Honda Aircraft Company’s Fifth FAA-Conforming HondaJet
Chevy Corvette Stingray shows off in Lime Rock Green
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet, Design/Style
It’s been a while since Chevrolet offered its Corvette with green paint – well over a decade, in fact. We’ve known for a while that the new C7 Stingray would be available in Lime Rock Green, but haven’t seen it up until now in anything but the antiseptic studio shots offered up on the Corvette’s configurator. Well, we can now cross it off the list – at least online – as the first production example has been caught on video at the Lone Star Classic Corvette show by the folks at NCM Insurance.
According to CorvetteBlogger, the last production model to feature such verdant paint dates to 2001, when Chevy offered its sports car in Dark Bowling Green Metallic. But when we think of Vettes in this color spectrum, we tend to think of the Polo Green C4, a deep shade this paint reminds us of. This particular Stingray is fitted with the Z51 performance package, along with the 3LT Brownstone interior. As we think Z51-equipped cars tend to look better in darker shades (which better integrate/disguise the package’s additional ductwork), this Lime Rock Green looks pretty good to our eyes.
We haven’t seen new green sports cars in some time – perhaps cars like this C7 and the British Racing Green Metallic 2014 Jaguar F-Type will kickstart a revival. What do you think, does the C7 look good in green? Check out the video below and then have your say in Comments.
Continue reading Chevy Corvette Stingray shows off in Lime Rock Green
Chevy Corvette Stingray shows off in Lime Rock Green originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 May 2013 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
SMX East Registration Open – Best Rate Available Now, Save $300
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Google Drops “Translated Foreign Pages” Search Option Due To Lack Of Use
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Kepler or not, we’ll find life in space
BMW Ultimate Driving Experience: BMW 640i xDrive Gran Coupe vs. Audi A7
BMW attempts to lure in new customers across the United States with a drive and compare event they call the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience. They trot out representative examples of their model line (with the glaring exception of M product this year) and select competitors product.
Given my druthers, I selected to compare the Audi A7 to the BMW 640i xDrive Gran Coupe. The other comparison involved the 750Li and equivalent Mercedes S Class – both cars catering to a segment beyond sporting, executive expresses. But both the 640 Gran Coupe and A7 occupy a new niche segment of four door, four place coupes showcasing sophisticated styling and performance pedigrees. And with Audi adapting the additional utility of a rear hatch on the A7.
Both cars utilize boosted six cylinder engines with direct fuel injection. The BMW utilizes a twin-scroll turbo, VANOS, Valvetronic and inline cylinders while the Audi uses an Eaton supercharger and variable valve timing on a 90 degree V6.
The compact V6 Audi utilizes isn’t an optimum configuration for vibration and aural pleasantness, but a balance shaft and aggressive mufflers damp the negative aspects of the 90 degree V angle in its six. The inline six BMW employs is the familiar N55 – a smooth powerful and highly efficient engine.
Both of these engines have won awards and they’re fairly evenly matched for power output – though one oddity is that the turbocharged BMW N55 delivers peak torque at a lower RPM than Audi’s supercharged six. And both engines were coupled to eight speed automatic gearboxes.
Both cars were well equipped with impeccable interiors, great seats and the Audi sporting a clever stowaway nav/infotainment display. The BMW was equipped with lane departure warning, which I found entertaining if not all that useful. But the BMW starts out with a higher base price than the equivalent Audi. So that has to be factored into the comparison.
The 640i had a wonderful exhaust note enhanced when the gearbox was put in manual mode and with sport mode selected. Seats were what you expect from BMW and interior styling and materials were typical of the Munich based Bavarians.
The car accelerated well – shifts in automatic mode being smooth (and often given the eight forward speeds) – in manual mode the shifts were crisp and accompanied by that fabulous mellifluous soundtrack the inline six makes. The 640i is a joy to drive and a bit more pure if ordered without xDrive. There’s a connectedness of the driving experience of the 640i to the other models in the BMW lineup.
