Kia brings “RAY” as a concept

Kia introduced its new plug-in hybrid concept car at the Chicago Motor Show. Ray is aerodynamically designed thus giving the fuel efficiency beyond expectations of 202mpg. The electric power system is equipped with lithium ion battery packs while the solar cells on the roof top energize the air conditioning system of the car.

The windshield frame extends towards the roof and meets the tail lights with the sun screening technology. The front air deflectors which may be termed as air vents cool the engine under high temperature operating conditions.

The passenger seats are completely separated by the arm support while the interior seems simpler enough.

Toyota manufactures hybrid cars at Miyagi plant

Toyota motor corp. today announced that it is going to fabricate hybrid vehicle in its new assembly plant. Toyota decides to make subcompact hybrid Vitz in Miyagi and Ohira plants. Vitz is a successful car in subcompact vehicles lineup especially in Asia. Gasoline electric Vitz cars will certainly  boost Toyota sales.

 The hybrids will be on for sale for 1.5 million yen from 2011 with the fuel consumption 40 kilometers per litre.

Panasonic announces the development of multi purpose lithium ion battery cells

Panasonic has announced the development of two new high capacity lithium ion battery cells yesterday. The two (3.4 Ah and 4.0 Ah) batteries have 20 and 30 percent more capacity as compared to the presently used 2.9 Ah batteries respectively. The increase in capacity is due to the improvement in nickel based positive electrodes while the 4.0 Ah battery replaces the negative carbon electrode with the silicon electrode.

The lithium ion battery cells are light, compact and efficient with multi operation uses. It will not only enhance the charging capacity of your laptop but also power the electric vehicles. Lithium ion battery cells are not only limited to vehicles and cordless devices but also find applications in household appliances. With increased emissions, lithium ion battery cell is the only most reliable and energy efficient source to power your EVs.

Alcoholic drinks lead to fatal accidents on new years’s eve

A report has been published two days ago regarding on-road fatalities caused by alcoholic drinks. According to the report, 59 fatalities occurred in the 12 hours span on 2008 New Years Eve which is more than three times when compared with the casualties recorded two weeks later. The statistics shows how poor the coordination and driving attention is when a drunken person drives a car.

Alcohol affects your brain quickly and these effects are long lasting. The body needs time to break down alcoholic effects. When a person drinks alcohol, it excites him initially. When he drinks more, it starts affecting your brain making you unable to decide and coordinate properly. It makes you drowsy and sometimes let you fall asleep.

Never underestimate the effects of alcohol when you celebrate New Year. Go to the country side but with proper plans. Do not drive the car when you are drunk. Reports claim that alcohol enters your blood via stomach continuously even when you are not drinking.

So the only quick remedy to alcoholic effects is to keep yourself away from it.

Lamborghini Ankonian: a level next to Reventon

Lamborghini always brings its models with unique and sleek designs. Ankonian, a concept sports car (named after a black bull), is designed by Slavche Tanevsky. He claims this concept a Reventon’s next level car, but to me, it carries a whole new concept from design to manufacturing.

The midengined super car is downsized and aerodynamically engineered to give better performance statistics. OLED’s (Organic light emitting diodes) are used as the head lights. OLED’s contain organic layers which are embedded longitudinally and horizontally making a matrix of small pixels.

The rear of the car resembles to that of Reventon, analysts claim. The char black Ankonian has huge front air deflectors and the yellow attractive bull logo gives it a complete finished look.

Picture Gallery

What strategies American Automakers need to adopt to stabilize and expand their market?

The way the American auto market is struck by the global recession is not an illusion. This is the first time American economy is affected so badly which ended in bankruptcy, unemployment and a lag in industrial growth.
Craig Cather, President and CEO of CSM says:"we've hit bottom and positive signs areat hand".

 What even worse is that American policy is still vague and no solids steps are so far seen to regain the balanced economy.

CSM which provides trusted automotive market forecasting services came up with some solutions which are listed below.

