TESLA-The Electric Sports Car

The Tesla itself - 400 volts of electric potential wrapped in a carbon-fiber body - is as far-out as its namesake, styled like the cars you used to see only in cartoons but charged by a high-powered outlet in your garage. Stomp the accelerator, and thick cables connecting the liquid-cooled lithium ion battery pack to a printed circuit board send all that current into a series of silicon transistors the size of your little fingernail. They are capable of switching as much as 850 amps, which drive the AC motor as high as 14,000 rpm and send the rear-wheel-drive Roadster screeching off the line, with a range of 220 miles on a single charge. Acceleration is so fast (0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds) that you get pushed back in your seat for as long as you dare to keep your foot on the aluminum pedal.
With Charging, It’s Safety First
We’re committed to making sure the charging process and the batteries themselves won’t pose a safety issue to you, your passengers, or anyone stumbling around in your garage.
For starters, the plug on the charging unit only becomes “live” when it is properly connected to the car and both the charging unit and the car have “talked” and agreed the connection is safe to allow the electricity to flow through it. As a backup, the charging connector is designed such that you cannot touch any metal on the charging pins.
The EVSE in your garage protects against many kinds of faults, including ground faults, strain on the cable, and the presence of smoke in your garage. Whenever any fault is detected, charging is stopped and the cable is deactivated.
Energy Storage is All About Safety
Tesla Motors’s engineers selected cells from a reputable Fortune 500 battery supplier that has produced billions of safe, reliable, Li-ion batteries. We combined this basic proven cell technology with our own unique battery pack design to provide multiple layers of protection. Our design ensures that should any cell fail catastrophically, adjacent cells do not. This is true regardless of whether or not the battery pack cooling system is running. (The cooling system in the Energy Storage System exists to increase the battery pack’s life -- we don't depend on it for safety.)
We then collaborated with an outside firm known for expertise in lithium ion battery safety to perform hundreds of tests to validate the safety of our design. In these tests, we set out to simulate a worst-case scenario in which a cell develops a serious malfunction. In each test, we set a cell on fire in the middle of a Tesla Motors battery pack (by heating the heck out of it) and observed the results. Our design contained these failures to a single cell, demonstrating that malfunctions wouldn’t spread.
The Battery Safety Monitor, mounted inside the battery pack’s protective enclosure, measures voltage, current, acceleration, tilt, smoke, moisture, and more. Like the controller for an airbag, the Battery Safety Monitor responds to an emergency - in this case by automatically disconnecting the battery pack from the vehicle and shutting down power to the car and to all electric cables in the car.
None of the Tesla Roadster’s high voltage systems are accessible to accidental contact outside their protective enclosures and jacketed cables. Only with special tools can someone gain access to any high-voltage components. Our high-voltage systems are enclosed, labeled, and color-coded with markings that service technicians and emergency responders already understand.
Tesla Roadster Specifications*
Style -2-seat, open-top, rear-drive roadster
Drivetrain-Electric motor with 2-speed electrically-actuated-manual-shift transmission with integral differential
Motor -3-phase, 4-pole electric motor, 248hp peak (185kW), redline 13,000 rpm, regenerative "engine braking"
Chassis -Bonded extruded aluminum with 4-wheel wishbone suspension
Brakes -4-wheel disc brakes with ABS
Acceleration-0 to 60 in under 4 seconds
Top Speed -125 mph
Range -About 220 miles (based on EPA combined city/highway cycle)
Battery Life-Useful battery, 100,000 miles
Energy Storage System--Custom microprocessor-controlled lithium-ion battery pack
Full Charge -About 3.5 hours
How It Works
When you build a car that's electric, you start with one built-in advantage: Electric cars just don't have to be as complex mechanically as the car you're probably driving now. Sophisticated electronics and software take the place of the pounds and pounds of machinery required to introduce a spark and ignite the fuel that powers an internal combustion engine.
For example, the typical four-cylinder engine of a conventional car comprises over a hundred moving parts. By comparison, the motor of the Tesla Roadster has just one: the rotor. So there's less weight to drive around and fewer parts that could break or wear down over time.
But the comparison doesn't end with the counting of moving parts. The engine and transmission of a conventional car also need lubricating oils, filters, coolant, clutches, spark plugs and wires, a PCV valve, oxygen sensors, a timing belt, a fan belt, a water pump and hoses, a catalytic converter, and a muffler — all items requiring service, and all items that aren't needed in an electric car.
The Tesla Roadster's elegantly designed powertrain consists of just the four main components discussed below. Mind you, these aren't "off-the-shelf" components, and each includes innovations, both small and large. But when you build a car from the ground up, you have the luxury of questioning every assumption — and to distill as you reinvent.
The Energy Storage System (ESS)
When we set out to build a high-performance electric car, the biggest challenge was obvious from the start: the battery. Its complexities are clear: it's heavy, expensive, and offers limited power and range. Yet it has one quality that eclipses these disadvantages and motivated us to keep working tirelessly: it's clean.
The Tesla Roadster's battery pack — the car's "fuel tank" — represents the biggest innovation in the Tesla Roadster and is one of the largest and most advanced battery packs in the world. We've combined basic proven lithium ion battery technology with our own unique battery pack design to provide multiple layers of safety. It's light, durable, recyclable, and it is capable of delivering enough power to accelerate the Tesla Roadster from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. Meanwhile, the battery stores enough energy for the vehicle to travel about 220 miles without recharging, something no other production electric vehicle in history can claim.

