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Showing posts with label Hybrids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hybrids. Show all posts

New Lexus IS 300h Hybrid and Refinished LF-CC Concept Heading to Geneva

Friday, February 1, 2013


European consumers will get their first taste of Lexus' all-new premium compact IS sedan at the Geneva Motor Show, where the Japanese company will also display its LF-CC sports coupe concept finished in a fresh shade.

Following its debut at the Detroit Motor Show last month, the new sedan will be presented in full-hybrid trim as the IS 300h.

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Porsche Confirms U.S. Prices for New 918 Spyder

Monday, January 21, 2013


Up until now, we have only seen the upcoming 918 Spyder in pre-production trim, with the final model to be released at a major international auto show in the course of this year. However, Porsche has already added its new flagship supercar to its U.S. pricing catalogue for 2013.

In it, we see the 918 Spyder registered as a 2014 model with a starting MSRP of $845,000 (around €634,500 or £407,500 at the current exchange rates) excluding state taxes and an as-of-yet undisclosed destination, which is the same as the price announced by Porsche officials last year.

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Scoop: New Porsche 918 Spyder Shows its Monotone Shades on the Snow

Friday, January 18, 2013


Porsche engineers have once again been caught on camera testing the upcoming 918 Spyder, which evidently, is in its final development stages, as production will begin in September with first customer deliveries to arrive early next year.

The camouflage-free testers of Porsche's first supercar model since the demise of the Carrera GT in 2007 were dressed in two of the many optional films that will be available along with a pallet of colors at a cost that will likely rival that of a small car.

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Cadillac Says the ELR Hybrid Coupe will be Priced so as to Reflect its "Exclusivity"

Thursday, January 17, 2013


The 2014 Cadillac ELR that was revealed at this week's Detroit Motor Show is a stylish extended-range hybrid, 2+2 coupe based on the same Voltec platform as the Chevrolet Volt.

Of course, while quite similar (but not identical) under the skin, the two GM hybrids belong to entirely different segments. The Volt is supposed to be a higher-priced alternative to mass-market rivals such as the plug-in Toyota Prius, while the ELR is a premium product.

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Spied: Volkswagen Puts 261mpge XL1 to the Test Under Freezing Tempatures


You really have to appreciate what photographers go through sometimes to bring us spy pictures of future models.

It's one thing standing on the side of the Nürburgring waiting for testers to run by, and another when you're doing so in an arctic climate at temperatures as low as -30 Celsius / -22 Fahrenheit, as was the case with this Volkswagen XL1 pre-production prototype.

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Ford Says EPA May Revise Hybrid Testing Procedures, Promises to Fix MyTouch System

Wednesday, January 16, 2013


After advertising its new C-MAX Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid 47 mpg mileage, Ford faced a lot of negative publicity, along with a federal class-action lawsuit, when Consumer Reports published its own test findings that were 17 and 21 percent lower than the EPA-certified mileage.

During the Deutche Bank Global Industry Conference in Detroit on Tuesday, January 15, Ford’s product development chief Raj Nair disclosed that the EPA may change its testing procedures concerning the consumption of hybrid models.

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VIA X-Truck has Mad Max Looks, 800HP with 100MPGe and is Backed by Bob Lutz

Tuesday, January 15, 2013


VIA Motors is a privately-owned electric vehicle company founded in 2010 that has developed a proprietary extended-range drive technology called VIA V-Drive that is designed for use in full-size pickup trucks, vans and SUVs. It purchases standard GM vehicles, replaces their powerplants with its own and then sells them to fleets under the VTRUX brand.

Former GM VP Bob Lutz became its chairman in 2011. Known as “the father of the Volt” – among other vehicles, that is, Lutz has been a champion of electric vehicles for a long timt, but his vision of EVs is somewhat different than what most people have come to expect…

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Cadillac ELR Hybrid Coupe Packs 207HP, Goes on Sale in Early 2014 [Updated]


When the Cadillac Converj concept was launched at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, the consensus was unanimous: just build it! GM heard the press’ and public’s voices and, three years later, launched the production version, named ELR, at the same venue.

Having already seen the first official images, we know that the ELR is a bit different in its proportions compared to the concept; but then that’s to be expected, as the designers have to work within certain parameters set by the engineers and, in any case, the 2+2 coupe is still quite a looker.

If its styling whet our appetites, the fact that it was based on the Chevrolet Volt platform dampened things a bit. Then doubt started to creep in: is the ELR just a Volt in a nice suit?

Cadillac says that this is definitely not the case. While the ELR does indeed utilize both the FWD platform and the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) hybrid powertrain that were introduced in the Volt, those elements have been tuned to suit the coupe’s premium character.

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Acura Presents Redesigned NSX Concept II with Complete Interior at the Detroit Auto Show


Exactly a year after Acura first displayed a conceptual study for a new NSX sports car at the North American International Auto Show in 2012, the Japanese company returned to Detroit today with a redesigned version of the study that includes a complete interior.

When we first saw a set of leaked, low-quality pictures of the NSX Concept II earlier in the morning, it wasn't clear if the car featured any changes to the exterior design.

