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Honda’s highly advanced jet is in high demand

Honda doesn’t just produce vehicles for road use, it is involved with designing and manufacturing light aircraft as well. And its latest project, the HondaJet, is said to be the ‘fastest, highest-flying, quietest, most fuel-efficient, and most comfortable business jet in its class’.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has announced that the HondaJet ranks as the most delivered jet in its category for the first half of 2017. Apparently, its a sought after aircraft in western markets with 24 of them already delivered to customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and certain countries in Europe.

“Our customers are extremely pleased with the performance, comfort and superior fit and finish of the HondaJet. The HondaJet is a very high tech, sporty aircraft and it is like a flying, high precision sports car,” said Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino.

He added, “We want to create new value in business aviation and I hope to see many more HondaJets flying all over the world.”

According to Honda, this new jet is the most advanced light aircraft thanks to a slew of technical innovations including the unique Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration.

Compared to the conventional one, OTWEM offers improved performance and fuel efficiency by reducing aerodynamic drag. It also aids in the reduction in cabin sound, minimizes ground-detected noise, and allows for for maximization of space.

As such the HondaJet offers the roomiest cabin in its class, the largest baggage capacity, and a fully serviceable private lavatory. The aircraft can even be ordered with a sophisticated glass flight deck and a customized Garmin® G3000 navigation system.

Due to the surge in demand, Honda is steadily ramping up production to meet customer needs. Currently, the HondaJet is being manufactured at a rate of about four per month at its world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Chery to launch new brand and vehicles for European market

Chery Automobiles Co., Ltd is planning on revealing a new compact SUV concept at the up coming Frankfurt Motor Show in September and under a new nameplate. It will mirror, in some form, the actual production vehicle that is aimed at the younger car buyer.

This nameplate, and the vehicles that bear its namesake will spearhead the Chinese automaker’s charge into the European passenger car market within the next few years. The adoption of a new brand name for the new line of vehicles may be a marketing ploy by Chery to ensure that it starts off with a clean slate instead of inheriting unwanted baggage.

“In just a few years we intend to start selling a family of vehicles in European markets across multiple segments, with power supplied by a range of electrified powertrains,” explains Chery CEO Dr. Anning Chen at Chery Automobile Co., Ltd.

Chery is also evaluating sales opportunities in key markets before it initializes the setting up European sales operations with its various import and distribution partners. This is probably toe ensure that it makes all the right moves in a market that is relatively unknown to the Chinese.

Chery has also stated that it hopes that the new design and R&D facilities in Europe accelerate its plans and efforts for global expansion. This news isn’t surprising considering that like Chery, Geely and its subsidiary, Volvo cars, recently agreed to technology sharing between the brands.

This in turn will allow Geely access to technology that should make its vehicles compelling alternatives to models offered by established European automakers. Chery, though lacking a such a treasure trove of sophisticated tech, may have the same goal in mind.

The Chinese automaker has also revealed its intentions of selling a range of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (P-HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This should make it a formidable force in the EV segment in the next few years.

Clarkson’s Pneumonia was more serious then initially thought

In a previous article we reported that Jeremy Clarkson had to be admitted in hospital while on a vacation due to a bout of Pneumonia. What we, and many others were unaware of however, was the severity of his illness.

According to a recent news piece by Car Throttle, Clarkson stated that he was in pretty bad shape before being admitted in hospital. Three days prior to his admission, the former Top Gear host was experiencing spasms in bed.

After a series of tests were conducted, his doctor informed him that things were far worse and that if he didn’t do exactly as instructed, there was a very real chance that Clarkson would succumb to his illness.

His right lung was more than half full of mucus and to make matters worse, he was running a very high fever too. This made it difficult for him to breath and function normally. Fortunately, he sought treatment just in time but will require 2 months of rest.

Still in recovery, Clarkson joins his Grand Tour co-host Richard Hammond, who has a fractured leg, on the sidelines leaving James May as the only member of the team, to soldier on. The Grand Tour is currently filming the second season this year, however, these recent setbacks should push the release date of this second season even further.

Clarkson covered his health scare extensively in his column of the Sunday Times. He goes on to talk about the irony of what this illness did to him considering that, prior to this, despite his militant attitude to life and utter disregard for healthy living, has never fallen ill or needed to take a sick day.

That said, we wish Clarkson a speedy recovery and hope that the trio get back to work as soon as medically possible.

Source: Car Throttle, Sunday Times

Aston Martin Zagato family of four introduced

Aston Martin has revealed the final two cars of its Zagato family. As the name emplys, all four have been designed by the world renowned design house, Zagato. They are based on the Vanquish S and feature unique styling that differ from that of the regular Aston Martin cars.

The Vanquish Zagato Coupe and Volante were introduced last year with a limited production run of 99 cars each. According to the automaker, the order books have already been filled and customers can expect to get their cars by 2018.

What many will find most intriging about this news however, is the introduction of the Zagato Speedster and Shooting Brake. The latter is rather unusual because it breaks convention and may have purists up in arms. Though it and the Speedster retain the same basic design of the Volante and Coupe models, their rear quarter sections are where things get interesting.

