Sport Cars Audi A4 Special Executive Vehicle

Unlike the A2 model which was originally designed as a three door hatchback vehicle which later all and became more of a luxury family car, the Audi A4 which is also manufactured by the same German automotive maker "Audi" is a luxury executive car which can also be classified as a compact vehicle. According to the enumeration you might think that this is the successor to the A2 but, it actually is a successor of the Audi 80.

This version became available as an "Advant" which is the name that Audi gave to station wagons and also to estate cars. The A4 was also available as a Cabriolet and sedan. The production of this vehicle started in 1994 and ever since its introduction to the market there have been for generations (or versions) of this model.

The B5 platform-based Audi A4 was sold between 1996 and 2001. The top Audi A4 engine in Europe was a 2.8l V6, one of nine engines shoppers could choose from in Europe. In North America the only Audi A4 engine available at launch was the 2.8l V6, which was also the sole engine available in its predecessor, the 80 model.

This Audi A4 engine is a 90 degree V6 with a cast iron block and alloy cylinder heads. In its original form it has twelve valves opened by single overhead cam (SOHC) heads. It produces 174 horsepower and 184lb ft. torque.

Note that while Audi often shares parts with its parent company Volkswagen, this Audi A4 engine is not related to VW's VR6, even though this engine was offered in similar sizes and power outputs. In more recent years both the 90 degree motor and the VR6 have been place in the Audi A4's engine bay. While Audi A4 engine is smoother and more powerful, it is heavier than the single head VW unit.

The Audi A4 engine uses a variable length intake manifold. This manifold has two intake tracks. At slow speeds, air is directed through a long intake track for better torque, while at high speeds air comes through a very short track for improved breathing, providing top end power. This gives similar performance to early two-stage variable intake valve systems without the complexity.

While the Audi 80 used the AAC version of the 2.8l, the Audi A4 engine got the revised AFC version. These changes mainly affect the head design, using a lighter camshaft with revised valve timing, a simpler, lighter valve spring assembly, and smaller diameter intake and exhaust valves. The oiling system was also upgraded, with a larger oil cooler, larger filter, and more effective oiling system. While it may be possible to put an AAC motor in an A4, the original Audi A4 engine is more reliable thanks to these upgrades.

A new head with five valve per cylinder was developed by Audi Sport for use in touring car racing and eventually made its way onto several of Audi's engines, starting with the new 1.8l turbo, and eventually the 2.8l. This Audi A4 engine choice included this new 30 valve layout in Europe starting in 1996, and would replace the 12 valve engine in the American market when the car was refreshed in 1998. Power went up to 190 hp 203 lb. ft. of torque. The head also has dual overhead cams, but everything outside of the heads is similar to the twelve valve engine.

The Audi A4 engine gained twin turbochargers in the S4, the A4's sports model. Different pistons were used changing displacement slightly: Officially it is a 2.7l engine, although it was sometimes quoted as being a 2.8l. This engine produces 261 horsepower and 295 ft. lbs. of torque. The 2000 and 2001 A4-based RS4 used a version of this engine modified by Cosworth Technology to produce 375 horsepower and 325 ft. lbs. of torque. This car was never sold in America, and the engine doesn't make a good Audi A4 engine swap candidate due to the width of the engine. The RS4 uses wider front body panels to accommodate the extra piping and larger turbo added by Cosworth.

Audi A4 engine choices expanded with the introduction of the B5 platform in 2001, but the 2.8l was replaced by a new 3.0l after being used for over a decade in Audi's lineup.

Cool Creative Candle Designs (24 pics)

Cool Creative Candle Designs
Before the advent of electricity, candles were used for illumination and it date backs around the first century in Rome where candles were made and used. Though in present times it lost most of the importance attached to it; but there are few occasions and events that aren't complete without candles. Whether its birthday parties, candle light dinners or for creating a cool ambiance or its use in aromatherapy, we still need them. Here are some cool candle designs for you to choose from. 

