Moller has been promising the world that it would sell a flying car since the 80s. Now it is making good on that promise, sorta. As reported back in July, Moller now has put its saucer-like M200G for sale on eBay.
This could be a daredevil’s ultimate dream (and an insurance company’s nightmare.) Nothing like risking you life piloting an experimental aircraft/car that has proven it can fly around open fields (Moller claims it has been demonstrated over 200 times.) Bidding starts at $20,000 but from previous information, it is likely the Moller is looking to get over $150,000 for this widow maker.
The good news is that since the M200G is a prototype, there will only be one idiot flying above you during your morning commute. The bad news is that Moller plans to sell more flying cars next year. We all know how stressful morning traffic can be, but please try not to laugh too hard when you co-workers crash into freeway exit signs.
Volvo is taking some big steps to go green. Volvo announced that by late 2012 the line-up will include a hybrid model and starting 2009 all models will include start-stop technology. The hybrids will be sold in Europe and the United States.
The start-stop technology, which turns off the engine at idle (like at stoplights,) will be introduced on Volvo’s smaller cars, such as the C30, S40 and V50. Later, start-stop will be spread to the rest of the lineup. This is a feature that is becoming available in the economy cars of Europe, but has yet to be introduced in the U.S.
Diesel hybrids will appear first in the larger sedans, crossovers and SUVs. Volvo’s hybrids will be able to operate on battery power alone at low speeds. Similar to Toyota’s second generation Hybrid Synergy Drive system found on the Highlander, the front wheels are driven by a variant of Volvo’s five-cylinder turbodiesel, while the rear wheels get a separate electric motor.
Although Volvo has only been offering V8 engines for a few years, it is studying whether to stop using them in favor of turbocharged six-cylinder engines on its high-end models.
Lexus unveiled at the Paris Auto Show the revised 2009 IS line-up that includes many small additions that add up to significant improvements in the car. The version shown in Paris is obviously the European model, but it is likely the same revisions will also make it to North America.
The updated IS model range features a revised front grille and bumper design. Also new power folding door mirrors now feature integral LED side turn indicators. There are new 17” and 18” alloy wheel designs. The new IS range is available in ten body colors including two new colors: Amber Mica and Truffle Mica.
On the technical side, the engine undercover has been redesigned to optimise airflow under the vehicle floor. The new design increases negative pressure under the car and generates more downforce. Revisions to the transmission shift pattern have yielded a CO2 emission cut by 8 to 3 percent depending on model.
The ultra-exclusive two-seat supercar seems to have the right recipe: a 700 hp V12, carbon fiber chassis, aluminum body, and the the usual graceful Aston design. All this also come with an exclusive price: likely $1.9 million.
Understatement can sometimes be a beautiful thing. This black-matte Ferrari Enzo was spotted at the Ferrari Racing Days held last weekend at the track at the Nürburgring in Germany. The car was flanked by its more traditional brothers painted in glossy factory red and black.
Although the owner is unknown, you can likely leave him (or her) a message directly on the car now that it has a chalkboard-like paint job. So is this a stealth beauty, or just the worst customized paint job since the golden Porsche?
Honda will unveil the next generation (ninth) Civic in 2010. Here is an exclusive rendering of what reports suggest the future car may looks like. Based on the OSM Concept unveiled by Honda at the British Motor Show, the future little Honda will likely look more aggressive in its European form and hopefully this look will spill over into North America.
Although Honda has not announced plans to bring the hatchback version of the Civic back to the U.S., we chose this rendering to give us all something to drool over. For Euro Civic fans, sources indicate that the future Civic hatchback will carry over the current single strip light cluster at the rear, but the split rear screen has been dropped to improve visibility.
Honda currently makes two different versions of the Civic. Just like the Accord, the car offered in Europe is a different design and rides on a different platform. The last two generations of the Civic in the U.S. have taken the car away from the youth and turned it into mom and pop’s second car. Gone are the days of the performance-oriented double-wishbone front suspension (2001), instead we get more interior room. It may be reliable, but it lost most of its passion.
The true hope is that with the 2010 update, we will get back the hatchback or at least something similar to the sporty design from our rendering of Honda’s own OSM Concept. Honda make it dependable, but make sure it has a pulse.
Following the approved $25 billion in loans to help U.S. based auto groups, Europe’s car makers plan to ask the European Commission for a €40 billion ($55.22 billion) loan. European car makers plan to use the loan to aide them toward meeting the 2012 EU mandate that calls for the automakers to lower carbon dioxide emissions. If America will give the money, why can’t the EU? After all, it will be used to accelerate the transition to environmentally friendly cars.
According to a spokesman for the automaker, "All European car makers agree on the [€40 billion] demand." Shocking.
Remember the funky C-Cactus Concept Citroen unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show? According to the company, this environmentally-friendly prototype will go into production, although they didn’t announced exactly when this will happen.
The concept is a pure electric vehicle, but the production version will also be offered with the company’s latest engine from the group: a four cylinder engine that delivers 70 to 100 horsepower and less than 100 g / km CO2.
Citroen says they will still create an electric version that will be powered by a lithium-ion battery with a range of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles). The top speed is up to 110 km/h (68 mph).
Innovative? Possibly. Pretty? NO. This is one of those cars that we can admire from a far and be glad that Citroen will not be cluttering the roads of North America with this one.
TopGear revealed on this issue magazine cover a new image of the Aston Martin One-77 supercar. As the name suggests, production is limited to a maximum of 77 individually numbered units, each priced at $1.9 million.
It will be powered by naturally aspired front mid-mounted 7.3 liter V12 engine that delivers over 700 hp and a peak torque of 750Nm (553 ft lbs). The engine is mated to a 6 speed ASM/SSM Automated Manual Transmission.
Land Rover presented at the Paris Auto Show the new Freelander 2 TD4_e, Land Rover’s most fuel-efficient vehicle to date. The fuel savings comes from the combination of using a diesel engine with a stop/start system (stopping the engine while the car is idling) that is becoming popular in frugal European cars.
The CO2 emissions of the Freelander 2 TD4_e are reduced by 8 percent, compared with the outgoing manual diesel Freelander 2. The 8 percent improvement equates to a CO2 emissions reduction of 15 g/km compared with the standard Freelander 2 TD4 manual (from 194 g/km to 179 g/km). In terms of fuel efficiency, consumption is improved from 37.7 mpg to 41.3 mpg. In heavy urban traffic, Land Rover engineers have measured fuel savings as high as 20 percent.
All this environmental friendliness now comes in a car that is 95 percent recyclable. The Freelander 2 TD4_e has not had an announcement for North America sales. Although we are enjoy green technologies and are starting to seek better fuel economy, it’s unclear if we are ready to buy diesel Land Rovers on a large scale.
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