Kudos to Marcus for the tip!
Source: Wtoc via Youtube
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"While each milestone is impactful, this particular one is especially rewarding because it is based on employee feedback; the company forged ahead as a unified team to emerge from the current economic crisis into a leadership role," stated Ernst Lieb, President and CEO, MBUSA. "It's a reflection of what it is like to work at MBUSA - a community where associates feel a sense of belonging and kinship, literally embodying the slogan 'the best or nothing.' "
Mercedes-Benz USA was the only automaker to make it into the Top 100 this year, however find one more car-related company on the list, used-car retailer CarMax which ranked 81st.
For the record, the best five companies to work for are: 1. SAS (software firm), 2. Boston Consulting Group, 3. Wegmans Food Markets, 4. Google, and 5. NetApp (data-storage company). You can check the full list in detail by following the link below.
Link: Fortune
As promised, Aston Martin released the second part of a new promotional series of films featuring the Rapide sports saloon. Called “True Power Should Be Shared”, it’s a more of an action-packed sequel, showing longer driving scenes and a spectacular fight sequence, as the story gets more substance. Still, this is no James Bond movie, although seeing and hearing the British four-door coupe kind of makes up for the lack of originality. Video available after the jump.
By Csaba Daradics
Via: Worldcarfans
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The one-of-a-kind Auto Union Type C e-tron boasts a hand-finished body made of aluminum and carbon-look material. Measuring 2.32 meters (91.34 inches) in length and 97 centimeters (38.2 inches) in width, the 1:2 scale model is suitable for children as well as adults up to 1.8 meters (5’11”) tall.
The high-tech toy car is powered by an electric motor delivering 1.5HP (1.12kW) and up to 60 Nm (44.25 lb-ft) of torque, fed by a lithium-ion battery. Power is sent to the rear wheels and the study is also equipped with a reverse gear.
The top speed is a very respectable 30 km/h (18.64 mph) and, depending on the driving style, the electrified Type C can travel as far as 25 kilometers (15.53 miles). Charging takes about two hours at most, using any standard 230-volt household socket.
Audi did not say if it has any plans to introduce a production model of the study in the future.
By Csaba Daradics
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“Customization is essential to the new BMW X3. With more than 10 million distinct configurations available, we wanted to get customers excited about the birth of their unique vehicle,” said Trudy Hardy, Manager, BMW Marketing Communications and Consumer Events, BMW of North America. “This production footage of the BMW X3 vehicles from our Spartanburg plant enhances the overall customer experience that is part of the BMW brand.”
BMW makes use of a total of seven cameras which track the X3 through the various stages of final assembly. The company added that the videos do not have an expiration date and can also be downloaded and shared.
To watch or download the footage, customers will have to create a My BMW account on bmwusa.com website and entering their X3 order number or VIN. The BMW X3 Customer Video Portal program kicks off today, January 20th.
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By Csaba Daradics
Source: Youtube via Ridelust
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Fortunately, there are a few potential solutions. Carbon fibre is one. It’s said to be ten times stronger than steel and five times lighter. Unfortunately, it’s also four times as expensive, making it impractical for use in non-luxury vehicles. Now, engineers are looking to green energy and new manufacturing methods to make carbon fibre cheaper. Still, the results are yet to be seen.
There’s also the burgeoning belief that ultracapacitors are set to replace lithium ion batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles, though this is far from certain. Like carbon fibre, ultracapacitors are very expensive and unlike today’s lithium ion batteries are quite bulky and heavy. Think of the first generation of phone batteries for a worthy comparison. Fortunately, costs are coming down. According to Mike Sund, VP of investor relations at Maxwell Technologies, “[Ultracapacitor] costs have been reduced by two-thirds over the past three years.”
Even in this post-GFC world, the price of oil is also becoming an increasing concern for consumers and big business alike. Products, like Ethanol E10 and E85, are decent stopgap measures though aren’t solving the bigger problem. Now, companies are looking to manufacture synthetic gasoline from biomass such as woodchips and other waste materials. .
The technology still isn’t at the stage where it can compete with the major oil refineries, meeting only 1/8th of their capacity. Another hurdle is the raw biomass itself, which is too heavy to transport long distances. Still, new advances and investment in the industry are sure to produce some interesting results in the near future.
Lastly, the Scuderi Group has developed an experimental split-cycle engine that causes combustion to occur after the piston reaches the top of the cylinder, which it claims is 50% more fuel efficient than contemporary petrol engines. How about a 1L engine that offers the same performance as a 1.8, with better fuel economy than a contemporary 1L? By using some clever trickery that allows the spark to come later, along with a turbocharger and small air-tank, the Scuderi engine could reinvigorate faith in the internal combustion engine – if it ever reaches production.
So, the future of the automobile is looking bright. Now all that’s left is the wait to see if these technologies will reach production status.
By Tristan Hankins
Source: WSJ , Video: Scuderi Group
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The lightweight composite material was used for the dial, which features sapphire inserts that reveal the mechanism. The latter is protected by a highly durable titanium case, also minimizing weight. Other highlights include the alcantara leather strap evoking the MP4-12C’s interior, and orange luminescent markers on the hands, complemented by orange stitching.
