Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Fact or Fiction?
When people travel they have many choices that they can use. Of these choices the hybrid electric vehicles are beginning to gather loyal users. While the concept of using an alternative fuel source is one that we have all heard of there are some practical difficulties which still need to be addressed. While these problems are getting resolved the various hybrid cars which are currently out have provided a partial answer.
You will find many different types of hybrid electric vehicles on the market today as car manufactures find that having these types of cars can appeal to people who are looking for an environmentally friendly car. These vehicles will include family cars, SUVs, sports cars and others. The history of these hybrid electric vehicles has their beginnings around about 1898.
The first hybrid electric vehicles were produced by Ferdinand Porsche. Later other car manufacturers improved on the concepts which were introduced by Porsche. The real boon for the hybrid automotive industry began during the 1990s. At this point the predecessors to the popular HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) were introduced to the public. To provide customers with new ways of conserving fuel costs many new developments in this range of cars is constantly being explored.
You will find that the hybrid electric vehicles come in different versions of their popular cars. The popular HEVs like the Honda Civic hybrid is an example of a hybrid car that people like to buy. This four door compact car is one that you can choose either as a first generation or a second generation car.
The hybrid Honda Civic is found to have a 5 speed manual transmission drive. This particular Honda car is known as an assist hybrid car. Unlike other hybrid electric vehicles the hybrid Honda civic has been able to take an award for the best international engine.
While you can get information about various models of hybrid electric vehicles from the internet and hybrid electric vehicle dealers you might want to visit the showrooms in person. This will provide you with a better understanding of whether a hybrid car will fit in with your current lifestyle. Having looked into these details you can then see which hybrid electric vehicles is the better deal for you.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Fact or Fiction?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Learn more about new concept cars
Learn more about new concept cars
A concept car is a car prototype designed to highlight a concept or type of styling based on advanced technology. These cars are usually displayed at motor exhibitions in order to study the reaction of customers to new and innovative designs which may be introduced in future.
Concept cars bear a radical design or engine. While making these cars manufacturers use exotic, non-traditional, and expensive materials, ranging from carbon fibre to refined alloys. These cars are built with unique layouts, like 3 or 6 wheels, gull wing doors, or other special features not usually found on cars. It is due to their impractical or unprofitable built, most new concept cars remain as models, or even drawings in computer design. Though some cars develop into fully drivable vehicles they do not actually represent the final product.
Concept cars are usually destroyed after their useful life is over. If the cars are not destroyed survive they find their way to a company's museum or may be stacked away in storage. One such concept car that languished for years in a North Hollywood, California shop is 'Lincoln Futura' of Ford Motors. It received a new lease of life when the car concept was revived for a television series.
A BMW concept car tries to combine luxury, and versatility with individual style. BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo is one such concept car which combines great driving qualities with comfortable interiors. The concept blends the appearance of a Sports Activity Vehicle, a sporty BMW Sedan and a classic Gran Turismo.
BMW Concept 5 Series Grant Turismo has a coupe-like roofline. It extends into the spoiler at the rear. This makes it resemble the sporting elegance of a Gran Turismo. The body of this concept car is painted in Fluid Cuprite, a new colour made specifically for this model.
The car has a power dome in the middle of the engine compartment lid. This shows the sheer muscle of the engine. The outer flanks of the hood which face downward form a cascade-like contour along with the spread out wheel arches. This gives a wide and powerful look to the front view of the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo.
The foglamps positioned at the outer edges of the lower air intake, enhance the frontal impression. The bars separating the two outer elements on the air intake and reaching out beyond the foglamps add to the width of the car.
