Straightline

Yesterday's marathon Chrysler-Fiat press conference/coming-out party wasn't entirely about EBITA and acknowledging the shortcomings of the Sebring.

Ralph Gilles, the Dodge brand's new boss, laid an Easter egg hunt on the assembled dealers, bankers and journalists. What you see above is a shot of the 2012 Dodge Charger that appeared briefly on the screen during Gilles' talk.

Gilles provided no details on the upcoming full-size rear-drive sedan, but it's obvious from the photo above that the next Charger will be a more expressive, sculpted design that draws inspiration from its historic namesake. Of course, the Charger will still be a four-door, but the sharp-edged line, rising from the front door to the tip of he rear is, well, Charger-esque. It looks a little like the four-door Charger concept vehicle of several years ago--at least from this angle.

What do we know about the platform? Only that it's an update of the existing LX platform that, if we remember correctly, Sergio Marchionne said cost so much to create that it would "shock your pants off." So there's that.

The new Pentastar 3.6-liter engine, which debuts in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee in the middle of next year, will be the volume engine, with a Hemi V8 as the upgrade. Something tells us it won't be offered with the Fiat 500's 1.4 Multiair mill.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Classic Cars,Coupes,Dodge,Future Vehicles,Sedans

Among the numerous innovations we'll see in the 2011 Ford Explorer are these new rear seat inflatable seat belts. Ford says the new inflatable belts spread out crash forces over a much greater area of the body than conventional belts. The redesigned Ford Explorer is due out next year and Ford says it will eventually add the technology to its entire global lineup.

Spy Photos: 2011 Ford Explorer
 

Categories: Car Tech,Crossovers,Ford,Future Vehicles,SUVs

Porsche is getting a jump on the 2009 L.A. Auto Show next month with the announcement of an all-new, top-of-the-line Boxster model.

Dubbed the 2010 Porsche Boxster Spyder, it dispenses with a roof to reduce weight and gets a modest ten-horsepower increase over the current Boxster S. Porsche also mentioned some suspension modifications, but didn't get specific. Overall, the Boxster Spyder weighs just 2,811 pounds, which is about 133 pounds less than the Boxster S.

Worldwide sales are expected to begin in February of next year.

Categories: Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Sports Cars

Last week we reported that sources had told Inside Line that the McLaren MP4-12C's introduction to the U.S. market might be delayed and the company had pulled out of the L.A. Auto Show next month.

McLaren responded to the report saying that although there were some discussions about showing the supercar at the L.A. show, the company eventually decided it was too early given the car's expected launch date in 2011.

We were also told that McLaren might be having difficulty setting up a North American dealer network to which a company spokesman said, "And if discussions so far are anything to go by we're not going to be short of people who want to retail the brand for us in the US."

So at this point it looks like the MP4-12C is scheduled for an early summer 2011 on sale date in the U.S.

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,McLaren,Sports Cars

Photo Illustration by Nick Wilcox

Since rumors are already flying about the possibility of a Toyota FT-86 convertible, we thought we would give you an idea what such a vehicle might look like. Not bad eh?

Supposedly a Toyota official told someone at a Dutch website that the company would build such a vehicle "if there was sufficient demand." Well, given that the FT-86 was the unofficial star of the 2009 Tokyo auto show, we're guessing that an FT-86 convertible would create more than enough demand to justify its existence.

An FT-86 convertible would also do something that an FT-86 coupe probably would not -- that is, lure non-enthusiast buyers who simply want a stylish two-door that gets decent mileage. Makes for a much better business case, and the way Toyota's fortunes are going it could use a few hits.

Autotelegraaf via Autoblog
 

Categories: Convertibles,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show,Toyota

A Panamera coupe? That's the word according to a recent report in the UK magazine AutoExpress. They claim it's in the works for 2012 despite other rumors that Porsche's new overlords at Volkswagen intend to make the Panamera a one lifecycle pony.

Should the new Porsche coupe make it to production, it could overtake the 911 as Porsche's premier coupe. Certainly not in terms of performance, but at least in terms of price.

Not that it would be any slouch in the engine department as it would likely use all the same powerplants as the Panamera sedan. With a 500-horsepower V8 topping the range, the Panamera coupe would match up well with say, a Bentley Continental GT. Sounds good to us, but Volkswagen might have some reservations about creating competition for its already existing products. Expect to see something by the end of next year if Porsche decides to go through with it.

AutoExpress

Categories: Bentley,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Porsche,Volkswagen

GM has decided to delay the launch of the 2011 Cruze compact sedan until late next summer to ensure quality according to a report in the Detroit News. The car is already on sale in other world markets.

According to GM's spokesman, the delay "will give GM time to produce all variations of Cruze models." We assume he means all the engine, transmission, options variations for the Chevrolet Cruze sedan.

Detroit News: Launch of GM's Cruze dalayed 3 months

Categories: Chevrolet,Future Vehicles,Sedans

Aptera has resubmitted its application for federal loan money after the Obama administration extended its Advanced Technology Vehicles program to include three-wheeled vehicles. The Aptera 2e is a lightweight, electric vehicle that is expected to sell for around $25,000. The company plans to start producing the vehicle next year if it can secure an additional $75 million from the government.

