DeZir o Carro-conceito da Renault

Primeiro projeto dirigido por Laurens van den Acker, o DeZir, que marca presença no estande da Renault no Salão do Automóvel de Paris 2010, representa o pontapé inicial de uma série de carros-conceito que traduzirão a nova visão do Design da Renault. Ele também apresenta os conceitos do design dos futuros veículos da marca.

O carro-conceito Renault DeZir reafirma o compromisso da marca com o desenvolvimento de modelos cujo desenho externo e interno sejam inspirados em três palavras-chave: “simples”, “sensual”, “caloroso”.

Com linhas sensuais e sua cor vermelho vivo, o DeZir traduz a paixão pelo automóvel. Equipado com um motor elétrico, este cupê esportivo combina respeito ao meio ambiente com elegância automobilística.

Com a orientação de Laurens van den Acker e guiada pela nova assinatura da Marca – “Mude a Direção” –, a equipe de Design se inspirou nos conceitos da identidade da marca Renault (Próxima, Confiável e Calorosa) para criar um design mais emocional.


Atrás do “objeto de desejo”, um carro elétrico
Enquanto o Z de seu nome é uma referência direta à assinatura Z.E. (Zero Emission), elementos de estilo conferem a ele tecnicidade e leveza, atributos naturais do automóvel elétrico.

Para dar ritmo ao conjunto, sua superfície fluida e lisa contrasta com detalhes confeccionados em material áspero, como os painéis laterais em alumínio, a parte superior do teto e as “pálpebras” dos faróis dianteiros.

A frente do Renault DeZir é atravessada por uma entrada de ar desenhada ao redor de um losango ampliado e verticalizado, para indicar com orgulho o seu DNA Renault. O tratamento escuro da grade da entrada de ar destaca o losango através de um contraste, conferindo a ele ainda mais visibilidade.

Os faróis são concebidos sob a forma de prismas retroiluminados, proporcionando um visual bastante gráfico. O desenho dessa frente nos dá pistas sobre a nova identidade dos futuros carros da Renault.

As lanternas traseiras tomam a forma de uma faixa luminosa suspensa sobre toda a largura do carro. Realçado pela retroiluminação da grade traseira, o logo da Renault parece flutuar no meio dessa superfície.

O design interno tem um ar de leveza. Suas formas são suaves e leves. A cor dominante é o branco, pontuada do mesmo vermelho paixão encontrado do lado de fora. Os materiais são preciosos, como os sentimentos que o inspiram: couro branco para os bancos, o painel e o piso, laca vermelha para o console e os acessórios.

Os assentos formam um verdadeiro casulo. O banco é montado a partir de uma superposição de elementos em couro branco, em capitonê do lado do passageiro e liso do lado do motorista, como se quisesse traduzir o movimento de atração de um pelo outro.

Inspirado na ideia do encontro amoroso, o design interno brinca com a associação de “oposições”: O posto de condução do tipo cockpit contrasta com a leveza do painel e com o espírito de “sala íntima” do banco, em couro branco. O banco branco é suspenso sobre um fundo luminoso avermelhado, que simboliza a paixão. Essa iluminação é ritmada por pulsações regulares, que remetem aos batimentos do coração.

O painel de instrumentos destaca visualmente as sensações de pilotagem, através da visualização gráfica das informações colhidas através do acelerômetro e dos sensores de velocidade. A tela central é tátil e integra uma navegação inteligente, que sincroniza os dados do trajeto com a agenda do motorista, para sugerir uma otimização dos compromissos com os percursos.

Um software integrado no painel de instrumentos informa o motorista sobre suas performances dinâmicas de gestão da energia, através de uma interface lúdica e uma visualização gráfica semelhante aos de videogames.


Uma “beldade” elétrica
O Renault DeZir é motivo por um motor elétrico localizado em posição central traseira, conferindo um equilíbrio ideal às massas. Com uma capacidade de 24 kWh, a bateria de íon lítio fica localizada em posição vertical, atrás do banco. Ela permite uma autonomia de 160 km. Ainda que a base do motor seja a mesma dos veículos elétricos produzidos em série, uma evolução permite atingir uma potência de 110 kW (150 cv) e um torque de 226 Nm.

