It is an ATV! It's a boat! It's both, and it works great

AP/Carlos Osorio

The new Quadski, a one-person motorboat that also drives on land, is being billed as the first commercially available, high-speed amphibious vehicle by its maker, Michigan-based Gibbs Technologies.

By Bryan Laviolette, TheDetroitBureau.com
We fire up the Gibbs Quadski — the world’s first production, fast amphibian — and head straight for the water. Just as the tires start to get wet, we instinctively grab the brake lever because, well, wheeled vehicles aren’t supposed to go in the water.

But then we remember that this wheeled vehicle is different. The fact that the Quadski can roll into the water is precisely what makes it special.

As a Gibbs marketing representative said, “that’s when the magic happens.”

After pushing a button to raise the wheels — the key feature that transforms the Quadski from land vehicle to boat — we squeeze the throttle lever and in as little as five seconds after entering the water, we’re planing across the lake where we tested the vehicle.

Gibbs, founded by New Zealand industrialist Alan Gibbs, has been developing what it calls High Speed Amphibian technology for 15 years. But after teasing enthusiasts for years, it is finally going to start making one model of the long-awaited vehicles.

The Quadski can hit 45 mph in the water, the same on land. And a transition between the two takes as little as five seconds. That’s what Gibbs has said the Quadski would do and finally is ready to deliver after years of promises and premature production plans.

A year ago, we had a chance to take a quick spin on a Quadski prototype and came away thinking that it needed more pop “out of the hole.” Problem solved. Gibbs completely redesigned the jet and impeller propulsion system, making it bigger to provide more thrust.

Now, the Quadski feels powerful from rest. It gets up on plane quickly and easily achieves top speed. Power comes from a 175-horsepower 1.3-liter four-cylinder lifted straight out of a BMW K1300 motorcycle.

The ride is smooth, and the Quadski feels well-balanced, although our test drive was on a mirror-smooth lake, so we can’t say how well it handles in rough water. It carves smooth turns, although the shallow V-shape of its hull results in it not being able to turn as well as the best-handling personal watercraft.

One of the most controversial aspects of the Quadski is Gibbs’ insistence that it doesn’t need four-wheel drive. Will the Quadski be able to hoist itself out of the water on slick or steep transition zones? Unfortunately, our test didn’t include any difficult spots on which to test the Quadski.

AP/Carlos Osorio

The Quadski zips across the water. It's equally at home on a lake or on a trail.

Gibbs says that rear-wheel drive — with a limited-slip differential — combined with the jet are more than enough to push the Q up any suitable landing.

Now, let’s check out the other half of the Quadski equation. It’s time to put the wheels back down and see what it can do on the trails. As easy as it is to go in the water, it’s just as easy to exit. After coming off the plane mode, toggle the wheels down. Because the jet is always engaged, we can still power through the water until the wheels reach land and help propel the vehicle out of the water.

All-terrain vehicles require far less power than personal watercraft, but the Quadski uses the same 1.3-liter BMW four-cylinder nestled under the seat for propulsion on land. At one point, Gibbs said its solution was to cut engine power while on land to 20 percent, but it is not currently publicizing that number. How much horsepower does the engine produce on land? The company won’t say.

Despite the cut in power, the Quadski accelerates quickly and easily hits its 45 mph top speed. Even with the limited-slip differential and the reduced power output, the the Q still willingly kicks out its tail end under power.

The ride is very smooth, and the single-seat Quadski always feels stable. At 126 inches in length and 63 inches wide, it ought to.

Gibbs uses BMW’s constant-mesh six-speed manual transmission, but mounts its own automated clutch. Shifting is by a toggle switch on the left handlebar. There is no full automatic mode. Computers prevent the operator from over-revving the engine.

Does a vehicle with a 45-mph top speed need a six-speed transmission? Not really. Three speeds would be plenty. In water mode, the Q uses third gear.

Gibbs has been using a Polaris Sportsman 800 as a chase vehicle at its test site. The smaller Sportsman’s engine achieves 54 horsepower and doesn’t feel as quick as the Quadski, suggesting the Gibbs machine is probably producing about 80 horses while on land.

