Many are concerned with the amount of pollutants that a car is expelling from it’s exhaust, and the harm it does to the environment. But strangely, there is not much focus on toxins inside the car, where it affects you directly the most.

The chart above shows results obtained with non-profit environmental group Ecology Center used a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, which identifies the elemental composition of any material to look for known toxins such as chlorine, bromine, arsenic, mercury and others. The presence of these harmful chemicals were checked in the dashboard, steering wheel, carpet, armrests and other locations. You actually breathe in these toxins when you drive your car around, as they get released under heat over time.

Apparently the Nissan Versa has the most harmful interior of all the vehicles they tested. This is the same car Hiro Nakamura drives around in the TV Series Heroes, so perhaps mutation from these chemicals are what’s causing his time travelling powers. Just kidding. It’s also quite strange that the Volvo S40 and V50 would score differently since they are essentially sedan and stationwagon versions of the same car.

We should also be slightly concerned as the Versa is most probably coming to our shores as a Nissan Latio, since lightly camouflaged Latios have been spotted going about test routes in Genting.

There is also another list with vehicles separated according to class here.

Source

A woman in her late 20s driving a Mercedes Benz SL500 costing £96,000 drove her car into a ford and ended up getting washed downstream the river until a stable-owner heard her and risked her own live to save her.

Apparently, the SL500’s satellite navigation system told her to take a road that was actually meant for farmers in their big 4X4 vehicles. The road had a big sign that said “unsuitable for motor vehicles”. She trusted the sat-nav guidance and went down the road. And ended up in a ford. Because although it was swollen after a few days of heavy rain, she still tried to cross it in her 302hp, V8-powered, rear wheel drive sports car. And the car ended up getting washed away.

Alice Clark heard the lady’s screams of help and waded through the waters with the help of a log and hanging on to some barb wire, risking getting washed away herself. She pulled the SL500’s owner out just in the nick of time. Seconds after she got out, the car sank. The car’s electronics short circuited causing the windows to open, letting more water in until the car was completely submerged.

The SL500’s owner was sent to a motorway service station where a Bentley that was chauffeur-driven picked her up. The Mercedes Benz SL500 remained in the river for a week until a tow truck pulled it out. It was a complete write-off. This my friends, is proof that money can’t buy braincells.

Source

Two DaimlerChrysler Shareholders, Ekkehard Wenger and Leonhard Knoll have submitted a name change proposal to the DaimlerChrysler board of directors, detailing their wishes for the company to drop the name Chrysler regardless of whether Chrysler gets sold off or not. “If a proper separation cannot be effected within one year, this would only serve to underscore the need to remove this affliction on the image from the corporations name,” said Wenger and Knoll.

However DaimlerChrysler’s board opposes the change, saying there is no grounds for the name change proposal. “The DaimlerChrysler name is established all over the world. There are no grounds to change the name of the corporation,” the company said in a statement.

Nevertheless, a vote on the name change will be held at the shareholder’s meeting in April. DaimlerChrysler was previously known as Daimler-Benz until the merger with Chrysler in 1998. From what was supposed to be a merger of equals, Daimler-Benz ended up babysitting Chrysler through the years.

On the matter of who’ll Chrysler end up with, it seems that private equity groups are willing to pay alot more money than General Motors and automotive-related firm Magna International. The highest bid is currently at US$5 billion, while Magna is offering US$4 billion. Chrysler posted a US$1.5 billion loss last month.

However, employees do not want Chrysler to fall into the hands of a non-automotive owner. “We wouldn’t support a solution such as a private equity firm that would cut out choice bits. We prefer if a manufacturing company like another automaker take control of Chrysler in the event of a sale,” said Helmut Lense, one of the 10 employee representatives on DaimlerChrysler’s 20-member supervisory board.

Lense is also against the Chery deal. “Chrysler won’t improve its image by selling what are effectively Chinese cars,” he said. Lense also thinks a sell-off is not really necessary, as a revamp of Chrysler could be done by doing a total revamp of it’s passenger car model line-up. Chrysler has been over-reliant on truck sales, which have taken a downturn the past 2 years. One solution proposed would be for Chrysler to take over the Mercedes Benz A-Class and B-Class, leaving Mercedes to focus on more premium vehicles.

Remember Zap? I reported earlier in February that US electric car maker Zap was employing the services of Lotus to develop the ZAP-X for them, an all-wheel drive crossover MPV which would be fully powered by electric motors. The ZAP-X was to use Lotus Engineering’s VVA platform and be based on the Lotus APX Concept.

