Toyota Says Prius US Sales Will Outperform 2010 despite Earthquake Setback

In spite of the earthquake and Tsunami that devastated Japan last March and which deeply affected the country’s automobile production capabilities, Toyota remains confident that US sales of the Prius will outperform those of 2010.

The lack of inventory, with many dealers reporting as little as one day’s worth of Prius cars on their lots, led to a whopping 61% drop in July sales in the US, which is the lowest since 2004. And that’s significant because the US accounts for almost half of the all Prius models sold worldwide, which makes it Toyota’s most important market for its compact hybrid.

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GM Recalls More Than 7,500 Trucks and SUVs Over Separate Gearbox and Steering Issues

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall campaign for two separate issues concerning GM trucks and SUVs.

The first recall concerns 6,768 units of the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon from the 2011MY due to a failure in a transmission clip that may not engage the “Parking” mode even though the driver has moved the lever to the appropriate position. GM’s dealers will repair the faulty automatic transmission free of charge, and the recall is expected to begin on July 19.

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New 2012 Audi TT RS with 360-Horses Priced at US$56,850* in the States

After giving the green light to the U.S. specification TT RS last year, the flagship version of Audi’s sports coupe has finally arrived in the States. It will go on sale within the next few weeks with prices starting at $56,850 (*) excluding destination charges, taxes, title, options and dealer charges.

Interestingly, the North American version of the TT RS is more powerful than its European sibling as the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder TFSI engine is said to deliver 360-horsepower and 343 lb-ft of torque between 1,650 and 5,400 rpm. The European market model is rated at 340HP and 450 Nm (331.90 lb.-ft.) of torque.

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NHTSA Says EVs and Hybrids Must Warn Pedestrians With an Alert

Hybrid and electric cars are good for the environment because of they either emit extremely low or even no emissions at all. However, there seems to be a problem: they are also too quiet. And it’s not just a problem for car lovers who will miss the sound of the engine revving, but mostly for pedestrians who will not hear an oncoming, completely silent vehicle and face the risk of an accident.

Therefore, the US NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has published a notice that, if implemented, will require by law all electric and hybrid vehicles to emit a noise that will warn pedestrians of their presence. This comes after a study in October 2009, which reported that a greater percentage of hybrids were involved in accidents with pedestrians than vehicles with normal combustion engines.

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TRW’s Retractable Steering Wheel to Help the Elderly and the Obese

Assuming you haven’t been living under a rock for the past ten years, you’ll know that much of the first world’s population is getting both older and fatter. In response to this burgeoning epidemic – which affects nations as diverse as the U.K., U.S.A., Australia and China – TRW Automotive has developed a steering wheel which retracts completely into the dashboard at the touch of a button. Read more »

Jaguar’s Ian Callum Confirms Hot R Edition of Upcoming XF Sport Break

We already knew that Jaguar was preparing an estate (or, as they prefer to call it, Sport Break) version of the XF. What we were not so sure about was whether the XF Sport Break would get a range-topping R version like its sedan sibling.

Up until now, that is, because Ian Callum, Jag’s chief designer, recently told the Dutch publication Autovisie that the company will indeed present and XFR variant of the estate. And it will of course be powered by the same 510-hp turbocharged V8 of the sedan, giving rivals such as Audi’s RS6 something to worry about.

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All-Time Sales Record for BMW Group in the First Half of 2011

There’s a lot to be happy about in Munich these days. That’s because the BMW Group has had not only its best month ever as far as sales are concerned, but has also achieved an all-time sales record for the first half of the year.

This June, a total of 165,855 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars were delivered, an increase of 15.9% compared to the same month in 2010 (143,156 units) and also a new record for the Group. BMW sold 134,432 cars (+12.3%) and Mini 31,111 (+34.1%).

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Rumors: Kia to Unveil V8 RWD Sports Car Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

During the past few years, Kia has completely transformed its image from a manufacturer of affordable, but rather unexceptional, cars to that of an automaker that offers a stylish and coherent range, thanks in no small part to the hiring of ex-VW Group designer Peter Schreyer. Now, however, it is moving in uncharted waters if a recent report from What Car is accurate. Read more »

Aston Martin V12 Zagato Given Green Light for Production, Priced from £330,000 / $528,000

It’s official; Aston Martin has not only confirmed plans to build a strictly limited number of the new V12 Zagato show car, but it is also accepting orders with first deliveries expected from the second half of 2012.

Production of the British firm’s new supercar model, which is the collaborative work of Aston Martin and Italian design house Zagato, will be limited to 150 examples that will be hand assembled at Aston Martin’s global headquarters at Gaydon.

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Ford Asks: What Should the Focus EV Sound Like?

So the all-electric Ford Focus EV is landing stateside in late 2011 to snub its nose at the likes of the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi i MiEV with its utterly conventional name that’s not even an acronym.

