Audi A3 Sportback (2011)

Audi A3 Sportback (2011)

Refined style, agile driving fun and elaborate technology - the Audi A3, the A3 Sportback, the A3 Cabriolet and the S3 are the sporty models in the compact segment. Audi now displays its premium character even more explicitly through new attentive details on both the exterior and the interior.
The sporty elegance of the Audi A3 models is already perfectly expressed in their design; their harmonious styling now acquires a host of new, exclusive touches. The single-frame grille element and the trims on the B-posts are painted in high-gloss black, the lower air inlets have chrome struts, the exterior mirrors are aerodynamically optimized and there are chrome strips in the door handles (except on the S3). At the rear, all A3 versions have a new diffuser insert with eye-catching separating edge, and the rear lights are tinted on the three-door version.

The paint finishes Volcano Red, Dakota Gray, Amethyst Gray and Scuba Blue are also new. There is a new wheel design for the sporty Ambition equipment line. The wheels available as options also extend the range. There is now a high-gloss 17-inch wheel in ten-spoke design, and two other new wheels are also available from quattro GmbH: a 17-inch aluminum wheel in a five twin-spoke design and an 18-inch wheel in five-arm rotor design.

2011 Lincoln Luxury Sports Sedan MKZ Hybrid

NEW YORK, March 31, 2010 – Lincoln today introduces its first hybrid – the new 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid – a premium midsize car poised to be the most fuel-efficient luxury sports sedan in America.

2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

“Today’s luxury customers do not want to make sacrifices. Lincoln has found a way to deliver a luxury sports sedan with the comforts they expect, the technology they want and the environmental responsibility society demands,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford Group Vice President, Global Product Development.

Ford’s latest hybrid sports sedan, the 2011 Lincoln MKZ has finally lifted off its covers at the New York Auto Show. Using its second generation of hybrid technology, the company aims to ‘further broaden its aggressive electrification plan.’ From the Department at Ford Motor Company comes the new hybrid version of the Lincoln MKZ. The MKZ hybrid is fitted with the same gasoline-electric system found in the hybrid versions of its corporate twins, the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.

The 2011 Lincoln MKZ hybrid powertrain combines a 156-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine and 106-hp electric motor for a total system output of 191 hp; it’s rated for 41 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway in the Fusion and Milan variants. Ford cited its hybrid as “the most fuel-efficient luxury sports sedan in America” as it returns 41  miles per gallon of average fuel consumption.

In pure electric mode, the MKZ Hybrid can reach 47 mph. While we have yet to match those numbers (the Milan hybrid we tested returned 32 mpg combined), Ford says it expects similar EPA ratings for this MKZ. The company goes on to name the car’s Public Enemy No. 1, the Lexus HS250h, and says that the MKZ will offer the best fuel economy of any luxury sports sedan.

Lincoln's first-ever hybrid model is expected to deliver at least 41mpg (5.7 lt/100km) in the city and reach speeds of up to 47 mph (75 km/h) in pure electric mode.

Lincoln’s take on the Ford hybrid theme, of course, will be much better equipped than either of its less-expensive brethren. It will include swiveling HID headlamps, cushy heated and cooled leather seats, and, of course, a slightly snazzier version of the nifty, configurable EcoGuide instrument cluster. In the Milan and Fusion hybrids, a screen-based botanical garden grows leaves and vines as a reward for fuel-efficient driving; the Lincoln adds pretty flowers!

The loads of standard features in the hybrid include, SmartGauge with EcoGuide, Lincoln SYNC, 10-Way Power Passenger Seat, Genuine Wood Trim, Reverse Sensing System, Keyless Entry Keypad, Easy Fuel Capless Fuel-Filler, Personal Safety System, MyKey, Integrated Spotter Mirrors, Acoustic Laminated Windshield and standard Bridge of Weir leather seats.

Other standard goodies include Sync voice-activated controls; sustainable wood trim for the dash, doors, and steering wheel; and reverse and cross-traffic sensors. Pricing has not yet been announced, but we speculate it will cost around $38,000 to start. Sales will begin later this year.