Power Electronics Module (PEM)
Most of the subsystems in the Tesla Roadster are completely electronic and under direct software control. But unlike all other cars, these systems are not a hodge-podge of independent systems — instead, they are designed as an integrated system, the way complex network and computer systems are designed today.
You'll see the hub of this network every time you pop the trunk — the Power Electronics Module. When you shift gears or accelerate in the Tesla Roadster, the PEM translates your commands into precisely timed voltages, telling the motor to respond with the proper speed and direction of rotation. The PEM also controls motor torque, charging, and regenerative braking, and it monitors things like the voltage delivered by the ESS, the speed of rotation of the motor, and the temperatures of the motor and power electronics.
The PEM controls over 200 kW of electrical power during peak acceleration — enough power to illuminate 2,000 incandescent light bulbs.

Honda CBF Stunner

CBF STUNNER prototype showcased in auto expo..

Honda CBF Stunner: Inspired by other CBF models, this new 125cc CBF stunner comes jaw dropping styling. The razor sharp styling elements includes a elegant visor, larger tank shrouds,aircraft type fuel lid and forged rear cowls and a new tail lamp.
Attention has been given to every part to make the CBF stunner to lookalike race ready. The instrument cluster is offsetted from the handlebars and nicely placed in a separated compartment. The new scoops on both the side of the tank extends all the way to end just before the turn indicators. CBF stunner comes with a stepped seat. Honda has also raised the suspension and rearranged the foor pegs to make the CBF stunner sporty. The exhaust mouth of the new CBF stunner also gets a new styling. Complementing the new clothing is the contemporary all black theme of the CBF stunner.

* Honda CBF Stunner: The new CBF stunner would come with a 125cc engine producing power in the range of 11bhp. CBF stunner is mated with a five speed transmission. But the CBF Stunener gets a new gear shift lever which is designed specifically to place the control on your toes. The other specifications are expected to be remain the same.It is said that it will go 60 kmph in 5.2 seconds. . The new CBF Stunner will not feature Fuel Injection engine ( CBF Stunner FI will be launched later). The other notable absents are the mono-suspension, aluminum foot pegs, Digital Instrumentation and LED tail lamp.

CBF Stunner are available in three variants -- Self Disc Alloy (Rs 51,655), Self Drum Alloy (Rs 49,820) and Kick Drum Alloy (Rs 47,070). The bike is available in two colours Sports Red and Black.

