Tag: automotive

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Toyota wants you to pay a subscription fee to start your car remotely

Starting your car’s engine remotely is a beneficial feature, especially for those who live in countries with harsh winters; however, it appears as though Toyota car users will have to pay a price for the convenience.

According to a report from The Drive, 2018 or later-released Toyota vehicle owners will need to sign up for a subscription to use their key fob as a remote car starter after their trial period ends. When purchasing a new Toyota vehicle, buyers will have an option to try out Toyota’s Connected Services, which includes features like hotspot connectivity, emergency assistance and remote functionality.

After the trial period ends, Toyota users will need to pay a subscription cost to continue using the Connected Services. Also worth noting is that the length of the trial period you get depends on the audio package that’s included with the vehicle.

The news that Toyota will disable the remote functionality for users once the trial period ends, and charge customers for it first came out on Reddit via Toyota’s Remote Connect flyer. It details how some cars, that come with Toyota’s Audio Plus package will have the functionality available for up to three years before the customer has to start paying for the service.

Similarly, cars that come with Toyota’s Premium Audio package will have the key fob functionality enabled for up to 10 years, after which, the customer will have to pay a subscription fee to keep using the service.

After the trial period ends, which doesn’t really seem like a trial period considering it can run almost 10 years, drivers would have to pay $8/month or $80/year to continue using the key fob services.

Image credit: Toyota – The Convenience of Remote Connect, Shutterstock

Source: The Drive

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Tesla Model 3 no longer qualifies for $5,000 Federal rebate

The Government of Canada has updated its list of eligible vehicles for the $5,000 federal electric vehicle (EV) buying incentive, and it’s removed the Tesla Model 3.

This comes as Tesla raises the price of the Model 3 to $59,990. However, the company has also increased the range of this trim to 430km. Previously when the vehicle was priced cheaper to tie in with the incentive, the range was artificially locked down to 150km. This made this version of the Model 3 not really worth buying and was just a sneaky way to get the government discount on the longer-range Models.

It appears that Tesla no longer cares about those models receiving the discount since the Model 3 has also been removed from the rebate list in British Columbia. The only two provinces that still offer discounts on the pricey sedan are Newfoundland and Quebec. These provinces offer $2,500 and $8,000 rebates, respectively.

Since the EV maker’s vehicles are positioned as more upscale vehicles, I’m not disappointed by this move given most Tesla buyers are well off financially anyways. Further, with the wave of lower-cost EVs that are about to hit the market over the next two years, it makes more sense for Tesla to be competitive with range over price.

Source: Tesla North 

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Mobile Syrup

Apple reportedly wants to launch a fully self-driving car by 2025

While the fact that Apple is rumoured to be developing an electric car is old news now, a new Bloomberg report suggests that the Cupertino-based company is shifting its focus to creating a fully self-driving vehicle.

Apple has been working on two vehicle development concepts according to reports: one with limited self-driving capabilities and the other with full self-driving features. The Bloomberg report suggests that Apple will now follow the latter route under Apple Watch software executive Kevin Lynch’s leadership.

The report states that Apple initially laid down a five to seven-year roadmap to launch the vehicle, but it now aims to launch its self-driving car sometime in 2025. Further, the tech giant aims to create a car without a steering wheel or pedals and an interior designed for hands-free driving. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s car will seat passengers along the sides of the vehicle facing one another.

The car will be electric, with a globally compatible integrated charging system, allowing Apple vehicle users to access a worldwide network of chargers (brick not included, of course 😝).

The reported 2025 launch year is flexible and depends solely on Apple finishing its autonomous model on time. Apple is said to have completed much of the “core work” on the car’s processor. If the reported deadline isn’t met, Apple could delay the launch or launch a vehicle with fewer features.

Source: Bloomberg

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Tesla is launching Starlink satellite internet dishes at Supercharger locations

Tesla owners could soon be able to access Starlink satellite internet while they charge their electric vehicle (EV).

According to Electrek, several Tesla owners have spotted Starlink satellites at Supercharger stations. That said, it’s unclear how many satellites Tesla/Starlink plans to role out, with most of the reports of sitings so far coming from Florida.

Tesla, as expected, hasn’t commented on the sighting as the company reportedly doesn’t have a PR team anymore.

While it’s assumed that Tesla owners will likely be able to access the Starlink internet connection at these Superchargers — allowing them to do anything from watching movies to playing video games — the technology could also be used for processing payment and charger status information in remote areas. Since these chargers likely use a form of 4G now, switching to starlink would allow them to be more vertically integrated with Tesla’s other tech.

There’s also a possibility that the Starlink satellites could be linked to Tesla’s possible plans to open its Supercharger network to other electric vehicles in the future. For example, Tesla recently revealed that it now allows all electric vehicles to use its chargers in the Netherlands.

