Cardvdstore.com's Blog

The Jeep Extreme Trail Edition camper is $11,995

Jeep and Mopar are teaming up to create a line of rugged trailers to go anywhere and haul anything.

The Jeep Trail Edition campers will match the conventional Jeep in colors and ruggedness, including 32-inch tires, diamond plating and a tall enough suspension to navigate big ruts. The trailers will pop open to sleep four adults while offering 76 inches of headroom. They are also made to accommodate parts from a Jeep, including bumpers and spare tires. The cost of the aftermarket package is $9,995.

The Extreme Trail Edition campers will be even more hard-core, offering even bigger tires and full underbody skid plates. The Extreme Edition also includes a more robust hitch with a 360-degree rotating axis for maximum off-road maneuverability. The Extreme package costs $11,995 and will be available from Mopar dealers.

Both editions will feature a 110-volt power converter for cooking and heating, a pop-up table and cabinets for camping gear.

Acura has sold only 872 RLs within the first six months of this year.

Is Honda ready to kill off the slow-selling Acura RL sedan?

Honda officials in the United States say no. But a report in Japan’s Nikkei business daily newspaper says Honda is ready to stop selling the Honda Legend in its home market. The Legend is rebadged as the RL for Acura dealers in the United States. You may recall that Acura’s flagship sedan was sold with the Legend nameplate from 1986 to 1995.

Late Friday, after the Nikkei report was reported by other media, Acura issued this statement, attributed to Gary Robinson, manager of Acura public relations:

“This morning erroneous media reports began to surface suggesting that Acura’s RL model would be discontinued. These reports are untrue. The RL continues to be the flagship for the Acura brand and we have no plans to discontinue it.”

But the RL hasn’t been much of a sales flagship for Acura. Enthusiasts and dealers say it isn’t competitive because it is smaller than its competition and lacks a V8 option. The RL is equipped with all-wheel drive.

Through the first six months of this year, Acura has sold only 872 RLs while Lexus sold 5,650 copies of the LS sedan and Infiniti sold 6,602 copies of the M sedan.

The Japanese report says Honda also plans to stop selling the Elysion minivan in Japan and plans equip all Civics sold in Japan with a hybrid powertrain.

Ford is capping orders for the 2011 Mustang Shelby GT500 at just 5,500.

Time is running out to get a 2011 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500.

More than 3,300 orders have been placed for the instant icon–arguably the best ‘Stang ever–and Ford is capping orders for this model year at 5,500.

Do the math: that means 2,200 or less remain. Ford says it will halt orders in a bid to maintain the exclusivity of the GT500, and the initial response has already beat expectations.

“The car continues to be popular with sports car enthusiasts and collectors who are blown away by the increase in horsepower and performance,” said Fritz Wilke, Mustang brand manager. “The limited production of the 2011 should make this year even more desirable.”

Desirability is no problem with this steed. The GT500 packs 550 hp from a 5.4-liter supercharged V8. It also features Cobra badges inside and out, a short-throw six-speed manual and a new exhaust system.

Interestingly, Ford says the glass roof feature has been extremely popular on the GT500, and three times as many have been ordered with this option than on the base Mustang. Seventy percent of buyers have also loaded up with the electronics package, including voice-activated nav ad HD radio.

And of course, 68 percent of coupe buyers have checked the box for the SVT performance package.

Many people complaint about that the brightness of normal headlights is very low. They cannot see the road properly due to the dimness of the halogen. Due to this reason, the HID conversion kits were introduced in the market.

You may have noticed many times that why sports cars have distinct headlights that give them attractive look from other cars. The main aspect behind those headlights is the advanced technology. These lights are called High Intensity Discharge (HID). There are various benefits of HID lights. They provide extra brightness, exclusive look and consume less electricity. These lights are more advanced than halogen headlights. If you want to upgrade your vehicle, use HID conversion kits.

Brightness is the main advantage of HID conversion. With the help of these lights, you will be able to see clearly during nighttime. These lights provide 300% more brightness than the ordinary headlights.

There are two types of HID conversion kits available in the market. The first one is the single beam and the second is the dual beam. It depends on you, which kit would be better for your car.

The dual beam is adjustable and you can set this beam at high or low ray depending on the time when you drive the most. The dual beam kit is costly than the single beam kit. These lights are compatible for selected cars. However, remember that, if these kits do not fit in your car, then you might have to alter your car.

You can easily fit single beam kit in every car without any type of alteration. You can either set this kit on low beam or at high beam. This kit offers only one option to select the beam.

These HID Kit come with different colour option. However, it is necessary to select proper HID conversion kits depending upon your budget and car. Before investing, always make sure that you are going to use these lights for long period and with care, because these kits will give an attractive and exclusive look to your car.

It’s not often that Americans see more than a couple dozen Porsches in one spot at the same time. But those who make it to the annual Porsche Club of America Parade in St. Charles, Ill., can wander among seven hundred Porsches of all ages–even a tractor–from the United States and Canada.

