UBER is introducing a new feature where riders can select a “Quiet Mode” option when requesting for rides.
The new feature announced on Wednesday, is only available for UBER Black and UBER Black SUV riders, who the car-hailing platform says wants “high-quality service and premium comfort.”
The new features include the following:
- Quiet Mode: if you need to respond to emails or are in the mood for a nap, make your trip a quieter one with just one tap. If you’re in the mood to chat, that’s an option too.
- Help with Luggage: let your driver know an extra pair of hands is needed for your luggage.
- Temperature Control: communicate your optimal temperature before entering a vehicle.
- Extended Pickup Period: riders will have a little extra time to get to the car when unexpected delays pop up.
- Premium Support: access premium phone support with live agents if you need something to be made right.
- Professionalism: ride with confidence knowing that your professional, commercially-licensed driver is at the top of his or her game.
- Consistent Vehicle Quality: expect the same kinds of rides, every time, with consistent vehicle model, makes, interiors, and exteriors.
“We know that when riders choose Uber Black and Uber Black SUV, they want a consistent, high-quality experience every time they ride. With these new features and more to come, we’re excited to ensure that our riders can arrive relaxed and refreshed, wherever they’re headed,” a press statement said.
UPDATE:
An Uber spokesperson told us that:
“At this time, these features were only rolled out in the USA, while we are always looking at new features and products, this is not something we are looking at launching in Nigeria at this time.”
BMW Group and the biggest Chinese SUV brand, Great Wall Motor, announced a partnership Tuesday to produce electric MINI vehicles in China as global automakers ramp up development under pressure from Beijing.
The companies said they signed an agreement Monday during an event in Berlin attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
BMW and Great Wall said their venture, Spotlight Automotive Ltd., also will make electrics for the Chinese partner’s brand. Automakers are pouring billions of dollars into creating electric models for China, the biggest market for the technology.
Beijing is using access to its market as leverage to induce global automakers to help Chinese brands develop battery and other technology.
Auto brands in China are required to make electric vehicles at least 10 percent of their sales starting next year or buy credits from competitors that exceed their quotas. Later, they face pressure to raise those sales in order to satisfy fuel efficiency requirements that increase annually.
Sales of pure-electric passenger vehicles in China rose 82 percent last year to 468,000, according to an industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That was more than double the U.S. level of just under 200,000.
Other automakers including General Motors Co., Volkswagen AG and Nissan Motor Co. have announced similar plans with Chinese partners to produce dozens of electric models.
Great Wall, headquartered in Baoding, southwest of Beijing, sells more than 1 million SUVs a year.
“With our joint approach, we can quickly scale up production and increase efficiency,” said Klaus Frolich, a BMW board member, in a statement.
MINI’s first battery electric model is due to be produced at its main British factory in Oxford in 2019, according to BMW.
China is BMW’s biggest market. The Munich-based automaker said about 560,000 BMW brand vehicles were delivered to Chinese customers in 2017, more than its next two markets — the United States and Germany — combined.
China was MINI’s fourth-largest market in 2017, with 35,000 vehicles delivered, the company said.
The electrics venture with BMW is an important boost for Great Wall, which industry analysts warned would struggle to satisfy Beijing’s sales quotas due to its fuel-guzzling vehicle lineup and had yet to announce any significant electric plans.
___
BMW Group: www.bmwgroup.com
Great Wall Motors Co.: www.gwm-global.com
Source
AP
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate a deadly Tesla crash and fire that killed two Florida high school students, the agency said.
Barrett Riley and Edgar Monserratt, both seniors, were traveling near an area known as “dead man's curve” in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night when their all-electric Tesla Model Shit a wall and burst into flames, authorities said.
The boys, 18, died while trapped inside the burning vehicle, according to witnesses. One onlooker said he saw the victims moving, struggling to escape from the flames, but no one could help them break free.
A backseat passenger, identified as 18-year-old Alexander Berry of Fort Lauderdale, was thrown from the car and taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG-TV.
