High price for a hybrid: Lexus sets MSRP for LS 600h at $108,800

Filed under: Hybrid, Lexus

2010 Lexus LS 600h - Click above for high-res image gallery
Lexus' LS 600h may look modest on the outside, but the 2010 version of the hybrid sedan will set you back a cool $108,000, plus an $875 delivery fee, when it arrives at dealerships soon. The flagship LS line was given a mid-cycle refresh earlier this year and the hybrid version was upgraded with the same ECO mode that boost efficiency and can also be found on the 2010 Prius for aSource: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

Bring the Noise: Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps reportedly safe... for now

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Government/Legal

Following earlier news that the Donington track, which was supposed to take over the British Grand Prix in lieu of Silverstone, had to declare bankruptcy comes a reversal of fortune for the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The longtime host of the Belgian Grand Prix looked to be in serious trouble with local authorities when nearby residents got fed up with the noise emanating from the track. Government officials threatened to shutSource: Autoblog RSS Feed

Pittman, Bloomberg reporter, dies

Mark Pittman, the award-winning investigative reporter whose fight to open the Federal Reserve to more scrutiny led Bloomberg News to sue the central bank and win, died on Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg story. He was 52.

Bob Ivry writes, “A former police-beat reporter who joined Bloomberg News in 1997, Pittman wrote stories in 2007 predicting the collapse of the banking system. That year, he won the Gerald Loeb Award from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the highestSource: Talking Biz News RSS Feed

Chevron staging a comeback with new GR8

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, UK, Specialty, MISC

The history of the British automobile is littered with dozens upon dozens of small, independent cottage-industry automakers. Names like Lotus, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover have stood the test of time. And in recent years companies like Ascari, McLaren Automotive and Ariel have sprung up to join the fold. (Heck, Lee Noble's been responsible for half of them.) But for every newSource: Autoblog RSS Feed

BlackBerry Master Control Program 0.9.2.0 released

BlackBerry Master Control is an app that sits on your PC and allows you to take screenshots, set the device time, turn the radio/on off, recover memory, gather information, view/clear event logs, display modules, gather module information, create ALX/JAD files, backup and restore third party applications, (Advanced) handheld wipe (all 3 types), factory reset, load, save and erase modules. The application also lets you keep multiple OSs on your PC, whereas RIM says you need to delete themSource: BlackBerryCool RSS Feed

REPORT: China's Changan delays plan to enter North American auto market

Filed under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Earnings/Financials

Changan is coming to America, just not yet. Aiming to establish a base in Mexico with which to move into the U.S. market, the Chinese automaker signed a deal last year to build a plant south of the border. The familiar story of planetary financial catastrophe has encouraged Changan to tap the brakes on its plans, however.
Said the company's R&D head to Reuters, "We are still doing market research there. There Source: Autoblog RSS Feed

REPORT: Toyota forced to submit data on Tundra frame rust to NHTSA

Filed under: Truck, Safety, Toyota

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began a preliminary evaluation last month of rusting Tundra frames from the 2000 and 2001 model years. Around 200 complaints had been registered before the NHTSA commenced its investigation, with upwards of seventy more complaints coming in since then.
As with the rusting Tacoma frames, the Tundra members in question were made by Dana. Importantly, though, the Tundra examination Source: Autoblog RSS Feed

Transformers Watches Are A Modern Tribute To Kronoforms

By Andrew Liszewski

In terms of transformability, these new Transformers watches aren’t that far off from the Kronoforms that helped make the 80’s as awesome as they were. But I don’t think today’s kids will even give them a second look since all they’re really getting is a basic robot toy and an even more basic LCD clock. No sound effects, no rocket launchers, no LEDs and no websites to interact with. Yeesh! When I was a kid we didn’t have… well you know how itSource: OhGizmo! RSS Feed

Stay-At-Home Mom Turned iPhone App Guru

Cincinnati.com:

Move over Chad Ochocinco. There’s a new iPhone sheriff in town – a stay-at-home mom of six who has taught herself how to program applications herself.

Now, Crysta Pleatman has successfully launched eight applications for Apple’s and AT&T’s popular device, with more on the way.

