Choosing the right car seat for your child is often a challenge for many parents. This is why The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued some guidelines to help consumers keep their child safe by using the child seat in the appropriated manner. Those guidelines are based on the latest scientific and medical research and the development of new child restraint technologies.

So, the novelty is that they advise parents or caregivers to install the seat rear-facing until the child is two years old, or reaches the height and weight limits advised by the seat’s manufacturer. Even if they get to meet one of these two conditions, it's better for a child to continue to use a special car seat, and until they hit 13 years, they should only ride in the back seat.

As an extra precaution, HTSA recommends young children to ride in the back seat, and if there is no other solution than sitting in the front seat, the passenger air bags should be turned off.

To complete this set of advice, Administrator Strickland declared that when selecting the child seat, parents should take into account other factors too, such as their child's weight, height, physical development and behavioral needs, as well the family’s economics and type of vehicle.

“Safety is our highest priority”

said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

“The ‘best’ car seat is the one that fits your child, fits your vehicle and one you will use every time your child is in the car.”

So, how do you keep your child safe while being in the car?

[Source: Autoblog]

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NHTSA's New Child Seat Guidelines

As if the Bentley Supersports QP Light Body Breitling Watch wasn't enough to celebrate the automaker's achievement of braking the world record for the fastest car on ice, there are two new watches to go along with the recently announced Bentley Supersports Ice Speed Record special edition.

Dubbed GT Ice and GT Racing Ice, both of them feature an Ice White dial and have an all-polished finish. The GT Racing model sports a special finish that alternates between satin-brushed upper surfaces and polished sides. On the back of the case there is a medallion with the outline of the Bentley Continental GT.

Both models have a Breitling Calibre 13B chronograph movement – chronometer-certified by the COSC and fitted with a calendar displaying the date and day through a generous twin aperture at 3 o'clock.

These watches are a limited edition and the price tag is a whopping $7,165.

In my opinion these watches are somewhat pointless because the current top speed record for driving on ice is held by the Audi RS6, a car that clocked 206.05 mph at Gulf of Bothina in Oulu, Finland.

Source: Bentley

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New Breitling Bentley Watches Launched

I was watching an old episode of Top Gear the other day and Richard Hammond tried to drive a Renault F1 car, from 2004-2005 or so. Anyway, he mentioned how much some of the components cost and now I understand why Formula 1 is considered to be the pinnacle of motorsport racing.

The steering wheel for a 2011 F1 car costs about $50,000 so you can figure out for yourself how much money are invested every year in this competition. The wheel is made out of carbon fiber and it will unlatch in less than five seconds in case of an emergency. The weight-saving cutouts along the bottom are possible as they never turn more than 3/4ths of a circle from lock to lock.

As most of you probably know each team in F1 has an entirely different setup, but the basic layout is quite similar: the buttons and toggle switches are in charge of controlling on-off functions, including the adjustable rear wing and the engaging neutral gear. All of those dials can be used to vary brakes, clutches, differentials, engine rev limits, torque and other similar stuff.

That display located on top replays shifting point alerts as well as messages coming from the race managers. There is also a "drink" button which the drivers use to rehydrate. We've talked about the KERS system a few weeks ago and because it is now again allowed in the cars, there is a new button and dial back to the controls.

If you think that an F1 steering wheel is complicated, you are certainly right as even the pilots complained that sometime they have problems pushing the right buttons. When you are going at 300 km/h, it's really hard to push the right button or switch, isn't it?

In the end, here is a video with the steering wheel of Ferrari's last year F1 car.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Jalopnik

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Formula 1 – $50k For A Steering Wheel

Kepler Motors MOTION

Developed by Kepler Motors, this very futuristic hybrid supercar will be launched later on this year. Dubbed MOTION, it was first revealed back in 2009 at the Dubai Motor Show and it features a carbon fiber composite monocoque chassis with active suspension, 6-speed paddle shift transmission (with manual lever option) and a Inconel exhaust system.

Featuring a heavily modified Ford-sourced EcoBoost V6 3.5-liter twin-turbo engine that powers the back wheels, it delivers an incredible power of 800 hp. Add to this the 250-hp capable electric motor and you'll do the 0-60 mph sprint in less than 2.5 seconds. Top speed has been rated at over 200 mph!

Kepler Motors MOTION

To stop the car efficiently, the MOTION will feature Continuous Carbon Ceramic – C3 AeroRotors developed by StopTech. These modern brakes comprise silicon carbide ceramic material with long and continuous carbon fibers.

Kepler Motors will make only 50 units this year and I'm pretty sure that they won't have any problems in selling all of them, regardless of the price tag which hasn't been revealed yet.

Source: keplermotors.com via greensupercar.com

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MOTION – Hybrid Supercar, Out This Year

Many car manufacturers have lately tried to make consumers' life easier by announcing different types of applications for smartphones, as a way to blend their new car models with the latest technological devices. In the same direction goes Ford too, one of its latest measure being the partnership with AT&T to provide connectivity for the 2012 Ford Electric.

Apparently, the partnership involves an embedded wireless connection and helps the drivers that already use MyFord Mobile app to supervise and schedule the charging, to receive notifications about battery status and about maintenance checks. In addition, MapQuest provide the near locations of charging stations, alerts, trip planning and the location of your vehicle. All those are completed by the possibility to remotely lock and unlock doors, to heat and cool the car interior and to download system data, offered by the MyFord app or, if this missing, by HTML5-based or WAP 2.0-supported browser.

