Lotus Designs Smart Fortwo Sized All-Electric Mini Car Concept

.fullpost{display:inline;} From the make-believe world of 'What if...' comes our next story on a concept proposal for an all-electric mini car from Lotus. However, what makes this project stand out from the usual independently styled concepts is the fact that it was actually designed by Lotus. See, Automotive Engineer magazine asked the British sports carmaker to come up with a concept vehicle to show how far city car design could go.

The result is an extremely compact-sized mini car equipped with a 37kW-strong electric motor. Like many other EVs, power is provided by a 10kW lithium-ion battery pack which is positioned under the floor and can be recharged in three-and-a-half hours through a standard household 13A plug. The vehicle would have a range of around 50 km or 30 miles while it would be able to reach a top speed close to 65mph or 105km/h.

At just 2,600 mm or 102.4-in. in length, 1,600 mm or 63-in. wide, 1,700 mm or 67-in. in height and with a wheelbase of 2,000 mm or 78.7-in. the Lotus designed mini is roughly the same size as the two-seater Smart Fortwo and quite smaller than the 3+1 seater Toyota iQ.

Nevertheless, Hethel's designers say that mini can seat up to four people, albeit the two rear passengers will most likely feel like a pack of sardines. Alternatively, the rear seats can be folded to provide a luggage space. Driver and passengers would enter the car through a pair of sliding side doors.

The mini car would use an aluminum spaceframe in the floor while according to Russell Carr, head of Lotus Design, the body would be pressed aluminum or composite materials, depending on the sales volume.

Lotus points out that the design for the mini car was completed in approximately two weeks instead of the typical concept phase that lasts between three and six months, meaning that the project is a more of a rough sketch than anything else. And just to prevent any sort of rumors, the magazine says that vehicle wasn't designed as a Lotus city car but as a concept that could be developed for a third-party automaker.

Via: Automotive Engineer

2010 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid Facelift Prices Announced

Shortly after their official premiere at the Detroit Motor Show in January, Toyota announced pricing for the updated 2010 Camry and Camry Hybrid midsize sedans that will begin arriving at dealers in March 2009. The gasoline model's base MSRP will range from $19,395 for the Camry sedan with a new six-speed manual transmission to $29,045 for a fully equipped XLE with a six-speed automatic transmission. The Camry Hybrid carries a price tag of $26,150. Overall, the Camry's MSRP represents an overall increase of $281 or 1.2 percent over the 2009 MY.

The most significant change on the 2010 Camry concerns the introduction of a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine for the standard, LE and XLE grades with 169-horsepower that can be combined with a six-speed manual transmission (excluding XLE) or a six-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift. Furthermore, the SE grade gets additional tuning and 179-horsepower, 21 more than its predecessor.

Toyota claims that fuel economy is improved with EPA fuel economy estimates of 33 mpg highway, 22 mpg city and 26 mpg combined for the 2.5-liter four cylinder engine with the six-speed manual transmission.

A 3.5-liter V6 delivering 268 horsepower and paired with a six -speed automatic transmission will continue to be available on the LE, SE and XLE grades. This engine gets EPA mpg estimates of 28 mpg highway, 19 mpg city and 23 mpg combined.

On the outside, the 2010 Camry gets a minor facelift with a newly designed grille and front bumper, an enlarged lower intake, larger projector headlamps and restyled tail lamps. Inside, the Camry and LE grades are available with a new optional audio system equipped with a new USB port for auxiliary music sources, Bluetooth(R), integrated satellite radio, single-CD, and MP3 and Bluetooth(R) streaming music capability.

Kia "VG" Sedan

The replacement for the nightmarish looking Amanti is finally coming soon.
From what we've seen in spy shots of the actual car, these rendering are the usual overly optimistic and aggressive.
The real thing won't look that exciting.

I guess there is a market for a good looking upscale yet affordable sedan. The Genesis seems to be doing well.
This will be smaller, cheaper and FWD, but could end up doing quite well against the Maxima and Avalon.
For a lot cheaper.

More picture of the all new 2010 Suzuki Kizashi

-2.4 Liter engine
-6 speed manual or CVT
-AWD option

Besides AWD, which most people don't need and don't want to pay extra for, the new Suzuki sedan doesn't seem to offer anything special.
I am sure it is a really good car, why not. But there are so many good choices in this segment, why would anyone pic this car?

Good luck with that one...

Insignia Sport Tourer as Buick in the US???

