Dr Automotive Design and Tools

If you have Netflix you can do it instantly, or you can catch various clips on You Tube. Stick with the ones loaded by wintershollywood, they have the original audio ...Once upon a Wheel, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413072/ a cool movie that Paul narrated, and got greasy wrenching on a 71 Super Bee, and takes a look at a lot of racing stars, the Unsers, Andrettis, Pettys, and so on. A lot of

read about it: http://hooniverse.com/2010/08/27/so-much-awesomosity-from-a-dodge-caravan-2/#more-26589

read about it: http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/05/a-very-special-dodge-daytona-500.html

What do you think it is? The hood ornament is pretty big, maybe a Stutz?via: http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/06/great-cars-of-egypt.html#more

Jaguar XKR175Jaguar XKR175 Rear AngleJaguar XKR175 FrontCategories: Jaguar XKR175 Tags: Jaguar XKR175 75th anniversary 2010 Pebble Beach Automotive Description: MAHWAH, N.J., August 11, 2010 – Jaguar celebrates its 75th anniversary with the debut of the limited edition 2011 Jaguar XKR175 Coupe at the

Panasonic Corp. and Samsung SDI Co., the world’s two largest makers of rechargeable batteries, may deepen price cuts this year as overproduction worsens a glut in the industry, analysts said.

Lithium-ion battery prices may tumble 19 percent in 2010, the biggest drop in five years, said Hideo Takeshita, an analyst at the Institute of Information Technology Ltd. in Tokyo. Shiro Mikoshiba, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., said the worsening oversupply may push prices down as much as 25 percent.

The price drops highlight how battery makers in Japan and South Korea, accounting for 75 percent of global production, may be sacrificing profit for market share as automobiles with no gas tanks are projected to help triple sales of lithium-ion cells in six years. Cheaper batteries may lead to lower costs at carmakers such as Nissan Motor Co., whose all-electric $32,780 Leaf sedan is scheduled to go on sale in November.

“Battery makers will probably go through a tough time with falling prices,” said Mitsushige Akino at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co., who oversees about $450 million in assets in Tokyo. “The business may become lucrative only for a couple of companies with dominant market share. Others may never be able to make money.”

Winning the Battle

South Korean battery makers including Samsung and LG Chem Ltd. may better cope with lower prices than Japanese rivals because they purchase materials more cheaply from China and have faster production, Takeshita said. The won’s weakness against the yen also makes Korean products more competitive, he said.

“We anticipate the harsh price competition with South Korean makers will continue,” said Akira Kadota, a spokesman at Osaka-based Panasonic. “We are reviewing our production process to strengthen our cost competitiveness so that we can win the battle.”

Panasonic, which vaulted atop the rechargeable-battery industry with its purchase of Sanyo Electric Co., rose 1.6 percent to 1,060 yen as of the 11 a.m. break in Tokyo trading, narrowing its loss this year to 20 percent. Samsung SDI, the battery-making unit of South Korea’s largest industrial group, fell as much as 4.1 percent.

Samsung SDI was downgraded to “reduce” from “hold” at BNP Paribas Securities (Asia). Analyst Peter Yu cited excessive hype about batteries for electric vehicles as part of the reason, according to his report today. The stock has gained 19 percent this year.

$30 Billion Industry

Samsung SDI, based in Yongin, South Korea, will likely overtake Panasonic’s Sanyo as the world’s top producer of lithium-ion batteries this year, according to estimates at the Institute of Information Technology. Samsung SDI spokesman Seo Hae Soo declined to comment on the outlook for prices.

LG Chem, the third-largest maker of rechargeable batteries, expects price drops to persist, spokesman Terry Lee said. Falling prices of the product won’t have a serious impact on the company’s profit because LG Chem is buying lithium at competitive prices, he said.

At stake is leadership in an industry that Panasonic estimates will grow to 2.5 trillion yen ($30 billion) by 2015 from 926 billion yen last year. Shipments of lithium-ion batteries are estimated to rise 31 percent in 2010, after a 2 percent drop last year, according to the Institute of Information Technology.

Electric Vehicles

While lithium-ion cells are mainly used to power laptop computers and mobile phones, electric vehicles may fuel most of the growth. Sales of batteries in electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars will increase to 1.7 trillion yen in 2020 from almost zero in 2009, according to March estimates at Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Panasonic, which has pledged to invest 300 billion yen in energy-related products over three years, started production of lithium-ion cells at a factory in Osaka in April, aiming to double its annual production to 600 million units. The company aims to triple sales of lithium-ion cells by March 2016, Naoto Noguchi, president of Panasonic’s battery unit, said in an interview this month.

Sony Corp. is spending 40 billion yen to boost its monthly production capacity this year 80 percent from 2008. The company built a battery plant north of Tokyo in March and is adding facilities in Singapore and China.

Sony anticipates a difficult environment for the battery business because of competition and price declines, said Tomio Takizawa, a spokesman at the Tokyo-based electronics maker.

Samsung Group, whose units include SDI and top television- maker Samsung Electronics Co., said in May it plans to invest 5.4 trillion won ($4.5 billion) in batteries for electric vehicles by 2020.

“It’s a battle between the South Korean and Japanese makers,” Takeshita said. “They’re playing a game of endurance that’s eroding profitability.”


.

But why is it that Pontiac being phased out caused such an uproar, and editorials, cover stories, etc etc etc... but no one is lamenting the Mercury becoming a has been. Why is that? What was the Pontiac name plate to GM, that the Mercury nameplate wasn't to Ford? Both were a bit more luxurious than the parent company name... both had a lot of terrible looking cars (Ventura for one) and both had

Source of the images, and a good read about the Graham, and why it's nose was so funny looking: http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/07/graham-sharknose.html#more and http://reference.findtarget.com/search/Graham-Paige/

At long last, Nissan begins taking actual orders today for the first next-generation fully electric car from a major automaker, the Leaf.

More than 18,000 people who plunked down $99 to stay on the reservations list will have first crack at turning their interest into an actual order for the all-electric, five-seat car. Orders will be taken online and Nissan is still taking reservations on Leaf's web site. Even though now you can actually pay for one, deliveries won't start until December.

