The best-selling car of all time

 

Annual car production by country

 

https://tinyurl.com/mvscnf89

The evolution of Mercedes-Benz from 1885 to 2025 is mind-blowing

 

9 Italians Who Drove Automotive History Forward

 

Italy has been a cradle of creativity, engineering, and passion — especially in the automotive world. Here are 9 legendary figures who shaped the global car industry with innovation, elegance, and performance:

Enzo Ferrari

Once a race driver, Enzo founded Scuderia Ferrari and later created Ferrari in 1947. Today, the prancing horse is synonymous with Formula 1 and luxury.

Ferruccio Lamborghini

Started by building tractors, but after a famous disagreement with Ferrari, he launched Lamborghini in the 1960s. The Miura and Countach became icons.

Gianni Agnelli

Not the founder, but the visionary behind FIAT’s expansion. Under his leadership, it became Italy’s largest car group—owning Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and more.

Ettore Bugatti

Born in Italy but created the French brand Bugatti. His vehicles were engineering marvels with artistic flair. Today, names like Chiron and Veyron carry his legacy.

Battista “Pinin” Farina

Founded Pininfarina, the iconic design firm behind many Ferraris and Maseratis. Though he didn’t build cars, he reshaped how they looked forever.

Nicola Romeo

An engineer who took over ALFA and created Alfa Romeo, a brand that became a racing legend—and Enzo Ferrari’s first home.

Horacio Pagani

Born in Argentina with Italian roots, Pagani worked at Lamborghini before founding Pagani Automobili. Known for the Zonda and Huayra, his cars are carbon-fiber masterpieces.

Vincenzo Lancia

Pioneer and founder of Lancia, a brand ahead of its time. Known for technical innovation and dominance in rallying.

Carlo Abarth

Creator of Abarth, a brand that made small cars fast. His performance kits and racing spirit live on in today’s Fiat Abarth models.

Source: Motor1 – “9 Italians Who Changed the Automotive Industry”

Giga Press Will RUIN The Industry According to Elon Musk

 

Giga Press Will RUIN The Industry According to Elon Musk: From Tesla to SpaceX, Elon Musk has become a household name. But what is next for this futuristic entrepreneur? The Gigapress Machine – A gigantic machine that will make Tesla and Elon Musk’s life much easier.

With this newly improved addition to the Tesla family, Elon aims to turn the tide and change totally what we thought was and was not possible. Join us in today’s articl as we will explore exactly how this gigantic machinery will change the car manufacturing as we know it.

Elon Musk and his team are growing the strength of Tesla tremendously. What started as a car production mission, has now transformed into a total move to take over the EV industry.

With its massive innovation and insane technologies, Tesla has become a major force to reckon with in the Electrical automobile industry.

What is Giga Press?

Giga Press, the enormous high-pressure die casting machine, is one of the largest in the world. It is a series of aluminum die casting machines manufactured by an Italy-based group known as Idra Group, a subsidiary of LK Tech. Each of these humongous machines weighs 410-430 tonnes, with features that push the length of what we thought was impossible.

Giga presses are used to make components, in this case, cars, in a single large piece through die casting. To do this, they produce a large amount of force for extrusion or injection. It would interest you to know that the name Giga Press was not given to this multipurpose tech by Tesla, even if it seems like a name Tesla would come up with, IDRA came up with the name.

And as we have reiterated almost all through this section, these machines are huge. Making The Giga Press Work for Tesla The size of this machine was justified because these machines would carry out the production of cars in a single component, with no need for coupling and all that moving from one machine to the other.

The Giga Press did not just fall into Tesla’s laps. These humongous machines presented many engineering challenges for the Italian group, IDRA, as it tried to make it work for Tesla.

The general manager of the group said that it took more than two years of research and development to get to where it would work for Tesla. IDRA had to design a new injection system that could load 100 kilograms of aluminum into the die cavity in 60 to 100 milliseconds.

