LIVA CARS: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Hyundai premieres next-gen Avante/ Elantra in Korea

If you had been following my posts regularly, it would have struck you by now that this is the third consecutive post about the Korean juggernaut Hyundai. And before accusing me of giving undue advantage to this particular manufacturer, tell me one automaker who has had Global Premieres of two of it's bread and butter models in less than a week. Yes, merely days after global unveiling of the next-gen Verna/Accent in China, here comes Hyundai with the global premiere of it's next-gen Avante/Elantra at the Busan Motor Show in Korea. It's as if Hyundai has answered to my question in the previous post.

The current Elantra and it's predecessors achieved global sales successes and raked in the money and volumes for Hyundai but none of them can even be remotely called good-lookers. But I am sure, this new model will shatter that perception to pieces once launched in the market. I would even go far ahead and tell that this new Elantra is the best looking car in it's segment and by far the best looking Hyundai to date. None of the company's models in the past 43 years of it's existence can even come close to this beauty, except maybe the Genesis Coupe. This Elantra takes the company's now-famous Fluidic Sculpture design theme and comes out as the best of the lot wearing it.

The flowing headlamps and taillamps, the hexagonal grille, the character lines in the sides, the bulging wheel arches, the way in which the V-shaped creases in the bonnet merges with the top of the grille, the strong-yet-subtle touches of chrome in the split grille, the coupe-like roofline, the slingshot mirrors with integrated repeaters, all gel so wonderfully together to make this one stunning looking car. I would say that this is the only car which can hold it's own design-wise to the superb Honda Civic which still looks fresh and great, years after it's launch. The one aspect of the new Elantra which seems to be inspired is the way in which the A-Pillar merges with the bonnet - a straight lift from the Civic. Not a bad thing at all.

The interior shots and the engine and transmission specifications are not yet released, but it's expected to come with Hyundai's latest Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines and if Hyundai permits, the Turbo too. But do you really care? I won't, if I were in the market for this type of car. These looks are enough to entice me into buying this one. Already waiting for the next launch from you, Hyundai. Hope, you are listening!

Junta homocin�tica voc� sabe o que �?

Voc� pode n�o saber mais esta pe�a de nome estranho � uma das maiores respons�veis por fazer seu carro andar.
A junta homocin�tica serve exatamente para transmitir a for�a do sistema de transmiss�o, para as rodas e ao mesmo tempo, permitir que as rodas girem mesmo quando voc� moda de dire��o ou passa por buracos.

As juntas homocin�ticas atuais t�m longa durabilidade, em geral 40 ou 50 mil quil�metros, mas necessitam de alguns cuidados especiais, quando for a um mec�nico ou mesmo em um posto de gasolina, � sempre bom dar uma olhada como est�o as suas coifas (prote��o de borracha sanfonada ligada as rodas), Ela protege a junta homocin�tica de poeira, chuva e lama. Se a coifa tiver algum problema graxa existente nela perde-se em seu lugar se depositam subst�ncias abrasivas, reduzindo a durabilidade do conjunto em alguns milhares de quil�metros e obrigando a troca da pe�a toda.

Como perceber que existe problema no sistema de tra��o homocin�tica
Os problemas na homocin�tica podem ser percebido pelo motorista, tanto com o carro em movimento como em manobras. No primeiro caso, surge um barulho de atrito met�lico caracter�stico, enquanto no segundo ocorrem estalos. Em ambos os casos, � sinal de que o conjunto est� com excesso de folga, e a solu��o � troc�-lo por um novo.

Existem homocin�ticas recondicionadas, que apesar de serem baratas, podem travar provocando s�rios acidentes. Existe um processo de recupera��o de homocin�ticas (remanufaturada) que s� � v�lido se for feito pelo pr�prio fabricante, que pouco aproveita da junta usada e, pode assim colocar no mercado uma pe�a com pre�o 30% menor e com a garantia da f�brica.

Uma solu��o de emerg�ncia, caso se possa intervir logo no primeiro sinal de desgaste, � desmontar a coifa, remover a junta homocin�tica, limp�-la e trocar a graxa (al�m de trocar a pr�pria coifa, se estiver estragada). Procure um mec�nico de sua confian�a, pois sua troca requer ferramentas apropriadas e em geral o custo de sua manuten��o n�o � alto.

Fonte

Ford edi��o S1600 do Fiesta

A Ford anuncou o lan�amento de uma nova edi��o especial do Fiesta, que foi denominada S1600, por�m ela ser� exclusiva para o mercado brit�nico.

A produ��o ser� limitada em 650 unidades, e possuir� vers�o diesel 1.6 TDCi de 90cv e tamb�m vers�o a gasolina 1.6 Ti-VCT de 120cv. E vem com faixas na carroceria p�ra-choques esportivos e rodas de 16 polegadas e 17 polegadas quando tiver motor dieseu.

Futuramente ser� disponibilizado um kit de pot�ncia desenvolvido pela empresa Mountune, a mesma que desenvolveu o kit de pot�ncia para o novo Focus RS.

Abraham Lincoln President of the United State

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 � April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery. Before his election in 1860 as the first Republican president, Lincoln had been a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, a member of the United States House of Representatives, and twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States,^[1]^[2] Lincoln won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president later that year. His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Six days after the large-scale surrender of Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee, Lincoln became the first American president to be assassinated.

Lincoln had closely supervised the victorious war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including Ulysses S. Grant. Historians have concluded that he handled the factions of the Republican Party well, bringing leaders of each faction into his cabinet and forcing them to cooperate. Lincoln successfully defused the Trent affair, a war scare with Britain late in 1861. Under his leadership, the Union took control of the border slave states at the start of the war. Additionally, he managed his own reelection in the 1864 presidential election.

Copperheads and other opponents of the war criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on the slavery issue. Conversely, the Radical Republicans, an abolitionist faction of the Republican Party, criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery. Even with these opponents, Lincoln successfully rallied public opinion through his rhetoric and speeches; his Gettysburg Address (1863) became an iconic symbol of the nation's duty. At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to speedily reunite the nation through a policy of generous reconciliation. Lincoln has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the greatest of all U.S. Presidents.