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Cadillac Escala Concept | Autoblog Minute

Cadillac showed off its Escala concept at Montery Car Week. The Cadillac Escala is four door sedan with a 4.2L twin-turbo V8 under the hood.

7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.

GM Ultra Cruise hands-free system will take on Tesla Full Self-Driving

GM announced Wednesday that it will introduce a new semi-self-driving suite above its Super Cruise offering. Dubbed Ultra Cruise, it will coexist with GM's existing tech as it goes toe-to-toe with Tesla's "Full Self-Driving." GM says it will be compatible with more than 2 million miles of U.S. and Canadian roadways (with lots of headroom for expansion) and operate in more than 95% of normal driving situations at launch. The system will utilize more sensors than the existing Super Cruise system, with "cameras, radars and lidar, developing accurate, 360-degree, three-dimensional statistical representations of the environment surrounding vehicles with redundancies in critical areas." Tesla has long eschewed lidar technology as a means to improve its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites, but may be coming around on it. And Tesla recently dropped radar on Model 3 and Model Y to rely on cameras. While there are many competent semi-self-driving systems on the market today, true autonomous vehicles are still in their earliest stages, with Google's Waymo generally considered the leader of the race. Early releases of Tesla's many-times-delayed Full Self-Driving suite have demonstrated just how infantile the technology is, and even it is leaps and bounds ahead of other commercially available technology – and with good reason.    Related: GM sets goals of doubling revenue, leading U.S. electric vehicle sales   Semi-self-driving suites offered in typical mainstream cars are effective upgrades to adaptive cruise control, but even the ability to go for hours on the highway with limited input is nothing compared to the demands placed on a true self-driving platform. Things we take for granted in everyday driving — reacting to traffic lights and signs, changing lanes, navigating turn lanes and safely pulling into traffic, driving close to obstacles such as construction barricades, or something as simple as properly negotiating a tight driveway — are beyond the scope of all other advanced driver assistance suites.  "Ultra Cruise is not just a game changer in terms of what it enables ­– a door-to-door hands-free driving experience – but a technological one as well," said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "It's been developed completely in-house.