The Renault Mégane experiment: ‘Can a car change a town’? (3)

20-11-2010Auto Speed MarketComments are closed

Can a car change a town?

The Mégane Experiment stars Claude who goes to Gisburn, Lancashire where there are no Méganes, and convinces villagers he is a ‘joie de vivre’ expert from Menton, Côte d’Azur, France, where there are many.

Over the course of the week, he calls a meeting to explain that villages and towns with more Méganes have higher fertility rates, berates the locals for their lack of ‘joie’, convinces the proprietor of the White Bull to convert his pub to the ‘Boeuf Blanc’ complete with an accordion player, teaches the meaning of ‘joie de vivre’ to the primary school, gets interviewed by a member of the local Press and, finally, puts on the ‘Festival de Joie’ on the local playing fields.

The film was directed by Oscar-nominated director Henry-Alex Rubin, who shot 48 hours of film over five days and described Claude as a “French Borat with a heart.”

Over the course of the shoot, the actor offered raffle tickets in exchange for test drives in his Mégane, which he gives away at the ‘Festival de Joie’.

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Despite taking place in the rain, it still attracted an impressive 300 locals, from its total population of only 500.

A short documentary with behind the scenes footage of the campaign is hosted on the TheMeganeExperiment.com website, which also gives people the chance to win prizes, a ‘Joie de Vivre’ psychometric test and a chance to compare how joyful their community is with others.

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Europe’s most advanced real-time speed camera alert

19-11-2010Auto Speed MarketComments are closed

Sexy girls, thrusting gearsticks…and a cheeky 69er! Watch it here now.
Expect thrusting gearsticks, tiny hotpants and a cheeky 69er, as the girls take on Britain’s speed cameras armed with Coyote: Europe’s most advanced real-time speed camera alert

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Mini Machines for dwarfs

18-11-2010Auto Speed Market 3 comments

A city car (or urban car) is a term for a car intended for use primarily in an urban area.

City cars are sold worldwide and most automotive industry manufacturers have one or two in their line-up.

In North-America city cars are often referred to simply as “subcompacts” alongside the superminis. In Japan the kei car is a similar concept, although a kei car must be very small in physical dimensions and engine capacity; for city cars the definition is imprecise. And all of these cars are for mini people, for dwarfs!

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Two wins for Audi at Golden Steering Wheel: accolades for the A1 and A8

15-11-2010Auto Speed MarketComments are closed

Two wins for Audi at Golden Steering Wheel: accolades for the A1 and A8

· With a total of 20 wins since 1975, Audi is the most successful brand in the competition
· Also second place for the Audi A7 Sportback

Berlin/Ingolstadt, – Audi has pulled off a double triumph at the “Golden Steering Wheel 2010” awards. The A1 among the “Small Cars” and the A8 in the “Luxury Cars” category were the models bringing home this brace of accolades.

The Audi A7 Sportback finished runner-up in the “Midsize/Full Size” category, completing an outstanding tally of successes for the brand with the four rings. With 20 Golden Steering Wheel awards to its name over the 35-year history of the renowned competition run by “Bild am Sonntag” and “Auto Bild,” Audi is the most successful brand to feature in it.

The awards were presented today, on Wednesday evening, at Berlin’s Axel-Springer-Verlagshaus.

Both the Audi A1 and the Ingolstadt manufacturer’s flagship model, the Audi A8, each of them successful new entrants to the market this year, fended off a stiff challenge from their respective direct competitors, repeating the success of the Audi A5 Sportback (2009), Audi Q5 (2008) and Audi A4 (2007) in preceding years.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, took receipt of the award for the A8: “We have been very sensitive in the way we have sought to refine the A8’s design. It is a very elegant and subtle balance.

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The A8 embodies our collective skills in the fields of both design and technology. It is a genuine complete work of art – and an excellent one at that.”

Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Technical Development, collected the Golden Steering Wheel award for the A1, commenting: “We are truly delighted to have received this distinction. Our A1 chimes perfectly with our times. Our sales figures reflect that, too.”

This year the 50-strong jury for the “Golden Steering Wheel,” a line-up of VIPs, technical experts, professional motor racing and rally drivers and the editors-in-chief of the international offshoots of the trade publication “Auto Bild,” again had the opportunity to put all 42 candidate vehicles through their paces behind closed doors on a special proving ground.

The A1 scored particularly well among the editors-in-chief for its driving and seating comfort, driver assistance systems, ease of operation, and the flexibility and acceleration criteria.

