Maybach Exelero

We believed only P.Diddy could offered the 2005 Maybach Exelero Concept, but evidently some franchise in Austria had one built on order but ne'er sold it. Well now they're trying to distribute the car and are inviting 5,000,000 Euros ($7,848,492). V12 bi-turbo from Maybach 57 S 690-hp with a peak torque of 737 ft-lb. 0-62mph in 4.4 secs with a top speed of 218mph.

Download : Maybach Exelero

Dacia Duster Concept

Renault's low-priced Romanian brand, Dacia, will be bringing out its very first concept at the Geneva Motor Show this calendar week. Called the Duster, the concept boasts a crossover-style consistence with some very concerning titling components like headlamps that trail off crossed the front buffers and rear tail-lights that adulterate advancing across a arc-boutant of sheetmetal above the rear bicycles. Kudos to Renault architects in Romania and France for authorship such an concerning shape. Arrested within is an evenly useful interior with a neat modular trick: The front passenger seat chutes underneath the driver's seat on fulminates, making adequate room to carry a all-terrain bike inside the car instead of on top of it.

 

Download : Dacia Duster Concept

The First Generation to Present Mustang

Review: 2008 BMW 128i Convertible

Credit: CNET Networks)

Except for its price, the 2008 BMW 128i Convertible may be the least BMW-like car from the automaker. Oh, it does have all the cutting-edge tech found in BMW's other models, including a pop-up LCD that is surprisingly immune to glare. But where its turbo-charged brother, the 135i, feels glued to the road, the 128i Convertible's wheels seem to stretch away from the car in the corners. And where the 135i leaps forward with smooth and hard acceleration, the 128i Convertible's power delivery feels uneven.

Read the review.

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

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Crave.com

Honda to revive the Insight as a Prius-fighter

The Insight Concept represent's Honda's next attempt to dethrone the Toyota Prius.
(Credit: Honda)

Honda introduced the first gas-electric hybrid for purchase with the Insight in 1999, then came Toyota's Prius and everyone forgot about Honda's little hybrid that could. We all knew that Honda was working on a larger Prius-fighting, dedicated hybrid vehicle, but Honda has denied that they'd be reviving the Insight moniker for this new vehicle. On Thursday, Honda released the first official information and images of their Prius-killer concept and it's called, you guessed it, the Insight.

The Insight Concept carries over the styling cues of Honda's fuel cell vehicle, the FCX Clarity. It looks to us that Honda has been taking lessons from the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" school of thought, as the five-door, five-passenger hatchback configuration of the Insight is the same as that of the Prius. Squint your eyes and you'll see that the proportions from the a-pillar back are decidedly Prius-like. It's almost as though someone slapped the nose of the FCX Clarity onto Toyota's hybrid and called it a day.

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

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Mazda developing Volt competitor

(Credit: Mazda USA)

Chevrolet's Volt hasn't even been released yet and other automakers are already hard at work developing their Volt killers. Sources at Autocar say that Mazda engineers have developed a working Mazda5-based electric vehicle prototype. The prototype is said to use a rotary engine to charge a battery pack that powers an electric motor driving the wheels.

Essentially, the only thing that's keeping Mazda from putting the system into production is the high cost of batteries. Meanwhile, Mazda is said to be concentrating on more conventional green tech, such as engine start-stop technology

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

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Titan Exhaust Air Jack lifts car by inflating

(Credit: Crave Asia)

Where was this when my tire blew out on me (which fortunately happened in a quiet neighborhood)? Unfortunately, being a quiet neighborhood, help wasn't too forthcoming. So while twiddling my thumbs for more than an hour waiting for the mechanic to arrive, I had plenty of time to contemplate the folly of the mini-jack, which looks more like a weapon of mass destruction to the less mechanically inclined and isn't at all kind to manicured nails.

So bless Chandler Products for the Titan Exhaust Air Jack, which is dead-simple to use. You just need to connect the hose to your car's exhaust pipe, and this will inflate quickly to lift your vehicle up to 30 inches above ground.

It's available in three sizes, will stay safely inflated for a maximum of 45 minutes, and will deflate in less than 5 seconds. Too bad the sticker price is just as inflated, and starts pumping from $120.

(Via Crave Asia)

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