مجله خودرو ام وی ام

LONDON — They appear like ghosts in the night, standing outside your house, one holding up an antenna while the other crouches next to the car parked on the driveway. Within seconds, your car is gone, yet another victim amid a surge in auto theft enabled by the technology designed to make it easier to unlock and start vehicles.

Auto technology has evolved and many newer cars use wireless key fobs and push-button starters instead of traditional metal keys. The fob sends a short-range signal, so when the driver approaches the car, it automatically unlocks the door. This saves you the hassle of digging out your keys when you’ve got your hands full with groceries.

But that technology also makes things easier for thieves. The wireless fob will continue to emit a signal even if you’re not using it. Thieves prowl neighborhoods at night looking for cars parked outside so they can carry out so-called relay attacks. Using portable equipment that can pick up the faint signal from a fob inside the house or parking lot, they relay it back to a transmitter that can clone the signal.

Officials have urged carmakers to reduce the security vulnerabilities and warn owners about the risks.

So what can you do to reduce the odds that your car will be gone in 60 seconds? “It’s relatively easy for drivers to protect themselves,” said Steve Launchbury, principal engineer of automotive security at Thatcham Research, a U.K.-based automotive risk intelligence company. Here are some tips:

Use a signal blocker

A simple but effective way to stop auto bandits from purloining your key fob signal is to use a Faraday bag or pouch. They’re lined with a conductive metal mesh that blocks the transmission of electromagnetic signals.

The pouches aren’t expensive, and you can also get boxes that do the same thing. But experts advise testing to make sure they work. Just put the key fob inside and approach your car. If the doors don’t automatically unlock, then the signal is being blocked.

It’s also important to remember to use it whenever you leave your vehicle, and don’t forget to put all of your key fobs inside, including any spares.

But ignore some advice making the rounds on the internet telling you to put your fob in the microwave or freezer. It doesn’t have the same effect as a Faraday bag, and you risk damaging your key.

Get an old-fashioned lock

Try an old-school solution by using a physical lock. Locks, in the shape of a disk or a long bar, clamp onto the steering wheel and make it difficult to steer. There are also versions that prevent the car from being put in gear. Some police forces advise car owners to use them to make your vehicle look less tempting to steal. The reasoning is that a would-be thief might be deterred by the effort needed to cut through the lock and instead turn their attention to an easier target. The downside is you’ll need extra time to attach or remove it whenever you aren’t driving.

Change up your settings

For many cars, it’s possible to deactivate the wireless setting so that you can’t open the door remotely. For Fords, Hondas and Audis, use the touchscreen menus. If you own a Toyota, you can temporarily disable the signal by holding down the fob’s lock button and at the same time pressing the unlock button twice. If you’ve done it correctly, the fob’s indicator light should blink four times. Be aware that the next time you press any button, remote unlocking will be reactivated.

The method will vary depending on make and model so consult your owner’s manual for the exact process. If it sounds complicated, there are YouTube videos that walk you through it. Don’t forget that in most cases you’ll now have to manually press the fob’s unlock button.

Automakers have started adding motion sensors to key fobs. If the sensor doesn’t detect recent movement because it’s been, say, left on the kitchen counter after you come home, the fob goes into sleep mode and stops transmitting. If it lacks this capability, check with your dealer whether it’s possible to upgrade it.

If you buy a used car, some experts also advise getting the keys reprogrammed, just in case the previous owner kept one of the fobs.

Watch out for new methods

Researchers have uncovered a new auto theft technique that doesn’t target radio signals. The controller area network, or CAN, is “a feature of modern cars which allows different components and systems to communicate, (and) has recently been targeted and exploited by thieves,” said Thatcham’s Launchbury.

The network allows sensors and control modules to talk to each other directly, instead of going through a central node. Thieves take advantage by accessing the network from the car’s exterior, usually by removing a headlight and connecting a device that can “inject” a signal, tricking the car into unlocking and starting.

While automakers work on improving CAN security, “there are steps drivers can take today to add layers of security and deter criminals,” such as using a physical lock, Launchbury said.

Aftermarket electronic immobilizer systems “should render a criminal’s theft tool useless,” and might even get you a discount on auto insurance, he said. Thatcham and other companies offer them but the downside is they can be quite pricey.

