The boys at Lexus sure must be good at keeping secrets because there wasn’t even a rumor about an all new model from Toyota’s luxury brand.

Lexus unveiled to the press a dedicated hybrid vehicle the HS250h – an entry level luxury hybrid that the company says will get better city fuel milage than the Smart micro-car.

Even more impressive is that it will operate on regular 87 octane gas. Lexus VP Mark Templin couldn’t help but use the opportunity to stick it to the Germans by pointing out how much cheaper 87 octane is than diesel.

The HS250h uses a hybrid powertain with a 2.4 liter engine that produces 187hp.

Lexus has built the HS250h in response to customer demand. According to its research 60 percent of entry level luxury buys would have considered a hybrid if one had been available.

One particularly neat feature is that the on-board LCD screen can show a 180 degree picture of what is ahead of the car – perfect for navigating in tight urban areas.This device has been adapted from the Lexus flagship SUV, the LX570.

The HS250h will come with the new Enform system, wich operates much like GM’s OnStar and even features a stolen vehicle locator.

The HS250h will go on sale this summer.

Lexus also announced that the HS250h is the first of 10 new hybrids Toyota will unveil in the next few years.

Official release after the jump:

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Chevrolet today announced that the Orlando Concept, unveiled at last year’s Paris Auto Show, and the Beat Conecpt showcased in at the North American International Auto Show in 2007 will go into production in 2011.

Little is know about either vehicle but the Beat production model, called the Spark, will be officially unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March.

GM says the Spark micro-car will get 40 mpg on the highway. There was, however, no word on if this impressive fuel economy will be a result of the turbocharged 1.2-liter engine.

As for the Orlando, this aggressive van-meets-suv crossover was powered by a 150hp 2.0-liter turbo when showcased in Paris.

Both vehicles will be sold in almost all markets as true world-cars. And if the production models look nearly as impressive as the concepts they are sure to be successful.

Chevrolet started the Beat/Orlando press conference by parading a long line of its recent award winning vehicles in front of the media. The Orlando and Spark are sure to join this list in the future, however, the 2011 production date is a long way off.

Official release on both vehicles after the jump:

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In a less than surprising move the Ford F150 was named the North American Truck of the Year. It did, however, face some stiff competition, including a main rival, the Dodge Ram. The other finalist was the the diesel Mercedes ML320 blueTEC. The all new 2009 F150 is a perennial favorite and can claim the top sales numbers for any vehicle in North America for 27 straight years. It is also the top selling pickup for 32 straight years.

The Truck of the Year Award is just one of many prestigious honors the F150 has had after recently being named Motor Trend “Truck of the Year” and “Truck of Texas” by the Texas Auto Writers Association.

For 2009 the F150 has received five star front and side impact ratings from the NHTSA and is a Top Pick for the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).

The F150 comes standard with a 5.4-liter V8 that gets 12 percent better fuel economy (in certain trims) than the previous renditions.

Official release after the jump:

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For the first time ever a Hyundai has won North American Car of the Year.
Beating out the other finalists (the Ford Flex and VW Jetta TDI), was the Hyundai Genesis Sedan.

With a V6 and optional 380 hp V8 powerplant the Genesis is the new flagship of the Hyundai lineup and is the Korean manufacturer’s first true luxury vehicle.

In fact, initial reviews of the Genesis state that Hyundai might have out-Lexused Lexus with this ES350 killer.

While it certainly isn’t a sign of the times that a luxury car has won the North American Car of the Year award, it is a sign of the times that the luxury sedan is an economical one with a starting price of just over $32,000.

It should be pointed out that not only is this the first North American Car of the Year win for Hyundai but it is the first time a Korean car manufacturer has won.

Official release after the jump:

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Ahead of the vehicle’s official launch at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz invited a select group of press to view the new 2010 E-Class.

Presented to the media were three different E-Class models – none of which will be available in the U.S. For the record, however, they were the E250 CDI, the E350 CGI and the E350 blueTEC.

Mercedes claims that its four and six-cylinder engines will consume 23 percent less fuel than before – due mostly to the use of direct injection across the model range. Fuel consumption is also aided by an incredibly low drag coefficient of just 0.25.

The 250 CDI, which uses a twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine makes 204hp and 369 ft-lbs of torque – an increase of 25 percent over the previous V-6 diesel engine. It also uses 23 percent less fuel for an incredible rating of 44 mpg.

As for the rest of the new E-Class, the chassis is 30 percent more rigid than the previous model. Also new for 2010 will be dynamic shock absorbers that can adjust to road conditions. These shocks will also work with the Mercedes air-ride suspension.

The big point that Mercedes wanted to get across, however, is how safe the new E-Class is thanks to a host of safety features including Adaptive Main Beam Assist. This new system uses a camera to view the road ahead and adjust the headlights accordingly, ensuring the lights reach as far as possible, but not as far as the car in front of you. It also monitors oncoming traffic and if the road is clear transitions to hi-beams.

Blind Spot Assist is also available as is Lane Keeping Assist, which will notify the driver through vibrations in the steering wheel if the vehicle detects it is drifting off the road.

Mercedes’ Brake Assist Plus system, uses the car’s radar to view the road ahead. If the car sees that a driver is about to hit something then he will be given a visual and acoustic warning to act. If no action is taken then partial braking is first applied by the car’s computer, followed by emergency braking if the driver continues not to respond. This is similar to a system Volvo recently developed.

Another, although not the final, safety device in the new E-Class is the Attention Assist system that detects when a driver isn’t paying attention and will notify him with an acoustic and visual warning. This warning on the dash is symbolized by a coffee cup. “It’s the next best thing to handing the driver a cup of espresso,” said Mercedes-Benz Chairman Dr. Dieter Zeich.

