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Production begins in Belgium for XC40

Production of the first ever Volvo compact SUV, the XC40, has just started in Belgium. The newest addition to the Swedish automaker’s line-up is being assembled at its Ghent plant. It’s one of two manufacturing sites that the automaker has in Europe and it has been operational since 1965.

Extensive retooling and modifications were conducted to accomdate the production of the XC40. In fact, a total of 363 robots have been installed including one that is nicknamed ‘The Beast’. This machine, is used to lift lower car bodies to a conveyor belt close to the ceiling of the plant.

“This is a proud day for Ghent, the company and all our employees here,” said Mr Samuelsson. “Our people have put in long days and many hours to prepare the plant for the start of XC40 production and they have done a great job. The XC40 represents a bright future for Ghent and for Volvo Cars.”

The modifications have also turned the facility into a global export hub for CMA-based cars, including an 8,000 square metre addition to the body shop. It will complement the other manufacturing site located in Volvo’s home country. The company also operates two vehicle manufacturing plants in China, while a US plant is still under construction.

The XC40 will join the rest of the family including the XC60 and XC90 on the production line at Gent, where they will probably need to ramp up production to fulfill the more than 13,000 bookings. Unlike its bigger siblings, the Xc40 is built on the CMA platform or Compact Modular Architecture. CMA will be used to underpin all future 40 series vehicles, moving forward.

It was joinly developed with Volvo’s parent company, Geely for necessary synergies and economies of scale for the small premium car segment. This type of technology, which is employed by other automakers as well, reduces the amount of time needed for a vehicle to go from, inception to production.

Chrysler 300 is the most wanted vehicle in the US

Modern muscle cars do not get the respect that they deserve because many prefer to ogle at their ancestors, specifically those from the 1960s and 1970s. Thankfully, the Chrysler 300, considered by many as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, has been recognized for all the right reasons.

The car has emerged as the winner of the Large Car segment in Edmunds’ Most Wanted awards. This competition recognizes vehicles that are the most in-demand based on sales, days-to-turn and shopper interest data.

Winners of each of the 17 categories are determined by analyzing data from the first nine months of 2017 for all models on sale during that period. Edmunds tabulates its site data and traffic to gauge, which vehicles garnered the most attention.

The rankings for each of these data sets were weighted equally to determine the winners in each segment. Unlike many other automotive competitions, Edmunds’ is based on pure data alone and not the subjective input of a panel of judges.

“Bold and aggressive, the Chrysler 300 stands out in a class of largely look-alike sedans, and its originality makes it one of the most popular large cars on the market,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis, Edmunds.

The Chrysler 300 is said to offer world-class performance, efficiency and quality. It is also equipped with cutting edge tech that include a sophisticated entertainment system. That said, its main party piece has to be its sweet sounding 5.7-litre HEMI V8 engine.

It isn’t the only powerplant offered however, there’s a more docile 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 available that produces decent amount of power. But it’s no match for its bigger and power powerful brother. The Chrysler 300 is a fan-favourite in the US and should continue to be that for quite a while.

New Aston Martin Vantage breaks convention

Aston Martin has finally revealed the newest member of its family, the latest Vantage. This sleek two seater picks up where its predecessor left off, offering a sleek silhouette and a healthy helping of power. Its design however, is a major departure from the automaker’s current design language. At 4465mm, the Vantage is 284mm shorter than the DB11, and is 34mm shorter than a Porsche 911.

The signature front grille receives far more real estate than before, it’s placed lower and has been integrated with the lower lip assembly. Gone are the familiar headlights and in its place, narrower ones that blend with the lines of the front fascia. Most prominent of the lot has to be the large swooping bonnet that looks like it stretches for miles.

From the side however, the shape isn’t that dissimilar from its predecessor, but the lower roof line and angular contours do add to the design’s depth. As far as the rear is concerned, you would be forgiven for mistaking the new Vantage for a Porsche, at first glance. The rear haunches, wedged shaped upper section and elongated LED taillights bear more than a passing resemblance to the 911.

On the inside, there’s a whole new interior, which is a breath of fresh air considering Aston rarely likes change. The car’s switchgear consoles are huddled together under the twin chrome-outlined air vents.The 8-inch LCD screen is responsible for controlling the audio, phone mirroring and navigation. A nice addition is the body-colour matching lower centre console, it and the leather inner door handle housing add to the car’s exclusive feel.

Under the bonnet is a 4.0-litre V8 twin turbo engine that develops close to 510bhp and 685Nm of torque. It’s a Mercedes-AMG unit that has been reworked by Aston Martin engineers to ensure that it delivers the same character and feel of engines that preceded it. Both its induction and exhaust systems have been reworked to produce the same visceral feel of the normally aspirated V8 in its predecessor.

The Merc sourced powerplant is mated to a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission that is rear mounted to help with weight distribution. It has specially developed software that allows for shorter and crispier gear changes as well as the refinement and practicality, which is beyond that of dual clutch gearboxes. As such, the Vantage is able to sprint from 0-100km/h in about 3.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 314km/h.

Aston Martin’s Chief Technical Officer, Max Szwaj, said, “As an automotive engineer the challenge is always the same: to achieve greater efficiency in every area of the car. With an unashamed sports car such as an all-new Aston Martin Vantage you have another challenge – the relentless pursuit of greater emotion and excitement. Not only have we massively improved the hardware of this new Vantage, we’ve invested it with true heart and soul.”

