By Karl Peskett.
A while ago we reported on Ford’s plans to become an SUV-centric car maker, with just the Mustang remaining as its sole non-SUV offering in the US. Well, thanks to tarrifs announced by Donald Trump’s administration, even one of its crossovers will be canned before it hits US shores.
The Ford Focus Active, effectively a raised version of the small hatch, will become – ahem – inactive thanks to a 25 per cent duty applied to goods built in China. Ford’s North American president, Kumar Galhotra told Automotive News that the company’s “viewpoint is that, given the tariffs, our costs would be substantially higher. Our resources could be better deployed at this stage.”
In Australia, having a vehicle shift more than 50,000 units per annum would make it a volume seller, but in the US, that sort of quantity is a drop in the ocean (Ford alone sells more than 2.5 million vehicles every year), and with the extra duties eating into Ford’s bottom line, it’s not worth fitting the Focus Active into the 2019 dealership lineup.
It also means that any plans that Ford would have had to start building other vehicles in China with the intent to import them have also been scuttled. So, if you want a passenger car from Ford, it’s Mustang or bust.
GM’s push to reduce charge times
You may remember the BMW i3s which we reviewed a couple of weeks ago. And while the car is brilliant, it’s the charge times that really let it down. From a standard household outlet, it’s an overnight affair, and even with BMW’s special charge point, it still takes a few hours to fully charge.
Now, Bloomberg is reporting that General Motors is working with Delta Americas to beat Tesla at its own game. In a three-year development timeframe, the carmaker is expected to create a charging station that can give you 290km or more from just 10 minutes of charge time. Sure, it’s still not quite as quick as filling up with fossil fuel, but it’s as close as anyone has ever gotten.
And with those sort of charge times, you really could pull into a station and have a coffee, then be ready to go on your way. Currently, GM’s fastest charge station allows for 145km of range from around 30 minutes of charge.
Measured in kilometres per minute, the new system is said to give around 29km of driving range per minute. Tesla’s superchargers are currently able to supply at about 10km per minute, and Porsche is pledging about 20km per minute for its forthcoming Taycan electric sports car.
But given the length of time it’s going to take to put these stations in place, we’re sure to see some equally spectacular claims from other carmakers in the next three years. Watch this space.
Building a big Bugatti
Finally, remember the Lego Technic Bugatti Chiron? They’re now starting to hit the shops, but at $599, they’re not the cheapest Lego set you can find. The kit is definitely comprehensive, though the Danish company has now gone one better.
Instead of creating a 1/8th scale Bugatti Chiron, Lego has just finished building a 1:1 replica of the Chiron in Technic pieces. And, unbelievably, it can be driven.
Apart from the wheels, every piece is a Lego block of some sort, though to create the mechanisms required to make it driveable, several new Technic pieces have had to be invented. The good news is those pieces will end up being available to the public.
Over a million pieces were required for the build, and there isn’t a gram of glue in sight. For those who love the technical details, there are 4032 gear wheels, 2016 cross axles, and motivation is provided by 2304 electric motors from the Power Function range. Altogether the drivetrain produces a whopping 4kW of power and 92Nm of torque. The full-size Lego Chiron weighs less than the original, at 1.5-tonnes, but it’s top speed is a little over 20kmh.
At least you won’t be getting any speeding fines in this Bugatti Chiron….
