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  1. Sometime in the middle of this year, assets to defunct Swedish automaker, Saab, was bought over by a Chinese-Swedish group National Electric Vehicle Sweden and the group planned to produce electric versions of Saab vehicles. At that time, National Electric Vehicle Sweden did mention it will take them at least eighteen months to produce and sell an electric Saab which was rumoured to be based on the Saab 9-3. And it seems now, that the group is trying to re-launch the 9-3 with an internal combustible engine instead. You might wonder, why won
  2. According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), General Motors is recalling 12,626 units of the 2013 Cadillac XTS model due to improper rear seat head restraints. "The rear seat head restraints may not lock in the upright position after being folded forward," said NHTSA. "If the head restraint is at its lowest position and it falls forward, it will not meet the height required by the standard. In the event of a vehicle crash, the lowered head restraint may increase the occupant's risk of neck injury." The affected vehicles were made between 12 Oct 2011 and 30 Aug 2012. To GM's credit, the automaker discovered the problem themselves. The single piece rear headrest design looks classy and unique but is sadly lacking in its functionality. The Cadillac XTS is a full-size luxury car that is meant to be a replacement for the STS and DTS. The XTS proved to be a popular model. For the first 10 months of 2012, the XTS is already the 4th best-selling car in the states.
  3. Chemical engineering professor Phil Savage and doctoral student Julia Faeth of the University of Michigan have found a way to convert algae into biocrude oil in just one minute. The process involves pressure cooking microalgae in 1,100-degree-Fahrenheit sand for about one minute. The conversion rate is 65%. Biocrude oil is a more environmentally-friendly substitute to crude oil. The new process is a significant improvement over a previous process, which takes about half an hour to convert just 50% of the algae. Both methods are ways to speed up the natural process of decomposition, which can take millions of years. In addition to the time savings, Savage is trying to streamline the process of creating algae biofuel by starting with wet algae. Traditionally, Algae biofuel is typically produced as dry algae before extracting biocrude, which costs around $20 per gallon. The process is both time-consuming and expensive. Savage and Faeth said that they are unable to estimate any cost savings for their method, but any simplification of the process could potentially bring prices down. Just as pressure is bad for human, it can be harmful to algae as well. "For example, the biocrude might decompose into substances that dissolve in water, and the fast heating rates might discourage that reaction," Faeth said.
  4. Losing a car to theft is one of the most aggravating thing that could happened to a car owner especially if that person has put his/her blood, sweat and tears into it. Stolen vehicles usually end up being stripped into parts or shipped out of the country totally and the chances of getting it back are rather low. In Brisbane, Australia; a rather strange incident happened when dock workers inspected a container that has been sitting for ten years. In it, they found a 1968 Chevrolet Corvette convertible. In 2002, the Corvette was reported stolen by its owner in Australia. After an intensive search by the authorities and nothing was found, the owner received compensation by the insurance company (Suncorp Insurance). Recently, dock workers were inspecting containers at a dock in Brisbane and they discovered a container that no one could account for. After opening it, they found the missing Corvette, sitting on time flattened tyres. The car was considered to be in a rather good condition, not too bad after ten years. The third generation Corvette (also commonly known as the Corvette Stingray) has only 77,000 kilometres on the odometer before it went missing. It seems that it was a base model Corvette since it has the 327 cubic inch (5.4 litre) small block V8 engine fitted. Additionally, the car was fitted with a four speed manual transmission. Records show that the car was built on December 1967 and that means it is an early production third generation Corvette. Since the insurance company has already compensated the owner, they will auction the car off in order to recover any losses or make some profit from it. After sitting for ten years, the car needs some work to make it road worthy. Once it is ready, the Corvette is expected to fetch around $15,000 to $20,000 (in Aussie dollars). Image credit: Drive