So, what is your opinion about all those applications? What do you think is missing from all this technological system?

[Source: Autoblog]

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Connectivity of Ford Focus Electric

Elektra One

Who said that batteries are only for EVs? After its first time flight, this small electric-powered Elektra One aircraft managed to do a 30-minute trip. Both of the flights took place in Augsburg, Germany.

Elektra One

Jon Karkow, an engineer and ex-pilot at Scaled Composites had the pleasure of taking the airplane in the air for the first time, managing to climb to more than 1,460 ft. (500 meters). He used about 50% of the 6 kW hours available in the batteries. The second flight took place last Wednesday and was performed by Norbert Lorenze who is a German test pilot.

This tiny plane has a curb weight of just 220 pounds (100 kg) when it is empty and packs another 100 kg when filled up with batteries. With a total weight of about 300 kg, there is still plenty of room for a larger than average pilot.

Elektra One

It was designed for use in Germany as well as other European countries where emissions and noise restrictions are carefully monitored. Calin Gologan is the CEO of PC-Aero and he has set a very ambitious goal of more than 3 hours of endurance for the Elektra One. The company says that at cruise speeds, the Elektra One's propeller spins at only 1,400 rpm in order to keep the noise level down to a minimum.

This 3-hour endurance objective translates into more than about 250 miles (400 km) of range, according to PC-Aero. Both the cruise and endurance speeds have yet to be explored, but the company said that they will continue with flight tests in the following months, including a retractable landing gear and a variable pitch propeller.

The Elektra one airplane is part of a zero-emissions flight plan that Gologan is developing. Aside from this electric-powered airplane, Gologan is also promoting solar-powered hangars to store the aircraft. He said that by installing 215 sq. ft. (20 square meters) of solar cells, the plane could fly about 300 hours annually, based on the sunlight for southern Germany.

He has high hopes of selling the plane, along with a hangar and power package for less than $140,000 (100,000 Euros).

Source: Wired.com

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Electric-Powered Airplane Completes First Flight

Saline Bird Concept

I must say that I'm not a big fan of motorcycles, but this Saline Bird Concept looks astonishing. This is a race motorbike created for the "Les Triplettes de Bonneville" and it features a compressed air engine that is fed by three air tanks that have a total capacity of 27 liters.

Saline Bird Concept

All of the motorcycle's technical parts are mounted on a frame that is made out of carbon fiber. The position of the biker is inspired by the speed skier position for improved aerodynamics. The creator of this concept decided to replace the regular body panels with leather skin parts that can be slipped on and off "like a sock" for switching between different categories – with body panel or without it.

Saline Bird Concept

In addition, the Saline Bird Concept can also be turned into a road model by replacing the handlebar. Some of the technical partners that participated in this concept include MDI – for the engine, LUXFER – for the air tank, and BRM.

Saline Bird Concept

This impressive concept is the work of five design students at the ISD of Valenciennes, France for their 2010-2011 projects.

Source: carbodydesign.com

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Motorcycle Of The Future – Saline Bird Concept

BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe Concept

At the beginning of this year there were some rumors about a possible 3-Series GT (Gran Turismo), but recently there have been some reports stating that this new GT model will actually be an all-new 4-Series. According to BMW Blog, the new model could be offered as a four-door coupe that would help the German automaker compete with the sexy Audi A5 Sportback.

In addition, this new move would enable BMW to offer a more stylish model that will be significantly more affordable than the 6-Series while at the same time being a little bit more premium than the 3-Series.

In other news, a new model under development is the 6-Series Gran Coupe which will be launched sometime in 2012. It will come with a two-door styling and four physical doors, and from the looks of the concept, it is definitely going to be an attractive car.

I really hope that they'll launch the 4-Series instead of the 3-Series GT, because the other "GT" model, for the 5-Series is just awful.

Source: BMW Blog via Autoblog

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Rumor – BMW 4-Series In The Works

Harris has published its latest polls and the big winners are Ford and Mercedes. The two car manufacturers managed to grab the top of the list for full line and luxury automakers by scoring the highest in terms of customer connection, equity, trust and commitment.

Ford achieved the first spot in the full line automotive section thanks mostly to its new attractive models, beating Chevrolet, Honda and Toyota. Chevy took the 2^nd place while Toyota dropped from the first place to fourth overall. Although Kia and Hyundai didn't make it in the top 10, both Korean manufacturers were pointed out by Harris as fast risers.

On the luxury section, Mercedes-Benz took the first place from Lexus, putting Toyota's luxury brand in 2^nd. Lexus was followed by BMW, Infiniti and Honda's Acura marquee.

For this survey, 25,099 people (ages 15 and up) were randomly asked about 60 car manufacturers out of a total 1,273 (I had no idea that there were so many car companies). Each automaker was given at least a total of 1,000 responses and the rankings were chosen on a calculation of "Familiarity", "Quality" and "Purchase Consideration."

Source: Harris Interactive via Autoblog

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Ford Tops Latest Harris Polls

On their way to breaking yet another speed record, the guys over at Hinson Motorsports ran into a little bit of problems last week at the Texas Mile when their twin-turbo Corvette Z06 decided to do some off-road adventures. Speed and grass don't go well together and the "Vette turned over once before landing back on its wheels."

The good news is that the driver walked away from the terrible accident, proving once again the strict safety standards found at the Texas Mile, as well as the strength of that car. Hinson Motorsports will not give up and they plan to bring a new car as soon as possible.

Source: Autoblog.com

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Ouch! Corvette Flips While Doing 230 mph