BMW M5 Fifth Generation - Boasts BMW M V8 Engine

BMW takes automobile engineering seriously and it shows in their latest BMW M5 fifth generation saloon.


The company demoed concept M5 in April and released the details of the latest BMW M5. The car is expected to go on sale by the end of 2011. The car is the first one to take the advantage of company’s BMW M V8 engine which rockets the car from 0 – 100 kmph (~62 mph) in just, hold your breath – 4.4 seconds! For the speed maniacs, the car will take you from 0 – 200 kmph in approximately 13 seconds and BMW’s engineers decided to cap the max speed at 250 kmph or 305 km/h with the optional M Driver’s Package. But that’s not all with the new beast – the engine efficiency has been turbo charged as well.

The fifth generation BMW M5′s engine has been developed by BMW’s M division. The 4.4 liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine delivers 412 kW/560 hp at 6,000-7,000 rpm. The max torque of 680 Nm develops at 1500 rpm. BMW claims that the efficiency of the engine has been improved by approximately 10 percent while the max torque has been improved by over 30%. The tests results indicate that the car will do 100 kilometers in about 9.9 liters of fuel. The improvement in fuel efficiency has been made possible by the auto start-stop and brake energy regeneration. The rear wheels are powered by seven-speed M double clutch Drivelogic transmission. Car’s agility has been greatly improved by electronically controlled rear axle Active M Differential.

The steering wheel has M Drive Buttons to control the two car setup configurations. These configurations include Drivelogic shift program, M Servotronic responses, accelerator responses, DSC mode, Dynamic Damper Control. BMW M5 will make a debut at Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Electric Superbike Powered by Wind - Ecotricity Ion Horse

Ecotricity: A wind-powered electric superbike, developed by one the UK’s leading universities and backed by Britain’s leading green energy company, is taking to the famous Isle of Man TT circuit to become the first electric bike to complete a 100mph average lap.


The £150,000 bike, named the "Ion Horse", has been developed from the ground up by a team at Kingston University London (KUL) and incorporates radical features unseen on an electric bike before. Its lithium polymer cobalt cells power the bike from 0-60mph in three seconds, with a top speed of 140mph. These include a unique new direct drive system expected to give the team the competition edge, whose exact details are being kept closely under wraps.


The team is being backed by Britain’s first green energy company Ecotricity, as part of its mission to help make sport more sustainable and show that electric vehicles can be fast and fun without damaging the planet. The bike will completely powered by wind energy, which will come from Ecotricity’s fleet of 52 windmills. In October 2010, Ecotricity founder Dale Vince unveiled the all-British Nemesis wind-powered sports car, capable of 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 170mph, with the aim of “blowing the socks off Jeremy Clarkson”.


The TT Zero race on Wednesday 8 June 2011 will see electric superbikes from all over the world compete around the Isle of Man’s twisting 37 mile road circuit. The first electric bike to do a 100mph lap will receive a £10,000 prize from the Isle of Man Government that has remained unclaimed since the race began in 2009.

Ecotricity founder and keen biker Dale Vince said: “Following hard on the heels of our wind powered car, the Nemesis - comes Ion Horse our wind powered bike.  The guys at Kingston have built an amazing machine and we expect it to take the TT by storm.  It's another great demonstration of how transport of the very near future will be - powered by renewable energy, made in Green Britain - and with zero pollution.”

Kingston University London Ion Horse team manager Paul Brandon said: “The Ion Horse is the culmination of years of cutting-edge technology coming together for one purpose – to take the TT’s 100mph lap record. But it’s also a design showcase for what electric bikes could be like, and thanks to the support of Ecotricity, completely powered by wind energy.”

This will be the third year that KUL has entered a bike, having come fifth in 2010, and will again be ridden by George Spence with Paul Brandon as team manager. The team will take part in qualifying sessions on 4 and 6 June before the main race itself.

See a demonstration video: 

Ford's Stock Plunges Despite Biggest Profit Since '99

Ford Motor posted its highest annual income in more than a decade Friday, although fourth-quarter earnings disappointed investors.

The problem for Ford was more one of expectations than execution, as Ford's results included a lot of good news, but also some increased costs, such as the price of raw materials as well as spending on engineering and marketing, that caught Wall Street analysts by surprise.

Despite the earnings miss, full-year profits for 2010 climbed to $6.6 billion from $2.7 billion in 2009, the best since 1999.

But the company, which recaptured its position as the No. 2 automaker in terms of U.S. sales in 2010, posted a fourth-quarter operating profit of $1.2 billion, or 30 cents a share, excluding special items. That was down from 43 cents a share on that basis a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast earnings of 48 cents a share excluding special items. The result was below even the most conservative forecast of a 36 cents a share profit.

At least part of the fourth-quarter disappointment came from a small loss in its European unit, compared with a profit there a year earlier. Ford had previously said it expected to be profitable in Europe in the quarter.
But Lewis Booth, Ford's chief financial officer, said a bigger part of the problem was that the company failed to sufficiently communicate to Wall Street the impact of higher expenses.
"We recognized we missed," he said during the conference call to discuss results with analysts and reporters. "We'll have to continue to do a better job communicating what the outlook is."

CEO Alan Mulally said the company was pleased with full-year results.
"Our 2010 results exceeded our expectations, accelerating our transition from fixing the business fundamentals to delivering profitable growth for all," he said in the company's statement.

Mulally and Booth both said they expect the company will report better results in 2011 than it did in 2010, but they wouldn't give any details about how much better. Mulally declined to say whether current forecasts -- for a 29% improvement in first quarter earnings and a 15% increase in full-year earnings, were realistic.

Ford was the only U.S. automaker that did not need a federal bailout or a trip through bankruptcy court in 2009. Its rivals -- General Motors and Chrysler Group, have also enjoyed a turnaround, but neither are making the gains with U.S. buyers that Ford has.

Ford also benefited from the recall troubles at Toyota Motor in 2010, which caused the Japanese automaker to lose market share for the first time since 1999, and drop out of the No. 2 sales position in U.S. sales.