  5. Sometimes in life, when you are looking for something or someone, you end up finding something else. That is quite natural as I strongly believe it has happened to many people at a point of their life. It happened to an American man who was searching for his birth mother and unexpectedly ended up with a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS that has been in the family for many years. Zach S from Virginia, United States; first saw the Camaro RS/SS in 2006 when he met his birth mother in Arizona after years of searching. During the meeting, both mother and son shared many stories and pictures. When Zach mentioned to his mother that he was into cars, his mother told him that his grandma's car was stored in the back yard under a tarpaulin. Under the canvas sheet was the 1967 Chevy Camaro RS that has been stored in the harsh conditions of the Arizona desert for more than twenty years. According to Zach, it was like a time capsule. The car was purchased new by Zach's grandmother from a dealer in Los Angeles. She ordered the car with the RS/SS package. It came with the RS package trimming and it was fitted with a 5.7-litre V8 engine that delivers around 295bhp. The car also came with a rare bench seat, automatic column shifters, power steering and hidden headlights. When Zach's mother passed away in 2008, he asked his brother whether if he could buy the vehicle but his brother was not willing to part with it at that moment. Two years later, Zach got a telephone call from his brother who said that he was ready to sell the Camaro to Zach. And so, Zach hired a company to ship the Camaro to his home in Virginia. Zach's grandmother have kept all forms of documentation of the car in a diary and he found out that the Camaro has never been titled outside of California. Zach has all the documents in the diary and it also included several other things such as a letter from the dealership's salesperson thanking her for buying the car and two speeding tickets from the same policeman in the same month. Zach intends to get the car fixed and drive it around for a few years before passing it down to his sister's children in order for the family's future generations to cherish and enjoy. Image credit: Barn Find
  6. [extract] When the 9th generation Honda Civic went on sale in 2011, the design was not well-received by the automotive community. In fact, many believed that it was a step backwards from the previous generation
  7. [extract] In the United States, Ford offers several reproduction body shells of their previous popular models. You could get either a 1965 or 1967 Mustang Convertible body shell through Ford Restoration Parts program and these body shells are officially licensed products. Due to the popularity of such products, Ford has included another model
  8. [extract] After 27 years of operation in the US, Suzuki has announced that it will stop selling new automobile in the States though it will continue offering motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and boat motors. American Suzuki Motor, the wholly owned U.S. distribution unit, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Suzuki
  9. Ayrton Senna, possibly the greatest driver to have ever lived. Recently I got to watch the movie "Senna" in which it documented the life of Ayrton Senna from when he first set foot in Europe to race in a karting championship till his highly controversial death at Imola in 1994. Having driven during the period when piloting a F1 car can be likened to strapping a gorilla to your back, Ayrton Senna not only shone above all the other drivers of his time, he quite literally left them a planet's distance behind. F1 has also never seen as much drama and as much tenacity since Ayrton Senna's time. His bitter battle with then team mate Alain Prost almost saw him quit altogether. Yet, despite the goliath of the FIA against him, Senna bounced back and claimed his 3rd world title. Personally, I think that Ayrton Senna's greatest and most heroic moment was when he brought home the championship to his home country, Brazil, in 1991 despite having his gearbox stuck in 6th gear for the final few laps. He drove so hard, that after he cross the chequerd flag, he passed out momentarily and was in extreme pain from muscle spasms. His pain was clearly evident in his face when he tried to lift the trophy on the podium in his home ground. Jump to 3:25 to see the moment when he lifted the trophy. If you guys have yet to watch "Senna" the movie, I urge you all to go have a look. Be inspired by his humble nature, his out of this world driving skills and his gritty tenacity to never bow down to the uglies of these world. So, go look it up at your local video stores. I'm pretty sure they stock it for rental.
  10. SYF77

    Ford

    Every year, American publication, Consumer Reports conducts a reliability survey from its subscribers' experience with 1.2 million vehicles over the last three years. In this year's report, the biggest surprise is Ford's free fall from inside the top 10 in 2010 to 27th of the 28 brands rated. Only two years ago, Consumer Reports had hailed Ford as a "poster child" of reliability. According to Consumer Reports director of automotive testing Jake Fisher, consumers encountered a lot of problems with Ford's Powershift Dual-clutch transmission and 'MyFord' Touch infotainment system. These systems were introduced to a number of new or revised models such as the Fiesta, Focus and Explorer. On the report, Ford commented that the results matched the internal data the company had received and added that the company had made major improvement earlier this year, and that the survey lagged behind current trends. As usual, Japanese brands dominated the top positions in the survey. Toyota took the top three places with its Scion, Toyota and Lexus brands, followed by Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura. From a personal experience, my family's previous Japanese cars have been to the workshop lesser than the current VW during the first three years of ownership. Audi deserves a pat on the back for moving up to 8th in ranking, a huge improvement from the 26th position in 2011.
