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Honda Insight Tops April Sales in Japan
The month of April marked an important milestone for both Honda Motor Co. and hybrid cars. Last month the new Insight achieved the status of being Japan’s most popular vehicle with more units sold than any other model – marking the first time a hybrid has ever been the monthly sales leader. In April, 10,481…
Future BMW 1-Series and 3-Series to Get Turbocharged 3-Cylinder and 4-Cylinder Engines
BMW has made it clear that it is working hard to deliver performance as well as fuel economy, doing away with larger displacement motors wherever possible and introducing turbocharged smaller-displacement powerplants that produce as much (or more) power. While BMW has been able to give impressive performance to sporty models like the 135 and 335…
Ford May Sell “Ka” Microcar in U.S. to Compete With Fiat-Sourced Chryser Model
There is a definite possibility that Ford’s European Ka microcar could make its way to dealerships in North American in the next few years. A new second-generation Ka was just launched in Europe in 2009, using either a 68hp 1.2-liter gasoline engine or a 74hp 1.3-liter diesel engine. At just 142.5-inches long, the Ka is…
Ferrari F450 Concept to Debut at Frankfurt Auto Show
Spy photos of Ferrari’s F430 successor have almost become common-place over the past six months and now word comes that the Italian car maker may show a concept version of the exotic at the Frankfurt Auto Show this Fall. Known internally as the F142, the F430’s successor is more commonly called the F450, as it…
Nissan Will Be Absent From 2009 SEMA Show
Nissan has confirmed that it will not be attending the 2009 SEMA Show this Fall. What that means is, we aren’t likely to see any drift Cubes, or DUB Cubes or crazy widebody GT-R-powered Cubes. Which isn’t really a bad thing… although that last one sounds interesting. Nissan had already announced that it would only…
Audi Adds New Fuel-Saving Technologies
To help make its goal of a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption by 2012, Audi has just released some new technologies for its vehicles, while expanding some existing fuel-efficiency features across its product rage. Audi’s three systems, (some new and some not-so-new) include a Start-Stop manual transmission, an Energy Recovery System and what Audi…
Artisan Performance Building 600 Horsepower Camaro SS
Well-known in the tuning community for building high-powered machines of all breeds, Artisan Performance has decided to take on the 2010 Chevy Camaro. And if the renderings are any hint, we’re in for a treat. And yet as salivating a package as it looks from the outside (with 1.5-inch fender flares), the Artisan Performance SA-600…
Hyundai Shipping 100 Equus Models To The U.S.
Hyundai continues to flirt with the luxury market as the automaker has now announced that it will ship 100 of its flagship Equus luxury sedans to U.S. dealerships to gauge interest. The Equus is based of the same platform as the Genesis Sedan, which launched in 2008, but is even larger, taking aim at the…
Corvette ZR1 “Hero Edition” To Be Raffled Off For Charity
General Motors has built a one-off “Hero Edition” Corvette ZR1, which will be raffled-off for charity. The car will be paired up with a 1967 Corvette 427 convertible and will be given away to the lucky ticket holder at the end of the year as a part of the Win The Vettes Corvette Dream Giveaway….
