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Pages with tag Volkswagen

  • 2017 VW e-Golf offers improved range and fuel economy: This is a significant improvement over the current VW e-Golf. Improved driving range will be the common theme the next couple years. While they aren't announcing the MSRP it's possible VW will do as Hyundai, and instead of going for 200+ miles range at a $30-35,000 MSRP, they'll go for a lower MSRP instead.
  • For EV Battery Recycling, Volkswagen thinks ahead to the end of the road
  • Ford - Volkswagen expand global collaboration to advance autonomous driving, electrification and better serve customers: As Volkswagen says all these heart-warming things, that we must stop avoiding the question of climate change and move on to action, we have to remember the recent history of the Volkswagen Group. What VW says in this press release is very nice, to be sure. A few years ago VW was caught red handed cheating on emissions testing. They had rigged the Volkswagen TDI drive train to operate in a super-clean mode while under emissions testing, and to operate in a "normal" (hence polluting) mode in normal operation. VW had to deliver on the Fahrvergnügen promise (German for driving enjoyment). As a result VW has had to pay steep fines, several executives have gone to jail, and suddenly the VW Group is more interested in electric vehicles than before. If that's what it takes to make progress, so be it.
  • Reviving auto shop classes for the EV era, one old Volkswagen at a time: For a long time the only means to owning an electric vehicle was to build our own. That meant getting training, either by reading books on EV conversion, talking in online forums, or taking classes. In some cases high school shop classes taught electric vehicle conversion. But, as Volkswagen says, the new era of electric vehicles requires a new era of shop classes.
  • Volkswagen ID.R sets new electric record on the Nürburgring
  • Volkswagen accelerates e-mobility for the masses:

    Volkswagen has been making big claims for years, that VW would be the prominent electric vehicle seller offering a full range of EV's. Here they are again making a big claim. VW is asking us to believe that during 2010 they'll sell 150,000 electric cars of which 100,000 will be the VW I.D. and VW I.D. SUV. VW plans to jump from zero ID sales to 100,000 per year over the next 2 years. But, how will that be done?To do that VW has developed the MEB vehicle architecture.

  • Volkswagen and Google to collaborate on Quantum Computing for improved cars and driving:

    Volkswagen and Google are announcing a plan to do some kind of research using Quantum Computing. The focus of the research is said to be "traffic optimization" meaning aids to drivers navigating through cities, "high-performance batteries" meaning using computing resources to guide R&D of high performance battery materials, and "machine learning" as applied to the artificial intelligence required for autonomous driving. It's not clear from the press release how "Quantum Computing" is used in relation to this sort of research. Each of those tasks does require extremely high computational capabilities, and perhaps the team is looking to quantum computing to implement super-computer capabilities within the space constraints of a family car. The autonomous cars I've seen were dominated by the computing equipment being carried on-board, which obviously would be unacceptable for a regular car, meaning that some kind of magic computational wizardry will be required to shrink the enormous computational requirements into a tiny box.

    Volkswagen had previously used a Quantum Computer for traffic optimization of 10,000 taxi's in Beijing, China. The are looking at the Google universal quantum computer and are looking to develop algorithms to optimize travel times across an entire city, as well as assigning access to charging stations and parking spots. With such a system, traffic in a city could automatically route around major events, optimize the flow of traffic, and eliminate traffic congestion.

    Another development area concerns developing chemical structures in advanced batteries. Computationally designing battery chemistry could conceivably lead to better designs with optimum weight/performance ratios for various target scenarios.

    The last area of effort, machine learning, is rather general. The phrase refers to the capability of a program (or system) to link data, analyze relationships and make predictions on this basis. Machine learning is widely used in modern artificial intelligence techniques. Advanced AI systems are a prerequisite for advanced autonomous driving capabilities.

  • Volkswagen and NVidia to infuse AI into future vehicle lineup
  • Volkswagen breaks ground on expansion for electric vehicle production in United States: For a long time the only means to owning an electric vehicle was to build our own. That meant getting training, either by reading books on EV conversion, talking in online forums, or taking classes. In some cases high school shop classes taught electric vehicle conversion. But, as Volkswagen says, the new era of electric vehicles requires a new era of shop classes.
  • Volkswagen takes bold decision to put I.D. Buzz Electric Concept to Production :

    A few years ago the Volkswagen Group showed the I.D. Buzz concept car. Think the iconic VW Microbus modernized with various things including an electric drive-train. Now that Volkswagen was found guilty of defrauding emissions regulation systems around the world by faking emissions results in Diesel cars, they're looking to launch more electric vehicles. In this case they're bringing the I.D. to production, with it going on sale in 2022.

  • Volkswagen teases all-electric race car for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb:

    Volkswagen is announcing a return to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2018, driving a custom-built four-wheel-drive all-electric race car. It will have been 31 years since Volkswagen's last attempt at that race, in that case with a highly modified VW Golf that failed to reach the finish line. Pikes Peak is a very dangerous race course, climbing up to the top of the 14,000+ foot Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs CO. As you might expect, the course includes many stretches of road carved literally out of a cliff face, and a single mistake can send a racer plunging down a thousand-foot high cliff.

    In recent years electric vehicles have made a significant showing. (longtailpipe.com) In 2015 electric cars won outright, taking both 1st and 2nd place. In 2012, Lightning Motorcycles won the motorcycle field outright, beating the entire motorcycle field by 20 seconds.

    Racing is one place where electric vehicles will prove themselves to the public. The stereotypical die-hard petrol-head fast-car-fanatic will need to see concretely that electric cars can serve their need-for-speed. To the extent that these people are influencers, the more who convert from fast-petrol-cars to fast-electric-cars the more successful will be this project of converting to electric vehicles.

  • Volkswagen unveils all-electric I.D. Vizzion concept at the Geneva Motor Show
  • Volkswagen unveils fully-electric I.D. R Pikes Peak: Volkswagen Motorsport is seeking to break the existing Pikes Peak International Hill Climb electric car record - 8:57.118 minutes. They're bringing to Pikes Peak what looks like the sort of race car used in endurance racing, but with a fully electric drive train. The drive train supplies 500 kW (650 NM) of power output, a 0-60 miles/hr time of 2.25 seconds, and a top speed of about 150 miles/hr. The Pikes Peak hill-climb race is a twisty mountain route ending at over 14,000 feet at the top of Pikes Peak, in Colorado. The last several years electric vehicles have taken a larger and larger role. Scroll down to the bottom of this for technical specs and a full presentation.
  • What becoming 'carbon neutral' means to Volkswagen - Why it's the only way forward: As Volkswagen says all these heart-warming things, that we must stop avoiding the question of climate change and move on to action, we have to remember the recent history of the Volkswagen Group. What VW says in this press release is very nice, to be sure. A few years ago VW was caught red handed cheating on emissions testing. They had rigged the Volkswagen TDI drive train to operate in a super-clean mode while under emissions testing, and to operate in a "normal" (hence polluting) mode in normal operation. VW had to deliver on the Fahrvergnügen promise (German for driving enjoyment). As a result VW has had to pay steep fines, several executives have gone to jail, and suddenly the VW Group is more interested in electric vehicles than before. If that's what it takes to make progress, so be it.
  • World debut of the all-electric Volkswagen ID Buggy concept at the Geneva International Auto Show