Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster –Hybrid drive is Revealed Out By Daimler

Daimler who is a maker of Mercedes-Benz has revealed F-CELL Roadster, which is the most hottest and trendy in their line of F-Series. Guess it’ll surely stand as inspiration from different variety of automotive epochs. When we look at its functioning, it is fitted with a 1.2 kW-hybrid drive which permits the F-CELL to reach a top speed of 15 mph and accomplish a functioning range of 217 miles.

All the credit for sure goes to the trainees of Daimler AG at the Sindelfingen plant. Creation of this F-CELL is done in the hands of all 150 trainees and with dual education system students working for about a year on entire concept, development, assembly, and finally the completion of the hybrid model. Fleig feels quite delighted to see the amount of initiative and creativity put in this project by the youngsters.

This F-CELL gonna be a real trendy car which gonna shine in the market because it manages to mingle the complete aura of the novel Benz patent motor car with seating and fiberglass front section both drawn from elements of Formula One Racing.

Banning black cars in California

In yet another case of Regulators Gone Wild, California legislation may soon restrict the color options for your next car. The specific colors that are currently on the chopping block are all dark hues, with the worst offender seemingly the most innocuous color you could think of: black. What resentment could California possibly harbor against black cars, you ask? Apparently, the Air Resources Board figures that the climate control systems of dark colored cars need to work harder than their lighter siblings, especially after sitting in the sun for a few hours. Anyone living in a hot, sunny climate will tell you that this assumption is accurate. Similar legislation already exists for buildings and has proven successful at reducing the energy consumption of skyscrapers.

So, what's the problem? Paint suppliers have reportedly been testing their pigments and processes to see if it's possible to meet CARB's proposed mandate of 20 percent solar reflectivity by 2016 with a phase-in period starting in 2012, and it's not looking good. Apparently, when the proper pigments and chemicals are added to black paint, the resulting color is currently being referred to as "mud-puddle brown." That doesn't sound very attractive, now does it? Windshields, backlights and sunroofs are also slated to get reflective coatings starting in 2012.

When we first heard of this issue, an internal debate immediately began as to whether this might be an elaborate April Fool's joke. Sadly, it isn't. Read through CARB's complete Cool Cars Standards and Test Procedures here (PDF link). Thanks for the tip, Joaquin!

Fisker Eco-Facilities – But no Ego-Facilities!

It got announced today by Premium green automaker Fisker Automotive that it has signed up its first and foremost cluster of 32 US retailers to market and service its luxury plug-in hybrid vehicles which is starting at the rate $87,900, 100mpg Karma sedan later in this year.

Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and one Canadian Province, British Columbia are the 17 states where 32 retailers got located. And the British Columbia has rooted their plan to carry on the Fisker marquee. By the end of June 2009 it’s hoped by the carmaker to have atleast 40 locations all around the country.

Even in tough economic times Fisker is in a great position to attract novel franchises by keeping the start-up price low and not requiring any floor-planning beyond demonstrator and display cars.

The showroom of Fisker gonna be with full of Eco-facilities not Ego-facilities and its architecture is for natural and sustainable stuffs such as wood and textiles. The solar powered car port which is available can be helpful to keep demonstration vehicles clean, dry, completely charged, and zip zap zoom!

A new Partnership Venture amid Nisan and San Diego

New partnership gonna arise amid Nissan and San Diego Gas & electric (SDG&E), which is utility concern functioning in the San Diego, California. In order to develop an electric vehicle (EV) charging network this partnership idea raised.

In the year 2010 ZEVs gonna get introduced by Nissan and it’s marketing will be done world wide after two years. In EV purchase and work with the utility in order to promote a charging infrastructure for EVs SDG&E will be given assistance by Nissan.

With area agencies, institutions and companies a working team will mediate/bridge in order to function towards implementation and maintenance of a battery charging network and set up and support education activities designed in order to promote the use of EVs.

