2000 Yamaha Ttr90 Flywheel Rotor, Ttr 90 on 2040-parts.com

Porsche buyers put the brakes on stop-start technology

By Chris Chilton Motor Industry 23 June 2008 18:56 Direct injection and a clever new PDK dual-clutch gearbox have cemented the new 911’s reputation as the greenest performance car around, but Porsche engineers are being hampered from making the iconic sports car even cleaner by the public’s reluctance to accept further green technology Engineers at the launch of the facelifted 911 told CAR that fitting a BMW-style start-stop system could chop a further 10g/km from the Carrera’s 225g/km CO2 rating but that performance car buyers weren’t keen on having such overtly planet-conscious tech on their cars. Start-stop works by cutting the engine when the car’s stationary in traffic, and restarting automatically when you touch the pedals to move off again. Every manual transmission-equipped BMW 1-series comes with the technology, excepting the truly high performance versions.

Chrysler to begin building the next Jeep Grand Cherokee in May

Chrysler Group will begin building the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee--the first salvo in an effort to restore a product-starved lineup--on May 3, CEO Sergio Marchionne said Tuesday. Marchionne told an industry conference in New York that sales of the redesigned Grand Cherokee will begin in July. Chrysler plans to have 100 percent of its existing lineup refreshed or replaced by the end of 2012, as a wave of new products derived from the alliance with Fiat S.p.A.

Motion Simulation TL1: Ariel builds an immersive simulator

Ariel Moto Company, makers of the mad-yet-minimalist Atom sportscar, have teamed up with new UK firm Motion Simulation to develop and manufacture the TL1 immersive motion simulator. Featuring a spherical immersive projection screen and adjustable driving position, the TL1's composite pod allows vicarious thrill-seekers to try piloting anything from an F1 car to a combat aircraft with a greater degree of realism than existing simulator chairs. In the video above, the TL1 is configured as as Touring Car racer.