Valentino Rossi has revealed that the little finger on his left hand has suffered a hairline fracture during his fall on the opening lap of the Japanese GP at Motegi the past weekend. While this has prevented him from taking up testing duties on the 2012 Ducati, there will apparently be no doubt about his participation in the MotoGP race at Philip Island, Australia on the 16th of October, 2011.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Ford has teamed up with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, which has products in the market that use the coir’s natural fibers to hold 50 percent more water than basic potting soil and release it as plants need it and thus helping homeowners save water. The collaboration is researching the use of coconut fiber reinforcement for molded plastic parts to reduce the use of petroleum and make the parts lighter and more natural-looking.
The coconut coir, or husks, are a waste stream from Scotts’ soil and grass seed products. The team is investigating their use as a renewable feedstock for Ford’s vehicles.
“This is a win-win situation. We’re taking a material that is a waste stream from another industry and using it to increase the sustainability in our vehicles,” said Dr. Ellen Lee, technical expert for Plastics Research at Ford. “We continue to search for innovative renewable technologies that can both reduce our dependence on petroleum as well as improve fuel economy.”
Over the past several years, Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of nonmetal recycled and bio-based materials to reduce its carbon footprint. Materials already in use include soy foam seat cushions and head restraints, wheat straw-filled plastic bins and castor oil foam in instrument panels.
“ScottsMiracle-Gro uses more than 70 million pounds of coir a year in our consumer products,” said Dave Swihart, ScottsMiracle-Gro senior vice president of Global Supply Chain. “Teaming up with Ford to find a high-value use for our leftover coir material is very exciting for us as we continually work to make our products and operations more sustainable.”
Ford combines the coconut coir with plastic to provide additional reinforcement, reducing the quantity of plastic required and thereby reducing petroleum required for making that part. Ford intends to leave the natural long fibers visible in the plastic and offer a more natural look than typical materials. In the interior, the material could be used in storage bins, door trim, seat trim or center console substrates. It could also potentially be used on underbody and exterior trim.
Ford is currently testing the material’s properties to ensure it passes all of the company’s durability tests. Coconut coir is very difficult to burn, and Ford is researching whether it has natural flame-retardant properties.
Some of you might remember the patent that was granted and later revoked for an anti-fungal product derived from neem. We hope the parties involved in this research understand that India and a number of other countries in the tropics have been using coconut coir in a number of unimaginable ways and so restrain from patenting applications of coconut coir, especially if people have been doing it for a long time already.
Visit http://www.jaguarfuture.com/ to read the stories that will begin the journey, with details of the unique elements that have come together to create the C-X16.
Jenson Button has committed to McLaren F1 team for a few more years. The exact number of years is as yet unavailable. Button has been saying that he is very happy at McLaren and now Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh has expressed his praise for Button’s driving and race car developing skills. The partnership will therefore continue for some more time.
Narain Karthikeyan’s preparation for the Formula1 Grand Prix of India is very much on. After having driven at Singapore on Friday, Narain will now drive the HRT F1 car on Friday practice at the GP of Japan this weekend. HRT is sponsored mainly by the Tata Group and Narain has also secured the sponsorship of Hero MotoCorp for the Indian GP. Narain wants to acquit himself well before his country men.
Rolls Royce has launched a long wheel base version of the Ghost. This essentially means more space for the fat cats at the back.
Picture courtesy: Motorbeam.com
Reports on the internet have pointed out that Honda will soon debut the CBR250R with its racing colours. Honda’s two wheeler racing arm, the HRC or Honda Racing Corporation has traditionally used a combination of White, Blue and Red. However, with its racing efforts being sponsored by various companies this livery has more or less disappeared. But those with an eagle eye would have seen this livery on the motorcycle raced by Shinichi Itoh in the Japanese round at Motegi last weekend. Similar livery will be seen on the CBR250R.
Picture courtesy: Motorbeam.com
Some automotive websites are speculating that by the middle of 2012 Hero MotoCorp will launch a 250cc motorcycle in collaboration with Honda. It is well known that Hero can purchase technology from Honda until 2014 by paying royalties. However, Honda is unlikely to technology of products that could compete with its own offerings. Therefore, if this news is true, it remains to be seen in what form this 250cc motorcycle will emerge from the Hero stables. The speculation mainly is that it will be a cruiser. Right now it is all in the air.
Garware Motors could be launching the Hyosung GT650N as soon as 12th of October, 2011 according to Indiancarsbikes.in. Garware has made it clear that it wants to sell at least 1200 units of Hyosung bikes this year. Therefore it could be advancing the launch with the intention of reaching its sales target as the GT650N which is a naked bike will retail for a lower price than the GT650R, could rake in the numbers.
Picture courtesy: Indiancarsbikes.in
The internet space is bristling with pictures of the new Fiat Palio taken from the Brazilian website Noticias Automotivas. The car looks handsome and the front is very reminiscent of the Punto that is being sold in India. Though many websites are conjecturing about this car coming to India, the likelihood of it making it here is right now zero. So don’t start salivating.
Picture courtesy: Indianautosblog.com