Technical Specifications
Brand: HONDA
Dimension & weight
Overall height- 1113 mm
Overall length- 2012 mm
Overall Width- 734 mm
Wheelbase- 1271mm
Ground Clearance- 173 mm
Kerb weight- 129 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity- 10 Litre
Engine Type:- Air Cooled OHC
Stroke (2/4)- 4 Stroke
No. of cylinders- Single Cylinder
Bore x stroke-
Displacement- 124.7 cc
Electrical -- 12 V - 5 AH
Transmission
No. of Gears- Constant mesh, 5 Speed gear
Clutch -
Performance
Maximum Power- 11bhp @ 8000 rpm
Max. Torque- 11 Nm @ 6500 rpm
Start - Kick / Electric
Suspensions -

Front- Telescopic Hydraulic Folk
Rear- 3 Step Spring Loaded Hydraulic Shock Absorber with Rectangular box type swing arm
Brakes
Front- 240 mm Disc
Rear - 130 mm Drum
Tyres
Front- 80/100-17 46P Tubeless
Rear - 100/90-17 55P Tubeless

TSUNAMI!!!!

MERCEDES KICHERER CLK 63 AMG BLACK!

Straight out of the box the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series is already one of the most extreme production cars on the planet. With a full DTM-style wide-bodykit, carbon-fiber lined interior and a thunderous V8 engine pumping out 507hp (373kW), few would feel the need to lift the performance of the car.However, for the guys at Kicherer it appears that nothing can be too extreme. The German tuner has set about boosting the output from the already high-strung engine – lifting power by 33hp (25kW) to a new peak of 540hp (403kW).
With the added power, the car will now accelerate from 0-62mph (100km/h) in just 4.1 seconds and reach a top speed in excess of 300km/h (186mph).
Kicherer has also replace a lot of the standard plastic and metal trim details with new carbon-fiber pieces, including the front grille slats and new carbon bucket seats. There’s also a new set of H&R springs and a set of lightweight forged alloy wheels.

The renowned Mercedes embellishing specialists from Stockach have enriched the CLK 63 AMG, which is actually a two-seater, with a sporty back seat.
When you take the north loop in less than 8 minutes with this bolide, all those seats will definitely provide more fun – and adrenaline – than any rollercoaster.
And what is more, those additional seats guarantee a Black Edition with a significantly improved road capability.
But, Kicherer will even delight design and sports enthusiasts.
The radiator grill, already quite impressive on the standard version, is replaced by an even sportier variant made of carbon and featuring carbon fibre struts.
The beautiful forged three-part wheel, Kicherer RS-1, also fulfils a double function as it is a visual and – thanks to weight reduction – also a sportive gain.
The chassis – specially developed for Kicherer by DTM specialist H&R – also improves the racer’s cornering dynamics by several degrees. Since the Kicherer engineers have taken care of the engine, too, they have further underlined their reinterpretation by carbon mirror shells. With its 540 hp, the Kicherer CLK racer gained about 33 hp. Even the torque has been improved by another 20 Nm.
Thus equipped, the Kicherer CLK only needs 4.1 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h and runs faster than 300 km/h – thanks to a derestricted V/max.
In order to delight any fellow passenger’s vision, Kicherer has equipped the car with additional carbon intarsia.
These do not only include – as is usually the case – parts of the centre console and of the door linings, but also ultra-light front seat buckets made of genuine carbon.

CITY CAT / MINI CAT- the new green revolution

The air car, also known as the Mini-CAT or City Cat, can be refueled in minutes from an air compressor at specially equipped gas stations and can go 200 km on a 1.5 euro fill-up -- roughly 125 miles for $3. The top speed will be almost 70 mph and the cost of the vehicle as low as $7000.
The car features a fibreglass body and a revolutionary electrical system and is completely computer-controlled. It is powered by the expansion of compressed air, using no combustion at all, and the exhaust is entirely clean and cool enough for use in the internal air conditioning system.