The Audi A7′s interior was in keeping with the northern Bavarians traditions, a technical exercise with a great, easily learned MMI interface to the nav/infotainment functionality. The seats were great (though given a choice I’ll take BMW sports seats other most others). There is a lot of value in the cabin of the A7.
The A7 accelerated well – and it was largely quiet under acceleration, more of a turbine-like smoothness and swoosh than old-school exhaust note. Taming the odd aural experience of a 90 degree V6 may be a part of the rationale for the quiet.
The brakes of the A7 felt really good. In some Japanese cars you can brush the brake pedal and get an immediate sharp bite of brakes, The Audi allowed a bit of pedal movement, biting progressively rather than suddenly – they felt perfectly controllable and well balanced. Beyond good – these are nigh on perfect for street use.
Audi also seemed to leave the transmission in gear on lift throttle and the driver becomes aware of engine braking. Could have been a setting or drive mode that I wasn’t aware of. Not disconcerting, but noticeable.
However, the steering on the Audi left a lot to be desired. It is, as is the BMW, electromechanical, but with less feel than the BMW (in sport mode). And the kicker, confirmed by other drivers of the A7, is that it has a momentary odd feel when taken off center, a bit of a ‘twitch’. Not a safety issue by any stretch of the imagination but just not smooth.
The Audi A7 has a lot going for it, good engine, great brakes, excellent interior and a significantly lower price than the BMW 640i xDrive Gran Coupe (does BMW charge for its cars by the length of their names?). But given the steering feel of the Audi A7, and how that would annoy me every time I drove it, I’d pony up the extra bucks for the BMW.
Corporate: The Fourth FAA-Conforming HondaJet
The Fourth FAA-Conforming HondaJet
Car thief caught in McDonald’s drive-thru after placing order with owner
Filed under: SUV, Etc., Toyota
If you’re going to drive a stolen car in a town of roughly 77,000 people – about the same size as Scranton, Pennsylvania or Ogden, Utah – you want to be very careful about where you drive that stolen car to eat. That’s the lesson Katherine York of Kennewick, Washington learned when she was arrested for being in possession of a stolen Toyota 4Runner that also happened to have a bunch of stolen clothes from JC Penney and Sears in it.
Virginia Maiden woke up Tuesday, May 14 to find her 1995 4Runner – that she thought she forgot to lock – swiped from her apartment building. At 3 PM that afternoon, while working her shift at the drive-thru at McDonald’s that day, she saw her truck in line. York hadn’t even gone far – the McDonald’s is not even five miles from Maiden’s apartment. Maiden called the police, they showed up just as York was leaving, and York made another vehicle switch, this time into a black-and-white for a trip to the Benton County jail. They don’t have McDonald’s there, but she won’t have so far to go to eat.
Car thief caught in McDonald’s drive-thru after placing order with owner originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Corporate: Fifth FAA-Conforming HondaJet Achieves First Flight
Honda Aircraft Company today announced that its fifth Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conforming HondaJet, equipped with a production interior matching the final customer aircraft, successfully completed its first flight on May 16, 2013 at the company’s world headquarters in Greensboro, N.C. With this achievement, the HondaJet program approaches the final phase of flight testing as the company advances toward FAA aircraft certification of the world’s most advanced light jet.
“An aircraft’s first flight is an important and emotional milestone,” said Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “This is especially true for our fifth FAA-conforming HondaJet. This aircraft is equipped with a production interior and options, and it will anchor the final leg of our flight test program. From inside and out, this HondaJet matches the final configuration of a customer aircraft.”
The light jet lifted off at 3:00 p.m. EDT from the Piedmont Triad International Airport (KGSO). During the 60-minute flight, the aircraft performed very smoothly with an initial climb to 12,000 feet reaching a top speed of 300 Knots True Air Speed (KTAS).
Howard Judd, pilot-in-command, and Stefan Johansson, co-pilot, completed several checks during the flight, including low and high speed handling characteristics, avionics and system functionality including the stall protection system. Data gathered during the flight was transmitted in real time to the company’s on-site flight test telemetry operations for analysis.
