Auto Car Tips

Since their introduction convertible cars have generated their own fan club, mainly comprising of people young at heart who like talking with the air while driving. Today almost all the major automobile players have jumped into this segment and many of them can boast of having a bunch of eye catchy convertibles in their product lines with many to follow in near future. In case you are in the look out for new convertibles that will be burning the roads next year then hang on to us as we run you down through a list of most anticipated models.

The action starts with Cadillac which seems to be focusing on its stylish XLR range. The company will improve the XLR and XLR-V Base Roadster model by bringing in substantial changes under the hood. In addition to its power, the company is making some noteworthy changes in the designs of these models.

Chevrolet will spruce up its Corvette range in the upcoming year. It will also bring upon some vital modifications in its Corvette Base Convertible model. The new edition will have improved designs and performance, and its price tag will also increase accordingly. The new model will include V8 front engine, and it exude tremendous potential for delivering unmatched driving experience to its owners.

Ford is not doing much in terms of new launch next year, besides it is concentrating on its Mustang and Shelby convertible models. The company is doing some serious changes in its designs of convertibles. It will include the sturdy V8 front engine, and is claimed to deliver great performance to its users.

When it comes to convertibles, the name that spontaneously strikes our mind is Jaguar. Jaguar is also working on its existing XK series to entice its fans. With a compression ratio of 10.7, and 4,196 cc, 4.2 liters engine, its new improved XK series is all set to sway the market with its astonishing looks and performance. The company is working on both XK and XKR series of its convertibles.

Lamborghini is globally renowned for its appealing looks and breath-taking on-road performance. It’s Gallardo and Murcielago models have internationally acclaimed, and have generated huge followers. To appease its followers, the company is concentrating on these models, and expecting to bring splendid changes into these, next year. The new improved Murcielago will be fitted with V 12 middle engine, and have an amazing compression ratio of 11.0. It can deliver an amazing 471 kW, 631 HP SAE at 8,000 rpm.

Mercedes Benz is also all set to join the party next year, with a number of improvements in its SL and SLK class. The company is targeting the youths with a huge bunch of eyeball catchy and robust machines.

In 2009, Porsche is transforming its 911 Carrera Convertible models in next year, and is expecting to roll out some spectacular designs of new convertibles. It is expected to make significant changes in designs and performance of 911 models. Stay tuned for more New Convertibles Coming Out In 2009.

Valentine’s Day cards are one of the great expectations and attractions of this special day. Such cards embody a very wide range of emotions – traditional capricious, humorous, charming, ornate, romantic, sensitive, and many more. Cards for Valentine’s Day are invariably sent or given to anyone considered a lover or a romantically inclined boyfriend or girlfriend.

The tradition of Valentine’s Day greeting cards dates back to the middle ages. Some say it began with Charles Duke of Orleans in 1415. He addressed a poem to his much loved spouse while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following the battle of Agincourt. This particular greeting card is a special memoir and a part of the manuscript collection which can be seen in the British Library.

But did the Saint Valentine have anything to do with Valentine’s Day? And who was he anyway? It is thought that he was most probably a legend; however, there are in fact three Saints who go by the name Valentine or Valentinius, each associated with the 14th February. One was a priest, another a bishop, yet all three were said to be martyred. One of the most popular legends states that just before his beheading for refusing to deny Christ, Valentine wrote a letter to his beloved which he signed “From Your Valentine”.

By the sixteenth century, the tradition of Saint Valentine’s Day greeting cards had really started to gain momentum. Handwritten cards were then being elaborately decorated with laces, silk or satin, flowers, gold-leaf and even perfumed. Coloured paper and watercolours were amongst the essential elements used to create the greeting card. Also in those days ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions at a time when subtle emotions were the appropriate response and direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged.

Paper Valentine greeting cards have long been very popular in the UK. Manufactured cards with images of Cupid and hearts were even on sale at the end of the nineteenth century.

The most common one liner in these cards is “Be My Valentine”. Don’t forget, a Valentine is ‘a person’ singled out as one’s sweetheart on Saint Valentine’s Day.

In the age of electronic greetings there has been a real revival of, and fascination for, handmade Valentines Day cards. Even though cards have also found their way into the e-cards form, electronic Valentine’s Day greeting cards that can be sent and received virtually through the World Wide Web, such e-cards are often frowned upon and thought by recipients to be the result of the sender ‘forgetting them’ and using an e-card as a last minute, better than nothing, option.

Whatever the form you use, a unique, sentimental handmade card or a pre printed card with a personalised message, it is the message the card carries that truly matters.

As Saint Valentine’s Day approaches, there is even more to consider these days, there is also the Valentine’s gift, with chocolates, flowers, fragrances and jewellery being the gifts most readily received.

The Toyota Motor Corp. has outlined ambitious sales target for next year. And according to experts, if the target is realized, the automaker could push ahead of closest rival General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker for 76 years.

The Japanese automaker said last Tuesday that it planned to produce 9.95 million cars and trucks in 2008 and expected to sell 9.85 million, a five percent increase over this year’s sales, estimated at 9.36 million vehicles.

General Motors sold 9.1 million cars and trucks in 2006, a one percent decline from 2005, and has not forecast sales for this year or next.

“We will announce year-end global sales and production in the first quarter, probably in the middle of January,” said GM spokesman Chris Preuss. “Until then, we have no comment on where the title of No. 1 will end up.”

Toyota first overtook General Motors in the first quarter of 2007. But the American automaker regained the lead in the high-profile competition after outselling Toyota in the second and third quarters. For the first nine months of this year, Toyota’s sales totaled 7.05 million cars and trucks sold under the Toyota, Hino, Daihatsu, Scion and Lexus brands, slightly lower than General Motors’ sales of 7.06 million vehicles.

Both automakers are depending mainly on sales growth outside their home markets. Toyota said that its year-end sales are expected to show a four percent decline in the shrinking Japanese auto market, but a ten percent rise overseas.

So far this year, General Motors American sales plummeted 6.1 percent and the company is downsizing its domestic production operations to bring its output in line with its declining market share.

Toyota executives scaled back their 2008 United States sales forecasts because of economic uncertainty stemming from the subprime mortgage crisis and high gas prices, according to Detroit News. Toyota executives in Japan said that they expect sales to grow only one percent next year in the U.S., to 2.64 million vehicles, reported the Associated Press. They expect modest growth in Europe. However, they anticipate solid gains in booming emerging markets such as China and Russia, where Toyota and General Motors are locked in fierce competition.

With the recent inflation of gasoline prices, the Japanese automaker has benefited from a vehicle lineup that includes many small and fuel-efficient cars.

Koji Endo, an analyst with Credit Suisse in Tokyo, told AP that 2008 would be a challenging year for Toyota, particularly in the U.S. market, but that Toyota’s growth expectations seemed “reasonable.”

As manufacturers of Rancho shocks, Brembo brakes and other companies compete, tighter rivalry is expected between the two auto giants.