Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche, is a German holding company with investments in the automotive industry.

Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg and is owned by the Piëch and Porsche families. In June 2013, Qatar Holdings, through the Qatar Investment Authority, sold its 10% holding back to the founding family, giving them 100% control. Porsche owns 50.73% of the voting rights in Volkswagen AG,.

On July 2012, it was announced that Volkswagen AG was taking over the Porsche automotive company completely, which bears the same name, but is only a subsidiary of Porsche SE.

The company was founded in Stuttgart as Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, an Austrian engineer born in Maffersdorf, during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Porsche's son-in-law Anton Piëch, an Austrian lawyer.

Porsche SE is the owner of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (Porsche AG), and in June 2007 became a holding company for its stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH (50.1%) (which in turn holds 100% of Porsche AG) and Volkswagen AG (50.7%). In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group". During December 2009, Porsche SE lost control of Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, which as a result is now a joint venture between Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG. As of 5 July 2012, Volkswagen is to acquire the 50.1 per cent in Porsche's capital that it doesn't already hold from holding company Porsche SE for €4.46 billion plus one Volkswagen share.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (which stands for Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche Aktiengesellschaft), is responsible for the actual production and manufacture of the Porsche automobile line. The company currently produces Porsche 911, Boxster and Cayman sports cars, the Cayenne sport utility vehicle and the four-door Panamera.

Porsche Engineering Group (PEG) has for many years offered consultancy services to various other car manufacturers. Audi, Mercedes, Opel, Studebaker, SEAT,Daewoo, Subaru, Zastava Automobiles and others have consulted Porsche Engineering Group for their cars or engines. The Lada Samara was partly developed by Porsche in 1984. Porsche Engineering Group also helped Harley-Davidson design the Revolution 60-degree v-twin water-cooled engine and gearbox that is used in their V-Rod motorcycle.

Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1931, with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, that is a "Volkswagen". This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time. The Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.

During World War II, Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen, 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen, 14,000 produced. Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes.

At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army Major, was put in charge of the factory. (In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen.") On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes, but not tried. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father's release in August 1947. The first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production was begun. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. Porsche commissioned a Zuffenhausen-based company,Reutter Karosserie, which had previously collaborated with the firm on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche building, is now known as Porschestrasse. The 356 was road certified in 1948.

Neon lighting

Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge light. A neon tube light is a sealed glass tube with a metal electrode at each end, filled with one of a number of gases at low pressure. A high potential of several thousand volts applied to the electrodes ionizes the gas in the tube, causing it to emit colored light by fluorescence. The color of the light depends on the gas in the tube. Neon lights were named for neon, a noble gas which gives off a popular red light, but other gases and chemicals are used to produce other colors, such as helium (yellow), carbon dioxide (white), and mercury (blue). Neon tubes can be fabricated in curving artistic shapes, to form letters or pictures. They are mainly used to make dramatic, multicolored glowing signage for advertising, called neon signs, which were popular from the 1920s to the 1950s.

The term can also refer to the miniature neon glow lamp, developed in 1917, about seven years after neon tube lighting.

 While neon tube lights are typically meters long, the neon lamps can be less than one centimeter in length and glow much more dimly than the tube lights. Through the 1970s, neon glow lamps were widely used for displays in electronics, for small decorative lamps, and as electronic devices in themselves. While these lamps are now antiques, the technology of the neon glow lamp developed into contemporary plasma displays and televisions.

Georges Claude, a French engineer and inventor, presented neon tube lighting in essentially its modern form at the Paris Motor Show from December 3–18, 1910. Claude, sometimes called "the Edison of France", had a near monopoly on the new technology, which became very popular for signage and displays in the period 1920-1940. Neon lighting was an important cultural phenomenon in the United States in that era; by 1940, the downtowns of nearly every city in the US were bright with neon signage, and Times Square in New York City was known worldwide for its neon extravagances. There were 2000 shops nationwide designing and fabricating neon signs. The popularity, intricacy, and scale of neon signage for advertising declined in the U.S. following the Second World War (1939–1945), but development continued vigorously in Japan, Iran, and some other countries. In recent decades architects and artists, in addition to sign designers, have again adopted neon tube lighting as a component in their works.

Neon lighting is closely related to fluorescent lighting, which developed about 25 years after neon tube lighting. In fluorescent lights, the light emitted by rarefied gases within a tube is used exclusively to excite fluorescent materials that coat the tube, which then shine with their own colors that become the tube's visible, usually white, glow. Fluorescent coatings and glasses are also an option for neon tube lighting, but are usually selected to obtain bright colors.

