The new BMW 1 Series Sports Hatch

The new BMW 1 Series Sports Hatch will be launched on 17 September. The car is the only rear-wheeldrive car in its class. Available in a variety of different trim levels with different specifications, namely, ES, SE, Sport and Urban models.

Prices will range from £19,375 OTR for the ES model to £24,720 OTR for the diesel engine Sport and Urban models.

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The BMW i3 and BMW i8 Concepts.

BMW just unveiled two concepts - the fully electric BMW i3 was formerly known as the MegaCity Vehicle, and the BMW i8, a plug-in hybrid vehicle. One of the major problems with electric vehicles are the huge and heavy batteries. Well both cars use the innovative architecture and CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) to cancel out all of the extra weight added by the batteries.

Both cars will be manufactured at the BMW plant in Leipzig.

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New Audi S models

Audi has posted photographs of its new S models - the Audi S6, S7, Sportback and S8 on their Facebook page. The models will be shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show and launched the following year.

 Audi S6

 Audi S6 Avant

 Audi S6 Avant (front)

Audi S7 Sportback

Audi S7

Audi S8

Audi S8

The new 4.0 litre TFSI engine

According to Audi, these models combine high power outputs with low fuel consumption. Sounds too good to be true.

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Brand new MINI coupe ads

So far they have put up 3 videos on their Youtube channel which is also posted on their Facebook page.

How do you think the stories will end?


Tuesday in Iceland


Wednesday in Hong Kong


Sunday In Rio

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Car production in UK rises

In contrast to the rest of the manufacturing industry here in the UK, car production rose 1.3% in July this year compared with the same period last year and has gone up 3.7% in the first seven months, according to The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. An article in the Guardian is ascribed to the export orientated nature of the car industry and the "rise in demand of upmarket brands like Jaguar and Mini in emerging markets such as China".

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Measuring vintage cars with a laser

The problem with vintage cars is getting spare parts. Researchers at The University of Warwick show how laser technology can help solve this problem. This video show how this technology is used to scan and measure every part of a vintage sports car.

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Results of the Largest Electric Vehicle Trial

Late 2009, I wrote a post "Electric cars tested in the UK" about CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators) - the UK’s largest study into long-term low carbon vehicle use.



The results of the test were released by researchers in Aston university, Birmingham last month. Their press release says among others:

• ..that in spite of initial scepticism surrounding the capability of electric vehicles and concerns over range ‘anxiety’, they are more than capable of meeting the needs of drivers that require efficient urban transportation.

• most journeys undertaken (77%) lasted less than 20 minutes and only 2% used more than 50% of the battery

• electric vehicle users are not motivated to replenish their vehicle’s battery by reaching a particular point of depletion; rather they are driven by convenience and with data showing the vehicles are parked for 97.2% of the time (23.3 hours each day) it is apparent that there is ample opportunity for them to be plugged-in.

More details can be found on the CABLED site.

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