HUGHESVILLE - Earlier this year the task of installing approximately 2500 solar cell panels became part of an energy performance project through PP&L's Renewable Energy contract authorized by the state of Pennsylvania. Installed by Millenium Construction from Connecticut, the energy project took until mid-March to be completed. PP&L will guarantee its performance over a period of time according to David Maciejewski, East Lycoming School District's Business Manager. Currently the solar field will supply fifty percent of the school district's electric power over a course of one year. "This is a huge savings. The solar system will generate a savings of $150,000 over the year to offset expenses. It has a payback of 9.1 years," said Maciejewski.
One of the largest so far in Lycoming County, the project sits on approximately three acres of school property sandwiched between hybrid willows and the Hughesville Borough Water Authority's well field. Comprised of several individual solar cells, the panels collect solar radiation from the sun and actively convert that energy to electricity.
Solar field possibilities came when a million dollar grant was offered from the Commonwealth Financing Authority through a grant awarded in 2010. The entire project totaled 3.9 million dollars. PP&L contributed 1.4 million and East Lycoming School District paid 2.5 million with one million of it coming from the American Recovery Reinvestment Act, a one time federal fund.
Mr. William Carroll Industrial Arts teacher at Hughesville High School is teaching two sections in alternative energy courses for both juniors and seniors. Currently 50 students are enrolled in the science curriculum and are learning not only about the solar panels, but other sources of alternative energy. "It is an exploratory course with hands-on applications of all energy sources with segments on both traditional and alternative," said Carroll.
"The life expectancy for these panels is 25 years with a performance guarantee based on a 15 year life span," Maciejewski said. After about 25 years, the solar panels do decrease in deficiency. "Twenty-five years from now they will still be functioning, but will produce less electricity for the district," he added. "After that panels will remain in place, but will change some out to be more efficient."
PP&L will be servicing the equipment over the course of time and the school district will maintain the property.
2011年4月24日 星期日
Solar: California's new gold rushIt's been called California's second gold rush: the clamor by large solar companies to stake a claim in southern California's open deserts and capture one of its most abundant resources — sunlight. While many cheer the cleaner energy and economic possibilities utility-scale solar development may bring to a job-starved region, some environmentalists, Native Americans and others are critical of the process, saying it's running roughshod over threatened plant and animal species and culturally sensitive areas. The California Energy Commission and federal Department of the Interior have approved eight major solar projects in Southern California since last year, including seven projects in the deserts north and east of the Coachella Valley. All but two of the approved plans utilize largely undeveloped public land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. The projects are expected to generate: • Nearly 3,600 megawatts of non-carbon-emitting electricity, enough to power almost 1.8 million homes. • Some 5,500 jobs during construction of the projects, and nearly 1,000 long-term operational jobs. • More than $15.2 million in annual property taxes, and hundreds of millions more in sales taxes as the projects are built. Another eight utility-scale solar projects are also in the permitting pipeline for Riverside and Imperial counties, promising an additional 2,173 megawatts of renewable energy generation. And long-range plans are in the works that could open up millions more public acres to solar development in six western states, with the largest proposed solar energy zone in Riverside County. “California is the national leader in clean energy, and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation,” Gov.Jerry Brown said Monday. Brown earlier this month signed a bipartisan bill to further increase California's renewable energy portfolio standard, now requiring that utilities get one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 20percent.
It's been called California's second gold rush: the clamor by large solar companies to stake a claim in southern California's open deserts and capture one of its most abundant resources — sunlight.
While many cheer the cleaner energy and economic possibilities utility-scale solar development may bring to a job-starved region, some environmentalists, Native Americans and others are critical of the process, saying it's running roughshod over threatened plant and animal species and culturally sensitive areas.
The California Energy Commission and federal Department of the Interior have approved eight major solar projects in Southern California since last year, including seven projects in the deserts north and east of the Coachella Valley. All but two of the approved plans utilize largely undeveloped public land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. The projects are expected to generate:
• Nearly 3,600 megawatts of non-carbon-emitting electricity, enough to power almost 1.8 million homes.
• Some 5,500 jobs during construction of the projects, and nearly 1,000 long-term operational jobs.
• More than $15.2 million in annual property taxes, and hundreds of millions more in sales taxes as the projects are built.
Another eight utility-scale solar projects are also in the permitting pipeline for Riverside and Imperial counties, promising an additional 2,173 megawatts of renewable energy generation. And long-range plans are in the works that could open up millions more public acres to solar development in six western states, with the largest proposed solar energy zone in Riverside County.