2011 Ford Mustang Sports Cars Boss 302R

Years ago Larry Shinoda designed the original BOSS 302 special-edition Ford Mustang. The car, which was offered in 1969 and 1970, was a high-performance machine built to compete in the Trans Am Racing series. No doubt, the car became a major highlight in the history of the Ford Mustang.

2011 Ford Mustang Boss 302R

In December of 2009, Ford Racing announced the highly anticipated return of the BOSS Mustang. The new car, named the BOSS 302R, will be available as a serialized off-road-only vehicle, limited in number to a total of 50 units. Ford reports the car was designed In honor of the 40th anniversary of Parnelli Jones' 1970 Trans-Am championship in a Ford Mustang Boss 302 prepared by Bud Moore Engineering, Ford Racing is introducing the Ford Mustang Boss 302R, a factory-built race car ready for track days and road racing in a number of Grand-Am, SCCA and NASA classes.

"To keep pace with consumer demand, the Ford team has built modern versions of the most iconic performance Mustangs over the years," said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsports. "From Shelbys to Bullitt, Mach and Cobra Jet, it is now time for Boss to join the list of America's most coveted Mustangs. The original Boss 302 was a championship-winning legend and the new Ford Mustang Boss 302R will carry on the tradition. The Mustang was born to race from the start, and this new Mustang is bred to win."

The Ford Mustang Boss 302R is a serialized off-road-only vehicle ready to race. Each base model will come with a 5.0-liter four-valve engine and a six-speed manual transmission with a roll cage, race seats, safety harness, data acquisition and race dampers/springs, and a Brembo brake and tire package, starting at an MSRP of $79,000.

And, with a special Grand-Am Homologation Package (M-FR500-Boss R1), it will also be ready to compete in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series (formerly known as KONI Challenge), starting with the season-opening race in Daytona on Jan. 29, 2010. Five Boss 302R race cars will be delivered to customers ready to race in Daytona. MSRP of the Boss 302R1 is $129,000.

The Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge-ready Ford Mustang Boss 302R will feature a sealed high-output race engine with an upgraded cooling system, a close-ratio six-speed transmission with integral shifter, a seam-welded body, race suspension/KONI dampers and ABS brake tuning, race performance exhaust and a high-speed balance one-piece driveshaft.

According to Jamie Allison, director of Ford North American Motorsports, "We expect the BOSS 302R to continue the successful tradition of winning with factory-built production-based race cars from Ford Racing. The FR500C and FR500S road racing Mustangs, and the Mustang FR500CJ (Cobra Jet) for drag racing have proven to be great cars for our customers, helping teams win races and championships. We believe that the BOSS 302R will provide that same sort of competitive product for our customers with the tradition you can only get from Ford Racing."

"Racing has long served as a technical proving grounds for production engines," said Allison. "What's good enough for the streets is now good enough for the racetrack. The 5.0-liter block and architecture in the Ford Mustang Boss 302R is the same as the 2011 Ford Mustang GT."

In total, only 50 BOSS 302Rs will be built and pricing starts at $79,000 USD (€54,885).

BMW 318i

2011 New Audi Q7

Audi A1 (2011)

Audi is introducing a whole new dimension to the compact class with the all-new Audi A1. It is dynamic and high quality, emotional and individual. It condenses all of the virtues of the brand down to less than four meters - a design full of character, uncompromising quality and pioneering efficiency technologies. The agile chassis and powerful engines make the Audi A1 the sportiest car in the segment.

The young customers of the Audi A1 live in major cities and therefore are looking for a vehicle that is designed for the urban environment. Thanks to its compact dimensions, it is very agile and nimble in city traffic and offers a high degree of everyday utility.

The interior of the Audi A1 is also sporty and of high quality. Customers can customize numerous details to tailor the car to their personal tastes. Audi's latest model has a broad portfolio of advanced technologies on board; its infotainment system sets new standards in the segment. The Audi A1 is the first premium automobile in the small compacts class - a true, fully-fledged Audi.