Now Ford is asking its most important shareholders (the general public) what the Focus EV should sound like, as there are members of the world community that think silent cars are a danger to the blind and the deaf.

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U.K.’s Auto Industry to Young People: Be an Engineer!

Twenty-three of the U.K.’s car and component factories have opened their doors to teachers and students alike in a renewed bid to entice young people into automotive and manufacturing engineering. At the annual summit of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Tony Walker – Toyota Motor Manufacturing U.K.’s deputy managing director – said:

“The industry today is hi-tech. There are no oily rags. There are no smoke stacks. It is an inspirational and an aspirational place to be.”

In fact, carmakers are eager to point out just how fun and lucrative engineering can be. It’s all part of the U.K. government’s push to shift its focus away from financial services after the deadly Global Financial Crisis of 2007.

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EIB Approves Lease of Saab’s Real Estate

The European Investment Bank has finally approved the lease of 50.1% of Saab Automobile’s property to a Swedish Consortium led by Hemfrosa Fastigheter AB for a period of 15 years. The deal is expected to net Saab Automobile 25 million Euros ($41 million). Read more »

Nissan Leaf Outsells Chevy Volt in Electric Car Battle During the first half of 2011

The battle for supremacy in the electric car category has begun –even though at present there are only two prime contestants. According to Bloomberg, the Nissan LEAF sold 3,875 cars the first half of the year, compared to 2,745 of GM’s Volt over the same period.

From January through May, the Volt was only 17 cars behind the Leaf, but in the following month, sales of the Volt plunged to just 561 cars, while those of the LEAF took off with a record 1,708 units, giving Nissan’s EV the lead. The LEAF costs $33,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, while the Volt costs $41,000 before government incentives.

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GM Warns Police, but not Civilians, on Defective Impalas, Faces Lawsuit

A class-action suit has been filed against General Motors in Detroit concerning a defect in the suspension rods of more than 400,000 2007-2008MY Chevrolet Impalas that causes premature wear to the rear tires.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a woman from Pennsylvania named Donna Trusky, who wants GM to replace the defective suspension rods on 423,000 Impalas from the 2007-2008MY the company sold over a two-year period.

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Mitsubishi Updates i-MiEV, Slashes Prices and Increases Autonomy

The electric car war rages on and the latest entrant is Mitsubishi’s new model year version of the i-MiEV that was revealed today in Japan. The most important changes that Mitsubishi made to its all-electric city car is the introduction of a new lower-cost base model and improvements to the standard version in order to extend its driving range.

The new budget model is called the ‘M’ and its price comes down to 2.6 million Yen (US$32,070 -€22,170) or 1,880,000 Yen (US$23,190 - €16,040) after Japanese government subsidies. It is powered by an electric motor producing 41-horses and has a reduced driving range of 120 kilometers (75 miles).

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Subaru Signs MoU to Manufacture Compact SUV in Malaysia

Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI) today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Tan Chong Group for the local production of an unnamed compact SUV in Malaysia.

The only compact SUV in Subaru’s current range is the Forester, though the vehicle in question may be the upcoming Impreza-based crossover that was previewed by the XV Concept (pictured above) at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show in China this past April.

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VW’s Force is Strong: German Brand Scoops 34 Awards in Cannes

Volkswagen won an amazing 34 “Lions” in the 58th International Festival of Creativity in Cannes. The German automaker, which came away with more awards than ever before (8 Golden, 14 silver and 11 Bronze), also won a “Titanium Lion” for the “Think Blue” campaign.

However, the star of the show was, of course, “The Force”, Volkswagen’s extremely successful TV ad that features a Lilliputian Darth Vader wannabe and the new Passat. This ad alone, which has been watched by over 40 million viewers on Youtube, won three awards, two Gold and one Bronze.

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Caterham Logos to Appear on Team Lotus’ F1 Cars

It’s funny how things turn out sometimes. In 1973, Caterham, which was founded in the 1960s as a Lotus dealer, acquired the rights to build the Seven from Lotus. Now, Team Lotus has purchased Caterham Cars through a holding company, part owned by Malaysian Tony Fernandes. Read more »

Police Forces in Georgia and Iowa Sold on GM’s New Chevy Caprice PPV

General Motors has began delivering its first 2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) to law enforcement officers across the U.S. Among the first to receive GM’s new patrol car are police departments in Forsyth County, Georgia and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton said that after trying out the Chevy for a month his office decided to replace its current fleet of around 175 other patrol vehicles with Caprice PPVs.

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Land Rover Begins Series Production of Range Rover Evoque

Series production of the long-anticipated Range Rover Evoque began on Monday, July 4, at Land Rover’s Halewood plant. The “baby Range” has already raked in 18,000 advance orders from customers in more than 170 countries worldwide, and is expected to contribute to the UK economy with a £ 2 billion annual export value, along with another £ 2 billion spent on UK suppliers. Read more »