| Subcribe via RSS

China to be First for Entirely Electric Mini Van

February 11th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in News

According to word coming out of Beijing, China is continuing steps to advance its agenda to switch over vehicles from petro based to all electric. The Asian giant is now looking to introduce the very first Chinese made all electric minivan into the United States markets in the hops that it might interest US consumers in switching over from gas powered vehicles in the coming years. China views this as a chance to capitalize on the coming switch as most nations have begun to take a more eco friendly approach to solving transportation issues with individual drivers and reducing their dependence on oil from the chronically unstable regions of the world such as the Middle East. Automaker BYD will be the first to try selling such cars on the West Coast of the US in 2010 by offering a five seat e6 as its initial model. The e6 is one in a series of so called green vehicles which have been developed by Chinese car makers, some of which run on small wind turbines, others using solar panels or even batteries to power the driving.

BYD is partially owned by Warren Buffet, the famed Oracle of Omaha US billionaire who founded Berkshire Hathaway decades ago. The company has a substantial stake in the Chinese automaker and hopes the car will interest customers outside of the Chinese market. These days, China is the world’s largest car market after emerging as a major buyer and producer of green vehicles. Other than BYD, makers such as Chery Automobile and Geely are also up and comers for the car world.

Lexus Solves SUV Safety Risk

February 6th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in News

After facing problems with the Consumer Reports publication, Lexus has managed to get their brand back on track and get the CR safety risk warning lifted for the Lexus GX 460. A recall of the Toyota software used in the vehicle was reported to lead to emergency handling instability and made the car a risk for drivers. The magazine had taken on the issue and its level of influence made it quite the threat for the auto maker unless they made the appropriate changes. After retesting the GX 460 for the issues, the magazine felt confident enough in the fixed software to give the car a pass. The issue had been dealt with due to a recall and the work was completed by a Toyota dealership that was able to fix the problem. This had been a major concern for not only the magazine, but consumers at large since it could pose such a serious risk in an emergency situation and do a frightening level of damage to the vehicle, it’s driver and the passengers present at the time of an unexpected case of loss of control or similar event.

With the safety concerns out of the way, Toyota will be able to clear up its name thanks to a rapid fix on their part. The company had already been dealing with numerous issues on the US front that could further damage their sinking reputation as US based car makers have received growing sympathy from the public that has tended to favor Asian car makers. The handling issues affected just over 9,400 of the new 2010 Lexus SUVs that are often used by families so the magazine felt that it had to do something to address the concern.

Canadian Sports Car Coming to US

February 5th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in News

While Canada is not a nation that is typically known for producing high end luxury sports cars, a new company is hoping to change all that. HTT Technologies is working to have global expectations for Canadian made cars be much higher by the end of 2010 with a brand new project known as the Plethore LC-750 which will be available in the United States as the companies first real venture into the market. The car will feature a 6.2 liter V-8 engine that provides 750 horse power to start with, but according to HTT president Sebastian Forest, within 2 years the company plans to ramp the horse power up to 1,300 with a new unit in 2012. With a starting price of $400,000 the company is only planning to produce between 40 and 50 cars per year since they are built by hand at their plant lying just north of the city of Montreal.

Front hinge scissor doors and a max speed of over 200 miles per hour are part of the draw that HTT hopes will pull in high end customers, but a sound system with 7 speakers has been included in their efforts to seal the deal. With a name derived from the French term for plethora, the concept of the exotic car itself is that it features many options. Taking inspiration from the McLaren F1 3 seat cockpit, the driver will be situated between 2 of their passenger seats and enjoy 2 LCD screens on the dash which act as rear view mirrors. Reviewers have been wowed by the 89 inches of room in the Plethore’s interior. HTT hopes the Plethore will be the future of the Canadian supercar.