Audi A6 - Brake Modification

The rear rotors are also slotted. The electronic parking brake proved to be a bit of a challenge as my VAG-COM kit had not arrived. After some headscratching, we figured a solution to the problem and the brakes were installed without further drama.

The brakes were installed with no drama and they fitted perfectly.

It was time to replace the brake rotors on my Audi A6 that were wearing thin after 90,000 km. Instead of replacing with OEM rotors, I decided to replace with OEM sized two piece rotors. I also opted to continue with the EBC Red Stuff pads which had served me well when I replaced the OEM brake pads at 50,000 km.

Review of the EBC Red Stuff brake pads.
OEM brake pads lasted for 50,000 km for the first time and the EBC Red Stuff brake pads which I swapped to lasted 40,000 km before I changed it along with the rotors. At both instances, I had both the front and rear sets changed at the same time. The brake oil was replaced at the 50,000 km change but this time, they did not appear to need a change and so I did not.

I chose to swap the EBC Red Stuff pads primarily because I was mainly looking for a small increase in braking performance, and a huge reduction in brake dust. And the EBC pads did all that. Braking was sharper compared to the OEM pads which were quite inadequate for emergency braking. Braking on the OEM pads felt vague and you never got the feeling that you would stop in time when you needed to as the Audi A6 is a heavy car. As a result, I tended to brake early, just in case. The dust from the OEM pads was quick to appear as well. The swap to the EBC pads was just what I was looking for. Naturally, one cannot expect a change of brake pads to instantly produce massive stopping power. And I was not looking for that. Braking was improved slightly, and it was enough to be noticeable. And the brake dust was gone, thanks to the ceramic compound on the EBC pads. Sure, if you looked hard enough, there is still a coating of brake dust on the rims, albeit a light coloured layer.

On the surface, it would appear that the EBC pads had a shorter lifespan - 10,000 km less than the OEM pads. In fact, it is hard to make a comparison as I was driving harder on the EBC pads. In the first 50,000 km, I was mostly doing short trips within the city and at most a 150 km run to Zhuhai or a 120 km run to Guangzhou. All of which was on flat ground and decent roads. After I made the change to the EBC pads, I had made a total of 6 long trips that were between 1200 km to 1500 km each way round and along the way there were long mountainous stretches with long stretches of downhill runs where opportunities to use the brakes were plentiful. In addition, I had also started to drive the car harder.

In all, I was very satisfied with the EBC Red Stuff brake pads.

Replacement Two Piece Rotors
In a luxurious sedan like the Audi A6, you cannot and should not turn it into a sports car. What you can do is to make small improvements so that it becomes a little more fun to drive. My modifications have centred around improving the handling of the car slightly with small adjustments. Even then, I have mostly adhered to the principle of replacing OEM parts with lighter and stronger aftermarket parts as the time for replacement comes. With the brake rotors wearing thin, it also presented me with an opportunity to swap the OEM rotors with something lighter. Swapping out for lighter rotors reduces unsprung weight. A reduction in unsprung weight theoretically leads to lighter load on the suspension and this translates to better suspension response and subsquently, better ride comfort and ability to soak up the irregularities on the road surface. In addition, the loss in unsprung weight also reduces the moment of inertia which means less energy is required to get moving. And in theory, this leads to faster acceleration and throttle response. In practice, the weight reduction from taking a kilogramme off each corner could well be meaningless, or virtually impossible to detect. Experts or enthusiasts tell me that I would expect to see greater improvement if I were to swap rims and tyres for lighter versions since the weight loss at each corner would be more like 3-4 kg or more. I couldn't agree more. However, it is not the time to replace the rims or the tyres and it is the time, however, to have the rotors changed. As such, I chose to go ahead and replace the OEM rotors with lighter aftermarket ones anyway. And even if it did not produce a noticeable effect, when the time comes to change the rims and tyres, I believe the effect certainly would be very noticeable when the aftermarket rotors were paired with lighter rims and wheels.

This is the front rotor and I have also opted for a slotted rotor since it looked nice and sporty too. I do not expect to need the slots to help counter brake fade since even with the hardest driving I have done so far, I have not had any problems with brake fade. The hub is aluminium alloy and lifting it and comparing it with the OEM rotors, the weight difference was obvious. Unfortunately, I did not have a scale on hand to measure the weights but I would put it as about 1-1.5 kg weight savings.