This year, some rare cars were on display at events that started with a concours on July 4.

Among them was a 1952 America roadster, which was reluctantly put into production at the request of the influential U.S. importer, Max Hoffman. Production was extremely limited, and only seven survive.

When Porsche started building cars in 1948, the first units were built in Gmund, Austria. A 356 coupe, the 17th Porsche built, was shown immaculately restored. The simplicity of the interior is striking.

Virtually every model of 356 appeared, including a rare Reutter-bodied 1952 cabriolet. Reutter Carroserie made the first bodies for Porsche until the automaker took over its own production and Reutter subsequently concentrated on building seats–and shortened its trademark to Recaro.

Gene Gully of Chicago brought his pristine 1965 365C coupe which he picked up new at the factory in Zuffenhausen. The car, which has never been restored, wears its original paint and is completely untouched apart from a second set of tires.

Historic competition cars included a 962 which had been driven by Hans Stuck, and a stunning 904. However, the crowds were drawn to two current cars from Porsche AG, the new hybrid racer and the Pikes Peak-winning 911R driven by Jeff Zwart to a record last month.

The 550 Spyder is destined forever to be associated with James Dean, and a 1955 car appeared on the grounds. Compared with current cars, it is minuscule but perfectly proportioned and was a crowd favorite.

The RS attendees included several examples of the 2.7RS that started the separate RS designation and included examples of every model imported into the United States.

Perhaps the most original entry was a completely unrestored 1962 Porsche Junior tractor that is fully functional and shows every day of a hardworking life.

Bugatti says the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport weighs 110 pounds less than the standard-issue Veyron.

Bugatti is claiming a new production car top speed record with a combined two-run average of 267.9 mph (431.072 kph) with a new Veyron 16.4 Super Sport model, smashing the 253.76 mph record set by a standard Veyron 16.4 in 2005.

It also betters the existing world record mark of 256.23 mph (412.28 kph) established by Shelby SuperCars with its Ultimate Aero on a 12-mile stretch of road in Nevada in 2007.

Confirming details of the attempt run under tight security at parent company Volkswagen’s 13-mile Ehra-Lessien test track in late June, Bugatti says the new Super Sport set the record in the hands of its test driver, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, and under the auspices of officials from the Guinness Book of Records.

In the first round of the attempt running counter-clockwise against a prevailing wind, the Super Sport hit 265.96 mph. It then went on to reach a wind-assisted 269.86 mph in a clockwise direction, giving the powered up Veyron 16.4 a combined average of 267.91 mph.

The new Super Sport, which Bugatti plans to produce in a limited run of no more than 30 units, is set to be the last hurrah for the Veyron 16.4, taking overall production of the flamboyant, quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter 16-cylinder supercar to 300 units since its introduction in 2005.

Using a lightweight carbon-fiber body created using a new fiber construction and clear finish, the four-wheel-drive Super Sport is claimed to weigh 110 pounds less than the standard Veyron 16.4 at 4,057 pounds. Bugatti has also worked on the Veyron 16.4’s engine, taking its peak power from 987 hp to 1,183 hp. Torque increases from 921 lb-ft to 1,106 lb-ft.

Details provided by Bugatti claim the 0-to-62-mph time remains at 2.5 seconds. However, the Super Sport’s 0 to 124 mph and 0 to 186 mph times are said to have been lowered to just 7.3 seconds and 15.0 seconds, respectively.

The styling changes made to the Veyron 16.4 to bring it up to Sport Sport specification revolve around its need for added cooling and to control turbulence within the wheel arches at high speed. At the front, Bugatti has reworked the lower air ducts, bringing them out closer to the sides where they continue up along the leading edge of the front wheel arches. They are complimented by new ducts behind the front wheel arches designed to relieve pressure build up.

The roof also sports two new NACA-style ducts. They replace the Veyron 16.4’s traditional engine ducts set further back above the engine. Further aerodynamic modifications include a double diffuser at the rear, incorporating a reworked double tailpipe.

Suspension upgrades, including firmer springs, larger diameter roll bars and uprated dampers, are also claimed to raise the Super Sport’s maximum lateral acceleration to 1.4g.

Bugatti has built 260 copies of the Veyron 16.4 at its boutique assembly plant at Molsheim, France, and 249 have been delivered to customers.

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall 17,000 Lexus HS 250h vehicles from model year 2010 after discovering excess fuel leakage during government rear-impact crash tests.

It is the latest safety setback for the world’s largest automaker.

Toyota discovered the fuel leakage while striking the vehicle from the rear at about 50 mph during annual federal safety tests. The fuel leakage, which exceeds allowable federal limits, can lead to fires, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its Web site.

The automaker has not identified a remedy for the problem, nor has it determined when the safety recall will begin, the NHTSA posting said.

During development of the 2010 Lexus HS hybrid, the company conducted similar tests and found no fuel leakage problems, Toyota said.