“This was just so new when it launched that I felt I had to be a part of it,” says the energetic 39-year-old. “I had been looking to get back into the working world andSource: Business Opportunities Weblog RSS Feed

U.S., China announce new Electric Vehicles Initiative

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, China, USA

2009 BYD F3DM - Click above for high-res image gallery
You'll be forgiven if all you know about President Obama's recent trip to Asia was that he bowed (ZOMG!) to the Japanese Emperor, but we have to ask you to stop watching so much cable TV news. Things of substance happened during the trip, too, and one of them (hopefully) is a new Electric Vehicles Initiative that the U.S. and China will work together on.
TheSource: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

When In Doubt, Ask About A Discount.

As you know by now, I just finished a move to Denver, Colorado. And because I moved into a new place, there are a few things I needed to buy to make it more like “home”. I have been checking out a few stores looking for these items, and one thing I have done in every single one of them is to ask if what I am buying is going on sale anytime soon. With the holidays coming up, most stores will be cutting prices, so I wanted to make sure that what I wanted wasn’t going to be advertised nextSource: My Two Dollars RSS Feed

Leftist Blood-Curdling Scream Alert: CMPA Reports That Fox Is Fair and Balanced

Leftists including those in the White House who presumptively and obsessively attack Fox News will not be pleased with this.

At Forbes (HT Hot Air Headlines), S. Robert Lichter of George Mason University’s Center for Media and Public Affairs, asks the question, “Fox News: Fair And Balanced?” — and answers in the affirmative. In the process, the GMU Professor of Communications also makes a number of interesting points about Fox’s competitors, discusses the convergence ofSource: BizzyBlog RSS Feed

Coda unveils new website, company blog for the "practical revolution"

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Coda Automotive

When we saw the Coda Automotive promotion team during the AltCar Expo last month, most of the participants were wearing (and giving away) T-shirts labeled "End Dependence Day" (there was also at least one bad sunburn). The idea they were trying to give out was that the company's fairly normal-looking sedan holds within it a lot of potential. Coda's new website, unveiled yesterday, takes the "practical revolution" message from the shirts Source: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

Etch A Sketch Freestyle – Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

By Andrew Liszewski

What the crap is this?! Another attempt to modernize the Etch A Sketch? Please listen to me Ohio Art, the Etch A Sketch is a classic toy with a simple concept that has made it popular for almost 40 years! We actually like the limitations imposed by drawing with two dials.

Sure the new single controller knob on the Freestyle allows you draw loops and curves that aren’t horribly aliased, but that’s the charm of the original Etch A Sketch! It wasSource: OhGizmo! RSS Feed

Lotus reportedly gives the go-ahead to Esprit replacement

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Lotus, Luxury

We have liftoff on the next Lotus Esprit. Finally. Scuttlebutt at the beginning of the year suggested it was taking so long because Lotus was pondering some sort of hybrid system for the car. More recently the talk has turned to three specimens from Toyota's book of engines, including the Lexus LFA's V10, and the word "hybrid" disappeared.
It's the V10 that interests us here, because Lotus is planning for the new Esprit --Source: Autoblog RSS Feed

Arcade Fire: Sega Outrun console being turned into driveable car [w/VIDEO]

Filed under: Etc., Videos

Sega Outrun GPS video arcade console scooter -- Click above to view the video after the jump

When we hear the phrase "contemporary artist" we usually say, "Just show us what you're doing because there's little chance we'll understand rationale." Garnet Hertz, the artist in question, is combining a Sega Outrun arcade console with an EVT America Electric Trike (a three-wheeled scooter), an iPhone, and custom GPS software. The result will be aSource: Autoblog RSS Feed

OhGizmo! Review – LUXA2 H1-Touch

By Chris Scott Barr

If you’ve looked at PC cases, power supplies and cooling systems, there’s a good chance that you’re familiar with the name Thermaltake. However, you may not recognize their new brand, LUXA2. The LUXA2 brand features products that keep simplicity, luxury and unique designs in mind. I’ve had the opportunity to check out one of their first offerings, the H1-Touch.

The H1-Touch is very simply a holder for your mobile phone. Specifically, it is aimed atSource: OhGizmo! RSS Feed

Economist's Notebook: Is Portland Really a Safe Walking City?

