car

The new XF has gone through an extensive design and development phase at Jaguar’s Product Development Centre at Whitley in Coventry, UK whilst the actual production will take place at Jaguar’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, UK.

For our first post, let’s kick it off with one of the most beautiful Jaguars ever made — the new Jaguar XF Sports Sedan. Replacing the S-type, this XF is a real looker, while at the same time having excellent performance, especially in the 4.2 litre V8 petrol version…

There is a V6 2.7 litre diesel versiona available too — which should allow the Jaguar XF to be used as an alternative car fuels driven sports sedan by using biodiesel, for example…

The Plan
So you've decided you want to make some custom modifications to your car, or attempt a restoration project. This series of articles can help anyone who is intent on modifying, customising, or tailoring their car to their own tastes.

This information is intended for a complete beginner to automotive bodywork.Throughout I will try to explain everything clearly with pictures and examples so even if you have never touched a spanner you can get some decent results for little price.

First of all, and this is very important, you need a plan. I have worked on many varying projects and learnt the hard way that plans are essential. Oh, yeah you will make mistakes. Here is what you need to figure out for your plan.



Is it worth it?
There is nothing more depressing than seeing some clapped out rust heap 1.0 litre shopping cart come screeching around a corner with a ridiculous rear spoiler and comical paint job being driven by some 18 year old freak of nature. Don't do it.



What do I want?
Do you want a piece of automotive art with immaculate gold dipped exhausts and a million dollar paint job? If so, don't do it yourself, at least not yet. If you try to do something like this first you will inevitably end up disappointed, think small.
If however you are looking to really improve your car and have something you can be proud of, and also learn a new rewarding and valuable skill, this is a good start.



What is realistic?
Most people are going to be constrained by a budget of some sort. However with a bit of lateral thinking and common sense you can get a long way on relatively little. I'll try and tell you all the tips I have learnt. If you know of any more please e-mail them to me and I will add them to this article, and credit you with the information.
Another common constraint is time and skill. If you need to drive your project daily as you work on it you're going to have to keep the jobs bite sized.
Ideally you need a fully enclosed garage with room to move around the car, something to think about when your buying a project car is: How big is my garage?
If you do have the luxury of a large garage and another mode of transport you can tackle some of the serious stuff and really get your hands dirty.



What are my goals?
Do you want a custom interior, exterior, or both. Do you want to stop rust, or do a simple restoration? Decide what your goals are for the project, while remembering the other steps to a plan.

Budget
As I said before, most people are going to be working to some sort of budget. Budgets are a relative term when it comes to vehicle customising, for these articles I'm going to keep the budget as low as possible. Only because there is so much information already out there for high budget builds, obviously, there's more money in it.
I will try and give price estimates in both US dollars and Pound Sterling just so you have a rough guide which can help you with your budget.

One of the most important thing to remember about your budget is: You will go over budget. Unless you set your budget stupidly high you will almost definitely go over budget.

Write out your goals and plan clearly and neatly and put them up in your garage ready to work to and then go look for a project. You may need to alter your plan once you get the car home, but it does act as a guide.

Ibherdesign car body kits. Great design for all of the latest cars. Ibherdesign kits are available complete or in part. With front bumpers, rear bumpers, side skirts and arch extension for wide arch body kits. Ibherdesign Automotive Styling's combination of modern unique styling, extensive range and high quality fibreglass products make them easily one of the worlds top body styling manufacturers. With a body kit to keep nearly every car modification enthusiast happy, Ibherdesign meet the needs of young drivers looking for a better, more aggressive ride and body shops looking for ease of fitment and quality. With Ibherdesign you can completely transform or subtly improve hundreds of cars.

Our car body kits, front bumpers, rear bumpers and side skirts are made out of FRP Composite (DuraFlex), Carbon Fiber or Poly-Urethane for strong but flexible finishes. The FRP Composite is reinforced with fiberglass fabric or matte and consists of plastic resin.

The FRP Composite material is weather proof. It will not reduce in size or bulge during weather changes. A Urethane body kit does not withstand severe weather as well as FRP Composite. Urethane can expand and soften on hot days causing paint to crack or peel. FRP Composite is easy to paint because paint works well with this material if properly prepped. Painting can be difficult with Urethane because paint does not stick well to the material. Urethane is also around 3 times heavier than that of FRP Composite. Poly-Urethane material is practically unbreakable, whereas FRP Composite can crack or chip due to wear.

