Tag Archives: Wednesday

Motorsport

The Polestar 4 Starts at $56,300 With 300 Miles of Range

Polestar’s long-awaited small crossover, the Polestar 4, will hit the US market quickly. On Wednesday, Polestar introduced pricing and vary figures for the 4, and the numbers look good. The base long-range single-motor mannequin begins at $56,300 together with a $1,400 vacation spot and will get an EPA vary of 300 miles.

That’s a bit greater than a single-motor Tesla Model Y, which as of writing has a base value of $45,830, however the Polestar 4 is somewhat bigger in each dimension besides top and has a greater vary determine. Here’s how pricing breaks down for your entire Polestar 4 lineup.

  Price
Long Range Single Motor $56,300
Long Range Single Motor Pilot Pack $57,800
Long Range Single Motor Pro Pack $58,300
Long Range Single Motor Plus Pack $61,800
Long Range Dual Motor Standard Pilot Pack $64,300
Long Range Dual Motor Pilot + Pro Pack $66,300
Long Range Dual Motor Pilot + Plus Pack $69,800
Long Range Dual Motor Plus + Performance Pack $74,300

All Polestar 4 variants use a 103.0-kilowatt-hour battery pack that may cost at as much as 11 kilowatts on AC energy and 200 kilowatts when linked to a succesful DC fast-charging station. Range for the dual-motor variant falls from 300 miles to 270 miles. The single-motor, rear-drive variant has 272 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque, whereas the dual-motor, all-wheel drive mannequin has 544 hp and 504 lb-ft. Polestar claims a 0-60 mph acceleration time of seven.4 seconds for the rear-drive mannequin, and three.8 seconds for the all-wheel drive.

Pricing sensible, it slots proper between the Polestar 2 sedan, which begins at $51,300 and the bigger, $74,800 Polestar 3 crossover. Like the 3, the Polestar 4 ended up being a bit cheaper than Polestar initially introduced. When it first confirmed the 4 final 12 months, Polestar mentioned the MSRP would begin round $60,000.

Polestar 4
Polestar 4

As for rivals, the Polestar 4 prices a bit greater than the $54,000 Genesis GV60, although it is fairly a bit bigger, too. The all-wheel-drive-only Genesis GV70 Electrified is maybe a greater comparability, and at $68,450 it is proper in the midst of the dual-motor Polestar 4 pricing. But it has simply 236 miles of vary to the Polestar 4 Dual Motor’s 270 miles. Audi hasn’t introduced pricing but for the new Q6 E-Tron, however the Porsche Macan 4 costs over $80,450 and affords much less energy than the top-tier Polestar 4. 

Polestar says the 4 goes on sale in April, however buyer deliveries will not start till the fourth quarter of this 12 months. For the model’s sake, it may’t come quickly sufficient.

Laptops, News

AMD’s New Ryzen 8040 Series Laptop Chips Put The Focus On AI

amd logo Tobias Arhelger/Shutterstock

AMD’s laptop computer APU line bought a refresh on Wednesday within the type of the Ryzen 8040 sequence, and no less than going by the announcement, AI is the precedence and major dividing line from the earlier 7040 sequence. “We continue to deliver high performance and power-efficient NPUs with Ryzen AI technology to reimagine the PC,” stated Jack Huynh, SVP and GM of AMD computing and graphics, in a press launch. “The increased AI capabilities of the 8040 series will now handle larger models to enable the next phase of AI user experiences.”

On paper, the brand new APUs learn as similar to the 7040 sequence, with the 8040 sequence that includes Zen 4 CPUs and RDNA 3 GPUs made utilizing the identical 4nm course of as its predecessor sequence. The 8040 model of the AI-centric neural processing unit, or NPU, is, in accordance with what AMD told Ars Technica, roughly 1.4x sooner than its 7040 counterpart, however AMD additionally conceded to Ars that this was primarily a byproduct of elevated clock speeds. AMD Technical Marketing Manager Donny Woligroski additionally advised Ars that firmware and driver tweaks ought to be a key differentiator in producing a “real generational improvement,” as nicely.

