Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets

Filed under: Economy, Tokyo Motor Show, Hatchbacks, Honda, Rendered Speculation, Rumormill

Lost in the jeers following Honda's move to cancel the NSX - a car it could probably sell based solely on its ridiculously wonderful exhaust note - is news that the Big H is planning an A-segment car for markets outside of Japan. Now that the microcar segment is what's cooking, and the smart fortwo isn't doing so bad on its American voyage, cars like the Toyota iQ, Volkswagen up!, and Hyundai i10 are getting lots of attention.

To keep the cost down, Honda is expected to stick to traditional materials and probably focus on packaging. The powerplant is rumored to be a 1.4- or 1.5-liter turbodiesel with anywhere from 60 hp to 100 hp. But before you get excited, this car isn't automatically destined for America. Of course, none of this would-be Honda's competitors are headed this way yet either, and until the microcar trend is firmly established in the US - either by smart or another vehicle - we wouldn't advise holding your breath.

[Source: Paul Tan]

Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM, Ford Fight To Keep Government Bailouts, Say Detroit Is Not Wall Street

Earlier this month, mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which collectively own or guarantee roughly $5 trillion in mortgages, were seized by the U.S. government to prevent an even more catastrophic housing industry collapse. Last week, when global investment firm Lehman Brothers began to go belly up, the federal government wasn’t nearly as charitable and on Monday, Lehman Brothers headed into bankruptcy. Watching the events unfold from Detroit, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have begun to get nervous.

With the failure of Lehman Brothers, some auto industry analysts fear the government has drawn a line on federal intervention, just when the Detroit 3 need it most. Getting proactive, teams of lobbyists and executives representing the biggest auto manufacturers have begun to flood Washington, hoping to remind them that Detroit is not Wall Street. “[It's] a very separable issue,” said Ford. Still, lawmakers are approaching the loan requests with caution, and the foot dragging is yielding to frustration. According to Auto News, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was quoted explaining to the press, “The financial markets have worsened so much since the energy security act was passed last year, that providing the loans would seem to be the appropriate and fair thing to do right now.”

Other accounts report that auto makers are cautiously optimistic that they’ll receive the bailouts they need, and as of right now, no one is planning on shutting their doors. Said Wagoner, “I can’t really say at this point that I’ve seen specific ramifications from yesterday’s actions [referring to the Lehman Brothers failure], but we have to watch that closely.”

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Mercedes E-Class Coupe Spotted Nearly Nude [2010 Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe]

An amateur photographer has snagged shots of the upcoming 2010 Mercedes E-Class Coupe almost completely undisguised months before it's unveil at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.

Verboten shots of the new E-Class sedan snuck out a couple weeks ago, but these show the sleek and aggressive new look for the Coupe version, long overdue update to the stylish two door. This one may even be an AMG, but that's totally speculative. The new E-coupe gets a more edgy set of headlights, pronounced body lines and a built-in diffuser at the back, though we'll bet our hats its all style for that bit. Head over to World Car Fans to get a better look.

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Transformers 2 Chevy Volt Gets A Name: "Jolt" [Transformers 2 Revenge Of The Fallen]

When we showed you the first Chevy Volt pictures from the set of the new Transformers movie, we all wondered what character GM’s little earth-saving electric car would be. Well, his name is "Jolt."

It’s been a while since we last gave you a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen update, so today we bring you the newest character in the TF2 lineup. We’ll give you some clues –- gleaned from the toy box these shots came from. He makes a habit of getting into trouble. He is chaotic and impulsive, always out for the next big adventure. If there is danger afoot, he is sure to find his way into the middle of it. Luckily, he’s got the fighting skills to get himself out of any binds he gets himself into. When he’s got his electro whips in his hands, he’s an almost unstoppable whirlwind of crackling energy. That’s right, GM’s halo car for all that is good will transform into an Autobot we've never heard of named Jolt. It just goes to show that the Volt really is out to save the world. We’ve got images of the Transformers 2 movie-line toy below.

[via Seibertron, TF08]

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Nissan GT-R SpecV: Details, live images and video

Filed under: Sports/GTs, Japan, Supercars, Nissan, Tokyo Auto Salon, Special/Limited Editions

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Nissan GT-R SpecV

Nissan's press release on the GT-R SpecV left a lot of unanswered questions, particularly the geeky tidbits that we thrive on. So with the help of our friends at GTRBlog who were on hand for the unveiling in Japan, and a few of our super-secret sources abroad, we were able to scrounge up some of the more salient details on Nissan's upgraded Godzilla. Follow the jump to find out the inside scoop on Nissan's most super of supercars.

Gallery: Nissan GT-R SpecV Live

Gallery: Nissan GT-R SpecV

Continue reading Nissan GT-R SpecV: Details, live images and video

Nissan GT-R SpecV: Details, live images and video originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Chevy Camaro LS Shows Off Rallye Style Wheels [2010 Chevy Camaro LS]

Apparently Disney World's Test Track at Epcot of all places took delivery of their 2010 Chevy Camaro LS and a forum-head over at Camaro5 snagged shots which display a sweet, retro-style set of rallye wheels.

The obvious throwback to the old school Camaro warms the car-guy cockles. We actually think this Camaro adds a certain degree of tough-guy attitude missing from the other Camaros. Now if it can be had with a stripe running around the nose, we'll be in hardcore Camaro fanboy heaven. Please Chevy, make it so. [Camaro5]

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