Ford has launched on the German market the special edition Mondeo Sport. It will be limited to only 500 units, with prices between 29.150 euro and 33.400 euro.
The Mondeo Sport comes with sports suspension lowered by 10 millimeters, 17-inch alloy wheels in 5-Y-spoke design, tinted windows and the silver roof rails, MS-Design front and rear bumper aluminum decors.
Customers can choose from three engines: 2.0 Duratec with 145 hp, 2.0 Duratorq 140 hp and 2.2 Duratorq 175 hp.
Located directly next to the subway and the 1972 Olympic village, the BMW complex is an easy day trip from the center of Munich, and get ready to spend a whole day there. When you exit the train the first building you are greeted with is the BMW Welt (German for BMW World), which is the ultimate BMW sales floor as well as a stunning architectural achievement, complete with an 800 KWatt solar plant on its roof. The Welt serves as an automobile delivery center as well as an automotive exhibition and event hall. The exterior is enough to amaze visitors, while the interior is more like a touch museum for adults. The complete BMW line is on display, including Nick Heidfeld’s 2007 F1 car (they won’t let you take it for a test drive though, I asked). The Welt also has numerous exhibits that allow visitors to feel, see, hear and interactively experience BMW technology and design. The building also is complete with two specialty shops for BMW fan wear, collectibles and everything F1 team related (Go Kubica!), as well as two restaurants to nourish hungry shoppers.
More after the jump.
> More
.
AVS, quite simply, lifts valves higher and for a longer period of time to improve breathing and therefore engine performance at high revs.
Instead of securing the bigger lobe via a side-pin, the lobe in question is pushed onto the valve by moving a whole cam lobe unit (consisting of a smaller and bigger lobe) sideways on the camshaft.
When it’s time for the smaller lobe to take over again, the selfsame unit simply glides back along the camshaft to its original position.
This side-ways motion (facilitated by oil, of course) is controlled by an electrically-activated ejector pin positioned above the cam lobe unit.
When this pin retracts, the cam lobe unit operates in its normal position, via the smaller lobe.
When the pin is ejected, it catches a spiraling groove in the cam lobe unit. As the groove spirals out of a straight line, its one side-wall runs against the stainless-steel tipped pin which pushes the whole unit up along the camshaft, to position the bigger lobe over the valve.
When the ejector pin is retracted, there is nothing to hold the cam unit in this new position any more, so it will glide back to its original position to resume valve lift via the smaller cam lobe.
Quite ingenious, actually, this system, which operates on the outlet-side only of Audi’s brilliant new 2.0-liter TFSI (with 155 kW and 350 Nm), but on both sides (inlet and outlet) of the 3.2-liter V6.
Volkswagen unveiled a new special edition for the Golf Variant (Jetta Wagon): the "Individual" package. It offers two front sports seats covered in Nappa leather and 17-inch alloy wheels (18" Charleston rims as an option).
The suspension has been lowered by 15 mm and the rear side windows and rear window have been darkened. Inside the Individual package features leather steering wheel, heated front seats and brushed aluminum inserts. The Golf Variant “Individual” is available in Germany from 26830 euros (about $42000).
So if BMW has already released official pictures of the upcoming 7-Series, then why do they feel the need to still camouflage it? Although this is still a light masking of the next big bimmer, it’s nice to see that there doesn’t look like any suprised when it hits the showroom later this year.
Still this is a nice reminder that a better looking 7-series is finally around the corner. The car is coming into the market with a V8 and a straight-six gasoline engine both figuring Twin Turbo technology and direct fuel injection (High Precision Injection) as well as the first of BMW’s a modern generation of six-cylinder diesel engines.
Last week, we brought you news about the Chinese counterpart of the BMW X5 and how the German court banned the maker from selling it in Germany. For those who thought the escapade was over, wait till you hear this.
A German court in Munich has slotted into top gear and ordered Shuanghuan to destroy all their SUVs plying German roads. Making matters worse is the court’s notice to importers, China Automobile, to pay compensatory damages to BMW.
BMW as expected is overjoyed with the court’s verdict which was imminent when BMW’s spokesperson stated that "We are pleased that the court has agreed with our views”
The not so happy Karl Schloessl of China Automobile Germany, said he would launch an appeal against the ruling, which is not yet binding, saying he was prepared to take the case to the European Court of Justice.
It was impossible to ban a vehicle in Germany that was allowed to be on the road in the rest of Europe, Schloessl said, adding that there were more than a 1,000 of them on the road in Italy.