“It’s been unimaginable to see AMD and Microsoft’s lengthy partnership transferring into the following wave of know-how, bringing AI innovation to our shared clients,” Pavan Davuluri, CVP Windows + Devices, Microsoft, added in AMD’s press launch. “We’re so excited to see Ryzen 8040 Series processor-powered devices come to life in the Windows ecosystem and can’t wait to see what developers and customers do with all of this innovation.”

Full lineup of AMD’s cellular APU SKUs

AMD signage Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

According to the press launch, the brand new lineup of APUs consists of the next 9 SKUs:

  • AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS (8 cores/16 threads, as much as 5.2 GHz enhance/4.0 GHz base CPU frequency, 24MB cache, 45W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (8 cores/16 threads, as much as 5.1 GHz enhance/3.8 GHz base CPU frequency, 24MB cache, 45W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS (8 cores/16 threads, as much as 5.1 GHz enhance/3.3 GHz base CPU frequency, 24MB cache, 28W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 7 8840U (8 cores/16 threads, as much as 5.1 GHz enhance/3.3 GHz base CPU frequency, 24MB cache, 28W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS (6 cores/12 threads, as much as 5.0 GHz enhance/4.3 GHz base CPU frequency, 22MB cache, 45W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 5 8640HS (6 cores/12 threads, as much as 4.9 GHz enhance/3.5 GHz base CPU frequency, 22MB cache, 28W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 5 8640U (6 cores/12 threads, as much as 4.9 GHz enhance/3.5 GHz base CPU frequency, 22MB cache, 28W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 5 8540U (6 cores/12 threads, as much as 4.9 GHz enhance/3.2 GHz base CPU frequency, 22MB cache, 28W TDP)
  • AMD Ryzen 3 8440U (4 cores/8 threads, as much as 4.7 GHz enhance/3.0 GHz base CPU frequency, 12MB cache, 28W TDP)

All however the final two will embrace the NPU for AI acceleration. Notebooks containing the brand new 8040 sequence APUs will ship in Q1 2024 from, in accordance with the press launch, Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Razer.

Motorsport

GM Expects $9.3 Billion Cost from New UAW Labor Deals

GM revealed in a business update that its new UAW and Canadian Unifor labor contracts will increase costs by $9.3 billion through 2028. Alongside this, the company announced $10 billion in stock buybacks and a 33% increase in stock dividends.

The new UAW contract, ratified in November with a 54.7% vote, includes a 25% pay increase and job security for union workers in the shift to electric vehicle production. This additional cost equates to about $575 per vehicle over the contract period, which expires in 2028.

The six-week UAW strike had an estimated $1.1 billion impact on GM’s earnings before interest and tax.

CEO Mary Barra stated that they are finalizing a budget to offset the incremental costs of the new labor agreements and are working on reducing the capital intensity of the business, developing products more efficiently, and further lowering fixed and variable costs. With a clear path forward and a strong balance sheet, the company aims to return significant capital to shareholders.

In a $10 billion buyback program announced on Wednesday, GM plans to repurchase and retire $6.8 billion worth of its common stock immediately, with the remainder to be bought back through 2024.

Additionally, GM announced a 33% increase in its common stock dividend, from nine cents per quarter to 12 cents per quarter, expected to take effect at the start of 2024.

Motorsport

Cadillac Escalade IQ EV Spotted Testing Before August 9 Debut

Cadillac is getting ready to unveil its electric version of the Escalade IQ. The debut is set for Wednesday, August 9, which will give us a full look at the new model. But for now, we have some fresh spy shots of the SUV to examine. The vehicle is completely covered in camouflage, keeping the design details hidden.

The Escalade IQ appears to have the same large and imposing presence as its combustion-powered counterpart, known for its boxy and square shape. However, the electric version seems to have a softer look, with the camouflage failing to conceal the sloping roofline of the Escalade. The front end appears sleeker, and the windshield seems to have a more slanted angle.