Top Market Cars

Archive for June, 2010

Mercury Mariner Hybrid Interior And Exterior Features

SUVs have been known to look refined and elegant and most importantly visually appealing. At first sight the casual observer will find it eyecatching and be immediately intrigued with this vehicle. When you look at the Mariner your eyes will be drawn to the satinaluminum grille that is common with vehicles by this company giving the front end a different look from similarly styled vehicles. The head lights tail lights side panels and rear bumper are also eye catching and unique to the Mariner.

The entire exterior of the Mercury Mariner Hybrid follows the same theme as all of the other vehicles in the Mercury line. Each vehicle has clean lines that can be considered contemporary. The design is modern sophisticated and very urban. It easily stands out in a crowd of other compact SUVs classy elegant but not showy.

The Mariner also sports other exterior qualities that are distinct to this SUV. The rearquarter window of the driver’s side window has a builtin air ventilation unit that is designed to help manage the temperature of the battery pack on power train. The badges stating that the vehicle is a hybrid are mounted discretely on the vehicle so as not to seem boasting and of course it has clearly defined and identifiable 16″ wheels that just simply sing down the highway. To finish off the classy design of this hybrid SUV consumers will notice the door handles are integrated and color matched to the rest of the vehicle. The sides have protective bumpers and cladding and the overall finish is in satin aluminum with the distinct mercury tail lamps that have been found in the Ford Monterey and Mountaineer minivans.

The Inside

If consumers are impressed by the outside of the Mercury Mariner then they will like the inside just as much if not more. The entire cabin of this hybrid has been engineered in order to provide the occupants maximum comfort. In addition to the comfort factor of the driver and occupants and that’s not even mentioning all the options yet the SUV was also equipped with serious cargo space making sure that there was plenty of room to haul everything from groceries to luggage and back again.

The inside of this vehicle has an atmosphere all its own. Ford threw out the notion that SUV hybrids don’t have to comfortable and less appealing. Most vehicles today are being manufactured to appeal to that aspect of the human mind. Taking that into account the door trim is lighted and the seats are twotone. Chrome door handles and bright speaker grilles add to the elegant styling. The chrome and satin aluminum finishes on the outside is also evident on the inside in addition to Sappele wood grain finishing on the center console and stack.

The multifunctioning message center instrument cluster is handy and one of the newer features being added to the SUVs. This message center tells the driver mileage remaining gas oil life and trip statistics at the touch of a button. There is also a battery life indicator that gives information about the electrical current flow while driving as well as during the braking process. Plus it tells the driver what the current from the batter to the electric motor is doing while the engine is running on gasoline.

The Mariner has a great audio and navigation system inside of it as well. A four inch LCD display shows the energy flow as it travels between the gas and electric motors the battery itself and the wheels. Graphics are used on the monitor enabling drivers to see quite a bit with a quick glance. It shows how well the regenerative braking system works the state of the electric and gas engines and how they hybrid drives are operating.

Other interior amenities include heated front seats side mirrors leather seating surfaces twotoned at that and reverse sensing system. The safety package that comes equipped standard on the Mercury Mariner SUV Hybrid include driver and passenger side airbags safety belts rollover sensors and side curtains with air bags.

About the writer:  Do you want to learn ways to increase gas mileage? Then visit hybridcarchat.com and check out the latest free information regarding hybrid cars and a free guide to increasing your car’s gas mileage.

Honda To Produce Fuel Cell Vehicles For Consumers Next Year

The current global warming threat and increasing prices of gasoline has led car manufacturers to develop new technologies to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel. Reducing greenhouse gases which contributes to global warming is also a major concern for car manufacturers. Currently the most popular alternative engine technology is the gaselectric hybrid technology used widely by Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda.

The Toyota Prius is the most popular hybrid vehicle today with celebrities known to own and drive it all around town. Another technology though more fuel efficient than hybrids is being developed by Honda. The FCX fuelcell vehicle is the first U.S. government approved fuelcell vehicle. Currently the said vehicle is being tested by fleets and a couple of consumers. Next year though Honda promises to produce a limited number of this environment friendly vehicle.

The announcement came after General Motors also publicized that they will be letting consumers test 100 units of the fuelcell powered Chevrolet Equinox. The modified SUV from General Motors also gained the approval of the government. Both the revised Equinox and the FCX are powered by electricity. The electricity which drives the vehicles is produced by the fusion of oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is taken in by the fuel cell stack from the surrounding air while hydrogen is purchased from refilling stations offering it. Currently that is a problem being faced with the development of these hydrogenfueled vehicles.

Across the country there are limited numbers of refilling stations offering hydrogen fuel. Already there are proposed solutions to this problem. One of these is the involvement of industrial gas suppliers. Companies such as Praxair and Air Products could make their resources available to fuelcell car owners.