“California is the national leader in clean energy, and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation,” Gov.Jerry Brown said Monday.
Brown earlier this month signed a bipartisan bill to further increase California's renewable energy portfolio standard, now requiring that utilities get one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 20percent.
While many cheer the cleaner energy and economic possibilities utility-scale solar development may bring to a job-starved region, some environmentalists, Native Americans and others are critical of the process, saying it's running roughshod over threatened plant and animal species and culturally sensitive areas.
The California Energy Commission and federal Department of the Interior have approved eight major solar projects in Southern California since last year, including seven projects in the deserts north and east of the Coachella Valley. All but two of the approved plans utilize largely undeveloped public land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. The projects are expected to generate:
• Nearly 3,600 megawatts of non-carbon-emitting electricity, enough to power almost 1.8 million homes.
• Some 5,500 jobs during construction of the projects, and nearly 1,000 long-term operational jobs.
• More than $15.2 million in annual property taxes, and hundreds of millions more in sales taxes as the projects are built.
Another eight utility-scale solar projects are also in the permitting pipeline for Riverside and Imperial counties, promising an additional 2,173 megawatts of renewable energy generation. And long-range plans are in the works that could open up millions more public acres to solar development in six western states, with the largest proposed solar energy zone in Riverside County.
“California is the national leader in clean energy, and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation,” Gov.Jerry Brown said Monday.
Brown earlier this month signed a bipartisan bill to further increase California's renewable energy portfolio standard, now requiring that utilities get one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 20percent.
Solar Panels – Wings of the 'Tonbo' (Dragonfly) Boat
"We are confident we can build everything up to ocean liners and in fifty years time people will look back at boats of the 20th Century and they'll say – where are the wings?" says Dr Robert Dane, CEO of Australia-based Solar Sailor Holdings, which is collaborating with Japanese company Eco Marine Power and others in the development of concept Hybrid Marine Power (HMP) solar ferry or solar tourist boat Tonbo.
Unique Design
Tonbo in Japanese means ‘dragonfly’ and a glance at the sketches of its folding solar-panel modular ‘wings’ and ‘dragonfly-eye’ forward control station structure will convince how very apt was this choice of name. The solar panel ‘wings’ can be raised or lowered by Eco Marine’s control system: raised to optimise absorption of prevailing sunlight or to increase the field of view from the passenger cabin; lowered flat in bad weather or for transit under low bridges.
Eco Marine’s design philosophy was founded on the notion that solar-electric technology, as it is today, would be ideal for boats operating inshore, in ecologically sensitive bays, lakes and rivers. A detailed design emerged in January 2011 that specified:
* LOA: 10 m
* Beam: 8 m
* Height: 4 m
* Draft: 2 m
* Build: marine-grade aluminium
* Passenger capacity: 150 to 200 depending on interior layout
Propulsion
Tonbo will run on a computer-optimised HMP system (developed by Solar Sailor) which uses electric motors powered by Lithium batteries that are charged by the solar panels in conjunction with a bio-fueled generator-set to give a maximum cruising speed of 10 kts; for speeds of less than 8 kts Tonbo may run silently on battery power alone. Back at home base the batteries would be recharged by means of shore electrical power.
Related Breaking News
Dr. Paul Braun, project research-group leader at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has announced the successful development of a prototype Lithium-ion battery that can recharge 100 times faster than is presently possible. In the long-term, Tonbo as well as many other related initiatives, including the hybrid electric powered automobile, will surely benefit from this breakthrough.
Unique Design
Tonbo in Japanese means ‘dragonfly’ and a glance at the sketches of its folding solar-panel modular ‘wings’ and ‘dragonfly-eye’ forward control station structure will convince how very apt was this choice of name. The solar panel ‘wings’ can be raised or lowered by Eco Marine’s control system: raised to optimise absorption of prevailing sunlight or to increase the field of view from the passenger cabin; lowered flat in bad weather or for transit under low bridges.
Eco Marine’s design philosophy was founded on the notion that solar-electric technology, as it is today, would be ideal for boats operating inshore, in ecologically sensitive bays, lakes and rivers. A detailed design emerged in January 2011 that specified:
* LOA: 10 m
* Beam: 8 m
* Height: 4 m
* Draft: 2 m
* Build: marine-grade aluminium
* Passenger capacity: 150 to 200 depending on interior layout
Propulsion
Tonbo will run on a computer-optimised HMP system (developed by Solar Sailor) which uses electric motors powered by Lithium batteries that are charged by the solar panels in conjunction with a bio-fueled generator-set to give a maximum cruising speed of 10 kts; for speeds of less than 8 kts Tonbo may run silently on battery power alone. Back at home base the batteries would be recharged by means of shore electrical power.
Related Breaking News
Dr. Paul Braun, project research-group leader at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has announced the successful development of a prototype Lithium-ion battery that can recharge 100 times faster than is presently possible. In the long-term, Tonbo as well as many other related initiatives, including the hybrid electric powered automobile, will surely benefit from this breakthrough.
2011年4月21日 星期四
One Installer's Opinion - You Want It To Last HOW LONG?
I recently got an E-mail from a regular WSR reader (Greg) who, apparently satisfied with our product reviews in other areas, complained that we fell short in commenting on "serviceable life expectancy". Although Greg's comments were aimed at front projectors, I want to expand his Q and attempt to answer for all display devices.
So on these "service" topics, here's the thing.
First for some definitions. Often the terms "Serviceability" and "Useful life expectancy" get interchanged and confused.
Indeed, they are quite different things. Serviceability used to mean "how many screws do I have to take out of the chassis cage to get at that leaky filter capacitor in the power supply".
Forget serviceability. We don't do that anymore. There is precious little we can do inside any modern day "box", other than bridge a high voltage terminal to ground with a forefinger and discover that our vocabulary was far more colorful than we had previously imagined. I confess that once, while chasing a "chassis buzz" I removed a back panel from a PDP (mostly because I hadn't done it before and was curious). Miraculously, I avoided electrocution.
Even "Authorized Repair Centers" do little in the way of repair today, at least for flat panels. About six months ago I contacted one such service center regarding a potential repair of a 37 " plasma that suddenly died. I'd bet my mortgage it was the power supply. After providing make and serial# of said panel, the answer quickly came back "There are no replaceable parts for that unit". The panel was less than 4 years old. I think that's shameful, and it's just one more beef I have with a manufacturer who should remain nameless - they should, but their name starts with "S" and ends with "G".
The days of pulling out the vacuum tubes and heading down to the drug store for testing are over! (opps, I think I just lost about 2/3 of the readership ...)
So to me, "Serviceability" simply means "How long will the manufacturer commit to any attempt at repair" and "What's the backlog at the nearest Service Center". For front projectors, specifically, I would add to that, where did they put the lamp compartment - or, what kind of contortions do I have to go through, while standing on a ladder, to replace the lamp? ... or, do I have to take the damn projector and mount down off the ceiling, remove the mount to get at the lamp door, replace the lamp, re-assemble the mount, put it all back on the ceiling and then readjust the screen geometry. In case you couldn't tell, that sequence was fresh in my mind!
The question Greg (and the rest of us) would love to know the answer to is, "What is the MTBF ............ (mean time between failure)", which gets us to the other issue, product Life Expectancy.
Useful Life Expectancy is a whole other kettle of fish. Publish data? ... oh, would that we could. First of all, no manufacture that I know of would actually release that data if they knew it, unless, of course, like all marketing data, they thought they could justify the largest number.
...and why wouldn't they know it? Consider the case of a display device used primarily as a TV. Most people's expectations (grounded in ancient time - CRTs) are that a "set" should provide a useful life of 10 to 12 years. Reasonable. If the average "on cycle" is 6 hours/day (less during the week, more on weekends and holidays), then to life test such endurance you would have to run a display 24/7 for 3 years to get a "pass" and be able publish hard data. By that time, any particular model would be 4 to 6 generations old. Nobody would care. If any manufactures are still life testing it's probably to compare actuals with design goals and thereby "calibrate" the design team for future products.
Unfortunately, Greg cited unusually bad luck with successive front projector purchases from Sony, Hitachi and Sanyo, never getting beyond 2,000 hours with any of them. No wonder he wants more data!
Having installed nearly 1,000 displays in Home Theatres and having visibility to thousands more through calibrations, I can assure you that the industry is much, much better than that. They are not building "throw away" projectors. In most projectors, the "temporary limiter" is the lamp - often spec'ed at 2,000 hours, twice that in economy mode. I have dozens of front projectors that I installed 10+ years ago and have only had to do lamp replacement since. The number of projectors that have failed inside of 5 years I can count on one hand and all of those were repairable. I suppose it should be noted that "judicious selection" played a hand in all that. I will concede that returning a front projector to the manufacturer is not a happy task.
So here's what I believe. Although there are several variables involved (REAL on time, calibrated or not, cleanliness of the environment, etc.), on average, most front projectors you would buy today will last at least 10 years.
