Kia Rio/Rio5 ( 2005 kia rio )

  2005 kia rio 

First pressure overview

whilst Kia first added the Rio in 2001, it become the cheapest vehicle available on the market at $9390. At first-rate, it certified as dependable transportation. Now comes the second one-era Rio (and its 5-door sibling, the Rio5, proven beneath), a car that is bigger in length and fee and one you would possibly genuinely experience riding.The Rio sits on a new platform that is 0.6 inch wider and 1.2 inches taller. The wheelbase changed into stretched three.5 inches, ballooning interior space through five cubic ft to a excellent-in-magnificence ninety two. The sticker for the base car has climbed to $eleven,a hundred and ten; the 5-door Rio5 begins at $14,040.

That better price buys you a more muscular physique. The black-plastic trapezoidal mesh grille residing betwixt the angular headlamps looks severe. Immediately below, the tall bumper with black plastic whiskers sticking out on either aspect provides a feel of aggressiveness. Together with a steeply raked windshield and Mazda RX-8-stimulated fender flares, the look is all enterprise. The 5-door's brought rear hatch, body-color spoiler, and 15-inch aluminum wheels deliver it a downright sporty stance.
The new cloth and plastic substances interior appearance tasteful and offer a at ease environment for passengers.
Each fashions use a 1.6-liter engine, now with variable intake-valve timing. The engine produces one hundred ten horsepower, 14 extra than the first Rio's 1.Five-liter engine. The 4-cylinder runs smoother now and pulls extra strongly and willingly to its 6500-rpm redline.
Two transmissions are available: a wellknown 5-pace manual or a 4-velocity computerized for a further $850. The five-velocity, even though a bit rubbery for our tastes, shifts precisely and has a light feel; combined with an capable chassis, it is a a laugh playmate when driving turns into a chunk more lively. The automated hunts ad infinitum for gears while heading uphill and produces an ugly grinding sound at dual carriageway speeds. However it does bestow higher motorway mileage: 38 mpg as opposed to 35 mpg for the manual.
Alternatives available are anti-lock brakes with rear discs for $400 and the energy package (consisting of strength home windows and locks, keyless faraway, heated aspect-view mirrors, and tweeter speakers) for $600. A $250 spoiler can also be delivered to the sedan.
At eleven grand and trade, the Rio still speaks to fee. But cost is now not the most effective purpose to buy one.

2015 Dodge Charger ( 2015 dodge charger release date )

2015 dodge charger release date

Respectable snap shots and data

evade observes its centennial this 12 months, and its bread-and-butter large rear-drive sedan is one of the high players inside the celebration. Making its debut at the new york show, the Charger nevertheless exudes electricity and a vague experience of threat—retaining its 4-door muscle-automobile personality—even as reshaping almost all of its sheetmetal. The roof and rear doorways are the best outdoors panels that deliver over unchanged.  Reminiscent of its late-Sixties muscle motors, stay clear of cites the 1969 Charger as the foundation for the 2015 redecorate. The design intention of the snug-fitting new pores and skin, consistent with stay away from, changed into to make the Charger seem a chunk smaller and lighter than the present day sedan without diminishing its muscular persona. Whether or not the 2015 version achieves the smaller/lighter illusion is up to the beholder, but the outdoors dimensions are basically unchanged, as are the underpinnings, save for brand new solid-aluminum axles and axle housings.

That muscular character is really undiminished, and it’s backed via Chrysler’s 5.7-liter Hemi V-eight—370 horsepower, 395 lb-ft of torque—in R/T and R/T avenue & music models. The base engine remains the three.6-liter V-6 (292 horses, 260 lb-toes. Each the Hemi and the V-6 are paired with Chrysler’s eight-speed automated, the best transmission supplied.
With the V-6, the Charger is EPA-rated for 31 mpg at the dual carriageway, which avert says is fine in elegance. All-wheel force remains available, and capabilities an lively switch case that automatically disconnects the the front axle whilst it’s not needed, which avert claims can enhance fuel economy with the aid of as much as 5 percentage.
Inside, the remodel includes new seats, tremendous tender-contact substances on the sprint, middle console, and door panels, and eight one-of-a-kind trim packages, together with fabric and leather upholstery selections. The sporty 3-spoke guidance wheel is new, sponsored by means of optional paddle shifters. A new electronic shift characteristic grants brisk shift instances—four hundred milliseconds, according to stay away from, diminishing to 250 milliseconds in game mode, which additionally holds the chosen gear to redline.
Inevitably, new telematics abound. A trendy seven-inch TFT screen nestles among the speedo and tach, with programmable information along with avert overall performance Pages. The brand new middle stack embraces a trendy five.Zero-inch touch display screen or the available and colossal 8.Four-inch version. As predictable as such gadgetry is in hence fill-length section is the abundance of nanny aids: lane-departure caution, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise with emergency braking, and forward-collision caution all are available.
While the 2015 Charger lands on showroom flooring close to the cease of the 12 months, it’ll constitute simply how a ways the car industry has come seeing that ward off’s beginnings one hundred years ago. And whilst we’re appreciative of such progress, it’s heartwarming to recognise that some things, just like the Charger’s awful-boy attitude, in no way exchange.

Audi Project Scorpion Hypercar Rendered ( scorpion car )

 scorpion car

What it is: Audi's upcoming, race-bred hypercar, primarily based at once on the R18 e-tron Quattro Le Mans racer that took victory on the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year. Audi intends to use the new car, recognized internally as Scorpion, as a rolling show off of the technologies the emblem has advanced throughout its racing endeavors. A design has but to be finalized, but there are several proposals at the desk, inclusive of a retro take on the destiny of racing in addition to some thing that would intently resemble the R18. This rendering is our satisfactory interpretation of wherein the continued development of the automobile is at currently, following alongside the R18-inspired design that we understand to be favored within Audi.  Production of Scorpion probable might be restrained to 333 gadgets, as have been the R8 GT and the A1 Quattro. That relatively low limited production run will save the company from the embarrassment of being not able to hawk all of its "limited" models, as has befell to Porsche with its Carrera GT and to Mercedes-Benz’s SLR McLaren.

Why It matters: Scorpion will give Audi an immediately presence inside the ultra-high-performance segment, and its diesel-hybrid powertrain will sufficiently set it aside from the competition. It also serves as a morale booster for Audi's racing team and engineers, in addition to the layout branch. On pinnacle of that, Scorpion will function a halo for diesel generation as a whole—some thing we’re positive Audi wouldn’t mind thinking about the wide variety of TDIs which have been delivered to its lineup currently. The R8 V-12 TDI idea—had it been constructed—could’ve served a similar motive, but likely came too early. Now, it'd appear, the time is right.

Platform: Scorpion might be based totally at the structure of the R18 race automobile. The centerpiece of the racer is a carbon-fiber monocoque, which has been reinforced using aluminum honeycomb. Audi will use as a great deal of the shape as possible, however it’s probably that the monocoque will need to be modified for avenue use. Suspension and different chassis components might be crafted from aluminum to help shop weight. The hypercar will acquire advanced aerodynamics, which need to assist in maintaining the machine solid and tactile at speeds exceeding 200 mph.

Powertrains: This car's engine might be taken immediately from the R18 e-tron Quattro and can be paired with a the front-hooked up hybrid module that’s but to be targeted. (speculation of an upgraded model of Audi's extra pedestrian 3.0-liter V-6 TDI residing underhood is wrong.) "It wouldn't make experience to apply whatever however the R18's racing engine in the Scorpion," a supply at Audi tells us.

