by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 15, 2011
Small cars are big these days, as the posters for the Frankfurt Motor Show declare. And while that’s probably no surprise among mainstream brands like Volkswagen, which focused much of its news conference on the micro-sized Up! line, even luxury makers are getting...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 15, 2011
Just weeks after delivering its first plug-in hybrid to actor Leonardo Di Caprio, Fisker is ready to roll out an all-new version of its coupe-like Karma sedan. The new Fisker Surf offers an alternate take with a distinctly European flair that some might be tempted to...
by Henny Hemmes | Sep 15, 2011
The Jaguar XJ has taken honors as the inaugural winner of the Women’s World Car of the Year. The news came as a surprise to many – including some of the WWCoTY jurors — who had assumed that the winner would be a much smaller car. But the first year’s awards were...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 15, 2011
Nearly 40 years after it built its first battery car – a one-off that paced the marathon during the 1972 Munich Olympics – BMW is charging back into the world of electrification. But this time it hopes to make a serious business case with its new...
by Joseph Szczesny | Sep 15, 2011
The United Auto Workers fell short in a bold effort to reach an agreements with both General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group as the union’s contracts with the two automakers expired at midnight. The union push appears to have been hampered by lack of any kind of strike...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
The all-new Mercedes-Benz B-Class platform will be shared with Infiniti which plans to use it as the foundation for a compact luxury offering based on the popular Etherea concept car. That’s the latest move to emerge from a rapidly expanding alliance between Mercedes’...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
There are some curious and conflicting trends you’ll spot wandering the vast halls of the Frankfurt Motor Show: automakers are moving ever-smaller with their newest models – even as their existing small cars get bigger. A case in point is the 2012 BMW 1-Series, which...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
“We’re back,” proclaimed Didier Leroy, the CEO of Toyota of Europe, as he began the maker’s press preview at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. That might have seemed an odd thing to say less than a year ago, when Toyota seemed to have unstoppable momentum. But that was...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
Barely a month after lifting the covers on the second-generation of its mid-luxury sedan Lexus is back and charging into the Frankfurt Motor Show with the updated 2013 Lexus GS 450h hybrid. During a Pebble Beach preview, Toyota Motor Co. CEO Akio Toyoda underscored...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
Underscoring the small but fast-growing presence of hybrids in Europe, Toyota brought its Prius Plug-in to Europe for its official world debut this week. The plug-in will become part of an expanding “family” of hybrids sharing the Prius name, Didier Leroy, President...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
It may build some of the smallest cars on the market but Mini is one very fast-growing brand, the British maker bringing to the Frankfurt Motor Show its new 2-seat Mini Coupe. The 2-seat fastback is promised to be the sportiest model to bear the Mini badge, officials...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 14, 2011
It may sport the Italian automaker’s familiar trident logo on the oversized grille, but Maserati’s first sport-utility vehicle will be Made in Detroit, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed during a preview at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Officially a concept,...