You can order either the 6000 tons, 8000-tons or the newly improved 12,000 tons. Types of Giga press machines Tesla has developed a whopping 12,000 ton Giga press for the production of a one-piece car body.

This is a considerable milestone for the car production company, putting it another step ahead of other manufacturers of EVs. The company is currently using two types of 6000-ton Giga press to cast the one-piece rear of the car and the one-piece front end of the car.

Currently, the production technology is used only for the production of Model Y. At first, the casting of the front part will only take place at Giga Berlin and Giga Texas and casting of the rear part is already taking place at Giga Shanghai and Fremont.

And Giga Texas has already started testing the Giga Press, therefore, the front end casting will be fully ready when production starts. The other type of Giga press with a clamping force of 8,000 tons, will be used for the rear of the new, coveted, and massive Cybertruck.

According to Elon Musk, Tesla intends to use a similar Giga press for the Model Y, but the clamping force for producing the rear part of Cybertruck will be 8,000 tons. According to inside sources, this Giga press is already under production.

Tesla’s Use/Benefit of The Gigapress The IDRA group boasts that the gigapress saves 40% on energy consumption and more stable injection conditions for manufacturing even thin walls. The gigapress fits into Tesla’s car production because the EV company wants to make some parts of its cars in a single large piece.

Many car manufacturers use die casting for portions of the chassis that benefit from localized stiffness such as shock towers, but Tesla uses the Gigapress to replace the entire rear sections of the chassis. This replaces multiple stampings that would have been fastened together.

The Giga press was used by Tesla in its production of the Model Y, with significant gains. First, despite being massive, this multipurpose tech has helped Tesla save on the body shop’s size by 30%. This means more production can take place in the same factory.

The gigapress was a drastic production and design change for Tesla because instead of managing 70 pieces of metals, it now handles a single die-cast part which is very efficient manufacturing. In an official tweet by Tesla, the claim was corroborated.

The tweet calls the Giga press, the world’s biggest die casting machine. Apart from saving the company time, this machine would also save money in salary, as the machine would require fewer factory hands. J.P Morgan claims that is 20% savings in labor costs

It also means less logistics or transportation, less storage spaces, reduced nifty packing, and many more. Giga Presses also improve the quality of the finished product since there is no welding or riveting involved.

This is a single piece, the potential misalignment problem is non-existent. As you would agree, joining those 70 pieces is no fun or easy task. It involves sealing between them, a very difficult task involved for the highly improved machine to perform.

Even Musk calls the process a nightmare. Using Giga press will allow Tesla to move on to structural battery cases as it has been planning to do for a long time now. Elon said at Tesla’s battery day -event, that the leading EV brand had finally figured out how to do it.

These battery packs serve as the stressed center member of the vehicle platform that will connect the front and rear die castings. Structural batteries are the way forward for Tesla because they are lighter and pack the cells more efficiently.

Musk calls the current way of packing battery cells a sack of potatoes that does not have any structural value and even has to be isolated from the rest of the car and protected from vibration and shock loads. According to Musk, these changes decrease manufacturing costs and complexity.

It also reduces the weight of the finished car, which is a boost for the driving range. Giga Press Vs Robots The Giga press will also make the battery packs after it has started making the rear and front ends.

When the three parts are made through die casting, 70 parts of the car would be eliminated. Car parts are not the only thing the Giga Presses will eliminate, manufacturing robots are going on as well.

Thus, the manufacturing factories would not be shabby as they used to be, and there would be a reduction of hazards as is won’t in a robot-filled manufacturing factory. Musk said that making the rear end from a single cast replaced 300 robots.

The front end also comes from these presses, that’s another 300 retired robots and that’s before getting to the battery packs. For the Giga press machines to replace robots that are generally fast and precise, means that these machines are effective and twice as fast as robots.

Also, setting robots up is another difficult task. They have to be accurately positioned, bolted down to the factory floor securely, and tested rigorously to make sure they all work together

A robot that is not accurately positioned to be securely set, can wreak extreme havoc to the car, or worse, to the person controlling it. Robots also need maintenance to retain their accuracy and speed.

