Nissan‘s Oppama plant, located south of Tokyo, began producing the Leaf electric vehicle, with exports commencing in November. Nissan is also building plants in the United States and Europe to help with production, but initial vehicles will be built in Japan.

Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn. plant will have the capacity for 150,000 units, while the Sunderland, England plant as well as Oppama both have capacity for 50,000 units each. The Smyrna plant is part of a $1.8 billion investment, including a $1.4 billion loan from the Department of Energy.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that 1 million electric vehicles sold per year would be the “magic number” to make them profitable without governmental assistance.

[Source: Automotive News]

Dodge‘s largely unloved Caliber compact hatchback will get the ax in 2012, with Chrysler replacing the car with a model based on Alfa Romeo’s much lauded Giulietta hatchback.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed that the mid-size Alfa hatch would underpin the new Dodge model while commenting on Fiat’s 3rd quarter earnings. The Giulietta will likely be a positive fit in the Dodge lineup, which is Chrysler’s “sporty brand”, although the reaction of Alfa Romeo purists remains to be seen.

[Source: USA Today]

Aside from the Challenger 392, Chrysler has a whole other lineup, including special editions of the 2011 Dodge Charger, Dodge Durango, Fiat 500 and and special, competition only Dodge Challenger V10.

Here’s a breakdown of Mopar’s big releases at the 2010 SEMA Show

2011 Dodge Charger Red Line: The Charger Red Line will be the first glimpse that the public will get of the 2011 Dodge Charger. The Red Line will get a 20″ wheel package, a blacked out roof, a unique red leather interior and a Mopar intake, exhaust and header kit.

2011 Dodge Durango Citadel “Black and Tan”: The Durango Citadel is basically the same car as the 2011 Dodge Durango, but with 22″ wheels and a Black and Tan exterior/interior color scheme inspired by “some of the finest super cars in the world”.

2010 Fiat 500: A concept version of the Fiat 500 that will be sold here, this car gets 18″ wheels, fender flares reminiscent of a widebody kit, red interior accents for the driver’s side and a special “liquid grey” paint scheme.’

Dodge Challenger V10 Drag Pack: Dodge touts this car as the world’s first V10 factory drag car. No, it’s not street legal (with Mopar stating it’s for “competition use only) but comes with a V10, a 2-speed transmission, roll cage, fuel cell and a striped out interior with a full racing gauge package.

Hit the jump to read the official press release and Mopar video

Gallery: Chrysler SEMA Cars

[Source: Chrysler]

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Chrysler‘s Mopar division will unveil a new slate of vehicles at the 2010 SEMA show, with an updated Dodge Challenger SRT-8 as the brand’s star debut.

The updated Challenger SRT-8 will feature an all-new 6.4L V8 with 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. Fuel economy will get a 15-20 percent bump on the highway, thanks to a multi-displacement system (that allows for deactivation of cylinders at highway speeds), variable valve timing and a variable intake manifold.

A limited run of Inaugural Edition vehicles will ship after Thanksgiving in a run of 1,492 cars that will kick off the car’s production. The Inaugural Edition will feature special paint and stripe packages and other special accouterments. Pricing will be announced shortly, and Autoguide will have full coverage of the car’s debut at the SEMA show starting November 1.

[Source: Chrysler]

If you like to drive with the top down on your Mercedes-Benz SL convertible, you’re more likely to get pulled over for a traffic ticket and are cited four times more often then the average U.S. driver, says a report out by Verisk Analytics Inc.

The report, put out by the insurance data company, goes on to say that three Mercedes models are among the 10 most-cited per mile driven. Also ranking high on the list are the Toyota Solara and Scion tC, coming in with the second- and third-highest violation rates.

Verisk also notes that cars that make the most-ticketed list are magnets for drivers who like their speed, as well as younger, less-experienced motorists. Among the least-ticked vehicles to drive are those that are designed to transport more people. Down at the bottom of the list with the fewest violations were eight sport-utility vehicles and minivans. The winner of the lowest rate of tickets goes to GM’s Rainier SUV.

“Carrying passengers, and possibly younger passengers in car seats, makes a noticeable difference in how one drives,” Verisk said. “SUVs and hatchbacks showed lower violations on average than traditional two- and four-door vehicles.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Wally Hersom heads up the Bigfoot Field Researcher’s Organization, which as the name suggests, spends much of its time engaged in projects to shed some light on the infamous Sasquatch. But when he’s not chasing down new leads for the mysterious creature, Hersom delves into his other big passion – ’32 Fords. This year, he decided to bring the two together by commissioning Rob Green of JKR Racing to build a ’32 Deuce coupe from the ground up  for the 2010 SEMA show.

