Car manufacturers worldwide are now starting to see Tesla – specifically its Model S EV sedan as a serious threat to their business. A couple of weeks ago, the American EV company unveiled its P85D Model S Sedan which promises performance comparable if not better than gasoline-powered cars.

The performance of the P85D has put Tesla on the map getting the company attention from its competitors. This week, several reports indicated that other carmakers including Mercedes Benz, Porsche and Ford are planning to create competitors for Tesla’s cars.

The two German brands will reportedly go after the Model S and create EV sedans comparable to its Panamera, E-class and S-class offerings. Ford on the other hand, might focus on improving its mid-range Ford Focus EV though its CEO suggested that Ford can build a Model S competitor if it wanted to.

The cars Porsche and Mercedes are working on will allegedly have a range of 250 miles and will be offered on sale sometime in 2018 and 2021 respectively.

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American car manufacturer Tesla is raising the bar once again for electric cars as it introduces the new Model S P85D, an updated version of its very successful Model S but now equipped with two motors and a special auto-pilot mode.

On the looks department the P85D is identical to the basic Model S and is differentiated only with its badges. But under the body lies a new rear motor which when combined with the cars existing front drive unit can produce an additional 50 percent of torque. This translates to a 0-60mph performance of just 3.2 seconds – which is faster than a McLaren F1 supercar and power output of up to 691hp (470hp at the rear and 221hp up front).

Aside from the blistering performance, the new Model S P85D also comes with a new standard hardware package that enables autopilot functionality. This hardware pack will include forward radar, 12 long range ultrasonic sensors positioned to sense 16 feet around the car in every direction at all speeds, a forward looking camera and a digitally controlled electric assist braking system.

This autopilot system will allow the car to stay within a lane, change lanes with a simple tap of a turn signal and manage speed by reading road signs and using active traffic aware cruise control.

Tesla is clear to point out that the Autopilot system is not meant to enable driverless cars. The system may be compared to the Autopilot mechanism used by pilots in airplanes to increase comfort and safety when conditions are clear. They added that the system is a way to relieve driver stress but doesn’t remove the control of the vehicle from the driver.

The Tesla Model S P85D is now available for pre-order and will be shipped to customers in North America by December while European and Asian buyers will get the car in the months afterwards.

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Following the lead of Tesla’s Roadster model, the Saleen FourSixteen and BMW’s newly released i8, a new startup is sprucing up the electric vehicle market. California-based Renovo motors showcased its latest creation at last week’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The Renovo Coupe comes with two mid-mounted axial-flux motors that delivers 500bhp and 1356Nm of torque. These translate to speeds up to 120 miles per hour and 0-60mph acceleration in just 3.4 seconds.
The electric super car is powered by a patent-pending lithium ion battery that is divided into three packs in order to improve weight distribution allowing the coupe to weigh just below 1.5 tons. The batteries can also be fast charged in 30 minutes.
In the looks department, the Renovo coupe has that unmistakable American muscle car looks thanks to a body patterned after the iconic 1964 Daytona Coupe designed by Peter Brock. The car uses a CSX9000 chassis and comes equipped with redesigned frame, suspension and cabin.
According to Renovo the vehicle has a range of 100 miles and will start production by the first half of 2015.
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As we’ve mentioned in our previous posts, part of Google’s thrust for this year’s I/O developer conference is for users to bring the Android experience to other screens, and that includes the screen on your car.

Today, the search company introduced its answer to Apple’s CarPlay – Android Auto. In essence the platform strives to improve three major components in the in-car environment namely: communication, music and navigation while considering the driver and the passengers’ safety.

With Android Auto, drivers will still be able to control certain functions of the car and a connected smartphone without having to take his eyes off the road. This is made possible thanks to platform’s simple glanceable user interface coupled with voice-enabled functions. For instance, a driver can easily make phone calls, make searches or play audio tracks by giving voice orders to the car.

And speaking of audio tracks, Android Auto is also working with different audio content providers including Spotify, Pandora, Songza and iHeart Radio to name a few. And of course, there will be heavy integration with Google Maps.

Just like Android Wear and the L Developer Preview, Android Auto will utilize Google’s new design language – Material Design. Google has also announced that cars with Android Auto should roll out before the end of the year starting from a few members of the Open Automotive Alliance (around 40 members).

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Tesla made a surprise move this week allegedly in the spirit of progress. The company which has made a name for itself by putting electric car technology mainstream.

The electric car-maker has opened its doors to the public and has made its patents available to everyone who wants to contribute to the development of sustainable transportation. According to Tesla, its open sourcing its patents in the hopes that bigger car companies can use Tesla’s technology in their production lines and help fill the gap in the supply for electric cars.

At present, Tesla’s annual production is at 100 million units. And the company is admittedly saying that they cannot build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon-emissions problem. Will going open source prove beneficial to Tesla and the society? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Driverless cars aren’t really a new thing for Google. In fact the company has been using them for years now in its data collection efforts to map the world’s road network. For the most part, the search giant has used existing commercially available cars outfitted with sensors that help it navigate roads without human intervention.

But now, the company has created a working prototype of a fully autonomous car that is meant not for mapping roads or what not, but for transporting people. The vehicle was unveiled during Recode.net’s Code Conference in California.

The car looks a lot like a trimmed version of a Fiat 500 with a quirky looking face that looks like a smiley. The vehicle runs on electricity, can seat two people and has no steering wheel or pedals. At the center of the console is display unit that displays different information to the passengers including the temperature outside, the duration of the trip and the car’s current speed.

Sensors placed at different points on the car collect data about the vehicle’s surrounding including its location (via a GPS receiver) as well as objects around the car such as pedestrians, other vehicles, road markings, traffic signs and even cyclists.

The car is specifically designed for urban commutes and has a limited speed of 25mph. The front of the car is made with pedestrian collision-friendly foam with a flexible windscreen that is designed to absorb energy from an impact with a person’s body. There are also seatbelts provided for each passenger.

Google said it’s planning to market the self-driving car as a replacement to the taxi service but without the taxi driver. This is the reason why on-demand driver provider Uber has expressed excitement for the technology. According to the company’s CEO Travis Kalanick, it will replace its network of drivers with a fleet of self-driving cars in the future once the technology becomes mainstream.

According to Google, it will start testing this car at their Mountain View campus in the coming months to further improve the technology and iron out its limitations. For now, the search giant hasn’t provided any timeline yet on when we can expect to see the technology on the road, especially when you consider the number of legal restrictions it will face before it can be commercially available.

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If you’ve read about Apple’s CarPlay and you’re dreaming of getting one but don’t have the resources to buy a new car, you’ll definitely happy with what Pioneer is bringing into the scene.

Pioneer Corporation has recently announced one of the first aftermarket in-dash car multimedia systems to support CarPlay, which should allow consumers to equip their existing vehicles with CarPlay, making them smarter and safer.

The OS will be installed on Pioneer’s AVIC range of receivers that feature large LCD touchscreen displays. With these CarPlay-enabled receivers consumers will be able to use their iPhones (5S, 5C and the original iPhone 5) to make and receive calls, compose and respond to text messages, use Apple Maps for navigation and listen to music and podcasts without taking their attention from the road.

Aside from CarPlay, Pioneer’s receivers will also feature a variety of on-board navigation and built-in entertainment options including an in-dash multimedia system that offers an advanced and responsive user interface.

At the moment, the receivers are only available in the United States, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Mexico, Australia and Japan are next in line to get the products. Prices start at $700 up to $1500.

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