While the use of fuel cell technology eliminates the emission of harmful greenhouse gases it is expected that fuel cell technology is years away from being practical for ordinary consumer use. Fuel cell vehicles are more environment friendly than hybrid vehicles since the result of the fusion of hydrogen fuel and oxygen is only water. The production of fuel stack though is costly and fragile. With more money being poured into the development of these vehicles it can be expected that development of tougher fuel cell stacks for a lower price will be a reality.

For the 2008 FCX Honda announced that they will be using a lithiumion battery pack that is known to be lighter and more powerful than the nickelmetal hydride batteries used by current hybrid vehicles. The second largest Japanese car manufacturer also announced that the production FCX will be equipped with a smaller fuel cell stack. The current FCXs use the entire floor space to accommodate its fuel cell stack. For the next year the fuel cell stack will only occupy the space under the armrest between the driver and the passenger. The light lithiumion battery pack will be placed behind the rear seat.

The company did not release a statement whether they will be redesigning the exterior of the sleek FCX for the consumer market. Currently the FCXs design stands out with its unique headlight and taillight configuration which looks good even without a set of Auto Ventshade accessories. The FCX not only looks good but also delivers good value for money in terms of fuel efficiency. According to Honda the FCX has a mileage rating of 68 mpg if equated to gasoline. While hydrogen costs more per gallon the efficiency of fuel cell technology makes the cost per mile less than that of gasoline.

Aside from the limited production FCX Honda also announced that they will be offering a unique hybrid vehicle which will cost less than the hybrid version of the Honda Civic in the near future. The company said that the new hybrid will not replace the Civic hybrid in its lineup. Instead the said new hybrid will augment the Civic much like what the Prius is to the Camry hybrid.

About the writer:  Jenny McLane is a 36 year old native of Iowa and has a knack for research on cars and anything and everything about it. She works full time as a Market Analyst for one of the leading car parts suppliers in the country today.

Honda Ra107: Off With The Elephant Ears

In Barcelona Spain last week Honda F1 team has tested its new aerodynamic design which was in the form of elephant ears.

The Honda RA107 which was driven by Christian Klien with its protruding elephant ears on its front nose was following the heels on MacLarens nosestraddling front wing. Unfortunately it seems like the elephant ears are not really meant for racing the Honda F1 team has set the slowest time of the day. The team has finally decided not to push through with their new aerodynamic design since it has done nothing to enhance the performance of their car.

According to Jacky Eeckelaert engineering director “The main purpose of our test programme this week was to evaluate different aerodynamic configurations which have been developed in order to improve the braking stability of the car. The braking is definitely better now and the lap times have improved and become more consistent but there is still a long way to go to bring the team back into contention.”

Honda second largest auto seller in Japan and maker of high quality accord body kit has been working really hard to correct the problems of the new car since the start of the season especially in terms of the cars handling performance.

According to some reports the team is currently working round the clock to develop a new car which would be launch hopefully next month in time for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Although the test didnt go well for the Honda team it proceeded remarkably for some teams like for instance David Coulthard and Red Bull Racing has been able to grab some attention by posting a new track record with a time of 1:21.066. The quick lap happens during the qualifying simulation wherein the RB3 was running on a minimal amount of fuel just before it hit the circuit.

Pedro de la Rosa of the McLarens was 210ths back as he tries to test the new front wing of the teams car which would make its debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks time. Felipe Massa of the Ferrari team was able to finish with the third fastest time despite a mechanical failure that has interrupted his drive in the morning. And as expected of Ferraris they have finished the week recording the fastest time three out of the four testing days.

Giancarlo Fisichella the driver for Renault was the fourth quickest with Robert Kubica completing the top five. The driver for Toyota Ralf Schumacher finishes as the sixth fastest.

About Honda

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. or Honda for short is a Japanese engineering and engine manufacturer corporation. It is renowned for its automobiles and motorcycles. It has also surpassed Nissan as the second largest distributor of autos in Japan.

Honda also manufactures other products that include trucks robots scooters jet engines and jets ATV electric generators water craft lawn and garden equipment marine engines as well as aeronautical and other various mobile technologies. The highend line of cars of Honda is sold under the Acura brand for China and North America. And just recently the company has ventured into the domain of mountain bikes and they have produced the firstofitskind bike that makes use of an internal gear changing system in the Honda RN01 Gcross.

In addition Honda is also the worlds largest producer of engines building more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. It was in the year 2004 when Honda started producing diesel motors that were very silent and does not required the addition of particulate filter to pass the emission standards.

Honda has its base in Tokyo. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange Tokyo Stock Exchange and exchanges in Osaka Sapporo Nagoya Kyoto London Switzerland Paris and Fukuoka. Honda has subsidiaries in California and Canada plus it also forms a number of joint ventures around the world which include Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. Dongfeng Honda Automobile Company in China Hero Honda Motorcycles India Ltd. and Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan.

About the writer:  Evander Klum is a Business Administration graduate who hails from Alabama. He enjoys extreme sports and he is also a car racing fanatic. At present he works as a marketing manager at an advertising agency in Cleveland.