I also believe it doesn't matter.
We are at a point in the evolution of the underlying technology that you are certain to want something else long before your last purchase dies. Admittedly, I haven't done the exact accounting, but as I think about all the past projector/screen installs I can recall, I believe they have all "turned over" on something closer to a 5 year cycle. Most people who invest in front projection are truly seeking a quality movie experience, so when the state-of-the-art advances, they want to "keep up".
Greg, I don't know where you live, but if you are anywhere in the western 13, I'd be happy to change your luck. I hereby offer to specify, install, calibrate and warranty a 10 year happy life with your next front projector. Sounds like you deserve it!
So on these "service" topics, here's the thing.
First for some definitions. Often the terms "Serviceability" and "Useful life expectancy" get interchanged and confused.
Indeed, they are quite different things. Serviceability used to mean "how many screws do I have to take out of the chassis cage to get at that leaky filter capacitor in the power supply".
Forget serviceability. We don't do that anymore. There is precious little we can do inside any modern day "box", other than bridge a high voltage terminal to ground with a forefinger and discover that our vocabulary was far more colorful than we had previously imagined. I confess that once, while chasing a "chassis buzz" I removed a back panel from a PDP (mostly because I hadn't done it before and was curious). Miraculously, I avoided electrocution.
Even "Authorized Repair Centers" do little in the way of repair today, at least for flat panels. About six months ago I contacted one such service center regarding a potential repair of a 37 " plasma that suddenly died. I'd bet my mortgage it was the power supply. After providing make and serial# of said panel, the answer quickly came back "There are no replaceable parts for that unit". The panel was less than 4 years old. I think that's shameful, and it's just one more beef I have with a manufacturer who should remain nameless - they should, but their name starts with "S" and ends with "G".
The days of pulling out the vacuum tubes and heading down to the drug store for testing are over! (opps, I think I just lost about 2/3 of the readership ...)
So to me, "Serviceability" simply means "How long will the manufacturer commit to any attempt at repair" and "What's the backlog at the nearest Service Center". For front projectors, specifically, I would add to that, where did they put the lamp compartment - or, what kind of contortions do I have to go through, while standing on a ladder, to replace the lamp? ... or, do I have to take the damn projector and mount down off the ceiling, remove the mount to get at the lamp door, replace the lamp, re-assemble the mount, put it all back on the ceiling and then readjust the screen geometry. In case you couldn't tell, that sequence was fresh in my mind!
The question Greg (and the rest of us) would love to know the answer to is, "What is the MTBF ............ (mean time between failure)", which gets us to the other issue, product Life Expectancy.
Useful Life Expectancy is a whole other kettle of fish. Publish data? ... oh, would that we could. First of all, no manufacture that I know of would actually release that data if they knew it, unless, of course, like all marketing data, they thought they could justify the largest number.
...and why wouldn't they know it? Consider the case of a display device used primarily as a TV. Most people's expectations (grounded in ancient time - CRTs) are that a "set" should provide a useful life of 10 to 12 years. Reasonable. If the average "on cycle" is 6 hours/day (less during the week, more on weekends and holidays), then to life test such endurance you would have to run a display 24/7 for 3 years to get a "pass" and be able publish hard data. By that time, any particular model would be 4 to 6 generations old. Nobody would care. If any manufactures are still life testing it's probably to compare actuals with design goals and thereby "calibrate" the design team for future products.
Unfortunately, Greg cited unusually bad luck with successive front projector purchases from Sony, Hitachi and Sanyo, never getting beyond 2,000 hours with any of them. No wonder he wants more data!
Having installed nearly 1,000 displays in Home Theatres and having visibility to thousands more through calibrations, I can assure you that the industry is much, much better than that. They are not building "throw away" projectors. In most projectors, the "temporary limiter" is the lamp - often spec'ed at 2,000 hours, twice that in economy mode. I have dozens of front projectors that I installed 10+ years ago and have only had to do lamp replacement since. The number of projectors that have failed inside of 5 years I can count on one hand and all of those were repairable. I suppose it should be noted that "judicious selection" played a hand in all that. I will concede that returning a front projector to the manufacturer is not a happy task.
So here's what I believe. Although there are several variables involved (REAL on time, calibrated or not, cleanliness of the environment, etc.), on average, most front projectors you would buy today will last at least 10 years.
I also believe it doesn't matter.