This means that the robots need to be regularly and properly serviced and maintained to retain their effective operation. So getting rid of them is a big deal. It’s more like a payback time, or a poetic justice if you like.

These robots have made humans lose their jobs, now the high definition Giga press machines are taking over theirs. Generally, robots are not entirely safe and cost effective. As we have said, it requires servicing, constant repairs, and a critical installation before use so as to prevent casualties.

The Giga Press machines would require little less robots and it would produce more at a record time. According to Musk, the Giga Press will help get rid of at least 600 robots out of the existing 1000 robots.

This elimination equals more money saved up to be spent on other inventions or innovations. Before getting the Giga Press, Tesla managed as much as they could, but Elon knew that die casting was the best way to make cars

Information Source: Tech Fusion

FAVORITE IMAGES OF THE WEEK - 16

DO YOU SEE A BIRD?

This image of the Seagull Nebula's 100-light-year wingspan was NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day yesterday.

Harel Boren

MERCEDES WITH CLOAKING DEVICE

In the latest Mercedes commercial, one side of this F-Cell car has a camera recording the scenery it passes, while the other side displays that scenery on a field of LEDs, effectively letting you see through the car. Engadget has the video.

Mercedes

A DUST DEVIL ON MARS

Pictured: a Martian dust devil twisting across the Martian Amazonis Planitia region. The 100-foot-wide column of swirling air was captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter last month as it passed over the northern hemisphere of Mars.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

BRICKLAYING WOMAN

Channi Anand captured this image of a female bricklayer at a plant on the outskirts of Jammu, Indian, on International Women's Day. Anand is an AP photographer based in and around India. From American Photo.

AP Photo/Channi Anand

FIRESTORM BIRTH

This image, from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, shows the chaos of star birth, dust, and collision out in the giant elliptical galaxy Centaurus A. Read more here.

NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Volkswagen Unveils Electric Microbus That’s Self-Driving

By Amanda Froelich at trueactivist.com

A modernized version of the iconic ’60’s hippie bus is now emissions-free and self-driving.

During the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Volkswagen unveiledyet another van concept to honor the iconic Microbus. In addition to being powered by electricity, the sleek vehicle is also self-driving. With 8 seats and a driving range up to 270 miles (the exact distance from Los Angeles to Las Vegas), the upgraded concept is likely to be a car favored by environmentally-minded activists.

Each vehicle has an 110-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that can be powered up to 80% by a high-powered DC charger in just 3 minutes. Additionally, the iconic van will collect traffic data using its camera, laser, ultrasonic, and radar sensors.

In addition to being good for the environment and aesthetically pleasing, the Buzz is also highly customizable. Personal seat and air conditioning settings are stored in the system, and the sound system configuration, ambient lighting, and other features are easy to change.

Trailing after Tesla, Volkswagen seeks to corner the electric market. Commented Dr. Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management for the Volkswagen brand:

“THE VOLKSWAGEN BRAND’S BIG ELECTRIC OFFENSIVE BEGINS IN THE YEAR 2020 WITH A COMPLETELY NEW VEHICLE ARCHITECTURE. THAT IS WHEN WE WILL BE LAUNCHING AN ENTIRELY NEW GENERATION OF FULLY CONNECTED, ALL-ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO THE MARKET. BY 2025 WE WANT TO BE SELLING ONE MILLION OF THESE VEHICLES ANNUALLY. WE ARE MAKING ELECTRIC MOBILITY THE NEW TRADEMARK OF VOLKSWAGEN.”

TF-X Future Flying Car

While Google and Tesla are working on self-driving cars, Terrafugia’s TF-X has its sights set much higher, literally.

