The Ecological Drive Assist System Helps Honda to Save and to Protect
Posted on November 26, 2008
Filed Under Economical Cars | Leave a Comment
Honda has taken one more serious step towards a fuel economy and the environment protection. The Japanese have presented a new technoledgy named Ecological Drive Assist System that will suggest a driver how to consume less fuel.
The EDAS combines three different functions. The first one is ECON Mode that New Generation Honda Odyssey owners have already had time to evaluate. In the “on” position the control over the work of the engine and transmission passes to the computer. The system solves such questions as for example energy saving of the conditioner, the increase of latency in system “Stop - start”, etc.
The second part of the EDAS is an indicator which shows how much in the optimum the engine consumes fuel at present. Green color means that everything is normal, blue-green - that the fuel input is acceptable and dark-blue - indicates that reading is unsatisfied, it is necessary to change a driving manner, having refused from sharp accelerations and sudden braking.
At last the third block of the system is responsible for the statistics. On the display there is a plant due to which the driver can learn how economically the car consumes fuel throughout a trip. The more stalks - the better saving rates.
It is expected that on serial cars the Ecological Drive Assist System will appear in 2009. Hybrid Insight becomes the first model which will receive this novelty.
And How does It Grab You: Hybrid Porsche Panamera?
Posted on November 25, 2008
Filed Under Hybrid Cars, New Cars | Leave a Comment
In Porsche in the last couple of years they did not hide, that there was an active work on creation of absolutely new 4-door coupe which should become the largest car for all history of existence of the firm (Porsche insists that it’s not a sedan, namely a 4-door coupe). And here, at last, Porsche has published official photos of this model and the technical information on it. As a matter of fact, pictures have been made for a long time already but were published only on these days.
So it became clear that the length of the Porsche Panamera would make almost 5 metres! To be more precisely - 4970 mm. That is this car will appear only on slightly shorter than Mercedes-Benz S-class and BMW 7-series. And it means that inside of a car there is a lot of place, and not only for the driver but also for back passengers who have been taken care as well.
As it was supposed earlier under the hood of the most modest Panamera there will be a petrol engine with the displacement of 3,6l which is developed by experts of Volkswagen. It delivers 300hp. There will be also a unit V8s with the displacement of 4,8l. But we will not see diesel engines. Later instead of them for fuel saving fans the hybrid version will appear where petrol engine V6s and the electromotor will be united.
There will be two types of gearboxes: standard manual gearbox and modern hydro with a double clutch and possibility to switch speed manually.
Spy Photos – How do They Make Them?
Posted on November 24, 2008
Filed Under New Cars | Leave a Comment
It has been known for a long time already that many spy photos coming to press are usually made with the blessing of motor-car manufacturers.
But earlier it was no more than a rumour. And here has appeared incontrovertible evidence that companies themselves deal with spreading supposedly spy information about their expected models.
In German press some photos were published about how Opel workers make photography of a secret novelty known as Insignia (it will take the place of Vectra).
One can see that for making “spy” photos of a good quality in Opel they decided not only to wash it but to brighten it from every quarter.
Buy the way Opel Insignia has been voted as the car of the year in Europe.
New Ford Fiesta Firstly Will Come to China
Posted on November 20, 2008
Filed Under New Cars | 2 Comments
There is another surprise for the admirers of Ford. For this time especially should be pleased worshippers of Ford Fiesta as its family is replenished with a new modification – sedan.
The car was officially presented at the exhibition in Chinese Guangzhou. And as you can judge the first who will be able to appreciate it at its true value are auto amateurs from the Celestial Empire (the car will be on their market in 2010). It is possible that later the sedan will appear on other markets.
The manager of Chinese unit of Ford supposes that the model would go a long way. Preeminently it will win driver’s heart due to its spacious boot and stylish look. But there are no comments concerning technical specifications.
Let’s hope that the company will fill its “brainchild” with some innovations in the field of fuel saving.
Here you can find out some cars that really save gas
Five Best Cars Saving Gas
Posted on November 12, 2008
Filed Under Economical Cars | 1 Comment
With gas prices continuously growing up today more and more people all over the world try to find their ways on how to reduce the outflow of funds spent on gas.
It doesn’t matter what you are driving whether economy hybrid car or off-road vehicle, everyone looks for withdrawal from spending money in vain.
But is it enough just to follow endless amount of tips how to save on gas? What are the other ways out of this problem? Facing the tendency of fuel-price growth the major world car producers do their utmost to fill the market with their “offspring” being the most economical.
Here we give the list of five major cars that really care about the wallet of their owner.
• According to the experts the thriftiest auto nowadays is considered to be Honda Insight
It’s the second car appeared on the market of hybrid cars (the first one, as you no doubt know, is Toyota Prius).
But Honda demonstrated quite new idea of hybrid cars.
Fuel consumption 3.4 L\100km
• The second place we assign for Audi A2
Although being a smaller vehicle the manufacturer - Audi - is really proud of it.
However, once you get inside the car, any notions of minimal size disappear.
And once you see the fuel consumption performance: you stop noticing any drawbacks…
Fuel consumption 3.6 L\100km
• Then goes Volkswagen Lupo
The Volkswagen Lupo is a city car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen from 1998 to 2005. The car is available with a variety of engine sizes and trim levels, from budget models through to the GTI variant.
Fuel consumption 3.6 L\100km
• In the fourth place we put Daihatsu Opti
The Daihatsu Opti is a kei car produced by Japanese automaker Daihatsu from 1992 to 2002.
It is available with a 659 cc petrol engine and either front- or four-wheel drive. It is a variant from the Daihatsu Mira.
Fuel consumption 3.7 L\100km
• And at last (but not the least) goes Smart
Smart, formerly Smart GmbH (formerly MCC Smart GmbH), an automotive brand of Daimler AG, is a manufacturer of microcars and superminis based in Böblingen, Germany, produced in Hambach (France). In spite of its size sales of the small Smart city car have really increased last time.
Fuel consumptions 3.8 L\100km
It’s up to you to decide how to save on gas. You may purchase an economical car or just follow tips on saving
Or you may combine both!
10 Things That Eat Your Gas The Most
Posted on August 21, 2008
Filed Under Save Gas News | Leave a Comment
Gas prices grow extremely fast and don’t be too much surprised: experts say we can expect a 15-20% (!) price increase by the end of the year. With that prices even small cars owners won’t be able to go far on their cars not mentioning pickup owners for example. So what can be done about this? Here I listed top 10 things that you should pay attention to while driving and avoid them as that’s them who eat your fuel the most.
1. First thing is your car’s aerodynamics. Although all new cars have flowing design, some old cars are not aerodynamic. Besides open windows always increase the wind resistance and make you less aerodynamic. Altogether these two things can enhance gas usage up to 18%
2. Then goes the air conditioning. Yes, I understand – it’s too damn hot. But consider this before turning you AC to maximum: an average car conditioner eats more than 2 liters per 60 miles.
3. Your wheels. I mean not the wheels themselves (it will be hard to ride without them), but when they are poorly inflated you can loose up to 7% extra gas as the surface of contact between wheels and gravel grows. I bet 7% of your gas is worth pumping the wheels properly.
4. If nothing is wrong with your car but you feel that still you are wasting more fuel than normal you should definitely consider you driving style. You will probably notice that sometimes you tend to drive in a rude manner: harsh accelerations, harp turnings. All this makes you car eat more gas.
5.Another thing could increase your gas usage from 7 to 9%. That is your air filter, especially when it is dirty. In that case it will limit the access of air into the engine, which negatively affects its performance. Try to clean it regularly and you will feel the effect immediately.
6. Engine idling. Well, that all clear with that you’d say. Of course it is. Who needs to keep his engine running while not riding? But according to the statistics, an average driver spends up to 10% of his driving time in the idle state, where he literally wastes his fuel for nothing. This happens on short stops on the red lights, while awaiting “ just 2 minutes” for someone, warming up your engine and so on.
7. Speeding. Not only it’s dangerous and illegal, it also uses extra gas. Going on 90 mph gives you 25% (!) more gas usage than on 60. Think about it.
8. Overloaded car. It’s simple: every 30 kilograms makes your car eat plus 2% of fuel. So try to get rid of all unwanted stuff from your boot (yes, everyone has it) and clean up your saloon regularly. Avoid cheap, heavy tuning.
9. Unaligned wheels. Go to a repairing service and get your wheels aligned. This will economize up to 4% of your gas. Your expenses will pay themselves in no time, you’ll see.
10. Using wrong gear. This means that often, especially newbie drivers, use unsuitable gear for the speed they’re going on. This is not that hard to remember which gear to use, or you can simply ask one of your driver friends.
Happy mileage increasing!
Quick Fuel Saving Links (August 5-8)
Posted on August 19, 2008
Filed Under Save Gas News | Leave a Comment
- Want another great gas saving tip? Get a manual transmission car. Not that fast to get used to drive with that stick, but have a look at this amazing stats and rethink your attitude to manual transmissions:
‘You’ll probably save about 5,000 gallons of gas and $30,000 or more by only driving cars with manual transmissions over the course of your lifetime’.
It is not that hard to learn manual transmission driving when you keep in mind the amount you save: $30,000 (what is the average lifetime expectancy I wonder?)
- Gas saving tips these days are properly mixed with alternative vehicles: Segway, two-wheeled balance powered by electric mobility – it is a saver to gas prices dependency? It is fun to read someone’s experience traveling on a 10 mile trip on that two wheel wonder though I feel discouraged once I am through. On the other hand these new vehicles DO have future, we need just make some changes to our infrastructure to let them enter our lives.
- If you do not know by this time who is responsible for current gas prices do not miss House Speaker Nancy Pelosi conclusions. We should have guessed that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are to blame, but we were scared to say that. Pelosi’s point:
“There are plenty of opportunities that oil companies should explore before environmentally sensitive areas such as ANWR are open to drilling, pointing to the 33 million acres that have already been approved for offshore drilling and the 68 million acres of federal land in the lower 48 states that is open to exploration”.
- If you are not yet tired of all those typical saving tips reprinted daily in hundreds of blogs and sites I would re-list them once more time (this time they are published on thebachelorguy.com blog):
1 - Check Your Tires
2 - Change the Air Filter
3 - Lighten Your Load
4 - Check Your Spark Plugs
5 - Make Sure Your Cap is Tight
6 - Don’t Be Idle
I just wonder what amount of gas you can save following these ‘advanced’ fuel saving tips? Probably I should not be that ironic, but could anyone show me numbers – what is the effect of these fuel saving techniques?
- If you think that GasBuddy is the only service that aims to help desperate drivers to save cash on gas bills – you are wrong. Gas saving services pop up here and there weekly if not daily:
- share and compare your mpg with Fuelly.com
- find cheap gas using your cell phone and GasRunner.com (though their website does not look reliable and popular service, but probably the project is still in Beta.
- US set records exporting oil. Unbelievable, but true:
“A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month, according to final numbers from the Energy Department.”
Toyota Prius Spy Photos
Posted on August 18, 2008
Filed Under Hybrid Cars | 2 Comments
Toyota Prius 3 debut is scheduled for Detroit Motor Show in January 2009. Toyota will start new open sales in the USA and Japan in April 2009.
There are minor Prius exterior changes – one can clearly see that at the spy photos. Those few changes include longer body and more spacious interior. Prius is famous for its original design and this time it will come with even more distinct features.
Prius 3 comes with Hybrid Synergy Drive, but 1,5l gas engine will be switched for more powerful 1.6l one. The result – more powerful car with improved fuel safety characteristics – 4.9l per 100km in the city and 4.9l in the highways.
It is notable that introduction of new lithium-ion batteries for Prius 3 is scheduled for 2010 earliest. By that time Toyota has plans to produce 480 000 hybrid cars per annum.
Quick Fuel Saving Links (July 26-30)
Posted on August 18, 2008
Filed Under Save Gas News | Leave a Comment
Hydrogen powered cars – what it feels to drive and if these cars have future:
Indeed, the Equinox is no slouch when it comes to performance. The first few times I put my foot to the floor, the torque of the electric motor really set me back in the seat. I really was impressed—and that’s coming from a guy used to driving a V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee…
8 more ways to save gas – this time geeky ways:
- Find the best gas prices on the Web.
- Look for online gas promotions.
- Use GPS or mapping tools.
- Share a ride with your Web buddies.
- Track your gas use.
- Know your car’s health.
- Replace your engine computer chip.
- Ecomod your car.
I really like this handy tool to search for fuel efficient auto (by class & year) Annual fuel cost and air pollution score included…
You can also compare cars one to another
Guys from Edmunds.com know much about cars, no doubt. What about their testing gas saving tips? What did they test?
Test #1 Aggressive Driving vs. Moderate Driving
Test #2 Lower Speeds Saves Gas
Test #3 Use Cruise Control
Test #4 A/C On, Windows Up vs. A/C Off, Windows Down
Test #5 Check Your Tire Pressure
Test #6 Avoid Excessive Idling
One great positive thing about never ending gas price increase is the fall of car accident deaths. Stats by state prove it is true