Many buyers will be tempted to try to eliminate the governor and coax the full 175 horses out of the engine on land. Better get an advanced computer-engineering degree, because you’re going to need it. Gibbs Chairman Neil Jenkins described the Quadski as tamper-proof.

The cut in power does not stop the fun on land. Even with a limited-slip differential, the Quadski allows some tail-out antics in turns.

Here’s what the Quadski is not: It is not the ultimate rock-hopper all-terrain vehicle. And it’s also not going to out-handle the most extreme personal watercraft. But it is a better ATV than any other personal watercraft, and it is a better personal watercraft than any other ATV.

Criticisms? The Quadski features a single large dial for speed with an LCD readout in the lower-right corner for other information such as tachometer readings and gear number. The LCD is virtually unreadable while moving. Gibbs officials said production versions would have a more legible LCD, but it’s still too small to see easily. A separate analog tachometer would be more useful.

Then again, even making reduced power on land, the Quadski is rarely wanting for power, so being in just the right gear isn’t all that important.

Also, there are several exposed screws on the body. While it’s a matter of taste, the Quadski would look better with hidden fasteners.

But nothing detracts from what the Quadski represents. Instead of having an ATV and a personal watercraft, you can now have one vehicle that is both.

Without getting off the vehicle, you can go from fishing in the middle of the bay to riding the trails. Instead of leaving your personal watercraft at the beach of a remote island, go farther on a Quadski. Forget the trouble of trailering and launching a personal watercraft; you can drive into the water right at the beach. Instead of storing an ATV and a personal watercraft on a trailer, you store one vehicle.

While the exact price has not been set, Gibbs announced it will be “about” $40,000. The company will begin taking orders at gibbssportsamphibians.com next week. Deliveries will begin in November.

Now here’s the problem for everyone who doesn’t live in the eastern United States. With a plan to build just 1,000 of the machines in the first year, Gibbs will limit sales to just five or six dealers, all of which will be east of the Mississippi River. It expects to have as many as 20 dealers within a year.

As a new manufacturer building a product unlike anything else in existence in a new factory, the company wants to make sure the Quadski performs up to expectations before it ramps up production to 5,000 to 6,000 per year. The price is likely to come down as the company realizes economies of scale. How far could the price come down? Gibbs would like to get the price to the high 20 thousands.

Gibbs has been working on its High Speed Amphibian technology for 15 years. After years of broken promises and $200 million in development costs, the company is finally ready to put one of its amphibians into production.

The Quadski is just the start. The company is also taking orders for its Phibian, a 30-foot amphibian aimed at first responders. Variations on the Quadski are also expected.

And once it can clear more significant regulatory hurdles, the company will build an amphibious car, called the Aquada. In fact, the company originally developed its HSA technology for the Aquada, but decided to focus on other vehicles while the Aquada is mired with regulatory problems related to fundamental problems that make it impossible to meet all government regulations at the same time.

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Volt 'doing great,' but GM idling plant for 4 weeks

DETROIT - General Motors Co will idle the Michigan assembly plant that makes the Chevrolet Volt for four weeks from the middle of September to the middle of October, plant suppliers and union sources said on Monday.

It will be the second time this year that the plant, which straddles the border of Detroit and the city of Hamtramck, has stopped making Volts.

GM confirmed the plant idling, saying it will continue to "match supply with demand" for both the Volt and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan that is also made at the plant. The automaker declined to specify how long the plant will be closed.

During the shutdown, GM will do some retooling and other work to prepare for production early next year of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala sedan. The plant will begin building preproduction prototypes of the redesigned Impala this fall.

The 2013 Impala is now made at a GM plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Production of the current-model Impala will continue in Ontario through the second quarter of next year, GM said.

The Volt is "doing great" and gaining sales each month and GM officials expect to report strong August sales as well, said GM spokesman Dave Darovitz.

Sales of the plug-in hybrid car are up 272 percent since last year, but are below initial expectations when GM launched the Volt in late 2010, followed by its near-identical version for Europe, the Opel Ampera.

