Who Knew?

Who Knew? – New Toyota C-HR – Sportiness You Can Accessorize

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The recently introduced C-HR (Coupe High-Rider) is a CUV (crossover utility vehicle) that comes with a pretty long list of standard features like alloy wheels, bucket seating, and 7-inch audio display, but still leaves room for some genuine Toyota accessories to customize it to your needs.

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Toyota went out of its way to give the C-HR some unique sporty good looks and didn’t hold back on enhanced performance tweaks to the powertrain, suspension, and braking. Top that off with state of the art safety features like Pre-Collision Active Braking, Pedestrian Detection camera and radar, Lane Departure Alert, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, and Automatic High Beams to name a few and you might think you have it all, but let’s get back to the accessorizing essentials.

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Floor mats (all-weather or carpeted), cargo liner or mat, door sill protectors, cargo net, cargo tote, and tablet holder are a few of the interior items that need to be addressed.

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Who Knew? – Hyundai Fuel Cell Drivers Rack Up Over 3 Million Miles

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The Hyundai Tucson fuel cell crossover was introduced in 2014 as the first mass produced fuel cell electric vehicle in the U.S. Having driven over 3 million miles on California roads and highways it is estimated that instead of emitting over 1,140 tons of CO2 emissions they have emitted only clean water vapor.

2017 Tucson Fuel Cell

2017 Tucson Fuel Cell

The current Tucson Fuel Cell CUV has a number of advantages over some other alternative fuels. The energy-rich hydrogen fuel provides an estimated driving range of 265 miles between fill-ups, similar to many gasoline vehicles. The Tucson Fuel Cell can be refilled with hydrogen in less than five minutes, about the same time as a typical gasoline vehicle.  While it performs just as strongly as an internal combustion engine, its only emission is water. And it’s just as quiet as a standard electric vehicle while going farther on a single fuel fill-up versus a single electric full charge.

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Who Knew? – Toyota Celebrates 60 Years in the U.S.

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It was October 31, 1957 when Toyota opened its North American headquarters in a once Rambler dealership in Hollywood, California. With them came the first Japanese car to be exported to and sold in the mainland United States. The Toyopet Crown.

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The Toyopet was not initially a success story. A few problems hampered its acceptance. Starting with the name, broken down both Toy and Pet left it hard to be taken seriously in the U.S. car market. While it performed alright on Japan’s poor quality road network, it struggled to keep pace on America’s smooth, fast-flowing blacktop.  When it eventually got to 60mph, a speed that was rare in Japan, the car apparently shuddered so much the driver couldn’t see out of the rear-view mirror.

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Who Knew? – Mazda Instills KODO in New Concept Cars

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Mazda recently unveiled two concept models, the Mazda KAI CONCEPT and the Mazda VISION COUPE at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show. The new models are a continuance of Mazda’s new design philosophy: KODO – Soul of Motion. A philosophy to use design to breathe life to a car and make it more than a means of transportation or a mass of metal.

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Mazda intends to go forward into future model designs with goal of bringing energy and rhythm to create even more elegant cars. The Mazda KAI CONCEPT compact hatchback features the next-generation SKYACTIV-X gasoline engine and advanced SKYACTIV-Vehicle Architecture. It boasts refinements in all areas of dynamic performance to produce a dramatically quieter, more comfortable ride and an enhanced performance feel. The KODO design features muscular, solid proportions and the use of reflections over the body sides to bring it to life.

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Who Knew? – Newest Car Brand Revealed – Polestar

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Polestar, the Volvo Car Group’s performance brand, announced its future as a new standalone electric performance car brand. Polestar currently builds the S60 and V60 Polestar, performance road cars with over 250 developments over-and-above the standard Volvo products. It also offers Polestar Engineered performance hardware upgrades and engine software optimizations for existing Volvo products.

