanese brand is planning a compact electric vehicle based on the Renault Zoe, a small electric vehicle that can currently run about 90 miles on a single charge. A Nissan executive also said that electrified SUVs and crossovers are being investigated.

SEE ALSO: Nissan Leaf, Sentra Recalled to Address Airbag Issue

"We've invested $5.4bn (£4.1bn) in electric cars such as the Leaf, so we need to ensure we're satisfying as many types of customer as possible," said the head of Nissan's EV program in Europe. "In Europe, that could mean looking towards B-segment hatches [Ford Fiesta size] and SUVs or crossovers."

The Nissan Leaf will be continued into a next generation and will likely keep its five-door hatchback style and proportions. Exactly what the crossover could be is a mystery, though if a small electric subcompact arrives from Nissan, it will likely be based on the Zoe.

[Source: Auto Express]

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Audi S8 Spied Lurking Near the Nurburgring

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The next-generation Audi S8 has been spied testing for the very first time.

Spy photographers caught the Audi S8 prototype testing near the Nurburgring, just like the Audi S7 last week. Expected to debut sometime late next year, the new S8 will pack plenty of high-tech features including Piloted Driving. Under the hood, it is likely that the Audi S8 will turn to the same powerplant found in the Porsche Panamera 4S, which is a 2.9-liter V6 with 440 horsepower.

Although it is still heavily camouflaged, we can see that the luxury sedan sports massive brakes and wheels, as well as sportier bumpers than the standard A8, which has also been caught on camera by spy photographers.

SEE ALSO: Next-Gen Audi A8 Debuting in 2017 with Piloted Driving

The next-generation Audi A8 will make its debut in 2017, ahead of the high-performance S8 variant. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler confirmed earlier this year that the A8 will be the German automaker's first series-produced car capable of driving itself. It won't be a fully autonomous vehicle, however, but Audi's system will be a traffic jam pilot and will be able to drive itself temporarily on the highway at speeds up to 37 mph (60 km/h).

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Nissan Teams with Microsoft on Connected Car Tech

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Technology giant Microsoft has joined up with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to develop next-generation automotive technology. 

Microsoft will connect Nissan's future cars using its Azure intelligent cloud, allowing the vehicles to have advanced navigation, predictive maintenance, remote monitoring of car features and over-the-air updates.

"Partnering with Microsoft allows us to accelerate the development of the associated key technologies needed to enable scenarios our customers want and build all-new ones they haven't even imagined," said Ogi Redzic, Renault-Nissan Alliance senior vice-president of connected vehicles.

SEE ALSO: 2017 Nissan GT-R Track Edition Hits European Streets

Features developed with Microsoft will also support the launch of Nissan's self-driving cars, which the brand still plans to market by 2020.

Nissan lists seven specific ways that the partnership will improve the ownership experience. First is how customizable future cars will be thanks to information inputted and collected from the driver. Productivity will be up according to Nissan thanks to new connectivity features, while over-the-air updates will allow for new software to be added to the cars at any time.

Easy ways to communicate are another focus of the partnership, as is monitoring your car from a distance using a smart phone or similar device. Vehicle protection will be upgraded thanks to Geofencing, a technology that allows the car to send notifications when it enters or exits a predefined area or route.

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