The Subaru Impreza P1 has gained somewhat of a cult status. Although the 22B Subaru Impreza is considered the ultimate collectors Impreza the P1 definitely poses some serious competition. The P1 was a joint development venture between the Japanese factory, Oxfordshire based company Provide. These are the people who helped Subaru to international Rally success and again they decided to come to Subaru’s rescue with helping in the development of the P1 (Provide 1).

The P1 was originally released as a two-door saloon with a revised version of the rally engine with recalibrated electronic controls which develop no less than, brace yourself for this, 280bhp which is 69bhp more than the standard Impreza Turbo. Throw in with that quick shift gear linkage, freshly tweaked suspension, a big-bore exhaust and 17 inch titanium-finish alloy wheels and you have something quite special in the offing.

When Subaru started the development of the P1 they had two clear goals the first being to win back the buyers who were buying more faster Japanese import market spec. Impreza’s and the second one, well does it even need to be said? Well for those of you without an ounce of car knowledge it was to make the top Impreza faster than the Lancer Evo VI which was produced by Mitsubishi, who are also highly renowned for their international rally success.

All in all the production of Subaru’s against Mitsubishi’s is to see who makes the better car and ultimately the faster car, you decide.

If you can hire a life, don’t bother about car hire insurance, else have it. Neglecting something precious [your life!] will be ended up only in regretting. So, it’s always better to have car hire excess insurance. Let’s see why?

Hiring a car would be rather easier than buying a car but what if something dangerous happens unfortunately? Accidents are increasing in direct proportion with the increase in number of vehicles. Though everything is not under your control, “do what you can” shall be a better solution.

Having car hire insurance will help you have something [not much less] as compensation. This is commonly distributed in many ways such as personal accident insurance [in case something happens to you], loss damage waiver [in case something happens to the car], supplemental liability insurance [provided by some insurance companies in case something happens to a third party other than the passenger and renter].

Next time when you are to hire a car, make sure you are protected by a car hire insurance.

BMW Hybrid Car: German Engineering Brilliance and Elegance fitted with Revolutionary Hybrid Technology, A combination of Style and Performance

Joining the number of Car manufacturers that have been concerned for the growing demand for environment friendly cars, German car manufacturing giant BMW has announced that they too would soon be producing and selling Hybrid cars. Within the next four years, BMW will be providing its own version of the phenomenal and popular hybrid car.

Knowing the many innovations and excellent qualities BMW has contributed to the motor world, we can be sure that this would be another automotive engineering breakthrough that would set the par others would follow.

BMW said that their Hybrid car would run on both Hydrogen and petroleum and this would be first infused in the 7 series BMW. Already, BMW has some of these cars test driven in different countries. Researchers and engineers are already staging some tests and are getting feedbacks to perfect their first hybrid car release. BMW doesn’t want to release just a beautiful looking car, they want one that will be truly environment friendly as well as performing beautifully.

Deviating from the usual fuel cells used by other hybrid car manufacturers, BMW decided on using hydrogen-fuel combined with an internal combustion engine. This led to more research and development needed because of the demand of the engine to keep the hydrogen in liquid form, and this poses as a problem in keeping them cold enough to do just that. If the engine becomes too hot, the hydrogen may evaporate requiring frequent fill ups. Another quandary is keeping the hydrogen from evaporating while in transit to the engine. But BMW has said that it has found the solution to this problem.

BMW sees hydrogen as the solution, but it would take about two more decades before a car can actually be run by hydrogen only. But they are positive that this is very achievable.

BMW claims that for the past thirty years, they have been developing technology that could just lead to the first ever pure hydrogen vehicle. They already have a car that is being powered by water, a car that emits water vapor at the tailpipe, and are to retrieve hydrogen from sunlight.

BMW has been focusing on Hydrogen as a great power source for cars because it is the best solution to the ever-worsening emissions from vehicles that contributes to environmental pollution. This is because hydrogen doesn’t have dangerous emissions, it poses no harm to the atmosphere, it doesn’t deplete natural resources, as it can be take from numerous recyclable sources. This is BMW’s solution, powering vehicles with hydrogen produced from water through the use of solar energy. This advancement in technology is evident with the BMW 750hl production car showcased at the Expo 2000. Together with some of its partners, BMW may be behind in the mass production of Hybrid cars, but they are the forefront in Hybrid technology.

Soon enough, we will all be the beneficiaries of all of these developments and innovations. Not only will we able to save up on gas money, we will also be saving the environment. Owning a Hybrid car doesn’t have to mean riding in cramped cars with low engine power. With the unveiling of the BMW hybrid car in the near future, you get sophistication, power, elegance and style while helping clean up our air.

The Green Pass driving schools preston provides driving lessons in and around the Preston, Lancashire area.  Their driving lessons preston are at fair and very competitive prices.

Driving lessons for individuals are tailored to impart excellent road skills.  This training comes along with a theory and hazard perception pack with current questions and information from the Driving Standards Agency, an hour of free assessment and special rates for students, NHS and HM forces. There is also a scheme for recommending a friend and getting 2 hours free tuition.

