All posts by Francis Mitterrand

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Porsche Charging Planner

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Charging Planner is a smart feature that can plan charging stops along a specific route so that the driver can reach their destination with the fewest possible short stops, and is now available in Porsche cars.

This feature is integrated into the My Porsche and Porsche Communication Management (PCM) apps and works by automatically adding suitable charging stations to the route, as well as the required charging time at each station, taking into account real-time traffic information.

During the journey, the system displays the name of the station planned for the stop, the battery charge upon arrival, the expected arrival time and the remaining distance to the charging station.

The system can also remember whether the driver likes to listen to music and travel in a heated interior, and will take this into account when calculating energy consumption. It should be noted that the driver can specify the desired remaining battery charge percentage upon arrival at a fast charger station or final destination.

Charging Planner manages the battery temperature to ensure optimal charging performance during stops. Upon arrival at a charging station, the Porsche Tycan can be charged almost instantly with up to 320 kW and the Macan with up to 270 kW.

Source: Porsche

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Two motorcycle Dakar Rally champions will be co-drivers in the Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+

In 24 days, one of the world’s toughest rally races, the Dakar Rally, will kick off in Saudi Arabia. As all the teams make their final checks, drivers Toby Price and Sam Sunderland have completed their first car test with the Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+.

Toby Price and Sam Sunderland have previously competed in the race as motorcycle riders, and this will be their first time competing in the car category. Price has been competing in car and other events since 2015, and he won the Baja 500 this year and has also scored podiums in the Stadium Super Trucks series. He also recently competed in the Dubai Baja with Hannes Kiningadner.

“It’s all a bit surreal to be honest. We’ve worked so hard on this and it’s incredible to see it all come together. It’s really exciting to show the car to the world and to have the great partners who support us,” said Price.

Sunderland will be the navigator for the team and he highlighted the ability to focus on one thing as a positive aspect of competing in a car. “The advantage is that there are two riders in one car. We’re going to make mistakes, things are going to go wrong sometimes, but we’ll still have some traces of bikes and cars in front of us until we get used to it and find our bearings. After that, we’ll be good,” said Price. “I’m extremely lucky to have been in this sport for a long time and to have good relationships with the riders and drivers. I was lucky to be able to talk to Mathieu Baumel a few days ago and get a lot of information. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m picking out the key information and learning day by day,” said Sunderland.

Pierce highlighted that the advantage of the two will be experience, as they have both won this race twice. “Even though we have more than 20 Dakar participations, this is still a new category for us, so previous victories do not guarantee anything. Finishing the Dakar in the top 10 would be a great result for us. You can make a thousand plans, but it will not be enough. We have to go day by day and make sure the wheels are rolling,” said Price.

It remains to be seen how this duo will work together and whether, with their experience, they will be able to contribute to a good result for the team.

Source: Reuters

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Tesla is developing a new car

Tesla Model Q is a new car from the American manufacturer that should hit the market in the middle of next year. It will be smaller than the Model 3 but also affordable to a larger number of buyers with a price tag of less than $30,000.

Tesla is still considered a leader when it comes to premium all-electric cars, but the price of EVs is a big problem that plagues all manufacturers. Currently, demand for EVs is declining and buyers are increasingly opting for cars with combustion engines or hybrids.

The Model Q will be 3,988 mm long and 30 percent lighter than the Model 3. This means that it will be cheaper to produce but also more competitive in the market. It will be equipped with lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries with a capacity of 53 and 75 kWh, which will provide a range of up to 500 kilometers. Also, buyers will be able to choose versions with RWD or AWD, and at the beginning of the year it was stated that it could have an HW5 FSD computer for autonomous driving with a modern 3 nm processor.

Tesla’s biggest competitors are Chinese manufacturers, so the new Model Q will be priced lower in the country (around $19,280) to compete with them. It will be manufactured at the Gigafactory in Texas, and there is a possibility that it will also be manufactured at Tesla’s facility in China.

Source: Tesla