The suspension features a forged double wishbone arrangement at the front and a multi-link one at the rear. Thanks to adaptive damping, the car is able to understand and compensate for the driving conditions and driver needs through the use of several sensors. Four driver modes, Sport, Sport Plus and Track, alter the powertrain, transmission, suspension and steering systems to deliver the required output.

And for the first time on an Aston Martin, the Vantage is fitted with an electronic differential or E-Diff. Linked with the car’s electronic stability control, it is able to understand the car’s behaviour and shift power to the wheel that needs it most. Unlike conventional Limited Slip Differentials or LSDs, it can react in a matter of milliseconds. This improves the car’s cornering and handling capabilities.

Stopping power comes courtesy of ventilated two-piece 400mm cast-iron discs at the front, with ventilated 360mm discs at the rear, gripped by 6-piston front and 4-piston rear calipers. They offer decent stopping power for the 20-inch lightweight rims that are wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tyres.

The new Vantage is on sale now in the UK, Germany and the USA. Deliveries are scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2018. The car comes equipped with the latest tech and is bound to be a top seller.

Volvo to develop self-driving cars for Uber

Volvo has signed a framework agreement with Uber, which will see the ride-sharing company purchase several thousand vehicles between 2019 and 2021. This non-exclusive agreement will enhance the strategic partnership that was announced between the two parties back in August 2016.

These vehicles will be based on Volvo’s fully modular platform that it calls Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). It serves as a base for current and future vehicles from the Swedish automaker. Currently, it underpins cars the like the S90 series and the new XC60 SUV.

Since its scalable, SPA can be used to develop a variety of different Volvos from a compact hatchback to a full-blown SUV. Volvo claims that it is one of the most advanced car architectures in the world, but Volkswagen employ a similar strategy with its own modular platform.

Volvo’s engineers are working closely with those from Uber to jointly develop the XC90 to serve in the ride-sharing service’s car fleet. These base vehicles will be fitted with the necessary safety, redundancy and autonomous-driving technologies that will enable Uber to offer its customers a fully autonomous ride sharing service.

“The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology, and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive of Volvo Cars. “Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for AD ride-sharing service providers globally. Today’s agreement with Uber is a primary example of that strategic direction.”

https://youtu.be/vu-WRUvUWog

Despite this, Volvo isn’t handing over the ‘keys to the kingdom’ to Uber, instead it will be developing its own independent autonomous-car strategy. This will be parallel and unrelated to that of Uber’s, with solid plans of introducing Volvo’s first fully autonomous car in 2021.

Toyota’s touching mobility inspired video

Toyota will air a touching yet inspiring short promotional film in the US on NBCSN during the Winter Olympic Trials with an Olympic and Paralympic message that delivers hope and breaks new ground for Toyota. It aims to encapsulate the Japanese automaker’s evolution from being an automotive company to a mobility one.

The 1 minute long clip depicts the resilience of the human spirit and its ability to overcome almost insurmountable problems with the help of cutting edge tech. Throughout the video, several of Toyota’s machines that include electric wheel chairs, automated robots, assisted prosthetics and micro cars, can be seen improving the daily lives of those with mobility issues.

This film has been created as part of the company’s eight-year global sponsorship of The Olympic and Paralympic Games. The theme of this particular video is ‘Mobility For All’, and highlights the mobility stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and other individuals.

A total of 15 athletes are part of ‘Mobility For All’, including Tatyana McFadden, the world’s leading wheelchair racer, Brad Snyder, American Paralympic swimmer and former captain of the U.S. Naval Academy swim and Rami Anis, a swimmer from Syria, part of the Refugee Olympic Team.

According to the automaker, the latest video will be part of an entire series of short films that will be aired globally throughout The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. Each of them will based on inspirational stories and feature Toyota’s range of mobility products that include concepts and actual production vehicles.

Through them, Toyota wants people to know of its commitment to making the world a better place with the development of better mobility solutions. Like its rival Honda, the company is heavily invested in changing how we perceive personal transportation and revolutionize the concept to allow for a more sustainable future.

Honda wins big at KBB

Honda has bagged a number of new awards in North America, with the most notable of the lot being awarded to the 2018 Accord. It has been named Overall Best Buy of 2018 by Kelley Blue Book (KBB). It is one of 7 accolades that the Japanese automaker won from a total of 12 ‘Best Buy’ award categories.

According to the judges, the Accord bested the competition because it managed to outclass its rivals in all categories despite being considerably cheaper. Besides this, it also offers decent fuel consumption and features that offer the best bang for your buck.

The following is the full list of Honda vehicles that were recognized during the awards ceremony:

Overall Best Buy: 2018 Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car: 2018 Honda Accord
Small Car: 2018 Honda Civic
Electric/Hybrid Car: 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
Small SUV/Crossover: 2018 Honda CR-V
Midsize SUV/Crossover: 2018 Honda Pilot
Minivan: 2018 Honda Odyssey

Speaking of Honda’s latest achievements, Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda, said, “We’re exceptionally proud to have dominated this year’s Kelly Blue Book awards, which really reinforces our unique focus on individual car buyers and on delivering the best overall value.”

Honda’s reputation for building vehicles of decent quality with impressive reliability standards have won over many North American car buyers. Despite stiff competition from local and Japanese rivals, it still continues to win award after award.