U S A Car

Saturday, 27 February 2010

new Honda City

The Indian market version of the highly respected automotive publication from UK, AutoCar, has released the first exclusive images of the new Honda City. This is probably the most important car launch of the year for ASEAN region markets, in terms of volume. Credits to autoincar for the scans below.

Sources cited by AutoCar indicates that global launch will be on November 2008, so expect launch in other countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to follow suit within the next few months after that.

The current generation City. Image courtesy of Honda Malaysia

Unlike previous generation City which is built mainly with input from Thailand, the next City is developed with a lot of emphasis on the growing Indian small passenger car segment (on top of Thailand's market requirements) that is currently dominated by Maruti-Suzuki. Earlier, there have been spyshots of pre-production development units being driven around cities of India but I hesitated to post it up as I wasn't too convinced that it was the real deal. But if AutoCar publishes it, rest assured that it is the real deal.

New Honda City i-VTEC fully undisguised exterior and interior revealed!

It’s confirmed - the car we’ve been seeing in China and India is indeed the new Honda City. Reader xstan pointed out this flickr page with photos of the new Honda City - fully uncovered including photos of the interior!

It’s not known at the moment which country these photos come from. As expected, the interior is no longer based on the one in the Honda Jazz but instead uses a design that is perhaps cheaper to cast and manufacture.

The front is definitely inspired by the likes of the European Honda Civic and the Honda FCX Clarity. The headlamps feature reflector lense instead of the more expensive projector type, which is expected at this price range.

This new alloy wheel design has been seen on the previous rendering. It may differ from country to country. This shot of the rear wheel shows the use of disc brakes on the rear.

Another shot of the grille, headlamps and the 4 cylinder SOHC i-VTEC engine in the background

A light interior. Some markets may get a dark interior, hopefully. Our current City i-DSI and VTEC come with either a dark interior for the VTEC or a light interior for the i-DSI.

The 4-cylinder i-VTEC engine is expected to be the 120 PS 1.5 liter unit from the newly launched Jazz.

A clean and simple interior featuring integrated audio and the new design Honda steering wheel.

The meter illumination at night. Notice the paddle shifts behind the steering spokes.

honda city 2009 pics

With the new City, you no longer get that airy feeling that was present in the old City. This is the result of the seating position being much more car-like rather than mini-MPV-like, thanks to Honda distancing the City from its boot-less Jazz sibling. While the Ultra Seats are gone, things like using the bottom of the rear seats to store an umbrella is a great idea. Never again do you have to place it in some random area on the floor of your car and get your whole carpet/mats soaked more than necessary.

Being someone about 181cm tall, I was quite happy in the driver’s seat of the City. Everything was quite ergonomic, from steering position to seat height and position. The storage compartments are also easy to use and the little storage area under the driver side air cond vent is quite usable for your Touch N Go card as its slant prevents the card from sliding out of the compartment. The fuel tank is located under the front seats so there’s not much room for you to install your aftermarket ICE amplifiers there.

The raised floor caused by the fuel tank also juts out a little when you push the front seats nearly all the way back as I needed to do because of my height, so you are quite limited in where you can rest your leg if you want to fold it inwards towards you instead of placing it on the footrest.

The all roads quite well, absorbing road irregularities to a level that is expected from a car like this, and striking a good balance between comfort and handling which is what a Honda buyer would expect. The steering and pedals are light and easy to use for a beginner driver. The City can take corners with confidence and even when you start sliding out of control it is very easy to correct. The combination of the electric power steering accuracy, weight and the lack of any excessive bodyroll except in the extremes makes the City a car that’ll keep the driver happy, that is until he is joined by passengers.

Audi's diesel-powered R10

Remember Audi's diesel-powered R10 TDI sports-prototype, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours last month? Well, the brits decided to put it against a Harrier GR7 "Jump Jet" multi-role combat aircraft in a race at RAF Wittering in England yesterday (6 July). If you think the Harrier gave it a beating, guess again….

Although the R10 didn’t actually win in the standing one-kilometre race, it gave the Harrier a scare as the Jet won just by one-tenth of a second !

The Audi, the first diesel-engined sportscar to win the famous Le Mans race, was quicker off the line - despite the R10 TDI being designed to start races from a "rolling" as opposed a "standing" start and faster to 150mph than the aircraft.

But the Harrier, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Pete Keenlyside, ultimately just beat the Audi to the 1km by literally a "nose" before the jet took off in a spectacular vertical climb.

Audi R10 driver, Allan Mcnish, comments: "I had a practice run against the Harrier moments before the race ‘proper’ and I came very close to beating it - it was a very close run contest. It was essentially a ‘fun’ race but when a racing driver and a pilot get together it quickly becomes serious. For our diesel-powered Audi, which we didn’t modify or prepare specifically for this event in any way, to come so close to beating a Harrier jet-fighter I believe was a tremendous achievement once again for TDI power."

Friday, 26 February 2010

2009 Audi S4 powers

we can say that Audi has improved its fuel efficiency by almost 26 percent. The 2009 Audi S4 Sedan

engine-driven belt of 2009 Audi S4 powers the mechanical charger, providing full thrust right from idling speed. The 3.0 TFSI delivers its maximum torque at 2,500 rpm and maintains this constantly until 4,850 rpm. As you move to the fourth gear, the car goes from 50 to 75 mph in just 4.4 sec. Customers will also be provided with an option of choosing between a regular six-speed manual gearbox and a seven-speed “S-Tronic” dual-clutch transmission.

Talking about the DSG, it can be operated in a manual mode, via paddles, as well as in an automated mode. The wide gear ratio spread of 8.0:1 will allow the seven-speed gearbox to take advantage of the increased power and torque of the 3.0 TFSI. The S-Tronic transmission will come equipped with Audi’s Drive Select feature, using which the driver will be able to 2009 Audi S4

select between “comfort,” “auto” and “dynamic” modes. These three modes affect shift speed, throttle response, and the speed-sensitive steering.

Apart from the three modes, “comfort,” “auto” and “dynamic”, there is a fourth mode as well, using which driver can program according to his or her own preferences. However, the latter will be available only if the car is equipped with the optional MMI operating system. 2009 Audi S4 will also have a new rear differential, which will be controlled by an array of sensors and a high-speed computer. Other features of the car include a sport new interior, xenon headlights, a more aggressive body kit, and 18-inch wheels. There will also be an option of going for Adaptive cruise control and Bang & Olufsen audio.

Audi S4

Audi justifies its smooth drive to fame yet again, with the superior performance oriented 2009 Audi S4. Style, technology and performance have always been hallmarks in all Audi models, but this time it’s even better. Exterior refreshment is seen in the 2009 Audi S4, as well as an engine redesign. The 2009 model has a V8 engine that improves the performance in most aspects. There are two trims available for 2009: the Cabriolet and Cabriolet with Tiptronic. The S4 sports convertible is like an altered version of the A4. With aggressive looks, comfort, convenience and super ride quality, the sports car looks good and feels great.