Electric Vehicles That Are Hitting The Road By 2020

With developments in clean tech, we are only a few years away from the widespread introduction of electric vehicles. But it won’t be long before there’s an influx of long-range electric cars hitting the market.

Major automakers, including General Motors and Volkswagen, have vowed to roll out more than one fully electric car by 2020. Here’s a look at some of the vehicles hitting the roads in the next few years.

Faraday Future

Faraday Future says it will have a car on the road within the next four years. The mysterious car startup Faraday Future is promising it will have a car on the road sometime during the next few years. Faraday told Tech Insider at CES that it’s working on having its first production car on the roads in the next few years.

Tesla Roadster

Tesla has plans to introduce a next-gen Roadster in 2019. Tesla will reveal the new model in 2019, according to a statement by CEO Elon Musk last year. Musk said in the statement that the new car will be capable of going from zero to 100 km/h in less than 2.8 seconds, which is faster than its cars can go in ‘Ludicrous Mode’.

Volvo

Volvo’s CEO Hakan Samuelsson said that by 2020, 10 per cent of its global sales will be from electrified vehicles. The company said it will roll out its first all-electric vehicle by 2019. Volvo hasn’t released any details about its first fully electric EV. However, it’s likely to have a range comparable to its competitors of 240 km per charge or more.

Mercedes B-class Electric Drive

Mercedes-Benz is aiming to launch at least one electric car by 2018. Daimler, which is Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, already has two all-electric cars. But the company plans to launch at least one new all-electric car by 2018. Daimler’s chief development officer Thomas Weber said the company will debut a prototype of an electric vehicle with a range of 498 km per charge at the next Paris Motor Show.

Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model 3 aims to begin production by the end of 2017. Tesla Model 3 has a starting range of more than 200 miles per charge and can go from zero to 10 km/h in just six seconds. The car will cost $35,000 before incentives and will be about 20 per cent smaller than the company’s Model S.

However, it can still seat five people comfortable.

Porsche

Porsche plans to begin making its Mission E Concept by 2020 Porsche also unveiled an impressive electric car concept, dubbed as the Mission E. It boasts of a range of about 498 km per charge and is capable of charging about 80 percent in just 15 minutes. The car will also be capable of going from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds.

Audi

SUV Audi will launch its first electric by 2018. Audi confirmed that it is planning to begin production of its first all-electric SUV at its Brussels plant in 2018. The new vehicle will be inspired by the company’s e-tron quattro concept. It will have three motors, a range of 498 km on a single charge and quick charging capabilities.

General Motors

Bolt EV is going into production this year. General Motors revealed the production model of its first affordable, long-range car called the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The car will become available by the end of 2016 and have a range of about 320 km per charge.

Fastest Cars in India

Speed is one factor in any car that is desired the most by auto fanatics from all over the world. The Indian automotive industry is swamped with cars from the lot of domestic as well as international auto makers but the void of fast cars can still be perceived. Generally, the speed cruisers are expensive cars and most if these are to be imported from the foreign market. However, these days the new cars are featuring the ability to blister on roads and one can say that the upcoming time might witness the advent of fast automobiles in India. Currently, there are a number of cars, which are known to provide a thrilling experience. The following are among the fastest cars in India depending upon the automotive segment:

1. Volkswagen Polo 1.6 GT TDI Diesel: 

This model from the German car giant is among the fastest hatchbacks present in the domestic auto market. The car is equipped with a robust 1.6-litre TDI diesel mill, which is able to deliver a power output of 105 Nm with a peak torque of 250 Nm. It can reach from 0-100 kmph in almost 10 seconds and has a top speed of 190 kmph. This car features a price tag of Rs. 7.8 lakh.

2. Honda Brio: 

This compact car from the Japanese auto maker is counted as one of the fastest hatchbacks in a petrol guise. The car features a sturdy 1.2-litre i-VTEC mill that has the ability to produce 90 bhp of power with a maximum torque of 110 Nm. Honda Brio, with its weight under a tonne, can reach 100 kmph from 0 in less than 12 seconds and has a price tag of Rs. 4 lakh – Rs. 6 lakh.