• Small vehicles CSM is opinionated of manufacturing small luxury vehicles which may be the source of attraction for the buyers belonging to all the classes due to low fuel consumption. American public needs to compromise to switch themselves from big cars like Ford Focus and Chevrolet Camaro to small sized vehicles. This downsizimg of vehicles may improve the sales and help in regaining the auto growth.
• International competitiveness Auto makers need to think on expanding their market internationally. It is very important for auto makers not to diverge their thoughts in bringing new emerging technologies in the market at this stage because it may decrease their sales. CSM suggests going with the conventional gasoline powered vehicles with direct injection systems instead of manufacturing fuel cell cars and other similar technologies which demand high initial costs.

• CO2 emissions is the major area of concern for industrialists at this point of time.25% CO2 emissions results through transportation which are believed to be decreased by 80% till 2050. So the auto makers need to shift their production lines to energy efficient technologies like electric, hybrid, plug in hybrid and green technologies once they get stabilized. 45% population volume is predicted to have electric vehicles by 2020. The current US vehicles are reported to produce 105 g/km which has decreased its sales overseas. This figure needs to be reduced.

2009 Los Angeles Motor Show: 2010 Special Edition Dodge Viper SRT10 inspired its viewers

2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR 1:33 edition was deputed in the Los Angeles motor show on Wednesday this week.. Viper is available in both coupe and convertible models. Tan red viper with black on its sides bursts the auto enthusiasts in tears.

The two door supercar is designed in the same fashion as the previous models were but slight changes (as for certain) include redesigned rear wing and a 5th gear ratio. The top speed is raised by 4mph now reaching 184 mph. Chrysler reports only 33 units for this Special Edition Viper next year.
Lap record making Dodge comes in two different stylish colors, toxic orange and bright silver.

8.4 L V-10 engine makes the car alive with 600 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque. Viper SRT10 accelerates from 0-60 in less than 4 seconds.
The pricing details are not yet revealed.

New BMW Wind Tunnel marks out a remarkable difference

The new BMW Wind Tunnel with the Aerodynamics Test Center has really amazed the difference in the aerodynamics of its open top cars used now and a decade ago. The difference is appreciated by the celebrity, Sylvie van der Vaart.

Van der Vaart dressed up like the lady of late eighties with properly combed hairs. She was a little confused before the test but theBMW team made her relaxed that nothing is going to hurt her inside the tunnel. She sits in the open top BMW 3 series convertible. The BMW team gears up for the test that would shortly stun the crowd. BMW wind rotor breathes out and the moments later, van der Vaart gets off the car as if she returned from desert. The wind badly entangled her hairs.

Van der Vaart now dresses up like a 2009 young lady with beige clothes and combed hairs. The new BMW 3 series open top convertible gets the prestige to have the celebrity in her lap. The engine turns the rotor on, a couple of seconds pass but the new BMW didn’t raise even a single hair. She astonishes whether the rotor spun or not. The test brings out the hell of difference in the two models and the improved aerodynamics , BMW is dedicated to work on.

European Auto Industry is keen to reduce CO2 emissions

Though a lot of improvement is seen in Green Technologies in the last few years but still the European Auto Industry is concerned to reduce CO2 emissions which is a good sign.
ACEA agreements between the European automobile manufacturers have limited the CO2 emissions upto 140 g/km in 2008 and are dedicated to further reduce it upto 120 g/km by 2010.

Global warming is increasing each day and auto industry is a major sector which alarms the coming generations. The fact that Porsche inhales more toxic air than emitting it out in polluted cities like Agra (India) leaves a threat that every molecule of air that a person inhales in polluted cities is even more toxic than a Porsche exhales.

Electric vehicles, hybrid technology, plug-in hybrids and use of carbon fibers and plastics (of good strength to weight ratio) have contributed to reduce the CO2 emissions but still this is not the end. The proposal for reduction in CO2 emissions is nearly going to improve but it needs a strong strategy buildup because a large number of auto companies are still victimized by the economic crises and the policy makers need to balance out the economic and environmental priorities. Statistics show that demand for light commercial vehicles has declined by 34.4% this year due to long production time phase of these vehicles as compared to the urban passenger cars.
Hodac, Secretary General of ACEA says “The European manufacturers will further deliver significant CO2-efficiency improvements to market despite the austere economic and financial conditions”.
In short, ACEA must make such a policy that would raise employment and does not affect the economy on large scale.