We are at a point in the evolution of the underlying technology that you are certain to want something else long before your last purchase dies. Admittedly, I haven't done the exact accounting, but as I think about all the past projector/screen installs I can recall, I believe they have all "turned over" on something closer to a 5 year cycle. Most people who invest in front projection are truly seeking a quality movie experience, so when the state-of-the-art advances, they want to "keep up".
Greg, I don't know where you live, but if you are anywhere in the western 13, I'd be happy to change your luck. I hereby offer to specify, install, calibrate and warranty a 10 year happy life with your next front projector. Sounds like you deserve it!
2011年4月20日 星期三
2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8
The Street and Racing Technology (SRT) performance engineering team builds upon the all-new 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan already executed for a world-class luxury experience, to deliver Chrysler's most powerful and best handling model ever.
Projected performance numbers include 0-60 mph acceleration in the high 4-second range; quarter mile in high 12 second range; 0-100-0 mph in less than 16 seconds, top speed of 175 mph and stopping power from 60-0 mph in 120 feet.
Owners of any Chrysler Group SRT vehicle receive one day of professional driving instruction from the Richard Petty Racing School as part of the SRT Track Experience, designed to maximize their driving knowledge and skills on the street or track. Sessions are held throughout the year at selected tracks.
The return of the 300 SRT8 to the Chrysler lineup in 2012 evokes a strong comparison to the original high-performance production car of its time – the 1955 Chrysler 300. Known for simple, strong lines, excellent engineering, high levels of luxury and outstanding performance with the first modern American V-8 engine to produce 300 horsepower, the first Chrysler 300 (C-300) was styled by Virgil Exner, who radically redesigned the entire Chrysler line and created what they called "The Forward Look" in 1955. Without much chrome on the sides, his designs were simple, but strong. Exner is credited with creating the illusion of fast, forward movement.
The Chrysler C-300 won on both the road course and the "flying mile" at Daytona in 1955. In 1956, the Chrysler 300B model won both events again. In fact, the Chrysler 300s dominated NASCAR competition in 1955 and 1956, taking the overall championship in both years. A legendary and luxurious performance car was born. The "letter cars" quickly became the most desirable of the Chrysler lineup and became known as the "Beautiful Brutes."
Projected performance numbers include 0-60 mph acceleration in the high 4-second range; quarter mile in high 12 second range; 0-100-0 mph in less than 16 seconds, top speed of 175 mph and stopping power from 60-0 mph in 120 feet.
Owners of any Chrysler Group SRT vehicle receive one day of professional driving instruction from the Richard Petty Racing School as part of the SRT Track Experience, designed to maximize their driving knowledge and skills on the street or track. Sessions are held throughout the year at selected tracks.
The return of the 300 SRT8 to the Chrysler lineup in 2012 evokes a strong comparison to the original high-performance production car of its time – the 1955 Chrysler 300. Known for simple, strong lines, excellent engineering, high levels of luxury and outstanding performance with the first modern American V-8 engine to produce 300 horsepower, the first Chrysler 300 (C-300) was styled by Virgil Exner, who radically redesigned the entire Chrysler line and created what they called "The Forward Look" in 1955. Without much chrome on the sides, his designs were simple, but strong. Exner is credited with creating the illusion of fast, forward movement.
The Chrysler C-300 won on both the road course and the "flying mile" at Daytona in 1955. In 1956, the Chrysler 300B model won both events again. In fact, the Chrysler 300s dominated NASCAR competition in 1955 and 1956, taking the overall championship in both years. A legendary and luxurious performance car was born. The "letter cars" quickly became the most desirable of the Chrysler lineup and became known as the "Beautiful Brutes."
2011年4月19日 星期二
Vivitek Launches Projector, Warranty Program for Education Market
Visual display and presentation products manufacturer Vivetek has launched a short-throw projector designed for the education market, giving it a nice five-year warranty on products and three years on projector lamp life.
According to company officials, the D855ST powers a 77in screen image at 1-meter projection distance (0.65:1 throw ratio). It offers XGA resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio to fit most interactive whiteboards.
With the launch of this new education projector, Vivitek is debuting a five-year Education Warranty program, allowing purchasers acting on behalf of education establishments to “increase the product warranty from the standard 3-year warranty to 5-years product parts/labor and 3-year lamp warranty (or expected lamp life hours – whichever is first).”
That nice warranty program is available for education establishments only, and to qualify, company officials say, the Vivitek projector must have been purchased from an authorized Vivitek reseller on or after the first of April. It’s valid only in respect of the Vivitek range of projectors, which includes the D855ST and some projectors.
