There are many reasons why Nissan is betting on electric cars. Nissan has the technology to use it in the US market which means it is available for Renault. You get two technologies in the same car. In a certain way because you are still emitting 20-30 percent less there is no incentive from governments to support. Electric car is completely different because this is a zero emission car, completely independent of oil. One set of technology, you don’t need a combustion engine, you just have a motor and an inverter. It’s a more simple car to make. The only problem is that the electric car doesn’t have scale. So for the time to build 1-2 million electric cars you’re going to be suffering because you don’t have the scale that the combustion engine has.
All of this, political dependence on oil, price of oil, level of emission and I’m talking without the crisis here. I’m talking just trends. If you have a political crisis making oil a threat, if you have an environmental crisis like all of a sudden you have an inundation somewhere or you have a turbulence in the climate and all of a sudden you have a public opinion starting to react against government because they are not taking enough measures to protect against emission you’re going to see the skyrocketing of technologies which are eliminating emission completely. All of this makes us really believers, that electric is one of the solutions. Not the only solution but just one, you have hydrogen, you have fuel cell car and what helps us is the fact that the reaction of the Governments is very positive. US, Japanese, Portuguese, French, Israeli, Danish governments have all given incentives for the consumer to buy zero emission cars.
Source: EV World
Popularity: unranked [?]
Mercedes-Benz do Brasil received an order for delivery of 550 trucks to Casas Bahia, Brazil’s leading retail company for home appliances, electrical and electronic devices. The lion’s share of the order covers 380 units of the Mercedes-Benz Accelo 915 C light truck. Delivered also will be 148 FPN 1718 semi-heavy cab-over-engine models, and 13 units of the 710 short-hood truck. In addition, the order will include nine Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans.
All vehicles, if everything goes according to plan, will be delivered by June 2010. This new order is second largest placed with Mercedes-Benz do Brasil by Casas Bahia, Brazil’s leading retail supplier of home appliances, electrical and electronic devices, and furniture. Bahia previously purchased 1,050 Mercedes-Benz trucks in 2008.
Source: BenzInsider
Popularity: unranked [?]
Mercedes-Benz GL 350 CDI Blue Efficiency is equipped with off road pro-engineering package, 7-GTRONIC gearbox, 4Matic permanent all-wheel drive etc. The seven-seater SUV comes with a 3litre V6 diesel powerplant and is expected to deliver overwhelming performance: 510Nm torque and offer an output of 165kW. The SUV comes with Pre-Safe preventive occupant protection, also crash-responsive head restraints for driver and front passenger.
Dr Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said that the SUV is built for extraordinary performance both on and off the road. “Its on-road poise, muscular appeal and 19″ alloys coupled with an enhanced ground clearance of 307mm. Also, the BlueEfficiency tag also shows our commitment to produce more environment friendly products,” he added. He further said that the GL will as of now be brought as a completely built unit and the company would only look into manufacturing the same in India once it sells at least 100 units. Mercedes-Benz has been very serious of the Indian market and “which is why you would notice we have launched 12 products since the Auto Expo this year,” he said.
Source: Car Whale
Popularity: 1% [?]
The BMW X6 M seems to be a loved SUV among tuners. The latest tuning kit comes from Vorsteiner and is mostly focused on improving the car’s aerodynamic. The kit includes: front spoiler, vented hood, roof spoiler, deck lid spoiler, and rear diffuser all made out of carbon fiber. The package is finished by One-Piece Forged V-102 Wheels in 23 inches in a Satin Brushed Aluminum finish.
BMW commencement into the SUV market with its X series comes Vorsteiner’s debut of the design of the BMW X6M VRS Aero Package. As with every quality Vorsteiner product, the X6M Aero Package will be composed of resin pre-impregnated, vacuum-formed carbon fiber, utilized by a state-of-art aerospace autoclave system. This results in an up to 30 percent stiffer and stronger structure when compared to an equivalent wet-lay product.
Source: Top Speed
Popularity: 1% [?]
Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury division, has brought true elegance to an unlikely market segment: the CUV. The CUV market is a fairly recent segment intended to make those who need the utility of an SUV coupled with a smaller, more efficient package. These are the folks the folks that Infiniti created the EX35 for. Visually the EX looks like a 2/3 scale version of its big brother FX, combining muscular, sensual curves with jewel like fit and finish. Tastefully applied chrome and brushed metal accent the curves, while LED tail lights and adaptive headlights complete the exclusive but sporting look.
