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Envisics raises $50 million to bring AR holographic displays to car windshields

Envisics, a U.K.-based startup developing augmented reality (AR) holographic head-up display (HUD) technology for cars, has raised $50 million in a series B round of funding from a host of automotive giants, including Hyundai Mobis, General Motors’ VC arm GM Ventures, and China’s SAIC Motors’ investment offshoot SAIC Capital.

HUD technology originally gained traction in the aviation and military realm — where it allows pilots and operators to view data directly in their field of vision. But it has increasingly made its way into the automotive sphere, with the likes of BMW embracing HUDs to display things like speed and directions in the windshield. However, most modern HUD systems offer fairly basic graphical functionality with a limited field of view (FOV) that places images near the front of the car — basically as a secondary display for information already visible elsewhere in the vehicle.

With AR-enabled HUDs, cars can overlay

Car

by dul sanchez
October 16, 2020

the electric car that dares to be different

The Mazda is a lovely little EV, nice to drive, different in many ways, with real driver appeal, but the range is parlous.

Until we get a range extender version, the MX-30 is only suitable as a second car/urban runabout – provided you don’t fancy a visit to the seaside.

THE FACTS

Mazda MX-30

TESTED AC synchronous electric motor and 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery with step-down gearing, front-wheel drive

PRICE/ON SALE without £3,000 Government PIGG, from £28,545, to £33,045 (£30,495 as tested in First Edition trim)/spring 2021

POWER/TORQUE 143bhp/160lb ft

TOP SPEED 87mph

ACCELERATION 0-62mph in 9.7sec

RANGE 124 miles (WLTP high)

EFFICIENCY 3.49 miles per kWh

CO2 EMISSIONS zero at tailpipe, well-to-wheels 41.35/km

VED £0

VERDICT Nice to look at and drive, and genuinely different, Mazda’s MX-30 only lacks one thing to make it a credible contender in the market and that’s a better battery range (until a range-extender version

Car

by dul sanchez
October 15, 2020

California sets new car ICE ban for 2035 | Automotive Industry News

This latest move by California’s state governor will likely ratchet up tensions with Washington

The US State of California’s Governor has said it will require that by 2035, all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California are zero emission vehicles.

Governor Gavin Newsom said he will aggressively move the state further away from its reliance on fossil fuels. He has issued an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035 and additional measures to eliminate harmful emissions from the transportation sector.

In a statement Newsom’s office noted that the transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of California’s carbon pollution, 80 percent of smog-forming pollution and 95 percent of toxic diesel emissions.

“This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” said Governor Newsom.

“For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the

Transportation

by dul sanchez
October 15, 2020

Labour steps up push for 2030 petrol and diesel car sales ban

Transport is the UK’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions | Credit: Haidan

The opposition joins Greenpeace and Green Alliance in warning the government should introduce a ban of fossil-fuel cars by 2030 if it wants to meet its 2050 emissions target

Greenpeace and Green Alliance have today warned the government must ban sales of all new petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars and vans by 2030 if wants to stand a chance of meeting its 2050 net zero emissions target – a move that came in the same week as Labour stepped up its calls for Ministers to pull forward the date for ending the sale of conventional cars.

With transport responsible for the largest slice of the country’s emissions, a phase out of polluting vehicles by 2030 is the “single most important measure” the government can introduce to get the country on track to meet its long-term climate targets,

Transportation

by dul sanchez
October 14, 2020

15 Winter Must-Haves to Prep Your Car for the Snowy Season

Photo credit: Marc Urbano - Car and Driver — Photo credit: Marc Urbano – Car and Driver

From Car and Driver

With the cool winds blowing and the leaves changing, it’s time to consider prepping your car—and yourself—for winter. Or, at the very least, gathering all the necessary tools and consumables to save your future self time, money, and a whole lot of headaches. Just one note: These are general approaches to surviving winter, automotively speaking. This isn’t a catchall for every scenario that you might face in the struggle of protecting your car through harsh winter months.

We also looked at getting your collector car or more rust-prone ride ready to stash for the winter months. Rounding out the list, we have some suggestions to keep you busy when you can’t enjoy your car.

Photo credit: - Hearst Owned — Photo credit: – Hearst Owned

Unfortunately, those living in the frozen tundra of the East and Midwest will have to get around somehow when

Car

by dul sanchez
October 13, 2020

Anantapur RTA officials unearth car sale scam that used software loophole

The Road Transport Authority (RTA) officials in Anantapur unearthed a scam in which a gang changed the registration numbers of cars using a loophole in the online procedure of the department and sold them cheaply.

The miscreants, who allegedly bought the cars on finance, made the financiers believe that they were stolen and even lodged police complaints claiming that the vehicles were missing. In the process, they reportedly evaded payment of lifetime road tax running into lakhs of rupees.Six such vehicles – four in Tadipatri and one in Kalyandurg and one in Owk of Kurnool district – were confiscated by the DTC Anantapur and RTO Anantapur DSM Varaprasad and their teams after verifying the old RCs by retrieving data from back-end servers. Some vehicles are said to be still running in Telangana and Karnataka.

Modus operandi

Deputy Transport Commissioner N. Sivaram Prasad said they had chanced upon two vehicles that

Transportation

by dul sanchez
October 13, 2020

Worst Car Interiors of 2020: McLaren, Corvette, Lotus, Nissan, Fiat

This is not a list of bad cars.

The Chevrolet Corvette, the McLaren 570S, and Lotus Evora, for example, are among the most athletic, fun-to-drive vehicles on the market today.

But the ability to provide a thrilling experience from behind the wheel doesn’t mean a car sailed through the interior design portion of the test. Engineering prowess doesn’t always transfer to the cabin. Pity the afterthought! Much more than things to drive, cars have become the spaces in which we work, preen, eat, nap, detox, and even learn. A good interior, from driver’s seat to backseat, facilitates all that. A bad one actively gets in the way.

The interior of a car, in fact, is the most critical element of the entire driving and riding experience. It’s the only place where the body (hands, feet, back, legs) actually connects with the vehicle. The comfort of the space, the convenience of

Car

by dul sanchez
October 12, 2020

1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS 396 Is Everything Today’s Car Is Not

For all intents and purpose, the modern day muscle car segment – or, to a greater extent, the sports coupe segment – is dominated by the Ford Mustang. One of just two of the Blue Oval’s remaining passenger cars in the U.S. (alongside the Fusion, in the process of being retired), the Mustang is clearly a much more prominent presence in the customer’s minds that it’s long time rival, the Camaro.

The current generation of Chevy’s pony has little going for it in the battle with the Mustang – this is why it sold about half the number achieved by Ford in 2019 – but true fans never give up. For them, a return to the early versions of the car is the best way to keep hope alive.

And this 1967 example is a great way to do that, as it is not only part of the very first

Car

by dul sanchez
October 11, 2020

JR car park sale alarm highlights absurd situation at great hospital

THE alarm at the John Radcliffe that vital staff parking space could be sold off is a reminder of the preposterous situation around parking there.

For years, staff and patients at our world-class hospital have complained at having to queue for up to an hour just to get a space, with many parking on surrounding residential streets instead.

We have even reported on homeowners in the area making cold, hard cash by renting out their driveways.

The situation clearly causes a lot of stress for employees and families who are already inherently dealing with a lot of stress from the very fact they are driving to a hospital – whether they are going to work or visiting a friend or relative.

One obvious, simple, and popular solution would be a multi-storey car park which could fit hundreds of cars.

Unfortunately for fans of that idea, our city council won’t allow

Transportation

by dul sanchez
October 10, 2020