Wallpapers
Archive for May, 2009
The 11th concept car penned by Hyundai‘s California Design Center in Irvine is called the Nuvis. Sporting gullwing doors, the Nuvis is noteworthy for two reasons: First, its hybrid drivetrain will find its way into the next-generation Hyundai Sonata, and second, Hyundai says the concept’s styling hints at what the Santa Fe’s replacement could look like.
Hyundai’s Hybrid Blue Drive architecture combines a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder (known as the Theta II) with a 30-kW electric motor, the last also producing 151 lb.-ft. of torque. The total estimated output of 228 bhp is put to the road via a 6-speed automatic transmission. Hyundai says the Nuvis’s lithium polymer batteries, which are stored underneath the trunk floor, are more durable and space efficient than nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion versions.
As a parallel hybrid, the Nuvis can be driven in all-electric mode, gasoline-engine-only mode as well as any combination thereof. Engine management software automatically shuts off the gasoline engine when the Nuvis comes to a stop, improving overall fuel mileage and providing zero emissions, while Hyundai’s Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) restarts the engine once pressure is applied to the accelerator pedal.
Hyundai says the Nuvis’s radical styling “hints at a possible design direction for a future-generation crossover,” most likely the next Santa Fe or its replacement, although don’t count on the production vehicle using those gullwing doors! The staff at the California Design Center “studied the way water splits across and flows around the hull and sides of a boat” in creating the Nuvis, to form the illusion of constant motion.
The large gullwing doors open to a luxurious 4-seat cabin with a “cascading” floor and ambient blue lighting. The seat fabric is made from 100-percent reclaimed soda bottles; while the seatbelts were made by Harveys Original Seatbeltbags (they make handbags out of seatbelts.)
The Nuvis’s instrument panel streams information throughout the cabin, with passengers able to access each other via Methode Electronics TouchSense technology that links all four seats; after all, why go to the trouble of actually talking to one another?
Search Hybrid vehicles now!
MotorWorld Hyundai 1.866.214.5688
150 MotorWorld Drive, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703
Hall Hyundai 1.866.252.3363
3416 Western Branch Blvd., Chesapeake, VA 23321
Hall Hyundai Newport News 1.866.804.1441
12872 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23608
Related Posts:
It’s been a rough year for automakers. Yet the new cars and trucks available today are some of the best and brightest ever produced. Popular Mechanic’s (PM) auto department spent the past 12 months evaluating just about every new model on race tracks, two-lane roads and muddy trails around the world. We’ve sifted through the stats and debated our findings. The 2009 Dodge Challenger has earned a PM Automotive Excellence Award for Design.
Decades before paddle shifters and traction control, muscle cars like the 1970 Dodge Challenger brought raw V8 power to the masses. And then-poof-they disappeared. Thirty-four years later, the Challenger is back. Traditional ponycar fans-the ones who could very well once have owned, or who still own, original Challengers from the 1970s-are smitten. So are we. Of course, the Challenger has the muscle to back up the design with a choice of the 6.1-liter 425-hp Hemi V8 or the “small” 5.7-liter 372-hp Hemi. There’s even a six-cylinder SE model that can hit 25 mpg on the highway.
The Challenger stays unapologetically true to both its roots and to the concept penned by Chrysler designer Michael Castiglione. To pull off a clean, modern interpretation and to make enough room for four 2008-size passengers, the Challenger had to grow wider and longer. And there had to be room for modern 20-in. rubber, too. But to look right, Dodge had to incorporate details from the original. Here’s where the Challenger really hits all the right notes, from its set-in headlamps and grille to its metal fuel door and flat-black spoiler lip. In person, the Challenger is imposing, making modern Mustangs look slight by comparison. Coupes just don’t have brawny dimensions like this anymore-but they should.
Hall Virginia Beach Dodge 1.866.815.3308
3443 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Heritage Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge Owings Mills 1.888.459.3470
11212 Reisterstown Road Owings Mills, MD 21117
Related Posts:
The 2009 Nissan Cube makes its début.
The Nissan Cube is the best car for you if you like the idea of 33 mpg without the expense of a hybrid, enjoy the company of tall friends, and have a nose for four-wheel urban fashion.
Nissan calls ‘em like it sees ‘em, naming this tiny box of a car for what it is. Taller than it is wide, with slab sides and a snub nose, the Cube fits a new age of rational motoring and pinched budgets. It’s just an inch longer than a standard Mini Cooper (great for street parking), but a full nine inches taller than the Mini (grand for head room). It holds four adults comfortably, five in a pinch. Swing open the side-hinged tailgate, fold the rear seat, and you can load 70 cubic feet of whatever!
