Searching for a quality luxury car will inevitably bring anyone to the rather apt adjective, “exotic”. Exotic food or exotic beauty may be more clearly defined, but what really makes for an exotic sports car?

Sleek and Elegant Design

Part of what makes an exotic sports car is the vehicles’ streamlined, sleek, and smooth designs, all of which serve functional purposes to the overall performance of the car albeit being so highly aesthetically pleasing.

Indeed, even exotic sports car makers know emphasis that car enthusiasts and racers put on design per se. After all, owning an exotic sports car in contrast to owning a car is, in itself, a status symbol. This status is endowed not only by the make of the car but also the style and visual appeal.

In fact, companies like Ferrari even employ design houses to come up with their car designs. Design powerhouse Pininfarina, for example, designed the 2002 Ferrari ENZO.

Breakneck Speeds

While design is one of the considerations of many car enthusiasts, the primary characteristic that by-far differentiates a sports car from the rest is its acceleration and maintainable road speed. When it comes to sports cars, it’s all a matter of speed, speed, and more speed. A pretty car won’t cut it if it cannot deliver the exhilarating ride that is expected of every sports car.

Exotic cars are continually challenging the rate at which a car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. Designs are beginning to be shaped from the engineering needs of the car, in order to suitably deliver a new record speed. As of the moment, the 1994 Dauer 962 LeMans continues to reign with 2.6 seconds. However, with the likes of the 2002 Ferrari ENZO being designed based on the specifications of making a fast car, expect faster sports cars in the near future.

One-in-a-Million

Indeed, exotic sports cars aren’t the type that mass produced and you can’t but then “off-the-lot”. Part of its exotic appeal is the fact that you can only have a certain number of models made available for sale. The rarer and more difficult to acquire, the greater a car’s exotic value.

Most cars don’t need visualization to be called exotic, they just are. These would include your cult sports car classics-your Porsche, your Ferrari, your Lamborghini.

While an ‘exotic sports car’ may be subjectively defined over a huge stratum, it’s safe to believe that these qualities are more or less held in commonality by any definition. At any rate, one look at a car may be enough to give you a clue.

By Shavennah

Toyota hybrid cars are perfect for those who love their planet and want to keep it clean. They are the future of driving, allowing one to reduce pollution and the emission of gases that hurt our health in the end.
Toyota Prius is a car that has fuel efficiency written all over it. While respecting the environment, this Toyota hybrid maintains a high level of comfort and offers plenty of storage space for the occupants of the vehicle. Thanks to this feature, the owner of a Toyota hybrid is presented with information regarding the electric motor and the gas-powered engine, plus the energy offered by the integrated battery pack.
A champion when it comes to fuel economy, Toyota Prius impresses with an incredible percent of reduced tailpipe emissions. Other specifications for Toyota hybrid cars can be obtained from the Internet, such as the number of seats (five), mileage and tank size. The website of a reliable Toyota hybrid car dealer is a good place to find our more information on passenger space, gas engine and electric motor power, plus battery output. Considering all this data, it’s impossible not to notice that Toyota Prius is a definite environmentally-friendly alternative.
You might not think that SUVs can be adapted to protect the environment but Toyota has clearly demonstrated that all cars can be transformed for the sake of the planet. Toyota Highlander hybrid was released in a new version in 2008 and it was marketed as the first 7-seat hybrid vehicle. While most drivers expect for Toyota Highlander hybrid to use a lot of fuel, the special integrated technology and electric motor contribute to the guaranteed fuel economy. As amazing as it sound, Toyota hybrids pertaining to the SUV class have an additional electric motor integrated that is responsible for starting the engine. What more could one expect from a driving vehicle?

by Shavennah

The midsize 2008 Toyota Camry is available as eight models, in four different trims, the base CE, the top favorite LE , the SE and the most luxurious XLE. Toyota is the only car manufacturer which appears in the top 10 of the BrandZ name recognition ranking. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in the USA on 31st October, 2007, Toyota offers a lineup of some of the most reliable and durable quality Cars, Trucks, SUVs and Hybrids.

The 2009 Toyota Camry (starting at $18,720) is available in CE, LE , SE, XLE, and Hybrid models. The Camry ranks as the most popular car built by Toyota.

This midsize car lineup includes CE, LE , SE, and top-line XLE models. A Hybrid model is also offered with standard equipment similar to the XLE. All Camry models receive a 158-hp 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine with a standard 5-speed manual transmission; a 5-speed automatic is standard on XLE and optional on the others. Also available on the LE, SE, and XLE models is a 268-hp 3.5-liter V6 engine, which uses a 6-speed automatic. The Hybrid teams a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder gas engine with a battery-powered electric motor rated for 187 hp; it runs on either of its power sources and requires no plug-in charging.

by Shavennah

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is quite the technological wonder. As a work in progress, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology has done much to improve the gas dependence situation and has saved several households and individuals from having to spend so much on fossil fuels.

