New Mini Cooper D
One of the newest small cars in Australia is the Mini Cooper D, Sadly it is not sold in America but already people are paying shipping costs to get them on the streets of America. The latest mini is doing wonders for those concerned about KPM/litre MPH/litre offering a great value drive for motorists, to date most people have been jumping all over the Toyota Prius to get great value for money but the Mini Cooper D will give any small car a run for it’s money.
2009 / 2010 Mini Cooper D
The newest Mini is offering 3.9L/100km which will have rivals shaking in their boots, to date no car has claimed such an economic fuel consumption. The mini cooper D now has the Australian title “The most economic car” however the upcoming 2010 Toyota Prius should be able to compete / beat the mini. Besides the performance and economic benefits there has not been much of a makeover, one detail that was touched on has been the new slimmer wheels, personally i am not a huge fan of slim rubbers but each to their own.
Below you can see the sexy internal beauty:
Mini Cooper D inside view
A new under-body aerodynamic panel has been fitted causing less drag and greater fuel efficiency, some components have been redesigned using aluminum to reduce overall weight again this helps with not only power to weight ratios but also contributes to less fuel usage.
Stop-Start technology has been utilized, when you come to a complete stop the engine basically stops which will help keep some coin in your pocket, some early criticism suggests the start stop system is not perfect and does have some noise issues when in heavy traffic.
I just realized i forgot to mention the “D” stands for Mini Cooper Diesel, in case you have not been able to catch up on auto news of late many car manufactures are turning to diesel engines and most companies are having great success running diesel engines.
Mini cooper D Quick stats:
- Engine 1560cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v t/d
- Max Power 80kW @ 4000rpm
- Max Torque 240Nm @ 1750-2000rpm
- Transmission 6-speed manual
- 0-100km/h 9.9sec (claimed)
- Price $37,350 (AUD)
The future of Electric cars
While Electric cars are nothing new they are yet to be perfected but that should soon change. Nissan, Ford and Tesla just to name a few have all been given government grants and research funding to help boost the electric car market, in the past no company has had a successful launch with an electric vehicle most electric cars have been products of creative thinking by “home brewers” some people have even one to the extent of gutting out motors and replacing them with rechargeable golf buggy batteries and wring them up to solar panels, while not road worthy the concept is unique and has a place in motoring history.
United States, Japan and Europe are expected to see the first consumer electric cars in late September when Nissan unveil the first of three new electric motor cars, Nissan are aiming to mass produce their electric vehicle line by 2013, with petrol prices very unsteady in recent years and global warming issues high on peoples minds the first manufacture to master the electric car market is sure to be on a winner and should expect high returns. Continue reading
Posted in News | 
Electric cars, Electric minivan, Electric motor cars, electric vehicles | 
Leave a commentAudi turbo diesel TT quattro coupe
Audi TT coupe diesel
Once upon a time diesel engines were only used for trucks, tractors and buses but of late many manufactures are turning to diesel powered cars as they are more environmentally friendly and the technology has come along way providing much better fuel economy, Audi are the next company to jump on the diesel train.
Audi are set to release their first consumer diesel powered production diesel sports car coming in the way of the Audi TT coupe diesel. Audi have proven there is a market for diesel sports cars as they were the first company to win the 24 hours Le Mans with a concept diesel driven vehicle.
The Audi turbo diesel TT quattro has some impressive features and boasts an enormous amount of power, below are a list of features:
- 5.3 litres/100km (very impressive ratio)
- 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds
- Top speed 226 km/h
- 2.0-litre TT TDI
- six speed manual
- 125kW
- 350Nm torque
- Very low noise levels
- sports steering wheel
The Audi TT turbo coupe diesel is set to sell for $70,900 (AUD, including GST) and should be a hit amongst motoring enthusiasts, diesel powered family cars have risen by 1000% over the last few years, Australia & Europe are leaning towards diesel while the Asia markets are leaning towards the hybrid technology it should be interesting to see sales numbers of diesel powered cars in a few years time they are becoming more and more popular each and every day.
Mark Webber Wins F1
Mark Webber F1 win
Congratulation goes out to Mark Webber winning the F1, for the first time in 8 years. Mark Webber drove the perfect race, after overcoming a drive in penalty he was still able to get back into first, Mark Webber started on pole but was pushed back in field after taking his penalty but the Red Bull Racing car had enough power to pull back the field and set Webber up for his first F1 win.
Toyota Prius
, currently there are no other models on Australian roads that can boast less emissions and better fuel usage per KM, this model is Toyota’s best selling model whilst an overseas model has been leaked into the market the specs are very different however the Toyota Prius has been released into Australian markets and has set their benchmark to sell 3700 units by 2010, which is not all that far fetched seeing most Aussies are looking to go green in the next few years to help global warming.
You can view the latest models from the official Toyota sites, or you can look for your self on the roads, these cars are selling like hotcakes and are soon to be as common as ford’s & Holden’s.
Posted in News | Toyota green, Toyota low emisions, Toyota Prius, Toyota Prius freen | Leave a comment2010 Citroen C3
2010 model Citroen C3
Over the years the Citroen cars have sold quite well yet sales are slowly dropping, Citroen are well aware of this and are doing something about it, Citroen have a codename for the 2010 Citroen C3 labeled the “Zenith” and let me tell you that great things really do come in small packages. As you can see in the picture above the C3 has a bold new style to promote for 2010 and the car manufacture believes that this car has the potential to take on the world.
