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Celebrity Drive: Pedro Martinez Baseball Hall of Famer and MLB Network Analyst

6/29/2018

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Celebrity Drive: Pedro Martinez, Baseball Hall of Famer and MLB Network Analyst

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Quick Stats: Pedro Martinez, Hall of Famer/MLB Network analyst
Daily Driver: 2017 Range Rover (Pedro’s rating: 8 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Other cars: See below
Favorite road trip: Helena to Great Falls, MT
Car he learned to drive in: Chevrolet Monte Carlo
First car bought: 1993 Toyota Celica GT

Although Pedro Martinez is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series champion, this Boston Red Sox legend recalls the day he picked up his 1993 Toyota Celica GT during his rookie year more vividly than the day he started his professional baseball career with the Dodgers.

“I don’t remember as much about my debut in the big leagues as I remember when I got my first car. I remember everything. Everything. How I looked at the car, how I went in, I didn’t even want to drive it, my brother drove it,” referring to his brother Ramón. “I just wanted to see whether he considered it was OK for me or not.”

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Pictured: A 2017 Range Rover

These days, with cars at his Miami and Dominican Republic homes, Martinez’s daily driver is his 2017 Range Rover because it can suit different occasions.

“I like the power, I like the interior. The radio, technology, all those things are really up to date, really good,” says Martinez, now an analyst at MLB Network.

There’s room to improve, however, as he rates it an 8 on a scale of 10. “I wish I had more space. It looks so big, but when you go into the interior,” he says, “it’s so small.”

Martinez’s Range Rover is also a hybrid. “I know it saves gas and all that, but the fact that [the engine stops and starts] by itself is annoying to me,” he says.

He chose the Range Rover for the safety factor. “They’re very safe cars that can be exposed to pretty much anything, and that’s an SUV you can take off-road,” he says, adding that the versatile SUV can also “be a luxury car if you want it to be … and you’ll still look good.”

2007 Hummer H2

Rating: 8.5

Martinez has kept this Hummer because of its dual-function truck/SUV body style and its capabilities. “It gives me so much flexibility because it’s a pickup truck in the back so you can haul,” he says. “You can off-road, you can feel that you’re secure and in such a tall vehicle. Every aspect is really good about it, [and] it’s fast enough. I feel so tall on top of it. Nice leather.”

But some of the drawbacks include its gas consumption. “I wish it was [more efficient]. Some of the stuff that comes inside—like plastic, I wish it was stronger material,” he says, adding that he also changed the stereo system.


2002 Ferrari 360 Modena

Rating: 7

A sports superstar needs a proper supercar in his garage at least once in his life. For Martinez, who was at the peak of his career with the Red Sox, it was this Modena. But he says it’ll probably be his first and last Ferrari.

“That car is like an orchid. You really have to pamper this car, you have to really be on top of it,” Martinez said. “It’s a convertible; you have to consistently open the top and bring it back down. You have to run it, you have to keep it moving. Every time you run it more than 70 miles, you have to check the oil. It’s a really sensitive car. That car is a prima donna.”

Martinez would rate his Ferrari a 9 for looks, but considering how much he has to maintain it, he gives it a 7 overall. Sometimes he can go three months without driving it, and it’s only logged around 11,000 miles. “I travel a lot, so when I’m not there, sooner or later something pops up,” he says. “I drive it as a hobby.


2007 Mercedes-Benz S550

Rating: 10

Martinez rates his S550 a perfect 10 for safety and comfort. “The interior, the look, everything is really good about this car. After I married my wife, I figured she would look good in a car like that, so I went and got it for her.”

He says they both drive the S550, but that no matter what car he’s in, there’s always a lot of traffic in Miami. “Early in the morning, [there’s] a lot of traffic jams, and also, after 3:00 in the afternoon, there’s a lot of traffic jams all over the highway,” he says.

Photo courtesy MLB Network

Last year, Martinez was on an episode of Discovery’s Diesel Brothers. He told them what he’d like in a car, if they designed one for him;

“I’m crazy about colors, stereo, technology,” he says. “I’ve been a fan of cars that are powerful. The security in the car, how to stay safe is really important to me. Speed is not a big deal, but yes, you need some speed. I’m not a speedster. I’m someone [who’s] very conservative when it comes to cars.”

