Bently cuts upto 300 workers While rolls royce is hiring

Despite many company officials' predictions that their customers would still be buying ultra-luxury cars despite the struggling economy, Bentley Motors is suffering significant losses just like the majority of automakers around the world. Since January of this year, the Crewe, England manufacturer has posted a sales slide of more than 20% through September, and as a result will reportedly cut its 3800 person workforce by up to 300 in the coming weeks.

In addition to the voluntary job cuts, Autocar reports Bentley management will likely revive its four day work week, but with only two working shifts per day. Previously, the Cheshire plant was running on a three day week with three shifts. Production of the brand's slower selling models will be dropped by around 15%.

This move is in stark contrast to its chief rival, Rolls-Royce Motors, which has announced it is hiring 200 extra workers due to increased demand and in preparation for its new model, the RR4. It seems that at this point, only the buying power of the super-rich is still bucking the world's economic trends.

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Reva G-Wiz Automatic Electric Vehicle

its Web site claims the G-Wiz's electric engine produces zero direct emissions, and a full, eight-hour charge costs about $1 (50 pence), the equivalent of nearly 600 miles per gallon. The vehicle is also exempt from London's hefty new congestion charges, and drivers can park for free in certain areas and make use of on-street charging points while away from the G-Wiz.

G-Wiz Specifications

The G-Wiz is actually known as a "quadricycle" in Britain -- the contraption weighs about 880 pounds (400 kg) without the battery and produces less than 15 kW of power, so according to the European Commission, it's not a car. Although it's legal to drive a G-Wiz on any road in the United Kingdom, GoinGreen stresses that the vehicle was "designed as a low speed urban runabout and commuter car," and they "do not recommend it is used [sic] on motorways and fast roads."

There are three different G-Wiz models available. Re­va no longer produces the original two versions, the G-Wiz dc and the G-Wiz ac, but GoinGreen still offers used models on its Web site. The newest version, the G-Wiz i, has improved safety standards and will be available in February 2008.

Despite the different names and varying safety packages, each type has the same general technical specifications. A G-Wiz is a two door, "2 + 2" seating arrangement, which means two adults can fit up front and two children can squeeze in the back. Eight six-volt lead-acid batteries, located under the front seats, power the tiny quadricycle's electric motor, which is located in the back. You can charge the battery of the G-Wiz by simply plugging a charge cable into the side of the vehicle and any electric outlet, the same way you would charge your cell phone. (GoinGreen does recommend protecting a typical household outlet with an RCD (Residual Current Device), or a surge protector). Two and a half hours will charge the battery 80 percent, while an eight-hour charge will give the car its full charge. Using electricity, especially from a renewable source, can save you money and help the environment -- a years worth of power would cost about $100 -- but the downside is the life of the battery. A replacement pack of eight batteries costs £1,595, or more than $3,000, and the batteries last between two and three years. This is the main reason why many people are looking toward fuel cells, which are charged quickly and don't need replacing.

The range of a G-Wiz is only about 50 miles per battery charge, but as mentioned before, the quadricycle wasn't built for long drives through the English countryside. The top speed of the vehicles range between 40 and 50 miles per hour (64-80 km/h) -- very slow compared to most other cars on the road, but this emphasizes why the G-Wiz is for an urban environment. The speed limits in London, for example, are typically no faster than 40 mph (64 km/h), and data downloaded from G-Wizzes driving around the city showed that customers recorded an average speed of 10 mph (16 km/h). London does happen to have the slowest traffic in Europe -- UK traffic information service KeepMoving.co.uk reported that all traffic, G-Wiz or not, moves at an average of 12 mph (19 km/h) in England's capital.

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The only Lamborghini SUV LM002 1977

The Lamborghini LM002 is an SUV that was built by the Lamborghini automobile company between 1986 and 1993. Approximately 300 vehicles are thought to have been built. This was an unusual departure for Lamborghini who, until that point was primarily known for high-performance grand tourers and supercars.

The project originally began in 1977 with a prototype vehicle codenamed the "Cheetah" which Lamborghini had designed in hopes of selling it to the US military. The original Cheetah prototype had a rear-mounted Chrysler V8 engine. The prototype was destroyed during testing by the US military. This led Lamborghini to develop the LM001, which was very similar to the Cheetah, but had an AMC V8 engine. It was finally determined that the engine being mounted in the rear caused too many unfavorable handling characteristics in an offroad vehicle, and the LMA002 was built with an entirely new chassis, moving the engine (now the V12 out of the Countach) to the front. After much testing and altering of the prototype, it was finally given a serial number and became the first LM002.

Lovingly dubbed the "Rambo-Lambo", its aggressive styling and powerful engine made it a success for Lamborghini. Civilian models were outfitted with a full luxury package, including full leather trim, tinted power windows, air conditioning, and a premium stereo mounted in a roof console. In order to meet the vehicle's tire needs, Lamborghini commissioned Pirelli to make two custom, run-flat, tread designs.

The military version of the LM002 omitted some of the luxuries, and featured additions like mounting points for machine guns. The Saudi Arabian army ordered 40, each with the roof able to be opened like a hatch over the rear seats.

In 1988 Lamborghini sent an LM002 to a team of special engineers with the intention of making it capable of participating in the Paris Dakar Rally. They stripped it of anything that added unnecessary weight and gave it an upgraded suspension, engine modifications which brought it to 600 hp, full roll cage, plexiglas windows, and GPS equipment. Unfortunately, the money ran out before it could be officially be entered in competition, although it did participate in the Rallye des Pharaons in Egypt and another in Greece, both times driven by Sandro Munari.

Near the end of the LM002's production, a Turin based autoshop owner created a one-off "Estate" version by enclosing the back area and raising the roof. This added significantly to the interior room.

Trivia

• Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi reportedly ordered 100 of them for the use of Libya's military.
• Writer Hunter S. Thompson had one, and wrote about driving it on California freeways.
• Musician Eddie Van Halen supposedly owned a black LM002 during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
• Indian Actor Amitabh Bachchan has one in his car collection, it was purchased in the 1980's.
• source netcarshow
  

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