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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green
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Yikes, isn't $465,000 a little much to pay for an EV1? But that's the amount that it seems someone paid for a 1998 model in British Columbia recently. That's just nuts. It's $465,000 Canadian, but still. We'll save our pennies for the B0 (B Zero) or the Nuvu, thank you.
Did a used EV1 really just sell for $465,000? Ferraris greener than Priuses? Statistics to the rescue again! Spoiler Alert: 10th Petit Le Mans is over, the first Green Challenge winner is... Inaugural VW Jetta TDI cup goes to Josh Hurley Auto industry responses to the bailout bill; what do you think? Third-gen Prius to be sportier? Jetta TDI proving more popular than VW planned MOPAR fan converts Plymouth Duster to electric Senate passes plug-in tax credits in Wall Street bailout bill VIDEO: Danny's Contentment talks Nuvu with Mia Paris 2008: Pininfarina and Bolloré debut the B0 (B Zero) production electric car Paris 2008: Video of Saab 9-X Air and designer Mark Adams Paris 2008: smart shows off its second-gen ED Paris 2008: Venturi Eclectic, the production version Paris 2008: Peugeot RC HYmotion4 Paris 2008: Wallyscar to make electric Jeep-like vehicle Paris 2008: Peugeot Prologue HYmotion4 diesel hybrid Paris 2008: Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4_e
More headlines after the jump.
Continue reading AutoblogGreen for 10.06.08
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Coupes, Euro, Paris Motor Show, Alfa Romeo
Click either image for high-res gallery of theAlfa Romeo Brera Ti
Standing in front of the Alfa Romeo display in Paris, we found ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. The big news from Alfa was, of course, the official worldwide show debut of the MiTo, and the stand was rife with them. But we've already brought you galleries of photos of the MiTo, and even flew all the way over to Italy to drive it. (For you, of course.) But a European car show wouldn't be a European car show without some shots of an Alfa Romeo. Fortunately the Italians were kind enough to oblige with a new, hotter version of the impossibly gorgeous Brera.
The Brera Ti picks up some of the improvements developed by British rally and racing concern Prodrive (yes, that Prodrive, the ones who field Aston Martin in Le Mans, Subaru in the WRC and brought Honda back into F1). The Ti gets a stiffened suspension, 8C-style 19-inch anthracite alloys and Brembo brakes, pumping up the go to accompany all that show which you can check out in the gallery below.
Gallery: Paris 2008: Alfa Romeo Brera Ti
Gallery: 2008 Alfa Romeo Brera TI
Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Euro, Paris Motor Show, Renault
Click either image for high-res gallery of the Renault Megane Trophy concept
We've said it before but it warrants repeating: Renault makes some of the meanest hot hatches in the business. The (very) outgoing Megane RS has been a favorite among the track day crowd and really any European customer looking for a fast ride with sharp handling that can still serve on the daily grind. With the new Megane now out in the open, the big question on the minds of Renaultsport fans is what manner of fire-breathing demon will follow the established favorite they know and love? Clearly this isn't the answer, but if the production Megane III RS comes even remotely close to this concept car, we'll have yet another European machine to lust after.
The Renault Megane Trophy concept features a Nissan-sourced 3.5-liter V6 mounted amidship like in the old Renaultsport Clio V6, but producing a prodigious 360hp driving through a six-speed sequential gearbox, all wrapped in a competition-grade body with more wing than the Concorde and more louvers than a Parisian museum tour. Currently the car is just a concept, but could end up going into limited production for a spec racing series. Check it out in the gallery below and rest assured that it looks even more awesome in person.
Gallery: Paris 2008: Renault Megane Trophy Concept
Filed under: Coupes, Euro, Paris Motor Show, Hatchbacks, Renault
Click either image for high-res galleries of the Renault Megane III
Renault is stepping things up a notch. The French automaker has launched an aggressive campaign to refresh and broaden its lineup, including recent launches of the new Laguna, Twingo and Koleos, to name just a few. But this one will likely prove more important than all the others.
The Megane is Renault's bread and butter, competing in a dog-eat-dog segment against the likes of Volkswagen's new Golf and the popular European-spec Ford Focus. Diversity is part of Renault's plan of attack, planning to offer six different Megane bodystyles, each with its own distinct character. To start off, Renault launched the five-door hatchback and the sleek new coupe on its home turf here in Paris. Both represent striking departures from the models they replace, and the three-door cuts a particularly aggressive silhouette. Check out the images in the gallery below to see what we mean.
Gallery: Paris 2008: Renault Megane Coupe
Gallery: Paris 2008: Renault Megane III
Filed under: Euro, Paris Motor Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Ford, Special/Limited Editions
Click above for high-res gallery of the Ford Kuga Individual
When we put the production Ford Kuga next to its progenitor, the Iosis X show car, on our test drive in Belgium, we couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. The Kuga is a fine looking cute-ute, but lacks the aggressive styling that made the Iosis X such a show stopper. Ford promised to close the gap a little with the Individual version of the Kuga, launched here in Paris.
