The history of Porsche began in 1948, June 8th to be exact. That is when the first two seater 356 was produced. There were 51 hand built Porsche 356/2 automobiles built in Austria. This model had a 40 hp 1.1 liter center engine.

The Porsche 911 rear engine automobile was introduced in 1963. It has been one of the biggest selling sports cars in the world. Over one million have been sold.

Porsche has a new offering for the sports car enthusiast in 2006. Positioned between…

The history of Porsche began in 1948, June 8th to be exact. That is when the first two seater 356 was produced. There were 51 hand built Porsche 356/2 automobiles built in Austria. This model had a 40 hp 1.1 liter center engine.

The Porsche 911 rear engine automobile was introduced in 1963. It has been one of the biggest selling sports cars in the world. Over one million have been sold.

Porsche has a new offering for the sports car enthusiast in 2006. Positioned between the Boxster S and 911 Carrera, and marketed as an alternative to the BMW Z4 and the Mercedes SLK, the Cayman S is to start appearing in showrooms in January 2006 and will carry a price tag of $58,900.00. Porsche is only offering this hot-rod Cayman S and will not say when they will offer an entry level model.

The Cayman S is a two seater modified version of the Boxster convertible. The Cayman has a 295 hp 3.4 liter six cylinder mid-engine that goes from 0-60 mph in an impressive 5.1 seconds. Similar to the Boxster S, the Cayman S has a precise six speed manual gearbox with a double inertia flywheel and hydraulic clutch and power rear wheels. The Porsche Active Suspension Management is an electronic damping control system that is an option on the Cayman S. Switched on this system assures a smooth ride and it improves stability and grip for sharper steering responses.

Inside the Cayman S offers an on-board computer system with continuous indication of mileage, time and speed, automatic climate control, digital radio with in dash CD and a 7 speaker Bose Surround Sound System.

Porsche expects the new Cayman S to attract the upwardly mobile market. The company expects that Cayman buyers will be customers moving up from the Porsche Boxster.

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There is more to consider in terms of expense when you are thinking about purchasing a classic corvette than the price tag. As with any other major vehicle purchase, there are several other items that must be considered when analyzing if a classic car can fit into your budget. With these collector’s items, it is important to remember that the traditional vehicle expenses can be a lot more on a collector item.

Insurance: Insurance on a classic corvette is going to be a lot …

There is more to consider in terms of expense when you are thinking about purchasing a classic corvette than the price tag. As with any other major vehicle purchase, there are several other items that must be considered when analyzing if a classic car can fit into your budget. With these collector’s items, it is important to remember that the traditional vehicle expenses can be a lot more on a collector item.

Insurance: Insurance on a classic corvette is going to be a lot more pricy than on a regular vehicle. The car will not come with devices considered safety standards in the industry today, and the price of the insurance will reflect that. Custom classic cars are also ripe targets for auto theft, as they are not compatible with anti-theft devices. This too will be reflected in the insurance costs. Auto insurers know that owners of classic cars are only going to insure their vehicles for driving during the good seasons, and seasonal insurance carries rates reflecting this reality.

Safety: As touched on above, there are many safety features that are taken for granted in the modern car that are not available in a classic corvette. No corvette comes with air bags, child seat anchors, reinforced structure, or impact-resistant siding material. Many corvettes do not even have seat belts in the back seats. It is not too likely that you are going to be shipping your babies or grandbabies around in your classic car, but driving without seatbelts and other standard safety features may prove an expensive prospect in the event of an accident.

Accessories: One of the big purchases for a corvette owner besides the car is a place to store the car during the winter and also in transportation. Big trailers suitable for your corvette do not come cheap, and are an expense to factor in when considering your budget.

Gas: Make no mistake, the corvette was designed in an age where materials were abundant and the horizon was limitless. These cars were built for power and speed, and anyone who suggested economy in the corvette era would have had his horn-rims shoved into his face by a fist at the end of a leather-clad arm. Times have changed, and the corvette is still designed for mid-century pump prices. Driving your classic around at today’s prices is going to be a very pricy prospect.

Recommended Reading

• Build a Solar Car
• Top 10 Best Hybrid Cars
• What is Hypermiling?
• Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars

More Information on Green Living

• Convert Any Car to Electric — "All the steps are numbered with diagrams to be easy to follow. The conversion does not take too long, all you have to do is follow the simple plans I provide and in a month, you will cut your gas bill to zero."
• Renewable Energy Solutions — "Family living off the grid with renewable energy takes know how and applies it to solar panels and wind generators."
• Build A Wind Generator — "For the past 15 years our family has been living off the grid with only solar and wind power. We moved to our present location, built our own house ourselves and set to work to find alternative energy options for our home that we could afford."

This is a review of the Porsche Cayenne hybrid. The reviewer discusses fuel consumption, MPG, engine design, speed, and availability in 2009.