41st Tokyo Motor Show:7 wonderful and weird vehicles

Where many auto companies walked away from the 41st Tokyo Motor Show owing to the economic crises, many Japanese automakers emerged with new concepts. Here are the seven wonderful and weird vehicles which became a part of this Motor Show.
1. How to put a wheel chair on the roof of Prius Hybrid
An amazing concept is used by Toyota Motor Corporation of how to mount a wheel chair on the roof of Prius Hybrid. So you need not to worry about carrying special people with you in this adapted version of Toyota Prius Hybrid. A special carriage is designed which fits on the roof of the car.

2. P70t CONCH
Keeping in view the importance of the electric energy, Phiaro group brings a three seater futuristic electric car, P70t CONCH. What is worst about this car is the high center of gravity which makes it unstable at cornering. The side doors open backward giving enough room to the passengers to easily get in the car.

3. Cta electric vehicle
Cta zero emission vehicle is demonstrated in this Tokyo Motor Show. Three wheels are used instead of four to lower the rolling resistance. The car is cylindrical in shape with three passenger seats.

4. EC-f experimental electric vehicle

Yamaha Motor Corp. displays the EC-f electric vehicle which seems to be a mini motorcycle. The details are not yet revealed about this unimpressive vehicle.

5. Lexus LFA

Lexus LFA attracts the viewers in the Show by its cool sporty look. This model comes with the V10 engine with 202 mph top speed. What attracts me the most is the front view of the car but it has a unique design all over. Get the more details here.

6. i-REAL personal mobility devices

Toyota Motor Corporation brings i-REAL mobility devices. These devices are single passenger vehicles for short distances and come in different innovative designs.

7. CR-Z Concept

Honda Motor Corp. shows CR-Z (Compact Renaissance Zero) Concept car which has a sleek aerodynamic design. This car has lightweight sports car features with improved dynamics. Click here to get the details about this concept.

600 brake complaints received against Honda Odyssey minivans

Honda Odyssey minivans, being very famous in America, have the potential brake problems that resulted in 10 crashes with 7 people injured and no causalities as reported by Honda and safety regulators.NHTSA reported the investigation details on Oct 19 which covers 343,000 Honda Odysseys.
600 complaints have been received regarding delayed response due to soft brakes. Investigators think that this poor brake response may be due to the air entering the braking system but according to Honda, air may not cause a delay in brake response.
Honda is not the first company which is victimized by the public complaints. Few years back, NHTSA investigated severe frame corrosion on complaint against 2000-01 Tundra pickups.

KIA KND-5 Concept Sedan Car is unveiled as “Cadenza”

Kia officially reveals the first picture of its all new Sedan which will be named as Cadenza outside Korea. Cadenza will be the production Urban Car which was merely a concept Sedan car.

 This car provides sheer luxury drive apart from its soothe appearance. Cadenza will be on for display in the coming motor shows like Kuwait, Dubai and Saudi Arabia International Motor Show.

Front End View

 The new Sedan is aerodynamic giving it a sporty look with the big monster tyres. The prominent front grills and head lamps reflect the broadness of the car.

Side View

The new KIA is featured for luxury drive in extreme weather conditions. The heated steering system keeps the driver warm in winter while ventilated front seats ease the driving in hot summer days. Moreover, Cadenza has automatic defogging windshield system and powered extendible seat cushions for thigh support.

The new Cadenza seems to excel in the market in the luxury lineup cars.

Watch the video for a brief overview of the car.

Ford Fiesta storms in with first new Titanium individual Special Edition

Ford (Britain) successfully launches its new Fiesta first Special Edition yesterday. The new Fiesta has six series in its lineup with five optional engines.

This new line up series comprise Studio, Edge, ECOnetic, Zetec S and worth mentioning Titanium Individual and the engines ranging from 1.2 to 1.6 litres in both gasoline and diesel. Though not having the hatchback, the new series provides luxury and an innovative outlook.