The R18’s 24-valve, 3.7-liter diesel is a V-6 located at 120 degrees, and is fed via a unmarried turbocharger. In race trim, this engine produces “extra than” 500 horsepower and “more than” 625 lb-ft of torque, but its intakes are restrained. Output need to be extended for manufacturing to, say, six hundred horsepower, plus the electric motor. While it’s all stated and performed, Scorpion should be capable of churning out extra than seven hundred horsepower. The diesel will pressure the rear wheels, whilst the fronts may be pushed through the electric motor. We expect to look a seven-speed twin-snatch automated transmission, however that’s not finalized and there are other unknown (outside of the assignment, besides) options at the table.

Opposition: Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918.

Anticipated Arrival and rate: Scorpion stays more or less 3 years away from production, so don’t assume to plunk down a deposit until some time in 2016 or maybe even 2017. As far as how huge of a deposit it’ll take to preserve one, Audi has the decal costs of McLaren’s P1 and Ferrari’s LaFerrari in its points of interest, so don’t count on some thing much less than a cool million.

2012 Jeep Wrangler ( jeep wrangler reliability )

jeep wrangler reliability

It’s difficult to imagine a scenario wherein having six dash lights ablaze in our tool cluster wouldn’t set off sheer panic. However out here on California’s gnarly, rocky Rubicon trail, the sparkling icons—for low tire pressure, ESC off, anti-roll bar disconnected, front-differential locker engaged, rear locker engaged, and four-wheel-drive lively—are a welcome sight. Much less welcome is the shriek from below the 2012 Jeep Wrangler as skid-plate metallic tries to grind itself lower back into the earth, whence it got here. And we’re just at the beginning of  the path.
It’s tough to imagine a situation in which having six dash lighting ablaze in our instrument cluster wouldn’t result in sheer panic. However out right here on California’s gnarly, rocky Rubicon path, the sparkling icons—for low tire strain, ESC off, anti-roll bar disconnected, front-differential locker engaged, rear locker engaged, and four-wheel-drive active—are a welcome sight. Much less welcome is the shriek from underneath the 2012 Jeep Wrangler as skid-plate metallic tries to grind itself back into the earth, whence it got here. And we’re just at the start of  the path.
Strapped into a brand new Rubicon-edition Wrangler (no coincidence, that), we laugh, on occasion worry, as the Jeep’s 32-inch knobbies scavenge for grip in bedrock and up crag faces that turn our view right into a disorienting sea of  blue and white. The path is as keen as ever to fold tailpipes and bumpers, and its cambered rock valleys are tight enough to put a keep on everyday breathing. The Rubicon path is an average maid. But, fittingly, even a bone-stock Wrangler Rubicon can tame it. So, factor taken: not anything Jeep has carried out to the 2012 version has made a sissy of the Wrangler.
This ’12 Wrangler is sincerely the fruits of a -component refresh that began with the 2011 version. Closing 12 months, the cabin turned into rid of plastics as unyielding as the boulders we’re crawling over. It might not have reached a Bentley level of poshness, however the interior now favors dash wipes over lawn hoses. Along with new heated mirrors and seats and delivered sound deadening, the Wrangler’s polish maintains outdoor while optioned with the frame-colored hardtop. In sum, it is a resounding enticement to customers conserving reservations about residing day to day with a Wrangler. But even as the ’eleven Jeep gained services, it remained handicapped by means of its dismal powertrain, which blanketed a four-velocity slushbox and a wheezy 202-hp, three.Eight-liter V-6. The 2012 Wrangler rectifies this through Chrysler’s new but already ubiquitous Pentastar V-6.Having made its debut within the Wrangler’s affluent cousin, the Grand Cherokee, the 3.6-liter that’s now the sole engine option for Wrangler and Wrangler unlimited fashions gets a faintly special song right here, producing 285 horsepower at 6400 rpm and 260 pound-ft of torque at 4800 rpm. That’s a loss of 5 horsepower to the GC in choose of greater midrange torque. Alterations for the Wrangler software include a extraordinary intake device contributing to that torque, a revised oil pan to save you starvation at steep angles, and the relocation of the alternator to the pinnacle of the block inside the interest of water fording. The engine can be paired with an optionally available 5-velocity automatic transmission, equal to the GC’s unit, but comes standard with Chrysler’s first providing of a Pentastar/six-speed-guide combination. The manual field is a carry-over—albeit with a brand new grasp, seize damper, and flywheel—and continues its fantastic crawl ratio.
At the paved paths we commuters name “roads,” the new powertrain enables loft the Wrangler up and into the realm of  legitimate on-avenue vehicles. Loosen up, die-hards; inspite of retuned shocks, the Wrangler retains its classic lane-wavering nature. But now, passing on a -lane street doesn’t bear in mind a game of chess with Bobby Fischer. Crimson-light getaways are never brisk, however you needn’t eat Prius dust to any extent further.
Stops on the pump should be much less common as gasoline economic system should enhance by means of
1 or 2 mpg in both city and dual carriageway mileage (for both manual- and automatic-transmission packages). Fees range from $22,845  for a Wrangler recreation to $34,370 for a Wrangler limitless Rubicon. Relying on model, that’s among zero and $three hundred extra than the 2011 version.
The Wrangler and its predecessors have continually charmed owners with their crude compromises, which, sarcastically, simplest more advantageous their attraction. However now, with a livable indoors and—ultimately—a respectable powertrain, the Wrangler can higher serve as a each day motive force, need to you be so willing.

Toyota’s Next (Really) Big Thing in Hybrids for the U.S.: Diesel/Electric Hino Commercial Trucks ( hino electric )

 hino electric 

Starting this December, Toyota’s business truck emblem, Hino, will provide a pair of class 4 and class five cab-over-engine vehicles powered with the aid of diesel-electric powered hybrid powertrains in the U.S. These mark the first such industrial applications in the States, and with aero-tuned cabs atop their beefy chassis, the Hino hybrids will offer the principles for a selection of functions inclusive of urban transport trucks, dump vans, stake beds, and bucket-raise trucks. It’s unlikely very many will wind up as chrome-drenched and leather-covered glamour rigs, so the Cadillac Escalade hybrid will still reign best as the selection for individuals who need to haul passengers and now not goods.

With GVW rankings of 14,500 kilos for the mild-duty 155h and 19,500 pounds for the sumo-grade (medium-obligation) 195h, the hybrid vehicles combine Hino’s 5.Zero-liter faster-diesel four-cylinder engine—it makes 210 hp and 440 lb-toes of torque—with a unmarried electric powered motor contributing some other 48 hp and 250 lb-ft. The motor is sandwiched between the flywheel and the six-velocity computerized transmission’s torque converter. The electric motor receives its juice from a 288-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery p.C. Shared in large part with the Lexus LS600hL (which weighs 5220 kilos, or simply 1/2 a ton or so much less than the same old Hino 155h). Compared to their diesel-simplest opposite numbers, which arrive in August, the 155h and 195h weigh more or less 400 pounds greater.

Like a Toyota Prius and maximum other hybrids, the Hino vehicles will feature engine shutoff at idle and brake-regeneration structures, despite the fact that no natural-EV driving mode—the latter is not any marvel, given their weight. Nor can the electric motor serve as a generator to offer strength for anything component might be suited to the chassis. There's, however, an “Eco” mild inside the hybrid-related data show that illuminates whilst the motive force hurries up prudently and steps gingerly upon the brake pedal. Which means that extra sluggish-traveling field trucks. So hooray for that.

