Off-Road Offerings: Ford files patents for sand ladder running boards, ‘tank turn’ feature

Toronto, Ontario — The mad scientists in Ford’s engineering division have been busy churning out all sorts of innovative mobility concepts over the past several months, with the latest being a pair of patents yet again geared toward off-road enthusiasts. One of the patents, titled “Integrated Sand Ladders,” conceives of detachable running boards designed to […]
Two Tonne Shimmy: Ford patents off-road ‘crawling’ technology

Toronto, Ontario — Ford appears to be taking cues from the GMC Hummer EV with reports circulating that the automaker has been granted patent approval for a piece of tech called “Crawl Operations for Four-Wheel Steering Vehicle.” Not wanting to be the only OEM in Detroit without crawling cars, a report from The Drive found […]
Pillar of Promise: Patent approved for GM’s see-through A-pillar design

Detroit, Michigan — General Motors may have found a clear path forward in addressing pedestrian safety around SUVs, as the automaker has been granted a patent for a see-through A-pillar to potentially be used on GM’s larger vehicles. The idea is a fibre-reinforced composite A-pillar that includes one or more openings filled with a transparent resin […]
Wind In Your Shins: Jeep unveils sketches teasing ‘donut door’ designs

Toronto, Ontario — Jeep appears to be toying with some tasty new design patents, as the Stellantis-based automaker released some sketches this week, featuring a Jeep sporting “donut doors”. Jeep filed patents for the experimental transparent half-door design back in 2017, which prior to the release of the sketches, had only been seen on prototype […]