With Mercedes-Benz‘s new CLS-Class impressing many, we knew it would just be a matter of time before Brabus stepped into the picture with its rendition. And just as we assumed that a new Brabus Rocket wouldn’t be too far off, the famed Benz tuner has released these teaser photos hinting that the Geneva Auto Show will be the venue where all is revealed.

Over the years, the Brabus Rocket has become the staple of high performance engineering for a luxury sedan, at one time holding the title of the world’s fastest sedan at over 225-mph. And with Mercedes’ CLS-Class getting a revamp, it was safe to assume that Brabus would introduce a new Rocket to dominate its own predecessor. We’ll anxiously await March to come around to see what all Brabus will be showing off to the world.

GALLERY: Brabus Rocket Teaser

[Source: GTspirit]

Rolls-Royce will take a big step towards bringing to market an electric vehicle, debuting an electric version of its flagship Phantom model at the Geneva Auto Show in just over a weeks time.

Rolls has announced it will debut the car, known as either the 102 EX or Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), and then take it on a world tour, testing the technology as well as gauging interest from customers.

“We have engineered the world’s first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment,” said CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, speaking from the company’s headquarters in Goodwood. “With this vehicle, we begin an exploration into alternative drive-trains, seeking clarity on which alternative technologies may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future.”

The most regal of luxury brands maintains that this car will not see production, but that it is designed to create a debate about whether pure luxury and EVs can coexist. To help frame the conversation, Rolls-Royce has launched a new website www.electricluxury.com as a place to debate EVs in the luxury segment, while delivering updates on the car’s journey.

GALLERY: Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept

Watch for coverage from the Geneva Auto Show on March 1st. Until then, see AutoGuide’s 2011 Geneva Auto Show preview here.

Chevrolet will begin selling a diesel version of its new Cruze compact sedan starting in 2012. Currently the car is available with two gasoline engines, but according to GMInsideNews, sources at the Lordstown, Ohio plant that builds the car are confirming the diesel model will arrive for the 2013 model year, with sales starting some time in 2012.

The Australian version of the Cruze (which is sold under the Holden brand) uses a 2.0-liter diesel engine making 147-hp and 235 lb-ft of torque, delivering a combined 34-mpg rating. It is not yet clear, however, if that same engine will be offered here.

Back in September GM first announced it would sell a diesel on U.S. soil, marking the first time since the 1980s that a diesel powered passenger car would be offered in GM’s lineup. At that time there was speculation that the Buick Regal would receive the diesel engine as it’s European counterpart, the Opel Insignia is already offered with a choice of several diesel powerplants including a twin-turbo 2.0-liter  CDTi Ecotec motor making 190-hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque.

[Source: GMI]

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Review Here

Get more Cruze news and info at CruzeTalk.com

GM’s MyLink, available starting with the 2012 Chevrolet Volt and Equinox, will offer smartphone charging, Pandora radio streaming, GraceNote music identification, Bluetooth, XM satellite radio, voice activation, OnStar, and USB inputs, in case listening to drive-time radio is too crushing for commuters.

The MyLink comes hot on the heels of Ford’s SYNC as an inevitable comparison. But unlike the SYNC, MyLink includes the full power of GM’s OnStar behind it, for starters. It will also come with Powermat charging for the smartphones that you won’t need to fiddle with once behind the wheel. And, uh, that’s about it. Functionality between the two infotainment systems is remarkably similar otherwise, which makes you wish that GM had introduced this earlier.

The MyLink includes a 7″ full-color touchscreen standard, which controls climate control and navigation operations. The first GM cars that will be equipped with it later this year will be the Chevrolet Volt and the Equinox, before the rest of the General Motors lineup.

Two one-of-a-kind Chevrolet Corvettes were given away recently at the Corvette Dream Giveaway, one of them being this 2010 Brad Paisley Hero Edition Corvette ZR1. The other was a 1967 Corvette convertible Sting Ray.

The draw was created to aid in the expansion of the Kids Wish Network’s “Hero” program and the Corvette Dream Giveaway’s lucky winner was Brian Landgren of Washington.

While a unique supercar-killer in its own right, this particular ZR1 received some tweaks from Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, squeezing out 720-hp, a nice increase over the factory’s 638-hp figure.

Unique features in the aesthetics department include country star Brad Paisley’s signature under the hood of the vehicle. The exterior of the 2010 ZR1 has been refinished in Ermine White, matching the 1967 Sting Ray that was also given away.

Inside the cockpit, a red interior with a ton of red accents contrasts the carbon fiber accessories.

GALLERY: Brad Paisley Corvette ZR1 Hero Edition

[Source: Topspeed]

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Debuting at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, the 2012 Mazda3 is more than just a facelifted model, showcasing the automaker’s new SkyActiv engine and transmission.

Full details have yet to be announced, but Mazda has confirmed the engine is a direct-injection 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that will deliver a 15 percent improvement in fuel economy. A new SkyActiv transmission (it’s still unclear if it’s a 6-speed or perhaps even a dual-clutch unit) will offer fuel economy gains ranging from four to seven percent.

Set to hit dealers this Fall, Mazda will then bring to market a SkyActiv-D diesel engine for North America in 2012.

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Electric Vehicles are currently the darling of sectors of the media and also the car companies themselves. Although limited by range in most cases, those that drive them are currently laughing all the way to the bank in many respects.