Zap has released sketches and 3D renderings of the ZAP-X, which reveal some details on what’s going to be in the car as well as how it will look like. Some of the basic performance stats include 644hp combined power from 4 in-wheel motors, a top speed of 250km/h and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 4.8 seconds.

A lightweight aluminium chassis combined with lightweight motors and the removal of extra weight such as driveshafts in common single engine configurations balance out the weight of the batteries needed, thus making this a relatively light vehicle. On a full charge, the ZAP-X can go 350 miles or 563km, with a rapid 10 minute recharge time.

On the interior, seating is a 5+2 configuration, much like the new BMW X5. By 5+2 instead of 7, it means the rear 2 seats are only for use when you really have to, they aren’t the most comfortable around. The interior is full of gadgets - a computer running Windows XP (it’s Vista now?), Wi-Fi, Blue-tooth, High definition video support, iPod connectivity, Firewire, USB2 and Mini USB ports. There’s also photo voltaic glass with thermoelectrics for heating and cooling, and energy collecting windows and windshields to harness solar energy.

The BMW 1-Series 5-door hatch and recently unveiled 3-door hatch will soon be joined by a 2-door coupe sibling, as seen in these spyshots. It will make it’s debut together with the US introduction of the 1-Series, which will be in coupe and 6-cylinder form. I’m guessing the more high powered models like the 130i and a possible upcoming 135i/135ti powered by the amazing 306hp N54 3.0 liter twin turbo.

There’ll also be a convertible model of the 1-Series based on the coupe body-shape, which is viewed by some to be a production version of the BMW CS1 Concept. A video of the 1-Series Cabriolet going around the Nurburgring track has been recorded. View it by clicking the link in the related posts below.

Related Posts:
2007 BMW 1-series Cabriolet Spy Video
New BMW 1-Series 3-door Revealed!

Aston Martin will be procuring Volvo’s help to develop the Aston Martin Rapide 4-door sedan’s safety system. Volvo’s safety engineering expertise was also used previously on the DB9 and V8 Vantage models. Volvo will develop a stiff aluminium structure for the Aston Martin Rapide. This includes designing the B-pillar and side-members to optimise occupant safety during side impact collisions.

Aston Martin hopes the new Rapide will add on about 1,000 to 2,000 units to the niche carmaker’s current production levels, helping with economies of scale as well as sales. It intends to launch the new Aston Martin Rapide in late 2008, hopefully before Porsche launches it’s competitors the Porsche Panamera.

Click here for more details on the Aston Martin Rapide concept.

Proton’s Gen2, Savvy and Satria Neo, regarded as the first few cars in a generation of Protons that attempt to breakaway from the Mitsubishi rebadging era have been making it’s way around the globe.

The Gen2 and Satria Neo was exhibited at the 6th International Auto Aftermarket Expo (IAAE) 2007 this week. They were invited by he Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro). The two cars were displayed in a section of the exhibition named “Malaysia Auto Industry” (MAI), occupying 17,760 metres of space at the exhibition centre, sponsored by Jetro and Matrade. This move was part of the Malaysia-Japan Automotive Industry Cooperation project, one of the projects under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Japan and Malaysia signed in July 2006.

Interestingly, Jetro received enquiries from Japanese companies interested to market the Malaysian cars in Japan. The Satria Neo Desire concept was popular with female visitors. One of the writers for The Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun (Japanese Daily Automotive News) Mr. Suguru Ohkubo said, “My first impression is that the cars have good design. They are attractive for Japanese. It’s definitely on my shopping list, particularly the Gen2. Japanese consumers are not only looking at good design but also other factors like delivery and customer satisfaction. These are crucial factors in deciding which car they want to buy. I am personally not much worried about Proton cars. I’m more worried about the future of the company itself.”

In Australia, the Proton Satria Neo will play a safety car role in the growing Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS). The Satria Neo safety car made it’s debut at the opening round of the AMRS at Wakefield Park in Sydney recently making an impression with its stylish good looks and inspired handling.

In the UK, it’s been getting good reviews, mainly getting praises for providing lots of fun for a good price, a good suspension and decent ride, and comfortable seats. I would agree on the cheap fun factor, the Neo definitely is wonderful around the bends where you don’t really require much engine grunt.

