Fastest Car Power-Driven by Dry-Cell Batteries

Panasonic and the Tokyo Institute of Technology produced the first manned jumbo jet to be power-driven by 160 AA “Oxyride” batteries – a fantastic achievement, but the record category itself is not one that is monitored by Guinness World Records.

Undeterred, a year shortly Panasonic set their sights on a new world record-breaking challenge – that is, to build the greatest car powered by dry-cell batteries.

To do this, they teamed positive with students from Osaka Sangyo University to form The Oxyride Speed Challenge Team, and improvement began on the Oxyride Racer.

The Racer procedures 3.3 m long, 78 cm wide and 56 cm tall. Its body is prepared of plastic that has been unbreakable by carbon fiber – a muscular and light composite material, which means the car weighs in at only 38 kg.

It’s insignificant, but high-speed. Guinness World Records' June Otsuki was on hand over at a test course in Shirosato city in Ibaraki territory on 4 August 2007, to monitor the affair.

On the day, student Takashi Sudo piloted the Racer to achieve an average speed of 105.95 km/h and a maximum speed of 122 km/h and all this on just 192 Oxyride batteries.

Car makers turn to exports to make up for low domestic sales

To tide over the sluggish demand in the domestic market, triggered by periodic petrol price hikes and higher interest rates, car makers in India have sharpened their focus on exports.

While dampened sentiment crimped car sales by 1.8% to 1,378,513 units in April-October 2011, according to industry lobby Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), exports for the same period moved up 19% to 293,426 units.

Last year, buoyant demand from the home market made car firms in India curtail exports. For April-October 2010, domestic car sales saw a 33% increase over the same period a year ago, while car exports registered a less than 2% growth during the same period. This year, however, the trend has reversed.

The overall expansion in the exports volume was led by the local arms of global car makers such as Nissan Motor Co. Ltd and Ford Motor Co​., both of which have identified India as an export hub for small cars and have recently started shipping models from their factories in India.

Nissan, which sells the compact car Micra, the Sunny sedan and the X-Trail sports utility vehicle (SUV) in India, started exports of the Micra in October 2010. The company despatched 59,770 units of the model in the April-October 2010 period, according to Siam.

Similarly, Ford India​ Pvt. Ltd began overseas shipments of its small car Figo in June last year, and ramped up export volumes to 15,402 units during the same period from 4,882 units a year ago.

The export volumes for the last four years, too, suggest a strong correlation with domestic demand. In years, when the domestic market has been sluggish, auto makers have been aggressive on exports and vice versa.

Michael Boneham, president and managing director at Ford India, said his firm plans to ship out 20% of the total production by the end of this fiscal. Nissan India declined comment. An email sent on Friday remained unanswered.

Kumar Kandaswami, a senior director at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd, said overall volumes will only expand as existing and new global car makers start exports. “A lot will depend on how volumes stack up at the two biggest exporters,” said.

Car makers said exports will also help them in pushing volumes of their petrol models abroad, demand for which has slumped in India owing to the wide price gap between diesel and petrol.

The current trend is a part of the long-term strategy of companies and is only partially influenced by the ongoing domestic scenario, according to Rakesh Batra, a partner and national leader, Ernst and Young. However, “the additional focus on exports will help them make up for the shortfall in domestic volumes”, he added.

Ford to idle workers in Spain

Ford has proposed temporary layoffs for 4,000 of its 6,200 workers at its Spanish assembly plant in Valencia because of sluggish European demand for new cars. Ford's Spanish division says it wants the workers to stay home for 39 days between January and October of next year.

Company spokesman Jose Perez said Wednesday that the division has started talks with unions to negotiate terms of the temporary layoffs.

The company says demand for cars in Spain and Europe is expected to remain weak in 2012 and that the Valencia plant needs the investment to produce new models. Ford in June announced an investment of 812 million euros ($1.1 billion) for the plant that it said would create dozens of jobs.

Police in Tuscaloosa, Ala., said Wednesday they dropped a charge against a German Mercedes-Benz executive who was arrested under Alabama's new crackdown on illegal immigration after a police officer caught him driving without identification required by the law.

Though Tuscaloosa police arrested the man last week for not having proper citizenship documents while driving a rental car in the city, city attorney Tim Nunnally said in an e-mail that the charge was dismissed after the man later provided the documents in municipal court.

Police identified the man as Detlev Hager, 46. The company said he was in Alabama on business at the time but declined further comment.

The arrest drew widespread attention because the German automaker is one of the state's leading employers, and its decision to build its first U.S. assembly plant in Alabama in 1993 provided the spark that helped lead to the state's large automotive industry, which includes foreign manufacturers Honda, Hyundai and Toyota.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch cited the executive's arrest in urging Mercedes to move to Missouri from Alabama.

Force India to auction art car

Force India has collaborated with renowned motorsport artist Dexter Brown to create an art car that will be auctioned for charity.

Brown has hand-painted a VJM01-05 chassis from the 2008 season which will be officially presented at the Force India post-race party at the British Grand Prix on Sunday. The team has announced that Formula One drivers and figures will be invited to sign the car during the week leading up to the race at Silverstone, with Bernie Ecclestone being the first to add his signature on Wednesday.

The car will be auctioned off later this year following the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, with the proceeds being split between Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Force India Driver Academy, which is giving Indian youngsters an opportunity to get involved in motorsport.

