Did you hear that? Somewhere an angel just got its wings! We know this because the unlikely has happened and it has happened for the sake of a cleaner tomorrow. Ford and Toyota have teamed up to bring consumers a new ‘rear-wheel drive platform for light trucks and SUV’s.

The leader in Hybrid vehicles and a longtime light truck builder are merging for this one project in what is being called a “memorandum of understanding” for the “equal partners”.

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Early Wednesday morning Toyota released another recall. This time the recall is affecting 82,200 Toyota vehicles. The vehicles affected are 36,700 Lexus Rx 400h’s and 45,500 Highlander 2007 – 2006 Hybrid SUV’s.

Toyota said the affected vehicles’ hybrid system has a computer board with inadequate soldering that could be damaged during high-load driving. If damage were to occur, the company said the vehicles would either continue to operate under reduced power for a short distance, or coast to a stop.
The automaker said it is working on obtaining replacement parts, and for now will notify owners of possibly faulty vehicles by mid-July. MSNBC

Toyota, like many Japanese companies, is working hard at recovering from the devastating tsunami and earthquake that destroyed much of the country’s southern coast. News like this is not helping Toyota’s recovery.

There aren’t too many people on the planet as lucky as Janice Maffucci of Newark, New Jersey. 36-years ago, Janice parked her car in front of a Post Office only to return to an empty parking spot. She reported her 1969 Chevy Camaro SS as stolen to the local police, but the classic beauty was never found.

Jump to Santa Maria, California 36-years later. Keith Williams saw a 1969 Chevy Camaro SS for sale on eBay and new he had to have it. After purchasing the car, Williams discovered the classic didn’t have all of it’s classic parts, making the car enthusiast suspicious. After checking with his local CHP (California Highway Patrol) department, the Camaro in question was found to have been stolen all the way across country in 1975.

Janice Muffucci was contacted and the very surprised and extremely happy New Jersey resident is now awaiting the return of her beauty. In the meantime, the police are tracing the steps in hopes of getting to the original theives. No word on whether or not Mr. Williams will be getting his eBay cash back.

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From the side it looks like a Porcshe Targa that is swelling up from a bee sting, from the back it looks like a late model VW that has received chop shop treatment, and from the front it looks like a VW Beetle, but better. From where I’m sitting, it looks like I’m going to want one later this fall.

The brand new 2012 VW Beetle has been officially unveiled at the Shanghai auto show in China, and it is already turning heads. Volkswagen says they are aiming for the American male dollar, and a stronger global presence with the VW Beetle line. They made it longer, sleeker and just plain ol cooler than the now discontinued model. Of course no VW will ever be as cool and original as the late 60′s, early 70′s VW Bugs, but this new design comes damn close.

So far on paper, the one drawback is the gas mileage” “22 city, 31 highway (manual trasmission) b22/29 (automatic).” I expect more out of a Beetle.

The interior has been updated as well, looking to appeal to drivers wanting style and leather. The flower vase is gone, and yes, that is a good thing.

There is no concrete date on the release, only that the 2012 VW Beetle will be available in the fall of 2011, somewhere around September/October. There is also no word yet on how much. There have been comparisons to the Mini Cooper, leaving some to speculate that the cost will start around $20,000 for a base model. But VW says the comparison only applies to it’s mystic and originality. Let’s hope so, if it’s overpriced it will set on the showroom floor. There are plenty of fantastic new American and other import cars with very competitive sticker prices.

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If you are in your 2011 Volkswagen Jetta right now, how in the hell are you reading this? If you’re about to get into your 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, read this now. There is a major recall on the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta do to an issue that could shut the engine off while you are driving. According to Volkswagen, a defect has been found in some Jetta’s that causes the engine to turn off when the horn is honked. Yes, honk your horn, turn the car off.

There are roughly 71,000 Jetta’s on the road that are under the American recall. Any Volkswagen Jetta sold between March 2010 and March 2011, should drive their Jetta’s over to the nearest Volkswagen dealer. But whatever you do, don’t honk at anyone.