Car He Learned to Drive in

Martinez learned to drive in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Great Falls, Montana, where he lived briefly early in his baseball career.

“I just know it was 1990,” Martinez says, recalling only the year he drove it. “The lady I used to live with owned one, and she would only bring it out on Sundays. So she took me around in it,” he says.

As with baseball, Martinez was serious about learning to drive that Monte Carlo. “It was a powerful car. I used to love going around with her, and Great Falls is such a quiet town. I took my time to go around with her and learn all the new things that I had to learn,” he says. “It was a pretty cool car. I was just looking forward and trying to stay out of trouble, not to lose my way. I was too busy looking at how to go forward and where I needed to turn to make a stop and all that.”

Out of the three Dominican guys in the house, he was the only one who was allowed to drive the Monte Carlo.

Photo courtesy MLB Network

“So I was like the little baby of the house,” he says, laughing. “And they were jealous because they wanted to drive it, they wanted to go around in it, and they weren’t allowed. They didn’t behave as much as I did. I spent two and a half months there, the lady was like a mother to me. …. That’s why I really enjoyed my time in the Monte Carlo, because I was a little spoiled in the house.”

Logging time in the Monte Carlo helped him pass his driver’s test in Florida the next year. He didn’t learn how to drive in the Dominican Republic, where he used to walk 6 miles each day to school.

“I used to walk a lot. But now, I’ll give a 10 to my legs! No car can outlast my legs when it comes to miles,” he says. “Even though I probably learned at a high school age, it’s not common that you see a poor person from the Dominican Republic have a car at 17. No way. Only in a very rich family, and normally baseball players don’t come from rich families.”

First Car Bought

Martinez bought a new 1993 Toyota Celica GT when he was in his rookie year, playing for the Dodgers. “My brother was a pro on cars by that time, and he started introducing me to the rims and little details on the car: the spoilers, the stereo, how it would look better, so many little details on the car,” he says referring to his brother Ramón. “I pampered myself with that car. Cherry red, it was beautiful.”

He couldn’t buy the car right when he got to the Dodgers. “I had to pretty much wait for two or three checks to then go and get my car, but my brother was already established in the big leagues so he was making pretty good money to buy whatever car he wanted,” he says.

Martinez left the Celica at the shop to get detailed but let his brother test-drive it. “My brother took it because he knew more about cars than I did, so he was telling me if it was safe for me and also a car that I should consider keeping,” he says. “I just wanted my brother to OK it because he was older, he was wiser.”

In the car, Martinez was all smiles, both in Los Angeles and then later (after the season was over) when he took it back to the Dominican Republic, where it turned heads. “It did, and so did I,” he says, with a laugh. “Even though I’m not good-looking, I got a lot of looks because of the car. Believe me, I was really happy with my car when I got back, everybody was looking at my car,” he says. “My car was so cute, it was the only one in the country at the time I got it in to the Dominican.”

Photo courtesy MLB Network

He explains that the Dominican Republic got cars much later after the model year than in the U.S.  “Back then you rarely saw a car that was a car of the [latest model] year, unless you were really rich and you went and bought it in the States and brought it over.”

He kept the Celica for three years. “I fell in love with my little car. I would clean it myself,” he says. “Every time it got a little dirty I was in the car wash right away or washing it myself. I remember taking my Turtle Wax and I used to shine it myself and take care of the interior.”

He saw the Celica as more of a practical car, but for his first splurge car, he opted for an American vehicle. “Back in those days, I used to have a Jeep Wrangler, and I really detailed that Jeep to make it an off-road car and also to go to the beach and pull the WaveRunners that I had.”

The Ferrari would, of course, be another splurge later. “My brother bought one, so he convinced me to buy another one. I had some bonuses for doing well in baseball, so I pampered myself with a Ferrari,” he says.