The electric strength will not catapult the fuel-economy ratings of both Hino hybrid into the Priusphere. But, in keeping with a Hino spokesman in the U.S., Toyota already has 12,000 or so of those structures on the road in Japan, and has determined that fuel financial system jumps by kind of 30 percent as compared to the 12 mpg or so of its diesel-best counterparts.

While this is the primary time hybrid technology like this has been applied to the industrial marketplace here in the U.S., this isn't always the primary time we’ve seen tremendous-sized hybrids—both Toyota and wellknown automobiles have been constructing hybrid town buses for years.

2015 Ford Mustang GT vs. Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE, Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack ( challenger vs camaro )

  challenger vs camaro

It’s tough to reconcile the 2015 Ford Mustang and its competitors with the metropolis in which muscle motors had been born. At the same time as decaying Detroit slogs through financial ruin complaints, still shrugging off the millstones of its past and operating difficult to rise up and going for walks again, the Ford is absolutely transformed into some thing smooth and modern-day. In the meantime, its  direct and tremendously a success foes have lately been freshened with adjustments in their own. The brand new 6th-technology Mustang ultimately gets an unbiased rear suspension, a mainstream-Mustang first and the equivalent of Detroit website hosting the Olympics. That’s matched by way of a redesigned front suspension supported via a lighter, stiffer subframe. Nestled in that subframe, the 5.0-liter V-eight straps on a brand new intake manifold, heads, and valvetrain, elevating output from last yr’s 420 horsepower and 390 pound-ft to 435 and four hundred, respectively. The automobile’s simple profile is familiar, however at whatever closer than field-artillery range, the stretched proportions and tauter pores and skin are unmistakable. The rear haunches take a seat wider than before and are topped with sharper creases; the view from the front is all fangs and sinew; and the body sides are sucked in, giving the affect of a narrower car though it’s definitely 1.5 inches wider.  A whole 12 months has surpassed for the reason that Chevrolet Camaro got its new head- and taillights, however it’s now not but wearing grooves inside the porch with its rocking chair. The 426-hp SS 1LE is more or less a ZL1 without the supercharger. It pilfers a bunch of suspension elements, a strut-tower brace, near-ratio transmission with a cooler, and a excessive-pressure gas machine from the ZL1. With Recaros lifted from the Z/28, a boisterous dual-mode exhaust, and a few other extras, the Camaro tallies at $forty one,880.

If not Detroit, then where do vehicles like those belong? To test their excessive-tension suspensions, we set a route four and a half hours southeast to Pittsburgh and the Allegheny foothills. Just as a lot of Detroit’s meeting traces have slowed and stopped, the fires died one after the other in metal town’s mills, too. But these days, Pittsburgh prospers as an Appalachian ­Silicon Valley, drawing the likes of Apple and Google and consistently rating many of the great towns in the us for just about whatever—beginning a enterprise, raising a circle of relatives, or drunkenly brawling at football tailgates. And had Henry Ford settled in those hills as opposed to the flatlands of Detroit, an American car that handles won't be such an anomaly.

Why YouTube Is the Best Place to Learn How to Fix Cars ( learn about cars )

learn about cars

If the struggle on drugs gave us not anything else, it at the least furnished some enduringly quotable anti-drug advertisements. A whole generation fondly recalls the tv spot in which a dad confronts his son over a few wacky tobacky, asking, “Who taught you how to do this stuff?” the child replies: “You, all proper? I discovered it by watching you!” As a kid, I totally embraced the message of that ad: when you’re in trouble, recall that it might absolutely be your mother and father’ fault. What a fantastic concept!
Of route, this concept also applies inside the terrible, and when it came to cars I should’ve yelled at my dad, “I didn’t study it via not looking you!” I assume a lot of humans with mechanical potential had a few patriarchal have an impact on all through their formative wrenching years, however my father turned into no longer so much into motors, or solving them, or actually even driving them. I recollect him doing an oil trade now and then, however in fashionable he become Bartleby the Scrivener whilst it got here to operating on automobiles—he desired not to.
And i can’t say I blame him. Whilst you live in Maine and don’t have a storage or a paved driveway, you have more or less 4 days a year to paintings to your vehicle with out becoming frozen, fly-bitten, or muddier than a trench at the Somme. For this reason I attained maturity with a degree of mechanical flair trending right down near 0. After I ultimately got my personal storage a few years ago, I vowed to capture up.
Every artist needs his muse, and mine is a 1993 Ford Bronco. In pitching this purchase to my spouse, I without a doubt argued that owning one of these issue could train me precious abilities in the field of car restore. Of route, I hedged my bets towards reliability via choosing professional set up of a 7.3-liter power Stroke diesel and ZF 5-speed transmission, a powertrain known as “la cucaracha” in Mexico as it’s so tough.

Ok, so I simply made that up. However a motor built with the aid of worldwide (Navistar) to electricity buses and unload vehicles have to be robust sufficient for a Bronco, and  years after the conversion the 7.3 is running nice. The relaxation of it, however, is often evidence of the frailty of mankind’s creations.  There was the time i used to be filling up and realized diesel changed into pouring onto my shoes (I subsequently replaced the filler neck). There was the time the grasp pedal went to the floor and that i duct-taped the linkage together to get domestic (I soon changed a linkage bushing). I’ve changed the serpentine belt, the rear-switch-case seal, the thermostat housing, and the heater middle. All of these were non-public firsts, ones that brought profound pleasure when I rinsed the Gojo off my arms and reported a problem constant. Or, at least, special.
My ordinary is to discover an problem after which decide whether it’s within my range of skills to repair it. Figuring out troubles is generally clean, because they generally tend to occur inside the shape of factors dramatically breaking off; i.E., the steerage tools parting methods with the frame. Step 2—can i repair It?—entails amassing information thru boards and YouTube.
Forums are to be thinking about a grain of salt, due to the fact discussion board human beings are commonly manner deep of their unique obsession, which offers them a skewed concept of what’s clean and what’s now not. A novice may publish: “hi there I assume a piston shot out of my hood after which banshees flew out thru the hole and everything’s on hearth. Should I visit the provider?” The discussion board normal will then respond, “That came about to me the opposite day it’s a quick restoration 20 minutes in case you go to the provider ur dum.” That guy’s signature could have a quote from Thomas Jefferson that wasn’t virtually from Jefferson.

YouTube is greater beneficial because you can simply spend a few minutes looking someone else wade into the doldrums earlier than you pass hacking round and lose a finger. A regular YouTube instructional functions a man with a baseball hat rebuilding an engine with one hand while filming himself with the alternative and providing a story heavily punctuated with grunts and stifled curses. I love these guys. They confirmed me a way to do the serpentine, the heater middle, the thermostat housing. They taught me to stay away from the water pump, the brakes, and the guidance gear. As soon as I pay attention “You’re gonna—errrmmmmghghg—you’re gonna need a fan puller,” I’m out.

In a practical sense, YouTube is the dad who tells me while to take a crack at it and when to call within the execs. I’m about to consult it yet again because the Bronco’s driving force’s-facet window lately fell down into the door—miraculously without breaking. I've a sense i can take the door apart and fasten it, presuming i get the cross-in advance from a grunting guy with a baseball hat. Energy-window restore will then join the roster of fixes achieved via my personal  semi-able hands. That’s if I don’t determine that home windows are frivolous luxuries.
If all and sundry asks who taught me a way to do this stuff, i've an easy answer. It’s YouTube, all right? I found out it by way of watching YouTube.

