Up close with the gorgeous Jaguar E-type Zero

In London today, Jaguar revealed a car that pretty much defines retro-futurism: the E-type Zero. It isn’t merely an old school design, it’s an actual Jaguar E-type roadster from the 1960s, lovingly brought up to date with new LED headlights, an updated instrument cluster with digital readouts, and an entirely bespoke electric powertrain that delivers up to 220kW of power. Jaguar proudly tells everyone within earshot that the E-type was celebrated by Enzo Ferrari as “the most beautiful car ever made,” and so it stands to reason that the British marque would retain the look in its entirety while modernizing and electrifying it.

I got to see the bluer-than-turquoise (Opalescent Silver Blue, in Jaguar parlance) car in person during Jaguar’s Tech Fest event today, and I have to agree with the Ferrari founder. This is one lovely car, characterized by smooth and flowing curves punctuated by blockier elements in the detailing at the front, wheels, and back. The interior is delightfully stripped back, and the mid-mounted digital display sits in a starkly spartan space. I like it all. The electric componentry is mostly at the front, but there’s some of it at the back of the car as well, with all of it fitting around and within the car’s existing dimensions and proportions.

Jaguar describes the idea represented by this E-type Zero as “a concept”: the car itself can’t be a concept, because it’s just an electric retrofit on an existing model, but Jaguar is treating it like one. Very simply, if the company finds enough enthusiasm and excitement from consumers to make this sort of vehicle available, it will work to sate that demand.

Mercedes-Benz Concept EQA is the company’s next showcase of mobility plans

Mercedes-Benz has released imagery of its Concept EQA, set for a full unveil Tuesday at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It’s a compact electric car, and it screams hot hatchback from the future.

This model is a riff on the underpinnings of the Generation EQ concept that was introduced last year at the Paris Motor Show, and the latest vehicle to add the suite 10 EVs Mercedes-Benz has promised by 2022. It follows the debut of the Smart Vision EQ fortwo Conceptshown last month. Mercedes-Benz design chief Gordon Wagener has been responsible for a flurry of concepts that the German automaker has teased in the past two years.

IT SCREAMS HOT HATCHBACK FROM THE FUTURE

And while the Mercedes-Benz F015 concept looked more like a Blade Runner prop, the EQA borrows from its sculptural language and angular doors. It represents the sportier side of the product lineup. The front end styling, at least, will likely represent what all Mercedes-badged EQ models will look like when they start going on sale in 2019.

EQ cars are also expected to showcase all of the mobility plans parent Daimler has been working on, such as autonomous and connected technologies that are supposed to better enable car-sharing.

The EQA concept sketch lacks real-world inhibitions, like regulatory side mirrors. But expect a slightly less radical version of it to fill a space currently occupied by the gasoline-powered CLA-Class within the next five years, a timeline that’s shaping up to be a compelling era in the car industry. And for Mercedes, it will be a test of how their vision of the future of cars works in reality.

We’ll know more about that vision next week when the EQA is completely unveiled.

Volvo buys Luxe assets to boost its car services

To keep up with rivals offering ways to connect cars and other services, Volvo announced on Friday that it has acquired Luxe. Volvo will roll the startup’s pieces into its own ways of making customers’ lives easier.

“Technology is unstoppable and you have to let people get full use of it,” Volvo Cars chief digital officer Atif Rafiq told The Verge. “In this day and age, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be super convenient.”

VOLVO’S DREAM: NEVER FUEL, WASH, OR TAKE YOUR OWN CAR FOR SERVICE

The Luxe acquisition, he said, gives the automaker the resources to further its ambition of making life easier for Volvo users — such as never having to take the car in for fuel, washing, or servicing it yourself. And the services will be controlled through Volvo-branded apps on smartphones, smartwatches, and a Volvo’s own touchscreen.

Volvo already announced pilot programs to act as a concierge service to its customers. In some cities in Sweden and Switzerland, it partners with local parcel delivery companies to allow customers to have their packages left in the trunk of their Volvo. At last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, the company announced the Volvo Concierge Services as a test in San Francisco to be a platform for allowing customers to have their cars fueled or washed while parked at home or the office, for example. Rafiq says the company still plans to expand those services to other markets in the short term.

Luxe was known for its valet pickup and drop-off services in cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, as well as offering car washes and fueling. It ceased door-to-door valet operations in May, with the promise of new services later this year.

“WE’RE LOOKING TO SILICON VALLEY AS ANOTHER CENTER OF GRAVITY FOR THIS COMPANY.”

Rafiq said Volvo would not use Luxe branding on any of its apps. After joining Volvo in January, he now heads up the automaker’s Silicon Valley outpos,t in addition to maintaining a presence at the automaker’s Gothenburg, Sweden, headquarters. He said getting Luxe’s parts also gets them some crucial talent in California.

“We’re looking to Silicon Valley as another center of gravity for this company,” Rafiq said. “We seem to be a place people want to work because this industry is exciting now and we’re ready to advance.”

What to expect at the Frankfurt Motor Show

The 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show press previews officially begin on Tuesday, but the hype is already in full swing. In a trend that’s taken away some of the show floor thrill, several automakers have revealed images of their new concepts and production vehicles ahead of the media fray. Based on what’s been revealed thus far, the general theme veers toward electric cars — in all shapes and sizes.

For German automakers, Frankfurt means kicking up the heat for the hometown crowds, and all three major automakers have a long list of show cars. In the wake of the diesel scandal, it appears to mark a shift in focus to both electric and electrified vehicles.

