Motor Vehicle Tips

Due to the achievement of jap pickup vans at the beginning of the period of 1980s, the Chevrolet S-10 was introduced and promptly turned out to be a major contender in the compact pickup van division.  Cost-effective and seriously configurable, this model was a perfect wagon for every man, meeting the prerequisites of any person who didn’t require the payload capacities and towing of a full-scale pickup van. 

All throughout the 20 3 years of Chevrolet S-10′s lifespan, there were two production generations.  Majority of the used-vehicle clients will have an interest in the following generation.  Sadly, this S-10 isn’t as galvanizing as you’d need it to be, judging it to be second tier to contending undersized trucks from Ford, Toyota, Dodge and Nissin. 

The Chevrolet S-10′s 2nd generation was made from the year 1994 until 2004.  It was available in extended, regular and crew cab body styles with short and long beds.  The Sportside bed appeared in 1996 together with the non-compulsory three-doorway entry cab.  The ZR2 package was offered on regular cab short bed models, as with an SS package that consisted of a high-productivity V6, amalgamate wheels and sport suspension. 

The ZR2 package included some strength to the Chevrolet S-10 the LS and regular editions did not have.  ZR2 S-10s had bigger tires, stronger suspension elements and touchstone 4-wheel drive. 

The extended cab model of the Chevrolet S-10 was available with a 3rd door way entry section on the driver’s side that helped stacking goods, pets or an unlucky commuter into the back partition with a fold-down jump chair.  However this 3rd entryway has a tendency to put off on busted pathway.  The 1994 to 1997 generation of Chevrolet S-10 had qualities of a benchmark 2.2 litre 4-cylinder engines on back-wheel-drive modes that made 118 hp.

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The Ford Motor company have just revealed the test results of a new ethanol assisted engine that looks set to compete with Hybrid technology. The news coincided with president Barrack Obama’s announcement of new regulations that require the fuel efficiency of all new cars and trucks to be improved by 2016.

The new engine, called a direct-injection ethanol engine, runs primarily on petrol. When the engine needs a bit more power, perhaps to go up a hill or overtake, then the ethanol injection kicks in.

This results is an improvement in fuel efficiency of around 23% for an average car.   This is due to the fact that the engine operates at a higher compression ratio. The compression ratio is a measure of how much the fuel and air mixture is compressed before being ignited. Higher compression ratios would normally result in premature ignition which is commonly called knocking. Adding ethanol to the fuel-air mixture suppresses knocking.

A pick-up truck fitted with one of the new engines, along with an additional ethanol fuel tank, showed a 23% improvement in fuel efficiency while maintaining performance levels. It was estimated that a 40 litre auxiliary tank of ethanol would last for around 30,000 kilometres.  

It is expected that the next phase of testing and evaluation will see the new engine used in a variety of vehicles. More testing is to be carried out to assess whether the new ethanol assisted engine becomes unstable when the ethanol runs out.

A key factor in favour of this new technology is that the extra cost of these new ethanol assisted engines is around one third of the extra cost of a hybrid petrol-electric engine. Hybrids typically deliver an improvement in fuel economy of between 25 and 35%. The new direct-injection ethanol engine looks like it is a strong contender that will meet Obama’s projected fuel efficiency figures.

It was on May the 19th when Barrack Obama announced at the White House: “The goal is to set one national standard that will rapidly increase fuel efficiency, without compromising safety, by an average of 5 percent each year between 2012 and 2016″.

The new rules would require vehicle’s average fuel economy standards to be 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Specifically, an average of 39 miles per gallon for cars and 30 miles per gallon for trucks. For reference, this year (2009) the average fuel efficiency is 25 miles per gallon.

Inevitably, these new regulations will mean additional costs for motor manufacturers which will be passed on the consumer.  But although people will be paying more for their cars and trucks they will be paying less for fuel. Obama said that it was estimated that the average driver would save as much as $2800 by improving their gas mileage.

One way that anyone interested in a new car can save money is to consider financing their new transport using a car lease. Car leasing offers personal and business customers many advantages over outright purchase. Looking out for new model Fords using the new direct-injection ethanol engine on a Ford lease could be a practical way to save a small fortune.

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Let’s make not skirt about the issue; Volvo are never likely to produce a vehicle that will set hearts fluttering with excitement. It is virtually impossible to imagine a James Bond film in the not-too-distant future where Q introduces 007 to his new gadget-laden Volvo Diesel Estate. It is almost laughable to imagine a Volvo in any cinematic context other than possibly a dire independent Swedish film concerned primarily with the difficulties of livestock farming during Scandinavian winters. The Volvo range has never really appealed to me in a sensory manner; by which I mean I have never been able to picture myself getting excited by one, let alone sitting in one. If you find yourself parting with impressively large sums of money for a vehicle, you want it to enflame your ardour, set your pulse running and maybe even give you a shudder every time you start the engine. It never seemed possible for the Volvo to do this…until they unleashed the Volvo S80 out into the market.

The Volvo S80 is something quite contrary compared to what I was expecting when tasked with this article; I was expecting something dowdier, less elegant and considerably chunkier. What I was given was an example of aesthetic and engineering perfection.

