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Nissan Leaf Black Edition goes on sale in UK

The ever popular all-electric family hatchback may have received some added appeal. Nissan has launched a new variant of this ev, dubbed the Leaf Black Edition. As enticing as the name plate maybe, there don’t appear to be any performance upgrades for this variant over the standard car.

The Black Edition receives a number of exterior features such as 16-inch black alloy wheels, LED Headlamps, black door mirror caps and black rear spoiler. Inside, the only notable addition is the blue-stitched mats on the floor which is said to offer a more “premium” finish.

As it is with the rest of the line up, the Black Edition receives Nissan’s latest innovative technologies as standard including the NissanConnect EV telematics system and intelligent Around View Monitor.

Speaking of the latest edition to the Leaf family, Gareth Dunsmore, Director of Electric Vehicles of Nissan Europe, said “The new LEAF Black Edition perfectly showcases Nissan’s commitment to making smart, premium quality products accessible for all. This stylish black number combines dynamic styling, with Nissan’s innovative zero-emission technology to offer customers a city-savvy intelligent mobility solution. Its sleek design compliments an exciting drive, delivered through high-class engineering, demonstrating that you don’t have to compromise on style or performance when purchasing an electric car.”

Unveiled in 2010, the Nissan Leaf was the first mass-market electric family car and as of today, there are 250,000 them on the road. Powered by a 30kWh battery pack, the Leaf is able to travel 250km on a single charge, which should be more than adequate for most city dwellers.

Ford issue safety recall for Mustang in North America

The Blue Oval has decided to issue a safety compliance recall for about 6,000 of the 2017 Ford Mustang cars made, for an inspection of the left interior door handle return spring. Apparently, cars affected by the recall may have had their left-hand door handle built with a disoriented return spring which could increase the potential for the return spring to become unseated.

According to the company, if the return spring does become unseated, during a side-impact crash, the impact experienced by the interior door handle may cause the door to unlatch and inturn increase the risk of injury.

As of now, there are no reports of any accidents or injuries that are related to this issue. There are about 5,470 affected vehicles in the United States, 20 in Mexico and 266 in Canada. These vehicles were built at Ford’s facility at Flat Rock Assembly Plant from January 13, 2017 to January 31, 2017.

Baby Driver: A must watch movie for car fans!

It’s very rare that true driver enthusiast movies actually do grace the silver screen. Movies like Bullitt, Vanishing Point and Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) were the select few where great emphasis was placed on realism when it came to the plot, cars and the driving physics. Their story lines may not have been nail-biting or edge of your seat stuff, but the action scenes, the screeching tyres, realistic collisions and spectacular explosions made them some of the all time best car movies.

These days thanks to CGI and over the top Hollywood gimmicks, most car movies lack the appeal of those from yesteryear. But every now and then, a true gem comes along worthy of being called “noteworthy” and one such movie is Baby Driver.

Slated for release towards the end of 2017, Baby Driver’s cast features some big time hollywood actors including Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx. The movie’s main protagonist is a young getaway driver, named Baby played by Ansel Elgort, who you may also know as the guy from the movie The Fault In Our Stars. Baby is part of a crew headed by Kevin Spacey, that go on carefully planned heists in the city.

Baby, despite his rather boyish demeanor, is a skilled driver of a Subaru Impreza WRX who is quite adept at handling high-speed getaways albeit the WRX’s driving dynamics did lend him a helping hand. Based on the trailer, and like a number of such movies, baby decides that after several missions, he no longer wants to be involved with this line of work. However, that is easier said than done as the team view him as a very valuable asset. Well, we aren’t going to ruin it for you, so take a look at the trailer and you be the judge.

But we think that the action sequences depicted in the trailer are pretty amazing and should make for one awesome movie when it is eventually released.

Fiat Fullback Cross launched at Geneva

Italian automotive giant, Fiat, has added a new variant to its pick-up truck stable called the Fullback Cross. The company says that the latest addition is meant to “further broaden the appeal of the Fiat Fullback with lifestyle users”. As such, it come with a slew of upgrades and enhancements.

The exterior upgrades include a new grille fitted with matte black ingots, a satin silver skid plate and revised larger side steps. An exclusive add on for the variant is a textured black sport bar which lends a space age look to the vehicle’s silhouette. The truck also comes with a new all-black car cargo space which features a Fiat logo, in case you forget who made it. Fitted as standard are Bi-Xenon headlights, front fog lights and LED daytime running lights.