آزمون 0 تا 60 همه جا حاضر استاندارد شده است اندازه گیری عملکرد خودرو در میان حرفه‌ای‌های صنعت و اتومبیل‌رانی با علاقه‌مندان ملاقات می‌کنند، اما این اندازه‌گیری منحصربه‌فرد اینطور نیست رنگ کردن تصویر کامل از شخصیت یک ماشین در جاده و حتی در مسیر مسابقه به احتمال زیاد نتایج 5 تا 60 مایل در ساعت یک خودرو، یا نتایج استارت چرخشی، اطلاعات بیشتری را در مورد عملکرد خودرو در دنیای واقعی نشان دهد. در یک مطالعه اخیر، ماشین و راننده سرعت 0 تا 60 مایل در ساعت و زمان 5 تا 60 مایل در ساعت وسایل نقلیه را مقایسه کرد تا مشخص کند کدام خودروها کمترین تفاوت را بین این دو نتیجه دارند و در نتیجه نیرومحرکه‌ها پاسخگوترند و در عکس عقب.

علیرغم اینکه تاج کندترین خودروی جدید فروش امروز، 2017 را در اختیار دارید میتسوبیشی میراژ جی 4 در واقع تست سرعت 5 تا 60 مایل در ساعت را یک دهم ثانیه سریعتر از سرعت 0 تا 60 مایل در ساعت کامل کرد. 2018 هوندا اودیسه با دلتای میراژ مطابقت داشت و آن‌ها را به دو پیشرانه‌ای تبدیل می‌کرد که پاسخگوترین آنها هستند ماشین و راننده تست کرده است. زمان واقعی هر خودرو برای رسیدن به سرعت 60 مایل در ساعت بسیار متفاوت بود، میراژ زمان صفر به 60 را 12.8 ثانیه و زمان 5 به 60 را 12.7 ثانیه ثبت کرد، در حالی که Odyssey زمان 0 به 60 را ثبت کرد. 6.7 ثانیه و زمان 5 به 60 6.6 ثانیه.

خودروهایی که کمترین پیشرانه را پاسخگو هستند مقصری نیستند که انتظار دارید. خودرویی که کمترین پیشرانه را دارد، مدل 2020 است پورشه 718 کیمن T با اختلاف دو ثانیه بین زمان 0 تا 60 آن 4.4 ثانیه و زمان 5 به 60 آن 6.4 ثانیه. پس از آن سال 2020 است BMW M235i xDrive Gran کوپه با دلتای 1.8 ثانیه ای بین زمان 0 تا 60 آن 4.2 ثانیه و زمان 5 تا 60 آن 6 ثانیه. ماشین و راننده گفت

این یک شوک نیست که پیشرانه هایی که کمترین واکنش را دارند، همگی توربوشارژ هستند. بدترین عملکرد، پورشه 718 کیمن T بود که دارای یک موتور 2.0 لیتری تخت چهار لیتری توربوی قوی است. مدل 2020 مجهز به دستی که ما آزمایش کردیم، سرعت 60 مایل در ساعت را در 4.4 ثانیه انجام داد، اما در سرعت 5 تا 60 مایل در ساعت، دو ثانیه کامل عقب بود. دیگر موتورهای لگی شامل BMW M235i xDrive Gran کوپه 2020 و لندرور رنج روور Velar P250 SE 2018 بودند که هر دوی آنها 1.8 ثانیه اختلاف بین سرعت 60 و 5 تا 60 مایل در ساعت داشتند.

پاسخ آرام مطمئناً به وسایل نقلیه کند محدود نمی شود. یک خودروی چهار درب فورد برونکو بیرونی بانکز 2021 به 8.2 ثانیه زمان نیاز داشت تا از سرعت 5 به 60 مایل در ساعت برسد، یعنی 1.7 ثانیه کمتر از سرعت 60 مایل در ساعت. اما پورشه کاین کوپه توربو GT مدل 2024 همان دلتا را تجربه کرد و در تست سرعت 5 تا 60 مایل در ساعت به 4.5 ثانیه در مقابل سرعت بالستیک 2.8 ثانیه تا 60 مایل در ساعت نیاز داشت.

