12/04/2010

RPMGO Car Blog

RPMGO Car Blog

PSA Starts Shipping Electric Vans

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 12:31 PM PST

Citroen Berlingo EV

Peugeot-Citroen SA has started delivering the electric versions of the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner car-derived vans. PSA is planning to build 1,500 units of the vans next year in partnership with the Venturi producer that will offer the powertrain, batteries as well as other EV-related parts for these two vans. Monaco-based Venturi is popular for the high-powered electric vehicle sports cars, expects that its supply contract it has with Peugeot-Citroen of electric vehicles will remain limited to small volumes due to the low demands.

Gildo Pallanca Past is the CEO of Venturi, and told Automotive News Europe that "we are specialized in low-volume production numbers. Eventually, EV vans will be produced in large quantities [on an industrywide basis], but our company will continue to address niche market."

The PSA Group has already delivered 250 electric vehicle vans to the La Poste – the French postal service. Peugeot-Citroen will start shipping later this month another two battery-powered small vehicles – the Citroen C-Zero and the Peugeot iOn. Both of them are based on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and will be manufactured in Japan, as part of PSA's partnership with Mitsubishi.

A PSA spokesman recently stated that "we are focusing on our first wave of hybrids that will launch next year, which we feel is more important than our EV activity at this time." A market analyst at HIS Automotive by the name of Carlos da Silva, stated that PSA is not very focused on EVs in Europe in comparison to other automakers. Da Silva said that "PSA's roadmap to EV mobility is less radical than the ones at Renault-Nissan [or Volkswagen]. They believe in a gradual, smoother transition where hybrids take an important part."

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PSA Starts Shipping Electric Vans

Nissan Leaf, More Expensive In Japan

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 12:28 PM PST

Nissan Leaf

Today, the Nissan Motor Company officially unveiled the highly-acclaimed Leaf model in its home market. The car is rated with a comfortable driving range of 124 miles or 200 kilometers, on a full charge under the local testing standards. These figures are similar with the ones promised by Nissan (100 miles) and the United States government's rating of 73 miles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Leaf is a five-seat hatchback that will go officially on sale in Japan on December 20th. The base price for the car is $44,730 (3.76 million yen). The good part is that it is eligible for a consistent $9,280 subsidy from the local government, shaving off the price tag to $35,455. This is still a lot more in comparison to the price of the Leaf in United States, where it has a sticker price of $25,280 (including the $7,500 federal tax refund, but without the delivery charge which at the moment has not been set). The 2011 Nissan Leaf will be officially available in the United States later this month.

Nissan Leaf

This huge difference of price between United States and Japan is due to the countries' differing testing methods. The JC08, which is Japan's testing method, favor the stop & go city driving techniques which are better suited for EVs than the United States EPA's tests that are more focused on highway driving.

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Nissan Leaf, More Expensive In Japan

Ferrari 458 Challenge Launched

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 11:47 AM PST

Ferrari 458 Challenge

As we have mentioned in an earlier post, Ferrari unveiled at the 2010 Bologna Auto Show the track-only 458 Challenge. This special edition is based heavily on the 458 Italia road cars, but has a number of revisions, including a significant drop in weight in order to make sure that the car is very fast on the track, where it was designed to run on.

The car benefits from the same powerful V8 4.5-liter engine that equips the production model, offering 562 hp. However, there have been several modifications brought to it in order to deliver more torque at lower revs by changing the gear ratios and the software of the gearbox.

The Challenge is now much lighter than the production model sibling thanks to the diet of carbon fiber it received, as well as the lexan polycarbonate. In addition, the Ferrari 458 Challenge has thinner body panels, but we don't know exactly how much lighter the track-only version of the 458 is. We are hoping that in the near future the officials over at Ferrari will publish all the important numbers of this track-only model.

Ferrari 458 Challenge

The suspension of the car was lowered 50mm and now benefits from much focused single-rate dampers with stiffer springs. The car has center-nut 19-inch racing rims covered by high-performance Pirelli slick tires. In order to efficiently stop the 458 Challenge, the engineers over at Ferrari got the Brembo CCM2 carbon ceramic discs from the exclusive 599XX model. These high-performance brakes are combined with a 2-settings ABS system that can be changed for dry or low grip surfaces, depending on the track conditions.

