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Wind Explorer car Crosses Australia on just wind power
Do you think the Porsche Panamera is ugly?
Cadillac recalls CTS models due to suspension fault
1970 Plymouth Barracuda: Car of the Week
Lexus LFA drifts around Supermodel in swimsuit

Wind Explorer car Crosses Australia on just wind power

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:07 AM PST

Many companies have been recently coming up with new Eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids, all-electrics, plugins and so on but have you ever seen a car powered by the wind?

Developers – Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer from Germany have just successfully piloted a wind powered vehicle across the continent of Australia, the small vehicle is called the Wind Explorer and it managed to traverse the country by using wind power to recharge its 8 kWh lithium-ion battery.

If you have read this far then you are probably wondering how an earth a car can be powered by the wind well its quite simple. Packed away inside the car is a portable wind turbine, in the evening the traveling duo would be set up the turbine using a 20-ft telescopic bamboo mast and rotating fan blades which would then recharge the batteries.

They would then restart the journey on a full charge which is good for a distance of 250 to 400 kilometers and when that depleted the team would then resort to using a kite to harness the wind which propelled them up to speeds of 50 mph (80km/h).

Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer took 18-days to cover 3,107 miles in the Wind Explorer and all for the cost of around $15.00. This is the world’s first wind-powered automobile to cover such a long distance independent of external energy sources or fuels and never before has a vehicle powered solely by wind energy and electricity crossed an entire continent.

Watch the video below showing the start of the event and if you want to find out more then you can visit the official website at www.wind-explorer.com

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Do you think the Porsche Panamera is ugly?

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:00 AM PST

I am constantly seeing comments by people across the web stating how ugly the Porsche Panamera is, I watched an episode of Top Gear a while ago and the three presenters were arguing because nobody wanted to drive the Panamera as they all thought is was so ugly. Do you think it is ugly?

Now I have to admit it’s not the most beautiful of cars but I certainly don’t think it is ugly, in fact I would love to own one. People tend to complain that the rear of the Panamera is what makes it ugly but I think the back end slightly resembles the Porsche 928 from the 80s which was a beautiful sports car.

Here are some of the quotes I have come across on-line about the ugliness of the Porsche Panamera:

This wretched hog of a vehicle looks like an AMC pacer had it’s way with a 911, and the god-forbidden spawn grew up into the Porsche Panamera

As ugly as an inside-out monkey

The Porsche Panamera is So Ugly… Someone Should Be Fired!

Seriously! Is it really that bad?

Well I have decided to run a poll on Chrises Cars to find out if the public really do believe that the Porsche Panamera is that ugly, so make your vote below and also if you wish to give us your own quote about the Panamera that add it in comments box.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Cadillac recalls CTS models due to suspension fault

Posted: 06 Mar 2011 11:55 PM PST

General Motors have announced that they will be recalling around 50,000 Cadillac CTS models worldwide that were produced between 2009 and 2010.

After an investigation by NHTSA, it appears that the jam nuts on the Cadillac CTS suspension could come loose over time which would eventually allow the toe link to completely separate from the vehicle. If this occurs then the rear wheel could turn in or out, making the vehicle difficult to control.

GM says that owners may hear a metallic clanking noise in the rear of the vehicle as a warning before this happens.

No accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of the defect, though NHTSA warns that if left untreated, owners could experience a loss of control.

GM says that it will install new jam nuts free of charge and replace the rear suspension toe link as necessary.

2009 – 2010 Cadillac CTS owners should expect to be contacted by a Cadillac dealer soon.