Fuel-thrifty, smaller cars aren't always plain, utilitarian and boring. Audi's entry-level car, the A3, proves it.
For the first time since its U.S. introduction in 2005, the five-door A3 adds a diesel-powered engine and now boasts a federal government fuel mileage rating of 30 miles per gallon in city driving and 42 mpg on the highway.
The five-door, five-passenger A3 was a compelling compact-sized car before the fuel-sipping diesel went under the hood. Now, the A3's solid German road handling, premium looks and "recommended buy" rating from Consumer Reports magazine make for an even more appealing package for buyers looking to spend $30,000 to $36,000.
Though classified as a small wagon by the federal government, the A3 has the feel and some of the look of a hatchback.
Starting retail price, including destination charge, is on the high side for a hatch, though, and the diesel model is even higher than the base 2010 A3.
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, with destination charge, is $28,905 for a 2010 base A3 with turbocharged, four-cylinder gasoline engine and manual transmission.
The new turbocharged, diesel-powered A3 starts at $30,775 and comes with automatic transmission only. An A3 with all-wheel drive has a starting retail price of $31,675 but is available only with the gasoline four cylinder.
By comparison, the 2010 Volkswagen Golf, which has the same diesel engine with the same performance numbers, starts at $24,809 for a five-door model. A performance-oriented, 2010 Mazdaspeed3 five-door model starts at $23,945.
The A3 was positioned as a premium small car when it arrived in the United States, and the image hasn't faded, despite the fact the A3 stretches just 14 feet from bumper to bumper. The diesel has been in European A3 for years but only now comes to the States.
The A3 is a nimble car for fitting into parking spaces and slipping into cramped home garages.
The car's has the upscale Audi exterior style, and it has a substantial appearance even if it is the smallest Audi sold here. Light-emitting diode daytime running lamps, which were on the test car and are part of a $2,000 premium plus option package, are the perfect touch of jewelry.
So are 10-spoke alloy wheels, also in the premium plus package.
At first, I couldn't believe the fuel mileage display as I tested the A3. I was scooting around town, zipping down highways and not driving at all for fuel economy. Yet, the car registered just over 36 mpg.
With more fuel-conscious city/highway driving, I got it up to near 38 mpg, and the fuel gauge needle moved very slowly toward empty.
The fuel tank in the A3 can hold 15.85 gallons, so the mileage I was getting could get me some 580 miles before a fill-up.
The two-liter, double overhead cam, turbodiesel four cylinder does have a raucous diesel sound at times.
Horsepower peaks at 140, which is less than the 263 horses in the Mazdaspeed3 with 2.3-liter, turbocharged gasoline four cylinder. It's also less than the 200 horsepower in the base A3 with two-liter turbocharged gasoline four cylinder.
But I didn't notice a lack of power, especially since the diesel's torque is so forceful, and that's the power I used day in and day out in regular travels.
The A3's peak torque of 236 foot-pounds comes on at a low 1,750 rpm and makes for a spirited drive.
This compares with 280 foot-pounds of peak torque coming on at 3,000 rpm in the Mazdaspeed3. Meantime, the fuel mileage rating for the Mazda is 18/25 mpg.
The A3 doesn't feel like a lightweight car, and at more than 3,200 pounds, it's on par with the weight of a base Toyota Camry, which is much larger.
The A3 interior can seem cramped for hefty folks, especially in the back seat where a large hump in the middle of the floor detracts from the middle seat room. But two average adults back there do fine with 52.8 inches of shoulder room and 36.9 inches of headroom.
With optional power-adjustable driver seat, the A3 provides easy positioning and comfort for a range of drivers. Front-seat headroom is 39.3 inches, which is more than what's in the front seat of a Camry.
The A3's interior appeals to the serious driver, with straightforward gauges and, in the test car, a beefy steering wheel.
The interior isn't as luxurious as it is in some higher-priced Audis, though the optional dark walnut wood trim on the test car added an elegant flair.
A3 seats were supportive and a bit firm and provided comfort all through a tiring, bumper-to-bumper trip.
Rear seatbacks fold down, so maximum cargo space is a commendable 39 cubic feet. There's not a high liftover, either. With the back seats in use, cargo room is 19.5 cubic feet.
There have been two safety recalls of the 2010 Audi A3.