The car benefits from two important features that were borrowed from the production model: the F1 Trac traction control system and the E-Diff electronic differential. But, due to the fact that this is a track-only car, the electronic systems have been recalibrated for this purpose.

All of these modifications brought to the 458, managed to shave off two seconds from the F430 Challenge's lap time at the Fiorano test track, owned by the Italian automaker. Using the slick tires, the car will complete the lap in 1m and 16.5 seconds. The car generates lateral-G figures of 1.6G during the lap. The Enzo and the 458 Italia (equipped with road tires), will complete a lap at the Fiorano test strack in 1 min and 25 seconds.

The official debut of the car will be in 2011 at the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli which will gather the track-customized 348s, F355s, 360s and the F430s. Similar to Aston Martin's lead with the Vantage one-maker racer, the Italian manufacturer will have new Asia-Pacific racing series in the near future.

At the 2010 Bologna Auto Show, besides the 458 Challenge, Ferrari has brought the 599XX laboratory cars, the F60 F1 car, the FXX and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup winning 430 GT2 car. The F1 car will be driven in a demo run by Luca Badoer, who is at the end of his 13 years as a test driver for Ferrari.

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Ferrari 458 Challenge Launched

Details Of The 2011 Jaguar XJ

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 11:45 AM PST

2011 Jaguar XJ

The 2011 version of the Jaguar XJ is considered to be a tribute to the original XJ launched back in 1968 by Sir William Lyons. However, this car has nothing to do with the original model which was tentative, tottering and fragile. The new version of the XJ is available with six configurations. The base model offers a V8 5.0-liter 385 hp engine that costs $72,500. For $79,500 you get the XJL, the "L" is for the long-wheelbase (4.9-inch stretch). Moving on up, we find the 470 hp supercharged power unit that costs $87,500, for the short wheelbase configuration. The long version will cost you $3,000 more.

If you are willing to pay even more for a Jaguar XJ, you can choose from one of the short and long Supersport editions ($110,000 & $113,000). The Supersport is offered with a V8 XFR-Spec 510 horsepower engine which will rival with the A8 from Audi, the LS460 from Lexus, the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship limousine.

Moving inside the car, you will notice the curious placement of the dashboard which is sunken 2 inches below the windshield's base. You will be delighted by the abundance of the perfect stitched cow skin and the elegant spears of burled wood. The air vents of the XJ have a softball-size and they look very similar with the ones on the Rolls Royce models. The sun visors, pillars and the headliner are all clad in creamy faux suede that is so rich, it will be almost impossible for you to resist touching. The car has very modern LCD gauges that change colors and shine a white spotlight of the current speed an rpm's. The front seats of the Jaguar are simply put, perfect, allowing the driver to have a perfect relationship to the most important controls of the vehicle. The transmission tunnel however makes the cabin feel and look a lot narrower than it actually is. The car offers plenty of kneeroom, headroom, thigh support and side bolstering, exactly what you would expect from a luxurious sedan.

2011 Jaguar XJ

With the 470 hp engine, the car needs only 4.4 seconds in order to reach 60 mph from start which is 4 seconds less in comparison to the Aston Martin Rapide that has also a 470 hp power unit under the hood. The car benefits from almost instantaneous power thanks to the almost perfect ZF 6-speed gearbox. However, many critics in the industry said that the new 2011 Jaguar XJ should have been equipped with an 8-speed gearbox, just like its most important competitors, which would have improved the car's ratings of 15 mpg city / 21 mpg highway that are quite average for a 2011 model. But, this 6-speed gearbox is actually very good, the car only needs 2.4 seconds to reach 50 mph from 30, and 2.9 seconds from 50 mph to 70, which is a lot quicker in comparison to the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG that will do 2.9 seconds and 3.4, respectively.

