Green Cars Can Be Great Cars
It's the color of money. It's the color of freshness. It's the color of aphrodisiac M&M's. But in the car world, green represents anything but allure, the inverse of interesting, the exact opposite of envy. No, when it comes to cars, "green" has always represented pragmatism, conservation, environmentalism. The color of life deserves better, we think.
Then again, green is also symbolic of virility and growth, so it is fitting that we now witness the green-car market exploding like a tomato garden on a Miracle-Gro drip. Among this bumper crop are finally some green cars that promise to be-can you believe it?-fun. Indeed, some are using green-tech know-how to make good things even better. And so we bring you eight such examples of green cars that do the color justice.
Ferrari 599GTB HY-KERS Hybrid Concept
On the color wheel, green is directly opposite red, the unofficial official color of Ferrari. That's fitting, since, on the rare occasions that they're fired up, the Italian supercar maker's big engines aren't the most fuel efficient. But among Ferrari's latest creations is the stunning 599GTB HY-KERS hybrid concept, introduced at this year's Geneva auto show. Yes, a Ferrari hybrid, displayed at the show in a brash satin-green hue that even a tree frog might have a tough time pulling off.
However patronizing the color choice, the 599GTB hybrid's greenness is more than skin-deep. A 100-hp electric motor mounted to the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission helps reduce CO2 emissions and increase fuel efficiency (although it's unclear by how much). Ferrari says the motor will drop the car's 0-to-124-mph time from 7.9 to 7.5 seconds, but considering we tested a 599GTB to 120 mph in 9.5 seconds, we're not sure where those figures come from. Whatever the true numbers, it should be quicker.
Furthermore, Ferrari is using the extra juice to smooth out the engine's torque curve and the brake-regeneration system to shorten stopping distances. This is the kind of hybrid we'd like to see more of, and thanks to emissions standards worldwide, we will.
Porsche 918 Spyder Concept
Promising to be as quick as the Ferrari but with even stronger green credentials is Porsche’s sultry and spectacularly fast 918 spyder concept, a plug-in hybrid that also debuted at the Geneva auto show. Wrapped within the scrumptious, exotic styling are a race-bred 500-hp, 3.4-liter V-8 and a pair of electric motors, which team up for an extra 218 hp. Weight—a problem for hybrids, especially those with heavy plug-in battery packs—has been kept to a miraculously low 3285 pounds, allowing the swoopy two-seater to hit 62 mph in a scant 3.2 seconds, according to Porsche, and lap the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 30 seconds (two seconds faster than the Carrera GT). Any guilt felt after such a blast can be erased by driving away from the track (following a battery charge, of course) in pure electric mode for up to 16 miles.
Best of all, the 918 spyder might not remain simply a concept, as Porsche repeatedly reminds us it has never shown a concept it hasn’t produced. Whether a production version would include the hybrid tech remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance Porsche’s next flagship supercar will be literally electrifying.
Fiat 500 BEV
Existing small, lightweight conventional cars are an enticing shortcut for companies looking to develop an electric solution. Remove the internal-combustion powertrain, slide an electric motor and a bundle of batteries in its place, and—voilà—you have yourself an electric car. (Of course, that’s oversimplifying a touch.) It’s a strategy that worked great for the Lotus-based Tesla roadster and just okay for the Mini E.
Fiat has announced its plan to follow the same path with the 500—Cinquecento in Italian—and our hopes are high. With its wheels stretched way out to the corners, the gas-powered 500 is a Mini-sized riot, which is to say it’s small but packs big fun. Here’s hoping the 500 EV will be a little more engaging than the Mini E, which lost its spunk along with its gas engine. Even if it isn’t, the Fiat will add a much-needed injection of chicness to the green-car genre, especially when said car is rendered in the moody gray color it wore at the Detroit auto show.
