Cars That Change Colors — and Other New Auto Tech on the Way
Automakers are moving toward electric power and simultaneously ramping up our cars’ connectivity—adding features, interfaces, and operating systems familiar from our smartphones and tablets. All this connectivity comes with potential pitfalls. “Broadly, security is increasingly a challenge,” says Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst at transportation research firm Guidehouse Insights. “As vehicles have more and more connections, they have more attack surfaces.” But these changes will also spur palpable changes in how we personalize and travel in our cars. Here’s a look at some of the new and surprising ways we might use our autos. According to the Wall Street Journal, emergent technologies may enable new uses for a car’s exterior. BMW has created an experimental surface coating impregnated with “digital ink” similar to that used in e-readers such as Kindles. When current is sent through this film, it can create pixilated patterns—static or moving—in a 32-color spectrum. And it accomplishes this, unlike LCD screens, with limited electric drain, important for electric-vehicle range. “E-ink is bi-stable,” says Stella Clarke, a BMW research and innovation engineer based in Germany. “That means, when it’s done changing colors, it doesn’t need any energy at all. Click here for the full story.
U.S. Vehicles Set Fuel Economy Record: EPA
New vehicles in the U.S. hit a record high for fuel economy in 2022 while emission levels dropped to record low levels, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to The Hill, in its annual Automotive Trends Report, the EPA found that model year 2022 brought the largest annual improvement in carbon dioxide emissions and fuel economy in the last nine years. Since 2004, carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 27 percent while fuel economy increased by 35 percent, the report noted. The average fuel economy jumped by 0.6 mpg between 2021 and 2022 to a record high of 26 mpg, the EPA said. This is more than double the annual rate of improvement in fuel economy over the last decade and marks a shift from last year’s report, which found fuel economy generally remained flat between 2020 and 2021. The EPA said most vehicle types are now at their best-ever fuel economy, including sport utility vehicles, which saw an increase in fuel economy of 2.4 mpg in 2022. This increase is likely to continue, the EPA report stated, forecasting a fuel economy of 26.9 mpg in 2023. Click here for the full story.
Automakers Prepare for Another Wave of EVs in 2024
The U.S. light-vehicle market continued to bounce back in 2023 and automakers are counting on new and redesigned models to keep the momentum going in 2024. Electric vehicles gained more traction in 2023 and next year will see an additional 25 new models go on sale. Several brands in 2024 will be launching their first EVs of the modern era for U.S. customers: Acura, Dodge, Honda, Jeep, and Land Rover notably among them, reports Automotive News. The nation's top-selling car, the Toyota Camry, and bestselling light truck, Ford's F-150, are substantially updated for 2025 and go on sale next year. Here's a roundup of key new and redesigned models coming to U.S. showrooms in 2024, with the selection expected to improve as production and inventories steadily rebound. Acura's debut electric vehicle, the ZDX, goes on sale in early 2024. The midsize electric crossover is part of a collaboration with General Motors and will ride on GM's Ultium battery-powered platform and use the same underpinnings as the Cadillac Lyriq. A 500-hp Type S variant with two electric motors will be offered alongside an A-Spec model with a rear- or all-wheel-drive setup. Click here for the full story.
2025 Lexus UX 300h Arrives with More Power and Efficiency
The 2025 Lexus UX 300h has made its global debut, marking the luxury marque's transition into using the fifth-generation Toyota Hybrid System (THS 5). Apart from upgraded standard tech and features, the new setup is more powerful and efficient than before, replacing the current UX 250h in the lineup, reports Carbuzz. Under the hood, the UX 300h retains the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine coupled to a new hybrid transaxle, integrating two electric motors (one on each axle), boosting the power output from 181 horsepower to 196 hp, which reflects the hybrid setup in the Corolla Cross Hybrid. The performance upgrade is partnered with a shift from the old nickel-metal hydride battery to a modern lithium-ion unit. The powertrain update improves the crossover's acceleration, now sprinting from 0-60 mph in 8.0 seconds with front-wheel drive (7.9 seconds for AWD), a 0.4-second improvement over the outgoing model. Lexus estimates a combined fuel economy rating of 43 mpg for FWD models - slightly improving over the UX250h's 42 mpg. The UX 300h AWD has a manufacturer-estimated fuel efficiency of 41 mpg. Click here to learn more about the 2025 Lexus UX 300h.
Collision, Braking Tech Struggle to Prevent Crashes with Large Trucks, Motorcycles
Front crash prevention systems, which include forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking, are less effective at preventing crashes with large trucks and motorcycles, according to new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The institute's study of more than 160,000 crashes found that front crash prevention systems reduced rear-end collisions with medium- or heavy-duty trucks by 38 percent and with motorcycles by 41 percent compared with a 53 percent reduction in rear-end crashes involving other passenger vehicles, reports Automotive News. Researchers used police-reported crash data for 2016-20 model-year passenger vehicles with and without automatic emergency braking and forward-collision warning systems. The crash data was from 2017-21 and covered 18 states. Medium- and heavy-duty trucks, such as delivery trucks and tractor-trailers, were defined as having gross vehicle weight ratings of more than 10,000 pounds and generally excluded pickups and other light trucks, according to the study. "These reductions are impressive for all vehicle types, but the safety benefits could be even larger if front crash prevention systems were as good at mitigating and preventing crashes with big trucks and motorcycles as they are with cars," Jessica Cicchino, IIHS' vice president of research, said. Click here for the full story.
Around the Web
New Toyota Crown Sport PHEV has 302 HP and a 56-Mile EV Range [Carscoops]
2025 Porsche 911 to Add a Powerful Hybrid and a New 3.6L Engine [Car and Driver]
Mazda CX-70 Will Inherit CX-90's Muscular Turbo Engines [Carbuzz]
Texans Can Get a License Plate with a Cheeseburger on it [Jalopnik]