The technical experts gave the compact model top scores for build quality, quality impression, safety, ease of repair and environmental acceptability. The racing drivers applauded its engine, steering, suspension, brakes, gearshift and driver assistance systems, and not least the Audi A1’s driving pleasure.

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The latter aspect also held great appeal for the VIPs, as did its design, spaciousness, interior noise, ease of operation and seating comfort.

In the luxury category the editors-in-chief praised the Audi A8 most notably for its ride comfort, driver assistance systems, ease of operation, variability and value for money.

The technical experts acknowledged the A8’s build quality, ease of repair and environmental acceptability, all-round view, safety, fuel efficiency and value for money. The luxury sedan scored highly among the racing drivers for its engine, steering, suspension, brakes, gearshift and smoothness of drive. And the VIPs commended attributes such as rear seating comfort and social acceptability.

The “Golden Steering Wheel” has been awarded to the best new car models every year since 1975. Just in recent years, winners of the “Golden Steering Wheel” included the Audi A6 (2004), the Q7 (2005), the A4 Sedan (2007), the SUV Audi Q5 (2008) and the A5 Sportback.

This year there was a field of 42 models in six categories.

Source: Audi of America

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New Audi center consolidates e-mobility efforts

15-11-2010Auto Speed MarketComments are closed

New Audi center consolidates e-mobility efforts

· New development and testing center for electric drive systems
· Audi Board Member for Technical Development Michael Dick: “Consolidation in one area allows solutions to be found quickly and efficiently”
· Audi investing Ђ 65 million in the new building

Ingolstadt, Germany, – Audi commissioned a new development and testing center for electric drive systems at its Ingolstadt site this week – providing the company with an ideal environment for development of hybrid and electric automobiles.

Around 840 employees will now work here to further advance drive systems, batteries and power electronics – using highly networked methods.

“With the new development and testing center for electric drive systems, we’ve reached an important milestone on the way to e-mobility,” said Michael Dick, Audi Board Member for Technical Development. “Consolidating the employees involved in the development process in one area allows solutions to be found quickly and efficiently.”

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The Audi Q5 Hybrid will be introduced to the market as early as next year. By the end of 2012, Audi will have a small volume of R8 e-tron electric sports cars ready to hit the road.

Audi invested approximately Ђ 65 million in the new building over the past two years. The 14,000-square-meter (150,690-square-feet) building houses numerous state-of-the-art test rigs, which can be used to test electric drive concepts.

Over a total of seven stories, engineers initially test the individual components, then simulate the interaction of drive system, battery and power electronics, and finally assemble the entire drivetrain for testing.

In the next testing phase, tests are run with the complete vehicle in the altitude simulation chamber and the deep-freeze testing rig, subjecting the cars to various climatic conditions at 4,200 meters (13,779.53 feet) in altitude and temperatures of -40°C to +60°C (-40°F to +140°F).

“The networking isn’t just obvious at the testing rigs; it is reflected in the entire architecture of the building,” said Richard Schmidmeier, who as project manager has overseen the expansion of the mechanical units center since the start of construction in September 2008.

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The workstations in the new offices, for instance, are ergonomic, brightly lit and spacious. The planners have also provided “think tanks” in which the employees can get together spontaneously in order to discuss problems. The open character and numerous meeting rooms convey a campus-like atmosphere.

Audi is making sustained investments in the future in order to achieve its goal of selling 1.5 million cars per year by 2015.

Plans call for Ђ 2.2 billion to be invested by 2012 in fixed assets at the Audi Ingolstadt site alone. In addition, the company will hire around 500 new employees this year. Special emphasis is being placed on the promising areas of electromobility and lightweight construction.

Source: Audi of America

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GM inaugurates world’s first flexi-engine facility for petrol and diesel engines

12-11-2010Auto Speed MarketComments are closed

General Motors inaugurated its new flexible-engine facility at Talegaon near Pune on Thursday.

This is GM’s first powertrain plant in the world that enables both petrol and diesel engines to be manufactured simultaneously.

Among those present at today’s ceremony included Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Secretary of the State, J.P. Dange, Principal Secretary (Industries), A.M.Khan, President & Managing Director of GM India Karl Slym and a host of other dignitaries.

The state-of-the-art facility represents investment in excess of US $230 million. It has an initial annual production capacity of 160,000 engines and is designed to accommodate future expansion. The new engine plant will produce engines for small passenger cars manufactured by GM in India.

