Jun 23, 2010

The new Peugeot 508 will debut at the Paris Motor Show this autumn. The model will be available in a hybrid version which will be fitted with a diesel engine. The Hybrid version for 508 model will have a 2.0 liter diesel engine and develops 160 bhp, which will be assisted by an electric motor located in the rear. The two units will provide a fuel economy like the Prius, while the model has dimensions similar BMW 5 Series. The Hybrid based on Peugeot 508 is expected to begin somewhere in mid 2012 and will benefit from lithium-ion batteries. Besides the benefits of a hybrid system model will have a four-wheel drive system when needed, thanks to the intervention of the electric motor, while the internal combustion propellant will engage the front wheels. All engines will meet Euro5 standards model, which means that engineers will use Peugeot 407′s engines without significant changes in advance. 2.2-liter diesel unit will be removed from the range, but its replacement was not...

Jun 23, 2010

Sven Schulte-Rummerl, AutoBild journalist, was able to make a first test on the road in the company of Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell, equipped with four electric motors sports for a total output of 553 bhp and 880nm of torque. The engineers have placed the batteries of the Star along the central tunnel, while the engines are positioned close to the wheel and not within the same order to optimize the layout of unsprung weight. Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell features a new front splitter and an extractor extreme, redesigned to exploit the absence of the exhaust. The supercar can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds and it’s equipped with lithium-ion batteries. Technical details above are for the prototype of this model, the production version not yet...

Jun 13, 2010

We’ve talked a few days ago about the new Nissan Leaf but here’s a new interesting fact about this car. As we all know, this will be an electric car yet Nissan made it so good that it turned into an urban ninja, ready to hit pedestrian silently and run away due to it’s very eco friendly engine. Fear not citizens! They’ve decided to add some speakers for their first electric model to replace the classical sounds of an engine. That made the car sad and blew it’s cover, but at least we can sleep, knowing it won’t take over the city. Nissan has developed a set of sounds for the electric Leaf that will occur during operation. The sounds will be in a frequency range from 600 Hz to 2500 Hz. Depending on the speed you’re driving the speakers will go from low to high depending on the acceleration or deceleration. That’s right, just like the engine of that old pick-up truck you had. Vrooom, vrooom! When you’ll start the engine, the sounds...

Jun 1, 2010

The U.S. Department of Energy gave Nissan the necessary funding to begin construction of a new production complex in Smyrna in the state of Tennessee. The Japanese manufacturer, obtained guarantees for 1.4 billion dollars (1.7 billion of the total), can then launch the project for the plant intended to produce in the United States the compact electric LEAF already assembled in Japan and the United Kingdom. The new complex, from 2012, will rise to 200,000 cars and 150,000 batteries each year.

Jun 1, 2010

The new model Volkswagen Touran is shown in the second gallery official. Officially presented at the show in Leipzig, the new MPV will be offered with average petrol TSI and TDI diesel engines: 1.2 TSI 105 hp, also in Technology BlueMotion (5.9 l/100 km and 139 g/km) with the device Start & Stop and the energy recovery system under braking, 1.4 TSI with 140 hp and 170 CV and TSI Ecofuel methane. Regarding diesel, the 1.6 TDI with 90 hp and 105 hp, it also offered in BlueMotion technology which consumes 4.6 liters of fuel per 100 km and emits 121 g/km of CO2, resulting in the absolute version more “savings” and lowered by as much as 27% consumption than its predecessor. Also confirmed the 2.0 TDI with 140 hp and 170...

May 26, 2010

Germans from Daimler could collaborate with the Japanese from Toyota for the development and production of hydrogen powered vehicles. Cooperation between the two giants is at least interesting, since both have worked with Tesla at a time – the technology acquired by Daimler for the Smart electric version in exchange for shares(market stock) in Tesla, and Toyota has just started working with people from Tesla. The two world-renowned manufacturers want to minimize the development costs of cars that will take some time and the technology they will use. Cooperation between Toyota and Daimler is the first project of this scale between the two manufacturers. Fuel cells – how do they work: they use a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity in a process that does not emit gases that contribute to global warming. German Corporation has already developed fuel cell vehicles powered by them, but development and production costs of these vehicles are too high...