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Top five things we learned this week

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Author: | Updated: 13 Sep 2019 16:20

As it’s Friday the 13th today, we’re going to try and go a whole article without an accident or mistkae.

Top five things we learned this week

And despite the threat of a Jason Vorhees attack, we’ve managed to brave the danger and collect the top five things we learned this week:

Volvo’s is offering plug-in hybrid versions of its ENTIRE range

With the launch of the new T5 Twin Engine petrol-electric hybrid for the XC40, Volvo has become the first car manufacturer to offer plug-in hybrid versions of its entire range.

The introduction of the powertrain brings Volvo one step closer to its stated aim of selling a million electrified cars globally by 2025.

The XC40’s new T5 drivetrain pairs a 1.5-litre three-cylinder 180hp petrol engine with an 82hp electric motor to deliver a maximum combined power of 262hp and an all-electric driving range of just over 28 miles.

Charging via a fast-charge cable will recharge the car’s high-voltage battery in around two and a half hours. Fully charging via a three-pin plug will take up to six hours.

You can now order a brand new Land Rover Defender

land-rover-defender-lead

Sometimes we shock even ourselves. Just days after stealing the show at IAA 2019, we were taken by surprise to find Land Rover Defender deals are available already!

With over 70 years of heritage behind it, the all-new Defender continues to be a car everyone is passionate about. As such this new model is something that Land Rover themselves have said is respectful of its past without being beholden to it.

The unmistakable silhouette is familiar yet new, retaining the iconic Defender side profile as well as the ‘Alpine’ windows in the roof and spare wheel mounted on the side-hinged tailgate. On the inside it mixes the durability of the previous model and introduces Jaguar Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro infotainment system for a wider appeal.

A lot of work has gone into this SUV, with prototype models covering more than 1.2 million kilometres across some of the harshest environments on earth, ranging from the 50-degree heat of the desert and sub 40-degree cold of the Arctic to altitudes of 10,000ft in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

Compare Defender lease deals and be one of the first to order one in the UK here: https://bit.ly/2lTjn2f

Ford has patented a boot-lid projector

Ford Tailgate Projector patent

As discovered by The Drive but available to view on Google Patents, Ford has patented a way for you to show a movie via the boot lid of your next vehicle.

Originally filed in April 2017 by Ford Global Technologies LLC, the the patent describes a "video projector mounted to the liftgate. Further, the video projector is configured to project video in a direction away from the vehicle when the liftgate is in the open position."

The projector would essentially be mounted to the bottom of the boot so that it's shut off when shut, with the projector placed where a latch would normally be. Furthermore, the patent states it can also be used as a floodlight.

While having your very own drive-through movie theatre sounds good in principle, we’ll be surprised if this makes it into the next-generation of Kuga.

It’s really hard to make autonomous cars

Autonomous Car blindspot

With the likes of Google/Waymo, Uber, Tesla and various upstarts all leading the way regarding innovations in autonomous cars, we might take for granted just how hard it is to develop something as infallible as we’d expect a self-driving car to be. A genius interactive article from the Washington Post this week illustrated that point and then some.

The interactive game is based on reports and statistics on all the various and minute occurrences that continue to trip up autonomous cars and why the tests require so much human intervention. From a school bus blocking its sensors leading to a blindspot and mistaking pedestrians for cyclists to randomly pulling over due to an incoming storm, the game hammers home just how much works needs to be done and why autonomous cars continue to undergo rigorous testing.

The new Volkswagen logo still has a V and a W in it

03_vw_logo

We don’t want to say it’s boring but…  and the fact the bottom of the W no longer touches the bottom seal has set our OCD off.

The new logo is two-dimensional and has been designed specifically with digital platforms in mind in what VW is calling a “strategic reorientation”. Hashtag corporate babble.

The manufacturer has also announced a more flexible use of colours, possibly to differentiate the various models in the range whether it’s a GTI, an ID or a regular ICE vehicle.

The new brand design is the result of the Transform 2025+ strategy adopted by Volkswagen in the fall of 2015. With the new logo and rollout of ID.3, their new generation of electric vehicle, the brand is now preparing for phase two of what it hopes will be a bright future.

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