Popular Mechanics just loves to spotlight the best in consumer electronics, and they recently selected their best of cars, trucks, and SUVs. PM has a list of vehicles that has many categories, including the most off-road capable. Should anyone be surprised that the winner was the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor?

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What you see there is the concept 2009 Honda Skydeck, which we may never see. Something that we might see is some more hybrids from Honda. Supposedly the company is working on “developing its proprietary Integrated Motor Assist hybrid platform so that it can once again be used to power larger vehicles like the Accord”.

There is even a rumor saying that Honda wants to put this hybrid power into a minivan before 2011. We will see.

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I don’t know if this comes as any surprise, but the Toyota Prius has won the car of the year at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Considering that this is the 30th anniversary of the show, the Prius was lined up with the winners from all previous years including last year’s winner, the Toyota IQ.

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The Tokyo Motor Show continues ahead full steam and the latest vehicle on display from Subaru is the Impreza WRX STI Carbon. This vehicle is a tuned version of the regular Impreza WRX STI with a carbon fiber roof, hence its name. Such a light weight roof makes for a lower center of gravity while also reducing its weight making for better handling.

Now, I’m all for the carbon fiber hood but the fact that Subaru plans to ship this vehicle with only a 5-speed automatic transmission makes me a little angry. I mean a rally car really, a rally car without the option for a manual gearbox? What is Subaru thinking?

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Tags: carbon, impreza, Rally, Subaru, tokyo motor show, wrx sti

The Lotus Scura is now on sale packed with a mean black-finish. The Scura features carbon fiber splitters, oil cooler inlet vanes and side airscoops. And while it does look like a mean machine similar to supercars in the market, it does have a touch of eco-friendliness to go. The Lotus Scura is lightweight and should address fuel consumption concerns for interested parties. There will only be 35 of them available and each retails for about 45,000 British Pounds.

(Source) Examiner

Tags: british pounds, carbon fiber splitters, friendliness, fuel consumption, interested parties, Lotus, mean machine, oil cooler, scura, vanes

The newest Ford F-150 was adjudged as the 2009 Truck of Texas, the latest off-road vehicle that is capable of taking on the toughest terrains there is. The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is a purpose-built high speed off-road truck that aims to be flexible as well for daily transportation needs. Among the features of the newest F-150 include a 5.4 liter SOHC V-8 engine that can go up to 320 HP and 390 ft.-lb. of torque. To date there have already been 3,000 orders received which should account for the strong demand for high-speed off-road trucks.

The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor will have a starting price of $38.995 and is already available at local Ford dealers.

(Source) Press

Tags: f 150 svt, Ford, ford dealers, ford f 150, ft lb, High-Speed, hp, liter sohc, raptor, road trucks, terrains, torque

Yesterday we told you that Ford’s hybrid sales were up 73% over last year but we had no idea the Detroit automaker was going to see this kind of success. Recent reports have surfaced that suggest Ford is dangerously close to surpassing Honda as the second best hybrid seller in the United States.

Let’s take a look at some numbers: Honda has sold 29,958 hybrid vehicles so far this year which is a 8% increase over last year while Ford sold 26,016 vehicles, a 73% increase over last year like we already told you.

If these trends continue, by this time next year we may very well be seeing the U.S. hybrid seller top 3 looking like Toyota, Ford, Honda. But don’t pop the champagne yet, Ford, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

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Tags: auto sales, Ford, Honda, hybrid, Toyota

No matter who you were, 2008 was a horrible year economically and if you were in the auto industry you felt it more than anyone else. Further proving this fact, Ford has today announced that their hybrid sales are up 73% over last year.

Below David Finnegan, marketing manger for Ford’s hybrid division, comments below:

Hybrid customers increasingly are considering Ford. More than 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid sales have been from non-Ford owners, and more than half of those are customers coming from import brands, mostly from Toyota and Honda.

Of course, Toyota is still the leading hybrid car seller with 144,351 units sold for the first 9 months of 2009, as compared to Ford’s 26,016. However, this is certainly a good thing for the American auto industry and they are going to need all the good things they can get.