Speed may have been a factor in the crash, the NTSB said Wednesday. Its investigation will primarily focus on the emergency response in relation to the electric vehicle battery fire, the agency said, adding that it had plans to have a team of four investigators in South Florida by Wednesday night.
“The goal of these investigations is to understand the impact of these emerging transportation technologies when they are part of a transportation accident,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said in a statement Wednesday.
Tesla released a statement Wednesday, saying, it was “working to establish the facts of the incident” and offered its “full cooperation” to local authorities. The car’s autopilot feature was not engaged at the time, Telsa said.
The teens, both students at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, were a few weeks away from graduation. Riley, the driver, was set to attend Indiana’s Purdue University in the fall, while Monserratt was headed to Boston College in Massachusetts.
"These two members of our senior class should be finishing their [advanced placement] exams, celebrating things like prom and their upcoming graduation," Pine Crest president Dana Markham said in a statement Wednesday. "Instead, we are mourning their passing. There really are no words to express how deeply this has affected our entire community."
Larry Groshart, who said he witnessed the crash, told WPLG the car appeared to traveling between 50 and 60 mph.
"I saw the car coming too fast quietly, but I could hear the tire roar,” Groshart said. [It] bounced off the first wall, sideswiped it, then hit that corner and immediately burst into flames and moved that way, burning all the way, and it never stopped burning until it was burned up."
ABC News' Matthew Foster contributed to this report.
With key components about to run out, Ford F is pulling the plug on production of its most profitable and popular model, the F-150. The move means approximately 4,000 workers at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant will be temporarily laid off, joining roughly 3,600 workers at Ford's truck plant in Kansas City who were told to stay home earlier this week.
Both assembly plants are unable to continue building the F-150 pickup truck due to a lack of critical components supplied by Meridian Lightweight Technologies. An explosion and fire at Meridian's facility in Easton Rapids, Michigan, last Wednesday completely knocked production of components used in the instrument panel of the F-150.
The components shortage has also prompted Ford to stop production of the F-Series Super Duty pickup at its production plant in Louisville, Kentucky.
Tuesday afternoon the United Auto Workers alerted members who build the F-150 at the Dearborn Truck Plant that production could be stopped later this week.
"The company doesn't know when or for how long we will be down," wrote Burkie Morris of the UAW in a letter to members.
A spokesperson for Ford tells CNBC, "We are working closely with the supplier to manage the situation."
How much could stopping production of the F-Series hurt Ford and dealers who rely on the popular pickup truck to generate huge sales? That depends on how long the assembly lines are shut down.
"It takes 76 days for an F-150 to sell, so the company does have a bit of a cushion," said Ivan Drury, Edmunds senior manager of industry analysis. "But when you have a vehicle that comprises a quarter of your company's sales, any production disruption is going to cause some consternation."
Last month Ford sold 73,104 F-Series pickups, with the overwhelming majority of those being the F-150 according to company sales reports. Meanwhile, the automaker ended April with nearly a quarter million trucks on the ground at dealerships, a high percentage were F-150 models.
That inventory will keep Ford dealers stocked for several weeks, though an extended halt to production could be problematic for the automaker and painful for more than 7,600 workers.
Buying a car is one of the biggest decisions you can make because it takes a financial toll on many except you are Davido and you want to spoil bae with a N45m Porsche. But one thing you can all agree on is the need to buy a car that will actually give you the assurance that you’re getting value for your hard-earned money.
Whether you’re heading to the dealership or buying from a private seller, arming yourself with knowledge and resources will help you make the most informed decision.
Lets hook you up with top 5 cars in 2018 that will absolutely give you assurance for years to come.
1. Porsche Cayenne: With a dynamic design and efficient turbocharged engines. With outstanding digital connectivity that brings the whole world into the cockpit. With versatility, quality and cutting-edge assistance systems, offering both driver and passengers extraordinary comfort.
