1970 Ford Mustang Fastback on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Automotive Grade Linux will be the backbone of your connected car

Creating a backend for a secure, reliable, and expandable infotainment system is costly and time consuming. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization, has set out to promote and advance the Linux operating system in commercial products. Automotive Grade Linux, or AGL, is a group within the Foundation that seeks to apply a Linux backend to a number of automotive applications in a variety of vehicles from various suppliers and manufacturers. AGL's goal is to create a common, unifying framework that allows developers and manufacturers to easily implement applications across platforms. Currently, the focus is on infotainment systems, but AGL has plans for instrument clusters, heads-up displays, and eventually active safety software. At CES, a display from Panasonic showed a completely digital and customizable dashboard that allows information and apps to be moved from the gauge cluster to the infotainment screen and back, all through the use of gesture and touch controls. Although the organization has been around for five years, it's really only been in the past three that the group has been working hand in hand with automakers and suppliers. The first two OEMs to participate, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover, have since been joined by Mazda, Suzuki, Ford, and, as of this week, Daimler. The latter is important as until now most of AGL's partner's have been based in Japan or the US. Other partners include suppliers Denso, Renesas, Continental, Qualcomm, and Intel. AGL want's to supply roughly 80 percent of the backend, allowing partners to then finish and refine the Linux system for each individual application. Think of how the Android operating system is refined and customized for individual smartphones from Samsung, LG, and Motorola. While the final product looks different, developers can have an application that will work across all AGL systems. Because it is open source, anyone can use and develop for AGL. You can even go onto the group's website and download a copy right now. There is also a software development kit available that helps facilitate app creation on the platform. Vehicle development cycles take roughly five years, so there currently are no cars that run an AGL backbone available for consumers. AGL Executive Director Dan Cauchy says products should be hitting the market later this year, with even more coming in 2018. Right now, the industry is relatively fragmented when it comes to infotainment and related systems.

Diesel details: Comparing Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Chevy Silverado Duramax, Ford F-150 Powerstroke

With specifications for the 2019 Ford F-150 Power Stroke diesel already out, and the details on the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and Chevy Silverado Duramax (and its GMC Sierra twin) trickling out, we felt it was a good time to start comparing the full-size trucks' light-duty diesels. Bear in mind, we've only driven one of these new diesel trucks, so we'll be sticking to numbers for now. Some numbers haven't been announced yet, either, but stay tuned, because we'll be updating this post with additional specifications as they become available. And if you want to compare any other versions of these trucks with other vehicles, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Now let's start comparing, starting with our big chart of numbers below. As we can plainly see, these trucks are quite closely matched. Each one has six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 liters and a turbocharger to boost it. The output of each is somewhat close, too. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the torque king at 480 pound-feet, 20 more than the GM trucks and 40 more than the Ford. The GM trucks win on power, though, with 277 ponies, 17 more than the Ram, and 27 more than the Ford. GM does report that you get their trucks' peak 460 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm, whereas the others only report peak torque at a particular point in the rev band, but all of these trucks should have wide, flat torque curves as you would expect from modern turbodiesels. 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel View 8 Photos Engine output is only one part of the truck performance equation. We also have towing and payload capacity, as well as fuel economy. With towing, the Ram 1500 is the current leader with a maximum capacity of 12,560 pounds. That tops the Ford F-150's 11,400-pound tow rating by well over 1,000 pounds. The F-150 can carry 2,020 pounds in its bed, but we don't know yet whether that's better or worse than the Ram or the GM trucks. We also don't have numbers for the GM trucks' towing capacities. View 9 Photos As for fuel economy, the Ford F-150 manages a thoroughly impressive 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway with two-wheel drive. Choosing four-wheel drive drops those numbers to 20 and 25 respectively. The fuel economy numbers for the Ram, Chevy and GMC haven't been revealed yet, but for some comparison, we can look at the old Ram EcoDiesel. That truck's best fuel economy was 20 in the city and 27 on the highway with two-wheel drive.

2023 Chicago Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery: See all the new cars from the show

The 2023 Chicago Auto Show played host to a number of reveals this year, and we were there to capture all of them. In traditional auto show fashion, that means you’re getting a mega gallery of galleries to flip through and see all the vehicles on the show floor. Our EditorsÂ’ Picks from the show are already out — spoiler alert, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander took home the prize. That said, there were other important reveals like the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport and the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. We also learned some interesting tidbits, such as the fact that VW is considering a pickup, and Jeep owners really are plugging in. To see the photos, scroll on down and start flipping through those galleries.   2024 Toyota Grand Highlander 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander View 7 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas 2024 Volkswagen Atlas View 14 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport View 7 Photos 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with its carbon fiber wheels 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with carbon fiber wheels View 7 Photos 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray View 10 Photos Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions View 3 Photos 2023 BMW XM 2023 BMW XM View 6 Photos Ram Revolution Concept Ram Revolution Concept View 6 Photos NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car — Toyota Camry NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car ? Toyota Camry View 4 Photos Everything else at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 View 12 Photos Related video: Chicago Auto Show BMW Buick Chevrolet Ford GM GMC Hummer Jeep Lamborghini RAM Toyota Volkswagen Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars Sedan