The car has a range of about 100 miles per charge. Nissan has been having inspectors make home visits and taking other steps to make sure customers will be able to recharge at home and likely be happy with the car.

The base level Leaf, the SV, is priced at $33,720, Nissan says. It comes with a list of standard features, including cruise control and a navigation system. There is only one higher trim level, the SL, at $33,720. The list of extras?:

It includes a spoiler with a solar panel, backup camera, the Homelink garage opener system, automatic on-off headlights, fog lights and a rear cargo cover. There is only one option: a $700 quick-charge port that can recharge the Leaf on the road in as little as a half hour.

Leaf is eligible for federal tax credits that can reduce its cost to as little as $25,280. It is also has lease options as low as $349 a month for 36 months.


.

from http://carcreator.blogspot.com/ go look at the rest of this cool portfolio!

Nella giornata di ieri, Fiat ha compiuto il primo passo verso l’America. Il legame con Chrysler è già un bel passo compiuto, ma lo sbarco concreto (con vetture e tutto ciò che ne consegue) non è ancora avvenuto. Ed è, probabilmente, la parte più complessa del progetto: forgiare l’America e l’americano sul prodotto italiano. Spetta a Laura J. Soave il compito, amaro e onorevole, di preparare la strada alla piccola Fiat 500, la prima delle automobili del Lingotto che, dopo 25 anni, riporteranno là il brand italiano Fiat. Starà a Soave (ex-Volkswagen) occuparsi di marketing, di vendita, di assistenza: in poche parole, il manager italo-statunitense sarà la responsabile per il Nordamerica di Fiat Group. Un primo passo, dicevamo: ebbene, ieri Soave ha incontrato 400 di 600 concessionari selezionati (quelli che hanno potuto o hanno voluto dare la propria disponibilità) al Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, giocando nella casa delle Big Three, oggi in forte decadenza. Da questo incontro, i possibili dealers sono usciti con tutte le informazioni per presentare una domanda di franchising, vale a dire affiliazione, a Fiat al fine di poter vendere le vetture del Lingotto. Le richieste dovranno essere presentate entro il prossimo 22 settembre e solo più tardi il costruttore annuncerà quale sarà la rete di vendita. Secondo Soave, infatti, è assolutamente necessario che le concessionarie che commercializzeranno le automobili siano formate e altamente selezionate poiché il primo contatto tra il marchio italiano e gli acquirenti statunitensi avverrà tramite il rivenditore.
(Fonte: www.ultimogiro.com - 31/8/2010)

The tail lights now feature LED pipes and fuel economy has been slightly improved to an EPA-estimated 20/29/23 (city/highway/combined) mpg rating. The new Avalon has a new brake-override feature. It has an improved suspension system and a 12-speaker JBL Synthesis system which is only available on the Limited. 17" wheels are also standard on both trims although the Limited model has 6 spokes.

The Trend & Fun specification is the entry level road oriented Tiguan.Features it includes are six airbags, ESP, Trailer Stability Program integrated with the ESP, Isofix child seat anchorages on the rear bench and electronic parking brake with auto-hold function, RCD 210 radio with integrated CD player, “Climatic” semi-automatic climate control system, four electric window lifts,

* 1.5-litre straight-4 HR15DE gasoline engine; fuel economy 18.0 km/litre in JC08 Mode. * 1.6-litre straight-4 HR16DE gasoline engine; fuel economy 6.5–9 km/litre in city and 9.3–13.5 km/litre on highway. * 1.8-litre straight-4 MR18DE gasoline engine fuel economy 9-11 km/litre in city and 12.5-14.5 km/litre on highway, 125HP. * 1.5-litre straight-4 K9K-1.5 diesel engine; 10–12 km/litre in

Two concept vehicles were displayed at motor shows prior to the unveiling of the production model. The first concept was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2001 to preview what a 21st century GT-R would look like.At the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan unveiled a redesigned concept, the GT-R Proto, stating that the production GT-R would be 80-90% based on this concept.2011 Nissan GT-R2011 Nissan

This weeks episode of FullyCharged with Robert Llewellyn is a bit of a rant about the BBC story we examined over the weekend.

The bottom line is, the BBC writer Brian Milligan calculated both cars @ 50% depreciation over 3 years.

The 'trick' used by the BBC writer was to calculate depreciation on the MiEV BEFORE deducting the £5k subsidy. If depreciation is calculated AFTER subtracting the subsidy then the MiEV becomes £1,557 or 16% CHEAPER than the Fiat 500.

I'm surprised Robert didn't get Brian Milligan on the phone and give him a bit of a grilling to be honest. Maybe next time.

Americans are using less energy overall and making more use of renewable energy resources.

The United States used significantly less coal and petroleum in 2009 than in 2008, and significantly more wind power. There also was a decline in natural gas use and increases in solar, hydro and geothermal power according to the most recent energy flow charts released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

“Energy use tends to follow the level of economic activity, and that level declined last year. At the same time, higher efficiency appliances and vehicles reduced energy use even further,” said A.J. Simon, an LLNL energy systems analyst who develops the energy flow charts using data provided by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. “As a result, people and businesses are using less energy in general.”

The estimated U.S. energy use in 2009 equaled 94.6 quadrillion BTUs (“quads”), down from 99.2 quadrillion BTUs in 2008. (A BTU or British Thermal Unit is a unit of measurement for energy, and is equivalent to about 1.055 kilojoules). The average American household uses about 95 million BTUs per year.

Energy use in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation arenas all declined by .22, .09, 2.16 and .88 quads, respectively.

Wind power increased dramatically in 2009 to.70 quads of primary energy compared to .51 in 2008. Most of that energy is tied directly to electricity generation and thus helps decrease the use of coal for electricity production.

“The increase in renewables is a really good story, especially in the wind arena,” Simon said. “It’s a result of very good incentives and technological advancements. In 2009, the technology got better and the incentives remained relatively stable. The investments put in place for wind in previous years came online in 2009. Even better, there are more projects in the pipeline for 2010 and beyond.”