نه همه ماشین های توربوشارژ با این حال، عملکرد ضعیفی در اجراهای شروع چرخشی داشت. 10 مدل توربوشارژ وجود داشت که بین دو نتیجه آزمایش، دلتای کمتر از سه دهم ثانیه داشتند. همه خودروهایی که کمترین دلتا را در بین تست ها داشتند، به طور طبیعی تنفس طبیعی داشتند، اما پیشرو بودند ماشین و راننده نتیجه گیری شود که موتورهای توربوشارژ مدرن هنوز همان منحنی قدرت خطی خود را ارائه نمی دهند تنفس طبیعی همتایان

همانطور که با درک این موضوع که وزنی که جهان بین 0 تا 60 بار روی آن قرار داده است تنها به جنبه ای منحصر به فرد از عملکرد خودرو می پردازد، نتایج شروع حرکتی 5 تا 60 نیز بر یک متریک متمرکز است و رنگ آمیزی نمی کند. یک عکس کامل مقایسه هر دو اندازه گیری نکته جالبی را نشان می دهد، اما این نتایج به غیر از عملکرد آنها در این دو آزمایش، چیز زیادی در مورد خودروهای آزمایش شده به ما نمی گوید. گفته می شود، من از دلتای عظیم بین پورشه 718 و پورشه شوکه شده ام کاین کوپه توربو GT. 718 در تست رول حدود 45 درصد کندتر از 0 تا 60 دویدن است و کاین کوپه توربو GT بیش از 60 درصد در مسابقه غلتک کندتر است. با توجه به شجره نامه و شهرت پورشه، انتظار چنین شکاف های عملکردی بزرگی را نداشتم، اما باز هم، پورشه ها همیشه چیزی فراتر از سرعت خط مستقیم بوده اند.

CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission, a type of automatic transmission that lacks a set number of gears or “speeds.” Instead, this type of automatic can vary the gear ratio infinitely between its lowest starting ratio and highest cruising ratio. Doing so allows the engine to run at its most efficient rpm for the vehicle speed, road grade or load condition that’s present at any given time.

However, this makes CVT-equipped powertrains sound fundamentally different because the engine speed tends to remain steady as the transmission continuously and seamlessly alters its gearing to make the car accelerate. Those who expect or prefer a stepped series of gear changes therefore tend to dislike CVT powertrains.

Why is a CVT a good idea?

It boils down to fuel economy and having the right “gear” at the right time. The first automatic transmissions were two-speed automatics, and these were quickly replaced by three-speed and then four-speed automatics. Each successive change improved fuel economy and drivability, and so the trend continued on up through the numbers to the point where most current automatics generally have eight, nine or even 11 speeds. The obvious endpoint to this trend is infinite speeds, and that’s what a CVT offers.

A higher gear count reduces the size of the steps between adjacent gears, and that has several benefits. Fuel economy improves because the engine is more likely to be operating at its most efficient rpm. Likewise, more gears reduces the likelihood of back-and-forth dithering on grades because smaller steps keep the engine closer to its sweet spot in terms of power and torque. The presence of smaller steps also reduces the need for a slushy torque converter, a generally inefficient, power-robbing device that smooths what would otherwise be jarring shift-shock at each gear change.

A CVT maximizes the potential of this concept. An infinite gear count means no steps at all, which is why CVTs are sometimes called “stepless” transmissions. Fuel efficiency and grade drivability are theoretically at their maximum with infinitely variable gears, and there’s no need for a torque converter to guarantee shift smoothness.

Why do people dislike CVTs?

The engine can drone if the exhaust system and cabin noise suppression features aren’t designed right. And of course the degree to which a CVT lives up to the potential described above is only as good as the software that controls it. But control strategies have improved immeasurably in the 10-plus years they’ve been widely used, and further enhancements have come as engines and passenger compartments have been re-optimized with a CVT in mind.

The main drawback that remains is one of perception and emotion, because a CVT changes how an engine sounds and a powertrain responds under acceleration. We’re all used to a steadily rising engine note that’s punctuated by shifts, but that’s largely absent with CVT powertrains since they tend to keep the rpm steady and alter the gearing instead. Many drivers won’t care because that tendency isn’t as noticeable when a vehicle is being driven in a normal, relaxed manner. However, many have found the lack of traditional gear changes to be disagreeably odd, especially aggressive drivers who are more likely to run the engine hard. The car can sound like it’s perpetually stuck in a low gear.

This is why many newer CVTs artificially create stepped gear changes — usually in a “Sport” driving mode, but sometimes in normal operation. There’s still CVT action going on at a detail level, but such examples can create a more lively and familiar experience — albeit at some cost in fuel economy.