Favorite Road Trip

Martinez’s favorite road trip is the one from Helena to Great Falls, Montana. “It’s absolutely gorgeous,” he says. “That’s one that I would like to repeat. The scenery, the mountains, and the lakes. The wheat fields, it was golden and I used to go and look at those fields, totally golden, when we were passing by.”
He’s always been a big fan of long drives. “I remember those bus rides in Montana from Great Falls to Billings to Pocatello, Butte, all those places, they were absolutely gorgeous. Those are roads that have never gone away from my mind. It was so beautiful to drive across the country like that.”

Back then, Martinez had to go from town to town for baseball. “After I got my car, I really got into the habit of driving from one province to the next, like I live in Santo Domingo, but I would drive across to Santiago, San Pedro, all those places, and I really got hooked to do that.”

He’s also driven a lot around other parts of the country, like from New York to Boston, and from Miami to Tampa, Orlando, and Sarasota. “I love taking those long drives,” he says.

Martinez has yet to do a cross-country road trip. “That’s on my bucket list, though. I would love to do it by train first, and just stop by any city anywhere, backpack and all, until I finally end up somewhere in Alaska,” he says. “And stopping anywhere, spending the night anywhere.”

MLB Network

Although he admits he’s a “spoiled Bostonian” because he still gets a lot of love from the fans there, Martinez has happily been at MLB Network as an analyst for three years. “It’s like my place to actually continue to play baseball without playing it. This is my man cave away from home,” he laughs, talking to us from MLB Network’s Secaucus studio.

2nd Annual “Feast with 45” at Fenway Park on June 29

Martinez will host local sports names and chefs at Fenway Park tonight from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The festival raises money for Martinez’s charity to help children here and in the Dominican Republic.

“It’s 45 chefs from all over the U.S. coming to feed everybody,” he says. “What I like is the fact that we can actually raise some opportunities for people, opening doors for people less fortunate, and I’m doing this to add to the legacy of helping the community, and I’m expecting a lot of people to come and support it,” he says.

“We’ll be here to make sure we raise enough money to build a charter school, so when I talk about opportunities, it’s because I’m a product of an opportunity and I was able to maximize, and so I want to open doors to people through education, to give someone an opportunity to become someone like you and me and become a better human being.”

Tickets for “Feast With 45” can be purchased here. For information about Martinez’s charity, visit pedromartinezcharity.com.

READ MORE CELEBRITY DRIVES HERE:

Photo courtesy MLB Network




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June 29, 2018 at 04:09AM
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Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign celebrates 50th anniversaries with 710 horsepower

6/28/2018

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Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign celebrates 50th anniversaries with 710 horsepower

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When car companies celebrate anniversaries, the results can be a bit underwhelming, such as

the paint and badge job Chevy put together for its truck anniversary

. The

Nissan

GT-R50 by

Italdesign

is not one of those vehicles. It's a custom

GT-R

based on a

GT-R NISMO

featuring unique bodywork from the famed Italian design company. It's the first time Italdesign has worked with Nissan, and perhaps they should work together more often. The GT-R50 has a lower nose, a lower roof, and wider fenders. It's one of the meanest-looking GT-Rs yet.

It has performance to backup the looks, too. The normal GT-R's twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 has been supplemented with big turbos from the GT3-class race car, along with bigger intercoolers, more aggressive cams and beefier internals including the pistons, rods, bearings and crankshaft. Combined, they allow the V6 to produce 710 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. That's an increase of 110 horsepower and 94 pound-feet over the regular GT-R NISMO.

Nissan made sure the rest of the car was ready for all the extra power, too. The differentials and axles are stronger to ensure nothing breaks when launching. Brembo six-piston brakes sit up front with four-piston units in the rear to stop the beast, and a Bilstein active suspension helps it corner.

Finally, the interior was updated to make it as special as the Italdesign exterior. Everything inside was designed by Nissan's U.S. and

London

design teams. It features loads of carbon fiber, Alcantara, and gold accents. The latter helps tie things together with the gold elements on the exterior.

No plans for a production version of the GT-R50 have been announced. Nissan also emphasized that this is not a preview of the next generation GT-R. It's just a special celebration of the model and the design company.

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June 29, 2018 at 01:20AM
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Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign Looks Fantastic

6/28/2018

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Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign Looks Fantastic

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Nissan teamed up with Italdesign for the first time to reimagine its famous GT-R sports car. The sleek prototype commemorates the 50th anniversaries of the Nissan GT-R and the Italian design house. It will make its debut next month in Europe, we are told.

