Archive for November, 2008
Just a baby at only one month old, the new MINI John Cooper Works has steamed in and taken the title of Best Hot Hatch for 2008. Competition from the Volkswagen Golf GTi and Clio Renaultsport was simply no competition at all!
From a 1.6 litre turbo charged engine comes 211 hp.
This is the same engine that is in the Mini Challenge race car yet the emission and fuel consumption figures beats other cars easily. This Mini will give you over 45 miles per gallon while the VW sits miles behind at 35mpg and the Clio lags further still with 33mpg. As for emissions, we have 149 g/km from the Mini and 189 and 199 from the VW and Clio, respectively.
Once again, a treat from the LA Auto Show – the Lexus 2010 RX 350 and RX 450h!
The RX 350 is a 3.5 litre, 275 HP, 6 speed automatic while the RX 450h is a 3.5 litre hybrid of sleek appearance, oozing all the quality and style expected from luxury brand, Lexus.
The V6 gas engine of the 450h runs on a mega efficient Atkinson system. Coupled with a more efficient inverter, total output equals 295 horsepower – that’s 27 more than the current Lexus. More efficient running is gained by the exhaust heat recovery system that reduces warming up time and emissions are lowered as well as making it more cost effective to run.
This past week has seen Honda unveiling their new sports model at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The hydrogen powered, three seat sports car is a futuristic looking model that fully uses Honda’s V Flow fuel cell technology. The Honda FC Sport shows Honda’s design flexibility in meeting demand for concept cars that are simply a new generation of motor vehicle.
BMW will, this week, be starting an event that they intend to carry forward into the future which allows people to actually touch the exhibits in the BMW Museum in Munich. To date, this has not been permitted as some of the 120 items on display, from cars to motorbikes are often delicate.
To allow for this, all visitors will be handed white gloves to wear. This level of interaction with historical pieces of BMW was previously discouraged but BMW now want visitors, particularly the visually impaired, to be able to ‘get a piece of the action’ and to get a real sense of what BMW is all about – the quality, the aesthetics and the sense of solid history that only a touchy feely experience can offer.
It’s not just getting us around in their cars that concern Honda but also getting us around on our legs. As always, the employers at Honda are concerned with support and joints and length of life – not just in their cars but also in the people who work on the production line.
Staff who are paying meticulous attention to Honda detail are constantly bending and crouching and putting stress on their joints so Honda have come up with a revolutionary system to assist them which may also have a knock on effect to the wider population, as in the elderly and infirm.
There’s nothing quite like having a gleaming new car sitting on the drive, just waiting for you to jump in, rev up and take off for a pose in your new status symbol. Nothing, that is, unless you’re talking about a car that has no less than a one in one thousand chance of having a replica somewhere.
An almost unique car that has been customised with your choices really feels like yours. It doesn’t feel like a run of the mill,, off the shelf vehicle that just anybody could have. And you would have to travel pretty far and wide to find another car the same as yours so you can be fairly sure that anybody admiring your car is doing it because they haven’t seen another quite like it.
But how can you do this?
It’s a car famous for its luxuriousness. Its sleek styling runs throughout its entire range. As it cruises down the street it turns heads from all walks of life. It is the choice of every discerning man, woman and top business. It is spacious. Its performance and agility are unbeatable. Comfort is never compromised. So, what would be the point of all this without a top quality sound system to accompany you on your drive?
We all know how the top car manufacturers like to claim that they have specialist, qualified, expert, professional, dedicated, skilled technicians that work solely on their cars, knowing them inside out and applying every ounce of knowledge to that make of car but just how true is this? How do we know they’re not just your average garage monkey looking for a better wedge of pay?
Well, BMW are happy to be completely open about the training programme that they put their technicians through and it’s not an easy one. There’s no ‘Kwik fit’ style going on here! Even the criteria for getting onto their STEP (Service Technician Education Programme) is pretty stringent and beyond what your average mechanic would be able to take on.
mini-convertible-300×176.jpg” alt=”" width=”300″ height=”176″ />For those who never thought of the Mini Cooper as being the type of flash car for the trendy individual, think again.
Let’s set the scene a little. It’s the height of summer, not a cloud in the sky, not a care in the world and you’re cruising along the road in a sleek white Mini (or any other colour of your choice). The soft top is down and you’re soaking up the rays as you glide along on 17″ double spoke alloy wheels that raise barely more than a whisper against the tarmac. The only thing missing is some really cool music.
You’ve Heard Of Million Dollar Man – Well Here comes Million Mile Man
If ever there was a true advocate of the Lexus brand it has to be Peter Harvey. This man is utterly loyal to Lexus and has driven a million miles in a series of fifteen of these luxury cars.
Mr Harvey doesn’t consider himself to be either obsessed with the make or unadventurous, but says he has found the most reliable vehicle that delivers exactly what it promises to do, so why change?
Why change indeed!
Just a baby at only one month old, the new MINI John Cooper Works has steamed in and taken the title of Best Hot Hatch for 2008. Competition from the Volkswagen Golf GTi and Clio Renaultsport was simply no competition at all!
mini