Toyota and its luxury arm Lexus are selling cars in the US with an optional ‘cat shield’, in an effort to stymie the theft of catalytic converters, a crucial exhaust component which contains a precious metal worth six times more than gold. Hybrid models from the Japanese nameplates are the main targets because they have anti-pollution devices with even more precious metals … [Read more...] about Anti-theft ‘cat shields’ for Toyota hybrids
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How Holden’s top brass killed hybrid Commodore
Woulda, coulda, shoulda … the celebrated Holden nameplate might have survived if the carmaker’s board of directors in Australia had listened to its most senior engineer 23 years ago. It was the year of the Sydney Olympic Games. Holden and the Australian Government’s CSIRO – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation – had developed a hybrid ECOmmodore … [Read more...] about How Holden’s top brass killed hybrid Commodore
Mazda’s rotary engine lives on in an EV
Five years ago this month, Mazda’s then North American chief Masahiro Moro confirmed what researchers had known for some time: the company’s rotary engine would be ideal as an on-board motor-generator for battery-electric (BEV) vehicles. “This is a very suitable engine to run a generator because it’s compact and lightweight, with no noise or vibration, and it has very good … [Read more...] about Mazda’s rotary engine lives on in an EV
Post-pandemic work/love shack
The pandemic-fuelled growth in work-from-home culture serves as the driving force behind the design of the NomadPro, a conceptual mobile workspace based on the Canter truck from Mitsubishi affiliate Fuso. It’s been designed for day and overnight trips, imagined as a temporary reprieve from the downsides of living and working in the same space at home . As society shifts … [Read more...] about Post-pandemic work/love shack
100 years of cars and timepieces
There’s nothing new about the relationship between car and watch brands. One of the first collaborations was 100 years ago when French watchmaker Jaeger and Swiss company LeCoultre started a company in the UK making car clocks. In 1927 they sold 75% of the company to Smiths, a British competitor forever linked to the Smiths/Rolex watch Sir Edmund Hillary wore on the ascent … [Read more...] about 100 years of cars and timepieces