Building a reputation for fuel efficient cars over the past few years, Hyundai is looking to solidify itself as a leader by introducing a rival to the Toyota Prius.

Hyundai first indicated it would take on the Prius when it unveiled the Blue-Will concept two years ago. Powered by a 152-hp 1.6-liter direct-injection engine and 100 kW electric motor, the concept car was touted to achieve as much as 106-mpg when operating as a plug-in hybrid, while still achieving 50 to 55-mpg once the gasoline engine was engaged to power the wheels as well.

In addition to this 40+ mpg car, Hyundai has hinted it will also introduce one more 40-mpg car in the near future – thought to be the Elantra Coupe or Touring.

GALLERY: Hyundai Blue-Will Concept

[Source: InsideLine]

Thinking of buying one of the greenest vehicles on the market, but not sure if safe for the environment also translates into safety for you and yours? That’s no longer an issue and the latest Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests have just come in for the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf with both electrified cars achieving a Top Safety Pick award.

What that means is that the cars earned a ‘Good’ rating in front, side, rear and rollover crashes – undergoing the same rigorous tests that regular cars do.

The Leaf and Volt now join a list of 80 other Top Safety Pick vehicles for the 2011 model year.

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Chevy Volt review here.

Many a Honda fanboy is under the impression that the brand has lost its way, putting too much of a focus on green technology and not enough on driving enjoyment and performance. But Honda is looking to restore faith in the company by merging the two ideas says President Takanobu Ito, confirming that it is working ‘very hard’ on a spiritual successor to the car.

What exactly that means is unclear, but Ito says it will be exciting to drive but also a green machine. That being said it is expected to sit as a flagship not only for Honda’s performance side, but also for its hybrid technology.

The previous NSX successor was killed off due to cost cutting measures, and that might not have been the worst thing as the front-engined V10 exotic seemed to depart significantly from the Honda performance philosophy. Expected to be a hybrid (and possibly a plug-in hybrid) if the NSX is any indication, look for this car to wow fans with agile handling and impressive packaging rather than astonishingly high performance numbers.

[Source: Automotive News]

Having just unveiled the new C63 AMG Coupe at the New York Auto Show, Mercedes has one more high-performance C-Class up its sleeve. Likely to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this fall, the Black Series version of the car will be even more extreme, upping horsepower north of the 500 mark.

According to the latest rumors look for 507-hp as the official number, but don’t expect to find any turbos under the hood. Instead of the new bi-turbo 5.5-liter V8 found in the E63 (where it makes 518-hp and 516 lb-ft of torque), the C-Class AMGs will soldier on with the soon-to-be-retired naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8.

A further reduction in weight is also certain to be included in the package, but we unfortunately don’t expect this performance coupe to come with anything other than Benz’s 7-speed automatic transmission.

GALLERY: Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe

[Source: BenzInsider]

For many car enthusiasts, reports of Bristol Motor Cars filing for Chapter 11 earliar this year was very sad news indeed. Now its time for fans of this British marque to rejoice as the company has just been saved and brought back to life.

The new owners are Kamkorp Autokraft, a Swiss company that is part of the Frazer-Nash group.

Frazer-Nash had in recent years shown an all-electric sportscar called the Namir. Could the next Bristol models get motivation from green energy!

“Over the next few months we will start to reveal the details of our plans to combine Bristol Cars’ tradition and iconic marque with Frazer-Nash’s pioneering technology to showcase our cutting-edge electric and range-extended powertrains,” said William Chia, the group’s director of operations.

Chia also assured current Bristol owners that service and parts for their existing cars will not be disrupted and they are committed to fulfilling their needs. No word yet of the fate of Bristol workers who were let go when the company went into administration.

[Source: Pistonheads]

Mini is following in the footsteps of Audi and designing its own line of bicycles. And in the interests of smallness, the bicycles are designed to be folded—perfect for today’s clogged cities.

The Mini Folding Bicycle features a lightweight aluminum frame that collapses in a matter of seconds: the crossbar, seat, handlebars and pedals fold into each other for easy carrying from a subway to the trunk of a Countryman. The entire bicycle only weighs 24 pounds and still manages to sport 8 gears, 20-inch wheels, mud guards, a gel seat, a cute bell, and a Teflon-coated chain that won’t get your suit dirty when you inevitably get tangled while trying to fold it up.