So what is it under the hood that is creating all these wondrous things that seem to improve the lifestyle of the average consumer? Let’s take a look at how hybrid cars work.

A Combination

The secret is in the term, “hybrid”. A hybrid car basically just brings out and maximizes all that fuel economy and consumption and electrical power can do together. By putting together both a gas engine and an electrical motor, the combination permits the car to go back and forth between the energy sources. The usual case in a hybrid car though is that it really depends basically on the battery and electrical motors to run the whole vehicle.

You may ask what the gas is for. The car will still need gas to operate an engine that charges the battery which, in turn, runs the whole car. However, the good thing about this set up is that not much gas is required to charge up those batteries. Hence, hybrid cars really only need so much gas to fill their significantly smaller gas tanks and therefore saves people from having to cash out so much on gas.

The Distance

In order to actually see how a hybrid car works, one would have to take one for a spin on a full tank and compare the results in mileage with a car that runs only on gas. One will definitely see the huge difference in cars dependent on electric motors. Going a great distance is achieved by the way the hybrid works.

It takes about 1000 pounds of batteries to equal the energy in a gallon of gasoline. Sounds like a lot of extra weight, but with the new designs this is not a problem. The newer designs are even converting kinetic energy produced by the engine into electric energy for the batteries. However, it really doesnt matter if you understand the inner workings completely. By now you should at least have a basic understanding of what makes these little cars more efficient.

A hybrid has a gasoline engine and also a battery powered generator. The gasoline engine in the equation is much the same as the cars most of us are driving today. In most cases it is a bit smaller than the engines in our somewhat larger automobiles we currently drive. The reason for this is because the generator helps power the hybrid car. Both still operate the same as far as having a transmission to drive the wheels. Albeit a much more sophisticated version than what is in the typical gasoline powered vehicle.

The difference is when the car begins to slow down, the gasoline engine stops and the generator motor takes over, thus saving fuel you would be burning for instance at a stoplight. Now, not only is this a saving for you as a consumer. It is also making the air we breathe cleaner. Both are Im sure you will agree, a good thing. Now, both engines require a tank for the fuel, a gas tank the same as most of us have now, but also a tank for the generator, which is a set of batteries that must be kept charged. You see, this is the purpose for the generator.
Im sure you have seen some of the new hybrid cars on the street and were maybe a bit taken back by their appearance at first. Yes, the new hybrids do take some getting used to, especially the early models. They are a little smaller in size and very aerodynamic in design. And, with a driving force of about 60-90 horsepower, dont feel quite as powerful as your current automobile, but on the horizon are several new models, including SUVs that are much more traditional in their styling.

By: Shavennah

Basically an Impreza with the same 224-hp motor found in the 2008 WRX and nice looking, multi spoke 17 inch wheels, the Impreza GT offers more performance than the 170 hp Impreza without the more hard-core inclinations of this year’s new WRX. It adds to the base Impreza comfort items like climate control, a sunroof, and larger front brakes, too.

The hard, shiny plastics on the dash and doors are unacceptable even in far cheaper cars these days, and the lack of a usable center armrest is but further evidence of budget-minded design.

We’ve seldom issued too many complaints about the Impreza chassis, and you won’t find many here, either. The quick steering enlivens the driving experience and is complimented by a responsive suspension and an all-wheel-drive system that rarely allows any tire to chirp. Brakes are similarly sharp, thanks to those enlarged front rotors. And as with other Imprezas we’ve driven, the GT’s ride quality is excellent, but prioritizes comfort too much over a level attitude in extreme maneuvering.

The sole partner for this engine is a relatively limp four-speed automatic with a manual shift gate but no paddles, which slows what could be a tango to a leisurely waltz. The last 224 hp WRX we tested hustled to 60 in 5.8 seconds, but that was with a manual transmission, not the slushbox. Meanwhile, the 2009 WRX comes in with 41 more hp, 18 lb-ft more torque, and a happy five-speed manual transmission that conspire to snap 1.1 seconds off the 0-60 time.

Although speed isn’t all things to all people, money might be, and we can’t get our heads around the GT’s price. At $27,690, it’s a full two grand higher than the base WRX sedan and $500 less than the comparably equipped WRX Premium. In our opinion, this is just plain too much money for what is essentially an economy car with 224 hp.
Subaru’s official position, for what it’s worth, is that the 2.5GT will appeal to a different all-around buyer than the WRX, “a specific audience” that might otherwise find the $21,690 Impreza 2.5i Premium (automatic) appealing but wants the extra kick of the turbo mill.

Special Summarize By: Alexandra Ribinova