The Dispute Between VW and Suzuki has Been Settled

The International Chamber of Commerce has ruled on the failed partnership between VW and Suzuki, VW will sell it's 19.9% stake in the company back to Suzuki.

In a statement from VW, "We welcome the fact that there is now clarity. The co-operation between the two companies has now been ended."

Osamu Suzuki said, "It was a precious experience." "l learned there are different types of companies."

At this time there has been no word on when the buyback will take place.

The Tesla Model S P85D scored a whopping 103 of 100 in the Consumer Reports Ratings System

Tesla's Model S P85D the all-wheel-drive electric sedan performed better in test conducted by Consumer Reports Ratings than any car has ever score before earning a perfect road-test score.

The S P85D sedan is quick 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. The car has better braking and handling than the standard Model S and the S P85D gets 87 miles per gallon.

However, it is louder than the standard model S and not as luxurious has other high end luxury vehicles. The price is a staggering $127,000 making the car too expensive for most people.

The charge on the Tesla Model S P85D has an approximate range of 200 miles on a single charge. So long drives could be a real concern. Bjorn Nyland a programmer was able to get his Tesla to go 452.8 miles on a single charge by driving at a speed of 25 miles per hour. 

The Ten Most Traffic Congested Cities in North America

California made the list three times, Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco. As a native Californian I can attest to the traffic. It can be a nightmare at times, but the traffic really isn't that bad you just need to know which roads and highways to avoid during peck traffic times and your good.

Here are the ten most congested cities in North America from number ten to the number one worst city for traffic congestion in North America.

10. Chicago
9. Montreal
8. San Jose
7. New Orleans
5. Seattle
4. Honolulu
3. San Francisco
2. Vancouver
1. Los Angeles

Have you ever heard of General Motors Holden (Australia) concept car the Hurricane?

The Hurricane was way ahead of its time in appearance and features. Produce in 1969 the Hurricane had not only a futuristic body, the car had futuristic options that today we consider regular options when purchasing a car. This car looked like something right out of a science fiction movie:

• Instead of the regular driver and passenger car doors the Hurricane had a hydraulically-powered canopy that swung up and forward over the front wheels while the steering wheel rises up and tilts forward.
• It also had a type of GPS called Pathfinder that worked with magnetic signals that were built into the road to guide the driver.
• An automatic temperature control air conditioning system.
• Rear facing back up cameras with a screen mounted on the console. 
• Four wheel disc brakes.
• Foam lined fuel tank                                                                   
• Digital instrument displays
• Interior padding and integral headrest.

Automotive Air Conditioning

In 1933 New York company was the first to offer air conditioning installation in cars. Their customers were mostly limousine and luxury car operators.

In 1939 the Packard Motor Car Company began offering air conditioning units commercially in their cars making Packard Motor Car Company the first automobile manufacture to offer air conditioning. Those first air conditioners were made by Bishop and Babcock Co, of Cleveland Ohio.

The air conditioning units were called "Weather Conditioner", these early A/C units were both air conditioners and heaters. The cars ordered with "Weather Conditioners" were sent to the Bishop and Bacock factory from Packard's East Grand Blvd facility for the conversion. After the A/C conversion was finished the cars were then sent to a local dealership for customer pickup.

The A/C conversions were fully warranted by Packard, unfortunately they were not successful for a lot reasons:

The systems did not have a temperature thermostat or an automatic shut off mechanism, the only way to turn them off was to manually switch the blower off.

The drive belt was continuously connected to the compressor any movement would allow cold air to enter the car. In later systems this problem was remedied by the use of electrically operated clutches.

The main evaporator and blower system was located in the trunk and took up almost all of the trunk space. In later years the trunks were larger so the lack of trunk space was not as much of an issue. Also there were several feet of plumbing traveling from to and from the engine compartment and the trunk and was an unreliable service.

It was a costly addition to a vehicle in 1939 the price was $274 US dollars to give you an idea how much of an expense that would have been to a buyer, in 2014 that same A/C unit would be an added cost of $4,692 US dollars. The air conditioner conversion proved to be too costly and unaffordable to most of the population in the post depression, pre-war era in America.

 Packard discontinued the option after 1941.