Styling: There’s only so much you can do with a cube, but this car’s got a twisted sense of style. Credit the Cube’s personality to button-cute proportions, a jowly face, “rounded-rectangle” windows (inspired, Nissan says, by personal photo frames), and, especially, the asymmetrical tailgate effect. That last cue makes it look as if there’s no right-rear roof pillar, but of course, there is. Imagination reigns inside, too, in what Nissan calls a “casual lounge” interior. Molded into various panels and controls are a series of “water drop” expanding concentric circles. The dashboard is tidy and functional, but its subtle wavy shaping, white-and-blue lighting, and rounded-rectangle vents complement the exterior styling themes. The Nissan Cube comes in four models: the 1.8, 1.8 S, 1.8 SL, and the Krom. This last, pronounced “chrome,” has a slightly different nose and tail look and some exclusive interior trim.
Mechanical: Under the skin, Cube is mostly conformist, even old fashioned, with its front-wheel-drive layout, beam rear axle, and rear drum brakes. Nothing left to chance in its use of a four-cylinder engine, either. This one’s a 1.8-liter borrowed from Nissan’s Versa subcompact car. It has a more-than-adequate 122 horsepower. The Cube 1.8 is available only with a six-speed manual transmission. The 1.8 S offers the manual or a continuously variable automatic (CVT). The Cube 1.8 SL and Krom come only with the CVT. Nissan generously equips the Cube with a nice selection of standard safety items, including antilock brakes with brake assist and traction-control and antiskid systems. (Standard seat mounted front side airbags and full-length head-protecting curtain side airbags contribute to passive safety.)
Features: In addition to the safety equipment mentioned above, every Cube comes with air conditioning, power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, and intermittent rear wiper. The rear bench seat splits, folds, and slides to prioritize cargo or people space, and it’s elevated slightly to provide a theater-seating effect in relation to the front seats. There are six cupholders in this five-passenger car. Clever touches include detachable hooks for bags and the like; they can be moved around from the dashboard to the passenger doors, for example. Brightly colored elastic straps on the door armrests secure items such as maps or cellphones; Nissan calls them “magic rubber bands.” Depending on model, available features include push button ignition, Bluetooth phone and USB iPod connectivity, a Rockford Fosgate subwoofer with six speakers, XM satellite radio, and rear parking assist. Dealer-installed accessories include “shag” carpeting for some interior shelf surfaces, alloy wheels, aero body panels, and a 20-color interior lighting kit. The Cube 1.8 and 1.8 S models have 15-inch tires with wheel covers; 1.8 SL and Krom versions come with 16-inch alloys.
Herb Gordon Nissan 1.866.399.7502
3131 Automobile Blvd. Silver Spring, MD 20904
Hall Nissan Chesapeake 1.866.252.3417
3417 Western Branch Blvd. Chesapeake, VA 23321
Hall Nissan Virginia Beach 1.866.813.5781
3757 Bonney Rd. Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Related Posts:
Nov. 1, 1982: The Marysville, Ohio, plant produces its first automobile--an Accord sedan
Help us prepare for our June 8 Honda 50 special section.
Upload your photos
Upload your video
Tell us your story
Did your first Honda have only two wheels?
Did your Honda dealership change overnight when you shifted from selling motorcycles to cars?
Whatever your connection to Honda — whether you built, sold, fixed or bought them, or supplied parts to Honda — we want to know all about it.
Automotive News will publish a special section on June 8 reviewing Honda’s 50 years in the United States. Meanwhile, we’ve created a site so you can share your photos, videos and thoughts on Honda’s U.S. journey.
Go to www.autonews.com/hondafifty and upload your photos and video. The site is hosted by YouTube. While you’re there, take a look at historic Honda photos and videos.
And go to www.autonews.com/hondamemories to join in the discussion on Honda’s impact on the American market.
Related Posts:
The 2010 Honda Insight was built to make the best use of the most cost-effective hybrid technology. Meaning that the Insight would get 40-mpg+ for less than $20,000-a figure designed to undercut the least expensive Toyota Prius by about $2,000. The 2010 Honda Insight has already gotten independent real-world highway fuel economy tests above 60 miles to the gallon. It goes on sale this Earth day – April 22, 2009.
For the new Insight’s design, a five-door hatchback with a smooth front and a high, abrupt tail was chosen; this style is becoming synonymous with small hybrid vehicles. Add the 2010 Insight to a list of similarly shaped cars that begins with the Toyota Prius and includes the Chevrolet Volt as well. In this case, Honda leans heavily on styling cues from its much-publicized FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle.
