Purely Aesthetics

Tired of the regular and boring sound of the vehicle’s horn? Well, in this day and age, anything is almost possible and that includes changing how the car’s horn honks or beeps. ThinkGeek’s Horntones make this dream possible as this auto part allows one to customize the usual beep beep of the horn.

With Horntones, one can just attach his or his MP3 player through this apparatus’ USB port. From there, the motorist can choose 10 tones or songs that can also be grouped into themes and intensity of choice.

Source: Tech Blog.

A Swiss company went beyond the usual car aesthetics and green technologies as it manufactured a convertible car dubbed as the sQuba that can be driven both on land and underwater.

Slated for debut on March in the Geneva Motor Show, the Rinspeed Inc.-manufactured Concept car sQuba is somewhat patterned from the famous car of James Bond called the Lotus Esprit from the film ‘The Spy who Loved Me’. Unlike the sports car that took center stage in the 1977 blockbuster movie, the sQuba, which has a salt water resilient interior, is not geared with any firearms.

Designed as a convertible, passengers will have to don wetsuits before the vehicle submerges. An integrated tank of compressed air allows individuals to breathe underwater. This aid is similar to those used by scuba divers.

“For safety reasons we have built the vehicle as an open car so that the occupants can get out quickly in an emergency,” said Rinspeed Chief Executive Officer Frank Rinderknecht, who is a self-confessed fan of the popular movie franchise.

On land, the sQuba can muster a decent 77 miles per hour (mph). Things go a little slower, however, on the water’s surface with 3 mph downgrade, while the sQuba decreases 1.8 mph of its speed when fully submerged.

Three decades of research and hard work paid off for Rinspeed Inc. as this first real underwater car, which is capable to ‘dive’ up to 10 meters deep, is set to wow the crowd in the annual auto show in Switzerland. The sQuba amassed $1.5 million for production but with possible partnership of Rinspeed, Inc. with other manufacturers, the tag price of the car can go lesser than a 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom.

“We always want to do cars that are outrageous, which nobody has done before,” said Rinderknecht. “So we thought, let’s make a car dive.”

Source: Associated Press via The Moscow Times.

A variety of electric cars from different brands will be displayed in a showroom in the Green Building Exchange in Redwood City, San Jose, California today.

ZENN electric cars are supposed to be the only ones for display but other e-car makers decided to bring other green vehicle makes as well. Berkeley-based Green Motors, which is a dealer of e-cars, as well as Redwood’s own Green Building Exchange are contributing electricity-powered vehicles to the event. The Green Building Exchange facility also houses to green building materials as well.

From the pool of electricity-driven vehicles, ZENN and Dynasty IT initially offer cars but plans to come up with an electric utility truck dubbed as the ‘e-ride.’ Interested buyers can purchase green cars from Green Motors, which just opened last November.

Source: Biz Journals.

The Dark Knight is the follow-up of the 2005 movie Batman Begins. Movie goers and Batman enthusiasts, however, have to wait until the first week of July as the sequel is slated for opening on the 17th in Australia, 18th in U.S., and 25th in U.K. For those who just cannot wait, settling for the bat-like RV could even suffice for now.

A 1975 model of the Winnebago RV was thoroughly customized to fit a Southern California-based band christened as the Aquabats. The members, who were said to be originally from a place called Aquabania, however, decided to gear toward the television limelight to become contemporary heroes and actually just finished filming the pilot episode. To help subsidize the television filming costs, the Aquabats is selling its Winnebago RV turned bat-like RV.

Among the modifications done was gearing the Winnebago RV with an additional axle. This third axle is supposed to aid the vehicle in speeding up or accelerating. A rooftop dome made from glass gives members to have 360-degree visibility all the time. The split door hatch and muscled spoilers will keep this vehicle stable on and off road no matter what the speed is.

The bat-like Winnebago RV has a tag price of $10, 000.

Source: Autoblog.

When it comes to the list of high-end cars, the vehicles from BMW’s subsidiary Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are definitely included in it. The Rolls-Royce Phantom, for example, is among the ultra-luxury makes of the company. Picture this model stretched out a limousine. It would emphasize more how pricey and top-of-the-line the Phantom is. Readers, imagine no more as Mutec Company mustered all its elements to come up with a limousine–the Rolls-Royce Phantom way.

German company Mutec, which is based in Oberstenfeld, exclusively customizes the vehicles of the luxury brand since 2006. One of its projects was transforming the Rolly-Royce Phantom into a limo. By extending the wheelbase, the Phantom’s original length of 5.83 meters (or 228 inches) became 11000 mm (or 43 inches) more. According to Mutec, such design provided a better space for the rear portion of the vehicle. In this way, a variety of things can fit at the back to make traveling comfortable and luxurious. For one, a lounge seating area was fitted. Such design dimension made possible the addition of seats. The arrangement allows four passengers face one another. Another option was to install a full length entertainment system. Despite the changes, Mutec retained the control electronics of the Rolls-Royce Phantom like the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS).

Aside from the limos, Mutec also offers other services. Customizing the Rolls-Royce Phantom into an armored version, tweaking the interior, exterior, and individual superstructures of this luxury vehicle are all part of the services of the company. A display of all customized Rolls-Royce cars by Mutec is slated in the future.

Source: Autoblog.

The automobile industry is no longer monopolized by dealerships and car manufacturers as motorists have found other ways to go about with customizing their vehicles. From installing performance parts and accessories, car tuners have sprouted like mushrooms across the globe. Hamann Motorsport is among the large pool of professional tuners in the industry.

Germany company Hamann Motorsport has its focus on luxury car brands like BMW, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari. The manufacturer, which is based in Laupheim, Germany, has special kits and packages for specific models from these high-end car brands. The BMW X5, for example, can be just another medium size crossover sport utility vehicle if not for its BMW mark. But to make this model go beyond its name, Hamann provided a special kit especially for the X5 dubbed as the ‘Hamann Flash.’

The Hamann Flash for the BMW X5 has the following main points: achieve tougher appearance with wider body kit parts and wheels, have better road stability with sport springs and sport brake system, and enhance horsepower output through engine modifications.

To add more muscle to the exterior aspect of the BMW X5, a good combination of body kits parts were installed. Aprons were used both at the front and back portions of the vehicle. The flares were made bigger and a roof spoiler was added. These were the standard body kit parts, but the owner has the liberty to choose the features for the wheels. The four wheel options have varying heights and suspension parts to match the chosen built and height of the feet of the BMW X5. Inside the crossover SUV, the Hamann Black Mat flooring and aluminum pedals gave that signature sleekness of the BMW and the tuning company.

Going into the intricate interior parts, there were two choices for the vehicle’s power plant in the Hamann Flash Kit. A 4.4-liter V8 engine installed can produce up to 368-horsepower, while a 3.0 sd engine can muster a decent 320-horsepower and a 486-lb-ft. An upgraded muffler can also make that strong sound for both engine options. A sport brake system also complemented both the engine enhancements.

These were the key points the Hamann Flash Kits focused on that made the BMW X5 a few notch higher than its other counterparts.

Source: Hamann Motorsport via Autoblog.