The Tesla Roadster Sport - The Eco-Supercar

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The Tesla Roadster Sport, a child of Silicon Valley, financed by 38 year old PayPal billionaire Elon Musk, it is the first fully electric supercar with commercial viability. An unconventional motoring start-up founded by Californian software engineer Martin Eberhard.

A supercar concept was created to prove that green cars can be sexy, sporty and practical. Tesla set about designing the battery and engine system but left the design and manufacture of the car to British racing legends Lotus.

The engineless cars were shipped to California where the engines were installed and charged bringing the final cost of the car to $100,000. It's a modest price for a supercar but a steal of an investment into a company that could hold the future for the motoring industry.

The company was backed by South African billionaire Elon Musk, who sold PayPal to eBay; he was currently investing in commercial rocket science with an aim to put men on mars. Musk had strong ties with Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin who also invested in the company, ties to a film company gave Tesla a chance to market the car to George Clooney, who in turn convinced Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a list of celebrities to rival the Oscars. With celebrity endorsement came publicity and the company was the darling of the 'cleantech' industry.

Eberhard's aim was to develop a car that ran on sustainable energy while, unlike all its competitors, being practical enough to use every day. The difficulty was developing the technology and putting it in a car everybody could afford. The answer was simple; they decided that their first venture would have to start out like the high tech gadgets, hyped-up, over priced and rare, becoming cheaper with time and volume. This would mean that the first line of consumers would fund the development of the company.

There is currently a waiting list of over 1000for the car which went into production last year. Customers include all of the investors along with a' who's-who' of the rich and famous as jumping on the eco-wagon becomes increasingly fashionable.

Testing of the Roadster has stated its performance at 0-60 in 3.7 seconds with a limited top speed of 125mph, it will out-drag a Ferrari and with the advantages of electronic torque, will keep you pinned in your seat from the moment your foot touches the pedal, all in silence.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Doerr

Post Title → The Tesla Roadster Sport - The Eco-Supercar

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Venerable Luxury with Durable Toyota Parts

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High equipment levels and meticulous quality and refinement have been the formula for building and maintaining the Lexus. It embodies a fresh design approach, re-engineered from the ground up.

Dominated by a long cabin with steeply angled front and rear glass, the windows allow plenty of light into the well-organized interior. The Rear passengers get plenty of legroom - the wheelbase has been lengthened by 50mm - and large quarter-windows.

The GS300 Sports at $95,000 includes climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, auto headlights and wipers, reversing camera and steering wheel audio controls. The Sports Luxury model tested here adds satellite navigation, a sunroof, intelligent cruise control, parking sensors and an excellent Mark Levinson stereo system.

Operating full time, the GS300's all-wheel-drive system features a planetary gearset and a wet, multidisc clutch to couple the primary drive wheels, at the rear, to the front. The standard torque split is 30/70 front to rear, but the system's electronic brain can vary that to 50/50, making its judgments based on various driver inputs such as throttle angle and steering angle, and vehicle data such as wheel speed and yaw rate

Every GS has three variations of a new close-ratio six-speed automatic transmission, each designed for optimum performance with their respective GS applications. One of the smallest and lightest gearboxes of its type, it includes a sequential manual shift mode, with gear changes made via a lever in the center console.

An outstanding feature of the car is the all-wheel-drive system. The more slippery the road, the more pronounced is its advantage over conventional two-wheel-drive systems.

The car has an all-new 3.0-liter DOHC 24-valve aluminum V-6, which replaces an iron-block straight six of identical displacement. With Toyota's VVT-i variable-valve-timing system operating on cams, plus direct injection, plus a formidable 11.5:1 compression ratio, the new six generates 245 horsepower and 230 pound-feet of torque, compared with 220 of each for its predecessor. The new V-6 is bolted to an equally new six-speed automatic transmission, featuring manumatic shifting and an electronic brain that does a good job of avoiding excessive hunting, particularly in uphill runs.

Other features include leather-trimmed, heated front seats with 10-way power adjustment; SmartAccess keyless entry and a pushbutton starter; a premium sound system with both CD and DVD capability; Bluetooth wireless telephone technology; and a 7-inch multi-information touch screen for easy access to a wide range of information and commands.

Options include: a steering-sensitive Park Assist system; DVD navigation system and rear backup camera; one-touch open/close moon roof; ventilated front seats; power rear sunshade. It also has an eardrum-pounding, wallet-smashing Mark Levinson audio system, its 11 channels of sonic wash flowing through 14 speakers, Rain-Sensing Wiper package that includes adaptive front lighting and headlamp washers (standard on the GS 430); a rear spoiler; and all-season run-flat tires.
Luxurious amenities, exquisite quality, and remarkable technology--these are all the things that make up a Lexus. Partstrain likewise strives to preserve these qualities in delivering only the best Toyota Replacement Parts, Performance Parts, OEM and Aftermarket Parts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jenny_McLane

Post Title → Venerable Luxury with Durable Toyota Parts

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