Inside there is everything one has come to expect from an Infiniti. Supple leather coddles passengers and brushed aluminum accents are highlighted by maple inserts on the center console. Instruments and controls are surrounded by deep violet accent lighting which drew admiring comments from several passengers. A small thing, but the little details are what makes a vehicle of this caliber stand out from the competition. Out on the road, the EX ride is comfortably firm with a nod more towards the sporting end of the spectrum. The EX feels connected and stable at all speeds though we were unable to really hustle the little trucklet through any windy roads due to the remnants of winter. Equipped with aggressive snow tires, our tester wasn’t really able to put the power down without activating the traction control as the softer tires scrambled to find traction on the salt crusted road.
Source: Driven Wheels
Popularity: 1% [?]
BMW has always made their models rear-wheel drive for that Ultimate Driving experience. Although there also has been all-wheel-drive, but even these only ever put power to the front when it is deemed necessary. To make things shocking, BMW has confirmed they will be producing front-wheel-drive cars! This is a shock to many.
It is said that the small car market growing BMW will take advantage in exploring the possibilities of developing front and four-wheel-drive platforms of these cars. Therefore it looks like we will see front-wheel-drive platforms of these cars. Therefore it looks like we will see front-wheel-drive introduced to the smaller vehicle classes in the future. AutoBlog says that it is unlikely that current 3 Series, 5 Series and 7 Series models will make the switch to front-wheel-drive.
Source: Product News
Popularity: 1% [?]
Lexus has revealed the limited edition LFA which also comes with a boost in power. Unfortunatly details aren’t completely evident and no pricing info has been given yet. What is evident is that the LFA Special Edition will be available in four color options including Matte Black, Whitest White, Black, and Orange. The exterior features a front lip spoiler, aerodynamic canards at the sides of the front bumper, a carbon fiber fixed rear wing as well as different wheels.
The engine is a smoking V10 in the LFA Special Edition, which has been tweaked to offer an extra 10 hp, bringing total power to 562hp. More work was carried out on the suspension and the transmission has been re-calibrated to offer slightly quicker gear shifts, by 0.05 seconds, just to be exact.
Source: Cars Singapore
Popularity: 2% [?]
Why is Nissan launching a diesel engine for its European Murano crossover? To answer that, diesel engines are as important in the European car market as gas engines. The Murano diesel uses a 2.5-liter inline-four that produces 187 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. The engine benefits from a series of upgrades, including a new direct injection system which operates at 2,000 bar, up from 1,800 bar, a redesigned cylinder head with parallel port and a new variable nozzle turbo with electric control rather than the previous hydraulic system.
The exterior of the Nissan Murano combines the power and torque to all four wheels through a six-speed transmission. Nissan has yet to announce fuel consumption and emissions numbers, but expect such an announcement closer to the diesel Murono’s September launch date. This diesel option will not be available for North American buyers.
Source: Auto Tribute
Popularity: 1% [?]
Honda Pilot SUV official details are out! The Pilot now comes equipped with new technology and wide variety of useful capabilities and premium features. The 2011 Honda Pilot Touring is powered by a 50hp V6 engine. All models are equipped with a standard towing hitch receiver and a maximum toe rating of 4,500 pounds on 4WD models and 3,500 pounds on 2WD models.
Some safety tweaks are the Electric Stability Control, three-row side curtain airbags with rollover sensor, driver’s and front passenger’s side airbags with passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System, active front seat head restraints; and anti-lock brakes with electric brake distribution and brake assist. The list of features and controls goes on with the standard features that include a front and rear air conditioning system with air-filtration system, keyless entry, tilt and telescope steering column, cruise control, power windows with auto-up/down driver’s and passenger’s window, power door and tailgate locks, trip computer, digital compass, auto on/off headlights, heat-rejecting tinted glass and integrated class towing receiver.
Source: Nitrobahn
Popularity: 1% [?]
BMW has some details about the expectation for selling over 1.3 million cars in the year 2010. Bayerische Motoern Werke AG, the German car maker, said on Wednesday it wants to remain the world’s leading provider of premium cars in 2010 and plans to increase sales by a single-digit percentage rate to more than 1.3 million vehicles.
In 2009, BMW Group sold 1.28 million cars, representing a decline of 10% compared to the previous year. “The automobiles, motorcycles and financial services segments are all set to report better earnings in 2010,” said BMW. Last week, the firm reported that its 2009 net profit dropped 36% to 210 million euros.
Source: MarketWatch
Popularity: 1% [?]