Volvo C30 Hatchback
Volvo C30 Hatchback
ON THE ROAD Performance The five-strong petrol line-up kicks off with a 99bhp 1.6-litre and tops out with the 217bhp 2.5-litre T5, which provides massive mid-range muscle. Diesel fans are offered 108bhp 1.6, 134bhp 2.0 and 178bhp 2.4-litre D5 units, but the D5 is best avoided because it's only available with a five-speed automatic gearbox that's slow and unresponsive. Ride & handling Short-travel suspension keeps body movement in check, so the C30 remains composed on twisty country roads. The payoff is a rather firm ride, but it stops short of being harsh and improves with speed. The steering is also well weighted and quick to respond, but it has a rather numb feel. Refinement The C30 is a decent motorway cruiser, although some wind noise does build up around the door mirrors and it lets in road noise on rougher Tarmac. The petrol engines are pretty civilised, but the 2.0-litre diesel emits a telltale rattle around town and the D5 can be boomy. OWNERSHIP Buying & owning The C30 undercuts rivals such as the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series on price, but looks a bit expensive compared with the Volkswagen Golf. Fuel bills are reasonable unless you choose the T5 flagship, plus maintenance and insurance shouldn't break the bank. Residuals are strong, too. Quality & reliability The C30 may be Volvo's smallest car, but that doesn't mean it has skimped on the interior fittings. Dense, soft-touch plastics cover the upper dashboard, the switchgear operates with precision and it generally feels built to last. Volvo also has a good reliability record, and the mechanicals are proven. Safety & security Volvo is famed for safety, and the C30 is said to perform just as well as the S40 in a rear-end shunt, despite having a significantly shorter rear overhang. Every model has stability control, six airbags and active anti-whiplash front head restraints, while deadlocks, an integrated stereo and a visible VIN number all help to deter thieves. IN THE CABIN Behind the wheel The C30 shares its dash design with the S40, V50 and C70. There's the same simple dash and 'floating' centre console that's attached top and bottom, but has open space behind.
It looks great, but the narrow strip of switches on it are fiddly. A wide range of driver's seat and steering wheel adjustment means it's easy to get comfortable. Space & practicality There's plenty of head- and legroom upfront and enough space for a pair of adults to get settled behind. Most rivals are roomier in the back, however, and the C30 has two individual rear chairs rather than a bench, so you can't squeeze in a third. The boot is a good square shape, but also small and shallow. The luggage cover is fiddly, too. Equipment Every C30 comes with climate control, an MP3-compatible stereo, electric front windows and alloy wheels, while SE adds steering wheel-mounted stereo controls, plusher upholstery and cruise control. Two flagship trims are also offered - SE Sport, which brings larger alloys and a bodykit, and SE Lux, for those who prefer leather upholstery and heated front seats.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen's Polo. There's something just that little bit special about it. Those clever men and women behind such iconic and era defining vehicles as the Beetle and the Golf GTi certainly have a knack for making compact cars. When the air-cooled engine of the beetle became superseded by more modern, water-cooled powerplants, and when the Golf began to grow bloated and put on weight with each successive iteration, the engineers at VW found themselves once again with a supermini-shaped hole and without a supermini-shaped peg to plug it with.
Cue the Polo. Legend has it, marketing chiefs at Volkswagen chose the name 'Polo' because, like 'Golf', it is a sport widely associated with a social upper-class; and while the original Mk1 Polo may have looked up rather than lived up to those lofty connotations, I can happily inform you that the opposite is in fact true of the current model.
I don't mean to imply that the new Polo has suddenly appeared, well-built and sophisticated, after so many years of mediocrity within an oversaturated market. Rather, the car before us today is the product of those many years devoted to refining the original car.
That's not to say that it's been an entirely plush ride either: the engineers from Wolfsburg seemingly ignored some of basic principles of automotive design and construction when they built their third sub-compact car, however today's Polo stands testament to both the successes the marque has enjoyed, and also to those failings suffered over the course of its lifetime. From the woeful build quality of the cars first off the production line, to the exhilaration of the record-breaking, supercharged MkII G40 variant; the current car really does feel like it has learned from every lesson.
My first ever experience of driving a car was in a first-generation Polo. I drove figure-eights in a good friends field and in spite of the fact that under my command the universal joint on the steering column failed, we remain friends to this day. Even with my youthful exuberance, I found it hard to find merit in the car. Most people, when asked to recall their first driving experience, talk of the liberty and exhilaration of the experience. I on the other hand, am more likely to mention the cramped interior or the sluggish 1100cc engine. Bear in mind these are the observations of a fifteen year old!
But each time the Polo had a makeover or a revision, the same Volkswagen engineers that had fumbled the ball during the car's initial production, found ways to make up for their miscalculations. And they kinda over compensated...
The MkII G40 I mentioned earlier displaced just 1300cc but generated 115bhp. It reached 62mph in an impressive 8.1 seconds and could achieve a top speed of 122mph. Since the G40, Polo's have been quick.
The MkIIIF had an entirely galvanised body and chassis mated with an over-engineered electrics and engine management system. I once installed aftermarket door speakers in a modern Japanese supermini, and the door cards were made of pressed plastic and behind them the door panel itself was made of what appeared to be wafer-thin tin. I did the same to my Polo GTi manufactured in the same year, and the corresponding door card was made out of a super-dense fibreboard with a plastic and fabric external covering and a medium-density foam internal filling to act as a sound dampener. Since the MkIII, Polo's have been reliable and well built.
