Archive for July, 2011
Obama reaches fuel-efficiency agreement with 13 automakers
Sunday, July 31st, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration and thirteen automakers from around the world agreed to raise fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light-trucks to 54.4 miles per gallon (mpg) by the model year 2025.
“This agreement on fuel standards represents the single most important step we’ve ever taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Obama said.
The president said that the new efficiency standards will save an average family more than $8,000 in fuel costs over time (while saving the country about $1.7-trillion). He added that by 2025, the amount of oil used will be cut by 2.2 million barrels per day.
“This is another important step toward saving money for drivers, breaking our dependence on imported oil and cleaning up the air we breathe,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in a statement.
“American consumers are calling for cleaner cars that won’t pollute their air or break their budgets at the gas pump, and our innovative American automakers are responding with plans for some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in our history.”
In 2010, Obama already imposed a rule that will require vehicles from model years 2012 to 2016 to reach fuel-efficiency of 35.5 mpg.
Speaking of the auto executives who appeared with him during the announcement, Obama declared: “These are some pretty tough business guys. They know their stuff. And they wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t think that it was ultimately going to be good business and good for America.”
Sue Cischke, Ford Motor’s group vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering, told reporters: “This long-term commitment allows us to invest in technology and everything we need. That certainty is really important to us.”
She added that the new standards will compel car companies to develop more diverse technologies in order to supply more fuel-efficient autos for the public.
Similarly, John Mendel, Honda’s executive vice president of auto sales, told media: “The future’s going to be very exciting for the industry. From a consumer standpoint, it’s an exciting time to be around. I think it’s a huge advantage to the American public.”
However, according to a report in Forbes magazine, the new fuel-efficiency standards could eventually push up the prices of new cars.
Auto analyst Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, told Forbes that prices of fuel-efficient vehicles could rise so much as to become unaffordable for average American consumers.
“As we’re seeing even in today’s environment, the prices for aluminum, stainless steel and other metals are rising as demand in Southeast Asia and China increase. These commodities will continue to increase, putting pressure on auto prices,” Spinella said.
He explained that to reach fuel-efficiency rating of 54.5 mpg, carmakers will need to expend more money on hybrid autos as well as electric cars. Moreover, adding more high-tech components to new vehicles will probably push auto prices by 1.8 percent on average every year.
Men care how others perceive their cars
Sunday, July 31st, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
For all their macho talk and “I don’t care” attitude, it seems men do care when it comes to the car they drive. One of the top men’s websites, AskMen.com, recently conducted a cross-country, all-male survey, the Great Male Survey, asking everything from what drink they think is the manliest to how many men would willingly punch a colleague in the face at work. And buried somewhere in all those testosterone-driven stats were a few questions about men and their cars. The results were rather interesting.
Keep your hands on the wheel and off Fido
Sunday, July 31st, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
There are roughly 78 million pet dogs in the US alone. That’s a staggering number. And while a dog used to be just a weekend/evening companion, nowadays dogs are take-everywhere accessories which mean they also end up in the car with us. And that’s where the problems start.
BMW unveils i3 and i8 electric concept cars
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
BMW presented two concept cars on Friday for the first generation of electric vehicles to be launched under its new sub-brand i starting in 2013, and said it will invest in a company named Parkatmyhouse, which offers a service to rent out private parking space via Internet or smart-phone application.
The upcoming i3 “will mark the launch of the first volume-produced car featuring bodywork largely made of carbon,” BMW research and development chief Klaus Draeger said during a presentation in Frankfurt.
BMW didn’t elaborate on the expected annual sales volume, but Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner noted that in terms of earnings per vehicle the new cars will contribute to the company’s targeted earnings before interest and taxes margin range of between 8% and 10%. Making electric cars economically viable despite expensive components such as the battery is a key challenge for the global auto industry.
The world’s largest luxury-car maker by sales volume will initially launch two new vehicles under the new sub-brand, the BMW i3 and the BMW i8, which will be launched in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and built at BMW’s German plant in Leipzig. The i3 will be a purely electric powered car for urban areas. The i8 will be based on the plug-in hybrid sportscar concept BMW Vision EfficientDynamics.
The new sub-brand is the outcome of BMW’s Project i, a task force established in 2007 to explore future mobility concepts and one of the Munich-based firm’s most important think tanks. It is a cornerstone of BMW’s plan to expand in the field of alternative drivetrains and green technology, making cars more environmentally friendly to comply with tightening emission regulations world-wide.
In November, BMW said it will invest around €530 million and create more than 1,000 jobs, together with its joint-venture partner SGL Carbon SE, as part of its plan to launch the new megacity vehicle and start producing carbon fiber components to reduce the vehicle’s weight.
Both companies forged a U.S. joint-venture to produce carbon fiber in Moses Lake, Wash.
BMW has named SB LiMotive, a joint venture between Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. and Robert Bosch GmbH, as the battery supplier for the new car. The battery is a key component for electric vehicles as it determines the range and performance of the car.
World’s only street-legal turbine powered Batmobile
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
How would you like to drive your very own, real-life, turbine-powered Batmobile?
Casey Putsch discovered that you won’t find one at your local Chevy dealership. So he built one himself.
An aspiring racecar driver, Casey Putsch took 5 months to build the car using spare racecar parts and military surplus. How did he get his hands on those parts? Obviously his talents go beyond auto mechanics.
But don’t underestimate this man’s auto mechanics skills, either. His Batmobile reaches a top speed of 185 mph. The engine was made by Boeing and was reclaimed from a Navy helicopter. The turbine drives the car’s rear wheels via a semi-automatic transmission.
The Batmobile he built is a replica from the 1989 Blockbuster Batman movie, which was directed by Tim Burton. It starred Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger and grossed over $400 million worldwide.
When asked why he built such a vehicle, Casey says it’s the ideal of Batman that he appreciates and the fact that it’s such a cool car. He states, “What kid doesn’t like the Batmobile?” It was the combination of these factors that led to this creation.
Putsch insists he can build just about anything. After seeing this creation one would be hard-pressed to disagree.
Canadian-bred 2012 Knight XV pricing revealed
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
If you don’t know what the Knight XV is, well it’s about time you did. Built and created by Conquest Vehicles Inc., in TO, the Knight XV is a fully armoured, handcrafted, luxury SUV that every guy instantly falls in love with the moment they see it.
Ariel Motors moves to motorbikes
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
Because cars aren’t fast enough for the engineers at Ariel Atom, they’ll be moving into the realm of superbike production in 2012.
BMW i reveals i3 Concept and i8 Concept
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
The German manufacturer’s new sub-brand, called BMW i, is all about personal mobility, sustainability and future orientation. The first two vehicles developed, and eventually produced, under project i are the i3 Concept and i8 Concept.
New Chryslers get better fuel mileage and more gears
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne let a Chrysler secret slip: The Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger will be outfitted with a brand new 8-speed automatic transmission that will lead to impressive fuel-economy numbers.
2012 Audi A6: new engines including TDI
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off
Audi has developed a habit of building hot new cars. A habit that has turned into an obsession with the buying public as they continue to line-up in front of dealer showrooms hoping to get their hands on a sparkling-new Ingolstadt-born car.
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