Lotus to Go
British automaker Lotus has long been known for producing performance cars. In the company's 58-year history, Lotus-built cars have won hundreds of races and seven Formula One constructor championships.

This year, the company is launching the Lotus Sport brand. Much like Chrysler Corporation's Street and Racing Technology, or SRT division, Lotus Sport will build factory-direct special edition Lotus cars and provide Lotus Sport performance parts for current Lotus owners.

The Lotus Sport Exige (left) and Lotus Sport Elise (right) will be available in limited numbers later this year.

The first Lotus Sport vehicle will be the Exige Cup, a pure track and competition car. Go-fast goodies include a supercharger that boosts engine horsepower from 190 to 243 and Ohlin shocks. The shocks are adjustable for both rebound and compression.

In any form, Exige isn't street legal as it doesn't have headlights, airbags, a passenger seat, or even a radio. Lotus' passenger version of Exige is the Elise and it gets the Lotus Sport treatment as well. The standard seats are replaced with racing seats that have 5-point harness cutouts, a racing-harness attachment bar is fitted behind the seats, and the adjustable Ohlin shocks are added.

With just 15 Exige and 50 Elise models being sold in the U.S. this year, production is very limited. Current Elise owners will be able to order Lotus Sport parts through their local Lotus dealership. For more information about Lotus Sport or to find a Lotus dealership near you, visit http://www.lotuscars.com.

Safety cage of Volvo XC90.

Volvo Safety
Child safety in today's automobiles isn't a new thing, but it wasn't that long ago that kids played, unbelted, on the floors of sedans and in the cargo areas of station wagons. Automakers have come a long way in terms of child-safety since those days, and it's been Volvo's mission for more than 30 years to develop child safety systems to help protect children in the event of an accident.

Volvo claims that the thinking behind modern child safety in vehicles was born in 1963 when a Swedish professor watched video of the astronauts in the Gemini space capsule. The professor surmised that by lying on their backs, in the opposite direction to the force of acceleration, the astronauts were better able to withstand the forces of acceleration. The professor believed that this principle could be applied to protect a child in the event of a head-on collision. What came of that belief was the rear-facing child seat.

Over the years, child safety improved with the introduction of booster seats, LATCH child-seat anchors, and curtain airbags. However, Volvo believes that automakers have a responsibility to make all seating positions child-friendly. This issue has grown more important in the past few years with the large influx of midsize and large SUVs that feature three rows of seats.

These six- and seven-passenger SUVs are supplanting the minivan as the vehicle of choice for the modern family, and, as a result, have become family haulers. Still, just because a vehicle has three rows of seats doesn't mean that all three rows have the same level of passenger safety.

Notice in this image of a child seat in the rear of an XC90 the curtain airbag to the left and the clearance behind the seat.

"Side curtain airbags are a great example," says Volvo safety expert Dan Johnston, "many only protect the first two rows of seats. The curtain airbags in the XC90 protect all three seating rows." According to Johnston, Volvo also uses high-strength steel in forming the rear body structure of XC90, which better protects passengers in the third-row seats.

Finally, Volvo is committed to providing at least 13 inches of space between the rear seat and the rear glass/tailgate structure. The extra margin of safety further protects third-row occupants and provides additional crush space in the event of a severe rear impact.

Regardless of the vehicle you choose, Volvo recommends that you make sure that the curtain airbags protect all seating rows and that there's sufficient distance between the rear seats and the tailgate.

For more information on child safety in vehicles, check out the Volvo Experience.

LAND_e for everyone
Land Rover showcased a host of new environmentally conscious technologies at the 2006 New York Auto Show. While it may seem odd to talk about environmental conservation and Land Rover in the same breath, that's just what this premium brand wants people to consider with its e_Terrain Technology concept.

Land Rover's e_Terrain concept was shown in North America for the first time at the '06 New York Auto Show.

The goal is to reduce both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions while improving upon Land Rover's already outstanding off-road prowess through the use of innovative technologies. The e_Terrain concept attempts to deliver a 30-percent fuel economy gain over a similar-size vehicle without any loss in off-road ability.

The e-Terrain features an electric rear axle, integrated starter/generator, seamlessly reconnecting 4WD system, a new terrain response mode for city driving, and bio-diesel capability.