The significant decrease in coal used to produce electricity can be attributed to three factors: overall lower electricity demand, a fuel shift to natural gas, and an offset created by more wind power production, according to Simon.

Nuclear energy use remained relatively flat in 2009. No new plants were added or taken offline in this interval, and the existing fleet operated slightly less than in 2008.

Of the 94.6 quads consumed, only 39.97 ended up as energy services. Energy services, such as lighting and machinery output, are harder to estimate than fuel consumption, Simon said.

The ratio of energy services to the total amount of energy used is a measure of the country’s energy efficiency.

Carbon emissions data are expected to be released later this year, but Simon suspects they will tell a similar story.

“The reduction in the use of natural gas, coal and petroleum is commensurate with a reduction in carbon emissions,” he said. “Simply said, people are doing less stuff. Therefore, they’re burning less fuel.”


.

Proterra today announced the first major deployment of its EcoRide BE35 zero-emission, fast-charge battery-electric transit buses by Foothill Transit, a premier public transport provider that operates bus services in Southern San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, located in the eastern portion of Los Angeles County.

On Sep. 3, Foothill Transit will launch the Proterra EcoRide BE35 buses and related fast charging stations into its existing bus fleet and transit routes with the goal of establishing a full fleet of clean-fueled vehicles by 2011.

"The first commercial deployment of Proterra's battery-electric buses by a major transit agency like Foothill Transit is a significant milestone for Proterra and a bold step by the nation in our collective effort to decrease dependence on fossil fuel," Proterra President and CEO Jeffery Granato said. "We look forward to additional communities throughout the U.S. and globally benefitting from the highly efficient, cost effective, clean alternative transit solution now available with the introduction of the EcoRide BE35."

The deployment of Proterra's EcoRide BE35 buses, known as the "Ecoliner" by Foothill Transit, greatly advances the electric transit industry, providing a real-world example of the benefits and ease of deployment of Proterra's zero emission buses and charging solutions. It further demonstrates transit agencies' existing appetite for cleaner commuting options.

In addition to its unmatched performance and overall cost savings, Proterra's clean transit solutions offers California transit agencies solutions to address the Zero Emission Bus (Zbus) regulation, which requires large California agencies to purchase 15 percent of their annual bus orders as zero emission buses starting in 2012.

Proterra's EcoRide BE35 buses are unlike any conventional or hybrid-electric passenger bus available on the market today. The bus significantly reduces air and noise pollution for riders and local communities, while dramatically reducing vehicle operation costs for transit agencies. The EcoRide BE35 contains all electric components, including an electric drive motor supplied by UQM that allows greater acceleration than that of a conventional bus, combined with leading technology solutions that allow for a quiet and smooth uninterrupted ride.

With up to three hours of operation and the ability to recharge in less than 10 minutes on route, thanks to AltairNano lithium titanate batteries. Proterra's buses can easily be incorporated into any transit agencies' existing routes without impacting their schedules or routes while delivering a quieter, more comfortable experience to riders. Additionally, without the maintenance or fuel costs associated with conventional buses, the Proterra BE35 achieves a 400 percent improvement in fuel economy, and greater than $300,000 savings in total lifetime operating expenses.

In 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me featuring Roger Moore, the Lotus Esprit became one of Q’s most impressive sportscar mods. In a long chase scene between 007 and the infamous Bond-villain Jaws, Bond’s Lotus Esprit makes a cunning escape by transforming into a fully-diveable submarine. While a submersible version featuring that bikini blonde above are not available today, a similar Lotus Esprit could

Automakers are facing trouble across the world due to global recession. Thousands of unsold cars are parked in factories and wharehouses waiting for delivery to customers and dealers.Sales of new cars in the UK have slumped to a 12-year-low and production of cars at Honda in Swindon has been halted for a unprecedented four-month period because of the collapse in global sales and represents the

Paintings Cars Cars Cars pantin photo Paintings Cars

ford escape hybridford escape hybrid frontford escape hybridford escape hybrid imageford escape hybridford escape hybrid interiorford escape hybrid carsford escape hybridford escape hybridFor 2010, Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner add a host of new features that improve safety and make driving more convenient. Escape and Mariner also become two of the first Ford MotorCompany vehicles to feature

The new 2010 Jaguar XJ Luxury Sports Saloon Platinum Concept Car celebrates Jaguar's 75th Anniversary, and highlights the uniqueness of the XJ. Jaguar design team has created the Jaguar Luxury Sports Saloon XJ75 Platinum Concept, a one-of-a-kind design project on display at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance Concept Car Lawn. 2010 Jaguar Cars XJ75 Platinum Concept Car Luxury Sports Salon

The new 2010 Jaguar XJ Luxury Sports Saloon Platinum Concept Car celebrates Jaguar's 75th Anniversary, and highlights the uniqueness of the XJ. Jaguar design team has created the Jaguar Luxury Sports Saloon XJ75 Platinum Concept, a one-of-a-kind design project on display at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance Concept Car Lawn. 2010 Jaguar Cars XJ75 Platinum Concept Car Luxury Sports Salon

If you've read about Thorium or perhaps watched the presentations on Google Tech Talks you will be aware of the amazing potential of this dormant technology from the 50s.

As little as One tonne of Thorium produces as much energy as 3.5 Million tonnes of coal or 200 tonnes of uranium with closer to 100% fuel use compared to 0.7% with uranium. At a cost of only $100k, one tonne of Thorium can provide 1 GW-year of electric energy, enough to power a city of 1 Million for a year.

The UK based Telegraph has published a call to action on Thorium R&D. Norwegian group Aker Solutions is working on the thorium fuel-cycle at its UK operation. Aker are looking for tie-ups with the US, Russia, or China to assist their efforts.

The only other country active in Thorium research is India who have their own projects - none yet built - dating from days when they switched to thorium because their weapons program prompted a uranium ban.

As with all other shifts in the status-quo, it seems the incumbents have the upper hand in closing down any new competition. With nuclear power, governments play an disproportionate large role due to Nuclear Safety Regulations that place a huge licensing and certification burden on any new installation. As a result, despite the usual media driven xenophobia surrounding anything Nuclear, for Thorium to gain traction political will is essential.

