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LA 2010: 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid is good-lookin’, green-drivin’

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Hybrid, Sedan, Kia

2011 Kia Optima Hybrid

2011 Kia Optima Hybrid – Click here for high-res image gallery

Kia is just now beginning to roll out its sexy new 2011 Optima, with the 2.4-liter GDI version priced from only $18,995. Much like its sister car, the Hyundai Sonata, the Optima will be offered with a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine in EX and SX trims, and here at the LA Auto Show, the Kia has unveiled its third member of the Optima family – the Hybrid.

Much like the Sonata Hybrid, the gas/electric Optima uses the same 2.4-liter direct-injected inline-four, mated to an electric motor. Combined with a six-speed automatic transmission, the Optima Hybrid will yield 40 miles per gallon on the highway – besting its eco-minded competitors, the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Pricing will be announced closer to the car’s on-sale date early next year, and you can read the full details in Kia’s press release, after the jump. Check out our high-res galleries of live and stock shots, as well.

Gallery: LA 2010: 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid

2011 Kia Optima Hybrid

Gallery: 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid

2011 Kia Optima Hybrid

Continue reading LA 2010: 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid is good-lookin’, green-drivin’

LA 2010: 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid is good-lookin’, green-drivin’ originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

We’re back for Episode #201 of the Autoblog Podcast. Hosting this week are Chris Shunk, Dan Roth and Zach Bowman. Topics include the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392, Hyundai’s claim to soon be building the most American cars on the U.S. market, Lincoln’s spat with its dealers, the new Mercedes B-Cass and the Green Car of the Year nominees. The Autoblog Garage at the beginning and feedback/questions at the end provide the full experience. It’s an hour and twenty minutes this week, thanks for listening and we’ll see you soon!

Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year

In the Autoblog Garage:

Ford Fiesta Hatch
Nissan Sentra

News Topics:
Lincoln fighting with its dealers

Hyundai wants to be the most American automaker in the U.S.
Green Car of the Year finalists announced
Mercedes B-Class coming to the U.S.?

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman
Runtime: 1:17:46

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Green Car of the Year finalists announced

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Hybrid, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln, Nissan, Electric

2011 Nissan Leaf

Green Car of the Year finalists – Click above for high-res image gallery

Green Car Journal has chosen its five candidates for the 2011 Green Car of the Year Award. Competition is fierce this time around with both the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt nabbing nods. While those two have been busy snapping up headlines over the past year, the rest of the vehicles on the list are no less impressive. The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid made the cut thanks to its incredibly efficient drivetrain borrowed from the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Meanwhile, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is bound to make an impressive showing thanks to its competent highway mileage and high-tech lithium-polymer battery pack.

Of all of the eligible vehicles, the only one without a battery pack is the lovable 2011 Ford Fiesta. While the subcompact is likely to be eclipsed by the rest of the electron-powered pack, the vehicle’s 40 mpg highway is no less impressive than all of the high-tech wizardry on board the hybrids and EVs. The winner of this year’s award will be announced at the 2010 LA Auto Show on November 18. Check out our gallery of the nominees below and then hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: 2011 Green Car of the Year Finalists

Photos copyright (C)2010 AOL

[Source: Green Car Journal]

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2010 Green Car of the Year finalists announced originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz will do the ‘unthinkable’ to go green

Filed under: Mercedes-Benz

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS – Click above for high-res image gallery

At the Mercedes press conference during last week’s Paris Auto Show, the company rolled out its CLS – the car everyone was really there to see – for dessert. We couldn’t have our pudding without eating our meat, though, so there were five courses served before it: the Smart Ad Lib, Smart scooter, Smart bicycle, Mercedes A-Class E-Cell, and a 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel S-Class, throughout which time Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche and Smart head Annette Winkler took a good thirty minutes to stress the consumer and environmental friendliness of the brand’s offerings.