Com o objetivo de melhorar a autonomia e as performances dinâmicas, as equipes técnicas do Design da Renault trabalharam na redução do peso do veículo. Assim, a estrutura da carroceria do DeZir é feita de Kevlar® e o chassi tubular em aço é do mesmo tipo que o do Mégane Trophy.

O Renault DeZir dispõe igualmente de elementos de suspensão do Mégane Trophy – com triângulos duplos – proporcionando alto nível de precisão na condução.

A aerodinâmica também recebeu cuidados, com uma estrutura inferior da carroceria carenada e a adoção de um difusor na traseira. Desse modo, o coeficiente de resistência aerodinâmica (Cx) obtido é de 0,25. Isso permite apresentar performances bastante interessantes, como acelerar de 0 a 50 km/h em apenas 2 segundos.

O reaproveitamento da energia da frenagem também faz parte do carro-conceito DeZir, com um dispositivo baseado no funcionamento do KERS (Sistema de Regeneração da Energia Cinética), utilizado na Fórmula 1. Durante a desaceleração, a energia cinética é retida e armazenada na bateria. Através de um comando no volante do Renault DeZir, o motorista pode proporcionar um complemento pontual de potência, da mesma forma que um KERS utilizado na Fórmula 1.


Características técnicas do Renault DeZir.
DIMENSÕES
Rodas (polegadas) = 21
Comprimento (mm) = 4.225
Largura (mm) = 1.968
Altura (mm) = 1.163
Altura com as portas abertas (mm) = 2.256
Largura com as portas abertas (mm) = 2.682
Distância do solo com carga (mm) = 110
Distância entre eixos (mm) = 2.582
Bitola dianteira (mm) = 1.600
Bitola traseira (mm) = 1.705
Massa do veículo vazio (kg) = 830
Pneus = 245/35 R 21

MOTOR
Motor = Elétrico
Transmissão = Direta com redutor e inversor dianteiro / traseiro
Potência máxima CEE (kW) / (cv) = 110 / 150
Torque máximo CEE (Nm) = 226

BATERIA
Tipo de bateria = Íon lítio
Autonomia (km) = 160

FREIOS - DIREÇÃO
Diâmetro de discos de freio ventilados (em mm) = 356 (dianteiro e traseiro)
Pinças = 6 pistões (dianteiro e traseiro)
Direção = Elétrica com assistência variável

TRANSMISSÃO E CHASSI
Transmissão = Propulsão Direta com redutor e inversor dianteiro / traseiro
Propulsão = Elétrica com diferencial pilotado
Chassi = Tubular em aço

PERFORMANCES
Aerodinâmica Cx = 0,25
Velocidade máxima (km/h) = 180
Aceleração de 0 a 100 km/h em s. = 5
Aceleração de 0 a 50 km/h em s. = 2

O DeZir foi desenvolvido em parceria com o G. Studio (carroceria), DuPont (estrutura da carroceria em Kevlar®), Michelin (pneus) e o IRCAM – Instituto de Pesquisa e Coordenação de Música e Acústica (som).

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Texto e fotos Renault

Salão de Automóveis de Paris 2010

Confira algumas estrelas do Salão de Paris 2010:

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept


Audi Quattro Concept


Volkswagen Passat


Bentley Continental GT


Porsche Speedster


Ford Focus ST



Opel Astra Sports Tourer


Opel GTC Paris Concept


BMW X3


Peugeot 508


BMW 6 Series Coupe Concept


Volvo V60 R-Design


Audi A1


Audi e-tron Spyder


Ford Fiesta RS WRC reveal


Range Rover Evoque


Jaguar C-X75 Concept


Mercedes-Benz CLS


Fotos AutoBlog

Mais detalhes sobre a nova Montana

What's the Best 'First Car' for a Teen?

What's the Best 'First Car' for a Teen? The best car for a first-time teen driver is the one that will decrease the odds of that first-time accident happening - and minimize the potential for harm if it does.

The object is to shield your teen as much as possible from the almost inevitable consequences of youth and inexperience. Even if your kid is mature and responsible, he or she is still inexperienced behind the wheel. It takes a lot of seat time to become familiar with how a car behaves in various situations - for example, in ice and snow, at night, under unexpected conditions - and also to get a feel for how others behave in their cars.

