Car News & Updates

Renault Fluence is latest Renault which has been introduced and possibly cheapest one in this class. Renault seems to be aiming Toyota Camry market which cars in huge size will introduced with reasonable price for family with lower salaries.

Anyway Fluence looks simple and not much words in detail. Interior though looks acceptable and into some level Ergonomic. Quality is not great but it's not bad either, and works of wood makes it look acceptable.

Two petrol engines, each available in two versions:

Finally, it's not as hard worked as Megane and you can not expect that quality as well, but what it seems, it follows usualy Renault safety features which usually bringe at least 4 star in Euroncap crash test.

I've had a previous post about Ferrari 458 Italia which at that time there weren't much information about car released. Recently Ferrari introduced it's 458 and it seems very innovative Ferrari. What I personally can see in this car is that it's targeted Lamborghini Galardo. There are so many innovations in this Ferrari including design and technology.

Car has been designed by Pininfarina which is one of the most famous car design centers in Italy and world. Exterior styling is quite new in compare with other Ferrari's and it's possible that Ferrari follow this design structure for other new products. Exterior style has been focused on aerodynamics requirments and bring 140 kg extra downforce at speed of 200 KM/H or simply it means that at that speed car is 140 kg is heavier and that gives better handling to car.

Interior looks nice, luxurious and highly ergonomic. Steering wheel functions(like turning signals) are unique and dashboard satisfy driver and passenger with diffrent design and angels.

A dualclutch gearboxes will bring fast and smooth transmission at highspeed which currently Ferrari has one of the best dualclutch gearboxes in the market.

Saab came with it latest 9-5 with representing new era of design. Saab 9-5 which is classified as executive sedan or sedan which is larger than family car has competitor like Volvo S80. Anyway as it seems, Saab 9-5 has stronger and innovative design than its competitors.

Exterior styling is clearly remember Saab Aero X Concept which shows how concept cars effect industry. Scandinavian cars which can be classified in quality and drive like German cars, always came up with strong safety and Saab is one of the best in market.

9-5 comes with full range of features such an aircraft-like head-up information display (Pilot HUD); adaptive lighting (Bi-Xenon Smart Beam); adaptive cruise control; Saab DriveSense adaptive chassis with real-time damping control; keyless entry and starting; tri-zone air conditioning; dynamic parking assistance and Saab XWD with a rear eLSD, the industry-leading all-wheel-drive system.

At launch, the four cylinder choice comprises a 160 hp, 2.0-liter turbo diesel and a 2.0-liter gasoline turbo developing 220 hp. A top-of-the-line 2.8V6 turbo, generating 300 hp and 400 Nm of torque, is offered exclusively with Saab XWD. Later 1.6-liter gasoline turbo with180 hp will be introduced. All transmissions will be six-speed. (There are not much information whether it's manual or automatic but it seems it's automatic.)

Saab Aero X Concept

The Citroen DS3 is first car that gonna be representing new line of DS products from Citroen. It seems DS is going to replace C. And they comes with unique design, what makes Citroen lately famous.

DS3 comes with full range of customization which let buyer choose combination of body color, roof and interior, But it still remember me of what has been done in Mini Cooper. Interior also looks stylish and modern which can reminds of a concept car.

The two HDi diesels - a 90bhp and an 110bhp and the three petrol engines - VTi 95, VTi 120 and THP 150 - are fitted with either 5 or 6 speed manual gearboxes.

Citroën DS3 models will feature as standard ESP, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and EBA (Emergency Brake Assist) as well as six airbags which later would give very high safety standard by Euroncap.

Maserati is coming up with cabriolet version Granturismo. Success of Granturismo made Maserati to offer Cabrio version.

Grancabrio is one of the best looking cars in the market and looks so intelligent as well. Interesting point about exterior design is that in front, designers tried to come up with a shape which satisfy men and at the back design satisfy women. For interior, like any other Maserati there is great range of leather and woods can be match and choose.

The Maserati GranCabrio is powered by a 4.7 litre V8, 323 kW engine and is the convertible with the longest wheelbase on the market.

One of the words which nowadays are quite popular between car review articles, is the word "Quality". They are always talking about they don't like a particular car because of bad build quality or being cheap. But how they recognize that a car has cheap build or bad quality?

There are some general and particular methods which i usually use to determine build quality of car. More of these factors in a car shows the better quality. I will explain them section by section:

Exterior

Design: Design of a car is not really strong factors in recognizing quality but if it comes with other factors it makes a big difference. Cars with good quality always have great designer or innovative designer which both of them are costly for manufacturer to follow. Designs which following a particular type of lines (sharp lines or curved lines in harmony) or having sophisticated lines on the body just to make it looks better shows manufacturer high attention on what they are doing. Also innovative designs are always risky for manufacturers to follow and those who manufacture these cars paying high attention to details of their products.

