Top Auto Cars Design Dony: Reports

Showing posts with label Reports. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2011

Ferrari FF and Lamborghini Aventador Both Sold Out for their First Year of Production

They are two of the most hotly anticipated and talked about cars at this week's 2011 Geneva International Motor Show. We're talking of course about the Ferrari's first ever four-wheel drive model, the FF, and Lamborghini's replacement for the Murcielago, the Aventador LP700-4.

Though catering to different tastes and needs, these two supercars have something in common, and we're not referring to their Italian roots nor their twelve-cylinder powerplants, but to the fact that both are sold out for their first year of production even before they arrive in showrooms across the world.

"We have already sold all 800 Ferrari FFs planned to be produced in 2011," Ferrari CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said at the Geneva Motor Show. The four-seater, golf bag-loving FF comes with a 660-horsepower strong 6.3-liter V12 engine and carries a base sticker of €260,000 or about US$360,000 at today's exchange rates.

The VW Group's flagship Lamborghini model is powered by a 6.5-liter V12 engine pushing out 700HP and is priced at $370,000 or €267,200.

Source: Reuters & Businessweek

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A Gasoline-Addict Spider Gets 52,000 Mazda6 Cars Recalled in the US

This must be by far the most hilarious recall action we've ever heard about. It involves some 52,000 US-market Mazda6 cars from the 2009 and 2010 model years and a gasoline-loving spider. Yes, you read correctly; it's about a species of a spider that loves to build its web in the Mazda6 vent line, thus endangering the integrity of the gas tank.

“A certain type of spider may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent line and this may cause a restriction in the line," reads the National Highway Traffic Safety Association press release. "If this occurs, the fuel tank pressure may become excessively negative when the emission control system works to purge the vapors from the canister.”

What could happen is that “the stress on the fuel tank may eventually result in a crack, potentially leading to fuel leakage and an increased risk of fire,” adds the document.

The Yellow Sac spider, a common species in the US, likes the smell of hydrogen oxide that gasoline contains. The Mazda6 “has two pipes coming out from its gas tank, which is extremely rare and means that the smell of gasoline is strong enough to draw the spider in but not strong enough to kill it,” said Japanese automotive journalist Mitsuhiro Kunisawa quoted by Reuters, adding that there's no similar problem with any other Mazda car.

The remedy is to install a spring to prevent the spider from entering the vent line. The recall action will be free of charge for owners of the affected cars and will begin on March 25.

By Dan Mihalascu

Sources: NHTSA, Reuters

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Thursday, March 3, 2011

2011 Geneva Motor Show: A to Z Guide of New Models and Concepts

[Updated] Welcome to Carscoop's guide of the 81st edition of the Geneva International Motor Show which is shaping to be one of the most important automotive events of the year. The show will be open for the public from March 3-13, but we'll be bringing you all the world premieres during the press days on March 1 and 2.

Some of the new production models to look forward to include the stunning Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, Ferrari's first all-wheel drive model, the FF, the Hyundai i40, and Volkswagen's Golf Cabriolet, while on the concept front there's a bevy of studies such as the BMW Vision CD roadster, the Renault Captur and the Toyota FT-86 II. We'll be constantly updating the list after the break so bookmark this page and keep checking back.

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