One includes A3s going back to the 2006 model year and involves an internal spring for the fuel tank ventilation valve that might not keep fuel from leaking during extreme driving conditions. Fuel leakage could lead to a fire, and 10,200 vehicles, including Audi TTs, were recalled.
The other recall, for 16,000 cars, including the 2009 and 2010 A3 as well as TTs and some Volkswagens, is for a heat sensor for transmission oil that could mistakenly detect high oil temperature and automatically cause the car to shift into neutral.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Geneva Motor Show
HTML clipboardOpinions differ on whether Audi’s A1 at the Geneva Motor Show is just a cynically manipulated VW Polo designed to pander to base badge snobbery or whether it is a genuine attempt to seriously compete with BMW’s MINI. Either way, this A1-based electric-drive concept aimed at urban travel is undeniably clever.
Its tiny Wankel engine under the boot floor is used as a range extender running at a constant speed, which solves the inherent problems with a rotary engine of tip sealing, excessive thirst and emissions. In battery electric driving, the front-drive A1 e-tron has a range of 31 miles. The petrol engine extends that by another 124 miles.
The vintage motorcycles
You would be more likely to see these motorcycles in a museum than on the streets of Daytona Beach during Bike Week.
There's a Munch Mammut of 1970, part of a rare line of motorcycles built with a car engine which reputedly made it the fastest bike of its era.
A 1929 Indian 45ci Hill Climber, still bearing its original paint, is on display. There's a 1950 replica of the Harley-Davidson that Norman Rockwell painted for a Saturday Evening Post cover. And there's the main showpiece, a rare 1929 Harley-Davidson JDH once owned by the Hollywood stuntman for actor Steve McQueen.
The vintage motorcycles are among the 200 to be auctioned off in DeLand at the 23rd annual Daytona Antique and Classic Bike Show and Swap Meet, at Stetson University — a sideshow to the Daytona Beach street party.
"Where else can you see an accumulation of such rare motorcycles in one spot?" said Glenn Bator, the southern California motorcycle restorer running the four-day show at Stetson's Edmunds Center. "This is the history of motorcycles."
It's not like other Bike Week shows, which usually feature flashy new Road Kings or choppers with elaborate paint schemes.
These bikes hail from European manufacturers, hard-to-find production lines or long-lost brands coveted by history buffs and high-end memorabilia collectors.
The auction was originally founded in 1987 by Jerry Wood of Crystal River, well before the business of vintage motorcycles became lucrative. The market for classic bikes boomed in the mid-1990s, as motorcycles became more mainstream and as baby boomer riders sought out the motorcycles of their youth. Wood's auction outgrew its original Daytona location and was moved to DeLand, as city officials there became more interested in drawing Bike Week crowds.
Last year, Wood announced he would fold his long-running show, but Bator stepped in to take it over. This year's events include a trade show and swap meet, a vintage motorcycle show Friday, with the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association and Saturday's auction.
Bator's own career in motorcycles started with one such collector, the late Otis Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
About 1980, Chandler attended a vintage car-racing event in Palm Springs, Calif., where Bator was selling a 1957 Harley Sportster that he had personally restored.
Car in Geneva 2010
ˇ
If you're a lover of high-end machinery designed for ultimate driving fun, three of your favoured marques could well be Ferrari, Porsche and Lotus. None of these three is a name you would immediately associate with the green-tinged motoring that our legislators would like to force upon us but, at the Geneva show, all three revealed cars designed specifically to tackle environmental sensibilities head-on.
So, meet the hybrid supercars. First up, that rare thing: a complete show surprise. No one outside Porsche knew of the 918 Spyder, and only 100 people inside. It looks broadly like a slightly shortened Carrera GT, the car whose open, mid-engined layout and carbonfibre structure it shares, but in place of a V10 engine is a 4.6-litre version of the V8 originally built, in 3.4-litre form, for the RS Spyder customer race cars.
The key point is that there are also three electric motors, one for each front wheel and one for the rear wheels built into the PDK transmission. Between them they produce up to 218bhp, using power suppled by a lithium-ion battery behind the rear bulkhead. Added to the engine's 500bhp, this allows bursts of over 700bhp – which is one reason why the 918 can lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in seven-and-a-half minutes.
