Lotus Reveals Venza-based Concept

Here’s Lotus at it again. By “it” we mean experimenting on lightweightedness. There’s no doubt that Lotus has come up with wondrous cars thanks to their belief in lightweightedness.

Now check out how they plan to make even passenger cars lightweight. This here’s a lightweight concept based on the Toyota Venza. Keep in mind that the Venza’s a mid-sized crossover.

The Lotus engineers aims to reduce the total weight of the car by 38% while keeping impact on costs at +3% by 2020. Less weight on the car increases its power-to-weight ratio thus decreasing engine load making it more efficient. Lotus claims that it can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 23%.

Part of the lightweight strategy is to use just 211 parts and use a mix of lightweight materials such as aluminum, magnesium, composite, and steel compared to the Venza’s pure steel construction.

Formula 1: Should Schumi Quit?

I was hoping that Michael Schumacher would impress in his comeback. I thought it wouldn’t be like Michael Jordan’s comeback with age and band knees and all. But it seems that that’s the case.

Even Stirling Moss thinks that Schumi should quit Formula One so as not to “damage his achievements.”

“He’s a highly intelligent bloke, and all he’s going to do is damage his achievements,” said Moss. “People are going to say that he’s past it now, which he probably is. We’ve never seen Michael with a ‘number two’ who has been comparable. He had Rubens Barrichello, who no doubt is an extremely good driver but not necessarily a winner.”

Schumacher created buzz last season when he entertained the possibility of a comeback in the light of Felipe Massa’s accident. That didn’t materialize due to Schumi’s own injuries. He’s back this season though, teaming up with Ross Brawn with Mercedes GP.

He has failed to impress though, only able to secure a few points. So far, he places tenth with ten points on the board.

Source: Top Gear

Bentley Mulsanne-based Azure Convertible

Bentley’s not done yet. While Mercedes is slowly easing out the Maybach brand, Bentley will stay on in the ultraluxury market segment.

Bentley’s updating its fleet as well. With the Arnage slowly being eased out, the future of the Azure convertible goes with it.

Good thing is, as the new Mulsanne sedan takes over the mantle of the Arnage, a new convertible based on the Mulsanne will keep the Continental GT as Bentley’s drop tops.

The convertible is most likely to keep the Azure monicker. It is also set to pack the same 6.8L twin-turbo V8 found in the Mulsanne.

With 505 hp, the car would be able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 5-ish seconds. That’s quite impressive given the mammoth weight of the Bentley plus the structural reinforcements commonly added to convertibles.

Thumb Socks to Prevent Texting While Driving

Here’s a quirky suggestion on how to curb the texting while driving problem – thumb socks.

It’s basically an advocacy campaign from DoSomething.com and Sprint to discourage texting while driving. We just wonder if wearing thumb socks does really make it difficult for one to fiddle with his/her mobile.

“Teens are encouraged to use thumb socks to spread awareness for the campaign through a variety of ways including giving them to their friends, keeping them in their car as a reminder, hosting a Thumb War tournament around the cause or updating their Facebook profile with a photo of them wearing the thumb socks,” said a statement from DoSomething.org and Sprint.

The PSA video features TV’s Joel McHale and Ken Jeong from that show Community.

Ford Fiesta S1600 Launched

Ford’s been dishing out sporty versions of its cars recently. Check out this limited edition sporty Ford Fiesta dubbed the S1600.

Yup. The 1600 means something. The car packs a 1.6L Duratec Ti-VCT gasoline engine that dishes out 118 bhp. It can generate 20 bhp more with an optional tuning package from Ford tuners Mountune.

For those wanting a diesel, a 1.6L Duratorq TDCi engine dishing out 94 bhp can be had.

Other modifications include a new bumper, sideskirts, a large spoiler and rear diffuser. The car sits atop 17-inch white alloys. Inside, the car sports leather sports seats, leather steering and knobs.

The car’s based on the Fiesta Zetec S.

Fiat Uno Pictures Leaked

So Fiat announced in its five-year development plan that it will be reintroducing the Uno as part of its lineup to sit in between the Panda and the Grande Punto.

The new model resurrects the good old Uno name. The car would then serve as the replacement for the old Uno and the Mk2 Punto supermini.

Now we finally see what the car would look like thanks to leaked images.

The car is reported to be based on a shortened Grande Punto platform and is set to slug it out with the likes of the Ford Fiesta and the Mazda 2. The Uno, however, is expected to more spaceous than the Mazda 2.

Unlike the Panda and the Punto, however, the Uno sports more curves in its lines creating a less aggressive-looking car.