Car News
-
BMW's wildly successful Mini Cooper will experience a fall in sales in coming months, despite demand for the iconic car being higher than ever. Due to the heavy demand, dealerships across the U.S. are experiencing short supplies of current stock and with rising fuel prices pushing more and more consumers towards small cars waiting lists are expected to expand dramatically. While production will be boosted for the U.S., even the additional 2,000 to 3,000 units earmarked for this purpose will not be enough to supply the hungry market. The Mini plant in Oxford, England, is currently running...
-
Saab looking to downsize next-generation modelsSaab is one of a handful of carmakers looking to buck the trend of building bigger and heavier cars with each new model generation, the carmaker confirming at this week’s London Motor Show that future models will be more compact. Starting with the upcoming 9-1, due to arrive in 2012...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Z4 production coming to end next month?The low value of the U.S. dollar against the Euro has forced BMW to change its production plans for the next-generation Z4 sports car. At the moment the Z4 is built alongside the X5 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but the new model, due late next year, will be built in Germany, most likely at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nice Mega City all-electric vehicle on show in LondonIt’s been a busy week for the Nice (No Internal Combustion Engine) car company at this week’s London Motor Show, with a handful of electric vehicles in every shape, size and form making their debut at the event. Already we’ve seen a scissor-door electric sports car concept, the...
James Martinez -
Nice builds Micro-Vett electric Fiat 500Combining the hottest power source of the moment with one of the hottest hatchbacks on backorder makes for a good chance of success. With the statistics the Micro-Vett Fiat 500 electric car presents, the chances are even better. Built by NICE, the same company that presented the all-new MyCar...
Nelson Ireson -
HSV W427 LS7-Powered Commodore Sedan Goes Into ProductionTo celebrate its 20th anniversary, HSV, Holden’s in-house tuning arm, rolled out a concept version of its latest E-series model powered by the Corvette ZO6’s LS7 V8 powerplant at the Melbourne Motor Show in February. Dubbed the ‘HSV W427,’ the four-door muscle sedan is now...
Siddarth Raja -
Word from GM’s chief engineer for global rear-wheel-drive vehicles, Doug Houlihan, is that the V8-powered Camaro SS has run a Nurburging lap time of 8m 20s, putting it up against the likes of the E36 BMW M3 and the 993 Porsche 911 GT3 in terms of performance. However, the lap time is almost a full minute behind the latest crop of supercars and super-sports cars like GM’s own Corvette ZR1 running the ring in just 7m 26s and the Nissan GT-R completing it in 7m 29s. Speaking with Edmunds, Houlihan explained that the Nurburging track sessions helped engineers determine the best tire...
-
Update: Ford Fiesta EcoNetic unveiled in LondonUpdated: Ford's focus on fuel efficiency hops into the front seat with the debut of the new Fiesta EcoNetic at this week's London Motor Show. The little hatch has an optimized diesel engine that turns out a fuel efficiency rating that places it at the very top of the UK's list of five-seaters...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Aspid Sports Car Revealed At British Motor ShowWith a design that combines modern tastes, an enclosed cockpit and composite materials with a classic Lotus Seven-style semi-open-wheeled layout, the IFR Aspid Sports Car looks both thoroughly modern and quintessentially British, though it is in fact developed in Spain by IFR and Ignacio...
Nelson Ireson -
£10,000 Bentley notebook to launch at London Motor ShowLuxury laptop designer 'Ego' has teamed up with Bentley to come up with a Bentley-themed laptop planned for sale. The laptop is in a similar shape to other Ego designed laptops, but the handle is said to be modeled on the Bentley's chunky door handle. The leather upholstery in the car is...
Kenneth Hall -
BMW 6-series CLR600 by Lumma DesignFollowing the release of its M5 derived CLR500 RS and its more recent styling kit for the BMW M6, German tuner Lumma Design has announced the addition of the CLR600 kit designed specifically for the standard 6-series range. Having already designed a kit for the M6, Lumma was able to easily modify...