The Nissan GT-R50 concept is based on a 2018 Nissan GT-R Nismo. Under the hood, a 3.8-liter V-6 engine delivers 710 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a dual-clutch six-speed transmission.

“How often do you get to ask, ‘What if we created a GT-R without limits,’ and then actually get to build it?” said Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan senior VP for global design, in a statement.

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“This is a rare window in time when two big moments intersect: 50 years of Italdesign shaping the automotive world and 50 years of Nissan generating excitement through our iconic GT-R. So to celebrate this convergence, Nissan and Italdesign created this custom GT-R to mark 50 years of engineering leadership.”

According to the maker, additional tweeks to the to the powerplant include “optimized twin high-flow, large-diameter GT3 competition-spec turbochargers and larger intercoolers; heavy-duty crankshaft, pistons, connecting rods and bearings; high-flow piston oil jets; revised camshaft profiles; higher-flow fuel injectors; and optimized ignition, intake and exhaust systems.”

Up front, the revised GT-R gets an “Energetic Sigma Gold” grille surround flanked by sleek LED headlights and gold mirror covers. There’s a modest power bulge on the hood.

Overall there are just enough gold touches throughout its mostly glossy Liquid Kinetic Gray painted sheet metal. The roofline has been lowered by 2.13-inches and sports a lower middle section.

Around back the car’s twin round taillights have been replaced with thin light rings and hollow centers that seem to float below the big, adjustable rear wing.

The special prototype also features a revised suspension with an adjustable damping system with Brembo six-pistons up front and four-piston rear brakes. All this goodness rolls on Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on custom 21-inch wheels in black.

Inside, there’s a bespoke carbon-fiber steering wheel with a flat bottom in black Alcantara trim and matching black Italian leather seats.

There are two different carbon-fiber finishes with gold accents across the center console, instrument panel, and door linings, along with more—you guessed it, Alcantara trim.

Source: Nissan





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June 29, 2018 at 01:05AM
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Kroger will road-test Nuro driverless delivery vans this fall

6/28/2018

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Kroger will road-test Nuro driverless delivery vans this fall

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CINCINNATI — Kroger Co and Silicon Valley startup Nuro will begin this autumn what they call the first real-world road test of an unmanned delivery vehicle, as the largest U.S. supermarket operator battles Amazon and others for U.S. dominance in fresh grocery delivery.

The test of Nuro's "R1" van, which is shaped like a rounded, silver lunch box, comes as Kroger and other store-based food retailers are racing to catch up with or gain an advantage over online retailer Amazon, which sent grocery sellers scrambling to add home delivery after its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market last year.

Kroger is experimenting with ways to lower the cost of grocery delivery by automating different labor- and cost-intensive aspects of the service, from picking and packing orders to dropping them at homes. Just last month, it struck a deal with British online grocer Ocado to build highly automated warehouses.

Kroger Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen told Reuters that the non-exclusive partnership with Nuro, announced ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, will help shape the grocer's strategy for giving shoppers at its 2,800 stores in 35 states "anything, anytime and anywhere."

"It's one more piece of that puzzle," McMullen said of the Nuro test. No money exchanged hands, and the location of the test city has yet to be announced.

Nuro said it is in the process of gaining regulatory approval for the project.

Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson called the battery-operated R1 a "considerate, conservative" road user. It is half the width and about two-thirds the length of a Toyota Corolla and will travel at a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour, he said.

The R1 is larger than the slow-speed sidewalk delivery robots that Starship Technologies has been testing in cities around the world and, unlike many other driverless vehicles, it has no seats for humans.

Customers in the test market will have the option to select driverless delivery when they order groceries from their local Kroger supermarket's website. Kroger and Nuro will tell users when R1 leaves the store and give updates on its journey. They also will provide a code to open the compartment containing their order.

Kroger offers its own delivery service in Denver and works with a broad variety of third-party providers in other markets. Delivery is popular, in part, because it takes the effort and hassle out of carrying bulky or heavy items like large packages of toilet paper or cases of bottled water to and from a car and into the home — something Nuro vans will not do.

