California homebuilder offers to pre-wire homes for electric vehicle charging
Filed under: EV/Plug-in
Chevrolet Volt home charging – Click above for high-res image gallery
If electric cars are ever to make a serious dent in the new vehicle market, owners will have to be prepared to charge their vehicles at home on an almost nightly basis. But, as some early drivers of the Mini E and Tesla Roadster learned it is HIGHLY recommended that you have a high voltage-high current outlet available for charging. Otherwise you could be waiting a very long time – up to 23 hours – to fill up from a standard outlet.
California-based home builder KB homes is angling to take advantage of what could be a strong demand for home chargers by offering a new entry on its options list. People who buy from KB will now be able to check a box that will see their homes pre-wired for electric vehicle charging. Running the wiring will only cost buyers an extra $250, but this likely only brings the circuit out to a junction box. Homeowners will probably still have to add a charging box of some kind. Still, semper paratus and all that.
Gallery: Chevy Volt Home Charging Units
My New Favorite Sport: âToyota Half-Pipeâ
Most Americans are now seized by the âDevil Toyotaâ panic rampaging across this vast, enlightened nation of ours. Not me. Iâm watching all this nonsense from the sidelines, popcorn bowl at hand. TV hasnât been this entertaining since the O.J. trial — the first one.
Rather than attempt to explain how seemingly rational, intelligent humans can transform a mere automotive recall into a pandemic of four-wheeled Avian Flu, Iâve decided to make the best of the situation. Hey, at the Vancouver Olympics gold-medal snowboarder Shaun White performed unbelievable jumps, flips, spins, and the Double McTwist — just like todayâs Toyotas! I see a new sport here!
Hereâs a look at some recent standout entries from my new favorite athletic pursuit, Toyota Half-Pipe:
Vauxhall Meriva pricing announced (UK)
Vauxhall’s longer, wider, taller and more stylish Meriva compact MPV will cost from £15,495, over £1,500 more than the current model, £3,050 more than a basic Citroen C3 Picasso, £4,000 more than a Kia Venga and upto a staggering £4,895 more than an entry-level Nissan Note – but the new car is larger and more practical than its predecessor, as well having a more powerful entry-level engine.
The new people-carrier, based on the Astra/Zafira platform and which for the first time adopts so-called “flex doors”, will go on sale during Summer in the UK. Order books are now opened.
The Meriva, which has led the small MPV segment since 2003 – with more than 1m sales, is around 20cm shorter than the Zafira, mostly because of the demands of new crash and pedestrian protection legislation. Engineers say all compact MPVs will have to grow, so the difference between classes will sooner or later be restored.
To go with the sportier, more stylish exterior, the Meriva gets a airy, modernised fascia and interior, which reduces the mass of the dashboard, picks up the improved switchgear, instrumentation and steering wheel of the recently launched Astra and Insignia models. Flexrail (a set of load-bearing rails running through the cabin), provides flexible mounting for a variety of bags and consoles, or which just provides carrying space for handbags and briefcases.
Update: Texas high school gets to keep using Ram logo
Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, Dodge
Remember a couple weeks back when we told you about Chrysler’s improbable legal battle against little Lake Mary High School in Florida? Chrysler’s legal team put the smack down on the school for using the Ram logo as its school insignia, and the law jockeys in Auburn Hills, MI were giving the school until June 15 to remove all instances of the logo at a considerable cost to the school district and neighborhood taxpayers.
It appears cooler heads have prevailed at Chrysler, as Allpar is reporting that the school and automaker have made an agreement that allows the school to keep the admittedly perfect-for-a-football-helmet logo, at least until wear and tear requires their replacement. The reported agreement stipulates that the school must declare its partnership with Chrysler on signs stating “Lake Mary: Proud Partner of Chrysler.” We think Chrysler should also sponsor the prom and provide a 300C stretch limousine for every senior. C’mon, think of the good will!
When we originally told you about the legal tussle between Lake Mary HS and Chrysler, we were more than a little critical of Team Pentastar for its legal action against the small school in a town of 15,000. It wasn’t because Chrysler didn’t have every legal right to protect its trademarks, but rather making a school district pay lots of money to remove a logo when it wasn’t really damaging is just bad PR for a company that can ill afford any more bad PR. Compromise can be a very good thing, and it’s nice to see that the folks at Chrysler see that. Good people of Lake Mary, Florida: feel free to continue purchasing vehicles from the Chrysler group.
[Source: Allpar]
Update: Texas high school gets to keep using Ram logo originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ralliart announces it is closing its doors… so what does that mean for Mitsubishi?
Filed under: Aftermarket, Sedan, Performance, Japan, Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Mitsubishi
In a letter issued to its customers, Ralliart, a Japanese high-performance subsidiary of Mitsubishi, has announced that it is closing its doors. The company’s business case has apparently faded, a victim of the wilting domestic aftermarket scene as well as its lack of continued motorsports involvement.
Naturally, we wondered if and how the closure of the company responsible for its high-performance parts and related merchandise would impact the development, production and marketing of Mitsubishi vehicles sold here in the States – more specifically, the Lancer Ralliart and Sportback Ralliart models. To answer that question, we spoke with Mitsu spokesman Maurice Durand, and he informs us that the closure of Ralliart will not, in fact, have any affect on the availability or continued marketing of these models (or any future branded offerings), as Mitsubishi owns the rights to the name, logo, and so on. Furthermore, all licensing agreements in foreign countries remain intact.
So, while you may not be able to get a genuine JDM Ralliart strut-tower brace or shift knob, you can breath easy that the SportBack that you’ve been saving your lunch money for will still be at your local dealer by the time you’ve got enough scratch. Official press release after the jump.
Continue reading Ralliart announces it is closing its doors… so what does that mean for Mitsubishi?
Ralliart announces it is closing its doors… so what does that mean for Mitsubishi? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Videos: Dacia Duster looks good in motion
Filed under: SUV, Renault
2011 Dacia Duster – click above to watch the video after the jump
By and large, the Geneva Motor Show isn’t like U.S. auto shows in that grandiose press conferences just don’t exist like they do here. Or, at least, like they used to here. Most vehicles just show up on the show floor and we snap photos at a fevered pace in an effort to get those pics to you as quickly as possible. The upside for us is that we can rip through posts at a fevered pitch for your enjoyment. The downside is that every once in a while we miss something, and this year we forgot to cover the Dacia Duster, though we did tell you about it in advance. Still, our bad.
Renault’s Romanian-bred SUV is built to be affordable, attractive and capable, with a 30 degree approach and a 36 degree departure for relatively some serious off-roading. The Duster even comes diesel-ready, with a 105 horsepower, 266 pound-feet of torque powerplant that we’d love to try for ourselves. And if an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal is correct, Renault is even pondering bringing the Duster to U.S. shores.
Until that happens, we have to make do with a couple of videos showing off just how capable the Duster is. The first spot shows us how the Dacia handles off-road chores and the second seeks to illustrate that it isn’t a dud on dry pavement, either. Hit the jump to watch the two videos for yourself.
Maruti Suzuki Swift: Price in Kolkata
Price of Maruti Suzuki Swift in Kolkata
All prices (indicative) ex-showroom as of Feb 2010, prices may vary
Maruti Suzuki Swift LXi – Rs 4,13,000/-
Maruti Suzuki Swift VXi – Rs 4,44,000/-
Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi – Rs 5,28,000/-
Maruti Suzuki Swift LDi – Rs 4,78,000/-
Maruti Suzuki Swift VDi – Rs 5,15,000/-
Maruti Suzuki Swift: Specifications
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