Let’s see to what extent this car will be clicked in the market. All the best for this new partnership venture.

Online Survey About TATA NANO

U.S. states to use stimulus for transportation projects

Kansas will widen the U.S. 69 highway to remove a bottleneck outside Kansas City, along with a few other expensive projects. Maryland will spend its money in smaller pieces, resurfacing dozens of rutted roads and highways. Colorado will build an interchange on Elk Creek Road in Jefferson County, complete with an underpass for the elk.

There is nothing monumental in President Barack Obama's plan to revive the economy with a coast-to-coast building spree, no historic New Deal-style public works. The goal of the stimulus plan was to put people to work quickly, and so states across the country have begun to spend nearly $50 billion on thousands of smaller transportation projects that could employ up to 400,000 people, by the administration's estimates.

More than a dozen states have now said how they plan to spend at least some of their transportation money, giving the clearest picture yet of how one of the president's signature programs is playing out around the country.

Beyond all the money for Medicaid and unemployment benefits in the huge bill passed in February, this will be the face of America's stimulus program: a bridge will be painted on a rural road, a new lane added on a suburban highway, a guardrail built on a median strip.

They may be old plans that the recession had forced a state to shelve, but multiplied by thousands, they will quickly get bulldozers rolling again and paychecks flowing. On the highway projects alone, the White House said Tuesday that 150,000 jobs would be created or saved.
Some states are taking radically different approaches with their transportation money. While Kansas is using it on a few big marquee projects to expand capacity at several highways, Maryland has adopted a fix-it-first policy, and plans to use its money to repair dozens of roads and bridges instead of building new ones.


The work, however mundane much of it is, cannot come too soon for a construction industry buffeted by an unemployment rate that has risen to twice the national average as many states cut back on building.

Mike Gibson, the executive director of Associated Contractors of New Mexico, a trade group, said that his state had lost 4,500 highway construction jobs in the past year.

"We have lost the equivalent of a plant closure," Gibson said.

"When you lose 10 jobs here, 100 jobs here, it adds up very quickly."

States have tremendous latitude in how they spend the money, and in some places that is leading to pitched political battles - battles that must be waged quickly, since the states must begin spending the money in four months. Regional politics is playing a role in some states, as local lawmakers fight to get money sent to their districts.

Since the stimulus law provided much less money for transportation than many states had expected - less than $50 billion, which is about what the federal government spends on transportation every year - the competition for those dollars can be particularly fierce.

Two schools of thought are emerging as states decide what to do with their shares.

Kansas decided to concentrate its money on a few new projects that its transportation secretary, Deb Miller, called "game changers." So it will spend nearly a quarter of its money building the next leg of a project to expand U.S. 69 in Overland Park, a bustling suburb of Kansas City. It will rebuild an interchange in Wichita in an area where developers want to put more retail space, rebuild a rural highway in Gove County that has heavy truck traffic, and complete a 10-year project to improve a corridor in McPherson County where work was stopped because the money had dried up.

"We wanted to build projects that would have a lasting impact, so that 20 years later people could look at them and see what we did," said Miller, who added that the department was considering making plaques to show that the projects had been paid for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the official name of the stimulus law.

Others argue that the money should be used to fix the crumbling infrastructure that already exists. They note that for years, many states have put off much-needed maintenance to save money, and that repair projects can be done quickly.

In the absence of a broader policy discussion about the future of transportation - which would involve wrestling with questions about sprawl and how to reduce dependence on foreign oil - these states have decided it is better to fix existing roads than to build new ones that would only attract more cars.

src:http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/04/america/states.php

Great Nano from Tata Motors ready to roll out in India – March 23rd 2009

INDIA'S Tata Motors is ready to launch the world's cheapest car amid predictions
the vehicle could transform how millions travel and fears it would bring more traffic jams on Indian roads.

Tycoon Ratan Tata was due to unveil the four-door jellybean-shaped car with tear-drop lights at a "revolutionary high-tech'' audio-visual show in India's financial hub Mumbai.