Nuro, founded by former lead engineers from Google's self-driving car project to focus on "last-mile" deliveries, has raised $92 million from U.S. and Chinese investors.

Its competitors include Ford, which has partnered with Domino's Pizza and Postmates to test deliveries with its own self-driving cars.

Reporting by Lisa Baertlein





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June 28, 2018 at 08:44PM
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ENLİL urban turbine uses traffic to generate electricity

6/28/2018

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ENLİL urban turbine uses traffic to generate electricity

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Using traffic to create electrical energy: ENLİL is a vertical axis wind turbine that generates electricity from wind power. It was designed to capture the energy created by modern cities, like wind created from passing vehicles. It also has solar panels to capture extra energy from sunlight.

The ENLİL turbine is being tested on the streets of Istanbul, Turkey. Deveci Tech claims that ENLİL can generate 1 kW of energy per hour, enough to handle the power needs of two homes. Like if you want these in your neighborhood.

Learn more at

devecitech.com




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June 28, 2018 at 07:41PM
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Watch: Behind the Wheel of the All-New 2019 BMW Z4

6/28/2018

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Watch: Behind the Wheel of the All-New 2019 BMW Z4

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We drive the prototype in Provence, France

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The BMW Z4 left the lineup three years ago after the 2016 model year, but now it’s back. In this video, Road Test Editor Chris Walton drives the all-new 2019 BMW Z4 M40i prototype in Provence, France.

This sports car delivers an impressive 382 hp and 369 lb-ft. of torque in U.S. spec. Power comes from a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine.

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This bad boy is going to have a price tag similar to the Audi TT RS, Porsche 718 Boxster S, and Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 in the mid-upper range of $60,000.

“As with other recent BMW releases and rereleases, it appears that BMW has gotten its groove back,” Walton said in a recent review. “We couldn’t be happier for them—and for us.”

Check out the video to watch the BMW Z4 prototype hit the track.





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June 28, 2018 at 05:54PM
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BMW Rep: Government May Never Allow for Autonomous Cars Computerized Life and Death Decisions

6/28/2018

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BMW Rep: Government May Never Allow for Autonomous Cars, Computerized Life and Death Decisions

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BMW’s past promises include a pledge to help keep drivers driving in the brave new world of autonomous vehicles. However, it hasn’t entirely sworn off self-driving technology. The company finds itself in a tricky spot, as it’s seen as both a luxury automaker and a performance brand. But it can’t claim to be “The Ultimate Driving Machine” if it doesn’t allow customers to drive.

Automakers and tech firms pushed relentlessly for autonomous driving, making claims that a self-driving nirvana was just around the corner. But current technology proved less than perfect in practice and modern autonomous vehicles require constant human involvement to operate safely, just like any normal car. Despite making strides, the industry seems torn on how to appease everyone.

The government is even more in the dark. While lawmakers initially agreed with industry rhetoric (that autonomy will save lives and usher in a new era of mobility), recent events sparked skepticism. There aren’t many new regulations appearing in the United States, but there also isn’t any clear legislation to help decide who’s held liable when the cars malfunction. A lot of what if questions remain unanswered.

BMW thinks this will be the main reason why autonomous cars fail. 

It’s surprising to hear an automaker says this. The industry seems hell-bent on ramming this technology down our collective throats, consequences be damned. But Ian Robertson, BMW’s special representative in the United Kingdom, says that government regulations will probably stop autonomous features before they can become normalized.

“I think governments will actually say ‘okay, autonomous can go this far,'” he told AutoExpress. “It won’t be too long before government says, or regulators say, that in all circumstances it will not be allowed.”

Roberson said programing a car to make decisions between one life and another is extremely difficult and involves too many moral implications. “Even though the car is more than capable of taking an algorithm to make the choice, I don’t think we’re ever going to be faced where a car will make the choice between that death and another death.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz says it will always have its autonomous vehicles prioritize the life of the driver in the event of a crash. It’s an interesting problem; one the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been working on by allowing people to take an ethics-based quiz that forces decisions in a no-win scenario. The test, called Moral Machine, collects data on how people feel autonomous development should progress. It also reveals the problems associated with giving a self-driving car a difficult decision when it comes to who lives and who dies.

