Automotive
BMW's Electric-Booster Research Engine
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Wednesday August 13, 2003: BMW researchers have recorded fuel savings as high as 15 % and produced 1,000 Nm of torque at low revs by using a high-power electric booster motor positioned between the combustion engine and gearbox of an experimental BMW X5. Read More
Citro'n Panoramique C3
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Monday August 11, 2003: Citro'n have released a new version of the C3 - the 'Panoramique' incorporates a twin panel glass sun-roof that promises to deliver the pleasures of open air motoring to both front and back seat occupants. The Panoramique's glass sun-roof runs almost from the top edge of the windscreen to the rear hatch. Read More
Another first for Honda's Fuel Cell Car
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Monday August 4, 2003: Honda Motor Co has become the first automaker to supply a fuel cell vehicle to a private corporation with the delivery of a Honda FCX to the Iwatani International Corporation in Tokyo. While six FCX vehicles have been supplied to the public sector since its initial release in December 2002... Read More
Rinspeed Bedouin - collapsible car concept heads off-road
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Saturday August 2, 2003: Based on the Porsche 996 turbo, the Bedouin is the latest concept from Rinspeed Design, the Swiss company that introduced the Presto collapsible concept car in 2002. The all-wheel-drive Bedouin can automatically be transformed from a two-seater pick-up into a four-seater sports wagon in less than 10 seconds. Read More
Formula One star revs-up for Terminator 3 premiere
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Thursday July 24, 2003: Rising Australia F1 star Mark Webber joined Arnold Schwarzenegger at the London premiere of "Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines" yesterday in spectacular fashion, driving his Jaguar F1 car through Leicester Square in front of 8,000 fans. "There wasn't the space to go too fast but I couldn't resist spinning the wheels... " Read More
Hidden sensor offers protection from parking accidents
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Sunday July 20, 2003: The Taurus T123 is an electro-magnetic reversing sensor that operates along the full length of the bumper and alerts the driver when any object is 0.8 metres from the rear of the vehicle. Developed in Europe and now available in Australia - where more than 12,000 "at-fault" collisions from avoidable reversing incidents occurred in 2001... Read More
Bentley Motors launch all new Continental GT
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Saturday July 19, 2003: Bentley Motors have delivered on the promise of true supercar performance with the launch of the new Continental GT. Powered by a 6-litre, twin-turbocharged, W12 engine developing over 550bhp with a top speed of 318km/h and 0-100 km/h in under five seconds, the Continental GT is the world's fastest four seat coupe. Read More
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren: Legendary SLR reborn
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The new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a stunning combination of modern passenger car design and classical 1950's SLR styling elements from Mercedes-Benz and its Formula One ally, McLaren. The high-performance sports car made its world debut in September 2003, incorporating gull-wing doors, sidepipes, air gills in the wings and the distinctive twin-headlamp face, plus styling touches from the Silver Arrows Formula One car. Read More
New BMW 6 Series Coup' features head-up display and glass roof
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Friday July 11, 2003: BMW has given the world a sneak preview of its second generation 6 series BMW - a car slated for its first public showing at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The first models will be available in the Australian market from the second quarter of next year. Read More
Be seen: the Ford GloCar Concept
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Sunday July 13, 2003: Ford is taking automotive illumination to a new level with a translucent concept car that uses LED lights to change body panel colours, intensity and frequency. Read More
Australian launch of the smart City-Coup' and Smart Cabrio
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Wednesday July 9, 2003:The smart city-coup' and smart cabrio are now officially on sale in Australia with sales centres open in Sydney, Melbourne, and from 2004, Brisbane. The second-generation smart car models shown by DaimlerChrysler at the Melbourne International Motor Show earlier this year go on sale from $21,900. Read More
A new way to avoid traffic jams
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Friday July 4, 2003: TrafficGauge is a handheld device that alerts drivers to traffic-congestion in real-time. The system has just been introduced in Seattle Washington where it utilises data collected on more than 280 kms of roads... Read More
