According to a new study from Grant Thornton LLP, the financial advisory firm, European and Asian automakers will roll out more cars in North America than Detroit’s ‘Big Three’ by the year 2012.

The study anticipates that after the completion of the restructuring of the domestic auto industry, the combined capacity of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC in the North American will decrease by more than 4 million units or a 35 percent decrease compared to 2008, for a total of 7.5 million units in 2012. The study also determines that this dramatic shift in production will have a big impact on North American parts suppliers that will need to guarantee more business from European and Asian makers.

Continue reading...

null

Chrysler confirmed last month that its Street and Racing Technology (SRT) division is safe from the company’s current budgetary cutbacks and we can expect to see new models from the performance branch over the coming years. The first of these may be a replacement for the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 which is a version based on the newly revealed 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Tagged as a 2012 model, the new model will probably arrive sometime in 2011.

Power is anticipated to come from a brand new 6.4L HEMI V8 engine rated at about the 500hp (373kW) and 500ft-lb (678Nm) of torque. This new engine will be called the 392 HEMI (referring to its capacity in cubic inches) and is expected to appear in updated versions of the Dodge Challenger and Charger in 2011. The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 will also sport a lowered ride height, stiffer suspension, and chunky SRT 5-spoke wheels with uprated brakes.

Continue reading...

Look at the car in the picture here and then think about the Tesla Roadster. Now tell me what do you think they have in common? Yes, they are both cars although one is more of a car than the other. And yes you got it, they are both electric. But Toyota has decided to create a concept electric, the FT-EV which is nowhere near as amazing as the Roadster.

The FT-EV will work on electricity and it will have a 50 mile range. When will it arrive? By 2012. And it will probably have an accessible price too. If it looks similar to the iQ micro-car it’s because it is based on it. Luckily it’s just a concept and things could still be improved by 2012. Toyota hasn’t released any real specs yet so we have no idea what’s inside there. I bet you’re wishing that Chrysler survives and makes that Circuit EV available sometime soon!

via Kicking Tires

Continue reading...

Renault is planning to develop new electric cars for the future. We’re going to have three models available by the 2012 Olympics in London. That’s the event where the French manufacturer will want to have the electric vehicles displayed.

We are looking at the electric version of the Kangoo MPV, the Megane sedan and a small city car based on a new platform. Renault plans to use these new models in London so they plan to set up charging station around London ready to replace batteries in about 5 minutes in case you failed to charge them overnight. You will get some 100 miles of range of each battery so the new electric Renault sound pretty good to me.

Continue reading...

My oh my, what do we have here? Check out those lines and that mean BMW look. It’s possibly the successor of the M1? This concept is said to be BMW’s green car of the future. Probably the M1 of 2012, although we are a long way to go on this one.

The car is rumored to pack a twin-turbocharged 3.0 liter inline six engine. Other features will be the use of direct-injection, brake regeneration, start-stop technology and the F1 kinetic energy recovery technology. Therefore fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions will be comparable with those of the 5-series sedans.

Well give this rumored M1 a final name, strap a price to it and bring it to some Auto Shows. I am sure it will raise an eyebrow or two!

via Autoblog

Continue reading...

For those of you interested in Audi vehicles we have some news, and it’s not only good. If you happen to know the RS5 and RS6 models you will know what I mean. The RS5 will arrive in the U.S. while the RS6 won’t make it there. At least you can admire it in the picture here!

Why you ask? It appears that it would be rather complicated, read expensive, to make the V10 pass the current U.S. standards. What’s the V10? Well that’s the twin-turbocharged engine the RS6 has.

As for the future, the third-generation RS6 is going to arrive in 2012. It’s been officially said that the V10 engine and the RS6’s weight will be not included in the new version.

But the RS5 will be in fact available starting with January 2009. It’s all happening in Detroit. The new RS4 is said to follow shortly after the RS5. It’s funny how European manufacturers try to get their newest cars in the U.S. while American car manufacturers, like GM, try to get a bigger chunk of the European market. It’s war I tell you!

Continue reading...