General Articles

An electrified engine for the Corvette 2020?

This week of July 2019 will have been especially marked by the official unveiling of the new Chevrolet Corvette C8 2020, the American sports car that abandons its front engine architecture in favor of a power plant now placed behind the occupants. In addition to all that this change of architecture implies, it is a question asked by the British magazine AutoCAD during the presentation which leaves some hope of seeing this new Corvette C8 possibly be proposed with a hybrid mechanics or even a hybrid system rechargeable. One of the members of the team assigned to the development of the C8 has even responded to the publication that it would not be inappropriate to talk about this type of engine on board the new sports.

In fact, the car has even been designed to accommodate a certain level of electrification on board, which suggests the addition of one or more liveries electrified in a year or two. The addition of one or more electric motors would also change the current configuration of the car that sends all the power to the rear drive wheels, as it should. The integration of electric technology could eventually turn the Corvette into a full-power supercar, a first in the history of the icon. It will be interesting to see if the integration of this technology will affect the weight distribution on board this new Corvette. Also remember that a few years ago, Chevrolet had reserved the name Corvette E-Ray, a name that points directly to an electrified motorization of the flagship car of the brand. Obviously, nothing has been confirmed about the electrification of this Corvette, but say that these statements collected by AutoCAD do nothing to silence this electrifying rumor!

More than 300 horses for the Cadillac XT4-V?

The Cadillac XT4 has been in service for just under a year on our roads. The luxury builder could not resist this mode of small crossovers, the XT4 which came to lend a hand to the most imposing XT5, the category in which fits the smaller of the two which is very popular for some years, it must be outdoor car cover.

However, from the launch, Cadillac was very clear: a version V would eventually be added to the XT4 range, and it seems that engineers are working on its development. According to the Cadillac Society website, the Cadillac XT4-V (or V-Sport) could be equipped with the 2.7-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine recently unveiled under the hood of the Chevrolet Silverado. With an estimated power of 320 horsepower and a maximum torque of 369 lb-ft, the compact utility would have what it takes to compete with the more dynamic models of the segment and that’s without counting the adjustments provided to this tattooed livery of the V.

We can think of a more aggressive braking system, an adjustable suspension with Sport mode and even a less restrictive exhaust system. The nine-speed automatic transmission may remain on the program, with logical reprogramming to accommodate under-the-hood power gain, while all-wheel drive is a requirement onboard such a model. As for the dress of this future XT4 more “spicy”, it may be the image of other models reworked by the wing V of the brand. It is still a little early to know more about this future Cadillac XT4-V and it is possible that this 2.7-liter engine is not retained for the production version of the vehicle. Fortunately, the wait should not be too long, as everything indicates that the official unveiling of this alternative performance model should take place somewhere in 2020.

Turo’s value has exceeded one billion dollars

The US carpool company Turo has just crossed the billion dollar mark thanks to its latest round of financing. Turo, formerly Relay Rides, was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in June 2010. The company offers a car-sharing service by individuals (peer-to-peer) to rent a private car, in short an “Airing” for cars Today, 9 years later, the American company has nearly 400,000 cars to share and a community of more than 10 million guests and guests. In the last two years, it has doubled compared to the previous year. On the other hand, recently launched international markets (United Kingdom and Germany) recorded an 8-fold increase over the previous year. The start-up’s latest fundraising campaign raised $ 250 million from IAC, an Internet media company that has proven itself with growing businesses. The foundation pushes Turo to “surpass the $ 1 billion valuation mark,” according to company CEO Andre Haddad in the blog article published today.

How Turo works

Turo is as simple as searching, booking and driving. First, you go to their website, create a new account and then search for a city, an airport, an address or a hotel to get a list of available cars. Once the car choice is completed, you reserve it and then meet the owner of the car at a predetermined location. Finally, simply enjoy your time with the vehicle until you have to return it. To start a car search for your next trip, visit Turo.com and book the type of vehicle that’s right for you.

Techno: Lexus Safety System +2.0

As we know, safety is at the heart of the concerns of manufacturers, especially manufacturers of luxury cars. However, they often offer a range of driver assistance technologies grouped under one name and offered as standard in most if not all models in the range. At Lexus, this grouping is called Lexus Safety System + 2.0. Marketing is there, but it does not detract from the technologies that are found in the group. We have a right to a new generation of this system, especially in the new Lexus ES 2019.

Protection against bikes

Among the novelties of the LSS + 2.0 systems is a preclusion system able to detect bikes during the day. In other words, the device can break for you if a bike suddenly cuts you off the road and brake for vehicles braking in front of you, vehicles on the opposite side of the road, and pedestrians. LSS + 2.0 can also slow down for you if a pedestrian is detected at night. ES 2019 also offers a two-step high beam assistance system. Thus, we get optimal visibility without blinding the approaching car. LSS + 2.0 also include a lane departure prevention system, an adaptive radar speed controller and a lane departure warning system.