This will not be an isolated incident, either. Zetsche said “We want to be efficiency world champions … and we will be,” and to do so will require initiatives that were “previously unthinkable,” such as the hybrid S-Class and the coming four-cylinder. While there’s no timeline placed on his pronouncement, it is clear that if M-B is going to stay with BMW and Audi in the emissions and efficiency stakes it will need to take a sledgehammer to conventional ideas of the brand.

Audi has laid out its electronic initiatives and BMW has its Efficient Dynamics, but so far Mercedes has only laid out a range of different projects under no particular umbrella, such as an all-hybrid S-Class line, more efficient ICE engines, and a new range of small cars for America. We wait to see if there is one particular way M-B will ultimately go to fulfill its aim… and if that way will include euthanizing Maybach…

Gallery: 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Mercedes-Benz will do the ‘unthinkable’ to go green originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota debuts Army Green FJ Cruiser Trail Teams edition… in blue

Filed under: SUV, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Toyota, Off-Road

Toyota FJ Cruiser

Toyota issued a press release recently to discuss the updates to the 2011 FJ Cruiser. The release goes on to highlight the all-new Trail Teams Special Edition FJ, which wears Army Green paint. The photo above was attached to the release and highlights something else: someone at Toyota might be color blind.

Tritanopia, a form of Blue-Yellow colorblindness, can cause some green colors to appear light blue to the affected viewer. We would love to show those of you with standard color vision a photo of the Army Green FJ but we don’t have one available.

For our readers with Tritanopia, check out the sweet new Trail Teams Special Edition FJ shown above.

Everyone, regardless of colors seen, can hop the jump to read about the updates on the 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser. They include an upgraded standard audio system, improved rearward visibility and a new design for the available 17-inch wheels.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota debuts Army Green FJ Cruiser Trail Teams edition… in blue

Toyota debuts Army Green FJ Cruiser Trail Teams edition… in blue originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 25 Sep 2010 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW reportedly green-lights 6 Series Gran Coupé concept for production

Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, BMW, Luxury

BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé concept – Click above to watch video walkaround after the jump

As a testament to its success in starting the four-door coupe movement, the Mercedes-Benz CLS is nigh on its second version, yet competitors have only recently begun to crowd the room. With the Audi A7 about to gain membership in the club, BMW couldn’t hang back, so it has reportedly slapped a sales date on the 6 Series Gran Coupe concept: it’ll be here in 2012.

Rumored for the summer of 2012 by German publication Automobilwoche, that puts its introduction a year behind the next-generation 6 Series. Engines are said to be a mix of gas and diesel, and BMW evidently spoke of a potential hybrid application. Perhaps most importantly, design cues such as the frameless doors and LED lighting will be carried into production. Those trick exhaust tips, however, not likely. Follow the jump for a video walkaround of the exterior and check out our high-res gallery below for a refresher.

Gallery: Beijing 2010: BMW Concept Gran Coupe

[Sources: Automobilwoche (translated), BMW Blog]

Continue reading BMW reportedly green-lights 6 Series Gran Coupé concept for production

BMW reportedly green-lights 6 Series Gran Coupé concept for production originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Chevy Corvette production to leave Bowling Green for… Lansing?

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Plants/Manufacturing, Chevrolet, Rumormill

2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible – Click above for high-res image gallery

Even though it was just named the Official State Sports Car of Kentucky not even a month ago, a story from WLNS speculates that Chevrolet Corvette production could move from Bowling Green, Kentucky to Lansing, Michigan. The UAW president and economist who brought it up apparently didn’t suggest that it would happen, they were really just throwing out possibilities to the WLNS reporter.

General Motors’ Corvette rep David Caldwell, though, has doused any idea of this happening. When Autoblog asked him about the story, Caldwell told us that there had been a roundtable about what the Lansing Grand River plant might produce, and various cars were mentioned, including the Corvette. However, as Caldwell notes, “Corvettes are born in Bowling Green,” and “nothing going on in the foreseeable future changes that long-time fact.”

In other words, all of you in the Bluegrass State can relax now.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible

[Source: WLNS]

Rumormill: Chevy Corvette production to leave Bowling Green for… Lansing? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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