Minicars
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Think is a Norwegian based manufacturer of electric cars and is the same company behind the original ‘Th!nk’ electric car that went on sale in the U.S. during the late 1990s. Back then Think was owned by Ford, which sold it in 2003 to Swiss company Kamkorp Microelectronics. In 2006 Think went bankrupt and was subsequently rescued by a group of Norwegian investors determined to build the firm into a proper automaker with a number of all-electric models. The rejuvenated company showed some promise in recent years, revealing a number of new concept vehicles and announcing plans to...
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2010 Los Angeles Auto Show: 2012 Fiat 500 Minicar Unveiled
The launch of the 2012 Fiat 500 at the Los Angeles Auto Show wasn't only the first new model from Chrysler's partnership with Italian automaker Fiat. It also added a new and attractive model to a category of cars that have always been an afterthought in the U.S. market: minicars, those even smaller...
John Voelcker -
Honda Unveils Brio, Its Smallest Car, For Asian Markets Only
The smallest Honda sold in the U.S. market is the 2011 Fit subcompact, its well-reviewed and enormously versatile five-door hatchback. But other markets demand different types of cars, and today at the Thailand Motor Expo, the company unveiled the Honda Brio prototype, a lightly disguised version...
John Voelcker -
2010 LA Auto Show: 2012 Mitsubishi 'i' Electric Minicar
It was the first electric car sold in volume anywhere in the world, starting more than a year ago, and now the 2012 Mitsubishi "i" is officially coming to the U.S. market. The U.S. version was unveiled on Thursday at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, though Mitsubishi provided few new details on how...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen Won’t Follow Fiat’s Lead With Two-Cylinder Engine
In Europe Fiat sells its funky 500 minicar with an optional 0.9-liter two-cylinder engine that when equipped with an automatic transmission returns an impressive fuel economy of 57.4 mpg for the European combined cycle. With Volkswagen now working on a similar sized vehicle, the upcoming Up...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2012 VW Up Minicar On Sale In Europe Next Year, Already Priced
VW hasn't yet unveiled the final version of its upcoming Up minicar, which will be smaller than the smallest vehicle it sells in Europe today, the Volkswagen Polo subcompact. But the company has already discussed the car's price there: around 10,000 Euros, or about $14,100 at today's exchange rate...
John Voelcker -
Nissan is already one of the leaders in the electric vehicle field, having unveiled the zero-emission Leaf, which is scheduled to go on sale next month, and now this latest mobility concept. Previewing one possibility for mobility in the future, where vehicle designs will be dictated by ease of use in congested urban environments and ever-stricter emissions standards, the aptly named Nissan New Mobility Concept continues to expand the possibilities realized by electric vehicles. This particular concept is a sustainable, efficient and convenient mode of transportation focusing on the increase...
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2010 Paris Auto Show: 2011 Toyota iQ
Toyota has already confirmed that it’s bringing its iQ minicar to the U.S. next March badged as a Scion and this latest version of the car, set to be unveiled tomorrow at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, may just be the one that we will see in showrooms next year. The major changes introduced on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Fiat 500 Testing in Nevada: Exclusive Spy Photo
The 2011 Fiat 500 will go on sale in less than six months, but the company is still hard at work roadtesting pre-production versions for North America. The latest proof is this photo of a Fiat 500 development prototype being road-tested outside Las Vegas, in the hot weather of Nevada. Our reader KJ...
John Voelcker -
2011 Scion iQ Minicar Coming to U.S. Next March
Sales of the Smart ForTwo minicar plummeted after gasoline came back down from $4 a gallon, but Toyota's Scion brand is readying its own minicar for sale in the U.S. The latest word is that the 2011 Scion iQ will land at dealers in March. The Scion iQ was first unveiled as a concept car at the 2009...