The exterior has been flattened and also lengthened to provide better stability and greater high speed control, no longer will this car look like a little shinny bubble much like some Hyundai models, Citroen have followed suit with other car manufactures to bring the look of this car up to date with current trends not only are there exterior upgrades but the engine and interior also get a well over due make over.
Key Points:
- three-cylinder HDi 90 DPFS diesel @ 99 g/km CO2 emissions (well under current regulations, great move forward for the next gen green friendly cars).
- Stop start technology.
- five or six-speed electronic gearboxes, cleaver move by Citroen.
- Bluetooth connectivity, IPOD friendly.
- Satellite navigation and surround sound stereo system.
- Chrome highlights and other minor detailing.
Closing thoughts, while we have been unable to take one out for a test drive and are only going on information provided to us we can see this car claiming a stake in the small car market throughout 2010 and beyond, cheap to run, low emissions, clean bold styling one would have to think that Citroen are on a good thing with this
michael jackson dead
While this has nothing to do with car reviews, we have a soft spot for Michael Jackson, its been reported that Michael Jackson has died after overdosing on sleeping pills, it is believed that due to his upcoming concert pressure he has committed suicide.
New car tax credit
With the global flirting with a recession many countries are offering New Car tax credits & also New Car rebates, Big name car companies play a huge role in world economics and goverments around the world are offering once in a liftime dicounts.
Tradesmen, Businesses and Farmers are eligible for this New Car tax claim, not many people are aware of these offers and that is the reason i am trying to shed some light onto this subject, with time running out before the end of the financial year you will need to get a move on, however if you are looking to purchase a new car with the next week than you only have until June 30 2009 to sign your life away.
Here in Australia
Under the governments new scheme, if a small business purchases a new car upto $50,000 for a new work vehicle will be eligible to claim a 30% deduction on top of the normal 22.5 per cent depreciation deduction. This delivers a tax write off for the year of 52.5 per cent, or $26,250.
The tax break only applies to new cars, trucks, vans, suv’s or demonstrators and some ex government fleets.
Most countries are offering some form of tax rebate / new car purchase tax claims, your best bet is to call your local or state government and ask for more information or you can even ask your local car dealership and they will explain all current offers, again this really is once in a lifetime opportunity and has been put in place to help restore some credibility into local markets that are suffering during these times of hardship.
The green car debate
There is a world wide debate going on behind the scenes, Should green friendly cars be paid special attention ? With motor car enthusiasts claiming that sports cars are just as important as hybrid cars, going green is on the agenda of all countries in the world at the moment but with governments pushing for special treatment for green friendly cars one has to ask whether or not this would be a fair decision.
Some goverments and car dealerships are pushing for the Toyota prius and the Honda insight and other hybird cars to be given special treatment such as, special parking spaces, use of bus and transit lanes, cheaper parking when in metered zones and the list goes on.
Sporting cars / performance cars and general motoring enthusiasts are claiming this is an unfair decision and should not be passed upon any longer, it’s hard to see this ruling being imposed firstly as it is almost impossible to control who uses what lanes and what cars are considered green friendly, some sport cars have modded engines and accessories to still fall under what is considered a green friendly “Hybrid Vehicles” in these tough economic times car owners are installing such devices as plug-in electronics to diesel conversions and even such technology as petrol to power enhancers and many more modifications to their cars in order to get more millage out of their cars, Some owners have several green friendly mods in their cars that the fall under the “Green Friendly” / “Hybrid Powered” standards and this is what has caused so much commotion.
2009 Ford Territory TS
Ford Australia are following Holden’s example by down sizing cars (not all of them) but during these tough times and as we pass through a mini recession both Holden & Ford are looking to capitalize on the smaller car market as trends are showing more and more people are purchasing small to mid size vehicle.
The Ford Territory has been around for just over 5 years now and has sold close to 90,000 units is this amount of time, unfortunately for ford this trend is dropping at a great rate this is largely because of the cheap SUV imports and options that are available, these days Ford are barley selling 650 units per month while that does sound high it’s not quite the 7,500 units they had been selling each month over the previous 3 years.
-
- 2009 Ford Territory ghia
-
- 2009 Ford Territory ghia
-
- 2009 Ford Territory ghia
-
- 2009 Ford Territory ghia
-
- 2009 Ford Territory TS
-
- 2009 Ford Territory TS
Anyway with that out of the way lets take a look into the new Ford Territory, don’t get to excited tho the new Ford Territory TS hasn’t changed in appearance which is slightly disappointing with no new exterior remolding its hard to see how this will boast sales all tho Ford Australia marketing manager David Katic has made a statement claiming the new Ford Territory will prevent sales from declining further.
So your wondering what is so new about the Ford Territory series well, ford are claiming $3600 of extra equipment has been thrown in however you will pay an extra $1000, 2009 Ford Territory updated catalytic converter, a new rebuilt engine which is more fuel efficient, better transmission calibration, new headlamps, new front bumper, new bonnet, a Alpine rear DVD system is about the most noticeable upgrade.
all in all very minor exterior upgrades and i cant see how this will magically boost sales each to their own i guess, this may impress potential buyers but unfortunately for ford i could not justify the extra $1000 for a few minor perks.