Neon is a chemical element and an inert gas that is a minor component of the Earth's atmosphere. It was discovered in 1898 by William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers. When Ramsay and Travers had succeeded in obtaining some pure neon from the atmosphere, they explored its properties using an "electrical gas-discharge" tube that was similar to the tubes used today for neon signs. Travers later wrote, "the blaze of crimson light from the tube told its own story and was a sight to dwell upon and never forget." The procedure of examining the colors of the light emitted from gas-discharge (or "Geissler" tubes) was well-known at the time, since the colors of light (the "spectral lines") emitted by a gas discharge tube are, essentially, fingerprints that identify the gases inside.

Immediately following neon's discovery, neon tubes were used as scientific instruments and novelties. However, the scarcity of purified neon gas precluded its prompt application for electrical gas-discharge lighting along the lines of Moore tubes, which used more common nitrogen or carbon dioxide as the working gas, and enjoyed some commercial success in the US in the early 1900s. After 1902, Georges Claude's company in France, Air Liquide, began producing industrial quantities of neon essentially as a byproduct of the air liquefaction business. From December 3–18, 1910, Claude demonstrated two large (12 metres (39 ft) long), bright red neon tubes at the Paris Motor Show. These neon tubes were essentially in their contemporary form. The range of outer diameters for the glass tubing used in neon lighting is 9 to 25 mm; with standard electrical equipment, the tubes can be as long as 30 metres (98 ft). The pressure of the gas inside is in the range 3-20 Torr (0.4-3 kPa), which corresponds to a partial vacuum in the tubing. Claude had also solved two technical problems that substantially shortened the working life of neon and some other gas discharge tubes, and effectively gave birth to a neon lighting industry. In 1915 a US patent was issued to Claude covering the design of the electrodes for gas-discharge lighting; this patent became the basis for the monopoly held in the US by his company, Claude Neon Lights, for neon signs through the early 1930s.

Claude's patents envisioned the use of gases such as argon and mercury vapor to create different colors beyond those produced by neon. In the 1920s, fluorescent glasses and coatings were developed to further expand the range of colors and effects for tubes with argon gas or argon-neon mixtures; generally, the fluorescent coatings are used with an argon/mercury-vapor mixture, which emits ultraviolet light that activates the fluorescent coatings. By the 1930s, the colors from combinations of neon tube lights had become satisfactory for some general interior lighting applications, and achieved some success in Europe, but not in the US. Since the 1950s, the development of phosphors for color televisions has created nearly 100 new colors for neon tube lighting.

Around 1917, Daniel McFarlan Moore, then working at the General Electric Company, developed the miniature neon lamp. The glow lamp has a very different design than the much larger neon tubes used for signage; the difference was sufficient that a separate US patent was issued for the lamp in 1919. A Smithsonian Institution website notes, "These small, low power devices use a physical principle called "coronal discharge." Moore mounted two electrodes close together in a bulb and added neon or argon gas. The electrodes would glow brightly in red or blue, depending on the gas, and the lamps lasted for years. Since the electrodes could take almost any shape imaginable, a popular application has been fanciful decorative lamps. Glow lamps found practical use as electronic components, and as indicators in instrument panels and in many home appliances until the acceptance of Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) starting in the 1970s."

Although some neon lamps themselves are now antiques, and their use in electronics has declined markedly, the technology has continued to develop in artistic and entertainment contexts. Neon lighting technology has been reshaped from long tubes into thin flat panels used for plasma displays and plasma television sets.

Lion

The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia (where an endangered remnant population resides in Gir Forest National Park in India) while other types of lions have disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a major population decline in its African range of 30–50% per two decades during the second half of the 20th century. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Within Africa, theWest African lion population is particularly endangered.

Lions live for 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than 20 years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than 10 years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. They typically inhabitsavanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have been known to do so. Sleeping mainly during the day, lions are primarily nocturnal, although bordering on crepuscular in nature.

Highly distinctive, the male lion is easily recognised by its mane, and its face is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. Depictions have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves, through virtually all ancient and medieval cultures where they once occurred. It has been extensively depicted in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire, and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoos over the world since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.

Drag racing

Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly ¼ mile (1,320 ft (400 m)), with a shorter 1,000 ft (300 m) for some Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, while 660 ft (200 m) (1/8 mi) is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s. The faster vehicles need a parachute to slow down, an innovation credited (indirectly) to cartoonist Tom Medley.

Before each race (also known as a pass), each driver is allowed to perform a burnout, which heats the driving tires and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction. Each driver then lines up (or stages) at the starting line. Races are started electronically by a system known as a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree consists of a column of six lights for each driver/lane, one blue, then three amber, one green, and one red, connected to light beams on the track. The first, a split blue open circle, is split into two halves. When the first light beam is broken by the vehicle's front tire(s) indicate that the driver has pre-staged (approximately 7 inches (180 mm) from the starting line), lights the first half of the blue circle, and then staged (at the starting line), which lights up the second half of the blue circle, and also the corresponding bar in the middle of that circle. Below the blue "staged" light are three large amber lights, a green light, and a red light.

Once the first competitor trips the staged beam, the tree is automatically activated, and the opponent will have up to seven seconds to stage or a red light and automatic timed-out disqualification occurs instantly. Otherwise, when both drivers are staged the tree will start the race up to 8.3 seconds after the race is staged, with the time randomly selected by the Autostart system, which causes the three large amber lights to illuminate, followed by the green one. There are two standard light sequences: either the three amber lights flash simultaneously, followed 0.4 seconds later by the green light (a Pro tree), or the amber lights in sequence from top to bottom, 0.5 seconds apart, followed 0.5 seconds later by the green light (a Sportsman tree, or full tree). If the front tires leaves from a stage beam (stage and pre-stage lights both turned off) before the green light illuminates, the red light for that driver's lane illuminates instead, indicating disqualification (unless a more serious violation occurs). Once a driver commits a red-light foul (also known as redlighting), the other driver can also commit a foul start by leaving the line too early but still win, having left later. The green light automatically is illuminated on the opposite side of the red-lightning driver. Should both drivers leave after the green light illuminates, the one leaving first is said to have a holeshot advantage.

Except where a breakout rule is in place, the winner is the first vehicle to cross the finish line (and therefore the driver with the lowest total reaction time and elapsed time). The elapsed time is a measure of performance only; it does not necessarily determine the winner. Because elapsed time does not include reaction time and each lane is timed individually, a car with a slower elapsed time can actually win if that driver's holeshot advantage exceeds the elapsed time difference. In heads-up racing, this is known as a holeshot win. In categories where a breakout rule (some dial-in categories are this way, but Jr Dragster, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Stock, and Stock most notably) is in effect, if a competitor is faster than their predetermined time, that competitor loses. If both are faster than their predetermined time, the competitor closer to that time wins. Regardless, a red light foul is worse than a breakout, except in Jr Dragster where exceeding the absolute limit is disqualification.

Several measurements are taken for each race: reaction time, elapsed time, and speed. Reaction time is the period from the green light illuminating to the vehicle leaving the starting line. Elapsed time is the period from the vehicle leaving the starting line to crossing the finish line. Speed is measured through a speed trap covering the final 66 feet (20 m) to the finish line, indicating the approximate maximum speed of the vehicle during the run.

In the standard racing format, the losing car and driver are removed from the contest, while the winner goes on to race other winners, until only one is left.

Turbocharger

A turbocharger, or turbo (colloquialism), from the Latin "turbō, turbin-" ("a spinning thing") is a forced induction device used to allow more power to be produced by an engine of a given size. A turbocharged engine can be more powerful and efficient than a naturally aspirated engine because the turbine forces more air, and proportionately more fuel, into the combustion chamber than atmospheric pressure alone.

Turbochargers were originally known as turbosuperchargers when all forced induction devices were classified as superchargers; nowadays the term "supercharger" is usually applied to only mechanically driven forced induction devices. The key difference between a turbocharger and a conventional supercharger is that the latter is mechanically driven from the engine, often from a belt connected to the crankshaft, whereas a turbocharger is powered by a turbine that is driven by the engine's exhaust gas. Compared to a mechanically-driven supercharger, turbochargers tend to be more efficient but less responsive. Twincharger refers to an engine which has both a supercharger and a turbocharger.

Turbos are commonly used on truck, car, train, aircraft, and construction equipment engines. Turbos are popularly used with Otto cycle and Diesel cycle internal combustion engines. They have also been found useful in automotive fuel cells.

Forced induction dates from the late 19th century, when Gottlieb Daimler patented the technique of using a gear-driven pump to force air into an internal combustion engine in 1885. The turbocharger was invented by Swiss engineer Alfred Büchi (1879-1959), the head of diesel engine research at Gebruder Sulzer engine manufacturing company in Winterhur, who received a patent in 1905 for using a compressor driven by exhaust gasses to force air into an internal combustion engine to increase power output but it took another 20 years for the idea to come to fruition. During World War I French engineer Auguste Rateau fitted turbochargers to Renault engines powering various French fighters with some success. In 1918, General Electric engineer Sanford Alexander Moss attached a turbo to a V12 Liberty aircraft engine. The engine was tested at Pikes Peak in Colorado at 14,000 ft (4,300 m) to demonstrate that it could eliminate the power loss usually experienced in internal combustion engines as a result of reduced air pressure and density at high altitude. General Electric called the system turbosupercharging. At the time, all forced induction devices were known as superchargers, however more recently the term "supercharger" is usually applied to only mechanically-driven forced induction devices.

Turbochargers were first used in production aircraft engines such as the Napier Lioness in the 1920s, although they were less common than engine-driven centrifugal superchargers. Ships and locomotives equipped with turbocharged Diesel engines began appearing in the 1920s. Turbochargers were also used in aviation, most widely used by the United States, which led the world in the technology due to General Electric's early start. During World War II, notable examples of US aircraft with turbochargers include the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, P-38 Lightning, and P-47 Thunderbolt. The technology was also used in experimental fittings by a number of other manufacturers, notably a variety of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 models, but the need for advanced high-temperature metals in the turbine kept them out of widespread use.