James Martinez -
Land Rover presents ERAD diesel-hybrid prototypesLand Rover is using this week’s London Motor Show to present its new ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) diesel-hybrid in a pair of Freelander 2 (LR2) prototypes, which have already begun conducting real world tests. The new hybrid system is being designed as a scalable and modular system that...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lotus has revealed the new name of its latest model, a 2+2 GT that made its official debut today at the London Motor Show. The car will from now be known as the ‘Evora’ (named after a city in Portugal) and it joins the ranks of Lotus’ existing models, including the Elise, Exige and Europa. The new Evora is the first all-new car from Lotus since the introduction of the Elise back in 1995, and it’s the only sports car on the market with a mid-engine layout and a 2+2 seating configuration. While Lotus’ current offerings are designed primarily with race track...
-
Subaru prepping 375HP Impreza WRX STI conceptSubaru will display three new special edition Impreza WRX vehicles at this week’s London Motor Show, including a brand new concept version dubbed the WRX STI 380S. The car’s name refers to its 380 metric horsepower rating, which translates to a final output of 375hp (280kW), and...
Ralph Hanson -
Honda OSM concept unveiled at London Motor ShowHonda has taken the covers off a new two-seat concept for a future low-emissions sports car that's already being touted as a preview of the replacement for the aging S2000 roadster. The new concept, dubbed the Open Study Model (OSM), is officially described as a ‘design study’ that...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Renault reveals new Megane R26.RThe latest addition to the Renault Sport performance family is the Megane R26.R, which was displayed today for the first time at the London Motor Show. The new car is based on the existing Megane F1 Team R26 and uses the same engine, gearbox and limited slip differential, but has been lightened by...
Nelson Ireson -
Obama endorses $4 billion aid package for Detroit 3While President George W. Bush has admitted his distaste for any bailout schemes for the Detroit 3, Senator Barack Obama has proclaimed support for a $4 billion aid package to the American auto industry, which would see research and development into fuel efficient vehicles boosted. The aid package...
Ralph Hanson -
GM & EPRI join forces to develop electric infrastructureGeneral Motors' roll-out of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is set to have a large impact on the United States power industry. In a bid to anticipate this impact, General Motors will likely team up with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) - an institute that conducts research for several...
James Martinez -
Toyota has confirmed that it will unveil its third-generation Prius hybrid vehicle next year, most likely at the Detroit Auto Show in January, however latest reports indicate a second dedicated hybrid model will join the Prius. This will be in addition to a dedicated hybrid model expected from Lexus, which will also be revealed for the first time next year. The information comes from the Nikkei, which also reports that the new model will be produced at a plant in Fukuoka and could potentially sell up to 100,000 units per year. The new car will be bigger and more powerful than the Prius, and...
-
enviroSportscar Series seeks to bring green racing to the massesOne of the first race series to be founded on the premise of using energy-efficient, the enviroSportscars Series will team professional race drivers with celebrities in a pan-European series that spans three racing genres, including circuits, drag strips and city-center rallies. The cars themselves...
Nelson Ireson -
Nice Reveals Giugiaro-Designed MyCar Electric MinicarThe Nice (No Internal Combustion Engine) electric car company has taken the wraps of the third electric car it plans to debut at this week’s London Motor Show. Already we’ve seen the scissor-door sports car concept and the Ze-O MPV, and now we have an all-electric minicar designed for...
James Martinez -
2009 sales launch claimed for Moller M200G flying carMoller International has announced that it’s nearing completion of its fourth M200-series flying car prototype and plans to start production of an initial run of 40 cars as early as next year. The first cars will be based on the M200G Jetson ground effect vehicle that’s designed to...
Kenneth Hall -
New Fiat platform could be used for bigger Mini modelBMW and Fiat confirmed earlier this month that both companies were investigating the possibility of co-operation in the areas of components and architectures for their respective Mini and Alfa Romeo vehicles, as well as the sharing of dealerships and service centers in North America. BMW is...
Ralph Hanson -
Update: VW up! delayed due to switch to FWD layoutUpdate: Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has confirmed that the production version of the up! concept car will be offered with a front engine FWD configuration only. The original concept car featured a rear-mounted engine spinning the rear axle but this option was ruled out due to cost. Placing the...
Nelson Ireson