3. Hyundai Grand i10: 

Hyundai Grand i10 has been acknowledged among the fastest hatchbacks of the South-Korean auto manufacturer. The car can do a 100 kmph from standstill in almost 12.5 seconds and interestingly, these figures are better than that of Hyundai i20, which takes almost 13 seconds to reach the 0-100 kmph scale. This car is available in a petrol and diesel guise, and can be purchased within a price bracket of Rs. 4.25 lakh – Rs. 6.30 lakh.

4. Skoda Superb: 

This stylish-looking sedan from the Czech auto maker is among the fastest Indian cars on road. It is packed under the hood with a 1.8-litre TSI petrol engine along with the option of a 2.0-litre TDI diesel mill. Both the versions of the sedan can reach from 0-100 kmph in almost 10 seconds and have a top speed of 220 kmph.

5. Chevrolet Cruze:

This sporty sedan from the American auto maker is one of the fastest cars in India in its segment. The car is equipped with a powerful 2.0-litre, Advanced VCDi diesel engine, which produces a power output of 165 bhp with maximum torque of 380 Nm. The car can blister from 0-100 kmph in 9.5 seconds and has a top speed of 190 kmph.

6. Mahindra XUV500:

This all-terrain Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) from the home-grown auto maker is one of the fastest cars in India in its respective segment. Packed with a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine, the car can reach from 0-100 kmph in less than 12 seconds and has a further top speed of 185 kmph. This car can be purchased within a price range of Rs. 10.80 lakh – Rs. 14.70 lakh.

7. Koenigsegg Agera R: 

Coming to the expensive cars which are proper speed cruisers, the Koenigsegg One is a fine piece of engineering that can thrash the roads on which it is launched. The car features a 5.0-litre V8 engine, which delivers a mammoth power output of 1100 bhp with a peak torque of an enormous 1200 bhp. The car can do a 100 kmph from standstill within 2.8 seconds and has the ability to reach a top speed of a whopping 416 kmph. This car nears a price tag of a gigantic Rs. 12.50 crore.

8. Bugatti Veyron:

This beast from the German auto maker Volkswagen is among the most expensive cars in the world and the fastest in India. Packed with a mammoth 8.0-litre W16 petrol engine, which produces 987 bhp or power with peak torque of 1250 Nm, this car can go from 0-100 kmph in around 2.6 seconds. It bears a costly price tag of Rs. 12 crore.

9. Lamborghini Aventador: 

The Lamborghini Aventador has a powerful 7.0-litre V12 engine, which develops a power output of a massive 700 bhp with peak torque of 710 Nm. The car can reach from 0-100 kmph within 3 seconds and can be purchased within a price range of Rs. 3.7 crore – Rs. 3.9 crore.

10. Ferrari 458 Spider: 

This sports car from the Italian stallion features a powerful 5.0-litre V8 engine under its hood. The mill has the ability to churn a power output of 560 bhp with peak torque of 550 Nm. It can go from 0-100 kmph in under 3.4 seconds and has a further top speed of 320 kmph. The car can be purchased within a price bracket of Rs. 2.80 crore – Rs. 3 crore.

Most Reliable Car Brands in America

8 most reliable car brands in America, according to Consumer Reports

On Monday, Consumer Reports announced the results of their latest Annual Reliability Survey . At the top of the list, Lexus and its parent brand, Toyota, repeated their 1-2 finish from last year's survey.

The 2017 Consumer Reports Annual Reliability Survey is based on information gathered from the publication's subscribers who have "owned or leased over half a million vehicles, from model years 2000 to 2016, with a smattering of 2017s, covering more than 300 models."

In total, 29 brands were ranked in the survey. Consumer Reports categorized the top eight brands as "more reliable" while brands ranked nine through 18 were classified as "reliable." The 11 brands at the bottom of the rankings were categorized as "less reliable."

1. Lexus

2. Toyota

3. Bick

4. Audi

5. Kia

6. Mazda

7. Hyundai

8. Infinity

Fastest Cars in the World

Who would not love to have a car that moves as fast as lightening on the streets? But such cars are generally not allowed on roads and are restricted to racing championships only as these are too dangerous to be driven in daily life.

Let’s have a look at the ten fastest cars in the world which will leave you envious.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

The Bugatti Veyron is a mid-engined grand touring car. First introduced in 2005, the car was made by German manufacturer Volkswagen Group, and produced by French marque Bugatti. The Super Sport version of the Veyron is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph). The original version comes with a top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph). The BBC television programme Top Gear named it as Car of the Decade (2000–2009). The car is priced at $1.6 million.

