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Pickups Diesels Diesels in the News
8146 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 10:20 AM
You are in the Diesels Forum. Your Host is kcram
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Replying to: winter2 (Apr 15, 2007 10:33 am) |
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First drive: new Land Cruiser 12/04/2007 12:32 Lance Branquinho Toyota's venerable Land Cruiser range has been updated with a facelifted version of the 70-series bakkie joined by a brand new, diesel-powered, wagon version. The revamped Oriental-overlander does not depart radically form its utilitarian roots, styling is still a study in form following function, with a more rounded nose softening the overall appearance of the face lifted bakkie versions. Newly available, and exclusively in South Africa outside the Japanese market, the 70-series station wagon has a decidedly chunky appearance. With a dash of chrome around the nose, its lineage is unambiguously closer to its bakkie sibling than the larger 100-series wagon or contemporary Land Cruiser Prado. Although the bakkie is still hardly pretty, the more rounded styling works, and the wagon has a certain retro charm about it. Both the bakkie and wagon are characteristically urban-unfriendly off-roaders, by appearance, and more explicitly by nature. Parking them up on side-walks at the shopping centre or local gym will garner little posing value. Driving them on tar is a ponderous experience - especially the diesel versions - and the bakkie rides quite harshly on tar when unladen. Crush Land
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Audi R10 TDI competes in “Monaco of USA” Thursday, 12 April 2007 While the wraps are officially being taken off the 2007 DTM season in Dusseldorf on Sunday, the American motorsport fans are looking with mounting interest towards Long Beach (USA) this coming weekend: In the Californian coastal town close to Los Angeles the most important and traditional street race in USA will take place. The event has been held since 1975 and was earlier the scene of the US Formula 1 Grand Prix. The 33rd running this year welcomes the American Le Mans Series for the first time - and, as a result, also the Audi R10 TDI. Image (c) Audi Motorsport The revolutionary Audi Diesel sportscar and its winning streak have hogged the headlines in the USA for more than one year. Most of the fans - including the many celebrities visiting Long Beach this weekend from Los Angeles, Malibu or Beverly Hills to see the race - are excited about the appearance of the powerful 650 hp Le Mans Prototype in the "Monaco of USA". "In contrast to Europe, the subject of Diesel is only just starting to break through in the USA," says German actor Ralf Moeller, who lives in California, is friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is also a big motorsport fan. "The Audi R10 TDI is excellent proof of just what a state-of-the-art Diesel engine can produce. The Americans are well impressed by it. The Diesel will also establish itself in the USA in the long term." Team Audi Sport North America proved 14 days ago by taking a one-two in St. Petersburg (Florida) that the Audi R10 TDI, which was specifically developed for the high-speed circuit at Le Mans, can also win on street circuits. The track in Long Beach is new for every driver. Allan McNish, who flew out to California on Tuesday and inspected the circuit on foot, is convinced that the spectators can prepare themselves for a very exciting race: "The circuit is made up of a series of tight corners, but also straights. Although the regulations stipulate that our R10 TDI must weigh 150 kg more than the lighter LM P2 cars from Porsche and Acura/Honda it will be a close battle yet again." The REAL Zoom Zoom Zoom
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Extremely cool Mini Diesel: Mini's first sporty diesel First there's an all-new and unprecedented Mini Cooper D (pictured above), which promises to be a multi-talented Mini hatchback that's both frugal and fun to drive. The last-generation Mini used Toyota's unsuitable 1.4-litre four-pot diesel engine; the new Mini uses a cleaner and more powerful 1.6-litre turbodiesel related to the one you'll find in the Peugeot 207 and Ford Fiesta. It produces 109bhp and 192lb ft of torque on overboost, both significant improvements over the last Mini diesel, yet it's also cleaner (118g/km v 129g/km) and more frugal (64.2 combined mpg v 58.9). That's about 53 MPG with the US ratings !! Gimme Gimme !!! Sporty Mini Diesel |
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A great site to read up on all the cool diesel vehicles the Euros get that we cannot have in the USofA: Euro Diesels abound |
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Diesel Jaguar XJ hits 1000 miles on a tank and 53.5 MPG in the Euro cycle (about 42 MPG US) 'Cause Baby You Jaguar
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Replying to: larsb (Apr 16, 2007 5:28 am) What a difference the diesel makes!? Some relatives who have a gasser version, normally get 12 mpg. Babying the thing on the road, they get 15 mpg. 42 mpg is certainly less consumptive of resources, not to mention some of the other benefits. |
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Replying to: larsb (Apr 16, 2007 5:28 am) The XJ has scooped a number of awards since its launch and most recently, the 2.7 Diesel was named the greenest luxury car on Britain’s roads in the Environmental Transport Association’s 2007 Car Buyers Guide. Other most recent notable awards for the XJ include ‘Best Luxury Car’ at the 2007 Business Car Awards and ‘Best Luxury Car’ for the XJ Diesel at the 2006 Fleet World Honours. PS If Ford would bring some of this green technology to the US it may help them survive. |
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Thar's Gold In That Thar Diesel !!! Nanostellar, which specializes in molecules and materials for making diesel engines run more efficiently, has devised a new coating for the inside of catalytic converters--devices that reduce emissions before they leave a car's tailpipe--that will both cost less than traditional coatings and cut down further on pollution. The secret ingredient is gold, explained CEO Pankaj Dhingra. The company combines gold along with platinum and palladium into a material called NS Gold that car and auto parts makers will sprinkle into a new line of cleaner catalytic converters. Ideally, NS Gold will increase oxidation activity, i.e. the chemical reaction that reduces pollutants, by about 40 percent compared with conventional catalytic converters and about 20 percent compared with the converters treated with materials Nanostellar already sells. "At the nano level, gold becomes very active, but until now no one has been able to make it for automotive use," he said in an interview. "You have high temperatures, a huge amount of oxygen. At high temperatures most materials are not stable." Although gold at the nano level can assume different colors, NS Gold lives up to its name. At Nanostellar's lab, CNET News.com saw a beaker of the material swirling in a liquid. The mixture looked like the inside of an Orange Julius machine. |
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Replying to: larsb (Apr 16, 2007 5:25 am) |
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