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New Car News Roundup

Stellantis and Jeep are sponsoring Motor City Pride

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Stellantis and Jeep are sponsoring Motor City Pride, the annual two-day festival and parade that is the largest LGBTQ+ gathering in Michigan. Motor City Pride has celebrated LGBTQ+ culture for the last 50 years and this year it runs from June 11 to June 12. The June 12 parade begins at noon at the intersection of Fort and Griswold Streets and ends at Hart Plaza.

“Motor City Pride is an important way to celebrate our diverse and inclusive work culture and to show our commitment to our diverse customers and communities,” said Jim Morrison, vice president, Jeep brand – North America.

Cadillac unveiled a glimpse of the CELESTIQ show car. Glimpse is the operative word here, as the four images provided don’t give a lot of details. it’s like a teaser trailer for a Christopher Nolan movie.

“From its unique proportions and a new effortless, sophisticated form language, to the precision and attention to detail, CELESTIQ is unlike anything on the road today,” said Magalie Debellis, manager, Cadillac Branded Advanced Design. “From its inception, the CELESTIQ show car was crafted to reincarnate the ‘Standard of the World.’”

You can now ask Alexa to help you find a parking spot. Parkopedia has launched a new Amazon Alexa Skill for voice-enabled parking assistance. It enables drivers to find, reserve and pay for a parking spot either from home with Alexa-enabled smart home devices, on-the-go with ‘Echo Buds’ or the Alexa mobile app, or in the vehicle, using integrated Alexa or supported Alexa auto accessories.

Parkopedia
Image courtesy of Parkopedia

“When behind the wheel, one voice command can replace several manual actions, vastly improving safety and efficiency,” said Eugene Tsyrklevich, Founder and CEO of Parkopedia. “The latest generation of voice assistants now also utilize AI to learn and think – understanding a variety of accents and gaining the ability to action more than one command at a time, as well as analyzing user data to learn individual preferences.”

Parkopedia has a database of almost 75,000 off-street parking locations across America that allows drivers to find a parking spot by a given address, their current location, or at their destination.

Volkswagen opened their new North American Battery Engineering Lab in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The $22 million, 32,000 square feet facility will focus on EV battery testing and high-voltage engineering activities. Paired with the $800 million electrification factory in Chattanooga, the BEL is part of VW’s $7.1 billion commitment to enhance R&D and manufacturing resources in North America.

Image courtesy of Volkswagen

“We are applying cutting-edge technologies to make sure that our EV batteries and ultimately our electric vehicles for American consumers are safe and strong,” said Wolfgang Demmelbauer-Ebner, EVP and Chief Engineering Officer, Volkswagen of America. “With our new Battery Engineering Lab as the new center for battery know-how, we can react quickly to the fast-paced EV market by applying data to our local engineering and assembly.”

The first American-assembled Volkswagen EV, the ID.4, is set to roll off the assembly line in 2022.  

                                                                                                        

David P. Castro
David P. Castro
The Santa Rosa, California native is an experienced automotive and motorsports writer with a passion for American muscle cars. He is a credentialed automotive, NASCAR, and IndyCar reporter that graduated from the University of Nevada. A devoted F1 and NASCAR fan, he currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, son, Siberian Husky, Mini Cooper, and 1977 Chevrolet C10.

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