Powered by a 350 ci Chevy small-block V8, complete with a Weiand supercharger, the Deuce sports a TCI chassis, Wilwood brakes, Currie 9-inch rear end and Gibson exhaust among other things. But the crowning touch is the paint, which incorporates murals of Bigfoot on the doors and rear decklid.

The car was conceived to spread awareness about the Bigfoot phenomena and the idea behind it came about after Hersom and Green met during a Poker tournament, proving that sometimes, gambling can lead to good things. For more information on JKR Racing, click on the link below.

[Source: JKR Racing]

ARKYM has been designing some really clean and conservative kits for some of European’s finest automobiles, including BMW’s E92 M3. Their newest project is Mercedes-Benz‘s C63 AMG luxury sedan, outfitting it with a variety of carbon fiber pieces that are subtle and clean, enhancing the C63′s natural lines.

There isn’t an official release from ARKYM on the kit, but it looks like several of their distributors are taking orders. We spy a front lip, rear diffuser and trunk lip spoiler, all in carbon fiber. What we’re really digging is the fact that these photos show off an otherwise stock C63 AMG, which really highlights what ARKYM’s kit can do to the car.

So for those looking for subtle enhancements to your Mercedes C63 AMG, we’d highly recommend ARKYM’s kit. It’s refreshing to see aftermarket manufacturers sticking to a clean design rather than big and bold designs.

[Source: GT Spirit]

See more pictures of the ARKYM C63 after the jump:

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The SEMA show is coming up next month, and one of the innovate products that will be highlighted is the BOLT – Breakthrough One-Key Lock Technology, a separate lock that can be opened with your vehicle key. Ideal if you carry around a tool box but don’t want the hassle of pocketing a bunch of keys, the BOLT line features two receiver locks, a cable lock, motorcycle wheel lock and a spare tire lock.

Winner of the SEMA Light Truck Accessory Alliance’s “Best Engineered New Product” award, the BOLT has also picked up two SEMA Global Media awards.

One of the most popular products in the line, the padlock works with most GM, Ford, and Chrysler/Jeep keys. It features a 2-inch hardened, zinc-nickel plated shackle, solid zinc core, automotive grade cylinder with patented 6 plate-tumbler sidebar to prevent picking and bumping. Also helping to protect it is its stainless steel lock shutter to keep out dirt and moisture, and a rugged weather resistant jacket to protect your gear. The padlock has earned the ASTM’s top corrosion resistance rating and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. And the BOLT padlock is super easy to use as well. Just insert your key, rotate the key until it stops and pull the shackle to open.

The padlock retails for $27.95 – not a bad price for extra security and convenience.

For more information on this line of products, you can visit the site here or visit the booth at the upcoming SEMA show.

We’ve seen the renderings of Rhys Millen’s Equus project for SEMA, and while it’s still a little underwhelming of a project (especially for a SEMA car), we’re  excited to see Hyundai pushing forward with the Equus and leveraging their existing partnerships to show the world what a little bit of tasteful modifications can do to a car.

Now it looks like the car was recently caught hanging outside an interior reupholstery shop in Southern California, clearly getting some last minute touches in the lead-up to the show. The exterior work seems to have been completed nicely in a flat-blue with a carbon fiber wrap over the top-half of the car. We’re surprised not to see any bodywork and we have to think that when it debuts at SEMA there will be a larger set of custom wheels.

The car is set to be revealed at Hyundai’s booth at the 2010 SEMA Show on November 2nd and we’ll be sure to bring you plenty of photos then. Until that time, check out our SEMA Preview here.

GALLERY: Rhys Millen Racing SEMA Hyundai Equus

[Source: Inside Line]

Wiesmann has confirmed that they’ll switch over to BMW’s new 4.4L twin-turbo V8 engine on all new models. Weismann previously used an older V8, as well as BMW’s M Division V10 engine.

The new V8 will be shared with the X5M and X6M and help the new Wiesmann MF4 hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. The Weismann MF5 will get a 555 horsepower version of this motor, and reach the same speed in 3.9 seconds. Sadly, none of Wiesmann’s gorgeous creations will be available here.

[Source: TopSpeed]

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