8,078 mile tour without oil change

The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is not only more comfortable, powerful and expensive than the average 2+2, for example the Porsche's 911, a 2+2-seater is a coupe with a tiny backseat that is in some cases uninhabitable, it is the newest flagship and not counting the limited-edition, $652,000 Enzo Ferrari supercar, which is sold out from the company that has an extraordinarily emotional relationship with automobiles.

Know what? The Ferrari Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is so impressive. Why? Because the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti owner’s manual recommends changing the oil after 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) or one year. The two 612 Scaglietti’s used in the ‘Magic India Discovery’ tour did about 5,000 kilometers (3107 miles) in testing and preparation for the trip, which brings their total to 18,000 kilometers (11,185 miles). Ferrari’s ‘Magic India Discovery’ Tour came to an end at the Gateway of India in Mumbai and the two Ferrari 612 Scagliettis completed their 13,000 kilometer (8,078 miles) trip. The two visited 57 cities without a single oil change.

For the trip Ferrari used Shell’s Helix Ultra motor oil. Besides just protecting the parts from mechanical wear, reducing friction and power loss and cooling the engine, the Shell Helix Ultra also contains active cleansing agents to help prevent dirt build-up and ensure optimal performance.

Ferrari engineer Andrea Costantini explained, “In collaboration with Shell, we made a deliberate decision not change the oil within our recommended timeframe,” “We knew that this would give us the chance to test and evaluate the engine in the tough conditions of India. We have been working with Shell for a very long time, many years, and we trust them, so we knew that the oil would not let us down on tour.”

Honda Fit Hybrid

At the same time as Toyota may have a hybrid version of the Camry and the Highlander; when ‘Toyota’ and ‘Hybrid’ one thinks of the words in the same sentence, an image of the Prius is most to be expected to pop up in our head. That’s what people like about Toyota’s hybrid initiative and now with all the talk of throwing the Prius badge on a new family of hybrids just makes it all the a lesser amount of confusing.

Truthfully, Honda hybrids have been very confused with all the recent news of all the upcoming hybrids. Honda really hope that it will figures this out early, because they’ve got four hybrids planned to hit the market by 2015. The number two Japanese automaker just announced that it will launch a hybrid version of the Fit in its next-generation model.

“The Fit has great fuel efficiency to begin with, and if it put in a hybrid, it’s going to get even better, So with crude oil prices going up this much, I think a Fit hybrid is now starting to make sense” CEO Fukui said during a mid-year news conference.

Price difference between the regular Fit and the hybrid Fit will be less than $2,000 when it arrives in 2015, said Fukui.

Honda will roll out an all new dedicated and affordable hybrid model that will go a head-to-head with Toyota Prius, followed by a redesigned Civic hybrid next year. The production version of CR-Z hybrid will follow.

Nissan, NEC - A good Partnership

Lithium-ion batteries at the present are further widespread in most of the gadgets like laptops, cell phones and others, while all the globe's foremost car producers are inventing some ways on installing the this Lithium-ion for their vehicles.

The latest Lithium-ion batteries will be extra though and powerful and also much smaller compare to the old one, loaded with nickel-metal hydride batteries that at this time is usually we can see in hybrid automobiles at this present days.

Nissan's joint partner through electronics expert NEC Corporation will spend $115 million to establish mass production of this lithium-ion battery, an invention generally versioned as answer for coming generation "green cars". Carlos Tavares, Nissan Motor Corporation Executive Vice President proclaimed on Monday that the Japanese car manufacturer desires to be a top worldwide leader regarding in "zero-emission automobiles."

A factory for the battery creation, planned to be operational by year 2009, will have yearly manufacture capacity of 65,000, and opening count of 13,000, according to Nissan Corp. The savings will cover three years, it said. The primary viable products with the latest batteries are Nissan forklifts in 2009, but electric cars for the U.S. as well as Japanese will go after in 2010.

But Nissan Corporation has rivalry in this event. Toyota has whispered that it will create a mass-producing lithium-ion battery also for all plug-in hybrids cars in this coming years. Japan's top carmaker is running with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which creates the Panasonic brand name and its products.

Buick Invicta Re-launched

Last May 2, 2008, the ongoing life of how the Buick Invicta sedan concept car was developed at Beijing Auto Show. The Invicta is believed to hint at the following creation of LaCrosse, which will be built off the second-generation Epsilon - Chevy Malibu/Pontiac G6/ Saab 9-3/ Saturn Aura - designs, but truly, what they will see last Saturday is actually the real car. Its designs, according to Dave LyonGM interior design head, will attributes latest interpretations of the Buick “Ventiports" as they named it in the late '50s) along with the "SweepSpear," the asymmetric v-shaped profile style originated on various brand's vehicles in the '50s and '60s.

The midsize sedan design characterize a tag that Buick original name in 1959 and is a sample of the future LaCrosse car that we waited for and should see in coming year. Buick illustrates the design of the Invicta concept as a four-door midsize sedan together with roofline similar to coupe. The Invicta was planned through a cooperation both GM engineers from United States and China. It is also the two biggest markets of Buicks.

This Invicta production is power-driven by a 250 horsepower 4-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Talking about the name, Invicta is better than LaCrosse. It's an unmarked name, used from the 1959 to '63 production years, despite the fact that the newest Century’s apparently were named for the usual age of their consumers, it was Buick's well-known replica in the late '30s up to 1954 to 1958. It has a Special's A-body, with the largest, most powerful engine coming from Roadmaster underbody. It would be a excellent name on a fashionable, powerful-looking substitute for the LaCrosse.

Keyless Fords…

Throw those keys away. Yeah, Ford thinks it’s better that way.

And to make it a reality, Ford keyless technology will invade the mass market. The Dearborn-based automaker recently announced the arrival of keyless Focus and Mondeo – cars to behold!

Instead of carrying a 'transponder' unit, drivers can get into their cars by just pulling the door handle. The transponder makes the car unlock automatically once the driver grips the door handle. This is what smart technology is all about.

Once the driver is inside the car, the ignition is triggered when he presses the Ford Power button with the clutch pedal depressed. The button is similar to that fitted on Blue Oval’s rally and racing cars.

If the driver intends to switch on the car without revving up, he can press the button without engaging the clutch. Additionally, there’s a button on the driver’s door handle or boot lid to lock the car after parking it. Ford, however, provides a traditional key with an electronic fob.

Remember Casino Royale – the controversial James Bond movie? The blockbuster movie features the new Mondeo that demonstrates Ford’s remarkable ignition technology.

The automaker believes the keyless technology will be ideal for drivers in a hurry or carrying bags, especially in bad weather. Now, Ford parts will become more meaningful. “Locking your car key inside the cabin becomes a mistake of the past because the system’s interior antennae sense the key’s whereabouts inside the car and stops the locking mechanism,” said Rolf Schmitz, Ford electrical engineering manager.

“Some of this technology has been around on more expensive cars, but it’s nice to see that it will be available on the mass market now,” Which? Spokesman Anthony Hume said. “Stealing cars has reduced since the introduction of immobilizers, but we’ll have to see how effective this technology is at stopping thefts of radios or satnavs.”

With the advent of smart technology, drivers no longer need a key to start the engine or unlock the car. Simple as that. No worries.