Smaller Cars to enter US market soon

Europe has a wide presence of small and fuel efficient cars. Audi, BMW and a host of other car makers are planning to launch their smaller car models in the land of suv and fast cars US.

Due to the high and soaring price of gas which is more then $2, hybrid cars as Prius is a breeze. But Car like prius gives 44 miles per gallon where as smaller cars in Europe gives a respectable 70 miles per gallon.

Among the smaller cars in Europe smart FourTwo is the smallest sold in Europe and Canada. The length of the car is mere 98.2 inches from one bumper to other. Its size could not be compared with any American car and one of the smaller car in US i.e BMW Mini Cooper is 4 feet larger then FourTwo. Smart FourTwo give 70 MPEG mileage. The other fuel efficient car manufacturers are Renault, Daihatsu, Skoda (Czech Republic), Tata (India) and Peugeot. The major problems with these cars including Smart FourTwo is that they are all Diesel and diesel powered cars are a complete no no in US.

The US automakers are trying their hands in this segment lately. Cars like Mercedes concept B-Class car which appeared in Paris auto Show and cars similar to BMW Mini Cooper coup but smaller in size is going to appear in the US market soon.

Volvo YCC : For Female, Concept car

The Volvo YCC is the first concept car build only by women team was displayed in London recently. The women behind this car is deputy technical project manager Lena Ekelund who is working in Volvo since 1986 and also includes exterior designer Anna Rosen.

According to a survey from Volvo Female dominates in the decision making to buy a car as much as 80%. Due to it Volvo went forward with its all-female design team to make car for women and show "What Women Wants".

"Convenience. And that actually is something that both genders are looking for, but women at a higher extent than men in a car that you can actually sit and reach at the same time," said Lena Ekelund from Volvo Cars.

The major features to help women drivers are adjustable pedals for driver with shorter height and rest bars for women who wear high heels.

Volvo states that " if you meet the expectation of women, you will more than exceed the expectation of men".

2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit: Lot of $$$$...

This is the 17th year of event for North American International Auto Show which is going to be held at Detroit. The economic impact for this event is going to reach upto $580 million. This will be 5 percent gain from last year estimations as stated by David Sowerby, C.F.A., portfolio manager and chief market analyst at Loomis Sayles & Co.

This is one of the most prestigious auto show in the world and is captured by media in large numbers. This is a great showcase ground for the car manufactures to show their best, new and concept cars.

2006 Honda Ridgeline to make its debut at Detroit auto show.

2006 Honda Ridgeline is going to make its world debut in 2005 North American International Auto Show at Detroit. The truck is likely to go on sale somewhere in 2006. The truck would have VTEC® V-6 engine, Variable Torque Management, 4-wheel drive system and with great looks. The truck will have a payload capacity of half ton and is coming with stronger body rigidity. There is ample space for 5 adults to sit. The cargo bed is 5 foot long and is designed to carry different varieties of cargo. The original production model pictures will be released in the beginning of 2005.

More details are available at Official Honda site.

2006 Kia KCD II concept will make debut in 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit

Kia's car KCD-II concept is going to make its debut in 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This is the 2nd concept vehicle from Kia. Kia KCD-II concept has 3 rows of seat with full length sun roofs a 7 seater SUV. The wheelbase is 116 inches and the overall length of the car is 192 inches.

2006 Mazda MX Crossport

Mazda MX Crossport gave hint for future mazda design
Mazda MX Crossport will make its debut at 2005 Detroit Auto Show and the concept car would be showcased. Mazda is working towords expanding its product line up with new generation vehicles.

Chrysler would debut Chrysler Firepower Concept at 2005 NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show)

Chrysler has release sketch of the concept car which is going to make its debut at 2005 NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show). The engine will have 6.10 L, 372.2 cu in, 6100 cc, 425 BHP, 420 Ft-Lbs. The car would have a top speed of 300 km/h. Chrysler Group design chief Trevor Creed said using the enlarged 425-horsepower Hemi V8 engine would make the coupe significantly more affordable than the US$85,295 V10-powered Viper roadster. The features of the car would be as below:

Drive: Type Rear Wheel
Cylinders: 8
Engine Configuration: V
Aspiration/Induction: Normal
Displacement: 6.10 L | 372.2 cu in. | 6100.4 cc.
Valves: 16
Valvetrain: OHV
Horsepower: 425 bhp
Torque: 420 Ft-Lbs
Top Speed: 300 km/h

2005 Kia Sorento

Price: Begins at $19,665
The car with highest rating side impact safety rating is vevy stylish, rugged and a high comfort car. It have great list of standard features like air conditioning, ample storage and seating space, power everything, side-curtain airbags and an 8-speaker CD stereo system.

