on 2040-cars

Auto blog

10 automakers sued over keyless ignitions

Keyless ignition has rapidly proliferated throughout the auto industry to become a fairly normal feature on new cars. It's supposed to offer the convenience of keeping the fob in your pocket and just pressing a button to drive away. However, ten major automakers are now being sued in US District Court over claims that the system is dangerous, Reuters reports. The suit alleges that people are forgetting to shut off the engine, and the lack of an idle timer is the cause for 13 deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning and multiple injuries. The suit currently includes 28 plaintiffs, according to Reuters, but the lawyers are asking for class-action status to potentially add many more. The case goes after a major swath of the industry, including BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, plus their related brands like Acura, Infiniti, Mini, and Lexus. In all, over five million vehicles are affected. The assertion here is that people walk away from their vehicle without shutting it off because they believe the engine shuts off automatically. If parked in a garage, carbon monoxide can build up, leading to poisoning. The lawyers claim automakers know this is a problem and also cite 27 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the issue, according to Reuters. The plaintiffs are asking for an automatic shut-off and damages from the companies. These concerns have come up before, though. Toyota previously faced a lawsuit over a carbon monoxide death after a woman accidentally left her Lexus running. Also earlier this year, GM recalled 64,186 examples of the 2011-2013 Chevrolet Volt because owners weren't shutting them off. The problem resulted in two injuries, and the company released a software update to limit the idling time.

Mini JCW E PROtotype is a full-fat electric John Cooper Works

Mini has been revealing or teasing or launching variants of its all-new lineup since last September. It's not too much yet, but there's a lot of Mini going on. Here's the latest, the camouflaged Mini Cooper JCW E Prototype that will make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for a run up the hill, introduced to us six weeks after Mini showed us a camouflaged internal-combustion Cooper JCW. And, if you'll remember, Mini showed an electric version of the new Cooper SE JCW last December. This JCW is going to rock more juice down electric avenue, though, the automaker saying there's an "advanced electric powertrain ... with cutting-edge technology" hiding under the skin. The expectation is that the JCW E will use the same 54.2-kWh battery as in other Minis, but its front-mounted motor will make more than the 215 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque applied to the Cooper SE and Cooper SE JCW. Brand execs told Autocar that engineers worked to maintain a "go-kart feeling," imparting similar sensations to the gas-powered JCW, the electric version's greater weight getting necessitating larger wheels and wider tires to improve grip. A stiffer suspension and larger brakes should also be involved. And although the new architecture can support a dual-motor powertrain, there seems little chance of that happening.     Same as the gas-powered Mini, the red and white camo is an homage to the red and white color schemes used in the 1960s for Minis in motorsports. The "37" logo commemorates the #37 Mini Cooper winning the 1964 Rallye Monte Carlo. Across the windshield, "Bulldog Racing" touts the team that won its class in this year's Nurburgring 24-Hour race with a new camo'ed Mini.  After the Mini JCW E's Prototype's run up the hill next weekend, the automaker says the global reveal comes in autumn this year.

Mini Cooper SE Prototype First Drive Review | This electric hatch is a suburban belter

MUNICH, Germany — A battery-electric Mini SE? Haven't we been here before? Well, yes: A decade ago, as part of its "i Project," BMW conducted a worldwide field trial of some 750 lithium-ion battery equipped two-door Mini Coopers. It was launched at the 2008 L.A. Show, and the lithium-ion battery pack took up most of the space normally occupied by the rear seats. Nevertheless, interest in the 450 lease vehicles offered in the U.S. (at $850 a month) was strong, with more demand than cars available. One result of the 2008-2011 trial was parent company BMW learned that the average owner of a two-door Mini drives about 25 miles a day, and the company is hoping the battery Mini will be an ideal (sub)urban-run-around for two- or three-car families. Now BMW is about to launch a production Mini EV (based on the two-door model, but with the full complement of four seats), which goes on sale at the end of the year. This will join the Mini Countryman All4 plug-in hybrid in the electrified Mini stable, but while the Countryman has an EV range of about 12 miles, this battery Mini will travel around 120 miles on a single charge. The reason we can't be too definite about the new Mini's capabilities is that BMW isn't allowed to "advertise" the car this far in front of its on-sale date. We caught up with the prototype model, mummified in camouflage tape, at an off-the-road driving event held at BMW's Munich driving center on the former military air base of Furstenfeldbruck, now known as Maisach. The drivetrain is based on the middle model of BMW's i3 range, the i3S, with its 135 kilowatt/181 horsepower motor and 94 amp-hour, 33 kilowatt hour battery. The battery is a 96-cell lithium-ion unit from Chinese supplier CATL instead of BMW's previous supplier, Samsung, and it weights 441 pounds. Unlike the team-built, mainly carbon-fiber i3, the Mini is a standard three-door model that runs down the production line in Oxford, with a metal subframe that houses the electric motor, inverter, transformers, and control electronics so they can be slotted into place like a conventional driveline. We can extrapolate a few things about the Mini from the BMW i3S. As well as its working range of 120 miles, the i3S has a top speed of 100 mph and will accelerate from 0-62 mph in 7.7 seconds. With over 360 pounds more to pull about, the 2,998-pound Mini EV will be slower, with less range, especially if used in cold conditions.