Some 1,200 hourly workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will receive unemployment compensation during the four-week shutdown period, which amounts to about 90 percent of their normal pay, a union source said.

The plant's single 10-hour shift works four days a week. That single shift will be suspended for four weeks beginning September 17, supplier and union sources said.

GM would not say whether the number of workers will rise once Impala production has fully shifted to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant.

The idling of the plant was reported earlier by the Automotive News.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall and Paul Lienert; editing by Matthew Lewis)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012.

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10 cool cars with great gas mileage

Not long ago Zack O’Malley Greenburg had a problem.

His parents had finally decided to replace the 1991 Nissan Sentra he had driven in high school and still used occasionally to make the trip from Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., back to Manhattan.

The Sentra, among other foibles, lacked air-conditioning and a side mirror. It rattled and hummed at any speed approaching 80 miles per hour. Thing is, the elder Greenburg wanted to replace it with something affordable and fuel efficient, such as a Honda Civic or Chevy Cruze. Greenburg the younger wanted — nay, needed — something cool.

“When I heard what they were looking at, I kind of groaned and thought that I would be doomed to be borrowing rental cars from them for the rest of my life,” he said.

Fortunately for Zack — a music reporter here at Forbes — his sense of style won out. After weeks of debating the relative merits of reliability, maintenance costs, safety scores and, most importantly, fuel economy, he convinced his parents to choose a cherry red, black-roofed Mini Cooper. With rally-car handling and an impressive 37 miles per gallon on the highway, the iconic coupe proved the perfect compromise between efficiency and style.

“In the end they decided to buy the Mini because it had personality and spunk,” he told me. “It was fun to drive — and got good gas mileage.”

Fighting the bulge at the pump

In this instance, Zack’s sense of style prevailed. But his parents weren’t totally wrong to insist on something fuel efficient. Gas prices currently average $3.59 per gallon nationally, with analysts at Kelley Blue Book saying they will surpass $4.00 per gallon sometime this year.

Alec Gutierrez, the senior market analyst of automotive insights at KBB, said the change won’t cost consumers that much. Assuming 12,000 annual miles driven on a 20-mpg car, even a $1 raise in prices from $3.60 to $4.60 per gallon would result in paying $11.50 more per week. In short, he says, don’t assume high gas prices mean you’ll get a special discount on a high-efficiency car this year.

But wanting to save money on gas doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be stuck with a Toyota Prius. Consider the 2012 Subaru Impreza. The $20,295 2.0i Sport Premium edition gets 36 miles per gallon on the highway and is renowned for its dexterity in the snow. It also has 17-inch gunmetal alloy wheels, roof rails and fog lights; standard, too, is an all-weather package that will do wonders on weekend trips up to the mountain.

Or try a more luxurious hatchback, the Audi A3. This $30,250 diesel gets 30 miles per gallon and 40 on the highway — and has fantastic electronics like speed-sensitive steering, quattro all-wheel drive, ambient interior lighting and electronic brake stabilization. Plus a leather-clad interior and halogen headlights.

For a more urban environment, consider the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC. Mercedes is known for its progressive technology and posh interiors. The E Class doesn’t disappoint: It has advanced sound and comfort technology in the cabin paired with burnished trim and wooden veneers. It also has LED daytime lights and enough stability programs to ensure a smooth ride in even the most pockmarked of Manhattan streets. The $51,690 BlueTEC diesel edition gets 32 miles per gallon on the highway.

And for likely the best overall value on this list, consider something from Hyundai.

“Veloster is one of my favorites,” says Jake Fisher, the head automotive tester for Consumer Reports.

He’s right: The $17,300 hatchback is distinctive because it has three passenger doors rather than two or four — one side of the car has a second side door while the other has only a driver-side door. Veloster combines an aggressively styled front grill with a 1.6-liter engine that sips fuel with the best of them (40 mpg on the highway). But it drives with spunk, thanks in part to the fact that it weighs about as much as a Mazda Miata.

Electric Avenue

The ultimate high-mpg status symbol, though, requires nothing less than electricity. Fisker’s plug-in Karma sedan, with a buttery smooth ride and exotic good looks — plus 300-mile driving range — has received rave reviews.

