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Self-driving cars' problem (besides making them work): Too many players, not enough profit

For an detailed, interactive graphic about the many players in autonomous cars, click here. FRANKFURT/DETROIT — BMW and Daimler, the world's top luxury carmakers, have announced alliances with suppliers, talking up the virtues of having a bigger pool of engineers to develop a self-driving car. But another motive behind these deals, executives and industry experts told Reuters, is a concern that robocars may not live up to the profit expectations that drove an initial investment rush. Carmakers are increasingly looking to forego outright ownership of future autonomous driving systems in favor of spreading the investment burden and risk. The trend represents a clear shift in strategy from little more than a year ago when most automakers were pursuing standalone strategies focused on tackling the engineering challenge of developing a self-driving car, rather than on the business case. "Although it is a substantial market, it may not be worth the scale of investments currently being sunk into it," said a board member at one of the German carmakers, who declined to be identified because the matter is confidential. Dozens of companies — including carmakers and tech firms like Google and Uber — are vying for a market which, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, will only make up about 10 to 15 percent of vehicles in Europe by 2030. There are sure to be losers. "It's impossible for me to believe there will be 50 successful autonomous vehicle software producers," said John Hoffecker, global vice chairman of Michigan-based consulting firm AlixPartners. In July last year, BMW became the first major carmaker to abandon its solo development of self-driving cars in favor of teaming up with chipmaker Intel and camera and software manufacturer Mobileye to build a platform for autonomous cars technology by 2021. The decision followed a trip by senior executives to visit startups and suppliers to gauge BMW's competitive position. "Sitting at other companies, one rattles off the technological challenges and safety aspects, and you come to realize that many of us are swimming in the same sludge," Klaus Buettner, BMW's vice president autonomous driving projects, told Reuters. "Everybody is investing billions.

2023 Cadillac Lyriq vs Tesla Model Y, Audi E-Tron, Jaguar I-Pace | Specs compared

The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq is the latest electric luxury crossover to enter a quickly growing segment. It brings with it the company's trademark creased design language along with high-tech features and an impressive amount of range. The Cadillac also happens to have a price and specifications that put it square in the middle of a competitive group, so we had to line up the numbers to see how it compares. We've gathered up a selection of premium electric crossovers including the Tesla Model Y, Audi E-Tron and Jaguar I-Pace, all of which seem like the closest rivals for the Cadillac. We've assembled all the raw numbers in the chart below. We've also got some additional analysis below that. And now, onto the data. Power, range, efficiency Interestingly, the Cadillac is the least powerful of the bunch. This is a bit surprising considering that GM will have a 1,000-horsepower electric Hummer pickup coming out soon. But in the Lyriq, Cadillac only uses a single electric motor powering the rear wheels. While its 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque should be more than adequate, it falls short of all the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive competition. Because Tesla does not provide horsepower or torque numbers, we're not sure how much the base model makes. We assume it's close. The true power fiends will likely want the optionally available Model Y Performance, though. It also doesn't have publicized power numbers, but its 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds suggests its substantially more powerful than the other crossovers, here. Power is all well and good, but range is arguably more important for an electric car. The Tesla is on top, here. The base Long Range trim has an estimated range of 326 miles. The company doesn't specifically say how large the battery is for it or the Performance, which goes 303 miles. The Cadillac is close behind with a current estimate of more than 300 miles on its 100-kWh battery. Cadillac doesn't say whether that number is the gross amount or the usable amount. The Audi and Jaguar lag behind with less than 250 miles from their 95- and 90-kWh batteries, respectively. Audi is the only company that notes that the usable capacity is less than the total, which is a common strategy employed to extend the life of the battery and to maintain consistent ranges over time. 2020 Audi E-Tron View 13 Photos While not as broadly discussed as range, we also wanted to touch on efficiency.

2014 Audi RS Q3 breaks out ahead of Geneva reveal

Ahead of its big reveal next month at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Audi has released a handful of images and plenty of details for the all-new RS Q3. As the first-ever crossover from the marque with RS branding, this will be the fourth RS model to go on sale this year after the RS5 Cabriolet, RS6 Avant and the RS7, and while UK and Germany sales have been confirmed, there is no word as to whether we can expect this high-performance CUV to be available in the North America.
Sharing its 2.5-liter turbocharged and direct-injected five-cylinder engine with models like the TT RS and the RS3 Sportback, the 2014 Audi RS Q3 should deliver on performance, as it pumps out 310 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque (peak torque starting at just 1,500 rpm and running up through 5,200 rpm). This potent engine is paired to Audi's seven-speed S tronic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive. Despite its small stature, the RS Q3 still tips the scales at just over 3,800 pounds. Even so, performance figures are still impressive with a limited top of 155 miles per hour and a stated 0-62 mph time of 5.5 seconds. The RS Q3 also gets a sport suspension that has been lowered by 25 millimeters, launch control and weight-saving front rotors with a wave-cut and cross-drilled design gripped by massive eight-piston calipers.
Looking almost identical to what we saw last year in concept form in China, the 2014 RS Q3 looks just as sporty as its spec sheet suggests that it is. Up front, the fascia gets massive air intakes with silver vertical accents and, like other recent RS models, the Quattro emblem is written across the lower air intake. The silver accent motif also continues on the grille surround, mirror caps, roof rails and rear diffuser trim, and the oval exhaust outlet is also an identifying feature of Audi's RS cars.