27 August 2008
Written by
Udit Bhandari (
)
Published on August 27th, 2008 @ 07:37:53 am, using 115 words, 3 views
Major floods have affected many parts of the U.S. over the past few months. Many thousands of cars and SUVs have been flooded and owners would be eagerly selling them off in the used car market. To save used car buyers from buying flooded lemons, Carfax is coming to the rescue. Flood damage information is reported to Carfax from all 50 state DMVs and as a free service to consumers across U.S., is available for reference at www.carfax.com/flood. I would also suggest buyers of used cars to go in for a thorough inspection by a trained mechanic prior to putting the money down on a used car in such a situation.
Written by
Udit Bhandari (
)
Published on August 27th, 2008 @ 01:21:20 am, using 100 words, 12 views
The fourth edition of the F&F series is an eagerly awaited one with most of the 2001 original’s actors making a comeback including Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. The trailer for the latest Fast & Furious flick has been caught online and gives a good insight into what to expect from it when it comes in Summer of 2009. The trailer points to full on action stunts and heists like in the original. The trucks looting the gasoline tanker look great as do the actors. Stay tuned for more F&F info.
Written by
Udit Bhandari (
)
Published on August 27th, 2008 @ 12:17:41 am, using 130 words, 4 views
Audi know thats there is demand for a souped up TT from buyers who need more than a regular TT but don’t have enough Vitamin M to plonk for a R8. This is why the TT-RS was conceived and now it has been caught testing in the Arizona dryland. The TT-RS is expected to belt out a thumping 350 bhp, the result of sequential turbo’s powering the car via the quattro all wheel drive system. The undisguised bodywork on the test TT-RS which has been spied undergoing hot weather testing in Arizona looks much more aggressive and sportier than a stock TT. The launch date for the TT-RS isn’t confirmed as yet but from the spy pics it looks almost ready and might just be launched in a couple of months.
26 August 2008
Written by
Udit Bhandari (
)
Published on August 26th, 2008 @ 03:56:36 am, using 216 words, 4 views
The world’s best known dirt bike manufacturer, the Austrian KTM is has declared plans to bring it’s 240 horsepower track car called the X-Bow to America. The X-Bow is KTM’s first attempt at making a car and for America the X-Bow would be customised to make it street legal. KTM has always been saying that the X-Bow is only for the European and Asian markets and that too as a track car only but due to more than 600 American’s expressing interest in buying one of these, the company is going to pull out all stops and launch a street legal version of the X-Bow in the U.S market. The X-Bow produced 240 horsepower from a 2-liter turbocharged gasoline engine which is picked up from the Volkswagen GTi. With a low weight of 1,543 pounds the X-Bow would be a blast to drive. The chassis produces enough downforce to achieve 1.5-g cornering loads and the X-Bow accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 3.92 seconds. That’s super car quick.
As of now KTM is seeking support of the VW/Audi Group in America to clear legal hurdles regarding licensing. All X-Bows would be made at KTM’s Austrian plant and they would be imported into America by 2010. It remains to be seen what they’ll cost here but in Europe an X-Bow retails at $70,000.
04 July 2008
Written by
Udit Bhandari (
)
Published on July 4th, 2008 @ 10:10:57 am, using 184 words, 94 views
All car manufacturers are facing the brunt of high fuel prices, however GM is facing more heat as it’s product portfolio is not oriented towards high fuel efficiency as compared to the Japanese or even European manufacturers. GM wants to get out of this sticky situation and the car which it thinks can get it out of the hole in America is the Chevrolet Beat mini car. The Beat is a small 3 door hatchback with a 1.2 litre turbo gasoline engine which can deliver upto 40 mpg. The Chevrolet Beat is more than a foot shorter than anything else which GM sells in the U.S market currently.
At the New York Auto Show this year the Beat managed to attract quite a few onlookers mainly because of it’s ultra hip, fast and the furious type styling. Th car’s wheelbase is stretched out with the wheels at extreme corners to generate maximum interior room.
I expect the Beat to do well in the U.S market with maximum sales coming from young buyers who can afford the $10,000 estimated starting price and need high fuel efficiency too.
03 July 2008
Written by
Udit Bhandari (
)
Published on July 3rd, 2008 @ 01:09:08 pm, using 370 words, 253 views
BMW’s now long in the tooth 7 Series has been losing the sales game to more able competitors like the Mercedes S Class and the Audi A8. BMW is looking at hitting back with the latest generation 7 Series which it has revealed now. The old 7 Series had the typical Bangle design effect, people either loved it or hated it but the new 7 Series has a new design lineage which BMW hopes would please majority of it’s intended customers. The fifth generation 7 Series comes with a host of technology innovations including a revised range of gasoline and diesel engines, chassis and suspension modification and a new-age in-car entertainment system, basically a lot of ammo with which it can fight off the S Class and the A8.
American customers will be offered just one engine to begin with, the 400 bhp twin-turbo V8 with 442 pound/feet of torque capable of propellng the 750i from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5.2 seconds and up to a top whack of 155 mph. Ultimately, buyers would be able to choose from options of a 326 bhp twin-turbo 3 liter gasoline and a 245 bhp 3 liter diesel.
The new 7 Series is longer and lower than its predecessor and also rides on a wheelbase that has been increased by a considerable 3.3 inches. The body is fashioned primarily from aluminum, which is used for the hood, roof, doors and fenders to reduce the car’s weight thereby improving performance and fuel economy which is estimated to be in the range of 20 mpg in normal urban driving conditions.
A new 2nd generation iDrive system finds its place in the new 7 Series which can be used to gain access to the car’s Internet function as well. Driver assist systems on the new 7 include active cruise control with a new stop-and-go capability, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, heads-up display, night vision with pedestrian detection and sideview and reversing cameras. That’s bleeding edge tech to make sure BMW’s tech savvy customers keep themselves busy behind the wheel or in the back seat.
Though BMW has not officially announced a launch date for the U.S, we estimate March 2009 is when we would see this new work of tech-art roll into showrooms here. BMW would be banking on this one.
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