John Voelcker -
Report: Audi Working On e-tron Minicar
Mercedes-Benz has the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, BMW has the upcoming Megacity Vehicle, and even Volkswagen is working on a production version of its E-Up concept car, but what about Audi? We know the automaker is establishing its new e-tron division to promote and develop a new generation of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Megacity On Show At 2012 London Olympic Games
Though it’s not scheduled to go on sale until 2013, BMW’s upcoming Megacity Vehicle will appear in near-production form one year earlier, at the 2012 Olympics Games taking place in London. BMW is the official automotive partner for the 2012 games so you can bet that a small fleet of the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
It hasn't been easy being a Fiat fan in the U.S. these last, oh, 20 or 30 years. Sneers of "Fix It Again, Tony!" due to rusty and unreliable cars were followed by Fiat fleeing the U.S. market in 1983 with its tail tucked between its legs. But now, with the imminent debut of the 2011 Fiat 500 late this year, the company wants to reward all those diehard Fiat owners. They, and only they, will be offered the chance to reserve one of 500 'Prima Edizione' models--and even select the model build number. Fiat made the announcement this weekend at the annual convention of Club Fiat-Lancia...
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All-Electric Volkswagen E-Up Coming To U.S. In 2013
Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, as well as the launch of a Jetta Hybrid in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Smart Fortwo Preview
The Smart brand has enjoyed modest success in the U.S. since its launch here back in 2007 but with a lack of any new models or updates, the oddly-designed minicar brand has fallen largely off the radar of late. That’s all about to change as a facelifted 2011 Smart Fortwo has just been revealed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Teases Megacity Vehicle (MCV) Ahead Of 2013 Launch
BMW's plans for the future have been dramatic and decidedly high-tech of late, including the U.S.-bound 1-Series ActiveE and the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept, itself headed to production in the next few years. Today, BMW has released a teaser for an all-electric car under the project name...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
How Short Is a Tata Nano? Enough To Ship Sideways On a Train
You've surely seen car-carriers full of brand-new vehicles on the highways. But many new cars roll out of the factory onto trains that carry them over much of their journey. Now a new video from India shows a trainload of diminutive Tata Nano minicars passing by an onlooker in Bangalore. The...
John Voelcker -
Gordon Murray's T25 Minicar Finally Revealed
News of Gordon Murray's decision to build a low-cost minicar created quite a stir when it was announced last year. That stir was in part because of the key driving force behind the project, Gordon Murray, ex-McLaren F1 designer and the pen behind the Caparo T1 supercar, but also because the car...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Sadly, we weren't able to cover the Beijing Motor Show, which opened last week. It's too bad, too, because China is on track to become the world's largest single car market, its fuel efficiency regulations are far tougher than those of the U.S., and its industrial policy for the auto sector focuses on kick-starting its native electric-vehicle industry. One example of a Chinese electric vehicle concept shown at Beijing is the SAIC E1 mini-car. Originally unveiled in Shanghai a few days prior, it's a four-seat hatchback with three doors, and is intended as an urban car for the country's...
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Green Car Roundup: Best & Worst of the 2010 New York Auto Show
Well, it's done. The public are streaming in, and the two media preview days of the 2010 New York Auto Show are over. It wasn't a hugely significant show, but clearly the apocalyptic meltdown that automakers were experiencing last year has lifted. Sales are starting to come back, slowly, and while...
John Voelcker -
Aston Martin Goes Green With Zebra-Skin Baby Swan From Toyota
Last summer, lots of people thought it was a joke when famed British sports car maker Aston Martin said it would offer coachbuilt versions of Toyota's tiny iQ minicar, in the guise of the greenest Aston ever, the Cygnet. (A cygnet is a baby swan, by the way.) Well, it wasn't a joke. And now Aston...
John Voelcker -
Tiny Lotus Engine Powers Proton Series Hybrid Mini-Car Concept
Normally we wouldn't cover a Malaysian mini-car concept exhibited at an auto show in Switzerland. But we're making an exception for the Proton Concept, which will be unveiled next week at the Geneva Motor Show in three different body styles. That's because Proton is the first maker to use the new...
John Voelcker -
Small Engines Get Even Smaller: Fiat's Turbocharged Twin
As we keep saying, one of the ways that automakers will meet more stringent fuel economy regulations is by making smaller engines that work harder. Now Fiat has one-upped its European competition by announcing it will offer a 900cc turbocharged twin in European models of its Fiat 500 mini-car. That...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Planning Two Small Cars Under $10K For U.S. Market
Small cars aren't always cheap; increasingly, automakers are breaking that link with well-equipped and desirable compacts and subcompacts. Nor are small cars always green, though there's often a correlation. Now Nissan has said it will bring not one but two sub-$10,000 cars to the U.S. The company...
John Voelcker