Car
At the heart of the matter is Audi’s amazing, twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter diesel producing an eye-popping 500 horsepower and 757 lb-ft of torque. Not surprisingly, all that power translates to 0-62 mph times around 5.5 seconds for the Q7 according to Audi, an impressive sprint for an SUV of its size. Top speed will be limited to 155 mph. Despite its sizzling performance, Audi says the V12 TDI is also fairly fuel efficient, achieving just short of 20 mpg in the Q7-equipped model.
Audi’s gone and done it. After cramming its V-12 TDI diesel powerhouse engine into concept versions of both the Q7 (2007 Detroit show) and R8 (2008 Detroit), the automaker has decided to forge ahead with a production version of the Q7 called the Audi Q7 V12 TDI quattro.At the heart of the matter is Audi’s amazing, twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter diesel producing an eye-popping 500 horsepower and 757 lb-ft of torque. Not surprisingly, all that power translates to 0-62 mph times around 5.5 seconds for the Q7 according to Audi, an impressive sprint for an SUV of its size. Top speed will be limited to 155 mph. Despite its sizzling performance, Audi says the V12 TDI is also fairly fuel efficient, achieving just short of 20 mpg in the Q7-equipped model.Mated to the engine is a six-speed automatic with a tiptronic feature that was massaged in order to handle the engine’s massive torque. And of course, the Q7 will come with quattro four-wheel drive as standard equipment that distributes the power in a 40:60 ratio front to rear, providing the vehicle with a rear-drive biased setup that is meant to enhance its sporting intentions.The Q7 V12 TDI will roll on 20-inch rims standard (21-inchers will be available) and will be halted thanks to a carbon ceramic brake setup featuring eight-piston calipers up front, four piston units in the rear. Exterior changes include modifications to the front bumper and grille, headlamps, exhaust outlets and stainless steel underbody plates. Inside, there’s updated interior trim along with Audi’s top shelf on board tech, including the automaker’s latest safety and entertainment options.At the 2008 Geneva show, Audi will be trotting out a concept-themed version of the vehicle called Audi Q7 coastline, which is largely an interior trim package (interior photos below) that’s inspired by luxury yachts. We expect the Q7 V12 TDI will be pulling a few expensive boats around as part of its duties when it hits the streets.Audi says presales of the vehicle will begin later this year, and it will likely be a 2009 model. It shouldn’t be cheap — expect pricing to scrape up near the $100,000 mark or more. No word yet if the vehicle will come to the U.S., but you can be sure we’ll be asking that question during the Geneva show press days this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 4-5.
Some people think that insurance rates are set in stone by insurance companies and individual states. However, that is not the case. In fact, most drivers probably pay a much different rate than the drivers next to them, based on the discounts they qualify for and a host of other factors. If you want to make sure your insurance rates are affordable, it helps to know the factors insurance companies look at to determine rates of individual drivers. This article will give you some of the most common variables to consider when shopping for car insurance.
The Driver The first factor insurance companies consider is personal information about the driver. People who are neither too young nor too old tend to qualify for better rates. In fact, men between the ages of 16 and 25 will probably pay some of the highest rates around. Older women also fare worse than aging men in this area. Insurance companies also see married people as a lower risk, so their premiums tend to be lower. Students are generally higher to insure, but a student with excellent grades may be able to get a break on price.
The Car If you are in the market for a new car, you can check lists to find rating on the safest vehicle or the one most likely to get stolen. Typically, high profile cars cost more to insure because they usually make it to the latter list. Expensive foreign cars also cost more to repair, so insurance rates are probably going to be higher on these as well. Choosing a car with extra safety features or anti-theft devices may also bring your insurance premiums down significantly.
The Location Some areas of the country charge more for insurance than others. States also vary in the amount of insurance coverage they require their drivers to have. For example, Illinois does not require drivers to carry comprehensive and collision coverage on their vehicle, or personal injury protection on themselves. They do, however, require drivers to carry a certain amount of uninsured motorist bodily injury, which is not a typical requirement for most states.
The Customer If you have been a long-term customer in good standing with an insurance company, they may reward you for your loyalty with a discounted premium. Companies also offer cheaper rates for customers who insure more than one vehicle with them or combine their homeowners insurance with their auto insurance policy. Some companies will even discount rates for employees of certain businesses or members of some professional organizations. It never hurts to ask what businesses an insurance company might work with in this regard.