Speaking at today’s inaugural ceremony, GM India President and Managing Director Karl Slym said: “This marks the beginning of GM’s next chapter in India. The opening of our new facility will enable our company to become more competitive and keep up with the growing demand for our vehicles.

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GM India’s sales have grown significantly since we began rolling out our mini-cars, the Chevrolet Spark and Beat, at our Talegaon plant about two years back.”

Slym added, “We appreciate the support of the Maharashtra government and our employees across the country. Their backing has enabled us to build a world-class engine facility in record time of under two years.”

On August 28, 2008, GM signed an agreement with the Government of Maharashtra for the construction of a new engine plant adjacent to its vehicle manufacturing facility. Construction started in December 2008, with pilot production commencing in March 2010.

The engine plant complements GM’s modern vehicle manufacturing facilities in Talegaon and Halol, Gujarat, and the GM Technical Centre in Bangalore, which is carrying out a range of engineering, design and R&D activities.

General Motors India has completed 14 years of operation. It offers a growing range of products under the Chevrolet brand, which was introduced in India in 2003 and has become one of the fastest-growing automotive nameplates in the country.

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In addition to the Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Beat, GM India also currently produces the Chevrolet Captiva, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, and Chevrolet Tavera for sale nationwide.

GM is now the fifth-largest automobile manufacturer in India. In the first 10 months of 2010, GM India sold a record 93,960 vehicles, which represents growth of 73 percent from the same period last year.

It has 211 sales points and 205 service outlets in 178 cities across India, and has embarked upon an ambitious rural marketing initiative to further boost sales. In February 2010, GM and its Chinese partner SAIC opened a joint venture in India for cooperation in vehicle manufacturing and sales.

Source: wheelsunplugged.com

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Electric Cars – Battery electric vehicle technology -Bye bye batteries, new technology incoming

03-11-2010Auto Speed MarketComments are closed

Your car mechanic in future is likely to be part electrician. Every big car manufacturer on Earth has an electric car prototype on the drawing boards or at prototype stage, and the technological hurdles to viable electric cars are now collapsing as new technology beats them.

The electric car’s main problems have been a low range and relatively low performance compared to conventional cars. That’s about to change, drastically, as economics take hold of the issues and much more efficient engines with far better designs come onstream. In most cases the problems have simply been power supply and maintaining efficiency.

Even the idea of the electric car is taking hold in some unlikely places, notably the carbon industries which are glacially becoming aware that their products are far more valuable in other applications than in car engines.

Coal and oil are infinitely more cost effective as carbon in other roles, and nanotechnology is literally finding uses for molecular carbon products by the second, so it’s a safe bet that the carbon industry stockholders won’t suffer too much when the electric car comes on the road.

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The other big winners will be car manufacturers. The electric car could be like Christmas for car designs, freeing up space and weight of the old petrol engines. An electric car, in theory, can be a true luxury vehicle. That’s why it’s so important to break down the barriers to mainstream marketing, ASAP.

Batteries

Batteries are heavy, they have limited efficiency and capacity, and of course the charge runs out. They’re only rechargeable so many times. The batteries are also inextricably linked to transmission and power system efficiency, another issue which has been plaguing the minds of designers.

A range averaging 90 miles and a quick recharge have been the default standards so far, but obviously, more and better functionality improves the economics and running performance.

Enter an unlikely but irrefutable saviour- The fan belt. The faithful fan belt, with minor modifications, can be an efficient recharger.

The possibilities, and the important feature of creating ongoing reserve power, have clear applications on the road, not least of which is preventing suddenly running down on power in the wrong places in traffic. This one’s a definite starter, excuse the expression.

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Super capacitors

Super capacitors are new technology, and they can manage a lot more power, far more efficiently than batteries.

As emergent technology, it has some way to go to hit commercial potentials, but the ability to provide major grunt will be a major factor in shifting heavy vehicles onto electric power. The average sedan doesn’t really need massive amounts of power, but the heavies do, and it has to be reliable. Nobody wants to be in the vicinity of a huge truck running on inertia, particularly if it’s got power steering.

Onboard power and power monitors

The onboard power systems, electronics, computers, etc, also need to be accommodated.

One of the standard requirements of car servicing will inevitably be good, trustworthy power monitoring to ensure power management is properly organized, and you could be forgiven for thinking that the ultimate electric cars will basically have their own hard drives, keeping things organized.

Thank you Sachin for this guest post!

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