Nissan not shuttering Leaf EV battery plants, at least not yet By

The big news on the electric vehicle front today is that Nissan is considering slowing down EV battery production in the US and UK and source all of Nissan's big packs come from Japan.

This incredible Mercedes V12 sculpture is built from bone, wood and fossils

We've seen some impressive automotive replicas, but this one definitely takes the prize as the most unique yet.

1967 Toyota 2000GT Solar Electric Vehicle

You may have packed James Bond's cars with plenty of killer tech (get it?), but the 1967 Toyota 2000GT you see above has got it's own bad boy secrets.

Ford Mondeo Titanium X Sport

The Ford Mondeo range of cars offers the best in style, appearance and performance on the roads without compromising on quality or safety.

Corvette Z06 tops Motor Trend list of shortest-stopping vehicles

Any modern performance car worth buying puts just as much emphasis on stopping as it does on going

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Saab 9-5 Estate leaks out



by Jonny Lieberman

For many moons now, your humble Autoblog crew has been following the new Saab 9-5 around the globe. Not intentionally mind you, but it seems that Saab has been dragging their 9-5 show car out to every show we've covered since before Obama was elected. Which is many, many shows (turns out it's been since Frankfurt). And while we're big boosters of the new 9-5, something's always been... lacking.

That's right, a fifth door. And this totally suspect, but nonetheless quite intriguing, photo seems to indicate exactly that – a Saab 9-5 Estate (also called the 9-5 SportCombi, maybe) – is nigh. That's yet another victory in the eventual, inevitable and ultimately exciting comeback of the once totally dismissed station wagon.

Now it's true, we've covered this territory before. More than once. And back then we felt the same way about the upcoming 9-5 Estate as we do now – it's very, very sexy. Or at least, as sexy as a wagon can be. Which, to us auto journo types, is quite sexy. Regardless, too many a Saab'o'phile, the very essence of the brand is a hatch. Without that fifth (or third) door, a Saab just isn't very Saab like. Therefore this here blurry image, which looks like it was hastily photographed from a presentation or sales brochure, fills Saab boosters with great hope. Go, go Griffin.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Chrysler wraps Auburn Hills HQ in honor of Truck of the Year award



by Zach Bowman

Chrysler has decided to celebrate the Dodge Ram winning the Motor Trend Truck of the Year award by barring employees at its Auburn Hills headquarters from seeing the sun for 120 days. The company has turned its HQ into one big billboard with a 14-story building wrap. The 140-foot tall, 120-foot wide graphic features a massive 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty atop a pile of rocks.

The company says the wrap is part of a nationwide campaign to get the word out about the Ram's win, and that around 200,000 people will see the display every day as they travel along I-75. The install took a total of three days, and Chrysler says that the truck featured in the wrap is a 100 feet long and 41 feet tall. No word on whether or not those specs will line up with what we can expect from the 2015 pickup. Hit the jump for a look at the press release.