2. BMW X3: The X3 tops its class. This luxury compact SUV combines driving enjoyment, comfort, slick technology, and utility in one appealing machine. Its power is smooth and nearly immediate when you press the gas pedal, even with the base turbo four-cylinder engine. Sharp, sporty handling encourages drivers to seek curvy roads.
The firm suspension makes you feel safe and confident, and yet the X3 does a good job soaking up ruts and bumps. Because it’s extremely quiet, richly appointed, and offers supportive seats and an easy-to-use infotainment system, the X3 is certain to delight those looking for an upscale SUV that is polished and fun to drive.
3. Ford Expedition: For the brave. The spirited. The ones who are always unstoppable.
The New Generation Expedition delivers all the power, capability and space your adventure demands.
4. Jaguar XJ: Shaped with "the discipline of simplicity", technologically advanced and luxuriously appointed, the Jaguar XJ is the pinnacle of the Jaguar sports sedans. Select between the sport-infused XJ, redesigned with high performance in mind, or the XJL where quilted seats and an available rear seat entertainment system prove decadence can be extremely tasteful.
Clean Mazda CX-7 for SALE Direct From Ohio. Fresh Cleared At The Tin Can Ports, Apapa.
PERFORMANCE AND SPECIFICATIONS
Make - Mazda
Model - CX-7
Year of manufacture - 2007
Mileage - 114, 000
Engine - Clean and in very good condition
Engine - Clean and in very good condition
Colour - Red
Condition - Foreign Used
Transmission - Automatic
Body Type - 4 Wheel Drives & SUVs
Colour - Red
Drive Type - 4 Wheel Drive
Fuel - Petrol
Drive Setup - Lefthand Drive
Door Count - 4
Location - Ikeja, Lagos State
Others Features - Airbags, Factory A/C, AM/FM/CD Changer
Price - N3, 500, 000 {negotiable}
Price - N3, 500, 000 {negotiable}
Contact
Call or Whatsapp - 08060754842, 07034265167
More photos below
Sometimes when you accelerate, your car loses power while driving. Usually, the first cause that strikes our head is inefficient fuel. While this can be one reason, there are numerous other factors as well that cause this problem.
Sometimes the cause behind this problem can be different for diesel and petrol engine although there are many similarities between the two.
Colossus Gists has listed some reasons below…
What Causes Car Losing Power when Driving
There can be numerous offenders slowing down your journey. Here are some of the major causes:
1. Dilapidated Spark Plugs
The combustion of the engine relies on the spark plugs of the vehicle. Their work is to transmit the electrical signal from the ignition coil to the combustion chamber. Once this happens, the spark plugs ignite the mixture of fuel and air. With faulty spark plugs, the electrical signal does not reach to the engine, properly. Thus, your car may not be able to accelerate as desired.
2. Level of Compression
The internal combustion of the vehicle is responsible to generate power to accelerate with the help of cylinder compression. Therefore, if there is a low level of compression in the engine, it will generate insufficient power causing a problem when accelerating. Low compression is also the major cause of improper ignition in the engine.
3. Defective Fuel Pump
If the car has no power when accelerating, it means there is some defect in the fuel pump. A fuel pump supplies fuel in the gas tank for the engine for combustion. Further, it also accommodates the engine’s need by regulating the pressure for the fuel. In case, it has a defect, the acceleration results in poor functioning and hence, the car may not start.
4. Damaged Air Filter
Sometimes, your car losses power while driving due to a damaged air filter. The car’s combustion uses gasoline and air to produce power, where air first goes into the air filter. The filter keeps all the bugs and debris out from entering the chamber. If you have a bad filter, your car will certainly have a problem in driving smoothly.
5. Clogged Exhaust Pipe
An exhaust pipe comprises two filters – the muffler and the catalyst. The role of catalyst is to reduce the pollution emitted from the fumes, while the muffler reduces the noise pollution. Both have their own importance. If either of the pipes has something clogged inside, then the engine will certainly impair and reduce the power it generates.
