With gas prices reaching record highs earlier this year, more and more car buyers are eyeing more fuel-efficient vehicles with smaller engines to help cut down on fuel costs. This is helping Ford’s lineup of fuel-efficient cars increase it sales for the period from January to mid-May. Sales of Ford Motor Co.’s four-cylinder vehicles like the Ford Fusion and the Mercury Milan have almost doubled and now accounts for more than 20 percent of all Ford vehicles. The Ford Focus and Escape have also experienced brisk sales over the same period.

Meanwhile, the growing popularity of four-cylinder engines is also being experienced by other automakers. Sales of four-cylinder vehicles in the whole automotive industry rose to 35.4% of the market by mid-May, up from 30.1% last January. Lincoln Zephyr, although a V-6 model, offers both fuel efficiency and power with its 3.0-liter Duratec 30. Ford is also planning to produce hybrid versions of the Fusion and Milan in 2008.

The figures say it all: although teen drivers only account for 6.3 percent of all licensed drivers on the U.S. today, they are involved in 13.6 percent of all fatal crashes. In view of this scenario, Toyota launched its new national program called ‘Toyota Driving Expectations’, an initiative to promote safe driving among teens. The objective of this program is to teach both teens and parents about defensive driving techniques not through lectures but by immersion into real-world scenarios.

What’s great about this program is that both the teens and their parents can learn a lot from the four-hour program. Parents will be taught about vehicle safety technology, defensive driving, and how to design and set realistic expectations for their teen. They will also learn about the risks that teen drivers are very vulnerable to, how to manage those risks and be a better coach to their teens. Meanwhile, teens will learn important driving skills as well as how to deal with peer issues and situations that can affect their driving and lead to disastrous consequences.

This program will also incorporate some of the elements from the driving programs of the National Safety Council such as the Defensive Driving Course, Alive at 25 and Family Guide to Teen Drivers. Real-world scenarios are used to help teens and parents learn. For example, for the them to understand the critical relationship between distractions and reaction time, the teens and parents are told to navigate a driving course while drinking water, listening to loud music and talking on a cell phone. Hard braking maneuvers on both wet and dry pavement will also be taught on multiple slalom driving courses monitored by professional drivers.

“Toyota has a long history of commitment to vehicle safety through product development and testing,” said Michael Rouse, Toyota’s corporate manager of national philanthropy and community affairs. “However, the best safety device is an educated driver. This program allows Toyota to move beyond vehicle technology and offer teens, the knowledge and experience necessary to be safer drivers.”

The Toyota Driving Expectations is a free program and will be offered in the following cities within the year. You can look up more information and sign up for the program by visiting the Toyota Driving Expectations website here.

Tampa, FL -June 2 to June 4
Washington, D.C. – June 9 to June 11
Cincinnati, OH – October 6 to October 8
Kansas City, MO – October 13 to October 15
Orange County, CA – October 20 to October 22

From: The Auto Channel

Kia Motors recently unveiled a new compact MPV at the Madrid Motor Show. The new Carens is Kia’s response to the growing demand for a next generation vehicle offering the utility of MPVs and the comfort and versatility of SUVs. At just under 15 ft in length, the New Carens can conveniently sit up to seven people. It is also taller and wider than its predecessor, also named Carens. Also, the new Carens features a smoother and more aerodynamic exterior with elegant detailing.

The New Carens also offers a surprisingly spacious interior which can further be expanded by folding down the middle and rear row seats to create a wide space for luggage. The Carens is powered by four-cylinder 2.0 CRDi diesel engine with variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) and a six-speed manual gearbox. The new Kia Carens was designed and targeted for the European market but a version of the Carens, called Rondo, will also be introduced in North America.

Memorial Day is traditionally the start of the summer driving season. This year millions of Americans will find themselves on the highways and freeways heading for the country’s top tourist destinations and looking forward to a fun-filled vacation with family and friends. However, nothing can spoil the fun much worse than a car conking out in the middle of nowhere because it ran out of gas. AAA is expecting that thousands of commuters will be stranded on America’s roads because of low fuel levels or empty tanks.

AAA also warned about the potential hazards of running a vehicle low on gas. Apparently, this is not only an inconvenience; it can also cause damage in your car’s fuel and engine systems. For instance, when running a vehicle that is already extremely low on gasoline, the sediments that collect at the bottom of the fuel tank may begin to clog the fuel pump pickup, fuel filter and fuel injector leading to costly damages.

Many motorists try to lower their expenditures by driving their vehicles until the fuel tank is almost empty. This practice will actually cost you more on replacements and repair later on. AAA recommends that car owners have their vehicles regularly checked as well as always maintain at least a quarter tank of fuel.

Honda Motor Corp. has announced that it has successfully developed ‘bio-fabric’, a new plant-based, durable and sunlight-resistant fabric that can be used as surface material for automobile interiors. Bio-fabric is much more environment-friendly as it cuts down CO2 emissions when disposed of through incineration. Earlier versions of bio-fabric that were introduced did not fare well commercially because of problems with durability as well as aesthetics.

Honda’s bio-fabric has resolved these issues and is now much stronger, smoother and more appropriate for automobile interiors. The new bio-fabric is resistant to sunlight, ensuring that the colors stay fast even after prolonged use and exposure to the bleaching effect of sunlight. The bio-fabric can be used as seat covers, surface for doors and roofs as well as floor mats. Honda’s new fuel-cell vehicle set to debut within three years will be the first model to feature the new bio-fabric.