Nissan previews new 350Z Roadster
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Tuesday July 1, 2003: Legendary automobiles were once the sole domain of the European and American industries, but as the history of the Japanese automotive industry is now getting some longevity to it, we are seeing a legend reborn with the famous Z series being reintroduced in Australia. Read More
Audi A8 Aluminium Sports Limousine
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Friday June 27, 2003: Audi Australia will launch the new A8 sports limousine on 20th August 2003, following confirmed production for the company's first 50 locally-specified units. Read More
Audi Nuvolari Quattro on show at Le Mans
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Audi's Nuvolari quattro concept car was presented to motorsport fans before the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in June 2003 before being driven for the first time on a racing circuit in front of more than hundred thousand spectators. Read More
Voice enabled, street level GPS navigation
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Tuesday June 24, 2003: Originally developed and manufactured in New Zealand and already launched in the US and European markets, the Navman GPS 3450 handheld navigation solution for Pocket PC is now available in Australia. Read More
Citroen demonstrates in-car Wi-Fi
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Citroen has demonstrated how the latest communications technology standard, Wi-Fi or Wireless Fidelity, can be fitted to its cars to provide low cost internet access while in transit. Read More
Mazda's new RENESIS named International Engine of the year
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May 14, 2003 Mazda's new RENESIS rotary engine, which powers the all-new Mazda RX-8, has been named "International Engine of the Year 2003." The prestigious award was presented earlier this week at Engine Expo 2003 in Stuttgart, Germany.Now in their fifth year, the International Engine of the Year Awards have become one of the most sought-after automotive accolades. Judged by a panel of 50 renowned motoring journalists from 22 countries, the 2003 Awards once again highlighted and acknowledged underhood engineering excellence. Read More
Toyota Prius hybrid petrol and electric vehicle
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Toyota's 2004 Prius petrol and electric hybrid is the first second-generation hybrid car and one which is expected to challenge Honda's Insight for the title of the world's most fuel-efficient car.The Prius uses a 50kW electric motor that is more than 50 percent more powerful than the previous model, and with similar performance to many current petrol-engined small cars. The 2004 Prius is the first Toyota vehicle equipped with its next generation drive-train, named "Hybrid Synergy Drive" which offers greater power and fuel economy with extremely low emissions. The Hybrid Synergy Drive integrates all aspects of Prius' hybrid system, from the proper mix of the electric motor and gas engine for optimum performance and efficiency, to the regeneration of electricity via Prius unique braking system. Regenerative braking is a feature of hybrid vehicles that allows the motor to act as a generator when braking. Read More
Black Spot Road Angel - accident prevention technology
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As the name suggests, Road Angel keeps "watch from above" by using a GPS-based system to alert the driver when known danger areas lie ahead... Read More
Hydrogen engines to out perform gasoline
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The hydrogen-powered combustion engine is superior in its power and performance potential to a current gasoline engine. This is the conclusion outlined recently by BMW's Dr. Burkhard G'schel... Read More
Honda's hybrid petrol-electric Insight
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The world's most fuel-efficient Production car AFTER two years on the market the Honda Insight remains one of the most technologically advanced cars on Australian roads. Read More
Suzuki's Twin Hybrid achieves 100 mpg
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Suzuki has launched a hybrid powered petrol/electric vehicle for sale on the Japanese market that travels an impressive 34 kilometres for every litre of fuel used - that's around 100mpg! The Suzuki Twin also features an automatic idling stop system shuts the engine down whenever the car stops at traffic lights or when stationary in heavy traffic, minimizing CO' emissions and fuel consumption. Read More
Volkswagen's 1 litre car project
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Bringing new meaning to the phrase 'running on the smell of an oily rag', Volkswagen's '1-litre' vehicle is capable of covering 100 km on less than one litre of fuel. The top secret project was first demonstrated during April 2002.. Read More
Alfa Romeo's Kamal 4WD Concept
