New Concept Car: BMW 5-Series Plug-In Hybrid

Take a look at the brilliant new BMW! This is the first official image of BMW's new plug-in hybrid 5-Series, ahead of its debut at the Shanghai Motor Show in ten days time.

Called the BMW Brilliance New Energy Vehicle, it's been built in partnership with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance and uses the long-wheelbase 5-Series, only available in China, as a starting point. The powertrain is all-new though and uses a 212bhp 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged engine in parallel with a 95bhp electric motor.

When fuilly charged from mains power the car can travel up to 43 miles on electric power alone, at a steady speed of 37mph. The battery is housed in the luggage compartment at the rear, while the petrol engine adds an additional 250 miles - giving the car a range of 300 miles on a tank of fuel. No economy figures are currently available.

Don't expect to see this car in the UK anytime soon - it's a China only venture and will go on sale there sometime in 2013. For more details click here.

Thanks to: Auto Express

First Sketch: 2012 Audi Q3

In January, we brought you spy pictures of the Audi Q3 taken on its German home turf; the crossover’s official unveiling is expected to take place at the Shanghai auto show this month. Now Audi has released a number of interior and exterior sketches, and they give a good idea of what to expect from the final product.

The sketches show a sleek, compact crossover—a bit like a shrunken Audi Q5, which is itself a shrunken Q7—and, thankfully, the Q3 is sleeker in appearance than its close relative, the Volkswagen Tiguan. While the Tig and the Q3 are based on a front-wheel-drive platform, the Q3’s main competitor, BMW’s X1, is based on rear-drive underpinnings. We doubt many shoppers will notice the difference, though, and in any case, all-wheel drive will be optional on the Q3.

We can see that the Q3’s front grille resembles the snout of the new A6, and it contributes to an overall elegant look. For those seeking a more aggressive persona for their Q3, there will, of course, be an optional S-line appearance package, as well as optional LED lighting.

We also get our first view of the interior in these sketches, and it appears sporty and upscale, or at least as much as possible via pen strokes. The upper part of the dashboard wraps around the cabin, and the center console is tilted toward the driver. We look forward to seeing the finished vehicle.

Power for the Q3 will come from a range of turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. An SQ3 with around 270 hp is possible—and probably necessary to counter the BMX X1 xDrive35i, which will make at least 260 hp.

We’re looking forward to seeing the Q3 when it’s fully unveiled at this month’s Shanghai auto show—it’s just a shame that Audi hasn’t yet made up its mind whether or not we’ll see it on these shores.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop Official Specifications

Toshiba recently made the official announcement of its all new 3D laptop, named Satellite P700 3D.The new Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop is based on Intel's Sandy Bridge platform.The 3D notebook comes in two variants: Toshiba Satellite P750 3D and the Toshiba Satellite P755 3D.

The P770 3D laptop equips a 15.6-inch 3D display with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution where as the P775 3D laptop version packs a 17.3-inch stereoscopic display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 3D dual webcam for 3D video chats.

Both the variants of Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop comes powered with 2nd-Gen Intel Core processor and supports up to 8GB of RAM and up to 750GB HDD.The 3D Toshiba Laptops houses a GeForce GT 540M discrete graphics card with 1GB/2GB VRAM.

New Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop Features  Wi-Fi, TV tuner, three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port and DVD writer or Blu-ray drive.The Satellite P700 3D laptop comes bundled with 3D active shutter glasses and is pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

Toshiba Satellite P700 series notebook will be avilable for sale in markets of Europe, Middle East and Africa by Q2 2011. 

Tags:-Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop details, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop features, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop specs, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop launch, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop release, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop availability, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop configuration, Toshiba Satellite P700 3D Laptop launch.

Toyota and Microsoft team up on telematics

Next-generation software will appear on vehicles next year



Toyota Motor Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming-up to deploy a next-generation telematics software platform that the automaker expects will debut on Toyota electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles next year.



The first applications developed for the platform will let drivers monitor and manage charging and energy use of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with the technology, the companies said.



The companies plan to invest 1 billion yen, or about $12 million, into Toyota Media Service Co., a Toyota subsidiary, to support the partnership, the companies said in a joint statement today.



Toyota's telematics applications will run on Microsoft's Windows Azure platform, a so-called "cloud" computing platform, the companies said.



In essence, a cloud platform essentially allows software applications to operate remotely, using data and running on infrastructure stored over the internet, rather than on local software and hardware.