Volkswagen Golf Mk4

Launched in October 1997, the Volkswagen Golf Mk4 (or VW Typ 1J) was the best selling car in Europe in 2001 (though it slipped to second place, behind thePeugeot 206, in 2002).

The Mk4 was a deliberate attempt to take the Volkswagen Golf series further upmarket, with a high-quality interior and higher equipment levels, to compete with the Audi A3.

Overall the level of maturity of the design and its target audience were also evident — the humorous plays on the game of golf which resulted in special edition models of the three earlier generations being called "Golf Ryder", "Golf Driver", not to mention the GTI's "golf ball" gearlever knob were dropped, and replaced with a more subtly styled golf ball knob.

The Golf Mk4 was a significant car in its class. As with its big brother, not only was it the first step of Volkswagen moving its products upmarket to plug a gap between the mainstream machines and the premium cars, with SEAT and Škoda taking over as the mainstream in a new level of interior quality and sophistication never seen before from a mainstream brand in the class. In fact, the quality of the Golf was on a par with its sister Audi A3 from the year before, but cost considerably more than other cars in its class.

The latest model remained faithful to the Golf concept but included some of the new "arched" styling themes first seen on the Mk4 Passat.

Golf Cabriolet

As with the Mk2 Golf, Volkswagen did not make a convertible version of the Mk4 Golf. Instead, they face-lifted the front bumper, fenders, grille, and hood to resemble Mk4 Golf styling but to fit a Mk3 chassis. VW managed to incorporate some non-structural Mk4 parts as well such as fender repeaters, headlights, side mirror caps, rear license tag lights, 3-spoke steering wheel airbag, etc. The rear also received a redesigned bumper with the number plate tub moved from the hatch and a Mk4 handle with a larger VW emblem above it to resemble the rear of a Mk4 Golf. The interior largely remained the same as a Mk3 interior save for a Mk4 style 3-spoke leather steering wheel, a textured dashboard (also known as "dimpled dash" or "shark skin dash"), heavily bolstered front seats with incorporated side airbags, and the hazard switch relocated from the steering column to the instrument panel. The interior lighting in the cabin was switched to the blue and red hue found in the Mk4 and some of the more familiar Mk3 parts were chromed such as the inner door handles, emergency brake button, door strikers, front seat belt anchors, key lock cylinders, and shifter button in automatic transmission equipped cars. There are some technical carryovers, as well, the main one being the immobilizer and engine computer from the Mk4 Golf being used with the older Mk3 engine mechanicals.

Although the redesigned Golf Cabriolet looks like a Mk4 Golf, it is based on the Mk3 chassis and this causes a bit of confusion on how it should be designated. VW enthusiasts in Europe call it a Mk4 Golf Cabriolet while VW enthusiasts in the United States call it a Mk3.5 Cabrio.

GTI 25th Anniversary Edition (2002)

The GTI 25th Anniversary Edition was a special version of the Golf GTI, for the European Market to commemorate the first GTI, launched in 1976. This model had 3 paint color options: Tornado Red, Reflex Silver, and Black Magic Pearl.

At the time of its launch, it wasn't confirmed whether Volkswagen was going to sell this special edition model in the United States.

A similarly equipped version of the GTI, called the GTI 337 Edition, was officially introduced at the New York Auto Show and made it to dealers late May 2002 to the US & Canadian markets. The price of the GTI 337 was $22,225 in the U.S. and $32,900 in Canada. Only 1,500 units were produced for the US market with an additional 250 for the Canadian market. This model came painted exclusively in metallic Reflex Silver. Both the GTI 25th anniversary and the 337 editions were equipped with many extra features not included in the standard GTI. They included: 18x7.5" BBS RC Wheels with special ball peen finish, perforated leather shift boot and handbrake, red and black seat belts, Red and Black upholstered Recaro Le Mann seats, factory body kit (front valance, sideskirts, hatch spoiler, and rear valance), 02M 6-speed manual transmission, larger front brakes (312mm) with Red Calipers, lowered sport tuned suspension, and brushed aluminum interior trim. These models were never equipped with a sunroof as to take the car back to its roots, the Mk1 GTI, and improve handling and performance. However, one instance of the 337 edition is known to have been special ordered with a sunroof.

GTI 20th Anniversary Edition (2003)

Following the initial commemorative anniversary edition GTI produced in Europe in 1996 celebrating the introduction of the GTI model in 1976, and the overwhelming popularity of the 25th anniversary edition GTI produced 2001 (known as the GTI 337 in North America when released in 2002), Volkswagen of America produced 4,200 so-branded "20th Anniversary Edition" GTIs and 4000 were shipped to the United States and 200 to Canada. This event, in 2003, marked the 20th anniversary of the GTI's first introduction to the U.S. and Canadian market, some 7 years after the GTI was introduced to the European market. Several special features distinguish this new GTI from the rest of the pack.

