Win a Mercedes-AMG C43 Coupe With Your Finger During Super Bowl LII
Starting today, you can begin training your fingers to win a brand new Mercedes-AMG C43 Coupe during Super Bowl LII this Sunday, February 4.
At kickoff, Mercedes will start the “Last Fan Standing” challenge, a modern take on the classic challenge that pits contenders against each other to see who can keep at least one finger on a vehicle the longest in an attempt to win it. However, in this digital version, there is no physical car to touch. Instead, players will be required to touch and follow a virtual C43 Coupe that moves around their smartphone screen until they give up.
Like in the original game, as soon as you lose contact with the car, you’re out. The last person touching the C43 Coupe wins it. A live counter will show the number of players remaining–and how long they have managed to touch the car–as the difficulty of the game progresses.
“We wanted to get beyond the traditional game-day executions and do something that was more reflective of the social co-viewing phenomena that game day has become with people alternating between watching the big screen and socializing on the small one,” said VP of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA, Drew Slaven.
You can visit LastFanStanding.com to start training for the challenge, set up reminders, and invite friends to play. Players can officially register on game day and read about tips and strategies for success, such as what to do when it’s time for a bathroom break. If you share on Twitter that you’re playing the game, you could win a one-time-use, five-minute timeout that you can redeem at your convenience. That could come in handy considering the game probably won’t end when the Super Bowl does.
On Sunday, don’t hassle friends and family for staring at their phone instead of watching the Big Game, because they might be trying to win a Mercedes-AMG C43 Coupe.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
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Jaguar F-Type-Based Lister Thunder to Debut in London
Lister Motor Company will officially launch its Jaguar F-Type-based Thunder model in London at the Historic Motorsport International in mid-February.
Under the hood, the Lister Thunder packs a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine that delivers 675 hp. The revived British sports car maker claims its Thunder will have a top speed of 208 mph will be able to scoot from 0-62 mph in just over 3 seconds.
Lister says only 99 examples will be built with prices starting around $200,000 at current exchange rates.
The Cambridge-based company was founded by Brian Lister 65 years ago and has long competition ties to Jaguar. Back in 2000, a Lister Storm was powered by a Jaguar V-12 and won the FIA World GT Championship.
The new Thunder sports a custom carbon-fiber front and rear bumper and an optional carbon-fiber hood. It gets an enameled green and yellow racing badge on the grille and a solid brass badge that adorns the rear spoiler.
Inside, the dashboard, door cards, roof lining, and steering wheel are swathed in Bridge of Weir Nappa hide, and the cabin is available in 36 flavors. Headrests also get plenty of stitched logos.
“Like Brabus and AMG with Mercedes and Alpina with BMW, we are hoping to become synonymous once again with tuning Jaguar vehicles, giving customers new enhanced, bespoke performance and design alternatives to Jaguar’s acclaimed model program,” said Lawrence Whittaker, Lister CEO, in a statement.
“Although we are not directly affiliated with Jaguar Land Rover, Lister has a Jaguar tuning heritage dating back 65 years. Our new Lister Thunder is the fastest and most powerful Lister ever created with a 208 mph top speed and 0-100 time of just 6.8 seconds. I am utterly proud of what we have achieved, and the Thunder is just the beginning!”
A short video of the Thunder with former-Lister Storm racing driver Tiff Needell can be seen below.
The Lister Thunder will be shown to the public at the Historic Motorsport International on February 15.
Source: Lister
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Oh, Great. Ford Patents Autonomous Police Car That can Issue Tickets
Forget sweet-talking your way out of a ticket. If Ford’s vision for the future becomes a reality, police officers won’t have to get out of their cars to dole out tickets to drivers. Instead, autonomous cop cars will issue tickets via wireless communication with the offending vehicle.
In a patent published earlier this year, Ford details an idea for autonomous police vehicles. Although drivers will probably revile such a concept, the patent argues that the deployment of self-driving cars can free up police officers for more difficult tasks that can’t be automated.
Once the autonomous police car identifies a vehicle that is violating traffic laws, it pulls the vehicle over. Then, it captures an image of the license plate and receives an image of the driver’s license, assuming that a human driver is behind the wheel. It can even determine whether to issue a warning or a ticket. Apparently, the vehicle can make this decision by looking through records of any prior traffic violations associated with the driver, and if the record is clean, a warning may be issued. Here’s one of the most unsettling ideas: The autonomous police cars can be trained via machine learning tools to find the best hiding spots to nab speeders and other types of traffic violators.
