Cruze to Market

Many call the Chevrolet Cruze the brand’s best small car ever.  Cruze sales in CY 2011 have averaged over 20,000 units each month—that’s about 13% of all Chevrolet sales—and Advertising Age just reported “Cruze” is one of the hottest automotive brands.  Launching a new model is hard enough; sustaining interest is just as hard and in November GM announced it was slowing Cruze production as sales cooled.

Mobil 'Smartphone' ala Toyota

Berlayar sentuh bak ponsel cerdas, Fun-Vii juga mampu berinternet ria.

Toyota berhasil mencuri perhatian dunia otomotif dengan meluncurkan sebuah mobil konsep masa depan yang seluruh panel pintunya merupakan sebuah layar sentuh raksasa dalam ajang Tokyo Motor Show, di Jepang, Senin (28/11).

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento (World’s Most Expensive Car)

Revealed as a concept car at the Paris Motor Show last year, Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is coming to the selected showrooms in October 2011. With a 5.2 litre V10 engine and entire body constructed from visible, matte-finish carbon fiber the car is capable of reaching 62 mph in 2.5 seconds. Italian luxury car maker Lamborghini will produce only 20 units carrying a price tag of 1.9 million euro($2.9 million).

(source: http://forum.vivanews.com)

Toyota pimps the iQ

Toyota pimps

The annual SEMA show is a place where the mechanically remarkable is average, the unexpected isn't and where you'll find look-at-me engineering solutions well beyond the preposterous. Hence Toyota's decision to focus its SEMA display around tuning and pimping its iQ luxury city car was always going to create interest.

Three iQs have been created for the show's Tuner Challenge, with a fourth custom special displaying a radical chop-top look. Cars are getting smaller, so this is definitely a view of the future.

The three well-known tuners to get a call from Toyota for the show Michael Chang, Jon Sibal and Tatsu, and each has worked their magic on the Toyota/Lexus/Yaris iQ.

Toyota pimps

Chang has given the car a full motorsport treatment and dubbed it the iQ-RS.

Toyota pimps

It features a carbon fibre body kit, Air Runner suspension, Sparco race seats and Advan Racing wheels.

Toyota pimps

Sibal's iQ RX runs a Veilside body kit finished with a matte metallic grey and bronze pearl paint finish.

Toyota pimps

The engine has extra punch thanks to a Nitrous Express injection kit, and the wheels are 18-inch three-piece forged HRE rims. Again, Air Runner suspension sits the car close to the ground.

Toyota pimps

Tatsu's iQ-MR has come in for an engine-relocation so it can drive the rear wheels. The engine has been beefed by Mavrik Motorsports.

The bodywork has been customized with new panels from Speciality Cars and 16-inch Sakura wheels from Axis are fitted.

Toyota pimps

Undoubtedly the favorite of the crowds will be the Pit Boss Cartel iQ, which has had the roof removed and the car's purpose redesignated to being a pit gopher vehicle. Cartel has reduced the size of the doors and fitted heavy-duty metal interior panels and carbon fiber seats and trims.

Toyota pimps

More radical still, this iQ can be controlled by iPad and serves as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot and power charging station.

The SEMA show opens at the Las Vegas Convention Center next week.

Ford begins taking orders for 2012 Focus Electric

Ford 

Ford has started taking reservations for its 2012 Focus Electric ahead of initial deliveries to dealers in California, New York and New Jersey. The vehicle is Ford's first all-electric passenger car and the first of five all-electric vehicles the company has planned for the next three years. With a 23 kWh lithium-ion battery pack powering a 130 kW (130 hp) permanent-magnet electric motor producing 181 lb-ft of torque (245 N-m), the Focus Electric boasts a range of up to 100 miles (161 km) on a single charge and a top speed of 84 mph (135 km/h).

The Focus Electric comes with an 8-inch touchscreen, two cluster-mounted, driver-configurable 4.2-inch color LCD displays, 17-inch aluminum wheels, ambient lighting, HID headlights, rear camera with rear parking sensor, push-button start, MyKey voice-activated navigation system, particulate air filter, hands-free SYNC Bluetooth phone connectivity with traffic, direction and information services, electronic traction control, Sony nine speaker sound system, SITIUS satellite radio and HD radio as standard.

Ford 

There's also a MyFord mobile app that lets the owner remotely monitor and schedule the vehicle's battery charging to take advantage of off-peak electricity rates. The app also provides users with the location of the nearest charging station and the best route to get there. Meanwhile, the inclusion of MyKey technology allows custom settings for different drivers. For example, parents can restrict the vehicle's top speed or maximum stereo volume for teenage drivers.

In fact, the only options that will add to the price of the vehicle are a Blue Candy (add US$395) or White Platinum ($495) paint job and replacing the standard cloth seats with leather ($995).

Ford 

Along with the Focus Electric's green credentials, which include construction using recyclable and renewable materials, Ford is also touting the vehicle as the most maintenance-free Ford ever. Being 100 percent electric and sporting a single speed transmission, the Focus Electric has less moving mechanical parts than an ICE-powered vehicle or hybrid, and eliminates more than two dozen components that require regular servicing over the life of a vehicle, including air filters, alternator, fuel injectors, fuel filter, spark plugs, transmission filter and water pump, just to name a few.

To help extend battery life and maximize driving range the vehicle boasts an active cooling and heating thermal management system to regulate the temperature of the battery system. On hot days, chilled water absorbs heat from the batteries, dispersing it through a radiator before pumping it through the chiller again, while on cold days, heated water warms the batteries to gradually bring them to the ideal operating temperature.

Ford 

Using a 240-volt outlet the Focus Electric's batteries will take just over three hours to recharge, which Ford claims is about half the charging time of the 2012 Nissan LEAF. Ford also includes a 120-volt convenience cord for charging from a standard 120-volt outlet, which extends the recharge time to around 18 to 20 hours. For drivers looking to go the extra green mile, Ford has also partnered with solar technology company SunPower to offer Focus Electric buyers a discounted rooftop solar system at a base price of under US$10,000.

Ford is now taking orders for the 2012 Focus Electric online with a limited number of vehicles headed first to California (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego) and the New York/New Jersey regions. Availability will be extended to Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Orlando, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, Raleigh Durham, Richmond, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. next year as production ramps up. The European launch of the vehicle is slated for late 2012. Prices start at US$39,200 plus $795 for destination charges. The maximum federal tax credit will cut the price by $7,500.