Tokyo Auto Salon 2011

Hey all!  We took a trip to Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan, and we’d like to share our experience of all the greatness associated with the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Hey all!  We took a trip to Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan, and we’d like to share our experience of all the greatness associated with the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Here’s a small preview of what we saw!

Check out the full gallerys on EDO Performance’s facebook!

Don’t forget to “Like” us ^_~!

Tags: japan, tas, tas 2011, tokyo, tokyo auto salon, tokyo auto salon 2011

This entry was posted on Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 3:31 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Acura Debuts Restyled TL

By Brad Constant of AutoWeek

The 2012 Acura TL sedan debuted at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday with a new six-speed automatic transmission and a lightly refined chassis.

Visually, the front and rear bumpers were tailored to shorten the car's overall length, while the grille was moved further down the fascia to slightly lengthen the hood.

The TL's 3.5- and 3.7-liter V6 engines will be carried over from the current model but will pair with a new six-speed automatic transmission to improve highway fuel economy by 3 mpg. The 2012 Acura TL is rated to deliver 20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. The six-speed automatic, which Acura calls Sequential SportShift, lets the driver command a two-gear downshift.

Watch Video:  2011 Acura TL

A six-speed manual transmission will continue to be offered on the TL Super-Handling AWD model.

For 2012, the TL's Technology package includes a larger, 60 GB hard drive for the entertainment and navigation system. The Advance package offers convenience features such as ventilated seats.

Jeff Conrad, Acura's vice president of sales, is optimistic that the 2012 Acura TL will be more successful than its predecessor, which launched in 2009 in the midst of a crumbling economy.

Conrad said Acura recorded 11 straight months of double-digit sales increases in 2010 compared with 2009, with a cumulative 27 percent rise in sales for the year.

Compare: Acura TL vs. Cadillac CTS vs. BMW 3-Series

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Interview with Tom Foster – TR Batteries

Tom Foster (www.crazyfastcracker.com) has been building high horsepower motorcycles for the past thirty years, when he’s not busy as an aerospace engineer.  We had a chance to catch up with Tom, and he told us why he uses TR Batteries in his bikes.

EDO: Hi Tom, How’re you doing?

EDO:  How’d you hook up with TR Batteries?Tom: I was looking for a high performance battery for my bikes.  I build a very high horsepower technically advanced product.  Ineed something to hold up to the riggers of my style of riding, which is fast and hard. My bikes have triple the horsepower ofstock bikes and I need something that will step up and handle my game.EDO:  Cool Cool.  I notice that your first magazine feature was in ‘89 on Easy Riders. How long have you been in the motorcycleTom: A little over three decades.EDO: Wow, that’s a long time. You truly are a pionieer in the motorcycle industry.  With your extensive experience in themotorcycle industry, I’m sure you’ve gone through a lot of batteries.  How does TR Batteries compare to other batteries you’veTom:  Superior in every way!  With my engineering background in aerospace, I looked for something with new technology. What’s thelatest and greatest, and has integrity! I need a product that will stand up to when I put my game on it.  TR Batteries gives meboth, integrity and technology.  It’s a product for me.EDO:  What other brands have you worked with?Tom:  Yuasa and several of the other typical batteries that are in the motorcycle industry.  They just don’t have the juice tostart a motorcycle like this.  They’ll work fine on stock bikes, but we’re very far on the opposite end of that.EDO:  How confident are you to say that TR Batteries are one of the best batteries in the industry?Tom: It’s the best I’ve used, and I’ve been doing it for over three decades!Edo: Great!  Will we see a custom limited edition Tom Foster TR Battery soon?

Tom: Good.

EDO:  How’d you hook up with TR Batteries?

Tom: I was looking for a high performance battery for my bikes.  I build a very high horsepower technically advanced product.  I need something to hold up to the riggers of my style of riding, which is fast and hard. My bikes have triple the horsepower of stock bikes and I need something that will step up and handle my game.

EDO:  Cool Cool.  I notice that your first magazine feature was in ‘89 on Easy Riders. How long have you been in the motorcycle industry?

Tom: A little over three decades.

EDO: Wow, that’s a long time. You truly are a pionieer in the motorcycle industry.  With your extensive experience in the motorcycle industry, I’m sure you’ve gone through a lot of batteries.  How does TR Batteries compare to other batteries you’ve used?

Tom:  Superior in every way!  With my engineering background in aerospace, I looked for something with new technology. What’s the latest and greatest, and has integrity! I need a product that will stand up to when I put my game on it.  TR Batteries gives me both, integrity and technology.  It’s a product for me.

