What 007 Wants For Christmas

If you are a car buff or a fan of the James Bond franchise, you'll have no doubt become accustomed to the Aston Martin. Just in time for Mr. Bond's Christmas list is the new Aston Martin Carbon Black Special Editions. According to Uncrate the new finish will be available for several models from the manufacturer and is designed to give different appearances under differing conditions.

Follow the link above to find out that the cars feature "Lightweight seats formed from Carbon Fibre and Kevlar saving 17 kg over the standard seat also feature together with Piano black facia trim, centre stack and centre console, anodised black tread plates and unique sill plaques build on the carbon theme. The Aston Martin 700w Premium Audio System is delivered as standard in the V12 Vantage while the DBS boasts the Bang & Olufsen Beosound DBS audio system as standard."

Rental Cars Going Green?

There appears to be a growing trend amongst rental car companies towards hybrids, or so says CNN. The growth is definitely slow and cautious, "At the end of the day, it's the consumer that drives rental fleeting," said Neil Abrams, president of Abrams Consulting Group Inc., "Rental car companies can buy a lot of cars their customers don't want to drive, and they'll be sitting in a lot and gathering dust." According to the article, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has opened four new "green branches" in Atlanta where about 60 percent of the vehicles at the branch will be hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles. Enterprise has built its hybrid fleet to 4,000 vehicles in its total fleet of 1.1 million, while Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said it's adding 3, 500 Toyota Prius this year, and Avis Budget Group Inc. says it now offers 2,500 hybrid vehicles in it's total fleet of 1.8 million. While it is a drop in the bucket, the trend is positive, and exposes drivers to the gas sipping vehicles.

Changes are coming but are we ready?

c|net's news.com is asking the question "Are drivers ready for high-tech onslaught?" It seems a lot of new technology is heading our way and many of us may not be ready to comprehend the systems that are intended to make life easier. "A lot of it is beneficial...But it can be confusing and in the automobile, that's a safety threat," Don Norman, professor at Northwestern University is quoted as saying. The article suggests that features such as self parking and auto breaking, to mention a couple, are making the leap from high end luxury cars to more modest rides as soon as next year. I don't know about you but I say "bring it on!", this stuff is cool...

The following quote is also interesting, "In a Telematics Research Group review of 2008 car models, 70 percent have voice-activated Bluetooth communication capability and 80 percent offer navigation systems as either options or standard equipment." Sounds like you might want to wait a few months if you are contemplating a car purchase.