Pilots and track drivers will appreciate the Flyback function, which allows the chronograph to be reset to zero and instantly restarted by pressing only once on the push button. There’s also a tachymeter at hand, indicating what distance is travelled, while the chronograph can record time intervals between two locations.
“I love watches and have always wanted to design one myself. The TAG Heuer MP4-12C Chronograph was a particularly interesting project as we have combined our passion for precision technology, engineering and performance and included some of the most outstanding design features and materials that can be found in the MP4-12C”, said Frank Stephenson, Design Director McLaren Automotive.
The TAG Heuer MP4-12C Chronograph will be produced in a limited run of 1,000 units. Those interested can purchase the watch through McLaren later this year.
As for the car that inspired the creation of the chronograph, the MP4-12C is powered by a 600HP mid-mounted 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8, developed in-house by McLaren. Capable of reaching 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 3 seconds and a top speed of 320+ km/h (200+ mph), the MP4-12C will hit the European market in spring 2011, at a base price of €200,000 in Germany and £168,500 in the UK. U.S. pricing will be released at a later date.
By Csaba Daradics
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By Csaba Daradics
Source: Youtube via Autogespot
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This particular broadcast ad is titled “Chain” and it shows a crane slowly lifting the front end of a LS, which is attached to four more Lexus models (RX, GS, ES and IS) using nothing more than cables and stretch bars. At the end of the spot, a $375,000 LFA comes into the shot and parks directly below the chain of vehicles weighing a total 21,000 pounds.
The key point here is that the commercial is real and that no special effects were used for its creation as Lexus proves in the 'Behind the Scenes" video.
“It isn’t enough to just say that we pursue perfection, we want to demonstrate the great lengths we go to in our pursuit,” states Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing for Lexus.
“The new broadcast spot allows us to focus on the foundation of our vehicles, the chassis, and show its almost unbelievable strength. In fact, we feared that it would be so unbelievable, we invited a physicist and structural engineer to witness the shoot, to prove that it did, in fact, occur without the use of special effects or computer generated-imagery.”
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The idea was to create intelligent convoys of vehicles with a professional driver in the lead vehicle leading the rest of the cars. Each car measures distance, speed and direction and adjusts to the car in front, while being totally detached. Vehicles can leave the platoon at any time, but once in, drivers can relax and do other things, without having to worry about actually driving their cars.
Tests carried out involved a lead vehicle and single car that was able to steer itself as it was trailing the lead truck around the test track.
According to SARTRE, platooning is designed to improve a number of things, such as road safety and fuel consumption. It also allows drivers to concentrate on other matters than driving and, since vehicles in a platoon travel just a few meters apart, it may relieve traffic congestion.
The program is lead by Ricardo UK with other six companies contributing, including Volvo Car Corporation. The technology development is said to be well underway and could go into production in a few years. However, public acceptance and legislation issues will prolong the process, thus the announced 10-year timeframe.
“We are very pleased to see that the various systems work so well together already the first time”, said Erik Coelingh, engineering specialist at Volvo Cars. “After all, the systems come from seven SARTRE-member companies in four countries. The winter weather provided some extra testing of cameras and communication equipment”.
“This is a major milestone for this important European research program”, said Tom Robinson, SARTRE project coordinator, of Ricardo UK. “Platooning offers the prospect of improved road safety, better road space utilization, improved driver comfort on long journeys and reduced fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions. With the combined skills of its participating companies, SARTRE is making tangible progress towards the realization of safe and effective road train technology”.
For a more in-depth look at the SARTRE project check out the video below.
By Csaba Daradics
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By Csaba Daradics
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Webb Bland, the person who shot the admittedly impressive press photos of the 200 cabriolet accused a “misguided idiot somewhere outside of the fantastic marketing team at Chrysler” for leaking the images “weeks in advance of the meticulously scheduled unveiling”.
“Rage-induced”, Mr. Bland added that “it's goddamn infuriating that so many car blogs have already run many of the photos cropped awkwardly, without context or back story, and at a horribly compressed resolution, on top of that.”
While we can understand the photographer's disappointment, we think that his reaction was over the top. Leaks (intentional or...not) are all too common in the automotive industry and you just can’t accuse all blogs for the quality of the photos. Neither can you expect them to crop a photo just like a professional photographer. Furthermore, all sites posted the HD pictures once Chrysler decided to drop the ball.
Any website - be that a news outlet or a blog- jumps at such an opportunity in order to be able to convey the latest information to its readers. But in any case, we’re not the enemy of professional photographers and we’re pretty sure the online media wasn’t trying to sabotage Mr. Bland’s work.
Maybe Mr. Bland should’ve concentrated on finding out who was that “one selfish arrogant douchebag who got a hold of the digital files before the CEO was set to review the images”, rather than taking a shot at blogs and automotive websites that present his work to the public.
We don’t want to add any more fuel to this fire, but it seems that Mr. Bland has a good idea about who the culprit might be and maybe the fact that it could be a Chrysler exec is what caused him to lash out.
Granted, if someone inside Chrysler leaked the photos, there’s not much Mr. Bland can do, other than maybe re-evaluate his professional relationship with the automaker.
In any case, reporting the news shouldn’t be confused with wrongdoing.
By Csaba Daradics
Source: Facebook
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