Concept Cars

Mercedes is set to introduce its first hybrid automobile. The S-Class S400 BlueHYBRID is powered by a 3.5 liter V-6 coupled to 15 kW electric motor. Though the name includes “blue” -- a title oft associated with the automaker's BlueTEC clean diesel technologies -- the hybrid shares nothing with the ...    Read more

Audi, the inventor of TDI, blazes a trail in the field of engine manufacture. At the 27th annual Lake Wörther Tour being held at the end of May in the Austrian province of Carinthia, the brand behind the four rings is showcasing this technology's potential with a sensational study.The two-liter ...    Read more

Developers of electric cars have been concerned about how to offer the batteries that power such cars. Should the battery be a part of the car that is sold or leased separately? Should the battery be removable so that it can be replaced by another battery when necessity calls for ...    Read more

Back in 2002, Volkswagen debuted the VW 1-liter Concept and its tobaggan-like seating arrangment and 200 mpg engine. Say what? Yup, you heard right. These days when we find a car that delivers 35 or so miles a gallon, we consider that car fuel efficient. But what about a car ...    Read more

We suppose we'd all really like a bigger IQ, but in Toyota's case, it'd like a bigger version of the iQ city car.Currently a rival to Smart -- and similar in size and packaging to boot -- Toyota engineers are exploring the development of a larger version of the car ...    Read more

The XH-150 Extreme hybrid SUV is the AFS Trinity Power Corporation's answer to the problem of what will propel our cars in the future.It is comprised of a typical hybrid setup, which is a gas motor coupled to an electric motor and batteries.With a combined 370 horsepower, 200 of which ...    Read more

Is the introduction of a new concept car proof positive that the manufacturer also intends to produce that car for sale to the public?BMW has introduced a new concept which is a bow to the company’s first and only mid-engine car, the M1, which was introduced 30 years ago. This ...    Read more

Every once in a while a concept car comes along that rises above the usual riff-raff to be seen as nothing less than a piece of automotive art. Something that will no doubt stand the tests of time and cause car nuts everywhere to get that little pitter patter of ...    Read more

As if the commitment to an expanded model line and development mules being spotted abroad weren't enough, more fuel has been added to the fire by a posting on the My.IS forums that certain nameplates have been trademarked.The news? The IS250C, IS300C, and IS350C are now the property of Lexus.The ...    Read more

Promised to be delivered by 2010, the development of the Chevrolet Volt has been a top priority for General Motors since it promised so much with the new car. Highest on the development list is the batteries to be used by the Volt. The batteries are so important due to ...    Read more

We wonder if a business should rely on its success by making custom products to the specifications of the customer. Witness to what happen to an engineer who built an amphibious car following the detailed instructions of a customer.Tim Dutton, managing director of Amphibious Cars Ltd., Littlehampton, United Kingdom, constructed ...    Read more

It appears that the 2009 Ford Flex is already attracting some attention. The Flex was exhibited in a Ford showroom in Las Vegas, Nevada recently. There, a team of designers, engineers, and marketers from Ford were also present answering questions from consumers. Pundits say that there are a few challenges ...    Read more

Toyota is serious about ensuring the performance of it sports car.Details are sketchy. There are rumors persisting, for example, of F1 derived motors and flappy-paddle gearboxes. Toyota apparently feels that simply developing the car on the Nurburgring is not enough to ensure competitiveness for its car, it will be going ...    Read more

We think it was a New York World’s Fair in the early 1960s that first predicted cars that drive themselves. Some of us remember attending the General Motors pavilion and seeing a model of toy cars on a highway system and an announcer saying that the cars will be using ...    Read more

BEIJING – The sleek Buick Invicta show car revealed here in conjunction with Auto China 2008 is Buick’s strongest statement yet of its deliberately international plans. The four-door midsize sedan with a coupe-like roofline presents bold direction for Buick’s new generation of vehicles in the world’s two biggest automotive markets ...    Read more

Porsche may be getting some competition. And the rival? Mercedes-Benz. Talk is that the German automaker will be introducing a new sports car with gull-winged doors. The new car will be made in Germany and based on the existing Mercedes SL.There has been no comment from Mercedes. Other sources say ...    Read more

Apparently General Motors is serious about developing a fuel-cell powered vehicle. The company recently announced that it will be increasing the size of its fuel-cell vehicle fleet every three years with plans to have as many as 1 million of such vehicles by 2020. Yow! Talk about the "atomic" car ...    Read more

General Motor's Pontiac division will soon be offering a version of its sister company Holden “Ute” here as a G8 sport truck. It's a sort of modern day El Camino (from Australia!), which in and of itself can be seen as slightly odd since the El Camino was a Chevy.Regardless, ...    Read more

Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra will be showcasing a hybrid diesel variant of its Scorpio SUV at the Society of Automotive Engineers annual meeting this week.Mahindra & Mahindra calls the concept an “entry-level hybrid.” A 2.2 liter inline-four diesel mated to 288-volt Ni-metal hydride battery pack provides motivation to the ...    Read more

For years, the auto manufacturers have used concept vehicles to develop new technology, new design standards, and new materials for use on vehicles that are produced later. You might say that concept vehicles are used as a way to test markets to see what people think of the new ideas ...    Read more

Once upon a time, the Ford Taurus was the benchmark of the midsize sedan class. The imports hoped to be on its level.Times have changed, of course. Ford is no longer the juggernaut it once was, the Taurus is nothing more than a nameplate and, worse, on a car that ...    Read more

As well founded as Toyota's reputation is for having a bland product line, especially in terms of driver excitement, it has one brand within the fold that arguably offsets all of that. Subaru.Though not outright owners, the company's controlling interest none-the-less means that Subaru is an extended part of the ...    Read more

Well, the idea in car technology is now obviously going “green.” And that means electric cars powered by batteries that can be re-charged from electrical outlets at people’s homes or by hydrogen fuel cells. But what if cars could be powered by the sun? Now that’s the ultimate “green” car, ...    Read more

Last year, General Motors solicited the help of the public to decide which small car it would put into production. The three concepts, the Beat, Groove and Trax, were displayed at the New York Auto Show, and enthusiasts were encouraged to visit a website and select their favorite. ...    Read more

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - March 31, 2008... BMW announces its latest milestone in its pursuit of the hydrogen future, the BMW Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel. Based on the BMW Hydrogen 7 bi-fuel version (gasoline and hydrogen), the mono-fuel vehicle's internal combustion engine is optimized to run solely on hydrogen and shares ...    Read more