In addition to searching for a possible partner to build its 
Tesla’s forthcoming battery-powered 4-door sedan model that is scheduled to enter the market in 2010 will be manufactured at a facility in the state of “Today’s announcement is incredible news for
Ze’ev Drori, President and CEO of Tesla Motors, remarked, “Tesla has achieved an extraordinary accomplishment. We are the only automobile company today delivering full performance battery-electric vehicles to our customers. Make no mistake - we are not a niche player with a car only for the rich and famous. As our agreement with the state so clearly demonstrates, we are building a high volume ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE, manufactured in
You are witnessing the debut of a new car company, a company unlike all others, a company with a disruptive technology, a company dedicated for the exclusive production of Zero Emission Vehicles.”
Malaysian national carmaker Proton has announced its plans to enter the burgeoning Indian market that currently supports annual sales of about 1.5 million passenger vehicles. Initially, the Malaysian company will market three models, the Savvy, the Saga and the Persona with sales expected to begin in early 2009. Proton is also negotiating with a joint-venture partner in 
Last July, a 60-year-old teacher from End of story, lesson learnt? Not exactly as this week N.C. DMV officials were informed that the same letters appeared on the agency's own web site on a sample personalized plate (WTF-5505). “I can't believe it," DMV Commissioner Bill Gore told reporters when he was informed about the online hitch. "Obviously, I didn't know it was there."
Up to 30,000 brand-new Volkswagen cars were damaged last Sunday when a brief but vicious storm with hail the size of pingpong balls hit a lot filled with new cars at a plant in VW company spokesman Christoph Adomat told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the vehicles parked outside suffered chipped paint and/or dings, but luckily no windshields were broken. Although VW will definitely get paid by insurance, it remains unclear whether the damaged cars will be repaired and if not, what will happen to them.
In a decision that might set the example for similar cases in the near future, a court in Munich, Germany ruled that China Automobile Deutschland GmbH’s Shuanghuan SCEO SUV infringes BMW's design rights as it’s appearance clearly resembles that of the previous generation X5 SUV. The Munich Regional Court ruling not only prohibits the importer from selling the SUV in German but it also decided that the China Automobile Deutschland GmbH must destroy all models it still has in its possession. Although China Automobile Deutschland GmbH plans to appeal against the court ruling, sources from
The same market that rightfully shunned large SUVs and pickup trucks in a blink of an eye as soon as gas prices surpassed the $3.50 a gallon mark has made hybrid cars so popular, that in many cases dealers/private sellers are asking over 35 grand for a used Toyota Prius as the Japanese carmaker cannot satisfy the demand. If you head over to For the record, we checked out used Prius prices on Autotrader, Cars.com and Craigslist. Surprisingly, there were hundreds of cars priced thousands of dollars over
If you want to save money, just go buy a normal compact car. For example, a similarly sized all-new Toyota Corolla XLE sedan with an automatic gearbox has an MSRP of $17,550 (the base model costs $15,250). According to the fueleconomy.gov site, if you drive an average of 15,000 miles a year (based on 45% highway, 55% city) with a fuel price of $ 4.08 per gallon, the Corolla will cost you $2,038 annually while a Prius, $1,328.
If you chose the Prius, then in 5 years you’ll have theoretically saved $3,550. That’s still not enough to cover the price difference between the official MSRP of the two cars which is $6,220, let alone the spiked prices dealers are asking for a… used Prius.
