Bombardier Evinrude / Johnson Capacitor Filter on 2040-parts.com

Porsche buyers put the brakes on stop-start technology

By Chris Chilton Motor Industry 23 June 2008 18:56 Direct injection and a clever new PDK dual-clutch gearbox have cemented the new 911’s reputation as the greenest performance car around, but Porsche engineers are being hampered from making the iconic sports car even cleaner by the public’s reluctance to accept further green technology Engineers at the launch of the facelifted 911 told CAR that fitting a BMW-style start-stop system could chop a further 10g/km from the Carrera’s 225g/km CO2 rating but that performance car buyers weren’t keen on having such overtly planet-conscious tech on their cars. Start-stop works by cutting the engine when the car’s stationary in traffic, and restarting automatically when you touch the pedals to move off again. Every manual transmission-equipped BMW 1-series comes with the technology, excepting the truly high performance versions.

Audi takes a dig at BMW, Lexus & Mercedes in new video commercials

Audi takes a dig at BMW, Lexus & Mercedes in new video commercials We’ve had a little spat between Jaguar and Mercedes recently over Mercedes’ Chicken Magic Body Control, with Jaguar’s Big Cat eating Mercedes MBC Chicken and now, ahead of what seems a likely airing in the Super Bowl advert slots, Audi is taking a pop at everyone. Audi are bigging-up the Audi A3 saloon ahead of its arrival in the USA with a quartet of commercials demonstrating the regret buyers have if they’ve already opted for a Mercedes, BMW or Lexus. We get a video on ‘Luxury Car Abstinence’, one of ‘Shame’, one on Buyer’s Remorse’ and one on ‘Lessons’ with the theme being that you should save yourself for the best – the Audi A3 Saloon – and not bother with the also-rans.

Ford S-MAX Concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

Ford is clearly pretty pleased with the performance of its S-MAX model line, and why not? The car has carved out an enviable niche for itself as the big MPV for people who don’t want to be saddled with a borderline minibus by their over-productive loins. The new S-MAX Concept, unveiled at Frankfurt by Barb Samardzich, Ford Europe’s vice president of Product Development, continues those themes.