Plug-In Hybrids
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Amidst concerns that the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid sedan could just be ‘vaporware’ and that an actual release is still be years away, Fisker Automotive has announced the formation of an alliance with a Chinese company to help distribute the car in the world’s most populace nation. Fisker signed a deal with China Grand Automotive Group, a Chinese dealer group with more than 200 stores offering 40 different brands including the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus and Audi. In fact, China Grand Auto’s revenues this year topped $7.5 billion so there’s...
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Report: $200K Pricetag Expected For BMW Vision EfficientDynamics SupercarAn Audi R8 can be yours for around $120,000, depending on which model you select and how options you laden it with, while the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG will set you back closer to the $180,000-and-upwards mark. BMW’s entrant in this segment, the production version of the Vision EfficientDynamics...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 L.A. Auto Show Preview: First Factory-Built Fisker KarmaFisker has announced today that its Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan will be on display at next week’s 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show and in doing so has made a not so subtle jab at GM by describing its car as the “first and only true electric vehicle with extended range”. You may...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Video: First Working Prototype Of BMW’s New Plug-In Hybrid Sports CarDespite BMW not having built a true supercar for 30 years since its original, limited-edition M1 model, we have reported on a number of occasions that the automaker is trying to reinvent its performance image with a new 'green' sports car combining the best elements of two very important concept...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Build Your Own Fisker Karma With New Online ConfiguratorFisker has launched a dedicated website for its new Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan that includes a number of interesting features to keep potential customers and the curious interested in the car until its arrival in showrooms early next year. The site showcases the design and engineering...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Paris Auto Show Preview: First Factory-Built Fisker KarmaCalifornia’s Fisker Automotive has already unveiled the production version of its Karma plug-in hybrid but at the 2010 Paris Auto Show this month the niche automaker will debut the first factory-built version. This is an important milestone for Fisker and it’s also a sign that the car...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
From the earliest days of development of the Voltec plug-in hybrid system underpinning the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt, GM has been insistent that the fuel saving drivetrain would appear in other vehicles including sedans and MPVs. One of the first segments GM hinted at as a possibility for the Voltec system was the MPV segment, where back in 2008 the automaker unveiled the Chevrolet Orlando concept, a compact MPV that shared the same platform as the Volt plug-in hybrid. Now, at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show, GM has finally unveiled an MPV featuring the Voltec plug-in hybrid system. Dubbed the...
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Cadillac Converj Well And Truly DeadOne of the most exciting cars from last 2009’s Detroit Auto Show was the Cadillac Converj Concept, which General Motors used to showcase its plug-in hybrid technology in a luxury platform. Despite the concept featuring one of the most striking designs we’ve seen in a while, GM’s...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Spy Shots: GM Testing Theta-Based Plug-In Hybrid Crossover PrototypeWhen General Motors shut down Saturn late last year, it lost more than a quarter of its sales of hybrid vehicles. Saturn, with no V-8 models, full-size SUVs or pickups, was GM’s most fuel-efficient brand and was second only to Chevrolet for overall hybrid sales with its Vue and Aura...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mercedes-Benz Set For Electric Future, Doubles R&D SpendingMercedes-Benz is keeping its bets open on what will be the dominant powertrain of the future by simultaneously developing competing technologies as the electrification of the car gets more widespread. Its latest F800 Style concept car that starred at last week’s 2010 Geneva Motor Show is the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Geneva Motor Show: Hyundai i-flow ConceptThe Hyundai i-flow concept is a preview of the company's new D-segment car.
Nelson Ireson -
2010 Geneva Motor Show: Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid ConceptDespite being one of the most performance-oriented auto brands in the business, Lotus also happens to be a leader when it comes to fuel-saving hybrid technology. Having already established a hybrid and electric vehicle group years ago, as well as building several concept and engineering mules for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Originally slated to go on sale last November, the all-new Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan will now go on sale in the third quarter of this year and in the lead up to its launch we will get our innermost look at the car yet. Making its reveal at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show this week is Fisker's advanced aluminum spaceframe that underpins the new Karma. Fisker’s engineering team designed the Karma’s spaceframe around the car’s unique Q-Drive series-hybrid powertrain, filing for multiple patents in the process. The Q-Drive powertrain consists of a 2.0-liter...
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2010 Geneva Motor Show Preview: Opel Ampera Prototypes Start TestingThe first prototype of the upcoming Opel Ampera--Europe's version of the Chevrolet Volt--today received its initial charge of electricity from a newly installed recharging station at Opel’s headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany. The event is part of the lead-up to next week’s 2010...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mercedes-Benz F800 Style Concept Previews Baby CLSMercedes-Benz is in a process of reinventing its design language, going from the sharp edged and relatively boxy designs at present to a much more fluid form for its next-generation of cars. Last month Mercedes-Benz design chief Gordon Wagener revealed that the automaker was keen to raise the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Chicago Auto Show Preview: Kia Ray Plug-In Hybrid ConceptWith a stable full of fresh new production cars, Kia is planning a new design concept for the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, which kicks off next week. The Kia Ray plug-in hybrid concept offers a preview of how Kia will package its developing plug-in hybrid technology, and this second teaser gives us a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Driven: 2011 Chevrolet VoltFans of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt have followed its development closely, and now that the car is in its final year of development the first near-complete prototypes are doing the rounds and we managed to get some seat time--one whole hour in fact--behind the wheel of one. Most readers will already...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Cadillac XTS Plugs Into A Hybrid FutureDespite some models costing upwards of $100,000, the luxury flagship sedan segment is one of the most hotly contested in the industry and is currently dominated by five main players: the Lexus LS, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar XJ, Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. We’ll soon be able to add a sixth...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Full disclosure: we love Susan Sarandon. Without her, Rocky Horror would've been short an ingenue, and The Hunger would've been missing its key behavioral scientist/vampire lesbian. And of course, how could anyone forget The Banger Sisters? Which, curiously, leads directly into the most recent news item about SS: that she's given up babyfaced Tim Robbins and is getting down with considerably more babyfaced ping pong entrepreneur -- yes: ping pong entrepreneur -- Jonathan Bricklin. Of course, Bricklin's babyface is slightly more appropriate, since he's a mere 31 years old. But by now, you're...
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BMW Goes Green At 2009 Los Angeles Auto ShowThe 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show will be the site of three North American vehicle debuts for BMW.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Aptera 2e Release Date Pushed Back Until 2010Aptera claims that it already has 4,000 deposits for the 2e.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fisker Picks Delaware Plant For New Hybrid Vehicle ProductionFisker’s next model, due in 2012, will be a $39,000 plug-in hybrid mid-size sedan.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo XI May Get Plug-in Hybrid TechDue to financial constraints, development on the next-generation Evo has been stalled so any launch of a plug-in hybrid Evo is still years away.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo Will Bring Diesels And Plug-in Hybrids To U.S.Volvo’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle will go on sale in Europe by 2012.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran