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GM Hopes the Price Is Right, but the price is not right for the `Kid $'s : )


General Motors announces the price of the Chevy Volt


Posted by Joshua Condon on Tuesday
Is there any MCF Member's considering getting a `Volt ?
Post your thoughts & `if you think GM is on the right path ?
Thanks for your input/comments/opinions....
The hype surrounding the Chevy Volt, which won't even hit dealer lots until the end of the year, is already epic. Today, it went into overdrive, as GM staged yet another press conference to announce pricing. The move smacks a bit of Lebron James' recent, self-obsessed "The Decision" sideshow on ESPN. That said, we've actually been waiting like little schoolgirls to hear official word on pricing ever since Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen gave a verbal smackdown to the extended-range electric car based on the rumors of its high cost.

Well, it's official. Joel Ewanick, GM's vice president of U.S. marketing, has just announced at a news conference in San Jose, Calif., that the Volt will cost $41,000. Drum roll, please: Subtract the federal tax credit of $7,500 from that and the actual cost of the Volt will be $33,500.

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Ford Denies Rumors of Flex, Lincoln MKT Demise


Big crossovers keep on keeping on


Posted by James Tate on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 8:42 AM
The internet has a way of breeding, then amplifying rumors. Think of it as one big high school cafeteria. That’s especially true for the handful of sites that devote themselves to covering the happenings of the automotive realm, where one misplaced word from a company representative winds up as the insinuation of an all-new model to come, or in this case, the death of two somewhat popular products from Ford. Recently, Automotive News reported that both the Ford Flex and its sister, the Lincoln MKT weren’t long for this world. The story centered on Ford’s desire to separate Lincoln further from its more common sibling, but according to Ford, the report is flat-out wrong.

According to Said Deep, a spokesperson at Ford, the company has no intention of putting either the Flex or the MKT out to pasture after 2013, as the Automotive News article suggests.

“Speculative reports are incorrect,” Deep said. “These full size crossovers are vital to each brand. The MKT is one of the newest vehicles in the showroom and one of the most differentiated crossovers on the road today. Flex is one of Ford's highest scoring vehicles in customer satisfaction, and continues to build a strong following."
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Is Your Car Likely to be Stolen?


The Highway Loss Data Institute releases its list of the vehicles most likely to be targeted by car thieves -- as well as those that seem to repel them.


Posted by Chuck Tannert on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 6:01 AM
It seems car thieves haven’t caught up with the times yet. While law-abiding Americans are beginning to transition away from mammoth, gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient coupes, sedans, crossovers and hybrids, scofflaws are still drawn to the bling of luxury SUVs, according to a newly released study by the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

For the sixth time in seven years, the Cadillac Escalade, a luxury sport-utility vehicle priced between $60,000 and $190,000, tops the institute's list as the vehicle most likely to be stolen here in the U.S. The report says that for every 1,000 insured Cadillac Escalades, during the 2007 through 2009 model years, an average of 10.8 were reported stolen. And the average claim for an Escalade is seven times the average for all passenger vehicles -- $11,934, which is a fraction of its sticker price.

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Future Products: The New Ford Has Learned to Think Small


By Jamie Lareau, Automotive News


Posted by AutoWeek on Monday, August 2, 2010 4:06 PM



Ford Motor Co., long known for pickups and SUVs, will emphasize cars, crossovers and fuel-efficient engines in the next few years.

The company wants to be the fuel economy leader, and federal mpg standards are rising. Ford launched the Fiesta subcompact this summer and will introduce a redesigned Focus compact early next year.



The Fiesta and Focus are the first U.S. vehicles from the One Ford plan. Under the plan, each region has global responsibility for certain models. For example, designers and engineers in Dearborn, Mich., will continue to work on trucks and crossovers that can be adapted worldwide. The Europeans are designing small cars.



With Mercury dying by year end, Ford has promised Lincoln more product investment in the coming years.



The Ford brand will get at least one new crossover and possibly a subcompact crossover. Ford and Lincoln also will add powertrain options to many products.

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No Plug? No Problem


Evatran's wireless electric-vehicle charging station.


Posted by Joshua Condon on Monday, August 2, 2010 1:50 PM
As the first cordless phone freed talkers everywhere from the tyranny of wires, Evatran hopes to do the same for drivers of electric vehicles with its new Plugless Power EV charging station.

Though the system operates without plugs or cables, it's not exactly "wireless" -- rather, it works through proximity induction charging, in which a charge flows over a small air space when the two charging components are close enough to each other.
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End of an Era for Tesla?


Upcoming electric vehicles from major automakers will likely severely devalue Tesla's emissions credits.


Posted by Joshua Condon on Monday, August 2, 2010 10:52 AM
Tesla's recent initial public stock offering was good news for the electric-vehicle manufacturer, both because it pulled in about $226 million and because it was a vote of confidence not only for Elon Musk's company but for the EV segment as a whole. Unfortunately for Tesla, this same forward march of progress within the EV segment is about to undercut what was a major source of income for the company: sales of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits to the major automotive manufacturers. Automakers buy the credits to comply with the California Air Resource Board's zero-emissions vehicle mandate (as well as similar programs in several other states). The mandate requires manufacturers to build and sell electric vehicles -- or to purchase credits from EV manufacturers in a cap-and-trade scenario.
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GM to Boost Volt Output 50 Percent for 2012 on Buyer Demand


By David Barkholz, Automotive News


Posted by AutoWeek on Monday, August 2, 2010 8:58 AM



(Editor's note: originally posted on Friday, July 29.)

General Motors said today that buyer interest in the new Chevrolet Volt has prompted the automaker to boost 2012 production plans for the plug-in hybrid to 45,000 units from 30,000.

GM announced the 50 percent production increase as President Barack Obama toured the Detroit-Hamtramck plant today where the Volt is being made. It goes on sale later this year.

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Viva Italia


Ferrari's latest raises the sports-car bar.


Posted by Lawrence Ulrich on Monday, August 2, 2010 5:59 AM
Blowing minds and shattering sports-car expectations are what Ferrari is all about. But even as I anticipated the party to come, I was unprepared for the road-blurring bacchanal of the new 458 Italia. After all, the F430, the Italia’s midengine Berlinetta predecessor, had seemed a tough act to follow. Yet surprisingly, the 458 Italia isn’t just a nip-and-tuck affair: It’s far more beautiful than the F430, faster and sharper-handling, and more comfortable and user-friendly to boot.

A two-day test of the crimson, 562-horsepower Ferrari carried me -- very quickly -- from Brooklyn to the horse country north of New York City, a perfect setting for the latest prancing pony from Maranello, Italy. And as the 458 Italia rocked the countryside, unloading its Formula-1 bag of technological tricks, I realized this was the new state of the art in sports cars. Or maybe that’s the art of the state, as Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo named the car after his native Italy.

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I think the Volt is a tad on the expensive side. But then again, considering the technology and what you are getting, its really not that bad.

I also think its probably the best looking electric/ hybird car out there, really. The front end is actually quite sharp imo.

 

100% agree. I've read that some dealers are probably going to mark them up significantly over MSRP though.