Ford-for-All: These Are the 20 Best Ford Cars of All Time ( best car ever )

  best car ever

The Ford Motor organisation has been constructing automobiles given that 1903. Thru sheer durability if nothing else, the carmaker is certain to have constructed some extraordinary ones over 111 years. They’ve simply constructed sufficient fantastic motors that it’s difficult to pare the list down to twenty. Ok, no longer that difficult; we’re now not coal miners or woodland-fire smoke jumpers. But it’s all a query of the way you degree greatness. And, properly, our final working criteria is wildly inconsistent, contradictory, and irrational. So right here, and with apologies to the late, amazing Casey Kasem, is our countdown of the 20 best Fords of All Time.

No Joke: Bentley’s Upcoming SUV Will Be Called “Bentayga”( suv meaning )

 suv meaning

Bentley’s first-ever SUV maintains to inch closer to production and has now reached any other milestone. It's been officially christened: Bentayga. The name is taken from Roque Bentayga, a 4642-foot mountain peak on Spain’s Grand Canary Island.

The Bentayga, which goes on sale in 2016, might be Bentley’s flagship version; it is set to introduce a new design language for the logo, one conceived underneath the stewardship of layout leader Luc Donckerwolke. Optimistically, that layout will deviate as a minimum somewhat from the Bentley EXP nine F SUV idea, which wasn’t nicely acquired upon its debut in 2012. A devoted preview website, newbentley.Com, shows glimpses of the new SUV, which includes a quick roofline; a large, mesh grille; and B-themed fender vents.
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below its vast hood, the Bentayga will provide a choice of V-eight, V-eight plug-in hybrid, or 12-cylinder energy. The latter possibly will be the only that pushes the Bentayga to its rumored pinnacle pace of 200 mph. We’ll get extra info—in addition to a study the complete automobile—later this year.

PFS Mazda Miata SC ( pfs auto finance )

pfs auto finance

 Okay, elegance, in honor of Congressman Newt Gingrich's thunderous ascension to the top of Washington's compost pile, allow's toss up a formidable gender stereotype that most effective months in the past we'd have with courtesy suppressed: guys do not have the equal type of emotions for a Miata that they've for a Porsche 911.  Now, let's lob a verbal bomb or : let's consider that the Porsche is wicked, the Miata is cute. Shall we embrace the Porsche is Richard Gere, the Miata is Richard Simmons. Hell, permit's repeat what our own Pat Bedard said of the Miata at its coming-out birthday celebration in 1990: "it's so adorable, it makes you need to pat it at the butt."

do not get us incorrect. A primary 911 Carrera coupe expenses $63,433, while a Miata ragtop runs $17,940. Sixty percent of the 21,500 Miatas bought ultimate yr have been sold through men. It need to come as no surprise that if you offered all those male Miata customers an uncongenial, sneering 911 for the same dough, nicely, the motoring panorama could look decidedly special.  At a hundred mph, the Farrell show vehicle tracks higher than the AutoThority BMW 3-collection semi-racer we drove in July 1994. The blown Miata wanders extra than an M3, however, so it is now not an excellent compromise of extensive tires and monitoring balance. The advantage right here is racer-like 1.00-g lateral grip on our 300-foot skidpad. It truly is one of the maximum results we have visible in recent assessments, handed handiest by way of the diminutive Caterham fantastic 7 and the unusual Ferrari F40. Also superb is the Farrell Miata's 152-foot stops from 70 mph, another benefit of the sticky Yokohama 008Rs.
Mazda donated the auto and a few help for the mission, however it hasn't yet determined whether or not to provide the PFS Miata SC as one among its personal products. If Mazda makes a decision towards the mission, Farrell says he's going to sell copies of the automobile himself.
Mazda has a hard desire, because onlookers both love or hate this artery-red Miata. (Farrell says he might also make the production version appearance extra tame, with smaller fenders and wheels.) including to the polarized reactions to the auto is a almost incomprehensible double-DIN Pioneer compact-disc and cassette participant with a picture show so complicated that simplest authentic toy insects may want to find it irresistible. It even consists of a wireless far flung for channel surfers.

What will we suppose? The PFS Miata SC is a big Toy. The concept of a ferocious Miata is appealing. And considering that other adults frequently spend $1500 for a fly rod, or $800 for a set of front shocks for a mountain bicycle, it almost makes a $60,000 Miata sound affordable.

Toyota, Two Inventors File Patent for “Aerocar” with Dynamic, Stackable Wing System( aero car )

 aero car  

No, the youngsters’s doodle of a flying car pictured right here isn’t a comic story. That is an actual Toyota patent filing for a “stackable wing for an aerocar” that became just lately published via the U.S. Patent office and said with the aid of automobile news. That horizontal line with the diagonal squiggles underneath it? That’s the floor. The wheels attached to that baleen Prius-shaped thing with a dorsal fin? Yeah, those aren't touching the floor. Now may also we direct your interest to the collection of wings that look to be suited for a tall pole sticking out from the automobile’s roof; this stackable wing apparatus forms the actual meat of Toyota’s patent submitting.To read the patent filing, which became at the same time submitted by Toyota and  inventors, is to be fed the assumption that “aerocars” are a mature technology in search of improvements. Trivial matters like propulsion sources are dismissed, Toyota supplying that thrust could be sourced from matters “such as a pusher propeller, open rotor, turbofan, or other thrust technology device in flight mode.” you know, plane stuff. It appears that Toyota is merely hedging against destiny use of a similar stacked-wing layout with various power resources, both for in-flight and on the street.
So reconfigure your brains and just expect flying cars are a issue, okay? Addressing aerocar issues both practical and vain, Toyota claims its novel “closely stowable” wing layout, that may disintegrate into a vaguely vehicle-top service–sized extent, “does not interfere with the side and aft view for the driver” while in its “roadable mode.” As for the overall package deal’s compactness, that “facilitates, as an instance, a low profile and fashionable body layout potential.” riding down the street to your flying automobile is a lot less complicated whilst your wings aren’t developing blind spots and cramping your fashion. It’s amazing considerate of Toyota to think of hypothetical aerocar customers’ conceitedness—and a bit sudden, given the appearance of the new Prius and the Mirai hydrogen-gasoline-mobile automobile.
Intriguingly, Toyota’s patent lacks plenty clarity surrounding the width of the aerocar’s stackable wing sections—and herein lies the patent’s actual consciousness. Assuming the sections are noticeably slender, possibly as slender as the auto itself (do not forget, roadable mode visibility is a priority), there is accordingly a need for a couple of airfoils piled atop each other. If you may’t get the important wing region (and via the identical token, the essential lift) through stretching out, stretch up! Besides deploying from its stowed “roadable mode,” the wings can assume diverse positions for takeoff, landing, and cruising. Whilst the highest wing features a set phase, the decrease wings include inner actuators to differ their segment (see Fig. Five and Fig. 6, straight away above); this no longer simplest alters the wing’s production of carry, however also enables the wing to shrink in thickness for stowage—a crucial functionality when a couple of wings should be stacked.
    Want to know where the car enterprise Is Heading? Look at What It’s Patenting
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    2016 Toyota Prius: the sport-Changer Is All-New
We distinctly doubt Toyota is actively running on a flying car, and maximum probable this patent is some thing the enterprise filed, again, to hedge in opposition to destiny, um, innovation in this location. Extra worryingly, at least from our perspective, is that Toyota changed into investing time in this baloney even as we hold to await the end result of more enticing efforts, like, say, the automaker’s perpetually simply-around-the-nook sports activities car being co-evolved with BMW.