On the outside, the 20th Anniversary edition came with throwback red-lettered GTI logos on the left front and right rear. The rear was also accompanied by a vintage-look chrome rabbit. Blackened headlights added a distinctive look, while Votex front, rear, and side skirts along with a hatch spoiler and special edition 18" OZ Aristo alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sports complete the exterior transformation. These models were produced only in three colours: Imola Yellow, Jazz Blue and Black Magic Pearl. Distribution of production was 50% Black magic pearl, 25% Jazz Blue and 25% Imola Yellow.

Inside, a few accents were noticeable. Unlike other models, there were no options offered. The only true option was ESP, Volkswagen's stability control feature. All "20ths" had a sunroof, black headliner, golf ball shift knob, black leather steering wheel with silver stitching, black leather shifter boot with silver stitching, perforated leather covered hand brake handle, and sporty black cloth Recaro bucket seats with silver stitching accents and red GTI emblems embroidered in the middle of the back rests. Aluminum trim came standard, complete with a numbered nameplate above the center console identifying the exact production number (US production only) of the vehicle. Volkswagen's premier 8-speaker Monsoon stereo system was also standard.

Mechanically, the 20th Anniversary Edition GTI is nearly identical to the GTI 337 Edition. A 6-speed manual 02m transmission marked the most notable departure from the norm, and upgraded suspension stiffened up the ride and lowered the car approximately 30 mm (lower sport springs and revised bushings in the rear). Upgraded disc brakes front (12.3" vented rotors) and rear (10.3" vented rotors) helped bring things to a stop, while red powder-coated calipers added a bit of flair to the package.

Starting in 2002 with engine code AWP, all of the models of the GTI's 1.8T increased in factory boost pressure and horsepower from 150 bhp (110 kW) to 180 bhp (130 kW). The 20th Anniversary GTI was not available with the VR6 engine.

R32 (2003)

In 2002, Volkswagen produced the Golf R32 in Europe as a 2003 model year. It was the World's first production car with a dual-clutch gearbox (DSG) — available for the German market. Due to unexpected popularity, Volkswagen decided to sell the car in the United States and Australia as the 2004 model year Volkswagen R32. Billed as the pinnacle of the Golf IV platform, the R32 included every performance, safety, and luxury feature Volkswagen had to offer, including the all new 3.2 litre 24-valve VR6 engine (ID codes: BFH/BML), which produced a rated motive power output of 177 kilowatts (241 PS; 237 hp), and 236 lb·ft (320 N·m) of torque. Further additions included Haldex Traction-based 4motion on-demand four-wheel drive system, a new six-speed manual transmission, independent rear suspension, Climatronic automatic climate control, sport seats from König with R32 logos, 18" OZ Aristo alloy wheels (Ronal produced the wheels towards the end of production),Electronic Stability Programme, larger 334 mm (13.1 in) disc brakes with gloss blue painted calipers, sunroof (for the US), and model-specific bodywork additions.

For Australia, two hundred "Edition 200" cars were produced, each uniquely plaqued and available in three colours: Black Magic Pearl, Deep Blue Pearl and Reflex Silver.

For the US, Tornado Red was an available fourth colour. The distribution of US-spec R32 colours were:

• Deep Blue Pearl: 40%
• Reflex Silver: 35%
• Black Magic Pearl: 15%
• Tornado Red: 10%

Although the R32 looked similar to the 20th Anniversary GTI, it shared most major components with the 3.2 litre Audi TT, including the engine, four-wheel drive system, and both front and rear suspension geometries. For the US, five thousand cars were produced and intended to be sold over a two-year period. The allotment sold out in 13 months.

The R32 is capable of 0-100 kilometres per hour (62.1 mph) in 6.6 seconds, reduced to 6.4 seconds with the Direct-Shift Gearbox. Clearing the quarter mile in 14.1 seconds at 99.2 mph (159.6 km/h), the R32 edges out its third fastest sibling, the top-of-the-line Phaeton 6.0 litre W12 (414 bhp), by a tenth of a second at the 1,320-foot (402 m) mark.

It has a high resale and used-car value; the Kelley Blue Book used car retail price (the price an individual might expect to pay for one from a dealer) for a model in excellent condition with low mileage exceeds the original retail price of the car in many cases, making it one of a few recent cars that have actually approached an increase in value. This premium can be explained mostly due to scarcity, both of the cars themselves due to low production and importation, and especially ones that still have low mileage.

Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini was already a successful businessman when, in 1963, he decided to found a car company, named after himself. He chose Sant'Agata Bolognese as the location and recruited a variety of famous and capable engineers to design his cars, including Bizzarrini, Dallara and Stanzani. The first car, the 350GT, entered production in 1964 and combined a Bizzarrini developed quad-cam V12 with a Dallara developed chassis. As might be guessed, this combination proved very effective, and it remained in production until 1968 (albeit in revised 400GT form from 1966).

More ground breaking was the 1966 release of the Miura, which used a transversely mounted V12 behind the occupants. With a Bertone designed two seat bodyshell (actually by Gandini and Giugiaro whilst working there), the Miura proved a great success and continued until 1973 when it was replaced by the equally famous Countach. In the meantime, the Islero had replaced the 400GT in 1968 as the companies 2+2 coupe, whilst in the same year the Espada had introduced genuine four-seater capacity to the marque. 1970 saw the Islero replaced by the similar Jarama whilst two years later the V8 Urraco entered another market segment, that of the 'small' supercar.

lso in 1972 Lamborghini sold 51% of his company to a Swiss businessman, with the remaining 49% going to another Swiss in 1974. The latter year saw the Countach revealed in production form complete with 4-litre mid-mounted V12 and brutal, angular styling. Production continued until 1988 by which time the engine had been increased to 5-litres. The companies problems did not go away, however, and in 1978 they went into receivership. Three years later the Mimram brothers took control and began to revitalise the marque. First came the Jalpa, a restyled and heavily modified Urraco, then more potent Countachs and then, in 1982, the LM002. The latter was a Countach engined four wheel drive off-road jeep-like vehicle, quite a break with tradition !

In 1987 Chrysler purchased Lamborghini and development began of a new Countach replacement, as well as a Formula One engine. The latter debuted in 1989 and continued for some years without success, whilst the former, named Diablo, emerged in 1990 and continued in production for many years. Continuing the mid-mounted V12 theme it is also available with four wheel drive and a roadster has also been built. In 1998 Lamborghini was sold to the VW Group, where it comes under the control of Audi. This site fails to cover German cars, so it falls outside our remit.

Tiger

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 m (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb). It is the third largest land carnivore (behind only the polar bear and the brown bear). Its most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with a lighter underside. It has exceptionally stout teeth, and the canines are the longest among living felids with a crown height of as much as 74.5 mm (2.93 in) or even 90 mm (3.5 in). In zoos, tigers have lived for 20 to 26 years, which also seems to be their longevity in the wild.They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. This, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans.

Tigers once ranged widely across Asia, from Turkey in the west to the eastern coast of Russia. Over the past 100 years, they have lost 93% of their historic range, and have been extirpated from southwest and central Asia, from the islands of Java and Bali, and from large areas of Southeast and Eastern Asia. Today, they range from the Siberian taiga to open grasslands and tropical mangrove swamps. The remaining six tiger subspecies have been classified asendangered by IUCN. The global population in the wild is estimated to number between 3,062 and 3,948 individuals, down from around 100,000 at the start of the 20th century, with most remaining populations occurring in small pockets isolated from each other. Major reasons for population decline include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching. The extent of area occupied by tigers is estimated at less than 1,184,911 km² (457,497 sq mi), a 41% decline from the area estimated in the mid-1990s.

Tigers are among the most recognisable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags, coats of arms, and as mascots for sporting teams. The Bengal tigeris the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.

In 1758, Linnaeus first described the species in his work Systema Naturae under the scientific name Felis tigris. In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris.

The word Panthera is probably of Oriental origin and retraceable to the Ancient Greek word panther, the Latin word panthera, the Old French word pantere, most likely meaning "the yellowish animal", or from pandarah meaning whitish-yellow. The derivation from Greek pan- ("all") and ther ("beast") may be folk etymology that led to many curious fables.

The word "tiger" is traceable to the Latin word tigris, meaning "a spotted tigerhound of Actaeon". The Greek word tigris is possibly derived from a Persian source.

The oldest remains of a tiger-like cat, called Panthera palaeosinensis, have been found in China and Java. This species lived about 2 million years ago, at the beginning of the Pleistocene, and was smaller than a modern tiger. The earliest fossils of true tigers are known from Java, and are between 1.6 and 1.8 million years old. Distinct fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene were also discovered in deposits in China and Sumatra. A subspecies called the Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) lived about 1.2 million years ago and is known from fossils found at Trinil in Java.

Tigers first reached India and northern Asia in the late Pleistocene, reaching eastern Beringia (but not the American Continent), Japan, and Sakhalin. Fossils found in Japan indicate the local tigers were, like the surviving island subspecies, smaller than the mainland forms. This may be due to the phenomenon in which body size is related to environmental space (see insular dwarfism), or perhaps the availability of prey. Until the Holocene, tigers also lived in Borneo, as well as on the island of Palawan in the Philippines

Tigers have muscular bodies with particularly powerful forelimbs and large heads. The pelage coloration varies between shades of orange or brown with whiteventral areas and distinctive black stripes. Their faces have long whiskers, which are especially long in males. The pupils are circular with yellow irises. The small, rounded ears have black markings on the back, surrounding a white spot. These spots, called ocelli, play an important role in intraspecific communication.