With so much new investment in developing renewable energy sources it would seem logical that Thorium should get a second look.

Telegraph.co.uk


.

Just ahead of US sales commencing for the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Volt extended range electric vehicle the EPA and NHTSA have issued revised Fuel Economy labeling to replace the confusion caused by their previous efforts.

The labels cover Electric vehicles, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles and Flexible Fuel Vehicles.

For electric vehicles, the new labels will estimate the expected savings in cost over five years as compared to a regular vehicle. It will also give statistics such as range, estimated charge time, kWh used per 100 miles, and a MPGe estimate on both the highway and the city…as well as expected cost to operate.

For extended range vehicles, it will still give the range on electric power, the MPG equivalent, charge time and cost per year; but as well give your classic MPG in extended range. Then it blends the whole thing into a MPGe equivalent as well.


EPA


.

Max built the Old Yeller cars that defined this era (1958-1964) of California racing.The Old Yeller legend began when Max and partner Eric Hauser acquired a Special built by Dick Morgensen of Phoenix, Arizona. Max applied his skills, modifying and upgrading almost every part of the car, and created a potent threat for overall wins.Old Yeller, an assortment of junkyard debris powered by one of

Sergio Marchionne promette investimenti in Italia per 20 miliardi, non chiede più rottamazioni e nemmeno prospetta aumenti di capitale. Tutti tranquilli, sindacati moderati, governo e azionisti. La nuova Fiat può farcela da sola, purché abbia fine la lotta di classe. Come ogni semplificazione d'autore, anche quella di Marchionne esercita il suo fascino indiscreto, ma l'economia non è mai così semplice, nemmeno quella aziendale. E nel caso della Fiat, tra progetti e realtà emergono distanze tutte da capire. La New Fiat (Auto, Powertrain, Marelli, Comau, Teksid e altro tra cui la quota Rcs) investirà 19,7 miliardi tra il 2010 e il 2014. Fiat Industrial, la nuova holding che comprenderà Iveco, Chn e relativi motori, altri 6,3. Se, come si dice, il progetto Fabbrica Italia vale 20 miliardi, agli stabilimenti esteri andranno le briciole, benché diano i risultati migliori. Le joint-venture cinesi, russe, serbe, turche, dove si investiranno 3,3 miliardi per produrre 920 mila pezzi, esigeranno da Torino, che porta il know how, solo il 10% della spesa; in ogni caso, non essendo consolidate integralmente, l'onere non si vedrà nel bilancio. L'Italia, dunque. In casa la Fiat perde, è vero. Ma perde anche perché utilizza troppo poco gli impianti che, per quanto ammortizzati, hanno ingenti costi fissi. Nel 2009, considerando il livello ottimale (280 giorni di lavoro l'anno 24 ore su 24), Mirafiori è stata usata al 64% della capacità produttiva, Cassino al 24%, Melfi al 65%, Pomigliano al 14% e la molisana Sevel al 33%. Tichy viaggiava al 93%, del Brasile non si dice nulla, ma sarà simile alla Polonia. L'insufficiente utilizzo degli impianti non dipende solo dai problemi sindacali: in passato, ci sono stati anni ben diversi. In larga misura deriva dalla difficoltà di vendere le auto nonostante gli incentivi. Nel 2010, a recessione e incentivi finiti, si vende ancora meno, ma la Fiat guarda oltre la transizione e prevede di aumentare capacità produttiva e produzione reale confidando in un ritorno ai livelli pre crisi nel 2014. Per allora, il tasso di utilizzo degli impianti, resi ancor più potenti, dovrebbe salire all'88% a Mirafiori, al 93% a Cassino, al 101% a Melfi, al 90% a Pomigliano (mentre Tichy scenderebbe al 73%) e al 69% ad Atessa. La produzione italiana balzerebbe così da 650 mila a 1,4 milioni di automobili e da 150 mila a 250 mila veicoli commerciali leggeri, il tutto destinato in gran parte all'esportazione, con 300 mila pezzi in America. I marchi del gruppo torinese volerebbero nel quinquennio da 2,2 milioni a 3,8 milioni di vetture. E con Chrysler si raggiungerebbe la produzione di 6 milioni, considerata indispensabile per competere sui mercati globali. Un tale progetto, promette Marchionne, non richiede aumenti di capitale. Certo, quest'anno il debito netto delle attività industriali impennerà fin verso i 6 miliardi, ma poi calerà e tra 5 anni comparirà una liquidità netta di 3,4 miliardi nel 2014. Perfetto. Forse fin troppo perfetto. In Italia stanno la forza e il rischio del progetto. La concentrazione degli investimenti si spiega con il fatto che solo con il pieno sfruttamento degli impianti nazionali l'aggregato Fiat-Chrysler agguanta il traguardo produttivo. Polonia e Brasile, insomma, non potrebbero aggiungere più di tanto. Se così è, Marchionne ha varato Fabbrica Italia perché non disponeva di alternative migliori. Avesse preso la Opel, con i finanziamenti pubblici legati alla salvaguardia delle unità produttive locali, avremmo sentito un'altra storia. Ma il governo e i lavoratori tedeschi (che non fanno più la lotta di classe, ma stanno nei consigli di sorveglianza) hanno ritenuto non conveniente il piano Fiat e la General Motors, appoggiata dalla Casa Bianca, si è tenuta infine la Opel. E' vero che Marchionne può andare in Serbia, ma quante Serbie ha sotto mano oggi, per quali quantità e fin dove può gestire la complessità accentrando tutto il potere? La dipendenza della Fiat da Fabbrica Italia restituisce un pò di potere contrattuale al sindacato, al governo e a quanti, nella finanza, perseguono il proprio interesse di lungo periodo in un quadro più generale. Non dimentichiamo che tra il 1993 e il 1998 Mediobanca e Generali affiancarono la famiglia Agnelli nel controllo della Fiat e tra il 2002 e il 2005 le banche convertirono i crediti in azioni. Senza quei soccorsi non ci sarebbe stato Marchionne. Meglio turare le falle o prevenirle? Ebbene, il futuro di Fabbrica Italia è appeso a due fili oggi invisibili ai più: il primo è la capacità mai scontata di progettare modelli vincenti ad alto valore aggiunto, e perciò adatti a essere prodotti in paesi ad alto costo del lavoro; il secondo è il ciclo dell'economia che, rallentando il ritorno degli investimenti, potrebbe minare le finanze aziendali. Nella storia della Fiat, ci sono successi come la Panda, la 500 e la Punto, ma anche promesse mancate come l'Alfa Romeo, la Lancia e l'alto di gamma. Il precedente piano quinquennale prevedeva per il 2009 l'azzeramento del debito, che invece è risalito a 4,4 miliardi. Insomma, tra il dire e il fare ci sono di mezzo incognite vere. Dalle presentazioni agli analisti risulta che nel 2011, quando tenterà di tornare in Borsa a Wall Street, Chrysler sia destinata a rendere più di New Fiat. Già tra un anno avremo un aggregato transatlantico con due fornitori di capitali americani, il sindacato UAW e il Tesoro, determinati a difendere la «U.S. Factory», e un socio italiano, gli Agnelli, che non metterà soldi nell'auto. E' chiaro fin d'ora dove penderà la bilancia delle convenienze per un leader come Marchionne, cittadino del mondo. Il sindacato può (e deve) permettere alla Fiat di far marciare gli impianti con il massimo di flessibilità in cambio di soldi e poteri di controllo, per esempio sui flussi transatlantici delle tecnologie. Ma il quesito più arduo si pone alla classe politica e finanziaria, che è già intervenuta in Telecom e Alitalia e che non può non vedere come le ultime grandi imprese industriali siano fiorite (e sfiorite) sotto l'egida dello Stato e di Mediobanca, ormai fuori gioco da 10-15 anni: se ritiene che la New Fiat interessi ancora al Paese, chi farà da contraltare agli americani? Le banche, le assicurazioni, le fondazioni, la Cassa depositi e prestiti, la Sace? Vecchie idee, si dirà. Ma neanche affidarsi al patriottismo di un uomo solo e delle sue stock option è una gran novità.
(Fonte: www.corriere.it - 30/8/2010)

