World Car of the Year Awards Finalists

World Car of the Year (WCOTY), a program initiated, organized and conducted by a group of automotive journalists from all over the world has reached its third annual World Car of the Year (WCOTY) awards. The award will determine the top ten finalists and on that list, the jurors will vote and select the winners for the five major categories including World Car of the Year, World Green Car, World Performance Car, and World Design of the Year.

The jury is comprised of more than 40 automotive journalists from around the world, and they will vote for their favorite cars. Eligible vehicles for the award should be in production and for sale prior to January 1, 2007 year on in at least five countries and in two continents. The winning vehicles will received their awards in an event at the upcoming New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) in April 2007.

Gerry Malloy, Co-chairman of World Car of the Year awards commented: "Announcing the annual World Car of the Year awards at the New York show is a fitting finale to the auto show season that begins each fall with either the Paris or Frankfurt motor shows. Next, it's on to Tokyo in alternating years. The Detroit show takes center stage in January while Geneva claims the spotlight in March. Finally, in April, the season reaches its exciting climax at the New York International Auto Show."

Meanwhile, here are the Top Ten World Car finalists - Audi Q7 - Jaguar XK - Audi TT - Lexus LS 460 - Citroen C4 Picasso - Mercedes CL - Citroen C6 - MINI - Fiat Grande Punto - Suzuki SX4 / Fiat Sedici

The following vehicles made it to WCOTY top ten finalist for the World Performance Car: - Audi RS4 - Jaguar XKR - Audi S6 - Mazda 3 MPS / Mazdaspeed3 - BMW 335i - Porsche 911 GT3 - BMW M / Z4 M Coupe/Roadster - Porsche 911 Turbo - Ferrari 599 GTB - Renault Clio Renault Sport

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Using Vegetable Oil as Fuel

Did you know that the vegetable oil used in everyday cooking can be used as an alternative to diesel fuel? Right. Straight vegetable oils (SVO) have similar fuel properties to diesel fuel and can be used as a substitute fuel to the conventional diesel fuel to run on your car’s diesel engine. Here are some steps that I got from eHow.com on how to use straight vegetable oils for your car.

1. Start with a modern diesel engine. Nearly any newer diesel engine can be converted to run on vegetable oil as long as it doesn't have rubber seals in its fuel system (only older diesels use rubber seals). The rubber seals will deteriorate when exposed to vegetable oil over time because vegetable oil acts as a solvent.

2. Install a vegetable oil fuel conversion kit or have a mechanic do it. You should keep the original gas tank to hold regular diesel or biodiesel fuel for cold weather. Install a second tank for vegetable oil; these sometimes go in the trunk. The conversion kit should include hoses from the car's radiator to the vegetable oil tank to heat the oil via a heat exchanger before it enters the final fuel filter and injectors inside the engine compartment.

3. Get vegetable oil. New vegetable oil is easiest to acquire but very expensive. Restaurants will often give you their waste oil for free. Chinese and Japanese restaurants are best because their oils comes out cleanest. The oil should be amber in color. Oil from other types of restaurants may also be suitable but could require more filtering to remove food particles. You will need a few containers for transferring the oil from the source to your filtering destination. The five gallon jugs that the restaurants receive the fresh oil in work fine. Restaurants are usually happy to give you these containers since it saves them disposal fees.

4. Filter the oil. Use filter bags that are rated to 0.5 microns thick. To increase the life of your filter bags, first allow the oil to sit in a barrel for about a week to let particulate matter settle to the bottom. Then, pump or scoop the oil into a filter bag suspended above a fresh empty barrel from the top of the barrel (since most of the food particles matter and possible water is at the bottom). Start your engine using regular diesel or biodiesel fuel from the normal gas tank. Once the engine and vegetable oil are warm (after about 15 minutes depending on weather), switch to allow the vegetable oil to flow into the fuel source.

5. Switch back to diesel or biodiesel a few minutes before you stop your engine for any time (about 10 minutes depending on the temperature) to make sure the vegetable oil is purged from the fuel line and injectors so that they don't become clogged when the engine cools.

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An Aqua Car on eBay

Ever heard of a vehicle that can function in water? Well, in my browsing through the net looking for new Chrysler parts, I accidentally clicked my way to eBay and found out about the Aqua Car.

We are not sure about how safe this car is but according to the inventors, this car is a very interesting vehicle and is the result of a $250,000 investment in hopes of creating a seaworthy car-boat.

The Aqua Car is empowered by a 2.8-liter Chevrolet V6 engine. And this nautical misfit has a four-wheel steering. And, yes, there is actually room for two passengers. The car is made up of and made to be a stainless-steel machine which apparently relies on jet propulsion in the water. It also comes complete with a fish finder for those seeking out musky and trout catch.

The auction on eBay did not put much specification on the vehicle however the car needs some parts like windshield wipers and keys. Plus, the new car has Ford Aerostar tail lamps in use.

The car is available in Florida, in which you need to pick it up yourself if you want it. While it's a no-reserve auction, the starting bid is set at $9,999.99.

I guess you need to know some of its important details before you purchase it. Anyway, I'll just go back to my search for those elusive parts that I want.

Lincoln Mercury Plans a New Logo

The Lincoln Mercury is planning to change its logo into a newer and more retro one. Instead of focusing much on the issues like the volatile price and supply of oil, economy teetering between robust growth and rampant inflation and worldwide strife, the car company is instead planning to change its "waterfall" stylized M logo.

Well, as per its fans reaction on this, they are so excited to see the "Winged Messenger" back on the market. Lincoln is trying to get the Mercury a better appearance merely by getting the product right instead of shifting on the marketing plan. I guess they don't have plans to change some of its car parts.

If you have the car, well you can get a local airbrush artist to do up a hood-size mural of your favorite Mercury logo in "screaming chicken" fashion. You can have it fixed from its waterfall design to the latest logo plan.

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J.D. Power Releases 2007 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study

According to the recent J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study (MWES), the Kia Motors America website (www.kia.com) was the most useful automaker website for new-vehicle shopping. New-vehicle shoppers online evaluated manufacturer websites based in four major areas including appearance, speed, navigation, and information/content. On a 1000-point scale, the Kia website ranked as the highest obtaining 868 points.

"Providing a satisfying experience to all site shoppers, no matter what information they desire, is one of the most challenging site design tasks for manufacturers." said Steve Witten, Executive Director of Marketing/Media Research at J.D. Power and Associates.

"Kia has accomplished this task and scores significantly higher than the industry average in all four areas measured in MWES. Kia provides straightforward navigation, light page weights for quick site speed and combines text and images throughout the site to clearly demonstrate its models' capabilities and functionality." he added.

Meanwhile, here is the complete list of recent J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study (MWES).

1. Kia - 868

2. HUMMER - 865

3. Mazda - 864

4. Honda - 859

5. Toyota - 853

6. Jeep - 852

7. Acura - 850

8. BMW - 850

9. Suzuki - 848

10. Land Rover - 846

11. Chevrolet - 843

12. Dodge - 841

13. Saab - 840

14. Hyundai - 839

15. Lexus - 836

16. Chrysler - 835

17. Nissan 835

18. Mercury - 834

19. Industry Average - 834

20. Porsche - 833

21. Cadillac - 832

22. Pontiac - 832

23. Saturn - 832

24. GMC - 831

25. Lincoln - 830

26. Volvo - 830

27. Subaru - 827

28. Jaguar - 826

29. Scion - 825

30. Mercedes-Benz - 824

31. Volkswagen - 824

32. Buick - 822

33. Ford - 818

34. Infiniti - 810

35. MINI - 805

36. Mitsubishi - 805

37. Audi - 768

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The New 3 door BMW 1-Series for 2007

The BMW 1-Series is often referred to as the "fugly little car". Well, according to most of the Europeans. However, the experience does not affect the company's production of this vehicle. You see, for many years, Europeans have gotten into Bavarian Motorwerks products and it is all because of the Bimmer.

The company decided to change the look of the famous BMW 1-Series for the year 2007. The new car is added with some new BMW parts like a larger twin-kidney grille that comes with revised lower front spoiler. It will be introduced to a three-door model plus a fuel saving system on selected models.