Green Car Advisor: Aptera Resubmits Application for Federal Manufacturing Loan for 3-Wheeled EV  

Categories: Future Vehicles,Green Tech

We've been told on various occasions that there will be no M version of the latest Z4. Something about poor economic conditions or something like that. But that hasn't completely stopped development on a hotter Z4.

This prototype was spotted lurking around the Nurburgring recently and it shows signs of a few mild tweaks that indicate BMW is working on some kind of enhanced sport package for the hard top convertible.

A deeper front air dam, reshaped rear fascia and a more aggressive set of wheels and tires are the most visible modifications. Whether there will be any upgrades under the hood is debatable. Seems like it would be easy to turn up the boost on the twin turbo six, but that would also make for a far more complicated project, exactly the kind of capital intensive project BMW was trying to avoid.
 

Categories: BMW,Convertibles,Future Vehicles,Spy Photos

Audi's biggest and most expensive sedan has been on the market for too long. Sure, it still looks as good, or better, than its competition, but it's a little behind in the technology and power department.

This prototype of the 2011 Audi A8 was caught testing at the Nurburgring recently. It's scheduled for a official debut in the next few months, but this test mule gives a pretty good idea of what it will look like.

Power will continue to come from a V8 in standard models and a W12 on the top-of-the-line version. An aluminum spaceframe chassis will form the structure and quattro all-wheel drive will remain standard as well.

Look for the official debut of the 2011 Audi A8 at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show in January.

Spy Video: 2011 Audi A8 on the Nurburgring

Categories: Audi,Detroit Auto Show,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Sedans,Spy Photos

Volkswagen released this official sketch of its upcoming midsize sedan. It will be built in the company's new Tennessee assembly plant and be slightly larger than the current Passat.

Like most sketches, this one makes the upcoming sedan look all sporty and stuff. But if history is any indication, the car that arrives next year won't be anything like this, save for the grille and maybe the shape of the C-pillar.

We'll see soon enough as this car may very well show up at the L.A. Auto Show in early December in not in Detroit a month later.
 

Categories: Detroit Auto Show,Future Vehicles,LA Auto Show,Sedans,Spy Photos,Volkswagen

Acura has officially announced that it will add a Sport Wagon version of the TSX sedan to its lineup next fall. Already on sale in other markets as the Accord Touring, the TSX Sport Wagon will likely get all the same specs as the current sedan. Acura says it will provide further details as the on sale date gets closer.

Categories: Acura,Future Vehicles,Honda,Luxury Cars,Wagons

According to a report on 7Tune.com, Subaru's version of the FT-86 sportscar will get more than just new badges to differentiate it from its Toyota sibling. Instead of rear-wheel drive, Subaru's car will use an all-wheel drive setup along with a turbocharged version of the boxer four-cylinder engine. The Subaru sportscar will also get a slightly larger body and most likely a substantially higher price.

7Tune

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars,Subaru,Toyota

As expected, Fisker Automotive announced today that it plans to buy GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant for the purpose of constructing a new, mid-priced plug-in electric car. Fisker says it will pay a mere $18 million for the shuttered plant and then spend an additional $175M to get it ready to build Fisker's next car.

A Fisker spokesman also told Green Car Advisor that it plans to use union labor. "We are looking to establish a mutually beneficial partnership with the UAW."

This all sounds great on the surface, but they are plenty of reasons to remain skeptical. Fisker has yet to deliver a single working version of its first car, so its viability as a manufacturer has yet to be determined.

And then there's the issue of cost. Fisker says its next vehicle will be a "mid-priced" vehicle, think closer to $50K, but union labor in a plant in Deleware won't be cheap. Fisker is going to have to reduce its costs substantially to make it all work, so there's still plenty of difficult decisions still to be made.

Green Car Advisor: Fisker Plug-In Plant Will Be Union, UAW "Essential" Says Company
 

Categories: Auto Industry,Future Vehicles,General Motors,Green Tech

Just after last week's Tokyo Auto Show, IL News Editor Kelly Toepke had a chance to participate in a roundtable discussion with Honda's new president Takanobu Ito.

He laid out several of Honda's goals in the coming years as well as explaining some of the reasons for his actions so far. Here are some of the most memorable quotes from the conversation.

In response to a question on his expected time line for hydrogen-powered cars:

"My wish, within 10 years. Please tell your government to build more hydrogen stations."

"Hydrogen stations are not being built as fast as we had hoped, so we have to prepare ourselves with battery EVs."

Regarding the cancellation of the NSX:

"I'm the one that stopped that program."

"I personally would love to develop another sports car, but if our wish is to come true we need to overcome two challenges:
1.    Bad economy, need more profit to have freedom to build new cars.
2.    Need to develop new green technologies. One we have an abundance of cash, we will develop a green sports car, not like the car Lexus announced yesterday."

And finally his view of the Acura brand:

"There's a certain level of confusion within the Acura line-up, we're in the midst of a big change. Post-Lehman we dropped the larger-than-V6 engine, and have to adjust to new consumer demands."

Categories: Acura,Auto Industry,Future Vehicles,Honda,Hybrids,Tokyo Motor Show,Trends