Toyota Forecasts $8.6 Billion Annual Loss
A day after GM posted yet another staggering quarterly loss, Toyota has released that it expects to lose $8.6 billion during this fiscal year. The loss was mostly driven by Toyota’s Q4 results, which just came in at negative $6.9 billion. This is the first annual operating loss Toyota has ever posted and even more…
General Motors Axes Cobalt SS Sedan
Thanks to a little investigative journalism, the folks over at Autoblog have uncovered that General Motors will cut the Cobalt SS Sedan from its product lineup for 2010. A sad day indeed. The discovery came about due to GM hosting its Order and Reference Guides online. Look for the Cobalt and noticeably absent is the…
Maserati Bringing GranTurismo Drop-Top to Market
Maserati is planning a convertible version of the GranTurismo, similar to the Alfa Romeo 8C Compitizione drop-top which is based on the same platform. It doesn’t exactly take the foresight of a Nostradamus to predict that Maserati will bring a drop-top version of the GranTurismo to market, but the gents over at Car & Driver…
Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel Could See Production
When Lotus first showed the Exige 270E Tri-Fuel at the Geneva Auto Show back in 2008 it was seen more as an engineering project than a concept car. That, however, may change. Recently the vehicle was put on display at the Shanghai Auto Show in China and interest was so high China’s Lotus distributor is…
GM Canada Adds Shifts to Keep Up With Camaro Demand
As General Motors continues to report record losses, there are still some small success stories to report. The reborn Chevy Camaro is one of them. While plants are being idled and employees being let go across the company, at the Camaro assembly plant in Oshawa, Canada, workers can’t keep up with demand. The Peterborough Examiner…
Audi Readying RS3 and A3 Hybrid
With the new A3 due out in 2011 rumors of performance and hybrid versions of the car have already emerged. In the performance category Audi is expected to release an RS3, which will be powered by the same turbocharged five-cylinder currently found in the TT-RS. Output won’t be quite as significant, but expect lots of…
Mini GTI in the Works?
BMW is currently looking at adding three new vehicles to the Mini lineup, including an enthusiast-targeted GTI model. U.K. auto pub AutoCar is reporting that the car would be build on the new five-door Mini platform that will also underpin the company’s upcoming crossover. We’d welcome such a vehicle as Mini is already an enthusiast…
Lexus Building A3/1 Series Rival for European Market
With the entry-level premium marketing continuing to grow in Europe, Lexus is planning to get in on the action by bringing a vehicle to market that will complete with the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. The new vehicle will slot in under the IS250 and will be a hybrid. This may sound a lot…
General Motors Posts $6 Billion Q1 Loss
General Motors has once again posted a massive quarterly loss, coming up short to the tune of $6 billion for Q1 of ’09. That is roughly the equivalent of the value of 473,000 Chevy Aveos. The company burned through $10.2 billion during the period, lowering its cash reserves to $11.6 billion from $14.2 billion at…
Nissan-Renault Latest Candidate to Buy Saturn
The sale of Saturn to Nissan-Renault could see cars like this Mégane Renault Sport roaming U.S. streets. The rumor mill keeps churning out new and exciting candidates interested in buying GM’s Saturn brand. The most recent speculation is that Nissan/Renault might be interested. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Nissan-Renault interest in Saturn, while…
Ford Transforming Michigan Trunk Plant into Compact Car/Electric Vehicle Plant
Ford will spend $550 million to transform it’s Michigan truck plant into a facility that bill be used to built the new Ford Focus, including an electric version of that vehicle. By transforming the Michigan Trunk Plant into a compact car facility as many as 3,200 jobs will be saved as demand for large SUVs…
Novitec Tunes Maserati GranTurismo S to 600hp
Several years ago Ferrari tuner Novitec released it’s first line of parts for the Maserati brand under the name Novitec Tridente. The minor modifications made available for the Quattroporte model didn’t, however, generate much excitement. The opposite will no doubt be true of the new Novitec Tridente line for the Maserati GranTurismo S…. due mostly…
Chrysler Bankruptcy Filings Shed Light on Which Fiat Models Headed for U.S.
The Fiat Panda is just one of several cars that will be sold in the U.S. under the Chrysler/Fiat alliance. It will most likely be badged as a Jeep. There has been plenty of speculation as to which Fiat vehicles will make it on to North American roads as a result of the merger with…
Chrysler Bankruptcy Plan All But Approved
Our team over at GMInsideNews is reporting that the judge overseeing the Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings has thrown out the arguments made by the hold-out bondholders. By removing the only objection to the process, the bankruptcy proceedings can now be fast-tracked and the Fiat merger can go ahead. During President Obama’s press conference last week, when…
Cash-for-Guzzlers Bill Proposed by Democrats
The Democrats have proposed an incentive program to help-out potential car buyers and the U.S. auto industry. The only problem is, the gas-for-guzzlers legislation isn’t aimed at boosting car sales in the general sense. The bill would provide up to $4,500 for people who trade in low mpg cars and trucks, to spend on a…