Heck, even if in the unrealistic scenario that gas prices in the
Oh (big) brother; Australian officials in the state of New South Wales (NSW) will trial a GPS system with a mind of its own that will not only notify drivers of the speed limit and warn them when they are going too fast, but if they choose not to listen, then the system will limit the supply of fuel to the engine, forcing a reduction in the vehicle's speed.And how about if there’s an emergency situation and the driver needs for one reason or another to accelerate over the speed limit? NSW officials vaguely stated that in the event of an emergency, or in the need to accelerate, they can override the system. For the driver’s and passengers’ sake, hopefully that won’t mean fiddling around with a ton of buttons… -Continued
Commenting on the States decision to test the GPS system, New South Wales Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal said: "Speeding is a factor in around 40% of all fatal crashes in NSW, with 139 people losing their lives on our roads last year because of speed. This kind of technology has the potential to help cut the road toll." The trial will begin next July and it will run for18 months in 100 cars costing approximately $1 million AUD. Western Australia and Victoria are also keen in trialing the system in the near future. (Picture: Carscoop)
The never ending saga of small firms popping up from nowhere continues with the Aspid that will make its world debut at the British International Motor Show in late July. The Aspid (Spanish name for the snake that killed Cleopatra) has been developed by the automotive engineering consultancy IFR Automotive that was founded by automotive engineer Ignacio Fernández Rodriquez who has worked in the past for Prodrive and the Mitsubishi World Rally Championship team.IFR Automotive supports that the Aspid is the only car in the world to meet both FIA safety requirements and European homologation standards. Initial prototypes feature a 2.0-litre engine; either naturally aspirated to deliver 270Hp or supercharged to 400Hp with power delivered in both cases to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential. -Continued
The lightweight aluminium and carbon structure of the car, which has a mass of just 700kg (1,550lb) and the resulting 570Hp-per-tonne (1.75kg/Hp) power-to-weight ratio give awe-inspiring performance figures with the Aspid accelerating from zero to 62mph (100km/h) in just 2.8 seconds and 100mph (160km/h) in a mouth dropping 5.9 seconds. Maximum speed is restricted to 155mph (250km/
The Aspid braking performance is equally impressive with IFR Automotive supporting that the sportscar can come to a complete halt from 100mph (160km/h) in a mere 3.0 seconds. When cornering, the car has been said to generate an intense 1.6g of lateral acceleration.
IFR Automotive says that journalists will have the opportunity to drive the first production models later this year, with the first cars being delivered to customers in summer 2009. Prices are set to start at £75,000 (€95,000) with fully loaded models expected to cost twice as much. (Pic edited by Carscoop)
In cooperation with the German government, VW announced that it will start testing a fleet of 20 vehicles equipped with a new plug-in hybrid drive system with lithium-ion batteries called “TwinDrive”. Volkswagen plans are to introduce a production version of the system as early as 2010.
“Different than today’s hybrid vehicles, it should be emphasized that TwinDrive – and this is decisive – enables long ranges in the city in electric mode. While the electric motor on a typical hybrid model just supplements the combustion engine, the exact opposite is true on the TwinDrive: here the diesel or gasoline engine supplements the electric-motor,” said Winterkorn.
Although VW’s representatives didn’t give out all the details on the new hybrid system, they did reveal that over the route from
According to the German carmaker, the Golf TwinDrive can cover a distance of about 50 km or 30 miles purely on electric energy. As for power, VW revealed that the Golf TwinDrive’s electric motor and internal combustion engine deliver in tandem up to 130 kW or 174Hp.
“The present era of the automobile would be inconceivable without highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines. But the future will most certainly belong to the electric motors – refueled at the electrical outlet. On the way to this future, our TDI (diesel) and TSI (petrol) engines are now being merged with electric motors and extremely efficient battery systems to form a new drive system”, explained Martin Winterkorn.
“The Golf TwinDrive being presented here today enables electrically powered driving in the city, on the one hand, while also enabling very long ranges over extended driving routes on which the combustion engine is used. For us, the TwinDrive represents an elementary step along the path toward the completely electrically driven automobile!” the Volkswagen chief added.
As usual, Alfa Romeo folks were quite talkative during the media launch of the new Talking with Alfa Romeo’s CEO Luca De Meo, the driving Dutchmen learned that the Italian carmaker is considering to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2010 with the launch of a limited edition GTA version of the luscious 8C Competizione that would be lighter and more powerful than the standard coupe that’s fitted with a Ferrari sourced 450Hp V8 engine. -Continued
Luca De Meo said that if the project gets the green light from the Fiat Group’s board his intent is to produce a limited edition run of no more than 100 units.
Via: Autotelegraaf
In a statement issued today, Porsche said that in 2012, it will replace Finnish contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive with the Austrian company Magna Steyr for the production of the mid-engine Boxster and Cayman models. Holger P. Härter, Deputy Chairman of Porsche SE, commented: “Over the last eleven years, Valmet has built more than 200,000 sports cars of outstanding quality for us. Our decision not to continue our successful cooperation is in no way a vote against Valmet. Rather, it was the high development capacity and competence of our future partner that tipped the balance in favor of our new partner.”
A different sort of unveiling took part today at Maranello as Ferrari’s President Luca di Montezemolo and CEO Amedeo Felisa presented two new buildings: the new Company Restaurant designed by architect Marco Visconti and the New Car Assembly Lines designed by architect Jean Nouvel, winner of this year’s internationally Pritzker Architecture Prize. “With the addition of these two new buildings,” stressed the President, “we have completed the renovation of the entire Car Production Area that began in the late 1990s, and has involved the investment of over 200 million euro. Next year we will be going one step further when we begin work on the new GES facility.” -Continued
“We intend to create a working environment unlike any other anywhere in the world. A working environment where safety and environmental protection coexist in harmony in facilities designed and constructed with the workers’ needs in mind,” added Luca di Montezemolo.
