Ultimatecarpage.com forums - General Automotive

Which of this two police cars do you like?

4wheelsonline — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:11:32 GMT

Quote:

It's USA: Dodge Magnum. Which Michigan Police acquired an entire Magnum fleet (they could be used as rams by their looks)

Cool police cars.... :p

Update on Boeing - Still having issues with Carbon Fibre

G35COUPE — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:04:46 GMT

Boeing is still struggling with Carbon fibre technology. Like I had once said in one post, carbon fibre is too difficult to manufacture inspite of its obvious advantage as a material.

At Boeing, Dreamliner Fix Reveals New Wrinkle - WSJ.com

At Boeing, Dreamliner Fix Turns Up New Glitch

By PETER SANDERS

Boeing Co. said Thursday it had finished fixing the problem that had forced it to postpone the maiden flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner. But in making the repair, the aerospace giant got a fresh reminder of the complexities involved in working with the high-tech materials used to build the aircraft.

Damage to the area where the wings join the plane's body emerged during stress testing earlier this year. That prompted Boeing to delay flight testing of the aircraft and urgently search for a repair.

See production delays in the long-awaited 787 Dreamliner, plus stock price and key events for Boeing.
As Boeing raced to find a remedy this summer, it discovered another issue with the composite material in the plane's wings, according to internal company documents and a person familiar with the matter. Metal bolts inside the wings of one of the six test airplanes were found to have slightly damaged the surrounding material—causing so-called delamination, or cracking—the documents show.

The damage, which Boeing engineers cited as an additional reason to keep the plane grounded, was discovered as the original problem was being fixed. It isn't known whether the five other test-flight aircraft showed similar damage.

The aerospace giant faces challenges in its commercial business, but its defense side is also feeling revenue pressure. MarketWatch's Christopher Hinton reports on the company's latest results.
The damage created by the metal bolts, called freeze plugs, was confined to a relatively small area. However, according to an internal Boeing document from October, it raised red flags among engineers, who decided the plane couldn't fly until the problem was corrected.

A work order written by one of the company's engineers, and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, says, "Noted conditions are structurally and functionally acceptable to Engineering for GROUND TESTING ONLY," and adds, "NO FLIGHT TEST IS ALLOWED."

The company acknowledged Thursday that delamination occurred in the composite material surrounding bolt holes, but said it won't affect the plane's first flight or require a repair. It said it routinely uses metal freeze plugs, which are installed after being frozen in liquid nitrogen and expand as they thaw.

"The freeze plug process is a standard repair we perform on both metallic and composite structure. We have extensive experience using these techniques. We have not seen any issues with these repairs that are inconsistent with our experience or the capability of these repair techniques," a Boeing official said.

In developing a new airplane as complex as the Dreamliner, problems large and small are inevitable. Boeing's European rival, Airbus, encountered significant problems and delays in developing its giant A380 jetliner, though those delays involved wiring and interior-customization issues.

Composite materials, essentially sandwiched layers of carbon fiber and epoxy, can make planes lighter and more fuel efficient than conventional materials like aluminum. Airbus, a unit of European Aerospace & Defence Co., uses composites widely in its planes, but it has adopted them much more gradually over successive aircraft models than Boeing's big leap with the 787. Boeing's use of composites throughout the Dreamliner is the most extensive use of these materials ever attempted in a large commercial jetliner.

Journal Communitydiscuss“ As energy prices rise, this doesn't seem to bode well for Boeing and Airbus getting a new generation of more efficient planes to market quickly. ”
—Thomas Broen Boeing remains convinced that "composites are the right material choice for the 787 Dreamliner. We are progressing well toward first flight and are on track to fly by the end of the year," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

Though composite materials are both strong and lightweight when intact, cracks or bubbling in the materials can potentially undermine their integrity, experts say. Much remains unknown about their behavior. Boeing has only computer models to predict how they will react to the stresses of flight, especially under long-term use.

"Delamination is a very, very challenging problem to model analytically," says Andy Hansen, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wyoming and an expert in composite analysis. "If you're talking about building an airplane you want to fly for 30 years, it's an issue."

When composites are damaged, or delaminate, Prof. Hansen says, "you had better be concerned about them propagating over time."

The discovery of the damage comes at a very late stage in the Dreamliner's development and production process. The company is preparing to ramp up production once its aircraft clear the rigorous test-flight phase. Crafting engineering solutions for problems such as these at this stage of production can be exceedingly complicated and expensive.

According to a person familiar with the details, Boeing is still aiming to get the first Dreamliner airborne on Dec. 22. Workers at Boeing's massive factory in Everett, Wash., are on duty around the clock preparing the first batch of Dreamliners for test flights

Boeing executives are under intense pressure to get the Dreamliner aloft. The plane is now more than two years behind schedule, and Boeing last quarter took a $2.5 billion charge related to development costs associated with the program. These delays have cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in concessions and penalties to its customers, though the company still has orders for 840 Dreamliners.

New police vehicles for the Nurburgring

Matra et Alpine — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:17:56 GMT

In response to the increased speeds of cars like the Corvette around the 'Ring, the local police have re-equipped their traffic police to catch and fine those who speed on the local roads around.

