2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

Meet the new Prius v, a five-passenger midsize hybrid that gets an EPA estimated 42 mpg city and 38 mpg highway and spearheads Toyota's expansion of the Prius line from a single vehicle to the industry's first all hybrid-electric brand.
Toyota announced the expansion of the Prius into a full family of vehicles at its booth today at the 2011 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), with the Prius v leading the charge. In addition, Toyota revealed the Prius c, a smaller, lower cost hybrid meant for urban running. Toyota claims the c will "will appeal to young singles and couples who want an eco-sensitive, high-mileage, fun-to-drive Prius" but we think the company has its sights set on Honda's recently announced Fit Hybrid. Rounding out the Prius family plans, Toyota provided an update on the status of its Prius Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle program -- which has been operating on a test basis in several U.S cities. The company says it will begin selling the lithium-ion powered Prius Plug-ins in 14 states, starting in the first half of 2012. With the Plug-in variant set for production, the Prius family grows to four vehicles: Prius, Prius Plug-in, Prius v and Prius c.
2012 Toyota Prius V Front Three Quarter In Motion
Of these, the Prius v is the most intriguing as it is set to go on sale by the end of this summer. Though it shares the Prius' Hybrid Synergy Drive hybrid-electric powertrain, Toyota claims the v "is a new vehicle designed from the ground up, with a shape that evolved from Prius rather than being an elongated version." The family resemblance is obvious - Toyota is no doubt banking on the recognition and appeal of the regular Prius, which has sold some 955,000 copies in the U.S. since its introduction in 2000.

Like the current generation Prius, the Prius v is a showcase of the latest Toyota technology -- mostly notably Toyota's new Entune multimedia system. This new infotainment system uses mobile phone technology to deliver all of the content and services consumers expect on the latest smartphones, including one today's biggest buzzwords -- mobile applications. Microsofts' Bing search engine, OpenTable, and movietickets.com are just three of the notable apps listed as available one Entune, along with Pandora and iheartradio on the web-based music front. Entune also offers a laundry list of features including navigation with live weather, traffic, and news updates, a gas station locator, satellite radio, Bluetooth audio streaming and hands free phone operation, a text message read/reply service, and support for portable media player, such as iPod.
2012 Toyota Prius V Cockpit
For the rest of the driving experience, the v offers a futuristic cockpit, with single-dial air-conditioning control and a center-mounted digital information display. As with the Prius, four driving modes are available -- Normal, Power, Eco and EV. Standard features include a keyless entry system with push button start, electronic shift lever, Hill Start Assist Control (HAC), and back-up camera. LED headlamps, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control with a Pre-Collision System (PCS), and Advanced Parking Guidance System -- the party trick that lets the Prius park itself -- are all options.
2012 Toyota Prius V Interior Seats
On the safety front, Prius v comes with seven airbags and new driver and front-passenger seat design that Toyota claims helps lessen possible whiplash injury during a collision. Also standard are Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRAC), Anti- lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. As a result of recent safety woes, the Prius also comes standard with Toyota's Smart Stop Technology brake-override system.
So don't worry, the Prius v is safe. In fact, it is a safe, conservative step from the company synonymous with risk aversion. But though it surprises nobody that Prius is becoming its only family of cars, you can bet that competitors worldwide are already furiously working on strategies to take on Toyota's rapidly expanding hybrid juggernaut.