The car is slated to cost just 100,000 rupees ($A2850) for the no-frills version that has a two-cylinder 623cc, rear-mounted engine with a top speed of 105kmh.
Ratan Tata, an architect by training and head of the sprawling tea-to-steel Tata Group, dreamed up the car to get poor Indians off unsafe motorcycles and into safer cars.

"There's no safety in two-wheelers especially with the whole family,'' said New Delhi resident Ganesh Khand, 38, who now has a motorbike but wants a Nano to be able to transport his wife and two daughters safely.

But the affluent are eyeing the car too.

"This is a value-for-money car,'' said Hasmukh Kakadia, 39, a Mumbai investment analyst.

The basic model has a four-speed manual transmission, no air-conditioning, electric windows or power steering, but deluxe versions will be available.

The launch comes at a tough time for India's top vehicle maker, hit by a slowing domestic economy, a credit crunch and a deepening world financial crisis that has hurt sales of British luxury marques Jaguar and Land Rover which it bought last year.

But demand is expected to be hot for the Nano with just 30,000 to 50,000 of cars likely to be sold in the first year because of limited production capacity - a fraction of the original target of 250,000, auto analysts said.

Dealers say they've been flooded with queries about the car whose debut was delayed by several months when violent protests over the acquisition of farmland for the project forced the Tatas to shift the Nano plant from West Bengal state to Gujarat, known as more business-friendly.

Tata has been likened by India's media to US automobile pioneer Henry Ford for conceiving the car.

But environmentalists fear the Nano will clog India's already crowded roads and add to choking pollution.

Tata Nano Interior Photo gallery




Src: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25227922-12335,00.html

Car thieves go for skill upgrades overseas

IT SEEMS that even crime bosses understand the import of skills upgrading.

The New Sunday Times reported that car theft syndicates in Malaysia have been
sending their members to Japan so that they can learn how to better disable car
alarm systems.

A police source told the paper: "Japan is the country of choice because it is the home to some of the biggest car makers such as Toyota and Honda."During the course, which usually lasts for about three months, the thieves can even specialize in specific skills.

For example, one syndicate member may get in-depth lessons on disabling car alarms while another studies how to make duplicate keys or how to open steering locks.

There are even those who specialize in breaking into a particular make of car.

"For example, one will be an expert on Toyota models while another focuses on Honda," the source said.

The syndicates reportedly send their members for these courses each time a new Japanese car is introduced into the market so that they can learn everything about the model.

"This is because orders from foreign buyers will come in for the new model and the syndicate wants to be prepared to meet the demand," the source explained.These upgrading courses are just one of the ways car theft syndicates are evolving with the times, turning from small-time operators into sophisticated outfits with a global market.

While the Malaysian syndicates previously sold stolen vehicles only to local workshops and criminals, they now have customers in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Afghanistan, China, and even as far as South Africa.Apart from those who steal the cars, the racket now also involves brokers who match the syndicates with potential buyers overseas.

Buyers would contact brokers in their country to put an "order" for a specific make and model.These brokers will then contact their counterparts in Malaysia, who in turn will get the syndicates to steal the vehicle.Operate in pairsThe police source said thieves often operate in pairs, scouting areas such as car parks and quiet roads.

Once a car is found, one syndicate member will disable the alarm system while his partner breaks into the vehicle.They then take the car to have its registration plate changed and keys duplicated before dropping it off at a pre-arranged location, usually in a car park of a condominium.The key is left on top of the car tire or inside the glove compartment, and the broker is informed.In the next step, the broker pays a runner between RM500 ($224) and RM1, 000 to drive the car to one of Malaysia's many ports. Where it is put inside a shipping container, and sent to the client.

Foreign buyers normally pay between US$2,700 ($4,000) and US$60,000 for a stolen vehicle.

For example, a stolen Mercedes-Benz S350L, which costs nearly RM1 million ($450,000) in Malaysia, can be had for just RM217, 000.

