AUTOMOBILE101 BLOG

You won't need an iPhone for true mobile integration Toyota joined the modern era when it  started adding CarPlay  to its vehicles early in 2018, but that hasn't done you much good if you're an Android user. You might get some relief soon, though.  Bloomberg sources  said that Toyota has agreed to put direct Android Auto support in its cars, with an announcement as soon as October. You could use the feature through Ford's SmartDeviceLink before, but that limited both their appearance on the center screen and limited their data access. Toyota wouldn't confirm or deny the apparent leak in a comment, saying that it recognized the demand for Android Auto and was considering direct support. The company would be late to the party, to put it mildly. Most major car brands have at least some kind of Android Auto support, and you'll even find it in niche makes like Koenigsegg. While it's unclear whether the absence of support hurt sales in a tangible way,...

Fifty years after introducing a six-cylinder engine in its 164 sedan model,  Volvo  has halved the cylinder count for  a new entry-level engine in the XC40 compact SUV . The turbocharged T3 gasoline engine is the Swedish manufacturer's first triple, even if it is not the smallest engine ever offered in a Volvo. Announced back in February , the T3 is being offered for now to European  XC40  buyers, but Volvo has said the three-cylinder will be part of  Volvo's XC40 portfolio in the U.S. sometime in the future. The current specifications for the XC40 T3 are fitting for an entry-level model: 156 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 195 pound-feet of torque from 1,850 to 3,850 rpm, and the sole transmission option is a six-speed manual gearbox. Later on, an eight-speed auto will join the manual, a must for United States sales. The 1.5-liter unit is actually largish for a triple, as three-cylinder units are usually closer to one liter of displacement or l...

This amid signs self-driving Project Titan is huge in scope SAN FRANCISCO — Doug Field, who stepped down as the senior vice president of engineering at Telsa last month, is returning to Apple, the company said on Thursday. Field will be working with Apple executive Bob Mansfield, who has been heading up Apple's self-driving car program, Project Titan. Field and Mansfield previously worked together on engineering Apple's line of Mac computers. Field has spent the past five years at Tesla. In April, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a tweet that he had asked Field to manage the company's engineering and production while Musk focused more time on Model 3 production. But in May, reports emerged that Field was leaving the carmaker, which has raced to meet production targets for the Model 3. At the time, Tesla said Field was "just taking some time off to recharge and spend time with his family. He has not left Tesla." In July, Tesla ...

 Automakers are scrambling to ship vehicles to the United States to pre-empt possible higher tariffs, according to port data, port officials and logistics companies. Data from a number of U.S. ports showed a surge in vehicle exports and imports in May, as U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on China and Europe to drop tariffs on U.S. vehicles and make other changes to their trade practices. May is the most recent month for which figures are available. The Trump administration's tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports are due to go into effect at 0401 GMT on Friday, which is just after midday in Beijing. In the United States, the ports of Baltimore, Jacksonville, Florida; and Brunswick, Georgia - the three leading U.S. ports for importing automobiles - in May unloaded a combined 23,000 more cars than they did a year earlier. Auto exports out of Baltimore and Jacksonville that month were up 39 percent and 19 percent, respectively, port officials said. At the port of L...