Interior

Titanium Individual Special Edition

The new Titanium individual is unique in its design. You can enjoy the drive in Titanium with its luxurious features like Bluetooth connectivity and red interior. The leather seats are red and silver and the same color combination extends upto gear lever, steering and dashboard. Ford Fiesta says that individual saves £100 over similarly equipped Titanium model.

Ford Fiesta

You can buy the new Titanium in any of its six exterior colours you like.

JB car design brings 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 JB-R

Lamborghini models have always been inspiring for the sports car lovers especially when you talk of Reventon and Murcielago. JB car design brings LP-640 with certain modifications three days ago.

LP-640 comes with various changes beside the doors not altered. The more attractive roof panel, cool front and rear bumpers, well designed spoilers and hoods and the road touching side skirts are some of the eye catching features of LP-640. The titanium made exhaust system is aligned at the center of the rear of the car. Most of the exterior is composed of carbon fiber to make it light while the big rear spoiler exerts enough downforce.

Front End view

See the images below

Would you like to upgrade your car with more than 700 bhp engine? Of course, when you talk of the super cars, you go for even high powers. The upgraded Murcielago can reach upto 370 km/h with 750 bhp engine. LP-640 has the same red and black color combination as we see in the exterior of the car. The red and black leather interior with advanced luxurious features make it a comfortable drive. The conversion price is 500.000,00 Euro.

2009 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird Concept

This road runner concept is sketched by Michael Leonhard who tries to give it resemblance with Nascar Racing Cars of late 60’s. He has designed an American styled pure Muscle Sports Car with a HEMI engine (an engine with hemispherical combustion chamber).Aluminum made two panel rear spoiler provides a sufficient down force at high speeds.

The two front grills merge with the front lights. Leonhard says: "[It has] a sleek nose cone that slips into air like a knife through butter; incorporating a spoiler below the centered grille opening". The car has a low center of gravity and offers less drag and is supposed to give a better acceleration.

 

Mazda announces the production of Mazda2 at Auto Alliance Thailand (AAT)

2 days ago, Mazda announced the production of Mazda2 at a new passenger auto plant at Auto Alliance Thailand (AAT). AAT is committed to enhance the future growth of Mazda2 vehicles with ASEAN sales approximated to be around 20,000 units per year.

The ceremony was held to celebrate the Mazda2 production at AAT which was attended by many high ranked Mazda officials on Thursday.
Mazda2 has been one of the most triumphant vehicles in the Mazda leading vehicles line up. 1n 2008, Mazda2 was claimed as the World Car of the Year and has the prestige of winning 50 Global Awards. The innovative design, high performance and eco-friendly nature are some of the key factors that make this car a success.

Mazda2

Masazumi Wakayama, a senior managing executive officer says: “I firmly believe that the Mazda2 being built at our state-of-the-art facility in Thailand will make an immense contribution toward establishing the Mazda brand in ASEAN markets and will be our main driving force in the region as we go forward.”

Tokyo Motor Show: Suzuki brings Swift Plug-in Hybrid and SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle

Tokyo Motor Show brings some exciting eco-friendly technologies this year. Suzuki is going to show its new concepts like Swift Plug-in Hybrid and SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle. These new technologies seek their importance in the consumer market who is becoming a victim of energy crises day by day.

Plug-in Hybrid Swift
Swift plug-in hybrid is featured with the plug-in hybrid system. The car gets the initial 20 miles drive solely on an electric motor. The new plug-in Hybrid Swift employs 0.66 litres (660cc) engine and a generator that is used to charge the lithium ion battery. The car can be charged in your homes via plug-in socket. The compactness of the car makes it light in weight. More details will be revealed in the show.

Swift Plug-in Hybrid

SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle
SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle is also a part of the coming Tokyo Motor Show. The fuel cell produced by general motors is used with the Suzuki designed high pressure (10,000 psi) hydrogen tank and a capacitor. The functioning of this car resembles with plug-in Swift with the exception of the battery charged by the fuel cell instead of an engine.

SX4-FCV

Tokyo Motor Show will help in promoting Green technologies world wide.