2001 Volkswagon Passant Stationwagon on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Minute: Finalists announced for 2016 Tech of the Year award

Here are the finalists for Autoblog's 2016 Technology of the Year award. Autoblog's Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute, with commentary from Autoblog executive producer Adam Morath, AutoblogGreen editor-in-chief Sebastian Blanco, and Autoblog senior editor Alex Kierstein. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] It's Fall here in Detroit and for us that means it's time for football, autumn beers, and the fourth annual Autoblog Tech of the Year awards. I'm Chris McGraw and this is your Autoblog Minute. Tech of the Year is one of our favorite things here at Autoblog. It's a time when we get celebrate all the best tech from the industry we love most. [00:00:30] - [00:01:00] [Commentary form Adam Morath, Sebastian Blanco, Alex Kierstein] Past winners include, Tesla's Supercharger network, FCA's Uconnect system and the BMW i8. In 2016 we're doing something a little different for Tech of the Year. We've separated our award into two categories. One award for best tech car, and a second award for best technology of the year. The nominees for best car in 2016 are: [00:01:30] the Tesla Model S, the Chevrolet Volt, and the BMW 7 series. The nominees for best tech in 2016 are: Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Volkswagen's MiB II with AppConnect, Ford Sync 3, Audi's Virtual Cockpit, the Smart Cross Connect App, and Volvo Sensus. [00:02:00] We're going to announce Autoblog's Tech of the Year winners in January at the 2016 North American International Auto Show, in Detroit. For Autoblog, I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Green BMW Chevrolet Ford Hummer smart Tesla Volkswagen Volvo Technology Infotainment Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

Watch Chris Harris in the electric VW ID.R waste a McLaren 720S

The Volkswagen ID.R doesn't have much in common with a McLaren 720S, other than the fact that they are both performance-crazed cars. One gets its power from batteries, the other from gas. One uses electric motors, the other a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. One is a halo prototype vehicle, the other is a road-legal supercar available for purchase. So when Chris Harris and "Top Gear" decided to "race" the two against each other, it was more of a demonstration of the VW's unreal capabilities than any sort of real competitive faceoff. In episode five of Top Gear's 28th season, which just aired February 23, the trio of Harris, Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness welcomed Youtuber KSI on the show and ventured out on a luxury sports car road trip with an Aston Martin, Porsche, and Ferrari. Separately, Harris took to the track to test out Volkswagen's golden egg of the moment, the ID.R. As VW fully launches into its electric-vehicle push, the ID.R is meant to exhibit what battery-electric technology is capable of. With two electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear axle, the 2,425-pound ID.R has four-wheel drive and makes a claimed 670 horsepower. As Harris notes in the video, the ID.R. was not built for a specific regulation-bogged racing organization or competition, and thus, it's only held back by the rules of Mother Nature and Father Physics. Since the car's debut, it has been annihilating records around the world, including at Pike's Peak, Goodwood, the Nurburgring, and Heaven's Gate. Chris Harris didn't set any records in the ID.R., but he certainly showed how outrageous this machine is. The 710-horsepower 720S can go from zero mph to 62 mph in less than three seconds, and the ID.R has a sizable lead within that same time. Again, this wasn't an instance of test-and-conclude, it was a show of perspective. The ID.R is a race car, so even though the 720S is one of the best supercars in the world, it never stood a chance. See for yourself above. Related Video:    

What the Volkswagen I.D. concept tells us about the post-TDI future

If you've been paying attention, 2016 hasn't been a great year for Volkswagen. The TDI scandal removed VW's last crutch between our internal combustion present and the electric future, and so the company found itself scrambling to shift resources to show what's next right now. It's naive to assume that this is truly the sort of fairytale comeback story that VW's spin doctors would have us all believe, but it's notable that instead of flinching or pointing fingers, the engineers got to work. What they've produced is the I.D. concept, the third wave in VW's volume car history after the Beetle and Golf. The transaxle Golf was more than simply an updated Beetle, and likewise the I.D. is more than an electrified Golf. VW says the I.D. won't replace the Golf, but they said the same thing about that car replacing the Beetle. It's only a matter of time. VW says the I.D. won't replace the Golf, but they said the same thing about that car replacing the Beetle. It's only a matter of time. The I.D. approach is refreshingly simple: no carbon fiber chassis, no exotic battery chemistry, no outrageous concept car styling. The MEB chassis (the German acronym for modular electric platform) is made out of a traditional mix of high-strength steel grades to save costs and utilize existing factories. The battery is integral, not swappable, to reduce complexity and increase structural rigidity. It's also uses lithium-ion chemistry because of a proven track record and an existing (albeit deficient) supply chain. Contrast that with the e-Golf, which shares its chassis with the conventional internal-combustion cars. Fitting the battery and its ancillary systems became complicated and expensive. The skateboard installation in the I.D. will allow the pack to be optimized for the space available, reducing costs. As we've already reported, MEB will be shared across all VW Group brands to achieve an economy of scale, and the modular platform can be stretched to the size of roughly a Passat and down to a car slightly smaller than the I.D. It can be given all-wheel drive, although VW's e-mobility chief Christian Senger is quick to point out that the standard rear-drive configuration provides plenty of traction because of optimal weight distribution achieved with battery in the middle of the chassis. It makes all-wheel drive more of a bonus rather than a necessity in bad weather.