WheelTronix

A press release stated that BMW has taken a cautious resolution to return to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) race series. Accepting BMW accomplishes particular prerequisites set out by ITR which is the organization behind DTM, the German producer will take part in the 2012 race season with the BMW M3.
Mario Theissen the BMW Motor sport Director stated that, “The planned return to the DTM is an exciting challenge for our team. Over the coming months we will be making all the necessary technical preparations that should allow us to be competitive right from the start should we join the series in 2012.”
The DTM, identified in English as the German Touring Car Masters, has presently raced solely with cars constructed by BMW’s major competitors. In 2009, racing variants of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG and the Audi A4 were utilized by the seven teams who took part in the race. These teams selected 21 drivers throughout ten rounds of racing from May to October. Circuits used for the series are established primarily in Germany, with extra races in France, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Mercedes-Benz is bringing in a new unique version in its CLS range, suitably coroneted as Grand Edition. This new version will be available in the UK in July and it is said that only 500 CLS Grand Editions will be ready for delivery.

The car will be obtainable in a range of 5 colors with Palladium Silver as a special color   for the first time on a CLS.

A 18″ AMG five-spoke alloy wheels with a titanium grey finish, front grille louvers, headlight fitted in a silver matt finish and floor mats with Grand Edition marking will also be added to the CLS.

Power in CLS 350 CDI V6 has been altered by 48bhp which makes the entire power to 272bhp. Torsion is raised by 36lb-ft which has decreased the 0-62 mph time to 6.5 seconds.

The CLS Grand Edition will have a starting price from £48,445 – £2,495 with extra equipments worth £4636.

Mercedes has brought out a model car that boasts of a great deal of innovative protection engineering that may, one day be, common on almost all the mainstream cars.

The ESF 2009 is founded on an S400 Hybrid which has a dozen protective conceptions and a good number of which are completely working.

Maybe the most fundamental is a brake bag built-in below the car that expands if it feels a collision is forthcoming. The bag raises the car by up to 80mm and produces friction on the road to slow the car.

Unusual seat pads that move occupiers up to 50mm into the middle of the cabin if a collision takes place also marks a novel idea. Other introductions include meditative tyres and an airbag equipped into the seatbelt.

Ulrich Mellinhoff, Head of Mercedes safety development, remarked that the ESF 2009 plainly shows the all-inclusive technique of Mercedes-Benz for more submissive and active security.

The recently undertaken 2009 JD Power survey has reported that Lexus has received the maximum votes for Britain’s most satisfying brand. The esteemed honour is the ninth consecutive win in a row for the opulence brand.

Honda the fellow Japanese carmaker secured the second place and Mercedes-Benz took the third place. Actually Mercedes-Benz beat Skoda to be placed in the third position.

Lexus RX  is the topper of the customer satisfaction model table this year. It has achieved this position by replacing last year’s IS saloon.
Possessors of the Lexus 4 x 4 paid tribute to Lexus 4 x 4 for its quality and reliability which is par in excellence.
The services of the dealers dealing in Lexus 4 x 4 was also remarkable and the customers were quiet pleased with their dealers.

Toyota Prius hybrid is placed second and it has performed well on both operation costs and dependability.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe is getting performance upgrades from Tuning firm Brabus. The advances begin with its 6.1-litre V8 that gives 456bhp and 453lb-ft torsion.

It will be set up in the E500 Coupe and will allow the car to take 0-60 mph in less than 4.7 seconds and then onto a peak speed of 196 mph.

The engine improvement comes with a billet crankshaft, new con rods, bigger pistons, traditional camshafts and a sport eject system with great functional metal catalysts.

The cars will get upgraded brakes and sport suspension system with exceptional alloy wheels, ranging in size from 17″ to 20″.

The upgrade to the external of the coupe features a front spoiler with inherent LED day running lights, aluminum front quarter panels with carbon-fiber insets, new rocker boards with LED entry lights and a back apron with cutouts for the company’s open space sport discharge system.

This is the first official picture of the awesome AMG 6.3-litre V8-engine E-Class saloon. The vehicle is to go on sale in the UK in August.