BMW isn’t leading the charge in terms of autonomous development, though it does operate several fleets of self-driving vehicles. It’s actively developing the technology. But Robertson knows it can’t make its way to market until it’s objectively error-free.

“..the technology is not mature right now,” he said, “The measure of success is how many times the engineer has to get involved. And we’re currently sitting at around three times [every 1,000km].” While Robertson admitted that sounded promising, he said it was still unacceptable. “It has to be perfect,” he concluded.

Reaching perfection takes time and, even though semi-autonomous systems (like Tesla’s Autopilot) proved impressive, fatal crashes involving that system heightened scrutiny and grew skepticism. Self-driving cars have to operate virtually error-free to gain public acceptance. Pulling that off requires more work and maybe even a complete redesign of our transportation infrastructure — as well as the rules that govern it.

[Image: BMW]

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June 28, 2018 at 05:49PM
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Honda kills off its adorable Asimo humanoid robot

6/28/2018

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Honda kills off its adorable Asimo humanoid robot

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It hasn't always been pretty,

Asimo

, but it's always been entertaining. Through

the falls

,

the fails

, and the extremely

noteworthy successes

, we feel like we've watched

Honda's

little robot grow from a baby into, well, a sort of slow and occasionally clumsy toddler. And we're going to miss the little guy, especially since all we have now are all those

terrifying creations

rolling out of

the Boston Dynamics lab

.

According to the

Nikkei Asian Review

, Honda has halted development of Asimo, but even if the humanoid robot portion is now dead, the project will continue. As

humorously parodied

by "

Saturday Night Live"

not long ago, the actual usefulness of a cute little robochild is limited. But the technology that makes Asimo tick can be applied to many more useful endeavors, including physical therapy and self-driving automobiles.

The Asimo project — which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility — began way back in 1986 with

a pair of legs

that Honda called E0, and it rapidly grew from there. The

first humanoid Asimo

hit the scene in 2000, and seven generations later, Honda added enough artificial intelligence that the robot could autonomously interact with people and its surroundings. Each successive generation added more layers of advancement, technology, and even a certain humanizing style.

So, instead of writing a eulogy, instead we're happy to look forward to a future where Asimo's technology might lead to commercially available

self-balancing motorcycles

, self-driving cars, and, well,

other cute little robots with no practical purpose

. Oh, and don't forget the

robotic beer cooler

. That one has real-commercial-success-story written all over it.

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June 28, 2018 at 04:58PM
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Tesla Model 3 production falling short of goal workers say

6/28/2018

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Tesla Model 3 production falling short of goal, workers say

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SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla is not producing enough Model 3s per shift to reach the 5,000-per-week target that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said it would reach by Saturday, three line workers at the company's Fremont, California, assembly plant told Reuters this week.

The company was able to assemble and paint 210 Model 3s during the first of two 12-hour shifts on Wednesday, one worker told Reuters. On one of two Monday shifts, the company produced 305 of the vehicles, another worker told Reuters. The number of vehicles assembled per shift is displayed for line workers in the plant.

The company is running two 12-hour shifts per day every day this week on the Model 3, the two workers who provided the production figures said. If the company produces 300 Model 3 vehicles during all 14 shifts, it would produce 4,200 cars for the week.

Tesla declined to comment on its production numbers or on employee reports of problems.

The Model 3, initially promised at a base price of $35,000, is meant to be the mass-market car that can propel electric-powered vehicles into the mainstream and Tesla into profitability. But Tesla has struggled to produce the volume of cars it needs because of problems with the assembly line and other snafus.

"Basically we have been in a long endurance race, and now the coach is yelling at us for a 4-mile finishing kick."

The company's Fremont, California, factory has also been plagued by a series of fires, including at least two in June.

At the company's shareholder meeting earlier this month, Musk said it was "quite likely" that Tesla would be able to build 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of June. At the time, Tesla was producing 3,500 of the vehicles per week, Musk said.

But the worker who provided the production figure for Wednesday's first shift said bottlenecks persist.

"Paint can't handle the load right now because they have the Model S and X that they normally do and now they have all these Model 3s," the worker told Reuters. "The paint department just can't keep up."

