Car News Articles

Hm… Crisis in Russia. Do you know as it looks?

Do you know what is it?

That’s a photo of some airport near St. Petersburg in Russia. A few years ago it was looking like this. Today its looking like this:

Now it’s stiffly stuffed with unsold PSA Peugeot Citroen cars.

Russian PSA’s dealers says that they got too much overstocked with this inventory and now they simply use all free territories available to cheap pack them with thousands of cars.
As we know it’s not too good for cars to stand at open air under the Russian weather which is far not stable.

Some highly anticipated new luxury convertibles will hit the market this summer in the Lexus IS and Infiniti G37, but what about droptops for the masses? Isn’t everyone entitled to some wind in their hair?

With the sun shining and the breeze cool, we took three popular, affordable convertibles out for a spin to see how they’d fare as a chariot for a weekend getaway. The cars tested were the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata, 2010 Ford Mustang and 2009 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. We considered cargo space, comfort and cool factor. Check out the video above to see how they fared in those categories, and read on to see how we felt about these topless wonders as driving machines.

In the end, our five staffers arrived at a split decision, but not before some heavily spirited debate. What follows is the conversation that ensued after a day of driving the three vehicles over a large chunk of northern Illinois:

Toyota’s new third-generation Prius is still the most fuel efficient car available in Australia.

But now it’s not alone at the top of the environmentally-sensitive tree.

BMW’s diesel Mini uses an identical 3.9 litres of fuel per 100km – and pretty soon Ford’s Econetic Fiesta diesel will use even less.

Toyota has admitted it could have made the Prius more fuel-efficient but said customers wanted
more performance so they opted for a bigger engine.

The company wants to make the car more mainstream and for that, it needs a car that offers decent performance as well as fuel economy.

But while it means that the Prius can now compete on performance with ultra-efficient diesel cars, it has opened a door for European car makers to renew their attack on the world’s most popular hybrid.

The Europeans have long argued that the Prius is more about marketing spin than genuine breakthrough technology.

BMW spin doctors began sniping at the Prius even before this week’s press launch and the attack continued, with a PR operative texting selected journalists with news of a new more efficient BMW during the press conference.

Toyota returned serve on BMW’s Mini, pointing out that while the Mini and the Prius use the same amount of fuel, the Prius still emits significantly less carbon dioxide – 89 grams per km, compared with 104g/km for the manual version of the Mini and 134 grams for the automatic Mini.

Toyota also claimed that diesel vehicles also produce more oxides of nitrogen – a major contributor to smog – and particulate matter – than equivalent petrol engines.

The Mini, Toyota says, produces 56 times more NOx than the Toyota.

What Toyota failed to mention was that its best-selling vehicle last month, the HiLux, is predominantly sold as a diesel, as is the popular Prado four-wheel-drive.

Ultimately, as with all arguments, there is truth on both sides. Diesel engines are better to drive than hybrids, the Mini is more fun through a series of bends than the Prius and diesels are as efficient, if not more so, than hybrids on the open road.

On the flip side, the Prius has a back seat that adults can sit in comfortably, its city fuel consumption is about 20 per cent better than the Mini and it pollutes less.

So which car do you think deserves the title of Australia’s greenest car? With almost two million hybrids sold worldwide, does Toyota deserve credit for leading the development of green technology, or do you still think the Prius is more spin than substance?

Richard Blackburn

The social networking page Facebook is blowing the cover off secrets everywhere.

Earlier this week it revealed holiday snaps and personal details of the new head of the British intelligence service MI6, Sir John Sawer. Now it’s Alfa Romeo’s turn.

An enterprising soul has posted what appears to be early production models of the new 147 replacement, the Alfa Romeo Milano, taken with a phone camera. The white cars are minus name badges, but the Alfa Romeo logo is clearly evident as the cars are grouped together in one of Alfa’s factories.

The Milano is clearly a stylish hatch with cues from the just-launched locally MiTo and even sharing some curves from the 8C Competizione. Some MiTo touches, like the headlights and grille, as well as the round LED tail-lights will appear on the Milano when it is launched early next year.

As the rear shot shows though, the tail-lights are extended across with rear, with the reversing lights integrated into the reflectors. Like the 147, the Milano’s rear doors have the handles set high into the C-pillar, creating an almost-coupe look.

The hatch is expected to have grown in length and width, with insiders saying it is close in size to the previous generation 156. The Milano will be available as a five-door hatch initially but a three-door, as well as performance GTA models are tipped to follow.

Petrol power is expected to come from a range of both 1.4 and 1.7-litre turbocharged engines, delivering between 90kW and 120kW depending on specification. A high performance 198kW V6 engine is expected to be slotted into the range-topping GTA. A range of turbo-diesels will also be available.

When the giant Fiat group — which owns Alfa Romeo — assumed control of Chrysler recently, details of Alfa’s future naming strategies emerged in plans Fiat presented to the Chrysler board.

It showed that the 147 replacement could be called the Milano and the 159 replacement the Guilia.

Tips to avoid/survive deer accidents:

1) Be attentive, be aware. Scan the sides of the road, not just straight ahead (use your peripheral vision).

2. When you see deer (whether standing or moving), warning signs or simply suspect you may be driving through their habitat, slow down.

3) Use your high-beams (dim where appropriate).

4) DO NOT SWERVE to avoid a collision with a deer. A sudden loss of vehicle control is far more dangerous than animal impact. Brake and hold the wheel straight.

5) Do not stop in the middle of the road post-Bambicide. Move your vehicle off the road and out of [further] harm’s way as soon as possible.

The future Alfa Romeo Milano has been caught fully undisguised. And even if we only see the front of the car, is clear that the design is hardly inspired by the new MiTo. The new Milano will compete with models like BMW 1-Series and Audi A3.

The new Milano will share its platform with the future Alfa 159 (or Giulia as it is more commonly known). The platform, called C-Evo, will be available in both front and four wheel drive layouts. With the 4WD version reserved for future GTA models.

Under the hood Alfa Romeo will use both four and six cylinder engines to power the Milano, making 120 and 265 HP respectively.

Filed under: Auction Action, Videos, Commercial Trucks, Toys, Celebrities

eBay Find of the Day: Optimus Prime hiding in plain sight [w/VIDEO]

by Jonathon Ramsey on Jul 7th 2009 at 7:55PM

1997 Peterbilt dressed as Optimus Prime – Click above for image gallery

With Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen holding the number box office spot for two weeks, there couldn’t be a better time for this ardent Autobot fan to be flogging his truck on eBay. Done up thoroughly enough to qualify as an Optimus Prime replica, this 1997 Peterbilt 379 wears custom PPG paint and clearcoat, along with hand-applied pinstripes.

If you do actually want to haul things, under that extended hood – just like Prime has – there’s a 475 horsepower Caterpillar running through a ten-speed Eaton Fuller transmission. Bidding is up to $20,300 at time of writing, but you’ve got nine days left to get your bid in and make room in your back yard… and then you can retrieve the Allspark.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Optimus has been showing up all sorts of odd places lately, including a guest appearance on The Light Show With David Letterman last night. The booming Autobot leader led his vocal talents to the program’s trademark Top 10 list, and you can check out how he did by watching the video after the jump. Hat tip to 94 Taurus owner!

Gallery: Optimus Prime Peterbilt 379

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Sources: eBay; YouTube]