Category Archives: Transportation

Top New Camper Vans: “2020 Mercedes-Benz Metris Weekender”

Built by Driverge Vehicle Innovations in partnership with Peace Vans as part of our MasterSolutions™ program, the new Weekender draws inspiration from glorious Mercedes-Benz Metris Weekender Camper Van Interior 2020camper vans of the past while incorporating the latest safety, reliability, and convenience features — taking the pop top van to new heights.

  • Seats five, sleeps four. With an elevating roof, swiveling front seats, integrated table, a rear bench that converts to a bed, an extra battery for more power, and much more, the Weekender comes standard with enough features to go from day-to-day life to adventure mode with ease.
  • Power up your weekends with optional features like integrated solar panels for more power, a 1.5” suspension lift for greater off-road capabilities, upgraded navigation features, roof racks, and camping upgrades like an 8’ awning, mosquito screens, rear lift tent, and a pullout rear kitchen.
  • The Weekender is built on the tried-and-true Metris platform: Tow rating of 5,000 lbs., excellent safety and fuel economy, up to 15,000 mile service intervals, ATTENTION ASSIST®, Crosswind Assist, rearview camera, load adaptive ESP and ECO start/stop, and much more.

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Future Of Mobility: “The Out” Phone App Delivers Luxury Cars To Your Door

The Entrepreneurs Monocle 24Alexander Walton Masters is the managing director of The Out, an on-demand luxury car-rental company that exists to help Londoners escape the city. 

The Out On Demand Car Rental App logoThe company was born out of Jaguar Land Rover’s venture-capital arm InMotion, which incubates and invests in companies in the mobility space. From delivery to pick-up of its Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, The Out aims to take away the usual pains of renting.

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Trends: “Nuro” Receives First Self-Driving Delivery Vehicle Exemption (USDOT)

From a Nuro online Blog news release (February 6, 2020):

Nuro.ai logoToday, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) approved a regulatory exemption for R2, Nuro’s second-generation vehicle. As the first company to be granted approval for a self-driving vehicle exemption, it’s an important moment for Nuro and a milestone for the industry. Under Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao’s leadership, DOT is advancing a future of improved safety, mobility, and commerce.

Nuro Self-Driving Delivery Vehicle compartments open

This decision provides regulatory certainty for Nuro to operate our second-generation self-driving vehicle, built to carry packages instead of people. We custom-designed R2 to enrich local commerce with last-mile delivery of consumer products, groceries, and hot food from local stores and restaurants. With its specially designed size, weight, pedestrian-protecting front end, operating speed, electric propulsion, and cautious driving habits, R2 is ready to begin service as a socially responsible neighborhood vehicle that you can trust. In the coming weeks, R2 will begin public road testing to prepare for its first deliveries to customers’ homes with our partners in Houston, Texas. With this vehicle, we can also bring our service to new cities, so more Americans can benefit from safe, efficient, convenient on-demand deliveries.

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American Classic Cars: “1948 Packard Standard Eight Station Sedan”

1948 Packard Standard Eight Station Sedan Interior Classic DriverPackard Super Eight was the name given to the larger of the two eight-cylinder luxury automobiles produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. It shared frames and some body types with the top model Packard Twelve. Following the discontinuation of the Seventeenth Series Packard Twelve after the 1939 model year, a new Super Eight One-Eighty was derived from the Super Eight as the new top car range. The Super Eight was renamed the Packard Super Eight One-Sixty.

Classic Driver logoAfter 1942, Packard concentrated on the new Clipper styling that was developed for an upper-class sedan the previous year. There were Super Clippers and Custom Super Clipper in the One-Sixty and One-Eighty tradition until 1947. After a heavy facelift, the name Clipper was dropped. The most senior Super Eight One-Eighty became the Custom Eight, while its slightly lower-priced sibling, the Super Eight One-Sixty, once again became simply the Super Eight. Clipper Custom Super Eights and Custom Eights were very close relatives to their respective Super models, distinguished outside by the lack of an eggcrate grille and small rear chrome trim moulding under the trunk lid on Supers. In 1949, a new Super Eight Deluxe was added to the line. This car had also the Custom Eight’s eggcrate grille, but not the rear trim.

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From Wikipedia

Future Of Driving: Behind The Scenes Look At “Rivian Electric Trucks” (Video)

A behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build a new kind of car company. Follow the Rivian team out of stealth mode and into the wild as we prepare to launch the world’s first electric adventure vehicles.

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American Classics: “1937 Cord 812” – Front Wheel Drive, Hidden Headlights

1937 Cord 812 Interior Classic DriverThe Cord 810, and later Cord 812, was a luxury automobile produced by the Cord Automobile division of the Auburn Automobile Company in 1936 and 1937. It was the first American-designed and built front wheel drive car with independent front suspension. It followed the 1934 Citroën Traction Avant and the Cord L-29, both of which also had front wheel drive. Both models were also the first to offer hidden headlights.

Classic Driver logoThe styling of the Cord 810 was the work of designer Gordon M. Buehrig and his team of stylists, which included young Vince Gardner and Alex Tremulis. While the first American front-wheel-drive car with independent front suspension, it had an archaic tube rear axle with semi-elliptic rear springs. Power came from a 4,739 cc (289 cu in) Lycoming V8 of the same 125 hp (93 kW) as the L-29. The semi-automatic four-speed transmission (three plus overdrive) extended in front of the engine, like on a Traction Avant. This allowed Buehrig to dispense with the driveshaft and transmission tunnel; as a result, the new car was so low it required no running boards. It had a 125 in (3,175 mm) wheelbase (shared with several 812 body styles), and in 1936 came in four models: the entry-level sedan at US$1995, the Beverly sedan ($2095), Sportsman ($2145), and Phaeton ($2195). The 1937 812s had the same models, priced $2445, $2545, $2585, and $2645, plus two more, on a 132 in (3,400 mm) wheelbase, the $2960 Custom Beverly and $3060 Custom Berline.

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From Wikipedia

Trends: “2020 Jeep E-Bike” Unveiled – 40 Mile Range For Off-Road Terrain

Jeep E-Bike Powered by QuietKat Off Road Suspension 2020The first ever Jeep® e-Bike powered by QuietKat. It’s the most capable off-road electric mountain bike there is. When the road ends, your adventure continues with the all-new Jeep e-Bike. Kick it into high gear. Available June 2020.

Get up to 40 miles on a single charge with the power and efficiency of the 750 Watt electric motor. The 4.8” fat tires can tackle the most extreme terrain. The Fire-Link™ suspension has all the tractive capability you’ve come to expect from the Jeep® brand.

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Future Of Trucks: The “GMC Hummer EV” Will Be Revealed In May 2020

GMC Hummer LogoThe all-electric First Ever GMC HUMMER EV leads a quiet revolution – with zero emissions and zero limits. It earns its super truck status with up to:

  • 1000 HORSEPOWER

  • 11,500 LB.-FT OF TORQUE

  • 0-60 MPH IN 3 SECONDS

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Future Of Driving: Testing Electric-Vehicles In Four Countries (WSJ Video)

Dozens of new electric-vehicle models are expected to arrive at dealerships in the next few years. We followed eight Wall Street Journal reporters in four countries to see if they, and the world, are ready to make the switch.