Those first 12-24 months are the "danger zone" when accidents due to errors of judgment, lack of experience - or just plain old being in the wrong place at the wrong time - are most likely to happen. It's also why it costs so much to insure a 16 or 17-year-old driver.

Here are some general car-buying guidelines that will help keep your teen driver out of trouble:

* Choose a car - SUVs and pick-ups are poor choices for first-time drivers - especially SUVs and trucks without 4WD. They tend to be light in the rear (because the weight of the engine/driveline is concentrated up front) and so have a tendency to fishtail during panic stops or when the road is slick. You can crutch this somewhat by loading up the bed (or cargo area) with a few hundred pounds of dead weight - or by springing for an SUV or pick-up that has 4WD. But even with 4WD, pick-ups and SUVs are inherently less stable, more tipsy, take longer to stop - and are thus more dangerous for a just-minted teenaged driver. It's better to learn the essentials in a car before moving to a specialty vehicle of any type - whether it's a pick-up, SUV or sports car.

* Choose a larger car - Bigger and heavier is inherently safer - especially in the event of a crash into a fixed object (such as a tree) or with a larger vehicle (such as an SUV). Larger cars offer more built-in occupant protection because they're able to absorb more force than smaller, lighter cars. If you go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's web site (www.carmild.com )you'll see that vehicles in the full and mid-sized category tend to score much better in crash testing than cars in the compact and smaller categories. Avoid subcompact-sized cars - even if they do get better gas mileage. A very small car like a Toyota Yaris or Honda Civic coupe stands little chance when T-boned by a Suburban.

* Choose a car that's in good overall shape - Basic reliability can be as important as basic safety. You don't want your kid learning the hard way about bald tires, bad brakes, shot shocks and a worn out suspension. Whatever car you end up buying, take the time to make certain it is mechanically sound and completely roadworthy. Have a reputable shop or mechanic give it a thorough once over - and fix anything that needs fixing. Leave the broken down el-cheapo special "beater" for your son or daughter's next car.

* Choose a car without a wing, hood scoop, loud exhaust or powerful engine - Teens being teens, few have the judgment to resist being egged-on by other teens to "see what it'll do." If it looks fast or sounds fast you can bet they'll want to see just how fast it really is. And the end result is often tragic. Just as new pilots don't start out in F-18s, new drivers should be kept away from cars with capabilities beyond their limited experience. V-8s and powerful V-6s should be off the menu, period -but be careful about four-cylinder powered cars, too. Some modern four-cylinder engines have turbochargers and other power-adders that make them as or even more powerful than the V-8 muscle cars of the '60s and '70s.

Also keep in mind that you/you teen will pay much less to insure a basic sedan or wagon vs. anything "sporty" or powerful.

* If you do choose a small car, be sure it has multiple air bags - Air bags protect against impact forces in a crash - and are particularly valuable in smaller vehicles as they compensate to some extent for smaller size and weight. If you must buy a smaller car, try and find one with both frontal and side-impact/curtain air bags as they will dramatically improve the survivability/crashworthiness of a smaller car, especially if it's hit from the side by a larger vehicle.

* Choose a car with a manual transmission - In some European countries, a license applicant must take his or her driver's test in a car with a manual transmission. The reasoning is that a person who has mastered starting a car on a hill without stalling or rolling backward, who knows how to smoothly engage the right gear at the right time to safely merge into traffic and so on - has probably mastered the basic skills necessary to be a safe driver.

Modern cars are deceptively easy to "drive" in the sense of getting them going - and going very fast, too. Almost any 10-year-old could physically put the key in the ignition, move the handle from "Park" to "Drive" - and floor it right through the closed garage door and straight into your kitchen. Operating a manual transmission, on the other hand, is a skill that takes time to develop and which imparts respect for the skill it takes to do so competently. Learning to drive on a stickshift car is a great training tool that will help your teen become a better - and therefore safer - driver.

Bonus: a car with a manual transmission is usually capable of better fuel economy and is typically cheaper to buy, too.

