Sunday, July 27, 2008
How to Buy Cheap Cars from Government Auctions
If you're wondering about how to buy cheap cars from government auctions, then you must already know that buying cars from government auctions is a good way to turn a profit for yourself. You can re-sell these cheap cars to buyers who are looking for used cars for a variety of reasons. If you know anything about cars or work with someone who does, you can even do a little work on the cheap cars, upgrading them and thus upping their re-sell value. When you know how to buy cheap cars from government auctions, there are plenty of ways to make money.
How to buy cheap cars from government auctions isn't the hardest question to find an answer to. The question is how to find buyers from the cars you buy at government auctions? Put up colorful, eye-catching signs on busy roads, and be sure to list your cars in local newspapers and perhaps even on the Internet. There are buyers out there, and the answer to finding them is in advertising. Knowing how to buy cheap cars from government auctions is the first step toward turning cheap cars into great profit for yourself.
If you want to know how to buy cheap cars from government auctions, simply look around. Listen for announcements on the radio. Call your local government office. Check out listings in the newspaper. When you know how to buy cheap cars from government auctions, those cheap cars can become very valuable indeed.
Good luck Buying Cheap Cars from Government Auctions!!
Repossessed Foreclosures: How to Buy Them Dirt Cheap!
Seizedgovauctions.com -- Government Seized Cars and Real Estate!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emma_Drosy
Saturday, July 19, 2008
A car that could dial a phone, play DVDs
The people who dreamt up such cars in the 1960s auto shows were a little off on the date. But finally some initial versions of these electronically-governed cars are on the highway. You can already buy cars with adaptive cruise control that automatically slow down if the radar or laser detects you tailgating. Your car can warn you when you stray across lane markings, and these kinds of sensors are already being used experimentally in cars that drive themselves.
Playing an important role is a clutch of Indian companies collaborating with global majors. Multinationals like Intel or Wind River and Freescale Semiconductor are working with players like Delphi in the Tier-I category. But it is the smaller players making the components that have made India a powerhouse in auto component design, which are working towards a single platform on which all electronic devices can work on.
Varroc Group, a supplier of automotive parts for automobiles in the domestic and overseas markets with manufacturing facilities across India and two plants in Europe, has seen the benefits. It works with Freescale on a low-cost digital dashboard for the Bajaj Pulsar, and is now looking at smart consoles for next-generation cars. “There are other projects happening with them as well,” says Ashok Chandak, Sr VP of the Aurangabad-based company, adding that Freescale’s expertise has helped make them attain the next level of sophistication.
“The era of intelligent driving systems is at our doorstep,” says Sanat Rao, marketing director, emerging markets, at Intel India. At the firm’s sprawling office in Bangalore, he explains how the Intel Atom 1.6GHz is integrated with other hardware and seamlessly interacts with the operating system. Intel is working with other companies to shorten the time it takes for intelligent voice recognition devices to get to the market and is creating a unified platform for the same. Designed on operating systems like Moblin that work in mobile devices, it is made for high-end cars. “The ecosystem consists of digital 3-D maps, speech recognition for every function, and so on for this embedded system,” informs Rao.
However, the low-cost production capacities of SMBs will ensure a basic level of such a platform even on low-end cars. “I am impressed at the quality of our smaller partners,” says Sanjeev Keskar, country sales manager, Freescale Semiconductors. Take the case of Pricol. Its subsidiary, Pricol Technologies, is a product design engineering company involved in embedded system development and providing CAD services.
“We have our own R&D facilities and we are working with Freescale for support in making the application,” says AS Ramaseshan, COO, Pricol Technologies. Wind River, that is making the operating system for such devices, has made a prototype of the digital console at its Bangalore office.
“This has Bluetooth, a USB drive and speech recognition,” says Venkatesh Kumaran, country manager, India. The touch screen displays every critical element of engine performance when you choose to see it, plays music and movies, and can download content though a USB cable. Not surprisingly, some of the key components and even the final console will have players like Varroc and Pricol playing key roles to make it affordable. “In future, such cars will “talk” to other smart cars on the road,” says Kumaran.
That would enable closely spaced cars to move in unison (and react more quickly to problems than humans could). A road system filled with these cars wouldn’t even need traffic lights as the cars could just talk among themselves. As Intel’s Rao puts it, we’d all experience being Bond, at least in our cars.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News
Sunday, July 13, 2008
AIR CAR SET TO ENTER INDIA
India Post News Service
NEW DELHI: With environment on everyone's mind, fuel prices shooting and global warming hitting economies eco-friendly cars are ruling the day. They have become the hot item in the eyes of the public and more importantly the green item. One such car which uses compressed air as fuel is the "Air car." French company "Moteur Development International" (MDI) has researched and developed the MiniC.A.T .
Tata Motors, India's largest automobile company, has signed an agreement with MDI for application in India of MDI's engine technology, and believes the engine is viable - It's press statement describes it as "efficient, cost-effective, scalable, and capable of other applications such as power generation". The MiniCAT could cost around $ 8177 in India and would have a range of around 300 km between refuels.
The cost of a refill would be about $ 2. Although there is no official word on when the car will be manufactured in India, report says it will be sooner than later. Tata motors will also launch the world's cheapest car, Tata Nano for $2500 by October, in India. The MiniC.A.T which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass powered by compresed air. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc.
There are no keys - just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket. Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient. According to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph. Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately $2.3, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometres.
As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000Km.] The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.
Zero Pollution Motors(ZPM) expects to produce the world's first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the US licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country. And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI's two-seater OneCAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat MiniCAT (like a SmartForTwo without the gas), the New Paltz, NY, startup is aiming bigger, company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit US roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI's CityCAT that is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up. Another car gaining popularity because of its features is the Mercedes-Benz Smart.
To date, over 900,000 smart vehicles have been sold in 36 other countries throughout the world. In January 2008, the United States became the 37th country to sell the Smart Fortwo. The models available in the United States are the smart fortwo pure coupe (entry-level), the smart fortwo passion coupe (well-equipped) and the smart fortwo passion cabriolet (well-equipped convertible). The smart fortwo ranges from $11,590 to $16,590. The most fascinating feature is that one can book this car for just $99.
The top speed of the smart fortwo is 90 mph (Electronically limited). Protecting the environment, energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources are hallmarks of smart brand. For example; only water-soluble paints are used for the Smart's three basic colors - black, white and yellow. Painting of the tridion safety cell is done by the powder-coating process. This removes the need for solvents.
The body panels with molded-in color are fully recyclable. Environmental management is a high priority. Smart is dedicated to protecting the environment with future focused recycling and an environmental policy that makes a strong statement.
The smart fortwo is also classified as an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) on account of its extremely low exhaust emissions. The catalytic converter is positioned close to the engine for a quick response. An electric pump blows fresh air into the exhaust port when the engine is cold to almost completely oxidize the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) and render them harmless.
http://indiapost.com/article/usnews/3151/