And the Tesla Model S, due out in July, combines progressive technology inside with a 0-60mph time on par with the Porsche Panamera.

A 40 kWh version of the seven-passenger sedan will cost just under $50,000 with federal rebates; the higher performing will cost more: $59,900 for a 60 kWh (230-mile-range) model and $69,900 for an 85 kWh (300-mile-range) model. The 85 kWh performance Model S, which comes with additional equipment like Nappa leather interior and performance wheels, will cost $79,900 after federal tax rebates.

The dashing good looks and cool personality of both these sedans are nearly as electric as their motors. Of course, if you drive a green car like one of these, you may miss the sound of a rumbling engine and the challenge of changing gears.

It’s no small thing. Just ask Zack.

“I’m really thrilled because with the Mini because I get to drive a car that actively excites me,” he says. “But I still wish they had gotten a stick shift!”

© 2012 Forbes.com

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2010 was a great year for (stolen) American cars

U.S. automakers are again, beat their foreign competitors, even though she probably wish would not be in the way.

For the first time since 2002, car thieves American model of your preferred as foreign. That is the result of counting the national insurance Crime Bureau annual list of most stolen vehicles in 2010.

At the national level, the most stolen car model was 1994 Honda accord - the Champ from 2009 and 2008.

Broken by automaker Ford had three spots in the top 10, Dodge two and Chevrolet one. The remaining four spots were held by Toyota, Honda and Acura. The report mentions, however, that the first three items in the list are Japanese models continue. This trend has held since 2000.

The good news is car and truck robberies further decreased, the report said. If the preliminary FBI final tally match statistics from the study with the Bureau, the least vehicle thefts will 2010 have seen since 1967.

The NICB said that the decline in the total theft was largely due to the improvements in technology, pointing out that stolen to 52,000 agreement in 2010 more than 44,000 model years in the 1990s were near.

Here it is life Inc.: most everyone is on vacation and you are not, and the few that are in the Office expect to get things done. Here is how to look like you are. Automakers in search for boost fuel pump efficiency life Inc.: costs, ensure the mothers to most life Inc.: $175 million has Highert "for sale" price in United States 2010 was a great year for (stolen) American cars

Of course the national average was just that, on average. Was in Wyoming the vehicle most stolen Dodge Ram, and the agreement does not even make that country top 10. The RAM not in New York State top 10 place, but the Jeep Grand Cherokee cracked the list.

The list of most stolen vehicles at the national level for 2010:

1994 Honda Accord 1995 Honda Civic 1991 Toyota Camry 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck (full size) 1997 Ford F150 series/pickup 2004 Dodge Ram 2000 Dodge Caravan 1994 Acura Integra 2002 Ford Explorer 1999 Ford Taurus

A breakdown of the State-by-State study to read and to read the entire report, please visit the NICB hot wheels Web site.

© 2011 msnbc.com reprints

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Nissan puts on great destinations

Nissan is with buyers in long lines to wait the law of supply and demand, honor, rise in the prices of its new leaf battery electric vehicle by 7.4 per cent for the next model year 2012.

Plans at the same time the manufacturers continue to expand the availability of sheet, which offers it to now only seven States. Nissan has so far only provided 4,000 high-calibre battery cars, but it's quickly ramping up production and for 2011 its original goal of 20,000 leaf sales could come closer.

Nissan leaf and most of its other products that can boost is important, since in its main competitors, Toyota and Honda, to fight, to cope with, causing bottlenecks by the March 11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. While these two manufacturers Nissan was book their way through a series of topics that slashed struck work sales and profits, sharp gains and set their sights on even bigger goals: CEO global volume of around 50 percent increase in the next six years would like to.