Not only do they not have to pay fuel costs, currently, in the US, they don’t have to pay any road fees either. Of course, for conventional vehicles, licensing and road fees are designed to be used by the individual states to maintain the infrastructure, i.e. the roads, that we drive on.

Washington state Senator Mary Margaret Haugen thinks EV drivers getting away scott-free is unfair, consequently, a bill is being proposed in the Evergreen State, which would require those that own or lease Electric Vehicles to pay a $100 annual fee.

Considering that Washingtonians currently pay a 37.5 cent gasoline tax, which works out to around $204 per year for most motorists, plus the fact that the number of EVs on the state’s roads is expected to increase, from around 1800 today to almost 9000 five years from now; such a fee would go along way to helping the state budget – possibly contributing as much as $1.9 million by the 2015-2017 budget cycle.

However, state anti-tax activists in Washington, say that Haugen’s proposal is not a fee but a tax and should be subjected to a two thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives before being approved, making it harder for it to to actually become law.

However, given that cash strapped state governments are looking at all kinds of ways to raise revenue, it’s likely that you’ll see similar bills presented for other states in the near future.

As for Haugen’s particular bill? Well it still has plenty of hurdles to clear, but the fact that some members in the House have already voiced their approval for it indicates there’s a good chance it will make it through and become law eventually.

After all, when it comes to driving, the reality is that eventually, all of us have  to pay for the privilege of mobility in some way, no matter what kind of car or truck we operate.

[Source: Edmunds Auto Observer]

Finally, somebody in top brass gets it. When CEO Alan Mulally oversaw the development of the Explorer upon taking charge of Ford in 2006, he ordered engineers to cut weight and improve fuel economy, or kill the Explorer altogether.

“Alan told us we need to truly reinvent the Explorer,” said product development chief Derrick Kuzak. When he presented Mulally with the production-ready Explorer in 2009, he didn’t focus on anticipated sales figures or projected profits: he started with how the team had cut 100 pounds and raised fuel economy by 24 percent, the best in its class.

And by January, the dieting paid off–Explorer sales were up by 73%.

Automotive enthusiasts (and the part of Lotus’s marketing division that doesn’t keep Colin Chapman’s grave spinning at night) have championed this for years. Coming from Ford’s top man, however, puts a little more meaning behind those words. Mulally has ordered that all Fords introduced within the next 10 years must be 250-750 pounds lighter than their predecessors. And as a result, if any vehicle can’t have the best fuel economy in its class, it’s killed off.

“Weight is absolutely critical,” says Mulally, who views weight savings from a fuel economy standpoint. Already a version of the Explorer is being planned with the EcoBoost turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, which may get as much as  29MPG highway. And the Mustang will get the EcoBoost engine as well. So enthusiasts will appreciate this from a performance and handling mindset, but with such an aggressive weight-cutting proposal, everybody wins.

Back in 1965, the Beatles sang “Baby you can drive my car.” We bet if they were to write that song today, they would encourage their baby to not drive their car, because not only are gas prices becoming outrageous, but insurance premiums keep getting higher and higher.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), insurance rates in North America have climbed 4.5% in January, 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. In the last year, insurance rates have seen a climb by at least 0.2% every month, and some months the rates climbed much higher.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners in their most recent report mentioned that back in 2008, the National average was $902 a year. That figure is now closer to $1000 a year.

With the cost of driving constantly going up, the auto industry would have another hurdle to get over to bring people into showrooms.

[Source: PR Newspire]

Check out our Auto Insurance pages to get insurance quotes from insurance companies.

Along with China, India’s economy has experienced rapid expansion in the last decade, helping fuel the creation of a new middle class, which of course wants all the trappings most middle class folks do, their own house, car and plenty of creature comforts.

By 2015, India is expected to be the fourth largest single auto market in the world and already, some manufacturers, even US ones, are taking a serious look at peddling their offerings there. One of them is Ford, which plans to offer a version of its flashy third generation Focus.

According to a study by Boozy & Company, the average car buyer in India wants to spend less than $8000 on a vehicle. That really isn’t very much and helps partly explain why Tata believed it’s pint sized Nano could do so well on the sub-continent.

This price point will also make it difficult for Ford and others to sell current versions of their world cars there in many cases. But when it comes to cheap, practical cars, perhaps there’s another angle, here, something which could ultimately prove far more cost effective and beneficial.

India’s most popular car  for many years has been the Hindustan Ambassador, essentially a brand new, Isuzu powered 1948 Morris Oxford. In fact they’re still making the blasted things and in sizable numbers too.

There’s many reasons why the Ambassador has proved such a success. It’s capacious by Indian standards, has proper doors, a trunk and prosaic, tough mechanicals, which make it easy to operate and easy to service in tough, harsh conditions, like those typically found in India. Because it’s been in production forever it’s also highly profitable. In fact it’s regarded in many quarters as India’s national car and the king of the road down there.

If car makers like Ford, GM and others are to really have a fighting chance and selling practical, low priced cars in India, perhaps the success of the Ambassador is something they need to consider at least in the short term.

Getting back to the study, Booz says it’s not just about the cars, it’s also about the fact that China and India will become the pillars of the global economy in the future? Really, that’s a bit like saying the sun will rise and set tomorrow. If you ever wondered what happened to all the money in the world in the last couple of years, now you know; it’s been used to pay hefty consulting fees to people who do nothing more than simply state the obvious.

[Source: USA Today]