Like most folding bicycles, it won’t be cheap at 500 Euros (approximately $729), but it’s still cheaper than getting your Mini Cooper impounded for the 3rd time in a row from a tow zone.

Look for it available online and at select Mini dealerships in August this year. And if you can’t wait that long, click the jump for the press release and specifications.

Continue Reading…

It’s no secret that Saab has been struggling since becoming ‘independent.’ The company, purchased from GM by Spyker last year has continued to face financial and supply problems, which has stunted production and resulted in sales falling far short of projected targets.

As a result, the company, in order to help pay for parts and get production rolling again, has been selling off company assets and or/ re-leasing them in some cases.

However, another issue concerns the  outstanding loan given to Saab by the Swedish Government through the European Investment Bank. With the company facing a sizable number of obstacles, there are those who feel the chances of repaying back that money are questionable at best and some assurance is needed.

As a result, perhaps not surprisingly, the Swedish media  has been circulating rumors that the government had been encouraging Volvo (now owned by China’s Geely Automotive) to acquire Saab in a possible takeover.

However, Volvo has now gone on the record, stating that no such talks have taken place and nor have any been planned for the future. In the meantime, Saab CEO Victor Mueller, is continuing to look for other sources to tap into for capital, including a number of Chinese automakers.

Back before the Spyker deal went through, Saab had been in talks with China’s BAIC, which had expressed interest in buying the Swedish automaker, lock, stock and barrel from GM.  In the end BAIC simply acquired ‘old’ Saab assets, including all the production tooling for the outgoing 9-3. However, given the current situation at Saab itself, there might be a strong possibility that BAIC could get its hands on more than just former assets of the Swedish automaker.

[Source: Reuters]

Last year, Maserati launched a sportier version of their GranTurismo coupe in Europe and called it the MC Stradale. However, for those of us in North America who can afford such play things, the sad news was that this model was not going to be available on our shores.

To keep its North American customer base happy, Maserati has now unveiled a version of their sleek coupe just for us and its called the GranTurismo MC.

So what’s the difference between an MC Stradale and this new MC? Well they look just about the same, but there are some notable changes under the skin and in the cabin. Whereas the MC Stradale used an F1 style sequential gearbox, the MC makes use of the ZF six-speed automatic found in other Maserati road cars.

Inside, the MC retains its rear seats, which were junked for the MC Stradale version. So it seems the North American version is a watered down version of what our European cousins get to play with, but not quite. Thankfully the MC Stradale’s tweaked 4.7-liter, V8 which produces 450-hp has found its way into the North American MC also. That engine can power this coupe all the way to 185 mph and sprint from 0-62 mph in just 4.9 seconds. Also worth noting, this engine is  available in the GranCabrio Sport.

For more details on this model, check out the press release below:

Continue Reading…

Nearly 5 months in to the calendar year, Lexus has admitted that it will not be able to sustain its lead in the luxury car sales race, due to tight supplies of vehicles and parts from Japan.

With dealers down to a 30 day supply of cars (compared to a usual 60 or 90 day supply), the situation is so drastic that regional marketing campaigns are being ended due to a dearth of new vehicles to sell. Lexus is offering to extend the leases of current customer’s vehicles, and is discouraging dealers from attempting to inflate prices of the limited supply of cars, with Lexus general manager Mark Templin stating “…that’s not the way we do business.”

Many vehicles, such as the newly introduced CT200h hybrid are nearly sold out, while the Japanese factories that build the majority of Lexus vehicles are not expected to reach full capacity until November.

[Source: Automotive News]

Mitsubishi is killing both its Endeavor crossover and Eclipse coupe and convertible due to slow sales, with both vehicles scheduled to die off in August.

The Endeavor never found much love amongst car buyers, but the Eclipse has a long history in the performance car segment, even if its moved further away from its original formula with each generation. Mitsubishi also announced the end of their famous Lancer Evolution sports car, and will eventually trim their model lineup to the Lancer, Outlander, Outlander Sport and Galant. Mitsubishi will also introduce the all electric i in limited numbers in late 2011.