A-list celebrities have been spotted everywhere recently behind the wheel of the Toyota Prius hybrid car, giving the fruity little green machine some free press time [much like I am inadvertently doing]. So who joins established greenies like Leonardo DiCaprio on the list of celebrity Prius owners? Hit the jump to find out.

2008 Cobalt SS

In a bit of positive news, General Motors has released news yesterday that a decision has been made to keep its U.S. compact-car factory working overtime for the rest of 2008.  Seemingly at odds with the world’s economic state, Chevrolet is asserting that the Cobalt’s sales drop of 17% from last year is the result of their inability to meet demand for the car.  Anyone else amazed that GM still only has ONE compact-car factory in the U.S.? 

Yesterday, Toyota announced that they will begin offering 0% financing on 11 vehicle models, a maneuver simply unheard of throughout company history. Described by mouthpieces as a strategic marketing move intended to capitalize on Detroit’s credit crunch, Toyota hopes the 0% offer will help slow the bleeding their sales have been experiencing.

Prior to the announcement of the new incentive, Toyota appeared to be staying afloat in the tumultuous industry waters, thanks in no small part to its increasingly popular hybrid offering, the Toyota Prius. In September, however, the market apparently caught up, leaving Toyota with a record 32% drop in sales - a percentage that exceeded the industry average by a considerable margin.

Toyota iQ rear-seat airbag

In response to safety concerns surrounding the increased risk of serious harm many rear seat passengers face in micro cars, Toyota has engineered a rear seat airbag for their new micro car, the Toyota iQ. Intended to prevent passenger injuries in the event of a rear-end collision, the rear airbag is similar in both design and function to side-impact airbags [which Volvo pioneered in 1995]. In the event of an accident, the roof-stored rear airbags deploy in a curtain-like barrier, providing an air-filled buffer between the head rests and the rear window. Together, the curtain and the headrest work in tandem to minimize the impact absorbed by rear occupants during a collision.

This is actually not a wireframe CGI or any type of cell shaded animation. It’s a real life actual, tangible scale model of a Toyota Corolla made out of heavy gauge wire. It was created by artist Benedict Radcliffe and was commissioned by Japan’s Densu Inc. for an advertising campaign in the Middle East.

Radcliffe just used the silhouette of a Toyota Corolla as his guide and formed a perfect skeleton of wire. He then painted it with a reflective white paint, and that was that.

Check out the other pics after the jump:

2009 Car of the Year Nominee: Dodge Challenger

In January of next year the North American Car and Truck of the Year winners will be announced during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  The process that leads to that decision began last week with the release of the first round of 26 finalists.  Not suprisingly, vehicles from the crossover segment of the industry dominate this year’s list.

2009 Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry has been one of the best-selling vehicles for over 20 years. Only the Honda Accord has a stronger street cred than the Camry. A reputation like the Camry’s doesn’t just materialize out of thin air, Toyota had to work for it. Low maintenance costs, reliability, a comfortable ride, a strong resale value, etc etc. It’s a quality vehicle, and consumers know it. The 2009 is no different.

The 2009 Camry is the biggest version yet, with tons of legroom in the front and rear. Plus it has more balls than any previous Camry, with an available 268-horsepower V6. That kind of power can rocket the boring old Camry from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds, that’s well within the sport sedan zone; in fact it makes it one of the fastest mid-priced sedans out there. On top of that (in spite of that?) the V6 version still gets 19 city/28 mpg highway.

Yesterday, the United States Senate passed a new bill that will provide tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles, allowing GM to successfully achieve their goal of obtaining a $7,500 tax credit for Chevy Volt buyers. According to the new piece of legislation, tax credits for plug-in buyers will start at $2,500 and extend all the up to $7,500 for light-duty vehicle - with Volt buyers being eligible for the maximum allowance. Unlike the tax credits already established for alternative energy/gasoline electric vehicles which orders the credits be phased out for customers of a company once that company sells more than 60,000 qualifying vehicles, credits for plug-in electric buyers won’t be phased out until sales total 250,000.

Toyota A-Bat Concept

Introduced in 2007 at the Detroit auto show, the Toyota A-Bat pick-up truck/sedan synergy is now creeping slowly, hesitantly towards production. Although nothing has been green-lighted, Toyota executives have confirmed for Auto News that they’ve begun accepting supplier bids for the A-Bat’s construction components. So does this mean the freaky little A-Bat is destined for U.S. roadways? Not necessarily.

2009 Mazda6

Mazda is clearly sticking to a youthful philosophy and marketing plan.  Like Chuckie, that Zoom-Zoom thing just won’t die.  While the previous Mazda 6 was received favorably by the public and in car reviews, it was only modestly successful in terms of sales compared to the Accord and Camry.  For all of the car’s dynamic driving characterstics, it was on the small side, perhaps a bit unrefined and by most estimations not quite up to the fit and finish of its competitors.  Rather than scrapping the 6 to introduce a new 2009 model, Mazda has comprehensively revamped and produced a new version that is better in almost every facet than anything else of this type.