#PatentFilings

While Kia and Hyundai have taken major strides in improving their product lineup, their logos aren’t the prettiest in the industry. This is an extremely shallow way to judge an automobile but, with the companies moving away from their former roles as purveyors of cheap steel, it might be time to freshen up their emblems.

Volkswagen recently did so, and it’s had one of the most consistent logo designs (minus those early swastika/ginfaxi years) you’re ever to come across.

Several trademark applications dated November 26th indicate that Kia might be following suit. The brand has a new design pending with the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS), and it’s a major departure from the last update.

Ford is currently on the road to electrification. Right now, the manufacturer is working on an electric crossover based on the Mustang and a new hybrid powertrain. But it hasn’t been particularly forthcoming when it comes to sharing its industry secrets with the public.

Fortunately, an application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office could give us a glimpse into what Ford’s cooking up. While technically filed in July of 2018, the document was officially published just last week and quickly located by the patent-sniffing dogs from our sister site, AutoGuide, showcasing a “twin motor drive system” for hybrid vehicles. The accompanying diagram clearly shows the system mated to a V8, but the filing seems to suggest that the setup could operate with any engine that’s mounted longitudinally.

Do you ever get the sense that much of today’s automotive technology whittles away the more natural aspects of driving? We’ve endured numb electronic steering, advanced driving aids, absent volume knobs, overly complex infotainment systems, and faux engine sounds for a few years now. To be honest, it’s been a mixed bag.

Sometimes these things work toward a greater whole, but they can also be persistent annoyances that detract from everything that makes driving enjoyable. Maybe it’s because I enjoy the act of traveling so much that I’m less eager to see tech muddy its purity. It’s not that I don’t find the new stuff interesting — quite the contrary. Rather, it’s just that I think automotive tech gets in the way more often than it should. But I’m also the kind of moron you’ll see riding a motorcycle through light snow because I “appreciate the experience.”

So it should come as no surprise that, after learning of its existence, I believe Toyota’s virtual sunroof is a bridge too far.

Ferrari has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a “device for the amplification of the intake sound” of an internal combustion engine. The system is a little different than the “Active Sound Design” populating many of today’s modern performance vehicles — a setup that involves piping in engine noises via the car’s sound system (à la BMW), through a speaker attached to the firewall (e.g. Volkswagen), or by redirecting some intake air through a diaphragm and into less-insulated areas of car (Porsche).

For Ferrari’s new system, the last solution seemed to be the best fit. But rather than running noise through a singular valve and pipe, the Italians want to use each runner of the intake manifold — presumably to create a richer and less-artificial sound. The patent request even states that the amplification pipe produces a noise that is “very pleasant to the human ear.” Filed in April of this year and clearly written by some super-intelligent automaton that’s obsessed with human ears, the system looks pretty complex.

Harkening back to its early days as a purveyor of horseless carriages, Ford Motor Company has patented a no-frills folding vehicle for those who want something more than a bicycle.

Intended for developing countries with poor infrastructure, the patent filing uncovered by Autoblog details a lightweight, endlessly configurable vehicle with a collapsible frame.

Apparently, the 10-speed automatic transmission co-developed by Ford and General Motors doesn’t impress Honda, because it wants a gearbox with more cogs.

The Japanese automaker recently filed a patent for an 11-speed, triple-clutch transmission, AutoGuide reports.

In the 1960s, automakers wanted to put a tiger in your tank, but now Ford Motor Company wants a howler monkey under your dash.

The automaker was concerned that drivers used to “shifting by ear” aren’t getting the gas mileage their efficient, small-displacement engines were designed for, so it patented an acoustic device that mimics a bigger powerplant, Autoblo g reports.

While the Honda S660 may never see these shores, the automaker may have a baby NSX in mind for the U.S. market based on a recent patent filing.