Better yet, before you go give Volkswagen a call: Customer Care at 1-800-822-8987

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The surprisingly good looking Chevy Volt makes its grand entrance! GM’s plug and go car is actually very good looking and will most likely turn a few heads while quietly gliding down some downtown street, but at a $41,000 base price, there may not be too many of them to look at. Then again, GM has put together a nice little lease price. $350 a month for three years. This could get a few more heads in the door. Another nice incentive is a $7,500 federal tax credit, which will kick in with a purchase, making the base price roughly $33,000. But who buys a brand new car with the base package?

If you’re looking to take advantage of the attractive $350 a month lease price, you’ll need $2,500 in cash, but anyone looking to lease will have the option to buy the Volt after the lease is up, right around the time when GM works out all the bugs with the 2015 Volt.

Anyway you shake, GM should be given a bit of credit here, they have developed an electric car that actually looks like something you may want to drive.

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Has this happened to you? You’re on the freeway, you pass a slow driver in front of you but when it’s safe to slow to regular speed, you’re Toyota says, not right now. That’s what happened to a California man. His Prius gas pedal stuck and sent his emissions saving vehicle to speeds upwards of 90mph before highway patrol was able to slow him to a stop.

This won’t look good on Toyota’s “we’re fixing it” record.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

GM has wow’d them with it’s new “concept car” the Cadillac XTS Platinum Luxury Hybrid. For anyone who has ever been to a car show, you know that most concept cars never look like the automobile that rolls off the mass assembly line, if it ever does. But if GM can manage to keep this concept design and rich feature list, the embattled Detroit car maker just may have a hit on their hands.

The new Caddie has a 350-horsepower V-6 engine and two two electric motors, all controlled by a computer that tells the car which of the engines to use for every condition. Magnetic ride control, which uses wheel sensors to adjust the suspension for optimum smooth handling. It also has touch-screen entertainment, navigation and info systems, that will no doubt accommodate either Apple, Microsoft, Google or Blackberry. Or all of the above.

Does GM actually have the guts and cash to put a All Wheel Drive, V6 – Plug In Hybrid luxury Cadillac on the road? We shall see.

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This is a seriously messed up ad. I know that sex can sell blueberry chewing gum, but the old adage is really beginning to push the limits of common sense. I’ve seen a few ads lately on American Television that made me question my ow level of liberalism. This particular ad is for Australian audiences. The Ad was the winner of a competition by Toyota to promote the new Toyota Yaris. The spot that won is a spot filled with pornographic sexual innuendo between a father and a young man who has come to take his daughter out. It even throws in a little incest: “She can take a good pounding in any direction.” That’s the father talking about his daughter.

Needless to say, women are not happy about this. However, the ad outraged both men and women, and Toyota pulled the ad and apologized.

Meanwhile, here in a America, there are a few ads that have blown my mind. Sadly, and it shocks me that I feel this way, I don’t believe these should have ever been allowed to air –mainly because I have seen them on channels and at hours where young children could see them. I think we need to let kids have innocence for as long as they possibly can. They’re already bombarded with far too much as it is.

If you’re still not convinced that the future will be in the palm of your hands, then you’re not paying attention. The latest example is some sweet news from the world of electric cars. The highly anticipated Chevy Volt will be making it’s debut with iPhone and Blackberry apps at the ready.

VP Brent Dewar of Chevrolet, slid this slide of a Blackberry Storm seemingly controlling the vehicle. Of course the touchscreen device won’t be getting you out of a sticky fire fight with henchmen, but the apps for both devices will let you control when the Volt gets more juice, as well as providing users with a direct line to OnStar.

Word is other devices will be included in the app roll out. Fast moving Android OS is sure to be one of them.

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Unfortunately it looks as though this want be coming to the US anytime soon. The brand new Sai which means “talent/color” is the next gas saver in the Toyota line up. A very slick looking 4 door Sedan that gets roughly 54 miles per gallon. The Sai will go on sale in Japan on December 7th, and only 3,000 of them will hit the road.

When it goes on sale it will be asking a hefty price, $37,000. But what’s $37,000 when compared to luxurious driving in a green powered, gas station dodging 4-door Sedan?

Toyota is in the midst of the largest recall in the US ever for the car maker. Today they announced a recall to go into effect by next week when all owners of the affected autos should have been notified. The problem is the driver-side floor-mat. They can get stuck against the accelerator pedal causing the auto to speed up without warning, leading to a crash. There have been 102 reported incidents, enough to take a serious look into the matter which resulted in today’s recall notice.