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes has officially announced the addition of a biturbo direct-injection inline-four-cylinder engine to its lineup that will supply the C250 with 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque in the entry-level Benz. A 228-horspower, 221-pound-foot V-6 will be in the C300 4matic and the range topping C350 will get a new 300-horspower, 273-pound-foot, direct-injection V6.
Along with the new engines, the 2012 C-Class will receive a high-resolution full color display in the instrument panel, along with a host of driver assistance features including; drowsiness assist, park assist, adaptive high-beam assist, lane keep assist and blind spot assist. No word yet on if Mercedes will offer an assist-assist to help drivers manage all of this added assistance.
2012 Mercedes Benz C Class Rear Three Quarters
The 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is headed to the 2011 Detroit Auto Show for its public debut, but before that happens and thanks to a broken embargo in Europe, we've got photos of the new C-Class ahead of its official reveal.
Changes to the exterior of the car are extremely minor, limited almost entirely to the front and rear fascias. The front fascia receives a new headlight treatment, with a two-tiered design nearly identical to those seen on the new CL. The grille is slightly reshaped as are the lower air intakes, the fenders flares look to have been reduced, and the rear bumper is slightly lower. New, modern wheels complete the exterior revisions.
2012 Mercedes Benz C Class Front Three Quarters
The interior of the 2012 C-Class is an entirely different story as it has been thoroughly redesigned. It now features the same angular design theme being applied across Mercedes' lineup and now found in the S-, CLS-, E-, and CL-Classes. The new C-Class features inverted vents compared to the rest of the lineup. The big news though is that the navigation unit is no longer a pop-up unit, but is rather built right into the dash and nestled under a sun-shielding hood.
2012 Mercedes Benz C Class Front Three Quarters 4
Mercedes also updated the center console with modern aluminum-look controls. The same aluminum-look is used for new, 3-D surrounds on the instrument cluster rather than the simple, 2-D surrounds on the outgoing car. The steering wheel and its controls have also been updated, and dare we say it, actually look like a more upscale version of those found on a 2011 Volkswagen GTI. New, classy trim accents complete the changes to the 2012 C-Class' interior.
As for powertrains, details on the U.S.-spec car have yet to be released, but expect very few changes apart from direct-injection for the basic C-Class models. The outrageous C63 AMG however, is likely to get Mercedes' new twin-turbocharged, direct-injected, 5.5-liter V-8 that's currently finding its way into all "-63" badged AMG models. We'll know exact U.S.-powertrain specifications shortly.
Stick with us as we approach the public unveiling of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the 2010 Detroit auto show

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2012 Hyundai Veloster

2012 Hyundai Veloster

2012 Hyundai Veloster

Before the Genesis Coupe, there was the Tiburon. Hyundai's former entry-level sport coupe didn't make a lasting impression here in the U.S., but the Korean automaker is ready to try again with its all-new 2012 Hyundai Veloster. Like the Tiburon was, the Veloster is front drive, compact and sportyish, but the new car features a few significant differences.
We've kept a diligent eye on the Veloster since it first appeared at the 2007 Los Angeles show, back when it was just a wide-eyed concept from a then-marginal brand not yet known for turning out compelling vehicles. A little more than three years later, with the automaker enjoying white-hot brand visibility and record sales here in the U.S., Hyundai has decided the Veloster's time is now.
Unlike the Tiburon, the Veloster doesn't fit the classic definition of a coupe, despite Hyundai's marketing spin. Though it has a coupe-like outline, the Veloster is a hatchback. In addition, there's a forward-hinged third door on the passenger side of the vehicle with a recessed handle for a smooth, clean look.
Hyundai drew inspiration from sportbikes for the Veloster's body. The A-pillars are blacked out and elements of Hyundai's "Fluidic Sculpture" design language are manifested throughout the sheetmetal. Up front, the brand's trademark hexagonal grille complements the gaping mouth, with wraparound headlights and sculpted air inlets massaged into the fascia's edges. It's no roadster, but the optional panoramic sunroof will let in the elements.
2012 Hyundai Veloster Front Three Quarters
Like most high-performance sportbikes, the Veloster comes with 17-inch rims standard, with 18-inchers available. Hyundai will also offer a special 18-inch alloy wheel with painted inserts, a feature the automaker is billing as a segment first. Whatever the wheel dimensions, they'll work in concert with a MacPherson strut front and torsion-beam rear suspension with an integrated anti-roll bar.
To really connect with the youth of America, Hyundai is giving every Veloster a multifunction, 7-inch touch-screen display (navigation optional). Blue Link, the automaker's newly announced in-car telematics/connectivity system, will be heavily promoted. Two sound systems will be on the order list: a 196-watt, six-speaker getup with iPod/USB/auxiliary inputs, and the optional 450-watt, eight-speaker system with 8-inch subwoofer and external amplifier. Video game enthusiasts will delight in the integrated RCA jack and 115-volt power outlet, though they'd better steer clear of any split-screen action.
Hyundai is especially proud of the Veloster's interior volume. At 105.3 total cubic feet, including passenger and cargo space, it bests the Honda CR-Z and both the Mini Cooper and Clubman. Headroom, legroom, and shoulder room within the four-seater's confines were all maximized, because as Hyundai is well aware, most coupes and hatchbacks are panned for having cramped cabins.

