Hasta La Gadget!

And the big ship begins to turn. Following an announcement on Monday that Ford plans to accelerate its hybrid and plug-in car development comes word that the automaker is investing $550 million to convert the Michigan Assembly Plant–formerly known as the Michigan Truck Plant–from truck and SUV production to a modern, flexible small car plant.

Following the transformation, the plant will produce both the next-generation Ford Focus as well as a zero-emissions, battery electric version of the car. The latter is being
developed in partnership with Magna International, and will showcase a
high-voltage electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery pack–one that can be charged simply by plugging in to a 110-volt or 220-volt outlet.

The company said in a statement that the $550 million investment will help support 3,200 manufacturing jobs. It also said it hopes to rub off some of the plant’s former high-profit magic during the 1990s SUV boom onto smaller, greener vehicle production throughout the next decade.

Just hours after General Motors put forth a proposal for a standardized plug for electric vehicles, in flies this. German energy firm RWE has stated that a cadre of respected automakers and energy firms have all come together in agreement on a three-point, 400-volt plug that will enable electric cars the world over to be recharged anywhere, regardless of which recharging station they stop at. Caroline Reichert, an RWE spokeswoman, noted that the idea here is to ensure that “a car can be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France.” We’re told that the agreement includes nods of acceptance from the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel, and while there’s no time frame for when it’ll be introduced, we’re pretty stoked to hear that at least something has been decided upon.

Filed under: Transportation

Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’ve seen dual view prototypes for ages now, but you can bank on said technology (dubbed Parallax Barrier) being front and center on Land Rover’s forthcoming flagship vehicle. Announced today at the New York Auto Show, the 2010 Range Rover will arrive with a 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system that puts off different images depending on the viewing angle. In order words, the driver can check out the route to grandma’s house while the lucky soul riding shotgun peeks a DVD — in theory, at least. The navigation system is HDD-based and also includes a USB socket and a dedicated iPod port. Land Rover even spruced up the voice activation system, giving motorists the ability to voice their concerns about climate and volume (and get instant results). Check the full snippet just past the break.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading 2010 Range Rover gets 12-inch ‘dual view’ touchscreen

Filed under: Displays, GPS, Transportation

2010 Range Rover gets 12-inch ‘dual view’ touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’re a long way from Ford and Microsoft’s EVA and her soothingly monotone stream of helpfulness, but it seems Ford is already prepping her for a dose of… feeling. The company has filed a patent called “Emotive Text-to-Speech System and Method” describing a system that can not only simulate emotion when reading out directions and describing traffic problems, but could also detect the emotion of the operator of the car and interact with them in ways designed to, oh, soothe a little road rage. The avatar is said to “appear to become frustrated” if the driver is a lead-foot, and may say “Your driving is hurting my fuel efficiency.” Or, if a driver is going too fast, the dash-bound assistant could turn blue, ask what’s wrong, and suggest a more direct route to their destination. It all sounds terrifically annoying, and we can only hope this disembodied nag will be a little easier to deactivate than 2001’s HAL — and a little less prone to singing, too.

[Via Autoblog]

Filed under: Transportation

Ford patent describes the digital backseat driver you never wanted originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ford Motor Co. and Canadian-based Magna International are working on an electric vehicle that Ford plans to bring to market in America by 2011, putting it in potential competition with GM’s Chevy Volt due around the same time, according to the Detroit News.

The report said that Magna surprised Ford back in September, following months of talks, by driving up one day in a Ford Focus that Magna had converted to battery power on their own in secret. “It was a phenomenal car,” said Lisa Drake, Ford’s chief engineer for hybrid programs, in the report. “We were highly, highly impressed.”

Fast forward four months: Executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. told the press gathered in Cobo Arena plans to bring a car based on that prototype to market in 2011. Ford has been racing plug-in hybrid versions of the Ford Escape on testing grounds, but is now pursuing this joint venture with Magna in a pure battery-powered vehicle in tandem.

The report said that the production vehicle being developed with Magna will be based on the new global Focus platform, due out in 2010. “The electric version will have no gasoline motor, but will be limited to a range of 100 miles on a single charge—enough, Ford says, because most motorists in America average less than 40 miles a day.”