Nik J Miles

Archive for January, 2012

Fuel Efficiency Without Hybridization.

For 2012, customers have more variations of the Civic to choose from than ever before. There are five in fact: The Civic, Civic Natural Gas, Civic Hybrid, Civic Si, and the Civic HF or “high efficiency.” Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who hasn’t been keeping up with auto industry news, or is under 40 years old, might not know that Fiat is back, and it’s a part of Chrysler, or vice versa.

When the Iranian oil crisis ended in the 1980s and people started buying SUVs the small fuel-efficient Fiats fell out of favor and sales of the small Italian cars nearly stopped.  In 1984, Fiat pulled the plug in the U.S.  Then nearly three decades later the U.S. auto industry fell into an economic sinkhole and Chrysler went bankrupt.  Along came Fiat and took over.  As of January 2012, Fiat owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler — in a year or two, Fiat will own it all.  With that beachhead in place Fiat reasoned, America needs small cars again, why not bring back the Fiat, and so they did. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for a car that will get you noticed?  The Jaguar XJ is a first class head-turner, and by our estimation, it’s one of the best-looking cars on the road.  Historically, the Jaguar brand has a reputation for building fast, stylish cars, and the latest XJ even takes it up another couple of notches.

The XJ sedan styling is a product of extensive wind tunnel and track research, which when combined with the optional Sport Pack develops a very low 0.29 coefficient of drag.  The aerodynamic design not only looks good, but also helps with high-speed stability and improves fuel economy.  The resulting car is the fastest and most fuel-efficient large sedan Jaguar has ever built. The Sport Pack also includes cosmetic enhancements inside and outside to set it apart from other XJ versions. Read the rest of this entry »

“Toyota’s Camry lineup undergoes reinvention”

Toyota’s Camry is all new for the 2012 model year. The Camry has been America’s best-selling car for nine years running, and for 13 of the past 14 years. This latest iteration Camry represents the seventh generation of the iconic Toyota model, which was first introduced in 1983 and has since sold over 15 million Camry models globally.

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“BMW intros their first inline six-cylinder motorcycle application”

BMW has long powered many of their 4-wheeled vehicles with an inline six-cylinder engine, particularly roadsters, so it seemed only prudent that the smoothness provided by such an engine configuration would be a natural application for a luxury touring motorcycle, since both share open air motoring experiences.

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“Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG: Most powerful production SUV”

Exclusivity with a bi-turbo V8

The true luxury SUV market segment was actually created by Mercedes-Benz, when the German automaker debuted the first generation M-Class in the fall of 1997, breaking new ground. Now, 14 years later, the new 2012  M-Class rolls into dealer showrooms adding new standard features and options loaded with state-of-the-art safety technology. Starring at the top of the model lineup is the ML63 AMG which is scheduled to go on sale in early March.

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“Honda’s 2012 Accord serves up style, performance and value”

Every 2012 Honda Accord benefits from updates and improvements with increased fuel economy, enhanced exterior and interior styling, as well as the addition of a new Special Edition (SE) trim level implemented for last year’s model lineup. There are a variety of models available either the form of a two-door coupe or four-door sedan, with either an inline 4-cylinder, or a V-6 engine as a power source. Each of the Accord models provide a pleasing blend of style, performance, efficiency and value.

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The 2013 Focus Electric is the first Ford vehicle to have an interior made from 100 percent clean technology.  Its seats are made from REPREVE®-based fabrics, which are made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET).  It takes about 22 recycled bottles to make the fabric for the Focus seats.

“Ford is committed to delivering vehicles with leading fuel efficiency while targeting at least 25 percent clean technology in interior materials across our lineup,” says Carol Kordich, lead designer of Sustainable Materials for Ford. “The Focus Electric highlights this commitment as Ford’s first gas-free vehicle, and the first in the automotive industry to use branded REPREVE.” Read the rest of this entry »

Scion’s fifth model promises to add a new dimension to Toyota’s youth-oriented brand, when the 2013 Scion FR-S goes on sale in the spring of 2012.  The rear-wheel drive sports car offers a new level of excitement, especially for enthusiasts, who want more performance and road handling capabilities.

The FR-S, which stands for Front-engine, Rear-wheel drive, Sport; is Scion’s definition of an authentic rear-wheel-drive sports car with exceptionally balanced performance and handling, compelling style, flexible utility and surprising MPG. Read the rest of this entry »

A survey of vehicle owners indicated that four out of 10 car owners didn’t like corrosion on their brake discs.  So, a group of General Motors’ brake experts set out to fix that problem by changing the chemical makeup of the components using a process that could double the life of rotors and save consumers hundreds of dollars.

More than 80 percent of U.S. vehicles are exposed to one or more environmental corrosion creators, such as acid rain, intense sunlight, snow and ice, and road salt. GM brake rotor technical expert Jim Webster and his team were confident that slowing the oxidation brought on by the environment was a problem material science could solve. Read the rest of this entry »