The Oregonian reports on the Transportation for American and Surface Transportation Policy Partnership's report on the safest walking cities in America. Portland was #9, but is it really a safe walking city?
Perhaps, but the methodology is seriously flawed and clearly designed to make a political point and not provide meaningful data. The way they compiled the ranking was to divide the number of pedestrian deaths divided by the number of people who walk to work. What you wouldSource: The Oregon Economics RSS Feed

Renault announces 2011 production of all-electric Kangoo van

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Renault, Europe/EU

Kangoo be bop Z.E. - Click above for high-res image gallery
Last week, Renault announced it will build the Twizy EV in Spain starting in 2011 and plug-in vehicle batteries and the Zoe Z.E. in France in 2012. But Renault's push to bring electric cars to market soon don't stop there, they've got a trinity to complete. Today, Renault said it build the all-electric Kangoo Van in early 2011 in Northern France. The Kangoo will be built atSource: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

Oklahomans battling over the cost of NEVs. Should they be free?

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle), USA

Wheego Whip - click above for high-res image gallery
Low-speed, neighborhood electric vehicles are an interesting case. No one thinks of them as "real cars" - although the Wheego Whip, above, tries to be the Cadillac of NEVs - but they certainly serve a purpose and can meet the transportation needs of some people, some of the time. But, should they be free?
Keith Andrews, president Source: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

Mo' Money, Fewer Problems: Can Raikkonen earn more by not racing?

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

If you scoffed at the notion that unionized auto workers were being paid not to work, you're going to love this one: According to reports emerging from Europe, Kimi Raikkonen could stand to make more money next year if he doesn't race than if he does.
The bizarre circumstance comes down to the terms of his departure from Scuderia Ferrari. Kimi was reportedly offered a whopping 17 million euros in order to make room for an Source: Autoblog RSS Feed

Audi S8 spy shots

These Audi S8 spy shots are from Autogespot reader, Michael Biro, and show the new sporty S8 testing in the Austrian mountains. The Audi A8 will be replaced by a new model, substituting the V10 engine for possibly an aspirated V8 with about 450 hp. Audi should also produce a lighter and more economical version for the future.

The S8 shown here has classic Audi design, with a few changes to the grill, sportier bumpers, a new set of alloys and a redesigned exhaust. The newSource: EuroCarBlog RSS Feed

Insider Trading Case: Options Action a Ticket to ‘Big House’

One of the subjects of the new insider trading charges levied by prosecutors today warned in an intercepted phone call that unusual options activity ahead of deal announcements might be “a ticket right to the [expletive] big house.”

That snippet of an intercepted phone call from February 2008 was included as part of the criminal complaints filed by prosecutors in New York. On either end of the line was Zvi Goffer and Jason Goldfarb, an attorney who allegedly got information andSource: MarketBeat RSS Feed

Aston Martin Rapide new pics

The Aston Martin Rapide is lovely, there’s no doubt about it, and this new Rapide gallery shows the Aston four-door in all its detail. While there are some murmurings about the lack of practicality of the rear doors for eventual rear passengers, find me the family who’s using it as their daily car and then I’ll be worried.

The Rapide is equipped with a V12 engine with 470 hp and if you want to see it in action, check out the video of the Rapide on the Stelvio Pass.Source: EuroCarBlog RSS Feed

Chrysler to cut weight of next-gen Jeep Liberty by 600 pounds!

Filed under: Chrysler, Lightweight

The Jeep Liberty is not a particularly large vehicle, but Chrysler engineers managed to pack a lot of mass into it nonetheless. The current Liberty weighs in at nearly 4,300 pounds! At the Chrysler business plan meeting today, product development SVP Scott Kunselman revealed that aerodynamics and weight reduction will be a big part of all future vehicles. Using modern computer design tools and lighter materials the company plans to pare large Source: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

R1 Radio Is Controlled By Rolling

By Evan Ackerman

On Monday we posted about the Q2 radio, which you control by rocking it back and forth. And today, we’ve got the R1 radio, which you control by rolling it back and forth. So, they’re radios. And they rock and roll. How could we possibly justify not posting about them? I mean, the potential for terrible puns or something is just enormous! Or it would be, if these were somehow combined into one incredibly awesome radio. But sadly, the R1 isn’t even a real productSource: OhGizmo! RSS Feed