The Shooting Brake is still considered a two seater GT and is said to offer an airy experience thanks to the large rear hatch. The Roof’s lines flow smoothly from front to rear without distortion or disruption to the suave silhouette.

Since all four are based on the same car, the Speedster shares a similar design to the Volante and Coupe safe for the double bubble rear roof. Though this many not be to everyone’s taste but the subtlety of the design allows for a more uniformed finish.

Aston Martin has limited the production of the Speedster to 28 cars in total, which is significantly less than the 99 car limit for the other three. This makes it a rare Aston and one that will probably become a collector’s item.

Though each car has its own individual styling that make it unique when compared to the other three, all share certain similarities which include the Vulcan inspired ‘blade’ tail lights, 3D Cagato ‘Z’ motifs in the front grille and rear vent meshes.

Andrea Zagato, CEO of Zagato said of the enduring creative partnership: “Zagato’s relationship with Aston Martin began with my grandfather and the DB4 GT Zagato, almost sixty years ago. To have a creative ‘marriage‘ thrive for three generations is something as unique as the cars themselves.”

All four get the Vanquish S’ near 600bhp V12 engine, which is mated to a Touchtronic III transmission. Thanks to adaptive damping, rigid body structure and a balanced suspension setup, the cars will be able to offer a good amount of driving pleasure.

Check out the relatively large picture gallery below and let us know your thoughts on the newly introduced Zagato family of four.

Volkswagen to introduce new compact SUV this month

Volkswagen is gearing up to unveil a new compact SUV that it calls the T-Roc. Meant to be a smaller vehicle that retains the agility and off-road character of an SUV, the T-Roc is being positioned as a crossover that can offer the best of both world.

Despite being a completely new vehicle, the lines and overall design language of the T-Roc is unmistakably Volkswagen. The front fascia and especially the honey comb grille, look similar to that of the current Tiguan, and to a lesser extent, the Atlas.

It’s integrated dual headlights is a dead giveaway and can be considered an essential trait of all current Volkswagen models including the Passat. This means, that the German automaker has chosen to take an evolutionary approach as opposed to a revolutionary one when it came time to create a a brand compact SUV.

The rear is reminiscent of a Mk7 Golf, which is a welcomed attribute. The simplistic yet elegant lines make for surprisingly neat overall look. This should make it an appealing vehicle to those wanting a crossover that is able to offer car-like looks but with added style.

Judging from the design, the overall footprint of this particular VW shouldn’t be that far off of that used for the Golf platform, which if so, should place the T-Roc beneath the Tiguan and Toureg models. This should help it fill the the void in Volkswagen’s current product portfolio and help boost sales somewhat.

Regarding tech, nothing concrete has been announced yet, but VW has stated that it will bless the vehicle with a wealth of innovations, which should include its slew of safety and advanced driver aids.

Volkswagen will officially launch the T-Roc on August 23rd 2017 and is quite confident that this new addition and its ‘crisp proportions and progressive design’ will invigorate the compact class. That said, we can’t help but wonder how much of these suave looks would actually make it onto the production ready vehicle.

Special edition Ford GT introduced

The Blue Oval has announced that it will be offering a heritage edition of its latest supercar, the Ford GT. Called the Ford GT ’67 Heritage edition, it is an attempt by the company to pay homage to the legendary 1967 GT40 Mark IV that made history by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Mark IV GT40 has a special place in the hearts of many Ford fans, because the car was a dominant force of the famous endurance race, outpacing Ferrari mind you, and taking home the crown four times in succession.

And as such, this new car, will feature the same paint scheme as well as unique interior features that not only set it apart from the regular car, but invoke a sense of heritage that can be traced all the way back to the mid 1960s.

“In creating a worthy successor to the ’66 Heritage edition, we logically looked at our next historic Le Mans victory with the all-American team of Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance.

He later added, “The Ford GT ’67 Heritage edition pays homage to that win, with a modern take on one of the most important vehicles in Ford’s storied history of racing.”

Buyers of the Ford GT ’67 Heritage edition will get a car that has a gloss-finish ‘race red’ paint scheme that is accented with contrasting white stripes and exposed carbon-fibre trim pieces. The number 1, will be placed on the hood, and doors of the car, which is a nod to the championship winning ’67 racer.

Apart from that, other aesthetic tweaks include a 20-inch forged aluminium wheels in silver satin clear coat with black wheel nuts as well as red calipers and silver rear view mirror caps.

On the inside, the car features a new leather trim with red accent stitching for the carbon-fibre seats, which is the same colour scheme adopted for the steering wheel. The seatbelt webbing is red in colour and the paddle shifters are anodized grey.

As proof of the car’s authenticity, there will be a unique serialized identification plate denoting the production number of the specific vehicle with respect to the total production number. Other bits include an exposed matte carbon fibre door sills and air register pods.

The new car is the second iteration of Ford’s homage to the 1967 Mark IV GT40 with the first being, its predecessor, the original Ford GT. The Ford GT ’67 Heritage edition can be viewed at FordGT.com using the configuration tool.