The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automaker Lancia. The first generation was shown in Frankfurt Motor Show in 1979 and produced between 1979 and 1994. It was followed by the successor named "Nuova Delta", which was introduced in 1993. In September 2006 Lancia officially announced the revival of the Delta name; it's been tagged as the third-generation Lancia Delta.
In 2008 Lancia is planning to launch a redesign of the first generation Lancia Delta at the upcoming 2008 Geneva Motor Show. The 2008 Lancia Delta will be based on the Lancia Delta HPE which was presented for the first time at the Paris Motor Show last year. The Lancia Delta is built on a modified version of the Fiat Bravo's platform
After a long wait, the return of the Italian brand Lancia Delta is coming up after it has left the market in 1994 due to an image problem. It will be available in both petrol and diesel engine, with power deliveries extending from 120 bhp up to 200 bhp, and a choice of 6-speed transmissions, either in manual, robotised and automatic.
The new Delta will offer a number of options and equipment including a Bose Hi-Fi radio incorporating a CD player and MP3 file reader with steering-wheel mounted controls, the Blue&Me system developed with Microsoft, and a brand new satellite navigation system developed with Magneti Marelli.
This proves that Italians knows how to design a totally amazing car. This vehicle will mark a turning point in Lancia history and European success in auto making.
For more than a decade and a half, the Mitsubishi Eclipse has been one of America's more popular sport coupes. Now, it has got a new facelift for the 2009 model year, and it debuted at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. It is a 2-door, 4-passenger family coupe, or sports coupe, available in 4 trims, ranging from the GS to the SE-V6. The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sporty two door, four-seat coupe with good looks and a roomy interior.
"The GS is equipped with a standard 2.4-liter, I4, 162-horsepower engine that achieves 20-mpg in the city and 28-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and a 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional. The SE-V6 is equipped with a standard 3.8-liter, V6, 263-horsepower engine that achieves 16-mpg in the city and 26-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and a 5-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional."
Its exterior features auto-off halogen head lamps and daytime running lamps, black grille opening with honeycomb mesh, integrated rear spoiler and many more.
Its interior features 140-watt Mitsubishi AM/FM/CD/MP3 with 6 speakers and with 650 watt mp3 player with 6-disc in-dash CD changer 9 speakers and 10" subwoofer.
Its safety features include antilock brakes; advanced front airbags; platform is reinforced in key locations using high-strength steel; every Mitsubishi is equipped with a three-point seatbelt and head restraints.
Though the Eclipse doesn't have the sharpest reflexes or handling, it offers a great mix of style.
Geely, a Chinese domestic automaker known for their low-cost cars has debuted its new model, the Geely GT on the 10th edition of the Auto China car show which was held last April 20 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. Most of the cars that were debuted on the said show were from Geely. The Tiger GT concept, however, is one vehicle from Geely that's getting a lot of attention.
This is trying to prove that China has finally found a design language of its own. The Chinese are coming fast and they are willing to conquer the European market. So, better be prepared.
The front-end of the Geely GT is very unique but a bit messy. The grille is completely original. Some of the details are very interesting; for example I'm not a fan of chrome, but the chrome surrounds on the taillights give this car an identity of its own. Technical specifications are unknown right now but surely that all will be revealed maybe within this coming month. It's got chrome fangs and is riding on 19-inch concept wheels.
Some reports say that Geely Tiger is powered by a 3.5L V6 producing 225 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque. But I didn't have any confirmation about this matter.
With this great looks, these should be the bomb. I just hope it doesn't fail in its quality. Overall the whole composition of the cars design is pretty impressive. I hope Geely would keep with this original ideas as time pass.
You might remember last year when consumers were advised to be careful about the buying used cars which have been damaged by flood due to Hurricane Katrina. This year, Carfax warns us that there are still a lot of fraudulent vehicles for sale out there.
According to The Auto Channel, Carfax is warning consumers that there are a lot of cars wrecked and then reassembled to be sold again to unknowing consumers. So, basically, if you have no papers to confirm the history of a vehicle you are buying, you might end up purchasing a vehicle which has been involved in an accident therefore, stability and safety is already compromised.
Although these vehicles may be offered at a very low price you might end up paying more for repairs in the long run. Also, you might be risking your safety with these rebuilt wrecks. These wrecked vehicles might not even be equipped with parts as reliable as an Acura control arm.
According to The Auto Channel, here are some problems that usually come with rebuilt vehicles:
- Title washing. Title documents may be altered to remove a salvage brand and obtain a clear title from another state.
- Air bag fraud. Scam artists are known to replace deployed air bags with phony or non-working air bags to cut costs.
- Structure/frame damage. As little as 8mm can compromise a car’s structural integrity, which also may affect many of the car’s safety features.
- Odometer rollbacks. The odometer also may be rolled back to further inflate the perceived value of the vehicle.
- Car clipping. Some rebuilt wrecks are actually two different cars welded together.