Adaptive Cruise Control is one of the most advanced innovations in automotive technology today, probably a precursor to fully automated travel. A number of luxury vehicles offer ACC. Mercedes Benz was the first to offer ACC, called the Distronic system. Other automakers followed suit, such as Lexus’ with its Dynamic Laser Cruise Control, Acura, Audi, Nissan, Volkswagen, BMW, Infiniti, Cadillac, Toyota and Jaguar.

Adaptive cruise control uses either radar or lasers that signal the car to slow down if it gets too close to another car on the road and accelerate again if the traffic allows it. AAC promises to reduce rear-end collisions in heavy traffic as well as reduce fuel consumption. ACC can also handle twice or thrice today’s traffic.

Among the models with Adaptive Cruise Control, the Acura RL’s has a collision mitigating braking system. Some Infiniti models are equipped with sensors and cameras that read the lane markers and alert the drivers when crossing into another lane. Meanwhile, sensors in the Audi Q7 monitor blind spots.

Windshield wiper blades play a very important role in maintaining clear visibility of the road ahead. They keep precipitation, dust and other road debris off the windshield. However, it was found out that at highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph, conventional wiper blades actually tend to lose contact with the windshield surface. This drastically lessens the wiper blade’s ability to keep rain, snow, dust and other road debris away from the windshield. However a new technology in wiper blades will greatly improve their functionality in various weather conditions and highway speeds – Bracketless or beam blades.

Bracketless or beam blades are the newest technology upgrades in wiper blades. This new type of wiper blades feature a bracketless design, allowing the wiper blade to conform to the contour of the windshield snugly and with uniform pressure along the entire length of the wiper blade. This allows the wiper blades to clean the windshield surface more evenly and quietly even at highway speeds. Bracketless wiper blades doesn’t have the rigid external steel frame and multiple joints in conventional wiper blades that apply pressure only on specific points.

“With the blade curved at a precise radius along each millimeter of length, this new design creates what we call ‘tension memory,’ which provides a snug fit to the curvature of the windshield, with the aerodynamic wind spoiler creating a downward force similar to rear spoilers on automobiles. To put it simply, bracketless blades distribute pressure uniformly along the entire length of the blade, for a more clean and consistent wipe while the enclosed tension springs are protected from snow and ice build-up during winter”, says Otto Stefaner, group product manager of Consumer Products, for Bosch, the largest OE makers of bracketless wiper blades.

This is the first upgrade in wiper blade technology in almost 80 years. About 35 percent of European vehicles are now equipped with bracketless or beam wiper blades and it is estimated that by 2010, 40 percent of vehicles in the U.S. domestic market will have bracketless wiper blades. Something as simple as new wiper blades can really help make driving safer by ensuring good visibility in any type of weather condition.

General Motors Corp. is planning to offer new compact crossover vehicles as part of its portfolio of new vehicles. These crossover models will be manufactured in plants overseas in countries like Thailand, Mexico and India. The new models will carry the GM brands Chevrolet, Saturn and Opel and possibly GMC and Hummer. GM VP Robert Lutz said that the new compact crossovers will be smaller than current models Saturn Vue, Chevrolet Equinox and the Opel Antara, which was also introduced as the Saturn Prevue Concept. GM plans to begin production by 2009.

Source: Inside Line

After the successful launch of the new Cayman S last January, Porsche introduces a new entry-level Cayman S that is much more affordable than its predecessor yet lost none of the Cayman’s superb handling dynamics and sleek, stunning styling. The new version of this award-winning mid-engined sports coupe, named the 2006 World Performance Car, will come with a base price below $50,000. It will feature a 2.7 liter six-cylinder Boxer engine with an output of 245 horsepower. The Cayman has a flexible powertrain offering torque of up to 201 ft.-lbs.

The new Cayman S can go from 0-60 miles per hour in a mere 5.8 seconds with a top speed of 160 mph. The entry-level Cayman S will also feature Porsche’s remarkable Tiptronic S. Fuel consumption is also impressive, rated at 23/32 mpg city/highway. The Porsche Cayman is coming to North American dealers in July 29, 2006 with a price of US$49,400 in the US and $69,600 in Canada.

A survey by Consumer Reports’ National Research Center revealed that gasoline prices are a major factor that new car buyers consider. In fact, thirty-seven percent of consumers are looking to replace their current vehicles with more fuel-efficient vehicles such as hybrids. Among those who are considering buying a new car to replace their old one, half says they are looking at gasoline/electric hybrids while 38% are thinking of purchasing a flex-fuel or diesel vehicle.

Most of the respondents are also considering downsizing their vehicles. Half are planning to replace their cars with a smaller one; about a fifth is considering a small SUV or family sedan, while fewer than one in 20 are considering a luxury sedan or large SUV. When it comes to accepting the skyrocketing fuel prices, 70 percent says they have accepted the $3/gallon price while 50 percent are ready to pay $4/gallon. “High gas prices are not just an inconvenience anymore,” explained Robert Gentile, director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Price Services. “They are forcing people to reconsider what and how they drive, even the way they live their lives.”

Source: Consumer Reports