Behind the scenes



The deal stands in contrast to the Ford's Sync infotainment system developed by Microsoft. Ford's Sync system is an infotainment technology system installed in the car. Microsoft's deal with Toyota affects the behind-the-scenes IT infrastructure Toyota uses to operate its telematics applications. From that platform, a variety of applications can be developed.



"Utilizing Windows Azure and Microsoft's vast information infrastructure will boost the value of automobiles by making them information terminals, moving beyond today's GPS navigation and wireless safety communications while reducing driver distraction," Toyota president Akio Toyoda said today in an online press conference about the deal.



For example, the new system will include applications to manage vehicle charging to reduce stress on the electricity grid, remote control of home appliances connected to the grid, and applications using voice activation, Toyoda said in the press conference.



"Users will be able to turn on the heat or air conditioning in their car while their vehicle is plugged into the grid, or dynamically monitor miles until the next charging station right from their GPS system, or somebody could use a smart phone to check battery power or maintenance information remotely from their vehicle," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in the press conference with Toyoda.



"Imagine being able to tell a car to charge at the time of day when demand for energy is low and therefore the least expensive time available," Ballmer said.



More applications



The new platform could also allow for more applications to be developed for Toyota's "Entune" infotainment suite that debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show last January, Toyoda said.



On another note, Toyoda said he was at first doubtful about leaving Japan today as the company struggles to get operations back to normal after last month's earthquake, but he said working on future business opportunities was the best way to help Japan's recovery.



Microsoft has worked with Toyota for more than a decade, but today's announcement signals an escalation of their co-operation.

New Car: 2012 Subaru Impreza

Subaru has issued the first picture of its next-generation Subaru Impreza, ahead of the car’s debut at the New York motor show later this month.

The single image shows a profile of the four-door version of the car, although Subaru admits that a five-door hatchback will also be present at the American event.

From this pic, it appears that the production Impreza will represent a modest evolution from the current car’s styling. Subaru appears to have toned down the sharp edges that featured on the striking Impreza Concept shown at last year’s Los Angeles show.

Subaru has yet to announce any specifications or performance details - although it claims the car will offer more cabin space, and that it will offer “the highest fuel economy of any all-wheel-drive car in the US”.

Thanks to: Autocar

1996 Nissan Quest minivan

I'm driving to work, on a road that has been under construction. Most of it is smooth and new, but there is a short section that is very rough and bumpy. So I hit a bump in the road and the car stalls. I roll to a stop and then put it in park and turn the key. Nothing!



All the idiot lights come on, including "check engine." I had to have it towed. A mechanical friend came and checked it out. He said it isn't getting a spark, but he doesn't know why.



We checked wires for a short and fuses for one that is blown but didn't find anything. So now my van is sitting in my driveway for a week.



Anyone have something like this happen? If so, what was the cause and the fix?



Response:

1) Check your battery cable ends for losening or corpses turminals. Another place to look is where the wires connect to the starter. It is possible that those wire may be lose as well.



2) Check the ignition coil. That happened to me once.



3) No fuel pressure??

HCL ME AM7-A1 Android Tablet hit India Price, Specifications

HCL recently inroduced their new ME series Froyo tablet in Indian market, named HCL ME AM7-A1.The new HCL ME Tablet runs on Google Android Froyo 2.2 OS.

The new HCL ME AM7-A1 Android Tablet equips a 7-inch capacitive multitouch display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution and is powered with 800MHz high-performance Cortex A8 processor.The HCL ME tablet packs a 512MB DDR RAM and an offers 3G WCDMA via its SIM card slot.

New HCL ME AM7-A1 Android Tablet Features 1.3 megapixel camera, 8GB internal memory, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, full HD 1080p video playback @25fps, light sensor, 3.5mm stereo jack, USB 2.0 port, microphone, high quality speaker and a microSD card slot that support up to 16GB card.

All new HCL ME Froyo Tablet is designed to work in HSDPA/UMTS 2100MHz and GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) networks.The HCL tablet packs a 4200mAh Li polymer battery as the life provider.The talet weighs 300 grams and its dimensions are 197 x 126 x 13.8 mm.   

HCL ME AM7-A1 tablet now available in Indian market for a price tag of Rs. 22990.

Tags:-HCL ME AM7-A1 Android Tablet, HCL ME Android Tablet,HCL ME Android Tablet price, india price of HCL ME Android Tablet, HCL ME Android Tablet india launch details, HCL ME Android Tablet release, HCL ME Android Tablet specs, HCL ME Android Tablet features, HCL ME Android Tablet memory, HCL ME Android Tablet price in india, HCL ME Android Tablet release, HCL ME Android Tablet launch.