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Delphi thrilled with results from autonomous car's cross-country trip

In the first trip across the United States ever made by an autonomous car, engineers from Delphi Automotive were surprised to learn that, in some cases, their vehicle behaved a lot like a human driver. "The car was scared of tractor trailers," said Jeff Owens, the company's chief technology officer. "The car edged to the left just a little bit when it would pass trucks, and that was an interesting observation." Engineers made hundreds of notes throughout the drive, as the autonomous car covered 3,400 miles through 15 states en route to a showcase near the New York Auto Show. Overall, company officials said the car performed better than anticipated in a variety of road and weather conditions. In the course of the cross-country drive, drivers actually controlled the car only for about 50 miles, and those cases were limited to on-and-off ramps and the occasional construction zone where lanes were not marked or only sporadically marked. The purpose of the trip was to glean information on how the autonomous car worked in a real-world environment. Google and others have tested autonomous cars and autonomous features in select real-world environments before, but Delphi's adventure was the first to trek into a test with such varied challenges over a nine-day trip that began near the Golden Gate Bridge on March 22. There are some things the engineers have already learned, like the fact the camera systems had the occasional blip when the sun-angle was low. And there are some things to still be learned, as they pour over three terrabytes worth of data from cameras, radar and lidar sensors in the weeks ahead. "It's going to take us a couple weeks to digest all this," Owens said. "But we had all the data from tests. It was time to put this on the road." Built into an Audi SQ5, the vehicle was striking, if only for the fact it looked like a normal car. Many other autonomous vehicles have quirky sensors atop the roof or other features that make them stand out as experiments. Delphi arranged this one to look as much like a normal car as possible, right down to stowing an army of computers under cargo mats, so the rear contained as much trunk space as the production model. If a fellow motorist didn't know where to look -- or take the time to notice the person in the driver's seat didn't have their hands on the wheel -- there was no reason to suspect this was anything other than a regular car.

Audi TT Ultra Quattro Concept throws lightness at the problem

Audi is celebrating the 2013 Wörthersee Tour with a special concept version of the company's TT. The Audi TT Ultra Quattro concept tips the scales at just 2,449 pounds thanks to some extensive engineering work. The company pulled nearly 95 lbs from the car's body structure and used carbon-fiber reinforced plastics for many of its detachable body components. As a result, the concept weighs in at a full 220 pounds lighter than its production counterpart. Throw in a wicked turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 310 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, and you get a machine with the power to weight ratio in the supercar realm. 0-60 comes up in 4.2 seconds and top speed is listed at 173 mph.
Inside, the TT Ultra Quattro features plenty of carbon fiber trim, and designers also fitted the seats from the R8 GT to save a little weight. The buckets use CFRP for the seat frames, saving nearly 50 pounds in the process. In a world where automakers seem blind to the negative effect of throwing more heft at a vehicle, we're in love with the Ultra Quattro concept. Check out the full press release below for more information.

Volkswagen may 'carve out' Lamborghini to list on the stock exchange

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen is drawing up plans to set up Lamborghini as a more independent unit, and is discussing long-term supply deals that could make it easier to list it on the stock exchange, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. "Volkswagen is in the process of carving out Lamborghini, and to organize future supply and technology transfer deals," one of the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Italian sportscar brand, which is currently a division of Audi, could be partially listed, with Volkswagen retaining a controlling stake, the first person familiar with the talks said. There is no formal decision to divest Lamborghini, a second source said, adding that the timetable of any deal remained unclear. "This is a first step which gives VW the option to list the unit further down the line," the second source told Reuters. A third source familiar with the discussions said the future of Bugatti, Lamborghini and Ducati was discussed during a supervisory board meeting last Friday. The possibilities for how to electrify the Lamborghini and Bugatti brands through partnerships and investors was discussed, the third source said. Bankers and potential cornerstone investors in an IPO have been approached by the carmaker, the sources said. Volkswagen declined to comment. Volkswagen Group's Chief Executive Herbert Diess on Wednesday said the carmaker will announce "important steps" about the company's future before the close of the year. Volkswagen is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play within the multi-brand carmaker as part of broader quest for more economies of scale, senior executives told Reuters. A global clampdown on combustion-engined vehicles has forced carmakers to accelerate development of low-emission technology for mainstream models, leaving Volkswagen managers struggling to find resources to electrify low volume sportscar models. Related Video: