Nissan Juke-R Video No10: Shakedown and Testing

Nissan's quest for Youtube views continues with the 10th installment of its web-based video series that follows the development of the most awesome and powerful Juke made to date, the GT-R-powered Juke R project car.

 

Having done showing us the styling aspects and the building process of the Juke-R, the Japanese firm is now focusing on the fine-tuning and the testing of the 485-horsepower crossover on the track.
In the video after the break, you can catch a glimpse of Nissan's engineers working out the street-legal Juke R at the MIRA's proving ground in England, and rest assured that the Japanese brand has a lot more videos coming our way…

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Dan Akerson Says GM is “Like Communist China in the ‘60s”

Last month, General Motors posted a third-quarter profit of $1.7 billion US. Not bad for a company that, only just two years ago, was almost bankrupt and was saved thanks to a massive government bailout.

Yet its aim is to reduce costs and increase profits even more. GM representative Jay Cooney told the Detroit News: “GM is continually seeking ways to improve our operating performance and reduce complexity to deliver a world-class cost structure and profit margins.”
This, Cooney, says, includes “streamlining the business, so there could be a headcount reduction on a global basis”. This is corporate speak for laying off white-collar workers – initially in small numbers but with more to follow before the end of the year.
Most of the personnel cuts are focused on engineering, product development and corporate operations at GM’s headquarters in Detroit’s Renaissance Center.
The layoffs are part of GM CEO Dan Akerson’s cost-cutting plan, which includes eliminating the group’s worldwide duplicate operations.
"Literally, we have 7,000 more people working on the same amount of work on our competitors”, Akerson told The News in an interview back in June. “It’s just like the Communist Party in China in the 1960s. There has to be a cultural revolution here. The sun never sets on the GM Empire. Substitute 'British Empire.' That didn't work either."

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Marchionne Says 2013 Dodge Dart will be Certified at 40mpg, With 9-Speed Auto

The Chrysler Group gave us our first taste of its sporty looking all-new 2013 Dodge Dart compact sedan on Tuesday with the release of a teaser photo gallery and the initial data on the car's specifications.

The Dart may prove to be one of the most important models in Dodge's recent history not only because it is the first Chrysler product to be based upon a Fiat architecture and in particular, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, but also because CEO Sergio Marchionne told Reuters that he believes its fuel efficiency will be certified at "40 mpg or more by the end of the month".
The reason why that matters is that, under the deal made with the U.S. government to allow Chrysler to emerge from bankruptcy protection in 2009, the Italian company will receive the final 5 percent of stock if it develops a Fiat-based car that will be built in the U.S. and can get at least 40 miles per gallon.
The Italian group currently owns 53.5 percent of Chrysler. If the new 2013 Dodge Dart is certified at 40mpg or more, then Fiat can automatically raise its stake to 58.5 percent. The remaining shares of the company are held by the United Auto Workers [UAW] retiree health care trust.
The new Dart is based on a widened and elongated version of the Alfa Giulietta platform and will be offered at launch with a choice of three four-cylinder gasoline engines, including improved versions of the group's 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter World Gas engines that have been renamed to Tigershark, and the 1.4-liter turbocharged unit from the Abarth 500.
Autonews reports that the Dart will debut with a Fiat Group-sourced 6-speed dual-clutch transmission but in 2013, the range will be enhanced with a new 9-speed transmission currently being developed by the ZF Group.
The Dart will be manufactured at the Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.
Story References: Autonews

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Toyota Readying a Supercharged Version of the GT 86

Toyota has repeatedly stressed that the GT 86 was developed as a pure, fun and easy to drive rear-wheel drive sports car, ignoring the horsepower race and concentrating instead on honing every detail of the chassis set-up.

In fact, the Japanese carmaker was so determined to stay true to its promise that it even included drift tests in its development program. The production model is said to have an estimated 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).
However, almost everyone who has driven the 86 has found it lacking in oomph and, especially, low- and mid-range torque. In other words, you need to rev it hard to get the best out of it.
About a month ago, when the car was still known as the FT-86 and the first details were starting to leak into the web, we unveiled a Toyota Racing Development version of the car with a more aggressive bodykit.
Now, Autocar is reporting that Toyota chief engineer Tetsuo Tada has confirmed that TRD is indeed working on an even more powerful version of the GT 86 and prototypes are already being evaluated.
Despite the fact that Subaru, which provided the flat-four engine, employs turbocharging in its WRX and STi models, Tada said that he prefers supercharging as a way of increasing horsepower and low-end torque. That’s because, in contrast to turbocharging, it doesn’t affect throttle response of turbo lag nor the car’s drivability.
Supercharging has also been used in performance versions of previous Toyota models, such as the IS200, and as an aftermarket, TRD-developed power-enhancing accessory.
Toyota’s chief engineer wouldn’t reveal any numbers, but a 50HP increase in power should be easy.

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Ford Mustang GT Does Not Have Wings!!

An unnamed 24-year old driver of a new Ford Mustang 5.0 GT from Switzerland turned a humdrum parking job into a life-threatening situation when he went through the concrete wall of the third story of a parking garage in the Swiss city of Lugano on Monday. 

 

The car fell from a height of around 15 meters (approx. 50 feet) before it came crashing down to the ground on some protective metal bars and a small tree.
Miraculously, the young man suffered only minor bruises and abrasions from the plunge and was released from the hospital he had been taken in.
Local police are still investigating the cause of the crash, though Swiss media are speculating that the man probably mistook the throttle for the...brake pedal.
For more pictures of the accident, check out Swiss news site "20min".
Story Source: 20min via Mustang Evolution

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With government agencies enforcing stricter emission regulations every year and auto manufacturers doing their best to prove that their cars are as eco-friendly as possible, hyperbole is part of the game.

A common saying is that the modern cars are cleaner than lawn equipment and that the carbon dioxide emissions they release are actually lower than that present in the air that comes into the combustion chamber.
Edmund's Insideline decided to put the theories to the test. Since cars come in all shapes and sizes, they chose two examples from the opposite side of the spectrum: a Fiat 500 mini and a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Crew Cab pickup.
The diminutive Fiat is powered by a 1.4-liter four with 100HP, while the big and menacing-looking Raptor sports a 411HP 6.2-liter V8.
They also bought along two leaf blowers: one with a single-cylinder 50.8 cc two-stroke engine and the other with a 30cc four-stroke engine.
The contest took place at the Automotive Research Center of the American Automobile Association Auto Club of Southern California, which runs the FTP 75 emissions cycles test that is one of the primary standards in U.S. light-car emissions and fuel economy certification.
So what do you think? Are modern cars and trucks as clean as their makers claim them to be, beating even a common lawn blower? No spoilers here: just watch the video to find out the answer.

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