The autonomous police cars may have cameras and lasers to detect traffic violators. It will also be able to search a database of local traffic laws to determine the legal speed limit for the road. A surveillance camera or roadside sensor could also cue autonomous police cars to offenders.
Like pretty much every major auto manufacturer, Ford has expressed its commitment to autonomous cars. The company says it will offer self-driving cars without a steering wheel or pedals by 2021. These vehicles will be used for ride-sharing services, and it may not be for several years later that fully autonomous cars will roll out for personal use.
Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office via The Washington Post
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2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Sets Lap Record at Virginia International Raceway
Hot on the heels of Ford’s “accidental” lap record at Virginia International Raceway last week, Chevrolet gleefully announced that the upcoming 2019 Corvette ZR1 smashed the Ford GT’s still-fresh time by 1.37 seconds.
At the start of this satisfying and very patriotic series of landmark laps, the gone-but-not-forgotten 2016 Dodge Viper ACR made headlines in 2015 when it set multiple production lap records at a handful of tracks—one of which was VIR, where the be-winged Viper carved through the verdant track in a smokin’ 2:40.02.
That record apparently stood until last week, when a Ford GT supercar whipped around the track in an impressive 2:38:62. Not only was this a feather in the GT’s carbon-fiber cap, but Ford nonchalantly claimed this wasn’t even a planned record-breaking run, and only part of a validation lap to iron out a few developmental kinks.
Now, Chevrolet is the record holder, cracking the GT’s record a week later in the 2019 Corvette ZR1, clocking in a blistering 2:37.25 time. Following in Ford’s treadmarks, the automaker played it cool when discussing the new record in a release. According to the Corvette team, this too was a validation run, not meant for cracking the lap record.
This wasn’t some stripped-down test mule special, either. Aside from different seats, a harness bar, and five-point harnesses, the record-setting ‘Vette was bone stock. It was equipped with the ZTK performance package, adding a deep, deep front splitter, adjustable carbon-fiber rear wing, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, and MagneRide suspension. It also packed a supercharged 6.2-liter LT5 V-8 making 755 hp and 715 lb-ft of torque, which may have played a part in setting the record.
GM cheerfully points out that the record was set by Jim Mero, a vehicle dynamics engineer for GM, and not some professional hotshoe like the record-setting Ford GT’s Billy Johnson, who is part of the team who pushed the Ford GT at Le Mans.
Watch the ZR1 set the VIR lap record in the video below.
Source: Chevrolet
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Next-Generation Ford Focus to Debut in Europe This April
The next-generation Ford Focus will debut in Europe at a stand-alone event in April, instead of the Geneva auto show, according to a report from Automotive New Europe.
Ford will continue to build the European Focus in Germany but the North American model’s production will move to China in mid- to late-2019 after production stops in mid-2018 at the factory in Michigan where the Focus is currently produced.
This means the Focus will not be produced for North America for about a year, but Ford says this will save the company up to $1 billion. Given that fact and the recent surge of crossovers in the U.S., it makes sense Ford is unveiling the next Focus in Europe instead of North America.
Launched in 2012, the current Ford Focus is showing its age in a competitive segment that includes recently redesigned rivals like the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, and the Kia Forte. Additionally, Focus sales have steadily dropped since 2012 with 2017 expected to be the worst sales year for the Focus.
We expect the next Focus to go upmarket and showcase a greater distinction between models as fewer units are expected to be sold. In Europe, an upscale Vignale version will be offered along with sporty ST-Line, performance ST, crossover-like Active, and station wagon variants. North America may receive a similar lineup.
The Blue Oval has been quiet about engine offerings, but with Ford’s big investment in electrified powertrains, we hope the Focus Electric returns–with a longer driving range–along with a new hybrid or plug-in hybrid model.
The upcoming Focus should grow in size, offering more passenger and cargo room. So far, we have only seen camouflaged mules testing in hot weather and in the snow with some shots of the new interior.
Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription required)
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2018 Detroit Tech Roundup: 8 Detroit Tech Treats
How’d you like your next Ford F-150 to get 37 mpg combined? Read on to learn more about the unconventional engine making just that very promise. It was shown in Detroit as part of the North American International Auto Show and its coincident Automobili-D tech forum. (See what they did there?) Seems nobody dares stage an international auto show without a concurrent mobility conference, yet despite falling so closely on the heels of AutoMobility LA and the CES techstravaganza, Detroit delivered plenty of its own new future-tech, which we present here along with a few related tidbits presented elsewhere during the public days of the Detroit show.