The concept housed a Theta 2.0-liter four-cylinder as the engine placeholder, but the production model will brandish a version of Hyundai's new Gamma 1.6-liter inline-four. The Gamma employs a highly pressurized fuel delivery system and dual continuously variable valve timing to help deliver an estimated 30 city and 40 highway mpg - besting the CR-Z's hybrid-boosted numbers on the highway. Maximum power output is pegged at 138 horsepower at 6300 rpm and 123 pound-feet of torque at 4850 rpm.
Like the old Tiburon, a true manual transmission is available for the three-pedal faithful. For those unable or unwilling to manually swap the six forward cogs, the Veloster is equipped with the automaker's all-new, in-house-developed six-speed dual-clutch automatic. As with similar setups, one clutch is responsible for the odd-numbered gears, the other for the even-numbered ratios (and reverse). To reduce parasitic driveline loss, the auto uses electric motors to actuate the gear changes. Hyundai says its dual-clutcher yields a 5- to 6-percent fuel efficiency improvement and 3- to 7-percent gain in acceleration over a conventional auto.
An Active Eco mode, selectable by the driver, will alter engine and transmission settings to achieve a 7-percent increase in real-world fuel economy.
2012 Hyundai Veloster Rear Three Quarters
For those hoping the Veloster has a little more oomph under the hood, help may already be on the horizon for the unreleased hatchback. Hyundai's Curb concept, also shown at the Detroit show, found extra motivation by way of a turbocharger, and the same Gamma 1.6-liter gets a healthy bump to 175 horsepower and 169 pound-feet of torque. Not astronomical by any means, but given the Veloster's relatively svelte curb weight (it tops out at roughly 2700 pounds), we're guessing a turbocharged version would amp up the car's sport quotient.
Hyundai's target market for the Veloster is Gen Y, although whether those 20-somethings will regard it as a legitimate contender remains to be seen. And there's little doubt the Veloster's sheetmetal will draw more than its share of critics (see the comments section below). Of course, we'll reserve judgment until we can drive and test it, but one thing's for sure -- Hyundai's relentless drive to re-invent itself is showing no signs of slowing down.

2012 Hyundai Veloster

2012 Hyundai Veloster

2013 Ford Focus Electric

2013 Ford Focus Electric

2013 Ford Focus Electric

My initial reaction wasn't, "Hey! Electric Ford Focus." My initial reaction was, "Aston Martin wants its grille back." The 2013 Focus Electric looks like a larger, better-designed version of the Aston Martin Cygnet, the little Toyota-built dinghy for Aston owners who live in or regularly visit London.
Of course, Ford Motor Company still owned Aston Martin when Martin Smith's European studio began designing this car. In fact, the wide maw Aston-like grille first appeared on a Ford when the Verve concept foreshadowed the current Fiesta subcompact at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show.
It's the kind of design detail the ever more style-conscious Ford can more easily pull off when the grille doesn't need to suck in any air. The company is making some big claims about the first "fuel-free, rechargeable passenger car from Ford" (the electric Transit Connect is its first such truck), but isn't revealing much about the nature of the powerpack. It's an all-electric powertrain with a single-speed transmission. Battery system is an advanced lithium-ion unit Ford has developed with supplier LG Chem that uses heated and cooled liquid to maximize battery life and driving range. Ford handles thermal management with liquid heating in cold weather, liquid cooling when it's hot.
Ford claims a 100-mile range. It fully recharges in three to four hours at 240 volts, half the charging time of the Nissan Leaf and with twice the mpg equivalent of the Chevrolet Volt. Its dedicated charging system will cost consumers $500 to $700 less than Nissan's or Chevy's, Ford claims. Top speed is 84 mph.
The charge port, between the driver's door and front wheel well, activates a light ring that loops around the port two times to let the owner know the car is connected. There's the usual gee-whiz recharging and battery-draining bar graph drama going on in the instrument panel, as well.
In going with the theory that both the environmentally correct and the anti-import oil crowd also make up the exclusive group of Americans who like hatchbacks (Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf), the Focus Electric will be available only in the four-door hatchback bodystyle, not the four-door sedan.

