WheelTronix

Snow tires, are also known as “winter tires” or even”ice tires,”. These tires have been anticipated and made-up specifically to perform well under winter environment. Snow tires are distinct to other tires in both their tread and the brand of rubber that they are made of. The rubber employed to produce snow tires is flabbier than tires that are used in summer environment. The softer rubber clasps ice and snow better than other tires.

The softness of these tires is not perfect for summer months, but,  in moderate to high temperatures, snow tires will rapidly wear out.

The tread on snow tires is also much diverse than the tread on other types of tires.Snow tires have more ruts than most others. Like the soft rubber, these ruts also help the tires to grasp snowy and icy roads.

Nissan is now offering cheaper versions of its seven-seat Qashqai+2. 1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines join the 2.0-litre units already on sale and prices start from £15,495 for the 1.6 Visia petrol and £16,995 for the 1.5dCi Visia diesel.

The 1.6 (115bhp) petrol engine delivers 108mpg and 0-62mph in 12.9 seconds, and returns 40.4mpg and 165g/km of carbon dioxide (tax band D). The diesel (103bhp) does 0-62mph in 13.3 seconds, 49.6mpg and 149g/km (tax band C).

Entry-level Visia specification includes a fixed glass roof with powered sunshade, air conditioning, electric windows, Bluetooth hands-free phone kit, six airbags, a CD player, active front headrests and 16″ alloy wheels.
Acenta versions add 17″ alloys, a centre rear armrest, different trim and upholstery options, a six-CD auto-changer, climate control, cruise control, rear parking sensors and automatic windscreen wipers and headlamps.

Top-level Tekna models have leather upholstery, keyless entry, xenon headlamps and an auto-dimming interior mirrors. But stability control is only an option.

London, Dec 23 (ANI): Car giant Volvo is set to reveal its first ever “accident-proof car”, which will drive itself in traffic by using radar to control the distance.

The Volvo S60 will be unveiled with automatic brakes at the next month’s Detroit motor show. It will go on the market in 2010.

“This technology helps us take a crucial step towards our long-term vision of designing cars that should not crash,” the Telegraph quoted Thomas Broberg, the company’s safety specialist as saying.

“Our aim for 2020 is that no one should be killed or injured in a Volvo car,” he added.
The car can stop itself upon sensing that a collision is about to happen either a car or a pedestrian, even when traveling at low speeds.

It will feature a sophisticated cruise control system designed to automatically maintain a safe distance from the car in front.

It works with the help of a radar unit fitted in the car’s grille, which not only detects what is in front of the vehicle, but how fast it is moving.

When the car believes that there is an imminent threat of a collision, a light flashes on a windscreen display in front of the driver at the same time along with an audible warning, the brakes are applied automatically.

A Turin design agency has restyled the Mercedes-Benz SL – and turned it into a coupe.

It is on display as part of the Turin World Design Capital 2008 event and it transforms the German roadster into an elegant Italian GT.

Created in partnership with the Instituto di Arte Applicata e Design it may only be a 1:4-scale model at present but it could be developed into a fully-functional prototype.

The design team was led by Alfredo Stola, working mostly with IAAD student Piotr Degler Jablonski. They claim that the car would be every bit as reliable and refined as a mainstream series-production SL. It could be cheaper than the other SL hard-top, the SL 65 AMG Black Series, too.

Honda has stopped development of its new-generation NSX – despite it being well-advanced towards production.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said in his end-of-year speech that further work on the super car had been suspended as Honda is to concentrate its efforts onto bringing its hybrids into mass production. Originally scheduled for 2010, the NSX could be revived at a later date if fortunes change.
The new NSX was to have a V10 engine but a smaller unit – or perhaps even a hybrid power train – is now more likely.

Honda has also said it is to cancel the launch of its Acura brand in Japan. This news follows the shock announcement that the company is to pull out of Formula One.

What are the top10 most stolen cars in 2008 in the United States? Well here the list!
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the list of 2005-2007 model cars. Large SUVs and Trucks dominate the list, especially the high-end, loaded kind with plenty of bells and whistles.

#1 Cadillac Escalade ESV 4-door 4WD

#2 Ford F-250 SuperCrew 2WD/4WD

#3 Cadillac Escalade 4-door 4WD

#4 Dodge Charger

#5 Ford F-350 SuperCrew 2WD/4WD

#6 Hummer H2 SUT 4-door 4WD

#7 Dodge Magnum

#8 Hummer H2 4-door 4WD

#9 Dodge Durango 4-door 2WD/4WD

#10 Honda S2000 Convertible

Suzuki is adding a new entry-level model to its Splash mini-MPV line-up.

The Splash GLS comes with a 68bhp 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, which returns 56.5mpg and emits just 120g/km of carbon dioxide (tax band B). It comes with air conditioning, electric front windows, stability control, heated/adjustable door mirrors, a radio/CD/MP3 player and a leather steering wheel, but still costs from just £8,350. It joins the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel models already on sale.

Electric vehicle-maker Think! has appealed to the Norwegian government for help.

The tiny car company has admitted that it is in ‘urgent financial distress’ and is considering bankruptcy.

Think! was owned for a while by Ford, which floored it back in 2003 after deciding that there was no future in making electric vehicles.
It has since been in independent ownership, but says that it now needs up to $30million to stay afloat and keep its 250 employees in work.

The Norwegian government is said to have rejected the appeal, but reports suggest that one of the company’s major shareholders has offered to double his investment in the firm if other stakeholders do the same.

Outgoing US president George W Bush has agreed a $17.4billion (£11.6billion) loan to two of America’s struggling car companies.

The money will be taken from the $700billion ring-fenced for the Wall Street bail-out, with $13.4billion available in the short-term and a further $4billion to follow later next year.

The loan to General Motors and Chrysler (Ford is in a less desperate situation) is contingent upon their submitting a viable ongoing business plan by the end of March 2009.
The US Senate had earlier rejected appeals from the car companies for direct aid, but Bush said that ‘these are not ordinary circumstances. In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the US auto industry to collapse is not a responsible action.’

GM and Chrysler will be expected to come to an agreement with workers’ unions over pay and benefit deals, offering packages on a par with the less generous deals given by the foreign car-makers manufacturing in North America, and to reduce their debt.

They will also be required to make concessions such as getting rid of private corporate jets and cutting executive pay and bonuses.

If the companies’ submitted survival plans do not meet with approval next March, the Senate has the power to recall the loans and, if these are not repaid, thus instigate bankruptcy procedures. The ultimate decision on this, however, will be down to President-elect Barrack Obama.

Toyota has frozen the opening of its new factory in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Though the building work on this all-new facility is said to be virtually complete, the onset of car production has been indefinitely shelved.

The $300 million Tupelo plant was to make the new-generation Prius hybrid for the North American market, supplementing Prius production in Japan.
Production equipment has not yet been installed and Toyota has not confirmed when production will begin. No employees already hired are to be laid off as yet.

Toyota has 7 other factories in North America and has cut down on output at these facilities as its sales have slowed. Its sales are 13.4% down this year, though this decline is less severe than the American average.

Launch of the Mk3 Prius is still scheduled for the Detroit Motor Show next month.