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Archive for 2010

The Latest Give-Away on Oprah Show was the 2012 VW Beetle

Posted 4 December 2010 by
Tagged As: , , , | Categories: Volkswagen | 1 Comment

This might sound surprising but this was exactly what happened on the Oprah show this thanksgiving. The audience was jam packed and there were some 300 of them waiting for the show to commence. They did not still know of how lucky they were and what was in store for them. They each were gifted far, far more than a turkey to take home. Rather, the gifts that were handed out were way beyond their imagination.

Some of the lucky ones in the audience were given away a 2012 VW Beetle. This is one swanky and hell of a car that hasn’t even been launched in the market. Imagine being in possession of a car of this magnitude without having to pay a dime for it. But, wait did you say not having to pay a dime for it. Then, wait as the people who were so fascinated by this completely free gift will have to end up paying a huge amount of tax in the year 2012 when they file their tax returns.

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Phoenix Car Show Saw the Most Phenomenal Number of Foot Falls

Posted 28 November 2010 by
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If you wanted to witness how popular car shows with are the customers and buyers then you should have seen the packed crowds at the Phoenix car show. There were people all out on the streets a day after Thanksgiving giving the run through in the malls and the shopping and others who were strolling leisurely though the car shows.Nissan Leaf electric They loved the new cars and trucks on display and glittering and gleaming, beckoning the buyers to take them home.

At the car show what was on display was the latest of hybrid and luxury cars not to leave out the latest entrant into the market of cars, the electric cars. There were several wonderfully high end cars that one could just eye at and wish to have in their garage.

This car show on Black Friday had the most wonderful mix of customer’s right from the serious ones who were out there checking out what was on sale to the ones who were window shopping and enjoying the experience. Most people were of the opinion that this was certainly the right time to visit a car show rather than brave the crowds at the overly crowded malls.

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Telephone box in Spain also serves as EV charger

Posted 4 June 2010 by
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A private company, the government of Madrid, and the telephone company collaborated to come up with the phoneSpain EV Charger Phone Booth booth in Madrid that is capable of charging up the batteries of an electric vehicle.

The first phone-booth-cum-EV-charger can be found at the Ronda de la Comunicacion. Look for the Endesa logo. The charging booths are strategically located near curbs to make it more accessible from the parking space.

There will be reserved spaces for parking right next to the charging station. EV owners can recharge their cars for free as long as they have the zero emission card from the city council of Madrid.

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Teaser on Vorsteiner V6E Released

Posted 11 May 2010 by
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If you were one of the people who weren’t quite satisfied with the design of the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG released this year, you might just love the latest Vorsteiner V6E Aero Package. According to the German tuning company, the new kit includes a brand new front hip spoiler and redesigned side sills, rear bumpers, and a new exhaust system. There is still scarce information about the car, but more will be revealed once it’s unveiled.

In case you don’t know yet, the standard E63 AMG car received a hand-crafted 6.2-L V8 engine. This engine can generate up to 518bhp of power and a peak torque of 465 pound-feet. Mated with a seven-speed MCT 2-clutch transmission, the sedan is able to accelerate from zero to 60mph in just 4.1 seconds. That’s a pretty impressive sprint in this segment. The top speed is electronically limited to 155mph.

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Cargraphic Does Retouches on the Aston Martin Rapide

Posted 30 April 2010 by
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Cargraphic has just recently provided the press with several sketches of possible alterations it will be doing to the latest Aston Martin Rapide. There was no image showing the front of the car, but the German tuning firm did mention a spoiler on the Rapide’s front apron. There will also be side mirror caps and a sporty rear diffuser.

Cargraphic Aston Martin RapideThe German tuning company also mentioned that it intends to give the Rapide its own set of GT-R 21-inch light alloy rims. The rims will be covered in 255/35R21 front tires and 295/30R21 rear wheels. Once offered to the public, interested buyers of the Rapide will also be given a choice between the GT, I-10 and Sport rims. These will come in dimensions of 20 to 22 inches.

Cargraphic will also give the Aston Martin Rapide an A-grade steel flap at the exhaust. This can be remote controlled paired with a polished shield. The tuning company proudly calls the car’s exhaust system the “Stradvarius of mufflers”. According to the tuner, this alteration should push the car to deliver some extra power from its 6.0 liter V12 engine.

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UK government injects $30.7 million for Nissan factory, Ford gets loan guarantee of $551 million

Posted 16 March 2010 by
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The government of Britain recently announced that it will be releasing a big chunk of funds to help Nissan Motor and Ford Motor to develop eco-friendly technologies and low emission vehicles.

Money EuroThe aid will be a whopping $551 million in loan guarantee for American car manufacturer Ford to develop greener technologies in their factories in across the UK.

It was earlier announced by Nissan that it will be utilizing its Sunderland factory to make the much anticipated electric car, the Leaf. This moved will be backed by about $30.7 million of funding from the British government.

The production of the Nissan Leaf in the UK and the batteries it will be using will generate some 550 highly technical and highly skilled jobs.

The support for the projects of Nissan and Ford follow an earlier move of the government of Britain committing about $412 million loan guarantee for the European arm of General Motors. The loan will be used to secure the operations of the carmaker in the Europe particularly in the UK.

The automotive industry is very important to Britain. The sector supports research and development, innovation of technologies,  and provides a critical supply chain for the manufacturing sector.

Ford will be investing a lot of money to develop low emission vehicles that will secure about 2,800 jobs across their plants in the UK.

Spotlight: 2011 Electric Transit Connect from Ford

Posted 10 February 2010 by
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Ford is set to deliver the first orders of the 2011 Transit Connect Electric before the end of 2010. The Transit Connect is a commercial van that has a range of as much as 80 miles on a single charge.

Ford Transit ConnectThe converted van is aimed at urban fleets who take a predictable route on a day to day basis going through the stop and go traffic. The Transit Connect Electric is also expected to a certain recharge point every end of the day.

The Transit Connect is being imported by Ford from their plant in Turkey with all the electric conversion done by Azure Dynamics in Michigan.

The partner company of Ford installs a 135 kW electric motor and 28 kW lithium ion batteries which are liquid cooled. The motor of the Transit Connect Electric is coupled with a Borg-Warner gearbox.

The van can be recharged in about 8 hours using a 220 Volt socket. It will take a bit longer if you use a 110 V wall socket.

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