D&C Honda website review

When talking about cars, several of my friends are die hard Honda fans. And it is not difficult to see why. According to the latest Auto Pulse survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, the Honda brand was ranked highly by American consumers (the second best in the US). Their cars are well known for their styling, reliability, fuel economy, safety and best of all, their resale value. They are also the favourite for people who are into modding and a huge industry exists to support them.

Anyway if you are a resident of Paramus, NJ and thinking of buying a car, do take a look at D&C Honda of Tenafly, a premier Paramus Honda dealer. They offer the latest Honda as well as used vehicles. Their site lists hundreds of Honda models ranging from the best selling Honda Civic to the popular Honda CR-V SUV.

What really stuck me were their amazing benefits and as far as I know, no other Honda dealer can match them in that respect. This includes:
10 Day money back guarantee on used vehicles,
48 Hour money back guarantee on new Vehicles and
10 Day best price guarantee.

The home page is really informative though my wife thought that it looked a bit too busy. If I was a customer looking to buy a car, I would really appreciate any information I could get my hands on before actually going down to the dealership. That’s why I really liked their interactive chat feature where you could chat with a sales person live online. Another feature that makes this website different is their user friendly online loan calculator. I also liked the fact that using the search facility on the site brings up results with images of the car – and they are not blurry small resolution images you get in some car site. Other car dealers can learn a thing or two form D&C Honda.

One way to gauge a dealer is to hear from previous customers and it was interesting to know that D&C Honda now part of DealerRater.com where you can read the experiences of customers at the dealership. They were rated 4.6/5 (on a 24 Month rating) when I last checked and that is definitely not bad.

Electric cars tested in the UK

The CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium is currently testing a total of 340 electric cars across the UK. This includes the  Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Jaguar Land Rover's _e electric/diesel hybrid, LTI’s TX4E taxis, Mercedes Benz/Smart FourTwo electric drive, Tata Indica Vista EV and the hydrogen-powered Microcab.

The Microcab

The test  seeks to find out how how practical these electric cars under real life conditions would be - this include how they are used and charging information. Recharging points will be provided by Birmingham and Coventry City Councils and Eon. Birmingham University’s hydrogen refuelling station will also be available.

Researchers from Aston University will be analysing the data generated.

Interestingly out of the total cars that will be tested for a year, 110 will be based in Birmingham and Coventry. 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars were passed to test drivers in the West Midlands with the rest will be given to lucky drivers, specially selected by Coventry University researchers. Hope I am one of them.

Mitsubishi's New Compact Crossover named

Mitsubishi's new compact crossover will be called the RVR.

Fitted with a new 1.8L MIVEC petrol engine and a lightweight compact body, the vehicle will be approximately 4.3 meters in length.

The car will be released globally sequentially starting Japan next spring.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV wins Award

i MiEV (white) and the i MiEV SPORT AIR (blue) concepts

The "MiEV OS" integrated vehicle control system installed in Mitsubishi Motors' new-generation electric vehicle i-MiEV, has been selected by as the winner of the "2009 Japan Automotive Hall of Fame Car Technology of the Year" award by The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization.

Go here for more details

The funny G-wiz

When I saw the G-Wiz for the very first time, it brought a smile to my lips. This is apparently quite different from my friend's reactions when they first laid eyes on this unusually shaped car.  UGLY was the term they used to describe it.

The first time I saw this car was in London and the reason I found the car amusing was not the shape which does look funny but because there were two of these cars parked in a single parking space. I only learnt later that these cars are pure electric cars and built by an Indian company based in Bangalore called the Reva Electric Car Company. It is sold under the G-Wiz brand name in the UK by GoinGreen and costs about £7500 which makes it one of the cheapest green cars.

Their latest model, the G-Wiz L-ion is the world's first commercially produced lithium-ion powered electric vehicle.

The car is meant for urban driving and seats two adults and two kids. It is said to have a range of around 80 Kms per charge using lead acid batteries or 120 Kms on lithium ion batteries.

Being well groomed will take you places

How often have we heard the saying "the first impression is the last impression". Well, a survey commissioned by Gillette and conducted by Harris Interactive, confirms that it is true.

One of the most critical grooming cue for making a good first impression was having a clean-shaven face. Other no nos include body odour or sweat stains. Also make sure you wear good fitting, nicely pressed and and appropriate clothing as well.

Apparently it's not just the first impression that matters. Being well groomed may very well help you in your career and get the sports car of your dreams. I am not joking. According to the survey, most HR professionals agreed that well-groomed employees do better in the corporate race as compared to those who don't take care of how they look.

So if you are one of those who never bothered to look in the mirror while going to work, you should be worried. Especially in these bad economic times.

However, hope is on the way. You may not only keep your job but get that Ferrari as well. Gillette has launched Gillette Career Advantage on their website and you can get expert advice from career expert Mark Jeffries and GQ style correspondent, Brett Fahlgren.


Brett Fahlgren

On the site, you can take the Gillette career quiz and find out what HR professionals really think.

For more information of what Gillette has to offer for you and to read the survey findings, visit the Gillette Resource Center. Loads of other useful resources as well.

Tata secures loan to develop electric cars

The Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC), which is based in the University of Warwick Campus has secured a £10 million loan from British Government to produce a four seater electric car. Tata Motors will pump in a further £25 million.

The car which is based on the Tata Indica Vista is expected to go into production by the end of this year.


The Tata Indica Vista

TMETC was set up in the UK in 2005 as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Motors. The centre is engaged in design engineering and the development of products for the automotive industry.