SPESIFIKASI Proton Satria Neo S2000 | Rilis NovemberAfter launching the Proton Exora President (premium) in the arena and IIMS 2010, Proton will also launch the Proton Neo S2000 Satrio hatchback engine capacity of 1600 cc 2 doors.The plan will be launched Proton cars 20 November 2010 in Jakarta next. Cars are imported directly from Malaysia."20 November we launched the Proton Neo S2000 Satrio

SPESIFIKASI Proton Satria Neo S2000 | Rilis NovemberAfter launching the Proton Exora President (premium) in the arena and IIMS 2010, Proton will also launch the Proton Neo S2000 Satrio hatchback engine capacity of 1600 cc 2 doors.The plan will be launched Proton cars 20 November 2010 in Jakarta next. Cars are imported directly from Malaysia."20 November we launched the Proton Neo S2000 Satrio

Saleen S7 nice carSaleen S7 wallpaperSaleen S7 pictureSaleen S7

Last week the LA Auto Show opened its doors and revealed notable cars such as the Mustang Bullitt, Viper ACR and Honda Clarity.The big surprise was a visit by Vector with their upcoming WX-3 'hypercar'. Today we have updated shots of this outrageous car that show it's incomplete and an early prototype.Along with the Vector, we have a complete LA gallery from Spyder Dobrofsky of car -para zzi.com.

The 1907 ITALA mod. 35/45 HP won the prize of a magnum of Mumm champagne. The race went without any assistance through country where there were no roads or road-maps. For the race, camels carrying fuel left Peking and set up at stations along the route to give fuel to the racers. The race followed a telegraph route so that the race was well covered in newspapers at the time. Each car had one

the wood buck for an Alfa Romeo Guiletta Sprint Fiat Turbina the winner of the Paris to Peking race If you are ever near Torino, it looks like a must see to me! http://www.museoauto.it/home/ Images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomislavmedak/

Morgan was one of the first car companies to see the advantage of a bonded aluminium chassis to give rigidity but also to save weight. The 2012 Morgan Sport Car EvaGT uses a further developed version of the bonded aluminium chassis of the Morgan Aero SuperSports, a chassis that successfully competes in International GT3 Sports Car Racing. Compliant with European and US safety approvals.2012

Morgan was one of the first car companies to see the advantage of a bonded aluminium chassis to give rigidity but also to save weight. The 2012 Morgan Sport Car EvaGT uses a further developed version of the bonded aluminium chassis of the Morgan Aero SuperSports, a chassis that successfully competes in International GT3 Sports Car Racing. Compliant with European and US safety approvals.2012

from http://retor.blogspot.com/2010/08/messerschmitt-tiger.html via: http://megamoto.tumblr.com/ Thanks to "A Unionist" for the video link! You don't have email on your profile, so I couldn't thank you properly, but I sure appreciate this video!

top photo from http://megamoto.tumblr.com/ Bottom photo from http://flaviendachet.blogspot.com/

Reporter Brian Milligan who works for the UK government broadcasting corporation, the BBC, has written an article to explain why he thinks EVs cost more to run that petrol vehicles.

Despite the fact that in the UK EV owners receive a £5,000 subsidy, free road tax, free London congestion charge, free parking in many London boroughs and an EV's energy costs 1/10th as much per mile compared to a petrol car, Mr Milligan has managed to manipulate the figures enough to come up with a petrol powered Fiat 500 being cheaper to own over 3 years than a electric Mitsubishi MiEV.

The calculation 'trick' used is vehicle depreciation costs, which sounds very familiar. You may recall UK based Glass's Guide released a statement in June saying all EVs would be effectively worthless within 5 years. Glass's are so well informed they based their expert opinion on an absurd projection that replacement battery costs will rise 33% by 2018.

The BBC are reporting "Mitsubishi already admits that its electric i-miev will depreciate by nearly £15,000 in its first three years." The BBC don't quote a source or attach a name to this other than Jason King, who evaluates second-hand values for the aforementioned Glass's Guide, and we are unable to locate any Mitsubishi press release that makes this statement.