How does a CVT work?

Think of a bicycle with numerous gears — let’s say eight of them on the rear wheel. There’s a smallest sprocket and a biggest sprocket, with six in between. Now place the same gearset at the pedals, but flip it around. We’ll set it up so that the biggest front sprocket works only with the smallest rear sprocket, with similar one-to-one private relationships all the way across the gearsets. This strategy helps our chain maintain a fixed length through eight gear combinations. It won’t need that S-shaped tensioner thingy to allow the chain to lengthen and shorten, as a real bicycle chain does because any front sprocket can work with any rear sprocket. That’s not allowed here.

Now replace the chain with a V-belt and turn the gearsets into pulleys with V-flanges that can be pinched together or spread apart. Varying the gap between the V-flanges causes the V-belt to rise or sink between them to create different belt-operation diameters. There’s still a smallest diameter and a largest diameter, but there are now infinite possible diameters in between. One of the pulleys is controlled by a computer, but the other is passive, with spring tension clamping its flanges together. As the controlled pulley’s flanges widen or compress its V-belt diameter shrinks or grows accordingly, and in response the far end’s spring-loaded pulley flanges and belt diameter are forced to do the opposite because the belt’s length is fixed. The result is a stepless transmission with infinite gears or “speeds,” otherwise known as a CVT. The materials and design details are much more sophisticated, but that’s the basic idea. 

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هرتز قمار کرد و زمانی که چند سال پیش شرط بزرگ EV خود را روی تسلا گذاشت، باخت. این فرصتی برای شرکت اجاره خودرو بود تا صنعت را تکان دهد، در عوض جشرکت 30000 خرید تسلاس، ترسید استهلاک و تعمیرات گران قیمت و حالا می خواهد از شر آنها خلاص شوید. در حالی که به نظر می‌رسید همه تسلاهای استفاده شده، معاملات خودروهای دست دوم فوق‌العاده‌ای داشته باشند، معلوم شد خودروهای برقی با مسافت پیموده شده بالا که قبلاً اجاره‌ای بوده‌اند، داشتن آنها وحشتناک است. مجله نیویورک گزارش شده است.

هرتز آرزو داشت 20 درصد از خودروهای برقی اجاره ای خود را تولید کند و قرار بود با یک معامله بزرگ تسلا شروع کند که باعث شد این شرکت بیش از 30000 دستگاه خریداری کند. تعمیر و نگهداری گران قیمتی که شرکت برای آن در نظر نگرفت، شرکت را آنقدر ترساند که شروع به فروش ناوگان خود کند. این برای EV استفاده شده باورنکردنی خرید می کند، به خصوص زمانی که اعتبار مالیاتی 4000 دلاری EV استفاده شده را در نظر بگیرید. مردم برای خرید آنها به نمایندگی های هرتز مراجعه کردند. یکی از فروشندگان در یک فروشنده هرتز در اسمیت تاون نیویورک گفت مجله نیویورک که آنها در یک نقطه 30 تسلا در هفته می فروختند. زمانی که خریداران در نهایت متوجه شدند که در چه چیزی قرار گرفته اند، کاهش سرعت اتفاق افتاد.

بیجی پاندی از ایروینگ، تگزاس را در نظر بگیرید. او رفت و اوایل امسال یک مدل 3 مدل 2022 با قیمت فقط 25000 دلار برای همسرش خرید. مشکلات آن مدتی بعد از خریدش شروع شد.

پس از گرفتن عنوان موقت، او متوجه شد که ماشین ولتاژ را به درستی نمی خواند. به زودی، یک مغازه بدنسازی سوراخی به اندازه یک چهارم در زیرشاخه ای پیدا کرد که قبلاً ندیده بود، که منجر به فاش شدن مسائل عمیق تری در داخل شد. یکی از تکنسین‌های تسلا به او پیامک داد: «بسته باتری ولتاژ بالا آسیب دیده است و می‌تواند باعث نگرانی شدید ایمنی شود».