Spokesman Irv Miller
“A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death,” Miller said.

If your car is on the list, you may want to remove your mat until you get your notice and can have it fixedl.

The recall effects these models:

2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.

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GM says that there is an expected increase in the sales of their automobiles, so to meet the coming demand they are recalling 2,400 laid off workers. Michigan, Kansas and Indiana are the three states that will see a few of their unemployed back on the assembly line. GM will push the start button on 24 hour plants. Third shifts and parts factories positions will be filled by the re-hired GM automakers. That’s good news in a small package numbers wise.

The bad news is the Detroit Lions are still a crappy team.

If you’ve been waiting for the first electric Volkswagen, here’s a look at what it won’t look like by the time the concept goes into full production. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Deemed “The Beetle of the 21st Century,” the lightweight 2,387 pound, E-Up is said by the German company, to be on track for a 2013 release.

Have a look at more pictures than you could ever imagine of a car, that’s just a concept, hence the term Concept car.

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The highly popular and very effective “Cash For Clunkers” program is coming to an end folks. You only have a few more days to take advantage of getting a new car for that piece of junk sitting on your front yard.

The Transportation Department put the word out that they will be ending the $3 billion dollar government funded program effective Monday at 8 p.m. EDT. The program has helped ailing car dealerships regain sales floor tracking by giving Americans with clunkers $3,500 or $4,500, toward the purchase of a new piece of junk car.

Now that you know, you’ve got a busy weekend.

If anyone is still in doubt about how much power social networking is wielding onto modern day life, think again. General Motors unveiled their plans for a new Buick SUV to a select group of journalist and Twitter users, the result was the cancelation of another road behemoth. Tweeter dubbed the new SUV as the “Vuick” because it looked like a child of the Saturn Vue. GM calmly shoved the design papers in an undisclosed desk somewhere in Detroit.

From Bloomberg News:

“We were all struck by the consistency of the criticism,” Stephens wrote. “It didn’t fit the premium characteristics that customers have come to expect from Buick.” He didn’t elaborate on the vehicle’s shortcomings. — Vice Chairman Tom Stephens

“It’s obviously a sign of a faster GM and a GM more open to outside feedback,” said Jim Hall, principal of auto consulting firm 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Michigan. “It also suggests there were already concerns inside the company about the product.”

Rebranding a mediocre model with a new name was typical of the “old GM,” blogger Joel Feder said last week on his Twitter account. He called the car hideous and a crying shame. “#Vuick must die,” Feder wrote.

Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson has said he wants to transform GM to be more responsive to customers and make speedier decisions.

This seems to also show a departure from the old GM days of ‘We’ll just put any ol piece of crap out, somebody will buy one,’ and the ushering in of actually listening to what consumers want in a vehicle. And again, it also demonstrates the power of new media like Twitter.

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Well folks, cleaner driving is on it’s way… to American autos. The first Chevy Volt has been built by GM, marking the beginning of American built automobiles that are cleaner and leaner. Actually, this is the very first of the integration vehicles that will be used to get the real one right for the assembly of the Volts to roll off the 2010 assembly line.

“The purpose for the integration vehicle builds is two-fold,” GM spokesman Rob Peterson told Wired.com. “First, they validate our production design, vehicle safety and performance capabilities. Just as important, the build activity provides valuable insight into the final vehicle assembly process to ensure a high-level of build quality and manufacturing efficiency when production begins in November 2010.”

Engineers will assemble the first of the integration vehicles by hand, a process that will take about two weeks. Production will ramp up to a rate of 10 a week by mid-July, and Peterson says GM plans to have 80 cars on the road by fall. Early next year, GM will begin building “several hundred” more pre-production vehicles at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant that will produce the Volt we’ll see in showrooms by the end of 2010.

Sorta exciting isn’t it!?

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Green Power is coming to the White House in a lot of ways since Obama took office.   But probably the most note worthy can late Thursday evening when the President announced that he would be buying 2,500 Hybrid cars from GM.  The move is in keeping with his campaign promise to be Green

This will also help the ailing car company with a little cash for goods instead of simply giving them more money.

Earlier this week Obama dispatched a team of 15 finance experts to Detroit to work with General Motors and Chrysler on restructuring efforts. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department began to release $5 billion in aid to parts suppliers. And yesterday Ed Montgomery, the president’s new adviser on auto communities and workers, visited Ohio to discuss what assistance might be needed there.