Porsche, the company known for its high performance sports cars is keen to demonstrate its ability to go green, and has decided to produce a hybrid; the 2009 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid.

The goal is 25 percent less fuel consumption, especially in city traffic, and this equals to around 24 miles per gallon for the hybrid system. Porsche states that future developments could allow 26 miles per gallon (MPG).

The new hybrid design is a full series-parallel system, however it has an electric motor and a clutch positioned between the engine and the transmission, rather than integrating the electric motor into its transmission. This new design, says Porsche, allows for the existing configuration of the drive train to be used, this format proved to be more efficient than integrating the motor into the gearbox.

The hybrid system adds about 300 pounds to the Cayenne weight total, and for a short period of time the Cayenne can run on electric power alone. The hybrid system is controlled by the Hybrid Manager, which monitors 20,000 data parameters – whereas the conventional engine only monitors 6,000 data parameters.

In addition to the new hybrid system, the 2009 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid also has electric power steering, a vacuum pump for the brakes and the air conditioning. The AC no longer draws power from the engine, but from the nickel metal hydride battery found under the trunk floor.

The hybrid battery is two times the size and twice the power of a Prius’ battery. Like the Toyota Prius , a Cayenne hybrid’s engine shuts off when it is stopped, the electric motor and clutch start the engine again when the SUV starts to drive off. Similar to the Prius, when braking the electric motor becomes a generator, using regenerative braking to generate electricity to charge the battery.

Not only is the Cayenne hybrid quicker to 60 mph by about half a second than the standard Cayenne V6 version, it also uses less fuel . Unlike other SUVs with hybrid drivetrains, the Cayenne is not hindered by restrictions on water wading depth, so the SUV can still go off road.

The hybrid system is being developed in collaboration with Volkswagen and Audi , which will allow those auto makers to produce hybrid versions of their Touareg and Q7 , respectively. The upcoming four door Porsche Panamera , which debuts in 2009, will also use the Cayenne hybrid’s drivetrain. The hybrid version of the Panamera will be coming along at a later date.

This article is about the Tesla Roadster. First, I give you a brief description of this electric vehicle. Second, I discuss how the Tesla was developed. Third, I review the technology of the Roadster. And lastly, I talk about the availability of this electric car.

The Tesla Roadster is a fully electric sports car, which can travel up to 244 miles (393 km) on a single charge of the battery pack, which is lithium ion based.

People have argued in the past that electric cars would not be as efficient as gasoline powered cars, simply because they would not be fast enough. The Tesla Roadster which is the first electric car to be manufactured by Tesla Motors can reach 0 to 60 (0 to 97km/h), in 3.9 seconds, that is fast. (Some people say it’s the best hybrid car but it’s an electric car, not a hybrid car .)

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In developing the Tesla Roadster, Tesla Motors acquired the help of Lotus Cars. Lotus Motors gave Tesla a basic chassis idea of its own Lotus Elise. Tesla engineers made plans to use a resin molded carbon fiber composite to minimize the weight. This resulted in the Roadster being the least expensive car with a carbon fiber skin.

The technology that is used for the AC motor and the drive train are much more advanced than the same technology used by General Motors . Tesla’s AC Propulsion EV power and Reductive charging system designs, covers the integration of charging the electronics with an inverter, which will reduce mass, the complexity, and lower the cost of the Roadster.

This two seater electric sports car is being manufactured in Hethel, UK by the Lotus factory. However, the parts come from all around the world, from Taiwan to California. The chassis comes from Norway, and France creates the carbon fiber body panels. The brakes and the air bags come from Germany.

The Tesla Roadster has a 3 phase, 4 pole electric motor that can produce 248 hp (185 kw), and it delivers 80% of efficiency when the motor is topped out, and 90% efficiency during typical driving . The tachometer is designed for speeds that will reach up to 14,000 rpm’s.

In September 2008, Tesla decided to manufacture gearboxes from Borg Warner, and soon began equipping all the Roadsters with a single speed fixed gearbox, with an electronic parking lock mechanism and a mechanical lubricating pump.

The next idea from Tesla was to improve the transmission, and after several tries, finally developed the single speed gearbox. It combined with an improved electronics and motor cooling systems, which made it possible to reach a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h).

The Tesla Roadster’s battery system is referred to as ESS (Energy Storage System). It is based from the type of batteries used from a Laptop computer only on a much larger scale. It takes 31/2 hours to fully recharge the ESS, using a high power connector. Once it has been fully charged for 53 kWh. Tesla Motors expects the ESS system to last for 100,000 miles (160,000 km) or approximately for 5 years, whichever comes first.

Tesla began accepting reservation orders in September of 2006, to be shipped out by 2008. Tesla opened their first American service center on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles in May of this year, and as of July of this year Menlo Park California has become not only a show room, but the final assembly point for all American ordered Tesla Roadsters.

Tesla is planning on adding 15 more service centers in the United States, with New York, Miami, Chicago, and Seattle among the tip picked cities.

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