However it should be noted that the Fiat 500 used in the BBC comparison also depreciates 50% over 3 years. Glass's themselves say most ICE powered cars retains only 25% of their value after 5 years!

This is a classic journalist trick of distorting the way information is presented.

We already know the whole premise of the article is anti-EV starting from the title down. For example, the BBC writer quotes the Association of British Insurers (ABI) saying the relative risks for EVs have not been worked out yet, but the writer leads with the assumption that insurance costs could also end up being higher for electric cars than for petrol cars. That is simply based on the negative opinion of the writer, not facts.

What we think Mr Milligan has done is take a Mitsubishi statement saying depreciation of the MiEV is comparable to a regular ICE car at 50% over 3 years. To heavily bias the argument in favor of petrol cars he then picked the cheapest new car on the market for price comparison, the Fiat 500 with a purchase price being 1/3rd that of the MiEV, before calculating 50% depreciation in pounds for each vehicle then adding that figure to total running costs.

The BBC writer further skewed the results by calculating depreciation on the full sales price of the MiEV before subtracting the £5k incentive and not after which is another bit of convenient mathematics.

In fact, if the incentive is subtracted before calculating depreciation Brian Milligan wouldn't have anything to write about because the cost of owning the MiEV over 3 years then becomes £1,557 or 16% CHEAPER than the Fiat 500.

If we eliminate the imaginary £300 service charges (what do you service on an EV, washer fluid?) the savings with an EV start to stack up rapidly. Due to the extremely cheap energy costs of an EV combined with zero maintenance, the savings clock up with every mile driven. The longer an owner keeps an EV the more they save. Perhaps this is the reason why Mr Milligan hasn't picked a 5 year time frame for his futile argument.

The concept that demand for new EVs is and will remain ahead of supply for several years, while the auto industry builds production capacity, never seems to enter the writers mind. The laws of supply and demand (which they are obviously a bit vague on at the public service run BBC) should ensure a positive effect on used EVs values for the foreseeable future.

The fact is that EVs are 90% cheaper per mile to run than any petrol ICE powered car. The only way an ICE car can be cheaper to own than an EV is if it's never actually driven anywhere. Once electric vehicles enter the community and word of mouth spreads, manufactures will be flat out to meet demand.

This will be especially so in the UK where the government continues to raise fuel duty and petrol prices are setting record highs of £1.20 a liter (US$7.00 per US Gallon).

BBC


.

The new C70 includes a redesigned front end, new rear LED lamps, and a redesigned, wider instrument panel. The engine and transmission remain the same as before. It went on sale in early 2010, as a 2011 model in North America.2011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C702011 Volvo C70All

The Volvo C30 has a patented front and rear structure using four different grades of steel to absorb and redistribute impact energy around the body of the coupe. Volvo's Whiplash Protection System and Side Impact Protection System with side airbags and Inflatable Curtain are also standard.The seat belts have pretensioners to protect the occupants against unexpected accidents.2011 Volvo C302011

Photo from http://www.moparmax.com/events/2008/iii_7-mopar-1.html information from August 2010 Muscle Car Review article on Gene's '64 Savoy

Thanks to JohnDandy and Asterics for recognizing it as a Tempo Matador! I should have remembered it, but my memory is so bad, you are looking at it, if I need to recall something I look in this blog for it. Ain't that ridiculous?http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/08/its-so-fun-finding-unusual-and.html from http://groundspeed.blogspot.com/

Stutz hood ornament by Richard Owens of Supercars.net Photo by Tim Owens of Supercars.net Probably a Dupont, as very few cars had these woodlight headlights, Ruxtons, DuPonts, and very few others. Photo by Dirk De Jager of Supercars.netTim confirmed that this is a Tubonique, and the cover photo from Mechanics Illustrated, Feb 1969 http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/05/

the above is a junkyard display I posted a quick before and after of this cool racecar: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/01/take-52-buick-and-lot-of-effort-make.html Images via: http://flaviendachet.blogspot.com/

Dan Neil who you may be familiar with from the LA Times is a fair EV enthusiast and quite a wordsmith.

In this video review of the Leaf, aside from his howling about the headlamps, he's singing praise for the automotive revolution that is the Nissan Leaf.

Neil seems particularly keen on how the Leaf represents the thin end of the wedge in turning off the spigot that is leaking $25 Billion a month out of the US economy to import Oil.

WSJ

..................................

The owner of the above car has a great sense of humor, when I asked him about the unusual round antenna he told me it's a satellite antenna... from Canada Lots of cool options and accessories, how cool is the umbrella holder on the right hand side of the photo awesome Pontiac steering wheel center section Beautiful clock design

Dr Fernando Galembeck told the American Chemical Society meeting in Boston that the technique exploited a little-known atmospheric effect.

Tests had shown that metals could be used to gather the charges, he said, opening up a potential energy source in humid climates.

However, experts disagree about the mechanism and the scale of the effect.

"The basic idea is that when you have any solid or liquid in a humid environment, you have absorption of water at the surface," Dr Galembeck, from the University of Campinas in Brazil, said.

"The work I'm presenting here shows that metals placed under a wet environment actually become charged."

Dr Galembeck and his colleagues isolated various metals and pairs of metals separated by a non-conducting separator - a capacitor, in effect - and allowed nitrogen gas with varying amounts of water vapour to pass over them.

What the team found was that charge built up on the metals - in varying amounts, and either positive or negative. Such charge could be connected to a circuit periodically to create useful electricity.

The effect is incredibly small - gathering an amount of charge 100 million times smaller over a given area than a solar cell produces - but seems to represent a means of charge accumulation that has been overlooked until now.

Dr Galembeck suggests that with further development, the principle could be extended to become a renewable energy resource in humid parts of the world, such as the tropics.

Charged debate

However, while the prospect of free electricity from the air is tantalising, the prospect of harnessing enough of it to be widely useful is still a matter of some debate.

Hywel Morgan of the University of Southampton says that a similar effect has been known for some time; he points out that tribocharging - the generation of charge by rubbing wool over amber or water droplets over water droplets - is the origin of thunderstorms.

