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Sunday, January 30, 2011
I drove a fiesta when I worked in Europe and it was a great little car. My son was interested in buying one here, but when we went and looked at it, it wasn't the same car, much more cheaply made. It would be great if Ford was actually bringing the same car here with the same fit and finish. Yes, it's a cheap car and you get what you pay for, not sure that a Honda or Toyota wouldn't be a better buy. But it's the right move for Ford.
Second off the bat, let me say Ford has a heck of a car here, one that consumers worrying about the price of gasoline, or seeking a back-to-college car for the offspring, should put at the top of their list.
For U.S. consumers this is the second go around for the Fiesta subcompact, but for those in Europe this is the sixth generation Fiesta and it certainly has improved with age.
Let's get some basics out of the way first and then jump behind the wheel. Assembled in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico, the tested Fiesta hatchback has a unitized steel body, is 160 inches long, rides on a 98-inch wheelbase, and is 67.8 inches wide and 58 inches tall. That makes it 14 inches longer than a Mini Cooper and three inches longer than the Mazda MX5 Miata. Or about the same overall size as the Honda Fit.
Only one engine is offered, a 1.6-liter inline four manufactured in Brazil (these things seem to matter to some readers). It has an aluminum block and head with DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder and is rated at 120 hp at 6,350 rpm with a rather meager 112 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm. Ford offers a slick shifting 5-speed manual or a dual-clutch automatic that I did not get a chance to try.
The engine is smooth and refined until you get near the 6,000-plus red line when things get a little raspy. It is both a joy and setback in this subcompact -- a joy if you keep the revs up above 3,500 rpm to extract all of the power that engine has. Get lazy about shifting on a back road and start up a long hill and you are looking at a two-gear reduction, and wondering if the torque should not be measured in pounds-feet but
A review of the 2011 Ford Fiesta
New Chevrolet Cruze: Chevrolet brought its architecture teams about the apple to actualize the Chevrolet Cruze, a car that changes the rules. Hop on the new Chevrolet Cruze and you will ascertain an affected cabin, able with an arrangement of allowances that far beat your expectations.
2011 New Chevrolet Cruze coming soon
Peugeot introduced a web-based amateur style competition at the 2002 Paris Motor Show, inviting aspiring designers to create a completely unhinged retro-futurist design that incorporated distinct styling features of a historic Peugeot model. A total of 2800 proposals from 90 countries were registered, and Stephen Schulze, a 32-year-old German graphic artist, was selected as the winner. At the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, Schulze was awarded a trophy and €5000, and it was announced that Peugeot would create a full-scale version of the design.
The winner was the talented Stephen Schulze of Germany and his stunning 4002 design. One of the most creative car design concepts in decades, the organically-shaped 4002 is both futuristic as well as replete with styling cues from Peugeots of the past, such as the headlights behind the radiator grille that was seen in the Peugeot 402 of the 1930s.
Expressing Peugeot's new alignment with sport, the 20Cup is an innovative concept, both « fun » and dynamic: suggesting an elegant synthesis between two worlds - that of the motor car by its front aspect and that of the motorcycle by its single rear wheel. This sporty, three-wheel roadster, shown in two examples, differentiated only by colour, promises real driving pleasure through the strong sensations it evokes.
Confirming its presence in high-level motor sport, Peugeot recently announced its new commitment to competition via the LMES Championship.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The new Peugeot 907 is a concept car from Peugeot. The body is built from carbon fiber. The car was never really meant to go into production, but just to be a prototype for featuring Peugeot's new designing techniques. The car would have large V12 engine mounted just behind the front wheels (for handling purposes) that would put out over 500 horsepower
A few more things to keep in mind when choosing a car for when you build your own electric car, power steering and air conditioning. If your car has power steering then you will need to have a separate motor for that. Also air conditioning drags on your battery so your battery will die sooner with an air conditioner. There is a way that you can still use your air conditioner though; you just have to use a special magnet system to work the compressor.
Electric cars and hybrids are becoming more and more popular. If you really want to build your own electric vehicle there are plenty of resources out there that can help you get your car up and running correctly. An electric car in the long run could be a benefit because you would save money on gas.
It was only a year ago that Peugeot, the producer of Peugeot oxygen sensor introduced the 207 in France and into the main European markets. It also became the fourth entry of Peugeot in the European small car market segment, along with the 107, the 1007, and the 206. And today the introduction of the 207 SW with its outdoor charm rounds up the 207 range.
An expanding range
The 207 SW which will be available in July is expected to broaden further the 207 range that has earlier launched a hatchback version. And like the 207 CC, the 207 RC together with the three and five door hatchbacks earlier introduced will also help in strengthening the 207 range.
In the course of a lap of Le Mans, for example, the system will recuperate energy for between 20 and 30 seconds. This energy reserve can be used for either delivering extra power thanks to an additional boost of 60 kW (80 bhp) for approximately 20 seconds per lap, either automatically when re-accelerating or when the driver chooses to make use of it ('push to pass') or to reduce fuel consumption for the equivalent level of performance thanks to the mechanical energy recovered (between three and five per cent)
Michel Barge (Peugeot Sport, Director): "This hybrid Peugeot 908HY is in perfect keeping with the overall mission of our endurance racing programme which covers not only the challenge of competing, of course, but also the fact that as a car manufacturer we can use motor sport as a research and development tool for the Peugeot brand as a whole. After innovating through the use of our HDi FAP technology in competition, running a hybrid car in endurance racing would give Peugeot a chance to gain extremely valuable experience that would benefit the development of production cars. Whether we use this technology or not in 2009 will obviously depend on the details of the new regulations published by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest."
