Harking back to the Honda Civic CR-X from the late 1980s, the all-new 2011 Honda CR-Z “sport hybrid coupe” has made its U.S. production debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
After grabbing headlines for the world’s cheapest car, Tata has now introduced a new people carrier at the New Delhi Motor Show. Dubbed the Tata Magic Iris, it seats five, and is meant to compete with three-wheeled auto-rickshaws rather than minivans.
Toyota is showing off the Etios “concept” at the New Delhi Motor Show, ready to become the company’s volume seller in the competitive Indian market.
Honda’s Indian division has unveiled the Honda New Small Concept, a concept version for what will become a new sub-compact hatchback model, at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi.
The Honda CR-X of the 1980s was a Civic-based hatchback-liftback-coupe combo that catapulted Honda’s status among compact sports cars, even if it was rather humble on the spec sheet. Honda has already announced the revival of the car as the CR-Z hybrid, with a concept version already shown at recent auto shows. The brochure for the production version has been leaked.
The BMW Vision concept car is the latest in a string of “EfficientDynamics” ideas by the German automaker. Conceived as a 2+2-seater with plug-in full-hybrid technology, this concept car combines the performance of a BMW M vehicle with a standard of fuel efficiency and emission management that exceeds even the current levels achieved by the latest small cars. This result is made possible by the combination of BMW ActiveHybrid components with an economical combustion engine and good aerodynamic qualities.
BMW has debuted the production hybrid versions of the BMW 7-Series and the BMW X6. To be shown at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show in September, the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 will go on sale in early 2010, and it is expected that at least the X6 version will make it to the UAE and a few other GCC markets.
Nissan has unveiled their first affordable, zero-emission car. Titled the Nissan LEAF, it is a “medium-size hatchback” that comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160 km to satisfy real-world consumer requirements. And the most interesting part is it is almost ready for production, and slated for consumer release in late 2010.
Nissan has previewed its electric vehicle platform on a Tiida-based prototype in their quest for a pure zero-emissions vehicle. They also showcased a sophisticated EV-IT system developed to support electric driving 24 hours a day.
Fahrmitgas.de, a German tuning firm named after its own website, is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing on July 20, 1969. While their motto for their celebratory project is “drive me to the moon,” their choice of vehicle is rather underwhelming. So it their spaceman mascot.