2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI
Good old-fashioned internal-combustion engines are all but forgotten among the hybrids and electrics that dominate the green-car garden like high-tech super-weeds. However simplistic it might seem to have only one petrochemical-swilling engine, the diesel-powered 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI gets the green thing right. Its rating of 42 mpg on the highway and compatibility with California’s tough emissions standards (sans the aid of a urea-injection system) put it right up there with many a hybrid in terms of fuel economy and sheer eco-friendliness.
Even better, the Golf TDI is a slick, oddity-free German hatchback that looks as good as its gas-powered counterpart and handles nearly as well as the vaunted GTI—while sucking down far less fuel than either. Between the fuel savings and its reasonable price, which starts just north of $23,000, the Golf TDI allows you to keep your pocketbook relatively green as well.
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Only great cars make the Car and Driver 10Best Cars list, and the 10Best-winning 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid earned its place by being surprisingly good as a real car while maintaining strong green credentials. The Fusion hybrid achieves greatness on account of its masterful implementation of high-tech gasoline-electric wizardry to achieve impressive EPA ratings of 41 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway, all while accommodating up to five people in far greater comfort than can other equally accomplished hybrid pods.
Not only is it fun to drive, but Ford's clever in-dash efficiency monitors actually make it fun to drive frugally. The engine turns on and off so smoothly the driver won't notice, and it'll stay off up to 47 mph if you're gentle enough on the throttle. A normal family car that happens to be remarkably green, the Fusion hybrid is a great car.
Audi e-tron Detroit Concept
Audi has shown us three possibilities for its upcoming e-tron line: the gorgeous R8-like e-tron, the punchy A1 e-tron, and our favorite, the Detroit e-tron. Far smaller but somewhat more robust-looking than the leggy first e-tron, the Detroit e-tron shows us how sexy a small car (its about 10 inches shorter than an Audi TT) can be. It also promises to be a blast to drive, its 204 hp and 300-to-400 lb-ft of torque fed to the rear wheels for a claimed 5.9-second run to 62 mph that seems respectable if a bit conservative. (Blame the 880-pound lithium-ion battery pack for bloating weight to a heady-for-the-size 2976 pounds.)
Still, the more we drive electric cars, the more we like their instant-on power and nearly silent speed. If Audi can pull this hot little shocker out of its hat in the next few years, we speculate that even the most stubborn, tree-slaughtering, hippie-hatin' internal-combustion die-hards will get on board, too.
2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid
Hybrid luxury vehicles are by no means new, but hybrid luxury sedans that actually boast real fuel-economy gains-not just power, weight, and price increases-are. This Mercedes-Benz S400 is the first full-boat luxo-hybrid with markedly better fuel economy (by about 20 percent, to a Camry V-6-like 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway) and a lower price ($88,825 versus $92,475 for an S550) than its conventionally powered brethren, making it the S-class model that is cheapest to buy and to operate.
The S400 is a mild hybrid, meaning the additional electrical components are not configured in a way that allows them to drive the wheels by themselves. The 20-hp electric motor instead assists the 275-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 in accelerative duties and supports ancillary systems such as the climate control and power accessories. These hybrid components aren't so heavy as to excessively weigh down the S-class. Oh, yeah, and who is going to complain about an extra bit of torque-118 lb-ft at 0 rpm from the electric motor-ready to boost low-end response? Certainly not us.
Mini Coupe / Roadster
Compared with many of the mighty sports cars that grace our pages, tiny four-cylinder coupes and roadsters definitely count as green, but we still like them to deliver as many smiles per mile as their more hedonistic counterparts. Soon, there will be two more such greenies on the market: the Mini coupe and the Mini roadster.
To create the coupe and roadster, Mini basically swapped fresh roofs onto its existing Cooper hatchback bodywork. Mechanically, everything will remain the same, meaning the coupe and the roadster should achieve similar fuel economy to that of the Cooper and Cooper S. With a highway rating as high as 37 mpg, they're about as green as gas-powered cars get. Gangsta-chopping the roof or lopping it off altogether won't make either of these two-seaters more fun to drive, per se, but the knockout styling just adds to the fuel efficiency inherent in the Mini package.
