Automotive News Canada - May 2017 - 24

* MAY 2017

SUBARU ASCENT CONCEPT

TOYOTA FT-4X

The Japan-based automaker will return to making sevenpassenger wagons after cancelling the Tribeca a few years
ago. The bold-looking all-wheel-drive Ascent
will arrive for the 2018 model year with three
rows of seats and a new turbocharged 2.1litre four-cylinder engine that's expected to
make at least 250 horsepower. The Indianabuilt Ascent will also come with a continuously variable transmission.

This boxy concept is reminiscent of past FJ models, but on a smaller
scale. FT-4X's most noticeable design feature is the trick rear doors
that can be opened as a one-piece liftgate. A humble four-cylinder
engine powers all four wheels. The concept could enter production in
much modified form by the end of the decade.

2018 BUICK REGAL TOURX

Buick is abandoning compact and mid-size sedan
segments and is instead introducing alternative
body styles. The Verano and Regal sedans
will be replaced by the Regal Sportback
hatchback and Regal TourX wagon.
The TourX comes with all-wheel-drive
and more ground clearance. Standard
is a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder
engine that makes 250 horsepower and
295 pound-feet of torque.

2018 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE TRACKHAWK

This anti-offroad Jeep uses the same supercharged
707-horsepower 6.2-litre V-8 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission as the Dodge Challenger and Charger
Hellcat models. Unlike those, the Trackhawk uses a
Quadra-Trac 4x4 system that's strengthened for performance: It hits 60 mph (96 km/h) from rest in 3.5 seconds,
covers the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 116 mph (185
km/h) and it has a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h).

GENESIS GV80 CONCEPT
Hyundai recently created a separate Genesis brand for its premium vehicles, and aside
from the current sedan models offered, the GV80 concept indicates that a tall wagon is in
the works. The production version is expected to arrive sometime in 2018. A traditional V-6
engine will initially be offered, followed by an optional plug-in hybrid powertrain. - ANC

Ford thinks bamboo can rival carbon fibre for strength
By KELLY TAYLOR
WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

FORD'S NANJING RESEARCH AND
Engineering Centre in China is exploring ways to combine bamboo with resins to create car parts that rival carbon
fibre for strength.
"Bamboo is amazing," said Janet
Yin, a materials engineering supervisor at the Nanjing centre. "It's strong,
flexible, totally renewable and plentiful in China and many other parts of
Asia."
Unlike most wood products, bamboo
grows by as much as a metre in a single day. Tests show bamboo is stronger
than many current man-made and natural fibres, and tests well in heat up to
the boiling point of water.
There is no word yet on when pan-

Janet Yin, a materials engineering supervisor at Ford's Nanjing
Research & Engineering Centre, and
her team have researched the use of
bamboo for vehicle parts because
of its strength, which rivals steel.
(PHOTO: FORD)

das might like to chomp down on your
Ford.

NO HANDS NEEDED FOR THE 2018 CT6
CADILLAC'S FLAGSHIP LUXURY
sedan will get Super Cruise - parent
company GM's semi-autonomous drive
system - for 2018.
Most vehicles with semi-autonomous driving systems will stay within
lanes without driver input and follow
stop-and-go traffic automatically, but
Super Cruise takes it a step further.
It uses a
small camera mounted on the
steering
column
focused
exclusively
on the drivCadillac Super Cruise
er's face.
operation is restricted
Drivers are
to divided, limitedprompted
access highways.
to return
(PHOTO: GM CANADA)
attention to
driving when needed, with a series of
escalating alerts should the driver not
react appropriately.
As well, Super Cruise combines
on-board radar, sonar and other systems with high-definition mapping to
improve semi-autonomous functions
on hills and curves. The system's use
is restricted to divided, limited-access
roadways.

THE 'HOLE' TRUTH

FOR AUTOMOBILES,
weight is the enemy. It
hurts handling and braking, holds back fuel economy and forces engineers to use sturdier/
heavier suspensions to
hold up the vehicle.
But is there weight that contributes
nothing to the strength of a particular
component? Could it just be cut out?
FCA engineers have developed multiple algorithms in computer modelling to test and
apply the theory to real life.
The concept is similar
to the spaces
between zigzag members
of steel roof
Red squares indicate trusses.
areas where FCA
"FCA is
has cut out material
committed
from suspension
to designing
components without and producing
affecting strength.
lighter, more
(PHOTO: FCA)
fuel-efficient
vehicles that still meet the demands of
customers," said Phil Jansen, head of
product development, citing the 2017
Chrysler Pacifica that he said is more
than 100 kilograms lighter than previous Chrysler minivans, but is stronger
and stiffer.

AUTONOMY AT NIGHT

UNTIL NOW, MOST
demonstrations of autonomous vehicles have had
the advantage of daylight,
giving the cameras their
best chance at augmenting the radar and other
associated systems.
However, Chevrolet has released video
of a Bolt EV navigating the streets of
San Francisco, Calif., at night, autonomously, without a single intervention
from the technician riding along.
The Bolt
navigates
intersections and
stops in
the right
spot behind
other cars
An autonomous
waiting to
Chevrolet Bolt EV
proceed.
allegedly navigates the
It also
streets of San Francisco
appears to
at night without any
recognize
driver input.
pedestrians
(PHOTO: GM)
at crosswalks and follows the correct sequence
at four-way stops.
Note that the video appears to
be from a dash-mounted camera
with no view of the technician. Nonautonomous Bolts are now on sale in
British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
- ANC

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - May 2017