Along with the official presentation of the two new buildings, Ferrari’s head officers also announced a series of new services for employees and their families. These range from free medical/fitness check-ups for all employees and their children, first and second home loans at competitive rates, personalised loans for family requirements, and discounts on school and university textbooks. Not a bad place to work is it…
Some could see it as a “MegaMerger”, others as a “MegaDisaster”. Either way, BusinessWeek magazine learned from an unnamed source that at a few recent meetings, unammed General Motors executives shared their thoughts about the possibility of a merger with arch American rival, Ford Motor Company.However, some narrow minded fellow execs (before you start commenting, we’re being sarcastic now…) dismissed the idea as they believed a merger with a company that has even worse problems than GM would be a huge distraction at a time when management needs to focus on a turnaround.
Commenting on the report, David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research said, "I don't think a merger is likely. But you'll see a lot of options considered if they think bigger problems will come by." -Continued
What do you think about the idea of a “MegaMerger” between Ford and GM? Would GMF (that stands for General Motors Ford and not for Genetically Modified Fords…) be something worth looking into or would it be the end of both automakers?
Via: BusinessWeek
Ford Motor Company’s Volvo Cars unit is planning to cut 2,000 jobs as part of a cost reduction programme which is estimated to reduce the total cost level by 4 billion SEK (approx. $700 million USD). The Swedish company said that it will lay off 1,400 white collar (consultants included) and 600 blue collar workers.The notice includes 1,200 employees at Volvo Car Corporation in Gothenburg (1,105 employees), Volvo Car
"This is an unfortunate but necessary action if we are to achieve a better financial position", said Fredrik Arp, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation. "We must tackle the difficult marked conditions, most of all in the
The Nissan-Infiniti Group seems to be entering a “coupe” phase lately as after the announcement on the 2009 Nissan 370Z and the talk about the revival of the Nissan 200/240SX coupe, word has it that Infiniti is preparing an entry-level RWD coupe based on the new “Z”. According to a report from InsideLine, the 2-seater compact coupe that will fit right under the G37 in Infiniti’s car line-up will most probably be previewed in concept form either at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show or at the Geneva Show in March with sales of the production model following in 2010. It is said that Infiniti’s “baby” coupe will be powered by a 2.5-liter V6 engine.
Via: InsideLine , Pic:
Following in the footsteps of Nissan (click here for details), Mitsubishi will enter the South Korean market by the end of 2008. According to a report in the Nikkei newspaper, the Japanese carmaker plans to sell initially five models mainly in 
The organizing committee of the European “Car of Year 2009” has announced the initial candidates for the prestigious award that was won last year by the highly-successful Fiat 500. Although you might see a larger list on other websites, the official listing from the folks at COTY consists of 25 models. However, the contenders could be more than 35 by the end of September, which is the final date for this year’s competition. Cars that might be added in this year’s COTY could include the Ford Fiesta, BMW 7-Series, Renault Megane, Alfa Romeo Mito and Opel Insignia. Our guess (from the current nominees)? We’d bet on the Mazda6 and the Seat Ibiza.
Audi A4 - Audi Q5 - BMW X6 - Chevrolet HHR - Chrysler Grand Voyager - Citroën Berlingo / Peugeot Partner - Citroën C5 - Dacia Sandero - Dodge Journey - Ford Kuga - Honda Accord - Hyundai H1/i800 - Hyundai i10 - Jaguar XF - Jeep Cherokee - Lancia Delta - Mazda6 - Mercedes-Benz GLK - Mitsubishi Lancer - Opel – Vauxhall Agila / Suzuki Splash - Renault Kangoo - Renault Koleos - Seat
While Porsche fans welcome technologies like direct injection and dual-clutch gearboxes that help improve among other things, the new 911 Carrera’s green credentials, they don’t seem as keen when it comes to other systems like “Start-and-Stop”. Talking with Porsche engineers at the press launch of the 2009 911, Car Magazine learned that while a Start-Stop system was considered for the facelifted model, the sports carmaker’s clientele put a brake on the use of such a system. -Continued The company’s engineers told Car that if they had fitted the facelifted 911 with a BMW-style start-stop system it would have reduced a further 10g/km from the Carrera’s 225g/km CO2 emissions. Apparently, Porsche fans will take all the green technology the German sports carmaker can offer them as long it also improves performance and/or dynamics.
Link: Car