VUHL 05 LIGHTWEIGHT SPORTS CAR GOES ON SALE

BUT THE MEXICAN SUPERCAR IS NOT YET AVAILABLE IN THE US

By Kristen Hall-Geisle

Vuhl 05

Building cars in Mexico is nothing new; Volkswagen, Nissan, and Toyota all have plants south of the border. But building sports cars in Mexico is less common, and right now the Vuhl 05 has that stage pretty much all to itself. (To put a fine point on it, the car was designed and assembled in Mexico, with the body being manufactured in Canada and about 40% of its parts coming from the United Kingdom.)

The 05 has got the sports car cred: full carbon fiber bodywork available, aluminum chassis, a 285-hp turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine, and a weight of just over 1500 pounds (695 kg). Vuhl reports the 05’s lightweight turbo engine makes for a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, which seems sports-car worthy. It has an aggressive, open-cockpit design, much like the Ariel Atom. It’s even got a sporty acronym for a name: Vuhl stands for “Vehicles of Ultra-lightweight and High Performance.” The 05 will be put to its first sporting test in the public eye on September 5, when it takes part in the Brighton Speed Trials.

That’s the good news. Now for the bad: the Vuhl 05 isn’t quite ready for sale in the States yet. The first 05 was delivered to “an arch Mexican enthusiast,” according to a company press release, with sales in the United Kingdom to follow this month. Orders have been placed in the Middle East, and Vuhl expects to ship those cars over later this year.

Early birds get a special price of £59,995 ($94,125), putting both its 0-60 time and its price in the same league as the 2015 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.

The 11 Coolest Cars From the Detroit Auto Show

From the spectacularly ludicrous Ford GT supercar, to the Chevy concept that could beat Tesla in the race to build a practical electric, to the bonkers Mercedes-Benz concept that imagines a future where humans are just passengers.

Ford GT Supercar

This is Detroit, so it’s no surprise Ford came out with a loaded bazooka. Behold the latest incarnation of the Ford GT, the third generation of the automaker’s supercar. Carbon fiber everywhere and a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine make us very, very excited.

Ford GT Supercar

We don’t have exact specs yet, but the twin-turbo will send more than 600 brake horsepower to the rear wheels, and styling that’s all about aerodynamics have us thinking this thing’ll easily hit the 200 mph mark.

2016 nissan titan xd

For the all-new 2016 version of the Titan, Nissan wanted to go from a “play truck” to “a true work truck,” design boss Diane Allen told Car and Driver. After going nearly a decade without major changes, the Titan has a longer and higher nose and boasts an “anatomical feel.”

2016 nissan titan xd

More important than the look is what’s under the hood: An optional 5-liter V8 turbo diesel engine that will crank out 310 horsepower and an impressive 555 pound-feet of torque, which is what you need for serious hauling—up to 12,000 pounds.

Acura NSX

At the dawn of the 1990s, the Acura NSX proved Honda could do over-the-top amazing as well as solid and reliable. In Detroit, we got our first look at the production version of the latest generation NSX, three years in the making.

Acura NSX

The name is a slightly belabored acronym for “New Sports eXperience,” and while the new look isn’t as striking as the original was 25 years ago, there’s a lot going for it. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged V6 engine with a 9-speed dual clutch transmission, which, unfortunately, you can’t shift yourself.

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider

We’ve gotten to know and love the Alfa Romeo 4C, and now we’ve been officially introduced to its baby brother, the 4C Spider. The topless version gets the same 240 horsepower as the coupe, but it’ll feel like a lot more when you can actually feel the wind rush by.

alfa romeo 4c spider

To keep the weight down, Alfa used 10 percent thinner glass for the windows and windshield, so the Spider comes in just 22 pounds heavier than the coupe.

Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion

Unveiled in Las Vegas at CES and then shown off in Detroit, the Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion is a old, completely bonkers vision of a future in which we become entirely optional behind the wheel.

Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion

The interior, with front seats that rotate to face the rear, creates a communal space. The vehicle is controlled through hand gestures, eye-tracking, and touchscreens. Everything has LEDs. When the car senses a pedestrian ahead, it can project a crosswalk onto the ground.

