Cars & Motors News

[Rasputin]

MOAB, Utah – Land Rover is known worldwide for creating trucks that handle the toughest-of-the-tough, from the greenways and thick mud of England’s Eastnor Castle to the bone-jarring tracks and inhospitable outback of interior Australia. To date, automakers that specialize in cars rather than trucks have created the niche-oriented high-performance sport-utility vehicles craved by American up-and-comers, companies like BMW and Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. With the new Range Rover Sport, however, it could be said that Land Rover has taken a different approach to the performance-utility market by first gaining a master’s degree in off-road prowess and later a Ph.D. in premium luxury. Now, this British company, known for some of the most capable and confident bush wackers and a member of Ford Motor Company’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG), is ready to enter the rapidly growing luxury-sport segment of the SUV marketplace that is dominated by BMW and Porsche, with its all-new 2006 Range Rover Sport.

Our evaluation of the new Range Rover Sport included an intense four-wheel-drive trail in Moab, Utah, one of the best-known locations for four wheeling in the U.S. The course included a rich mix of off-pavement terrain, along with an aggressive and technical rock hill climb known as “Wipe Out.” But what blew our backcountry boots off our test-driving feet was the 275-mile drive from Aspen, Colorado to Moab. For it was throughout this drive day that we were able to evaluate and push the limits of the two versions of this new model – the naturally aspirated and sprightly Range Rover Sport HSE, and the higher-powered Range Rover Sport Supercharged.

[Rasputin]

US rates Grand Prix Formula Zero

INDINAPOLIS, United States - Any chance Formula One had of capturing the American audience was crippled by Sunday's US Grand Prix farce, according to the US media.

Most newspapers used wire reports in the 'Other sports' section, devoting space to the US Open golf win of New Zealander Michael Campbell and San Antonio's overtime win over Detroit putting them on course for their third National Basketball Association title since 1999.

Even Bjorn Borg's epic 1980 Wimbledon final with John McEnroe was judged more interesting for US readers of the New York Times.

Local Indianapolis newspaper the IndyStar summed it up.

"Formula One, a European motor sports series battling apathy in the United States, enraged an Indianapolis Motor Speedway crowd Sunday and cast doubt on the race's future when nearly three-quarters of the cars in the U.S. Grand Prix dropped out before the first official lap."

Speedway President Joie Chitwood said there is no commitment to bring F-1 back next year. That will be reviewed in the coming days, he told the paper.

"We're as much a victim of what transpired today as the fans are," he said. "(Formula One chief) Mr. (Bernie) Ecclestone is aware of our position and our unhappiness today."

Sunday's problems followed a week in which Ecclestone said that local race officials had not aggressively promoted the event with the 100,000 crowd only half that for the inaugural race crowd in 2000.

Ecclestone called it "a travesty" and apologised to fans who paid an average of 100 dollars a ticket -- plus travel expenses -- to attend.

"I feel sorry for them," Ecclestone said. "They've been cheated."

There was no immediate offer to refund tickets but more information about refunds would be available later Monday.

[Rasputin]

NASCAR 2005

Standings


1 Jimmie Johnson 2173 Leader 15 1 2 7 11 2 $3,580,248

2 Greg Biffle 2124 49 15 0 5 6 10 1 $2,951,198
3 Elliott Sadler 1923 250 15 1 0 1 8 1 $2,374,483
4 Carl Edwards 1914 259 15 0 2 5 7 0 $2,003,313
5 Mark Martin 1904 269 15 0 0 5 8 1 $3,073,428
6 Tony Stewart 1862 311 15 0 0 4 7 1 $2,621,904
7 Ryan Newman 1856 317 15 5 0 4 7 2 $2,632,708
8 Rusty Wallace 1848 325 15 0 0 2 7 0 $2,151,928
9 Kurt Busch 1813 360 15 0 1 4 7 2 $3,418,978
10 Kevin Harvick 1803 370 15 1 1 3 5 0 $2,291,248
11 Jamie McMurray 1799 374 15 0 0 3 6 1 $1,872,038

[Rasputin]

Test drive: 2005 Mercury Montego

Mercury has always had a way with names: Cougar, Comet, Cyclone, Bobcat, Marauder. These are great car names. The 2005 Mercury Montego revives one of Mercury's best names. I was eager to drive the 2005 Mercury Montego Premier AWD, which carries a base price of $28,245 ($29,740 as tested). Would I feel as cool as I did in my dad's 1972 Cougar XR7? The new Montego comes with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, and a very low intrinsic cool factor. But there's more to a car than just coolness, right?

