Local Trade, Leather, Navigation, Sunroof, Heated/cooled Seats, Power Liftgate, on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Here are this year's top 5 automaker April Fools’ jokes

April 1 is the wonderful day when PR departments really push themselves to top the zany jokes they came up with the previous year. And it's not just fast-food chains competing with each other, or breweries announcing they have released stuff like a fermented herring flavored beer: carmakers' media teams rarely miss out on the opportunity to play a little joke on their audience. Here are a few of our favorites from this year:1) Porsche Porsche announced that it's launching a Mission E tractor, styled to resemble its 1950s tractor models. "With a power output in excess of 700hp, the Mission E Tractor will be the fastest accelerating agricultural vehicle in the world, enabling farmers to harvest crops in record time with the added environmental benefits of zero emissions at source and significantly reduced operating noise."2) Lexus Lexus actually jumped the gun, telling us on March 28 that it's combining cars and drivers using DNA matching. The kicker was that with DNA-matched cars, owners would be able to start their Lexuses by licking the steering wheel.3) McLaren Automotive McLaren said it's boosting efficiency by quite eccentric measures, such as measuring the technology center's lake and floor tiles daily, and by synchronizing the staff's tea breaks.4) BMW Motorrad BMW's motorcycle arm is solving parts availability issues in remote locations by offering a 3D printer mounted permanently on the bike's rack: If you need to replace a broken-off gear lever, you can just print one. "The new system will mean that even very rarely required parts not generally stocked by BMW Motorrad sales partners can be supplied on a just-in-time basis." BMW even went to the lengths of announcing that the "BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer" was tested on the Antarctic, by erecting a tent whose poles were produced onsite.5) Honda Last but not least, Honda UK purportedly cut the roof off a new CR-V, calling it the CR-V Roadster. Tellingly, no convertible top was even offered for the concept, "making it a no-top rather than a drop-top. This innovative design makes it a vehicle purely for sunnier climates and therefore completely useless for the two-day British summer which traditionally occurs in May."Related Video: Featured Gallery Top 5 April Fools 2018 Image Credit: Porsche Green Humor Weird Car News BMW Honda Lexus McLaren Porsche bmw motorrad mclaren automotive

Toyota to suspend 18 assembly lines as production restarts post-quake

TOKYO - Japanese manufacturers began restarting production at plants in the country's quake-hit northeast, but Toyota Motor Corp said it plans to idle 18 assembly lines for a few days next week due to a shortage of parts from suppliers. It had suspended operations at three factories due to the quake and sees lost production of 20,000 units due to the stoppages. Toyota has already cut its global production target due to the ongoing chip shortage. The suspension will cut heavily into Toyota's domestic production. Impacted product lines include the Toyota RAV4, Land Cruiser, Harrier and Yaris and virtually every Lexus. Toyota did not say whether these shutdowns could extend to U.S.-based production lines, but the possibility exists if they receive parts from the same suppliers.  On one hand, the limited damage caused by the magnitude 7.4 temblor has highlighted Japan's success in building resilience against the frequent tremors that shake the archipelago. But the quake has sparked concerns of further disruptions to a pandemic-hit supply chain for precision components vital to electronics and autos production and in which Japanese manufacturers play a leading role. Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd, the top global supplier of ceramic capacitors used in smartphones and cars, said it restarted production on Friday at two stopped plants with the remaining two idled plants to restart next week. A fire that broke out at a factory which produces chip inductors caused some damage to equipment. Renesas Electronics Corp, which makes nearly a third of the microcontroller chips used in cars globally, said it has restarted production after stopping it at two factories with a partial stop at a third. All three factories, including the Naka factory where fire broke out last year, are expected to return to pre-quake capacity by Wednesday, Renesas said. Power has mostly been restored across the northeast, which suffered Japan's biggest earthquake 11 years ago. Areas of Tokyo lost power for nearly three hours after the latest quake, in which three people died and 183 were injured. The blackout has forced the disposal of some COVID-19 vaccines held in cool storage, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. Tech conglomerate Sony Group Corp is in the process of gradually restarting production at three factories in the quake-hit area, a spokesperson said.

Lexus RC F is a predatory sport coupe with a 450-horsepower beating heart

Take a look at that face. We can't be the only ones who see an automotive Predator staring back, right? Certainly, the Lexus RC F Coupe boasts a visually striking design that some are going to love and others are going to hate, but we can at least appreciate that it's aggressive, especially compared to the standard RC Coupe that we saw at the Tokyo Motor Show. And with good reason - there's a 5.0-liter V8 engine sitting under that massively domed hood with "more than 450 horsepower," along with a newly calibrated eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Interestingly, Lexus has tuned the RC F's engine to run on an Atkinson cycle under most circumstances, while it switches to the more typical Otto cycle when more power is required, presumably using some sort of advanced variable valve timing technology. Helping put that power to the ground with all those ponies wreaking havoc underhood is a torque vectoring differential, a first from Lexus.
Also involved in keeping the RC F planted is an aero package that includes wings and ducts galore. The headline bit is an active rear wing that deploys at 50 miles per hour and retracts back into the deck when the car drops back to 25 mph. A clear-coated carbon fiber roof can optionally join that carbon rear wing. There are apparently going to be three 19-inch wheel options, including the ones you see in our live image gallery above.