Although it benefits from many aluminum insertions into the body, the XJ has a hefty 4310 pounds weight, but the car still remains very easy to drive and the fact that the driver has almost instant access to all the power of the engine makes it a delight to drive in all conditions. The enormous rotors of the car will burn off 70 mph in 159 feet, which is just about the same as the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

All things considered, the 2011 XJ is everything you would expect from a Jaguar. The car offers the perfect balance between a sports car and a luxury automobile. Jaguar got its name from models like these that offer the best from both worlds: luxury and speed. We will have to wait and see how good it will stand up to its most fearsome rivals like the BMW Alpina B7, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

Source: CarAndDriver.com

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Details Of The 2011 Jaguar XJ

Review – Audi A1 E-Tron Concept

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 11:43 AM PST

Audi A1 E-Tron Concept

In the past, the idea of creating an electric or hybrid sports car was something unusual, but as time passed by, automakers like Tesla or Mercedes introduced us to their concepts. The first one to reveal an electric sports car was Tesla with its beautiful Roadster model. The Germans over at Mercedes launched this year the SLS E-Cell concept which will most likely go into production starting with 2013, for those of us that can afford $250,000 for an electric car. If you want something more affordable (but still quite expensive), Audi might have what you need, the A1 E-Tron which will go into production starting with 2012 at a $150,000 price tag.

These cars won't be very successful at first due to their hefty price and limited autonomy. The big bucks will be given to the ordinary cars like the Nissan Leaf or the Chevrolet Volt. This E-Tron from Audi is based on the small A1 model and it was designed as a "mega city vehicle", which is a small-sized agile vehicle, ostensibly affordable and can be used on a daily bases, featuring four full-size seats. With other words, it is the ideal urban transport method that might be enjoyed by more picky automobile enthusiasts.

This special Audi A1 model gets is power from a transverse synchronous electric motor which is mounted low and up front into the chassis. The car comes with a 12 kW lithium-ion battery that is placed beneath the floor and has a power output of 61 hp and a torque of 111 lb-ft. Exaggerating a little bit, the car resembles with the Porsche 911 Turbo in the way that it is capable of generating more power in short bursts (up to 177 lb-ft, 102 hp). The people over at Audi said that the A1 E-Tron Concept will need 10.2 seconds in order to reach 62 mph from dead start. Top speed should be about 80 mph or so.

If the driver of the A1 uses the car only with the batteries, it will last him approximately 30 miles, which according to Audi is enough for getting the job done in the city. If your battery reaches the 0% level of charge, it will take you three hours to fully charge it at a 220-volt outlet, or six hours at a 110-volt one. For those of you that want to get greater distances, the E-Tron is equipped with a 254 cc single-rotor Wankel engine which can be used in order to power up the battery. It is mounted in the back of the car and acts only as a generator, without being linked to the wheels of the automobile. In this case the range goes up considerably to approximately 155 miles. The fuel capacity is about three gallons and the officials at Audi say that the when the rotary is charging the battery, the car will do 124 mpg.

Audi A1 E-Tron Concept

The front wheels of the E-Tron are driven by a 1-stage transmission that is attached directly to the motor. The acceleration is entirely linear due to the fact that the car has no gears. Inside the car, the shifter allows the driver to choose from one of the D, R, N, Range modes. The latter is used in order to activate the rotary engine, which can be done at any time when the driver wants to, unless for the situation in which the battery is discharged, because at that time the range mode is activated.

The driving feeling of the Audi A1 E-Tron is totally different in comparison to a normal conventional car that uses internal combustion. Although it has a very low amount of power, it launches quite respectably. The powertrain noise is almost undetectable; the driver will only hear the wind and the sound made by wheels that spin on the asphalt. The people over at CarAndDriver.com had the occasion to drive the E-Tron and they said that it has a very direct steering and efficient brakes. If it weren't for the lack of noise, many of us would say that it is a normal car.

The level of how aggressively the E-Tron recharges under deceleration is fully adjustable by using the wheel-mounted paddles. The choice of the setting is indicated in the modern LCD instrument panel.

Audi is looking towards the future with the hybrid Q5 model and the R8 E-Tron that are due to be unveiled in the future. At the moment Audi manufactured 20 A1 E-Tron concepts that are being tested around Munich. In addition, it will install more and more dedicated charging stations to support their upcoming models.

