Are company cars destined to be a relic of the past? Probably not, but companies are begging to adopt a new kind of corporate vehicle, one that can be paid for by the hour and operated by Hertz or Zipcar, two of the biggest names in auto-sharing programs.

An article in the New York Times focuses on Hertz’s Connect by Hertz program, as well as Zipcar, which are seeing an increasing number of corporate clients. Employees can use the cars for anything from sales calls to grocery shopping, and the cost savings are substantial. One Boston area firm cut costs from $43,000 per employee to $6,500, just by switching from a livery car service to Zipcar.

At a cost of only $5 per hour to the employees, which includes parking, gas and insurance, car-sharing looks like a no brainer, even if the fleet is heavily skewed to the Toyota Prius and other less than exciting vehicles.

[Source: New York Times]

Subaru has released a video of their new Impreza Concept floating around a futuristic make-believe highway while funky new age music plays in the background.

The two minute clip, looking remarkably similar to the types of videos shown at press launches, doesn’t really give any new information on the Impreza, but we do know that the Concept is supposed to have a 2.0L Boxer four-cylinder and the dreaded CVT gearbox so familiar to Subaru products.

Hit the jump to see the video

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With all the other drivers out there releasing some crazy and insane videos showing off their driving prowess, it’s no surprise that Rhys Millen isn’t far behind with his own feature. And we have to give Rhys a little credit given just how busy his schedule is these days – between drifting, time attacking, hill climbing and even building cars for the SEMA Show.

Millen took his crew and his Time Attack Hyundai Genesis out to Brazil to film a magnificent hill climb video. We’ve only been treated with a teaser that’s available after the break, but it’s a great preview of what’s to come. Millen is well known for attacking the hills, and Serra do Rio do Rastro was the perfect setting for his soon-to-be Internet phenomenon video.

Check out the video teaser after the jump

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With the Fiat 500 having just launched at the LA Auto Show, the aftermarket has already started releasing plenty of toys for the Italian economy car. Set to debut at the Essen Motorshow in Germany later this month, Hamann and H&R have teamed up to release their Fiat 500 rendition and there’s quite the surprise under the hood.

Hamann has taken the little Fiat 500 and turned it into a potent street machine, taking the stock 135-hp to an impressive 275-hp. Move over MINI Cooper! The horsepower bump is attributed to an ECU retune and a new exhaust. Worth noting however is that the horsepower jump comes from the 1.4L turbocharged powerplant – so the ECU retune obviously shoves in a ton more boost and fuel.

Along with the performance upgrades, Hamann has come up with an entire kit with new front and rear bumpers, side skirts and wheels. Braking has also been enhanced through Hamann. All of this means nothing if the car is still rocking a stock ride height. Thankfully H&R has already developed a lowering kit for the Fiat 500 and a set of their billet wheel spacers gave the wheels a more aggressive fitment.

GALLERY: Hamann and H&R Fiat 500

[Source: Topspeed]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to auction off his 1977 Peugeot 504 to help raise funds for a new low-income housing project.

A statement released by the Iranian government said that, “In order to help the Mehr housing project, as an act of charity yesterday (Sunday) Mr Ahmadinejad put his car up for sale.”

Ahamdenijad is known for his image as a common man and friend of Iran’s poor, but most famous for his frequent homophobic and anti-semitic tirades in front of world leaders.

Peugeots have been locally built in Iran for a number of years, and the brand enjoys strong sales throughout the Middle East.

[Source: AFP]

Toyota‘s iQ microcar will get a fully electric version in 2011, the Japanese automaker has confirmed. The iQ will come as part of a plan to launch 11 hybrid or electric vehicles by 2012, including a hybrid version of the Yaris hatchback, a plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid and a Prius-based minivan.

In a statement released by the firm, Toyota stated that “improving the efficiency of its internal combustion engines, which account for the majority of sales, while raising performance, reducing costs and expanding the range available”. The company is also investigating new battery technologies that will bring big advances in performance that will be needed for electric cars to succeed in the mass market”.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Taking a page from Hyundai’s playbook, customers who pre-order a Saab 9-4X crossover will get an iPad courtesy of Saab – sort of.

After contacting a Saab retailer, the customer will place an order for both the 9-4X, and the iPad. The iPad will set you back $500, but the cost will be refunded upon taking delivery of the vehicle.

If you don’t want an iPad, you can just order the car, and if you cancel the order, you’re still on the hook for the cost of an iPad – which makes this exercise pretty pointless, if you ask us. The promotion runs from January 15th until February 28th.

[Source: Saab]

After Oprah announced yesterday that everyone in the audience of her Favorite Things Part II episode would get a new 2012 Volkswagen New Beetle, we now have a teaser image of that car to share.

Looking a lot like the spy photos we’ve already seen no other details about the car have been provided. On the show, Oprah said she has seen the car, even though it’s not set to go into production for a while and won’t go on sale until the Fall of 2011.

It’s not yet clear if VW plans to continue its U.S. market strategy with the new New Beetle, by delivering the car as a less refined vehicle at a much lower price point – which is what Volkswagen is doing with the new Jetta and plans to do with its Passat replacement.

Oprah, who drives a New Beetle, gave away 275 versions of the car to those in the audience at her show.

VW has yet to even hint at what auto show the car will debut at, with Detroit a possibility and New York in April more likely. However, using Oprah to help promote the car, one has to think VW might choose Oprah’s local Chicago Auto Show in February for the debut.

Like a matte-black paint job, dress any old car up like a police cruiser and its instantly cool. But what if the car is already a fine machine? Well then, that’s something special.

Debuting at the Eibach Springs booth at the Essen Motor Show this year will be a Fiat 500 Abarth model sporting Polizia livery and a nice adjustable Eibach suspension kit. For those who don’t know, Fiat’s in-house Abarth tuning arm builds hopped-up versions of cars like the Fiat 500 (which just debuted in U.S. Spec as the LA Auto Show), including everything from new wheels and tires to a turbo under the hood.

The car will be on display at the Essen Motor Show (essentially Germany’s SEMA), from November 27 to December 5, alongside several other modified cars including a Golf R and Audi R8 – both sporting Eibach kits.

Included in a less-than-thrilling press release from Porsche today is a photo of what appears to be an early model of the production version of the 918 Spyder.

Porsche first unveiled the vehicle at the Geneva Auto Show this year, stealing the show with the stunning and sophisticated concept. Several months later, Porsche confirmed the car would see production.

Now comes this photo as a part of a larger press release detailing a 150 million Euro investment in the automaker’s Weissach research and development center in Germany. The 1:3 scale cay model has some notable differences from the production car, including some minor adjustments up front, some changes to the design of the doors and the use of a single, rather than a double, exhaust pipe coming out the side.

Last week Porsche announced it was hiring 100 engineers for the facility in electronics fields – likely to begin its hybrid push that will see the expansion of hybrid models (including sports cars), as well as the launch of the new flagship 918 Spyder.

Official release after the jump:

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