Honda hopes to become the hybrid leader- with strong selling points against its main competition, the 2010 Toyota Prius. The Insight is thousands of dollars cheaper, gets comparable fuel economy, has a crisper look and provides a more agile and enjoyable ride. However, the Insight is noticeably smaller, especially for passengers in the backseat. You need to decide if the Insight is the right size for your passengers, not just your wallet.
Insight EX models offer alloy wheels, cruise control, 6-speaker audio system with USB audio interface, steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters, Honda Vehicle Stability Assist as well as an available Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System with Voice Recognition.
Driver Controls and Feedback, For Max MPG
The electronics in the control system offer what Honda calls the Eco Assist system, which tells the driver how economically they are driving by changing the background color of the speedometer. Green is good, blue means you’re a lead-foot. There’s an ECON mode that enhances fuel economy further by resetting the control logic, so the car accelerates more slowly and backs off the gas engine more quickly.
The dashboard EcoGuide accumulates data on driving patterns, so drivers can analyze their history to improve driving strategies. Honda even shows up to five green leaves in the display-to reward drivers who display more economical behavior over time.
Squeezing more out of less, the Insight’s electric motor not only moves the car away from rest when the engine has shut down, it can also power the car by itself “when driving on a flat surface at steady speed in the low 30 mph range,” according to Honda.
Building On the Insight Tradition
The 2010 Honda Insight is a major improvement from the legacy model. In Sept. 2006, Honda stopped making the old Honda Insight, a two-seater that was loved by many owners, but also seen as impractical by mainstream consumers. Despite the old model’s real-world fuel economy of almost 70 miles per gallon, the company sold fewer than 2,000 Insights in 2005, and fewer than 1,000 units through Sept. 2006 before the company ended production.
The five-door 2010 Insight breathes new life into Honda’s hybrid efforts. It’s the first of several vehicles that Honda will build on a dedicated hybrid platform. The new Insight is expected to sell in relatively high quantities. Honda is targeting annual global sales of 200,000 units per year, with approximately 100,000 in North America.
Hall Honda 1.866.791.0558
3516 Virginia Beach Blvd. Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Hall Honda Elizabeth City 1.866.628.5348
105 Tanglewood Parkway South, Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Heritage Honda 1.866.471.7866
9213 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21234
Heritage Westminster Honda 1.877.854.6351
580 Baltimore Blvd., Westminster, MD 21157
MotorWorld Honda 1.866.291.7917
150 MotorWorld Drive, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703
Related Posts:
Ford Motor Co. reportedly is spending $550 Million on remodeling its former Michigan SUV plant to facilitate the production of the 2011 Ford Focus. The vehicle plans to enter the market globally next year with a battery-electric powered version, the company’s first.
This will be a major change for the Michigan Assembly Plant since its start in 1957. At the heart of this decision are the rising gasoline prices and growing green standards, but most importantly for our economy, the company expects the move will support approximately 3,335 jobs. About 155 jobs will be salaried and 3,180 jobs will be hourly positions.
Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement, “This is about investing in modern, efficient and flexible American manufacturing. It is about fuel economy and the electrification of vehicles.”
The Michigan change is part of Ford’s plan to convert three of its North American plants so that it can introduce six small cars to the American market by the end of 2012.
Hall Ford Newport News
12896 Jefferson Ave Newport News, Virginia 23608
1.866.252.3319
Related Posts:
Did you know temperature change can affect tire pressure? A 10-degree difference in temperature can change tire pressure by approximately one pound! Also, when your tires are properly inflated to the specifications listed on the sticker, it helps increase fuel economy and tread life.
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System helps maintain optimal safety, performance and fuel economy because it continuously monitors tire pressure and alerts you when it’s too low.
There’s a handy sticker in your door jamb that displays the correct tire pressure-always inflate your tires to those specifications. The Tire Pressure Monitoring System is calibrated to measure that tire pressure on the sticker as the tire pressure.
So, when you see this symbol, or see the text “Tire Pressure Too Low” on your Multi-Function Display, inflate the low tire to the specified pressure as soon as possible. It’s a good idea to check your tire pressure regularly.
On cool mornings, the light may appear at first and then disappear as you drive and the tire gets warmer. That is why you inflate to what the sticker says. Volkswagen engineers have calibrated the one, best pressure for your tires. Trust the Tire Pressure Monitoring System-it will not let your tires down.
Contact your local MileOne Heritage Volkswagen dealer for more information in Parkville or Owings Mills.