As it turns out, it does, beginning with a new front fascia featuring a much less pronounced version of Acura's beak-like grille with a new carbon fiber structure that also appears on the side vents of the front and rear bumpers. Acura also inserted clear turning signals up front, and an LED strip in the center of both taillights.

At the back, we also find a new diffuser made from visible carbon fiber as well as a new see-through plastic surround for the license plate section.

As mentioned previously, this is the first time we see the interior of the concept, which sports a minimalistic design without a lot of knobs and controls, and is dressed in a combination of leather and Alcantara with carbon fiber trims used on the dashboard, the elevated center console and the door panels.

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First Official Photos of Cadillac's New ELR Extended-Range Hybrid Coupe [Updated]

Monday, January 14, 2013


The countdown for the presentation of the new Cadillac ELR at the Detroit auto show (January 14 to 27) begins with a fresh set of pictures that afford us our first unobstructed view of the GM's upmarket extended range hybrid coupe.

The new images show some exterior details of the car as well as of the sharply styled interior that keeps in line with other products from Cadillac.

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NAIAS 2013: New VW CrossBlue Crossover Concept Aims at Ford Explorer


If you want to raise your sales in any market, one of the first things to do is the cover the most important segments, and in the North American auto industry, this means you need to have products in all key SUV categories.

Volkswagen already offers the Tiguan in the compact and the Touareg in the premium segments, so it's now looking to cover the price gap between the two models as well as to replace the Chrysler-built Routan minivan that ended production earlier this year.

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Infiniti Introduces the New 2014 Q50 Sedan with 3.7-liter V6 and New Hybrid Variants


After publishing initial imagery of the new Q50 on its Canadian site by mistake during the weekend, Infiniti has now released an official statement on the car that replaces the G-series sedan in its range aiming to compete against the also new Lexus IS, Cadillac ATS and BMW 3-Series compact executive saloons. Read more »

New Volkswagen CrossBlue 6/7-Seater SUV Concept in More Detail [Updated]


A fresh set of images and additional details, including the name of VW's new Detroit motor show-bound CrossBlue SUV Concept, surfaced on the internet today.

Volkswagen developed the CrossBlue specifically for the U.S. and Canada to preview an upcoming model designed to slot between the smaller Tiguan and the more luxurious and pricier Touareg SUVs.

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Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h Class-Action Lawsuit Dismissed by California Court

Friday, January 11, 2013


If there’s one thing Toyota has in abundance in the U.S., apart from sales and models, it is lawsuits. This time, though, the Japanese automaker scored a victory as U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney in California denied a class-action lawsuit by owners of Prius and Lexus models.

More specifically, the judge denied four car owners’ request to represent other owners of 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h models in California over a 2010 recall for a software upgrade that fixed an issue with the cars’ ABS system.

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Toyota Breaths Some Sportiness into the Prius C with Aqua G Sports Concept


Let's face it; the Prius C's looks are about as interesting as a corn on the cob. Nevertheless, Toyota believes it can add some character to its sub-compact hybrid with a new concept that was introduced today at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

The G Sports version of the Aqua, which is what Toyota calls the Prius C in its home market of Japan, retains the standard model's full hybrid powertrain adding numerous  styling bits and a re-tuned suspension into the mix.

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Nissan's New Detroit Auto Show Resonance Concept May Hint at Next Murano SUV

Thursday, January 10, 2013


Nissan has just confirmed the world premiere of a new concept crossover named the Resonance for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 15.

Along with a single, darkened rendering, Nissan issued the following statement about the Resonance study:

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Survey Shows Carmakers Remain Skeptic about EV Sales, will Invest in Internal Combustion Engines

Wednesday, January 9, 2013


It seems that, despite all the noise they make about their hybrid, plug-in and all-electric vehicles, carmakers still expect the internal combustion engine to dominate sales until 2015.

According to a survey conducted last November by audit, tax and advisory company KPMG, which surveyed 200 global automotive executives, including 22 in North America, automakers believe that sales of electric vehicles will not account for more than 15 percent of global sales for at least a dozen more years.

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GM Shows New Cadillac ELR on the Road Ahead of Detroit World Premiere

Tuesday, January 8, 2013


Less than a week before its scheduled world premiere at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, General Motors has shared a single picture of its new Cadillac ELR coupe covered in wraps while driving through the mountains of Southern California during development testing.

The ELR extended-range electric luxury coupe is the production version of the wreath and crest brand's Converj Concept displayed at the 2009 Detroit auto show.

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Ford Faces Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Over C-MAX and Fusion Hybrids MPG Numbers

Thursday, December 27, 2012


It was probably a matter of time before someone picked up the Consumer Reports review that accused Ford of misstating the 2013 C-MAX Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid fuel economy numbers and filing a lawsuit.

The publication contested the 47 mpg city/highway/combined figure and said that the two Ford hybrids had the “distinction” of recording the greatest difference between the EPA-approved mpg and the ones it achieved during its own tests.

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Lexus' Global Hybrid Sales Cross Half-Million Milestone

Friday, December 21, 2012


Cumulative worldwide sales of Lexus hybrid vehicles broke the half a million mark at the end of November 2012, the company announced today. This milestone was reached seven years after the market introduction of the brand's first hybrid model, the RX 400h in 2005. Read more »

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