سوراخ در بسته باتری آسیبی است که به عنوان “آسیب خارجی” طبقه بندی شده بود و منجر به یک صورتحساب تعمیر شد. بیش از 13000 دلار. البته این مبلغ مشمول گارانتی نبود. در کمال تعجب، هرتز به پاندی گفت که به او اجازه خواهند داد ماشین را با دیگری عوض کند. متأسفانه این به معنای دو ماه انتظار بود در حالی که پاندی هنوز 500 دلار پرداخت ماشین خود را انجام می داد. پاندی می‌گوید این زمانی بود که متوجه شد که چرا هرتز تلاش می‌کند این خودروهای الکتریکی را تخلیه کند. من متوجه شدم که چرا آنها سعی داشتند از شر آن تسلا خلاص شوند. اگر برای یک تسلا اتفاقی بیفتد، این صورت‌حساب خیلی زیاد است.»

پاندی در این درک تنها نیست. مکان هایی مانند Reddit و انجمن های تسلا پر از افرادی است که می پرسند آیا خرید یک تسلا کارکرده از هرتز ایده خوبی است یا خیر. و تعداد زیادی از مردم به آنها می گویند که دور باشند. به نظر می رسد بسیاری فراموش کرده اند که اینها اجاره ای بوده اند و اجاره ها اغلب زندگی سختی دارند. مقداری پیشنهادی خرید مدل 3 دست دوم از تسلا منطقی تر است تا هرتز.

سوء استفاده از باتری که اینها دریافت کرده اند باعث خرید از هرتز یک معامله شکن می شود. تجربه قبلی من با خرید اجاره مستعمل تاثیرگذار است. اکثر خودروهای کرایه‌ای مورد سوء استفاده زیادی قرار نمی‌گیرند، با این حال بسیاری از آنها اجاره‌ای اوبر بودند، شارژ سریع زیاد، با استفاده از تمام محدوده‌ای که وجود دارد، سوءاستفاده به حدی است که بر سر بدبختی می‌افتد که یکی را می‌خرد. من یک تسلا کارکرده از تسلا می خرم، همین.

ما برای اظهار نظر با هرتز تماس گرفتیم، اما هرتز چیز زیادی در مورد تسلاهای دست دوم نمی گوید. به نظر می رسد که شرکت فقط می خواهد از شر آنها خلاص شود و با آن کار تمام شود. در بیانیه ای به نیویورک، یکی از سخنگویان گفت که شرکت انتظار دارد تا پایان سال فروش 20000 تسلا باقی مانده را به پایان برساند. اگر به دنبال یکی از این چیزها هستید و با قیمت های پایین وسوسه می شوید، تنها چیزی که می توانم بگویم این است که موفق باشید.

Bentley has a new Continental GT coming next month, but it won’t arrive with the gas-only 8- or 12-cylinder engines seen in years past. The fourth-generation car will get Bentley’s new Ultra Hybrid Performance powertrain, a plug-in hybrid system that delivers big power from a V8 combined with an electric motor.

The automaker claims 771 horsepower and around 738 pound-feet of torque from the electrified powertrain, saying that it will make the new GT “the most powerful and most dynamically capable Bentley road car in the company’s 105-year history.” For reference, the current GT’s W12 engine produces 650 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, propelling the car to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The current V8 makes 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Bentley didn’t give acceleration numbers for the new model, but with more than 100 additional horsepower and more than 70 extra pound-feet of torque over the W12, it should be noticeably quicker. Bentley also claims the Continental GT will have 50 miles of electric-only range and carbon dioxide emissions of under 50 grams per kilometer.

Power will continue to go through all four wheels along with torque vectoring and an electronic limited-slip differential. Bentley will also include more trick features such as four-wheel steering and its 48-volt electronic active anti-roll control.

The automaker may continue offering a gas V8 as an entry point to the line, but hasn’t confirmed it either way. The Continental GT comprises a third of Bentley’s overall sales, with almost 100,000 units sold in its more than 20-year run on the market. That popularity is reflected in the number of GT variants Bentley offers, though we don’t yet know how and where the hybrid will be positioned in the GT catalog. Prices will likely climb a bit to start around $250,000 and could reach the mid-$300,000 range at the top.  

While most of the world’s carmakers — and the press outlets who dutifully chronicle their every mood swing — are busy hyperventilating over unfair subsidies greasing the skids for the cataclysmic Chinese electric car menace come to up-end the auto business we westerners all know and love, Volvo Cars and its fans can only thank its lucky stars that it fell into the arms of China’s Geely and not, for instance, General Motors or any one of the other foot-dragging plodders currently walking back heady promises to field all-electric lineups in some foreseeable future.