پول پول پول
پول پول پول
با اون میشه یه خونه خرید،
ولی نمیشه باهاش محل آسایش خرید.
میتونی باهاش ساعت بخری،
ولی نمیتونی باهاش فرصت بخری.
من میتونم با پول برات مقام و درجه بخرم،
ولی احترام را نمیتونم واسهت بخرم.
میتونم برات یه رختخواب بخرم،
ولی خواب خریدنی نیست!
میشه باهاش کتاب خرید.
ولی دانش و معرفت را نمیشه.
اون میتونه واسه تو دارو تهیه کنه،
اما تندرستی را نمیتونه.
با پول میشه خون تهیه کرد،
ولی زندگی خریدنـی نیست.
بنابراین میبینی که پول همه چیز نیست.
و اغلب هم باعث ایجاد رنج و زحمت میشه.
من اینا را بهت گفتم، چون من دوست تو هستم
و به عنوان یه دوست میخوام که
رنج و زحمت را ازت دور کنم.
بنابراین
هر چی پول داری، بفرست واسه من.
و من رنج داشتن اونو به جای تو
تحمل میکنم.
(لطفاً فقط وجه نقد بفرست و گوشه هاش هم حتما سالم باشه!)
?!!! DID YOU KNOW
A statue in a park with a soldier on a horse with it's 2 feet in the air means
the soldier died in combat.
If the horse has only 1 foot in the air,
the soldier died of injuries from combat.
If the horse has all 4 feet on the ground, the soldier died of natural causes.آیا میدانستید که: در مجسمه هایی که برای یادبود سربازها میسازند: اگر 2 پای اسب بالا باشد آن سرباز در میدان جنگ کشته شده. اگر 1 پای اسب بالا باشد سرباز بر اثر جراحات ناشی از جنگ مرده. اگر 4 پای اسب روی زمین باشد آن سرباز به مرگ طبیعی مرده
When the English settlers landed in Australia, they noticed a strange animal that jumped extremely high and far. They asked the aboriginal people using body language and signs trying to ask them about this animal. They responded with ''Kan Ghu Ru'' the English then adopted the word kangaroo. What the aboriginal people were really trying to say was
''we don't understand you'', '' Kan Ghu Ru''.
آیا میدانستید که: مهاجرین انگلیسی در استرالیا با حیوان عجیبی روبرو شدند که بسیار بالا و دور می پریده. هنگامیکه از بومیان در مورد این حیوان با حرکات بدن پرسیده اند آنها در جواب گفته اند:
Kan Ghu Ru که در زبان انگلیسی به Kangaroo تبدیل شده است. در حقیقت منظور بومیان این بوده که "ما منظور شما را نمی فهمیم".
Each King on playing cards represent a King in real history:
♦ Diamonds: Julius Cesar | ♠ Spades: King David |
♣ Clubs: Alexander The Great | ♥ Hearts: Charlemagne |
آیا میدانستید که: هر کدام از شاه های ورقهای بازی نشانگر شاهی در واقعیت است؟
♦ خشت: ژولیوس سزار | ♠ پیک: شاه دیوید |
♣ خاج: اسکندر کبیر | ♥ دل: شارلمانی |
During historic civil wars, when troops returned without any casualties, a writing was put up so all can see, which read
"0 Killed".
From here we get the expression "O.K." which means all is good.
آیا میدانستید که: در زمان جنگهای باستانی هنگامی که سپاهیان بدون تلفات از جنگ بر میگشته اند پلاکاردی حمل میکردند که روی آن نوشته بود: تعداد تلفات 0 ریشه OK از این اصطلاح است.
The muscles in your heart have the strength to shoot your blood 10 meters in the air?
آیا میدانستید که: ماهیچه های قلب انسان قادرند خون را به ارتفاع 10 متر به هوا پرتاب کنند؟
Multiplying 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
آیا میدانستید که: 111،111،111 × 111،111،111 = 12،345،678،987،654،321
Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump
آیا میدانستید که: فیلها تنها موجوداتی هستند که نمیتوانند بپرند؟
آیا میدانستید که: قویترین ماهیچه بدن، ماهیچه زبان است؟ Statistically, people are more afraid of spiders than they are of dying آیا میدانستید که: طبق آمار افراد از عنکبوت بیش از مرگ می ترسند؟ All polar bears are left handed آیا میدانستید که: خرسهای قطبی چپ دست هستند؟ Butterflies taste with their feet آیا میدانستید که: مراکز چشایی پروانه روی پاهایش قرار دارد؟ A cockroach can live 9 days without it's head. It only dies because it cannot eat. آیا میدانستید که: سوسکها تا 9 روز پس از، از دست دادن سرشان قادر به زنده ماندن هستند و تنها به این دلیل می میرند که نمیتوانند چیزی بخورند؟ A duck's quack has no echo, and nobody knows why آیا میدانستید که: صدای اردک اکو ندارد وهیچکس هم دلیل آنرا نمیداند؟ It is impossible to sneeze with your eye's open آیا میدانستید که: امکان ندارد بتوانید با چشم باز عطسه کنید؟ Starfish have no brains آیا میدانستید که: ستاره های دریایی مغز ندارند؟ Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark. آیا میدانستید که: ادیسون از تاریکی می ترسیده است ؟ The word "cemetery" comes from the Greek koimetirion which means dormitory آیا میدانستید که: ریشه کلمه "Cemetry" قبرستان) در حقیقت کلمه یونانی "Koimetirio" به معنی "خوابگاه" است؟ It is impossible to suck your elbow. آیا میدانستید که: امکان ندارد بتوانید آرنج خود را لیس بزنید؟ Mosquitoes have teeth آیا میدانستید که: پشه ها دندان دارند؟
Crocodiles cannot stick out their tongue
آیا میدانستید که: سوسمارها نمیتوانند زبانشان را بیرون بیاورند؟
The body's strongest muscle is our tongue
The 7 Most Beautiful Cars Ever Made
The 7 Most Beautiful Cars Ever Made
Last week, we showed you what happens when automotive design goes horribly wrong. In the interest of balance, it seems only fair to show you what happens when designers totally nail it, and create cars that exemplify sheer brilliance in
I think Bob Lutz is right about the potential “emotional connection” between a car and its driver. For many of us gearheads out there, cars are as much of an object of desire as any long legged dame. Tell me you couldn’t just stare at any of these cars for an unhealthy amount of time. Here are the seven most beautiful (production) cars ever made.
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7. - Plymouth Barracuda AAR
More so than any of the other great offerings from the Big Three, the 3rd generation Plymouth Barracuda came to epitomize the muscle car look with its take on the iconic “coke bottle” design.
To compete with the Ford Mustang Boss 302 and Chevrolet Camaro Z28 in the Trans-Am racing series, Plymouth designed this special edition AAR (All American Racing) Barracuda with a purpose-built 340 cube V8 topped with three 2-barrel carburetors, heavy duty suspension and brakes, side pipe exhaust, a unique ram air hood, and some visual changes in terms of stripes and spoilers.
The result was a factory-built race car designed as much for cornering as it was for churning out tire smoke. And somehow Plymouth managed to merge all this engineering together into the aesthetic high watermark for all other muscle cars to strive for. It might not have been the fastest of them all, but it definitely got more than its fair share of head turns, like any proper muscle car should.
Plymouth Barracuda AAR
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6. – Aston Martin DB9
As the first car to be built in Aston’s new Gaydon facility in England, the DB9 was such a huge step forward from the DB7 that Aston decided to skip the DB8 iteration altogether, thinking it might indicate an incremental change from the Jaguar XK8-based DB7 instead of the wholly redesigned car that the DB9 is.