6. Damaged Ignition Coil
The ignition system has coils that convert power from the battery to ignite the engine. With a damaged ignition coil, the mixture of fuel and air would be inappropriate. Thus, a faulty ignition coil will not produce ignition properly.
By gathering some maintenance tips and doing timely diagnostics for your car, you can easily take care of your priced possession. Although sometimes car losses power while driving, there is nothing to worry too much. Automotive experts can easily handle every kind of small or big car problem. In fact, with proper car service and maintenance, your car will not experience any such problem.
Have a safe driving!
Source
AutoReportNG
Life isn’t about how much horsepower you have, but how you use it. Armed with the 603-hp version of AMG’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine, Mercedes-AMG's E63 S falls short of Dodge’s 707-hp Charger SRT Hellcat and Cadillac’s 650-hp CTS-V. (The non-S E63, which we don’t get in the States, makes “just” 563 horses.) And yet thanks to its new nine-speed automatic transmission and 4Matic+ all-wheel drive, the AMG lays down its lesser output far more effectively than either of those rear-drive muscle-machines.
One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three . . .
Just 3.0 seconds. That’s all it takes for the E63 to launch itself to 60 mph. Four seconds later, the Mercedes is traveling 100 mph. Those acceleration times are 0.4-second and 0.2-second quicker than the five-pound-heavier Hellcat and far ahead of the 458-pound-lighter CTS-V, neatly summarizing the benefit of all-wheel drive in launching high-horsepower cars from a standstill.
The preposterous list of vehicles that the E63 beats or ties to 60 mph includes Mercedes-AMG’s own GT S sports car, the McLaren 570GT, and the dozen-plus non-Turbo 991.2 Porsche 911 Carreras we’ve tested. Among four-doors, only Tesla’s Model S is quicker to 60—and just barely. BMW’s new 600-hp M5 sedan, now also with all-wheel drive, is a direct competitor that we’ve yet to test—it might come close.
Mercedes-AMG’s launch-control function is invitingly straightforward: Thumb the driving-mode switch to Sport, Sport+, or Race; hold the brake with your left foot; and depress the accelerator until the revs stabilize at 4000 rpm. When your left foot steps off the brake, the E63 rockets forward ahead of a wave of rippling V-8 noise. Our test car’s tailpipe music was enhanced by the $1250 dual-mode AMG Performance exhaust option. Some additional sound also is piped in through the speakers, but it sounds like a live recording of the actual engine, so we’ll give that trickery a pass.
Continue on to felonious speeds, and by 110 mph the E63 is reeled in by the Dodge and its advantageous power-to-weight ratio. After that, the Hellcat nips the E63 by mere tenths all the way up to 170 mph. Both cars are among the rarified few (Lamborghini’s Huracán supercar among them) capable of accelerating past that speed—and braking before running out of road—on the 1.6-mile straightaway where we conduct acceleration and braking evaluations. Our E63 did manage to outawesome the Charger’s 13-mpg fuel economy, averaging a profligate 12 mpg overall during our test.
Hard-Boiled E-class
The rest of the E63’s dynamic repertoire builds nicely on the foundation laid by its less powerful, comparison-test-winning, six-cylinder Mercedes-AMG E43 sibling. The E63’s staggered-width Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance tires have a 20-millimeter-larger cross section than the E43’s Pirelli P Zero Run Flats, which helped our E63 notch an additional 0.09 g of grip on the skidpad, for a sticky total of 1.01 g.
That same rubber, in combination with the $8950 carbon-ceramic brake option, bolstered our test driver’s confidence in pushing for speed on our straightaway. We noted zero fade after repeated anchor drops, ultimately returning a 155-foot stop from 70 mph
This athleticism is barely concealed on the highway, where the ride is decent and quiet in the suspension’s Comfort mode, and the steering’s well-defined on-center valley and heavy weighting make for relaxed cruising. Even so, everything about the E63 feels drumhead tight, though, a trigger-pull away from twitching into action. (The thin-sidewall performance tires literally are drum-tight, as road impacts slap and twang through to the driver’s ears.) Switching to Sport, Sport+, or Race modes cuts through the genteel veneer, progressively skewing the E63’s ride ever more geological and shoving cocaine up the powertrain’s nose.