  11. When it comes to automatic transmissions, four speed auto transmissions are fast getting replaced with more advanced auto transmissions. More automakers are introducing six, seven and even eight speed automatic transmission into their vehicles nowadays. These introductions are made mainly for fuel efficiency reasons, to get more kilometres out of their fuel consumption usage. But, there are also some automakers such as Nissan, who are moving towards the usage of continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). But that is not the case for Hyundai as the Korean automaker has preferred dual clutch transmissions over continuously variable transmissions. Mike O
  12. Car and Driver gets behind the wheel of the Koeingsegg Agera R in the hometown of Sweden and gives it a whirl mainly to answer one important question. Is it faster than a Veyron? Check out the video above to find out!
  13. FaezClutchless

    DC Comics

    [extract] DC Entertainment (parent company of DC Comics) has teamed up with Kia Motors America and Rides magazine to create Kia cars based on Justice League characters. And they have brought five examples to this year
  14. Just recently, Subaru revealed the Subaru BRZ STI at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. The car is said to be available for sale soon. And soon after that, the company announced that there are plans to release a turbocharged version of the car. While Toyota has released a TRD version of the 86 before this, the car only received aftermarket cosmetic parts such as a bodykit, suspension system and some TRD badges. Many were expecting a turbocharger or supercharger to be included as well. Just days after images of a Subaru BRZ wearing a huge GT wing and a STI bodykit was spotted at the Nurburgring, Toyota's in-house tuning division, TRD, has announced that they are looking into upgrades for the Scion FR-S (Toyota 86 in other markets). During the recent SEMA auto show, Scion showcased three modified examples of the Scion FR-S and a couple of them were supercharged. And it was at the same show where TRD representatives stated that they are considering a supercharger kit for the Scion FR-S. Toyota has previously offered supercharger kits for their sports or performance cars and even some of their trucks. And it comes as no surprise that a supercharger kit will be available for the Scion FR-S. The idea of a supercharger kit for the car is still very much in the planning stage and obviously no power figures were given. One of the advantages of having a TRD supercharger kit is that it offers a full factory warranty by the company and other aftermarket offerings do not often offer that. Since the Scion FR-S (including the Toyota 86) and the Subaru BRZ are practically identical, the supercharger kit should be able to be used for all three cars. Image credit: Net Car Show
  15. When someone is considering a performance mid-size luxury sedan, probably they will look at something like the BMW M5 or the Audi S6. If that person prefers a Japanese car, then he or she will be left with very little choices. How little are those choices? Probably close to nothing. But, fret not because Japanese luxury automaker, Lexus is bringing a supercharged GS350 F Sport to SEMA. And on top of that, the company might consider adding a more powerful version of the GS in the near future. The supercharged GS350 F Sport is a collaboration between Lexus and Californian auto tuner, VIP Auto Salon. The car receives a custom Apexi supercharger kit. Other than this, an Apexi throttle recalibration system and a dual exhaust pipe that stretches from the headers all the way to the back are added too. To cope with the extra horsepower, a Brembo High Performance GT brake kit and RSR coilovers are fitted on all four corners. 20 inch Vossen wheels replace the stock ones and the wheels are wrapped in Yokohama S Drive tyres. On the outside, the car is fitted with a custom made aero bodykit from Japanese tuner Wald International. The kit consists of a lip spoiler, side skirts and roof and trunk lid spoilers. No power figures were released at the moment but my guess it would be around the mid 400bhp mark. Just last year, Lexus unveiled the GS350 F Sport at SEMA. Although it may have a different look from the normal GS but in terms of performance; it is pretty much the same. Consumers might not be impressed with a car like that especially with a sporty sounding name. The introduction of the supercharged GS350 F Sport is probably Lexus
  16. [extract] Volvo cars are built like a tank. We have probably heard someone mentioning this to us. Older Volvo cars are known to be durable and long lasting, provided it is well taken care of. And since there are examples of such cars, Volvo has created a Heritage Club in the United States for high mileage cars. The club was created in order to recognise Volvo owners
  17. The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show is considered to be the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world and it is usually held every November at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. Many companies dealing with automotive related products will bring their wares to the show and this year, Ford will showcase five 2013 Focus ST concepts for the above mentioned event. Cars displayed during SEMA events are known to be rather
