List of Most Toxic Car Interiors 2008

Recently, HealthCar.org had selected out the harmful and toxic car interiors. Let's have a look at the table for this year 2008.

The worse this time around is the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider GT convertible. There are quite a few familiar names up there, and the Suzuki Forenza is the Chevrolet Optra while the Suzuki Reno which is the second worst is the Chevrolet Optra5. However note that these scores may not apply to our local cars at all as the dashboard and interior materials will most likely come from different suppliers.

What makes a car interior toxic is the chemicals that are given off by the materials such as the dash, seats and carpet. These chemicals will be slowly released into the air over time. There are a few chemicals typically found in car interiors that cause concern, and HealthyCar tests for all of them:

* Bromine - used to make plastics fire resistant. Associated with thyroid problems, memory impairment, learning disability, fertility problems, behavioural changes. It could be one reason why your wife started having mood swings ever since you bought her that Proton Savvy instead of the Honda Jazz she wanted.
* Phthalates - found in PVC. Associated with fertility problems, pre-term deliveries, liver problems, testicle problems, thyroid problems, ovary problems, kidney problems and can also pass from mother to baby through placenta and breast milk.
* Lead - additive in plastics. Exposure can lead to brain damage, kidney problems, blood problems, nerve problems, leaning and behavioural problems and damage to reproductive system.
* Other harmful substances, allergens and carcinogens like antimony, arsenic, chromium, cobalt, copper, mercury, nickel and tin.

What’s quite interesting is also the fact that the BMW 125i is listed as having one of the most toxic car interiors, but the BMW M5 has one of the most healthy interiors. I guess BMW uses better materials in their more expensive cars.

Direct Injection for Porsche RS Spyder

Recently, Porsche has already introduced direct injection on the Cayenne and 911 Carrera, and the Turbo, GT2 and GT3 all stand to benefit from the technology next year.

The 3.4-liter V8 in the Porsche RS Spyder campaigning in the ALMS LMP2 class will be fitted with direct injection, bringing power levels up while reducing fuel consumption. The old engine is capable to produce 476 hp at 10,000 RPM and 273 lb.-ft. of torque beginning at 7,500 RPM. However, the new engine gets a 27 hp bump, to bring levels up to 503 hp at 10k RPM and 284 lb.-ft. of twist at 8,500 rpm. That, combined with the decreased in fuel consumption should make the Spyder even more competitive in a class it's continuing to dominate.

Facelifted BMW M3 Sedan

BMW has applied the latest E90 sedan facelift to its M3 sedan. Only the rear gets the facelift treatment, featuring the new taillamps that are now back to the classic L-shape and accompanying reshaped bootlid. The front is from the M3 Coupe which remains largely unchanged.

Check out WheelHQ.com and their line of BMW M3 Wheels

Hyundai to show custom Genesis Coupe at SEMA

Teaming up with Rhys Millen Racing to build a SEMA car, Hyundai will perform its part of the bargain by supplying a 2.0L turbocharged version of the car. Designed to showcase the tuning potential for the Coupe, the car will be called the ‘Art of Speed’ and will be on show in Las Vegas this November.

The “Art of Speed” will be powered by a 2.0-liter engine with an RMR turbo kit. Other mechanical mods include a heavy-duty HKS sequential transmission and a K&W coil over suspension. Enkei racing alloy wheels in Bridgestone Protenza RE-01 tires surrounding Brembo brake calipers complete the package.

The RMR Genesis Coupe will get a silver and black paint scheme along with a wide body kit that includes a functional hood scoop and a carbon fiber wing. Inside the Genesis Coupe will sport a racing cockpit with Sparco steering wheel and seats, eight-point roll cage and a RMR carbon fiber dash

The Datsun XLink Concept

The Nissan Datsun XLink concept will come first C-segment four-door coupé crossover. According to trusted source, the XLink can seat four passengers, has a 380 liter trunk and is powered by a Two-Mode Diesel Hybrid. The car’s design is inspired by aircraft –hence the front and rear winglets- and architecture. Besides that, there is a special function that enable the driver to adjust the height of the chassis by just a single touch of a button.

4 Door Coupe of the Nissan GTR35 from infiniti

Infiniti will having a 4 door coupe model based on the Nissan GTR. The information is from Japan's Car Top magazine. A same 3.8 liter twin turbo V6 will be powered this 4 door coupe. For the tranmission, it is a 6 speeds dual clutch automated manual gearbox and with an advanced AWD system.

BMW new concept car for 2015

This BMW concept car were designed by the third year students of the Instituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin.

There were 35 students involved in the project and they were divided into 18 teams. The designs were then evaluated and 8 designs developed into 1:4 models while 4 were turned into virtual models. The students were given the task to design the BMW of 2015 vehicles that would appeal to drivers in their mid-30s.

Loremo 100MPG LS

Recently, Germany’s Loremo unveiled the LS Concept car. The latest round of changes implemented into design includes improved streamlined shapes, more interior space and more efficient aerodynamics.

Loremo LS is an ultra-efficient vehicle designed to achieve fuel economy of better than 100mpg (2.35/00km) and will be available in all-electric and possibly even convertible versions. The car is expected to weigh less than 600kg and will be equipped with a turbodiesel powertrain.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Carlsson Aigner CK65 RS ‘Blanchimont’

Carlsson has kitted up the Mercedes-Benz S-Class with its latest CK65 tuning package, a race-proven kit that combines a host of performance modifications with high-end luxury appointments. The new kit is dubbed the ‘Blanchimont’ – named after a corner at the Spa Francorchamps race track in Belgium – and has been designed to fill the gap between the standard S-Class Maybach range.

The vehicle picks up its ‘Aigner’ tag because of the cooperation between Carlsson and luxury goods brand Etienne Aigner AG, and as such the car is available with more than 30 different combinations of leather, Alcantara, aluminum and wood trim. The production and installation of the entire interior takes over two weeks.

Apart from that, the interior also features the Carlsson Office Concert Hall Infotainment System which consists of Alpine and Focal components such as the 7-inch monitors behind the headrests, 15-inch monitor integrated into the roof, sub-woofers, speakers and amplifiers integrated into the vehicle body, Alpine’s F#1 Status DVD tuner with 6.1 surround sound.

The Carlsson Aigner CK65 RS Blanchimont is powered by the standard 6.0-liter V12 bi-turbo engine but equipped with reprogrammed ECU, sports air filters, stainless steel sports exhaust system and improved intercoolers to produce 705 hp and 1,100 Nm of electronically limited torque. The car clocked 3.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h with an electronically limited top speed of 320 km/h.

Check out WheelHQ.com and their line of Mercedes Wheels