First Glance
You'd better take note of where you parked at the mall, because you'll have trouble picking your Montego out of a crowd. It's features are very familiar - from other cars. It has the VW Passat's arched roofline, the Nissan Maxima's trunk, the Chrysler 300's wheels - nearly every exterior feature reminds me of another car. Rather than being distinctive in combination, the result is bland and unmemorable. Nobody's going to give you a thumbs up at Cruise Night in the Montego.

On the plus side, build quality looked good, with nice paint and good construction. I like the beefy grille and Mercury waterfall logo on the Montego's face, a nice, deep dimensional touch. The 18" 15-spoke aluminum wheels really fill the fender wells nicely.

The Montego has a weird throwback panel on the driver's side B-Pillar: a numeric touchpad. Punch in a five digit pre-programmed number, and you can unlock the driver's door without using the key or remote control fob. Add another couple of digits, and you can unlock all doors, lock all doors or open the trunk - all functions that are duplicated on the remote control fob. A great feature if you're prone to locking your keys in the car on a regular basis; a total waste if you're not prone to fits of bumbling.

[Rasputin]

Alonso wins in France.


20 cars started the French Grand Prix and 15 finished the 70-lap race, but it was in effect a one horse race for the victory as Fernando Alonso converted his Pole Position into his fifth win of the season and in doing so, gave Renault their first win as a constructor on French soil since Alain Prost won back in 1983.

The key to Alonso’s race victory was his pace in the opening stint of the race where he pulled out over 20 seconds over Jarno Trulli who started the race second in his Toyota. With that advantage in his pocket and Trulli backing up the field, Alonso was able to control his pace for the remainder of the race and take a comfortable win from none other than Kimi Raikkonen in his McLaren Mercedes.

Raikkonen, starting back in 13th position after losing ten positions on the grid due to an engine change penalty from the Friday failure, picked off a few positions at the start of the race and then put in a series of rapid laps to make the best use of his two-stop strategy to ensure he emerged from the pits in second position, a position he would keep until the chequered flag.

While Renault and McLaren Mercedes were the dominant cars in the field by some margin both Giancarlo Fisichella and Juan Pablo Montoya had races to forget as Montoya ran third and looked set for a podium position behind his team-mate until a hydraulics problems ended his race at two-thirds distance. Fisichella meanwhile drove a poor race and was never a factor at all.



Third position went to US Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher, but finishing almost a lap down to Alonso will mean few smiles at the Ferrari camp despite the points haul for the championship. Schumacher pushed hard in the first half of the race, but the pace simply was not there.

Jenson Button was the first lapped as he brought BAR Honda its first points of the season with a solid if unspectacular run to fourth position. Team-mate Takuma Sato could well have made the podium from his fourth position on the grid, but a crazy lunge whilst trying to pass Trulli saw him hit the gravel trap at high speed. Soon after the Japanese driver was off again, this time taking avoiding action as someone else got it wrong at Estoril. Sato was classified 11th and his season shows no real signs of any progress.

Jarno Trulli finished in fifth position, but it was not a good race for Toyota who lacked pace from the outset, lapping between one and two seconds a lap off the pace of Fernando Alonso. As has been the case in many races this year, Trulli’s qualifying position and the lack of pace in race conditions ensured that the field backed up behind the Italian racer. Still, there were no mistakes from Trulli and his fifth position moves helps move the German-based team ahead of BMW Williams in the constructors’ championship.

Giancarlo Fisichella showed little pace in the sister Renault and one has to wonder why he is unable to raise his game and lap close to the pace of his team-mate. A problem with the fuel hose in the first stop cost him some time but the stall in the second stop cost him yet more. Fisichella was eventually sixth overall.

Ralf Schumacher had another quiet race for Toyota and finished in seventh position while Jacques Villeneuve drove a strong race in his Sauber Petronas to collect the final point for the Swiss-based team.

Rubens Barrichello made short work of Takuma Sato to run fourth at the start of the race, but that was the highlight of the Brazilian’s day as he finished ninth and out of the points in the second Ferrari.

David Coulthard finished tenth in his Red Bull Cosworth in what has been a tough weekend for the team. Coulthard pushed hard to try and catch and pass Barrichello, but he was unable to get close enough to have a serious try.

Over at BMW Williams, the race was a complete disaster. After qualifying 12th and 14th Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld had no real pace and finished in the same positions. Webber suffered from a heating issue where the heat from the underside of the car was heating up his seat, while Heidfeld made no less than six stops complaining of a handling problem that the team were unable to resolve. It is hard to see where the team can go from here as this race was hoped to be something of a turning point with many modifications to the FW27.