Source: CarAndDriver.com

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Review – Audi A1 E-Tron Concept

In Depth – 2011 Saab 9-5 Aero XWD

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 11:42 AM PST

2011 Saab 9-5 Aero XWD

Saab was on the verge of bankruptcy when Spyker gave them a hand when they pulled $74 from their own pockets and bought the Swedish manufacturer. In addition to these millions, Spyker now owns $326 million in shares at the new Saab Spyker Automobiles company. According to the CEO of Saab Spyker, Victor Muller, the company will get back the original investment in 2012, when the worldwide sales will reach 85,000 units. In 2008, Saab sold just 18,000 cars in the United States, but on the good side, the worldwide sales went up to 95,000 cars. They managed to get this important figure with outdated models and/or badge-engineered cars. Before the 2011 model, the Saab 9-5 lasted 13 years without any changes, which is double as most of the cars today.

This new model is considered by many the first car from Saab that does not look like the models manufactured back in the 90s. The aggressively tapered greenhouse and the blacked-out pillars make it a car worthy of the name Saab. The car will be available with two trim levels. The base model will come with a 2.0-liter turbocharged power unit that will be capable of outputting 220 hp and can be linked to a 6-speed manual gearbox or to a more relaxing automatic transmission. The driver can get the 9-5 Aero with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The other engine is a powerful V6 2.8-liter that is capable of producing 300 hp and a 295 lb-ft. The engine comes linked exclusively with the 6-speed automatic gearbox and the proprietary XWD all-wheel drive system.

Inside you will find a bundle of cool touches that reduce the feeling of black plastic that is predominant in most of the cars that are available today. The start button of the 9-5 Aero XWD is placed in the traditional ignition-switch place on the center console. The needles have a very stylish neon-slime green color pattern and the shifting-matrix air vents have a very special design. In the middle of the speedometer you will find a generous high resolution display that will show you the audio info, navigation and other vehicle information. For extra money, there is an option to add a head-up display so that you will keep your eyes on the road all of the time.

All of the Aero cars from Saab (optional on the soon to be released 2.0T) come with the proprietary DriveSense chassis controller that offers three positions: comfort, intelligent and sport. The default option is intelligent. For those of you that choose the sport mode, the steering of the car will get heavier and the throttle plus the shift mapping will become considerably more aggressive. In addition, the shocks will firm up. The intelligent mode is quite similar with the comfort one, but it resembles a little bit to the sport's steering that becomes harder when cornering.

The car comes standard with the lane-departure warning system which is programmed not to start beeping if it detects steering input. This is a great improvement in comparison with other cars that have the same system which start beeping every time a driver makes a lane change without signaling. As far as the comfort offered by the 9-5 Aero is concerned, nothing to complain, on the contrary, the car's exquisite bolstering of the front seats is a real delight. In comparison to more reputable cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class or the 5-Series from BMW, the Saab offers more space for the back seats.

When looking for the first time at the dashboard you will think that the buttons were placed randomly, but by giving it a closer more attentive look you will notice that the placement of these buttons is very intuitive. The vast majority of the tasks can be controlled with the help of the 8" display, which can be navigated by twirling a knob below it or by touching the screen gently. The structure of the menu is very logical and easy to follow, but at the same time you will have a bundle of options to tweak, if you want to of course.

2011 Saab 9-5 Aero XWD

With the V6 2.8-liter turbocharged engine, the 9-5 Aero needs 6.3 seconds to reach 100 km/h, which is not that bad, but taking into consideration the fact that the car has 300 hp and it costs about $50,000, it could be quicker. This same engine powers the Cadillac SRX and it is the same V6 power unit that Saab has been using for a good amount of time. In the Caddy, the engine is quite awful taking into consideration that the SRX is 400 pounds heavier than the 9-5. The 9-5 Aero XWD equipped with an automatic transmission has paddle shifters that are installed on the back of the steering wheel, and in manual mode, it will not upshift until the driver tells it to.

The 2011 Saab 9-5 Aero XWD was created on the General Motors Epsilon II platform and it shares a great deal of its architecture with the Buick Regal and LaCrosse as well as other cars from GM. The car is equipped with GM's "HiPer Strut" suspension that was launched earlier this year and with a modified MacPherson strut that people over at General Motors say that it better maintains the negative camber under hard cornering and at the same time, it reduces the torque steer. The 2.0T models will come with the standard conventional struts. The back of the car features a multilink arrangement.