  18. [extract] General Motors is beefing up its senior management at Cadillac with the creation of a new position called global vice president. Taking on the new role is GM senior executive, Robert Ferguson. He shall be responsible for marketing, brand management and advertising for Cadillac in markets around the world. Mr Ferguson will report directly to GM chairman and chief executive Daniel Akerson. "I'm excited to join a talented team during a period of revitalized growth," said Ferguson. He added that the Cadillac brand needs a new flagship model,
  19. Although GM and Ford are rivals in the automotive industry, these American car makers are collaborating to develop 9 to 10-speed automatic transmissions. This is not the first of their partnership though. In 2002, they cooperated to create a new automatic transaxle, designed for transverse engine applications in cars and light trucks. According to reports, GM will be in charge of designing a 9-speed gearbox for front-wheel drive cars while Ford will take the lead in developing a 10-speed transmission for rear-wheel drive cars such as SUVs, performance vehicles and pick-ups. Cars with a larger number of gear selections enable the engine to operate more efficiently, thus reducing CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. GM and Ford are not alone in the quest for additional gear ratios. Hyundai is already working on a 10-speed automatic transmission that will be used on a range of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the future, particularly luxury models. It is scheduled to hit the showroom in 2014. If the collaboration proves to be a success, GM and Ford, the world's second and fifth largest car maker respectively, will be able to enjoy great economy of scale due to the sheer volume of their annual output. According to IHS Automotive powertrain analyst, David Petrovski, GM and Ford benefit from reduced investment risk by working together. By developing their own gearbox instead of purchasing them from manufacturers such as ZF and paying license fees, a car maker can reduce their cost of production.
  20. GM Vice Chairman Stephen Grisky says that Opel is not for sale. "Opel is not for sale. GM fully stands behind Opel," said Mr Girsky in a statement recently. "Opel is a fully integrated part of GM's global footprint and vital for GM's future success in Europe. The GM-PSA alliance is fully on track." The statement comes after an Italian newspaper implied Fiat was ready to buy the loss-making brand should the alliance between GM and PSA/Peugeot Citroen fail. The publication reported that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is already preparing a proposal to acquire the European brand in the event that GM decides to pull out of the alliance. The first time Fiat was trying to buy over Opel was in 2009 when the company was briefly in the red. Car makers are currently going through a deplorable phase as they struggle to control increasing losses in Europe after 11 consecutive months of declining sales. GM is one of the companies that were badly hit as it lost almost US$16 billion in its European operations over the last 12 years. The GM-PSA alliance allows both the manufacturers to share vehicle platforms, components and modules. In addition, the creation of a global purchasing joint venture enables both entities to enjoy greater economy of scales when sourcing for materials. I believe Opel has a future as it has plans to revamp its engine line up over the next 12 months. The new 1.6-litre SIDI (spark ignition direct injection) ECOTEC engine has been introduced recently and production will start in late 2012. Opel, hang in there!
  21. [extract] A fabulous feature of the new Hyundai Veloster is its one-and-a-half sized sunroof, which gives your head a little breathing room in the rakishly-shaped car. However, this feature has turned out to be a nightmare for certain owners as they experienced an earth-shattering phenomenon literally. The US National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) is conducting investigations over complaints on the Veloster
  22. The late Neil Armstrong was a very famous man due to him being the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. Astronauts of that time were on the same level as celebrities. And in order to drum up sales, a Chevrolet dealer (Rathmann Chevrolet) in Florida tried to get as many astronauts as they could to drive one of their cars. Astronauts were given a special lease to allow them to trade in for a new Corvette every year and in 1967, Armstrong got a blue Chevrolet Corvette that came with a 390bhp V8 engine and mated to a four speed transmission. The following year, he traded it for a 1968 model and the 1967 Corvette was sold to a NASA employee who has owned the car for 44 years. The car has not been started since September 1981 and the owner has mentioned that he kept the car in a climate controlled area. Over the years, the owner has added fender flares and aftermarket wheels to it. Additionally, the carburettor, water pump and exhaust system has also been replaced. The owner has offered the car for sale at this current condition and a Corvette restorer has bought it. Joe Crosby, the man who bought the car, has mentioned that it will not go through a restoration due to its historical significance. He stated that once a car has been restored, it can
  23. [extract] When buying a brand new car; someone, either a friend or family member would probably have said this to you.
  24. [extract] With the launch of the 2012 BMW 3 Series, BMW has further cemented its position as the leader of the compact luxury segment. However, that was before the Cadillac ATS sedan went on sale. The Cadillac ATS was specifically designed to compete with the BMW 3 Series. In fact, this is Cadillac
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