The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and these unique markings can be used by researchers to identify individuals (both in the wild and captivity), in much the same way as fingerprints are used to identify humans. The function of stripes is likely camouflage, serving to help tigers conceal themselves amongst the dappled shadows and long grass of their environments as they stalk their prey. The stripe pattern is also found on the skin of the tiger. If a tiger were to be shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

Tigers are the most variable in size of all big cats, even more so than leopards and much more so than lions. The Bengal, Caspian and Siberian tiger subspecies represent the largest living felids, and rank among the biggest felids that ever existed. An average adult male tiger from Northern India or Siberia outweighs an average adult male lion by around 45.5 kg (100 lb). Females vary in length from 200 to 275 cm (79 to 108 in), weigh 65 to 167 kg (140 to 370 lb) with a greatest length of skull ranging from 268 to 318 mm (10.6 to 12.5 in). Males vary in size from 250 to 390 cm (98 to 150 in), weigh 90 to 306 kg (200 to 670 lb) with a greatest length of skull ranging from 316 to 383 mm (12.4 to 15.1 in). Body size of different populations seems to be correlated with climate—Bergmann's rule—and can be explained by thermoregulation. Large male Siberian tigers can reach a total length of more than 3.5 m (11.5 ft) "over curves", 3.3 m (10.8 ft) "between pegs" and a weight of 306 kg (670 lb). This is considerably larger than the size reached by the smallest living tiger subspecies, the Sumatran tiger, which reaches a body weight of 75 to 140 kg (170 to 310 lb). Of the total length of a tiger, the tail comprises 0.6 to 1.1 m (2.0 to 3.6 ft). At the shoulder, tigers may variously stand 0.7 to 1.22 m (2.3 to 4.0 ft) tall. The current record weight, per the Guinness Book of World Records, for a wild tiger was 389 kg (860 lb) for a Bengal tiger shot in 1967, though its weight may have been boosted because it had eaten a water buffalothe previous night.

Tigresses are smaller than the males in each subspecies, although the size difference between male and female tigers tends to be more pronounced in the larger tiger subspecies, with males weighing up to 1.7 times more than the females. In addition, male tigers have wider forepaw pads than females. Biologists use this difference in tracks to determine gender. The skull of the tiger is very similar to that of the lion, though the frontal region is usually not as depressed or flattened, with a slightly longer postorbital region. The skull of a lion has broader nasal openings. However, due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually, only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species.

Scania 4-series

Scania Aktiebolag (publ), commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses. It also manufactures diesel engines for motive power of heavy vehicles, marine, and general industrial applications.

Founded in 1891 in Södertälje, Sweden, the company's head office is still in the city. Today, Scania has ten production facilities in Sweden, France, Netherlands, Argentina,Brazil, Poland, and Russia. In addition, there are assembly plants in ten countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. Scania's sales and service organisation and finance companies are worldwide. In 2008, the company employed approximately 35,000 people around the world.

The Scania G/P/R-Series, formerly Scania 4-series, is a truck model range which was produced by Scania in 1995 as the 1996 model. It was the successor of the 3-series and it came in five engine combinations and four chassis types. Production of Scania 4-series was stopped after its successors P-series, R-series and G-series were starting in 2004.

The engine sizes are - as usual for the 1-4 series - shown in the model name with a number constructed by the cylinder volume in litres followed by the generation of truck. This way a 14 litre engine in the 4-series will be a 144.

Chassis type

The letter, following the number describes the chassis type, but in the 4-series this code changed compared to former series (L, D, C and G in 4-series). The 3-digit number on the opposite corner in the front stands for horse power.

The 4-series changed the well-known Scania front look from quite square and lined to new round and curved shapes. The new cab design also split the grill in two horizontally, making the lower part flip down to make a step usable for better reach when cleaning windows or eventually as a bench while waiting somewhere.

The 4-series was succeeded by the R/P/G-series in 2004. This is technically the 5-series. Chassis type and engine size are no longer visible on the front side in 5-series.

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, All-wheel drive, AWD, 4WD, or 4×4 ("four by four") is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously.

While many people typically associate the term 4x4 with off-road vehicles and Sport utility vehicles, powering all four wheels provides better control than normal road cars on many surfaces, and is an important part in the sport of rallying.

In abbreviations such as 4×4, the first figure is normally the total wheels (more precisely, axle ends, which may have multiple wheels), and the second, the number that are powered.

Syntactically, 4×2 means a four-wheel vehicle that transmits engine power to only two axle-ends: the front two in front-wheel drive or the rear two in rear-wheel drive.

