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April Fools' Day brings Jeep Sedan, Hyundai N Roadster, Toyota Yaris pickup and more

There is one day out of the year when public relations professionals have permission to lie to journalists and to the public: April Fools' Day. Manufacturers release details about wild, weird and wacky new technology, concept vehicles and services. Some take it to obvious outlandish extremes (Jeep Sedan anybody?), while others plot to mislead with products that are just outside the realm of possibility. Check out all the "jokes" below. BMW Motorrad BMW doesn't want to exclude anybody from experiencing the thrill of high-level racing, so it is introducing 'iRace" autonomous programming on its S 1000 RR sport bike. It includes beginner, sportsman, advanced and unlimited driving modes, and stores GPS information for all Superbike world championship tracks. Hyundai Hyundai is wrong for this. The Hyundai N Roadster is the work of South Korean designer Yeonjoon Park and features a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, rear-wheel drive and a hard convertible top. Hyundai says this is a "concept (for now)," but we think it'd make a seriously great Mazda Miata competitor. Honda Honda wins the award for the best interactive gimmick, as its press release for the '90s-inspired special-edition Pastport includes a live hotline number with a message from Fred Savage. Call 1-833-PASTPORT for more information. Jeep Put the Jeep Cherokee face on the Chrysler 300's body, and voila! The 2019 Jeep Sedan is born. We can't decide if the name or the rendering is better. Land Rover Accessibility to charging ports is of major concern to anybody with a plug-in vehicle. So, with the recent launch of the Range Rover P400e and Range Rover Sport P400e, Land Rover is putting forth an effort to install more stations around the globe. First up is Scotland's Isle of Skye. Adventurers need juice too! Lexus Australia Lexus expands its Encore service to include doggos. The new service, called Enpaw, will take pups to luxury boarding kennels in style. Toyota U.S. Toyota created the Yaris Adventure pickup for "those who want to tell their friends they own a truck but never veer off pavement." It's part Mazda 2, part RAV4, 100 percent ute and it looks ... great? Creating a new segment might be all fun and games to Toyota, but Ford is reportedly considering a Focus-based ute in a similar, albeit larger, style. Toyota Australia Toyota is launching a new HiAce van, and it's already getting a limited-edition variant called the PieAce.

FCA CEO Mike Manley will take undefined new role after PSA merger

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Mike Manley will remain with the new group set to result from a planned merger with French rival PSA-Peugeot, Chairman John Elkann said on Wednesday. In a letter to Fiat Chrysler (FCA) employees on the day the two companies announced a binding agreement for a $50 billion tie-up to create the world's fourth-largest carmaker, Elkann said he was "delighted" that the combined group would be led by current PSA CEO Carlos Tavares. "And Mike Manley, who has led FCA with huge energy, commitment and success over the past year, will be there alongside him," he said. He did not say what position Manley would hold. Elkann — who will chair the new group — said there was still much to be done to complete the merger. "Over the coming months we must work tirelessly and determinedly to fulfill all the approval requirements needed to finalize the commitment we have signed," he said. Related Video:     Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot FCA PSA merger Mike Manley carlos tavares

Jeep hackers return to take over your steering wheel

Last year, security researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek made headlines by remotely hacking a Jeep, killing the transmission and applying the brakes while Wired reporter Andy Greenberg was behind the wheel and driving in traffic. The hack led to a 1.4 million-vehicle recall for Fiat Chrysler and new jobs at Uber's Advanced Technology Center for Miller and Valasek. Despite the cushy new gigs, the two of them apparently aren't done hacking Jeep Cherokees for sport. In their latest exploit, the pair can gain even more control over a vehicle, but it would also be extremely difficult to pull off in a real-world setting. Here's the harrowing part first: Miller and Valasek can do more than just apply the brakes at low speed or cut the transmission this time around. Now they can turn on the parking brake, mess with the cruise control and hijack the auto-parking system to jerk the steering wheel a dangerous 180 degrees while the car is in motion. It looks about as frightening as it sounds: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Although it's not hard to see how that would make for a very terrifying drive, there's a big grain of salt that comes along with it: Miller and Valasek actually used the same model 2014 Jeep Cherokee as the original demonstration, but without the software patch applied. Or, as Wired put it, "imagine an alternate reality," where a fix had never been made. Unlike before, the latest hack requires a physical connection plugging their laptop into the Jeep's OBD-II diagnostic port under the dash. The team also had to update the Jeep with their own firmware to disable some of the car's built-in safety checks before they could get much control. In other words: In order to get hacked, Jeep owners would first need to roll back their car's firmware to an older version, invite someone to remove security features and then also let them ride shotgun with a computer. Or, as Engadget's resident security expert Violet Blue wrote on Twitter, it's sort of a non-threat. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. That said, The Verge points out that it may still be possible to exploit OBD-connected wireless dongles like the Metromile Tag, Automatic Link or other similar devices currently marketed by insurance companies.