Why not???

We already know the Insignia sedan is coming to the US as the next Buick Regal. So how about a Regal wagon?
Is that such a crazy idea?
This thing looks great. And it would give Buick something the competition doesn't have. Plus, it would be different than the smaller Crossover offered by Chevy and GMC, making Buick even more special. More of a car brand.

I say bring this over with the 2.0 Liter Turbo and advertise the hell out of it!
So people know it's out there. Unlike the good cars Saturn had . The one nobody knew about...

GM and Ford offer NY Auto Show Visitors $50 to take a Test Drive

And just when we thought that we had seen it all, Ford Motor Company and General Motors went ahead and announced that they're willing to pay consumers to test drive their new vehicles... Both companies are giving away $50 gift cards to anyone that signs up to test-drive a car at this year's New York International Auto Show, which runs at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, until Sunday, April 19.

"Programs like the $50 gift card offered by GM and Ford help continue conversations between auto show visitors and new car dealers," said Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater NY Automobile Dealers Association, the organization that owns and produces the New York Auto Show.

"This is a great way to get engage customers and gets them behind the wheel of some amazing new vehicles," Schienberg concluded.

Just so you know, while Ford's $50 can be used -slash- spent anywhere, GM's gift card is only good for purchases on "Restaurants.com."

New Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate Officially Revealed: 50 High-Res Photos

Mercedes-Benz has officially pulled the wraps off its all-new 2010 E-Class Estate that will be joining the sedan and coupe variants of the executive model from this November. Measuring 4,895 mm in length, 1,854 mm in width and 1,471 mm in height is not only larger than the outgoing model, but also the largest estate car in the premium segment. It boasts a maximum load capacity of 1,950 liters along while other features include the 'easy-pack' tailgate that opens automatically and the 'quickfold' rear seats that can be folded down easily from the load compartment.

The E-Class Estate's interior also benefits from the larger exterior dimensions as the elbow width in the rear has been increased by 50 mm to 1,505 mm while rear headroom with the large tilting/sliding sunroof installed has also improved by 50 mm to 1,010 mm (versions with no sunroof 1,012 mm).

Like any other model from the Stuttgart automaker, the E-Class Estate is showered with safety and technology features such as nine airbags that can be increased to 11 if customers opt for the extra rear passenger side airbags, four belt tensioners and belt force limiters, NECK-PRO crash-responsive head restraints and a newly developed DIRECT CONTROL self-leveling suspension, which features the adaptive damping system as standard.

The engine line-up for the new Estate at launch will comprise of five units, three diesels producing between 170HP and 231HP, and two gasoline engines with up to 388HP. In the first quarter of 2010, Mercedes will enhance the range with five more model including the AWD E350 4MATIC. For more details on the engine line-up as well as initial German pricing, check out the box below.

Honda Civic Type S

Honda Civic Type S

Honda Civic Type S

Honda Civic Type S

Official: BMW to Unveil Green Sports Car Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

In what could be described as a 'hot-cold shower' type of announcement, in addition to confirming their decision to pull out from Formula One racing at the end of the 2009 season, BMW officials also revealed today that the Bavarian automaker will swipe the covers off an all-new 'green' sports car concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The announcement was made by Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development, at the press conference on the realignment of the German firm's motor sports activities.

"Sustainability is becoming increasingly important," said Draeger in his speech. You will see a product of sustainable development at the IAA in Frankfurt in a few weeks in the form of a concept car. The BMW EfficientDynamics Vision will demonstrate how efficient a sports car can be. It will also prove that sustainability does not apply to the drive train alone, but to design and materials as well".

"Anyone who takes a closer look at this concept car will understand the direction in which we are developing our technology. And it will become evident that we will have to dedicate more human and financial resources to this type of development work," Draeger concluded.

Although Draeger did not get into any specific details, previous reports suggest that the concept sports car study may very well act as a teaser for a production model that could hit the market as soon as 2012 rivaling the likes of the Audi R8 and Porsche 911.

It has also been reported that BMW's 'green' supercar will be a two-seater mid-engined coupe equipped with the latest fuel-saving technologies from BMW's Efficient Dynamics programme including direct injection, brake energy regeneration and stop-start systems plus enhanced aerodynamics.

As for the EfficientDynamics Vision's looks, your guess is as good as ours, but hopefully we'll see something in the likes of Idres Noah's independent concept study which you can check out in detail here.