Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Hyundai Mobis Won Combined $233 Million Order




Hyundai Mobis, An affiliate of the Hyundai Motor Group, said today that it won a combined $233 million order from Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru to supply automotive lamps in what will be its first parts supply to Japanese automaker.

The deal comes as Japanese and other car makers are increasingly looking at South Korean parts makers which offer cheaper, quality products as opposed to their Japanese rivals struggling with the strong yen and the March 11 earthquake.

Hyundai Mobis, South Korea’s largest auto supplier said it will supply $200 million worth of headlamps to Mitsubishi Motors and $33 million of rear lamps to Subaru, an automobile manufacturing unit of Fuji Heavy Industries, from the second half of this year.

Hyundai Mobis previously agreed to provide its lamps to Europe’s BMW and Volkswagen as well as U.S. Chrysler Group LLC.
“Japanese and other car makers are turning to South Korean parts makers to save costs and diversify sourcing following the March 11 earthquake,” said Lee Sang-hyun, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities.

Hyundai Mobis, which heavily relies on its sister companies Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors for sales, aims to generate 30 percent of its revenue form overseas exports by 2015, from the current 10 percent.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Concept debuts at Worthersee 2011

While the annual Worthersee event is focused around Volkswagen brand cars, mainly the GTI, Volkswagen Group AG’s Skoda brand decided to steal some spotlight with the debut of the new Fabia RS 2000 design concept.




“These days, the GTI-Treffen is rightly hailed by fans of powerful engines and sporty customization as the Mecca of car tuning,” says Skoda boss Winfried Vahland. “Anyone who comes to the event once never wants to miss another year of this fascinating get-together. The jubilee year of 2011 is a welcome opportunity for us to show off our sports models and make sure that everyone knows that Skoda really has something to offer here.”

The Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Concept was produced specifically for the GTI-Treffen event. The concept features seats for four with racing harnesses and carbon-fiber trim. Power comes from a 200-hp 2.0 liter twin-turbo 4-cylinder unit.



{via: egmcartech}

Ford adds 1.0L 3-cylinder EcoBoost to U.S. market, 8-speed transmission

Automaker Ford has just confirm that it is expanding it range of the EcoBoost engines in North America with the new 1.0 liter, 3 cylinder EcoBoost and a new 8-speed automatic transmission. The engine is the smallest engine the Ford has ever built and the 8-speed transmission is Dearborn automaker’s first.





“Consumers are telling us they want to buy affordable vehicles that get many more miles per gallon,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president of Global Product Development. “Our new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will give consumers looking for hybrid-like fuel economy a new, more affordable choice.”

Ford says that the new engine will deliver performance of that of a 4 cylinder unit with even higher fuel economy. We asked the famous question, How mush power and also what the MPG? Well Kuzak said that final calibrations of the new EcoBoost 1.0 liter are under way but the new engine will deliver horsepower and torque outputs equivalent to or better than Ford Fiesta’s normally aspirated 1.6 liter gasoline engine, which makes 120 hp, 112 lb-ft and a combined MPG of 33 (Info taken from fueleconomy.gov.) So if what Kuzak said is true, it will be better then the numbers given. This is pretty good for a 3 banger.

The new 1.0L 3-cylinder EcoBoost will be offered on the Fiesta and may even make its way to the Focus.

Ford said that it is on track to offer EcoBoost on 90 percent of its North American lineup by 2013 and to be producing 1.5 million EcoBoost engines globally.

Consumer Paid More For The Month Of May

Last month, consumers paid more when shopping in the U.S. auto market. This is according to auto information company Edmunds.com. They paid more and have fewer choices, Edmunds said.



For the month of May, customer that bought a vehicle, paid about $180 more then in April, $310 more for then the month of February, and $410 more then May 2010. Overall incentives were at the lowest last month since October 2005, and incentives fell for compact -23% and subcompact -14% cars more than the average incentives for any other segment between April and May, according to Edmunds.

