Archive for June, 2009

Hyundai Equus headed for U.S. market, targets Lexus LS sedan

Hyundai plans to bring its Equus luxury sedan to the United States next July.
About 100 units of the Equus are being evaluated this summer by U.S. dealers and consumers. A company source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Equus will attempt to compete with the Lexus LS 460, which starts at $64,700 including [...]

Supercars of 2009

Supercars of 2009
The Bertone Mantide, the Aston Martin One-77 and the Ferrari 599X X. Three cars because there’s only so many you can fit on a bit of paper without things getting crowded. No such problems on the internet, so we’ve brought you five, that’s five, more supercars that will be hot off the [...]

Iraq Opens Bids for Oil Fields

Iraq auctioned contracts Tuesday to run eight huge oil and gas fields, but only made a deal on one of the fields.
A consortium including BP and China’s CNPC accepted a contract to expand production in the largest oil field on offer, Rumaila in the south.
A group that included ExxonMobil rejected the terms, which offered the [...]

BP shuts alternative energy HQ

BP has shut down its alternative energy headquarters in London, accepted the resignation of its clean energy boss and imposed budget cuts in moves likely to be seen by environmental critics as further signs of the oil group moving “back to petroleum”.

But Tony Hayward, the group’s chief executive, said BP remained as committed as ever [...]

Chrysler to build four versions of Fiat 500 for U.S. market

Chrysler will build and sell four versions of the tiny Fiat 500 in North America starting in 2011: a hatchback, a convertible, a station wagon and a sporty hatchback.
A fifth model–a small, four-wheel-drive SUV–also is possible.
They will wear the Fiat brand. No longer-term plans exist for other Fiat-badged models in the U.S., the company said.
Roberto [...]

Aston Martin gives luxury makeover to Toyota city car

Luxury carmaker Aston Martin has forged an innovative alliance with Toyota to develop what could be the world’s first luxury city car.
Aston Martin on Monday released a photo of the Cygnet, which is a Toyota iQ with restyled front sheetmetal.
Although officially billed a concept, reports in Britain say that Aston Martin will put the Cygnet [...]

Koenigsegg Is Saab’s White Knight

It’s akin to the neighborhood diner taking over McDonald’s, or your paperboy buying out The New York Times: the news that Koenigsegg — a Swedish builder of $1 million supercars with a sales total of only 18 cars last year — will buy Saab from General Motors seems barely less fantastical.
If that wild thought had [...]

Subaru Legacy sedan grows bigger, roomier for 2010

A car for every purse and purpose was once a famous mantra of General Motors, and on a much smaller scale, Subaru is adopting that principle with its redesign of the 2010 Legacy.
The sedan is bigger, roomier, has an updated engine lineup and looks a bit sharper than its predecessor. And it’s got a little [...]

Unrestored ‘56 Porsche Carrera lands a spot at Pebble Beach concours

One Porsche at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will be making its second appearance. And it will be easy to find–it’s the one that looks a bit used.
The 1956 Porsche 356 1500 GS Carrera coupe made its Pebble debut in 1956 at the road races. That’s where former NASA scientist Roger Craig saw the [...]

Franchitti grabs pole for IndyCar race in Richmond

Dario Franchitti won the IndyCar Series pole on points the last time he came to Richmond International Raceway. That’s why he was happy Friday.
“It’s nice to earn one,” he said.
The bonus point that comes with it brought Franchitti, the 2007 series champion, to within two points of Ryan Briscoe for the lead. He can overtake [...]

New Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce

The Lamborghini Murciélago is one of the most extraordinary super sports cars of all time. Automobili Lamborghini has now expanded its model range with a new, exceptionally purist and even more extreme top model – the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce is even more powerful, lighter and faster than the Murciélago LP 640. With the output [...]

Ford Fiesta shows fun can come in really small packages

Even without the sparkly green paint we took to calling metallic Kermit, the Ford Fiesta would have turned heads. Its shape jolts a conservative American sensibility, which, for the most part, equates tiny vehicles with cheap, bland and throwaway. Recently, cars such as the Mini Cooper have done much to chip away at that perception, [...]

2010 Porsche Panamera

Panamera is long, wide and low. Overall length is 195.6 in., width is 76.0 in., and it stands just 55.8-in. tall. Wheelbase is 115.0 in., enough to allow a generous front to rear seat couple, critical for ensuring the car comfortably accommodates four adults. The body shell is knitted together from a number of metals. [...]

Ford, Nissan, Tesla get loans from Energy Department for electric cars

An electric Ford Focus, Tesla’s Model S sedan and a five-seat electric Nissan are among the cars that $8 billion in loans from the U.S. Energy Department will help speed to market over the next few years as the government looks to help automakers transition to building more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The first round of loans was [...]

Saab’s future could be bright

Saab is planning a return to its old-brand values with an extended model range as it prepares for a new, independent future owned by a joint U.S.-Scandinavian investment team.
Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg grabbed headlines as the buyer from General Motors, but Koenigsegg is just one of at least three major investors. The others are West [...]

Toyota Continues to Push Hybrids, While Nissan Backs EVs; Who Will Win?

Toyota, the world’s leading manufacturer of hybrids by volume, stood whole heartedly behind its hybrid technology advancements. Outgoing president Katsuaki Watanabe mentioned that EVs still need significant work in order to succeed in the foreseeable future market. Their expensive battery prices and limited range are hindrances to their buyer attractiveness, officials say.
That said, the brand [...]

2009 Chevrolet Corvette

Last February, we got a look at the nearly finished clay model of Specter Werkes/Sports’ latest riff on America’s Sports Car, the C6 Corvette GTR. The car is now up and running and we just took it for a spin before its public unveiling at Greater Detroit’s annual Eyes on Design Fathers’ Day car show. [...]

2010 Buick LaCrosse: Four-cylinder, all-wheel drive signal new direction

From its striking design to its pulsating TV spots, the LaCrosse marks a decidedly different direction for Buick.
And that’s just on the surface. The change gets even starker under the hood, where for the first time in a decade, the brand will offer a four-cylinder engine, as General Motors works to meet stiffer fuel-mileage standards [...]

2011 Fisker Karma Sunset

What is it? Fisker showed a convertible version of the Karma sedan at the Detroit show, with a power retractable hardtop that stows in the trunk. Riding on a modified sedan platform, the Karma S is ten inches shorter in overall length. The Karma S uses the same plug-in hybrid powertrain found in the sedan, [...]

2010 Fisker Karma

What is it? Fisker is a small, new automaker specializing in high-performance luxury vehicles using green technologies. The Karma is their luxury plug-in hybrid sports sedan. It is a fairly large car, with sweeping lines, space for four people, a very long hood and a short trunk. Beneath that sinewy exterior is a plug-in gas/electric [...]