That's impressive enough, but driven with the delicacy dictated by the official EU fuel test regime it generates a scarcely-credible 70g/km of CO2. This is partly because it can cover the urban cycle section of the test on electric power alone. At the opposite extreme is a 'race' mode designed for instant and hefty helpings of additional torque, like a KERS system in Formula One. This is a hybrid of the plug-in variety, so the battery pack can be charged overnight to give up to 25km of electric-only range if needed. Other techno-cleverness includes the ability to vary the torque of each motor to act as sophisticated electronic differentials, enhancing both stability and agility.
“We considered such a car two years ago, without the plug-in feature,” says engineering chief Wolfgang Durheimer, “but the board did not approve it. However, last summer, aided by some… let's say… turbulence in the company, we decided to make a statement by adding a lot of the technology available at Weissach.
The 918 is a truly remarkable machine. Its unveiling stole some of Ferrari's thunder, for the Maranello company also showed a hybrid concept. Based on the 599, it is three years away from production but does reduce the 599's profligate 415g/km CO2 output to a commendable 250g/km. It is not a plug-in hybrid, and its batteries have a lower capacity than the Porsche's. These are the reasons why its CO2 figures are merely impressive rather than miraculous.
This time there is one electric motor, of 100bhp, mounted on the back of the double-clutch gearbox and driving the shaft that accommodates first, third, fifth and seventh gears. The lithium-ion battery packs are flat, very thin and mounted under the floor. As with the 918, the motor also acts as the petrol engine's starter and there's no separate 12-volt battery. Again, the urban cycle is run on electricity alone.
In the 599's case, the battery is as electrically flat as it is physically flat after the urban cycle, so for the extra-urban cycle the engine has to work harder than it does in a regular 599 in order to recharge the battery. This is a good thing, because an engine running under higher load with a larger throttle opening is more efficient, with lower pumping losses. One reason why supercars tend to score especially poorly on the drive-cycle tests is that all cars are measured under the same, almost ludicrously gentle acceleration rates, where a supercar's engine is at its least efficient. So we can expect to see more cars tailored, like the Ferrari and Porsche, to suit the official tests.
The Evora has an intriguing sound-synthesis system called HALOsonic, which generates the notes of a V6, a V12, a futuristic agglomeration of whines, whooshes and throbs, or a combination of 'future' and V12. It's mainly for the benefit of the occupants but it's also clearly audible from the outside, allaying fears that pedestrians won't notice near-silent electric cars. Lotus makes the Tesla, of course; the Evora 414E is the next step along a very intriguing road.
If you're a lover of high-end machinery designed for ultimate driving fun, three of your favoured marques could well be Ferrari, Porsche and Lotus. None of these three is a name you would immediately associate with the green-tinged motoring that our legislators would like to force upon us but, at the Geneva show, all three revealed cars designed specifically to tackle environmental sensibilities head-on.
So, meet the hybrid supercars. First up, that rare thing: a complete show surprise. No one outside Porsche knew of the 918 Spyder, and only 100 people inside. It looks broadly like a slightly shortened Carrera GT, the car whose open, mid-engined layout and carbonfibre structure it shares, but in place of a V10 engine is a 4.6-litre version of the V8 originally built, in 3.4-litre form, for the RS Spyder customer race cars.
The key point is that there are also three electric motors, one for each front wheel and one for the rear wheels built into the PDK transmission. Between them they produce up to 218bhp, using power suppled by a lithium-ion battery behind the rear bulkhead. Added to the engine's 500bhp, this allows bursts of over 700bhp – which is one reason why the 918 can lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in seven-and-a-half minutes.
That's impressive enough, but driven with the delicacy dictated by the official EU fuel test regime it generates a scarcely-credible 70g/km of CO2. This is partly because it can cover the urban cycle section of the test on electric power alone. At the opposite extreme is a 'race' mode designed for instant and hefty helpings of additional torque, like a KERS system in Formula One. This is a hybrid of the plug-in variety, so the battery pack can be charged overnight to give up to 25km of electric-only range if needed. Other techno-cleverness includes the ability to vary the torque of each motor to act as sophisticated electronic differentials, enhancing both stability and agility.
“We considered such a car two years ago, without the plug-in feature,” says engineering chief Wolfgang Durheimer, “but the board did not approve it. However, last summer, aided by some… let's say… turbulence in the company, we decided to make a statement by adding a lot of the technology available at Weissach.