This aircraft will be used for function and reliability (F&R) testing. F&R testing will simulate in-service flight operations of the aircraft. It has a production interior with standard lavatory and options including a side-facing seat, and will be used for interior and cabin systems tests. Future testing on the aircraft will also analyze the controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC).
The fifth conforming HondaJet features the signature HondaJet paint scheme in a special edition blue and pearl white finish with a metallic gold stripe, an artistic moniker to signify the plane’s unique role to the program. The cabin’s color palette is parchment, a pale beige base that is one of two interior color options available on the HondaJet.
Since 2010, Honda Aircraft has developed and produced six FAA-conforming HondaJets. Four active flight test aircraft include:
- First conforming aircraft – aerodynamics, performance, and stability and control testing
- Third conforming aircraft – mechanical system testing
- Fourth conforming aircraft – avionics and electrical testing
- Fifth conforming aircraft – function and reliability (F&R) testing; and cabin system and interior, and options testing
Two ground test aircraft include:
- Second conforming aircraft – structural testing and retired from the ground test program in 2012 after successfully completing all ultimate load testing, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) bird strike test, and seat attachment test
- Sixth conforming aircraft – structural testing and joined the program in October 2012; currently being used for static testing and damage tolerance testing
“Our flight test fleet maintains a very active schedule and continues to complete milestones for FAA certification flight testing,” said Fujino.
The HondaJet is priced at $4.5 million (€3.41 million), and its design incorporates advanced technologies and concepts. The HondaJet patented Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration, natural-laminar flow wing and fuselage nose and composite fuselage were developed from long-term research activities. These innovations combine to make the HondaJet the fastest, most spacious and most fuel-efficient jet in its class.
About HondaJet
HondaJet is the world’s most advanced light business jet aircraft, with best-in-class advantages in performance, comfort, quality and efficiency. The HondaJet is the fastest, highest-flying, quietest, and most fuel-efficient jet in its class. The HondaJet incorporates many technological innovations in aviation design, including the unique Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration that dramatically improves performance and fuel efficiency by reducing aerodynamic drag. OTWEM design also reduces cabin sound, minimizes ground-detected noise, and allows for the roomiest cabin in class, the largest baggage capacity, and a fully serviceable private aft lavatory. The HondaJet is powered by two highly fuel-efficient GE Honda HF120 turbofan jet engines, and is equipped with the most sophisticated glass flight deck available in any light business jet, a Honda-customized Garmin® G3000 next-generation all-glass avionics system composed of three 14-inch landscape-format displays and dual touch-screen controllers. The HondaJet is Honda’s first commercial aircraft and lives up to the company’s reputation for superior performance, efficiency, quality and value.
For more information, visit www.hondajet.com.
Honda Aircraft Company
Honda Aircraft Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., was founded in 2006 though has its heritage in more than 20 years of groundbreaking aeronautical research and development. At Honda Aircraft’s world headquarters in North Carolina, the birthplace of aviation, the company’s associates work in more than 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art R&D, manufacturing and administration headquarter buildings to develop, produce, market and support the HondaJet with HondaJet dealers. The challenging spirit upon which Mr. Soichiro Honda founded Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is alive today as Honda Aircraft fulfills one of Honda’s long-standing dreams to advance human mobility skyward.
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World Premiere: BMW 5 Series Facelift
Dynamic ability, comfort, efficiency, aesthetic allure and a profusion of innovations designed to enhance driving pleasure – the BMW 5 Series contains all the signature ingredients of a best-selling model at the premium end of the executive segment. Indeed, consistently rising sales figures have sealed its position as the global leader in its class.
Over one million units of the BMW 5 Series Sedan, BMW 5 Series Touring and BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo – whose luxurious character has earned it a unique status in the segment – have been sold worldwide since the launch of the current generation. And now another new chapter in this impressive success story is poised to begin. Precise modifications to the cars’ design, new engine variants and innovative additions to the range of available equipment as well as BMW ConnectedDrive technology all raise the appeal of the BMW 5 Series model family a notch higher still.