If you are having problems with your air condition system go to: 

http://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-air-conditioner-not-working-or-is-weak

Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe

The Shelby Daytona Cobra coupe has been re-created by Shelby American. Some of you may remember the historic U.S. racecar that beat the racing world nominator Ferrari at the FIA World Sportscar Championship back in 1965. 

The price tag for the new re-creation Shelby Daytona is $179,995 for the painted body and  $349,995 for the aluminum body and does not include an engine. It is not known how many of the painted body or the aluminum body will be built. The new versions wheel base is about 4 inches longer than its 1965 predecessor.

There were only six original Daytonas built by Shelby and today those six Daytonas have an auction value of 10 to 12 million dollars.

Leading Cause of Vehicle Breakdown on the Highway

According to Department of Transportation the leading cause of vehicles breaking down on the nations highways is overheating. Before you head out on your next road trip make sure you or your mechanic perform preventive maintenance. Nobody ever wants to have their vehicle break down especially on a road trip away from home. 

For a step by step guide on how to troubleshoot and repair an automotive engine overheating or running hot problems for most vehicles go to:

http://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Trans Am Totem

Did you know that in Vancouver, British Columbia there is an outdoor sculpture incorporating 5 cars and a very large tree? Located at Quebec Street and Milross Ave just east of downtown Vancouver created by Marcus Bowcott the sculpture stands 33 feet high and weighs 25.00 pounds. 

The base of the sculpture is made from a single tree (an old growth cedar) and holds 5 cars stacked on top of each other a BMW 700 series, a Honda Civic, a Volkswagen Golf, MK1 Cabriolet and at the top is a 1981 Pontiac Trans Am.

 A local scrapyard donated the cars. To reduce the weight of the cars the transmissions, drive-trains and engines were removed. The headlights and taillights light up with the use of a solar powered electrical system.

The construction of the Trans Am Totem took two years and was unveiled April 2015.

Mad Men DeVille Sells at Auction

Last week the 1965 Cadillac Coupe DeVille that was used in the shooting of the final season of Mad Men went up for auction. The movie star car sold for $48,980. That’s quite a bit of money if you consider back in 1965 a Cadillac Coupe DeVille would have sold somewhere around $5,000-$6,000 depending on the options added to the car.

The $48,980 purchase price includes $39,500 for the actual car and a 24% commission paid to Screenbid the auction host.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway 

August 19, 1909 the first racetrack was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track was located on 328 acres of farm land, the track was made up of crushed rock and tar and it was a total disaster as it broke into pieces during the race and the led to the deaths of 6 people. The original track was a rectangular 2 1/2 mile track with 4 turns built by a local business man to be used as a testing facility for the growing automobile industry.

The thought behind the race track was that it could be used by different manufactures to challenge each others cars in a race and in turn they could see what their cars were capable of doing and encouraging consumers to come into their showrooms to see the cars up close.

Nicknamed "The Brickyard" the track's surface was replaced soon after the disastrous first race. The new track was made up of 3.2 million paving bricks that were laid in a bed of sand and fixed with motor. 

The improved Indianapolis Speedway was reopened in December of 1909. In 1911 attendance of the year round shorter races were not doing well. The track owners decided it would be better to focus on just one long race every year offering a much larger prize purse. This race was called the Indianapolis 500 and it has been running every year since 1911 with only a few exceptions,1917-1918 and 1942-1945 due to the United States involvement in World Wars I & II.

The old brick track is now just a memory the only signs that there was ever a brick racetrack is at the finish line where a three foot line of bricks are left exposed at the start-finish line.

The first winner of the Indianapolis was a driver Ray Haroun with an average speed of 74.59 mph and a time of 6 hours and 42 minutes. Ray took home the winning prize purse of $14,250.

Germany's Biggest Auto Makers Buy Nokia's Digital Mapping Service, Nokia Here

Germany's biggest auto makers BMW Group, Audi and Daimler have agreed to purchase Nokia Corporation's mapping and location services business Here. The three auto makers will hold equal an equal stake in Nokia Here, with this purchase the three automakers will own vital technology for self driving cars.

In a joint news release the three auto makers stated " The acquisition is intended to secure the long term availability of Here's products and services as open, independent and value creating platform for cloud based maps and other mobility services accessible to all customers from automotive industry and other sectors."

According to the three buyers Nokia here's will continue to serve other car makers as well.