Volkswagen and Lamborghini recently revealed that they have begun the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is joining the fray, as it also announces it will start 3D-printing face shields in its facility in Gaydon.
These face shields will be built at JLR’s rapid prototype 3D-printing facility, one of the most advanced in Europe. The company will produce 1,300 face shields a week, which will help address the shortage of PPE for the staff of the National Health Service (NHS).
“It’s been a real team effort, we’ve trialed different materials and improved the design over several iterations in consultation with real doctors and nurses on the frontline—this has allowed us to create something unique and truly fit-for-purpose,” said JLR additive manufacturing and prototype design manager Ben Wilson. “While this is a small effort, it is vital we help as many people as we can by utilizing our resources. Collaborative teams working at Jaguar Land Rover, along with the wider computer-aided design and 3D printing community will continue to do what we can to help healthcare workers.”
JLR aims to eventually produce 5,000 shields weekly to distribute to all NHS trusts across England. The carmaker is working with other companies such as Pro2Pro in Telford and is also in talks with its suppliers and partners to mass-produce the equipment.
These face shields are built using chemically resistant polycarbonate. JLR has ensured that the shields are comfortable to wear and reusable. The shields can easily be dismantled for cleaning and reuse.
“The health and safety of our employees, customers, and their families remain our priority. It’s important we all utilize our skills, expertise, and facilities to help protect NHS staff on the frontline during our country’s greatest crisis in a generation. We can all play a part in helping those who need it most,” said JLR chief medical officer Dr. Steve Iley.
If you want to read more on other carmakers’ efforts, as well as our other stories on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, click here.
That said, we can still get our dose of motor-show goodness because Volkswagen is giving a digital tour of its booth at the Geneva International Motor Show. Yes, the booth we didn’t get to see because the said show was...well, canceled.
You can choose to walk around the VW booth’s nine different sections, or you can click on the play button to let the tour move on its own. It’s a pretty immersive experience, especially with the loud, booming house music playing. It’s as if you’re actually walking around the show floor.
VW’s display features its ID. lineup, including the ID.3, the ID.Space Vizzion, and the e-up!. Moving onto the highlight of the exhibition, you’ll see the all-new Mk8 Golf in all its glory. Front and center is the Golf GTI, of course, and you can even change up its colors in case you prefer your hot hatch with a different finish.
Walk around further and you’ll see some familiar nameplates like the Polo, Passat, Touareg, and Tiguan. Of course, there is also a wide selection of vehicles that aren’t available in our local market like the T-Roc, the Multivan, the all-new Caddy, the Sharan, and the Touran.
Other sections of the booth also offer more interactions. In one section, you can dress up the Golf GTI, Touareg R, and T-Roc R to your liking—the display lets you choose among a few wheel and color options.
So, are you missing the excitement and thrill of walking around a motor show? If you share our sentiments, then we suggest you head on over and take a quick tour yourself. It’ll be a nice way to chill and pass the time.
The government’s COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (I-ATF) has announced that the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine period will be extended until 11:59pm, April 30, 2020. This means the public transportation ban will continue, as will the suspension of non-essential businesses and services, strict enforcement of social-distancing guidelines, and numerous checkpoints scattered all throughout Metro Manila.
“Yungenhanced community quarantine is up to April 30, 11:59pm.Ito po ang rekomendasyon ngI-ATF kaypangulongDuterte,na tinaggap ni pangulongDuterte at inannounce po kagabi,” cabinet secretart Karlo Nograles said during an I-ATF briefing held this morning.
“Pagkatapos ng kanyangannouncementay vinerfiy po namin ulit at ang sagot po ay angenhanced community quarantine is hereby extended until 11:59pm of April 30,” Nograles added.
The announcement comes following President Rodrigo Duterte’s assertion that the government was “inclined” to extend the measure.
“We have discussed it actually, even before this,” Duterte said towards the end of his address to the nation last night. “We are inclined to extend the lockdown up to April 30. Tignan natin after that. In the meantime, double-time kami.”
Prior to this news, the enhanced quarantine period was scheduled to end on April 14, 2020. The 15-day extension will bring the total duration of the measure up to 46 days.
Worldwide, there have been more than 1.34 million logged cases of COVID-19 and over 74,000 deaths resulting from the virus have been recorded, with the US (368,079 cases), Italy (132,547 cases), and Spain (136,675 cases) among the nations hardest-hit by the pandemic. There are currently 3,660 recorded cases and 163 recorded deaths in the Philippines.
