With Acura's decision to nix V8 power and rear-wheel drive in favor of new hybrid drivetrains, dealers are worried that the brand's relentless pursuit of Tier 1 status – on par with Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz – may be threatened. But that's not the real news.

Buried at the end of an Automotive News piece about a recent Acura dealer meeting was this gem:

"[Jeff Conrad, vice president of the Acura division] confirmed that Acura is considering a small car below the TSX sedan [...]

BMW has announced plans to stage the North American debuts of the ActiveHybrid X6, the ActiveHybrid 7-Series, and the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Set to go on sale in December (for a whopping $89,725 USD), the ActiveHybrid X6 features a 400 hp twin-turbocharged V8 engine and two electric synchronous motors located in the two-mode transmission (which produce 91 hp and 86 hp). Powered by a 2.4 kWh NiMH battery pack, the electric motors enable the X6 to travel exclusively on electric power at speeds up to 37 mph (60 km/h) for up to 1.6 miles [...]

The Citroën 2CV of old has inspired this modern REVOLTe Concept car, released at Frankfurt earlier today. As such the REVOLTe is a combination of classic iconic Citroën styling and present-day sophistication and fashion.

It measures 3.68m long, 1.73m wide and 1.35m tall, underlying its purpose as an urban transporter with enough utility to use it as an everyday car [...]

He’s been a racing driver, is a race team owner who just won the Indy 500 for the 15th time, a highly successful and very wealthy business man, and now Roger Penske is also the proud owner of the not quite so proud General Motors brand Saturn.
 
General Motors Corporation has reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group in a deal that could preserve dealerships and jobs, the companies said.
The deal will save nearly 350 dealerships and about 13,000 jobs related to Saturn, said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn’s general manager.

“We expect to offer all 350 franchises a new franchise agreement,” Mr Penske said in a conference call with Ms Lajdziak.

“We expect to take this network, which to me is one of the best in the business, and give an opportunity to each retailer to go forward,” she said.

The tentative deal for Saturn, which the companies hope to complete sometime after July, would be the second sale of a brand by GM since it filed for bankruptcy on Monday in an effort to drop unprofitable lines and leave court protection as a leaner company.

Mr Penske’s company, the number two US auto dealership group, would acquire rights to the Saturn brand and other assets, while bankrupt GM would continue production of the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook on a contract basis if the transaction were completed, GM and Penske said.


The terms of the deal, including the price Penske will pay for Saturn, were not disclosed, Reuters newsagency said.

“This is a day that we have all been hoping would come together, since probably the end of November when GM made its first viability plan,” said Todd Ingersoll, a Saturn dealer from Connecticut and a member of the Saturn dealer steering group.

GM created Saturn in 1984 to compete with Japanese vehicles in terms of quality and service and initiated no-haggle flat-price sales for its models.

The Saturn brand has languished for the last decade, and GM said in February that it would either be spun off or shut.

It currently sells an eclectic range of vehicles, some imported from GM Europe such as the Astra, and others include hybrid powered versions of GM models.

“The win for the Saturn team is that the brand lives and the win for the retailers is our investment and our belief that we work for a great company has been upheld by someone like (Penske Chairman) Roger Penske, who really mirrors a lot of the Saturn beliefs, that customers come first,” Mr Ingersoll said.

GM had said that more than a dozen buyers had expressed interest in the Saturn brand and its retail network. Penske had also said it was interested in the Saturn brand in early May.

GM plans to narrow its focus to the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands and trim its dealership network.

The automaker has notified about 1100 dealerships that it would not renew their long-term agreements after October 2010, about another 470 dealerships represent the brands GM plans to dump from its line-up: Saturn, Hummer, Saab and Pontiac.

On Tuesday, GM announced plans to sell its Hummer brand to little-known Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery.

Mr Penske said he is in discussions with “a number of worldwide manufacturers” to broaden the line-up and those are understood to include the Renault-Nissan group.

“There are many worldwide partners today that have put their hands up,” Mr Penske said [...]

In the following series of videos you can see the new technology and accessories available on the new Toyota Prius. The hybrid has already reached its third generation and the updates are essential in maintaining sales in the US market.

The Smart Key function will be present, along with Drive Mode, park assist, multifunction display, bluetooth connection and new XM Nav Traffic sat nav [...]

