2008 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL Reviewed By John Heilig
Date: Jan 4th, 2008 1:59:44 am - Subscribe
Mood: flabbergasted
The Auto Channel’s John Heilig gave out his commendations and reviews on the 2008 Nissan Versa. Here are some bits of his insights courtesy of TheAutoChannel.com:
The Nissan Versa became one of my North Carolina cars this year. Carolina cars are those I was fortunate enough to be able to use in my frequent trips down south to care for an ailing family member. In these trips we put an enormous amount of miles on the cars and learned to know them pretty well.
I must honestly admit that I probably would have preferred a larger vehicle for the trip, especially since the return voyage involved transporting a lot of stuff back home. But on the other hand, the compact nature of the Versa made fuel purchases minimal, and the versatility of the Versa (oops, I did it again) offered more than adequate carrying capacity for all we needed.
On the positive side, the Versa was comfortable on long rides and was easy to park and maneuver.
SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Nissan Versa 1.8 SL HB
Engine: 1.8-liter I-4
Horsepower/Torque: 122 hp @ 5200 rpm/127 lb.-ft. @ 4800 rpm
Transmission: CVT
Wheelbase: 99.8 in.
Length x Width x Height: 177.5 x 67.3 x 55.5 in.
Tires: 185/65R15
Cargo volume: 17.8/50.4 cu. ft. (rear seat backs up/folded)
Economy: 27 mpg city/33 mpg highway/30.0 mpg test
Fuel capacity: 13.2 gal.
Price: $17,285 (includes $625 destination charge and $1,100 in options)
The Power Under Nissan GT-R's Hood
Date: Dec 28th, 2007 7:39:03 am - Subscribe
Mood: unappreciated
Everybody got excited about the final revelation of the Nissan GT-R as a streetbound race car. And everybody expects a tasty new racing car. Nissan never failed to give us what we expect. Now the car is going out as a street vehicle wearing the powerful racing abilities.
One interesting part of the revelation is the rumor that the Nissan GT-R will be wearing the VK45’s engine. Nissan felt its overall style was more Grand Touring than was appropriate, so they reached back to history and pulled out a little something from the R390 LeMans racer. But sure it the same quality as the Acura CL vent visor.
The 3.5 liter V8 VRH35L is on the R390 but when it was decided to go under the hood of the soon-to-be-revealed GT-R's VR38VETT, it was converted to only V6. The engine gains 300cc of displacement, for a total of 3.8 liters although two cylinders were taken away.
You heard that right. Even if these cylinders were taken out, it still handles the same amount of air pumped by huge machines like the VR38 which is a compact mill with lots of tricky stuff. Among all the new exciting features, I’m pretty sure the integrated turbine housings in the exhaust manifolds will be one among the things that the tuners will hate the most.
But just as promised, the new street bound racing car will give you the right speed you just need.
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Which Car Is The Most Expensive
Date: Dec 28th, 2007 6:23:03 am - Subscribe
Mood: complicated
I was actually looking for a Acura CL tie rod yesterday but I visited Forbes Auto first. And so I read about Forbes Auto’s Top Ten Most Expensive cars to own. And I was never surprised to see Mercedes at the top notch.
Anyway here are the top ten winners on the list of the most expensive cars to own:
1. Mercedes-Benz CL-Class Coupe
Starting MSRP: $99,900
Five-year cost of ownership: $174,264
2. Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan
Starting MSRP: $85,750
Five-year cost of ownership: $171,130
Depreciation: $82,368
Interest and opportunity cost: $36,661
Fuel: $15,807
Maintenance and repairs: $5,130
Insurance: $21,161
Taxes and fees: $10,003
3. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Convertible
Starting MSRP: $94,800
Five-year cost of ownership: $168,203
4. BMW M6 Convertible
Starting MSRP: $104,900
Five-year cost of ownership: $150,565
5. BMW Alpina B7
Starting MSRP: $115,000
Five-year cost of ownership: $149,809
6. Porsche 911 Turbo
Starting MSRP: $122,900
Five-year cost of ownership: $149,574
Depreciation: $66,771
Interest and opportunity cost: $35,557
Fuel: $12,551
Maintenance and repairs: $5,622
Insurance: $21,045
Taxes and fees: $8,028
7. BMW M6 Coupe
Starting MSRP: $99,100
Five-year cost of ownership: $144,265
Depreciation: $62,586
Interest and opportunity cost: $30,357
Fuel: $18,313
Maintenance and repairs: $5,349
Insurance: $18,201
Taxes and fees: $9,459
8. Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Starting MSRP: $83,700
Five-year cost of ownership: $137,314
9. Audi S8
Starting MSRP: $92,000
Five-year cost of ownership: $136,368
10. Porsche 911 GT3
Starting MSRP: $106,000
Five-year cost of ownership: $129,458
Mercedes covers fours spots on the top ten list. Mercedes-Benz CL-Class Coupe was actually the winner among these four models. Following the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class Coupe is Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan on the second spot and Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Convertible on the third spot. Mercedes-Benz G-Class also gets the eighth spot.