“German automakers are doubling down on electric and electrified vehicles, in part, as a substitute for diesels, which are dying off after the Volkswagen emissions scandal,” says Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Autotrader. “In addition, German automakers are global automakers, and some of their largest markets — Europe and China — are demanding low-emissions vehicles to meet increasingly stringent regulations. The US, with the exception of California and a few other states, has become the world’s outlier as a rollback of 2025 standards are considered.”

THE SHOW STEALER WILL BE THE PROJECT ONE HYPERCAR

The BMW group is going big with an SUV concept, the BMW X7 iPerformance that features an electric powertrain. But it doesn’t overlook small: an electrified Mini Cooper and an i3 successor will be one of several reveals.

Mercedes-Benz has a full roster of reveals including the EQA, the GLC F-Cell concept, powered by a combination of fuel cell and plug-in hybrid technology, and the Smart Vision EQ concept. But its show stealer will be the electrified Project One hypercar concept, developed from Formula One knowledge.

Volkswagen continues to refine its I.D. Cross Concept. Audi, VW’s premium brand, is using the Frankfurt stage to shed light on its autonomous driving strategy, including the new Audi A8 equipped with level 3 abilities and two self-driving vehicle concepts that demo levels four and five.

Like other European auto shows, the cool hatchbacks and wagons at Frankfurt don’t have much broad appeal stateside, but they are fun to admire. The Kia Proceed shooting brakeconcept is a prime example of a car that appears destined to stay on the European continent. It follows the splash of the sporty Stinger revealed at the Detroit auto show in January.

For attendees looking for more traditional standard super car fare, the Ferrari Portofino convertible will be at Frankfurt, for ogling purposes. It boasts a top speed of 200 miles per hour, is named for an Italian coastal city, and it replaces the California. The show opens to the public September 14.

Tesla extended the range of some Florida vehicles for drivers to escape Hurricane Irma

As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, Tesla issued an over-the-air update to drivers in the state that unlocks the full battery capacity of its 60 kilowatt-hour Model S and X vehicles. The update provides those trying to escape the path of the storm with an additional 30 to 40 miles above the typical range of the vehicle, according to Electrek.

Tesla’s 60 and 60D vehicles offer a range of just above 200 miles on a charge. Faced with an order to leave, one Tesla owner contacted the company, saying that they needed an additional 30 miles of range to get out of the mandatory evacuation zone they were in. In response, the company issued an update to other drivers in the state, providing them with the full 75 kWh capacity of their vehicles through September 16th. One driver posted a screenshot of his app, which showed off the new extended range.

Tesla introduced its cheaper Model X 60D and Model S 60 / 60D vehicles last year. The vehicles are equipped with a 75 KWH battery, but they are software locked to use only 80 percent of that available power. Drivers could unlock that extra capacity with an update for an additional $3,000. Tesla has since discontinued the Model S 60/60D and Model X 60D vehicles, saying that most owners were simply opting for the higher range vehicles.

Satya Nadella and Microsoft take strong stance against reported end to DACA

Following reports that the Trump administration may soon end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith said in a blog post that “changes would not only negatively impact thousands of hardworking people across the United States, but will be a step backwards for our entire nation.”

The statement was one of two quickly issued by the company after Fox News reported that Trump may roll back the Obama-era program, which allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to stay if they meet certain requirements. After suggesting at various points that he would end the program, Trump, more recently, seemed to back away from the suggestion. If reports are accurate, he could now be moving ahead with changes.

MICROSOFT SAID CHANGES WOULD BE “A STEP BACKWARDS FOR OUR ENTIRE NATION”

Smith notes in his statement that 27 of Microsoft’s employees are DACA beneficiaries. “They are software engineers with top technical skills; finance professionals driving our business ambitions forward; and retail and sales associates connecting customers to our technologies,” Smith writes. “Each of them is actively participating in our collective mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella issued the second statement from the company, which took a more a personal tone. “As I shared at the White House in June, I am a product of two uniquely American attributes: the ingenuity of American technology reaching me where I was growing up, fueling my dreams, and the enlightened immigration policy that allowed me to pursue my dreams,” Nadella writes. He adds that “smart immigration can help our economic growth and global competitiveness.”

As the public waits for an announcement, the early statements could already portend a new wave of criticism from Silicon Valley. After Trump’s proposed travel ban, major tech companies almost uniformly spoke out, and later filed a legal brief opposing the president’s executive order.

LinkedIn adds video support to become more of a social network

LinkedIn is primarily used as a business networking tool, or to find a job. While LinkedIn refreshed its entire site earlier this year, most users don’t use it for daily social networking updates like they might on Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn is trying to tempt users to share more on the site by adding video support today.

Video testing began last month, and now all LinkedIn users can upload videos to the social network. LinkedIn’s Android and iOS apps support video uploads, but there’s no live streaming support available at launch. Microsoft is rolling this out globally to all LinkedIn users over the next few weeks, and members will be able to access analytics on locations of viewers, the amount of comments, likes, and views, and the ability to see what companies are viewing videos.

LinkedIn’s video addition follows the Tinder-style launch of a feature for pairing mentors with people looking for professional advice last month. While Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion last year, the software maker has largely rolled out features that were already planned ahead of the acquisition. Microsoft did release a new Windows 10 app for LinkedIn last month, complete with notifications for the notification center.