The Volvo S80, when kitted out with the full luxury specification, isn’t a cheap vehicle by anyone's standards. At slightly less than £40,000 if it wasn’t a Very good car it would have to have been carved from Mount Olympus by naked, voluptuous maidens, overseen by Zeus himself. As it stands, it is an extraordinary vehicle that on initial impressions seems to outshine the various competitor models; the Volkswagen Phaeton and the Honda Legend included. There is, however, one competitor that would probably have something to say about this Swedish contender. I speak of the impressive Jaguar XF.

A fully spec-ed Jaguar XF is around £15,000 more expensive than its Volvo counterpart, which is obviously going to push more people toward the S80, but Jaguars are infinitely cooler and more desirable than any Volvo ever created…and who would put a price on that? The basic model Jaguar XF is a few grand less than the fully spec-ed  S80 and I can’t help but think that because of the social kudos and Jaguar legacy, the buying public are going to gravitate towards the Jag.

The Volvo S80 does make a very good case for itself though. It has one of the most luxurious interiors I have ever had the pleasure of planting my bottom in and all the gadgets James Bond could ever want (barring missile launcher and ejector seat, naturally), including collision detectors, infra-red windscreen and an outstanding stereo system, which outperforms my rather expensive home set-up by a country mile.

The engines are slightly disappointing in comparison to other available in the price bracket…and when I say “slightly”, I mean devastatingly. The 2.0 Litre petrol engine does 0-60 in a toe-curlingly embarrassing 11 seconds, which is frankly unacceptable for a car of this price and potential customer demographic. This car is going to be used by executives who probably have important meetings to attend, deals to seal and the S80’s acceleration will probably hold them up exponentially. Realistically you would expect the 0-60 time to be half of what it is. When you finally achieve 60, things improve: the engine is smooth, quiet and feels a cut above the rest (making it an excellent car choice for extended motorway driving). It’s just a shame that it takes what feels likethree lifetimes to push the car to a respectable speed.

In summary, the Volvo S80 feels and looks like an Executive’s Car, magnificently appointed with all the comfort and equipment to impress any driver. What it does lack is the engineering ‘oomph’ to match the aesthetic promise.

I definitely like the Volvo S80, but I wanted to love it.

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I used to work with a guy who told me that his wife worked for Colt Cars in Cirencester England. I can recall saying "who the devil are they!I guess this was a little rude but I though I had heard of most car manufactures and I didn’t know these guys. Fortunately for me he ignored how rude I was and went on to explain that the aforementioned Colt Cars were in fact a joint venture with Mitsubishi, who I did know and was set up largely to import cars into the UK.

I had forgotten that Britain used to have strict import quotas on foreign vehicles in a vain attempt to protect British manufacturers from the threat to their market from foreign imports. It was not until the people of Britain AKA the Great British public finally worked out that British cars were rubbish and started buying foreign cars instead, this spelled the end for the UK car manufacturers which is a shame but sadly true.

There was a small backlash from people of a certain generation against buying foreign cars particularly Japanese ones but when their Morris Maxi’s and Marinas finally rusted into oblivion they begrudgingly grasped the nettle and now wouldn’t be seen driving anything other than a Micra or Yaris or indeed a Mitsubishi Colt.

Mitsubishi have had mixed fortunes over the years with some successful models and of course you can’t really mention Mitsubishi without talking about their successes with the Ralliart division and the whole Evolution phenomenon. Aside from this though the history of Mitsubishi is quite complex and they have had business partnerships with companies you would not have expected, notably Volvo and Daimler Chrysler to name but two.

Mitsubishi Corporation is a huge concern in Japan of which Mitsubishi Motors are a subsidiary of and with a history that dates back as far as 1917. The logo of three red diamonds, which is shared with over forty other companies within the group, predates Mitsubishi Motors itself by nearly a century. It was chosen by Yataro Iwasaki who was the founder of Mitsubishi. Apparently this represented the badge of the Tosa Clan which had first employed him and his own family emblem was three diamonds. The name Mitsubishi is an amalgamation of Mitsu ("three") and Hishi (literally meaning "water chestnut", which is often used in Japanese to denote a diamond or rhombus).   

Mitsubishi are currently the seventh largest car manufacturer in Japan and seventeenth in the world which puts them as fairly large but not huge by any standards. The main problem for Mitsubishi was that there was a lack of models for the public to choose from, they have however in the last few years worked hard to improve their range of models.

After working with Chrysler since the 1970’s Mitsubishi were then involved with Daimler Chrysler until around 2005. They have also had alliances with Proton and Hyundai but now after some quite drastic financial reorganisation the company seems to be more settled and were able to reveal the award winning I model in 2006. The latest Mitsubishi Lancer received a good reception and Mitsubishi has also now joined up with Peugeot and Citroen to produce the 4007 and C-Crosser these will be sports utility vehicles based on the Outlander. The actual Outlander has superior fuel economy and lower C02 emissions than anything else in its class.

The Shogun or Pajero whose name is rumoured to be rude in Spanish is another vehicle which has ensured Mitsubishi’s success over the years. The latest version is far more refined and is now pitched at the luxury SUV market.

A lesser known fact about Mitsubishi is that Jackie Chan has had a long association with the company so with him on their side I guess they will always be a contender! 

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