Finding cheaper car insurance begins with understanding the many factors insurance companies use to determine rates. By studying these variables, you will be able to negotiate the best rates for your individual coverage.
:: For a lot of individuals that are working traditional jobs, life has become pretty boring. They have lost their enthusiasm about their jobs and only stay because of the steady paycheck. Unfortunately, a loss of enthusiasm can quickly lead to unhappiness in the job and the quality of work will be affected. If you are one of these people, consider what your options really are. The Internet makes it possible to actually work from home and even makes it possible for one to earn a better income. The fact is that making this type of change can transform your whole life.
The most obvious advantage you will see when you begin to work from home is that a lot of your stress will dissipate. This is not to say that you will not be stressed out about money, but as you are the one to make decisions regarding the business, you can get rid of that boss-looking-over-your-shoulder and feel a little more relaxed. In fact, most people who start working in the home find themselves enjoying their work more than they ever have before in their whole life.
Along with feeling happier about the work, you may also find that you can renew your relationships with family members. So often, families living together are so caught up in their own lives, including work, that they do not share enough time together. As you are going to be in the home a lot more, it can give you a chance to catch up and spend more quality time with them. Even if you were to just take the average commute time to spend with them, it is enough that you would see a major difference.
In the beginning, the financial stress of working at home can seem like a lot. However, as you and you alone are responsible for bringing in a profit from you new business in the home, you will have complete control. The potential you have to earn is unrestricted. In other words, you can earn as much as you need or want.
As you can see from the above advantages, a work from home career can completely transform your life. You can get rid of a lot of the stress associated with working under the strict management of someone else, as well as freeing up some of your time for your family. Of course, the added benefit of being in charge of your own financial well-being might be a little stressful, but the potential is unlimited.
Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Allan-Hilkewich-19748/Plug-In-Profit-Site-192649.php
In 1998, Tim Wellborn, a 40-year-old kitchen-cabinet manufacturer from Alexander City, Alabama, was shipped off to Europe with one of the most famous stock cars in NASCAR history, where he had free rein to hotfoot it around some of the world’s most exciting racetracks.
For Wellborn, it was an impossible fantasy come true, courtesy of DaimlerChrysler. The German brass wanted to show Europeans that Chrysler’s racing heritage went far deeper than the Viper’s recent road-racing successes. Wellborn flew first-class and stayed in the finest hotels. The car he drove was the No. 71 Dodge Charger Daytona-the famous winged car that had carried his favorite driver, Bobby Isaac, to the 1970 NASCAR championship. Except now, instead of the 426-cubic-inch Hemi engine that it had in 1970, the car was equipped with a monster-a new 528-cubic-inch Hemi.
At historic Silverstone racetrack in England, Wellborn took it easy and still hit 145 mph. He showed up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and later showed off the car in Barcelona, Spain. In 1999, DaimlerChrysler asked Wellborn to do it again. This time, at the Nrburgring in Germany, on the new 2.831-mile Grand Prix course, Wellborn spun the big Dodge off a hairpin turn and put it in a gravel pit, gouging the car’s famous shark nose.
It wasn’t the end of the world, as Wellborn is a member of the executive board of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum, which owns the car. Wellborn himself owns three of the winged cars. In 1995, he was instrumental in making the old No. 71 actually run again. It was these connections that had prompted DaimlerChrysler to tap Wellborn to tour with the car.
"I had Bobby’s old NASCAR competition license in my pocket when I drove," Wellborn says (he had snagged it from an eBay auction). "It was just really special to know that I was the first person to drive the car at speed since 1971 and that my idol from back then, Bobby Isaac, was the last person to sit in that driver’s seat and drive it."
Isaac had a distinguished racing career, but he was no Richard Petty, and because of that, the best-remembered winged car today is the famous "Petty Blue" 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird, sister car to the Dodge Charger Daytona. Among purists, however, the Charger Daytona is the greater treasure. And in the annals of speed, the No. 71 not only holds more actual records but also triumphs over the Superbird in knee-slapping, jaw-dropping, old-time, southern-style, stock-car storytelling.
Isaac, the No. 71 car’s only driver, was an introverted kid of few words and even fewer smiles who grew up dirt poor in Maiden, North Carolina, near the Appalachian foothills. His parents died when he was a young teenager. He never finished grade school and by 13 was making deliveries for an ice plant. It is said he bought his first pair of shoes when he was 16. In the years that would follow his first NASCAR Grand National race in Charlotte in 1961, he would show a skill and hunger that would catapult him at 38 to the NASCAR championship, his last hurrah. Isaac slipped out of the limelight almost as quickly as the winged cars, and just seven years later, at 45, his heart would fail.
