Sunday, September 28, 2008

Buy car engine

The Can-Am Spyder: a 125mph trike - Times Online

Times Online

The Can-Am Spyder: a 125mph trike
Times Online, UK - 12 hours ago
Maybe she had a point, but I wonder how she would have reacted if the trike had had a 1000cc engine under the seat. Allow me to introduce the Can-Am Spyder. ...


Mario's Rant Diesel power: The way forward? - Jamaica Gleaner

Jamaica Gleaner

Mario's Rant Diesel power: The way forward?
Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - 3 hours ago
While this does wonders for engine durability, it means that compression ignition engines turn slower than their pure Otto cycle counterparts. ...


Wiesmann GT MF5 - Times Online

Times Online

Wiesmann GT MF5
Times Online, UK - 12 hours ago
You know it will end on the hard shoulder, in the rain, while each passing car is a reminder of the reason why people buy modern, comfortable, ...


US aid for carmakers favors familiar ideas - guardian.co.uk

US aid for carmakers favors familiar ideas
guardian.co.uk, UK - Sep 26, 2008
Ford plans to convert three existing North American truck and SUV plants to small car production. Ford is also adding four-cylinder engine capacity and ...

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Car game

Small SUVs offer options for families - Hickory Daily Record

Small SUVs offer options for families
Hickory Daily Record, NC - 4 hours ago
Pete Roth, new car manager at Paramount Kia in Hickory, agreed, and said consumers are finding such value in the Kia Sportage. The Sportage carries Kia's ...


Honda Jazz - Times Online

Times Online

Honda Jazz
Times Online, UK - 13 hours ago
Every so often a new car appears that makes you realise all the other contenders have been getting it wrong for years, and one such car was the original ...


Keeping Kids Car Safe - KTEN

Keeping Kids Car Safe
KTEN, TX - 8 hours ago
With these monthly checks many brand new car seats are distributed to families but authorities say some have taken them for granted. ...


Volkswagen Golf MkVI: The new Golf - Telegraph.co.uk

Telegraph.co.uk

Volkswagen Golf MkVI: The new Golf
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Sep 19, 2008
"Everything you can touch is new," says de Silva, who managed to persuade VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn to delay the new car's sign-off by a ...

Friday, September 19, 2008

New Camaro unveiled

Born in 1966 as General Motors' answer to the Ford Mustang "pony car", the revived Camaro was unveiled this week in the United States in production form to go on sale in North America next year.

At the same time, the Australian-based designers and engineers involved in the new coupe held their own unveiling at GM Holden's headquarters in Melbourne.

The iconic sports car was designed in the US, engineered by GM's global rear-wheel-drive team in Australia, tested and validated on Australian roads and assembled in Canada. It's tipped the Camaro could be imported to Australia, following GM Holden adding the Hummer last year and Cadillac later this year.

However, GM Holden media relations manager John Lindsay said there was "no official confirmation yet from GM on whether it will be produced in right-hand-drive".



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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Auto air conditioning 101

This contamination eats away at the inside of the system resulting in rust and scale buildup, corrosion and erosion in vital A/C system parts. Proper A/C system leak tests are necessary to identify the source of a leak.

There are three types of leak inspections: visual, halogen, and dye testing. The visual test includes inspection of all lines and external components (specifically condensers, hi and low pressure lines, compressors, air dryers, and expansion valves). Any indication of refrigerant oil on these components is an indication of a leak and the component must be replaced.

The halogen tester is designed to detect the presence of leaking refrigerant gas, which is odorless and colorless. The tech scans the system with the flexible probe on the tester. If there is a leak, then the tester will howl, light up, or click.


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Monday, September 15, 2008

Do some math before trading in SUV

Local car dealers say there are many like Predmore looking to trade in their lower gas mileage vehicles once unleaded fuel prices starting setting records. Demand for trucks and sport utility vehicles - as well as their market value - has decreased significantly due to rising gas prices, they say.

"SUVs and full-size trucks are flooding the market and driving prices down," said Chris Lewis, the finance manager at Bob's Auto Market. "Though there are a few people buying SUVs and trucks, there are not many as compared to a few years ago."

Steve Stevens, owner of Stevens Auto Sales agrees, but advises people to do some math before they rush out to trade in the gas guzzler for the gas sipper.

"On average, the value of SUVs and full-size trucks has dropped $3,000 - that will buy a lot of gas for a long time for the average person," Stevens said.




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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Hyundai's little diesel delight

Hyundai will face interesting times over the coming months as Toyota leads the Japanese into the diesel segment of the new passenger-car market. It's a niche that Hyundai has performed strongly in over recent years, carving out a solid foothold alongside the Europeans that have been playing the diesel game for a decade or more.

Toyota is leading off this month with a diesel Corolla range, which will pitch in as a direct rival to the Hyundai i30 CRDi that is the subject of this test. It is just as well for Hyundai, then, that the i30 is - when judged against top-in-class standards - the Korean company's best vehicle yet.

Starting with the outside, it is possessed of cohesive good looks that are distinctive yet not too quirky. Visual parallels have been drawn with BMW's 1-series, in part because both vehicles use a sloping rear roofline to create a coupe-like look.


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Thursday, September 11, 2008

America's love affair fades as the car becomes burden of suburbia

Sales of big cars are plummeting while smaller vehicles, especially fuel-efficient hybrids, are replacing them.