Alonso wins in France

Of the rest, Tiago Monteiro finished in 13th position in his Jordan Toyota extending his unbroken run of race finishes in 2005. Team- mate Narain Karthikeyan was the final runner in the sister EJ15 finishing another lap adrift.

Neither Minardi Cosworth made the race distance with both Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers suffered left rear Bridgestone failures, while Felipe Massa retired mid-race with mechanical problems with the Sauber. Christian Klien’s race lasted just a lap before a fuel problem saw him stopped on track and out of the race.

The story of Magny Cours is Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen as the two championship leaders showed emphatically why they are at the top of the standings. Heading to Silverstone next weekend, Raikkonen is still a contender for the title, but with Alonso and Renault right on form, it is clear it will not be easy to close down the 24 points gap.

[Rasputin]

BMW X3 2.5i


Not quite a wagon, not quite an SUV, the 2005 BMW X3 2,5i is one of the few "crossovers" that embodies the best aspects of both. They say that no one car can do it all, but the BMW X3 comes pretty darn close. It's once vice? The price. $30,995 for starters, $40,470 as tested, 4 year/50,000 mile warranty with free routine maintenance.

The $31,000 base model comes with power windows and locks, keyless entry, A/C, a CD player and little else. BMW even charges $475 extra for metallic paint (for the X3, that's any color other than black or white). Fortunately, safety features like antilock brakes, electronic stability control, and front-seat side airbags are standard. Fully loaded, the X3 lists for over $47,000, with another $10,000 worth of accessories just a-waitin' for you at the dealership.

The Germans aren't known for their warm-and-fuzzy interiors, but the X3's cabin is surprisingly hospitable. They've even supplied a proper cupholder for the passenger, remarkable considering the Teutonic "drive in the car, drink in the bar" mentality. Granted, it’s a little too small, but... baby steps.

On the Road
The X3 is right at home in the curves, just what you'd expect from a BMW. And it's no shrinking violet off-road, either. I had the opportunity to drive an X3 at an off-road course. I remember coming to some steep berms and thinking, "No way is this going to work." But it was BMW's car, they said it was OK, so I figured they wouldn't be too mad if I got the car stuck. Much to my utter surprise, the X3 easily tiptoed over every obstacle.
The X3 even has a hill descent mode similar to the one used in Land Rover's all-conquering 4x4s. It uses the antilock brakes and traction control to creep down steep, slippery inclines at a controlled rate without the fear of wheel lock-up (which could cause the car to turn sideways and roll over).

My tester had the smaller (2.5 liter) of the X3's two inline six-cylinder engines. The 2.5's 184 horsepower and 175 ft-lbs of torque were fine around town, but keeping pace with LA's insanely fast freeway traffic required a lot of foot-to-the-floor acceleration. (I could almost hear Scotty shouting "I canna give you more power, Cap'n, tha's all she's got!") The 2.5 would be well suited to a manual transmission; my automatic test car would have been better off with the 225-hp 3.0-liter engine.

[Rasputin]

Arian (peogeot 206) . a new persian car 2006-7 .


More parts of Peugeot 206 to be made domestically


The company has set to start making most of the parts for the popular car by June 2005. Managing director of the company, Purmojib said here Friday that, currently, they produce some 53% of the parts inside the country and import the rest from France. “In addition, Peugeot 206 Arian, which is to hit the markets next year, will have the same amount of national parts,” he added. Peugeot 206 Arian will be exclusive to Iran and maybe very much in vogue when Paykan is driven out by the end of the year.

[Rasputin]

مدل جديد سمند با تغييرات فني و ظاهري يك ماه ديگر وارد بازار ميشود.

دكتر ناصري ـ رييس مركز تحقيقات ايران خودرو ، با بيان اين مطلب افزود: تغييرات ظاهري در اين مدل از سمند ايجاد شده كه البته در حد face lift نيست. سيستم ترمز اين خورو تغيير كرده و بوستر ترمز نيز تقويت شده است.

وي ادامه داد: تغييرات ترمز مدل جديد سمند با همكاري يك مركز تحقيقاتي در آلمان انجام شده و خودرويي كه از آن الهام گرفته شده نيز بي.ام.و سري 6 بوده كه از آن به عنوان خودروي هدف استفاده شده است.

دكتر ناصري خاطرنشان كرد: سيستم تعليق سمند نيز تغيير كرده و در آن از سيستم دو جداره استفاده شده است. كورس كمكها و فنرها افزايش يافته، به طوري كه سيستم تعليق و فنربندي نرمتر عمل ميكند. در تزئينات داخلي اين خورو نيز تغييراتي ايجاد شده است. موتور اين خودرو نيز در فاز دوم تقويت ميشود.