Cut loose from the benign but suddenly underfunded ministrations of the Ford Motor Company in 2010, Volvo under Geely has been largely allowed to get on with it, blending the inspiration of the Swedes’ own best design and engineering minds with vitally needed access to capital such as the Chinese firm possessed, along with batteries, plant capacity, EV know-how and product synergies. The association has helped Volvo plow ahead in the electric realm while keeping costs down and profits up, with a fresh lineup, plans for a new electric model every year, and the goal of an all-electric fleet by 2030. And, of late, Volvo has posted record sales (though its EV sales tanked in the U.S. last quarter).

Arriving on the heels of the truly winning (if yet to hit American showrooms) EX30, Volvo’s small electric crossover, comes the latest demonstration of its good fortune, the EX90. A seven-seat, all-electric large SUV set to be built at Volvo’s South Carolina plant, it’s conceptually a thematic variation on the XC90 gasoline-fired SUV, at once familiar yet an almost completely different car. Leaning into its brand heritage and long-professed corporate values, Volvo calls the new machine “the safest car to ever hit the road” as well as its most technically advanced model yet.

While deliveries won’t start until November, orders are being taken now at a few grand less than $80,000, a price point one doesn’t usually approach on a lark. To better explain the powerful claims being made for the EX90 and to get the conversation started, Volvo invited several delegations of journalists from around the world to preview its latest machine in Sweden, Jalopnik among them. Not to drive it ourselves, mind you, but to “ride along.” In other words, a chance to experience the EX90’s vibe, while testing its meddle — as well as the recycled metals, sustainably sourced fabrics and interior materials of Volvo’s latest flagship — as best one can from a passenger seat.

With the EX90, Volvo is doubling down on its vaunted safety focus, restating a bold commitment to eliminate crashes, road fatalities, and emissions for all time. Clearly a long row to hoe, but a noble ambition. A good place to start examining the new machine’s enhanced safety mission, then, might be its London taxi–like roof top prow, situated just above the windshield. Slightly odd but strangely cool, it provides better protection for sensors than a location at grille or bumper height, as well as providing a better view. Or, as Volvo’s head of exterior design T. John Mayer put it, locating them at the front of the car would be “the equivalent to having eyes on your knees.”

“Born electric and software defined,” in Volvo CEO Jim Rowan’s pithy summary; a rolling tribute to new technology, the EX90 is not just a “new car,” the company further opines in its press materials, but “a highly advanced computer on wheels,” one that’s “designed to get better over time” thanks to over-the-air updates. Along with eight cameras, five radars, 16 ultra-sonic sensors and what Volvo terms “a cutting-edge LiDAR sensor,” a new core computing platform and associated software enable a particularly crisp, 360-degree view of the car and its surroundings to aid in navigation and provide safe, crunch-free passage, while an enhanced battery of driver observation tools aim to minimize and compensate for driver inattention.

The advantages of adding LiDAR to a safety suite that includes cameras and radar, Volvo says, are inarguable, though company reps are careful when questioned not to criticize Tesla, whose supreme overlord Elon Musk recently claimed LiDAR was expensive frippery, unneeded for its “full self-driving” system. With only using cameras, “they’re doing the best that can be done, really good stuff,” one polite Volvo team leader told us. Curiously, though, in yet another Tesla head-scratcher published by TechCrunch, a recent earnings report from LiDAR supplier Luminar suggested that Tesla was its biggest LiDAR customer in the first quarter of 2024, Musk’s public derision of the technology notwithstanding. Volvo maintains the advantages of LiDAR, with its pulsed laser reporting back to the mothership, include superior capability in the dark and at greater distances, with a range of over 820 feet, plus an enhanced ability to detect smaller objects.

Even a highly aware car needs a driver who’s paying attention, so the company is also keen on a new “driver understanding system,” which enhances the EX90’s ability to assess the driver’s state of concentration and awareness. It uses two cameras monitoring eye-gaze patterns, and a capacitive wheel that can detect a driver’s touch helps analyze steering behaviors. Remedies the EX90 might engage in the case of a disengaged driver include varying audible alerts of increasing intensity, automatic deployment of the car’s flashers to alert other road users to a less than focused driver, and even causing the car to slow down and pull itself over to the side of the road.

