Automotive News Canada - April 2018 - v2 - 22

* APRIL 2018

VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS TANOAK CONCEPT: VW wants to build and

LEXUS LF-1 LIMITLESS CONCEPT: Toyota's upscale

sell a pickup. That much seems obvious. And while the Atlas Tanoak
pickup is just a concept, it looks production-ready. The seven-passenger Atlas utility vehicle provides the platform, although the
Tanoak is significantly longer. It's a bit quirky, too, with
glowing badges and side marker lights in the wheel
arches. Power comes from a 3.6-litre V-6 that gets an
eight-speed automatic transmission and a low-range
program for the all-wheel-drive
system.

division has created a luxury utility vehicle that's likely
to enter production in 2019 as a 2020 model. The flexible platform of the designed-in-California Limitless
will be able to accept gasoline, plug-in hybrid,
hydrogen-fuel-cell and all-electric powertrains,
depending on market demand.

NISSAN-IMX KURO CONCEPT: Currently on tour at var-

ious international auto shows, the Kuro ("black" in Japanese)
indicates the future for Nissan. It also contains the latest in
autonomous mobility systems that will eventually migrate to
future models. Chief among them is Brain-to-Vehicle (B2V) technology that can "predict" the driver's reactions to certain situations, thus reducing steering,
accelerating and braking times.

GENESIS ESSENTIA CONCEPT: This is a walk on the wild side for Hyundai's luxury division. It features scissor-style doors of a type that rarely
make it to the production stage (ultra-exotic models excepted). The artful interior is full of swoopy shapes and a minimalistic dash that's fitting of an
EV. Powering the Essentia is a series of electric motors and a centrally located battery pack extending the length of the body.

Online company discovers that less selling equals more sales
By KELLY TAYLOR

WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

ONLINE GUIDED INTELLIGENCE,
a division of RSR Digital (www.
rsr-global.com), is aiming to help
Canadian car dealers turn
more online tire-kickers
into customers, ironically
by turning down the sales
pressure.
Spokeswoman Dayna
Lyle said the goal is to
make dealer websites
low-pressure sources of
information, free from what the company refers to as lead traps. That includes
pop-ups that either seek to pressure
the visitor into booking a test drive, or
trick the visitor into providing contact
information under the guise of providing access to information.
"Absolutely, [it is] with the intent is
to make visitors feel they aren't being
sold something," she said.
Online Guided Intelligence supplies
and supports back-end applications for
dealer websites, and this, its first product, is from PERQ, an Indiana company specializing in online shopping software.
Nanaimo, B.C.-based Harris Mazda
credits the approach with a gain in his
site's traffic, "because car shoppers are
put off when the sales process doesn't
go the way they want," said General
Manager Doug Culham.

VOLVO FUND LURES NEW TECH PARTNERS

ARLANXEO SEEKS SELF-SEALING TIRE

THE CHINA-BASED AUTOMAKER'S
new investment fund is aimed at supporting high-tech startup companies
around the world.
The Volvo Cars Tech Fund offers
seed financing and partnership with
the carmaker for validating
prototypes, as well as opening doors to global investment markets, including
China, the company's website says.
"We seek to invest in
companies that can provide
us with strategic access to
new technologies, capabilities and talent," said Zaki Fasihuddin, the fund's
president.
The fund's focus is on new technologies for autonomous vehicles, electric
vehicles and future mobility.

UNDER TESTING NOW IS A NEW
rubber compound that's applied to the
inside of a tire, sealing itself after a
puncture, possibly putting an end to
spares, repair kits and expensive runflat tires.
Germany-based Arlanxeo, which
develops synthetic elastomers, is testing the compound, but Matthias Gotta,
head of global sales, said the expectation is for tires to seal up while the
vehicle is driving, "even in the case of
strongly fluctuating external temperatures."
Frank Lückgen, global marketing
director for Arlanxeo's tire-business
unit, said without spare tires and related hardware that vehicle weight will be
reduced, thereby cutting fuel consumption.
Arlanxeo, which does not make
tires, expects to market the compound
later this year. - ANC

Zaki Fasihuddin, president of Volvo's
investment fund, will spend money
to gain access to emerging automotive technology. ( P H O TO : V O LV O )

Cadillac says the new twin-turbo V-8
"virtually eliminates" lag.
( P H O TO : G M C A N A D A )

CADDY PACKS TECH INTO FIRST TT V-8
GENERAL MOTORS' FIRST TWINturbo V-8 debuts in the new 2019
Cadillac CT6 V-Sport.
The 4.2-litre engine is estimated at
550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of
torque. The design borrows from some
other V-6 and V-8 turbo engines by
placing the turbochargers in the valley between the cylinder heads "to virtually eliminate turbo lag," according
to Cadillac. Lag is the lack of engine
response during throttle tip-in.
Intercoolers have their own coolant
system and drop the charge temperature to make more power. The engine
features cylinder deactivation and is
mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Pricing of the CT6 V-Sport will be
announced closer to launch date in
Canada.

German elastomer maker Arlanxeo
foresees a compound that, applied
to the interior of a tire, would reseal
punctures. ( P H O T O : A R L A N X E O )

http://www.rsr-global.com http://www.rsr-global.com

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