Swiss Cheese Candle: Looks delicious in shape of the cheese.
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Subaru Impreza WRX Cars Modifications

Specifications :

Tuner : Alex Witkin
Basic Car : Subaru Impreza WRC 2002
Power : 403 hp
Bodykit : C-West bodykit
Bumper : APR carbon-fiber air splitters
Other : installed a remote map selector, a test and up pipe and a high-performance boost controller all straight from the Turbo XS catalog, To mix quality-fed fuel into the chambers, Witkin fit in a dual Walbro high-flow fuel pump, and customized and flow tested 780cc fuel injectors

Incredible Pencil Tip Carvings (18 pics)

Incredible Pencil Tip Carvings

Dalton Ghetti has been carving teeny, tiny pencil tip sculptures for 25 years. The New York Times reports,

"Mr. Ghetti, who owns about as many possessions as a monk, is aware how unusual his craft is. He started carving tree bark when he was a child and experimented with everything from soap to chalk before settling on graphite. It’s second nature now, and for 90 percent of his work, all he needs is a sewing needle, a razor blade and a carpenter’s or No. 2 pencil.

'The pencil tip is great; it’s like a pure, very homogenous material,' he said. 'It cuts in the same direction, not like wood, which has a grain. But when I tell people how long it takes, that’s when they don’t believe it. That’s what amazes people more, the patience. Because everything nowadays has to be fast, fast, fast.'"

Insane. Serious patience. Impeccable eye-sight. Incredible motor skills. Apparently Ghetti takes "years and years" to finish each project. Check it out after the jump.

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Editors and The Vauxhall Motorcycle

Andrew Neil was affable, professional and responsive throughout the 13 years I was motoring correspondent of The Sunday Times. We didn’t talk a lot but when I called, he called back. He didn’t much care for my predecessor (I thought her competent enough) judging by memos in a desk I inherited. Irascible? Not really. Approachable? Invariably.

I worked for lots of editors. The Guardian, The Times, Telegraph, News of the World, Motor, Autocar and most motoring magazines. Peter Jackson, editor of Drive, the AA magazine, the Sunday Times Magazine and Road and Car paid well and approved expenses an MP might envy. Editors were polite, reasonable people who encouraged contributors. If they didn’t like what you were selling they would say so. Which was fine; you could always sell it elsewhere.

Michael Bowler was an old colleague at The Motor. Founder editor of Classic Car he edited The Automobile until Jonathan Rishton replaced him. I wrote for The Automobile from time to time. Michael was professional. He liked features that were accurate, well written and appropriate. I liked The Automobile. I have kept every issue over its entire 28 years. That will make 336 magazines to the end of the current volume.

I won’t be renewing my subscription.

The magazine’s not bad; it has lost Bowler’s deft touch but Rishton is so rude. Ignores messages. Fails to call back when he says he will. Never replies to emails, even to say No. Editors are not what they were. Andrew Neil was a pleasure to work with.

The Vauxhall Motorcycle. Part 1

In 1920 Vauxhall was in a quandry. It had had a good war, making 25HP staff cars for British officers. One took King George V to Vimy Ridge, another General Allenby on his entry to Jerusalem. A Vauxhall was first across the Rhine following the Armistice, but post-war the outlook was bleak. Laurence Evelyn Pomeroy (1883-1941), inspired designer and architect of its Edwardian prosperity had intimated he was leaving.
1922-1927 OD
Pomeroy had been responsible for the glorious 30-98, spent much of the war experimenting with camshafts, and was off to America to work in aluminium. His successor, Clarence King, did not inspire confidence. King had worked with the Adams Manufacturing Company and the Société Lorraine, but was something of a mystic and trying to earn a living in France as a painter.

The Vauxhall directors wanted something new. Losing the 1914 TT to Peugeot rankled, so in 1922 they commissioned two projects from the design consultancy led by 37 year old Harry Ricardo. He was to restore Vauxhall prestige in motor racing with a 3 litre racing car for 1923. “It was”, said Ricardo, “one of my most fascinating jobs; a racing engine for which I was given a perfectly free hand.” Provided with a budget the generosity of which astonished WO Bentley, he undertook the design himself.

Vauxhall also wanted to sell a smart sporting motorcycle to returning servicemen, for which Ricardo engaged Major Frank Bernard Halford (1894-1955).

Ricardo’s racing Vauxhalls were well engineered but only moderately successful. They competed in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, where Bentley regarded them as at least unsporting, or worse, imposters. They seemed to him out and out racing cars, which was not sporting. He was further annoyed when the sole Vauxhall survivor took third place, not only splitting the winning Bentleys, but also beating WO, who dropped to fourth after losing 6sec through missing a pit signal.