All of these actions can be enabled, disabled, or enhanced with over-the-air updates as technology and the company’s understanding of what’s working and what’s not improve. Volvo doesn’t call it beta-testing, though in a sense it is, albeit one that doesn’t promise extraordinary levels of autonomy — even if one day it might. For Volvo claims the installed hardware is ready for unsupervised autonomous driving, but the company awaits its own findings and regulatory approvals. Nevertheless, Volvo already projects a 20-percent reduction in accidents resulting in death or serious injury and a 9-percent reduction in overall crash avoidance. Given Volvo’s history of modest claims, one likes to believe it’s not making this stuff up.

Meanwhile, as a final proof of its high degree of awareness, an interior radar detection system alerts the EX90 and its forgetful operator to the presence of persons or pets who may have been unwittingly left behind, in which event the car may switch on air conditioning, if needed.

Further strides forward are found in the car’s app-controlled charging system, which can be directed to charge when demand and rates are at their lowest. The EX90 also boasts bi-directional charging capability, so it can be used to power your home during peak (read: expensive) hours of the day, as well as other vehicles, appliances, and devices. Selling electricity back to the grid, the back-to-nature consumer’s holy grail, is another possibility, Volvo notes hopefully.

Visually, the EX90 extends the XC90’s big Volvo SUV theme, only it’s more rounded, with no grille and enhanced attention to aerodynamics enabling a low 0.29 coefficient of drag. To our eyes, it’s not as striking as its forebears; inoffensive, yet handsome enough. The interior, on the other hand, stands out. Spare, clean and very modern, yet at once warm and appealing, it moves an already strong game on. Volvo says it reflects the Swedish personality, though of course it would say that. I mean, I think I’m warm and appealing, too.

Copious textured wood veneers so thin they can be backlit are said to conjure the Nordic forest and look muted but classy. Two seating materials will be offered. One called Nordico scans like leather, but is made from materials drawn from recycled PET bottles and “bio-attributed material from responsibly managed forests.” (Bio-attributed? Sounds good, even if we’re not sure exactly what it means.) A wool blend said to be equally stain-resistant would be our preferred, holistic alternative, conferring all the cold and hot weather benefits of a less slippery surface area, and to our eyes a more inviting appearance. Altogether, Volvo says seven different “room” choices are available, blending different combinations of seating surface, wood veneer and interior color to synchronize with one’s choice of exterior hue.

Settling into the EX90’s capacious and comfortable front seats, the view ahead is good, but visibility to the rear, with the model’s profusion of headrests and comfy seats, is less so, making it another car of tomorrow that would be in serious trouble without all of its cameras, sensors, and warning lights. The infotainment situation has improved, though. A vertically oriented 14.5-inch touchscreen is centrally located, more intuitive and meaningfully simplified versus its predecessors and handling the great majority of secondary functions. A smaller screen directly ahead of the driver offers basic speed, range (reportedly 300 miles, by the way) and directional information, as well as a discreet home for some of the driver monitoring sensors.

Our much-anticipated ride-along includes a handful of high-speed laps on the company’s banked Hallerad test track, along with several passes over the various surfaces on another track here. Said to replicate 19 different types of road surfaces, from European cobblestones to Los Angeles freeways, it suffices to give us a reasonable impression of what we are dealing with.

The EX90 is satisfyingly well-built; a quiet, big, heavy, comfortable thing, whose low-down battery weight helps it to hunker down at speed, and — at least in the model we rode in, with optional air-sprung suspension — to swallow up bumps and road irregularities with aplomb. In corners, little of the tippy SUV body roll we despise presents to thwart the approximately 6,000-plus-pounder’s progress. Its brakes are powerful and road and wind noise are subdued. Acceleration is brisk, if not nauseatingly so, with 0-to-60 times of under 5 seconds acceptable for any conceivable, reasonable situation. Much quicker than that and the safety of many ordinarily skilled drivers, their passengers, and fellow road users could be jeopardized. Volvo doesn’t say this, but with the profusion of hyper-fast EVs, someone ought to.

Meanwhile, the presence at Hallerad of a variety of fast, handsome models from Geely, Zeekr, Lynk & Co and Polestar scooting around the track and adjacent test facility underscore, along with the EX90, the mutual benefit of the Geely/Volvo hookup. Volvo is all about safety, and, as the man once said, there’s safety in numbers.

Alfa Romeo on Wednesday revealed special Super Sport versions of the Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio to mark the end of the performance duo’s run in the U.S.

