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2012 Mitsubishi i Ranks Best In Fuel Economy
Behold, the new bar for fuel economy: 126 highway miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). Which car is championing these figures? The Mitsubishi i electric vehicle. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fuel Economy Guide ranked the Mitsubishi i electric vehicle at the top for fuel consumption. The competing Nissan Leaf stacks up 13 MPGe lower at a still…
Nissan Juke-R Revealed
Nissan has finally released official photos of their Juke-R, after a long, drawn out series of teasers and video clips. Before you get too excited, you can’t order one of these roid-raging crossovers. Nissan Europe and its technical partner RML says this is a special street legal concept car. They plan to make one left-hand…
Texas Formula One Track Construction Delayed
Circuit of the Americas is halting of the Formula One circuit in Austin, Texas, effective immediately. The organizers came to this decision after they didn’t receive a contract to assure that the Formula One United States Grand Prix will be held at their venue. “We have spent tremendous resources preparing for the Formula One and MotoGP…
2012 Chevrolet Camaro Gets First Perfect NHTSA Crash Test Rating
Gas, tires and insurance probably don’t matter much if you’re in the market for a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang, but safety does. The Camaro and Mustang GT come with more-or-less comparable horsepower and grunt off the line. What the test drive won’t show you is that the Camaro is the first car to…
Fiat 500’s Slow Sales Leads To Chrysler Worker Layoffs
Slow sales by Fiat are causing layoffs for workers in Chrysler‘s Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance Plant in Dundee, Mich., responsible for building the 1.4-liter FIRE engine used in the 500. The actual numbers behind the layoffs are, however, in dispute. Tom Zimmerman, the plant’s unit chairman for UAW Local 723, said in an interview with…
Audi Cutting Back On Manuals For Europe
Audi drivers across the pond are getting the short end of the stick, or to be more precise: no stick at all. What’s all this stick business, you may ask? The new version of the Audi S4 and S5 will only be available with an automatic transmission in Europe, cue the snickers and sneers from North American…
This is What a Wrecked Chevy Volt Looks Like
Would you trust new technology with your life? One Chevy Volt owner did, and walked away from a rather serious smash-up mostly unharmed. A forum user on GM-Volt.com posted pictures recently of his totaled Volt on the New Jersey Turnpike. The car (number 187) became a martyr after a nasty highway collision. “Except for some…
New Porsche Supercar to be Built on Audi R8 Platform
Porsche‘s new supercar, targeted squarely at the Ferrari 458, might be borrowing its underpinnings from the next-gen Audi R8. The German sports car manufacturer is already well on its way to developing the part-carbon fiber car, though what they have so far borrows heavily from Audi. It’s not something Porsche is happy about, but Volkswagen,…
GM Threatens to Halt 9-4X Production for Saab Pending Sale to Chinese Automakers
General Motors has announced that it will cut ties with Saab over its pending sale to two Chinese automakers. The threat has some very real consequences with GM stating it would cease manufacturing of the 9-4X crossover for Saab, as well as stop delivery of the parts it currently supplies the Swedish automaker with. “Although…
Toyota Le Mans Driver Lineup Includes Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima
Toyota has announced its three-man tea of pro racers, who will pilot the brand’s hybrid LMP1 car in the 2012 Le Mans and other races. The list includes former F1 driver and winner of the 2009 24 Hours of Le mans (under Peugeot) Alex Wurz, Team Oreca pilot and last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring…
Chevrolet Celebrates 100th Birthday
Chevy has a lot to celebrate this week— the brand turned 100 years old and delivered their millionth Cruze. They’ve come a long way since November 3, 1911 when Swiss emigrant Louis Chevrolet and then-ousted GM founder William C. Durant first incorporated the brand. Their Series 490 helped the fledgling brand prove itself against Ford, and offer serious…
Holden Commodore Production May Leave Australia
Between 250 and 300 engineering jobs in Australia may disappear in the next two years if Holden stops producing its Commodore at home. If the decision becomes final, it means a big change considering the company has designed, engineered and built the Commodore on Australian shores for 64 years. In an interview with OptusZoo News,…