The syndicate usually gets between RM2, 000 and RM3, 000 for each vehicle they steal.
Apart from stealing cars, the syndicates now also provide value-added services such as altering the chassis number, duplicating car keys, and forging road tax discs and registration plates.Packages cost between RM2, 000 and RM50, 000, depending on the vehicle.

To curb the rising incidence of such car thefts, Malaysia's National Vehicle Theft Reduction Council has been working on several initiatives.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, who heads the council, said: "Currently, discussions are being held with various parties to examine the feasibility of offering discounts on insurance premiums to car owners if they install additional alarm systems.

src:http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20090319-129620.html

Changes on 2010 Toyota Camry

2010 Toyota Camry

There is a new front styling coming up with Toyota Camry and this car features out a restyled grille and greater headlights. Though it has great appearances one vital change for 2010 is the addition of a standard electronic stability system in addition to a boost in fuel economy for certain models and this 2010 Camry is out so check out for this car to have one in your area.

Till 2010 Camry’s stability became optional and stood as one of the marks against the Camry as its competitors in 2009 model year –Honda Accord, Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata and Mazda6 comprised the feature as standard. This car has further more attractive features like it supports a very good engine which is paired with a choice of six-speed transmissions and this engine also helps in enhancing the car’s fuel economy.

Car Payments to be covered by AutoNation for Job Loss Customers

For customers who lose their jobs a new incentive program got set up by AutoNation Inc. which covers up to six months of car payments on novel/used cars. President of AutoNation Inc. mentioned that all the car payments will be covered by the Payment Protection till the buyer gets a new job.

He stated that it’s all particularly apt issues in this environment where there are in fact two big issues in retailing i.e. consumer confidence and availability of credit and this is the one which attacks the issue of consumer confidence.

This program is more/loss similar to the Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., which costs nothing for the customer and which makes the customer comfortable and comes as US auto sales went down to 9.3 million units on an annual basis, a 27 year low in the month of January and February. He also mentioned that today it got launched up at33 South Florida dealerships excluding all the business purchases and this may get launched nationwide.

At the year of purchase all car expenses like vehicle loan/lease will be provided by the AutoNation which owns and functions 313 new vehicle franchises in 15 states. There is first 90-day waiting period and the worker must be unwillingly terminated by the employer.

Car’s being Awarded For the year 2009!

From last year November sales don’t look that good as they were 30%down. However the falls are now industry-wide with Honda posting a 32% decline, fall in Toyota sales 34% and even esteemed Porsche reporting plunge in sales almost 50%.

Well these number apparently a trouble for the automakers but it’s not clear what they mean to the car shoppers. Since two months the credit crisis has been continued, the car shoppers finding themselves floating in the sea of negative industry news, augmenting new incentives of car, and little advice for customers.

Well when we look at the best car for money it is extracted by US news. And the cars have been awarded based on many vital and also based on different data from various vital sites.

The Winners
Across 14 new car classes, the clear winner is Toyota.
Five Toyotas won Best Car for the Money in
their classes, with Lexus, Toyota's
luxury marquee, pulling in another
three. Chevrolet and Mazda each claim two
awards and Honda and Korean
upstart

Well each car has its own reasons for being awarded. Like as said earlier Toyota has been awarded many times for its quality which is of bullet proof. However like Mazda, The best compact Crossover for money take the finest part of what class leaders like Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V has but got in attractively lower rates. And when it comes to Hyundai it’s not only making commercial cars but also very good ones.

Entry of Ford in Chrysler as GM’s deal is too feeble..!

The labor agreement is not going to be accepted by the Ford Canada that General Motor of Canada lately which struck with the Canadian Auto Workers union. This was decided by ford as they feel that the deal is going to return any enough cost savings. And now ford joined Chrysler telling that it needs more concessions from the CAW, which has agreed to open up contract agreements with Detroit-based automakers.

