Hatchbacks Are Back!

What would the future of cars look like? Think long. Wait. Actually, you need not exert too much effort. Look around. The present will give you a hint about the future…

The AIADA newsletter reported that the next shape in cars comes close to how most people might like to chisel their own bodies – broad shoulders and a shapely rear end. That’s right, the five-door hatchback is back. And hot hatches are here to stay…

USA Today also reported that Nissan’s Infiniti EX35 luxury crossover, a small hatchback that blurs the differences between SUV and sedan, is emblematic of the style. The EX35 stands tall and confident from the front just like an SUV. But the roofline arcs to a slope over the back seat and the cargo area. The five-door vehicle is aimed at attracting more female buyers to Infiniti, the report added.

Modern-day hatchbacks include Volvo’s C30, BMW’s X6, and Hyundai’s Elantra Touring. Sales of five-door vehicles doubled from 2001 to 2006, says Brandon Ramirez, Hyundai’s product planning chief. And from 2008 through 2010, there will be eight new or redesigned crossovers entering the market among all makers.

• Volvo. The C30 goes on sale Oct. 1. Priced starting at $22,700, the three-door hatchback is the first small Volvo in a generation. And it is meant to hearken back to an early 1970s model, the 1800ES, from an era when hatchbacks were the rage.

• BMW. Pictures of the X6 have been shot as it spins around Germany, its rear portion covered so as not to reveal what appears to be a sloping roofline. The X6 is meant to be a sportier version of the boxy X5. Production begins next year at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, S.C.

• Dodge. The fading rear end showed up early on Caliber, a $13,850, entry-level hatchback crossover meant to replace the old Neon sedan. Chrysler, which introduced the Caliber in 2006, touts its “sporty, coupe-like profile.” The five-door appeals equally to men and women, ages 24-34, who “reject conventionally styled small cars and ‘cute utes’ as uncool,” the automaker says.

Autodata said that sales have been decent, up 27% for the year through July compared with the same seven months last year.

• Hyundai. The South Korean automaker just announced its own slope-backed crossover, the Elantra Touring. Though it shares half its name with one of Hyundai’s most popular sedans, the five-door hatchback is entirely different.

When it goes on sale next spring, Hyundai is viewing the Elantra Touring as a whole new direction. “We turn the volume down on off-road capability and turn the volume up on fun and… styling,” said John Krafcik, the vice president of Hyundai Motor America. The industry is going through a “remarkable shift” away from the “three-box design” – engine, passenger cabin, trunk – of traditional cars to more space-efficient boxes, he added.

Sales of five-door vehicles doubled from 2001 to 2006, noted Brandon Ramirez, Hyundai’s product planning chief. And from 2008 through 2010, there will be 8 new or redesigned crossovers entering the market. Brace yourself!

Simple Ways To Protect Your Car

If you love your car then you would certainly do everything you can to protect it from damages, accidents, and theft. If you are worried that your car might be stolen but does not have the necessary finances to buy car alarms and such gadgetries, then don’t despair because there are simple things that you can do to protect your car from being stolen. These tips would not even require you to buy alarms for your car.

One of the things that you should always remember is never to leave the keys in your car’s ignition switch. That applies even to those times when you are just going to buy something in a store or drop something off. Remember that it only takes a couple of minutes for a thief to drive away in your car if you leave the keys in the ignition. You should also lock your cars. Even if you have the keys, don’t forget that car thieves are experts in hot-wiring cars. Although a locked door cannot keep away a desperate car thief, it can make them think twice that breaking into your car might alert someone.

Never leave your valuables inside your car even if you take the key and locked the door, leaving valuable things inside your car is not a good thing to do. This is because it is an open invitation to thief. They might not steal your car but they might break the window and go for the valuables instead. Thus, you would be loosing your valuables plus, you will have to cough out money for the repair of a broken window. You can either take your valuables with you or you can stow it in the glove compartment, out of sight from thieves. This also works for expensive audio system. If you can afford this then you can also afford an alarm system, but if you chose not to spend on car alarm systems, then you might consider having your car audio connected in a way that it can be pulled out easily. Thus, if you have to park outside, you can just pull out the system and keep it out of sight.

If you are out at night and needs to park in a parking lot, choose a well-lighted spot. A car in the dark is a favorite target for car thieves since there would be less risk of anyone seeing them breaking into a car and raising an alarm. So there it is, just simple things you can do to protect your car.

