“It’s cheap – not, perhaps, recession-bustingly so, but under £10,000 ($15k) It has some of the dash and cheek of the Mini, but none of the ubiquity, and is roughly two-thirds of the price. And it’s the future of driving. As a US Government report into the motor industry has stated: ‘The shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, more fuel-efficient passenger cars appears to be permanent.’ (The report said this in 1980, a year after giving Chrysler $1 billion of bail-out money to arrest its spiral towards the plughole. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.)”
One of the main improvements in future cars and associated global platforms: weight reduction. Thanks to new, stricter emissions and fuel consumption regulations, this trend is well underway. New cars have already stopped gaining weight. And manufacturers are redoubling their vehicular dieting efforts. Their progress has been predictably rapid. for example, future generations of the European compact class (e.g. Focus III, Golf VII) should shed We more than 100kg, using several strategies…
..although some US dealers might be nice! Indian firm Mahindra and Mahindra showed this tasty little neo-Willys at the recent Bologna auto show. The the 12-foot long, 1.5 ton off-roader concept sports a 2.5 liter diesel four, making 108 hp and 250 Nm. And since it is just a concept, that’s about all the info that Auto Motor und Sport could dig up.
I neither know nor care if these images were accidentally or intentionally leaked. That’s just how the internet works. In any case, these are official shots of the next generation E-Class sedan. I’m a big fan of the C-Class and its design, but the S-Class is not exactly stunning in my eyes. This E not surprisingly falls somewhere in the middle. I think the taillights look pretty Lexus.
Update: Looks like the originator of the pics (besides Mercedes, of course) was Autoscoops.eu
Nuclear fusion is the preferred deus ex machina in the minds of some who long for cheap, abundant energy, although fusion will never be either. The challenge: containing the plasma fuel that heats to millions of degrees inside a “bottle” made of magnetic fields produced by a superconducting magnet kept at absolute zero a few feet away. The concept’s been likened to trying to hold water inside rubber bands. A press release from MIT News entitled “New Insights on Fusion Power” celebrates the kind of esoteric advances that indicate that fusion lies somewhere beyond the Hubble Deep Field in the cosmology of future energy sources (i.e. just as distant as when I first wrote about it in 1978).
You didn’t hear it here first. Autoblog reports that the 2010 Ford Mustang will start as low as $21,845 for a V6, with GT V8 power starting at $27,995. As AB points out, that makes the forthcoming Mustang less expensive than Chevy’s Camaro ($22,995 for the V6, $30,995 for the V8) and Dodge’s Challenger( $22,545, $30,545). If you put much stock in the whole MSRP thing that is. Besides, who doesn’t think these pony revivalists won’t have tons of cash on the hood within months of showing up on lots? Then again, these have been trying times for the folks who’s interest in cars begins and ends with styling and horsepower ratings. Long days of photoshopping album covers are clearly taking their toll, and nothing cleanses the Autoblog palate like a good Mustang post. In fact, a quick Google search shows that AB posted 1,480 articles with “mustang” in the title in the last year, and 35 in the last month. For comparison, TTAC logged 31 in the last year. Moral of the story? If you’re curious about whether Ford will survive long enough to offer the inevitable incentives on the 2010 ‘stang of your dreams, you’ve come to the right place.
Over in what we affectionately call the “Old World,” C-segment hatchbacks like the Golf, Focus, Megane, Civic, and Corolla/Auris also come in higher roofed variations affectionately called MPVs (multi purpose vehicles). One of VW’s entries into the market is the Golf Plus; and since the Golf was just redesigned somewhat, the Golf Plus has been updated accordingly. Except for VW’s little trick – the Golf Plus is still riding on the outgoing Golf platform, and has only gotten cosmetic updates to match the new one. It still shares the Golf’s mix of turbocharged and common-rail diesel engines and available DSG transmissions. And you might recognize the interior from the Tiguan – many components are shared.
This is the first official shot of Honda’s upcoming Prius-fighter. And if anyone can take on the Prius (which despite being down 50% in November compared to November 2007, still sold 8600 units), it’s Honda with this car. I say that because (1) Honda has genuine hybrid building experience with the Insight, and (2) unlike previous hybrid efforts from many manufacturers, it’s not merely a hybridized version of an existing car. It looks unique, and that carries the image that’s so critical in the hybrid market. Previously, we reported that the Insight was targeted to go on sale this Spring for less than $20,000. With continuing reports that Toyota may be taking a loss on every Prius, I’m not sure how Honda plans to pull this off. Still, if you’er into this sort of car (and I’m really not at all), you probably won’t care what Honda’s bottom line is.
