10Aug
It’s interesting to know that an oil rich country in the gulf is interested in an environmentally friendly car.It’s been reported that Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has stated that they are under negotiations to launch an electric car within a Gulf state. The company plans to roll out an electric-powered vehicle by 2010.”The electric car of the past was huge with a big battery … Today [they have] very attractive designs. [They are] sexy cars with attractive designs with no emissions,” he said.”An electric car has to be at normal cost or lower … [the] battery and electric charge has to be cheaper than gasoline. At 120 dollars per barrel, it will be very easy,” he added.Source
10Jul
Spyker Cars, a Dutch luxury car maker, has posted a 72M Euros loss for 2007. The cause, they say, was in the sale of their Formula One and car business as well as GT racing activities. According to CEO Victor Muller, “2007 was a dramatic year, the likes of which the company had never seen before and which we would like to leave behind us as soon as possible.”
This year maybe better. The company has also received a loan and capital contribution from Snoras Bank in Lithuania resulting in a remarkable turnaround in the first quarter. According to them they were able to produce 12 cars and sell 18 this first quarter and they’re expecting even better sales in the next one. On the third quarter, the Spyker C8 Aileron model will go into production.
Source
10Feb
One observation was made at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. The Japanese manufacturers are going out with a swarm of new trucks and SUVs, and the Big Three. Detroit are finally rediscovered cars. European automakers have been building high-quality, fun-to-drive cars all along, and debuts at this year’s show reaffirmed Europe’s expertise in this area.
10Jan
The Salon de Geneve has always been one of my favorite auto shows on the circuit It’s relatively small, allowing for easy traverses from one side of the show to the other for press conferences, and it is the international host for the majority of concept vehicle debuts, giving it an extra dramatic flair.
10Dec
The unofficial prize for the most adventurous car at the Geneva show went to the speed . The tuning company best known for its Porsche conversions has created an amphibious concept that is parts of the sports car, part boat and part hydrofoil. The transformation is a complex hydraulic mechanism.
10Nov
MINI will be unreveiling a new addition to its Convertible range at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), when it presents the Sidewalk model for the first time on January 6 in Detroit.MINI have always combined great handling characteristics with the thrill of open-top motoring, but when the Sidewalk hits MINI dealers.
10Aug
If you ever wanted to check your email while driving down the road, you’re in luck. BMW is planning on putting full on-board internet access in their cars.It will be called the ConnectedDrive. It will operate through an EDGE mobile connection. Here’s more info n how it’ll work through the BMW iDrive control system:
“…the Web can be surfed via a small joystick mouse. Information relevant to a destination can be put on the navigation system with the press of a button. For safety reasons the Internet can only be used at speeds of less than 5kph. If the vehicle has a rear DVD system, passengers in the back seat can access the Internet when the vehicle is traveling at any speed.”
Source
10Jun
The diesel-powered vehicle is a standard production model fitted with a special towing adaptor and loaded with ballast to bring its total weight to 7.7 tons including the driver, a VW engineer from Germany (naturally). A Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI has succeeded in towing a Boeing 747-200 Jumbo jet weighing more than 170 tons, just outside London, England.
10Apr
Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder he has handed the keys of a long-wheelbase 6.0-liter, 450-bhp Phaeton to none other than Pope Benedict XVI since His Holiness is also German, this seems quite apt. Defying the cynics who have proclaimed that Volkswagen couldn’t give the Phaeton away in the whole wide world.
10Mar
The Panamerican 20,000 was the latest and most comprehensive test of Ferrari’s new 599 GTB Fiorano. Over Andean plateaus and through mountain passes some 13,000 feet above sea level to be test by professional drivers was test also by the latest model of Ferrari’s. On an often grueling 15-leg journey, a herd of 48 journalists took turns driving from Belo Horizonte in Brazil to the Argentinian pampa.