وي همچنين افزود: سمند كلاچ الكترونيكي نيز امسال توليد خواهد شد. اين خودرو كه بر اساس مطالعات انجام شده از روي بي.ام.و سري 3 الهام گرفته شده، خودرويي است كه از كلاچ الكترونيكي برخوردار است و در آن پدال كلاچ حذف شده و راننده بدون گرفتن كلاچ تعويض دنده انجام ميدهد. اين خودرو در ترافيكهاي روان تهران كارايي دارد.

ناصري تصريح كرد: عرضه مدل كار سمند نيز شروع شده است. در اين خودرو كه به ناوگان تاكسيراني تحويل داده ميشود، وسايل تزئيني كاهش يافته و دوام قطعات افزايش داده شده است. به طور مثال درها براي باز و بسته شدن به مقدار زيادي تقويت شده است.

[Rasputin]

2005 Chevrolet Corvette (C6)

2005 Chevrolet Corvette (C6)

Well... The new Corvette is shorter, more powerful, with less wind resistance and a sensational new automatic damping.
The new Corvette has the most innovative and advanced dampers in the business - the Magnetic Selective Ride option.
These are a new type of damper that are automatically adjusted according to the road conditions.
This is done with a new fluid which is called a magneto-rheological substance. Excellent! is my love.hehehe

General Info
Price: (ask me) !
Miles Per Gallon: 19/28 mpg manual; 18/25 auto
Curb Weight: 3,245 lbs
Layout: Front Engine/RWD
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual, Auto

Engine
Type: V8
Displacement: 5,970 cc
Horsepower: 400 bhp @ 6,000 rpm
Torque: 400lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm
Redline: 6,500 rpm

[Rasputin]

2005 BMW 3 Series Coupe 325Ci


Invoice Price:$29,025 get dealer quotes
MSRP:$31,700
Estimated Payments:$662/month* find current rates
Rebates & Incentives:No information available

Gas Mileage:20 mpg city / 29 mpg hwy
Engine/s:2.5L I6, 24 valve, 184@6000hp

Transmission:5 speed Manual
5 speed Automatic


Standard Features:
Head Protection System (HPS) Front Side Head Curtain Airbags Located In Headliner and Roof
All-Season Traction Control Controlled By ABS Management and Engine Management
Radio Data System (RDS)

Options:
Door-Mounted Rear Side Airbags
Tire Pressure Monitor
GPS and DVD Navigation System

[Rasputin]

2005 Ford Explorer 4X4 Eddie Bauer 4.0L

Quick Facts about the 2005 Ford Explorer 4X4 Eddie Bauer 4.0L:
Invoice Price:$32,584 get dealer quotes
MSRP:$36,350
Estimated Payments:$759/month* find current rates
Rebates & Incentives:Cash Back / Special Financing more info

Gas Mileage:15 mpg city / 20 mpg hwy
Engine/s:4.0L V6, 12 valve, 210@5100hp

Transmission:5 speed Automatic

Standard Features:
Driver Airbag With Dual Stage Deployment
Control TRAC(R) Full-Time 4-Wheel Drive
AM/FM Radio With 290-Watts, Seek/Scan and 7 Speakers Total; 6-Disc CD Changer Integrated With Radio; MP3 Player

Options:
Safety Canopy(TM) System With Rollover Sensor
Non Flexfuel 4.0-Liter V6 Engine
AM/FM Radio With Cassette and CD Player

[Cop]

Innam Bus e Madresamooon

[Rasputin]

Az In Behtar Nadarim tu Donya !!!!

ALONSO TRAMPLES ON KIMI'S SHATTERED DREAMS



Fernando Alonso took a fortuitous sixth victory of the season in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim as arch-rival Kimi Raikkonen's title hopes went up in smoke.

The Renault ace walked away with a 36-point lead in the championship chase after Raikkonen's McLaren failed him while leading the race.

Juan Pablo Montoya battled through from the back of the grid after his qualifying crash to finish second ahead of BAR's Jenson Button, who out-duelled Michael Schumacher with an audacious overtaking move in the second half of the race.


Raikkonen took off cleanly from pole, but immediately had to fend off a challenge from Alonso, whose Renault got off the line with its characteristic alacrity.

Button squandered his front-row starting spot when he bogged down and was passed by Schumacher, while David Coulthard charged from 11th to sixth in the course of the opening lap.

Meanwhile there was mayhem in the midfield, resulting in Takuma Sato, Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber all pitting at the end of the first lap, the Williams driver with right-rear suspension damage.

Montoya made short work of the cars around him on the grid, but his progress was halted once he caught eighth-placed Giancarlo Fisichella and he had to hold station behind the Renault...

