Toyota Concept Pick Up-Truck A-BAT’s For Both Teams

Toyota A-Bat Concept

Introduced in 2007 at the Detroit auto show, the Toyota A-Bat pick-up truck/sedan synergy is now creeping slowly, hesitantly towards production. Although nothing has been green-lighted, Toyota executives have confirmed for Auto News that they’ve begun accepting supplier bids for the A-Bat’s construction components. So does this mean the freaky little A-Bat is destined for U.S. roadways? Not necessarily.

According to Toyota, the process of accepting supplier bids is a common industry practice used to evaluate the approximate cost of production, and doesn’t necessarily indicate Toyota’s future plans. Although preliminary design plans for the Toyota A-Bat indicate a vehicle that would lean heavily on body parts/design cues from both the Toyota Camry and 2010 Toyota Prius, the overall architecture of the A-Bat is expected to cost more to build than the Toyota Tacoma’s platform. As a result, the A-Bat’s future as a production model currently hangs in the balance. Despite it’s promising future as what could prove to be an engineering breakthrough for Toyota, if the final estimate of the Toyota A-Bat’s production costs exceed Toyota’s projected budget, the A-Bat project will be shelved.

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Chrysler to Seize the Hemi: Is the V8’s End Near?

Following the similar path that GM announced not too long ago, Chrysler has announced that the Hemi engine “is not the powertrain of the future” as co-President Jim Press put it. This should not come as too much of a surprise as rising gas prices have already affected the sales figures for large V8 engines across the board. More and more people are opting for efficient V6 engines in their place.

Another obvious factor in the decision is the passing of the new CAFE standards. Chrysler is not about to spend the added research money into determining a way to make the Hemi fuel efficient enough to fit into the future fuel economy ratings. It would be a long and expensive path to take as direct-inject V6 engines are closer to spec and can come close enough in horsepower ratings to satisfy most buyers. (more…)

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Heico Sportiv gets the Volvo C30 Sema Ready with 300 Horses!

Based off the tuner friendly design of the Volvo C30 Heico Sportiv has applied their products and badging to the new hatchback in preparation for the upcoming Sema show in Las Vegas this October.  The Heico touch can be seen inside and out on the C30 and despite the soft surfer stickering they do well to add some aggression to the already sporty design. With the addition of the Heico product line-up to tune the new Volvo the opportunities to customize what is already a Made-to-Order product from the manufacturer the C30 is made further an expression of its owners tastes and budget. Ofcourse Heico Sportiv’s best add-on will be found beneath the bonnet. (more…)

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Checking your cars computer goes self-serve with SAM Kiosks

Communicating with your cars onboard computer has just been taken out of the hands of the trained professional mechanic and made available to anyone (currently living in Atlanta and North Carolina). For years we have paid fees to our mechanic for hooking up our cars to a Code Reader to tell us what was wrong with our cars. Each time they plug our car in it costs us anywhere from $25 to $85 or more in fees charged by the mechanic. With the Smart Auto Management (SAM) kiosk you can pull up and check your computer yourself just like you pump your own gas (just a different receptical… please do not put scanning port in your fuel spout).

Handheld scanners have been around for years too and are quite the convenience if you know how to work one and want to pay the money for the code/software updates. For many of us the need to read our cars computer is random and not something many want to be trained to do. By pulling up to a SAM kiosk and for a simple charge of $15 on your credit card you can learn on your own what that knocking noise is or why your check engine light is on. This also takes the guessing game out of going to the mechanic as now you are coming to him with your specific need and not waiting on him to tell you what he is going to do for you.

Other reasons to use a SAM kiosk could be to check your car before heading out on that long drive or when purchasing a used car. A couple years ago I requested to have a used 2003 Mustang GT Convertible hooked up to the computer before I bought it. It was not that I didn’t trust the dealership (never do). It was just that I did not want any surprises after buying the car. Their response was a bit of a scoff at my request and that it really would only tell me if there was a problem with the car (duh) and that there was no problem with the car. Then they also told me that it would cost me $85. If a SAM kiosk had been around there is a strong likelihood that my test drive of the vehicle would have involved a trip to the kiosk to get a reading on the car myself. It would be just one more way to protect yourself. Watch for the opening of a SAM kiosk near you in the coming year. Currently there are 200 in Atlanta and NC, but their plans are to go nationwide.

 Source[NewYorkTimes]

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