What do you think about this recent development? Let us know in the comments.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is, without a doubt, the benchmark big luxury sedan, the one Audi, BMW, Lexus, Cadillac, and even Jaguar and Maserati must define themselves by and be measured against. This car defines the sector and is the one all others must topple. The latest A8 and 7-Series are both much newer than the S-Class and thus have some exceptionally clever tech on-board, but while both are excellent cars in their own right, neither is quite as special as the big Merc.
A facelift in 2017—this generation’s last before it’s replaced by an entirely new S-Class—gave many new things. Chief among them new engines, Merc’s latest-generation in-line six-cylinder diesels and gasolines, plus a plug-in hybrid and the S63 AMG’s V8 bi-turbo gasoline. The rare-groove S65 is no more, but you can still get a V12-engined S-Class in the form of the super-luxe, super-rare, and super-expensive Mercedes-Maybach S650.
This update also gave the S-Class an array of semi-autonomous driving technology like Active Speed Limit Assist, Active Lane Change Assist, and Remote Parking Assist, most of which debuted in the E-Class. But to make sure the S-Class kept its crown as the techiest Merc, it got a few of its own, too. The main one is a kind of active cruise control that, as well as sensing and maintaining gaps to other cars, knows to slow you for roundabouts, corners, and tolls using GPS. Of course, that particular system has been rolled out to other Mercs now, but it’s reasonable to expect much cleverness from the new S-Class, which could be revealed as soon as this year.
Because this particular era of S-Class is so near the end of its life, Mercedes has massively cut back on the number of trim levels and equipment combinations if offers. Now, there’s just one trim for the non-AMGs—‘Grand Edition’—and only the cheapest S350d is available with the short-wheelbase.
On the road
Happily, that clever adaptive cruise control we mentioned earlier does work. Well, to a degree: The thing to bear in mind is that the system isn’t watching for other cars that might be on the roundabout you’re approaching. It will slow you down to a speed where you could take the roundabout, assuming it’s not following anything that might dictate its speed and if there are no cars to give way to. But if there are, you have to bring things to a stop yourself.
It all worked pretty well when an engineer demoed the system on country roads around one of Merc’s places in Stuttgart, but when we tried it for ourselves, it wasn’t quite as effective. It’s a bit ‘last of the late brakers,’ which isn’t what you want in a luxury limo. Chauffeurs are trained to look as far ahead as they humanly can, anticipating upcoming junctions and the behavior of other motorists, because that’s how to drive smoothly.
Nevertheless, on highways, it’s great. It maintains a gap to the car ahead—which varies by speed and setting, all the way down to a stop—and keeps the car in its lane. It’ll also adjust the speed you’ve set to whatever the speed limit is, because it recognizes road signs. Remember, it’s long-journey driver support, not autonomous self-driving.
It goes without saying the S-Class is not an especially engaging drive when you take full control yourself. It’s all about astounding quietness and ride suppleness, and it delivers both of those in spades. Adaptive dampers tauten the suspension where needed, but the steering has no feel—its hallmark is immense directional stability at high speeds, and thoughtful control weights that allow it to be driven exceptionally smoothly with minimal effort. There are few cars more suited to cross-continental drives or long highway trips than the S.
The diesel is a great engine, and is perfectly capable of getting along smartly. It’s our choice, but our inner hooligan will always prefer the S63 with its 4.0-liter V8—an engine that feels at home in the big S as it does in any other AMG.
Of course, the Maybach’s V12 is lovely, too. A quarter-throttle is all you’ll ever need, even for joining highways or emerging from busy junctions, thanks to 999Nm of torque and 621hp giving 0-100kph in 4.7sec. It’s so quiet that most of the time, it may as well be electric—indeed, it’s only when you really bury the throttle that you actually remember there are 12 cylinders hidden under that expansive hood, complete with three-pointed star reticle.
On the inside
The dashboard’s two huge instrument and display screens are all clarity and logic. They’ve been updated and now more closely resemble what you get in the E-Class, which is fine by us. That said, it feels like the S lacks processing power compared to the A8 or the 7-Series—its infotainment system is slower to respond to commands.
However, at least Mercedes is one of the few manufacturers that hasn’t gone crazy for touchscreens (yet), and fast as the A8’s twin-screen setup is, it’s still not as intuitive as having a dedicated physical control.
