The Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE receives information from the battery on its current state of charge, which is used to determine the available range of the vehicle. This information is then visualised on the navigation screen, showing the journey against the available range and the routes to the charge stations. This will help to effectively plan charging and remove drivers’ “range anxiety”, giving them confidence that their journey can be completed. The system also includes an eco-routing – providing the driver with an option to select the most energy efficient route.

Finding the right charging station information and location (amongst the 5000+ that will be available in Europe at the end of 2011) is critical to drivers. The TomTom Home application will provide users with the latest charging station list each time they connect their SD card to their computer. The Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE will inform the users in real-time about the availability of charge stations en route, allowing them to stop and ‘fill-up’ when needed.

“This is the first navigation system TomTom is launching in the area of electric vehicles and it represents a great milestone for us as a company in this exciting new market. The Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE for Fluence Z.E., is also the third major development in the already successful Carminat TomTom series and underlines our fruitful relationship with Renault,” says Giles Shrimpton, Managing Director TomTom Automotive.

“We are very happy with the strong partnership we have developed with TomTom over the years and that we are able to give birth today to the next evolution of our product – the new Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE. This solution is a key feature of our new Fluence Z.E. The electric vehicle programme is of great importance to us at Renault and the Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE plays a significant role in its success”, says Stephen Norman, Global Marketing & Communications Director, Renault.

In addition, the Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE comes with LIVE Services including HD Traffic, providing drivers with its unique dynamic routing; giving them the fastest route to their destination based on the latest traffic situation.

Key Features

• Electric vehicle routing functionality, including routing to and via charge stations, and integration with battery management solution
• Eco-routing function
• Visualisation of available range on the map and navigation display
• Automatic updates of charge stations via TomTom Home with search functions for locating of nearest charge station, as well as those around destination or other location
• HD Traffic – unique combination of real-time traffic, based on a network of over 80 million probes in Europe and dynamic routing
• Local Search
• Weather
• Safety camera alerts, to help the customer to drive more safely and responsibly.
• IQ Routes technology so the user always gets the best route to his destination. This technology calculates your routes based on the real average speeds measured on roads. Always providing you with the fastest route, and most accurate travel time, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, saving you time, money and fuel.
• Advanced Lane Guidance shows which lane to take at junctions so you don’t miss your turn. On the most difficult highway intersections, realistic 3D representation of the junction keeps customers relaxed and safe.
• TomTom Map Share allows the user to make corrections to his/her own map and able to benefit from thousands of corrections made by TomTom users every day.

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MEXICO CITY /PRNewswire/ — Hella, a leading supplier of automotive interior and exterior lighting systems, sees growing demand for rear LED vehicle lighting throughout the Americas.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101019/DE84104LOGO )

Rear LED lighting offers customers safety features, energy-savings and styling advantages, according to Ignacio Moreno, the CEO of Hella Lighting – Americas and president of Hella Corporate Center Mexico.

Moreno notes that conventional tail lamps take longer to fully illuminate. Because LEDs reach peak performance in milliseconds, they can help motorists avoid rear-end collisions. By allowing drivers more time to react, studies have shown that LED lighting translates into seven to 10 feet in braking distance — distance that counts in emergency situations.

There’s also little or no risk of driving with burnt-out rear tail lamps with LED technology. LEDs last for the life of a car, while conventional bulbs typically burn out after 800-1,000 hours of use. Matched against conventional or upgraded HID lamps, LED rear and front lighting systems provide energy savings ranging from 65 up to 80 percent as well.

Automakers are focusing more and more attention on rear-end styling, where LEDs also offer clear advantages over incandescent bulbs. LED rear lamps today are standard on most European luxury cars. On smaller, less expensive car lines LED treatments are offered in option packages to help distinguish a car line’s sport, luxury or special-edition models.

“Customer demand for LED lighting has been much higher in technology-driven Europe than in the U.S., but we are seeing a growing interest in the Americas as well, especially in rear lighting,” says Steffen Pietzonka, vice president of marketing for Hella Lighting. “Today the number of LED solutions here is limited, but we expect to see significant growth within the next five years.”

Moreno predicts that LED rear-lighting sales in the NAFTA region will grow at a compounded annual rate of between six and nine percent.