"What we think is happening is he's pumping the water vapour across his capacitor and during the pumping mechanism, tribocharging the water vapour."

That would result in a charge, but would not be the same as simply pulling the charge from still, wet air.

Marin Soljacic, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist behind a wireless power transmission technology, known as Witricity, disagrees.

He calls the paper "very interesting" and "a good area of research".

He concurs, however, that the amount of charge gathered in the initial tests suggests the effect may be difficult to put to good use, saying that "at this point it is far-fetched to see how it could be used for everyday applications".

"It really warrants future research and understanding what all the limitations of this are, how far it can go," he said.

"[Prof Morgan] is right that a similar and closely-related effect is known to exist, but we're very pressed for finding new sources of renewable energy, [so] I think it's a bit early to discard this research."

Dr Galembeck is familiar with the controversy that this kind of work generates, saying that disagreement about the mechanism behind it forms "the motif for bitter discussions among scientists".

"There have been many attempts to harness electricity from the atmosphere and most had bad endings."

This is Xavier's car.. since he goes to all the effort to make this show happen, the least I can do is post his car up first This guy really likes his Raiders , I've never seen anyone go this far to show team support Go full size on the light purple area in the trim spear, it's full of airbrushed skulls, really well done. This is the rare old Willys Knight that has been bagged, and I did a

Chrysler festeggia un anno di alleanza con Fiat organizzando per i 12.000 dipendenti del quartier generale di Auburn Hills un picnic a base di hamburger e hot dog. A servire i dipendenti sono tutti i primi livelli del management della casa automobilistica americana, incluso l'amministratore delegato Sergio Marchionne. Festeggiamenti analoghi sono previsti anche in vari altri stabilimenti Chrysler. Il picnic si svolge sul prato su cui si affaccia il quartier generale della Chrysler ad Auburn Hills, dove sono esposte - fra l'altro - tutte le vetture Chrysler, la Fiat 500, tre Ferrari, tre Maserati, oltre ai veicoli per l'agricoltura e le costruzioni di Case-New Holland. Era il 10 giugno del 2009 quando la Corte Suprema americana dava il via libera ufficiale all'intesa Fiat-Chrysler, dopo che la casa americana era passata per il Chapter 11, ovvero la bancarotta. Il 4 novembre 2009 Marchionne annunciava il piano industriale per Chrysler. La casa automobilistica americana ha chiuso i primi due trimestri del 2010 in utile operativo e annunciato che dopo il terzo trimestre i target finanziari per l'anno potrebbero essere rivisti significativamente al rialzo. La "cura Marchionne" per Chrysler ha ricevuto l'appoggio e i ringraziamenti da parte dell'amministrazione americana. Il primo a esprimere apprezzamento è stato, alla fine di luglio, il presidente Barack Obama. Nelle ultime ore, invece, è stato il suo vice Joe Biden. Anche il sindacato dei metalmeccanici statunitensi, il United Auto Worker (UAW) apprezza il lavoro di Fiat a Detroit. Il presidente dell'UAW, Bob King, ha riconosciuto nelle ultime ore a Marchionne il merito per l'impianto di Toledo, quello dove viene realizzata la Jeep Wrangler e che ieri è stato visitato da Biden.
(Fonte: www.motori24.ilsole24ore.com - 25/8/2010)

For the 2011 model year, the Murano was refreshed to include new front and rear fascias, new headlights and LED taillights, and new 18-inch wheels on the outside.2011 Nissan Murano 2011 Nissan Murano 2011 Nissan Murano New interior changes include a new white meter color (as opposed to red/orange), new center stack colors and added equipment to various trim levels. The refresh also added a new

Anyone know what the story is about this roadster?

Don't know what they are specifically, but the movie was fun to watch, and the antique cars were frequently on screen.

Three axles... I've never seen one with 3 axles. This was in the movie "Duck You Sucker" with James Coburnhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067140/

http://www.dodgecoronet.com/ and http://www.superbeeregistry.com/ and though I looked through the the Coronet Registry, I can't find where the flipping eff they have a catagory for registering Coronets.

Just prior to World War II Jaguar, known then as SS Cars, started using a numbering system beginning with the letter X for internal projects. X meaning experimental, XB for military chassis projects and XF to XK for engines. This numbering system has never been consistent and there appears to be many omissions and duplications.Number ProjectXJ3 3.4-litre and 3.8-litre S-Type saloon cars (known

1913 Rus­sobalt Type-Kegresse1939–1946. Total 33 840 units were pro­duced. This truck is pow­ered by gas gen­er­a­tor that used fire­wood (or coal) to pro­duce gas that pow­ers the engine. Because of this it has low power and speed, it is dif­fi­cult to ser­vice and not so easy to start up. But because the lack of gaso­line in some north regions this truck was indispensable. Yag -12 all four

"Se Fiat mettesse in vendita Alfa Romeo, i tedeschi di Volkswagen non la lascerebbero assolutamente preda dei cinesi". Così il quotidiano tedesco Handelsblatt che, in un commento dal titolo "Un Romeo da Wolfsburg" (la sede del costruttore tedesco ndr), ribadisce che da mesi il numero uno di VW, Martin Winterkorn, corteggia la casa del Biscione "mostrando ai Mediterranei che anche chi viene dalla Bassa Sassonia sa essere galante". Il messaggio è chiaro, rileva il quotidiano: se gli italiani decidessero di cedere il marchio, a Wolfsburg il cliente c'è già. Le profferte estive di VW non sono state tuttavia accolte con entusiasmo dalla Fiat, aggiunge Handelsblatt, che definisce "un po' nervose" le reiterate repliche del management del Lingotto sul fatto che Alfa non è in vendita. Del resto "gli italiani stessi hanno colpa del fatto che, proprio nell'anno del suo centesimo anniversario, Alfa sia oggetto di voci di indiscrezioni in quanto finora dei progetti iniziali è stato realizzato poco", spiega il giornale, ricordando che nel 2006 il gran capo della Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, aveva annunciato agli analisti un obiettivo di vendite per Alfa pari a 300mila unità circa nel 2010. Un piano "fallito miseramente". Handelsblatt paragona così il caso Alfa al caso Saab, la casa svedese che GM ha ceduto a inizio anno alla Spyker: "l'immagine è certamente buona, ma il marchio è troppo piccolo per vivere e troppo grande per morire". Il giornale sottolinea comunque che Marchionne sbaglierebbe a cedere Alfa in quanto, dopo l'ingresso di Fiat nella Chrysler, il mercato americano riveste molta importanza per il costruttore torinese e Alfa possiede una forza di attrazione e di vendita sufficienti per entrarvi. Separarsi da Alfa sarebbe pertanto "un atto dettato dalla disperazione e niente fa trapelare che una simile iniziativa sia necessaria per Torino", conclude Handelsblatt, osservando del resto che "la fantasia di espandersi di VW non ha ancora raggiunto i propri limiti: Wolfsburg ha ancora fame e il suo boss, Martin Winterkorn, ha già dimostrato di essere molto paziente".
(Fonte: www.handelsblatt.com - 24/8/2010)

