Sunday, March 29, 2009

BMW Z4


The BMW Z4 is all new for 2010, and the updated roadster will be ready for production later this spring. BMW gave the Z4 sleeker sheet metal, a folding hard top, and upgraded powertrains, but the biggest change could be to its price tag. Buyers looking for a new Z4 can expect to plunk down $46,575. That's a big jump from the base $36,700 of the 2008 Z4, which packed less power and less road presence. The 46 large is also exactly the same price as the Z4's nemesis; the Porsche Boxster. The 2010 model will net you a 258-horsepower inline six capable of hitting 60 mph in 5.8 seconds. The base Bimmer will also come standard with leatherette seating surfaces (upgrading to Kansas leather tacks on another $1,250).

The 306-horsepower, twin-turbo Z4 sDrive35i will cost a whole lot more, with a starting price of $52,475, including destination and handling. The 2008 Z4 M was a bit cheaper at $50,400 and carried more power, but the 2010 car's higher torque numbers make for an equally-quick droptop, as evidenced by its 5.1 second 0-60 time with the dual-clutch gear box.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Self-Repairing Car Paint

In another case of Nature to the Rescue, scientists have come up with a polyurethane coating that repairs itself in the sun. The secret ingredient: chitosan, which comes from the shells of crustaceans and is also used for water filtration, blood clotting and as a diet aid. The common principle appears to be that it as a binding agent, i.e. it wants to hold certain things together.

If your car is scratched and it has the chitosan-injected coating, when put in the sun the chitosan "bonds with other materials in the substance, eventually smoothing the scratch" in less than an hour. No muss, no fuss, no messy clean up. However, the magic only works once -- the coating can't repair itself in the same place twice. Researchers also haven't yet studied how wide a scratch can be before it cannot heal itself.

Nevertheless, self-repairing paint powered by the sun is still a terrific development, especially for those folks with shiny black cars on which even tiny scratches seem to scream for attention. No word on when or if it will ever be available, but the team behind it has a patent pending and is thinking about the business opportunity.

[Source: Autoblog]