Automotive Update

This was long overdue but now the US has decided to review the records of these car rental agencies after ages. All these years, there was hardly a chance when these car rental agencies had to showcase the kind of maintenance that they provided for their fleet of cars. But, now the US regulators have decided to put them through a really hard and stringent test. This will be done for almost three million vehicles and this will certify them to be in ship shape.

The first to go under the spanner according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. This movement although long overdue has come about because of the fatal accidents that have occurred in the last few months and most of them had one thing in common and that was the rental car. There have been several cars that have been asked to be recalled as they have been termed as dangerous.

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The closing of Chrysler’s engine plant in Kenosha this October will leave at least 575 autoworkers jobless.  Chrysler Group LLC is the third US-based automobile manufacturer.  Despite having other engine plans in Mexico and Michigan, the announcement of the closure of its Kenosha plant shocked its employees.  The announcement was made just a week after Chrysler announced that it will keep the Detroit assembly plant permanently active.

The workers are worried of losing their jobs.  At present, the International Association of Machinists and the United Auto Workers are handling the representation of the Kenosha workers.  According to sources, several of the workers who belong in the UAW have a legitimate right to be promised of a job in other Chrysler plants that are represented by the union.

The Kenosha plant’s union leaders are optimistic that the UAW will do everything to turn around Chrysler’s decision.  Some of the workers are outraged knowing the car company plans to close the Kenosha plant while a new plant in Mexico will be opened soon and will be producing the Chrysler engines that were supposed to be manufactured in Kenosha.

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The 2010 Ford Mondeo range is offered with the addition of new engines. There will be the turbocharged 2.0L Ecoboost gasoline engine and the reworked 2.0K TDCi diesel powerplant. The carmaker is also introducing with the Mondeo a Powershift transmission with 6-speed dual-clutch.

The 2.0L Ecoboost gives out 203 horsepower and a good 300 Nm torque which permits the Mondeo to rush from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 7.9 seconds with top speed hitting 144 mph or about 231 km/h. The estate achieves 0 to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds and its top speed pegged at 141 mph for the 4- and 5-door versions.

The 2.0L engine is released with the Powershift gearbox as standard. The Ecoboost model has a starting sticker price of £22,095.

Improvements were also done for the diesel 2.0L TDCi engine. The diesel option comes in three offerings: 115 HP, 140 HP, and 163 HP. The TDCi models come standard with 6-speed manual transmission while the 140HP and the 163 HP variants has an option to get the dual clutch gearbox.

The diesel variants of the Ford Mondeo kick off at £18,995 if you want to get the 115 HP. The 140HP goes for £19,245 while the top of the line 163 HP Mondeo sells for £19,895.

The fact that we, as humans live longer is not just because of our health, there are a lot of technologies out there that certainly do protect us and whenever we are in our cars, the technology that is packed into the vehicles is amazing.  That is what we are going to talk about, some of the best technologies in safety and what exactly is out there for you to use.

One new technology that seems to be going around and people are constantly looking to add in is tire-pressure monitoring.  The reason for this is because whenever you blow a tire, you can actually get into a car accident and that alone is not safe at all.

What the tire-pressure monitoring system is, is a series of sensors on the wheels that actually allow you to see when your tires are losing pressure.

One thing that I love about cars is that there are so many different things that you can do to them to truly make them full of your personality.  You can change the color, the style and overall, the beauty of the car so that it matches in with your personality and just screams you and that is exactly what modifying your car is all about.

Modified cars – while they are expensive, they are certainly worth it if you are looking for a fantastic car that is not only cool on the outside but on the inside as well.  You want unique and different?  Well, that is what modified cars are all about.

You can change the bumpers as well as the interior and of course the exterior – you can add on a print onto the car or even something scrolled up the side.

So this is the new concept by Valmet Automotive.  It is called the Eva, and this is actually the very first picture of the car.  You guys can thank me with gifts of cash!

But seriously, Valmet Automotive is a supplier operating out of Finland, and whether you know it or not, you are most likely already familiar with them, seeing as how we all have them to think for the Porsche Cayman models and the Porsche Boxster models we know and love. In fact, the supplier will also be partnering up to both manufacture and engineer the upcoming Fisker Karma.

But enough about the supplier, let’s talk about the concept itself. I am sort of at a loss with the Eva. On the one hand, it looks pretty groovy, pretty edgy, very much a car of the future. On the other hand, it strikes me as … kind of boring.

Discuss.

We all know that Toyota is one of the top automakers in the world and that they are certainly leading the way in hybrids however did you know that the brand new Toyota Auris HSD Full Hybrid Concept is actually one car that is going to be entirely European built?

Toyota is one of those companies that usually have their work done in Japan as well as the US but the Toyota Auris HSD Full Hybrid Concept will be the first European built car.

The cool thing about that is that the Toyota Auris HSD Full Hybrid Concept will actually be on sale in Europe this summer, so they will not have to wait for it!

In this day and age, it is all about the technology that you pack into everything – honestly, if you are looking for a car, you look at what technology it has in it in addition to what the engine looks like.  If you are in the market for a computer, you look at the technology that is packed into it.  This is the technology generation and your car should be no different!

Volvo has gotten that concept and at the Chicago Auto Show they actually unveiled the brand new Rear Seat Entertainment System.  This actually features an internet connected area with Windows XP, WiFi and a 500G hard drive.

You can actually plug your computer right into your car and play all sorts of music through the car speakers – that is pretty damn cool!  It’s still under testing right now but it is almost here!

Winter driving is something that is difficult – especially if you are not used to it.  However, getting stuck in the snow is ten times worse.  I already have been stuck four times in the snow this year and I can promise that it is a terrible feeling!  Well, in this blog, I am going to help you get out of the snow and back on the road!

One thing that you need to make sure that you do whenever you are dealing with being stuck in the snow is ensure that your tires have enough traction.  That is the most common reason why you get stuck in the first place.

If you do happen to get stuck, you want to make sure that you turn the wheels side to side in order to get the snow out and you should be able to move your car again.

I remember when Nissan was just a small, small company that only produced small and compact cars.  Nowadays, Nissan has branched out quite a bit and have come out with some beautiful and awesome looking cars – and hybrids.  This includes the brand new 2010 Nissan GT-R.  This particular 2010 car is not only going to be an icon, but it is a hybrid car with a ton of horsepower.

One of the coolest things about the 2010 Nissan GT-R is that not only is the brand Nissan behind it, but I can tell you that this particular car looks high-class and high-end, which is weird for me to see coming out with the Nissan name.

With the price of just about one hundred thousand dollars, the brand new 2010 Nissan GT-R could be yours!