Car News Articles

Meet a four-wheel-drive version of Daimler’s top notch coupe, the Mercedes-Benz CL Class.

Available from this summer, the new Mercedes-Benz CL 500 4MATIC gets latest permanent all-wheel drive system that has already proven successful in the S-Class. The newly-developed 4MATIC is the lightest drive system of its kind weighing in at just 70 kg or 154 lbs.

The combined NEDC fuel consumption of the CL 500 4MATIC is 12.1 litres per 100 kilometres or 19.5 US MPG, which puts it at the same level as the CL 500 with rear-wheel drive. The CL 500 4MATIC requires 5.4 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (62 MPH), and it reaches an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h or 155 MPH.

The new 2008 Mercedes-Benz CL500 4MATIC will be present at Geneva motor show.

This falls under the category of, “How cool does that sound?”

Hyundai wants to bring dual-view technology to the dashboards of its vehicles, allowing the passenger and the driver to view two different displays on the same screen, simultaneously. Already growing in the home entertainment market, the LCD screens would allow a driver to check navigation information while the passenger looks up sports scores or movie times. Or two guys could play Nintendo Wii tennis on the highway.

See? There are a lot of uses.

Don’t expect dual-view screens in any of Hyundai’s 2009 models. The automaker is still perfecting the technology—likely making sure the screen’s image is up to snuff and the price can be somewhat reasonable. After all, while everyone can agree that a dual-view screen would be awesome, negotiations will surely begin when you ask how much such awesomeness should cost.

Hyundai Dual-View Displays Lets Driver, Passenger See Different (Jalopnik)

The Transport Accident Commission’s latest road safety campaign is a moving insight into the sad legacy left behind when loved ones are killed in road smashes. Who wouldn’t feel moved after watching the ads on TV?

Look, I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you that inappropriate speed isn’t silly and dangerous. Nor am I going to tell you that drink driving is anything other than criminally reckless and about as stupid as it gets.

But I am a bit - more than a bit, actually - concerned that the Government has not given drivers, particularly younger ones, the whole story. Spring Street has (and I’ll presume it’s been inadvertent) led a whole bunch of drivers into thinking that speeding and drink driving are the only killers on the road.

And because it has been going on for years, what I’m seeing on the roads now is a whole generation of drivers who truly believe that as long as they don’t speed and they don’t drink and drive, they won’t be hurt or killed in a car accident.

The arguments for concentrating on boozing and speeding, from what I can see, revolve largely around the fact that both are relatively easy to police and, in the case of speeding, can be a very lucrative form of indirect taxation.

And when a government budgets hundreds of millions of dollars from projected speeding fines over the next 12 months, even a rat knows something doesn’t smell right.

Of course, the reality is that even drivers who don’t speed and don’t get behind the wheel fully turpsed-up get caught up in crashes. And when they do, they get hurt and sometimes killed.

In fact, any time a bunch of people attempt to do something dangerous for which they’re ill-trained and ill-prepared, blood will be spilled.

Think about it. A pilot-training facility that gave its students only part of the story would doubtless be culpable when those same students started falling out of the sky.

Surely this government owes its people more than a slim, single chapter of what is a very thick book on a very important subject. Surely somebody in government must realise this and put a stop to the dumbing down of driving.

But until they do, young people - maybe somebody you know - will be hurt, and worse, on the roads. They will be injured and some will be killed not because they were speeding or drink-driving but because they didn’t know not to drive in a truck’s blind spot on the freeway.

Because they didn’t watch for tractors and farm utes emerging from hedges on country roads.

Because they knew nothing about braking distances.

Because they didn’t know how to set their exterior mirrors.

Because they didn’t jump on the brake pedal as hard as they could in a car with anti-lock brakes.

Because they didn’t understand the importance of maintaining the correct tyre pressure.

Because they had no idea what to do when they ran out of grip on a wet road.

Because they didn’t know an amber traffic light meant stop.

Because they didn’t even understand fundamentals such as how to hold a steering wheel or how to sit in a car.

Because they’d never had that, and a whole bunch of other stuff, explained to them.

They will continue to be hurt and maimed and killed and, when they do, this government will have blood on its speed-camera-revenue-addicted hands.

David Morley

Nearly every body-panel of the car has been changed to maximize the performance potential of the car, including wide fender flares, lightweight construction and a carbon fiber roof, similar to the roof of the M6.

The M3 Concept is powered by a V8 and BMW has confirmed that the 2008 production M3 will be powered by a 420-horsepower 4.0-liter V8 engine.