Audi A4 Modifications

Audi 200 Review

lamborghini Murcielago

lamborghini Murcielago

lamborghini Murcielago

lamborghini Murcielago

is a high-performance two-door, two-seat sports car that was produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 2001 and 2010. Often referred to as a supercar, it was the flagship of the automaker's lineup. The Murciélago was introduced as a coupé in 2001 for the 2002 model year, succeeding the famed Diablo supercar in Lamborghini's lineup. The car was the automaker's first new design in eleven years, as well as the first under the ownership of German automaker VW. It was styled by Peruvian-born Belgian Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghini's head of design from 1998.
source : wikipedia.com

Review And Specs nissan leaf

It seems that the electric car is back from the dead. You may have noticed that Nissan obviously no trend in hybrid cars. While other producers to pump more money into research and development of hybrid Nissan lead to a true all electric vehicle. The end result is the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the first mass produced all electric car to be placed on the sale of American consumers. The following is a description of the features and specifications.

New Nissan blades powered by a lithium-ion rechargeable battery making it one of the first vehicle of sophisticated technology. New lithium-ion batteries have a longer range and better acceleration than comparable size batteries nickel metal hydride. There are several ways to recharge the system. 1) Station Nissan for the family, which runs on 220 volts and must be installed by a certified electrician. This charger takes about 4 to 8 hours with full costs. 2) Leaves Commercial Base Station, this option only takes about 30 minutes but this time there are limited seats for this method. Nissan is currently working with various cities and companies across the country for commercial infrastructure charging points to be developed. The leaves have filled an estimated range of 100 miles.

There are two trim levels are available:

SV standard equipment includes keyless ignition, keyless entry, automatic climate control, 16-inch alloy wheels, power lock, power windows, cruise control, LED lights, tilt steering wheel, 60/40 folding rear seat, height adjustable driver’s seat, the computer travel, fabric made from recycled materials, Bluetooth, six-speaker sound system with CD player, auto dimming rear view mirrors, satellite radio, iPods and USB interface, additional audio connectivity and navigation system. Machine is 80 kilowatt synchronous electric motor powered by a battery 24 kWh lithium-ion batteries. Output of 107 horsepower and 207 pounds feet of torque. Standard safety equipment includes stability control, traction control, ABS brakes, airbags and side curtain airbags.

SL-Adding automatic lights, reversing cameras, solar panels mounted spoiler, fog lamps and cargo cover. All the machinery and safety standards remain the same.

All the leaves come standard with Nissan Nissan Connection, remote system that reports the battery data and to enable the climate control device.

New car sales drop for fifth month

New car sales have slumped for the fifth successive month.

Sales in November 2010 totalled 139,875 – an 11.5% fall on the November 2009 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

The downturn this year reflects the ending of the Government’s car scrappage scheme which boosted sales in the second half of last year.

However, the fall last month was not as steep as had been anticipated and the SMMT is predicting total sales for this year will exceed two million.

Sales for the first 11 months of 2010 now stand at 1,907,029 – a 3.4% rise on the January-November 2009 period.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: “New car registrations fell by less than expected in November, with demand from the fleet sector helping to offset the market rebalancing following the end of the scrappage incentive scheme.”

He went on: “Registrations are expected to fall next month, but demand may benefit from motorists looking to avoid the January VAT rise. This factor, coupled with the strength of the first half of 2010, means year-end volumes are expected to lift to over 2.03 million units – 2% up from last year.

“Next year will continue to be challenging as consumer spending tightens and the Government’s austerity measures take effect.”

The SMMT said the November 2009 new car sales included around 35,000 vehicles – more than 22% of the total – which were bought through the scrappage scheme. Sales in 2011 are expected to fall around 5% to 1.93 million.

Diesel cars took 53% of the market last month, while registrations of alternatively-fuelled cars jumped 83.5% to give them a 1.3% share of the November market. The top-selling models in November 2010 were Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf.