jaguar xf 3.0l v6

I have distinct memories of our Four Seasons 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged, from the good, to the bad, to the ugly. The leader in the good camp was no doubt the class leading steering and chassis. The XF had a magnificent (and rare) balance of body control, ride quality, and driver involvement. The steering was light but direct and featured a warm, buttery on-center feel that few modern cars pull off. The bad camp consisted of ergonomic quirks and—unfortunately for Jaguar—reliability that matched the stereotype of the company. The touchscreen was slow and frustrating, the touch sensitive glove box release inconsistently triggered the opening of the lid, and the rear differential as well as the power steering both failed (only a partial list of the unfortunate problems we experienced). In regards to the ugly, few actually labeled the XF styling as unpleasant when the production car was launched but there was quite a bit of disappointment when many of the lovely details on the C-XF concept car didn’t transfer to the XF road car. The headlights grew in both size and shape and the overall profile of the Jaguar had a bit too much Lexus GS about it. Overall, we loved driving the XF but the bad and the ugly forced some of us to step back and say that if we were to spend our own money in this segment, it would likely be on the competition.

Fast-forward to 2012 and the face lifted XF. Exterior updates include new front and rear details with much more attractive headlight that could have almost been lifted straight off the C-XF concept. The interior features a redesigned touchscreen interface with additional hard buttons for access to various features and, wait for it, a conventional button to release the glove box. I recently spent 10-days in England behind the wheel of the newest XF 3.0L Diesel S with an overall goal to see if the improvements help add some logic to the passion I have for the Jaguar XF.

Obviously, this exact model isn’t available in the USA but it’s always enjoyable to try the various diesel offerings in Europe. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter diesel V6 is available in two outputs, 240 hp with 369 lb-ft of torque or 275 hp with 443 lb-ft of torque. This Diesel S model features the more powerful version and, like all the diesel XF models, is hitched to an eight-speed automatic. Jaguar also offers a 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel with 190 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. The company quotes a 0-60 mph time for the Diesel S model at 5.9 seconds (compared to 5.5 seconds for the 385 hp gasoline 5.0-liter V8 that is sold in the USA). Over around 400 miles of quite hard driving, the XF Diesel S returned an indicated average of 27 U.S. mpg. This compares favorably with the 28 mpg indicated average that a BMW 530d estate returned when I drove it in England earlier this year. The Jaguar was able return over 40 mpg on easy motorway cruises. It was never wanting for more power as long as you got used to riding the torque of the engine and not relying on high rpm horsepower.

The ride quality and handling was as brilliant as I remembered in the old Four Seasons XF. The twenty-inch wheels on our test car gave the XF a bit of a lumpy low-speed ride on England’s less-that-smooth roads but the motorway ride and the ability to quickly and comfortable take on a rough B road (narrow, country roads) was no doubt class-leading. Luckily, those who find the ride on the twenty-inch wheels brittle can choose nineteen or eighteen-inch wheels on the XF. The steering was also perfect on the twisty roads of England. When it comes to the overall chassis dynamics, the XF is no doubt superior to the 530d wagon I tested in the UK earlier this year.

In regards to the updated interior and infotainment system, this is one area where Jaguar still has some catching up to do. The overall design is very good and the updates help. The mix of modern and traditional Jaguar design details fit in perfectly with modern day England. The issue is how the interior design works together. Like many of our issues with Ford and their MyFord Touch, there are certain features that need hard buttons. Far too many times I found myself taking my eyes off the road for far too long as I adjusted radio presets or heated seat settings. Additionally, when you fire up the XF on a cold morning you need to wait far too long for the systems to boot up before the screen will allow you to turn on the heated seats and heated steering wheel. Why can’t there be dedicated radio preset buttons, two hard buttons for the heated seats, and a heated steering wheel button on the side of the steering column? I also still find the rotating HVAC vents and the pulsing starter button a bit too contrived. Overall, the updated interior is better than the setup when the XF was launched there still seems to be a bit too much design leading functionality.

As far as reliability, that can’t really be answered after a week behind the wheel of a car. Perceived quality is pretty good although I still don’t find the overall quality of the switchgear up to the standards of the Germans. We’ll need to see how the newest XF holds up long-term before coming to a conclusion in this area.

Overall, I still love the XF. The facelift is exactly what the car needed and the Jaguar is no doubt the class-leader when it comes to driving dynamics and steering feel. BMW always ran the Jaguar close in regards to chassis dynamics but the newest 5-series has gone a bit too far towards a 7-series and has lost a bit of the 3-series nimbleness with the change. Despite my love for driving the XF, there is still the question on if I’d spend my own money on the Jag over the competition. While the fabulous diesel options help the XF in Europe (especially the impressive new 2.2-liter diesel for the company car buyer), the lack of powertrain options in the USA is a big negative. BMW, Mercedes, and Audi all offer V6 engines with around 300 hp that each return around 20 mpg in the city and at or near 30 mpg on the highway. The base XF is rated at 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. I know that the XF may compete more with BMW 550i and Mercedes E550 due to their V8 engines and that many Jaguar buyers aren’t likely overly concerned with fuel mileage. The truth is that the newest 6-cylinder engines are so good that the V8 buyer should really consider the smaller engine offerings before they just write the check for the car with the bigger badge and bigger price. The greater issue for many buyers is that Jaguar only offers rear-wheel drive. I know that Jaguar is working on all-wheel drive but the U.S. market in particular wants it (and Jaguar needs it) now. I personally love rear-wheel drive and I believe winter tires and rear-wheel drive are an excellent setup but that’s not what the average buyer feels (or what I would buy for my wife). Add in Jaguar’s unproven reliability and ergonomic quirks and the XF remains a car that I love to drive and have great passion for but I can’t quite convince myself that the brilliant chassis and styling updates outweigh the negatives when it comes to signing on the dotted line.

Read more: http://blogs.automobilemag.com/not-in-the-usa-2012-jaguar-xf-3-0l-diesel-s-12181.html#ixzz1kj0oFKI0

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Honda Racing Launches NSF250R Commercial Road Racing Machine

TOKYO, Japan, June 2, 2011 — Honda Racing Corporation will launch the NSF250R, a newly developed machine for the Moto3 class that will be added to the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (WGP) in 2012. Sales of the new vehicle are planned to start in December 2011.

In developing the NSF250R, Honda took the “Next Racing Standard” as its development concept and reaped the benefits of racing technology cultivated in the RS125R, thereby achieving a high-level combination of outstanding controllability and racing competitiveness.
The liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, single cylinder, DOHC, 249 cc engine was specifically designed for Moto3 to be lightweight and compact while delivering high output. To achieve this high output together with excellent responsiveness, the machine incorporates a front-intake/rear-exhaust configuration with high charging efficiency, while adopting a layout with the cylinder tilted back 15° to concentrate mass.

To ensure power delivery all the way through to the high rpm range, the NSF250R adopts titanium valves for both the intake and exhaust to reduce friction. Furthermore, the design reduces friction between piston and cylinder and improves durability by offsetting the cylinder centerline and applying nickel silicon carbide (Ni-SiC) for the cylinder surface treatment. The easily replaceable cassette design selected for the close-ratio 6-speed transmission, allows gear selection to be optimized over a large variety of racing circuits.

The frame ensures a degree of freedom in cornering and nimbleness that matches and goes beyond the RS125R by revising the rigidity balance and the shape while inheriting the compactness of the RS125R. Even though the basic structure of the front and rear suspension is the same as the RS125R, the NSF250R-exclusive settings produce a machine with excellent riding stability.

The cowling makes the NSF250R the equal of the RS125R in aerodynamic performance, while a cooling duct on the under cowl improves the engine’s cooling performance.

As a new-generation road racing machine that complies with Moto3 regulations, the NSF250R will help revitalize road racing while meeting the expectations of road racers.