Green Pass also provides fleet management and SAFED training all taught by driving instructors preston.  The drivers of fleet management companies are taught safe and fuel efficient driving to enable them to curtail fuel and vehicle running costs.   In addition, the fleet crew is shown how to reduce insurance premium, vehicle maintenance costs and employee downtime. They are also shown how to manage company cars right up to LGV.

Special NCCC driver training is available for the young and old.  Young driver training allows them to have fun while they learn how to control a vehicle on an open track.  Sometimes they even get to ride on an open racetrack to drive fast and learn how to handle cars driven at high speeds.  Depending on the type of training you need, you may or may not get to use the racetrack in your driving tests!

One of the main attractions at NCCC training is the skidpan.  The skidpan is a special course designed to help both young and old drivers learn what they are supposed to do during very slippery conditions.  The track will cause you to skid out of control and your instructor will help you to regain control of your vehicle.  This is valuable training from driving instructors preston that can help any driver learn how to handle their vehicle in such conditions.

On road training is an important requirement for high risk employees.  This training allows an instructor to evaluate 2 drivers during a half day course of realistic driving situations.  After the course is completed the driving instructor for the on road training will evaluate and assess the driver’s skills and report back to NDAC for further training sessions or a successful completion of the course.

This on road training makes it possible for drivers that are employed by your company to help avoid corporate manslaughter in many situations.  They can be tested on their driving skills and receive fleet driver training to help improve their safety on the road.  If more sessions of on road training are required, additional fleet training may also be conducted to ensure that your drivers are ready to start driving your vehicles in the field during business hours.

BMW has unveiled new version of the Z4 which features new curves, a folding hardtop and more electronic trickery to help drivers customise the setup.

The new goodies include Adaptive ‘M’ suspension, meaning electronically controlled dampers with three different settings and ride height adjustment.

The car now also features ‘Drive Dynamic Control’, a software suite allowing for adjustment of various other bits, including throttle and steering response, ride comfort level and DSC – which is dynamic stability control level.

The main changes to the Z4 are aesthetic and the body gets a makeover more in-line with the current BMW line-up, featuring another variation of the new family nose and the rear of the car has more of a hint of 6 Series.

The new Z4 is 148mm longer than the outgoing version at 4,239mm, and 9mm wider at 1,790mm. This allows for a modest increase in headroom and slightly boot capacity, but the new hardtop means boot space is more restricted. 

The hardtop roof is in two pieces and is electro-hydraulically operated and can be raised or lowered in 20 seconds. 

The engine has also changed slightly from the old 2.0-litre option. Three six-cylinder powerplants are now offered:

2.5-litre with 204bhp,

3.0-litre with 258bhp,

Twin-Turbo 3.0-litre with 306bhp. This being top of the range and will apparently hit 60mph in just over five seconds, which is pretty impressive considering that BMW also claim it’ll do 30mpg.

Here are some sneaky pictures of the new model in the video below -

Aston Martin’s major shareholder is looking to sell a 20% stake in the company to help refinance debt. Kuwait’s Investment Dar said on Sunday it was considering offers to sell up to 20% of the British carmaker and is understood to also be looking to borrow $1billion to help balance the books.

The Islamic investment company bought half of Aston last year but executive vice-president Amr Abou El-Seoud said it is now looking to sell a 10 to 20% stake. They have said that they have had offers and are in talks at the moment but the (sale) should be value-added whether financially or technically.

Seoud did not identify any possible buyers but revealed that shares could be sold to the public within three to five years. Aston, like many carmakers, has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn and said earlier this month it would cut 600 jobs in the UK.

Audi has released a video of its new R8 LMS, which was unveiled at the Essen Motor Show recently. The car is effectively a GT3 racing spec R8 and will cost around £206,000 – which is more than twice the price of a road-going version. 

But the modifications are not restricted to a few suspension bits and some extra carbon fibre… Customers will get a completely track-ready car now with ten cylinders and over 500 BHP.

The regulations state that the car can no longer be four-wheel drive, with the power is now being channelled through just the rear tyres.

A new six-speed sequential manual gearbox has also been developed and the car is now fitted with a huge rear wing and aerodynamic bodykit.

Most people who are knowledgeable about cars would assume that the KTM X-Bow is more at home on a fast track than it is trudging through the snowy Highlands of Scotland to see your mother-in-law at Christmas. But owning an X-Bow is no longer an excuse not to do the latter thanks to a new ‘Winter Package’ that will see you using the car whatever the weather.

The new pack offered by KTM’s Powerparts and PowerWear accessories collections starts with Pirelli Sottozero snow tyres and five-bolt wheels and for icy conditions snow chains are also available.

KTM’s next plan is to launch Power Wear which is specially designed winter clothing for the driver with Schöffel-designed driving clothes and a Schuberth helmet. The full outfit of helmet, jacket and trousers starts at 950 Euros.