Dubbed “The American Icon” the MINI Cooper pictured above was created by the well-meaning hands of Ken and Annie Burkitt of Ontario, Canada as a representation of all things American. Covered with 1 million meticulously placed Swarovski crystals, The American Icon features the jeweled likeness of 10 different American symbols, including Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and the American flag. Currently on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum at Piccadilly Circus in London, anonymous tipsters have informed us that U.S. Ambassadors in London have promised a £700 reward to anyone who successfully wrestles the Burkitt’s away from their Bedazzler.
Recently Ford unveiled its newest small car, the 2010 Ford Fiesta sedan, at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China. Based on Ford’s Verve Concept car introduced last year as one of the flagship sedan’s in Ford’s new “Global Ford” product line-up, the Ford Fiesta sedan unveiled yesterday will begin production in Beijing in early 2009. Although Ford has yet to confirm or deny whether the new 2010 Fiesta sedan is U.S.-bound, industry experts expect both a three-door and five-door sedan/hatchback combinations to make their way stateside.
If you’ve taken note of any Scion xD print or television ads, you no doubt notice that the ads highlight mostly anime-esque, bass thumping, club hopping hipsters with spiky hair zipping about a variety of mostly non-specific urban settings. Absent are these Gen-Y’ers (or is Z now?) loading in a pile of groceries or a coupld of kids, saving money at the pump or generally enjoying a higher level of comfort and amenities than would be expected by the cheap price tag. However, putting aside the youthful style, the Scion xD is a much more mature vehicle than it looks.
In a bit of good news from Mitsubishi, the Tri-Star badged automaker is reportedly intending to distribute its first plug-in electric car in Japan, North America and Europe beginning next year. The 100 mile driving range i MiEV was previously only destined for mostly fleet duty, but after positive developments in preparation for mass production, the company has decided that increasing production is a potential cash cow for the typically second-tier sales producing Japanese automaker. The new plan involves launching the i MiEV electric car in Japan as early as the summer of 2009.
Although Corolla sales are down from a year ago (and really who’s aren’t?), sales of nearly 200,000 units a year make the economy car the all-time best-selling car model in history. Since the first Corolla was produced in 1968 Toyota has from year-to-year very smartly only judiciously updated the vehicle while still keeping their consumers interested by offering new higher-end technologies (like the first economy car with airbags). The 2009 Corolla, similarly gets a bunch of things right.
Contrary to the typical small car equals small power equation that is attached to most economy cars, the SS trimmed Cobalt offers a balance of sportiness and efficiency. The 260 horsepower 2009 Cobalt SS, including a new four-door version, are not only the most powerful four cylinder small cars available but have even more turbocharged-guts than Chevy’s own larger Malibu and Impala.
Recently, a new Audi mule was caught testing in the industrial district in France. Although we can’t confirm anything as of this moment, the new model appears to be droptop coupe heavily based on the Audi 2500. From what we can see, it also seems as though Audi has entirely eliminated the need for a gas tank, and we’re interested to find out exactly what is powering this fuel-efficient little compact.
Recently, the experts at Auto Express managed to confirm that the rumors surrounding Audi’s intention to produce a compact car are indeed correct: Audi is currently developing a small, eco-friendly city car. The Audi city car will share the same underpinnings as VW’s newest micro car, the up!, and engineers are currently burning the midnight Öl developing two super fuel-efficient, 600cc twin-turbocharged engines (one diesel, one petrol). Sources say the tiny Audi is expected to average around 95 mpg and produce less than 100g/km of CO2 emissions, earning it a spot in the fuel-efficient micro car competition next the likes of the 56 mpg Ford Ka and the 80 mpg Toyota iQ.
For a multitude of reasons, most having to do with public demand, hatchbacks haven’t historically done well in America. After last year’s debut, the 2009 Saturn Astra, an almost identical recycle of a car made by Opel, tries to finally break that pattern with a strong combination of sportiness, economy and practical utility.
Today, Nissan threw down the small car gauntlet when it announced the release of the new, bargain-priced 2009 Nissan Versa 1.6 into the U.S. market. Scheduled to go on sale November 18, the 2009 Nissan Versa 1.6 will be priced to start at $9,990, officially earning it the distinction as the most inexpensive new car currently available in the United States. That 10k price tag does not include those ominous “dealership” and “handling” fees, however, but as long as you’ve mastered the fine art of negotiation and/or advanced hand-to-hand combat, you should be able to sign off on an ‘09 Versa 1.6 that’s well within the $9,990 range. As a word of caution, though, should you find it necessary to resort to aggravated assault when haggling with the Nissan dealer, it is not recommended that your escape plan rely heavily on your newly acquired Versa 1.6 inasmuch the 107 horsepower, 1.6L 4-cylinder engine is not likely to be much help in putting distance between you and the pursing 5-0.