The 37-mpg Opposed-Piston Two-Stroke Lives!
We’ve been covering Achates Power’s highly unusual inline-three-cylinder two-stroke engine with six pistons and two crankshafts for some time now, and it’s finally installed in a Ford F-150 truck for demonstration and fine tuning. The stats are pretty impressive if they prove reliable in production trim: 270 hp, 480 lb-ft, and 37 mpg combined fuel economy. The test engine is running 18.5:1 compression with direct gasoline injection. The long stroke of this 2.7-liter engine allows the pistons to extract maximum work, and because there are no cylinder heads (intake and exhaust flows through ports in the cylinder walls that get exposed at the extremes of the piston travel), there’s far less heat rejection to the cooling system. Achates says this helps deliver thermal efficiency of near 50 percent—and that’s before any in-vehicle thermal-management optimization work.
The current design features a single large-diameter gear connecting the upper and lower crankshafts. Interestingly, the two cranks don’t do equal work. The one on the side exposing the exhaust ports transmits about 60 percent of the torque while the one with the pistons that expose the intake ports bears 40 percent. The engine is twin-charged, with a supercharger (needed to move sufficient air at startup and low speeds) and a turbo. They operate at low levels of boost, so less air flows through this engine than is typical for a four-stroke diesel. This helps keep the exhaust temperatures in a narrower range—the lowest operating exhaust temperatures are higher, and the highs are lower than in “normal” engines. This makes life easier for the exhaust after-treatment system, which will likely include a lean-NOx trap. The engine produces sufficient heat to warm the cabin, but the required radiator capacity should be less than in a traditional truck.
The Delphi direct-injection system features two injectors per cylinder operating at about 22,000 psi on gasoline (36,000 if running diesel, which reportedly increases the combined economy to 42 mpg). They spray directly at each other, with combustion initiating in the center of the cylinder, so the cylinder walls never get sprayed by fuel. Achates claims there has also been no issue with oil finding its way out of the intake or exhaust ports because the oil control rings remain below the ports. At least one (as yet undisclosed) manufacturer has plans to build the engine, and several more have expressed interest. Stay tuned, as this promises to be the most radically reimagined engine to power a passenger vehicle since the Wankel rotary.
Making Jags/Rovers Good LISNRs
Everybody wants to control everything with their phone, and usually that requires a connection to the cloud via Wi-Fi or cellular or a connection to the thing being controlled via Bluetooth or near-field communications (NFC). But that’s not always possible or convenient when you’re out in the wilderness, deep in a parking garage, or inside a concrete arena. Enter ultrasonic audio data transmission from Cincinnati-based LISNR. That’s right, your phone’s speakers generate “Smart Tones” at a frequency between 18.7 and 19.2 kHz—just above human hearing range—which your car or other device “hears” and responds to. Range depends upon devices and conditions and can be tailored to function only at close range, up to 3 feet, or out as far as 60 feet. Data can be transmitted at up to 1,000 bits/second—just enough to handle tasks such as authentication (including one-touch Bluetooth connectivity, with Smart Tones handling all the hand-shaking), offline messaging between devices, secure payments, and control of nearby internet-of-things devices. JLR plans to offer this technology in 2019.
Alchemy Windshield Savior
Windshield replacement is becoming a more complicated task, as more cameras, lidar units, head-up displays, rain sensors, and the like are attached to or integrated into them. To prevent chips and cracks in the first place, Kitchener, Ontario-based Alchemy introduces Exoshield—an 11-layer windshield protection film that blocks 99.9 percent of ultraviolet radiation and improves stone-chip resistance by a factor of six. The top layer features a special scratchproof nano-coating that preserves safe visibility over the long haul. Exoshield is available on the aftermarket. Protection for most windshields costs about $350 installed. Look for this tech to potentially make Lexan and other ultralight but scratch-prone glazing materials legal for wider-spread use in the future.
Electrification Made Easy
German supplier Schaeffler began producing rear electrified axles for a hybrid car by China’s Great Wall car company at the end of 2017. This simplified concept only connects the gas and electric powertrains through the road. The system features an integrated two-speed transmission, which provides enough added leverage to permit downsizing the engine, saving enough cost to cover the transmission gearing. That application is rated for 107 hp and operates at 300 volts. Eight such designs are in the works with different power levels and applications, but only this one has the two-speed.
By integrating the power inverter onto a low-cost 48-volt e-axle and thereby eliminating the cables, Schaeffler has demonstrated the ability to increase the motor’s power rating to 27 hp (16 hp used to be the perceived limit of 48-volt e-motors).