Tesla Posts Growing Loss, Signs Deal with Mercedes
The Tesla Roadster (right) has impressive acceleration and handling, you also never have to buy gas for it, but at more than $100,000 it’s pretty expensive. Their current one-car offering and the big price tag didn’t help the company. They posted a $65.1 million net loss in the past quarter, up from the $34.9 million they…
Lotus Secures Regional Growth Fund Cash to Further Model Development
Keep an eye on Lotus over the next six years, they just won a bid for this round of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF). Lotus CEO Danny Bahar said in a press release that the money will help the company refresh its line of sports cars with best in class performance and emissions. The RGF…
2013 BMW 3 Series To Debut In Detroit
Snow or no snow, BMW will be braving the Detroit winter to show off the 2013 F30 3 Series in its public debut January 12. The announcement comes after the initial debut earlier this month in Munich and reveals that there will be the standard and M Sport packages along with three new lines: sport,…
More Diesel Cars In The Future For North America
If you aren’t familiar with the gravely rumble of a diesel powered vehicle you probably will be soon. They’re commonplace in Europe thanks to better milage and will be in the same position on American shores thanks to increasingly stringent government standards. Jeff Breneman, executive director of the U.S. Coalition for Advanced Diesel Cars,…
Highly Radioactive Cars Being Sold Illegally in Japan
If you thought the risk of buying a flood car after Hurricane Katrina was serious, imagine having your health threatened just from being near the car. That’s exactly what’s been happening in Japan, where unsuspecting consumers are being sold dangerously radioactive cars that belonged to people living in Fukushima and the surrounding area after the…
2012 Kia Rio Sedan Priced at $200 Less than Hatchback
Kia has released pricing details for its 2012 Rio sedan, starting at $13,400 or $200 less than the 5-door version. That price is before the $750 destination and handling fee. The cheapest version comes with a 6-speed manual transmission, but if you aren’t willing or can’t drive stick the price jumps to $15,250 with a…
BYD Grand Opening Launches U.S. Operations
There’s a new kid in Los Angeles, BYD. The Chinese battery and electric car manufacturer opened its California office today. BYD says it will bring 150 green-collar engineering and management jobs to the city. The event highlight, however, is a deal between BYD and Hertz to provide airport shuttles to the rental agency. This could prove…
California Highway Congestion Worsened By Hybrids?
California told 85,000 hybrid drivers to move over, literally. Now everyone is feeling the sting. Starting last July the yellow stickers allowing hybrid owners to drive alone in the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane expired. The move came in preparation for an anticipated increase in electric vehicles on the road that will be allowed…
VW Vows to Keep Suzuki Shares as Partnership Turns Ugly
A public disagreement between Volkswagen and Suzuki in early September left the Japanese automaker wanting to end its partnership, but that might not happen. In a news release Monday, the company said it “will retain its stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. unchanged.” Suzuki requested its shares be returned in light of what representatives say are…
South Korean Free Trade Deal Passes, Domestic Cars To Gain Foothold?
It’s been years since George Bush was in office, but a trade bill from his presidency finally made it past the House and Senate. The deal includes Columbia, Panama and South Korea to open trade between those countries and the U.S. with changes aimed to aid U.S. auto manufacturers. “I’ve fought to make sure that…
Smart FourFour Coming to America
Mercedes-Benz is rethinking their line of Smart cars and will bring the ForFour, a four door, four passenger vehicle, to American consumers by 2015. That choice, among others, came after Mercedes-Benz took over distribution of the brand in the U.S. last July. They also plan to scrap the current FourTwo (above) in favor of a new…
Chicago Ford Plant Gives Early ‘No’ To New Pact
Local 551 of Chicago’s Ford Plant gave a resounding “no” to the new four-year labor contract. Local 551 represents about 6 percent of Ford’s United Auto Workers (UAW) employees and according to secretary-treasurer Scott Houldieson of Local 551, the two-tier pay scale was one of the biggest reasons the plant’s workers voted against it. The…