* Choose FWD or AWD over RWD - Front-drive cars (FWD) and all-wheel-drive cars (AWD) have better traction in rain and snow and so are more controllable than a rear-drive (RWD) car. Rear-drive cars also have a tendency to oversteer (tail out) when they begin to slide out of control - while front-drive cars tend to understeer (the front of the car "plows") , which is easier for the novice driver to deal with. If you must go with a rear-drive car, try and pick one that comes with some form of electronic traction control to limit wheelspin on slippery surfaces and ideally, an electronic stability control system - which uses the anti-lock brakes to keep the vehicle on course when it would otherwise begin to slip out of control.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly - do all you can teach your teen driver to drive with respect for others and to obey common sense as much as the letter of the law. For example, "speeding" is considered by many to be the Primal Sin of driving; but tailgating can be more dangerous and likely to result in a wreck - even though cops don't pay nearly as much attention to it as they do to drivers doing a a few MPH over the posted limit.

If you can afford it, consider enrolling your teen in a car control/vehicle dynamics/accident avoidance course such as those offered by Bob Bondurant (www.carmild.com), Skip Barber (www.carmild.com) or other professional driving schools. These courses explain what happens during emergency situations - such as panics stopping or an abrupt swerve to avoid and obstacle on the road - and how to handle them - in a safe, controlled environment.

Though the cost can be high, it's a lot cheaper than a totaled car - or a lost life.

Uma volta de R1 com o motociclista maluco

Que tal dar uma volta de R1 com o motociclista maluco pelas ruas de Moscou?

What Can Your New Car Do For You?

What Can Your New Car Do For You?

We all know it is cheaper to fix things yourself. It is the same with a car or truck. The biggest expense with any repair is not the parts, but the labor. It is not uncommon for repair and service shops to be charging $60 to $70 per hour of labor. And they round to the next half hour or hour for any repair. Just go to any new car dealer and ask to have your windshield wiper blades replaced. They will charge you 10 times the price of replacements at your local auto parts store. So anything you can do yourself to save will be a big help. The purpose of this article is to show you some things you can do on your own and how to get the lowest prices on parts so you can save big and put your money towards something better than fattening your local auto dealers pockets.

First off is routine maintenance. Routine maintenance consists of items like oil changes, tire rotations, and similar. Oil changes are a must at every 4000 to 5000 miles for most every car. Do not go by what your dealer says. They want to rev up your maintenance plan and have you doing more than is required. Instead, use your owners manual. If your car didn't come with one, than buy one off of Ebay. The owners manual will give you exact recommendations for every service and when and what should be done. For oil changes use Walmart. They charge around $15 for a oil and filter change and will lube your chassis at the same time. They will also check your tires and change your air filter if you desire or need it. They have the best service for the lowest price and at $15 its better to have them do it than do it yourself. Expect to pay twice this at a new car dealer.

It is also a good idea to check your tire pressure at every gas fill up. A tire pressure gauge can be purchased at Walmart or any auto parts store for a few dollars. Proper tire pressure will prolong the usefulness of your tires and help ensure better fuel economy. To most people a under inflated tire is pretty obvious, but a over inflated tire can be just as dangerous as it can lead to blowouts and loss of traction especially in wet conditions (hydroplaning). Also, check your tires for nails, punctures, slashes, anything that could be wrong with it. If you need new tires, be sure to shop around and avoid the new car dealer as they will have a huge markup on them. For instance, 1 ZR Goodyear tire for a 2002 Ford Mustang GT was $289. The same ZR tire with a different make (Kumho) was $100 installed and balanced (the $289 at the dealer did not include installation or balancing. Shop around and look at discount stores. Also look at Costco, Sams club and BJ's for tires. If you have an older car and don't care about matching the exact style you can always go to your local junk yard and buy an entire set for dirt cheap. You would be amavzed at what you might find there. A friend of mine picked up 4 tires for a 1999 corvette for $150 and the tires only had maybe 10,000 miles on them if that.