Audi has released photos and details of the convertible versions of its A5 and S5 coupes, and they’re classy little ragtops in the proud Audi tradition. North American pricing and availability are not yet available, but with Euro-only 1.8 TFSI versions starting at $47,300, they won’t be cheap. The S5 version will rock Audi’s new supercharged TFSI 3.0 V6, good for 333hp, 324 lb/ft of torque and a 5.6 second hustle to 60 mph.
They didn’t call Ford’s founder “Crazy Henry” for nothing. But Henry Ford had a knack for aphorisms, such as “You don’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” I’d stick the word “say” in the middle of that, but what do I know? I know that on the same day Chrysler’s monthly sales cratered by a staggering 47 percent, Automotive News [sub, AN] revealed that ChryCo product development chief Frank Klegon told the world that the 2011 300 sedan and variants will be “CAFE positive.” One wonders why AN waited until yesterday to run the story. Anyway, it’s nice to hear that Chrysler– the automaker that says it need $7b worth of federal funds by the end of the month or goodnight moon– plans on conforming to new U.S. fuel efficiency regs. Of course, like the 2011 300 sedan, those laws don’t actually exist. “The U.S government has not released regulations for the new corporate average fuel economy [CAFE] law, Klegon said, but ‘we think we know what it is.'” Franks identified “the biggest factor” underlying its democratic party positive environmental optimism: “a new, more efficient V-6 engine family, code-named Phoenix.” Rising from the ashes, eh? Maybe…
Fisker seems to be getting a handle on the whole car-company routine, joining the now-proud tradition of leaking images to the web to build hype leading up to a launch. Of course that’s a little bit harder when your production model is nearly unchanged from the concept, but these considerations don’t bother anyone else in the industry. Anyway, the $88k Karma is said to get 50 miles of all-electric range before its GM Ecotec engine kicks in to generate more juice. Top speed is listed as 125mph, and 0-60 should take 5.8 seconds. Production at Valmet’s facilities in Finland will eventually reach 15k units per year, and the first deliveries will take place in fall 2009. We will bring you complete photos when the Karma debuts in Detroit this January.
WRCB has the first image of what its contracted photographer calls the “test mule” for the new mid-size sedan (NMS) that Volkwagen will produce at its new plant in Chattanooga. Volkswagen tells the local news outlet that “unfortunately, this is not the NMS. This vehicle is built on the Jetta chassis which may also include some components of a new midsize sedan (NMS) being tested.” Still, this is as close to the long-rumored NMS as we’ll be seeing for a while.
While the Mazda3 hatch will officially debut in Bologna in about a week, they’ve released some oddly-angled and useless shots of the car already. Like the current generation Mazda3 sedan and hatch, the 2010 5-door Mazda3 looks quite a lot like the 2010 Mazda3 sedan that we saw in LA. Which is fine. Hey, we all appreciate more hatches, right? No word yet from Mazda if the 5-door car will have both the 2.0 and 2.5 liter engines available in the U.S., or if like the present Mazda3 5-door only the bigger engine will be offered.
Inside Line recently got a friendly call from a Tesla spokesperson who was positively bursting with the good news: Porsche had purchased a Tesla Roadster. And though its always nice to make a sale, the Tesla flack was clearly more interested in the PR benefits of Porsche engineers studying the $120k roadster. “A Porsche senior engineer actually came over a few weeks back, and he was seriously analyzing the car in every detail,” dishes the Tesla source. Separately, a “German source” tells Inside Line that Porsche is “none too pleased” with the recently-released eRuf, a lithium-ion-powered electric Carrera. So what does this all add up to? Porsche’s building a lithium-ion sportscar. After all, they’re not buying a Tesla to study their customer service. According to the Tesla spokesperson, Porsche’s order is “pretty far down on the list of current orders.” Chances are we’ll see an EV Porsche on the Nordschleife before Tesla makes its way down that notoriously interminable waiting list.
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