Clever Torque Converters
The new GM/Ford joint-venture 10-speed automatic features a converter design that does without an entire stamping, shortening the axial length of the converter and trimming its mass by 30 percent. Schaeffler’s trick was moving the friction material for the lockup clutch to one of the fluid circuit shells where fluid dynamics actually make it slightly self-energizing. Another new Schaeffler torque converter employed in Mazda Skyactiv transaxles uses technology more commonly employed in rotating transmission clutches, which feature a chamber that compensates for the centrifugal forces acting on the transmission fluid. Adding such a chamber to this converter allows for smoother lockup at very low speeds and allows the system to permit a bit of slippage to compensate for engine vibration, all of which promotes earlier, more frequent converter lockup for greater fuel savings.
Not Just a New Motor Oil, a New Category of Motor Oil
The folks that started lubricating steam engines in 1866 and subsequently introduced the first all-climate oil (1954), racing oil (1965), synthetic blend oil (1996), and oil for high-mileage engines (2000) are now introducing Modern Engine Full Synthetic Motor Oil. The last oil quality upgrade approved by the American Petroleum Institute was SN in 2010, when 6.7 percent of cars and 11.0 percent of light trucks featured gasoline direct injection. Today some 56 percent of all new passenger vehicles have GDI, and there are some 35 million GDI-powered vehicles on the road—many of which are also turbocharged, downsized, and down-speeded by coupling them with eight-, nine-, or 10-speed transmissions or wide-ratio CVTs. All of this increases the temperature and stress placed on the engine and its lubricating oils.
Valvoline’s engine-lab research suggests that the SN-grade oil spec doesn’t adequately protect these highly stressed engines. Direct injection results in greater soot formation, and when soot blown by the rings contaminates the oil, it can cause premature wear on timing chains. In extreme cases the chain(s) can stretch enough to affect valve timing because tensioners can only compensate for about 0.7 percent stretch. Carbon deposits are another big problem, both inside the combustion chamber and especially on the intake valves, which no longer get washed by port-injected fuel. Severe deposits on the piston can lead to a particularly violent low-speed pre-ignition knocking that can destroy a piston (and hence the engine). Valve deposits come from oil sneaking past valve guides and airborne oil particles in the intake manifold from positive crankcase ventilation and exhaust-gas recirculation. The Modern Engine blend contains a proprietary additive package (the only big change Valvoline representatives admitted to was replacing calcium detergent with a calcium-magnesium detergent) engineered to prevent deposit formation 30 percent more effectively than the industry standard.
And if you change your own oil, the 5-quart bottle it comes in will also please you with its pull-ring seal, no-drip pouring spout, anti-glug tube, and handle, which is relocated for better leverage.
Clean Valves in a Jiffy
My September 2016 Technologue described an intake-valve-deposit cleansing system that has finally hit the market in two forms. Valvoline EasyGDI First Defense can be administered by ASC/Quick Lube technicians. It essentially involves removing the manifold air pressure sensor, mounting a nozzle where it was, and using this nozzle to fog the manifold with one or two 22-ounce cans of intake cleaner product (aerosolized by shop air) while the engine is running. Engine revs are elevated to 2,500 rpm once a minute during this time. We witnessed a one-can treatment administered to a Hyundai Sonata with 35,000 miles. Looking at the open intake valves with a borescope showed them to be badly gunked up with carbon deposits. One can of cleaner had them looking mostly clean. A 10-ounce bottle of fuel conditioner goes with this $120 service. To clean more severe deposits on the valves and in the combustion chamber, Valvoline’s EasyGDI Clean Up Kit is designed for dealers and master technicians to administer. It adds a fuel-rail conditioning product. That one retails for $300–$400—way cheaper than opening the engine up and cleaning everything the old-fashioned way. It’s too bad the borescope costs $100K—too much for most shops to swing. Seeing that gunk with my own eyes would easily separate me from cost of the cleanup job.
Cocoon Airbags
Automotive seating supplier Adient and the airbag folks at Autoliv teamed up to demonstrate a concept safety seat for an autonomous future when car seats might be swiveled to different positions. Naturally, the seats mount safety belts to the seat structure, and the concepts show two ways of mounting airbags that provide side cushioning protection from impacts or adjacent passengers coming from all directions. One even proposes providing frontal protection, though deploying this over a tall occupant’s head seems problematic. This idea is very much in the concept phase.
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