The 918 is a truly remarkable machine. Its unveiling stole some of Ferrari's thunder, for the Maranello company also showed a hybrid concept. Based on the 599, it is three years away from production but does reduce the 599's profligate 415g/km CO2 output to a commendable 250g/km. It is not a plug-in hybrid, and its batteries have a lower capacity than the Porsche's. These are the reasons why its CO2 figures are merely impressive rather than miraculous.
This time there is one electric motor, of 100bhp, mounted on the back of the double-clutch gearbox and driving the shaft that accommodates first, third, fifth and seventh gears. The lithium-ion battery packs are flat, very thin and mounted under the floor. As with the 918, the motor also acts as the petrol engine's starter and there's no separate 12-volt battery. Again, the urban cycle is run on electricity alone.
In the 599's case, the battery is as electrically flat as it is physically flat after the urban cycle, so for the extra-urban cycle the engine has to work harder than it does in a regular 599 in order to recharge the battery. This is a good thing, because an engine running under higher load with a larger throttle opening is more efficient, with lower pumping losses. One reason why supercars tend to score especially poorly on the drive-cycle tests is that all cars are measured under the same, almost ludicrously gentle acceleration rates, where a supercar's engine is at its least efficient. So we can expect to see more cars tailored, like the Ferrari and Porsche, to suit the official tests.
The Evora has an intriguing sound-synthesis system called HALOsonic, which generates the notes of a V6, a V12, a futuristic agglomeration of whines, whooshes and throbs, or a combination of 'future' and V12. It's mainly for the benefit of the occupants but it's also clearly audible from the outside, allaying fears that pedestrians won't notice near-silent electric cars. Lotus makes the Tesla, of course; the Evora 414E is the next step along a very intriguing road.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Nano tata cheap car
Touted as the cheapest car in the world at about $ 2,000 in its basic version, the Nano was built by India's Tata will soon be available in a deluxe, fully redesigned by an Indian group for a price approaching that of a Ferrari .
DC Design Group, based in Bombay and specialist car redesigns, announced Thursday that it would completely redesign the city of 3.1 m by replacing the plastic interior trim, small wheels and dashboard dial Single, without touching its general shape.
The deluxe version of Nano will be tailored for a final price of about $ 220,000, the price of a Ferrari or Porsche. A first prototype will be available within two months.
"We want to keep the price of the Nano, but with the technology and the important work that we will achieve it, is a $ 220,000 price is justified," said Dilip Chhabaria, the group leader, told AFP .
"We'll keep the light and the floor, everything else is different. There will be a lot of engineering technology, many high tech equipment," he said.
The standard model with a two-cylinder engine 624 cm3 and a power of 33 horses will be replaced by an engine of 1600 cm3 and have wider roads that the model presented by India's Tata two years ago and launched on Indian roads this summer.
The body will store carbon for lightweight model, weighing less than 600 kg. The group will also rework the brakes and suspension.
"The idea is to show the world what the automotive and high tech can do when they work in synergy," said Chhabaria.
Considering the price prohibitive, DC Design wishes to produce two to five models per year that can be bought by Indian billionaire.
The media launch of the Nano has created a craze among the global manufacturers who in turn swallowed up in the niche of small urban economics.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Nissan GTR confronts the Ducati 1098
The super sporty Nissan GTR confronts the Ducati 1098. A game at the top and on track. Coach is throwing duel. A losing battle? Think again and here is rather an equal performance to match! Like what the GTR is a real bomb the runway repeatedly elected to the top
Forgiato presents Piuma
Forgiato presents Piuma, classic wheels at first sight but equipped with scoops carbon aerodynamics offering innovative and original. Mounted on the Porsche 997 tune. Another feature of these wheels for increased cooling of brake discs. These new rims double efficiency are on order with Forgiato.
The Camaro prepared by Chicago RealWheels
The Camaro prepared by Chicago RealWheels is back in 2010 with her look pretty bad. Its flagship, its blades chrome grille and under heavy shell and vent hood are enough to scare! After a bit like Mad Max, she has black rims and a blood red interior! And it hides a monster V8 hell spitting nearly 700 hp. What to burn tires in no time ..
Hyundai will be back in 2010 next week for Detroit
After an appearance at the show in Seoul in April 2009, the concept of Hyundai will be back in 2010 next week for Detroit. First hybrid vehicle for Hyundai, it offers a sensual design lines in the image of Concept Mazda. Hyundai announced with 65 km of electric range, a record. His block essentially develop the 1.6 L 152 HP. Hyundai announced its model as a future rival for the Toyota Prius. And in view of its technical specifications, this very attractive Blue-will enough to steal market share!
