Boeing's Dream takes Flight

After many agonizing hiccups and delays, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner took to the skies for the first time on Dec-15-2009 and successfully completed it's test flight which lasted for 3 hours. Ushering a new era in long, fuel-efficient air travel, the first commercial airplane from Boeing since 1994 took off before an estimated gathering of 12,000 employees and guests from Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The flight marks the beginning of a test program that will see six 787 Dreamliners flying nearly round the clock and around the globe, with the airplane's first delivery scheduled for 4th quarter of 2010.

"Today is truly a proud and historic day for the global team which has worked tirelessly to design and build the 787 Dreamliner - the first all-new jet airplane of the 21st century", said Scott Fancher, Vice President and General Manager of the 787 program. "We look forward to the upcoming flight test program and soon bringing groundbreaking levels of efficiency, technology and passenger comfort to airlines and the flying public". Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, the first Boeing 787 will be joined in the flight test program in the coming weeks and months by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.

According to Boeing, the 787 Dreamliner will offer passengers a better flying experience and provide airline operators greater efficiency to better serve the point-to-point routes and additional frequencies passengers prefer. The technologically-advanced 787 will use 20 percent less fuel than today's airplanes of comparable size, provide airlines with up to 45 percent more cargo revenue capacity and present passengers with innovations that include a new interior environment with cleaner air, larger windows, more stowage space, improved lighting and other passenger-preferred conveniences.

The 787 program has been a much-delayed nevertheless truly remarkable journey for Boeing. The company claims that with 55 customers around the world having ordered 840 airplanes already, the 787 Dreamliner is the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history.

Milestones of 787 Dreamliner Program:

• Jul-08-2007: Unveiling of 787 Dreamliner


• Jun-23-2008: Power On


• Aug-11-2008: Gear Up


• Nov-17-2008: Wing Break Test


• May-05-2009: Move to Field


• Jun-09-2009: Gauntlet Test


• Nov-20-2009: Charleston Groundbreaking


• Dec-12-2009: High Speed Taxi Test


• Dec-15-2009: First Flight

2010 North American Car & Truck of the Year Finalists Announced

The final contenders for the prestigious 2010 North American Car and Truck Of The Year awards has just been announced. The models which have made the final cut are the Buick LaCrosse, Ford Fusion Hybrid and Volkswagen Golf/GTi in cars and the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Transit Connect and Subaru Outback in trucks. The winners will be announced on Jan-11-2010 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. One of the above models will be crowned as successors to the 2009 title winners, the Hyundai Genesis and Ford F150 in Cars and Trucks respectively.

The awards, which are in their 17th year, are very special and unique in North America because, instead of being given by a single media outlet, they are given by automotive journalists from USA and Canada representing all sections of the media like websites, television, magazines, etc. The awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding vehicles of the year based on factors that include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. To be eligible, vehicles must be “all-new” or “substantially changed” from the previous model. This year the jury considered more than 50 vehicles and finally focused on 16 cars and 10 trucks.

My bet is on the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Chevrolet Equinox to walk away with the honors for 2010 making it a clean sweep by the domestic automakers. But the jury may pull out a surprise at the Detroit Auto Show. So it's a long wait till Jan-11 to check whether my predictions and guesses are true.

2010 European Car of the Year is VW Polo

VW Polo has been crowned as the "European Car of the Year 2010". The supermini from Volkswagen, Europe's largest and most successful carmaker, narrowly beat the Toyota iQ in the final round of voting.

The result was determined from a group of 33 new cars launched in Europe in 2009 which were tested and voted on by European automotive journalists. The list of contenders included cars such as Suzuki Alto, Hyundai i20 and Kia Soul at one end to Porsche Panamera and Nissan 370Z at the other. A final shortlist of 7 cars was then determined before picking up the decisive winner. The jury for "Car of the Year 2010" consisted of 59 members, representing 23 European countries. The seven organizers of European Car of the Year are prominent automotive publications such as Auto(Italy), Autocar(UK), Autopista(Spain), Autovisie(Holland), L'Automobile Magazine(France), Stern(Germany) and Vi Bilagare(Sweden).

2010 ECOTY Results:

1. Volkswagen Polo (347)


2. Toyota iQ (337)


3. Opel/Vauxhall Astra (221)


4. Skoda Yeti (158)


5. Mercedes-Benz E-Class (155)


6. Peugeot 3008 (144)


7. Citroen C3 Picasso (113)

Previous ECOTY Winners:

• 2009 Opel/Vauxhall Insignia


• 2008 Fiat 500


• 2007 Ford S-Max


• 2006 Renault Clio


• 2005 Toyota Prius

By the way, VW Polo is one of the most awaited cars in India and is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2010. As if the marketing blitzkrieg of 13-page adverts in Times of India is not enough, here is yet another thing which could be used as a tool to be unleashed in the Indian media. VW. Das Auto.