Lexus has unveiled a one-off Midnight Blue LS600h Landaulet for the July 2nd wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco. Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet completed the conversion, but Lexus engineers partook in the project to ensure the highest levels of quality. The Landaulet has recently been completed, and took more than 2,000 hours to complete. To...
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Even with high gas prices, Americans are choosing fuel effiecient compacts with conventional gas engines over pricier gas-electric hybrids. Sales have steadily increased with the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze while hybrids are showing little activity. Hybrid sales in the U.S peaked in July,2009 peaking at 3.6% and last month sales were down...
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Are you curious to know how much of your car is made in America? Well if you are, Diane Sawyer takes a look into the automotive manufacturing business. ABC World News lauched “Made in American Summer” which focuses on American manufacturing, the economy and how ordinary Americans can help create more jobs in their country....
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With Ford planning to blitz the auto-market in the first quarter of 2012 with its eight new models, the American automaker hopes the Fusion will make a major impact with its next-gen sophisticated hybrid system. According to a source inside Ford the Blue Oval is targeting a 47-48-mpg rating for the car in the city, with an even...
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Nissan has released full details on its 2012 Altima lineup with the Altima Hybrid notably absent. The Altima Hybrid officially launched in 2007 and featured Nissan’s first gas-electric engine, thanks to technology licensed from Toyota. It was able to achieve 33 mpg (7.1 L/100 km), which is still a respectable number. However, the Altima was...
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Ford is planning to blitz the auto-market for the first quarter of 2012. According to a source inside Ford, no less than eight all-new or refreshed models will start production for Q1. Ford’s largest project is the all-new midsize Fusion/Mondeo, which is currently scheduled to start production in January. Ford hopes for a 50-percent sales improvement for...
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Lincoln sales have been slipping and so far are down 8 percent this year. The automaker has sped up redesign plans for the full-size MKS and three-row MKT as sales have dropped by 40 percent this year for the sedan, and 38 percent for the crossover. The redesigned MKS and MKT will debut at the Los Angeles Auto...
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ne Mercedes-Benz has recently unveiled its new M-class SUV and there has been confirmation that several variants for this crossover will be included. Among them will be two hybrid variants. One will be powered by a gasoline-electric system similar to the current ML450 hybrid. The other hybrid will feature a brand new diesel-electric system. Peugot is...
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Tesla Motors has planned to begin building prototypes of its Model S electric sedan in the third quarter at the NUMMI plant located in Fremont, Calif, which was acquired from Toyota last year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated the project will involve a $500 million investment. The Model S is slated for production in mid-2012...
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Toyota has announced a recall on 52,000 2001-2003 Prius’ as well as a handful of Venza and Sienna vehicles. The recall is regarding the possibility of nuts securing the pinion shaft for the steering box assembly. These nuts may become loose from repeated full-lock turning of the steering wheel. Toyota says that over time, the...
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Audi has confirmed that the A2 will be making a comback this September at the Frankfurt Auto Show, in the form of an electric concept car. The original A2 ended production due to the cost of its aluminum spaceframe chassis. The new A2 will retain the chassis but the car will be a more expensive...
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The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety today announced the all-new 2011 Lexus CT200h hybrid earned a “Top Safety Pick” award. The Lexus earned the award through enduring front, side, rollover, and rear impact evaluations and its standard electronic stability control. High-strength steel components are carefully located in the body structure to help ensure strength in key...
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The Toyota Prius family could grow even larger as the automakers studies additional versions of the three row Prius. The Japanese automaker wants to sell 1 million hybrids a year and in early 2012, Toyota will launch two more Prius family members. The members will include the Prius C compact hybrid and the Prius plug-in...
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Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that its E300 Bluetec Hybrid is on the way and will hit showrooms in Europe by the end of 2012. While it hasn’t been confirmed for a U.S. launch, execs also haven’t ruled it out. The first capable diesel hybrid from Stuttgart available for public use debuted at this past March’s Geneva...
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General Motors had limited the sales of the Chevrolet Volt for April as the brand is bumping up supplies of demonstration models. Cristi Landy, Chevrolet marketing director said in a statement “It’s tough to limit the number of Volts for sale to potential customers when demand is so strong, but the Volt has value to the Chevrolet...
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Wireless-induction charging of vehicles and plug-in hybrids is likely to become common within the automotive industry say EV experts. “We believe it’s not a matter of if but when wireless charging will be in all (electric) vehicles,” Laura Marino of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory stated during a recent Automotive Power Electronics conference. Inductive charging...
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Honda is apparently developing a hybrid version of their Goldwing motorcycle, a first in the two-wheeled world. A drawing that was attached to Honda’s patent filing seems to show a near replica of their Goldwing touring motorcycle. While hybrids tend to deliver wonderful fuel economy gains in city driving, the Goldwing is meant to travel...
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Volvo has unveiled a plug-in diesel hybrid version of its V60 wagon ahead of the Geneva Auto Show, which promises to do for fuel spending what Atkins did for bread consumption. The diesel hybrid takes Volvo’s 2.4-liter inline-five turbodiesel, pumping out 215 horsepower and 324 lb-ft of torque and adds an electric motor to the...
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Don’t label RUF Automobiles as a mere Porsche tuner. They install enough of their own parts in Porsche bodies to be considered by the German government to be an independent manufacturer. And while Porsche is experimenting with electricity on their own, RUF has beaten them to the punch, with three different electric drivetrains, stuffed in...
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Ahead of the Geneva show, BMW has unveiled their first electric vehicle, the ActiveE: a 1-Series coupe that’s good for 170 horsepower, 184 pound-feet of torque, and 100 miles on a single charge. This gives the ActiveE a 0-60 time good for nine seconds. And BMW says the batteries can be fully charged in four...
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Car companies pay close attention to the Middle-East market, but it’s usually in relation to high-priced exotics and luxury cars. So it comes as a big surprise to hear that Volkwagen might be launching a concept car at the upcoming Qatar Motor Show that will consume only 1-liter of fuel to travel 100 km. That...
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If you are the extraordinarily wealthy parent of an over-indulged child that loves pre-WWII race cars, then boy do we have something for you. Audi is showing off a miniature Auto Union Type C race car that uses electric power for motivation. Audi already sells a 1:2 scale Type C as a pedal car, but this version...
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There’s nothing that quite says America than an iconic candy apple-red Chevy Camaro. No, not the idyllic America of 1950s and 60s with its apple pies, white picket fences, and Ivy League educational standards, we’re talking America of the ’70s and ’80s—long hair flowing down a ripped and torn denim jacket, a middle finger to...
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eBay is just full of hidden gems and surprises, along with really random and cheap stuff. We ran across this Mitsubishi Eclipse and on the outside it looks like your standard Eclipse with minimal modifications. Then you take a look at the interior and it’s overwhelming … tacky, but then you notice there’s a whole...
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