So, you should be careful in buying a used car. Also, it is worth investing in services like those offered by Carfax.
The latest SUV crash test results are already out today. And according to the Auto Channel, the 2009 Nissan Murano notched the Top Safety Pick award. The Murano was the chosen ultimate safety performer with great scores in side, and rear tests out of nine 4-door midsize SUV models. The tests were done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The newly-revamped Murano displayed great attributes in side, front and rear crash tests along with its super strong cargo liners.
On the other hand, the 2008 Jeep Liberty, '08 Jeep Wrangler 4-door, and '08 Kia Sorento emerged as the worst performers in the side test; while the Jeep Liberty and Wrangler received the second lowest rating of secondary for protection in side crashes. The Kia Sorento got the lowest score of poor.
Mazda's CX-7 and CX-9 models along with the Mitsubishi Endeavor notched good ratings for protection in front and side crashes.
"Combined with test results released last year, consumers now have 9 midsize, moderately priced SUV models that earn our Top Safety Pick designation," says Institute senior vice president Joe Nolan.
"More good news is that manufacturers have been moving quickly to add safety features like stability control and side airbags to their SUV models," Nolan adds. "All of the SUVs in this group have ESC, and all but the Wrangler have standard side airbags. Increasingly, consumers are getting the latest safety equipment without having to hunt through a list of options."
The Nissan Murano won the Top Safety Pick title and was known to be a redesigned model for the 2009 model year and ESC, which was earlier considered as optional feature was made now a standard equipment.
"You don't know what kind of crash you're going to get into, so you want a vehicle that affords the best protection in the most common kinds of crashes," Nolan says. "The Murano is the only SUV in the group that does this."
"Performance of some of these models in the side test was surprising," Nolan points out. "SUVs should have an inherent advantage in such crashes because drivers and passengers ride higher up than in cars. People often think they're safer in an SUV, but many cars perform much better in our side test than some of the SUVs in this group."
This year's NBA All-Star was a success! Dwight Howard I snow officially Superman and the LeBron James is putting up a great case for the Podoloff trophy. But the event was not only successful for the NBA but also for AutoTrader.
AutoTrader for those not familiar with the site is a company specializing in bringing together auto buyers and sellers. During the All-Star weekend, AutoTrader decided to team up with the NBA and the result is really good.
According to The Auto Channel, the automotive market received a record 959,720 unique visitors. Also, 3.8 million searches for vehicles were recorded. The spike in site traffic is attributed by the company to their exposure in the All-Star event held in New Orleans.
Clark Wood, Vice president for marketing with AutoTrader had this to say: "These numbers validate AutoTrader.com's marketing strategy of aligning with high-profile partners to increase site traffic and bring unprecedented value to the auto dealers and individuals who list cars for sale on AutoTrader.com."
"The NBA and TNT are important marketing partners and this spike in traffic proves the value they deliver. Add in AutoTrader.com's other marketing partnerships and initiatives and you can see we've created a marketing program that gets our name brand out there consistently week after week, bringing car buyers to our site in numbers that are unmatched," added Wood.
AutoTrader's partnership with the NBA is really a good move for the auto marketer. Apart from players of the NBA being global icons, they are also known to sport flashy vehicles with multi-rib belt. These two combines to form a strong attraction to people across the country to tune in to the All-Star event.
When parents finally grant their teen the privilege to drive their own car, along with this opportunity comes great responsibility, and that is basic personal money management. Aside from teaching their kids about valve cover gaskets, parents are required to orient their teens on how to deal with the everyday expenses. According to the latest survey handed by USAA, a nonprofit, tax-exempt group that offers consumer information to the military community and the public, specified that learning how to drive is the proper time for parents to start educating their children about money management fundamentals.
The Auto Channel accounted that 76 percent of teens pointed out that they actually do contribute to the cost of driving regardless of the usual awareness of teens' financial dependence on their parents. On the other hand, almost half of teens largely shoulder the price of gas with their personal savings. It's more entirely critical that teens are prepared with the essential understanding and tools to cover this and extra regular expenses with gas prices constantly on the rise.
"Learning to drive is a major milestone in a young person's life and with it comes major responsibilities. Safety will always be the first priority, but driving a car also has financial implications, so it's the perfect time for parents to introduce the concept of responsible money management and help teens establish a strong foundation for their future financial success," says June Walbert, USAA Certified Financial Planner.
"Through honest dialogue, parents and teens can work together to avoid common financial issues that often come with driving while, at the same time, help prepare the teens to make smart financial decisions in the years ahead," said Walbert.
"While the costs of driving can be significant, parents can avoid theses headaches if they develop a long-term savings plan and stick to it. It can be as simple as watching a movie at home instead of going to the theater or bringing a brown bag lunch to work - it all adds up and will ensure that you can help your child with their driving expenses," says Neale Godfrey, founder, Children's Financial Network.
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