It was Vauxhall’s last hurrah. The cars were good but times were hard and motor racing was expensive. The team was disbanded and the cars sold. Raymond Mays bought one which in 1928, with a supercharger as the Vauxhall Villiers, paved the way for Mays and Peter Berthon to create ERA.

FB Halford was a former Royal Flying Corps pilot. He had ridden a 4-valve Triumph with a Ricardo engine to 13th place in the 1922 Senior TT, so he knew what he was doing with a classy motorcycle. His inspiration came from aircraft engines, which usually flew inverted, crankshaft uppermost driving the propeller. Halford’s motorcycle in-line 4-cylinder had its crankshaft underneath, like a car’s. (to be continued)

Driving in Europe

Pride of Dover a couple of weeks ago
I am careful of French police. I used the BMW Z8’s splendidly straightforward cruise control on the recent Le Mans Classic trip. Went Dover-Calais by P&O and although this time I never saw any, I’ve been caught too often, along with other British tourists, by Autoroute radar traps. They must make millions of Euros in tolls and fines. I wish somebody would do a survey of how much, like the one undertaken by the German online travel-agency ab-in-den-urlaub.de .

This showed that Germans drivers suffered 515 874 speeding tickets from Switzerland, Holland, Austria, Belgium and Italy alone, while Germany rarely fines foreign motorists. Around 5 million German cars are taken on European holidays each year. There are many reasons for the fines – sometimes tourists can't read the Italian-language sign for “Quiet Street”, hidden in the parking area next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This means €194.50 if you are not prepared to pay without appealing.

The agency ab-in-den-urlaub.de has calculated that 515,874 parking tickets with a value of €53.6 million were sent to German drivers during 2009 alone. That means in 10 years, European countries have cashed in €520 million from German drivers abroad.

Around half the total €25.5 million is collected in Switzerland. Swiss police accompany drivers to the next bank to demand money on the spot. Second highest earner is the Netherlands. In 2009 192,503 fines were sent to Germans with a total value of €19.2 million.

Transport lawyer Alexander Koden told the agency, “It is particularly difficult to prove whether a foreign traffic offence is really justified.” It can take over a year before a payment demand arrives. Not only that: The Italians accept only appeals which are written in Italian. English, German and French are accepted as official languages within the EU, however that still does not mean that one is allowed to write to an Italian police department in English or German.

Once more, says the agency, “The EU has shown its neither-here-nor-there mentality. Traffic signs in Sweden, Greece and Italy may only be produced in the local language. As unity of the signage is not provided, many tourists fall into the traffic fines trap simply as a result of misunderstandings.”
Joanna was driving the BMW at 115mph; OK in Germany, not elsewhere

Sting Ray blow-up

We had no pangs about doing 140 on the M1. I was recalling at Le Mans the other week, with Corvette enthusiast Sean, my experience with what he thought the most desirable model of all, the split back window Sting Ray. We were kind to it in The Motor, remembering that when I was driving it on the M1 not far short of its maximum speed of 146.6mph, the 5.4litre V8 put a rod through the side. Everything locked up and there was lots of smoke and noise. The sudden stoppage rocked the car until we pulled it up on the hard shoulder. I can't say I warmed to the Sting Ray. I had driven a lot of E-types and this was a pale imitation, unrefined and noisy. I didn't much like writing, "It was the equal of any GT car to be found on either side of the Atlantic". Motor road tests were committee affairs and I was new. Still, we thought the fuel consumption "not unreasnable" at 15.8mpg.

Pretty Actress - Nithya Menon - Photo Gallery

Pretty South Indian Actress - Nithya Menon Photo Gallery

Nithya Menon is a new face in Malayalam Movie Industry. Her first film was Aakashagopuram. Her latest film Apoorva Ragam directed by Sibi Malayil was released yesterday. Positive reviews about the movie is coming out.

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New Acura ZDX Concept | AUTO WORLD

Acura has unveiled the new ZDX four-door coupe concept at the 2009 New York International Auto Show. Vice president of Acura sales, Jeff Conrad, presented new ZDX Concept as “The emotional coupe styling coupled with a luxurious and dramatic interior and surprising versatility, allows the ZDX to define its own segment and attract an entirely new customer.”

