If you follow green auto tech at all, you know that Smart forTwo has become increasingly popular for urban dwellers, but have you ever test driven one? In today’s Media Monday, thanks to Zack Williams and YouTube, we get to go for a virtual ride-along in the 2010 Smart forTwo Cabriolet. Enjoy!
It’s been three years since whispers of a hybrid version of the Honda Fit (marketed as the Honda Jazz in Europe) first began stirring the imaginations of car aficionados, and now it’s finally happening: next month, and the Paris Motor Show, the 2011 Honda Fit Hybrid will make it’s debut, and, according to Hybrid Cars, it won’t just be the smallest hybrid being offered, it’s likely to have the lowest price as well.
The actual car will be on sale in Japan this fall, and is expected in the United States next year. The Japanese price will be around $18,600, which is roughly $3,500 less than the current “cheapest hybrid,” the Honda Insight, and about $4,600 more expensive than the gasoline-engine Fit. While pricing in Japan doesn’t typically match pricing in the U.S., if Honda sticks with their strategy, the American version will probably have a base MSRP of about $17,000.
Honda is withholding the hybrid Fit’s specs until the Paris Motor Show, which runs from September 30 to October 17, but experts agree that it’s probably going to have better fuel economy than the gasoline-only Honda Fit, which makes 28 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on open highway, and many anticipate it will come in second behind the Toyota Prius as the second most fuel efficient hybrid on the market.
2011 Honda Fit Hybrid | Source: HybridCars.com | Click to Enlarge
Automotive News is reporting today that Volkswagen AG will be selling the new, compact Audi A1 outside of Europe next year.
According to Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi is increasing production of the A1 to meet greater demand. The car, which was originally meant only for the European market, will be offered globally (except for China and the United States) in 2011. Schwarzenbauer added that this smallest of Audi’s models will be available in China sometime after 2011, but that it wouldn’t be available to U.S. consumers until the model’s second generation “at the earliest.”
The Audi A1, which is designed to compete with BMW AG’s 1-series and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz A-class, will go on sale this Friday, August 27th, and – at least in Germany – the base price will be 15,800 euros.
Schwarzenbauer said that it was interest generated from the Audi A1’s website that spurred the plan to expand sales of the car. In an interview on Tuesday, he said, “We will expand our production capacities by 20 percent” for the A1. The original production plan was for only 100,000 A1s per year, all coming from the company’s factory in Brussels.
Audi, which could set a record sales goal of more than 1.08 million cars and SUVs this year, has set its sights on dethroning BMW as the world’s largest luxury carmaker by 2015, when it wants to reach annual sales of 1.5 million vehicles.
All of the German big three automakers, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, have seen increased sales this years, thanks to greater demand in China, the largest car market in the world, and a rebound in the United States.
Subaru has always been known for interesting ad campaigns. This year, they continue to remind people to “love the road you’re on,” especially if you’re driving a 2010 Subaru Outback.
News from last week’s automotive party in Monterey, CA: Ininit has announced their forthcoming IPL. What do those letters stand for? Nothing other than Infiniti Performance Line, a series of Infiniti cars tricked out to feel more like performance sports cars, but at a more reasonable price.
The first model to receive the IPL treatment is the G Coupe, which will have a 348 hp VQ family V-6 engine and a specially tuned exhaust system. It also has updated shock absorbers and increased spring rates, as well as an option of either a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic (with paddle shifters!) automatic transmission.
The outside of the G will also be modified, with a spiffy new body kit, and new wheels, tires and paint colors.
Reviewers from most of the industry authorities, including Motor Trend, haven’t yet published reviews of the new Inifiniti line, but the editor of one of the MT blogs expressed excitement about the G Coupe itself, as well as the whole line.
Frankly, we’re excited, too.