The engine is fascinating, as is and the revolutionary electrical system that uses just one cable and so is the vehicle's wireless control system. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc
There are no keys – just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket.
Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 Km.

How it works

In both cars, an electric pump compresses air into the tank at a pressure of 300 bars. The pump plugs straight into an ordinary household socket and takes four hours to complete the recharge.
"When you get home you normally plug in your cell phone," said Braud. "Well, now you do that with your car too."
The already attractive economics of the Air Car — MDI claims a recharge costs just $2.50 at French electricity prices — can only get more persuasive if oil prices stay high.
"It certainly can't hurt," said Braud. "It will help encourage people to switch over."
The Air Car's pistons, pumped by the escaping compressed air, can take the vehicle up to 70 miles per hour. It can travel 50 miles at top speed on a full tank, or further at lower speeds.
Slightly pricier hybrid versions achieve higher speeds and longer ranges by running on a combination of compressed air and conventional gasoline, or bio-fuels derived from organic matter.
MDI says the air-only models meet the needs of most urban drivers, who average just 11 miles a day. And the only exhaust that comes out of the tail pipe is cold air.

The Company
"Moteur Development International" (MDI) is a company founded in Luxembourg, based in the south of France and with its Commercial Office in Barcelona. MDI has researched and developed the Air Car over 10 years and the technology is protected by more than 30 International patents and MDI is actively seeking licensees, with according to the company, 50 factories in Europe, America and Asia signed already.
The Tata Agreement
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US$ 5.5 billion in 2005-06. With over 4 million Tata vehicles on Indian roads, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer.
Tata has signed an agreement with MDI for application in India of MDI's engine technology, and believes the engine is viable – it's press statement described it as "efficient, cost-effective, scalable, and capable of other applications such as power generation".
The agreement between Tata Motors and MDI envisages Tata's supporting further development and refinement of the technology, and its application and licensing for India.
MDI is a small, family-controlled company located at Carros, near Nice (Southern France) where Guy and Cyril Negre and their technical team have developed the engine technology and the technologically advanced car it powers.

This car was earlier mensioned in the same blog..

http://maximumtorque.blogspot.com/2007/12/worlds-first-commercial-compressed-air.html

..but without much importance given to it....do comment on new ideas and about the car

NISSAN INTIMA CONCEPT

Interior
Intima is targeted towards consumers with a sophisticated, discerning eye for beauty - who enjoy spending time in refined elegance and comfort, whether traveling alone or with a partner.

"We designed Intima as a car that expresses the interior attractiveness Nissan proposes in the Modern Living Concept," explains Product Chief Designer Kinichi Saito of the Product Design Department."The inspiration came from imagining a situation where a person who has accumulated many life experiences and successes now wants to spend his or her own time, or time together as a couple, in an elegant environment."Illumination is another significant element in offering a sense of soothing relaxation.
Cabin illumination is provided by the indirect lighting incorporated in the instrument panel, center console, door trim and ceiling, and the door assist grips feature a blue-green acrylic material that gives off a soft light.
A functional storage spaces are located on the inside of the front passenger's door, while a cooled compartment in the rear center console can keep drink or snacks at fresh temperature.
EXTERIOR STYLING
Intima's exterior styling matches the interior's artistic image, with a design that combines sharp-edged lines and organic panel surfaces.
"The balance of these two elements creates a refined mood based on the ideas of 'relaxation' and 'comfort,'" explained Saito.Among the main design elements are the arching side character line and the crystal-like appearance of the front and rear lamps, grille and wheels, which are reminiscent of jewelry.
"Intima demonstrates that art and functionality are not mutually exclusive," said Saito.
"There is a strong role of visual attractiveness in creating a comfortable, relaxing interior that is often overlooked. Intima, and Nissan's Modern Living Concept, are leading the way in the advancement of visually stimulating interior design."