Lights and lighting on your car are an item that is routinely overlooked. If your lights are dim you could have a battery charge, alternator or dim, cloudy lenses. These are all easy to fix. A battery should be checked for its ability to hold charge at least once a year (more in extremely cold climates). An alternator can be replaced very easily, or if you don't feel comfortable a local mechanic can do it. Do not do this at a new car dealer as they will charge at least 300% more. A good tip is to go and buy the part at your local auto parts store and then inquire with the counter clerk as to a mechanic that they recommend to install it. You will save a lot and it will be professionally done. They will probably even come to your house to do it. As to your headlights, turn on your lights. If they are dim, is it the bulb or cloudy lenses? If it is the bulb, the cheapest replacements can be found at Walmart or on Ebay. It is recommended you go with brighter Xeon bulbs as they are only a few dollars more and increase brightness and night visibility by over 20 percent. If it is cloudy headlights there is a new headlight repair and restoration kit that will restore the lenses to new. This will save you big over replacement as the average plastic automotive lens costs $250 to replace.

Checking your fluid levels routinely is a good idea. A lot of cars now will do this for you and will even alert you to when it is time to perform a certain service. It takes 2 minutes to unscrew the oil cap and pull out the dipstick. On older cars you should also look under the cap. Is the oil really dirty, sludge like, or have white in it? These all indicate something needs to be done. The first two mean it is in dire need of an oil change. The latter with the whiteness or light chocolate look means you have a blown head gasket and coolant is leaking into the engine. That is really bad and requires major repairs and can be the result of running a car too hot. Fill all fluids to the fuel full line or indicator. By routinely checking your cars fluid levels you will be ahead of the game and keep your car running better and for much longer.

Another great idea to keep service costs to a minimum and save you big at the same time is to buy 1 to 3 year old used cars with around 30,000 miles on them. Then drive them until you get 100,000 miles on it and replace it. Most major repairs rarely occur before 100,000 miles with proper routine maintenance. Use and follow your owners manual. It was written by the ultimate expert, the people who built, designed and tested your car.

Nova Montana 2011

A nova Chevrolet Montana começa a ser vendida em outubro e foi baseada na plataforma do Agile.

A nova Montana vem em duas versões, ambas com cabine simples e equipadas com o motor 1.4 Econoflex.

A versão LS deve partir de R$ 31.800 e vem com para-choque pintado na cor da carroceria, rodas de aço de 14 polegadas, regulagem de altura do banco do motorista, protetor de caçamba e de cárter.

Na versão Sport parte de R$ 44.040 e vem com freios ABS, airbag duplo, piloto automático, faróis de neblina, rodas de liga leve de 15 polegadas e sistema de som com entrada auxiliar e USB.

A capacidade de carga da Montana é de 1.100 litros e pode transportar até 758 kg.

Cars That Died, And Probably Deserved To

Cars That Died, And Probably Deserved To, Over the past three years, more brands of cars - and specific car models - have been sent to the glue factory than at any time since the early '30s, in the wake of Great Depression 1.0 Did they deserve to die? You decide!

* Saturn Sky - Based on GM of Europe - AKA Opel's - GT, the Sky (and its late lamented Pontiac stablemate, the Solstice) was a stunning car to look at; much more dynamic and stylish than, say, a Mazda Miata. But unlike the Miata - which was a great car to drive - the Sky and Solstice weren't.

For one, the engine sounded terrible - like a high-miles economy car four fitted with a cheap aftermarket "fart can" muffler. While other sports car engines sang when revved, the Sky's cleared its throat like a phlegm-laden old trucker. Handling was clunky, too.

But the worst offense was the '69 MGB body integrity. The Sky's convertible soft top fit poorly and leaked both air and water, which dribbled down onto the door side panels. It was impossible to hold a conversation without shouting at speeds much above 60 mph. The power window switches were located so far back on these panels it was almost impossible to use them while driving. Ditto the cupholder, which was mounted on the very rear of the center console, making it all-but-unusable while the vehicle was moving. The gas gauge was dime-sized and buried a foot deep in the gauge cluster, making it a guessing game how close you might be to empty.

Verdict: A pretty car whose comely exterior hid numerous unattractive flaws. Looks alone won't cut it - and didn't.

* Hummer H2 - You could make a case for the H1. It was a civilianized version of the military Humvee - and if you needed an unstoppable off-roader, it fit the bill.

But the H2 was nothing more than a Chevy Suburban with a Tonka Toy Hummer truck shell draped over it. And thus, a fraud. A big, stupid, ugly, pointless, gas-guzzling, poor-handling - and not even good for off-roading - fraud.