South Korean automakers turn out to be the biggest winners in Edmunds’ analysis of the monthly sales data released by the industry this week.

Edmunds said that the joint sales for sister companies Hyundai and Kia topped Honda and placed them fifth on the U.S. sales list behind fourth place Toyota. Hyundai has broken its monthly sales record five months straight. Kia has posted a 44.8% sales increase year to date.


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Government expects to recover more then foretold from the auto bailout

Government expects to recover more then foretold from the auto bailout as it pulls back financially from the sector, but taxpayers still face billions in potential losses, the White House said.



"We'll get back what we get back," Ron Bloom, the Obama administration's point man on manufacturing and restructuring of General Motors Co and Chrysler, said on Wednesday. "It will be what it is."

While a long time ago, the administration granted it would write off a portion of the $80 billion bailout, loss estimates have fallen from more then 60% to less then 20%, according the White House economic advisers.

Bloom said GM and Chrysler have made remarkable turnarounds and are positioned for success. But he said their futures are not assured and would not try to predict their fate. The surging U.S. auto industry hit a bump in May as the sluggish economy slowed sales.

Government intervention in the form of working capital for struggling GM and Chrysler was begun under the Bush administration and expanded by the Obama White House, which pushed the automakers into bankruptcy and financed their emergence.

Treasury has so far recouped about half of what was extended in grants and loans to GM and Chrysler, related retail financing arms, and suppliers in 2009. Some of the money was repaid in cash while the remaining interest was tied up in equity shares held by the government.

Chrysler has repaid $10.6 billion, but remains about $2 billion short of the total owed. Bloom said the Treasury would probably sell its 6 percent Chrysler stake to Fiat SpA, which runs the U.S. manufacturer.

Bloom declined to discuss timing or the value of that interest.

Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of both Fiat and Chrysler, said on Tuesday talks with Treasury on a sale are progressing well.

Washington has recovered about half of the $50 billion extended to GM and has reduced its ownership stake from 60 percent to less than 30 percent.

Treasury plans to sell its remaining GM stake but Bloom said there is no target price or time frame for doing so. The government was eligible to act in May.

"We're going to look for opportunities to see when the market will be interested in purchasing additional shares," Bloom said. "The people at Treasury will analyze the markets and see what investor sentiment is and make the judgment."

GM stock closed 5 percent lower at $30.23 on Wednesday, far below an average share price of $54 necessary for the government to break even on the remainder of that investment, a government analysis concluded last month.

The administration is touting the auto bailout as a success because it preserved thousands of manufacturing and supplier jobs, maintained exports and a commercial tax base, and prevented expensive business wind-down programs.

Political overtones ahead of the 2012 election are unmistakable as Bloom's appearance in the White House briefing room set the stage for President Barack Obama to visit a Chrysler plant in the potential swing state of Ohio on Friday.

Democrats have begun criticizing Republicans who have questioned the bailout as a waste of money. House Speaker John Boehner, an auto industry bailout critic, is an Ohio Republican who met with Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally on Tuesday.

Ford did not seek a bailout but Mulally stood by his company's decision to back the rescue of GM and Chrysler, saying their collapse could have wiped out the industry supply base and damaged the economy more broadly.

Peter Morici of the University of Maryland's Robert Smith School of Business said GM and Chrysler still have higher costs -- mainly for labor -- than rivals, which will blunt their progress.

He also said continued reliance on trucks, especially at GM, will hurt further as gas prices rise and consumers demand more efficiency.

"They like to advertise the Volt, but their business model is still based on the Escalade," Morici said of the newly introduced electric sedan and the gas guzzlng Cadillac SUV.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was cited for going 128 mph

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was cited for going 128 mph on a 45 mph speed zone. The car he was driving was a Lexus LFA.