Drivers should come prepared to match the car’s reflexes. The new 4Matic+ all-wheel drive can send 100 percent of engine torque to the rear axle. Mid-corner throttle applications provoke the rear-biased 4Matic+ system and electronically locking rear differential to initiate gentle, controllable drifts. Bigger throttle openings net larger effects. And as we discovered at this year’s Lightning Lap track test at Virginia International Raceway, where the E63 posted the fastest-ever lap time for a sedan, the chassis enthusiastically rotates off-throttle, too.
Sideways Action
Should these handling behaviors fail to result in a satisfactory rate of yaw or sufficient consumption of the rear Michelins, there’s also the E63’s Drift mode. It declutches the front axle from the transfer case, sending torque only to the rear wheels. Compared with activating launch control, initiating this process is considerably less simple: First, select Race mode, then switch the transmission to manual shifting mode.
Next, press and hold the stability-control button until it switches off, pull back on both shift paddles until an “Are you sure you want to do this?” message appears in the gauge cluster, then pull back once on the right-hand paddle. Not-so-presto, you’re ready to make bad decisions with 603 horsepower, two driven wheels, and zero stability-control intervention.
Spared from predicting how much help you’ll receive from the front axle, rubber-coating pavement is both easier and more controllable in Drift mode. You will get no help and like it, and like it we did. You’ll also experience the new nine-speed automatic’s near-instantaneous response to manual gear selections. When left to shift automatically, the nine-speed’s gear selection is impeccable, and its tall top gear keeps revs low and quiet on the freeway.
Although it still uses a clutch pack in place of a torque converter as did the seven-speed it replaces (allowing for brutal launch-control starts), the new transmission’s low-speed behavior is vastly improved and nearly torque-converter smooth.
As it did with previous E63s, Mercedes-AMG wraps the new model’s rage in discreet and upscale clothing. It’s the automotive equivalent of Daniel Craig’s James Bond, an anger-management head case in a tuxedo. Aside from its burbling quad exhaust pipes, wide-mouth front air intakes, and our test car’s $1700 black-painted forged-aluminum wheels, the E63 looks like any other E-class or—depending on the viewer’s distance—any Mercedes C- or S-class. Until it kicks you in the face.
There is the matter of the immoderate price. The AMG is $36,305 dearer than a Dodge Charger Hellcat and a $16,905 leap above a Cadillac CTS-V. Our test car’s additional $29,935 in extras elevated the total cost to $135,330. Call it justified, though, as this counts as downright cheap for a machine capable of reaching 60 mph so quickly (not to mention doing other things well). Alternatives include the $135,000 Tesla Model S P100D and the $162,850 Porsche 911 Turbo. Price notwithstanding, if you could own just one vehicle, this would be a good choice. Plus, there’s a wagon version.
Specifications >
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-/all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $135,330 (base price: $105,395)
ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 243 cu in, 3982 cc
Power: 603 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 627 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 9-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 115.7 in
Length: 196.4 in
Width: 75.1 in Height: 56.6 in
Passenger volume: 98 cu ft
Trunk volume: 13 cu ft
Curb weight: 4587 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 7.0 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 11.9 sec
Zero to 150 mph: 16.6 sec
Zero to 170 mph: 23.3 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 3.9 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.3 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 126 mph
Top speed (governor limited, mfr's claim): 186 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 155 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.01 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY:
Observed: 12 mpg
75-mph highway driving: 22 mpg
Highway range: 460 mi
EPA FUEL ECONOMY:
Combined/city/highway: 18/15/22 mpg
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