BMW cars also shared three of its models in the list. The BMW M6 Convertible gets the fourth spot with BMW Alpina B7 on the fifth and BMW M6 Coupe on the seventh spot.
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Ener1 Lithium-ion Battery in Cars By End of '08
Date: Dec 14th, 2007 2:00:53 am - Subscribe
Mood: wanted
A few days ago, Charles Gassenheimer, the chairman of Ener1, Inc. came out in the headlines on Fox Business News. According to Gassenheimer, by the end of 2008, the alternative energy company will carry out its automotive Lithium-ion battery to several markets.
Here are some added quotes courtesy of The Auto Channel:
"Our batteries have already been tested by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, which is General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. We are the only battery company today using this Lithium-ion technology, which has met or exceeded all of the Big Three's requirements, especially and most importantly best-in-class in safety," Mr. Gassenheimer told viewers of the Fox morning broadcast "CEO Corner".
"We have already announced a commercial contract with Think Electric Vehicle in Norway," Gassenheimer added, referring to a $70 million development and supply agreement signed in October. "It's the largest electric vehicle company in Europe. You will see our batteries in their cars by the end of 2008," the Ener1 chairman told interviewer Alexis Glick.
"This is really a supply problem," Gassenheimer commented to Fox, adding that the few U.S. companies currently involved in manufacturing Lithium-ion automotive batteries, rather than competing directly against each other, are collectively building a new industry. He says that Japanese automaker Toyota now accounts for 90 percent of the battery market for electrical transportation and that U.S. industry must rapidly catch up or risk ceding a major share of the new car market to foreign carmakers.
"Much of the world now, including Detroit, grasps that more efficient internal combustion engines and biofuels such as ethanol will not bring about the major environmental improvements and freedom from foreign oil that the times demand. That the Lithium-ion battery is the Holy Grail is now a given, and we and others have proven that it's a fully realizable technology for revolutionizing automotive transportation," said Mr. Gassenheimer.
Honda Boosts Their Engine Production To 40% In China
Date: Dec 12th, 2007 1:28:52 am - Subscribe
Mood: deflated
Because of the demand of cars in both local and international markets, the Honda Motor Corporation decided to boost up the production of their car engines to 40%. The increase in the engine production would deifinately take place in their engine production plants in China where most of the cars and other car parts related to Acura CL head gasket s are made.
Japan’s second largest car maker is planning to spend a huge amount of 30 billion yen ($271 million) to pursue this particular plan. This coming December 12, the car company starts building a 200,000 units-a-year engine plant in Guangzhou, China to boost their engine production to up to 40% on an annual basis. The news came from the Nikkei business daily as they had reported on Wednesday.
Guangzhou Honda Automobile Company is a Honda equally owned joint venture. The new plant will be producing 1.3- and 2.4-litre gasoline engines for models Accord, Odyssey and Fit in 2009, the paper said.
The collaboration of two famous Japanese car companies will also supply these gasoline engines to some of the cars made under its name. These engines are sure to have the same quality. Only the number of units produced are going to be different but the Japanese car maker assures that they will still be doing the same quality engine parts like before.
The Honda Motor Corporation is the second largest car maker in Japan second to the Toyota Motor Corporation. Honda is also the maker of the first ever hybrid car in the US car market, the Honda Insight, which later stopped its production because of its prize and because of the existence of the Prius.
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