Geely CK ( ck auto )

 ck auto

Car suggests
chinese automaker Geely introduced a compact car to the Detroit auto show that may sell for much less than $10,000 whilst it goes on sale inside the subsequent  years. The Geely CK seems hopelessly outdated, in spite of its current headlights and taillights, and will in all likelihood need to sell for far much less than $10,000 to make any severe headway in our market. Geely’s plan is to first promote the car in Puerto Rico in the subsequent year to see if everyone is willing to buy it, then if successful they may start selling the CK inside the usa.

Cars That Just Won't Die: Hindustan Ambassador, Bristol Blenheim 3, Volkswagen Kombi ( ambassador car )

 ambassador car

Inside the vehicle international, few cars make it beyond the decade mark. If a design does obtain a 10th birthday, it's far typically considered outdated, aged, and overripe for a replacement. But once in a while, and for many reasons, a pick few  automobiles stay produced for complete eras, clearly unchanged. Here are three car anachronisms you can still buy new. First year on sale: manufacturing in India commenced in 1958.
What it’s based on: A 1956 Morris Oxford III, however the ’56 Oxford can hint its roots to the 1948 Oxford.
Where it’s constructed: In Uttarpara, India, near Calcutta. The Brits surrendered it in 1959.
Price: about $9500.
Power: four Isuzu engines are to be had: A 1.8-liter 4-cylinder makes seventy one horsepower; the same engine, converted to CNG, achieves 54; and there are  diesels—a 50-hp, 2.0-liter four and an access-degree 1.Five-liter with 36 ponies.
Why it’s unique: The Oxford, upon which the Ambassador is primarily based, became designed with the aid of Alec Issigonis, father of the Mini. More critical, the Ambassador is the u . S . A .’s actual version T, no disrespect to the Tata Nano. First year on sale: kind 2 van income commenced in 1950, and VW didn’t revise it till 1967. Brazil commenced constructing it in 1957.
What it’s based totally on: Brazil builds the second gen of  VW’s kind 2, a version that the Germans crafted from 1967 till 1979.
In which it’s built: São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
Fee: about $17,500. Sounds high-priced, however in Brazil, that’s what the smallest Volkswagen, the Polo, charges.
Strength: There’s no longer an air-cooled flat-4 powering the kind 2. In its region is a 1.4-liter inline-four that makes 80 horsepower and can move eighty one mph.
Why it’s unique: It seems like a loaf of bread, specifically whilst you’re stoned. Bragging factor: more people have possibly dropped acid or gotten otherwise high in a VW van than in any other car.

Honda Civic EX Coupe ( 2002 honda civic coupe )

 2002 honda civic coupe

So, what need to one anticipate at the creation of Honda's seventh-era Civic? A totally one of a kind automobile? No, of course not. The Civic evolves, it does now not reinvent itself. Predictably, then, the claims for the brand new Civic range are mainly unsurprising.After extreme research into the needs of present Civic owners, the car's interior space has been enlarged. The Civic movements from the EPA subcompact-class borderline properly into the compact class, with 2.6 extra cubic ft of interior quantity and nearly two more inches of rear legroom. There are improvements in efficiency (all fashions are extremely Low-Emission automobile licensed), and enhancements in overall performance (the brand new engine is up from 1.6 to at least one.7 liters in length, thanks to a four.4mm stroke increase, but weighs less and takes up less area).

In DX and LX fashions, power increases from 106 to one hundred fifteen horsepower, at the same time as torque increases from 103 pound-feet at 4600 rpm to one hundred ten at 4500 rpm. In EX fashions (like the coupe you spot right here), which use Honda's VTEC-E engine, energy stays unchanged at 127 horsepower at 6300 rpm, but the torque improves from 107 pound-feet at 5500 rpm to 114 at a more usable 4800 rpm.

Of the diverse adjustments made to the Civic variety, the most sudden is Honda's adoption of a strut-kind front suspension. The engineers say it helped them shorten the nose (by way of enabling them to raise the steering gearbox) and also enhance effect-absorption performance. Proper motives both, yet we feel barely disappointed at the disappearance of Honda's stylish and nimble double-manipulate-arm setup. The 2001 Civic's trailing-arm, multilink rear suspension stays unaltered in precept, however its shortened trailing arms do with out their ahead-established finding links in the hobby of area, making possible a flat, tunnel-much less ground.

A extra in reality differentiated Civic coupe debuts as a 2001 version along the sedan, sharing only the sedan's front clip, powertrain, and suspension. Despite its precise windshield, doorways, and fastback bodywork, the coupe retains identical wheelbase and music dimensions (which tells you the ground pans are common). The coupe is, in fact, zero.1 inch longer average than the sedan.

Even with a roofline 1.6 inches decrease than the 4-door's (the preceding fastback stood just zero.6 inch shorter), the 2-door's indoors space is barely better than in the preceding version. Sadly, the headroom in our EX take a look at automobile become simply fractionally worse than in remaining year's automobile, due, we are told, to a raised seat hip factor (meant to ease get entry to) and no longer the sunroof that comes widespread on EX fashions

But considering the fact that the car fulfills the desires of a hypothetical client named Jennifer (according to Honda's marketing types, who need to recognise), there need to be enough room except this unique Jennifer is atypically tall for a female.

But widespread indoors space isn't what coupes are approximately, and here the selection to higher differentiate the Civic models will possibly pay off. With the longer door and lower roofline, the fastback has a greater steeply raked A-pillar, a greater wedge-formed glasshouse, and a shorter roof. Its grille has a unmarried crossbar as opposed to two and a body-shade top-grille garnish in preference to the 4-door's chrome strip.
At the rear, a lower taillight position and an angular reduce-line set -doors apart from the opposite Civics. Interior, you locate the same new, huge tool panel and rationalized middle-console layout utilized across the version line. The moldings are attractively designed, with contrasting textures and titanium-colored trim highlights to assist deny the auto's low-finances origins.
As may be predicted from a new Civic, the shape is stiffer in each torsion and bending, and a number of interest became paid to silencing and smoothing the automobile's roadgoing dynamics, in addition to to enhancing its crash resistance. Using excessive-electricity metallic in parts of the body, along side some clever techniques for moving effect forces into the ground, have resulted in expectancies for exceptional crash rankings, which includes a 4-megastar SINCAP score (for side influences), a five-megastar NCAP rating (for frontal influences), and a "properly" insurance Institute for dual carriageway safety score (for offset frontal collisions).

1955 Jaguar D-type ( jaguar d type )

 jaguar d type

The medium-blue metal livery of this historical D-kind identifies it as a member of Ecurie Ecosse, or "crew Scotland". Based in Edinburgh, David Murray's all-Scot crew was said to be the most successful non-public sports activities vehicle racing team throughout most of its years of campaigning XK120s, C- and D-kind, and Lister Jags among 1952 and 1971. The crew changed into famous for triumphing Le Mans in 1956, saving Jaguar's honor after its manufacturing facility vehicles failed to complete the race. This D-kind took sixth inside the 500 Miglia de Monza, a special components race conceived to pit the best Indy 500 American drivers in opposition to their eu opposite numbers. Most of the Euro manufacturing facility teams boycotted the race, leaving Ecurie Ecosse to stand the Yanks.

Car Surfing ( ae 86 )

  ae 86

We took a once-around with Justin Kikkawa, 28, the best 3-time winner of these drifting periods, which started out last November. Kikkawa is a bashful man with a mischievous grin who appears to be apologizing while he says he works in a gasoline station, but it is easy to tell he's having huge, grimy a laugh, and like all of the different drivers, he used to do that up on Tantalus. Maybe still does.

