Nik J Miles

Posts Tagged ‘Iveho’

Toyota will begin selling the RAV4 EV in the southern California market late this summer.  The electric RAV4 is the first Toyota vehicle that will be powered by the Tesla battery pack, which was developed through a joint venture between the innovative electric car builder, Tesla, and Toyota. The pair worked together to develop the integrated RAV4 system, rather than having Tesla simply supplying a ready-to-go system.  The resulting front-wheel drive RAV4 EV was unveiled at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles in May.

The RAV4 uses a 41.8 kilowatt-hour battery pack, which is smaller than any battery Tesla is using currently, but it is expected to have a real-world range of about 100 miles.  The EV has two operating modes, a Sport mode, which accelerates the crossover from 0 to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds and to a top speed of 100 mph and the Normal mode, which takes 8.6 seconds to make the 0 to 60 mph run, with a top speed of 85 mph. Read the rest of this entry »

About 35 southern California residents are driving Mercedes-Benz hydrogen electric fuel cell vehicles as the company does real world tests of the promising technology.

The B-Class F-CELL, which converts compress hydrogen into electricity, is the first zero-emissions vehicle available from Mercedes in the U.S.  Actress Diane Kruger, who stars in “Farewell, My Queen,” is one of more than 35 environmental enthusiasts and early adopters. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Portland, Ore. – The Ford Flex is one of those cars that people seem to love or hate, and we both fall strongly into the “love” column.

Originally appearing as a 2009 model, the full-size crossover has only attained moderate sales success seeming to follow the pattern set by two other full size crossovers of a similar configuration, the Chrysler Pacifica and the Mercedes-Benz R-Class.  We liked both of those other cars, too, but Pacifica was dropped in 2008 and the R-Class is scheduled to be dropped after the current model year.

People who have taken a Flex home, however, love them and give it high owner satisfaction ratings, and a top Crossover Utility Vehicle rating according to Strategic Vision’s Total Value Index. Read the rest of this entry »

Cadillac engineers are testing a feature to could ease the driver’s workload in freeway traffic.  The new system called “Super Cruise” works like an autopilot on an airplane allowing the driver to relax, while the system steers, brakes and centers the car in the lane while driving under certain optimal conditions.

Super Cruise is designed to ease the driver’s workload on the freeway, in both bumper-to-bumper traffic and on long road trips by relying on a fusion of radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras and GPS map data.  Read the rest of this entry »

“Kawasaki’s 2012 Ninja 650: Stellar and more rider friendly”

My very first experience aboard a Kawasaki Ninja 650 (it’s been so long ago, it could well have been a 600) at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA , which I still think of as Sears Point Raceway). It was during a Kawasaki track day that followed a weekend of riding Kawasaki iron, where I stuck primarily to cruisers, and of enjoying the Superbike road races also sponsored by Kawasaki. The track day was conducted by Keith Code’s Superbike School in Zen-like fashion. I tried the bike on for size and the fit wasn’t even close. My elbows and knees interfered with one another in disturbing fashion and I pointed out to the instructor that I didn’t feel at all comfortable on the bike and felt that I would not be in control. He insisted that I give it a try in the paddock anyway. I complied, and he agreed that it didn’t make for a pretty sight and rounded up a Z1000 for me to ride instead, which worked out much better.

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 BMW is filling the X1 space in its naming schematic with a sports sedan-like SUV joining the X3 and X5 models.  The premium sub-compact debuts in the Fall of 2012 with a state-of-the-art powertrain, innovative features, selective design modifications and extensive interior refinements.

 The new 2013 BMW X1 will arrive in authorized BMW Centers in the fall of 2012.  There have already been more than 275,000 X1s sold worldwide.  Demand has been especially brisk in Asia and plans now call for a second plant to go on line in China. Read the rest of this entry »

Dodge Fever returns with all-new 2013 Dodge Dart

It seems strange that most manufacturers develop a vehicle, invest in promoting it and building a strong brand equity, only to let it slip away into extinction, and then decide to bring it back in a renewed fashion and format. Cases in point: the Chevy Camaro, Ford Taurus, Dodge Charger and now, the 2013 Dodge Dart, which represents Dodge’s re-entry into the compact market segment.

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“Scion and Subaru join forces in developing FR-S and BRZ”

Affordable Sports Coupes to be reckoned with

Las Vegas, Nevada – What happens when two Japanese auto manufacturers join forces to develop a formidable, yet affordable sports coupe? You come up with a most capable yet affordable sports coupe that is extremely fun to drive under the guise of two distinctive marques. The vehicle or vehicles in question are the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ, which are nearly identical in terms of design and mechanical composition. The two cars differ only in the front and rear fascia treatment, headlamp styling and of course badging.

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One of the magic numbers in drag racing is having a car that will run the quarter-mile in under 12 seconds and that’s exactly what a showroom-stock Camaro ZL1 will do.

In tests run by Chevy engineers recently, both the manual and automatic transmission versions of the Camaro ZL1 ran the quarter mile in under 12 seconds.  The automatic did an 11.93-second/116-mph quarter-mile elapsed time and the manual ran an 11.96-second ET at 117 mph. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara Schaffer

Half Moon Bay, Calif. – As automotive writers, my husband, Bill and I continually reassess what car we would buy if we quit the business and had to drive our own car.  Of course, when you drive two new cars or more each week, the answer is a moving target, because it’s easy to fall in like with the new car that arrived on Tuesday, and then again when the other one pulls into our garage on Thursday.

In 2004, Mercedes-Benz introduced the CLS Class and coined the name “four-door coupe”.  From that day on, I’ve been in major like with the four-door coupe look – four doors for practicality and a sweeping coupe like roof line that makes the car look low, sleek and sexy.

While we could play the game, “If I could have any car and price was no object” and my choice might be one of the growing list of four-door coupes that now includes such beauties as the Porsche Panamera, Jaguar XK and XF, Audi A7 and Fisker Karma.  However, I am a practical person and I know we wouldn’t be buying any of those $50,000 to $100,000 beauties. Read the rest of this entry »