500 US Suppliers are at Severe Danger due to Plunge in Auto Production

A restructuring expert stated that huge amount of risk is faced by 500 US auto parts suppliers due to the great fall in the auto production and indecisive prospects for federal aid. Laura Marcero, who is the partner in corporate advisory and restructuring services, added that this situation resulted to a great threat to the economy. She added that in order to make money suppliers struggled so much when all the firms volume was nearly double than today.

As the industry is plunging down to match projections of 12-14 million annual US sales, roughly about 30-40% of all part makers are at danger. 16.4 million was the US average in this decade and seasonally adjusted rate till now is below 10 million. $18.5 billion was requested by Original Equipment Suppliers Association in order to avert further bankruptcies.

Hold-up in the Entry of New Diesel Truck Engine By GM Motors

Due to a great fall in financial situation GM got to holdup one of its most advanced engine designed of 4.5-liter diesel which is useful for light duty trucks. A spokeswoman by name Susan Garavaglia stated that now it’s totally gonna be great tough time for them as they got make tough decision right now.

Truck users were eagerly waiting with great enthusiasm for the entry of the engine which would’ve started production next fall at GM’s plant in Tonawanda, N.Y. A unique cylinder is there in the engine that eradicates the exhaust and the intake manifolds. For crankshaft-bearing journals and oil circulation system, highly developed castings are there in this light weight block.

In Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra GM planned to incorporate this engine and this would’ve resulted to fuel-efficient truck priced for which must’ve been less than heavy diesel-powered trucks which are in the market these days.

Prior to US auto task force this is set to find whether automaker needs an additional sum of $16.6 billion in federal aid. GM, kept afloat by $13.4 billion in U.S. loans which have been acquired so far, is trying to shed brands, sell assets and curtail spending as it struggles all over the world fall down in auto sales after four profitless years.

Honda targets at Prius where its prices are just around at $20,470..!

By introducing a cheap car in US, Honda told that it would grab atleast few of the buyers from the market leader Toyota and this was the bet kept by Honda.

American Honda Motor Co. stated that including shipping of the car it would cost just $20,470 and it’s of five-door model. And Toyota who is the main competitor of Honda has Toyota Prius at $22,720 where it includes all the costs of shipping too.

In the first 12 months after its March 24 showroom debut, Honda is targeting in selling 90,000 insights in US despite of moderate Gasoline prices and weak economy. In US, in the previous year Toyota sold 241,405 of its fuel-saving hybrids, from the year 2007 it went down to 12.5% but it was nearly eight times higher than its competitor, Honda.

Martin noted in Automotive News that there is a very sturdy demand for hybrid in this price segment. In US, Honda sold 31,495 hybrids out of which most of them were Civic and Toyota who is its main competitor sold most of Toyota Prius.

Canadian Autoworkers Union Agree to the Cost saving Pact

The Canadian autoworkers union agreed to range of contract concessions with General Motors of Canada on Sunday in a deal that shunned reductions to base salaries/pension benefits. A union statement told the agreement which reached out after round the clock talks which in turn saves the company substantial amounts of money and it ought to be ratified by the union members.

In a news conference CAW president Ken Lewenza stated that the alternatives are too bad and worse state. He told that how much ever they can do as union they’ve done and rest the Canadian government got to step up to the plate. The agreement which CAW expects will form the model for deal with further more auto concerns which broadens the contract by one year while freeze of wages and cost of living adjustments.

There will be cut-off in the paid time by 40 hours each year and increase co-payments for a range of health care provisions. The union stated that the agreement is reliant on the concern getting government financial assistance and recommitting to a proportional Canadian producing presence.

Struggle in auto industry in Turkey

Top European automotive executive said Turkey struggling in automotive industry because of fluctuations in foreign-currency rates. So they are troublesome for auto companies seeking to operate in Turkey.

Volvo Overseas Chairman Lex Kerssemakers told the press in
Istanbul that currency rates are constantly fluctuating in Turkey so they are
hard to predict whether a foreign automotive company would be able to earn money
in this market.