With their long, pointed snouts and huge basket-handle wings, the Dodge Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds "looked like they were going fast when they were sitting still," says Wellborn. Although they were quickly embraced by fans, they were a headache to NASCAR. Chrysler produced them for one reason: to dominate stock-car racing. So they became a threat to NASCAR’s authority. But for one glorious year, 1970, they flew in the face of that authority. And did they ever fly, winning 14 big races and setting many speed records.
The winged cars were driven by 32 different drivers. By 1971, they were a dying breed, and they were made extinct by NASCAR the next year.
"That was the last hurrah for the manufacturers," says Larry Rathgeb, who was then in charge of engineering Chrysler’s stock-car racing program. "That was the last time the manufacturers really had anything to say or do about what was going to run in NASCAR."
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/02q2/aero_warrior-sport
To your list of things that will never happen, you can add one more: The hot-blooded
pilotes of this staff will never rank this new Lincoln above a BMW,
any BMW, in a comparison test. But the Supreme Court is not the only enclave of divided opinions; the contrarians among us think Ford has something going on here.
Consider the driver’s office. BMW and Benz, not to mention Honda and Acura designers—and Jaguar, too, now that we think of it—could learn much from a few hours in this Lincoln. The wide-screen dash display is so bright and legible you could read it with patches on both eyes. And the driver interface—the buttons or knobs or joysticks or what the Ultimate Driving Machine
calls iDrive (i for infuriation?)—seems to explain itself at a glance here. The MKS combines a touch screen with just the right number of hard buttons and, even better, knobs. They’re all positioned high where you can see them, on the center stack in a remarkably simple array, angled just right for easy use. Strong, white, sans-serif characters on dark backgrounds encourage info to leap into your mind, whether from the screen or the dials of the cluster. Nothing blanks out when you put on your polarized sunglasses, either. Eat your hearts out, Benz and BMW drivers.
Better still, Lincoln designers had the less-is-more good sense to stand back and let function take the starring role. No aurora borealis shimmering in the dials or color-of-the-day lighting in the cup holders. Just leaping info. In the category of ergonomics, the MKS earns maximum points.
And those of us with long memories love the lavish chrome cabin detailing, the jewelry, a reminder of
The American Way half a century back when our glittering Detroiters were the envy of the world. It was never done then with the high level of quality evident here.
The MKS makes Lincoln a three-car family as it slots under the AARP-favorite Town Car and over the dressed-up Ford Fusion d.b.a. the MKZ. With a base price of $38,465, ranging to $48,835 for a full-dress all-wheel-driver, the MKS has the comfort and style to keep up with the better-dressed of the Joneses, though it’s iffy on the prestige. Lincoln has been a low-luster brand for years—dallying with Blackwood and Mark LT trucks while the cars went yawn for yawn with Buick—so nobody expects this new middle child to punch toe-to-toe with a BMW 5-series or a Lexus GS. Wisely, Lincoln picked a lighter price class, safely under the roughly $45,000 starting point of the other two.
As a puncher, MKS heritage couldn’t be more dubious, built as it is on Taurus (ne Ford Five Hundred) bones, a commodious family hauler, sure, but a bread pudding of a thing to drive. Borrowing cop phrasing, could such lineage possibly produce
a sedan of interest to enthusiasts?
Well, no, not to the
pilotes.
The 3.7-liter Duratec V-6 is willing, and the six-speed automatic is adept, but you can expect just so much from 275 horsepower shouldering against a 4315-pound burden. With nary a chirp from the test car’s four driven wheels, it sauntered to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds and ambled on through the quarter in 15.7 seconds at 90 mph.
The brakes have a linear pedal feel that’s reassuring on the road, less so at the track where the 188-foot stopping distance from 70 mph is about typical for a full-size people hauler.
Our test car wears the double-upsized 20-inch bling-finish alloys with 245/45R-20 Michelin Primacy all-season rubber (18-inchers are standard equipment wrapped in 235/55s), but these are for eye grabbing more than road grabbing, as you can see by the so-so 0.82 g of grip on the skidpad. The stability control limits the fun at that point. Such low-profile tires react quickly to the steering, in some maneuvers a bit quicker than the chassis or the driver expects. So, occasionally, your steering input bites off more of a heading change than intended, requiring a hasty unsteer to correct.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/08q4/2009_lincoln_mks_awd-road_test