The front of the M3 Concept is very functional and purposeful, with large air intakes and the front apron pushed forward, elements that add to the sporty character of the car but also increase functionality. A new design feature is the raised “powerdome” in the center of the hood that seems to indicate that the next M3 will have a more powerful engine than any previous version.

The profile reveals gill-like openings in the front fenders typical of other M cars with a horizontal chrome bar, directional indicator and an M3 badge. The bulging fender flares, rocker-panel extensions and mirrors add to the aggressive look. The 19-inch light alloy wheels have with a Y-shaped spoke design also characteristic of other M models.

At the rear, the powerful stance of the M3 is further emphasized with horizontal lines to accentuate the wider track, a rear diffuser that follows design elements from the front and two sets of dual exhaust pipes located near the center of the vehicle. The M3 Concept is lightweight, due in part to the use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic for the roof of the car that is left exposed as a design element.

Anyone who sees the Mazda Furai knows it is headed for Le Mans.

The Japanese carmaker officially denies any plan to repeat its attack on the French sports car classic, which netted it a win in 1991, but the Furai is much more than just a motor show tease.

It was unveiled at the Detroit motor show this week with plans to race it in the American Le Mans Series, which is just one step away from Le Mans.

The Furai is a combination of racer and design study, but its bodywork is designed for the day — coming soon — when Le Mans moves away from the pure prototype rules, which have produced a long run of wins for Audi, towards a more production-based formula.

That is why the Furai reflects Mazda’s latest Nagare design direction — but also has a two-seater body with a 335kW three-rotor engine that runs on ethanol fuel.

“Furai purposely blurs boundaries that have traditionally distinguished street cars from track cars,” says Mazda’s design director for North America, Franz von Holzhausen.

“Historically, there has been a gap between single-purpose racecars and street-legal models, commonly called supercars, that emulate the real racers on the road. Furai bridges that gap like no car has ever done before.”

And it also fits the model proposed by the Le Mans organisers, who want carmakers — Porsche and Aston Martin already admit they are interested — with a closer tie to their showroom products.

But Mazda is not talking about racing, even though it admits the Furai is race-bred.

“Track cars are, by their competitive nature, ill-suited for practical highway use, as well as generally far from road-legal,” von Holzhausen says. “While some supercars visit the track on occasion, they are primarily road cars not properly equipped for racing. The aim of Furai is to bridge this gap.”

But could there be a race program in future with Furai?

“Anticipating future rules changes in the ALMS, we created a new closed cockpit which would be more appropriate for a future production model,” von Holzhausen says.

“The major element we did not change is the 450hp [335kW] Renesis-based R20B three-rotor rotary engine that provides the Furai’s ample zoom-zoom. The ultimate Mazda in our minds is rotary-powered. As a company, we have no intention of abandoning that valuable asset.

“When people think of the very best production sports cars in the world, the rotary-powered Mazda RX-7 is always on that list.”

So it’s a definite maybe.

- The Mercury

This Canter from Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation is claimed to be “the cleanest light truck in the world” such are its low exhaust emissions. The truck is an electric-diesel hybrid aimed at cutting fuel use as well as emissions while being fully practical for commercial duties.

The Canter Eco Hybrid could well be a taste of the future in light trucks. And this is no experimental test bed or concept vehicle; it’s a production truck that is now on the market in Japan and is being considered for other countries, especially where cities are wanting to slash exhaust emissions.

It has a newly developed small diesel engine – a three-litre unit with double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and with turbocharger and intercooler.

It delivers 92kW of power at 3200rpm and 294Nm of torque at 1700rpm. It has a new diesel particulate filter and an exhaust gas recirculation system for minimising nitrogen oxide emissions.

It shares duty in powering the truck with a compact electric motor-generator which generates 35kW of power.

It’s a parallel hybrid system which means that the power to drive the truck comes from the electric motor, the diesel engine or both depending on conditions.

The electric motor drives the Eco Hybrid when starting off. Under hard acceleration, the diesel engine and the electric motor power the truck. When cruising, the vehicle is driven by the diesel engine only.

When the truck is slowing or braking, the electric motor doubles as a generator, converting brake energy into electric energy. This is stored in latest development lithium-ion batteries – ready for the next acceleration.

Mitsubishi Fuso says regeneration of braking energy is improved by disengaging the clutch during deceleration. An idling stop-and-start system automatically shuts down the diesel engine when the transmission is shifted to neutral.

DaimlerChrysler owns 85 per cent of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation and says MFTBC in Japan is its “global competence centre for hybrid technology.”