“Virtually every new mid-size and above new-vehicle program planned for 2013 and beyond will offer LED rear-end lighting,” he says. “Some automakers even are planning rear LED lighting for entry-level cars. ”

Hella has developed new applications of LED technology to provide car makers with a variety of new rear styling options, including light-curtain, edge-light and glowing-body technologies. By illuminating specific shapes, these technologies contribute to the creation of brand-typical designs.

“LED lighting is changing the way auto makers approach rear styling, helping to create additional brand awareness and offering a variety of new rear-end design options,” Pietzonka adds. “Compared with conventional bulb technology, more sophisticated LED systems allow stylists to create a variety of other shapes and features.”

On a global basis, Hella currently supplies LED rear lighting for more than 20 models, including vehicles from Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Lincoln and Volkswagen. The company also is a leader in the development and manufacture of LED headlamps, as well as interior LED lighting systems.

About Hella: Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. develops and manufactures lighting and electronics components and systems for the automotive industry. Its joint venture companies also produce complete vehicle modules, air-conditioning systems and vehicle electric systems. In addition, Hella has one of the largest automotive aftermarket organizations in the world, with its own sales companies and partners in more than 100 countries.

Hella Group sales were $4.98 billion in fiscal year 2009-2010. Hella is one of the top 50 automotive parts suppliers in the world and one of the 100 largest industrial companies in Germany. Nearly 23,000 people work at 70 locations in more than 30 countries, including more than 3,500 research and development engineers and technicians. Additional information is available at www.hella.com.

Hella Lighting has three major manufacturing facilities with approximately 2,000 employees in Mexico, including two plants in Guadalajara and one in Mexico City. From its facilities in Mexico, the lighting division supplies a number of the world’s major automakers, including BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes, Nissan and VW.

Music storage has gone through a transition from cassette to compact disc to MP3 file. While portable MP3 players are great and easy to use, one may come across difficulties when trying to use them in the car. We look at how to overcome the challenges to enjoying MP3 music through your car stereo. It’s also worth checking that your car insurance has a contents allowance, if your MP3 player is left in your vehicle.

The Apple Ipod is arguably the most popular, and certainly the most globally recognized MP3 player brand. While this article may refer to the Ipod, these tips apply equally for any type of MP3 player.

Standard Connectivity in New Cars
MP3 players have been around for years now, so most car makers really should be up to speed. MP3 players are the standard means for portable music, so any self respecting car manufacturer should have some sort of way to connect an MP3 player into a car stereo. Just how easy this is, and how well an MP3 player integrates with a car stereo is the test of car maker’s efforts with sound system advancement.

Full Integration
This is the ultimate. Many new cars now have stereos that are ready to accept MP3 player plug ins, and allow full operability on the part of the driver. Stereo controls on the steering wheel allow the driver to scan through tracks and albums on an MP3 player and select songs. On some systems, the track names will even appear on the car stereo.

Audio Jack
Having just an audio jack on a car stereo is a passable but sub-standard solution. A non integrated solution means that one needs to handle the MP3 player in order to skip tracks and the like. This can be a little dangerous if the driver is doing this and taking his or her eyes off the road. The shuffle option is useful in providing continuous music, but if the driver gets an incoming phone call or other interruption, it’s harder to pause the music quickly and safely.

Cassette Adaptor
If your car has a cassette player, a cassette adapter can be used to link an MP3 player to a car stereo. Again, one can’t operate the MP3 player remotely, and there will be some loss of sound to the adapter’s analogue format, but it’s a pretty cheap solution.

New Stereo
A new stereo is much cheaper than a new car. If you are planning on a new stereo, then it’s worth looking for one that offers remote operation. If you are buying a new car, and music is important to you, take your MP3 player and cords into the car showroom, and see how easy it is to hook up.

MP3 players have revolutionized music. It is now possible to carry literally thousands of songs around with you in your pocket. With many of us spending considerable time in our cars, it’s important to be able to also enjoy music libraries through car stereos. Taking heed of the points above will make this not only possible, but easy. When comparing car insurance quotes, make sure that installed accessories, like MP3 compatible stereos are covered under your insurance.

For the bikers who have busted scooters, the Carburetor – For 150cc or 125cc 4 strokes GY6 Engine Scooters may be of some help. Especially if your old carburetor needs replacement, this should pose to be an economical solution.

This is a Walbro brand and features a 24mm intake, an electric choke and a float drain which is located at the float bowl. It retails for just $59.99

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