By June 1, the government plans to spend $285 million in stimulus funds to buy fuel-efficient vehicles from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The purchase is slated to include 2,500 hybrid sedans, the largest one-time purchase of hybrid vehicles to date for the federal fleet. — Washington Post

It’s highly doubtful that you will ever be able to get behind the wheel of this concept Corvette Stingray, but GM should seriously think about it.  Corvette fans are sure to appreciate this design which is to be “Sideswipe” in the upcoming sequel to Transformers.  Oh, and the hot new Chevy Volt will be appearing as well.  I wonder if “Jolt” will need less energy to fight longer?

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The hits keep on coming folks.  Fresh off the heels of over 40,000 lost American jobs last week, General Motors starts off the week with another staggering number for the unemployment line.  10,000 GM employees around the globe will be headed for the line with about 3,400 of them stateside.  Others in GM’s work force will see their salary cut 10% to prove to the government that GM is worthy of the Bailout cash they received.  

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In today’s economy it seems a bit ridiculous to discuss a brand new Bentley, but hell, it’s almost just as ridiculous to talk about a breakfast splurge at iHop, so why not talk about one of the most expensive cars on the market.  In particular when the car most associated with Champagne dreams and Grey Poupon suddenly goes Earth conscience.  

At the Geneva Motor Show in March, the very first biofuel Bentley will be unleashed and unleashed with 600 horsepower under the hood. 

Press Release:

On March 3rd at the 2009 International Geneva Motor Show, Bentley will reveal its fastest, most powerful production car ever. Delivering supercar performance, this new model is very much the extreme Bentley. Importantly it will run on biofuel, delivering stage one of Bentley’s environmental commitment and pioneering the use of this fuel in the luxury sector.

The new Bentley could very well be a flex fuel ride, however the bigger and more interesting point is that it could run on McDonalds French Fries.  Picture that for the worlds classiest automobile.  

No point by point specs yet, we’ll all have to wait until March.

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About a month ago, while on my way to a destination in LA, I saw a black car sitting next to me while stopped at a stop light.  I was transfixed, I couldn’t tell what it was because it had no markings, but it was SMOKIN!!!  

It was the new Dodge EV, some lucky guy had the test vehicle and was speeding around late at night blowing minds.  Shown here at the LA Auto Show, the Dodge EV slated for a 2010 appearance, looks good even with a retina searing yellow paint job.  Hey Dodge, why do you always show off your cars in the ugliest colors?

The lightweight chassis was developed by Louts, and it is an all electric sports car with a 200-kw (268 hp) electric motor with 480 lb.-ft. of torque, lithium-ion batteries and regenerative braking.  This is a SCORE!

Good job Dodge, now make it happen, and when you do, it better look just like this, sans the color.

Read via [Engadget] 

The $319,653 Ferrari 599 GTB will be the model for the soon to come flying Ferrari “Autovolantor”.  Moller International is claiming that they will be able to bring a 150mph (Air) 100mph (ground) supercool, super futuristic flight of fancy to consumers in two short years.

So in 2009, when that Ferrari lands in the parking spot next to you in the Target parking lot, you’ll now what it is.

The plane/car will reach an altitude of 5,000 ft designers say.

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I’ve never been a big fan of Audi, but this is styling.  Yeah it’s fast, 0-60 in 7.9 seconds flat, reaching its top speed of 124mph, and yeah, its got power for a Hybrid electric car.  A combined 1.4 TFSI gas engine with a 20 kW (27 hp) electric engine.  And yes, while running solely on electric power, the fact that the A1 Sportback Hybrid will get you drive time of 60 miles before another charge is needed is a fantastic thing.

But this 5 door little beauty has something extra, 72.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 92 g/km.  That’s getting dangerously close to 100mpg, the stuff dreams are made of.

The A1 Sportback Hybrid was shown off at the Paris Auto Show as a one two punch from the 3-door shown in Japan last year.

There are a good deal of technical advances in this concept such as the use of selected mobile phones controlling the navigation system through a WLAN connection.  Sweet.