2005 Kia Sorento with 4-door, 5-passenger sport utility comes in 4 trims. The LX 4X2 has 3.5 liter, V6, 192-horsepower engine which gives 16 mpg and 20 mpg on city and highway drives respectively. The EX 4X4 has 3.5 liter, V6, 192 horsepower engine which gives 15 mpg and 20 mpg on city and highway drives respectively.

2005 Kia Sorento has some great safety features other then side impact safety. It has energy absorbing steering wheel, rear child safety door locks and anchorage system to give an extra secure hold on child safety seats.

Other safety features include 4-wheel ABS, speed sensitive power steering and high mounted stop lamp. Automatic day/night rearview mirror, halogen headlights, front windshield de-icer, rear-window wiper/washer and defroster.

Engine specification for 2005 Kia Sorento:
Type 3.5-liter DOHC V6,
Horsepower 192.5 hp @ 5,500 rpm
Torque 217 lb.-ft. @ 3,000 rpm
Displacement 213.4
Compression ratio 10.0:1

2005 Acura RD-X Concept Car

The 2005 Acura RD-X Concept Car is going to make a debut in 2005 North American International Auto Show which is going to take place in Detroit. The consept version which is going to make its debut in the auto show is most likely going to be available sometime in 2006.

The trendy look car will aim mainly for the urban professional and will be comming with loads of great features and great style. The performance of the car would be above par and will make the car great for city driving as well as any type of mountain ride as well. More details about 2005 Acura RD-X Concept Car is not presntly known and would most likely to be cleared when the car is going to make its debut in Detroit auto show.

Steeda displays its cars at PRI Show

Steeda Autosports was very succesful in gaining good reviews for its cars displayed at PRI show. More then 1300 companies displayed their products in the show which was witnessed by over 45000 people from 40 countries.

There was a very high traffic for Steeda for its products and especially its car Steeda Mustang. In the Steeda parts exhibit, an actual 3650 Tremec 2005 Mustang transmission was equipped with the new Steeda Tri-Ax® shifter and billet handle. Countless people were able to experience the smooth operation of the latest version of the patented shifter. The Steeda Tri-Ax® shifter is the best selling shifter on the market and after trying out the 2005 model, people could easily see why.

The Screamin' Yellow Q was a true showstopper every day. Mounted on a specially built ramp to allow for easy viewing of all the new Steeda engineered and manufactured suspension pieces including the billet lower trailing arms, the Steeda Mustang had more people under it, checking out the new bits than the average NASCAR Nextel Cup Taurus during a pit stop.
Source: www.steeda.com

Car Theft: Thives could steal a car in as less as 8 seconds - Car news

According to a study, thives could get into a car in as less as 8 seconds. According to a survey done by What Car? magazine Fiat Panda was the winner with only 8 seconds was required to break into it followed by Kia Picanto SE in 11 seconds. But some cars as few models of BMW did not allowed enetry for as much as 2 minutes wit all the best efforts.
The experts tried to open cars without damaging it.

However the winners were BMW 525i SE, Lexus RX300 SE-L, Peugeot 407 SE and BMW X3 SE which proved to be unbreakable.

According to David Motton What car Editor? "Car security is far better than a decade ago, but there are still some popular cars on sale with weak locking systems. We advise all buyers to consider the results of our security tests before they buy."

Chrysler, Ford Recall Over 1 Million Vehicles

DaimlerChrysler is going to recall 600,000 dodge duranga sport utility vehicles with Dodge Dakota pickup trucks because of their safety concerns.

Similarly Ford motor co. is also going to recall 474,000 Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVs.

Chrysler said that front suspension upper ball joints on some vehicles may be subject to corrosion and progressive wear. In extreme scenerios the problem due to corrosion could end up in seperation of front suspension.

However their is no case of injury so far. The company mentioned that it is going to replace the front suspension upper ball joints on cars and owners need not to pay anything for that.

Car News: General Motors and Daimler Chrysler jointly plan Hybrid cars for future

It is all because of popularity of Honda and Toyota hybrid cars model. General Motors Corp and DaimlerChrysler AG have planned to jointly work on the development of gas electric cars.

The agreement is most probably going to be signed sometime in the begining of next year as mentioned in the joined email statement from the two companies. Till now GM and DaimlerChrysler both have put more focus on development of cars which would run on fuel cells.

As the fuel sell car is out of reach for a common man, the two carmaker have learned the lesson that they have to work towords better hybrid cars or they will loose their market share for the cars drastically

Chrysler is going to save BIG on its new engine venture

Chrysler new engine is being made in collobaration with Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler division claims that it is going to save $100 million every year on its production cost once these engines will be ready. Chrysler new jointly developed will be more cleaner, advanced and powerful as claimed by company.

They are expected to make over 2 million engines under Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance. It is one of largest engine making program ever attempted. Hyundai is already replacing the engines of Sonata cars with the latest developed engine. Eric Ridenour, Chrysler's executive president for product development, said the new engine is about 5 percent more fuel-efficient than Chrysler's current four-cylinder.