Toyota's newest Prius already gets an astounding 50 mpg but according to reports the upcoming plug-in version is averaging upwards of 65 mpg US (78mpg UK, 3.6 liters/100km) in early testing.

Perhaps the most significant detail about the 65 mpg number comes from the fact that it was gained from real world testing and not from the engineering lab. Toyota's US alternative-fuel vehicle manager, Bill Reinert, is quick to point out "That is real-world driving [...]

Ford’s new 2010 Fusion is set to shake up the cut-throat mid-size sedan segment when it goes on sale early next year, bringing an all-new hybrid that will deliver the best fuel economy of any sedan in America, unsurpassed 4-cylinder gasoline fuel economy, more power, class-exclusive technologies including a blind spot detection and warning system and Ford SYNC, more total passenger and luggage capacity than the Toyota Camry, plus proven quality and reliability that has been recognized by the top consumer groups and magazines.

Source [...]

Honda has taken the covers off of its new Insight Hybrid Concept, a concept that is pretty much the production ready model that will arrive on U.S. roads in April 2009 [...]

So now that all the pizzazz surrounding the Volt has calmed down and while we wait… a couple of years to see how GM’s revolutionary plug-in electric / gasoline hybrid drivetrain works in real life conditions, let’s take a closer look at how the 2007 Detroit Show concept evolved into the final production car that was revealed to the public last week.

If you’re expecting to read a 2,000 word analysis on the Volt’s design, sorry guys, you lucked out. We’ll be short and to the point: our take is that Chevy’s design team essentially went back to the drawing board and created a conservative 4-box saloon sprinkling it with a handful of styling elements from the concept.

We understand that Chevy’s designers had to adapt the Volt’s styling and body analogies to our everyday needs but the end result is nothing out of the ordinary and that’s a damn shame for a car that means so much for the future of a troubled company like GM.

Yes, it may look more distinct than the current Toyota Prius or the forthcoming Honda Insight, but then again, what’s the difficulty with that? We can think of more than a dozen or so everyday family cars that manage to stand out from the crowd and they’re not even hybrids.

If you want an example then how about the European market Honda Civic hatchback? Now here’s a production family car that not only looks futuristic in and out having most of the competition licked for style, but it also does it without any compromises whatsoever in terms of interior space or functionality [...]

Whether the pursuit of multiple hybrid models will be very profitable or not, Fisker has plans to produce three different versions of its Karma plug-in hybrid technology. The company has limited experience in this niche market but plans to produce a range of cars.

Vic Doolan, board member at the Finnish company, has revealed that the aim will be to have 3.3 percent market share in the luxury segment by 2012 [...]

Toyota has confirmed that the commercialisation of the first plug-in hybrid on the European, North American and Japan market will be available from 2010. From next year, the batteries (lithium ion) will be made in a joint venture with Matsushita.
According to Reuters, the batteries can be recharged by plugging in to a normal household socket [...]

The low U.S. dollar has caused a number of carmakers to readjust their strategies, including canceling models and moving production [...]

Toyota has released information about their redesigned Crown model, including the introduction of a hybrid version for the first time. The company will also offer two non-hybrid versions called the Crown Royal Saloon and the Crown Athlete.

Crown Royal Saloon’s will come equipped with either a 2.5L or 3.0L V6, while Crown Athlete’s offer a choice of a 2.5L or 3.5L engine [...]

GM has taken the wraps off a new concept vehicle based on its GMC Denali line, which officials claim previews a possible future design direction for all GMC models. The pickup concept combines both GM’s two-mode hybrid system and an E85 4.9L V8 engine, and it rides on a height-adjustable suspension system and 23in wheels shod with Kuhmo tires.

The powertrain is said to offer a 50% increase in fuel-economy over comparable small pickup trucks when running on petrol [...]

The Porsche Panamera will have to hit the ground running at the end of the decade in order to compete with the Aston Martin Rapide, Mercedes CLS, BMW 8-Series and in the lower regions of the four-door GT class, the VW Passat Coupe. One major selling point for the Panamera might become the availability of a full parallel hybrid engine, offering consumption of less than 9 liter per 100 kilometers.
The newly developed full parallel hybrid system is based on the current Porsche Cayenne Hybrid will consist primarely of the battery unit in the luggage compartment, power electronics, and an additional clutch and electric motor between the engine and transmission [...]