We’ve heard of Zipcar several times now and know what its all about, you sign up for the service, request a car and then pick it up at a nearby location. This effectively eliminates the need to actually have your own car, but just how big is the market for such a service?

Well, according to Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith, massive. So massive in fact that he sees his company being worth $1 billion dollars at some point in the future. Of course, they still have a ways to go with 300,000 members and 6,500 vehicles currently in service but it’s certainly a start and it’s the ambitious nature of this executive that counts.

via autoblog

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The extremely low-cost Tata Nano has been the talk of the internet for some time now having recently made its way through European crash testing with generally good results.

Well, it seems that the first production model has finally rolled off the line and into the hands of a consumer. The consumer in question is Ashok Raghunath Vichare of Mumbai who was reported to have paid around $2,053 for said vehicle.

With it’s low price and estimated 56MPG the Tata Nano is sure to make waves when it hits the market world wide.

via Autoblog

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It seems that the inevitable has happened – energy efficient vehicles are taking over the world. Japan in particular, due to high gas prices (around $4.50 a gallon) and tax breaks on hybrid vehicles, has proven itself to be the most prominent hybrid vehicle market in the world.

According to AutoBlogGreen, in June alone, Toyota sold 22,292 Prius’ while Honda sold 8,782 Insights, both hybrid vehicles. This apparantly ousts America’s number of 26,205 hybrids sold in the same amount of time.

And, just as a fun fact, there is apparantly a 7-month waiting list for Toyota’s upcoming 2010 Prius.

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Porsche said China may pass Germany as its second-biggest market within the next three years based on rising demand for new Panamera sports sedan. Porsche revealed the car at the Shanghai auto show in April. “All premier manufacturers are showing good results” in China, Helmut Broeker, Porsche’s China head, said in a recent interview in Shanghai. The country was Porsche’s third-biggest market last year, up from 15th in 2006.

Porsche is planning to add more dealers in China and transfer its local office to Shanghai, the country’s financial capital, to help promote sales. Porsche anticipates about a third of its predicted 20,000 Panamera sales a year to come from China and the remainder of Asia. The Panamera is expected to start at more than $270,000 in China when it goes on sale in late 2009.

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Rumor has it, Toyota was none too pleased with the recent announcement that the Honda Insight would be the cheapest hybrid on the market. So, they decided to do something about it.

Apparently, this new Prius from Toyota would feature a smaller engine than current-gen Prius’ and cost 20%-30% less.

With the early sucess of the Honda Insight this rumor seems completely plausible. I mean, Toyota would obviously want to preserve it’s title as the best selling hybrid automaker around, right?

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