The Kuga joins Individual versions of the Ford Mondeo, Fiesta, S-Max and Galaxy, offering overseas buyers a host of luxury options you'd normally find on higher-end automobiles. The interior trim in particular goes a long way towards addressing some of the incoherence we mentioned in our review as well. Along with the leather and stuff, the Kuga Individual gets a revised exterior package that evokes some of the touches from the concept car, like aluminum intake fascias, 20" wheels and ground effects. The latter gives the Kuga a more road-skimming look as opposed to the Iosis X's jacked-up stature, but it's a nice touch all the same. The best part, however, could be the new engine option: the same Volvo-sourced turbo five from the hot Focus ST, albeit detuned to 200hp. Check out the photos in the gallery below to see the updated Kuga Individual from the Paris show floor.
Gallery: Paris 2008: Ford Kuga Individual
Gallery: Ford Kuga Individual
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, SUVs, Green, Crossovers/CUVs, Hatchbacks
At 9AM Eastern on Monday morning, a fleet of 23 diesel-powered Audis will roll out from Manhattan's Tavern on the Green on a trans-continental trek to demonstrate diesel efficiency. I'm in Manhattan this afternoon preparing to spend the next week in an Audi Q7 TDI on the way to Denver and will be checking in regularly from the road as we pass through Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, Memphis, Dallas and Amarillo along the way. Audi plans to launch its fifty-state-legal Q7 TDI in the US market next spring and it seems likely that some of the other vehicles on this trip may not be far behind.
I'll be on the first two legs and Sebastian, Damon, Drew and Jonathan will take over for the second week of the trip to Los Angeles. You can also follow along at the Audi Mileage Marathon site where there's a Twitter feed following the participants as they cross the continent. There is also a live map showing our location on the road along with two blogs, including one from Audi of America boss Johan de Nysschen. Twitter users can follow audimarathon to see what some of the 200 participating journalists are saying.
Gallery: Audi Mileage Marathon
[Source: Audi Mileage Marathon]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Convertibles, Chrysler, LLC., UK, Opinion/Editorial
Yep, that's Jeremy Clarkson talking up the Chrysler Sebring convertible in his column for The Sunday Times today. What, you expected anything less than a wholesale evisceration? Clarkson weighing in on the astoundlingly sub-par Sebring is pretty much the motor-journalistic equivalent of using a Stinger missile to take out your kid's SpongeBob birthday piñata. It didn't stand a chance.
The laughs come early and often as the Chrysler gets mercilessly worked over like one of Mike Tyson's sparring partners in the '80s, but be forewarned: by the time Jezza puts down his pen, America's Number One Fan has managed to work in AIG, Lehman Brothers and the Iraq war as he slips in his obligatory jabs at the country, which the Chrysler becomes symbolic of.
The way Clarkson sees it, quality sucks in the Sebring and other American cars because we Americans have no sense of history and are thus incapable of planning for the future (by making something built to last). Whatever -- he's entitled to his opinion. Speaking for myself, I can deal with the crappy Sebring in the grand scheme of things; that's a miniscule tradeoff for having something to celebrate on July 4th. Besides, it's not all tea and cookies in the former motherland, anyway...
Gallery: 2008 Chrysler Sebring Limited Convertible
[Source: TimesOnline | Tip: Kris]Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Motorsports, Euro, Paris Motor Show, Hatchbacks, FIAT
Click above for high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Abarth Assetto Corse
With the revival of the Abarth tuning division, Fiat is serious about motorsports. They've been racking up victories in the Intercontinental Rally Championship with the Punto, and have even been sponsoring Valentino Rossi's MotoGP Yamaha. And to drive the point home, while the "esseesse" (read: SS) version of the Cinquecento Abarth was the division's new reveal, it was this racing version, called the Assetto Corse, that took center stage.
The Assetto Corse is, of course, based on the same Fiat 500 that's been selling like adorable little hotcakes in every market it's hit so far. But the cute factor is gone, replaced by big air scoops, giant wings, roll cages and little scorpion badges everywhere. (And we do mean everywhere.) The little racing car that could is packed with a 1.4-liter 16-valve turbocharged four driving 190 hp through a six-speed shifter to the front set of 17" powder-coated white alloys hiding 4-piston Brembo calipers. The interior has a full roll cage and racing bucket, and an aggressive aero package sets the exterior apart from its street-bound progenitors. Check out the hotness for yourself in the gallery below.