Of course there is no word on when or how much and who gets it first, but you can grab more details here

via inhabitat

 

Photos leaked and then Toyota went ahead and ripped open the entire bag, except there were still no instructions or details.  but the images are out and all can now see what will be the 2010 Toyota look-alike contest is well under way with Toyota winning.  Let’s hope the plug-in and solar panels still hold up as new!

Check out a few more shots 

 

I’m not so sure about this one, but it would be fun to give this Software a try.  If it works as promised, the dreaded trip to the mall with the dreaded trip back to the parking lot, could be a whole lot more fun.

 

 

Do you ever forget where you parked your car?

Car Spotter is the easiest way to find your way back to your parked car.  Just open Car Spotter, wait for the GPS to locate you and tap the car icon.  Your car’s location will be saved.  It’s that simple!

Car Spotter uses the iPhone’s highly accurate GPS to save the location of your parked car and gives you tons of extras to help you find your way back every time.

Recommended for your iPhone 3G only.

Features:

1. One-touch button to save the GPS location of your car.

2. Built-in timer

3. Built-in camera

4. Built-in audio recorder

5. Built-in text notes section

6. Options to adjust accuracy, map type, map view, and zoom level

Car Spotter is your car’s best friend!

$2.99 iPhone Applications now available at iTunes.com! Shop Now!

Tech analysts at iSuppli say 58 percent of all cars sold in 2009 will offer iPod connectivity.  82% of them will come Bluetooth ready.  Auto manufactures have figured out that iPod support sells car, no iPod support, not so much.  

“The automotive industry is at the point where in-vehicle technologies — or the lack of them — are influencing sales,” says Phil Magney, iSuppli’s vice president of research. Technologies once the domain of luxury vehicles are now make-or-break options on even entry-level cars from the likes of Honda and Hyundai, he says. — wired

This really speaks volumes as to where the iPod is in sales.  

I don’t want to step on all the hard work that went into creating this gas powered Huffy, nut I thought the whole idea of the 21st century was to move everything towards Green Power?  This Huffy has been modified to run on gas at top speeds of 40 MPH.  It gets 125 mpg which is pretty good by any standard, but then again, we’re talking about a bike, not even a slightly heavier moped. 

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This is one of those times anyone over the age of 18 can look at anyone under 18 and snicker.  Free time and discovery just got a little harder for teens thanks to Ford motor company and their new “MyKey”.

MyKey will come on most of Ford’s 2010 models, and will keep teens to under 80MPH as well as annoy them until they put their seatbelts on and keep the radio to a soft hum.  A computer chip built into the key will give parents of teens piece of mind the first night they’re allowed to take the car. 

As for teens, you’re boned if your parents get a new Ford. 

FORD:

“Our message to parents is, hey, we are providing you some conditions to give your new drivers that may allow you to feel a little more comfortable in giving them the car more often,”

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Those tax incentives that were put in place by the Bush administration that allowed buyers of huge gas guzzling SUV’s to basically end up with a tank that amounted to the price of a low end motorcycle, are finally coming to a product where they belong.  Green Power

The up coming Chevy Volt hybrid just got a little help from the Bail out bill that creates a $7,500 tax incentive for buyers who purchase the eco-friend(lier) electric vehicle from the US automaker. 

Not sure how much of a consolation that will be since the Volt is said to put buyers back $40,000, but hey, it’s a start in the right direction.

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Could you imagine Tubbs and Crochet on this, who would ride on the back?  This is the new Ferrari concept motorcycle designed by Amir Glinik.

  

I have to say, if this or anything close to it goes into production, riders are going to morgage their lives to get their hands on one.

After a specially hard weekend without sleeping and while our new year evening is enter i would like to wish a happy new year “Shana Tova” to all of our students and visitors. i would like to thank in person to all journalists and web site editors for finding this project interesting. special thanks to Mr. Avi Hagai Israel, Mr Otto Ranchi Italy, and Mr. Azhar Hussain From Britain. this motorcycle can be powered by electric too but please lets put a speaker under the hood and play the music generated by a Ferrari gasoline engine…

Check out the full page

Chrysler is not going to be left out of the whole Green Power thing, nope, they’ve introduced their own line of hybrid electric cars, but to be more exact, they’ve introduced their concept electric cars which of course means when they hit the streets, they won’t look as good.

Which is a shame because this Dodge EV kicks butt!  Click the link to see all of them in action.

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