Top 10 Safe Vehicles Less Than $25,000 From CARandDRIVER

Safety should not be equated with being pricey. This is why safe vehicles need not cost you a fortune. To tell you a fact, safe vehicles can be had for less than $25,000!

Car and Driver has given a helpful Top 10 List of safe new vehicles for less than $25,000. The list arrives just in time for those final summer escapades.

“Car buyers and enthusiasts know they can count on CARandDRIVER.com for expert research and analysis when considering a new car purchase, and both safety and overall value are paramount factors to most of those in the market to purchase,” said Mike Dushane, the executive editor of CARandDRIVER.com. “This list will help guide car buyers to safe vehicles at a very reasonable price, and it clearly shows how safety technology has moved to the mainstream. It’s not just for the luxury car buyer anymore.”

The report continued that the vehicles that made the list had to meet tough Car and Driver standards, which required all vehicles include stability control and a minimum of six airbags (front and side curtain), the Auto Channel reported. On some of the vehicles, those safety requirements are not standard and cost a little extra, but even with those extras, all of the vehicles come in under $25,000.

We are living in a nation of strict personal-injury and defective products protection but more lax when it comes to automobiles and transportation. As a fact, traffic accidents trail the leading causes of fatalities in the United States.

According to a recent New York Times article, America ranked 11th in the world for fatalities per mile and that statistic means that the country is more dangerous than countries like Poland and Estonia. This is even with quantum leaps in safety technology made and mandated in the past decade. It’s fairly tough to buy a patently unsafe vehicle nowadays. Some, however, are safer than others.

CARandDriver has this to note:
Vehicular safety is focused in two areas: accident prevention and crashworthiness. Factors such as handling, braking performance, and stability control play into the first; airbags, chassis deformation, and crumple zones the second.

The U.S. government dictates a minimum of two airbags protecting the front-seat passengers in a frontal impact; many vehicles also come with airbags to protect occupants in side collisions. To make our list, vehicles must have stability control as well as curtain airbags for head protection, bringing the minimum to six. Most of these vehicles feature six airbags as standard; for those that don’t, we’ve built the option into the price, as we’ve done with stability control. Several cars meet the $25,000 price ceiling in four- or six-cylinder trim, which we’ve noted.

The Top 10 Safe Vehicles for Less Than $25,000 list includes:

• 2008 Saturn Astra
• 2008 Scion xB
• 2008 Hyundai Sonata
• 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit
• 2007 Mini Cooper
• 2007 Toyota Camry
• 2008 Volvo C30
• 2008 Dodge Charger
• 2008 Honda Accord
• 2008 Mazda CX-7

Most Expensive Cars Around The Globe

Care to know what makes up the list of the most expensive cars around the globe? What makes them soooo pricey? Is it the parts? The performance? Or the name?

Automotoportal has a nice recap of today’s most expensive cars. Topping the list is the legendary Bugatti Veyron.

Bugatti Veyron priced at $1,700,000
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph). The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and is sold under the legendary Bugatti marque. It is named after racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm.

Ferrari Enzo at $1,000,000
The Enzo Ferrari, sometimes referred to as the Ferrari Enzo and also the F60, is a 12-cylinder Ferrari supercar named after the company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2003 using Formula One technology such as a carbon-fiber body, an F1-style sequential shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics. After a maximum downforce of 1709 pounds (775 kg) is reached at 186 mph (301 km/h), the rear spoiler is actuated by a computer to maintain that downforce.

Pagani Zonda C12 F at $741,000
The Zonda C12 F is the most extensive reengineering of the Pagani car yet, though it shares much with its predecessors including the 7.3 L V12. Power is increased to 602 PS (443 kW/594 hp) with a special clubsport model producing 650 PS (478 kW/641 hp).

Koenigsegg CCX at $600,910
The Koenigsegg CCX is the latest supercar from the automaker. The CCX is powered by a Koenigsegg designed and assembled, all aluminium, 4700 cm³ DOHC 32-valve V8 based on the Ford Modular engine architecture enhanced with twin Rotrex centrifugal superchargers with response system, 1.2 bar boost pressure and an 8.2:1 compression ratio. The engine produces 806 hp (601 kW) and 678 lbf.ft (920 Nm) on 91 octane (U.S. rating) gasoline, 850 hp (634 kW) on 96 octane (Euro rating) gasoline and 900 hp (671 kW) on biofuel.

Porsche Carrera GT at $484,000
The Porsche Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 SAE horsepower (450 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (206 mph), although road tests indicated that in actuality the car could accelerate from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds and to 0-100 in 6.8 seconds and has a top speed of 335-340km/h (209-212.5mph).

