-The Pittsburgh Business Times has exclusive photos of an Uber test vehicle that’s roaming the Pittsburgh streets, gathering data as part of the ride-sharing startup’s efforts into autonomous vehicles. – While the car itself, a Ford Fusion with “Uber Advanced Technologies Center” written on the side and a roof loaded with test equipment, is not autonomous, it’s gathering data that Uber hopes to use in future forays into self-driving cars.
-Okay, we’ve been banging on about the strangeness of the BMW X6—a fastbacked, hatch-havin’ four-door “coupe” version of the X5 “Sports Activity Vehicle”—since it arrived as a 2008 model. Seven years of Backfires comments comparing it to everything from the Pontiac Aztek to the 1980s AMC Eagle Spirit suggest readers agree with us that it’s one odd automotive platypus. READ MORE ›› –
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-This is a test. Five automobiles—what we believe to be the cream of the American crop in terms of handling prowess—will engage in pitched battle. Twenty tires will be shredded for the greater good. Fenders will rub together on a racetrack, sphincters will pucker, felt-tipped pens will scratch heartfelt comments into logbooks. Names will be named. READ MORE ›› –
Researchers at Audi have managed to do something that at first blush sounds impossible, or at least, highly illogical: They’ve created a small batch of synthetic gasoline without using any petroleum whatsoever. And they’re working to tweak the process so they can create the fuel using nothing but water, hydrogen, sunlight, and carbon dioxide. – Audi’s “e-benzin” is a fully synthetic 100-octane gasoline equivalent. Since it’s synthetic, it contains no
-Land Rover seemingly loves oddly proportioned vehicles. Look at the LR4: A concrete parasol could hardly look more top-heavy. And since the Holden Efijy never went into production, the Range Rover Evoque became the industry’s first factory lead sled, albeit one with its skirts hiked up over muck boots. READ MORE ›› –
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-What It Is: Although the long-serving, first-generation Audi Q7 never offered a high-performance variant to do battle with the BMW M or Mercedes-Benz AMG utes, the new Q7 will show no such restraint. Audi will take the formula successfully applied to the Q5, with the SQ5, and adapt it to the Q7, creating the SQ7, the ultimate version of its three-row SUV. READ MORE ›› –
– When we first introduced you to Tanner Foust’s all-new Rockstar Energy Formula Drift Volkswagen Passat, we said it’d likely “spend its life sideways.” And sure enough, the 900-hp family sedan’s existence is already a smoky, sideways, hellacious tale, as evidenced by a new video depicting Foust giving pro cyclist Tim Johnson a “tour” of the USA Cycling Time Trials course in Chattanooga, Tennessee. – – – Volkswagen Beetle GRC
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