“Lexus is currently working to identify the reason for the different test results and the cause of this noncompliance,” the company said in a statement. Lexus dealers have also suspended sales of the model.

Toyota has recalled 10.6 million vehicles world-wide since November, company spokesman Brian Lyons has said.

The recalls cover more than a half-dozen separate safety issues, including sudden acceleration, braking, and steering.

The guy in the baseball cap with the gold sticker still on the peak glanced across and registered nothing. The empty sound of 1.6 litres of Citroen’s finest fell impotently out through an exhaust pipe larger than a drain.

Content in the thought that he did not need to worry about the old-fashioned chrome laden crock next to him, the lights turned to amber and he drew his elbow in through the window as the glow of blue LEDs emanating from under the sills launched down the road, followed by the un-silenced sound of French chipped distress.

The old car slipped into first, teeth meshing soundlessly but heavily without the aid of synchromesh. Being born in 1963 it would not be kind to feed in all the power in first, but following the gentle slide from first back to second and the lifting of the heavy clutch, the twin SU’s dragged the fuel into 3.8 litres of XK. A similar lack of silencers in twin stainless exhausts allow the sound of a Spitfire to build to a spine-tingling roar just as the Saxo (bobbling on its shortened springs) is passed. The draught bodily shakes the Saxo’s bodykit, causes the cap to turn, frown menacingly and drops the open mouth of the youth even further.

Then the clutch is dipped, the Dunlop discs applied and the rhythmic tickover resumed at the next set of lights that have just turned red. The LEDs flash by, reflecting off the Mark 2 badge and silver-on-black number plates. Flashing blue lights pull out from a layby, and a chirrup sounds from the roof bar mounted toward the rear of an X-type estate’s roof.

Cadillac is launching a four-year, or 50,000-mile maintenance program for the 2011 models, starting with the arrival of the CTS Coupe later this summe

America’s luxury brands are seemingly engaging in a game of high-stakes maintenance.

Days after Lincoln launched a three-year, or 45,000-mile program for new cars bought or leased this summer, Cadillac has upped the ante.

Cadillac is offering four years or 50,000 miles, besting Lincoln in time and travel. All 2011 models are covered. The program is dubbed Cadillac Premium Care Maintenance, and it includes oil changes, tire rotation, cabin air filters and inspections. The program will debut on the 2011 Cadillac CTS coupe, which is the first ’11 model to arrive this summer.

Longer maintenance programs generally have proved not to be a huge gamble. But if this bet pays off, it could rake in considerable brand loyalty for Caddy.

“Cadillac is adding Premium Care Maintenance as a way to extend customer service beyond the sale,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac sales and service. “The program is designed to raise satisfaction for owners by ensuring access to expert service. It should lead to higher loyalty rates for dealers by establishing them as a valued resource for our customers.”

HID kit is a completely different system of high intensity discharge component that includes bulb holders, counterbalances, wires, and a backend support system for the lighting mechanism. It makes use of a diverse method from ordinary headlights, which calls for a different set up.

BMW first used HID or High Intensity Discharge bulbs in 1991 in their BMW 7 series. It gained rapid popularity in European and Japanese autos. In 1996, Lincoln suggested US auto manufacturer to use HID lights and then Lincoln Mark VIII cars were invented.

Because of its great reputation, many manufacturers are taking interest to install these bulbs in their automobiles. Some recognized brands that use HID Kits are listed below.

Acura

HID Kit installed by Acura manufacturing auto mobiles come under the models such as Acura Integra, Acura MDX, Acura RSX, Acura TL, Acura RDX, Acura RL, Acura EL, Acura Vigor, Acura TSX, Acura CL. Acura NSX, are also available with xenon Kit installed onto them.

Audi

Audi HID conversion Kit is greatly accessible on the market in comparison to other cars. They come with different bulb sizing to match your headlights, low beam or high beam, and fog lights as well.

BMW

In the past BMW used HID kit on their automobiles such as BMW E36, BMW E46, BMW E32, BMW E38, BMW E34, BMW E60 and BMW E65 and E66, BMW Z1, BMW Z3, BMW Z4, BMW X3, BMW X5, BMW X6. It is currently using HID conversion kit on BMW E90, E61, BMW E63 and E64. BMW also recommends HID upgrading for several of their new cars. But they don’t use xenon for older cars.

Chevy

Chevy installs these kits in the Tahoe, Malibu, Silverado, Surburban, C-1500 Pickups, HHR, and other great cars made by Chevy.

Jaguar

HID kit also comes installed on the S-type, XF, X-type, XJ6, XJR, XJ6, XJ8, and XK8 offered by Jaguar manufacturer.

Mercedes

Mercedes Company installs these kits on Mercedes cars, minivans and SUVs. They are offered in several different bulb sizes such as; H1, H3, H4, H7, h13, D1S, D2S, H1, H3, H4-1, H7, 9004-1, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, 9007-1.

Thus the use of HID Kit has become widely popular in the automotive industry. There is a combination of style and safety in these kits for which it is measured among modern technological innovation.