Car Charging Group teams with Central Parking System to electrify U.S. parking lots

A potentially massive deal between Car Charging Group and Central Parking System and its subsidiary, USA Parking System, has been announced by Car Charging Group, which says it will install Coulomb Technologies' networked ChargePoint stations at up to 2,200 sites across the U.S.

Car Charging Group says it will install charging stations at sites owned by the two parking garage operators. Combined, the operators own 2,200 lots nationwide that contain an estimated 1.1 million parking spaces.

Car Charging Group installs charging stations at no cost to property owners but retains full rights to the charging units. This allows lot owners to offer charging services without any outlay of cash. Additionally, their partners receive a percentage of the revenue generated by each charging station

Source: Green Autoblog

Volvo Recalls 8,400 S80 Sedans

Volvo S80 Sedan

Volvo recalls 8,400 vehicles made in 2006-2007 from the S80 sedan model for steering problems.
The red-flagged models are those produces between March 8, 2006 and May 16, 2007. The recall begins this month and the necessary repairs will be made for free by Volvo dealers.
Volvo says they are not aware of any accidents caused by this problem. They also explain that a leak of power-steering fluid could result in a sudden loss of power assist.
The problem is attributed to an improperly routed hose on vehicles equipped with the 6-cylinder, nonturbocharged engine.
Owners with questions should contact Volvo at 1-201-768-7300, or reach NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.safercar.gov. The Volvo recall safety number is R246.

Dog on Board - Distracted Driver

DOG ON BOARD

A recent study conducted by AAA and Kurgo says that "Sixty-five percent of dog owners admit to engaging in at least one potentially distracting activity while driving with their dog."
The survey stated that there are 78 million dogs that reside in 46 million U.S. households, and that in the past year, 56 percent of survey's respondents have driven with their dog in the car at least once a month.
29 percent of those surveyed admit that their dog has distracted them while they're driving. 52 percent of the surveyed owners admit to petting their dog on board while 29 percent say they've  used their hands or arms to restrain their dog while braking.

Cougatti or Ford Cougar transformed in Bugatti Veyron.

BUGATTI VEYRON REPLICA - FORD COUGAR RE-BODIED

The young Mike Duke, 25, from Florida spent nine months building literally his own Bugatti Veyron. You can buy his Bugatti Veyron replica for only $89,000 on eBay.

Mike rebuild the body of his Ford Cougar imitating the Bugatti Veyron. The result is a genuine reproduction of the $1.6 million luxury car. Of course, the Cougatti" doesn't own all the 1,001 "horses" of Veyron, but has the advantage of being a cheap and easy maintenance, luxury car.

Bugatti built only 300 Veyrons with the final model and all are already sold, so Cougatti is a unique replica of an exclusive car.

Mike also commented about his car:

• "It drives smoothly without any issues and if there is ever a repair issue I'm sure it will not break the bank."
• "I'm very happy with the finished result and of course driving around in the car gets more comments than you could ever imagine."
• "I want to be careful not to call this car a Bugatti - it's a re-bodied Ford Cougar."

2012 MINI COUPE - Super-compact sport car from MINI

MINI COUPE

Mini is announcing the first two-seat in the current model range, the 2012 Mini Coupe, a super-compact sport car. Under the hood works the latest generation of four-cylinder 1.6liter gasoline, six-speed manual standard gearbox and optional six-speed automatic gearbox.

The engine outputs 121 hp at 6,000 rpm for MINI Cooper Coupe, 181 hp at 5,500 rpm for MINI Cooper S Coupe and 208 hp at 6,000 rpm for MINI John Cooper Works Coupe.

The price ranges from $22,000 for Mini Cooper Coupe to $31,900 for MINI John Cooper Works Coupe with a step at $25,300 for MINI Cooper S Coupe.

The design of the new MINI Coupe is very attractive, with aggressive looking and aerodynamic profile and it's the brand’s first model to adopt a three-box body structure with a strikingly stepped rear end. An active rear spoiler optimizes airflow at higher speeds.  The interior offers large luggage area and high-opening tailgate.

