Research & Development

A Texas police force has revved up their squad car pool by adding this luxury Corvette to the ranks.

And the New Braunfels Police Department added the $80,000 Chevy Corvette z06 thanks to their hard work countering drug dealing.

"We basically busted up a large methamphetamine trafficking ring,” New Braunfels Police Department communications coordinator David Ferguson told KENS5 Eyewitness News.

“This particular Corvette was determined by the court to be purchased using drug money.”

Cadillac may escalate the Escalade.

In the face of growing competition in the luxury SUV segment, the automaker is thinking about introducing a $100,000-plus version of the full-size SUV.

"The argument for doing it with Escalade is strong and momentum is moving it higher. It's completely logical that's where you go with it," Cadillac spokesman Dave Caldwell told Automotive News.

It looks like the nearly $1.8 billion FCA US LLC invested in its Kokomo, Ind., transmission operations has paid off. Just two months after producing the 1 millionth TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission, FCA US facilities in Indiana celebrated another milestone—production of the 1 millionth nine-speed automatic—and officially welcomed it into the TorqueFlite transmission family.

With earlier versions of Sync AppLink, Ford promoted partnerships with independent app developers, inviting them to tailor their apps for Ford's in-dash infotainment system. At its developer conference this weekend, Ford introduces its heavily redesigned Sync 3 system to developers, adding graphics to the previous voice command-based system.
And using its home-court advantage, Ford gives AppLink developers access to in-car data, such as location, fuel economy, speed and a host of other information unavailable to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

The 2016 Dodge Challenger coupe earned the highest five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 2016 Challenger, which will arrive at Dodge dealerships this fall, received four stars in the front crash test, five stars in the side crash test and four stars in the rollover crash test.

The 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has not been rated by NHTSA.

It will most likely be quite some time before mass adaptation of alternative-fuel, or electric vehicles, takes hold. Until then, it’s a race against the clock to develop the next big thing in powertrain technology to make vehicles more efficient, and even more frugal, especially larger SUVs and trucks.

Computers and police cars have always been an awkward match; now Dodge has tried its hand at remedying the problems of modern patrol work with the 2016 Charger Pursuit.

Heart eyes. Smiley face. Ford Focus?

Ford Motor Co. has created its own emojis as part of a new marketing program aimed at younger buyers for the Focus compact. The Dearborn automaker has partnered with Swyft Media to create a series of emojis for iOS and Android smartphones, and a set of “stickers” for use with the Kik, PalTalk and Tango mobile messaging application platforms.

Users can search “Ford Focus Pack” in the Apple iTunes or Google Play app stores to find and download the free app.

A concept that turned into rumors has now turned into production plans for a Jeep Wrangler-based pickup due in the next couple years.
In 2005, Jeep introduced the Gladiator concept based on the RAM 1500 platform, and since then, rumors have been circulating about whether Jeep would actually produce a modern pickup to follow in the footsteps of a slew of previous trucks like the CJ-10, Gladiator, Honcho, Comanche, and others. This would be the second Wrangler-based pickup after the CJ-8 Scrambler and the first in over three decades.

Cadillac has teamed up with Public School New York, a clothing fashion company, to premiere the new XT5 crossover, which will replace the SRX.

We caught a (better) glimpse of the new Caddy when our friends on Oppositelock snatched up a few photos.