Gallery: 2008 Paris: Fiat 500 Abarth Assetto Corse LIVE
Filed under: Government/Legal, Jaguar, Land Rover
Whenever there's auto industry-related lobbying going on in Washington D.C., the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is there. Consisting of eleven automakers representing 77 percent of all vehicle sales in the United States, the Auto Alliance has a "role in shaping meaningful public policy on the federal, state and even global levels," according to President and CEO Dave McCurdy. The newest member of the Alliance is Jaguar Land Rover, representing the two brands that were recently sold by Ford Motor Company to Tata Motors.
With the addition of the Indian-owned, British-based automaker, the membership now consists of BMW Group, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen.
[Source: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers]
Continue reading Jaguar Land Rover joins Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Time Warp, Auction Action, Etc., Jeep, Celebrities
There are fantastic combinations, like bacon and, well, just about anything, and then there are things that should never be combined. Jeep CJ-7s are super iconic, and they represent the pinnacle of AMC's stewardship of the brand. Though the Dukes of Hazzard itself was no Citizen Kane, every kid of that era has indelible images of an orange Charger flying through the air etched in their memories. Again, General Lee: cool. Put them together; ignoring the fact that a proper "Dukes"-themed CJ would mirror the Golden Eagle edition that appeared in the show; and you have created that which should never be. The "01" treatment has been applied to some very odd vehicles the world over, though, so we suppose that a General Lee-themed CJ isn't so bad in the long run. At least both elements appeared in the original show...
Gallery: General Lee CJ7
[Source: Hemmings]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Euro, Government/Legal
This week, Detroit got its $25B bailout loan approved by Washington, and according to The Wall Street Journal, European carmakers are making like this is a game of "Simon Says." The Journal reports that Fiat has proposed the idea of hitting up the European Commission for €40 billion ($55B USD) to help the European auto industry make the move to cleaner, greener cars ahead of the strict new emissions regulations currently being bandied about. Like we said, this rationale is very similar to the one Motown used to get its money.Fiat's grand idea was presented to other automakers at the ACEA meeting on Friday, and according to a spokesman for the automaker, "All European carmakers agree on the [€40 billion] demand." What a shocker. Said demand hasn't been formally made to EC bigwigs yet, but the lobbying is obviously well underway.
[Source: The Wall Street Journal]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Wagons/Estates, Videos, Volvo, Celebrities
In the wake of Paul Newman's passing just over a week ago, we've seen countless, wonderful tributes to the man written from different points of view. He's remembered as an actor, a colleague, a racer, and most importantly, a towering philanthropist. One of the best non-written remembrances, however, comes from the mouth of David Letterman, who paid respect to Newman in one of his monologues on The Late Show last week.
The whole thing's worth watching, but at around 3:45 in, Dave gets to the story about when Newman called him up one day and talked him into buying a custom Volvo wagon (a 960) with a supercharged Ford V8 underhood. You see, Newman was having one made and was very pumped up about it, so he asked if Dave wanted one, too. And you know, how do you say no to Paul Newman? Dave recounts the whole affair beautifully, and of course, it's also funny.
After you watch the clip, head over to Swedespeed, where in 2003 they profiled a third car just like the ones built for Newman and Letterman, with even more background about Newman's car and what went into the build. This is the very definition of "sleeper." [Source: The Sheila Variations]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Coupes, Paris Motor Show, Citroen, Special/Limited Editions
Click the image above for a high-res gallery of the Citroen 2CV by Hermes
There are a lot of big birthdays in the car industry this year, and the Citroen 2CV joins GM and Land Rover in the candle-blowing crowd. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the deux-say-vay, Hermes created a special version of a 1989 Citroen 2CV6 Special for the Paris Auto Show. If you saw the Bugatti Veryon by Hermes you know what to expect, with hand-stitched swathes of Hermes trademark gray-beige leather contrasted with white on the front and rear benches. Of course the Hermes treatment is worth as much as the car itself, but anything the 2CV lacks in luxury is more than made up for by character. Check out the press release after the jump and the gallery of high-res photos below.
Gallery: Paris 2008: Citroen 2CV by Hermes
Continue reading Paris 2008: Citroen 2CV by Hermes
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Government/Legal, GM
You know what they say: "Buy low and sell high." General Motors stock closed at $9.45 on September 30, which is 78% below its 52-week high of $43.20. That little piece of news, coupled with GM's enormous financial losses and declining sales, makes stock in the 100-year-old company sound like a bad bet, but employees don't agree. The low price of GM shares has lead workers to snatch up all available employee purchasable stock, which is capped by volume in the company's two 401(k) programs. As a result, GM employees can no longer buy stock in the automaker through the company. Because of the share freeze, GM executives are also not allowed to buy, sell or trade any of the company's stock during this time due to the Sarbanes Oxley act. To obtain more employee purchasable shares for its 401(k) program, GM has to register more shares with the SEC, which is expected to happen on November 9.