"Our BMW cars in the past have been excellent at identifying, stopping and charging speeding owners in fast care on the roads around the Nurburgring circuit" Said Herr Linden - Polizeiinspektion Adenau (Chief Constable) Landespolizei

"But this is expensive for Bereitschaftspolizeiabteilungen (rapid response force) to continue".

"With these new vehicles we can exploit the better handling to easily catch evading Corvette and Viper drivers."

Shown here are three new members of the latest tool in use in Nurburgring to trap speeding motorists.

SOrry coudln't resist the "spoof" BUT they are REAL ... see http://bridgetogantry.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=239&Item id=54

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What's the worst/least accurate article ever ?

Matra et Alpine — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:23:53 GMT

We're used to being spoiled by Pieter/WOuter's research when they write articles.

Found this one today which frankly if the author had had the courage to sign it I'd have e-mailed for the number of errors.

AND I'm only counting the errors in the cars I KNOW about ... so I presume some of the other car comments are just as bad .. just I don't know it.

Plastic fantastics: world?s greatest plastic cars

PS:
- It's not a MaNtra Bagheera and they DID do RHD but they were converted by Chrysler UK on special order. The pic is of the MkII version from '76 .. NOT 73
- The Venturi Larrouse company UK part was the means to design and build the cars. Ownership never "moved" to the UK and no idea where the Scottish angle came from. (afaik) I't slike saying NIssan is English coz they build cars in North England :)
- 153 RS200s built ? erm they were GroupB .. so by definitino 200 wre built .. some in full rally trim, but all road legal.The RS200 owners register has 209 listed. So not difficult to get teh right numbers really :)
- the ALpine A110 was not "essentially a competition car" :) True that most English journos or yongsters woudl think that. BUt nobody builds 7,500 "competition cars" !!

In the OFF-chance that a UCP reader knows the author, please drop me his e-mail :)

-

Return of Gordini

Matra et Alpine — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:08:02 GMT

.. or a badge engineering activity anyway ....

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSN Cars

RENAULT ANNOUNCES GORDINI RETURN

RENAULT has announced the return of the Gordini sports sub-brand in the form of a special edition Twingo model to be unveiled in late November.
The Twingo Gordini will make its debut at the L’Atelier Renault on the Champs Elysees in Paris and is expected to go on sale in spring 2010.
Details are being kept under wraps, but it is likely that the Twingo Gordini will rekindle the classic blue with white stripes paintwork present on historic Gordini models.
The Renault-Gordini relationship dates back to the 1950s and is responsible for some of the most iconic vehicles in French racing history. The brand even spawned its own race series with the 1300c Renault 8 Gordini.
Further Gordini badged models are set to follow the Twingo into production in 2010, with a Clio Gordini being the first to follow suit. Produced by the Renaultsport division, the French manufacturer is promising an engaging blend of style and performance from the models which will be based on existing sports variants.

Renaultposrt diviosn took over the old Alpione factory ( and staff/resoruces ) at Dieppe where the Spider and Clio sports ( and I think the Megan too ). Hopefully they'll be left to do REAL sports cars in Dieppe under the Alpine badge :)

Supercar Information Society

twistedzonda — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:05:07 GMT

This is the ''Supercar Information Society'', or SIS, founded by me. This threads purpose is for people who want to know something about a certain high performance car, to ask me for info - if you don't want to ask, don't obviously. :D

Hope i can help. :)

(I know that people will probably say that ''there are already people here, who have been here for ages, who can answer any questions we may have.'' Yes, i do appreciate that, but, don't underestimate my knowledge just because i am new here. :D)

So, ask away! :)

Veoh.com for Classic F1

LTSmash — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:09:53 GMT

So I came across this internet video streaming program called veoh.com. It works a lot like Livestation (if any of you use that for your market/world news) accept it's not live television. You have to sign up (it's free) and download the client. Imagine a YouTube that you download that has videos of longer duration.

The point being is that veoh.com has a lot of classic F1 content and videos. Someone uploaded the entire 1994 season (they are 50-60 min recaps of each race reproduced by Speed) which has been interesting to watch. I also took some time to watch some 2 hour Eddie Irvine special; what a tool. :D

It has a lot of interesting motorsport videos that I haven't been able to find anywhere else as well as a ton of non-motorsport related content. You may want to give it a look. It's not super-amazing by any means but I felt it worthy enough to share with the UCP community.

Porsche Boxster Spyder

lightweight — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:15:37 GMT

FACTS

0-62mph: 4.8sec
316bhp 3.4-litre flat-six engine (10bhp up on the Boxster S)
1275kg (not specified if dry or kerb)
�45,000
PDK option
Built to order, limited-run special edition
Unveiling at the Los Angeles motor show in December, with sales following in February 2010

EVO ARTICLE

Quote:

A legendary name from Porsche’s back catalogue is back. Say hello to the Boxster Spyder, a modern day incarnation of the firm’s speedster body-style.