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Qatar Automobiles has announced the all new 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero Sports today, offering an ideal vehicle for the family. The 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero Sports features a 7 seat vehicle bundled with power and performance that should be suited for its class. The Mitsubishi Pajero has been a familiar vehicle for off-road and large family use and this new offering should provide another option for people looking at SUV vehicles in the market. The 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero Sports is expected to make its way at local Qatar showrooms. No word on pricing and on whether it would be available internationally.

(Source) Ame Info

Tags: automobiles, Mitsubishi, mitsubishi pajero, showrooms, Sports, suv vehicles

Cash for Clunkers may be dead and gone but that doesn’t mean the government is going to stop giving out incentives for those who chose the green route. The latest announcement is regarding the Mercedes-Benz S400 which has the ability to net you up to $1,150 worth of tax credits.

The reason for this incentive is the IRS’ Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit which gives out tax credit for energy efficient cars. And, since the S400 features a whole slew of energy efficient technologies like regenerative braking and a lithium-ion battery in additino to its EPA rating of 19mpg city and 26mpg highway it makes sense why you would get such a credit.

via greencarcongress

Tags: alternative motor vehicle credit, blue hybrid, irs, Mercedes-Benz, s400

Nissan has annouced today that they will be recalling a staggering 143,000 vehicles of the 2008-2010 model year including the Cube, Murano, Rogue and Infiniti M35/M45.

Apparently, there is a problem with a nut in the Tire Pressure Monitoring system that has the possibility of corrosion due to salted roads. If this nut were to corrode it could cause the system to malfunction making the driver unaware of a possible deflation. Just imagine, the nut comes out and the system malfunctions and then sometime after you get a flat tire and aren’t made aware of it. Safety hazard? You betcha.

Nissan says to head to your local Infiniti or Nissan dealership to get the problem checked out.

via nhsta

Tags: Cube, Infiniti, m35, m45, Murano, Nissan, Recall, rogue

Late last month we told you that GM was in talks with Tengzhong to finally sell off the dying HUMMER brand. Well, today, reports have surfaced that say the deal is officially going down for $150 million.

This wad of cash will net Tengzhong 80% of HUMMER whos vehicles will still be built by GM through June 2011. The other 20% will be going to a private investor which means GM will finally be able to wipe their hands clean of the brand.

What’s really interesting though is the fact that HUMMER, an iconic American brand, is now a Chinese company. What will come from this? Only time will tell.

via autobloggreen

Tags: brand, GM, HUMMER, Sale, tengzhong

Autoblog has just gotten news that Porsche is currently working on a convertible version of their Panamera model. As you can see above, this is essentially the same car expect for the fact that it has a drop top roof. Then again, it does have just 2 doors instead of 4, which was one of the Panamera’s selling points.

Unfortunately that is about the extent of news we have regarding this convertible Porsche Panamera but as soon as more information is made known we will certainly get back to you.

Tags: convertible, panamera, Porsche, rumor

Nothing says “raging volcano of testosterone” like driving around in a cupcake with a top speed of seven miles per hour.

And nothing says “more money than you know what to do with” than dropping twenty five grand on the Neiman Marcus Cupcake Car.

See, every year around October or so, Neiman Marcus puts out this catalog of high-end merch.  They’ve had twenty million dollar submarines, a two million trip into space…but today, apparently, they realized people aren’t about to drop that kind of cash, so this year’s big ticket item is the twenty five thousand dollar Cupcake Car.

Your ride comes equipped with sprinkles and frosting, and a Californian artist will even customize your frosting job in any pattern you want.  So you can at least manage to salvage something of your manhood by getting YOUR seven mile an hour cupcake tricked out with bitchin’ flame graphics.

I know–I thought it was funny too.

Tags: Cupcake Car, customizable colors, high end merch, Neiman Marcus, submarine

Jeremy Walton today further proved the obvious, if you know how to actually drive efficiently you will achieve higher fuel efficiency. He did this during this year’s UK MPG Marathon where he drove a Ford Focus RS for 360-miles while maintaining a 32.05 mpg US rating.

To put this into perspective, the Ford Focus RS is rated in the US for just 25.1 mpg meaning Walton achieved 6.95 mpg higher than the factory rating.

Moral of the story: ease up on the pedal, you’ll save gas.

Press release after the break.

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continue reading "Ford Focus RS driven 360 miles while maintaining 32.05 mpg during UK MPG Marathon"

Tags: focus rs, fuel efficiency, hypermiling, uk mpg marathon