Circa 2003 I got one to test drive. I called up three buddies and we headed out to try the thing off road. At the entrance to the area where we intended to do some mud-bogging, there was a puddle maybe three or four inches deep and about three or four feet in diameter. I drove over it at a moderate speed. Immediately, multiple lights on the dash went off and the engine dropped down into "limp home" mode. It ran, but barely. Unable to get the H2 going faster than about 25 mph, we creeped it home on a very busy Northern Virginia highway, a half-mile of angry motorists stacked up behind us.

I wrote "I love global warming" with my finger in the dust on the liftgate glass. The H2 was good at just two things: Defrauding the public and creating a rolling eyesore.

Verdict: As preposterous as an "estate home" McMansion on a quarter-acre lot.

* Pontiac Vibe - Technically, the Vibe still lives, because Toyota is still making them.

The Vibe was never really a Pontiac but rather a "badge-engineered" Toyota Matrix re-sold under the Pontiac label. (And the Vibe/Matrix was of course itself merely a Corolla draped with ugly, mini-dumpster bodywork. )

That alone made it worthy of retirement. Why bother? Buying a "Pontiac" Vibe was a lot like buying the same blue bottle of store-brand NyQuil sold right next to the real stuff, except you didn't get the one advantage of buying the store-brand stuff - namely, a lower price. The "Pontiac" Vibe was actually priced above the Toyota Matrix - on the rickety theory that people would be willing to pay more for a Toyota if it was sold through a Pontiac dealership, with all the prospects for great customer service that came with it. Genius!

Verdict: The Most Pathetic "Pontiac" since the Daewoo-sourced LeMans of the 1980s.

* Saab - This one's a mixed bag. Not all that long ago, Saab was an up-and-comers car, a peer of BMW. Circa mid-late 1980s, a Saab 9-3 convertible was among the coolest things on four wheels. It was a car you bought yourself after graduating law school - or getting that first real job. Saab, the company, was much better placed than its crosstown rival, Volvo - which at the time was still known mainly for its stodgy, boring, god-awful slow PETA staff cars that no one with any life force still pumping within them wanted any part of.

Then GM bought the company. And systematically strangled it. By 2008 - when everything began to go sour - Saab was already ghosted. An afterthought. Not even spoken of in the same sentence as BMW. Or even Volvo.

Its cars were staid - or weird. And overpriced, too. Most of the flair that had characterized previous Saab models had been systematically sucked out of them, leaving a lineup of slightly oddball-looking things with often-iffy reliability and BMW-level MSRPs with Lumina-level plasticky interiors.

Verdict: Saab's downfall parallels the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson in the movie, "The Wrestler." It's a train wreck, but you can't stop watching it.

* Mercury - AKA Ford's Pontiac. There was a time when, like Pontiac, Mercury had something worthwhile to offer. In fact, it operated as a quasi-independent automaker only loosely associated with parent company, Ford. It sold unique or at least different enough models - not rouged-up Fords with higher price tags. Its cars also had great names like Marauder and Turnpike Cruiser (as opposed to Mariner and Mystique).

What you got was higher-class performance; nicely trimmed out cars that moved when you stomped on the gas pedal but which also had an adult demeanor lacking in most Fords.

Fast forward to the recent past and what greeted the prospect upon entering a Mercury showroom? Ford Explorers (and Escapes and Crown Vics) with ... wait for it, now .... higher price tags.

Verdict: Mercury's been dead for years but just didn't know it. Now it does.

Unforgettable Marriage Night In Underwater Hotel On Maldives

Today, everyone tries to celebrate day of the matrimony in an especial way so that the great day for ever was stamped in the heart.

Marriage Night on Maldives

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Hotel located on Maldives, offers new service: a newly-married couple can not only celebrate event under water, but also spend the first wedded night on depth of 5 metres.

The Conrad Maldives Hotel on Rangali Island

The given wedding ceremony have menu: a celebratory supper, various spa-procedures, and, certainly, wedded night under water in hotel with glass walls. Here you can admire coral reeves of extraordinary beauty, and in the morning you will expect a breakfast with champagne.

The given service already enjoys wide popularity among a newly-married couple.