Porsche is keen to big up the car’s lightweight characteristics, the Spyder dropping 80kg from the conventional Boxster S roadster it’s based on. At 1275kg, though, it still weighs more than twice that of its distant 550 Spyder ancestor.

It’s the lightest current Porsche on sale, however, and with a 316bhp 3.4-litre flat-six engine (10bhp up on the Boxster S) sitting in the middle it should be plenty quick enough. It does the 0-62mph dash in 4.8sec, nearly half a second quicker than the S, and hits 166mph.

The latter’s only with the roof off, mind. We wouldn’t advise trying it with the canvas top on, as even Porsche comes close to admitting it’s a bit of a token effort. They say, for instance, that the Spyder ‘has been developed first and foremost for driving in the open air’. Looking closely at the roof-up picture, it certainly doesn’t look the most snug or secure solution to sealing a car.

As well as the obvious, there are further tweaks to distance the Spyder from its Boxster siblings, including sharper sports suspension to suit its more purist attitude.

The Porsche Boxster Spyder will be unveiled at the Los Angeles motor show in December, with sales following in February 2010. Expect a UK price of around �45,000, with the company’s PDK twin-clutch gearbox on the options list. The Spyder is not a limited-run special edition, but will be built to order, Porsche anticipating low production numbers to reflect the car’s specialist nature.

EVO - Porsche Boxster Spyder

YOUTUBE TEASER

YouTube - Constrained?

MY OPINION
Yet another pointless special edition that will sell like a hotcake. Unfortunately Porsche in 30 years will use this Spyder as the "inspiration" for a future Spyder version of the then contemporary Porsches...

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Bmw m3 gts

Kitdy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:59:27 GMT

It's the reborn CSL - why they didn't use that name who knows.

It weighs 3285 lbs or 1490 kg - 419 lbs or 190 kg less than the stock M3 coupe. Unknown hp coming form an enlarged 4.4 L V8 and a 7 speed dual clutch transmission.

Priced at �115k.

Small pics coming from Autoblog, but that's all I've seen yet.

BMW M3 GTS #1

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GM keeps Adam Opel AG

LeonOfTheDead — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:47:39 GMT

Goodbye Magna, it has been fishy since the beginning.
GM board decided it was a better idea to keep their European arm. no words where GM will find the required 3 B $ to restructure Opel, or how many people jobs will be lost, even if it should be remembered that Magna at first said it was about to cut 2.200 jobs, and eventually said there would have been no less than 10.000 cuts, or something pretty similar.

one of the sources:

GM board opts to keep Opel - Yahoo! News

Pontiac is back!

Ferrer — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:44:58 GMT

Sort of.

The Lingenfelter 455 T/A Concept really is badass — Autoblog

I think I want one...

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi

lightweight — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:51:45 GMT

Quote:

The facility will be the world�s largest indoor park and will be located on Yas Island about 10 minutes from Abu Dhabi�s airport.
The world�s fastest roller coaster emulating the feel of a Formula 1 car will be on hand, as will a G-force simulator and various racing simulators to give ordinary civilians the feel of a Formula 1 vehicle.

Ferrari previews Ferrari World Abu Dhabi

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2010 Automobile Journalist Association of Canada Category Winners

Kitdy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:24:35 GMT

Here's what the Canadian auto press thinks are the best vehicles in each category:

Quote:

Small car (under $21,000) � Mazda3

Small car (over $21,000) � Mazda3 Sport

Family car (under $30,000) � Volkswagen Golf Wagon TDI

Family car (over $30,000) � Ford Taurus

Luxury car (over $50,000) � BMW 335d Sedan

Prestige car (over $75,000) � Porsche Panamera Turbo

Sports/performance (under $50,000) � Volkswagen GTI

Sports/performance (over $50,000) � Audi S4

Best new convertible � Audi A5 Cabriolet

Best new SUV/CUV (under $35,000) � Subaru Outback

Best new SUV/CUV ($35,000 to $60,000) � Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel

Best new SUV/CUV (over $60,000) � Lexus RX450h

Some weird choices here and there I think, but whatever.

What do you guys think?

EDIT: Can a mod fix the typo in the title please?

Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition

csl177 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:51:04 GMT

Chinese mutha@*%kas betta get in the game, bling dat Hummer UP. Know wut I'm sayin'? Dropped 1.5 million AMERICAN fo' dis sweet ride, gots bad beef an' WHALE PENIS SEATS. Bring dat. Know wut I'm sayin'? Bad Caucasian brutha rollin' an' trollin', sippin' a Caucasian in the Caucasus, spillin' cream to make the scene the ladies all know. Wanna slide in on them seats an' get some.

Знаешь, что я говорю? Слово.

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Acura TSX Wagon Coming Stateside

NSXType-R — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:59:58 GMT

About freaking time!

Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - All-New TSX Sport Wagon to Arrive in Fall of 2010

BREAKING: Acura TSX Sport Wagon Coming In 2010 - Acura TSX Sport Wagon - Jalopnik

Two links if you guys want to browse a bit.

This is probably the most exciting thing happening to Honda since... the S2000...?

Sad, but true.