Just 72 examples of the Giulia Quadrifoglio Super Sport and 52 examples of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio Super Sport will be offered locally, with prices starting at $88,365 for the sedan and $95,965 for the crossover. Both figures include a $1,595 destination charge.

Alfa Romeo’s head of North America, Larry Dominique, announced in February that the Quadrifoglio models were about to be discontinued in the U.S. When announcing the new Super Sport versions on Wednesday, he confirmed Quadrifoglio models would return in the future, albeit minus a gas engine.

“While we look forward to the future of the four-leaf clover with the amazing performance benefits of electrification, the twin-turbo V-6 Super Sport is a fitting final chapter to the combustion-engine Quadrifoglio,” he said.

2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Super Sport

Special touches include a blacked-out Quadrifoglio badge, carbon-fiber side mirror caps, carbon-fiber accents in the grille, black Brembo brake calipers, and a dark finish for the wheels. The Giulia Quadrifoglio Super Sport can also be optioned with a carbon-fiber roof.

Inside, the special features include carbon fiber with a red tint on the instrument panel, center console, and door linings, plus a “Super Sport” script embroidered in the headrests, and a steering wheel wrapped in a mix of leather and Alcantara and featuring more carbon-fiber accents.

Both Quadrifoglio models pack a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6 good for 505 hp, along with an 8-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive, adaptive dampers, and a mechanical limited-slip differential with similar tuning to the unit in the hardcore Giulia GTA. The Giulia Quadrifoglio is quoted with a top speed of 191 mph, while the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is quoted with a top speed of 176 mph.

2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Super Sport

The Giulia Quadrifoglio Super Sport and Stelvio Quadrifoglio Super Sport are currently available for order. Deliveries will start in the fall.

Although Alfa Romeo plans to focus on electric vehicles in the future, it will still offer vehicles with gas engines, either as the sole power source or in hybrid configurations. Successors to the Giulia and Stelvio are currently in the works. They will use parent company Stellantis’ STLA Large platform, which debuted in the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona and is capable of electric, hybrid, and gas powertrains. The new Stelvio is expected to arrive as soon as next year and the new Giulia a year after that.

Following up on its off-road-ready CX-T, Morgan has gone in a very different direction for its latest special model: the Midsummer. This one is meant for ideal conditions on paved roads, and it came about with the help of Italian design firm Pininfarina. The result is the cut-down, elongated and exquisitely trimmed speedster you see above.

The car is obviously based on the CX line of bonded aluminum-chassis four-wheel sports cars Morgan currently makes, but with extensive changes to the styling, both for aesthetics and function. The grille has a shroud with vents that is reminiscent of the vents on the Super 3. There’s a considerable front spoiler to reduce lift. It’s made of polished stainless steel, just like the rocker panels and lower portion of the tail. That tail has been lengthened for a bit of art-deco flair. The body continues to be made of hand-formed aluminum, with 250 hours going into their fabrication. The whole car sits on 19-inch forged aluminum wheels that, at 22 pounds each, weigh 6.6 pounds less than the standard 19-inch wheels used on the Plus Six.

Of course, the most striking aspect of the car is the cut-down windshield and the wood panels. Gone is a full glass windscreen, replaced by low, clear deflectors. And to particularly draw attention to the look, teak wood panels have been added to the dash top and in the blank space above the doors. These were crafted with hundreds of thin pieces of teak stacked together. It’s also a nod to the history of Morgans using body panels made of metal panels over wood frames, as well as the metal forming bucks used at the factory.

The interior receives fully unique analog dials, along with a forged aluminum steering wheel. This example has also been trimmed in an oxblood leather upholstery, which contrasts beautifully with the off-white paint. The only piece that looks a little strange is the shifter, which looks like it is pulled straight from BMW.

There isn’t as much that can be done about that, as the Morgan Midsummer relies on a BMW powertrain, just like the Plus Six. It’s a turbocharged inline-six paired with an eight-speed automatic. Morgan didn’t give exact specifications, but it should be at least as potent as the Plus Six, which makes 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.

Morgan will build 50 examples of the Midsummer. Production begins in the third quarter of this year, and will eventually end next year. Customers interested in one are asked to reach out to the company with design ideas. No price was given, but the old adage of having to ask about a price definitely applies. Morgan also plans to bring the Midsummer to the Goodwood Festival of Speed for its first public appearance.