He was using the maximum-favored vehicle of drifters-a maroon 'eighty five DOHC Toyota Corolla GT-S. The 'eighty four via '87 fashions are preferred; the line went the front-pressure in '88. That automobile is understood in the game as hachiroku (it interprets to "eight six," which refers to the model's manufacturing unit code call, the AE86). His front tires had been vintage 15-inchers (195/50s) with 40 kilos of air in them, and the rears (185/70s) were loaded to 44 pounds. Inner, it is as messy as a youngster's room. Buckling up, i used to be reassured to see there had been no coconut timber or telephone poles close to the rims of the track-simply bushes.
"k, here is going," stated Kikkawa, grinning like a kid who's about to explode a toad with a cherry bomb. In a moment, his automobile turned into careening sideways, tires shrieking and smoking. He roared left, then wickedly right, his arms and forearms flailing at the wheel, and i was placing on. And guffawing. Maximum motors rise up to 40 or so mph, however Kikkawa is superb at this and can run close to 60, with the spinning rears going the equivalent of a hundred mph. "Dude's awesome," one of his opponents stated.
At an respectable go with the flow consultation, every motive force receives three chances to qualify for a run of the 10 great, then the ones drivers make two passes to slim the very last subject to 5, with a unmarried run determining the winner. Scoring is on a ten-factor scale. Get  wheels off-direction, lose a factor; get four off, lose  points; spin out to in which you can't recover, and you get a goose egg; fail to drift through a turn, lose a point; and so on.
It is now not a game for passengers, except you want driving in washing machines. When I were given out, I laughed and said in a relieved manner, "ok, this is sufficient for me." Kikkawa laughed wildly, then drove off to line up for some other run. I hung around long sufficient to watch his 2nd skip and see him fly off the tune and into the high weeds. Absolute confidence he turned into guffawing all the manner.

Can My Insurance Company Require Me to Use Certain Types of Auto Repair Parts? ( auto repair insurance )

 auto repair insurance

Your insurance company can not require you to use only positive styles of car restore components. But, if the coverage enterprise's costs are based on a sure type of part and you want some thing different, it may ask you to pay the distinction if the element you want is extra high priced.

The elements most frequently damaged in auto accidents are "crash parts." these are the sheetmetal pieces that cowl the engine and body of the automobile. Those can be referred to as unique equipment producer (OEM) parts or usual elements. These crash parts do not affect the protection of the automobile. The improvement of a marketplace in generic components has delivered expenses for vehicle alternative elements down and stored consumers cash.
In trendy, if regularly occurring elements were ordered for the repair of your automobile, this facts must be disclosed. The automobile repair order need to state that the parts are not from the unique manufacturer and the warranty can be exceptional. Many time-honored components are made at the same factories as OEM components, and in reality only a few OEM components are actually made with the aid of carmakers.
Insurance agencies that use frequent parts guarantee the elements they use. If the part would not fit nicely, the coverage enterprise will normally placed on an oem part at no more fee.
A few car coverage businesses offer their policyholders a choice among OEM and everyday repair components as a part of an endorsement (addition to the coverage that adjustments its terms and conditions) that includes other selections as nicely. Some always specify OEM elements for upkeep and a few use OEM parts for repairing latest model automobiles. Some states require insurance businesses to offer customary elements once they exist and a few may also require OEM parts for use.
Ask your coverage agent about your country and your coverage organisation's claim settlement pointers so that you'll recognise what to expect if your car must be repaired after an accident.

Honda Civic EX Coupe ( 04 honda civic )

 

 04 honda civic 

So, what need to one count on at the advent of Honda's seventh-generation Civic? A totally unique vehicle? No, of direction no longer. The Civic evolves, it does no longer reinvent itself. Predictably, then, the claims for the brand new Civic range are specifically unsurprising.After excessive studies into the needs of current Civic owners, the automobile's interior area has been enlarged. The Civic movements from the EPA subcompact-class borderline adequately into the compact category, with 2.6 greater cubic ft of interior extent and nearly  more inches of rear legroom. There are enhancements in efficiency (all models are ultra Low-Emission car licensed), and upgrades in performance (the brand new engine is up from 1.6 to at least one.7 liters in length, thanks to a 4.4mm stroke growth, but weighs much less and takes up less area).

In DX and LX models, electricity increases from 106 to a hundred and fifteen horsepower, at the same time as torque will increase from 103 pound-toes at 4600 rpm to a hundred and ten at 4500 rpm. In EX fashions (just like the coupe you notice right here), which use Honda's VTEC-E engine, strength remains unchanged at 127 horsepower at 6300 rpm, however the torque improves from 107 pound-toes at 5500 rpm to 114 at a greater usable 4800 rpm.
Of the diverse modifications made to the Civic variety, the most surprising is Honda's adoption of a strut-kind the front suspension. The engineers say it helped them shorten the nostril (by using permitting them to raise the guidance gearbox) and additionally enhance impact-absorption overall performance. Precise motives each, yet we experience barely disappointed on the disappearance of Honda's stylish and nimble double-manipulate-arm setup. The 2001 Civic's trailing-arm, multilink rear suspension remains unaltered in principle, however its shortened trailing hands do without their forward-established finding hyperlinks within the interest of area, making possible a flat, tunnel-much less floor.
A more absolutely differentiated Civic coupe debuts as a 2001 model along the sedan, sharing handiest the sedan's front clip, powertrain, and suspension. Notwithstanding its particular windshield, doors, and fastback bodywork, the coupe retains same wheelbase and tune dimensions (which tells you the floor pans are common). The coupe is, in reality, zero.1 inch longer common than the sedan.
Regardless of a roofline 1.6 inches lower than the 4-door's (the preceding fastback stood simply zero.6 inch shorter), the 2-door's indoors area is slightly better than inside the preceding version. Unfortunately, the headroom in our EX check car became sincerely fractionally worse than in final year's vehicle, due, we are instructed, to a raised seat hip factor (intended to ease get right of entry to) and not the sunroof that comes general on EX fashions.
However on the grounds that the auto fulfills the needs of a hypothetical client named Jennifer (in line with Honda's advertising types, who should recognise), there ought to be enough room unless this particular Jennifer is atypically tall for a woman.But giant indoors space isn't what coupes are about, and right here the selection to better differentiate the Civic fashions will in all likelihood pay off. With the longer door and lower roofline, the fastback has a more steeply raked A-pillar, a more wedge-fashioned glasshouse, and a shorter roof. Its grille has a single crossbar rather than two and a frame-colour pinnacle-grille garnish in place of the four-door's chrome strip.
On the rear, a lower taillight position and an angular reduce-line set two-doorways other than the opposite Civics. Internal, you discover the equal new, big device panel and rationalized middle-console layout applied throughout the model line. The moldings are attractively designed, with contrasting textures and titanium-colored trim highlights to help deny the auto's low-price range origins.
As can be anticipated from a brand new Civic, the shape is stiffer in each torsion and bending, and quite a few attention changed into paid to silencing and smoothing the automobile's roadgoing dynamics, in addition to to improving its crash resistance. The usage of excessive-power metallic in elements of the frame, in conjunction with a few clever strategies for shifting effect forces into the ground, have ended in expectancies for extraordinary crash rankings, which include a four-superstar SINCAP rating (for aspect affects), a five-famous person NCAP rating (for frontal impacts), and a "desirable" insurance Institute for highway protection rating (for offset frontal collisions).