[Source: Detroit Free Press, Photo by jzakariya | CC2.0]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Etc., Tech, Audi, Toys
Click above for gallery of Audi A4 Driving Challenge screen shots
They say you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, even with the second release of the Audi A4 Driving Challenge for your iPhone or iPod Touch, the price tag is still fairly representative of the quality of the game. According to Audi, 370,000 people downloaded version 1.0, but we'd be curious to know how many of those copies were still on the devices 48 hours after the user first tried it out. Our guess would be not many. Version 2.0 is certainly much improved. Audi has added new vehicles that can be unlocked, including the A4 3.2 and the mighty R8.
The graphics are also better, compared to the original. Unfortunately, like so many other games on other platforms, graphics and good features don't necessarily equate to great gameplay. Compared to Crash Kart, the vehicles in this Audi game are hard to control, and the game simply isn't much fun because the scale speeds are so slow. Since it's free, go ahead and download the Audi A4 Driving Challenge and try it yourself. Thankfully, not all of the free apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch are of the same quality of this one. Perhaps for v3.0, Audi should hire someone with more experience in driving game design.
Gallery: Audi A4 Challenger v2.0
[Source: Audi]
Continue reading Audi ships A4 Driving Challenge iPhone game v2.0
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No show can do without girls. This time Paris Motor Show surprises us also with boys. But don't be afraid. They'll never win.
It is a Lamborghini like no other before it: a four-door sports car that sticks resolutely to its creed. The Lamborghini Estoque concept has everything that defines a Lamborghini: extreme, uncompromising and unmistakably Italian, it brings a whole new versatility to the brand’s DNA.
Once again the successful history of BMW X models is opening up the door for further inspiration in the development of innovative vehicle concepts: The BMW Concept X1 offers all the thrill of agile and versatile mobility also beyond the beaten track in a new segment of vehicles.
Since its debut in 1998 the Arnage has conveyed an air of sophisticated understatement as the four-door flagship of the Bentley range. Over the last decade the car has undergone a process of constant refinement to its body, design, chassis and powertrain to maintain its class-leading position in the high luxury market.
Since the debut of the first and the discontinuation of the fifth generation, more than 1.7 million buyers made the GTI to the world’s bestseller. Now the new GTI is at the ready: at the Paris Motor Show (4th to 19th October 2008) Volkswagen will be demonstrating the design study of the new Golf GTI at its world premiere.
No doubt – HAMANN knows how to refine luxury cars. And with the tuning programme for the V8 Vantage of the English luxury brand Aston Martin, the Laupheim-based company once again confirms its supremacy as a manufacturer of sport accessories and thrilling body design.
Audi is introducing its new sporty top models in the midsize class – the S4 and the S4 Avant. Their engine, a three-liter V6 with direct fuel injection and mechanical turbocharging, delivers a powerful 245 kW (333 hp). It accelerates the S4 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in just 5.1 seconds.
HARTGE has given the world's first inline six-cylinder engine with twin turbo-chargers and a second generation direct-injection system a power boast of 44 hp - and that at the same time as maintaining its extremely good fuel consumption of only 9.2 litres per 100 kilometres (EU combined).
JE DESIGN, well-known for high-quality SEAT refinements enlarges its extensive programme for the current Leon. Apart from already known changes concerning aerodynamics, the motor and wheels, the German tuning expert now offers a carbon foil in various colours which serves as an alternative to a new car paint.
With the most recent facelift from Stuttgart, the myth is more alive than ever. Sportservice Lorinser has reset the jewel among sports cars: the aerodynamic body parts of the Swabian vehicle customiser are fascinatingly reminiscent of the original racing car character, when the letters SL still stood for "Sport Light".
The 9-X Air concept is a design vision exploring what a future open-air Saab could look like. It features a unique ‘Canopy Top’ - patent pending - and the close-coupled proportions of a sports car, as well as four-seat accommodation.
Mercedes-Benz will emphasize its “star power” at the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show with four 2010 GLK350 show cars customized by leading aftermarket tuning firms.
General Motors launched its next 100 years today by unveiling the much-anticipated production version of the Chevrolet Volt - a vehicle that delivers up to 40 miles of gasoline- and emissions-free electric driving, with the extended-range capability of hundreds of additional miles.
Carlsson, the highly acclaimed Mercedes-Benz tuner, is pleased to announce a comprehensive personalization programme for the second generation Smart Fortwo, the smallest car in the Daimler AG vehicle range.
Mercedes-Benz builds the world’s most desirable coupés – a claim which the Stuttgart-based car maker is underlining at the 2008 Paris Motor Show with its ConceptFASCINATION design study. This unique vehicle, whose innovative and unconventional proportions interpret the emotional appeal of a coupé in a new way.