Archive for December, 2010
The Caterham 7 Sports Car Super Light And Super Fun
When the visionary designer Colin Chapmen first set out to design the Lotus 7 he had lightness speed and agility at the forefront of his mind. What he could not of know was that he was about to create a timeless design classic which still has the ability to embarrass supercars costing over ten times as much.
The first Lotus 7 was released to the public in 1957 and cost 1000 pounds to buy new. However the simplicity of the design meant that Lotus could also offer the 7 in kit form where it would cost half as much. Chapman’s constant aim throughout all of his cars at Lotus was to lightness ensuring that the cars he produced had supreme agility and road holding.
As Lotus grew in stature Chapman realised that the company would need to shed its kit car image if they were ever to be considered a serious supercar manufacturers and so in 1973 the designs and rights to the Lotus 7 were sold to Caterham Cars and the new Caterham 7 was born.
It is no surprise that the Caterham 7 has continued to be popular with enthusiastic driver throughout the decades with its simple engine at the front power at the back and two seats in the middle philosophy this sports car was destined to be a hit. As is often the case when you have a winning design on your hands you often find others trying to copy it and Caterham is no exception pursing several legal cases to protect the design rights.
The design of the Caterham 7 remained pretty static until in 2000 the SV version was offered. This was Caterham’s answer to all those drivers who found fitting in the 7 a tight squeeze giving an extra 11cm of width to the chassis meant that a whole new group of drivers could experience the astonishing road holding and performance of the 7.
Unbelievably despite the car’s lightweight origins Caterham continued to reduce the weight of its road racer and this gave rise to the super light range of Caterham’s. In 2004 Caterham released its most extreme version of the 7 yet with the R500 Evo. This car could accelerate up to 100mph and then brake back to zero again in just over 10 seconds a feat that placed it ahead of a seriously humbled Ferrari Enzo.
Caterham have continued on with the lightness theme by producing a new version of the R500 a car that utilises the very latest in carbon fibre and thin wall aluminium materials and has enough of a power to weight ratio to worry a Bugatti Veyron owner. Nowhere is spared the weight loss program even the windscreen is an optional extra although thankfully the headlight bulbs still remain for those late night summer drives.
Whilst the flagship Caterham models offer incredible performance for their price there is actually a Caterham 7 available for every performance and budget requirement. More importantly if you can face a few long nights locked up in your garage and build one from a kit you will be able to save money even further and glow in the satisfaction that the sports car you have just created is all your own work.
About the writer: Jo Alexander is an online freelance journalist and keen windsurfer. Jo lives by the sea in Essex.
The Best Way To Buy Quality Car Seat Covers
What is the best way to buy car seat covers? In order to protect the original seats of your car getting the most suitable seat cover plays a crucial role. There are several aspects you need to keep in mind before you purchase car seat covers.
The car seats differ in size shape and the quality. For the complete care the seat covers must suit your needs. Since custom car seat covers are designed especially for particular car model they provide the desired protection for your car seats.
There is the wide range of custommade car seat covers available. The challenge for you is to get the best. When it comes to the quality the material and the technology used are the most important facts you need to consider.
The manufacturers of repute use the superior materials along with the latest technologies. As the result the custom fit seat covers they produce provide the effective protection of your car seats. Therefore its very important that you get the car seat covers for your car from the company of repute only.
Price is another factor. Most of the reliable companies offer custom car seat covers at competitive rates. The quality and price of your seat covers should match. The reliable companies offer cool discounts as well.
Similarly you must have a lot of choices to choose from. There is a wide selection of exciting colors designs and patterns available. The best car seat covers also differ depending on the material used. The most commonly used material in car seat covers are Neoprene Poly cotton Leather Polyester and Velour fabric.
Different fabric and material is used in different seat covers. Your car seats have to face a lot of dust/dirt mud stains and scratches. The material used must be able to prevent these hazards. The comfort level also depends on the quality of material used.
If you want to protect your car seats from all types of hazards and pollutants make them comfortable and keep the interiors of your car charming all the time and at affordable rates consider these aspects. You will get the custom car seat covers that are durable appealing and charming.
For more details on car seat covers feel free to visit Covers for Auto.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Shane Watson
Content Writer
Take Care Of Your Car Tires
Tire maintenance is equally important as maintaining a car. They are often given the least importance in terms of caring. The tires often face problems because of negligence and lack of maintenance. Failure of correct air pressure is one of the important reasons for short life of tires. Wheel balancing or alignment is also another important matter to be taken care and a little damage or lack of proper care can lead to a bigger disaster. When ever there is a tire failure or replacement they often treat it as an expensive invitation that has to be taken care. But do you think it will be expensive when life is compared?
Tires have traveled long way and also changed in big and better way. One of the most important factors in manufacturing the tires is its uniformity but in earlier days it was very difficult to give it a perfect round shape with proper and calculated dimension ensuring the perfect joints. We had to ensure that the joints were correctly placed. As the material used for the carcass was the newly invented rayon with nylon resulting in problems like casing break up or CBU. And todays the technology has solution for all the problems faced in olden days. The modern technology redefines uniformity in terms of material production and zero defects. The importance is given on safety better traction and lower noise level.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Buy new cars sell used or preowned cars from Indias First Interactive Car Portal. Click Compare and Choose your car. Get free car price quotes
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