Busch, “aka – bad boy,” 26, has two other traffic citations on his record and is currently on probation by NASCAR because of a “little rough housing” with competitor Kevin Harvick at Southern 500 at Darlington (South Carolina) Raceway in May 7th of this year.

Busch issued an apology in a statement, saying, "I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away. I went beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road."

The statement included Busch's pledge that "something like this will never happen again."

As far NASCAR, NASCAR does not require a highway driver’s license for its competitors and also does not involve itself in their highway driving affairs.

"This is a matter that Kyle will have to handle with the authorities in Iredell County," spokesman Kerry Tharp said. "Based on what we know right now, this would not impact his status as a NASCAR driver."

Busch was cited for another speeding violation — a much slower one, at 44 mph in a 35-mph zone — in Iredell County in 2008. Two years before that, he was fined $150 on a reckless driving charge in Richmond, Virginia.

Busch has won two races in the Sprint Cup Series this year and ranks 3rd in driver points. He has won nine other races in the Nationwide and Camping World series. He drives Toyotas for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series and also owns his own race team.

The NASCAR circuit is on home territory this week, with the Coca-Cola 600 scheduled Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Chrysler has paid back loans.

Chrysler has paid back the money that the U.S. and the Canadian governments, Said the automaker on Tuesday.




 It all included; $5.9 billion owed to the U.S. taxpayers and $1.9 billion owed to the Canadians, Chrysler said. "The original loans were repaid in full, more than six years ahead of schedule, along with the payment of accrued interest and additional consideration," said Chrysler, in a statement.

This doesn’t mean that Chrysler is debt free no, no, no. In fact, Chrysler took an additional loans last week to help pay off older debt. Isn’t that the same like paying a credit card bill with another credit card? Will it be a near ending cycle to pay one loan with another one? Well the company said that “it could save $300 million in annual interest payments through refinancing”.  

There is a saying in Puerto Rico that says: it’s like drying a puddle of water with a wet towel. Well I’m glad that Chrysler that pay off the loans to the U.S. and the Canadians. But now how they are going to do with the rest of the loans.

New Eagles Speedster will debut next month at Salon Prive.

Eagles have created a lighter, faster of the E-Type two sitter version. The
Eagles Speedster will debut next month at Salon Prive.



Eagles had been restoring and selling vintage Jaguar E-type for nearly 30 years. It also created it own 50-year-old Malcolm Sayer classic, also called E-Type, and in 2009 unveiled its first E-Type Speedster, which was conceived initially as a one-off model for a well-heeled American customer.

The latest version of the E-Type weight was over 2,200 lbs. The E-Type is powered by a fuel-injected 4.7-liter inline-6 that makes 310 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque, and is mated to a five-speed gearbox driving the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential.

Eagles clam that from 0-60 MPH it takes only less then 5 second, with the top speed only 160 MPH.

The E-Type Lightweight Speedster sports 16-inch tires on aluminum rims with stainless-steel spokes, drilled and vented brake discs with aluminum 4-pot calipers, double wishbones, adjustable shocks and stabilizer bars.

More details is going to be announced at Salon Prive, which run in June 22-24. 


Monday, May 23, 2011

2012 Honda Civic recalled for gas leak that could cause fire.

2012 Honda Civic recalled for gas leak that could cause fire.

Honda is recalling 1,156 2012 Civic coupes and sedans in the U.S. because a fuel leak could result in a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Honda said in a statement that no injuries or fires have been reported related to this defect and that most of the affected vehicles have not yet been sold.The recall will begin on May 27.





"There is a possibility that an O-ring, which seals a connection in the fuel feed line, is misaligned," said NHTSA in its recalls summary of the problem. "If the O-ring is misaligned, a small fuel leak may occur. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire."
Honda said in a statement posted on its Web site that no injuries or fires have been reported related to this defect and that most of the affected vehicles have not yet been sold.
It explained that during manufacture of the fuel-line assembly, an O-ring may have been displaced, which could potentially lead to a fuel leak at a joint where two segments of pipe attach to each other.
In other documentation filed with the federal government, Honda said that a worker at Honda Canada Manufacturing first noticed a fuel smell on a 2012 Civic on April 29. The company initiated a production hold on suspect units on that day.
Honda dealers will replace the fuel feed line assembly in the affected Civics. The recall is expected to begin on May 27. Owners can contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.