How to Test Drive a Car ( what is a car )

 

 what is a car

You may’t placed it off any further—a journey to the car dealership is on your close to destiny. However how can you ensure that hunk of steel, plastic, and rubber you’re eyeing is right for you? How are you going to great acquaint your self with what is going to be now not best one among your biggest investments but additionally a depended on, long-term accomplice for your normal existence? A check force, of route. Making the maximum of it is a simple matter of commonplace experience, careful commentary, and understanding what to look for. Study on for how to prepare your self for this all-essential enjoy and what to keep music of when taking a new automobile out for the first time.
Do Your Homework

Don’t wander onto the lot to see what automobiles are available. By the point you show up at a dealership, you ought to already realize what model(s) you need and what alternatives you're interested by. Do your research beforehand of time—our on-line customer’s guide is a on hand tool—and make the initial journey totally for the cause of having at the back of the wheel. Additionally:

• pressure your potential applicants returned-to-lower back on the equal day so that you could make a proper evaluation.

• consider bringing a pal alongside to preserve the salesclerk occupied and point out things you might forget about.

• although you must press to take the car home overnight—as many dealers now permit—to get relaxed with it and see if it suits in your storage, as a minimum make an attempt to come returned at night to look at how nicely the headlights carry out and the way nicely the interior is illuminated.
Getting familiar

when you’re on the dealership, allow the shop clerk recognize you want to pressure the automobile(s) you've got in mind and then you’ll be comparing models and expenses at other showrooms. Doing this must will let you better recognition to your potential experience whilst communicating to the provider which you’re prepared to take your enterprise elsewhere if an appealing provide can’t be made.

• due to the fact positive options and powertrains can greatly modify the feel of a vehicle, it’s vital to power the particular version and trim stage you must buy. If your dealer doesn’t have the powertrain you're looking for, wait, or locate one that does. Take a while, and punctiliously move over the automobile, taking notes and reading how the automobile seems within the metallic versus in pictures.

• even though turning the key and mashing the throttle might be your first inclination on a test drive, instead stroll across the car and look at it thoroughly.

• study how certain functions would possibly turn out to be disturbing in day-to-day use, including inadequate storage cubbies and cup holders, in addition to a trunk that is hard to perform or has an opening that is too small or too high. (Are the going for walks forums important, or are they simply going to grimy your pant leg for more money?)

• the driving force’s and front passenger’s doorways may be massive and easy to open and near, but additionally study the convenience of entry and go out for rear-seat occupants, inclusive of ingress and egress to the third row of seats, if relevant, and the way difficult it is to put in a toddler seat.

• Are the rear seats adjustable, secure, and sufficient in length, and do they fold down for more cargo potential?

• don't forget to study the automobile’s protection features, such as the number of airbags, lively-protection electronics, and adjustable seatbelts.

• If children may be driving inside the vehicle, carry them alongside and allow them to evaluate the separate controls and facilities inside the again seat (in the event that they’re vintage enough to drive themselves—and also you’ll sincerely let them—you possibly must get them in the back of the wheel, too).

• take note of the car’s fit, finish, and wellknown build nice. Take a look at sure gadgets that serve as bellwethers for overall craftsmanship, including the quality of the solar visors, glove container, and seat upholstery, in addition to the operation of the shifter and the way soundly the doorways near.

• discover if the car takes top rate or unleaded gas—or if it’s a diesel and calls for particular maintenance approaches.

• If it’s a convertible, how clean is it to raise and lower the pinnacle, and what sort of garage room is sacrificed while the pinnacle is stowed?

• For large vehicles, you’ll probable need to study towing capabilities and capacities and trailer-hitch kind and height, in addition to ensure that the proper trailer-electrical connectors are preinstalled at the manufacturing facility or may be handled by means of the provider.

• For pickup vehicles, how heavy is the tailgate, and what options are to be had to enhance the usability of the bed?
Going for a Spin

Now you’re geared up to climb behind the wheel. Get located, and take stock of ways well the number one controls are laid out. Ergonomics could make or break a great automobile, and due to the fact we spend maximum of the time interior our vehicles, automakers are placing ever-extra attempt into differentiating interiors with more style, the modern day technologies, and specific layouts.

• Are the primary controls smooth to use (is the take hold of too hard or the steerage too heavy?) and adjustable sufficient for you and other capability drivers to be secure? A telescoping steerage wheel and adjustable pedals may be a big benefit on this regard, as riding function is determined by way of not simplest the driver’s body but additionally matters including the peak of the dash and seats, the motive force’s distance from the guidance wheel—which have to be approximately 12 or greater inches—and the ease with which the infotainment system can be operated.

• Are the the front seats at ease and supportive (not too soft or tough)?

• Are there sufficient gauges, readouts, and display displays that are clean to view and operate?

• Don’t forget about to check the weather-manage device and the way correctly it pumps out warm and cold air.

• As digital devices play an increasingly more essential position in our every day lives, the car’s human-device interface ought to be scrutinized. Bring your iPod along to test how properly the stereo sounds, together with how clean it is to manipulate the device once it is in sync with the entertainment device.

• Are Bluetooth wireless, wireless connectivity, and voice activation supplied, and the way well do they feature together with your cell tool?

• Is there enough room to without difficulty region your gadgets while driving?

• Is the navigation device intuitive to function and accurate in its instructions?

• If the dealership won’t let you borrow the automobile for the night time, inform the shop clerk you’ll get a higher experience for it if you go out by myself, without any distractions. If he insists on coming, make it clear that you want to drive the automobile for your terms and experience it on more than one avenue surfaces and at varying speeds—don’t be coerced into a short jaunt around the dealership on extremely-smooth roads. Here are a few additional guidelines if the dealer questions your reasons for looking to pressure the automobile.

• See if the automobile has enough power to securely merge with dual carriageway traffic and if the brakes have a strong, reassuring feel to their operation—but forget approximately doing your Sebastian Vettel influence for the salesclerk.

• Take numerous corners to assess the vehicle’s composure whilst all of sudden changing course over tough surfaces in addition to how smoothly the transmission operates when using spiritedly.

• make an effort to learn how to park the car. Are you able to go out with the doorways handiest partially open? How tight is the turning radius? Is the front quit so low it scrapes on parking curbs? How difficult is it to parallel-park?

• Visibility, or lack thereof, is every other thing to do not forget when at the back of the wheel. Excessive-style sheetmetal frequently manner a higher beltline with small, gun-slit home windows and compromised outward visibility. Have a look at how properly you can see out in all directions, specifically thru the rear window. Does the automobile have dangerously big blind spots, and in that case, does it have blind-spot monitors for help?

• How lots road noise protrudes into the cabin? Do the tires drone a lot they could lull you to sleep on a long street ride? How lots wind noise is there, and does the air buffet and rush into the cabin with the home windows open?
Replicate in your drive

The salesperson is aware of the exceptional time to make a address you is whilst you go back from a check power, when the new-car scent continues to be clean for your nostril. However don’t be swayed. Kindly avoid the shop clerk’s tries to entice you again to his or her table, and alternatively cross see what the rest of the dealership enjoy is like. As you’ll finally should go back for carrier and/or elements, see how properly these departments work with you and what the fees are for basic services. Right now you furthermore mght ought to evaluate your potential automobile’s upkeep schedule.

• How long are the endorsed oil alternate intervals?

• What are the phrases of the guarantee, and what components are blanketed?

