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Driving the C8 Corvette, and previewing GM's electric future | Autoblog Podcast #617

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First they dive right in to the experience of driving the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, followed by their review of the Mercedes-Benz GLE 350. Then they talk about the week's news, beginning with the whole slew of electric vehicles General Motors surprised us with at its EV Day. Next, they discuss the possibility of Porsche building a hybrid 911, as well as news about Ford's electric Transit van making its way to the U.S.. Last, but not least, they take to the mailbag to help a listener pick his next car in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #617 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Driving the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Driving the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 GM EV Day: Cadillac Celestiq and Lyriq, GMC Hummers and more A hybrid Porsche 911? Ford Transit electric commercial vans coming to U.S. Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Mercedes Digital Light puts a light show on the road

Soon full-featured heads up displays, augmented reality, and intelligent lighting will all work together to provide drivers with the safest and most complete picture of the road ahead. Until then, it's one advance at a time, the latest being Digital Light for Mercedes-Maybach customers. Stuttgart engineers designed a small LED with more than a million micro-reflectors for each headlight. Hardware and software control the light pattern, and paint at least nine different graphics on the road in light to warn of safety issues ahead. Digital Light evolved from the intelligent headlights demonstrated on the Mercedes Experimental Safety Vehicle in 2009 — the same ESF2009 that previewed rear belt-bag inflating seatbelts. Back then, the main beams were composed of 100 LEDs, and a brain controlled each LED to create a specific and occasionally complex lighting pattern. The new Digital Light works with all the cameras, sensors, and navigation information employed by an S-Class, and has increased resolution 10,000-fold to roughly HD quality, with a commensurate rise in the complexity of available patterns and representations. Mercedes cites numerous benefits, one being a "virtually dazzle-free main beam," another being high beams that can selectively darken so as not to blind oncoming traffic or pedestrians. Some of the projected symbols include guide lines on the road representing the width of the sedan when navigating a narrow construction zone, an arrow pointing to a pedestrian either in or very near the road, a snowflake when the temperature drops below freezing, and a chevron placed on the center line or shoulder to warn a driver when he's leaving his lane or when there's someone in his blind spot. Digital Light will first go into service with selective fleet customers for the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class this year. Considering the state of current U.S. auto regulations, we wouldn't expect to see it here for a number of years. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mercedes-Benz Digital Light View 27 Photos News Source: Mercedes-Benz via New Atlas, Gizmodo Maybach Mercedes-Benz Technology Emerging Technologies Luxury Sedan mercedes-maybach

Renault-Nissan rejig how they manage Daimler partnership, sources say

PARIS — The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is set to scrap a role overseeing ties with Daimler in favor of individual relations with the German group, three sources told Reuters, as they try to better manage a partnership that has not met initial hopes. The shift comes as alliance-level executive Jacques Verdonck, who was in charge of the cooperation with Daimler, retires at the end of the month, the sources familiar with the matter said. France's Renault will instead rely on its head of partnerships, Sandra Gomez, while Nissan will do the same with Catherine Perez. Mitsubishi will also have a person in charge of partnerships, the sources said, adding the bilateral approach was in line with the new "leader-follower" strategy of the alliance. That involves leaning on the strengths of each carmaker in certain areas. Renault and Daimler declined to comment, while Nissan could not immediately be reached for comment. The plan marks another shift following the end of the Carlos Ghosn era at the alliance. The architect of the Franco-Japanese partnership, who also extended the collaboration to Daimler, was arrested on financial misconduct charges in Japan in late 2018, before fleeing to Lebanon in 2019. He denies any wrongdoing. His exit strained already difficult relations between Nissan and Renault, which are now working to get back on track with cost-saving joint production projects among other steps. The partnership with Daimler - which owns high-end brand Mercedes-Benz, contrasting with the more accessible models produced by the others - has also looked in danger of losing steam. Nissan and Renault, both hit by losses, recently sold down their stakes in the German group. Collaborations on Renault's compact Twingo car and Daimler's Smart model are set to end, and some targets for industrial cooperation have been downgraded over the years. But Daimler still has a factory in Mexico with Nissan, and has been exploring the possibility of jointly developing at least one large van model with Renault. An industry shift towards electric vehicles could yet yield other opportunities, one of the sources said. "The collaboration with Daimler is at present made up of Renault-Daimler projects, Nissan-Daimler ones and some between the three," another of the sources said, with yet another saying that the changes reflected a more pragmatic approach.