Auto Repair Tempe

While the majority of us can't afford to spend a lifetime's income on a single automobile, it's sure fun to dream about! It's also amazing the kind of detail and care that go into building these ultra high-end automobiles. Today we're going to take a look at the making of a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a saloon automobile made in the United Kingdom by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW subsidiary. It was launched in 2003 and is the first model introduced during the BMW era. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé, are both based on the 2003 Phantom. It also won the Top Gear Car of the Year Award for 2003. It now serves as its flagship model. Here's how it's made

As we mentioned last week, we're quickly moving into the buying season for the new 2015 model year. One of the popular auto manufacturers is Volvo, which was recently purchased by Geely. Many industry watchers have been curiously waiting to see what this new version of the Volvo brand would produce. With the introduction of the model we're featuring today, many feel that this will completely redefine the Volvo brand. Volvo has finally revealed the all-new 2015 XC90 luxury crossover SUV, perhaps their most important new product in decades. Notice the engine selections available with turbocharged, supercharged and hybrid models. Consider a couple of reaction comments from automotive enthusiasts made when first seeing this new reveal: "One of a kind vehicle. This new Volvo xc90 2015 is pushing all possible boundaries. BMW Mercedes and all other luxury levels watch out for New VOLVO products coming soon in the near future. This particular model is phenomenal, it's stunning and the te ... read more

In this last quarter of 2014 (wow, that came around fast, didn't it?) it might be time once again to consider the purchase of a new car. While today's head-to-head comparison is for 2014 models, there's a lot of good information that will apply to the 2015 model year. Are you considering an update of your German vehicle, or perhaps you're considering getting into your first one? Either way, don't forget that Elite Auto Repair is a qualified and certified auto repair shop for all German automobiles. If you enjoy a little more "oomph" (that's a special technical auto repair term) in your ride, you don't have to give that up just because you're ride is more sophisticated, or business-like. In this episode of the "Head 2 Head" show, the host sets out to discover which German hot-rod-personal-luxury-coupe is the best you can get. The 507 Coupe is the last iteration of the W204 C63. With the exception of the very limited-run Black Series ... read more

Set to sell for less than half the price of the least expensive car in America, the 3-wheeled Elio is aiming to shake up the automotive industry. It isn't electric but uses a small gasoline-powered system. However, due it's small, light, and aerodynamic design, it's economical prowess is vast. The Elio features a 1+1, 2-seat design. It utilizes a 70-hp, 1-liter, 3-cylinder front-mounted engine. Now, compared to engine sizes you're used to hearing, even in sub compact cars, that still sounds like a pretty small engine perhaps more suited to a lawn mower, or at least a lawn tractor. Once again, due to its physical features it can hit speeds of up to 100 mph, and it can accelerate to 60 mph in 9.6 seconds. And the fuel economy is jaw-dropping. Up to 84 mpg on the highway and up to 49 mpg in the city. With a full tank of gas (only 8 gallons), the Elio can travel up to 672 miles. That's a road trip from New York to Detroit with no stopping for gas. Here are some other features ... read more

No one likes to get stuck behind an oblivious person that doesn't notice when a light changes, so Audi came up with a technological solution. The Audi Online traffic light recognition system could save fuel as well as annoyance, by allowing drivers to anticipate changing lights. The system works by reading the automated signals from a city's central traffic computer, and transmitting that information to the driver through the car's Driver Information Display. At a red light, the system can count down the time remaining until a change to green, as well as prime an engine start-stop system to restart the engine five seconds before that. While on the move, it can also sense whether a car will be able to make it through a green light and--if not--advises the driver to start braking early, preventing abrupt stops. Audi believes this technology could save significant quantities of fuel in city driving, where the constant start-and-stop nature of tr ... read more

Hyundai Motor Co. plans to start selling its first battery-powered electric vehicle (EV) in 2016 as South Korea's champion of fuel-cell cars hedges its bets in next-generation green technology. Hyundai has leant toward engines which turn hydrogen into electricity in response to stricter emissions regulations in markets such as the U.S. Research and development partner Kia Motors Corp. has focused on rechargeable batteries. But the division of labor is blurring at a time when the number of battery-powered EVs is on the rise. BMW's i3 and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd's Leaf are widely expected to reach Korea this year - as will Kia's Soul EV. "There is no clear direction about which eco-friendly cars will win. We are dividing roles of Hyundai and Kia, with Hyundai launching fuel cell cars and Kia focusing on electric cars," Senior Vice President Lee Ki-sang told reporters on Tuesday. "But the time will come when Kia will introduce a fuel-cell car. Hyundai is also preparing to launch ... read more

You have no doubt noticed the level of technology built into the modern automobile. Who could have guessed what we have today just 50 years ago? Where will we be in another 50 years? What about just 10, or even 5 years? Check out the video below to see the automotive vision of Texas Instruments in our near future. About This Video And Its Authors TI, a leading supplier in automotive technology, offers innovations for cars of today and tomorrow. TI's vision of near-term and longer-term automotive technology is featured in this video. TI's automotive technologies give customers the ability to introduce many highly sophisticated features into today's automobiles including infotainment systems that keep drivers informed and passengers entertained, safety features that assist with parking and detect driver drowsiness and innovative communications technology. TI's automotive technologies transform cars into portable command centers for entertainment and information, with instan ... read more

The automotive news has been packed with interesting stories lately. It's interesting how a class of vehicle that started out as something utilitarian has morphed into a new genre of its own and is even considered to have real style! First up today, it seems the trend in automotive is to make everything as automatic as possible, even cars that can drive themselves. Check out this story of a Mazda SUV, a CX-5, was in the process of testing automated braking when things didn't do exactly as planned... Next up is a very popular brand of upper end SUVs, Infiniti. The model QX56 has become the QX-80. It's not just a new name. The QX80 is a recommended buy of Consumer Reports, where reliability is listed as above average. Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $62,345 for a base, 2014 QX80 with rear-wheel drive and automatic transmission. Starting retail price, including destination charge, for a base, 2014 QX80 with all-wheel drive is ... read more

This important update comes to us from PopularMechanics.com. The federal, congressional, and National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) has an investigation into 1.6 million General Motors cars with faulty ignitions, and the scope of the mechanical failure that can cause a car to shut off involuntarily, and in turn, switch off safety systems including power steering and airbags. On top of that, GM has announced a further round of recalls unrelated to the ignition switch problem, two of which also pertain to airbags: 1.17 million examples of the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook have side airbags that will fail to function if the airbag warning light is illuminated, and the dash trim covering 303,000 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savanna passenger-side airbags doesn't meet federal standards. This past Friday, the Center for Automotive Safety published a letter to NHTSA demanding to know why it hadn't investigated several fatal accident ... read more

This is great find brought to us today by the Auto Tech devision over at NBC.com Have you ever wondered how you might locate charging centers if you were/are driving an electrical vehicle? As it so happens, one of the biggest concerns of switching to an all-electric vehicle is worrying about what would happen if you ran out of juice. Our roads and major highways are dotted with gas stations of course, but what's an electric vehicle owner to do with a green car running on empty? A new app called PlugShare wants to address exactly that, calming the worries of would-be green drivers with a map chock full of charging locations. PlugShare goes beyond aggregating public electric vehicle charging stations by encouraging users to submit their own personal plugs to the database, effectively weaving together a community of electric vehicle owners. Of course, having a stranger pull up at your home to plug in isn't everyone's idea of a good time, but wh ... read more