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In a joint venture with Volvo’s parent company Geely, Polestar is unveiling the 600hp Polestar 1. The Polestar 1 is a two-door, 2+2 seat Grand Tourer Coupe with an ‘Electric Performance Hybrid’ drivetrain. It is an electric car supported by an internal combustion engine. At 93 miles on pure electric power alone, it has the longest full electric range of any hybrid car on the market.

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Who Knew? – Mazda’s Sustainable Earth by 2030

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Mazda has a goal to create a future in which people and cars coexist with the Earth. This long-term plan for technology development, which they are calling Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030, includes innovative technologies and a partnership with Toyota.

The vision includes perfecting the internal combustion engine, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and introducing electrification technologies.

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Mazda has reinvented the gasoline engine, being the first to successfully use compression ignition and a supercharger to increase engine efficiency by 30 percent and torque by 10 to 30 percent. This technology allows this gasoline engine to outperform diesel fuel efficiency while also lowering emissions.

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Who Knew? – Mazda Rotary Engine Lives On

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Who knew? – It’s the 50th anniversary of the Mazda rotary engine. Mazda is the only carmaker to mass-produce and bring to market the rotary engine. Had it not been for the uniqueness of the rotary engine, there would probably be no Mazda. In the 1950s and 1960s, Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry wanted to streamline the number of carmakers. Thinking that bigger manufacturers would be more likely to compete with US and European heavyweights, Mazda was afraid they would be vulnerable to a forced merger.

But a carmaker pioneering a bold new type of engine would be much more likely to maintain its independence. The unconventional rotary engine appealed to fans and offered a distinct reason to buy a Mazda. The successful introduction of the rotary-powered Cosmo Sport in 1967 launched Mazda as an influential carmaker.

mazda_1967-Mazda-Cosmo-Sport

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Who Knew? – The Effects of Aerodynamics on Fuel Efficiency

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Automakers have been interested in the aerodynamics of vehicle design since the 1930s. Recently the effects of aerodynamics on fuel economy have made this a bigger issue in the race to improve gas mileage. So does the shape and design of a vehicle really make much of a difference on fuel economy?

There are lots of factors to look at, but the speed of the vehicle plays a big role in the results. A formula for the coefficient of drag (how easily a vehicle moves through the air) has the force against the vehicle as: coefficient of drag x frontal area x density of air x speed squared. These forces were once physically measured in a wind tunnel, but now sophisticated computer programs can give this information based on the shape of the vehicle.

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In stop-and-go driving, aerodynamics has little effect on fuel efficiency, but at 70 mph you have four times the force working against the vehicle than you do at 35 mph. If you take away ten percent of the drag coefficient in a typical vehicle, you could improve miles per gallon by .5 mpg. In the overall scheme of things, this can be a big deal.

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Who Knew? – Intelligent Rear View Mirror

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Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to see out the rear view mirror even if your vehicle was full of tall people or cargo? Well with Nissan’s intelligent rear view mirror you can. The Intelligent Rear View Mirror looks just like a traditional rear view mirror, except it has a built-in LCD monitor that can be activated with the flip of a switch located at the bottom of the mirror. This allows the driver to use either the conventional rear view mirror reflection to see rearward including what is happening inside the rear of the vehicle or the new intelligent view.

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The intelligent mirror uses a rear-mounted camera to “look around” typical interior obstructions like rear headrests, tall passengers, and cargo. The rear camera is mounted under glass that’s swept clean by the wiper for a better view. The mirror’s built-in LCD monitor provides an expanded field of view, reduced glare, and improved visibility in low-light conditions, allowing the driver to feel more confident in a variety of traffic conditions.

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Who Knew? – Nissan Expanding NISMO Products

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Nissan Motorsport International Limited “NISMO” is the in-house tuning, motorsports and performance division of Nissan. NISMO cars business department is part of Autech Japan, a Nissan group company that makes performance converted vehicles. Combining talent from Nissan, Autech, NISMO, and other companies a new unit will spearhead the development of an expanded line of vehicles and performance products.

There are currently seven models of NISMO vehicles being offered. The US is receiving four of these modified models:

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