It is not going to be the sand and the sun for these 38 university student teams. They are not going to be relaxing and enjoying those days off from school. Instead, they would be taking the time off from studying to put on the last minute changes and additions to their prototype cars.

38 teams from all across the United States, Mexico, and Canada joined the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas challenge. This event is a challenge for student teams to create vehicles that could go long distances and yet use a few amounts of fuel. These teams have gone through all the stages and the difficulties of planning, designing, and creating the vehicles.

David Ulrich is the team lead for the Cal Poly team and he said, “We realize the future of transportation ultimately depends on alternative energy sources. And as an engineering student, being given the opportunity to design and build fuel-efficient vehicles is an important part of gaining practical experience for the future.”

You go teams!

Around a week ago, the Ford Motor Company has announced that they would be opening the doors again of its facility located in Windsor, Ontario. This has been confirmed by Dalton McGuinty, the Ontario Premier, when he announced that he would also be present at the reopening of the plant and he would be with some of the company’s officials. No details were given however regarding the reopening of the Ford facility.

This Ford facility in Ontario, Canada is known as the Essex Engine Plant and the car maker has disclosed that the plant would now be responsible for the creation and manufacture of V8 engines which would be fuel efficient. The reopening would also bring in more jobs for people in the area.

Some sources have mentioned that the government of Ontario would be shelling out around $17 million to help Ford’s investment in the Essex Engine plant which amounts to $186 million. This however has yet to be confirmed.

For 2008, the Chevrolet Equinox would be coming with a new V6 engine, a report from the New York Times disclosed. These power units made in China would be used by General Motors’ most popular vehicle in the North American auto market.

The engine has the capacity to produce 185 horsepower. This is the very first engine unit that is made in China and is used in a vehicle manufactured in the United States. According to General Motors, the V6 engine is not only powerful - it is also quiet and makes vehicles run smoothly. The car maker also boasts that with the 2008 Chevy Equinox using such an engine, the vehicle would be able to be far better than other competition.

An expert in the industry has mentioned that General Motors’ decision on using a China-manufactured engine is actually an experiment to see if they would be able to cut down on costs with regards to producing a vehicle.

If you own a vehicle and you really think that gasoline stations do rob you each time you fill up your car, then you surely would be smiling learning about Shell Oil Products US’ new promotion.

Starting last April 1st, all consumers who would be opening a Shell Gasoline Card membership and account with Shell would be able to get a rebate of 25 cents for each gallon that they purchase. This rebate is applicable to the first hundred gallons that they purchase from Shell and the Shell Gasoline Card should be used when purchasing the fuel.

From the date that the account was opened, the new account holders of Shell Gasoline Cards would have 90 days to purchase a hundred gallons of fuel. When they finish purchasing a hundred gallons during that period, they would be send through mail a gift card from Shell worth $25. This they can use for products and services offered by the company.

Why is it a canvass?

Well, just like a normal canvass, the Chrysler 300 is a vehicle which has become the perfect vehicle to customize. And this has been proved to be true by owners of the vehicle who have gone ahead and poured out their kind of style and design on the vehicle.

On this, Chrysler has decided that it was high time to capture what Chrysler 300 owners have done with their vehicles. Through the event ‘Spin It Your Way’, owners of the Chrysler 300 can create a short video clip of the customizations done on their units. The videos can be uploaded on the Chrysler 300’s channel on YouTube. Indeed, this is a really good way to showcase just what kind of customizations Chrysler 300 units can handle.

The winner of the whole ‘Spin It Your Way’ videos was Lisa Marie Varon from Kentucky and would be able to travel to LA and actually see her very own customized Chrysler 300 on display this November at the Los Angeles International Auto Show.

It is now official.

In an announcement sent out by the Ford Motor Company, the auto industry has finally confirmed the completion of the purchase of Ford’s Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands. Tata Motors of India bought the two brands which are part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG). The announcement did disclose that Tata Motors would be purchasing the two brands for an estimated $2.3 billion.

On the deal, Ford’s CEO and president, Alan Mulally, mentioned that with Jaguar and Land Rover being good brands, the company is confident that both of them would be able to do well with Tata handling them. He also disclosed that the decision to sell both brands was actually part of the company’s goal which was to have a stronger and more focus-driven brand.

In a newsletter from AIADA, it was reported that the auto industry would soon be welcoming more and more fuel efficient vehicles. This is because of a new trend where more and more automakers are creating powerful vehicles that do not use up much fuel. Experts say that automakers are doing such because there is a high need in the market for such a type of vehicle.

This summer, the market would soon be welcoming early batches of vehicles with new hybrid systems or hydrogen fuel cells, or even new diesel engines that are clean. Included among these new and clean vehicles is the new Volkswagen Jetta would be launched and this vehicle has a 30% better fuel economy because of its clean diesel engine. Joining the new Volkswagen Jetta is the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring and the 2009 Mercedes Benz R320 - both have a good fuel economy and use clean diesel engines as well.

$10 million. That is the prize that the winning team would get. And this team would have to create a green supercar which would be really fuel efficient. Aside from that, the team which would be taking home the $10 million prize would have to battle it out with over 60 teams.

This is the Automotive X Prize and it is organized by the X Prize Foundation.

With $10 million being such a huge amount, many teams have decided to be part of the competition. Electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors has joined the competition. This is going to be a really interesting competition.

According to Peter Diamandis, the head of the X Prize Foundation, they are looking for a green supercar which can be sold in the market as a mass production vehicle. The vehicle should also be able to speed up to a hundred miles per gallon of fuel.

If you can create a vehicle like that, then you certainly should join the competition. $10 million is $10 million and that vehicle you create is going to help the industry and the environment.

Travel to Canada and you would find the Hyundai Accent, a small car that comes with an inexpensive price. This vehicle can be bought for only $9,995. That is the same price that the vehicle had thirteen years before. Experts in the industry say that at present, this is the only vehicle that can be bought for only four figures.

With the addition of the Hyundai Accent in the Canadian auto market, the small car war is just about to get hotter. The vehicle would be competing with the Kia Rio which comes with a tag price lower than $10,000.

Analysts say that with such low prices being attached to vehicles, consumers have come flocking to dealerships and getting a unit of these low-priced vehicles for themselves. The problem though is that these consumers are so happy with the low price that they forget to test the vehicle first before the actual purchase.

It was a double victory for the Audi R8 sports car. At the 2008 World Car of the Year awards, the mentioned vehicle was able to take home two awards - the World Performance Car award and the World Car Design of the Year award.

The vehicle that is chosen as the recipient of any award from the World Car of the Year set of awards is really a deserving vehicle. All vehicles nominated for an award go through various tests and checkups. Deciding on who takes home the award are 47 jurors who all are experts and come from 24 various countries scattered around the globe.

According to the jurors, the Audi R8 as the 2008 World Performance Car came with “solid credentials on paper thanks to its mid-mounted 420 horsepower V8 engine and aluminum construction. But where it excels is in the exceptional balance, refinement and control that grant the driver the confidence to push to the limit. It has astonishing precision for a car of its size category.”

Kudos Audi!