And now we're on the MkIV, which is in fact approaching the end of its production cycle. With the next model scheduled to debut at the Geneva motor show later on this year, I wonder what we'll say its contribution to the Polo legacy has been. Will we say 'since the MkIV, Polo's have been economical and environmentally responsible? The Polo BlueMotion would have it so. With a 1.4l diesel engine which returns up to 72mpg while outputting just 99 grams of CO2, it's certainly possible.
One thing is for sure though, right now, with a new version on the horizon, there are some exceptional deals to be had throughout the current Polo range. From humble beginnings, the current Polo has evolved into a sophisticated and distinguished car.
Chrysler Sebring - Heavyweight Contender?
Chrysler Sebring - Heavyweight Contender?
Chrysler Sebring
Here in the UK, we're fairly comfortable with the notion of importing our automobiles. We're quite happy to drive German, Italian, Japanese, even Spanish cars (just so long as we don't have to drive French ones...). This is partly because we've forgotten how to make a decent car domestically. Fortunately however, when we realised this, we quickly entrusted our most precious marques to the most expert hands we could get our...hands...on.
The Germans.
We left Mini and Rolls Royce with BMW, and Volkswagen is looking after Bently for us. Thanks chaps.*
The result of all this is that now, even when we think we're driving British, we're most definitely not (unless you're sat in a Caterham, a Lotus or a TVR, which you're probably not). And we know this. So, when we're not, not driving British cars, we're not driving British cars. Do you follow? Basically, we never drive British cars. And we're happy with that.
And yet while we're clearly fine driving vehicles manufactured abroad, we've always had about us an air of caution and distrust when it comes to The Americans. While in global politics we're quick to hop into bed with the Yanks, when it comes to hopping into their cars... we're somewhat more coy.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, nor is it necessarily without good reason. Cars built for the American market have had a tendency to be ill-mannered when confronted with all the tricky technical sections found on British roads. Such as bends.
However, in recent years the offerings from our cousins across the pond have ably stepped up to the challenge of competing against cars from the continent, going so far as to test many on the notoriously bendy Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring! Yet not even THAT has been enough to dispel the intangible stigma that still surrounds the American Car.
Which is puzzling, because Vauxhall is American, and goodness knows we drive enough of those.
Chrysler has worked very hard for a number of years to gain a foothold in the British auto market, and that hard work, combined with signs that the tide of suspicion has started to ebb, will likely translate (from American to English) into there being a lot more Chryslers in drives and carports up and down the country.
And if the Chrysler Sebring is anything to go by, rightly so too! Stylish and modern, the Sebring defies our collective dim national perception of American autos, bringing instead some classic Yankee good looks to our shores. Priced to compete in the mid-sized saloon class, against such heavy hitting stalwarts as the Ford Mondeo, the Vauxhall Vectra and the Renault Laguna, the Sebring will certainly have to fight hard to capture any sizeable chunk of its target market, so expect to see an extensive advertising campaign soon!
Oh and if you still had your reservations, you needn't worry, at the heart of this spacious and sumptuous sedan lies a 2.0l turbocharged common-rail diesel power-plant. Manufactured by Volkswagen. Clever Americans.
Tips on buying new car
Tips on buying new car
There are so many good car options available in the market. Your dream car could be Rolls Royce, Audi, BMW, Bentley, Volkswagen or F1 racecars but you might not have the money to pay for them. Well then, try out the small or mid segment cars. Therefore, here goes the first tip. Be sure how much money you want to spend on cars. If you are unsure about the money, you want to invest then get a preapproved loan. Don't be tempted by the credit card companies because when you make the payment using them then there you pay more interest. Secondly, analyze your needs and see which one suits your needs well. Choosing the car is very important. Take the help of your friends, relatives; even automobile magazines are of great help. You may visit the site of the manufacturer and get the reliable information about the car from there. Some things that you should look in are the color of the car, engine, accessories, transmission, etc. Check for the warranty as well. You can easily find the list of dealers, near your area. Thirdly find a store that will give you the best price deals. A manufacturer usually puts the retail price of the car on the stickers. However, with advent of Internet, things have changed. Now manufacturer use this invoice price for negotiating price where they can make the profit. As a buyer you can also ask for the discount and further see what charges would be added or subtracted.
In simple words, get the accurate summation of cars true value. This will help you in being on stronger side of negotiation.
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