New Ford RS World Rally Car Shows its 2011 Colors

Ford Team driver Mikko Hirvonen lifted the covers of its 2011-specification Fiesta RS World Rally Car at the Autosport International Racing Car Show in Birmingham today, revealing the color scheme that will adorn the vehicle in the FIA World Rally Championship. In addition, the company also confirmed that the racing team's new name and logo by announcing that it will compete as the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.

"The preview version of the car we unveiled in September at the 2010 Paris Motor Show was dramatic in its blue and grey livery, developed specifically for the show by Ford of Europe's design team," said Ford of Europe motorsport chief Gerard Quinn.

"But now we have a fully finished car in a really eye-catching new livery plus a new team name, and excitement is building throughout the squad as we prepare for the opening round in Sweden next month.

The new racing model replaces the Focus as the firm's World Rally Championship challenger due to the new regulations. The Fiesta RS WRC comes with a four-wheel drive transmission and a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, based on the EcoBoost road vehicle power plant.

Ford said the full specification of the car will be announced at the beginning of February. For the time being, the company will continue testing in Sweden next week ahead of the Fiesta RS WRC's championship debut in Rally Sweden, the opening round of the series, on 10 - 13 February.

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New Ford RS World Rally Car Shows its 2011 Colors

Ford Team driver Mikko Hirvonen lifted the covers of its 2011-specification Fiesta RS World Rally Car at the Autosport International Racing Car Show in Birmingham today, revealing the color scheme that will adorn the vehicle in the FIA World Rally Championship. In addition, the company also confirmed that the racing team's new name and logo by announcing that it will compete as the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.

"The preview version of the car we unveiled in September at the 2010 Paris Motor Show was dramatic in its blue and grey livery, developed specifically for the show by Ford of Europe's design team," said Ford of Europe motorsport chief Gerard Quinn.

"But now we have a fully finished car in a really eye-catching new livery plus a new team name, and excitement is building throughout the squad as we prepare for the opening round in Sweden next month.

The new racing model replaces the Focus as the firm's World Rally Championship challenger due to the new regulations. The Fiesta RS WRC comes with a four-wheel drive transmission and a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, based on the EcoBoost road vehicle power plant.

Ford said the full specification of the car will be announced at the beginning of February. For the time being, the company will continue testing in Sweden next week ahead of the Fiesta RS WRC's championship debut in Rally Sweden, the opening round of the series, on 10 - 13 February.

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So You Think Buying Electric Over Gas Will Save You Money? Think Again!

Interesting look at the Cost of Ownership from a different view....
One of the common beliefs surrounding Electric cars is that you don't need to buy fuel anymore and that very quickly negates any added costs to the vehicle. Thus making purchasing an electric car both an emotionally appealing purchase and an economically sensible purchase as well.

Well, why don't we have a look at the numbers and see exactly how long it will take to reimburse these costs.

First, some assumptions
-Gas cost is $3/gallon
-Electricity cost is $0.08/kWh
-Recharging Batteries is 80% efficient

Now the vehicles and their quick specs.
Nissan Leaf $32,750 -> Corrected to $25,280 thanks to the American tax payer
24kWh battery
100 miles per charge
$2200 Quick Charger

Chevrolet Volt~$40,000 -> Corrected to $32,500 again thanks to the American tax payer
16kWh battery -> Run at 8.8kWh to ensure battery life
40 miles per charge
~$2000 Quick Charger (note, prices not revealed, but since it has to store less of a charge I allotted a smaller price tag.)

Tesla Model S$57,400 -> Corrected to $49,900
90kWh battery
300 miles per charge
~$5000 Quick Charger, (price not released but the thing is gonna be massive to store enough energy to charge a ~90kWh battery)

And their competition...

Toyota Prius (Hybrid Competitor)$22,800
50mpg Combined

Ford Fiesta (Economy Car Competitor)$13,320
33mpg Combined

BMW 5 Series (Model S's luxury Competitor)$45,950
25mpg Combined

Now for the calculations...

Nissan Leaf
24kWh/(80% charge efficiency)=30kWh to charge30kWh*($0.08/kWh)=$2.40 Per Charge$2.40/(100 miles)=$0.024 Per Mile

Chevrolet Volt8.8kWh/(80% charge efficiency)=11kWh to charge11kWh*($0.08/kWh)=$0.88 Per Charge$0.44/(40 miles)=$0.022 Per Mile

Tesla Model S90kWh/(80% charge efficiency)=112.5kWh to charge112.5kWh*($0.08/kWh)=$9 Per Charge$9/(300 miles)=$0.030 Per Mile

Toyota Prius($3/gallon)/(50miles/gallon)=$0.060 Per Mile

Ford Fiesta($3/gallon)/(33miles/gallon)=$0.091 Per Mile

BMW 5 Series($3/gallon)/(25miles/gallon)=$0.12 Per Mile

Clearly the Electric cars do hold an advantage for every mile they drive, but how long will it take to get their fuel economy advantage back?

Check The Graph Abovre.

Things to note from it
-The quickest payback is the Tesla when compared to the 5 series, but this only happens after a whopping 100,000 miles.
-The Nissan Leaf beats the Prius in monetary terms after about 140,000 miles.
-Then the Nissan Leaf beats the Fiesta after a about 250,000 miles.
-The Chevy Volt, Ford Fiesta, and Toyota Prius, all hit the same cost to own just over 300,000 miles.

Unfortunately, the jury is still out on the lifespan of these new batteries. But from my perspective, electric cars are feasible this day and age, but they still haven't beaten good old fashioned gasoline.

Source;
http://www.autospies.com/news/So-You-Think-Buying-Electric-Over-Gas-Will-Save-You-Money-Think-Again-55024/