Mercedes SLR McLaren at $455,500
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a sports car and supercar automobile co-developed by DaimlerChrysler and McLaren Cars. The car’s base price is £300,000 or $455,500. The SLR has a supercharged 5.5 (5439cc) litre dry sumped 90 degree V8 that produces 466.8 kW at 6500rpm (626 hp) and 780 N•m (575 ft•lbf) torque.

Prowlers Celebrate 10th Anniversary

Are you into Prowlers? If the answer is on the affirmative, Aug. 16 is your red date. Uh-huh. This coming Thursday, Prowlers will gather to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Better be there or you’ll miss one significant milestone involving your treasured car.

Vital information is provided for by The New Chrysler Media Site. Here are the things that you dare not forget. Forget about other things. But don’t miss the following info:

More than 175 cars in each of the 17 colors produced in its five year run will assemble at Walter P. Chrysler Museum on Aug. 16. It will be the largest gathering ever of Prowlers. There, Chrysler’s Team Prowler members and owners to share stories of vehicle’s five year run

What: First turning heads as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 1993, the first Prowlers began hitting the streets in 1997. Now 10 years later, more than 175 cars and 450 owners and Prowler Team members will gather to celebrate the vehicle that captured the imaginations of automotive enthusiasts worldwide and showcased the creative spirit of the Chrysler Corporation.

Who: More than 350 Prowler owners from 28 states plus Canada and Holland, The Netherlands

Eight Prowlers driving in from California
More than 100 members of Chrysler’s Prowler Team, including Craig Love, former Executive Engineer for Team Prowler, now Vice President – Rear-Wheel Drive Product Team.

When: Thursday, Aug. 16 – 5 -10 p.m. Vehicles will begin arriving at 3 p.m.

Where: Walter P. Chrysler Museum
One Chrysler Drive
Auburn Hills, MI
(Corner of Squirrel and Featherstone Roads)

Other: Facts & Figures

• Prowler was built from 1997 to 2002
• More than 11,500 Prowlers were sold in the U.S. and Canada with the Plymouth or Chrysler badge
• Over its five year run, Prowler was produced in 17 colors
• Prowler was built at the Connor Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, alongside the Dodge Viper

Why The Name… Part 2

Now that we have an idea where did brands like Chevrolet, Volvo, Pontiac, and Saturn get their names from, let us learn more about foreign brands. Okay, okay. Volvo is an import but I felt I have to throw it in last time because it’s part of Ford which in turn is part of the Big Three.

Again, thanks to Wikipedia for the information. Where to start? How about covering first European cars?

So let’s start with Fiat. The makers of those little cars uses the name Fiat. But actually, Fiat is an acronym for the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. Or in English, Italian Car Factory of Turin. But aside from being an acronym Fiat also means “let there be”. Talk about double meanings, huh?

Moving on, we have Ferrari, or formally known as Scuderia Ferrari. Most of us already know that it was named after its founder Enzo Ferrari. And Enzo is also the name given to Ferrari’s most famous supercar. So by naming one of the company’s car after the founder of the company named after his surname (still with me?) Ferrari has interchanged the name of their founder with the Ferrari Enzo.

Then we have that maker of cars with the trident, Maserati. We compare the Maserati with Dodge on this one. Remember that Dodge was (contrary to the belief that it was named after a child’s game) named after the Dodge brothers, two of them right? Similarly, Maserati was named after brothers involved in the automobile industry. The brothers were: Alfieri Maserati, Bindo Maserati, Carlo Maserati, Ettore Maserati, Ernesto Maserati and Mario Maserati. So what we can infer from this is the more brothers, the more upscale the brand is. Right?

Then we have Peugeot, the one with the walking lion. The company was also named after a person. Armand Peugeot is the one who founded the company. He was first working with bicycles (weren’t we all) then he met Gottlieb Daimler who steered (no pun intended) him into making four wheeled vehicles. Daimler, sounds familiar? That’s because he is the Daimler in the Daimler-Benz, the Benz being Karl Benz, a German engine designer and automobile engineer.

Daimler we know was an engineer, industrial designer, and industrialist. Benz we also met, but what about Mercedes? Mercedes is the daughter of Emil Jellinek. But who is Jellinek? He was a wealthy European entrepreneur who was a member of the board of Daimler’s car company. He was the one who gave the specifications for the first car to be named a Mercedes. The one who actually build the first Mercedes according to Jellinek’s specs was Wilhelm Maybach (ring a bell?). But why did Mercedes end up in the oldest German brand? You see, Daimler was licensed for use in France and the UK so they ended up using the name Mercedes.