Tuning Audi S5v
The big coupe Audi A5 and S5 sports version is fitted Rieger sees reprocessed by the preparer Japanese Auto Plaza Dank. Improvement specialist kit, Auto Plaza offers here S5 dressed all in black with big chrome wheels 20 "Hyperforged tires Pirelli P Zero Nero. The body kit offers new bumper, sills and a new Racing broadcaster integrating two large twin tailpipes in stainless steel. The body is lowered through suspension H & R adjustable.
McLaren F1 Team
For its advertising campaign in 2010, the McLaren F1 Team to its flagship research and this might be you! And yes, because he just returned to the site HERE to enter the contest. The biggest fan elected by the team will be at the center of the F1 team for his campaign. A great opportunity for you then!
Rolls Royce video presents
Rolls Royce video presents its latest car, the Ghost, sister of Phantom. Always on top in terms of comfort quality materials and finish, it takes the classic lines established by the Phantom in less massive and with a little more roundness. Discover for nearly 3 minutes the small limousine on the road and his passenger.
The American supercar Devon GTX
The American supercar Devon GTX developed based on the Dodge Viper, will not emerge this year as scheduled. While the Viper out of the catalog to come back in 2012, the firm Devon Motorworks undergoes crisis and pushing the marketing of its model very exotic. The small production of 36 vehicles per year will take place until 2011 if everything goes well. To recall, the Devon has a 650-hp V10 and its first tests on circuit suggest the best. Vivement 2011!
The British car manufacturer Westfield
The British car manufacturer Westfield has a good innovation for 2010, an electric car! Dubbed RAIC is developing to run competing EV Cup races for electric cars. Tubular chassis, lithium batteries, ultra-lightweight body, center of gravity lower the tray of the race will be a wasp IRACE electric! Westfield announced for 600 kg, equipped with two electric motors producing 107 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque! It is given at 0 to 100 km / h in under 5 ". Its V / Max will be 180 km / h. The whole with a range of 90 km. Vivement early laps!
The small Lamborghini
The small Lamborghini, the Gallardo LP 560-4 may arrive at the Geneva show in Super Veloce version according to reports. The SV model is currently proposed for the Murcielago in LP 670-4 and represents the ultimate evolution of this model before its replacement. Both pictures show so the Gallardo LP 570-4 equipped with a body kit similar to his big sister. So before the news hour or beautiful Photoshop? Reply soon ...
Automotive Fenix
We announced that Lee Noble, creator of his eponymous label had gone to South Africa on a new supercar project. His new company, Automotive Fenix preparing for 2010 a very sporty car, announced with over 650 hp! Here are the first pictures and supercar is even more beautiful than the Noble! With its aggressive face, small round headlights, rounded wings, high grille, it has everything a great sport. It is advertised at prices below € 150,000, it ranks so far below the 458 Ferrari Italia. A proposed rate power 480 hp, input range. The 650 hp version will be powered with V8 Corvette. 100 km / h are advertised in 3 "5 and V / Max greater than 320 km / h. Currently the prototype is undergoing tests. The car will be officially unveiled in the year and only 100 models will be produced.
Volkswagen presents the auto show
Volkswagen presents the auto show in New Delhi's Polo version for the race. The new Polo arrives in dealerships in March in both gasoline and diesel 75 hp. This Cup Racer is equipped block 1.6 L 130 hp and 250 Nm of torque. It will make its racing debut in June 2010. It is equipped with a manual gearbox 6, sport adjustable suspension, new brakes and an aerodynamic body kit, offering a new bumper. On board, there are sport seats with 6 point harnesses, a roll cage, an anti-fire, to meet FIA standards.
For the Tokyo Motor Show
For the Tokyo Motor Show to be held in mid-January, Nissan will present no fewer than 9 models. But most interesting is the preparation of its assigned Nismo Tuner. And the GT-R Z and 370 will be full of vitamins in terms of power and looks. Nissan announces further changes to the GT-R will be called Nismo Club Sport Package Custom. And it is announced even more perfect in terms of handling! Already it is the benchmark sports sedan! A version of competition, the Xanavi Nismo GT-R will also be presented. Coupe 370 Z Nismo complete the offer "preparation" of the stand.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)