New parking system takes the hard work out of parallel parking By FORD

In these difficult times for the U.S. motor industry, Ford is evidently hoping that it can win back customers with technology that could take some of the stress out of getting behind the wheel. The company's new Active Park Assist system automatically maneuvers a vehicle into even the tightest parking space.

Parallel parking on a crowded city street is no easy task. Take it from me: the streets of Boston make the "friendly bumper bump" a common affair (and I admit, I've been a perpetrator as often as I've been a victim). To simplify the task, many newer vehicles are equipped with an optional electronic parking assist system--something that my 2002 Honda Civic unfortunately does not have. The two most common systems use an array of sensors on the bumper to trigger a beep when you get too close to an object, and video cameras that send pictures to a navigation screen in the dashboard. Some of the pictures even suggest a steering direction.

Ford's Active Park Assist is similar to a Toyota feature called Intelligent Parking Assist that was first available on the 2007 Lexus LX, but in Toyota's system, the driver still has to identify the exact parking spot using a navigation screen, as well as operate the brake.

Source: TechnologyReview.com

BMW Reveals Plans to Build Compact Hybrid Cars

MyTeamCar - Bavarian auto maker BMW has revealed its plans to produce a compact or small sized hybrid vehicle via BMW’s Chairman Norbert Reithofer at BMW Group’s Annual Accounts Press Conference. This project, which is called the Megacity Vehicle project, is part of BMW’s Project-i.

According to the chairman, “This vehicle will be the first of a range of near-zero emission vehicles. Customers will have the choice between a fully electric drive and a high-efficiency combustion engine. Large-scale production could start in the first half of the next decade. With the Megacity Vehicle project, we are also pursuing a radical approach toward establishing a truly sustainable value chain-from development to production and sales.”

We not sure if there would be two types of vehicles (fully electric or with a high-efficient combustion engine), or the chairman is actually referring to one particular hybrid that would offer both. Reithofer also went to mention that this vehicle will not carry another badge, meaning it should be sold either as a MINI or a BMW. The first vehicle which is part of the Project-i is the MINI E, that is currently performing customer testing via public leasing trials. Can recent reports regarding BMW’s plans to co-produce platforms for small sized vehicles with Fiat have anything to do with this?

China's Chery delays joint venture with Fiat

China's largest independent carmaker, Chery Automobile Co, said Thursday it had postponed a joint venture with Italian industrial conglomerate Fiat due to the economic crisis.

The two companies signed an agreement in 2007 to set up an auto manufacturing joint venture in Wuhu city in eastern China's Anhui province.

"We are still in talks for the project. But given the current economic situation and conditions in the domestic auto market... there will be some delay," Jin Yibo, a Chery spokesman told AFP.

The venture was to produce and distribute Fiat and Alfa Romeo models as well as Chery's vehicles. Production of 175,000 vehicles a year had been targeted to begin this year.

No new timetable had been set for the joint venture's launch, Jin said.

The company, known for its low-cost cars, on Thursday expanded its product line by unveiling its first mid- to high-end sedan, which will be priced between 200,000-300,000 yuan (29,300-44,000 dollars).

The new upscale car, Riich G6, marks a step towards Chery's goal of becoming a global car company, it said in a statement.

Chery was China's biggest automobile exporter last year, accounting for more than a quarter of the country's car exports. Chery shipped 135,000 units abroad last year, up 12.6 percent from 2007, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.