Gap: Gap between doors, hood and different parts of body or any place which two parts have to stand next to each other can determine level of technology and sophistication of assembly lines by manufacturer. Gaps who are smaller makes the car looks better. Width of gap in different sections should be equal and this shows that parts on the sides of gap are perfectly balanced.

Hyundai Accent: Gaps are deep and big, compare it with Audi A4 gaps(below).
Note: These photos are just to illustrate different kind of gaps and I don't mean to compare these two cars with each other.

Paint: Shininess of paint is depend on the quality of the paint, polish of surface before applying the paint and method of applying the paint. Target in luxury cars is to make the paint as shiny as possible and it always looks good.

Surface of the body: In most of the cases it can not be recognized without using specific tools. Anyway, amount of bumper and depth on a surface shows bad quality. For bad quality cars you can easily recognize this if you look through the surface (look with one eye and closed to surface of body).

Lights technology: For small cars it's not good expectation but for medium size to large cars LED technology or cornering lights shows better quality in a car.

Tesla Model S is an answer for people who care for earth more than they care for themselves! Tesla is famous for manufacturing practical electric cars and now they have released latest Tesla Model S which you can make order.

It cost 49,900$ and if we consider price range of this car 45,000$ to 55,000$ buyers have options of Lexus GS 350, Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Infiniti M35, Cadillac DTS, Acura RL, Volvo S80 and Mercedes Benz E-class. So is it really worth to forget about all of these cars and go for an elecrtic car?

Tesla claims drivers can drive 300 miles or 482 KM with every charge and it can charge with 120V, 240V and 480V which with latter it takes 45 minutes so we have to consider 90 minutes or 180 minutes for most of the cases. So for driving 300 miles driver needs extra 90 or 180 minutes everytime.

It means if you are wake up at the morining and an urge needs that you drive to somewhere which is 300 miles away and your Tesla has charge for 150 miles you have to wait to recharge it, lets say 45 minutes and then you can rich yourself to your destination. In your destination you need to wait 90 minutes more to recharge it again to get back.

This is huge waste of time and it can be quite problem maker as if you had that much free time then you didn't need to use your car at the first place. All of this charging took less than 10 minutes in a car runing with petroluem products.

The other problem is the way that car will be droven would directly effect battery charge lasting. Getting fast acceleration frequently and driving faster can decrease battery lasting to less than 300 miles. And even worse this is the case which you buy 300 miles pack battery as this car coming with two other batter pack which is 230 and 160 miles per charge.

On the bright side, the car still looks good and it can be a unique car in the street to representing buyer personality. It goes 0-60 miles in 5.6 seconds which is good and top speed of 130 miles. You don't need to change engine oil as there is not much as moving parts and braking as they exist in engine car. In Us,t hey qualify for federal and state tax credits, rebates, sales tax exemptions, free parking, commuter-lane passes and other perks. And best of all no more cost for gasoline or it cost as it was 1$ per gallon.

Finally it's difficult to judge whether this car is good or bad as it satisfy different costumers different expectation, but for myself i can judge this car only i drive it and see how car would feels to drive.

Convenience and utility bullet points:

• Up to 300-mile range
• 45-minute QuickCharge
• 5-minute battery swap
• Charges from 110V, 220V or 440V
• Seating for 5 adults + 2 child seats
• Unique hatch for oversized items
• 60/40 flat-folding rear seat
• 2nd trunk under hood
• EPA Roominess Index 121.6
• More room than station wagons
• 17-inch infotainment touchscreen
• 3G wireless connectivity

Technical specs:

• 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
• ¼ mile in 14 seconds
• 120 mph top speed
• Braking 60-0 mph 135 feet
• 42 kWh battery storage system standard
• 70 kWh and greater battery storage systems optional
• 9- inch liquid cooled electric motor
• Single-speed transaxle gearbox
• Curb Weight 3825 lbs
• Overall Length 196"
• Wheelbase 116.5"
• All-wheel-drive available (option available in future production models)
• Right hand drive available

A few weeks ago I had brief introduction about Peugeot RCZ coupe which has been lunched based on the concept. Now it seems more photos and specification has been revealed.

For sure this is very good looking car but some of specification is not as good as i expected. Engines which have been considered for this car are not as strong as German competitors but indeed same environmental friendliness. 1.6 Litre engine which produce 156HP and 115 KW of torque.

One of the most interesting feature in this car is Hybrid4 engine which will be available on Spring of 2011. A 2.0 Litre engine HDI engine with 163 HP and 120 KW will provide the power require for front wheels while another electric motor at the back with 37 HP and 27 KW turque will move the rear wheels. So with this new engineering driver would experience diffrent All Wheel Drive car which has not been introduced in any other.

Interior looks high quality and has been designed to remember Peugeot presentation in Rally or WRC. It has not been mentioned whether there is option for interior colors and quality or not but if there is such option, Peugeot can conquer in market strongly with others.