Monthly Archives June 2014

The trend of long wheelbase version seems to affect US market considerably in the recent years, for example the upcoming 2015 Infiniti M70L, also the news that Tesla is considering LWB version of the Model S.

The same thing happens to the Volvo’s entry level compact car: the S60. The long wheelbase version of this model (S60L) is available in China market starting from last year. Now news coming from Volvo management saying that, the Swedish auto maker has made the decision to export the S60L to the US market starting next year. Despite the standard S60 which is made in Sweden, the LWB S60L will be made in Volvo’s Chengdu factory, in Sichuan Province, China...

Insider news from Tesla Motors indicates there are plans in the pipeline for the hot-selling Model S: an extended wheelbase version (with extra battery capacity because of the additional space), and the all-wheel-drive option across the product line.

However, these plans comes without surprise. That is because we have already heard some customers’ complaint about the not-so-roomy rear seat legroom (considering its 116.5-in standard wheelbase), and the winter driving considerations for people live around the snowbelt areas.

These options are also welcomed in oversea markets...

Now let’s take a look at the third type of automobile suspension: the MacPherson type system. For simplicity, you can consider the MacPherson suspension to be the double wishbone suspension with the upper A-arm replaced by a vertical strut, whose upper end is rigidly fixed to the car body’s strut tower.

In the following chart, the one highlighted as “Original” is the most original MacPherson suspension. Of course there are multiple variations...

Bentley previewed the EXP 9F concept SUV about 2 years ago, the concept has a rigid and masculine styling.

But from the latest spy-shot we get recently, it looks like Bentley revised the exterior considerably, which looks to be more sleek, and the height is lower. Now it is more like a bigger version of the Porsche Macan.

The Bentley SUV will be based on Volkswagen’s MLB Evo platform, which is designed for longitudinal, front-engined, front-wheel drive based automobiles (maybe not familiar to some folks, many of the AWD VW cars, including Audi A4/5/6/7/8, plus the Porsche Macan, are placing the engine 100% in front of the front axle, which is a typical property of FWD pla...

We heard a news today that Mazda is busy working on the new generation of the RX-8 successor, which is famous for its industry-unique rotary engine. One possible name for the new car will be “RX-9”.

Some preliminary details:

– Naturally aspirated rotary engine with SkyActiv technology, output around 300 hp;
– Will be available in coupe style;
– Rear wheel drive layout (of course it must be)
– Two transmission options: 5MT or 6AT;
– Will be announced in 2017.

Below is a rendering of this hypothetical RX-9.