Automotive News Canada - February 2018 - v2 - 20

* F E B R U A R Y 2018

2019 ACURA RDX CONCEPT:

Acura claims that the new RDX
debuting later this year will
closely resemble this prototype. Rather than carrying over the 3.5-litre V-6,
the RDX will come with
a turbocharged 2.0-litre
four-cylinder. Output is
not yet known, but in the
Honda Accord it makes
252 horsepower and 273
pound-feet of torque. The transmission is a 10-speed automatic.

2019 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA:

The warmed-over compact
sedan, arriving later this
year, resembles a scaleddown Passat. Unchanged
from the previous Jetta,
however, is the turbocharged
1.4-litre four-cylinder engine
rated at 147 horsepower and
184 pound-feet of torque. It's
linked to a six-speed
manual
transmission or an
available
eight-speed
automatic.

2019 MUSTANG BULLITT:

The 50th anniversary of the 1968 movie "Bullitt" will be met
this summer with the 2019 Mustang Bullitt.
The green theme should be a familiar by now,
with previous tribute vehicles built and sold
for the 2001 and 2008 model years. This time,
the car comes with "at least" 475 horsepower,
a six-speed manual transmission, 19-inch
wheels, chrome trim, Brembobrand brakes and a signature exhaust note.

HONDA INSIGHT: The second-

generation hybrid will operate
mostly on electricity as the drive
motor will be powered either
entirely by the battery pack or by
the gasoline engine that generates
electricity. Only under hard acceleration or at highway speeds will the
gasoline engine directly power the
wheels. The Insight - which refreshingly looks like a Honda - is built on
a new dedicated platform.

MERCEDES-BENZ A CLASS:

The company touts the A class
hatchback as the first "smartphone on wheels," thanks to the
Mercedes-Benz User Experience
multimedia system, a human-machine interface that adapts to the driver's behaviour and habits. Thinner, flat
LED headlights and a sloping hood give the
compact a sporty look, while the interior comes with
a standard panoramic sunroof. The hatchback will go on sale
later this year, but it's unclear when it will hit Canadian dealerships
or how much it will cost. Mercedes-Benz Canada said the A class will come
with a new 221-horsepower 2.0-litre engine. A sedan will also be sold in Canada.

Mirai follows Prius plug-in's route into Canada: Through Quebec
A U T O M O T I V E N E W S C A N A D A S TA F F

TOYOTA WILL SELL THE
hydrogen-powered Mirai in Canada in
2018, starting in Quebec with fleet customers, the company announced at the
Montreal Auto Show in January.
Toyota Canada has
partnered with the
province's Ministry of
Energy, Environment
and Transportation
to ensure the introduction of fueling
infrastructure. The
Mirai has a range of
about 500 kilometres
on a tank of hydrogen, and takes about the same amount
of time to fill - five minutes - as gasoline vehicles. The Mirai delivers 151
peak horsepower and 247 pound-feet of
torque.
Toyota also announced the rollout

Quebec continues its run as Toyota's
electrification testbed, getting the
Mirai fuel-cell EV. ( P H O TO : TO Y O TA )

of the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid to
dealers across Canada. The car was
launched in May of 2017 in Quebec
only.

the Internet of Things, which is a buzzword for communications tying the
technologies together.

VEHICLES THAT TALK TO EVERYTHING
A MISSING, BUT NECESSARY
piece of the autonomous-vehicle puzzle
will soon begin testing
in Japan.
Six companies -
Continental, Ericsson,
Nissan, NTT DOCOMO,
OKI and Qualcomm
Technologies -
announced plans to
test V2X, or "VehicleTo-Everything," communications using cellphone technology. Vehicles can communicate with
infrastructure such as road-mounted
sensors and traffic cameras as well as
with other vehicles. The technology is
intended to give autonomous vehicles
the ability to see, hear and communicate farther down the road, past lineof-sight limitations and at blind intersections.
The project will test communications both using the cellular network
and direct from vehicle-to-vehicle,
vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian. These forms of communication are critical to developing
safe autonomous vehicles.
Ericsson is providing 4G and 5G cellular technology as well as expertise in

Acura will revive its Type-S performance marque following the success
of the TLX A-Spec model.
( P H O TO : A C U R A )

MORE TYPE-S, A-SPEC ACURA MODELS
ACURA WILL REINTRODUCE ITS
performance brand Type-S, as well as
a new turbocharged V-6 engine exclusive to Acura products, the company
announced.
The new V-6 will be paired with
Acura's Super-Handling All-Wheel
Drive and will appear in multiple products moving forward, though Acura
would not reveal details.
Type-S badging last appeared on
Acura vehicles in Canada in 2010
on the four-door, Honda-Civic-based
Acura CSX.
Acura also announced it will
expand its A-spec variants to include
every new model now under development. The company credits the success
of the TLX A-Spec model for the decision.
"We have made a major commitment to Acura to bring each element
of Precision Crafted Performance to
life through a new generation of prod-

ucts," said Toshiaki Mikoshiba, CEO
of American Honda Motor Co.

NEW FLYER IS ELECTRIC-BUS CAPABLE
NORTH AMERICA'S LARGEST BUS
manufacturer, New Flyer of Winnipeg,
reached a milestone in January in
preparing for the next wave in public
transit: electric buses.
The company's manufacturing
locations in
Winnipeg;
Crookston,
Minn.; St.
Nissan and five other Cloud, Minn.;
companies will test
and Anniston,
V2X - vehicle to
Ala., are now
everything -
all capable of
communications.
building elec( P H O TO : N I S S A N )
tric buses
with the company's Xcelsior Charge system. New
Flyer recently built the first Xcelsior
Charge battery-electric transit bus.
"We invested significantly to establish [the facility in] Anniston as a leader in American bus manufacturing
and advanced vehicle innovation,"
said Senior Vice-President Kevin
Wood. Meanwhile, New Flyer is participating in a study with Nova Bus of
Saint Eustache, Que., into adopting a
universal charging protocol pioneered
by Siemens of Germany and Volvo Bus
of Sweden. - ANC

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - February 2018 - v2