Auto Design

Electric cars seem to be the future of transportation. Many car manufacturers have been showing a lot of interest in electric cars. An electric car has many advantages over the conventional gasoline powered car. It can be charged using electricity from any household socket. It is environment friendly and produces no tailpipe emissions. The damage caused to the environment by gasoline cars is increasing at a rapid rate and any change like electric cars is very much welcomed by all. It also has a few disadvantages. It takes hours to charge and gives only about 100 miles per charge. On the other hand, it takes only a few minutes to refuel a conventional car and it gives more than 300 miles per tank of fuel. But, with improvements in car battery technology and with more people driving electric cars in the future, charging stations can be set up to charge cars when they are parked to improve the range of the electric car. An electric car is far more economical and has a running cost of only 2 cents per mile which is many times cheaper when compared to a normal car. So electric cars are not only environment friendly, they are also pocket friendly.

The tires are one of the most important components present in a car. Making a right choice of tires can give the driver a better grip and better handling of the car. The right tire should be chosen depending on the climate of the region where you intend to drive your car. There are basically three types of tires – summer tires, winter tires and all season tires. Summer tires have a block shaped tread pattern ensuring maximum grip at all times. They provide excellent driving and braking performance in all temperatures above zero degrees on both dry and wet roads. In winter tires, the tread pattern is heavily striped and have a fine-block design with grooves that are deep and wide, providing excellent driving grip on roads covered with ice and snow. All-season tyre have tread patterns which are more complicated than those of the summer tires and have an additional longer block-edge for winter usage. They are designed to provide good all-around traction for varying road conditions. Then we have racing tires which are made from a soft compound of rubber. These tires provide excellent grip but they do not last long and they are pretty expensive too. You have to take proper care of your tires and change them when they go out of condition.

The rise in the fuel consumption has not only increased the demand for fuel, it has also increased the damage to the environment. All car companies are researching on different kinds of alternate fuels which will be harmless to the environment. The electric cars are not so efficient in performance to the normal gasoline cars and so it has not become popular. In the meantime, car manufacturers have started introducing hybrid vehicles. They are the normal cars which run on gas with an additional electric motor. The electric motor is used in slow speeds and this helps to save fuel.

Toyota Prius is the first mass produced hybrid vehicle. It is a mid sized hybrid electric car released worldwide in 2001. It is being sold in more than 40 countries now also making it the highest sold hybrid car till date. It is one of the most fuel efficient cars sold presently. It is also among the most cleanest vehicles in trems of carbon dioxide emission levels. The Prius has a special powertrain that combines a gasoline-fueled IC engine with an electric motor. This powertrain coupled with other features allows the Prius to deliver better mileage and lower emissions compared to regular cars.

Obama’s limousine nicknamed “The Beast” is a state of the art piece of machinery designed in accordance with the safety specifications laid down by the federal government. The protection level offered by the custom made Cadillac limo is almost equivalent to that of a military tanker. The safety features offered by the car include bullet proof glass and an armoured body strong enough to withstand a rocket propelled grenade. The door armour is said to be 8 inches thick and the glass is 5 inches thick. It also has a Kevlar sheet woven on its base to protect it in case of blasts. It also has a separate oxygen supply and a completely sealed interior to protect the President against a chemical attack. Its tyres are designed so that it can keep moving even if bullets are shot at the tyre. General Motors has not officially released to specs and features of the car to maintain secrecy. All the Presidential Limousines are kept in the Henry Ford Museum. This practice has stopped now and the Secret Service sees to it that the limos are destroyed upon retirement of the president to keep its secrets. “The Beast” is presently the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world.