2010 Honda CR-Z Hybrid

HONDA'S NEW CEO CONFIRMS PRODUCTION OF CR-Z HYBRID

Honda's new CEO, Takanobu Ito has today announced plans to begin sales of the CR-Zsports hybrid model in Japan in February 2010. The start date for UK sales of the new hybrid coupe will be released towards the end of 2009.

By combining this new model with the currentInsight and Civic Hybrid,Honda will further enhance its line-up of compact hybrid models, powered by Honda's compact, lightweight, and efficient Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system. The IMA system will also be introduced into the award-winning Honda Jazz within the next few years. In addition, Honda is currently developing a new hybrid system which is intended to be suitable for installation in mid-to-large vehicles.

Honda also announced that another production line at its Suzuka Factory, is now producing Insight, leveraging Honda's flexible production system. This extra capacity on line No. 3 has been opened up to cope with the high level of demand in Japan where the new Insight has exceeded all expectations.

Ito succeeds Takeo Fukui as CEO of Honda, having been President of Honda's R&D operation previously. Like his predecessor, Ito has a background as an engineer and was instrumental in bringing the revolutionary NSX from concept to reality. Ito was in charge of one of the most challenging development areas as the Project Leader for the NSX's ground breaking aluminium unibody construction.

To continue contributing to the global effort to reduce CO 2 emissions, Honda will remain focussed on research and development of technologies that improve fuel-efficiency and will strive to deliver products with improved environmental performance to as many customers as possible.

The CR-Z concept car made its world debut at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in 2007. The CR-Z sporty hybrid will feature advanced technologies that deliver enjoyable driving for all, while reducing the car‘s environmental footprint.

2010 Lexus IS250C

The new Lexus IS 250C, which will go on sale this summer, combines the sharp styling of the IS saloon range with open-top engineering ingenuity. The result is top-down driving pleasure with uncompromised dynamic performance.

True to Lexus’s legendary quality and attention detail, the new IS 250C has been engineered to achieve excellent aerodynamics, torsional rigidity, NVH levels and safety performance in both coupe and convertible configurations.

The IS 250C shares its 204bhp (208 DIN hp) 2.5-litre V6 engine and six-speed automatic transmission with the IS 250 saloon. It is styled to minimise wind turbulence when driving with the roof stowed, while extensive revisions to the body structure and suspension provide a high level of torsional rigidit

2010 BMW M10 rendering

Do you know which are the best kept secrets among automakers? Their future top models! But you will say why do they still want to develop supercars if people are doing their best to find Eco, Blue and hybrid solutions? Well simple: because supercars is what keep a maker alive, and from the edge of the top models will also benefit the subordinate vehicle series.

And supercar will always have success, no matter how many restrictions there will be! Lets be serious now, if you had the money what would you buy: a Prius or an Enzo (or any other combination you prefer)?

Lets take BMW for example, they have already trademark the "M10" name for a future supercar that is supposed to be a replacement for the legendary BMW M1, built between 1978 and 1981.

The M1’s successor will be powered by a ten-cylinder twin turbo-charged engine and will feature direct fuel injection. The performance target: 625 hp and a top speed of 400 km/h!

BMW will also offer an entry-level version that will be powered by twin turbo a 4.4 liter V8 engine that delivers 450 hp.

The M1’s successor will debut in the next 24-36 months and will be priced between 150.000-300.000 euro depending on the engine.

2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Specs

2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Performance
- Engine: 2.4L in-line 4 overhead cam with VVT ( 9.5 :1 compression ratio ; four valves per cylinder)
- Fuel: unleaded ( 87 octane)
- Fuel consumption: city= 20 (mpg); highway= 27 (mpg); combined= 23 (mpg); vehicle range: 407 miles
- Multi-point injection fuel system
- 17.7 gallon fuel tank
- Power: 162 HP ( 121 kW) @ 6,000 rpm; 162 ft lb of torque ( 220 Nm) @ 4,000 rpm

2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Handling
- ABS
- Four disc brakes including two ventilated discs
- Electronic brake distribution
- Electronic traction control via ABS & engine management
- Immobilizer
- Spacesaver steel rim spare wheel
- Stability control
- Strut front suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs, multi-link rear suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs

2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Exterior
- Painted front and rear bumpers
- Electric softtop convertible roof
- Day time running lights
- Driver and passenger power heated painted door mirrors
- External dimensions: overall length (inches): 180.4, overall width (inches): 72.2, overall height (inches): 54.1, wheelbase (inches): 101.4, front track (inches): 61.8, rear track (inches): 61.8 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 40.0
- Front fog lights
- Projector beam lens Bi-Xenon headlights
- Luxury trim alloy & leather on gearknob, alloy look on doors and alloy look on dashboard
- Pearl paint
- Fixed rear window with defogger
- Trunk/hatch spoiler
- Weights: curb weight (lbs) 3,527
- Windshield wipers with variable intermittent wipe

'11 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Interior
- 12v power outlet: front
- Air conditioning
- Fixed mast antenna
- Anti-theft protection
- Rockford Fosgate audio system with satellite, Disc Autochanger and six-disc remote changer CD player reads MP3
- Cargo capacity: all seats in place (cu ft): 5.2
- Clock
- Floor console
- Delayed/fade courtesy lights
- Cruise control
- Front seats cup holders
- Floor mats
- Driver front airbag with multi-stage deployment, passenger front airbag with occupant sensors and multi-stage deployment
- Sports heated electrically adjustable driver seat with height adjustment, lumbar adjustment, three adjustments and tilt adjustment electric, manual and electric, sports heated passenger seat
- 3-point reel front seat belts on driver seat and passenger seat with pre-tensioners
- Front seat center armrest
- Two head restraints on front seats
- Headlight control
- Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 39.6, rear headroom (inches): 35.7, front hip room (inches): 53.7, rear hip room (inches): 40.3, front leg room (inches): 42.8, rear leg room (inches): 27.7, front shoulder room (inches): 54.2, rear shoulder room (inches): 40.0 and interior volume (cu ft): 76.1
- Low tire pressure indicator
- Parking distance sensors rear and camera
- Remote power locks includes trunk/hatch and speed sensing
- Power steering
- Front power windows with one one-touch
- Front reading lights
- 3-point reel rear seat belts on driver side and passenger side
- Two fixed bench front facing rear seats with zero adjustments
- Automatic operation rear view mirror
- Steering wheel mounted remote audio controls
- Remote control remote trunk/hatch release
- Leather seat upholstery with additional leather
- Seating: four seats
- Front side airbag
- Nine speaker(s) Rockford Fosgate
- Leather covered steering wheel with tilt adjustment
- Tachometer
- Illuminated driver and passenger vanity mirror
- Ventilation system
- Voice activating system includes phone

Audi's A1 Luxury Baby

The long-awaited 2010 Audi A1 is about to hit the markets, Audi have recently released the specifications of the A1 range at launch date.

Sitting on a 2469 mm wheelbase and with an overall length of just 3954 mm, the Audi A1 is the smallest Audi models since the Audi A2. The Audi A1 features a coefficient of drag of between 0.329 and 0.333, depending on the model, and a frontal area of 2.04 m2. 3 engine options are available initially: 1.2 and 1.4 TFSI petrol units and a 1.6 TDI diesel.

The 1.2 TFSI engine is good for 85 PS (63 kW) at 4800 rpm and has a peak torque of 160 Nm (118 ft.lb) developed between 1500 and 3500 rpm. Driving the front wheels through a five speed manual gearbox, this is enough to thrust the 1040 kg hatchback Audi A1 1.2 TFSI from 0 to 100 km/h in a claimed 11.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 180 km/h (112 mph). CO2 emissions are a tidy 118 g/km.

The next petrol engined variant is the 1.4 TFSI, available with or without start & stop technology. The turbocharged 1390 cc engine produces 122 PS (90 kW) at 5000 rpm and achieves peak torque of 200 Nm from 1500 rpm to 4000 rpm. Driving through a 7 speed automatic gearbox, the 1125 kg Audi A1 1.4 TFSI is propelled to 100 km/h from rest in 8.9 seconds and has a claimed top speed of 203 km/h. 122 g/km of CO2 is claimed overall, with that figure dropping to 119 g/km with the start & stop technology.

The only diesel engine available at launch is the 1.6 TDI. This 1598 cc unit delivers 105 PS (77 kW) at 4400 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 1500-2500 rpm. Unusually for a modern diesel, it has just a 5-speed manual gearbox. Claimed CO2 emissions for the Audi A1 1.6 TDI are 103 g/km. It weighs 1040 kg and has a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 10.5 seconds. The claimed top speed for this model is 195 km/h.

