1985 Ferrari 308 Gtb Quattrovalvole Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Stellantis wants to outfit cars with AI software to drive revenue

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis announced a strategy Tuesday to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands, hoping the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform the car company into a “sustainable mobility tech company,” with business growth coming from features and services tied to the internet. That includes using voice commands to activate navigation, make payments and order products online. The company is expanding existing partnerships with BMW on partially automated driving, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn on customized cockpits and Waymo to push their autonomous driving work into light commercial vehicle delivery fleets. StellantisÂ’ embrace of artificial intelligence and expansion of software-enabled vehicles is part of a broad transformation in the auto industry, with a race toward more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in automobiles. Ford and General Motors also are banking on dramatically increased revenue from similar online subscription services. But the automakers face immense competition for monthly consumer spending from movie and music streaming services, news outlets, Amazon Prime and others. Stellantis, which was formed from the combination of PSA Peugeot and FCA Fiat Chrysler, said the software would seamlessly integrate into customers' lives, with the capability of live updates providing upgraded services over time. New products will include the possibility to subscribe to automated driving features, purchase usage-based car insurance or even increase the power of the vehicle with a tune-up to add horsepower. As a baseline, Stellantis generates 400 million euros in revenue on software-generated services installed in 12 million vehicles. To meet the targets, Stellantis will expand its software engineering team of 1,000 to 4,500 in North America, Asia and Europe. More than 1,000 of the expanded team will be retrained in house. Stellantis also announced a new partnership with Foxconn to develop semiconductors to cover 80% of the companyÂ’s needs and simplify the supply chain. The first microchips from the partnership are targeted to be installed in vehicles in 2024.

Mansory 4XX Siracusa is the carbon-fiberphile's Ferrari

We've already said the best thing about the Geneva Motor Show are the exotics on display. There's a new Koenigsegg, a successor to the Bugatti Veyron, the latest Aston Martin grand tourer, and even a pretty bad-ass Chevrolet Corvette. But for every good high-performance car, there are more, um, questionable decisions. This is the Mansory 4XX Siracusa, and it's what happens when someone decides the Ferrari 488 GTB isn't as extreme as it should be. The 3.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V8's output has been increased from 661 horsepower to 790 ponies, while torque is up from 561 pound-feet to 643 lb-ft. These are improvements we can support, but the impact on stopwatch performance isn't quite enough – Mansory claims the 4XX Siracusa will hit 60 in just 2.9 seconds and keep going to 212 miles per hour. But for those keeping track at home, the question with the Mansory is whether a tenth-of-a-second improvement and an extra seven mph on the high end is enough to warrant the, ahem, unique design direction of this aftermarket offering. You need to really like carbon fiber to enjoy the 4XX. Like, a lot. Because Mansory has gone beyond even Ferrari's optional carbon-fiber treatments, finishing the front splitter, rear diffuser, roof, pillars, mirror, fender vents, sills, intakes, taillight surrounds, parts of the hood, the spoiler, and both rear wings in the stuff. Then, if that wasn't eye-catching enough, the entire car gets a more aggressive body kit and very, very yellow paint. It's just too much. You can check out the full set of live images of Mansory's take on the 488 GTB from the floor of the Geneva Motor Show at the top of the page.

Ferrari recalls 458 Italia because its trunk is a dangerous place to stow kids

Ferrari is recalling 3,000 458 Italia and Spider models and, believe it or not, it's not because they may catch fire. Nope, instead, the issue focuses on anyone that's unfortunate enough to become trapped in the Ferrari's perilously small frunk (front-mounted trunk).
Apparently, should someone find themselves trapped in the car's nose, the interior release handle only lets loose one of frunk's latches. That means that while anyone held captive by the V8-powered supercar won't be in danger of suffocating and will still be able to call for help, the cars are still ultimately in violation of federal safety mandates.
According to Uncle Sam, should someone become trapped in a trunk, like a child, they must be able to open the trunk from the inside and escape. That can't happen in the 458.