Force India chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya said that he hoped the unique idea would raise a lot of interest as well as a substantial amount.

"Seeing one of my Formula One cars transformed into a painting is a wonderful initiative that combines two of my greatest passions: cars and art. I wish to thank Dexter for producing this exquisite piece of work, which I am sure will be of great interest to art collectors around the world, and will raise valuable funds for charity."

Pininfarina B0

The Pininfarina Bluecar (previously known as B0 or B Zero) is an electric car, designed by Pininfarina in collaboration with Bolloré, which was introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It is not a concept car, but a production car set that went on sale in 2009.

The car incorporates a lithium polymer (LMP) battery matched up with a supercapacitor. The energy storage component not only allows for high regenerative braking and acceleration capabilities but also extends the life of the battery. An autonomy of 250 km and a top speed of 130 km/h have been announced for the vehicle, as well as 0–60 km/h acceleration time of 6.3 seconds. Pininfarina began production at the end of 2009, and it plans to ramp up production based on battery availability and sales.

The project was developed by the Pininfarina Design department, led by the Flemish designer Lowie Vermeersch, who had previously coordinated other projects such as the Pininfarina Sintesi and the Ferrari California. The car was dedicated to the memory of Andrea Pininfarina, who died two months before its unveiling and who was a firm believer in the project.

Prep your vehicle for car shipping

Planning is essential in carrying out any task and this applies for auto transport too.  If you want to transport your car from one place to another, you should do plan from the beginning itself. Hiring a reputed and reliable auto transport company would be the first step and this should be done with proper research. Certain other things should also be carried out before car shipping.

Preparing your car before shipping is the most important and most difficult task that would come in your planning list. The first step is washing your car very well. By washing your car, the chips, scratches or nay damages that are already present in the car can be clearly visible. So if any damages occur en route, you can easily figure it out after delivery. After washing your car properly, you must take out all your personal belongings from the car. It would be better to empty the car as the auto transport insurance would not cover the damages caused to personal items.

Many people forget to turn off the car alarm before giving it for transporting.  This creates great trouble for the workers as they would have to disable the alarm whenever it starts ringing. Also the repeated ringing of car alarm may bring down the battery charge of the car. So make sure that the alarm is already disabled before handing over the keys to the car shipping company. You must also make sure that the gas tank is not fully loaded while transporting.  If the gas tank is full, it may add to the total weight of the vehicle and this may cost you some extra shipping charges. So it is highly recommended that the gas tank should be kept only quarter filled so that the total weight of the car would be less.

These days most of the cars would be equipped with additional accessories like spoilers, ground effects, fog lights etc. During auto transport, it is better to remove the additional fittings so that they won’t be damaged or lost. You must also take care to fold back the wide mirrors and secure antennae safely.

Yet another thing to consider while prepping your car is keeping the battery fully charged. If you are using a terminal-to terminal transport, the car would be delivered at the terminal and you need to drive it to your home. So it is better to charge the car battery for avoiding low battery problems later. The tires should also be properly inflated for avoiding problems later. You must also remember to note down all the existing problems of the car and inform the details to the driver beforehand. This would help the driver to understand the ways of the car and he doesn’t have to struggle with the starting trouble later. Giving a clear description about the car details is extremely important both for the safety of the car and also for saving time.

For achieving a trouble free transport, it is better to convey a detailed description of car’s condition to the auto transport company.  It would be best if you can take some pictures of the car prior to shipping.

Things to Consider before Transporting Your Vehicle

Driving your car for a long distance may be tiring and stressful. But if you hire a professional auto transport company you don’t have to worry as they will transport your car properly to your specified destination. Your work will be reduced.

Before transporting your vehicle, you should prepare it for transportation. Firstly, your car must be roadworthy. This is because employees of the auto transport company have to drive it on and off the transporter. Do wash your car before transporting your vehicle for inspection purpose. Do check are there any scratches and dents. Make sure your car is free from leaks. Your car will be transported in batches on one large transporter. You may be responsible if any leakage of fluids occur from you car and damages other cars during transit. Make sure your gas tank is less than a quarter. Other fluids such as break and suspension fluids have room for expansion.

Try to remove accessories your car have. This includes antennae and wide mirrors on the outside of your car and after market CD players on the inside. Disable the alarm in the car. Remove all the personal possessions from the car because Transport Company will not take any responsibility. In fact, Department of Transportation (DOT) does not permit the transport of personal belongings in vehicle transported on auto carriers. Make sure you drive your car to a pick-up point agreed between you and the car transport company.

Finally consider the climatic conditions. If you’re planning to ship your car to Alaska, it would be wise to put anti-freeze into your car before shipping. Do check your heating or air conditioning systems. You can go in for covered transport also as it will protect your vehicle against sun, heat etc.

Before shipping your vehicle do check all the car shipping documents. The key document involved in car transport is bill of lading. This document outlines all the terms and conditions of the agreement between you and the auto car transport company. Bill of lading is a document in which any damages that have already occurred in the car are written. It is important that customer checks bill of lading document carefully before signing it. As any future claims for damages will be made on the basis of the information in this report, you need to check it carefully before signing. Both you and a representative of the car transport company have to sign this both before and after loading. If your car is damaged during transit, you have two weeks to file a complaint.

Ask the transport company do they provide insurance. Your vehicle should be insured against damage and theft by your auto transport company. If you’re transporting your car by ocean container, it has to be professionally packed for the insurance to be valid.