Maxxd.com

Category: Highlight

  • EV startup Arrival plans dedicated car for Uber drivers

    Uber wants its drivers worldwide to make the switch to electric vehicles and has set targets of 2025 for the city of London and 2030 for Europe and North America.

    But rather than have its drivers only rely on established automakers to source their cars, Uber has partnered with British EV startup Arrival to develop a dedicated car for ride-hailing fleets.

    The car is simply known as the Arrival Car, and it’s slated for launch in the second half of 2023. Uber wants the car to be affordable and is inviting its drivers to get involved with the design process.

    A teaser shot released by Arrival on Tuesday hints at a pod-like car with seating for five. The final design for the Arrival Car will be revealed before 2021 is out.

    [embedded content]

    This isn’t the first time an EV startup has been tapped to develop a dedicated vehicle for a business. America’s Rivian has developed an electric van specifically for Amazon deliveries.

    Arrival is particularly suited to the task as the company is focused on commercial vehicles. It’s previously unveiled a delivery van and bus. Where the company plans to stand out is through a lean production process, referred to as the microfactory. Basically, a series of robots taking up an area spanning just 4,000 square feet assembles whole vehicles using modular, pre-assembled components moved into place on autonomous sleds.

    Arrival has previously announced plans to build microfactories at locations in North and South Carolina, as well as in Bicester, United Kingdom.

    Although Arrival hasn’t delivered any vehicles yet, the company is already publicly traded on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol ARVL. It went public in March via a SPAC deal with CIIG Merger Corp, raising approximately $660 million in the process.

    Source

  • Ken Block compares 1997 versus 2021 Subaru WRX STI rally cars

    Ken Block has ended his exclusive Ford partnership, and is now back in a Subaru. After debuting a Subaru WRX STI rally car, Block decided to compare the brand-new Subaru WRX STI VT20R race car to one of its ancestors, a 1997 Subaru Impreza GC8 STI rally car.

    Subaru started rallying with the Legacy, but the first-generation Impreza built the company’s reputation, achieving World Rally Championship (WRC) success in the hands of drivers such as Colin McCrae, and laying the foundation for the first WRX road cars.

    While it wears the iconic blue-and-yellow 555 livery, the 1997 Impreza featured here isn’t one of the original WRC cars. It’s a lower-class Group N car, but it was built by ProDrive, the United Kingdom-based company that built all of Subaru’s factory rally cars back in the day.

    Ken Block's Subaru WRX STI rally car

    Ken Block’s Subaru WRX STI rally car

    Group N cars were also closer to stock than the top-level WRC cars, with modifications limited to safety items and some suspension bits. The turbocharged 2.0-liter boxer-4 engine produces about 200 hp, routed to all four wheels through a dog-box 5-speed manual transmission.

    In comparison, Block’s STI rally car is far from stock. Builder Vermont SportsCar starts with a bare body shell, adding a full cage and changing most of the body panels. This car still uses a 2.0-liter boxer-4 engine, which produces about 330 hp with the mandatory air restrictor. A 6-speed sequential gearbox replaces the stock 6-speed manual.

    Block then drives both cars on the rally course at DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Washington. If first, is the 2021 WRX STI, which posts an average lap time of 1:45.7 over four laps. The 1997 Impreza GC8 is next, and while its straight pipes make plenty of noise, it’s average lap time is 1:57.8 That’s what modern technology and an extra 130 hp will do.

    Watch the full video to see Block hooning both rally cars in the dirt.

    Source

  • Tim Allen reveals his current car collection

    Any list of celebrity car fans has to include Tim Allen. The actor has an eclectic collection of muscle cars, supercars, and assorted classics stashed away in a former print shop in Southern California, and recently gave the Petersen Automotive Museum the grand tour.

    The two-part video series showcases a wide variety of cars, but it’s clear Allen has a thing for Fords. The collection includes a 1972 Bronco that Allen gave to his wife and which he doesn’t enjoy driving because of the short wheelbase. Allen also has a rare RS200 Group B rally homologation special, a Shelby Cobra, vintage and modern Mustang GT350s, and a modern Ford GT. He said he sold a Porsche Carrera GT to get the Ford, because he felt the Porsche was dangerous.

    Switching over to General Motors, another standout is the 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS with the LT5 V-8 from a C4 Corvette ZR-1. The sedan ran a 12.9-second quarter mile its first time at the drag strip, Allen said. He’s also got a 1968 Camaro restomod, and a modified Nova. 

    [embedded content]

    European sports cars include a Jaguar E-Type, Volvo P1800, and a Ferrari 330 GTC, which Allen said needs to be driven often to keep it in top form (take heed, Ferrari owners) as well as several early Porsches, which Allen says are really just Volkswagens.

    Allen also has a Tesla Model 3 that he says he has a “love/hate relationship” with, and takes several jabs at throughout both videos. He said he isn’t against electric cars, but doesn’t seem to have many positive things to say about the Model 3.

    These are just some of the highlights. Watch both videos (they’re about 20 minutes each) for the full tour of Tim Allen’s car collection.

    Source