Koenigsegg Agera R

The Koenigsegg Agera R is a mid-engined supercar developed by Swedish car manufacturer Koenigsegg as of 2011. The 'R' is in spirit of a special edition Agera, which runs on biofuel, rather than petrol. The car made its debut at the March 2011 Geneva Motor Show — with a ‘Speed Racer' livery theme, special Michelin tires and a Thule Roof Box,  even though its presence as a production car was already announced before this. The Agera R can accelerate from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.9 seconds and reach a theoretical top speed of about 442.569 km/h (275 mph), making it faster than a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, though this has not been officially verified. The car comes with a speed of 260 mph (418.42 kph) and 1,115hp. The car is priced at $1.6 million.

Gumpert Apollo

 

The Apollo is a super sports car, by the Gumpert sports car factory in Altenburg is made. The Apollo is a street-legal race car with up to 650bhp weighing less than 1100kg and has various approvals such as the FIA ??GT.  It has an Audi-sourced, 4.2L V8 engine with two turbochargers and gull-wing doors. The mid-engined car was designed to take on the Porsche 911 GT3; it comes with rear wheel drive two seater constructed on a tubular Chromoly frame, with fiberglass or optional carbon fiber body panels. An Audi 4.2L V8 engine is joined to a six-speed sequential gearbox. Estimated top speed is 360 km/h (223 mph) with 0-100km/h (0–62 mph) reached in 3.0 seconds. The car is priced at $450,000.

Noble M600

The Noble M600 is a hand built British supercar made by Noble Automotive in Leicestershire. The Noble M600 650bhp, is for those who love to travel. Designed and developed with the purity of drivers who appreciate the expertise, the M600 is not determined or hindered by unnecessary IT support. The Noble M600 brings you back to the driver’s seat. The car with a top speed of 223 mph (358.88 kph) and 650hp.The car is priced at $330,000.

Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

 

The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 is a two-door, two-seater sports car publicly showcased by Lamborghini at the Geneva Motor Show on 28 February 2011. Codenamed as LB834, the Aventador was made to replace the ten-year-old Murcielago. Shortly after the Aventador was unveiled, Lamborghini proclaimed that it had already sold over 12 months of the production vehicles, with deliveries starting in the second half of 2011. The car comes with top speed of 217mph (349.22 kph) and 691hp. The car costs $380,000.

Ferrari 599 GTO

The 599 GTB Fiorano is an Italian gran turismo produced by Ferrari. It is the brand's two-seat flagship, replacing the 575 M Maranello in 2006 as a 2007 model. The car is fashioned by Pininfarina under the direction of Ferrari's Frank Stephenson, the 599 GTB was showcased at the Geneva Motor Show in February 2006. The car has a top speed of 208mph (334.74 kph) and 661hp. It is priced at $450,000.

Luxury Tech Savy Cars

How about a car that turns on its own headlight when it's dark? Or unlocks its doors when the owner approaches? The luxury cars in the market ease the lives of their owners by taking care of minute details. These luxury cars feature the best navigation systems and stereos that will make your make drives heavenly. It should not surprise you at all when your cars respond as you speak to them, due to voice command system. 

Owning such cars will be no less than owning a Batmobile! Let's check them out. 

2012 Audi A7 

Audi 7

The all-new 2012 Audi A7, which niche in between the A6 and A8, is the latest Audi tech tour de force. This car carries such extraordinary technology that it sets the bar for other automakers to reach.
Loaded with the best navigation system available among all the latest cars, Audi A7 uses Google satellite maps to show the position of the car on a photographic landscape. Integrating Google local search with the navigation system, Audi A7 is the most connected car around you. The car also features listings of nearby landmarks with descriptions downloaded from Wikipedia. 

In terms of style, the A7 follows the form of the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide, with a four-door sedan like passenger compartment and a hatchback cargo area. The design does not look bulky or awkward.