The new technology includes the regenerative braking technology that was first unveiled when the new 5-Series was released. Aside from using the conventional method of having the alternator put a constant drain on the car's engine, various new methods were employed so as to recharge the battery. This method allows the owner to save up the battery life by up to 3%.

The new three door model is paired with the 265-hp inline-six in the 130i model. The car is even faster because of its lighter doors. It also has the rare brand shoehorns six cylinders beneath its bonnet, so probably, Americans would prefer it rather that the MINI.

Auto parts for 1-Series are well spread on the web. Choose a reputable website to buy your car parts, like Inner Auto Parts. Check the site and purchase your needed auto parts.

Honda Accord: Hybrid No More

As hybrids have now become quite so expensive, car enthusiasts are now looking back to using diesel engines and diesel cars and vehicles once again. Car makers are also now busy building new cars that use diesel engines. First on the list of car manufacturers working on more diesel cars and vehicles is Volkswagen and it just recently announced its new TDI.

Honda also seems to be joining in the bandwagon and according to Peter Nunn, Winding Road's roving reporter, the company will have its first diesel application to the Accord sedan which would be coming on sale this 2009. The sedan will be replacing the Honda Accord Hybrid including some of its Honda parts.

Honda promises an ultra clean 2.2 - 2.4 liter four cylinder engine that will meet the world highest and toughest emission standards. Like Volkswagen, Honda is also opting to meet the California's Tier II / Bin 5 standard.

Also according to Nunn's report, the Honda Accord Hybrid will be out after the release of the Accord Diesel. The upcoming model is packed with four-cylinder plus an out going hot-rod V6. So, if you are into cars with more power but is economical, then the Honda Accord Diesel is for you. Plus, Honda is planning to use diesel V6 engine and this engine will first be used in the Ridgeline before being disseminated across the company's lineup of vans and SUVs.

Honda is opening its door to a new technology that will develop new diesel engines which would not only be environment-friendly but would also be budget-friendly.

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Subaru Appoints New Official

Subaru of America had appointed Michael McHale to be the Director of Corporate Communications.

"We are very pleased to have Michael join Subaru. He has a proven track record in the industry and brings with him a wealth of both product and corporate communication experience that will benefit Subaru as we continue to grow our brand in the U.S. We have a busy year ahead of us in 2007 and we welcome his appointment." said Tim Mahoney, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Subaru of America, Inc.

McHale, an engineering graduate and holds a master's degree in engineering business management has already worked with other automotive companies including Land Rover, MINI, and BMW. Now that he is in Subaru, he will be responsible for the company's corporate communications and public relations services and activities.

Well, good luck Mr. McHale!

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BMW M5 6-Speed Manual Transmission: Richter Disappointed

In Los Angeles: Chief of BMW's M division Gerhard Richter was somewhat disappointed when he announced that the BMW M5 would be made available on a six-speed manual transmission this year. According to Richter the six-speed manual transmission makes the M5 slower as compared to those cars with seven-speed electrohydraulic-activated, sequential-manual gearbox or SMG.

Richter is right when he said that the six-speed transmission manual would make the M5 slower but there is a good side of it since you will be able to control this car even at high speed. And that is a good thing, right?

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Small Cars Fare Poorly in IIHS Crash test

For the first time, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has tested the smallest vehicles sold in the US market, now very popular because of the high prices of fuel.

The cars were rated in terms of occupant protection in front, side, and rear crashes. The Nissan Versa earns good ratings in all three tests. Two other cars earn good ratings in front and side but not rear tests.

Crash test results showed which vehicles in each weight category afford the best protection in real-world crashes, and this round of tests reveals big differences among the smallest cars. But results of real crashes show that any car that's very small and light isn't the best choice in terms of safety. Driver death rates in minicars are higher than in any other vehicle category. They're more than double the death rates in midsize and large cars.

"People traveling in small, light cars are at a disadvantage, especially when they collide with bigger, heavier vehicles. The laws of physics dictate this," says Institute president Adrian Lund. Death rates in single-vehicle crashes also are higher in smaller vehicles than in bigger ones.

Driving a small car? Take extra caution while on the road, and make sure your car is always in shape with excellent auto parts from trusted online auto parts stores like Auto Parts Inner.