South Africa is quickly becoming a hotbed for sports car development, with two new performance machines being announced in the country in just as many weeks. Built through collaboration between Zagato, the Milanese coachbuilders, and Perana Performance Group, the Z-One features a tubular and box section chassis with room for two passengers. Tucked among the exotica at Concorso Italiano  was the

SPESIFIKASI VolksWagen SportcarThere is good news, here. Volkswagen finally got sportcar.factory agreed with the German cars Porsche is in a group to work together to build a sports car using the platform of the Porsche.In fact, rumors have circulated in September. VW will use the platform mentioned Panamera with their homemade body. With it have a body, needs not only for VW only, can also be

SPESIFIKASI VolksWagen SportcarThere is good news, here. Volkswagen finally got sportcar.factory agreed with the German cars Porsche is in a group to work together to build a sports car using the platform of the Porsche.In fact, rumors have circulated in September. VW will use the platform mentioned Panamera with their homemade body. With it have a body, needs not only for VW only, can also be

For the way it looked when found see: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/08/when-you-think-about-barn-find-fire.html

With 10,000 kilometres of gruelling validation at the world’s most fearsome and demanding test track now under their belt, the Vauxhall Insignia VXR hatch and saloon are set to raise the bar in their sector with a heady mix of high performance, practicality and sophisticated dynamics.-Fastest ever Vauxhall estate with 6-second 0-60 time-1530-litre load capability combined with Adaptive 4x4

After setting a new 300+ Mph record on Tuesday the last attempt Wednesday has ended in a mechanical. Everything was looking great, but midway through the first mile, the Buckeye Bullet broke it's clutch. Too much torque from the motor ripped apart the half inch steel teeth that keep the motor connected to the gearbox.

After a late night of trying to disassemble the motor and reinstall another type of clutch, the team decided to call it: the old record of 321.834 mph set by the same team with the original Buckeye Bullet in 2004 will have to stand as 307.66 MPH will stay the best achieved with VBB2.5.

There's no video of VBB2.5 on-line yet so we're included a clip of the same car from last year powered by a hydrogen FC.

Imagine devices that capture electricity from the air ― much like solar cells capture sunlight ― and using them to light a house or recharge an electric car. Imagine using similar panels on the rooftops of buildings to prevent lightning before it forms. Strange as it may sound, scientists already are in the early stages of developing such devices, according to a report presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

"Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future," said study leader Fernando Galembeck, Ph.D. His research may help explain a 200-year-old scientific riddle about how electricity is produced and discharged in the atmosphere. "Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect," he maintained.

"If we know how electricity builds up and spreads in the atmosphere, we can also prevent death and damage caused by lightning strikes," Galembeck said, noting that lightning causes thousands of deaths and injuries worldwide and millions of dollars in property damage.

The notion of harnessing the power of electricity formed naturally has tantalized scientists for centuries. They noticed that sparks of static electricity formed as steam escaped from boilers. Workers who touched the steam even got painful electrical shocks. Famed inventor Nikola Tesla, for example, was among those who dreamed of capturing and using electricity from the air. It's the electricity formed, for instance, when water vapor collects on microscopic particles of dust and other material in the air. But until now, scientists lacked adequate knowledge about the processes involved in formation and release of electricity from water in the atmosphere, Galembeck said. He is with the University of Campinas in Campinas, SP, Brazil.

Scientists once believed that water droplets in the atmosphere were electrically neutral, and remained so even after coming into contact with the electrical charges on dust particles and droplets of other liquids. But new evidence suggested that water in the atmosphere really does pick up an electrical charge.

Galembeck and colleagues confirmed that idea, using laboratory experiments that simulated water's contact with dust particles in the air. They used tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate, both common airborne substances, showing that silica became more negatively charged in the presence of high humidity and aluminum phosphate became more positively charged. High humidity means high levels of water vapor in the air ― the vapor that condenses and becomes visible as "fog" on windows of air-conditioned cars and buildings on steamy summer days.

"This was clear evidence that water in the atmosphere can accumulate electrical charges and transfer them to other materials it comes into contact with," Galembeck explained. "We are calling this 'hygroelectricity,' meaning 'humidity electricity'."

In the future, he added, it may be possible to develop collectors, similar to the solar cells that collect the sunlight to produce electricity, to capture hygroelectricity and route it to homes and businesses. Just as solar cells work best in sunny areas of the world, hygroelectrical panels would work more efficiently in areas with high humidity, such as the northeastern and southeastern United States and the humid tropics.

Galembeck said that a similar approach might help prevent lightning from forming and striking. He envisioned placing hygroelectrical panels on top of buildings in regions that experience frequent thunderstorms. The panels would drain electricity out of the air, and prevent the building of electrical charge that is released in lightning. His research group already is testing metals to identify those with the greatest potential for use in capturing atmospheric electricity and preventing lightning strikes.

"These are fascinating ideas that new studies by ourselves and by other scientific teams suggest are now possible," Galembeck said. "We certainly have a long way to go. But the benefits in the long range of harnessing hygroelectricity could be substantial."

CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) and FAPESP (The State of São Paulo Research Foundation) funded the study.

American Chemical Society