This news serves as a slap on the face of Chinese automakers as a whole. If further verdicts support BMW which I think will, there would be no other choice for Shuanghuan other than plucking its SUVs off German roads and sending them to the crushers. With that said, Chinese automakers will be forced to think twice before bringing their copy cars to Germany again.
The new 2009 Porsche 911 went on sale today in Germany. Prices are as follows: €83,032 for the Carrera. The Carrera Cabriolet and Carrera S both cost €93,980 and the price of the Carrera S Cabriolet is €104,928 (all prices include VAT at 19 percent).
The newly developed 3.6 and 3.8 liter flat six cylinder engines provide a very dynamic drive for the two coupés and cabriolets with classic rear wheel drive. The use of direct fuel injection for the first time ever and the PDK, available as an option, make the 911 even sportier than ever.
At the same time, these technologies give a lasting improvement to the already exemplary efficiency of the 911 models. This means that the Carrera Coupé with PDK and 345 bhp achieves fuel consumption of 9.8 litres per 100 kilometers, while the CO2 emissions are reduced by up to 15 percent. The 911 Carrera S Coupé now produces 385 bhp from its new 3.8 litre engine with a maximum speed of just under 300 km/h.
Press release after jump.
> More
Chinese cars are cheap to buy, and some don’t have a good reputation for being safe or hot cakes in developed markets. Above all that, the majority resemble BMW’s, Audi’s and Mercedes’ designs.
Glance at the car pictured above. If I were to strip off its badge and park it alongside a previous generation BMW X5, would you be able to tell them apart? I’m very optimistic that you wouldn’t. One can argue that cars today are somewhat similarly designed, headlamps, tail lamps, and quarter glass panels are carried over from one model to another, but definitely not entire cars.
BMW had taken legal action against Shuanghuan by filing a case in a German court in September last year, for making the CEO (Pictured) based on their X5 SUV. The case now has come to an end, BMW emerging victorious in the battle, as the court ruled that Shuanghuan’s CEO infringes BMW’s design rights.
Furthermore, the court announced that Shuanghuan is banned from selling their CEO in Germany.
But Managing Director Karl Schloessl is not happy about the verdict. He complains that the CEO is an entirely different car compared to the X5. He plans to fight again by appealing against the court’s decision.
’It is a one-sided judgment, but of course it was made in Munich. It’s a BMW city," expressed the unhappy director on the court’s verdict.
Looming gas prices have prevented us from buying SUV’s or cars with big engines. Leave alone individuals, manufacturers are facing the heat with biggies like BMW and supercar weaver Ferrari, announcing their disinterest in releasing future models with bigger engines. A few days back, Mercedes-Benz in a shocking statement, said it will pull the plug and all of its cars manufactured from 2015 onwards will part ways once in for all with petrol stations retailing diesel and gasoline fuels.
Gas prices have shot up worldwide and tormented by the prevailing situation, an unemployed man in Germany torched his BMW in a public place.
The 30 year old man, whose name was withheld as no charges were filed against him, drove his 1995 BMW 3-Series in the morning hours to Frankfurt’s Convention center grounds, jumped out and torched the fuel-drenched car.
He justified his act by expressing that he couldn’t anymore afford the $9.40 per gallon of gas.
By the time the fire fighters arrived at the scene, the car had been charred completely. He might have been right according to his own self, but the law isn’t happy with this insane stunt in a public place. He could end up busting more of his bank balance paying the penalty or could find himself behind bars for violating German environmental laws if he was to be found guilty.
As always, we’ll keep a close track on the twists and turns set to happen in this interesting case.
Every week, we bring you pictures and videos of new cars taking a beating by inattentive drivers, buildings collapsing, drunken driving and sinking ships. Those incidents can be blamed on humans or mechanical failures but not this one.
A major hailstorm over the course of the last weekend harmed up to 30,000 brand new Volkswagen cars awaiting delivery to domestic and foreign customers. Little or nothing could be done by the staff at the VW assembly plant at Emden on the North Sea coast, as the number of vehicles were gigantic, and driving them or transporting them to a safe location was out of question.
Though VW declined to comment on the estimate of the damages, a German press report confirms it would be hundreds of million of dollars.
The affected vehicles will be put under the scanner and will be inspected closely by 100 VW staff members. By sending the vehicle through a special light tunnel, even the smallest of damages can be detected.
VW is insured against hail damages, so the manufacturer won’t be bothered much by this accident. Pain will only be felt by customers, who now have to wait for a longer time to drive home their new cars.
Pages: 
Picture Gallery
Post a comment
RSS -
Webmaster free news |