And from a visual standpoint, the DB9 is the Aston Martin, creating the middleground balance of the platform from which other Astons like the Vanquish and the DBS draw upon. While those cars certainly have their own merits, the DB9 measured approach of sex appeal coupled with restraint resulted in a drop-dead gorgeous GT car with genuine style.
Aston Martin DB9
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5. - 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville
What can you say about a long black Cadillac that Johnny Cash, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry haven’t said already? Just look at this thing – the fins, the chrome, the sheer mass of awesome that is a ’59 Coupe Deville. Cars like this make me proud to be an American. It is not possible to look uncool driving one of these.
After 1959, big brother stepped in to stop the awesome madness that was the giant tail fin trend on the cars of the day. As a result, the ’59 Coupe Deville stands as the greatest, and last, genuine statement of Cadillac’s incredible designs from the late 40s to the early 60s.
1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville
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4. – Jaguar E Type, Series 1
You simply can’t have a list of the most beautiful cars ever made and omit the E Type. This design was a huge jump for Jaguar, and its combination of high performance and great looks tops many people’s lists of the greatest sports cars of the 1960s, including Enzo Ferarri’s.
And the Jag was not just another pretty face, either. Upon its release in 1961, and despite utilizing a somewhat dated motor design, the E type was the fastest production car on the face of the planet, capable of reaching 150mph.
Between the distinction of being one of the first cars designed in a wind tunnel, and having a unique rear independent suspension design that allowed the back of the car to be significantly shorter than a contemporary design, nearly every sports car made since the E type’s introduction has taken some level of influence from this beautiful and capable machine.
3. Lamborghini Reventón
The perfect choice for Bruce Wayne’s “low profile” set of wheels, the Revention’s sheetmetal was inspired by the F-22 fighter jet. Derived from the Murciélago LP640, the Reventón’s run was limited to just twenty cars, each going for about $1.5 million.
Beyond the brand’s legendary performance, Lamborghini has always taken a ballsy approach to design, and avoided the easy, proven routes. The whole sci-fi/Batmobile thing that Lamborghini has been fascinated with ever since the Countach is pretty badass in my opinion, and it’s a testament to the notion that timeless designs are rarely conservative.
2. – Ford GT40
If you ever wondered where the idea for the Mach 5 from the Speed Racer cartoon came from, look no further.
As the story goes, in 1963, Ford was in the late stages of negotiating a deal to buy Ferrari when Enzo Ferrari backed out of the deal at the last minute. This really pissed off Henry Ford II.
Ford commissioned his engineering team, with the help of Lotus, Cooper and Lola, to build a car with the specific purpose of beating Ferrari at the endurance racing circuits, such as the 24 Hours of Lemans. They succeeded. The result of the project was the Ford GT40, the car which went on to win four Lemans races in a row, including a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finish for Ford in 1966.
Beyond its winning prowess and the insane roar of its 427 cube V8, the GT40’s design is just outright intoxicating. It is the stuff of a kid’s daydream, the sort of car that only exists on wall posters. But Ford made it real.
1. – Ferrari 250 GTO
The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO radiates pure sex. You can thank Sergio Scaglietti, one of Enzo’s favorite designers, for that. The 250 GTO is the result of a perfect marriage between just about every great design aesthetic for sport cars that’d come before it, while it also brought with it many new ideas which auto makers are still trying to recapture to this day.
And it wasn’t just a looker, either – the 250 GTO won the World Manufacturer's Championship in 1962, 1963, and 1964, powered by a 3.0 liter V12 motor with an exhaust note that epitomizes classic Ferrari.
Since Ferrari only made 36 of these cars in total, their rarity makes them a little pricey these days. Earlier this year, an anonymous English buyer won a 250 GTO at auction for the mind blowing sum of £15.7 million, or about 30 million dollars.
Beauty ain’t cheap. But it’s worth it.