FRP Composite is extremely light and is very strong according to its weight/strength ratio. The more pieces weigh the slower the speed of your car. Also, FRP Composite material is easily fixable, if such is needed. Whereas, Urethane is unfixable; if parts are damaged they cannot be fixed, but damage rarely happens. Both FRP Composite (DuraFlex) and Poly-Urethane materials are highly recommended and have great qualities for your aftermarket body kit needs.

Body:

Music storage has gone through a transition from cassette to compact disc to MP3 file. While portable MP3 players are great and easy to use, one may come across difficulties when trying to use them in the car. We look at how to overcome the challenges to enjoying MP3 music through your car stereo. It's also worth checking that your car insurance has a contents allowance, if your MP3 player is left in your vehicle.
The Apple Ipod is arguably the most popular, and certainly the most globally recognised MP3 player brand. While this article may refer to the Ipod, these tips apply equally for any type of MP3 player.

Standard Connectivity in New Cars

MP3 players have been around for years now, so most car makers really should be up to speed. MP3 players are the standard means for portable music, so any self respecting car manufacturer should have some sort of way to connect an MP3 player into a car stereo. Just how easy this is, and how well an MP3 player integrates with a car stereo is the test of car maker's efforts with sound system advancement.

Full IntegrationThis is the ultimate.

Many new cars now have stereos that are ready to accept MP3 player plug ins, and allow full operability on the part of the driver. Stereo controls on the steering wheel allow the driver to scan through tracks and albums on an MP3 player and select songs. On some systems, the track names will even appear on the car stereo.

Audio Jack

Having just an audio jack on a car stereo is a passable but sub-standard solution. A non integrated solution means that one needs to handle the MP3 player in order to skip tracks and the like. This can be a little dangerous if the driver is doing this and taking his or her eyes off the road. The shuffle option is useful in providing continuous music, but if the driver gets an incoming phone call or other interruption, it's harder to pause the music quickly and safely.

Cassette Adaptor

If your car has a cassette player, a cassette adapter can be used to link an MP3 player to a car stereo. Again, one can't operate the MP3 player remotely, and there will be some loss of sound to the adapter's analogue format, but it's a pretty cheap solution.

New Stereo

A new stereo is much cheaper than a new car. If you are planning on a new stereo, then it's worth looking for one that offers remote operation. If you are buying a new car, and music is important to you, take your MP3 player and cords into the car showroom, and see how easy it is to hook up.
MP3 players have revolutionised music. It is now possible to carry literally thousands of songs around with you in your pocket. With many of us spending considerable time in our cars, it's important to be able to also enjoy music libraries through car stereos. Taking heed of the points above will make this not only possible, but easy. When comparing car insurance quotes, make sure that installed accessories, like MP3 compatible stereos are covered under your insurance.

Car modification is a way of life for some, a scene of sorts that only some are integrated into. Once your car is pimped up to the extreme, it seems that you are accepted into a secret society, a type of inner circle that only spinning mags and a glittering paint job can enter into.

Car modification enthusiasts feel that they are a misunderstood niche and are commonly portrayed as degenerates with nothing better to do. The featuring of car modification on television and internet has made some individuals understand that this is more than a hobby – it’s a lifestyle choice. Industry experts say that customizing is becoming more popular, especially with high net worth individuals who are keen to make their cars stand out from the rest.

This modification is very nice to be made an example for car enthusiasts and so reduce the bags of money but with a modification like this would be satisfied to see it.

PPI Automotive Design Audi Q7 gallery: 8 photos >>

The Q7 is the latest addition to the Audi family and PPI Automotive Design from Stuttgart, Germany has been hard at work redesigning this vehicle for it’s customers. The result is the PPI PS Q7

This year’s original brief was to "design a car for an aging population that equally appeals to the young - the car must be desirable to a 60 year-old and to a 16 year-old."

Additionally, the entries had to take into account the society in which the target market lives and should reflect the environmental realities of the twenty-first century while preserving the freedom a personal vehicle represents.

Marque Hummer already have a torrid time recently with the slump in U.S. sales this year led to a strategic review which saw the closure of four assembly plants.

In an attempt to reverse declining sales, GM has released images of the upcoming limited edition H2 "Black Chrome" - the annual H2 special for 2009. With blackened chrome shadow shiny chrome accents replace the standard models, the "Black Chrome" Edition has a more mysterious "stealth-like" feel to it. The new black chrome effect can be found on areas such as grille, fuel door and 21-inch wheels of the SUV.


The Black Chrome Limited Edition will be available in three colors, but only the Sedona Metallic paint scheme (pictured) will be exclusive to the Black Chrome version of the H2, complete with matching interior. Only 1,300 units will be available worldwide.