1. Renault 117 puntos

2. McLaren 95 puntos

3. Ferrari 78 puntos

4. Toyota 57 puntos

5. Williams 47 puntos

6. Red Bull 24 puntos

7. BAR 15 puntos

8. Sauber 14 puntos

9. Jordan 11 puntos

10. Minardi 7 puntos

----
1º F. Alonso 87
2º K. Raikkonen 51
3º M. Schumacher 47
4º J. P. Montoya 34
5º R. Barrichello 31

[Rasputin]

حميدرضا كاتوزيان گفت: قراردادهاي اخير شركت هاي ايران خودرو و سايپا در مورد پ?و 206 و 307 و خودروي ريو نيز همانند قرارداد ال 90 مونتا? و كاملاً استعماري است.

نماينده مردم تهران در مجلس شوراي اسلامي كه نخستين و اصلي ترين منتقد پرو?ه ال ۹۰ بود و از اين پرو?ه در كميسيون اصل ۹۰ مجلس شكايت كرده، در مصاحبه اي مطبوعاتي كه با عنوان «پرو?ه ال ۹۰» در مركز پ?وهش هاي مجلس برگزار شد، اظهار داشت: اختلاف من با مسئولان فعلي وزارت صنايع و معادن و سازمان گسترش و نوسازي صنايع ايران، اختلاف فرهنگي است، زيرا من معتقدم بازار مصرف داخلي مانند ناموس ما است و تنها با حفظ استقلال و صيانت از اين بازار است كه مي توانيم قدرت چانه زني خود را در جهان افزايش دهيم. وي يكي از عمده ترين محورهاي مبارزه با ر?يم گذشته را مخالفت با مونتا? دانست و خاطرنشان كرد: پرو?ه سمند با وجود تمام معايبي كه دارد، يكي از افتخارات ما است كه پس از آن نيز پرو?ه پيكان جديد آغاز شد، اما متاسفانه پرو?ه هاي ملي از سوي مسئولين صنعتي كشور تعطيل شدند و پرو?ه هاي مونتا? رونق گرفتند. كاتوزيان با بيان اين كه حفظ بازار ۷۰ ميليوني داخلي از اولويت هاي دولت آينده است، افزود: در اين مسير پرو?ه ال ۹۰ طفل ناخلف در دامن جمهوري اسلامي و يك قرارداد شبه استعماري است. وي تصريح كرد: از سال ۸۱ هر چه انتقادات نسبت به پرو?ه ال ۹۰ بيشتر شد، مسئولين اين صنعت به جاي پاسخگويي به پرسش ها، بر سرعت امضاها و روند اجراي پرو?ه افزودند.

[Rasputin]

مرسدس بنز كلاس B به عنوان جديدترين كلاس بنز وارد بازار شد.

شركت مرسدس بنز كه در گذشته حضور كمرنگي در كلاس B داشته، هم اكنون با اين مرسدس وارد اين كلاس شده است. يكي از وي?گيهاي اين مرسدس بنز، استفاده بهينه از فضاي داخلي است. ساختار اين خودرو به گونهاي طراحي شده كه موتور و گيربكس و خط انتقال نيرو زير اتاق جاسازي شدهاند و بدين ترتيب فضا براي سرنشينان و وسايل جانبي بيشتر شده است.

نوع قرارگيري صندليها نيز به گونهاي است كه اين خودرو هم براي استفاده خانواده و هم براي حمل بار مناسب است. بنز كلاس B از طراحي نسل جديد مرسدس بنزهايي است كه از سال 2003 به بعد از خودروهاي مفهومي بنز به نام وي?ن الهام گرفته شده است.

اين خودرو با اينكه به نظر كوچك ميرسد، اما به راحتي توانايي حمل پنج نفر را دارد. فاصله محور جلو و عقب اين خودرو نيز بيشتر از مرسدس بنز كلاس C بوده و حجم فضاي بار در اين خودرو بهتر از مرسدس بنز سدان كلاس E است.

اين خودرو به صورت استاندارد از سيستم ABS و ESP بهرهمند است و از دو جعبه دنده 5 و 6 سرعته سود ميبرد. موتور 2 ليتري ديزلي اين خودرو نيز مجهز به تكنولو?ي ريل مشترك و تزريق مستقيم سوخت است كه توانايي توليد 140 اسب بخار قدرت را دارد. اين موتور داراي استاندارد آلايندگي يورو 4 و مصرف سوخت آن نيز در 100 كيلومتر 6 ليتر است. 3 موتور بنزيني هم در اين خودرو قابل سفارش است كه موتور مجهز به توربو شار?، 193 اسب بخار قدرت توليد ميكند.