Source : honda

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Designing the 21st Century Aerospace Vehicle - Opening the Door to a New Era in Flight

Advanced aerospace vehicles are key to national security, transportation, mobility, freedom, and our quality of life. The answer to ensuring the continued viability of aviation is not through evolutionary or near-term approaches alone, but through careful development of revolutionary, long-term approaches utilizing emerging technologies. The significant advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology are opening the door to a new era in aircraft development resulting in designs that will be radically different from today's aircraft.

Aircraft of the future will not be built of traditional, multiple, mechanically connected parts and systems. Instead, aircraft wing construction will employ fully integrated, embedded "smart" materials and actuators that will enable aircraft wings with unprecedented levels of aerodynamic efficiencies and aircraft control.

Able to respond to the constantly varying conditions of flight, sensors will act like the "nerves" in a bird's wing and will measure the pressure over the entire surface of the wing. The response to these measurements will direct actuators, which will function like the bird's wing "muscles." Just as a bird instinctively uses different feathers on its wings to control its flight, the actuators will change the shape of the aircraft's wings to continually optimize flying conditions. Active flow control effectors will help mitigate adverse aircraft motions when turbulent air conditions are encountered.

Intelligent systems composed of these sensors, actuators, microprocessors, and adaptive controls will provide an effective "central nervous system" for stimulating the structure to effect an adaptive "physical response." The central nervous system will provide many advantages over current technologies. Proposed 21st Century Aerospace Vehicles will be able to monitor their own performance, environment, and even their operators in order to improve safety and fuel efficiency, and minimize airframe noise. They will also have systems that will allow for safe takeoffs and landings from short airfields enabling access to this country's more than 5,400 rural/regional airports.

Researchers at NASA Langley Research Center are taking the lead to explore these advanced vehicle concepts and revolutionary new technologies. New analysis methodologies are being formulated to model and predict the best locations for sensors and actuators. Cooperative ventures with industry and other government agencies will be key to the project. Specific technology areas of study include ground-to-flight scaling, reliability-based design, adaptive flow control, robust controls, and autonomic vehicle functions.

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2011 Ford Mustang Breaks Cover at NAIAS

At this year’s NAIAS in Detroit, Ford took the wraps off their new 5.0-liter V8-powered 2011 Ford Mustang GT. Known for its muscle, the 412hp output and the 390 ft-lb of torque (increased with 97hp and 65 ft-lb torqu from the 4.6 liter version), helps the Mustang GT go naught to 60mph in just under 4.7 seconds. As a standard the car comes with a six speed automatic gearbox that manages a 17/25mpg rating, but doesn’t forget those willing to shift themselves and have added the option for a six speed manual gearbox.

The new 2011 Ford Mustang GT includes new suspensions, an aerodynamic rear deck lid and an electronic power-assisted steering for a great driving experience. As the car has more power now, everyone assumed that brembo brakes would be included in the standard edition, but surprisingly one has to buy them separately.

No word regarding price for the new 2011 Ford Mustang.

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CES 2011: Motorola unveils new line of devices with Xoom, Atrix

Motorola gave audiences at CES 2011 a peak at their new tablet, the Xoom. Rob Pegoraro gives us a closer look at the supposed iPad-killer:

The most promising iPad competitor at CES may be Motorola's Xoom, but it's a little too soon to write that in pen instead of pencil. I got a quick tour of this Android tablet computer at Motorola's booth this afternoon that both outlined what could make it an effective rival to Apple's bestseller and left reasons to think it might not do the trick.

In its favor, the 1.5-lb. Xoom--pronounced "zoom" and written by Motorola in all-caps--offers a slightly larger screen than the iPad, at 10.1 inches versus the Apple tablet's 9.7, and with a higher 1280-by-720 pixel resolution than the iPad's 1024-by-768 resolution. It includes both a 2-megapixel camera on the front and a 5-MP camera on the back, combined with Google's own Google Talk video-calling software built in. That should be a step up from the third-party applications and services bundled by other vendors.