• Is changing high priced performance components some thing you’ll have to cope with at the same time as you continue to own the car? Many automobiles now come standard with upgraded overall performance brakes and high-performance or run-flat tires. Despite the fact that these features may be a critical detail to a car’s dynamic personality, they're high priced to update and can require common maintenance. Make sure you already know what you’re getting your self into.

When you’ve completed the check force, go through the process with the alternative automobiles for your list, leaving time later on to mirror on every vehicle and which one suits you exceptional. Most effective after this ought to you come back to the showroom and begin the buying manner. This degree of guidance does no longer guarantee that you’ll love your new car all the time, however it is due diligence for a primary purchase and could likely make you more assured for your very last selection.

2016 Smart Fortwo ( lifted smart car )

lifted smart car

What’s been stopping you from buying the Smart Fortwo, America? The lurch-prone gearbox? The woeful steering? That its seats are so closely spaced that you can smell what your passenger had for lunch? (And, quite possibly, for breakfast?)

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2016 Smart Fortwo
2016 Smart Fortwo
Better execution of a still dubious premise.

    Nov 2014 By MIKE DUFF

    897 SHARES
    TWEET

First Drive Review
What’s been stopping you from buying the Smart Fortwo, America? The lurch-prone gearbox? The woeful steering? That its seats are so closely spaced that you can smell what your passenger had for lunch? (And, quite possibly, for breakfast?)
If so, we bring good news: Daimler has diligently addressed each and every one of these problems when engineering the third-generation Fortwo coming here in late 2015 as a 2016 model. Meaning that you’re all out of excuses and should head down to your local Smart dealership and join what’s certain to be a growing line outside.
Or maybe not. Because although Smart understandably highlights what makes the Fortwo better, we can’t really report any substantive changes to the fundamental proposition. Which, we’d respectfully suggest, might have been keeping more Americans from Smart ownership than any of the widely acknowledged niggles of the previous version.
 The driving experience is both familiar and better. The new Smart is a clear improvement over its predecessor by most driving measures, no more so than with the replacement of the old car’s woefully laggy automated manual gearbox. (For those who’ve never driven an original Smart, just know that you could speak entire phrases in the delay between ratios. Frequently these would be obscene phrases about the transmission.) Now Smart offers a choice of either a five-speed manual or a six-speed dual-clutch automatic. Daimler reckons the U.S. take will be about 80 percent DCT—a perfect inversion of the anticipated manual-to-auto split in Europe.
Both transmissions work well. The five-speed has a nice, light action, certainly once you’re acclimated to the clutch’s relatively sudden biting point. The pedals are well spaced for some heel-and-toe rev-matching, as well, although the turbo engine’s nonlinear response makes that harder than it should be. We were only allowed to drive a prototype version of the DCT—apparently it’s not yet as far advanced as the rest of the car—but it shifts cleanly when left to its own devices and quickly if you issue instructions by sliding the gear selector into its “manual” position. The lack of standard steering-wheel paddles is a tacit acknowledgement that this is a dual-clutch-as-automatic, though, rather than a proxy manual.  Praise falters when we get to the new engine. The U.S. will only be taking the more powerful 89-hp turbocharged version of the transverse three-cylinder engine, and this felt excessively laggy and gutless at lower revs. We also managed a run in the naturally aspirated 70-hp model, which, despite taking four seconds longer to get to 62 mph (14.4 seconds, per Smart), felt far smoother and barely slower at urban speeds. That one’s not coming our way, but slow-lane proponents can look forward to a new iteration of the full-electric version. It will follow sometime later, as will a cabriolet model.
The new Smart is as clever as its predecessor, a bit more comfortable, and built to a higher standard. It’s a likable city companion, but it still feels like the answer to a question that very few U.S. buyers will be asking anytime soon. 

Can My Insurance Company Require Me to Use Certain Types of Auto Repair Parts? ( car repair insurance )

 

car repair insurance  

Your insurance company can't require you to use only certain kinds of auto repair parts. However, if the insurance company's rates are based on a certain type of part and you want something different, it can ask you to pay the difference if the part you want is more expensive.
The parts most frequently damaged in auto accidents are "crash parts." These are the sheetmetal pieces that cover the engine and frame of the car. These may be known as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts or generic parts. These crash parts do not affect the safety of the car. The development of a market in generic parts has brought prices for car replacement parts down and saved consumers money.
In general, if generic parts have been ordered for the repair of your car, this information must be disclosed. The car repair order should state that the parts are not from the original manufacturer and the warranty may be different. Many generic parts are made at the same factories as OEM parts, and in fact very few OEM parts are actually made by carmakers.

Insurance companies that use generic parts guarantee the parts they use. If the part doesn't fit properly, the insurance company will generally put on an OEM part at no extra cost.
Some auto insurance companies offer their policyholders a choice between OEM and generic repair parts as part of an endorsement (addition to the policy that changes its terms and conditions) that includes other choices as well. Some always specify OEM parts for repairs and some use OEM parts for repairing recent model cars. A few states require insurance companies to offer generic parts when they exist and some may require OEM parts to be used.
Ask your insurance agent about your state and your insurance company's claim settlement guidelines so that you'll know what to expect if your car has to be repaired after an accident.

Celebrating the Indy 500's 100th Anniversary: 100 Most Interesting Facts and Milestones ( who won the indy 500 )

 Lot of  those guys, Fisher desired cars to be quicker and greater reliable.
As co-founder of Indianapolis-based Prest-O-Lite (1904), Fisher become already a successful player inside the developing automotive enterprise, offering headlights to carmakers. He noticed U.S. Automakers trailing Europeans in improvement. What changed into needed to pace progress in the us, he reasoned, became a committed test facility that would double as a racetrack.
The idea made feel to three of  his Indianapolis pals, all efficaciously concerned inside the burgeoning auto enterprise: Jim Allison, Fisher’s Prest-O-Lite accomplice;  art Newby, an government with the countrywide Motor car agency; and Frank Wheeler, co-owner of the Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor business enterprise. The initial plan became to name the ability the “Indiana Motor limited-access highway Grounds.” but when the companions filed articles of incorporation on February eight, 1909, it had come to be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway corporation, capitalized at $250,000 (greater than $6 million in today’s bucks).
The rest, as they are saying, is history. In celebration of  the Indy 500 centennial, we’ve culled a hundred of the more intriguing historical tidbits for your leisure. 1922: Jimmy Murphy leads a Duesenberg blitz (eight of the pinnacle 10). But his Duesey chassis, left over from his victory inside the 1921 French Grand Prix, is propelled by way of a brand new 183-cubic-inch, DOHC 32-valve straight-eight engine designed by using Harry Miller. Miller engines and cars will win 9 of  the following 12 races.1924: Spurred by way of Miller’s achievement, the Duesenberg brothers discipline Indy’s first supercharged cars, a trio of heterosexual-eights. Murphy puts a Miller on the pole, but L.L. Corum and relief motive force Joe Boyer come from deep in the field to win for Duesenberg.1930: With Indy basically a Miller-versus-Duesenberg affair, production carmakers deserted the five hundred. To lure them again, Rickenbacker lobbies the AAA Contest Board for brand new guidelines: evidently aspirated inventory-block engines as much as 366 cubic inches—the so-called Junk method.Preston Tucker sells Edsel Ford on an epic 10-vehicle Indy attack in 1935, harnessing the design capabilities of Harry Miller and Ford’s flathead V-8. The project is well funded but gets under manner  simply weeks earlier than Memorial Day. 4 automobiles make the grid, and none finishes, every succumbing to the equal design trouble: The steerage field, positioned too close to the exhaust, fails due to overheating. Miller’s genius photo is tarnished.