Bill Gates may want one. As an offshoot of Ford's Sync partnership with Microsoft, the software company will supply a "value charging" feature that helps find the lowest off-peak rates for recharging.
Sync and the related MyFord Mobile app accommodates a full range of connectivity, of course, including the now-requisite smartphone connection, which allows the Focus Electric owner to check the car's status, operate key functions remotely, check the car's charge level and driving range, remotely program charge settings and download data, and get alerts when the car needs a recharge or when it has finished charging.
There's also WiFi, Sirius and HD radio.
2013 Ford Focus Electric Rear Three Quarters Passenger
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It may be a Ford, but you don't need to order black paint. Ford promises an upscale C-segment car, much like the new, gas-powered '12 Focus that's about to hit showrooms. Standard safety includes six airbags, electronic traction control, hands-free Sync and MyKey keyless entry in North America. Also standard are MyFord Touch driver connectivity, 15-spoke 17-inch aluminum wheels, a 60/40-split rear bench seat, push-button start, AM/FM/HD/Sirius/CD/MP3 nine-speaker Sony Audio with Travel Link and voice-activated navigation. Don't be surprised to see a sticker price somewhere between the Leaf's $33,000 and the Volt's $41,000 (both before tax credits), with well-equipped versions tilting closer to Volt than to Leaf.
The Focus Electric is a pretty safe gamble for Ford, even if gasoline breaches $4 per gallon before the car's late-'11 launch. It's part of One Ford's huge effort to tackle the world's largest automotive segment, the C-car, with myriad bodystyles, drivetrains and fuel types off one basic platform. The Focus Electric will be sold in other markets, including western Europe. All North American-market electrics will be assembled in Ford's newly revitalized Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, just outside Dearborn, a former body-on-frame truck factory that will produce other versions of the Focus, the C-Max multipurpose vehicle, and probably the Escape replacement.
The scope and flexibility of the Wayne Assembly Plant lets Ford adjust production higher for more popular models, and lower for models that don't do as well as expected. Just in case, you know, Ford customers don't want a Focus with an Aston grille.

2013 Ford Focus Electric

2013 Ford Focus Electric

Ford Vertrek Concept

Ford Vertrek Concept

Actually, it's 1.2 inches lower than a Kuga and 4 inches lower than an Escape. The Vertrek concept is 178.5 inches long overall, 73.8 inches wide, and 66.1 inches high. That's 3.8 inches longer than an Escape and 3.6 inches longer than a Kuga, while 10.3 inches shorter overall, but just 0.9 inch lower, than the hot-selling Chevrolet Equinox. Kuga's cargo space is considered too small, even in Europe, since it's not nearly as boxy and commodious as the Escape. The Vertrek's sleek shape improves aero over the Kuga by 5 percent.
Ford will continue to sell front- and all-wheel drive versions, though the hybrid version will be dropped in favor of hybrid versions of the Focus and C-Max. Europe will get the requisite turbodiesel engine, while in North America, the feature engine will be the 1.6-liter EcoBoost four with stop/start technology, already found in many cars and sport/utilities sold in Europe. Ford apparently hasn't decided whether there's still a market here for a V-6 version.
Mays drives a Kuga in London and says the model is almost considered its own brand there. Like other new Fords, the Vertrek is designed to carry the brand upmarket, in image if not in price.
"It's considerably more upscale than the outgoing model, an aspirational, premium item" in its design and list of amenities, Mays says.

Ford Vertrek Concept

Alan Mulally insisted Ford resurrect the Taurus namplate, then turned the Explorer into a midsize crossover sport/utility. Can he, will he, name the sleek new Vertrek -- an obvious hint for the 2013 Escape replacement -- the Escape?
The Vertrek concept, unveiled at the North American International Auto Show, goes on sale in early 2012 and is Escape in size and European Kuga in its use of Martin Smith's sleek "kinetic design" language. Like the Focus and C-Max with which it will share its front-drive platform, the Vertrek's profile features a "Zorro Flip" with converging Z-shaped accents between the front quarter-panel, the doors, and the rear quarter-panel.
The hood's center bulge, with its unusual cutout pattern just ahead of the windshield, is said to be production-ready, though the skylight-style glass roof panel behind it isn't. The deeply drawn lower-profile accents also are a good indication of production. Don't count on the sequential LED taillamps and certainly not the sleek, low sideview mirrors, which help create a "wing" look by connecting with the dashboard.
The deep-bucket 2+2 seats are pure concept, but the interior materials give good hints at the level of attention Ford's interior designers paid to the inside. From the outside, add a thick B-pillar, remove the power-operated foldout running boards, and you've got a good look at the next Escape.
"We've pulled the A-pillar forward" and made a sleeker roofline, with a sport coupe-like rear roof resembling the current Kuga's, says J Mays, Ford's group vice president for design and chief creative officer. "People actually think we've lowered the car, but we haven't.

Ford Vertrek Concept

Ford Vertrek Concept