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Alfa Romeo announced plans to enter that 4WD/Sports Utility Vehicle segment with this month's unveiling of the Alfa Romeo Kamal concept car at the Geneva International Motor Show. Read More
Twin engine Dune Buggy for the 21st Century
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The unusual Hoggar concept from Peugeot stood out from the crowd at the 2003 Geneva motor show - not only by virtue of it's radical open design, but through the use of two turbocharged four cylinder HDi (diesel) engines, one at the front, and the other at the rear, to achieve the attributes of a four-wheel drive. Each power unit has dual overhead camshafts and sixteen valves and displaces 2168 cc for an output of 180 bhp with gobs of torque. The two engines therefore supply a combined power of nearly 360 bhp and a maximum torque of ... 800 Nm! Read More
Daihatsu Copen convertible to reach Oz roads this year
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Originally introduced to the world as a concept car at the 1999 Tokyo International Motor Show and seen last year in Melbourne as a concept car, the confirmation of Copen's arrival in Australia as a road-going concern was announced by Wayne Gabriel, Manager Daihatsu, at the opening of the 2003 Melbourne Motor Show. Read More
Melbourne International Motor Show 2003 Highlights
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The Melbourne International Motor Show opens today and some outstanding highlights are promised - new offerings from Ford Renault, Saab, Land Rover and Subaru, plus exotics from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati are among the 38 new models from 23 manufacturers and importers on show. Read More
Australia to get 20 hand-built BMW CSL supercars
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A limited production run of just 20 BMW M3 CSL supercars will reach Australia later this year. The fire-breathing M3 CSL boasts an output of 265 kW (81.5 kW per litre) and a 10% improvement in power-to-weight ratio over the standard M3. Read More
Viper-Powered 2004 Dodge Ram production-model on show
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Chrysler Group have unveiled the production-version of the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 during the truck's world debut at the 2003 Chicago Auto Show. Producing 500 horsepower and 525 lb.-ft. of torque from the 8.3-litre V-10 engine that powers the legendary Dodge Viper... Read More
Alfa Romeo Brera is 2003 Concept Car of the Year
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January 11, 2003 The Alfa Romeo Brera has been awarded "Concept Car of the Year" by influential motor publication Automotive News, which chose the Brera because it represented the leading innovation, production feasibility, production cost and consumer value of all the cars displayed at international motor shows around the world over the last 12 months.The judges said this year's competition was the closest - this was the fifth annual event - with the Alfa Romeo coupe beating GM's Hy-Wire concept by just a single point. Third place in the Concept Car of the Year want to the Renault Ellypse. Read More
Military Diesel Hybrid Truck Features a Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power
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General Motors and the U.S. Army used the NAIAS to show an interesting diesel hybrid military vehicle equipped with a fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) that could become the model for the Army's new fleet of 30,000 light tactical vehicles by the end of the decade. Read More
Supercharged Ford Thunderbird concept
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Ford introduced a Supercharged Thunderbird concept car as a possible future addition to its Living Legends line of automobiles at the 2003 Los Angeles Auto Show. Read More
Ford Model U Concept
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Designed to emulate the Model T in the 21st century, Ford's Model U concept is powered by a supercharged hydrogen internal combustion engine, equipped with a hybrid electric transmission and applies eco-friendly materials and processes. Read More
Cadillac Sixteen - when too much is not enough
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The Cadillac Sixteen Concept shown at the Detroit and LA motorshows this week is designed to emphasise Cadillac's heritage as a maker of outrageously expensive luxury automobiles - a heritage that has waned in recent times but was built during the Great Depression when it released the automotive industry's first V-16 and became a popular icon and everyday metaphor for the unattainable and completely "over-the-top." And that's exactly what the "Sixteen" is - completely over-the-top!For starters, the V-16 engine's specs are outrageous - the 16-cylinder motor displaces 13.6 litres. No, this is not a typographical error - that's 13,600cc, 830 cubic inches, or 3.1 imperial gallons) of engine displacement. It produces 1000 horsepower. Read More