GM has now closed SUV production at four plants. Its Hummer brand is up for sale, or might even be closed. GM is ploughing huge resources into its 2010 launch of the Chevy Volt, a hybrid car that may get up to 150 miles a gallon. It needs to. GM's share price recently hit a 54-year low, prompting one top investment bank to warn that the firm could go bankrupt.

The Volt, and cars like it, could become symbols of a new more conservation-minded car age. As Americans enjoyed the 4 July holiday weekend, increasing numbers of them were staying at home rather than hitting the road. Newspapers were full of tips for 'stay-cations', not weekend breaks away. Customs once scorned, such as car pooling and cutting out trips to the mall, are now commonplace.



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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Honda and Porsche have a certain APEAL

The collated facts make up the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study.

Now in its 13th year, the 2008 APEAL findings show a significant decrease in ‘owner delight', with fuel economy accounting for 50% of this drop. On a 1,000-point scale, an average APEAL score is 770, a decline of 2% since last year. Considering fuel prices went up by 27% over the same period, car manufacturers seem to be doing a good job of easing the pain.

They're accomplishing this with toys. Only in the audio, entertainment and navigation category have scores improved. “Manufacturers are working to increase customer delight by introducing entertainment and navigation technology that owners find particularly appealing," says David Sargent, VP of automotive research at JDPA.



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Monday, September 8, 2008

Car cheap insurance

Credit Crunch To Blame For Insurance Fraud And Traffic Jams - Motley Fool UK

Credit Crunch To Blame For Insurance Fraud And Traffic Jams
Motley Fool UK, UK - 8 hours ago
Is your car still worth anything anyway? If you answered 'No' to both those questions then maybe it's time you considered downgrading your car insurance to ...


California insurance commissioner pushes for green car insurance ... - Bizjournals.com

KNX1070

California insurance commissioner pushes for green car insurance ...
Bizjournals.com, NC - Aug 28, 2008
Current regulations require that auto insurance rates are based on estimated annual mileage. The new regs would provide an additional option for actual ...
Plan lets car insurance be charged by the mile San Diego Union Tribune
Driving less? Pay less for your auto insurance San Jose Mercury News
State insurance commissioner backs pay-as-you-drive policies Los Angeles Times
GreenBiz - TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk
all 146 news articles


Lower Auto Insurance - New York Times

Lower Auto Insurance
New York Times, United States - Sep 1, 2008
... auto insurance pricing would save two-thirds of households money on auto insurance, with an average savings for those households of $270 per car. ...
"Pay-as-You-Drive" Insurance Can Provide Major Savings, Expert Says MarketWatch
all 10 news articles

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Land Rover LR2: For the power-hungry people

The car is focused on the power-hungry car lovers thus comes with a powerful engine and stylish design. Being the replacement of Freelander, the LR2 is called Freelander in other markets. The car is competent enough with high end compact SUVs' like the Acura RDX or BMW X3. The car was first showcased in the Paris auto show in September 2007. The car is built of the Ford C1 platform. Longer wheelbase, increased interior space, upgraded engine, dust, mud, and water resistance, off road features... LR2 has got a good number of features to boast upon. LR2 is powered by the new 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine which is upgraded for off-road use to resist dust, mud, and water. The six cylinder engine generates 230 horsepower and 234 pound-feet of torque. The twin-cam 24-valve engine has variable valve timing as well as a multistage intake system.



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Friday, September 5, 2008

What the Newspaper Industry Could Learn from GM About Do or Die

Toyota was talking about a few hundred experimental cars in a controlled setting, not tens of thousands of cars in dealer showrooms, a much less ambitious goal than GM’s. But Toyota is famous for under-promising and over-delivering.

In February, Tesla, the Silicon Valley company, announced plans for an electric sedan with a gasoline-powered generator, like the Volt—but set to arrive a year earlier, in late 2009. In March, BMW said it might produce an electric car for the U.S. market, and in May, Nissan said it would have one in test fleets in 2010. The drumbeat seems likely to continue. Simply by announcing the Volt, GM has attracted a bevy of competitors, bringing the electric car’s mass-market advent from over the horizon to around the corner.

A bold new vision won’t immediately turn the economic tide, but it could turn the tide of defeatism.



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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Sporty and clean

A 32kg weight-saving is gained over the Elise S base car through use of natural materials and drastically lighter wheels.

What's cool? Proof that, with enough will, a maker can make a car more environmentally friendly through overall weight reduction and use of low emission materials.

Will it be made? Not as a complete car, but Lotus can sell hybrid composite parts or technology to big players.

- FORD FOCUS RS

What is it? Almost production-ready model of the 300hp Ford Focus RS with 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual limited slip diff. "RevoKnuckle" front suspension neutralises torque steer. RS is lower and wider than standard Focus and with sporty trims inside and out.

What's cool? World rally car has looks and performance to rival the 4WD Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo.


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Monday, September 1, 2008

Zero crashes: A preview of the car of the future

A dashboard-mounted display, with green, red and yellow alert lights, measures unsafe moves such as speeding and sharp braking, and sends the data to a database that parents can access. The phone company T-Mobile has tested the device in 250 of its vehicles. It says that it has saved £417,000 in crash damage and 3 per cent in fuel costs in 12 months. To forestall employee fears, a function to identify individual drivers is switched off. That, however, might change.

Hitting the roads Imagine the Big Brother backlash if a mandatory system were proposed.

10. Self-steering

Collision-avoidance systems that intervene when a crash seems inevitable are about to be fitted to vehicles driven in Britain. A system created by Volvo, for example, is active at speeds up to 20mph.



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