More on the new E-Class and all its many safety features after the jump

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Mercedes kicked off the Detroit Auto Show with the world premiere of its fabulously ridiculous SLR Stirling Moss.

With a substantially altered body, this chiselled machine looks more Mansory than Mercedes-Benz. It was designed in homage to Stirling Moss, who piloted the original 300 SLR to victory in the famous Mille Miglia race. In fact, Moss still holds the race record with a time of ten hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds.

Under the hood of the SLR Stirling Moss can be found a familiar supercharged 5.5-liter V-8 engine that pumps out power equal to that of the SLR 722 Edition. The powerplant generates 650hp and 605 ft-lbs of torque. Due to the significant weight reduction, however, the SLR Stirling Moss trumps even the 722’s impressive 3.6-second 0-62 mph time with a 3.5 second run. It is also capable of hitting speeds as high as 217 mph.

Without a top the SLR Stirling Moss is 241 lbs lighter than a standard SLR, tipping the scales at just 3,419 lbs.

Amazingly, this new super-roadster is 164mm longer than a standard car and is 7mm wider.

Mercedes announced that it will build just 75 units of the SLR Stirling Moss – almost all of which are already spoken for. This is not only amazing when you consider the cost is 750,000 Euros, but it is even more shocking when you consider only previous and current SLR owners will be invited to purchase one.

The SLR Stirlig Moss was the first of many vehicles unveiled at the second annual Mercedes-Benz New Year’s Reception and, surprisingly, was not the star of the show. Mercedes also showcased its Concept blueZERO and the main attraction, the new 2010 E-Class.

See more on the SLR Stirling Moss here.

SLR Stirling Moss:

Follow the jump for the official press release.

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Mercedes-Benz says it will develop three blueZero models, including an electric model, a hydrogen fuel-cell model and an extended range hybrid-electric model. Some of the versions will even begin production this year.

Dr Thomas Weber, the man in charge of corporate research and development at Mercedes-Benz Cars says that, “From 2009, we will be producing the first Mercedes fuel-cell cars on a small scale. Small-scale production of Mercedes-Benz cars with battery-electric drive alone will then commence in 2010.” The extended-range hybrid-electric blueZero is expected after that.

The blueZero E-Cell will be a pure electric vehicle and will have an operating range of 124 miles. Mercedes estimates a 0-62 mph time of 11 seconds for it and the other models.

The blueZero F-Cell will be powered by an electric motor and lithium-ion batteries as well as a hydrogen fuel-cell – all of which will be located below the passenger compartment. This is due to Mercedes’ Sandwich architecture floor architecture, first developed for the A-Class and later used in the B-Class. Mercedes claims it will have an operating range of more than 250 miles.

Finally, Mercedes is still working on an extended-range blueZero, called the E-Cell Plus, which will use a battery and electric engine as well as a standard internal combustion engine. The gasoline engine will be the three-cylinder turbocharged motor found in the Smart fortwo. It will, however, operate on just the electric motor for 62 miles, at which point the gasoline motor will kick in to charge the batteries – much like a standard hybrid system. In total, Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus will achieve a range of 375 miles.

Mercedez-Benz blueZERO Concept

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In an interview with the Financial Times, Lotus CEO Michael Kimberly said that Lotus is working on a Hybrid and that the vehicle could be ready as early as March. And March just so happens to be when the Geneva Auto Show is… and Lotus never passes up an opportunity to unveil something in Geneva.

The car will be Hybrid or, more specifically, a range-extended EV… much like the yet-unreleased Chevy Volt.

Using an electric engine, battery packs and a gasoline engine, the car would run primarily on electric power – switching over to a conventional Hybrid system once the juice runs out.

This would be an interesting move for Lotus, as until now the company has donated the chassis for two other EVs, the Dodge EV and Tesla Roadster.

There is speculation that Lotus is looking to General Motors for help but it is more likely that they will continue to work with Toyota.

As for the platform, we expect the new Evora will provide the base for Lotus’s EV, as hybrid philosophy and the idea behind the Evora as an every-day sportscar mesh quite well.

[Source: Wired from Financial Times]

After  appearing just briefly at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Jaguar is apparently set to launch its new 510hp XFR at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

With 510hp the XFR outpowers the already impressive XF Supercharged by 90hp, thanks to a new 5.0-liter V-8 engine mated to a Roots-type supercharger. Full power is available at 6000 rpm. Torque is rated at 461 ft-lbs and is available at just 2500 rpm.

Jaguar claims a 0-60 mph time of 4.7 seconds and a quarter mile time of 13.1 seconds.

Looks wise, it’s a stunner with a larger lower grille and chrome-trimmed intakes. The hood also gets a bad-boy look thanks to a raised center section and some vents that look like they were lifted from the Aston Martin DBS. Out back there is a new bootlid spoiler. 20-inch wheels (with even larger brakes) complete the package.

Inside, there are more alterations with sporty “R” and “supercharged” logos. There is also more luxury thanks to 18×14 way adjustable seats.

The XFR will be offered in eight colors: Ultimate Black, Indigo, Liquid Silver, Lunar Grey, Porcelain, Botanical Green, Kyanite Blue and Salsa.

2010 Jaguar XFR

[Source: Carscoop]

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As we reported yesterday the new GT-R SpecV is now an official reality and today Nissan release a short video of the car testing at the Nürburgring.

According to gtrblog.com staff, who were at the official unveiling of the car at Nissan HQ in Japan and who spoke with Chief Engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno, the SpecV will get an “overboost” function that will deliver added mid-range torque for 80 seconds – ideal for passing on the racetrack.

More information is also available on the SpecV’s carbon ceramic brakes. Not only will the new disks be lighter than stock but they will also be larger measuring 15.35-inches at each corner.

See our original article on the GT-R SpecV for more info and a gallery of photos.