The ZDX‘s sportiness is emphasised by the flowing ranks, the promptly roofline, concealed rear door handles and daring fender flares. While the gumboot is sizeable with corner for abundance of luggage, its all-goblet make is a continuation of the uniqueness of the thought car. Signing off the outer are 9-strut 20-inch wheels and dual chrome tailpipes.

Read more (details + photos + video)!!

The engine is an all-aluminium VTEC V6 is knotted to a a 6-speed automatic transmission and Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). The production ZDX goes onto dealership floors this autumn in the US.Size of the ZDX model is 4.89m long, 1.99m thick and has a wheelbase of 2.75m. On the other hand the BMW X6, the adjoining competitor to the ZDX dealings 4.88m in segment, is 1.98m wide and its wheelbase is 2.93m.

Premium leather upholstery skin on the seats and the hand-stitched leather dash adds to the vehicle’s propose skill. Although not as obvious as in the X6, the Acura‘s rear seats also accommodate only two. A third persona may take the inner area but not very comfortably. Comfort and shelter technologies contain the Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition, Bluetooth connectivity, a blind-blemish information scheme and a rear camera.

Age Concern

VW puts an age limit of 80 on journalists. (Above) The delightful Scirocco
If Sir Jackie Stewart was a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers he would be ineligible to drive press cars. With the honourable exception of Jaguar, according to a list “kindly” supplied by the SMMT published in the current Guild Update he is too old, at 70, to be trusted with cars from a score of press fleets. The problem, apparently, is insurance.
18 January 2010
Drivers over 70 are no more likely to cause crashes than any other driver, and are considerably safer than younger drivers, according to a report published today by the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists).
Neil Greig, IAM Director of Policy and Research said: “The report contradicts the common assumption that older drivers are a danger on the roads. Just eight per cent of drivers are over 70 and they are involved in around four per cent of injury crashes; but of the 15 per cent of drivers who are in their teens and 20s, 34 per cent are involved in injury crashes.”
Older people rely heavily on their cars, and the ability to drive gives many older people better mobility and access to more activities. Men in their seventies make more trips as car drivers than men in their late teens and 20s.
Mr Greig added: “The IAM recommends that, rather than seeking to prevent older people from driving, we need to make them aware of the risks they face, and offer them driving assessments to help them cope with these risks.”
The RAC Foundation agrees. Its director Professor Sir Stephen Glaister said: Despite the myths, older drivers are no less safe.” Other motoring organisations reach similar conclusions. Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA: “The 70-year-old of the mid-1970s is very different to the 70-year-old today who is much fitter.” The AA published data showing a disproportionate number of young drivers have accidents.

So why do the motor industry insurers take the opposite view? Is the list a smokescreen enabling press offices to refuse cars to old, perhaps retired Guild members, to whom they don’t want to lend cars? Or do insurance company records for Guild members show they are more dangerous than other drivers?

TRY SELLING CARS

I once sold one like this
Anybody who writes about cars should try selling them. A spell in the motor trade will show buyers care little for 0-60 times, understeer, top speed, bhp or the ratio of bore to stroke. They don’t know mpg, mph, ABS, PAS, ECOnetic or Duratorq. All that matters is if mother can get in and out. Or (see BMW item below) whether there is room for the dogs. I had people choose cars on how big the ashtrays were. Colour was vital, a sunroof essential, price negotiable. One catchy gadget, a lever that wound the driver’s window in one movement, proved a clincher. Was the boot big enough to carry samples? Somebody refused a car with carpets – smelly and unhygienic. Small buyers were a problem. So were tall ones. Never had an automatic? Try one now sir; goodness me no something else to go wrong.
Some customers would have nothing “flashy” at any price. They wanted to be anonymous, invisible. Others wanted only the garish and bought cars with chrome grins. Better if it looked American. It scarcely mattered if a car went quickly, so long as it looked as if it might. You could tell on demonstration drives, if prospective buyers watched the car’s reflection in shop windows, they were hooked. Back then Japanese cars were regarded suspiciously, not just because of what happened to our lads in the war, but they seemed flimsy. Germans cars were OK. Germans were engineers.

