Few companies can make a 518-horsepower V-8-powered roadster look inadequate like Mercedes-Benz can. Joining the SL550, SL600, and 604-horsepower V-12 SL65 AMG for the 2009 model year is the SL63 AMG.
Fiat’s new 1.6 MultiJet 16v unit, announced just last week, makes the Bravo which will feature it the first car in its category to be fitted with a Euro 5-compliant engine, well ahead of the 2009 deadline.
Compared with the dust-up between GM and Toyota over who’s got the better approach to hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology (i.e., Volt versus Hybrid Synergy Drive), the General has been positively genteel in its pursuit of hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
It’s been rumored for some time that Audi and Porsche would be teaming up to produce a handful of new models over the next five years. From a manufacturing standpoint, both automakers could benefit from shared development and production costs, while consumers would get their hands on some very compelling product.
For the past 32 years, fuel economy requirements for cars and trucks in the U.S. were stagnant. That all changed in December when President Bush put his signature on a new law that slowly raises gas mileage standards for cars and trucks by 40%, to an average of 35 mpg by 2020. As a result, carmakers will begin marching out a parade of new, advanced technologies to boost miles per gallon in their vehicles.