The most affordable 2.0T model is approximately $40,000, but a fully featured Aero configuration will cost you $10,000 more. At this price range, you could get the BMW 335i and if you need the extra back space the 9-5 has to offer, you might also take into consideration the Audi A6 3.0T. However, we are sure that the car will have its own niche, for people that still believe that Saab is not dead and it can produce high quality cars.

Source: CarAndDriver.com

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In Depth – 2011 Saab 9-5 Aero XWD

Test – 2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 11:40 AM PST

2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD

The 2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD is built on the same platform as its bigger sibling, the S80 and is a little bit bigger and heavier (176 pounds more) in comparison with the S60R. The car is equipped with a 3.0-liter transversely mounted power unit that is supercharged. This engine is not new to Volvo as they have been using it for the XC60 SUV and S80 we have mentioned before. The distinction is that for the S60, the engineers over at Volvo implemented an internal friction-reduction treatment and increased the power of the engine from the original 281 hp to 300 hp, at 5600 rpm. The torque level was also boosted, from 295 pound-feet to a more impressive 325 pound-feet level, at a higher 2,100 rpm.

With the help of this updated engine, the 2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD needs about 5.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h which is a little bit more than the 335i, but less than the 328i from BMW. The model is offered with Volvo's proprietary Dynamic Chassis setup (the much softer Touring Suspension System is available for no extra money), and although it has big 18-inch rims and performance tires (W-rated 235/40R-18 Continental ContiSportContact 3), the car is very easy to drive and not at all abusive; plus it is very quiet from the cockpit, much like most of the Volvos. In terms of handling, it acts pretty much the same as the Audi A6 3.0T, which is very good considering the German standards over at Audi.

The previous generation of the S60 had a steering feel that was considered by many as something purely theoretical, but things have changed with the 2011 version. Engineers over at Volvo affirmed that they have been working very hard to significantly improve the feedback and they said that the new steering hack of the S60 has gotten 100% stiffer in torsion. For the steering there are three driver-adjustable effort settings, most likely the drivers will pick the middle configuration as it will offer the perfect balance. The car comes with a very elegant and comfortable leather steering wheel that telescopes and tilts. The interior has also an elegant look thanks to its sweet-potato-colored leather upholstery. The plastics inserted in the dashboard of the car are gloss-free and resemble to animal hide. The switchgear is just about the same as the bigger brother has, the S80.

2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD

For $2100 more, you could get the Technology Package that consists of a radar-based collision warning system, adaptive cruise control plus the now popular and useful lane-departure & pedestrian warnings. Similar to the system implemented in the S80, the car will alert flash a strip of red LEDs at the top of the car's dashboard and at the same time make a very weird sound. If you continue snoozing, the car will reduce speed gradually until it will stop thus avoiding a very unhappy accident.

Being a Volvo, it has a lot of safety gear that luckily did not have a negative effect on the beautiful stylish aspect of the car. The S60 continues the design pattern chosen by Volvo, and this new model resembles with the S80, but it has a truncated tail and a tapered nose. When compared to the S80, the height and width are almost the same. The difference is mostly in the wheelbase and length.

We mentioned before the $2100 Technology Package available for the S60. Part of this optional is the proprietary pedestrian-detection system that uses a camera that is installed near the top of the windshield and relies also on the cruise control's grille-installed radar that detects pedestrians and will stop the S60 automatically. For those of you that are interested about how this system works, keep reading.

The camera is aimed at the road ahead and sends photos to the S60's onboard computer that will try to match these pictures to the database that the computer has, which consists of more than 10,000 pedestrian photos. By doing so, the system will find out if the object that is located in front of the car is an actual person. If the computer of the car senses that there is a person in the path of the car, the radar will kick in and will find out how far away that person is. The car will continue approaching the pedestrian and the collision-warning alarm that is installed at the base of the S60's windshield will begin to flash and make alert sounds in order to warn the driver of an imminent accident. During the time the computer warns the driver, the S60 "prepares" the brakes for a full stop by moving the brake pads closer to the rotors. If the driver will ignore these signals, the car will automatically start fully braking until the S60 is stopped. If the driver is traveling with a speed of up to 22 mph, this system can stop the car before having an impact with the pedestrian. Anything above that will help reduce the force of the impact which will result in fewer injuries, hopefully.

Source: CarAndDriver.com

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Test – 2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD

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