The E63 AMG employs a 6.2-litre V8 engine that builds up a spectacular 525bhp and a highest torque of 464lb-ft. It speeds up from 0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds, with an apex speed of 155 mph which is electronically limited.

Even though it extends 11bhp of power, fuel consumption has bettered now bringing back 22.4 mpg – 2.6 mpg more than the preceding model.

The 7 speed sports transmittal has 4 driving modes: ‘C’ (Controlled Efficiency), ‘S’ (Sport), ‘S+’ (Sport plus) and ‘M’ (Manual), which can be picked out utilizing a circular electronic switch. When operating in M mode the speed sports transmission permits gearshifts to be executed in 100 milliseconds. When it is in the Controlled Efficiency mode, the transmittal control unit is programmed to execute too soon up shifts to keep engine velocities as low as possible.

SsangYong will be revealing its new hybrid version of its Kyron 4×4 next month. It will be using the Seoul motor show in April to unveil a diesel hybrid version of its Kyron 4×4.

The company will be blending a new direct injection diesel with an electric motor and battery produced exclusively by the firm. This will improve fuel efficiency by as much as 25% over the current model.
The firm will also make use of the show to bring out a near output C200 which is almost ready. This new C200 is being formulated from the C200 concept brought out at the Paris Motor Show last year.

The C200, a rival for the Toyota RAV-4 and Nissan Qashqai, will be power-driven by a 173bhp 2.0-litre diesel.

Used prestige-brand cabriolets value has fallen to a extraordinary low, according to Glass’s, publisher of a guide to used car prices.

Glass’s Guide has reported that year-old drop-tops from premium marques are worth up to 24% less than in March 2008. This suggests that possible buyers should reflect on buying now before price rises in the run up to summer.

Glass’s equated values of one-year-old roadsters like the BMW Z4, premium cabriolets such as the Audi A4 Cabriolet, and luxury drop-tops such as the Jaguar XK Convertible in March 2008 to March 2009. Every vehicle had extra depreciation of at least 17%. The biggest extra fall in value was for the Mercedes-Benz SLK 280, with a one-year-old example worth 24% less this month than an identical car of the same age in March 2008.
For example, the price difference between a one-year-old Mercedes-Benz SL350 and a SL500 is only £3,425, despite the cost difference when new being nearly £13,000.

Girona-based Tramontana has exposed a faster-yet version of its Spanish-built super car.

The Tramontana R Edition makes use of the Mercedes-AMG 5.5 twin-turbo V12 (720bhp and 811lb-ft) but at the same time weighs approximately 92kg less, and has its open-wheel structure exposed further.
The Tramontana R has a tiny insectile-looking creature looks, and it is said to be good for 0-62mph (0-100kph) in 3.6 seconds and 0-200kph in 10.15 seconds; top speed is 202mph. It sits on 20″ carbon fibre/magnesium wheels, with adaptable Olin’s suspension and six-piston Brembo brakes. Transmission is via a six-speed consecutive-shift system, and the R has a 42:58 front: rear weight distribution.

Tramontana programs to commence the R at the Top Marques show in Monaco this spring; it will make just 12, each priced from €385,000.

Scientists in the US have formulated a polyurethane covering that mends its own abrasions when out in the open in the sunlight. This is a development the outcome of which would be scratch-free cars.

Marek Urban of the University of Southern Mississippi in an internet interview said that his team has formulated a polymeric material which removes scratch from the cars when it is exposed to sunlight.
He said that “In essence, you create a scratch and that scratch will disappear upon exposure to the sun”.

The self-healing paint is made of a substance which is found in the shells of crabs and prawns called chitosan. This substance is then included into the types of polymer materials conventionally used in applications on cars to shield the paintwork. When a scratch destroys the chemical structure of the coating, the chitosan reacts with the ultraviolet rays in sunlight and forms chemical chains which start bonding with other materials in the matter.
The final outcome is smoothing of the scratch. Professor Urban claims the procedure can take less than an hour.