At the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas Motorola wowed attendees with their smartphone-turned laptop, the Atrix. Hayley Tsukayama profiled the new device:

It's a smartphone. It's a computer. It's the Atrix! Motorola's getting a lot of press this morning after announcing its much-hyped competitor to the iPad, the Xoom. But the Atrix, also unveiled at Motorola's press conference yesterday, is generating quite a lot of buzz as well.

The novel idea behind the Atrix is that it's a smartphone that plugs into the shell of a laptop. Unlike the doomed Palm Foleo, which synced a computer with a Palm Treo, all the computing power in the Atrix is in the smartphone.

The phone, which Motorola is calling the "world's most powerful smartphone," has some great guts: an NVIDIA Tegra 2, four-inch display, a front-facing camera and a rear-facing 5MP camera, 1 GB RAM, 16GB on-board memory, and a microSD card slot. It runs Android 2.2 FroYo. The laptop, which is being dubbed a "webtop," has an 11.6-inch display, two USB ports and a full keyboard.

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peti mati dengan layar lcd dan fitur hp

Pertama kali ngeliat lumayan serem juga. Sempat saya berpikir, orang-orang jaman sekarang udah tambah stress atau terlalu pintar ya? Sampai-sampai teknologi yang dibuat semakin aneh-aneh saja. Mungkin udah kebanyakan ide baru kali ya?hehehe...

Sewaktu berjalan-jalan didesa mbah google dan nyari info-info unik tentang teknologi, saya lumayan agak gumun (bahasa Indonesianya, heran) dengan info teknologi yang satu ini.
Info ini saya dapatkan dari Terbaru 2011. Di negara USA (Amerika Serikat, red) baru-baru ini terdapat sebuah teknologi. Tapi teknologinya gak ada hubungannya sama kehidupan orang yang masih hidup alias berhubungan sama orang yang udah meninggal. Ini membuktikan bahwa teknologi gak hanya penting buat yang masih hidup, tapi bagi yang sudah meninggalpun memerlukan yang namanya teknologi.

Teknologi yang dari tadi saya bicarain panjang lebar tanpa arah yaitu teknologi peti mati. Peti mati ini dikatakan oleh sumbernya, merupakan peti mati yang sangat canggih, sebuah peti mati yang biasanya hanya terbuat dari sebongkah kayu tetapi yang satu ini merupakan suatu peti mati yang super canggih.

Peti mati ini dilengakapi dengan layar LCD dan HP layar sentuh, dilangsir harga peti mati ini adalah seharga $381.000. Wah lumayan mahal untuk seorang mahasiswa yang bertempat di kost-kostan seperti saya yang hanya mengandalkan kiriman dari orang tua.hehe... Peti mati ini rencananya akan dipamerkan di kota Verona Italia.

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hologram tv

Memulai tahun baru, informasi tentang teknologi terbaru 2011 sudah banyak beredar. Dan kali ini saya coba untuk sharing salah satunya. Setelah ditahun 2010 kemarin ada teknologi aneh tentang peti mati, sekarang yang lagi santer nih informasi tentang teknologi TV hologram.

Memulai awal tahun 2011, apple berencana segera mengembangkan televisi dan layar yang menghasilkan gambar hologram tanpa perlu kacamata khusus. Teknologi ini terungkap terkait dengan paten terbaru.

Sebuah paten Apple terbaru mengungkapkan bahwa perusahaan yang memproduksi iPod dan iPhone ini sedang bekerja untuk menciptakan layar yang mampu menghasilkan gambar tiga dimensi dan hologram tanpa kaca mata. Teknologi ini akan memberikan pengalaman yang lebih realistik kepada pengguna.

Paten Apple itu mengklaim bahwa teknologi itu akan menciptakan gambar yang muncul secara hologram dan memiliki kemampuan melacak gerakan mata khalayak.

Teknologi TV hologram ini merupakan aspek yang luar biasa dari penemuan karena menghasilkan pengalaman virtual yang tidak bisa dibedakan dari melihat gambar hologram sebenarnya.

Televisi tiga dimensi akan menjadi tren teknologi terbaru 2011 setelah para produsen siap meluncurkan televisi 3D dan pemutar blu-ray.

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