Porsche launched the Porsche Cayenne facelift on the 9th of March 2007. The new Cayenne sports a newly redesigned front end - much sleeker and shapelier lights which portray a more aggressive look. At the rear, tail lamps are now lit up with LED, and the rear bumper gains a new diffuser-like design. In Malaysia, the Porsche Cayenne is available in three models: the Cayenne, Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo. The engines across the range are now equipped with direct injection, which helps with power and fuel consumption. Unfortunately that also means the engines now have to clatter like a diesel at idle thanks to the injectors. But youll soon forget about that once you put your foot on the accelerator pedal as power is up across the range.

The baseline Porsche Cayenne is up 40 horses to 290hp through a gain in displacement from 3.2 litres to 3.6 litres, while the Porsche Cayenne Ss 4.8 litre V8 now makes 385hp, up from 340hp. The top of the range Porsche Cayenne Turbo which costs about RM1.1 million in bare bones trim configuration up to RM1.35 million fully loaded up now makes an amazing 500 horses, up from 450. There is no Cayenne Turbo S yet, but it might come later. The new body is now more aerodynamic, with all three models down to 0.35 cD instead of a varying coefficient of between 0.38 to 0.39 cD with the previous model.

But what makes the new Cayenne really handle like a Porsche is the new Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) roll stabilizer system. This is a system much alike BMW’s wonderful Dynamic Drive in the 2nd generation BMW X5 which I got to try late last year. Basically, a computer-controlled anti-roll bar with a motor in the middle to provide the required counter-twisting makes sure the SUV does not lean in corners, and you know its that stable grounded feeling that gives you the confidence to drive the Cayenne like how a Porsche is usually driven.

Of course, to make sure you dont get over-confident, it automatically allows the body to lean when it detects youre flying sideways at about 0.68g of G-Force. How does 0.68g feel? I dont know, but must be pretty crazy if even Porsche thinks youve gone too far. How it works is pretty much similiar to systems already in the X5 and the Touareg, however it lacks the X5’s system’s ability to completely disconnect the anti-roll bar for straight line comfort.

Besides doing well on the racetrack (as you can see from the Cayenne in the Porsche World Road Show videos), it also does great off-road. It has proper reduction gears to provide for a set of low-range gears for offroading, as well as hill descent control. Look out for a future post of mine detailing my Cayenne off-roading experience, performed in the pre-facelift model though.

Prices in Malaysia:

I previously covered the Cayenne facelift international announcement in December last year, so please head to this link to read more about it. You can find a detailed technical press release and more photos after the jump, courtesy of Auto Eurokars.

Click here to read the rest of Porsche Cayenne Facelift launched in Malaysia

Here is a promotional video of the Gumpert Apollo, the Audi powered road-going track car - brainchild of Audi’s ex-motorsports manager Roland Gumpert. The Gumpert Apollo comes in 3 flavours, 4.2 normally aspirated V8, 4.2 liter supercharged V8 and a top of the line 4.2 liter twin turbocharged V8 with a very nice 650 horsepowers power rating. Read more details about the Gumpert Apollo here.

Video after jump.

Click here to read the rest of Gumpert Apollo Promo Video

Volkswagen’s head of international sales Kevin Rose says talks between Volkswagen and Proton are now at a fairly advanced stage, and both parties clearly know what they would want from such an agreement. Volkswagen said it would also work within the Malaysian government’s March 31st 2007 deadline.

To Volkswagen, having control of the manufacturing facility is essential. “For us as a brand, it’s important that we can always say made by VW, or built by VW. Even in China, where for legal reasons we are a minority partner, we still have great control over the production, assembly, design of our products, and that’s incredibly important for us,” stressed Rose. Without that manufacturing control, the partnership will not happen. I sincerely hope with manufacturing control comes supplier control and the license to show problematic suppliers the door, regardless of know-who. Nevertheless, Rose is confident the partnership will be agreed on soon, perhaps even next week.

One of the first steps that Volkswagen will take once the partnership is finalised is to introduced a new small sedan targetted at the Asia-Pacific region. This type of regionally targetted engineering is something similiar to Toyota’s ASEAN Hiace/Hilux/Innova/Fortuner platform, or Nissan’s Livina Geniss. This new Volkswagen small sedan will be made in Malaysia at Proton’s plant. This will be followed by a bigger sedan to mark the opening of Volkswagen’s Singaporean showroom.

12 days, or less than two weeks, to March 31st.