By Anita Lienert via Insideline

Auto’s Rev been updated.

Auto’s Rev been updated.

Welcome to the new Auto’s Rev (v2.0). We added a new layout making it easier to move around. Hope you like it – Xion - admin



Good Morning! 5/23/11


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Monday, May 16, 2011

Performance chip? What is it?

As some people know, your vehicle is controlled by a computer, called engine control module (ECU). What it does it regulates the engine's timing, fuel distribution and emissions. By adding an after market performance chip (or also know as Superchip), one can set the Horsepower and/or it’s fuel distribution.

The reason for a performance chip is to improve a certain functions on a vehicle. Such as fuel efficiency and turbo boost, by replacing an existing chip with a modified, compatible chip.

When the performance chip is connected to your vehicle, it immediately detects the ECU settings and uses them regulate whatever functions it was programmed for. For instance, if it is supposed to improve fuel efficiency, it will receive signals from the fuel system, and the chip will adjust its settings to regulate all fuel issues.

Although performance chips are beneficial for enhancing certain vehicle functions, they also void any manufacturer warranties you have for your vehicle. This is mainly because the engine control unit (where the chip is installed) is a sensitive, computerized area, and any disruptions within it can cause engine failure.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Is it a station wagon or a sport car?


Look out! There is a new hatchback in town and eager to take down its competition.

Image by Dave Yoder


Ferrari (that right Ferrari) just whips out its new $370,000, v8, and 660 horsepower hatchback 800 FF. This is not a station wagon but a sport car, capable to reach 150 MPH. So far all 800 FF is scheduled for production this year sold out within weeks. So order yours now before the one year waiting list.



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Friday, May 13, 2011

Ford and Google merging!

Ford and Google merging!

2012 Ford Focus BEV
Ford and Google team up to predict where drivers are going.


Ford and Google is merging together to make a new technology for the Ford future automotives. This well make more drivers drive more efficient. Making the way we drive better by 100%.

Ford going to improve its new 2012 Ford Focus BEV (or Battery Electric vehicles). Which it is coming out later this year. Ford is going to team up with the all popular Google Inc.  Ford will be using the Google’s Prediction API to help you with your common routes, in order to improve your performance.

Jóhannes Kristinsson, the systems architect of Ford's Vehicle Controls Architecture and Algorithm Design team said the new project differs from Ford's ongoing collaborations with university research teams to study traffic patterns.

The Predictive API will be exclusively focused on the driver, logging and analyzing their driving history.  In that regard, it is oblivious to traffic.  By studying a user's driving patterns, the system tries to "predict where the driver is going and then optimize the upcoming trip with respect to electric driving zones."

Data is only going to be collection for now, and transferred to dedicated server hardware as the history logging and route analysis is quite intensive, in terms of storage and processing power.  Data sent to the cloud would be made anonymous to protect users' privacy.

At a later time, information from multiple users in an area could possibly be compiled to form better route-specific programs, allowing a user to get semi-optimized performance for routes they haven't personally driven before.

Describes Mr. Kristinsson, "The focus of this research is how we can make the vehicle perform better for the driver’s personal driving habits. In a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, there are both a traditional engine, and an electrical motor connected to a large battery which can be charged from the grid. The vehicle needs, at all times, to determine which of these to use at any time in order to meet the drivers demands and deliver great drivability."

"If we can predict where the vehicle is going, and confirm this with the driver we can save electrical energy for upcoming occasions, or "electrical zones" in this case, in order to give the driver a great driving experience for all portions of the route."

For more info visit: http://www.dailytech.com