This week's snippets of automotive news cover the entire industry, from electric car range figures to Jaguar's CX75, from personal data concerns in cars to the lack of a hot Kia Stonic model.
Range lies
The automotive industry is at risk of making promises that it can’t keep on cars’ range in the way it has previously done with economy or emission figures, according to Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess. He said that while many cars are promising 370 miles of range, “the reality is less”. To address that issue, he commented: “We should look at how we calculate our range."
Jaguar CX75 should have gone into production
The Jaguar CX75 two-seat sports car concept, revealed in 2010 at the Geneva motor show, should have gone into production, according to Jaguar design director Ian Callum. “The CX75 came so close. It was very sad that it fell over at the final hurdle. I think history will show that we should have done it,” he said. It was canned due to other business priorities.
Personal data concerns
With concerns increasing around personal data in a new generation of connected cars, Volvo digital boss Atif Rafiq said that the brand will record the “least amount of personal data possible to do the job”. He added that all data is deleted when a car is sold and that Volvo does “as much as possible on an anonymised level” – for example, for studying traffic patterns.
No hot Kia Stonic to come
The Kia Stonic will not get a hot GT variant, despite a move in the class to more sporting SUVs. Such a Stonic, which would rival the Nissan Juke Nismo, is not in the current product plan, according to Kia product boss Monica Forno. Depending on demand, though, one could be added if needed.
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