"The balance in the currency rates is crucial for stability," he said. "As Volvo, we keep supporting our office in Turkey, because this is an important market and represents a significant potential. However, the unsteadiness in the currency is not helpful. We are working hard to support our distributors in Turkey so they manage to survive the crisis."

Speaking on the impact of the global turmoil in the automotive sector, Kerssemakers said the character of the current crisis does not allow people to set forth a forecast of the future.

"That is why we evaluate the current economic developments on a weekly basis," he said. "For instance, as Volvo, we thought that we saw the bottom of the crisis in December. But things have gone even worse so far. While even the economists cannot predict what is next, there is not much to say about the future for carmakers."

"The main reason for the crisis of the global automotive sector is the absence of liquidity," Kerssemakers added. "This is the main factor for the decline in car sales all over the world. Both suppliers and customers are left stranded due to the problems in cash flow."

CEO of Fiat set out to meet the US authorities

In order to convince government officials of the advantages of a planned alliance amid the Italian industrial group and struggling U.S. car maker Chrysler, the CEO of Fiat gonna go to Washington this week.

Sergio Marchionne stated to the reporters of the auto show of Geneva that he is going within few days to continue forum with the federal authorities.

Fiat alliance with Chrysler got announced earlier this year which is reliant on the US car maker getting more assistance. He stated that he had full confidence that this plan would be accepted by all the authorities and also its ability in making Chrysler into a viable concern and Chrysler has filed viability plan with US government and also asked for $5 billion in loans in order to support its turn around.

This alliance would make Chrysler to access to smaller cars and foreign markets Fiat in the North American market. And this is also designed in order to provide Fiat the scale it requirements to secure it survival in the crisis besetting the sector.

Latest talk which was stated by Marchionne is that fiat is also going forward with its talks with BMW in spite of Chrysler alliance. Recently BMW and Chrysler has got into good cooperation which would’ve German premium car market that help out Fiat in relaunching its Alfa Romeo brand in the US market.

Marchionne also stated that the talks were regarding technological agreement entailing BMW’ mini.

Drop in US sales (41.3%) which results to plunge of GM and Ford

In February top six US automakers plunge more than 37% where it’s the worst month since December 1981. Efraim Levy an analyst stated in a report that automotive industries are in high automotive depression among the great recession.

All the shocked customers scared for their jobs, the value of their homes and stock market assets are cautious of making the sizable.

CEO states that Volkswagen goes ahead with the U.S. plant which lay off 16,500 impermanent workers

Martin Winterkorn who is the CEO stated to a German magazine that this particular year Volkswagen is not going to renew the contracts of its 16,500 workers due to the fall in the economy. In an interview he told that though there is industry crisis all over the world, there is no full stop in the construction of the new plant of VW in US. When the plant gets ready by 2011, he is expecting US to overcome all its problems.

By the end of this year VW will no more have any temporary workers which is totally not good to the people who will be affected. He told that there is no other way rather than doing this.

Any compulsory job cuts are not taken into consideration as it would result in tapping the other measures to cut the production like cut in working hours and he added that the permanent workers are in a secured state.

He ended up stating that in case if the situations turn to be worse then the other steps are to be considered and he didn’t provide any details!

Entry of Nissan in LCV business in North America

The latest news is that Entry of Nissan in LCV (Light Commercial Vehicles) business through a vital investment in North America.

NNA (Nissan North America, Inc.) Is a part of Global Commitment to the segment which has announced that it’ll shortly introduce to the North American market three light commercial vehicles in three years and forge partnerships with Cummins Inc. for the engines and ZF Friedrichshafen AG for the transmissions.

The leading LCV business unit will be Joe Castelli who is the vice president of Light Commercial Vehicle and Fleet, NNA. This new strategy has a key i.e. the Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., which will become the production center for a variety of new LCV commodities targeted at the significant North American commercial vehicle market.