The electric rear axle works much like a hybrid system by providing additional power for acceleration, a low-speed, electric-only mode, and battery recharging though regenerative braking. It's unique in that it operates independently yet in cooperation with the internal-combustion engine. The instant power delivery of the axle's electric motor also makes it ideal for off-road use.

Further reducing fuel consumption and emissions on the e-Terrain concept is an integrated starter-generator. This device replaces the conventional starter and alternator and allows engine to stop at idle and when operating at slow speeds.

Land Rover e-Terrain

Essential to the seamless operation of the electronic rear axle and the integrated starter-generator is an enhanced 4WD system. In the e-Terrain concept, the 4WD system can operate in front-drive only mode and allow the rear-drive components to come to rest, avoiding unnecessary rotational losses. When rear-drive is required, the system reconnects the rear axle automatically, and according to Land Rover, virtually instantaneously.

Rounding out the e-Terrain's driveline innovations is a new terrain response program mode. The new program is called e-Mode and focuses principally on on-road use. When selected by the driver, this mode configures all of the vehicle's e-Terrain systems for optimized fuel economy, adopting soft throttle response and early shift points.

e-Terrain concept's diesel engine also has the ability to run on up to 25% bio-diesel fuel. Bio-diesel is environmentally friendly because it is made with renewable, natural oils such as soy beans and can potentially cut CO2 emissions by up to 25%.

Taken as a whole, Land Rover hopes that e-Terrain technologies can reduce emissions of large SUVs to carlike levels and allow for real-world fuel economy averages of up to 50 mpg in a compact SUV. Expect to see many of these features on the upcoming Land Rover Freelander compact sport-utility vehicle.

Digital Radio Update
Back in the May 2005 edition of Trends we introduced you to digital radio. In the United States it's called HD Radio, and it's finally becoming widely available in urban areas.

HD Radio is already available on more than 400 stations nationwide.

The main advantage of HD Radio is improved sound quality--be it FM or AM. In addition, broadcasters can send text messages along with the radio signal to hype anything from the song title, to the radio station, to the phone number of advertisements.

For the time being HD Radio signals will be broadcast along with analog radio signals. Like digital cable, HD Radio requires a special device to receive and decode the signal.

Up until now, that meant purchasing an aftermarket radio for consumers wishing to receive HD Radio through their vehicle's audio system. This past month BMW became the first automaker to offer an HD Radio-ready receiver as factory equipment.

HD Radio requires a special receiver for both home and auto listerers.

With improved sound quality and enhanced text messaging, HD Radio could make a run at satellite radio providers. What's really interesting about this competition is that both XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio are owned, at least in part, by car companies.

This could set the stage for a potential conflict of interest in the installation of HD Radio receivers as OEM equipment in new vehicles. General Motors, for example, is part owner of XM Radio and it is in GM's best interest that XM succeed. So would GM be more likely to install XM-capable radio units or HD Radio-capable audio head units?

Since commercial and satellite radio gathers a large percentage of its audience from commuters, it's likely that HD Radio will face a battle when it comes to automotive OEM installations. Stay tuned . . .

For more information on HD Radio, check out Consumer Guide'sŪ Trends 2005.

Legnedary racer and performance-car builder Carroll Shelby and the GT-H.

Hertz Rent-A-Racer
Want a performance car, but don't want high insurance rates, high gasoline bills, and extra-large car payments. Hertz has the answer for you: The 2006 Ford Shelby GT-H.

Forty years ago, Caroll Shelby and Hertz teamed up to create a high-performance Mustang for rental customers. The result was the legendary 1966 GT350 Hertz, a Mustang based hot rod.

2006 Shelby GT-H, coming to an airport near you!

Marking the 40th anniversary of that special car, Ford Motor Company introduced the 2006 Shelby GT-H at the 2006 New York Auto Show. Paying homage to the original, the '06 GT-H is painted black and sports gold racing stripes. Go fast goodies include a 90mm cold-air kit, free-flow muffler, 3.55:1 rear axle, and Ford Performance Handling Package, which includes special dampers, lowering springs, beefed up sway bars, and a strut-tower brace.

Engine upgrades boost horsepower of this special Mustang from 300 to 325. Production will be limited to about 500, but don't rush out to your dealer to buy this special edition, it will only be available at select Hertz locations across the nation.

For a closer look at the '06 Shelby GT-H, check out Consumer Guide'sŪ coverage of the 2006 New York Auto Show