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General Motors is adding four more states -Texas and the Northeast states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut - to the list of those where the Chevrolet Volt electric car will be available during its initial rollout in late fall, the company said Thursday.

A Motor Trend report, which cited sources, confirmed that Hyundaia s sporty front-drive coupe based on its Veloster concept will debut in the US this January at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

I have to thank the Porsche Boxster. Not the company that fed me filet mignon at a Boxster press event a few weeks ago, although that was very nice.

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Electric

Retired Formula One driver David Coulthard got a chance to sample the Mercedes-Benz' SLS E-Cell prototype, running the electric supercar through some acceleration and slalom tests on a runway before hitting the public roads of Norway.

The square-jawed racer was surprised by the acceleration, describing it as "instant but smooth." One advantage of the four motors driving each wheel is that it's easy to distribute torque to each wheel for maximum traction and handling. But the biggest downsides are the limited top speed resulting from the single speed transmission and the absence of the wonderful symphony created by the standard SLS. Not the mention the sub-100-mile range. Regardless, check out David's drive after the jump. A tip of the hat to Larrony!

Continue reading Video: David Coulthard tries out the Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell

Video: David Coulthard tries out the Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: By the Numbers

Porsche Doubles Up, Domestics Swing for the Fences

Our fearless Editor-in-Chief is off galavanting around the Northeast on vacation, so I've been tasked with coming up with this month's By The Numbers. Since I'm more obsessed with driving than number-crunching, there's a good chance I screwed this up. I'm sure you'll let me know, so let's just get this party started...

Porsche was June's biggest winner, with a whopping 137% increase in sales compared to 2009. Not a single automaker came close to that triple-digit figure, but Jaguar took the number two slot with an increase of nearly 73%, undoubtedly helped by the release of the all-new XJ. Dodge's continued success has extended through the first half of the year, while Buick shows signs of life with a 53% increase in sales compared to the previous year.

With Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac all going the way of the dodo, General Motors' zombie brands fared predictably poorly in June, although Mercury continues to soldier along with a 26% increase compared to June 2009, despite Ford's announcement that the badge-engineered brand will cease to exist this time next year.

Also, this is one of the first months that Saab Spyker Automobile has begun reporting sales, so from here on, we'll combine last year's Saab sales (under GM ownership) with this year's sales (under the Spyker regime).

Check out the full breakdown below and compare previous sales data by checking out our BTN archives - if you're into that sorta thing.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in June 2010 and 25 selling days in June 2009, so the change in monthly sales volume will equal the change in the average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.

By the Numbers - June 2010: Not Without My Neff Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 7.1.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The final Dodge Viper in its current form rolled off the assembly line Thursday in Detroit.

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Celebrities

When you've recorded as many platinum records, collaborated with as many big names and topped as many best-guitarists-of-all-time lists as Eric Clapton, you can get pretty much anything you want. And the ironically nicknamed Slowhand is known to have a taste for Ferraris. So much so that when he stopped by the factory in Maranello, even Ferrari couldn't pass up the opportunity to interview him.

Neither could Quattroruote, for that matter. While speaking with the Italian car-mag, Clapton reportedly professed his love for the new 458 Italia... with just one caveat: He's not such a fan of eight cylinders. Could he get it with V12?

According to Quattroruote, apparently he can, as Ferrari has reportedly agreed to build it for him, with the 6.0-liter V12 from the 599 GTB Fiorano. We'll believe it when we see it, which is pretty much exactly what we said the first time we heard the guitar riff on Layla.



[Source: Quattroruote via autoblog.it]

Riding with the King: Clapton wants a Ferrari 458 Italia... with a V12 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, China, Porsche

Ask anyone with the Centurion card from American Express and they'll tell you black is the new gold. The new platinum, even. Now the exclusive credit card has launched a special edition Porsche, just for card holders.

The Porsche 911 Carrera S Centurion Edition is distinguished by matte black paint with blacked-out wheels, and an interior decked out in black leather, Alcantara and carbon fiber trim. Oh, and there are special badges, of course. But that's about it.

Only three of them will be made - available exclusively in Hong Kong - which is probably just as well considering each costs nearly a quarter million dollars. No word on whether you can pay it off entirely on your credit card, though.

[Source: GTSpirit.com]

American Express offers pricey Porsche special in Hong Kong originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: BMW

BMW is looking to cut $4.9 billion in costs by 2012, but as always, it takes money to make money. Automotive News reports that the German automaker is looking at investing $1 billion in Mexican suppliers to lower costs. The move makes perfect sense considering BMW makes vehicles here in North America, and importing parts from Germany means the company has to pay far higher wages and freight charges. Mexico is also proving to be a viable alternative to production in China, where recent labor unrest has brought wages on the upswing.

BMW isn't commenting on its plans for Mexico yet, but Mexican Economy Minister Gerardo Ruiz Mateos says the automaker wants to "increase the production of auto parts here in Mexico." Mateos is reportedly traveling to Germany to discuss moving parts production to Mexico. And while the Euro is currently its weakest in years, moving parts production to Mexico would also help BMW avoid $1 billion in currency risk, which has hurt German automakers in the past.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Report: BMW considers investing $1B in Mexican suppliers originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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