TMCnet recently reported that Vivitek introduced 2D to 3D conversion technology to its offerings, with three new digital projectors, the D512-3D, D536-3D and the D538-3D. The new projectors take existing 2D content and convert images into 3D pictures, without the use of an external conversion box.
The first projectors using this built-in conversion technology, part of Vivitek's D5 series, can take standard DVD and BluRay player content (via HDMI) and switch it from 2D to 3D (via DLP Link from Texas Instruments (News - Alert)). The three projectors can also display 3D content from 720p/1080i at 50/60Hz and 1080p at 24Hz from 3D BluRay players or other 3D sources, such as cable or satellite boxes.
The D512-3D, D536-3D and D538-3D feature DLP and BrilliantColor technologies for bright, digital images.
According to company officials, the D855ST powers a 77in screen image at 1-meter projection distance (0.65:1 throw ratio). It offers XGA resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio to fit most interactive whiteboards.
With the launch of this new education projector, Vivitek is debuting a five-year Education Warranty program, allowing purchasers acting on behalf of education establishments to “increase the product warranty from the standard 3-year warranty to 5-years product parts/labor and 3-year lamp warranty (or expected lamp life hours – whichever is first).”
That nice warranty program is available for education establishments only, and to qualify, company officials say, the Vivitek projector must have been purchased from an authorized Vivitek reseller on or after the first of April. It’s valid only in respect of the Vivitek range of projectors, which includes the D855ST and some projectors.
TMCnet recently reported that Vivitek introduced 2D to 3D conversion technology to its offerings, with three new digital projectors, the D512-3D, D536-3D and the D538-3D. The new projectors take existing 2D content and convert images into 3D pictures, without the use of an external conversion box.
The first projectors using this built-in conversion technology, part of Vivitek's D5 series, can take standard DVD and BluRay player content (via HDMI) and switch it from 2D to 3D (via DLP Link from Texas Instruments (News - Alert)). The three projectors can also display 3D content from 720p/1080i at 50/60Hz and 1080p at 24Hz from 3D BluRay players or other 3D sources, such as cable or satellite boxes.
The D512-3D, D536-3D and D538-3D feature DLP and BrilliantColor technologies for bright, digital images.
2011年4月18日 星期一
2013 Chevrolet Malibu Revealed on Facebook
General Motors has just unveiled the all-new 2013 Chevrolet Malibu in a “Live Reveal” on Facebook. With heavy styling influence from the Chevy Camaro, the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will make its debut across 100 markets worldwide by early 2012.
The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will come a “sporty, sophisticated and easy to live with” interior, that will feature an all-new dual cockpit, intuitively located controls and ample storage space. With luxurious use of leather, chrome and wood accents on the interior, the 2013 Malibu offers one of the most impressive interiors on any mid-size sedan. The vehicle meanwhile offers a more spacious cabin that comes with almost 4 cubic feet of additional interior space, while also providing more shoulder and hip room.
The 2013 Malibu will also feature a high-resolution seven-inch touch screen radio display with impressive UI controls. The touch screen display on the Malibu can make way to a six-inch deep storage behind it – a feature that will be seen in the U.S. for the first time. The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will also come equipped with Chevrolet’s new MyLink infotainment package that comes with OnStar security, while also allowing users to integrate their smartphone’s music services like Pandora Internet Radio and Stitcher SmartRadio with the it.
The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will feature an all-new 2.5L four-cylinder direct injection engine in North America. The engine will be mated to a Hydra-Matic 6T40 six-speed automatic transmission, and can generate up to 190 hp and 180 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2013 Malibu is expected to deliver class leading mileage at up to 35 mpg on the highway. While no performance numbers have been specified as of now, Chevrolet representatives promise that it will beat the figures of the current generation Malibu.
The “Camaro Influence” on the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu cannot be over stated – from the low-profile head lamps to the optional projector HID lamps, the dual-element tail lamp frames, the Chevrolet bow-tie badges on the front and rear, and a range of 17, 18 and 19 inch wheels all brings out the sporty side that its Camaro counterpart made a standard. “The exterior design of the all-new Malibu carries DNA from its sister vehicles, the Camaro and Corvette, to bring a sporty sensibility to the family sedan segment,” said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director for General Motors exterior design.
While the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu is slated to make its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show today, it will make its U.S. debut at the upcoming New York International Auto Show on Wednesday, April 20th. Although we will get to know more about the 2013 Malibu in the next week or so, Chevrolet announced that it wont hit dealerships until some time in early 2012.
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