2014 Porsche Cayenne on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Ford's "snowtonomous" Fusion Hybrid, Porsche eyes battery makers

Bosch and Panasonic are vying to be the battery supplier for Porsche's electric sports car based on the Mission E concept. While Bosch's costs may be higher, its solution would offer simpler logistics. Panasonic is already well established as a battery maker, providing the packs for the Porsche car's rival, Tesla. "We're in the final stage of making a decision," says Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, declining to comment on specific manufacturers. Neither Bosch nor Panasonic provided comment. Read more from Automotive News. Renault will supply a fleet of 150 Renault Zoe EVs for a smart solar charging project in Utrecht, Netherlands. The project involves the installation of 1,000 EV chargers powered by 10,000 photovoltaic panels. The Renault Zoes would be used as part of a carsharing program powered by the solar chargers. Renault and its partners will also implement a vehicle-to-grid system to provide energy during peak demand from the solar chargers and connected EVs. Read more in the press release from Renault. Ford has been testing an autonomous Fusion Hybrid prototype that is capable of driving itself in snowy conditions. Ford uses 3D mapping to scan the drive route. Its LiDAR laser mapping can even detect single falling snowflakes. It collects and processes up to 600 gigabytes of data per hour, comparing its environment to saved maps, a process that helps establish location more precisely than GPS. In addition to the LiDAR systems, the car is also equipped with cameras and radar to help it navigate. Eventually, the car could even be able to clean off its sensors when it detects loss of performance from ice and dirt. Read more in the press release below. FROM AUTONOMY TO SNOWTONOMY: HOW FORD FUSION HYBRID AUTONOMOUS RESEARCH VEHICLE CAN NAVIGATE IN WINTER DEARBORN, Mich., March 10, 2016 – Driving in snow can be a slippery challenge, with the potential for one blizzardy gust to white-out your field of view – a situation faced by the majority of people in the United States. So if self-driving cars are to become a reality – and they almost certainly will – they must be able to navigate snow-covered roads. In its quest to bring self-driving vehicles to millions of people around the world, Ford reveals six facts about its technology that allows for a car to drive itself in snow. 1. Mapping the way: Ford first creates high-resolution 3D maps using LiDAR technology to scan the area its autonomous vehicle will later drive in the snow.

Road & Track names its 2013 Performance Car of the Year

Road & Track recently staged its first annual Performance Car of the Year test, pitting 13 new and updated performance cars against each other on track, then graduating the top six to a road test before picking a winner. Additionally, the magazine staff picked the best automobiles of the year in eight categories.
But first, let's cover the PCotY segment. Here's the list of cars brought to the comparison test: Audi R8 V10 Plus; BMW 435i; BMW M6 Competition Package; Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51; Ferrari F12 Berlinetta; Ford Fiesta ST; Jaguar F-Type V8 S; Jaguar XFR-S; Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model Wagon; Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series; Mini John Cooper Works GP; Nissan GT-R Track Edition; and Porsche Cayman S.
To find out the results of the comparison, head over to Road & Track's website or check the press release below, where you'll also find the magazine's top-rated vehicles in eight categories. Want more? Head over to the 2013 PCotY hub. But before you do that, take a stab at guessing the winner of PCotY (we'll give you one hint: it isn't a Porsche).

Final notes from Porsche Rennsport Reunion V [w/videos]

Having spent three days with an intense Monterey sun above, a fleet of raucous, roaring racecars below, and a genuine library of hundreds of cars parked everywhere, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V can be summed up in one word: amazing. It's one thing to know today that Porsche is special because rich people buy them and collectors obsess over them. It's another thing to see and hear and feel and smell why Porsches are special, to experience what really makes a brand. Whenever auto writers use the word "pedigree" – usually in reference to brands that don't have it – this is what we mean. And we bathed in it for a weekend. Now we need to wash all of our clothes, because pedigree smells like race fuel. Porsche used all of the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca pit garages to set up an excellent display of important Le Mans cars, from the 1958 718 RSK to the current 919 Hybrid. All but one were overall or class winners, and four consecutive pit boxes held cars that were all in the movie Le Mans: a 1969 910, a 1969 917K, a 1970 908 LH "Flunder" Spyder, and a 1971 917 LH. Outside the garage on its own plinth was a 1949 Gmund 356 SL, the first Porsche to win an international motorsports race when it took its 110cc class at Le Mans in 1951. Walking from 1958 to 1998 and having all that history in the metal behind you, you could see why Porsche wanted to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to return to Le Mans with the 919 Hybrid to protect its legacy. Even with three full days we didn't get to see everything we wanted to see or talk to everyone we wanted to talk to. We could have spent days interviewing the Who's Who of racing drivers alone. But we did get to answer the questions you left for us in Comments after our 2017 911 Carrera ride-along: RoninEdge: The engineers had left by the time we got your Boxster/Cayman engine question, and the only answer we could get after that was the official Porsche line: "We haven't released any information on any 2017 models other than the four already mentioned," the 911 Carrera and Carrera S in coupe and cabriolet trims. Ferps: Posche North America decided to take the Targa off the website, but you can still buy 2016 models and there are still Targas on dealer lots. The 991.2 Targa hasn't been revealed yet. JohnnyHedwardsJr: We couldn't review the 911 GTS Rennsport Reunion Edition, but there is a gallery of live images below. Porsche is only making 25, and every one of them is spoken for.