Opel Insignia is elected European Car Of The Year 2009

It takes a lot of qualities for a car to win a prize such as Car Of The Year. In its 2009 edition, for example, which one of these would you have chosen? Ford Fiesta, VW Golf VI, Opel Insignia, Skoda Superb, Renault Mégane III, Alfa Romeo Mi.To or Citroën C5? If you have picked Opel Insignia, you would have guessed right, even if only for one point.



One point was exactly what took the prize away from Ford Fiesta, the second in the row and considered by many one of the best Ford vehicles of the latest years. VW Golf, Citroën C5, Alfa Romeo Mi.To, Skoda Superb and Renault Mégane III followed the winner and the second place exactly in this sequence.

According to the judges, what made Opel Insignia, also badged as Vauxhall, become the first winner from Opel in 22 years was not only its great looks, but a group of good qualities, such as efficient engines, safety features, such as Opel Eye, which recognises traffic signs, and great value for money.

We are glad this is a good product, since GM is facing difficult times, especially in the USA. Maybe this is the car they should try to sell in the most important market of the world. Considering European luxury cars are a huge success there, a similar vehicle would have chances of success, especially for a much more affordable price.









Source: Car Of The Year

Fisker Karma will be produced in Finland by Valmet

GM is not being threatened only by its economical conditions. When it was going a little better, it had the chance to be the first company to release a plug-in hybrid that was powered only by electricity, the Chevrolet Volt. But even at those better times the company only promised to release Volt in 2010, no sooner than that. Well, this gives us a hint on why GM is facing problems. Lack of speed in decisions is certainly one of them. This is the only reason Fisker will offer the first modern production hybrid with this configuration, the new sedan Karma. And it will be helped on this by Valmet, the same company that builds Porsche Cayman and Boxster, in Finland.



Production of the revolutionary vehicle, which a price tag of about US$ 80,000, is set to start by the last quarter of 2009. The first 99 units will be numbered and painted in the same colour of the car presented at the Detroit Auto Show this year.

With a range of 80 km only with its batteries charge, Karma is able to run in day to day basis with no need of fuel. If the way is longer than that, a small petrol engine starts to operate in order to charge the batteries and extend the car range a lot further (to about 1,000 km or more, depending on the size of the fuel tank).

Top speed is expected to be above 200 km/h, and the car will be able to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 6 s. For a luxury sedan, these figures are just fantastic, especially considering the car can be so fantastically clean as well.












Source: Fisker and Valmet

Fiat 500 Da 0 a Cento celebrates Karl Abarth's centenary

Karl Abarth was born in November 15 1908. If he were still alive, he would have completed 100 years last Saturday. In a way, he is, as Fiat has demonstrated by bringing the Scorpion brand back to life, with many new products. One of them, anyway, is really special: the new Fiat 500 "Da 0 a 100".






Limited to 101 units, the new car is equipped with a 1.4-litre T-Jet engine, turbocharged and able to produce up to 160 cv at 5,750 rpm and 230 Nm at 3,000 rpm. With this piece of machinery, it reaches a top speed of 211 km/h and goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 7,3 s. Its performance is better than the one presented by the Esseesse.

In order to stop the small car, there are vented discs in the front and rear wheels, with 17" alloy wheels that use 205/40 ZR 17 Pirelli Pzero Nero. Safety is also a concern, with seven airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP, ASR (Anti Slip Regulation) and Torque Transfer Control. For easier departures in inclined terrains, there is also a Hill Holder system. Inside, an audio equipment ready to read MP3 files and automatic air conditioning show performance can be preserved in comfortable cars.

Source: Fiat

BRABUSTesla becomes the first tuned electric sportscar of the world

BRABUS is famous for creating some of the meanest cars on Earth, such as Rocket, based on an E Class, and Bullit, made out of a C Class. Besides Mercedes-Benz cars, the company has now shown it is aware that electric cars will probably be the future of personal transportation. And there is no better way to demonstrate this than with a tuned Tesla Roadster.



The sad part about this early tuning project it that performance has not been improved, only looks (if you may say they are any better at all). Curiously, a lot of so-called improvements, such as the addition of Daylight Running Lights, will only account for a larger energy comsumption. Let's hope BRABUS starts thinking about autonomy of performance improvements that are for real, such as the use of supercapacitors or anything alike.








Source: BRABUS

n2a Motor releases another product, Anteros

n2a Motors has become known when it presented its first vehicle, 789, a Corvette-based nostalgic car. With an appearance that resembles a 1957 Chevrolet and 1958 and 1959 Impala vehicles, it also presents modern performance and safety (you can check the car's pictures at the bottom of this post). Anyway, n2a (Not Two Alike) has also come up with a new idea. And the company has named it Anteros.



There will be three versions of the car: XTM Roadster, XTS Targa and XTR Hardtop. All of them built over a C6 Z06 platform. Car can be supercharged to reach 650 bhp. n2a promises a gas mileage of 11.9 km/l.

The company confesses it has searched for inspiration on cars such as Jaguar, Osca, Maserati, Ferrari and Aston Martin, but the Italian looks are the most evident. For the ones that would like to have an Italian car with North American engines, this may be the right choice.














Source: n2a Motors