Buick Avenir Concept

“Buick made this?” We assume that’s what you’re thinking, because it’s the first thing that went through our minds, too. The Avenir—the French word for “future—is a sleek concept for a flagship sedan that’s a big step away from the Brand’s usual, un-astonishing and inoffensive fare.

2015-Buick-Avenir-Concept-017

Sitting on 21-inch wheels and powered by a direct-injected V6 engine, the Avenir is a vision of where Buick design could go, says GM design boss Ed Welburn. Please, please, go there.

Chevy Bolt Concept

The Chevy Bolt is a concept, yes, but a preview of a battery electric production car that GM CEO Mary Barra says will deliver more than 200 miles of range for a base price around $30,000 (after the obligatory $7,500 federal tax credit).

Chevrolet Unveils Bolt EV and Next -Generation Volt

It’s loaded with lightweight materials like aluminum, magnesium, carbon fiber, and, apparently, “woven mesh.” A lighter car requires less energy to propel, thereby increasing range. Vented rear fenders and an integrated rear spoiler help with aerodynamics, which also will boost range.

2016 Chevy Volt

On top of teasing us with the all-electric concept Bolt, Chevy brought the new, 2016 Volt to Detroit. Three years after putting the original Volt into production, the automaker took lesson learned and evolved technology and put them to use.

2016 Chevrolet Volt

Changes include a fifth seat (which still doesn’t look too comfortable) and a new two-motor drive unit that’s 12 percent more efficient and 100 pounds lighter than the original. The battery pack offers 18.4 kWh, and it’s 20 pounds lighter than its 400-pound predecessor.

Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS

The 911 Targa, unveiled a year ago with its seemingly magical pop-top, was the most beautiful open-top 911 since the original Targa appeared in 1967. Porsche upped in Detroit with the 911 Targa 4 GTS, the long-awaited marriage of Targa style and the sharpened handling and performance of the company’s GTS models.

Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS

You’ll want the seven-speed manual transmission, which comes standard. But if you can’t handle three pedals, get the double-clutch gearbox that changes gears in milliseconds. Letting the computer do the shifting for you shaves your zero to sixty time another three-tenths to a mere 4.1 seconds.

Jaguar F-Pace Teaser

Consumers are so obsessed with crossovers, even Jaguar is joining the trend. In Detroit, the brand known for sports cars and luxury sedans announced the F-PACE, which design director Ian Callum calls “our family sports car.”

Jag C-X17

The car will be built on a new platform shared by the XE sedan. It’s supposed to resemble the C-X17 concept, pictured here. Given the outstanding design work Callum has put in for the brand lately, it’s a safe bet it’ll come out looking good.

Tesla P85D

Tesla didn’t bring the Model X, its upcoming SUV model, to Detroit, but it did ship in the P85D, the dual-motor, extra powerful electric sedan it unveiled back in October.

Tesla P85D

Yes, we’ve seen it before, but it’s still one of the coolest cars you’ll find on the show floor. In addition to sending power to all four wheels, good for snowy climes, the system will boost the already impressive acceleration and the top speed. The P85D will get to 60 mph a full second faster than the current top of the line Tesla, the P85. It will max out at 155 mph instead of 130.

THE NORTH AMERICAN International Auto Show is the biggest event of the year for the American auto industry. It's the time when Ford, GM, Chrysler, and all the foreign brands that want to sell their cars here gather in Detroit to show off their best work. The fastest sports cars. The strongest pickup trucks. The most family friendly people haulers.

The show opens to the public this weekend, and everyone willing to spend $13 and suffer Detroit in the snow will be able to get up close to some of the newest and coolest cars on the planet. As usual, Cobo Hall is stuffed with more than 500 cars, so it's hard to know where to start.

To help guide you through the show, the biggest in the country, we've selected the 11 coolest cars on display. From the spectacularly ludicrous Ford GT supercar, to the Chevy concept that could beat Tesla in the race to build a practical electric, to the bonkers Mercedes-Benz concept that imagines a future where humans are just passengers, click through our gallery to see what's best in Detroit in 2015.

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