Prejudice? We were a Wolseley family until a disastrous 6/80 overhead camshaft gave trouble. Mother forbade Wolseleys. Father bought a 3 Litre Princess Vanden Plas instead, a bit upmarket, mechnically identical to a Wolseley 6/99. Mother didn’t do camshafts but she liked wood on the facia.
My brief spell in the Glasgow motor trade taught me more about car buyers than years of research. It was a brief spell. I wasn’t good at it. I was young and it was a rough ride, yet showed me that buyers were conditioned more by what chums told them in pubs, than what they read in The Glasgow Herald. Notwithstanding the purple prose of JB McLaren. Or me.

2010 Saab 9-5 Car Pictures

2010 Saab 9-5 Front Angle View

2010 Saab 9-5 Side View

2010 Saab 9-5 Interior

2010 Saab 9-5 Engine

2010 Saab 9-5 Side Angle View

Honda Civic Coupe Cars

Sport Cars Tuning Audi A4 Special Executive Vehicle

Unlike the A2 model which was originally designed as a three door hatchback vehicle which later all and became more of a luxury family car, the Audi A4 which is also manufactured by the same German automotive maker "Audi" is a luxury executive car which can also be classified as a compact vehicle. According to the enumeration you might think that this is the successor to the A2 but, it actually is a successor of the Audi 80.

This version became available as an "Advant" which is the name that Audi gave to station wagons and also to estate cars. The A4 was also available as a Cabriolet and sedan. The production of this vehicle started in 1994 and ever since its introduction to the market there have been for generations (or versions) of this model.

The B5 platform-based Audi A4 was sold between 1996 and 2001. The top Audi A4 engine in Europe was a 2.8l V6, one of nine engines shoppers could choose from in Europe. In North America the only Audi A4 engine available at launch was the 2.8l V6, which was also the sole engine available in its predecessor, the 80 model.

This Audi A4 engine is a 90 degree V6 with a cast iron block and alloy cylinder heads. In its original form it has twelve valves opened by single overhead cam (SOHC) heads. It produces 174 horsepower and 184lb ft. torque.

Note that while Audi often shares parts with its parent company Volkswagen, this Audi A4 engine is not related to VW's VR6, even though this engine was offered in similar sizes and power outputs. In more recent years both the 90 degree motor and the VR6 have been place in the Audi A4's engine bay. While Audi A4 engine is smoother and more powerful, it is heavier than the single head VW unit.

The Audi A4 engine uses a variable length intake manifold. This manifold has two intake tracks. At slow speeds, air is directed through a long intake track for better torque, while at high speeds air comes through a very short track for improved breathing, providing top end power. This gives similar performance to early two-stage variable intake valve systems without the complexity.

While the Audi 80 used the AAC version of the 2.8l, the Audi A4 engine got the revised AFC version. These changes mainly affect the head design, using a lighter camshaft with revised valve timing, a simpler, lighter valve spring assembly, and smaller diameter intake and exhaust valves. The oiling system was also upgraded, with a larger oil cooler, larger filter, and more effective oiling system. While it may be possible to put an AAC motor in an A4, the original Audi A4 engine is more reliable thanks to these upgrades.

A new head with five valve per cylinder was developed by Audi Sport for use in touring car racing and eventually made its way onto several of Audi's engines, starting with the new 1.8l turbo, and eventually the 2.8l. This Audi A4 engine choice included this new 30 valve layout in Europe starting in 1996, and would replace the 12 valve engine in the American market when the car was refreshed in 1998. Power went up to 190 hp 203 lb. ft. of torque. The head also has dual overhead cams, but everything outside of the heads is similar to the twelve valve engine.

The Audi A4 engine gained twin turbochargers in the S4, the A4's sports model. Different pistons were used changing displacement slightly: Officially it is a 2.7l engine, although it was sometimes quoted as being a 2.8l. This engine produces 261 horsepower and 295 ft. lbs. of torque. The 2000 and 2001 A4-based RS4 used a version of this engine modified by Cosworth Technology to produce 375 horsepower and 325 ft. lbs. of torque. This car was never sold in America, and the engine doesn't make a good Audi A4 engine swap candidate due to the width of the engine. The RS4 uses wider front body panels to accommodate the extra piping and larger turbo added by Cosworth.

Audi A4 engine choices expanded with the introduction of the B5 platform in 2001, but the 2.8l was replaced by a new 3.0l after being used for over a decade in Audi's lineup.