Author Archives: Chris Davies

Making the decision between a Tesla Model X P100D and a Lamborghini Aventador SV is not something most of us will ever get to do, but thankfully we have entertaining drag races to salve that pain. The two cars - and a Model S P100D that also joins in the fun - went head to head at the Palm Beach International Raceway to show what happens when you put the cutting-edge in electric SUV against one of the most coveted supercars on the market. Here's the spoiler: don't argue with instantaneous torque.

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The big surprise that, well, wasn't that much of a surprise is here: the new version of Google's smartphone platform is Android Oreo. Announced shortly after the solar eclipse passed over New York City, Android 8.0 Oreo brings to an end months of speculation about just what Google would call its new "Android O" OS. Even if you weren't one of the many making predictions, there's some good news if you're a Pixel or Pixel XL user.

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All hail the 2018 BMW M5, the sixth-generation of the iconic super-sedan, and the German automaker's most cunning yet. Sure, the 2018 M5 isn't short on power: its twin-turbo V8 is good for a heady 600 horsepower, along with 553 lb-ft. of torque, after all. No, what's really clever is BMW's specially-prepared all-wheel drive.

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The new BMW M5 may be one of the most hotly-anticipated cars of 2018, but it's debuting in an unusual place: Need For Speed Payback. Thanks to a promotion between the German automaker and Electronic Arts, the new sports sedan will be seen for the first time - as a playable car - in the upcoming game set to be released on November 10. Indeed, it'll be a much cheaper way of getting your hands on some serious horsepower.

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Elon Musk continued his one-man Tesla support hotline service this weekend, fielding requests and complaints from EV owners for features they'd like to see in the next OTA firmware. The outspoken billionaire has frequently used Twitter as an open house for ideas and feedback, with many of the suggestions making it through to future firmware updates. This time around, Musk is tackling some of Telsa cars' more frustrating foibles.

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You have to wonder why it's taken Volkswagen so long to reboot the Microbus, but come 2022 the iconic shape will return to the roads. This isn't the same van that came to epitomize the swinging sixties, mind: previewed by the VW I.D. BUZZ concept, it's an all-new interpretation of flexible motoring atop an all-new electric platform. That's a lot to get excited about, so here's what you need to know.

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Volkswagen has given the green-light to its I.D. BUZZ concept, with plans to put the electric VW Microbus into production. The decision, announced at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance today, will deliver one of the automaker's most well-received concepts to dealerships, atop its brand new electrified platform. According to VW, the demands to build a production version of the I.D. BUZZ have been frequent and vocal since the concept bus was first shown off.

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You have to give the Essential Phone credit for managing to carve out a spot in our attention, given what a phone-heavy year 2017 is turning out to be. On the one hand, Samsung is about to make its play for phablet redemption with the Galaxy Note 8, successor to the ill-fated (and fiery) Note 7. Shortly after, we'll get to close the book on all the rumors around what could be Apple's most dramatic iPhone upheaval in years, as the iPhone 8 makes its much-anticipated debut.

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Fisker's new electric car will make its official debut at CES 2018, with the Fisker EMotion promising not only zero-emissions but full autonomous driving. Preorders of the car began in June, with Fisker taking a $2,000 deposit for what's expected to be a $129k EV by the time it actually launches. However, so far potential owners have had to take a lot on faith.

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A clandestine Audible promotion made Amazon's Echo Dot free for a short window, though the deal was only stumbled upon accidentally on Friday afternoon. The promotion, only disclosed when Echo Dot buyers had the smart speaker in their cart and had reached the checkout stage, was listed only as an "Audible Promo" credit. However, it reduced the normally $49.99 device to free.

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Major car part supplier Delphi has inked a deal with a major LIDAR company, baking laser scanners into its turnkey kit for autonomous cars. The deal will see Innoviz Technologies supply solid-state LIDAR scanners to add to Delphi's work-in-progress system, which should give car-makers a shortcut to vehicles that can drive themselves. While Delphi might not be a household name, the vehicle parked outside many of those houses are likely to have at least some of the company's components inside.

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Watermarking photos may be the go-to route to prevent copyright theft, but Google researchers have figured out a clever way to remove watermarks altogether, automatically. Watermarking, where a logo is placed somewhere on a photo to show who took it, varies in intrusiveness from a small caption in one corner to the sort of full-image obscuring lines, text, and other graphics that stock image companies often plaster their previews with. As the researchers found, though, the very ubiquity of that strategy might be its undoing.

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