Filed under: Hybrid , MPG Hybrid Kinetic Automotive Corp. rendering – click above to enlarge Remember the lawsuit over the planned Mississippi factory that is supposed to build a “full family” of “affordable green cars” for Hybrid Kinetic Automotive Corp . starting in 2011 and ramping up to full production by 2015? The lawsuit was between Xiaolin “Charles” Wang… Read the rest

Speculation on Renault’s interest in Saturn has been circulating since GM’s bankruptcy filing began looking like a certainty, but it was Roger Penske’s Penske Automotive Group that won the bid to buy the carmaker. Now, however, Renault may yet get a chance at some involvement, with confirmation from the French carmaker today that Penske is working on a deal… Read the rest

Residents of California will be in for a treat this weekend when Subaru holds its first ever WRX games – an event that will feature a full day of Subarus and driving experiences. According to Todd Lawrence, the promotional manager for Subaru America, the WRX games will allow people to experience what it’s like to be part of “the… Read the rest

Now that the “Cash for Clunkers” bill is ramped up and driving car-buyers into the showroom, let’s start writing the next one, or Phase 2 of the Clunkers bill. Just to review: The Cash for Clunkers bill, technically known as Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS ), went into effect this week. Congress budgeted $1 billion in Phase… Read the rest

General Motors is likely to return to leasing vehicles from the start of August, with the automaker’s vice chairman and new marketing chief Bob Lutz hinting at the possibility. Lutz has revealed that GM is considering returning to the leasing business, with a focus on luxury vehicles but not on a broader basis. “We will get back into leasing,… Read the rest

Every time I get behind the wheel of my Saab, there are a few things I hit the road without. For example…  Anti-lock brakes.  Airbags.  Stability Control.  Electronic Brake Force Distribution.  A windows-based interface.  An elephant.  The kitchen sink.  Electric seats.  Reverse parking sensors.  Now, I don’t want to sound like a total Luddite – after all, I do… Read the rest

With economic concerns on most people’s minds, the old-fashioned auto vacation is poised for a comeback, as families looking for convenience and ready mobility over the expense of air travel to exotic destinations.

Trickle, trickle. Rolls-Royce is really dragging this one out, aren’t they? We saw the concept, then got a name announced, then heard about more variants and in among all of that, many spy shots of the car sans camouflage have been captured. The strategy must be working though: Rolls-Royce said it has received more than 10,000 “expressions of interest”… Read the rest

Yesterday, I was reading an article that made me think the automotive end times are here: BMW and Mercedes-Benz are working on three-cylinder cars to be released in the next five years. And no, we are not just talking cars like the above Smart. Now, anyone who has driven a Smart surely knows how rough and harsh-sounding three-cylinder engines… Read the rest

As General Motors emerges from Chapter 11 and starts the road toward rebuilding its image, the 77-year old vice chairman who was named the automaker’s top marketing executive says he probably won’t change his roster of ad agencies any time soon. In an interview with BusinessWeek, Lutz said he has been meeting with the agencies, one of which has… Read the rest