If you’ve encountered a Starlink satellite at a Tesla Super Charger location in Canada, let us know in the comments.

Source: Electrek

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Tesla adds denser battery and more powerful motors into Model X

A few months ago, Tesla showed off a refreshed Model S and Model X. While the company was vague on what upgrades users could expect, most of the company’s spotlight seemed turned towards the fact that there it features a new yoke steering device and a gaming PC’s worth of power-packed inside.

Now, new EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) documents are out that show off powertrain upgrades, slight battery density improvements and the more powerful AC permanent magnet motors in the long-range trim, according to Electrek. While these changes are interesting, they don’t change the max range of the car.

The new battery features a density of 182.2 wh/kg instead of 165 wh/kg that was offered before. This extra density has also allowed Tesla to bring the overall energy capacity of the battery down to 100 kWh instead of 103 kWh. This has resulted in the car being 200lbs lighter which also helps offset the slightly smaller battery.

The company is also looking to add cloud syncing to your Tesla profile. This could mean that your map’s favourites, seat settings and other features tailored to each driver may be able to follow them from car to car. This will be especially useful to anyone that owns more than one.

This feature was first mentioned by Elon Musk on Twitter in 2017.

Source: Electrek, Engadget

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Tesla increases price of Model Y in Canada with delayed expected delivery

Tesla, like other automakers, is experiencing a shortage of semiconductors, which has resulted in a price hike for its vehicles in the United States. That cost hike is now hitting Canadian buyers with the recent increase in Tesla Model Y pricing.

The Model Y Long Range now starts at $74,990, up from $70,990 two weeks ago. The high cost of the car also makes it ineligible for any provincial or federal electric vehicle tax rebates in Canada.

The exact vehicle was priced at $69,990 in mid-August 2021. See images below for reference:

Further, compared to last year’s prices, Tesla has increased the cost of other models, including:

  • Model S Long Range — Mid 2020 price: $105,990 — Current price: $121,990 — Expected delivery: June
  • Model X Long Range — Mid 2020 price: $112,990 — Current price: $132,990 — Expected delivery: September
  • Model 3 Standard Range Plus — Mid 2020 price: $52,990 — Current price: $54,990 — Expected delivery: June

While the semiconductor shortage is one of the primary reasons behind the price increase, the growing demand for Tesla vehicles is a contributing factor too. The Model Y Long Range was sold out in Canada in August, with expected delivery dates for January. A quick peek on Tesla’s website now indicates that the EV will be delivered in May, five months after what Tesla initially promised. Further, bugs plaguing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software aren’t helping the company either.

On the other hand, Tesla has finally started shipping new Model X vehicles with yoke steering wheels, with Canadian deliveries expected soon.

Source: Tesla

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Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta to release to some at the end of the week says Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has tweeted that roughly 1,000 people with 100/100 safety scores in their Tesla EVs will start testing the Full Self-Driving beta version 10.2 (FSD 10.2).

Once these drivers receive the update, the rollout will pause for several days so the company can assess its performance. If things go well, the update will start to roll out to other drivers with 99/100 scores and so on.

Tesla released the Safety Score system a few weeks ago when it announced that all newer Tesla owners could request to join the Full Self-Driving beta. They only need to drive cautiously for a week to receive a 100/100 driving safety score to get into the beta.

The FSD 10.2 update includes several more minor fixes, but Musk also mentions that it significantly improves the driving experience. However, even with the Full Self-Driving name, this software is only SAE-level 2 compliment like GM’s recently announced Ultra Cruise.

This means that the car can drive itself in a wide variety of situations but that the driver needs to remain attentive and keep their hands on the wheel for safety reasons.

Source: Elon Musk 

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Rolls-Royce switching to all electric by 2030

Luxury automaker Rolls-Royce will stop building gasoline-powered cars by 2030 as it moves to go fully electric. The legacy manufacturer even has plans to release its first electric vehicle (EV) in 2023.

This follows other high-end automakers like Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley. The latter is also moving to an all-electric line by 2030, and the former will be fully electrified by 2025.

The first fully electric Rolls-Royce is set to be called the Spectre and will hit the roads at the end of 2023.

BMW owns the luxury automaker, but it’s only pledging to go 50 percent electric by 2030. It also holds the car brand Mini, which plans to go fully electric by 2030.

At this stage in the move towards EVs, it’s no longer surprising to see a company like Bentley shift to all-electric. If you’re interested in more pictures of the automaker’s Spectre EV, you can visit the Rolls-Royce website. That said, beyond images, the company hasn’t revealed much else about the vehicle.

Source: Rolls-Royce, Reuters