2010 GMC Acadia

2010 GMC Acadia Performance
- 3,564 cc 3.6 liters V 6 front engine with 94.0 mm bore, 85.6 mm stroke, 11.3 compression ratio, double overhead cam, variable valve timing/camshaft and four valves per cylinder LLT
- Unleaded fuel 87
- Fuel consumption: EPA 08 city (mpg): 16, highway (mpg): 23, combined (mpg): 19, 673 and 418
- Gasoline direct injection fuel system
- 22.0 gallon main unleaded fuel tank 18.3
- Power: 215 kW , 288 HP SAE @ 6,300 rpm; 270 ft lb , 366 Nm @ 3,400 rpm

2010 GMC Acadia Handling
- ABS
- 3.160:1 axle ratio
- Brake assist system
- Four disc brakes including four ventilated discs
- Electronic brake distribution
- Electronic traction control via ABS & engine management
- Immobilizer
- Stability control
- Strut front suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs, multi-link rear suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs
- Tire kit

2010 GMC Acadia Exterior
- Driver and passenger 3rd row windows
- Black front and rear bumpers
- Day time running lights
- Driver and passenger power black door mirrors
- External dimensions: overall length (inches): 201.1, overall width (inches): 78.9, overall height (inches): 72.8, ground clearance (inches): 7.4, wheelbase (inches): 118.9, front track (inches): 67.1, rear track (inches): 67.1 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 40.4
- Projector beam lens halogen bulb headlights
- Luxury trim alloy look on gearknob, alloy look on doors and alloy look on dashboard
- Metallic paint
- Driver side and passenger side rear side windows
- Fixed rear window with defogger and intermittent
- Roof rails
- Roof spoiler
- Weights: gross vehicle weight rating (lbs) 6,459, curb weight (lbs) 4,936, gross trailer weight braked (lbs) 2,000 and max payload (lbs) 1,523
- Windshield wipers with variable intermittent wipe

'10 GMC Acadia Interior
- 12v power outlet: cargo, front and rear
- Air conditioning
- RDS audio system with satellite and CD player CD player reads MP3
- Cargo capacity: rear seat down (cu ft): 116.9 and all seats in place (cu ft): 24.1
- Cellular phone
- Clock
- Delayed/fade courtesy lights
- Cruise control
- Front seats, rear seats and 3rd row seats cup holders
- External temperature
- Floor covering: carpet in passenger compartment and carpet in load area
- Floor mats
- Driver front airbag with multi-stage deployment, passenger front airbag with occupant sensors and multi-stage deployment
- Bucket driver seat with height adjustment and lumbar adjustment manual and manual, bucket passenger seat
- Height adjustable 3-point reel front seat belts on driver seat and passenger seat with pre-tensioners
- Front seat center armrest
- Two height adjustable head restraints on front seats, two height adjustable head restraints on rear seats, two head restraints on 3rd row seats
- Headlight control with dusk sensor
- Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 40.4, rear headroom (inches): 39.3, front hip room (inches): 57.8, rear hip room (inches): 57.9, front leg room (inches): 41.3, rear leg room (inches): 36.9, front shoulder room (inches): 61.9 and rear shoulder room (inches): 61.1
- Low tire pressure indicator
- Navigational systems : information type: voice other
- Remote power locks includes trunk/hatch
- Power steering
- Front power windows with one one-touch, rear power windows
- Front and rear reading lights
- 3-point reel rear seat belts on driver side, passenger side and center side
- Rear seat center armrest
- Three asymmetrical split bench front facing reclining rear seats with fore/aft adjustment and zero adjustments manual and manual
- Rear view mirror
- All three rows side curtain airbag
- Cloth seat upholstery with additional cloth
- Seating: eight seats
- Service interval indicator
- Front side airbag
- Six speaker(s)
- Plastic steering wheel with tilt adjustment and telescopic adjustment
- Tachometer
- Telematics includes engine shut down
- 3-point reel third row seat belts on driver side, passenger side and center side
- Split bench front facing asymmetrical third row seats with three seat capacity that fold flat to floor
- Illuminated driver and passenger vanity mirror
- Ventilation system
- Voice activating system includes phone and includes navigation system