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JLR’s Rebranding Exercise Drops Land Rover As An Individual Brand

Having been around for 75 years, Land Rover is a brand name that is recognisable all over the world. Its original Defender model had a highly recognisable shape which is embedded in the brand’s design DNA. It is associated with 4×4 vehicles in the same way as Jeep and in fact, spread further around the world than the American brand.

In spite having periods of difficulty at different times in its history, Land Rover soldiered on like the tough vehicles it has produced. Although it can lay claim to having given the world the first premium SUV – the Range Rover – back in 1970, it only truly entered the premium segment when the 21^st century began.

The success of the Range Rover in the premium segment led to the company establishing its name as a brand on its own around 10 years ago. The Range Rover brand would be for the premium models while Land Rover would be for models like the Freelander, Discovery and Defender.

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Waze Can Now Be Installed in Latest Volvos As Part Of Infotainment System

Many motorists today use GPS route guidance systems like Waze and Google Maps to not only find their way around but also have an idea of the traffic conditions (as well as where they might be stopped for ‘interviews’). The two apps are readily available on smartphones and it also possible to mirror them on the infotainment system in many new cars.

But the apps still remain as part of the smartphone and either you refer to it while you drive or you see it on the dashboard display. Generally, it’s good enough but Volvo has gone one step further by making it possible to install Waze as part of the car’s infotainment system. The app has been added to their in-car library and can be downloaded from today.

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Genesis GV60 Uses Facial Recognition Technology For Unlocking Doors

For decades, motorists had to insert a key in the door (or handle) of a car to unlock it for entry. During the 1980s, the key became unnecessary as central locking systems allowed for remote unlocking at the press of a button on a fob.

Then pressing on the fob became unnecessary as a sensor on the door handle could trigger the unlocking process (provided the fob was on the body of the person as an identifier). Today, many cars – even entry-level models from Perodua and Proton – have this convenience of locking and unlocking doors.

Though Japanese in origin, the auto industry practices kaizen or ‘constant improvement’ and constantly looks for better ways of doing things or making things better. So even the unlocking of a car door can continue to undergo innovation and Genesis has introduced an even more advanced way of doing it – facial recognition.

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Nissan Arizon Concept – Designed By Chinese For China

While the global carmakers often talk of having a global network of design centres so that they can develop products better suited to the different markets around the world, it’s even better if there are designers who grew up in, live and work in the market a product is intended for. They would know best what customers want and needs that may be specific to local culture.

China, being the world’s largest car market, usually gets much attention from carmakers who want to sell as many cars as possible. In order to do so, the cars must be designed to suit local tastes closely. For example, some manufacturers understood that Chinese customers like longer cars and were willing to build long wheelbase variants just for the market.

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ID.NEXT – The Other New Volkswagen EV In Shanghai

The new Volkswagen ID.7 unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2023 has drawn a lot of attention with its impressive range of 700 kms as one of the strong points. Alongside the ID.7, Volkswagen China is also displaying another model for the biggest car market in the world – the ID.NEXT.

Although it seems to be an adaptation of the ID.7 (also called Vizzion for the China market), it has certain styling elements that are different. The lighting units, in particular, differ with the ID.NEXT, a name which was also used for a prototype in 2019.

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Limited Edition Huracans To Be Unveiled For Lamborghini’s 60th Anniversary

In conjunction with its 60th anniversary, Lamborghini will introduced three limited-edition variants of the Huracan.

60 units each of the Huracan STO, Huracan Tecnica and Huracan EVO Spyder will be unveiled on 21 April at an exclusive event as part of Milan Design Week alongside the Lamborghini Revuelto.

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