A car that goes 1,000 km with just a litre of fuel

A team of engineering students in the UAE have designed a car that could potentially travel up to 1,000 km on just one litre of fuel.
The lightweight vehicle -- named Eco-Dubai 1 -- is in its final stage of construction and will begin testing in the next two weeks.
The product of almost two years of work by students at the Higher Colleges of Technology Dubai Men's College, the vehicle is half a metre wide, two metres long and half a metre high and weighs about 25 kg.
It will enter a race in July against similarly designed cars from around the world, including four other vehicles produced in the UAE.
Ahmad Khamis Al Suwaidi, one of the students behind the car, said: "Petrol is not going to last forever. One day we're going to run out. So in terms of developing a local eco-car industry, it starts with us. We're the future of the UAE in this."
The students will put their creation to the test at Shell's Eco-Marathon to be held July 4-7 in Kuala Lumpur.
The competition is based on designing a car that can travel the farthest on just one litre of fuel.
Students are allowed to use electricity, solar or hybrid technologies to reach their goal.
The record for the longest distance travelled is held by students from France's Polytech Nantes University, who designed a car that travelled almost 4,900 km.
--IANS/WAM

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC

With bold new styling, a fresh new cabin and refreshing efficiency, the 2013 GLK-Class delivers the spirited character of a Mercedes-Benz sport sedan in a capable, compact SUV.
The redesigned 2013 GLK-Class isn't just bold on the outside. Its muscular yet elegant body is merely the outward reflection of its innate Mercedes-Benz virtues. Rugged from its core and rewarding from behind the wheel, its standard 19-inch wheels, rear spoiler and dual exhaust reveal its race-bred soul.

Inner beauty for the upwardly mobile.

Dramatically redesigned and impeccably detailed, the GLK-Class cabin reaches new heights in style, while leaping to the forefront of technology. Vivid color displays, intuitive controls and advanced multimedia systems put a world of enjoyment at your fingertips, and put everyone aboard in the lap of luxury.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC looks damn good. I absolutely love the strong lines, aggressive front grille with the massive chrome Mercedes logo and the mock push bar (part of the standard AMG Sport Package). Just the right amount of chrome accents are thrown on the exterior to bump up the class factor. The almost-too-small rear spoiler and 20" five twin-spoke wheels add a touch of "sporty" to the overall look, as well.

Step inside the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC and that manly, assertive look continues. I immediately thought "military" the moment I sat in the 8-way power adjustable driver's seat. From the symmetrical, mounted buttons on the leather-wrapped steering wheel to the propeller-blade air vents to the button-loaded but oh-so-organized middle console, there's something extremely strict about the interior design - very German. Everything has its place, everything has its purpose and nothing is overdone. And I love it.

While I'm not a huge fan of the Mercedes-Benz COMAND entertainment and navigation system, it's not impossible to use and quite easy to get used to. I also found the placement of the control knob a bit uncomfortable. As I am on the shorter side of the spectrum, my seat has to be pushed farther forward than most, so in order to use the system control knob ahead the middle console arm rest I had to angle my elbow out as it would have met with the end of the seat and my hand would never reach the knob. And because of this, I was required to take my eyes off the road and look down each time I wished to use the knob while driving, just to make sure my arm was angled enough to reach it.

Other than that, the interior of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC is well-built and comfortable for long or short journeys. It also offers a fair amount of cargo space with 450 litres available in the trunk.