Apart from this, Audi comes with a new Multimedia Interface (MMI) controller, complementing the dial and surrounding buttons with a touch pad. The drivers can search street addresses and terms with just a touch of fingertip. The voice command system in A7 is also a latest additional. The voice command works with Google local search. All you need to do is: say online destinations followed by terms like "Pizza Hut" and a list of all the relevant locations will be downloaded, showing at the LCD screen. You can also demand for music album or any song implementing vocal music request on the car's hard drive. Audi A7 is an astonishing tech powerhouse, with a combination of lush driving with sport capabilities and an extraordinary navigation system. The Audi A7 costs $59,250. 


2012 Infiniti M Hybrid

Infinity M Hybrid

The technology came to stagnancy with hitting the climax in the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion, but the new generation of Hybrid drive system is fortifying the market. 2012 Infiniti M35h, one of the first of the new generation of hybrid vehicle, as it uses lithium ion batteries, which operate under electric mode over a greater range of speeds, delivering more efficiency. 

With EPA fuel economy of 27 mpg city and 32 mpg highway, it generates 360 horsepower. The 258 pound-feet of torque from the gas engine and the 199 pound-feet from the electric motor will press you back into the seat when the accelerator is mashed. 

The M35h is not the only executive-class hybrid, BMW released its Active Hybrid 7 last year, and Mercedes-Benz previously launched the S400 hybrid. But Infiniti actually has the best hybrid system of all these cars. It not only features idle stop, but it also is able to boost the car under electric power alone, and it acquires the best mileage of its competition. Moreover M35h is the cheapest of the lot. 

The car relies on Nissan's tried and trusted VQ-series engine, a 3.5-liter variable valve-timed V-6 as its gasoline-powered component. The car use lithium ion battery packs. The M35h gets a 50-kilowatt pack build up just behind the rear seats, supporting the trunk space. Infiniti fits the M35h with an electro hydraulic power-steering unit, essential for times when the engine shuts down. The M35h is more luxury than sport. The car is priced at 53,700 dollars. 


2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550

Mercedes-Benz CLS550

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 is one of the lustrous car designs on the road, and might be mistaken with a big drop of liquid mercury flowing on the streets. The nice curved roof and molded rear fenders into its sides, gives it an excellent look. You can't help but stare at the car.

The CLS550 sports a new engine and a new seven-speed automatic, combine for good fuel economy. The car also comes standard with an air suspension, giving it one of the most comfortable rides around. 

The air suspension and the Harman Kardon 14-speaker surround-sound system are the two0 things that make CLS550 an extravagance ride par excellence. Though it costs over $ 70 grand, finding a car in this range for a great is certainly impossible. It has enormously detailed music produced by the Harman Kardon audio system. A blind-spot detection feature lights up a red triangle in the side mirrors, to warn of cars to the sides of the CLS550. It offers its night vision feature, which turns the instrument cluster into a longer view of the road ahead than you can see unaided. CLS550 has a lane departure warning and drift prevention system. This system tracks the lane lines, showing an icon in the instrument cluster when it is active. The car costs $71,300. 


2011 BMW 740i

BMW 740i

After easy step of installing an engine previously used in the 335i and 535i BMW came up with a new model 740i. It has suspension, and cabin tech, identical to its heftier siblings. It has a European design, with a gracefully curved roof and longish nose. The framework features the traditional BMW design, while the headlight casings integrate LED turn signals.

Car has a hard-drive-based navigation system, complete with 3D maps and traffic, and a sophisticated Bluetooth phone system which is standard for $70,000 in a car to have. BMW's traffic reporting is fairly good, and the car will vigorously look for routes around particularly bad traffic. The audio quality of phone calls is excellent, aided by the standard 10-speaker stereo system. It offers a premium stereo upgrade for the 740i, but the base system is great. 


2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate

Hyundai Equus Ultimate

Hyundai has shown a lot of effort compared to any other car to transform it and elevate its brand, more than the Equus. The 2011 Hyundai Equus should not be mistaken for a big sport-luxury sedan of the type made by Audi and BMW. The Equus, like the Lexus LS 460, leans heavily toward the luxury side of things.

It is conventionally styled car, most likely designed to appeal to older buyers. Hyundai also gives the Equus it's, a winged pedestal that emerges on the front of the car, the shifter, the steering wheel and the wheels. It comes with power-adjustable rear seats that are just too comfortable for kids or sheer family members. The rear LCD folds up from behind the center console. A metal-rimmed control knob is fitted on the console, surrounded by buttons labeled Map, Navi, Phone, and for the variety of audio sources. The Bluetooth phone system is completely an art. It copies a paired phone's contact list to the car, letting you place calls by speaking a contact's name. 