Car thieves trends in US - Top 10 MOST STOLEN CARS

In US are stolen about 800,000 to 1 million cars each year. While the most brands release a new version of their best cars almost yearly, the thieves still prefer older cars. Some of them have the (non) advantage of being component-compatible with the most releases of that model, and this feature makes thieves to love them. Below is the top 10.

10. TOYOTA COROLLA [2009]

The Toyota Corolla is one of the “best loved cars in America” according to Kelley Blue Book . It rates high on maintenance and resale value — and it gets decent gas mileage. The 2011 had just “minor cosmetic changes,” which means parts from prior year models can be used in the newer models, which makes the car very attractive to car thieves

TOYOTA COROLLA 2009

09. FORD EXPLORER [2002]

The Ford Explorer is one of the most popular SUVs on the market. People love the vehicle because it has the functionality of an SUV but also has style and comfort. Because they’re so popular, Ford hasn’t made too many changes in subsequent models, except for improvements to safety and roominess. You know what that means — thieves love them for the parts!

FORD EXPLORER 2002

08. ACURA INTEGRA [1994]

The Integra makes the stolen list because it was a popular vehicle that Honda made from 1985 to 2007 that people liked to buy and soup up “Fast and Furious” style with everything from engine modification to enhanced suspension and blinged-up wheels, Keah explains.

ACURA INTEGRA 1994

07. CHEVROLET PICKUP [1994]

World Car of the Year 2011 is Nissan Leaf

Nissan Leaf Charging

Nissan Leaf was named as being the World Car of the Year 2011, at the New York International Auto Show. Also, this year Nissan Leaf gained the title European Car of the Year 2011.

Leaf is a fully electric car, with zero-emissions, powered by a lithium-ion battery that has a 96 months / 100,000 miles warranty and running an electric synchronous motor that develops 110 horsepower, with a maximum speed of 150kmh, which means 93mph. Unofficially 0-60mph (0-100kmh) takes about 9.9 seconds.

Nissan Leaf

Volkswagen 2012 Beetle, not New Beetle

Volkswagen 2012 Beetle

Volkswagen officially unveiled the 2012 Beetle, just before the New York International Auto Show. One small detail that might create big confusions is that the new model is called just Beetle and the previous was called New Beetle. Also, another thing that may cause confusions is that the 2012 Beetle will hit the dealerships this fall, a few months before 2012.

"The new 1.6 turbo diesel engine delivers around 105 horsepower while returning 65.7mpg on the EU scale thanks to a start/stop and intelligent battery regeneration system", notes Autoblog.

The price has not yet been released but the rumors say that will be some-point between $15,000 and $20,000, based on 2012 Beetle's competitors like Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper.

The three powertrains of 2012 Beetle are:

• 2.5 liter, five-cylinder, gas engine (which powered the 2010 Beetle too);
• 2.0 liter turbocharged, four-cylinder, gas engine;
• 2.0 liter turbodiesel, four-cylinder, diesel engine.

We're waiting for more details and we'll keep you up to date.

CX-5 the Minagi dream to come true

Mazda Minagi Concept

Latest compact SUV of Mazda, released in January as Minagi concept. Now Mazda announced it will launch Minagi in 2012 as Mazda CX-5. Minagi will become the little brother of the two larger crossovers CX-7 and CX-9, CX-5 being the most compact.

We don't know anything yet about engine specifications or features. All we know for the moment is that CX-5 reflects "Mazda's new design theme, 'KODO - Soul of Motion' as debuted on the Mazda SHINARI concept car, as well as the full range of breakthrough SKYACTIV technologies, including engines, transmissions, body and chassis."

There are rumors that Mazda's next-generation vehicles would have up to 15% improvements in performance and fuel efficiency. Also, the rumors say that the price will be even lower than $20,000, just a little bit cheaper than it's big brother CX-7 which starts at $21,900.

The official debut of Mazda CX-5 will be in September at Frankfurt Auto Show, in Germany.