"Basically we have been in a long endurance race, and now the coach is yelling at us for a 4-mile finishing kick," said one employee at the company's Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, where batteries for the Model 3 are made.

To reach Musk's goal, the company has borrowed workers from its Model S and Model X lines this week to work on the Model 3, and on Wednesday, factory supervisors announced to workers that everyone is to come in on Saturday.

Earlier this month, Musk tweeted a photo of a new Model 3 production line built inside a tent on the company's Fremont campus. "Needed another general assembly line to reach 5k/week Model 3 production," Musk tweeted on June 18. "A new building was impossible, so we built a giant tent in 2 weeks."

But the tented line is only producing a few cars so far, said the worker who provided the production figure for one of Monday's shifts. And often, those cars have to be reworked, said the worker who provided the Wednesday figure. "It's a makeshift area," the worker said.

Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez





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via Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com

June 28, 2018 at 04:58PM
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2019 Chevrolet Volt: The Overlooked Electric Wants You to Plug In More Often

6/28/2018

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2019 Chevrolet Volt: The Overlooked ‘Electric’ Wants You to Plug In More Often

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Image: GM

It’s not a pure EV, but in the early part of this decade, Chevrolet’s Volt offered one of the few mass-produced electric driving experiences on the market. Now in its second generation, GM’s “extended-range electric vehicle” — which packs a 1.5-liter gas generator — has seen its status dwindle as all-electric competitors rivals sprout like dandelions (among them, the confusingly named Chevy Bolt). Lesser plug-in hybrids abound.

Though the Volt still represents an easy-to-live-with compromise between gas-fueled convenience and emission-free commuting, GM knows it needs to do something to sweeten the pot. Extending the range beyond 53 miles seems pointless. But what if the car could charge almost 50 percent faster?

That what General Motors promises for 2019. By adding a 7.2 kilowatt charging system, the 2019 Volt’s charge time drops to 2.3 hours when plugged into a 240-volt hookup — the type you see at public charging stations everywhere.

Depending on your living situation, it might not be all that expensive to install a 240V outlet.

Basically, GM wants to make the Volt a better “electric” car, but without actually adding extra battery capacity. By increasing throughput and decreasing charging times, GM hopes Volt owners decide to make the most of the car’s electric capability, reducing the amount of gasoline used by the inline-four generator. People will be encouraged to top up as they go about their daily grind. It’s also a less-expensive way to boost the appeal of an existing product.

Image: GM

“It effectively extends the vehicle’s all-electric driving range, while providing about twice the range for the money when plugging in at public facilities that charge by the hour,” said Jesse Ortega, chief engineer of Chevrolet’s electric vehicle division, in a statement.

Buyers of the 2019 Volt Premier see this system as standard kit, while Volt LT buyers gain it as an option. The LT comes with a 3.6 kW system.

Other upgrades include new regenerative braking profiles that allow owners to recapture more energy after easing up on the throttle, thus extending the vehicle’s range. Drivers can also defer the startup of the gas generator for cabin heating. If you’re made of tough stuff, GM claims you’ll be able to delay ICE ignition until outside temperatures reach minus 13F (-25C).

For 2019, Volts gain a Chevrolet Infotainment System with 8-inch touchscreen, mated to an energy app that shows users how best to increase their all-electric driving range. Owners can switch between conventional and adaptive cruise, and a digital backup camera replaces the old analog one. The Volt’s low-speed pedestrian warning noise sees a change, too, with look-over-here sounds emitted from front and rear speakers.

Oh, there’s also a power driver’s seat — a feature surprisingly absent from previous versions. Still, the seat only comes standard on Premier trim. LT buyers can spring for one if they want.

After entering the market as a 2011 model, the Volt’s fortunes have waxed and waned. Last year’s U.S. sales tally stands at 20,349 vehicles, but the first quarter of of 2018 showed a marked decrease in volume. We’ll know if that trend continued when GM posts its quarterly sales stats next week.

Expect to see the outwardly unchanged 2019 Volt on dealer lots this fall.

[Images: General Motors]

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via The Truth About Cars https://ift.tt/2JU9HQx

June 28, 2018 at 04:45PM
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