Said screens are set in beautifully worked leather, wood, and metal, and most ergonomics are just-so. Those familiar with the pre-facelift S-Class will notice the new steering wheel, with its touchpads and cruise control buttons (no more little stalk behind the wheel—a Merc fave). It’s a bit button-heavy, but you get used to it.
Also new for the facelift was something called ENERGIZING Comfort Control (yes, all caps—live with it). It links climate control, seats, lighting, and multimedia, enabling “a specific wellness setup tailored to the mood and need of the customer.” Bit of a gimmick? Perhaps, but in all, we can’t think of a comfier interior, front or rear. At least for less than £200,000 (around P12.5 million)
The long-wheelbase versions, pretty much the only versions you can get now, can be spec’d with rear seats that massage, heat, vent, and recline halfway to horizontal, with aircraft-like leg rests. Rear entertainment is fine, though not as impressive as the A8’s, and legroom is just vast.
The Maybach is more and better, of course, but not all that different from a long-wheelbase S-Class. The dashboard architecture is the same, and though material quality is broadly excellent, you can only mask so much with quilted leather, Mercedes. Much of the switchgear feels exactly like it does in a £80,000 (P5 million) S350d. For an extra £100,000 (P6.24 million), we were hoping for more. Oh, and if you get the fridge (part of the ‘First Class Cabin’ package), it inelegantly eats into your trunk space to the tune of 40 liters.
Final thoughts
Historically the defining big, German car. And so it remains. The last (admittedly minor) facelift added tech, style, and comfort to the S-Class—none of which it was lacking beforehand. Rivals’ cars are good, especially the Audi A8, but the Mercedes is more relaxing, more of the time. Somehow less businesslike and more opulent, and all the better for it. A Top Gear fave.
We can’t wait to see what the next one’s like.
NOTE: This article first appeared onTopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
If we had tails, they’d be wagging. A company called Alauda has announced it is one step closer to developing a revolutionary new motorsport series that is taking up far too much of our current thought process than necessary.
Electric. Flying. Car. Racing.
That’s right. Electric cars. Up in the air. Racing. The series is called Airspeeder—first revealed last summer—and Alauda has secured a ‘seed investment round,’ which sounds... important? Yes. Important. Very.
The series itself sounds excellent, too. It’ll fuse the worlds of science fiction and gaming, we’re assured—the latter via augmented-reality cockpit tech—and we’re also told that “elite pilots will use the sky as their playground in intense head-to-head competition,” with multiple teams and manufacturers competing.
Said teams will include “established names,” and the Speeders themselves will be powered by cutting edge EV tech drawing on partnerships within the “elite motorsport world.” The MK2 electric flying copters were trialed throughout 2019, and as of now, final manned tests of the Speeders are ready. To give you an idea of size, the last time we heard about the series, each vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) speeder measured four meters long, 3.4 meters wide, and just under one meter tall.
Alauda reckons on speeds of up to 200kph, and each Speeder will feature LiDAR and ‘Machine Vision’ tech. The final tests themselves will be conducted in South Australia—Alauda’s base—as soon as restrictions related to coronavirus have lifted. Further actual head-to-head races are planned at the end of this year.
“Looking back to the development of both the car and airplane over a century ago, it was sporting competition that drove progress,” explains Airspeeder boss Matt Pearson. “The F1 racers of the early 20th century possessed a pioneering spirit we are harnessing today to rapidly accelerate progress.”
Literally. Can’t. Wait. [wags]
NOTE: This article first appeared onTopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
We’re right at the start of Holy Week, which means there are non-working holidays coming up. Normally, at this point in the year, some of you might already have a road trip or two lined up. But things are different now as the COVID-19 crisis has forced us to put all our summer outings on hold.
That said, while the upcoming ‘long weekend’ won’t really make much of a difference for us who have been cooped up in our homes for the past month, we still need to keep track of the week. Why? Well, to plan ahead for our grocery runs, of course.
To help you guys with this, we’ve put together the latest announcements from the major supermarkets in the country. You can check out the list of stores and their corresponding schedules below.
1) Robinsons Supermarket
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2) SM Markets
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3) Puregold
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4) Shopwise
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5) The Metro Stores
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6) S&R Membership Shopping
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7) Rustan’s Supermarkets
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These are the schedules as of this writing. If there are any additions to this list, we’ll add them as the week progresses. Take note and share the information with those who might need it as well. As for further updates, just watch this space.
