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Toyota to introduce special Tacoma and Tundra trucks at SEMA

Posted in Toyota

Toyota-Tacoma-Truck-SEMA
Japanese car manufacturer Toyota announced its plans to launch its new line of trucks during the SEMA auto show this week.

First on the line is the Toyota Long Beach Racers Tacoma primarily built for desert racing and will be tested during the 2011 Score Baja 1000. Due to the nature of the Tecated sponsored motorsport event, the truck is equipped with a roll cage, shocks by Bilstein, and 35-inch tires by BFGoodrich. The special Toyota Tacoma will also have a sports exhaust setup, skid plates by CMI, and K&N air filter.

The second Tacoma under the Oakley Surf banner will have a V6 supercharged powerplant, Flowmaster exhaust setup, and K&N air filter. This truck will have custom bumpers, lift kit by Icon, a rack that can hold up to eight surfboards, and a built in shower. Other features include a barbecue grill, rear canopy, air compressor, and a storage cooler.

The Toyota Tundra Ultimate Motor Cross version will have a lift kit by Camburg Racing, shocks by Fox Racing, and will depend on a V8 5.7L powerplant. This truck also comes with a power washer, air compressor, and a ramp to hold bikes or ATVs on its customized bed. This truck will also have a roof rack doubling as a viewing deck.

Volvo Releases New D3 Engine

Posted in Volvo

2011 Volvo S60According to recent reports, Volvo will be making its new D3 engine for more vehicles. The engine was first installed in the S60. Now, all vehicles in the same line can enjoy the same power range.

To date, the Volvo V70, S80, XC60, and XC70 will be receiving the same engine. In this iteration, the engine can produce 163 HP and 400 Nm of torque. However, consumers can still choose to have these models in the original 2.4L D5 diesel engine. The diesel engine can produce 250 HP and 420Nm of torque.

Meanwhile, the Volvo S40, C30, V50, and C70 models will be designated with a new 2.4L diesel D3 engine. This diesel engine can produce 150HP and 350 Nm of torque. The same power range can be achieved with a D4 variant which will also be available for the said models. The D4 engine can generate 177HP and 400 Nm of torque.

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EV Customers Prefer Lower Price to Range

Posted in Green Cars

According to a survey conducted by the electric car maker THINK, 50% of potential buyers would give up the range of the car for a lower car price & lower auto insurance quotes. This population would prefer having a 70- to 80-mile range if this means that the cost of the vehicle can be reduced by $5000. This online survey was carried out by MBA students of the University of Michigan (Ross School of Business), and it confirms an earlier study done by The Green Car Site.

For the longest time, a 100 mile range was considered the standard requirement for highway-capable EVs. This is largely because auto makers thought that no one would purchase EVs with a shorter driving range. On the other hand, though, the survey also revealed that the other half of the participants would be willing to spend more for a range of more than 100 miles.

While a cheaper 80-mile range EV would be nice, some of these potential EV owners said that they’re willing to pay $5000 premium for a 160-mile range. Only 9% of the survey participants said that they’re willing to have a driving range of less than 50 miles for a lower price.

Based on the survey findings alone, THINK CEO Richard Canny said that offering different battery sizes for their customers is an “intriguing” prospect. He thinks that more customers would support the idea of owning a fully electric car if this choice was available.

The THINK City EV is currently on sale in Europe. It’s slated to be released in the United States during the last quarter of this year. The EV has a driving range of 100 miles per charge. The company also announced that it will be collaborating with AeroVironment on a project involving the THINK City electric vehicle and the AV’s level 3 fast-charge-system.

Volkswagen Shows off its 3-Cylinder, 1.2L Diesel during the Vienna Motor Symposium

Posted in Volkswagen

Volkswagen Polo BlueMotionThe German car maker Volkswagen put the spotlight on its new 3-cylinder 1.2-liter TDI diesel engine during the 31st Vienna Motor Symposium held recently. This was the same engine applied in the Polo BlueMotion, whose fuel consumption is as low as 3.3 liters per 100 kilometers.

This engine is a derivative of the 1.6 L 4-cylinder TDI engine on the new Passat and Golf BlueMotion. Compared to the bigger TDI engine, the 1.2-liter TDI is also notable quiet. This is because it uses the latest generation of Volkswagen’s common rail injection.

Despite of the engine’s relatively small displacement, the engine 1.2-liter TDI diesel engine can still 180 Nm of torque. According to reports, the engine paired with several other modifications on the new BlueMotion contributed up to 0.9 L/100km of fuel savings.

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MyFord Touch configured with Eco-Route Nav to help drop fuel consumption

Posted in Ford

In terms of fuel consumption, it is not only the kind of car that you drive that matters but also how you drive the vehicle. American car manufacturer FFord Logoord developed a new system to add to their MyFord and MyLincoln interface that can teach drivers get more miles out of their fuel load by providing real-time consumption information.

The MyFord system gets enhanced with the Eco-Route technology that is map-based and is centered on coaching the driver for maximum fuel efficiency. It is really a step up from Ford’s SmartGauge EcoGuide which uses graphics of flowers and leaves to represent real time fuel consumption. If your driving habits are fine, the more flowers and leaves you get.

The MyFord Touch uses the destination that is given by the driver and provides the options for the shortest, fastest, or the most economical route based on real time data of traffic, historical traffic numbers, and the speed posted.

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Audi Concept: A1 e-tron at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show

Posted in Audi

We have seen the e-tron concept from Audi in different guises in different auto shows in the past few years. The 2010 Geneva Motor Show this week serves as venue to unveil the A1 e-tron which can go on high volume production. The Audi concept formally rolls out the e-tron range that may have quattro-like branding.

The A1 e-tron is a plug-in hybrid that will have a combustion engine with range extending features. The range extender is not the typical one you may have heard of. The A1 e-tron’s features a combo of electrical generator and a Wankel engine which works to top up the lithium ion battery pack.

The batteries power the 61 horsepower electric motor that peaks at 102 hp and a torque ranging from 102 to 177 pound feet. The motor uses one-speed transmission to transfer all the power to the front wheels.

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Koenigsegg to unveil new Agera when it heads to Geneva

Posted in Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg celebrats its 15th birthday this year with a blast as it uncovers the supercar 2011 Agera at next week’s 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The new Agera will derive inspiration from the regular model CC but inject some transformative design elements and boost the power. The name Agera literally means “to act” in Swedish and was chose to symbolize the philosophy of Koenigsegg of going to the edge in terms of beefing their cars in terms of performance and design.

The designers of the new Koenigsegg Agera designed the front end of the car to be as wide as its rear to get better balance and decrease body roll when cornering. The supercar also gets new ventilated ceramic drills that are cross drilled. The carmaker also installed traction control technology that is capable of adapting automatically to different conditions of the road and styles of driving.

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GMC gives Acadia Line the Denali Luxury Variant

Posted in GMC

GMC Acadia Denali 2011GMC announced in July that the Yukon Hybrid will get some beefing up with a Denali treatment, and recently they also announced that the GMC Acadia will also be having a luxury Denali variant.

The news came through online via Twitter. Buick-GMC broke updated the car industry with a simple statement that the Denali gets a green light and will be coming soon. Of course, everyone still waits for the details.

The Denali version of the Acadia is expected to get more fine leather in its interior and bigger rims to boot. Power accessories will also come into package and GMC might just inject better DVD gadget, improved sunroof, and 12-way temperature control for the seats. The Denali package was specifically designed for the extreme comfort of the passengers.

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