That’s it for now, more to come soon.

Why The Name…

We all know the makers of our dream cars, like the Enzo is from Ferrari and the SLR is from McLaren and the F-150 is from Ford. But we don’t know what’s behind that name. Well, maybe most of us know why the Enzo is called as such. There are things that we know and we do not know about cars and especially the history behind the ones who make them. So, I would like to share something about carmakers, the makers of well, cars. Let us look at where their names came from.

Let’s start with General Motors. The name is, of course, not the one that would make us think where it came from. But Chevrolet, there’s something that we have to delve deeper to find out why the brand is called as such. Chevrolet is in fact named after Louis Chevrolet, a racing driver in the early 1900s.

Another General Motors marque that you might be wondering where it got its name from is Buick. The brand is named after David Buick, a plumbing inventor who built his first car in 1900. Cadillac on the other hand is named after the 17th century French explorer with quite a long name. Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, founded Detroit, Michigan and simply put, Cadillac was named after him.

In contrast, Pontiac was named after someone who fought foreigners coming into the United States – to be precise, the British nationals. Chief Pontiac was an Ottawa leader who led an unsuccessful attack on the British after the French Indian war. And then, there’s Saturn, it is a common misconception that the brand was named after the planet, in fact, the brand was named after the rocket that American astronauts used to get to the moon.

For Ford, we already know it’s named after Henry Ford. Its Mercury marque is named after the Roman good Mercury of course, and Lincoln was named after President Abraham Lincoln. Jaguar, although currently in the auction block is still a part of the FoMoCo and is named after the jaguar. But Volvo, just like Chevrolet, is a mystery to most of us. It is not a Swedish word but Latin. Volvo means ‘I roll’ in Latin, used originally for ball bearings.

And to complete the Big Three, there’s the Chrysler Group. The automaker was named after is founder, Walter P. Chrysler. Mr. Chrysler is actually of German and American descent. Maybe that’s why Chrysler went for the partnership with a German carmaker. Dodge, on the other hand, is named after brothers John Francis an Horace Elgin Dodge. And as for Jeep, I don’t know where it came from. In fact, I know that the Jeep brand is used as a generic term so I guess in a way, it was not named after something but something was named after it.

So, that’s it for now guys, and gals. Thanks to Wikipedia for the information I’ve gathered to come up with this.

Most Powerful Bentley

 

You may have read somewhere that the most fabulous key fob out there belongs to the Bentley Flying Spur and the Continental GT. That somewhere is actually Edmunds. If you want your memory refreshed, you can have a look at the top ten most fabulous key fobs at Edmunds. And now, it seems that that key fob will be a perfect addition to the most powerful production Bentley auto model ever.

Let me introduce you to the Bentley Continental GT Speed – the first in his family to run at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour. Being the fastest in the family certainly has some perks. You get to be the one being admired more than your siblings. And that’s the kind of attention that the Continental GT Speed is getting nowadays.

The most powerful Bentley though has history ingrained along the linings of its body panels or wherever they may keep their lineage. According to the makes of this speedy Speed, it is in fact brought to life as the designers at Bentley were inspired by cars from the 1920s. But these are not just cars – they are talking about the ‘Speed’ models of the 1920s.

Let me cite Wikipedia on the popularity of the Speeds of the 20s. Wikipedia says: “The Speed Six was introduced in 1928 as a more sporting version. It would become the most-successful racing Bentley, claiming victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 with drivers Woolf Barnato, ‘Tim’ Birkin, and Glen Kidston.”

That just left me wondering whether the new speed has what it takes to be as successful as its forefathers in motorsport. Although I’m not sure how it will fare in motorsport, I think it can win a car beauty contest. Based on the iconic Continental GT coupe, the modern day Speed combines good looks and awesome power.

Pertaining to the iconic status of the Continental GT coupe and the Speed Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive Dr Franz Josef-Paefgen has this to say: “The Continental GT is a highly successful, modern-day Bentley icon. The new GT Speed, with its harder-edged character and sportier driving experience, builds on this success.”

The Speed is powered by a W12 engine, similar to the one used on the fastest production car Bugatti Veyron. The engine packs 600 bhp. According to a report by The Auto Channel, the engine produces nine percent more power than the base Continental GT and it has 15 percent more torque.

The result: a 0-60 mph time of only 4.3 seconds. Although a cheetah is faster in the 0-60 mph range, a few cars can claim that they have a better time than the Speed.