BMW Group and Toyota Begin Co-Development of Next Generation Lithium-Ion Batteries

Following an initial announcement back in December of 2011, the BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) are moving on to the next phase of their partnership inking the deal, which will see the two companies beginning a collaborative research in the field of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells.

"The research project being undertaken under the agreement is focusing on increasing the performance and capacity of lithium-ion battery cells through the use of new combinations of materials for cathodes, anodes and electrolytes," the two automakers said in a joint statement.

Along with the research on lithium-ion batteries, Toyota and BMW have worked out a plan for a mid-to-long-term collaboration on next-generation environment-friendly vehicles and technologies.

Furthermore, BMW has agreed to supply Toyota's European division with its 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engines starting from 2014.

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Angry Woman Thrashes on Motorcyclist During One of the Craziest Road Rage Incidents Ever!

If you still don't believe that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, then we'd advise you to take a look at the following video that was shot in Brazil.

We can honestly say that it’s one of the craziest and most dangerous incidents of road rage that we have ever seen. Period.

Reports emerging from Brazil say that, according to the police report, the said incident took place on February 23. It all started when a woman driving a Fiat Palio Adventure allegedly cut off the motorcyclist at a red light.

From there on, a passenger in a following vehicle catches the entire episode on film. Apparently, some words and/or looks were exchanged and the motorcyclist kicks the front fender of the Fiat. That was a bad move because the woman immediately runs her car onto the motorcyclist knocking him down! Sounds crazy right? Wait, you haven’t heard the half of it!

The angry motorcyclist then stands up and walks towards the Fiat – we're going to assume that he wasn't planning to turn the other cheek yet.

So what does the woman do? She drives straight onto the man who lands on the car's bonnet clinching onto the mirror for his life, while the woman steers the Fiat into stationary vehicles and on to a parked car on the other side of the road!

By some kind of miracle, no one, not even the shaken up motorcyclist was hurt during the Brazilian woman's insane rage.

But just to be sure, the motorcyclist quickly got up and took the keys off the woman's vehicle before she could run him over again…

You can watch the incident unfold in the video after the break. We've also added a TV news clip from Brazil, so if you know Portuguese and we missed something, the comments section is all yours.

Hat tip to Commanche!

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Refreshed Citroën C1 Goes on Sale in the UK, Starts from £7,995

The cosmetically and mechanically updated Citroën C1 has reached British shores where it will go on sale next week on Monday, April 2, with prices starting from £7,995 for the base three-door model, rising to £10,545 for the range-topping VTR+ five-door variant.

To mark the city car's launch in the UK (but only until the end of April), Citroën is offering buyers a £1,000 'Citroën Reward', meaning OTR prices start from £6,995.

All variants are powered by a tweaked 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol engine with 68-horsepower, which returns an improved fuel economy of up to 65.7mpg UK (54.7mpg US or 4.3lt/100km) on the combined cycle, and CO2 emissions of 99g/km with the manual gearbox.

The range-topping C1 fitted equipped with the Electronic Gearbox System (EGS) delivers up to 62.8 mpg (52.3mpg US or 4.5lt/100km) and 104g/km of CO2.

There are three trim levels available, including the VT, the VTR that adds daytime running LEDs, air conditioning and electric front windows, and the VTR+ with 14-inch alloy wheels, Citroen's Connecting Box (Bluetooth & USB socket), front fog lights, leather steering wheel and dark tinted windows.

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Trashy Payback: Motorcyclist Throws Garbage Back Into Car

You've seen it done by others many times, and perhaps even done it yourself at one point or another. We're talking about littering from the car.

Usually, there's not much one can do about it most of the times, but one scooter driver somewhere in Asia took matters in his own hands when he observed a vehicle passenger throwing out some trash from the window.

What did he do? He stopped over on the side of the road, picked it up, then approached the sedan and graciously threw it in back to its rightful owner! Watch the video after the break.

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Batman, Your Ride has Arrived: New Lamborghini Ferruccio Design Study by Marc Hostler

In about 18 months from now, in October of 2013, Lamborghini will bless its Golden Jubilee. While we apprehend a applicable accolade from Lamborghini to mark the 50 years from the day Ferrucio Lamborghini launched the aggregation that bears his name to claiming Ferrari, absolute designers accept already amorphous spinning their own tributes.

The Lamborghini Feruccio abstraction pictured actuality is the assignment of Mark Hostler, a busline architecture apprentice at Staffordshire University.

Hostler's ever advancing and hard-edged abstraction is said to alloy the shapes and architecture capacity of assorted Lamborghini supercars from altered eras.

Full Article: http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/03/batman-your-ride-has-arrived-new.html

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The World's Fastest Standing Mile Camaro hits a Top Speed of 253.1 mph – 407.2km/h

Everyone and their mothers know everything is bigger in Texas, but some things were faster too at this weekend's edition of The Texas Mile.

A heavily modified fourth-gen Chevrolet Camaro owned by Kelly Bise and built by Late Model Racecraft with driver Josh Ledford behind the wheel, set a new world record for the fastest standing mile Camaro at the Texas event.

Ledford managed to take the Camaro up to a top speed of 253.1 mph or 407.2 km/h. You can watch his amazing run in the video that follows after the jump.

Full article:  http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-fastest-standing-mile-camaro-hits.html

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Ferrari Confirms V12 Hybrid Future

The future of Ferrari V12s has been secured by hybrid technology that will ensure the company can hit its CO2 targets without having to compromise on engine layout.

At the launch of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta earlier this month, Ferrari made a veiled reference to the future use of V12 engines in its range by describing the car as “the first in a new generation of V12s”.

It is understood that environmental pressures had forced Ferrari to evaluate other engine layouts, but development of the F1-derived KERS system has given it the opportunity to keep V12s in its line-up. “We will roll out new technology that is there first and foremost to introduce a green factor to our cars and ensure that we can keep our product where it is in terms of CO2,” Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa told Autocar.

“Our hybrid system won’t just be about creating power, but saving energy, too. Yes, that technology is expensive today, but the road ahead is open and evolution will bring down the cost and weight disadvantages.
“I’m not saying when, but it is possible that this technology will be on all Ferraris. It has been designed to fit all our future architecture, and if we go ahead it will be fitted as standard. It is not the sort of thing you offer as an option.”

The firm first experimented with hybrids in the 2010 HY-KERS concept, an otherwise stock Ferrari 599 GTB with a KERS system. It featured a low-capacity electric motor at the front to drive ancillaries when running on electric power alone, and a rear-mounted one rated at 100bhp and 110lb ft. The battery cells was spread over the floorpan.

A production version of this system is first expected to be adopted in the next Enzo, which will feature a mid-mounted V12.

As part of its commitment to reducing CO2 emissions, Ferrari is also considering adopting six-cylinder engines. Felisa hinted that such engines were likely following F1’s push in that direction.

“Why not six cylinders?” said Felisa. “It is far away in the future, perhaps, but it is clear perceptions have altered. Even in the US, where until a few years ago eight cylinders was the minimum, it is clear attitudes have changed. We have to think in that direction.”

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