Nissan puts on great destinations Nissan was sharp gains book and set their sights on even bigger goals: its CEO global volume of around 50 percent increase in the next six years would like to. Life Inc.: What your boss hates most about sessions life Inc.: the cost for one year at Hogwarts your career: companies cut shift aid according to Potter, Warner of Bros. seeks more magic

In December last year with introduction of the leaf has steal Nissan, one March lead rival Toyota, aiming, as one of the auto industry environment to positioning and technology leaders. Although the numbers have been so far modest, Nissan claims that four out of five leaf were buyer "conquered" by other brands. What's more, is a necessary Halo he the Japanese manufacturer ready.

"If Nissan can do a product like the leaf," suggests Vice President of product planning Larry Dominique, "A lot of people are asking what we can do."

He hits a lot. After several years of slowly has manufacturer product range quickly, both for the mainstream-Nissan brand its up market sibling, Infiniti was ramps. The latter, long a competitors in the luxury segment has started gaining traction in recent years. The is based largely on acclaimed G cars, such as the G37 Coupe, the competition with the BMW 3 series and Mercedes-Benz c-class.

Infiniti has three more deals in the works, short term, including the JX compact crossover, which will be presented in August, and a high variant of the leaf Nissan. The most important brand now has offered a number of new 2012, among them is the improved version of its small versa sedan, gaining ground with Americans was, want to migrate to smaller, more fuel-efficient models.

Nissan escape not unscathed from the March disaster. It was in may, beat up 9.1 per cent decline a book U.S.. But while the main Japanese rivals were struck again in June Nissan sales rose back, year-over-year increases of 11 percent.

"they very much better job" overcoming bottlenecks, says Aaron Bragman, automotive analyst at consulting firm IHS. "they much more effectively to global sourcing of parts that just offer would have been different since", he explains.

This is an important reason, why could boost the manufacturers production in its four North American assembly plants by 9.1 per cent in the first half of 2011 to 565,730. put it in the leading position among the so-called "transplant". Toyota year compared with the previous year, production slipped 28 percent to 555,972 while Honda's North American output 20.8 percent to 516,603.

Last month, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn that the manufacturer US sales should an increase of 7.7% over the previous year, according to top 1 million in the current financial year the 31 March specified ended. If all that could deliver a blow, it is four US by Nissan and Mexican plants against capacity constraints are pushing.

"When you play our ambitions for growth in the United States and the role of the (two Nissan), Mexican plants for our growth in the Americas it is clear that we are going to need more capacity, have", admits global marketing chief Simon Sproule.

What is now being debated within the company, is whether to add additional factories or expand the existing facilities. The manufacturer original U.S. plant in Smyrna, TN, is an update to start the sheet from late in the year 2012, allow, that already subject to.

With less than one-third of the global capacity based on the domestic market is Nissan that at least the Asian manufacturer of Japanese production. And this trend will expand at the same time also his role in booming China continued ahead with plans, factories in Brazil, among other things to set, promote. It has a much stronger position than laggards Toyota Nissan, note analysts.

That has helped Nissan, the become the second largest island of the Japanese makers last year past Honda nudge. But for Ghosn, who in 1999 took over Nissan in the year when the company to fail seemed doomed, that is just the beginning.

On the other hand, as one of the Japanese disaster, rising raw material costs and unequal exchange rates net profit is Nissan's now slip 15.4 percent to 270 billion yen, or $3.4 billion down from 319 billion yen in the past financial year projected the 31 March ended. On the other hand, 7.1 per cent to 9.4 trillion yen are expected sales, climbing, while unit volume by 9.9 percent to 4.6 million forecast.

Longer-term, Ghosn aims at significant growth. His new six-year makes-88 plan is aimed at a 8 percent global market share - global sales rising to 8 million - as well as a profit margin of 8 percent of sales.

"This is that Nissan begins the offensive instead of reconstruction of something or something to defend in a plan, the first time," Ghosn said last month.

It is an ambitious goal. Analysts note that under Carlos Ghosn, Nissan has missed a number of targets in the last decade. But it is still progress. And so, with "a lot of hard work" and a little luck, claiming the power 88 plan can do is Kurt Sanger, Deutsche Bank.

During the leaf little more than an asterisk in the corporate-charts, Nissan's image still helps little battery car and helps lure in buyers to charge that it needs.

© 2011 msnbc.com.  Reprints

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