A smart tonneau cover for a pickup truck includes an input system that receives information concerning a route and the weather forecast for the route to a destination, the height of a cargo, a precipitation sensor, a wind sensor, and to determine the limits to the height, position, and orientation of the portions of a tonneau cover, which can include solar panels that can be moved to optimize power generation and minimize power consumption while protecting the cargo. The solar panels can be positioned when stationary, such as while parked, and repositioned as needed during transit to maintain an optimal power efficiency.

An electric-vehicle frame includes a mid-section and an end section. The mid-section has first and second frame rails spaced from each other by a first distance along a cross-vehicle axis defining a battery compartment therebetween. The end-section has first and second frame rails spaced from each other by a second distance along the cross-vehicle axis smaller than the first distance. A first connector is fixed to the first frame rail of the mid-section and to the first frame rail of the end-section. A second connector is fixed to the second frame rail of the mid-section and to the second frame rail of the end-section.

A light duty vehicle includes a vehicle frame, including a pair of vehicle longitudinal beams connected to each other by a plurality of cross-members and a cabin frame, having a pair of cabin longitudinal beams rigidly connected to front ends of the vehicle longitudinal beams. A supporting structure for auxiliary units, such as gaseous fuel tanks or electric batteries, which is carried by the vehicle frame, and includes an auxiliary frame extending between the vehicle longitudinal beams and having connection plates arranged in vertical planes parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle frame and which are in contact with mutually facing inner lateral walls of the vehicle longitudinal beams and are rigidly connected to these longitudinal beams. The auxiliary frame fulfills a structural function equivalent to the structural function of one or more cross-members at an area of the vehicle frame where the cross-members are omitted.

This radiator fan for cooling a radiator has: a rotating member that rotates due to rotation of an engine; blade members that are provided on the peripheral surface of the rotating member such that the angle of surfaces that receive air is changed; a moving member, which is provided in the rotating member, and which moves toward the peripheral surface of the rotating member due to centrifugal force generated by means of the rotation of the rotating member; and a connecting member, which is connected to the moving member and the blade members, transmits the movement of the moving member to the blade members, and changes the angle of the surfaces.

This disclosure details vehicle front trunk utility systems for increasing the usefulness of front truck cargo spaces. In exemplary embodiments, a vehicle front trunk utility system includes a utility table that may be deployed between a first configuration in which the utility table functions as a floor liner of a cargo space of the front trunk and a second configuration in which the utility table functions as a tabletop or work space that extends away from the cargo space. The utility systems of this disclosure may additionally or alternatively include various other utility features including but not limited to storage compartments, lighting, battery and stereo interface panels, power outlets, etc.

A vehicle including: a pair of suspension towers, each of which houses, in an upright state, a suspension unit configured to provide suspension to a front wheel; a power unit compartment that is provided between the pair of suspension towers, and that houses at least a drive unit configured to drive the front wheels; at least one of a high voltage component or a low voltage component, configuring a sub unit disposed at a vehicle upper side of the suspension towers; and a driving seat that is disposed in a vehicle cabin at the vehicle upper side of the power unit compartment, and that is provided such that feet of a driver are positioned further toward a vehicle lower side than upper ends of the suspension towers and such that a head of the driver is positioned further toward the vehicle upper side than the sub unit.

A retractable overhead assembly for a vehicle having a retractable cover under tension and an integrated stiffening rod that includes attachment features to selectively connect to a windshield area. The retractable system is self contained within an extrusion keeping the overall package size small and the installation/removal simple. The retractable cover creates a sun shade over the vehicle front cockpit and/or rear passenger area when deployed, and is retractable to a stowed position. The retractable overhead assembly is installable under any hard or soft top assembly configuration, and does not impede use or operation of the hard top or soft top assembly.

This disclosure details systems and methods for supporting and protecting vehicle underbody-mounted battery packs. An exemplary electrified vehicle may include a frame, a battery support structure mounted to the frame, and a battery pack. The battery pack is supported relative to the frame by the battery support structure but is not itself directly coupled to the frame. The battery support structure may be configured to provide an under-frame mounting configuration, cross member positioning, skid plate positioning for battery pack protection, weight optimized sub-components, unique shapes for ground clearances, etc.

Systems, methods and computer readable storage media provide flexible vehicle status notifications via an instrument cluster displayed on an in-vehicle screen. In some examples, when a non-displayed gauge goes into an out-of-parameter or warning range, the gauge may be dynamically shown in the out-of-parameter or warning state in a container position assigned to the gauge in another display or in a dynamic container position in the instrument cluster. In some examples, a popup notification may be provided to inform the driver of a condition. When there are multiple notifications, they may be grouped into definable severity classifications and prioritized so that a notification determined to be a most important message at the time is presented to the driver in a notification zone central to a driver's field of vision on the instrument cluster that allows for reusing screen space for providing warning and information from a range of data sources.

This disclosure details systems and methods for supporting and isolating vehicle body mounted battery packs from various vehicle loads. An exemplary electrified vehicle may include a frame, a battery support structure mounted to the frame, a battery pack, and one or more isolators. The battery pack is supported by the battery support structure but is not mechanically coupled to the frame. The isolator is mounted between the battery pack and the battery pack support structure for isolating the battery pack from loads that may be imparted on the frame and/or the battery support structure.