Category Archives: Useful Information

Carmakers tap smartphone technology in battle over city cars

March 09, 2014   Sean

Carmakers are tapping smartphone technology to spruce up low-cost minicars and try to get an edge in a market that has grown to account for almost 10 percent of new-car sales in austerity-scarred Europe.

The Opel Adam Rocks, the new Peugeot 108, the Citroen C1 and the Toyota Aygo are among the minicars currently on display at the Geneva auto show – all available with large multimedia screens that can display music libraries or navigation maps stored on a smartphone. Such features have already proven a big draw for customers in more upmarket models, and are now being added to a new breed of urban runabouts pitched at younger, tech-savvy drivers.

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Shell producing base oil from natural gas for motor oils

March 09, 2014   Neville

Lubricants-pure-plusbaseoilgraphic

Shell announced the production of the first clear base oil—the main component of motor oils—made from natural gas using its gas-to-liquids (GTL) PurePlus Technology.

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Geneva Motor Show 2014: KIA Upgrades its Powertrains

March 08, 2014   Ian

KIA chose the Geneva Motor Show to reveal all-new ‘mild hybrid’ powertrain using an electric supercharger to simultaneously reduce emissions and improve engine performance in KIA’s next-generation models.

Developed by Kia’s European R&D centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the new hybrid system uses a 48 volt lead-carbon battery that powers a small electric motor to increase the engine’s power output and cut exhaust emissions. Lead-carbon batteries were chosen in preference to lithium-ion equivalents as they require no active cooling, are more easily recyclable at the end of the vehicle’s life and can function much more efficiently in sub-zero temperatures.

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Mercedes closes China sales gap with Audi by one-third

March 08, 2014   Sean

Mercedes closes China sales gap with Audi by one-third

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz slashed second-place Audi’s luxury-car sales lead by almost one-third in the first two months of 2014 on surging demand for its models in China.

Through February, Mercedes was 26,647 sales behind Audi compared with 36,804 during the same period last year.

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Joint Research Centre review concludes no serious risk in use of R1234yf MAC refrigerant under normal and foreseeable conditions

March 08, 2014   Neville

Joint Research Centre review concludes no serious risk in use of R1234yf MAC refrigerant under normal and foreseeable conditions

A scientific review of research regarding the safety aspects of the use of refrigerant R1234yf in Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) systems, published by the European Commission, concludes that there is no evidence of a serious risk in the use of this refrigerant in MAC systems under normal and foreseeable conditions of use.The review, carried out by Europe’s Joint Research Centre, provided an in-depth analysis of testing and a subsequent report on the refrigerant’s safety by KBA (Kraftfahrt Bundesamt, the German authority responsible for market surveillance and product safety for road vehicles) in order to ascertain whether the results stemming from the tests were well founded and supported by a rigorous and scientific methodology.

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