Inside, Fiat has fitted this pick-up with leather upholstered seats, steering wheel and gear knob. It has also been kitted with automatic dual zone climate control and heated front seats which offer six-way electric adjustment on the driver’s side. Gracing the centre stack is the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that offers DAB CD/MP3 Radio, Bluetooth and USB port. The system is also integrated with the vehicle’s rear parking camera and satellite navigation.

Fiat’s Fullback Cross is offered as a double cab and comes fitted with a 2.4-litre commonrail turbo diesel engine that produces 180bhp and 430Nm of torque. Buyers can choose to have either a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission which offers a sequential mode and dashboard commands.

As for safety features, the Fullback Cross comes with ABS with EBD, TSA (Trailer Stability Assist), LDW (Lane Departure Warning), seven airbags and cruise control, which should make it a very capable truck.

Fiat says that the truck will be launched later this year and prices will be announced closer to the launch date.

Jaguar I-Pace graces the streets of London

The trend to go electric signals a shift in the mindset of most automotive manufacturers. Though building smaller more efficient engines seemed to be the rational choice a few years ago, today, manufacturers have realized the benefits of electric power and the effect it has on environmentally conscious buyers. One such automaker is Jaguar, a company that prides itself on building performance driven luxury vehicles.

It has officially begun testing its all electric performance SUV, the I-Pace, on the streets of London before the production ready I-PACE is launched in late 2017. Still considered in the concept phase, the I-PACE is powered by compact electric motors at the front and rear axles that produce close to 400bhp and an astounding 700Nm of torque.

These impressive power figures should allow this Jag to sprint to 100km/h from a standstill in just 4 seconds. Jaguar says that on a full charge, the I-Pace should be able to cover a distance of 500km based on the NEDC cycle thanks to a 90kWh lithium-ion battery. They also claim that by utilizing a 50kW DC charger, the battery pack can be charged to about 80 per cent in 90 minutes.

When it eventually hits the streets, the I-Pace is said to be a nimble yet powerful performance SUV that will offer an unrivaled blend of agility, ride comfort and refinement that will set it apart from other electrified offerings. Pitched as a true Jaguar and a drivers’ car, the I-Pace should go on sale in the second half of 2018, until then, here are the pictures of the I-Pace in concept form.

Ford named one of world’s most ethical companies for eighth time

The Blue Oval’s green practices have not gone unnoticed

Ethisphere Institute named Ford in its list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the eighth year in succession. The Michigan based automotive giant has long been committed to reducing its environmental footprint and has forged a partnership with suppliers by sharing its sustainability practices with them.

Ford calls it The Partnership for A Cleaner Environment (PACE) which originally focused on water and energy conservation. Now however, the company’s practices include reducing waste, carbon dioxide and air emissions.

Though such sustainability practices have been implemented for quite a while at the company’s manufacturing sites, it’s only recently that it began roping in its legion of suppliers to adopt greener methods for the completion of their day-to-day activities. Ford’s programme to suppliers include tools to help them reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and waste while help making water and energy consumption more efficient. Some of the practices that Ford wants its suppliers to inculcate in their strive for greener efficiency is to include optimising cooling tower operations, reducing compressed air usage in manufacturing operations and eliminating single-pass cooling systems.

More than 40 companies have officially joined the PACE programme which means that close to 1,100 supplier sites in more than 40 countries will have the technical know-how on how to reduce waste, carbon dioxide and water consumption while increasing efficiency.

Speaking of the programme, Marty Wroten who is senior manager of Ford Supply Chain Sustainability, said, “As a company, it’s important that we make quality products and minimise the impact on the environment by doing things the right way. Having suppliers that want to share that responsibility shows we can work together to reduce our collective environmental footprint, while still continuing to deliver great products.”

As part of the PACE programme, Ford offers monitoring tools that help suppliers track and achieve their own sustainability goals, which will allow them to share their environmental progress report and best practices.

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Nissan Leaf Black Edition goes on sale in UK

Ford issue safety recall for Mustang in North America

Baby Driver: A must watch movie for car fans!

Fiat Fullback Cross launched at Geneva

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Ford named one of world’s most ethical companies for eighth time

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