By this system, a six wheeled military transport truck would be a 6×6, while the typical American semi-truck tractor unit having two drive axles and a single unpowered steering axle would be a 6×4.

Four wheel drive refers to vehicles that have a transfer case (some of which include a differential that may or may not be lockable) between the front and rear axles, meaning that the front and rear drive shafts will not rotate at different speeds. This provides maximum torque transfer to the axle with the most traction, but can cause binding in high traction, tight turning situations. They are also either full-time or part-time 4WD selectable.

All wheel drive refers to a drive train system that includes a differential between the front and rear drive shafts. This is usually coupled with some sort of anti-slip technology that will allow all wheels to spin at different speeds, but still maintain the ability to transfer torque from one wheel in case of loss of traction at that wheel. All wheels are engaged to the drive full-time.

Differentials

When powering two wheels simultaneously the wheels must be allowed to rotate at different speeds as the vehicle goes around curves. This is accomplished with a differential. A differential allows one input shaft (e.g., the driveshaft of car or truck) to drive two output shafts (e.g. - axles shafts that go from the differential to the wheel) independently with different speeds. The differential distributes torque (angular force) evenly, while distributing angular velocity (turning speed) such that the average for the two output shafts is equal to that of the differential ring gear. Each powered axle requires a differential to distribute power between the left and the right sides. When all four wheels are driven, a third or 'center' differential can be used to distribute power between the front and the rear axles.

The described system handles extremely well, as it is able to accommodate various forces of movement and distribute power evenly and smoothly, making slippage unlikely. Once it does slip, however, recovery is difficult. If the left front wheel of a 4WD vehicle slips on an icy patch of road, for instance, the slipping wheel will spin faster than the other wheels due to the lower traction at that wheel. Since a differential applies equal torque to each half-shaft, power is reduced at the other wheels, even if they have good traction. This problem can happen in both 2WD and 4WD vehicles, whenever a driven wheel is placed on a surface with little traction or raised off the ground. The simplistic design works acceptably well for 2WD vehicles. It is much less acceptable for 4WD vehicles, because 4WD vehicles have twice as many wheels with which to lose traction, increasing the likelihood that it may happen. 4WD vehicles may also be more likely to drive on surfaces with reduced traction. However, since torque is divided amongst four wheels rather than two, each wheel receives approximately half the torque of a 2WD vehicle, reducing the potential for wheelslip.

In 1893, before the establishment of a modern automotive industry in Britain, English engineer Bramah Joseph Diplock patented a four-wheel-drive system for a traction engine, including four-wheel steering and three differentials, which was subsequently built. The development also incorporated Bramah's Pedrail wheel system in what was one of the first four-wheel-drive automobiles to display an intentional ability to travel on challenging road surfaces. It stemmed from Bramagh's previous idea of developing an engine that would reduce the amount of damage to public roads.

Ferdinand Porsche designed and built a four-wheel-driven Electric vehicle for the k. u. k. Hofwagenfabrik Ludwig Lohner & Co. at Vienna in 1899, presented to the public during the 1900 World Exhibition at Paris. An electric hub motor at each wheel powered the vehicle. Although clumsily heavy, the vehicle proved a powerful sprinter and record-breaker in the hands of its owner E.W. Hart. Due to its unusual status the so-called Lohner-Porsche is not widely credited as the first four-wheel-driven automobile.

The first four-wheel-drive car, as well as hill-climb racer, with internal combustion engine, the Spyker 60 H.P., was presented in 1903 by Dutch brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker of Amsterdam. The two-seat sports car, which was also the first ever car equipped with a six-cylinder engine, is now an exhibit in the Louwman Collection (the former Nationaal Automobiel Museum) at the Hague in The Netherlands.

Designs for four-wheel drive in the U.S., came from the Twyford Company of Brookville, Pennsylvania in 1905, six were made there around 1906; one still exists and is displayed annually. The second U.S. four-wheel-drive vehicle was built in 1908 by (what became) the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) of Wisconsin (not to be confused with the term "FWD" as an acronym for front-wheel drive). FWD would later produce around 15,000 of its four-wheel-drive Model B trucks for the British and American armies during World War I. Approximately 11,500 of the Jeffery or Nash Quad models (1913–1919) were similarly used. The Quad not only came with four-wheel drive and four-wheel brakes, but also featured four-wheel steering.

The Reynolds-Alberta Museum has a four-wheel-drive "Michigan" car from about 1905 in unrestored storage. The Marmon-Herrington Company was founded in 1931 to serve a growing market for moderately priced four-wheel-drive vehicles. Marmon-Herrington specialized in converting Ford trucks to four-wheel drive and got off to a successful start by procuring contracts for military aircraft refueling trucks, 4×4 chassis for towing light weaponry, commercial aircraft refueling trucks, and an order from the Iraqi Pipeline Company for what were the largest trucks ever built at the time.