SMALL TORQUE

Benz record

MERCEDES-BENZ light commercial vehicles are selling more than 4 per cent greater than last year, which was a record year for it. “The Vito is an extremely versatile, reliable and appealing light commercial vehicle,” says Campbell York. “Mercedes-Benz light commercial vehicles were first introduced into Australia in 1998 and since then the expansion of our dealer networks has ensured that the sales success of the Vito and Sprinter has continued.”

Limited Vito

THE silver limited-edition Vito has been restricted to 175 vans now on sale.

Boss man

CARLO Beltrame is new general manager of trucks for DaimlerChrysler Commercial vehicles. He has national sales and marketing responsibility for Freightliner, Sterling and Mercedes-Benz heavy trucks in Australia. Mr Beltrame, 54, was general manager of DAF Trucks Australia and previously worked with Ford Australia.

- The Advertiser

The imminent departure of Mitsubishi’s 380 could prove a blessing in disguise for competitor Honda.

That’s because Honda’s new, larger Accord, released this week (not the Euro), is a stronger, more convincing offering than the previous model – one that could well fill the void left by 380 in the large car segment.

In V6 form, at least, it offers something the others don’t – fuel-saving, cylinder shutdown technology that allows the car to run on as little as three cylinders when full power is not required.

There’s also a gutsy four-cylinder model that promises even more fuel savings.

It’s no secret the large car segment has shrunk significantly in the last couple of years as buyers drift towards smaller more economical vehicles.

According to sales figures for 2007, Holden’s Commodore dominated the segment with 57,000 sales, followed by the Ford Falcon (34,000) and Toyota Aurion (22,000).

Despite a string of awards, the poor old 380 trailed a poor fourth with just under 11,000 sales for the year followed by the Accord (7200).

As sales of the 380 trickle to a stop and eventually dry up, those sales have to go somewhere and Honda is quietly confident of picking up a fair chunk of them, as much as 10 per cent of the segment total over time.

And, after driving the new Accord in Victoria last week, we reckon Honda is in with a big chance.

Four Accords are offered – a 3.5-litre V6 and a 2.4-litre in-line four, with standard and luxury versions of each.

All of them get a revised, five-speed auto with wheel mounted change paddles.

With 202kW of power, the V6 trumps the lot (but not by much) – producing more power than all of its competitors _ even the yet to be released new Falcon.

The 2.4-litre also eclipses its competitors with 133kW, way ahead of the Ford Mondeo with 118kW.

In the “mine’s bigger than yours” stakes, that counts for a lot!

The four cylinder model’s entry level price of $29,990 should also turn a few heads, particularly as it includes an auto, climate air, electronic stability control and four airbags _ not to mention six stacker CD sound and full-size alloy spare wheel.

We were able to drive the base model 2.4-litre Accord and top of the line V6 Luxury at the launch of the car outside Melbourne.

With a larger more prominent front grille, the car has a much a stronger road presence than its predecessor and feels bigger inside, bigger in fact than Honda’s flagship Legend.

The four with 222Nm of torque available from 4300rpm pulls strongly and the car feels lighter and more agile than the V6, nothing like the floaty model that it replaces.

We pushed it hard through some demanding mountain roads with pleasing results.

The stability control system, called Vehicle Stability assist in Honda-speak, intrudes only when absolutely necessary and that wasn’t very often.

The engine is a little harsh under hard acceleration and the Michelin tyres generate some noticeable road noise, but apart from that it’s all good.

Fuel economy for the four using standard unleaded is rated at 8.8 litres/100km.

The V6 with 339Nm of torque available from 5000rpm feels softer and cruisier than the four.

The VSA works noticeably harder to keep the car on the road, but still lets the driver have plenty of fun.

V6 and Luxury models add curtain airbags and the top of the line V6 Luxury also gets a reversing camera.

Unfortunately, the camera is not available even as an option on other models _ something that we believe is an oversight.

Fuel economy for the V6 using standard unleaded 10.0 litres/100km on the knocker, but it is able to achieve four cylinder-like economy on longer runs.

The change from six, to four or three cylinders is imperceptible.

The car measures 4945mm and rear legroom is generous even for taller passengers, with a back seat that folds down to accommodate longer loads.

The luggage area itself is good without being remarkable, compromised by the addition of the full-size spare that required the boot floor to be raised several centimetres.

You can’t have everything.

The tow rating of the car is 1200kg.

All in all, the Accord looks every inch the winner, particularly the four-cylinder model at $29,990 with its generous equipment list.

The lineup could do with the addition of a sports model, but there’s plenty of add-ons to get you there.

- Carsguide