The car looks high-quality, and makes a statement with its exclusive Equus icon. Large windows present realism to the big sedan. The cabin tech interface is clean and practical, but Hyundai will have a difficult time adding new functions, as the hard-button model limits flexibility. The car is priced at $64,500. 

5 Future Tech-Cars to Hit the Roads

Next-generation automobiles packed with technology is about to arrive with digital instrumentation, augmented reality, health and wellness integration and more. In the past 30 years the safety element of our vehicles has seen lots of advancements, but the inside car tech was just flashy without much essence. But technologies are coming back in trail to make truly connected and digitally high-end automobiles.

The recently happed CES at Las Vegas revealed numerous car technologies like internet in your car, implementation of social networking apps and cloud enabled services in to the dashboard. Even though all these technologies seems to be some kind of Bond movie stuffs now, but the high-end car makers are all set to make these science-fictions come alive on roads.

1. Audi Reels Triple-head Displays:

Audi

Audi is putting its efforts to bring up a real time destination navigation system which accepts user’s internet commands and gives information to the passengers through a triple head-up display which can be swiped over to the center of the dashboard. The display can be projected over 30 feet ahead of the vehicle which shows virtual directions to the driver. This kind of technology is named ‘Augmented Reality’-AR, the full functionality of this technology will can’t be seen in near future, but DLP projectors and related augmented reality features are quite possible in near-terms.

Audi has also came up with Traffic Jam Assistant which takes control of your car and activates automatic break in slow traffic and low-speed jam. By 2013 you will be able to see Audi’s infotainment system with high powered quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU, so it’s quite clear that Audi’s future cars are going to be real.

2. Ford makes Cars Talk over Cloud:

Ford

Ford is presently working with major automakers to develop a standard vehicle to vehicle communication (V2V) system which will enable cars to have a chat with each other over a local Wi-Fi network by using Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) system which allows to shares information like  transmit position, trajectory, and speed data. This technology will alert the car if any other vehicle is arriving at a very high speed or slams break all of a sudden. This system also tells the driver about the road signs, red lights, and other environmental indications.

In 2011, Ford announced a seat that monitors driver's heart activity to protect the driver's health and prevent accidents from sudden heart attacks. Company is also trying to link this system with smartphone that could send a message to nearby hospitals and alert doctors. This shows that the company is putting lots of efforts to make driving safe.

The ‘Ford Evos’, which is a cloud-connected concept car which features lithium-ion, plug-in "powersplit" hybrid powertrain. The car predicts your route, analyses current weather condition, knows about the emission standards on the way and then adjusts powertrain's electric and gas operation balance as needed.  For now this is a concept, but the technology to make this car real is available therefore we can expect this intelligent car to see around soon.

3. Kia with Dual Displays:

Kia

Kia IVI Concept was revealed in CES 2012, this system has two separate displays- A 10.1-inch pop-up tablet and an 11.6-inch widescreen display built into the dashboard. This concept is connected with your smartphone through NFC and also displays icons like hotels, restaurants and gas-stations ahead on the road. This concept is really amazing, promising and very much safe when you are driving, therefore you will come across this technology soon in high-end cars or may be even in lower cost vehicles.

4. Lamborghini Aventador: Quad-core, 3D GPS and 690 hp

Lamborghini Aventador

Lamborghini Aventador has a whole story of tech and power, the car sports quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3-powered MMI system, includes a 7-inch display with 3D GPS navigation and terrain data and comes with 690 horsepower. With this, Lamborghini continues to make us wonder with their tech. As the technologies are getting cheaper and computing power gets higher we expect to see more entirely digital displays in future.

5. Mercedes-Benz in ‘Augmented Reality’:

Mercedes - Benz

Mercedes’s work on Augmented Reality is worth noticing, it projects information on the windshield and is also biked with the dashboard to give more sophistication. Along with this it also has Microsoft Kinect-like gesture interface which tracks human movements inside the cockpit. The integration of social networking is another major achievement by the company; this system notifies friends around, favorite destinations, and even the show happing in a hall on the windshield in real-time as you drive past. You can then update these details as status updates on your social network.