EDO:  What other brands have you worked with?

Tom:  Yuasa and several of the other typical batteries that are in the motorcycle industry.  They just don’t have the juice to start a motorcycle like this.  They’ll work fine on stock bikes, but we’re very far on the opposite end of that.

EDO:  How confident are you to say that TR Batteries are one of the best batteries in the industry?

Tom: It’s the best I’ve used, and I’ve been doing it for over three decades!

Edo: Great!  Will we see a custom limited edition Tom Foster TR Battery soon?

Tom:  I hope so!

Edo: Thank you very much Tom.

Always in stock @ EDO Performance.

Tags: battery, crazy fast cracker, crazyfastcracker.com, motorcycle, Tom Foster, TR Batteries, TR Light-weight battery

This entry was posted on Friday, February 4th, 2011 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Racing News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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10 Luxury Hybrids on the Horizon

By Jacob Gordon of TreeHugger

If you want to own a car that provides cushy comfort and tons of sex appeal while leaving behind as little a carbon footprint as possible, then you're in luck. The luxury hybrid market is expanding into all shapes and sizes, offering opulent amenities on top of cutting-edge gas-electric technology that will reduce noxious emissions and deliver impressive fuel economy. As a follow-up to our slide show of the winners and losers among the current crop of luxury fuel-sippers, we decided to take a look into the not-too-distant future at 10 upcoming high-heeled hybrids that will satisfy those who want to have their cake and eat it, too.

Bing: Luxury Hybrids

Nissan made its first foray into hybrids in 2007 with a gas-electric Altima, and now is diving deep into the bosom of luxury with the Infiniti M35h sedan. While the Altima's hybrid technology is licensed from Toyota, the M35h will be the first car to carry a hybrid system engineered in-house by Nissan. The rear-wheel drive M35h will carry a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine, and its hybrid system will supposedly carry it in silent electric mode for longer distances than any other hybrid currently on the road. No word yet on pricing, but the M35h will likely go on sale in the spring of 2011 for the 2012 model year.

MSN Autos: Hybrid Research Center

Henrik Fisker, known for his high-end design work at BMW and Aston Martin, founded Fisker Automotive in 2007 to create luxury plug-in hybrids. The company's first model, the Karma, will charge from a standard electrical socket and offer up to 50 miles of all-electric driving. When the battery runs low, a gasoline engine will rev up to supplement its charge. For a 4-door, the Karma is no slouch: It will sprint from zero to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and have a top speed of 125 mph. Fisker expects this "plug-xury" hybrid to be in full-scale production is scheduled for early 2011.

Video: Fisker Karma

To the shock and amazement of Porsche fans everywhere, the No Substitute carmaker recently announced that its ubersexy 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar will become a reality, and soon. The racetrack-inspired 2-seater garnered enough interest from potential buyers after its unveiling at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show that Porsche decided to produce the car in limited quantities. With a midmounted 500-horsepower V8 gasoline engine and twin electric motors, one on each axle, the 918 is reported to make the leap from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Though the exact availability date is unknown, the 918 Spyder will be the most expensive production Porsche ever.

Read:  Porsche Goes Electric

Fans of Bavaria's best will soon have another hybrid option in the stable. As early as 2011, we could see the BMW 5 Series in hybrid form. This addition to the blue-and-white bloodline will join the burly ActiveHybrid X6 crossover and the stately 7 Series. The hybrid 5 Series will carry a straight 6-cylinder engine and 8-speed transmission accompanied by an electric motor, all of which will result in more than a 10 percent improvement in fuel economy, according to BMW. And, like many of the high-end hybrids on our list, the ActiveHybrid 5 Series will be able to go notably farther in electric-only mode than today's hybrids.

Bing Images: 5-Series Hybrid

Mercedes-Benz has already shown its ability to play matchmaker between luxury and economy. The S400, carrying Benz's lithium-ion hybrid technology, is holding its own in the wild, as is the ML450 hybrid, though it's still lease-only. Mercedes has also partnered with Tesla Motors to fully electrify the pint-sized Smart, as well as the breathtaking SLS AMG. But perhaps the boldest move is the high likelihood that Mercedes will push its hybrid technology all the way through the S-Class lineup. This will include the S550 and S600, as well as the top-shelf AMG models. Precise details remain nebulous at the moment, but with Mercedes' aggressive investments in hybrids and battery electrics, we're certain to see exciting things coming from the Benz.

Read:  Mercedes S-Class Gets a Hybrid

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