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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.

Honda is one of the largest manufacturers of motorcycles. As far as automobile is concerned, it holds the sixth position in the world. There are several brands like Honda Acura, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda City and more. Honda is known for its perfection and performance. All the accessories and spare parts are manufactured by the company and are available in all automobile stores. These are fitted into the car in the form of Honda HID kits. This helps to maintain the standard of this brand.

Honda HID kits measure the color temperature and give stress on the performance of the parts. It gives the required illuminating qualities. The bulbs of Honda HID kits are of superior quality and can be used as both taillights and headlights. Owners of Honda feel very comfortable with these headlights. It reaches long distances to illuminate the road. Even in adverse conditions like stormy weather or foggy morning, these HID kits can perform very comfortably. Honda HID kits help the drivers with direction indicator and break lights.

According to the feedback received from owners of Honda from across the world, the illumination provided by Honda HID Bulbs is three times greater than other bulbs. The installation of the bulbs is an easy process. It does not require any mechanic to do the job.

There are various kinds of HID kits according to the models of the cars. Some of them are Audi HID Kit, Civic HID kits, CRV HID kits, CRX HID kits and Pilot HID kits. All these series of models are found in different colors and capacity to handle certain temperature. White, yellow and blue are the main colors that have a demand.

Other than this, the indicators are generally blue in color, whereas break lights and taillights are red in color. All these lights are highly powerful. Even in the broad daylight, the function of these lights is possible to notice from long distances. This proves the quality of these spare parts. Moreover, it indirectly helps the driver to follow traffic rules and avoid possible mishaps caused due to improper lights.

Looking for cheap wheels? Here they are — the least-expensive 2010 cars on sale in America. (All prices are MSRP (sticker price) plus destination charge.) The Cars test team has driven all of these cheap cars, and this list will tell you which are the real deals — and which are the real duds.

Last year, Hyundai chopped the price of the Accent to undercut Nissan’s Versa (see below) by $20, but you had to buy a more expensive model in order to get any options. The price is unchanged for 2010, but you can now add air conditioning for an extra $1,000, although you’ll still have to buy the pricier Accent GS if you want a stereo or automatic transmission. Hyundai has tweaked the powertrain for better fuel economy — hence the name change from “GS Base” to “Blue” — but they’ve also limited color choices to blue (of course), white, and shades of gray. The Accent is good fun to drive in a back-to-basics sort of way, but the lack of advanced safety features and mediocre crash test scores make it difficult to justify.

Renault has provided the first glimpse of its new D-segment sedan, the Renault Latitude. Set to be revealed at the Moscow motor show at the end of August, the new car features balanced proportions and generous exterior dimensions.

The Latitude’s elegant exterior aesthetic is underlined by a strong shoulderline that runs the length of the car. A new front face blends into its scalloped clamshell hood, while bi-Xenon headlamps flank the contours of the revised grille. A chrome DLO surround contributes to an impression of dynamism and status when viewed in profile, while the rear end features taillamps that bleed onto the rear fenders. Based on the same – A34R – architecture as the new Samsung SM5 recently launched in the Korean market (which spawned the Renault Safrane model sold in the Gulf states), the Latitude measures 4890mm in length, 1830mm wide and 1490mm high.

Though photos of the new Latitude’s cabin are not presently available, the French automaker promises an emphasis on innovation and travelling comfort, including a host of luxury appointments designed to cosset its occupants.

General Motors Co. has reassigned dozens of product development executives and appointed new heads of global product planning, powertrain engineering and quality in its latest departmental shakeup.

Responsibility for global product planning moves to CEO Ed Whitacre from Vice Chairman Tom Stephens. Stephens retains control of product development, including design, engineering and purchasing.

GM announced the changes Friday in a memo to employees obtained by Automotive News. Spokeswomen Sharon Basel and Katie McBride verified the memo’s authenticity and said the moves didn’t involve any employees leaving the company. The shakeup follows major changes in sales and marketing in March.

As part of Friday’s changes, Steve Carlisle has become vice president of global product planning, reporting to Whitacre. Carlisle, who had previously served in product planning outside the United States and in GM’s truck group, had been vice president of U.S. sales operations since March.

He replaces Jon Lauckner, who had led product planning since August. GM said earlier Friday that Lauckner would head its new venture capital unit, reporting to Vice Chairman Steve Girsky.

Carlisle’s role in sales has gone to Don Johnson, who will report to Mark Reuss, president of GM North America.

Dan Hancock, GM’s vice president of global powertrain engineering since 2005, has moved into the newly created position of vice president of global strategic product alliances. He will focus on joint ventures and report to Stephens, who heads global product operations.

Jamie Hresko has replaced Hancock and will report to Stephens. Hresko, an electrical engineer by training, had been vice president of global quality since September 2008 and held a variety of manufacturing positions before that.

Dan Nicholson, formerly executive director of electronic integration and software, has replaced Hresko. He will report to Stephens.

Another BMW Art Car has been created and it’s a stunner in the tradition of Andy Warhol and Frank Stella. It was revealed on Wednesday in Paris.

There are two things you need to know about this car–it’s fast and it looks crazy.

Artist Jeff Koons has been collaborating with BMW since 2003. His Art Car has a blend of bright and vibrant colors. It’s a one-off wonder and will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Koons’s palette is an M3 GT2, and it’s race-ready for the French endurance classic.

This is the 17th Art Car that BMW has commissioned. It wears No. 79, in tribute to Warhol’s Art Car from 1979. That car saluted Frank Stella’s 1976 racer. They both competed at Le Mans.

BMW takes racing and art quite seriously.

Dell has introduced a new, 5-inch, capacitive touchscreen device in the UK that is a cross between a smartphone and a tablet computer, the Dell Streak. To be available in the U.S. later this summer, the Streak runs on the Android operating system, and comes loaded with features for mobile business and recreational use. The list includes an integrated GPS chip driving Google Maps Navigation for free turn-by-turn directions, multi-touch control, 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing camera, and built-in WiFi, 3G, and Bluetooth. The Streak functions as a phone as well, but may be used without phone service or a carrier contract. Price and carrier options for the U.S. have not yet been announced by Dell.

Sized between a 10-inch-screen iPad, and a typical 3.5-inch smartphone screen, the Streak will clearly provide a much more easily visible screen for GPS turn-by-turn navigation than a smartphone, without the bulk of a bigger tablet device.

The Streak is venturing into the same, in-between territory that Garmin hopes to occupy with its Garminfones, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Magellan recently added eight new RoadMate portable car GPS models to its 2010 lineup, including 4.3-inch (diagonal) screen 2000-series models, 4.7-inch screen 3000-series models (model 3065 shown here), and a new, 5-inch screen 5054 model. Prices range from $169 to $299. It’s a very competitive market, with Garmin and TomTom launching new models, and smartphone apps improving steadily, so Magellan aggressively added new features. These include free lifetime traffic detection and avoidance, and free lifetime map updates, depending on the model purchased (higher-end models offer more freebies). Other distinguishing features include AAA Tourbook (a Magellan exclusive), a traffic wake-up function that can be set to pre-load traffic conditions before you get in your car, automated mileage tracking for business purposes.