Author: autoevolution

Despite the wave of recalls and accidents involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles, which was rumored to have strongly affected the Japanese carmaker’s image, a recent survey shows Toyota customers remain loyal to the brand. The survey was conducted by the Corporate Research International (CRI).

Amazing as it may sound, only 6.5 percent of current Toyota customers said they would not purchase a Toyota again because of the recalls. However, a greater number of owners of other car brands were less l… (read more)

After the chocolate-powered car, it seemed that nothing would ever have the power to astound us again, but apparently some people’s imagination has no limits. Just today a car that runs on coffee has been unveiled, says dailymail.co.uk.

The car named Car-pucciono is actually a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco converted by a team from the BBC1 science programme Bang Goes The Theory. The wonder will go on display at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester and aims to show how fuels other than conventio… (read more)

Following their successful start of the season in Bahrain, Ferrari congratulated themselves for making the decision to switch to the development of their Ferrari F10 from the second part of last season.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali was the first to acknowledge the fact that last season was a terrible one, and the only way his team could get back on track would be to focus on the 2010 challenger earlier than the other competitors. However, in order for his masterpiece to be complete, the … (read more)

While the world is still waiting for the factory-built electric version of the 500, a new company called Atomik Cars thought to take the lead and show the Italians how the electric 500 should look like.

And this is what they came up with: a mean-looking, overpowered, all electric Abarth 500, called Atomik 500. Set to make its public de but next month at the Top Marques Monaco show, the Atomik will only get a limited-run production version, with 50 units to be built and sold.

Underneath wh… (read more)

We believe that is it very important to know your enemy in order to increase your chances of defeating it, so we have decided to present you this X-ray video of the Ferrari HY-KERS experimental video.

For those who are wondering what the word enemy is doing next to Ferrari’s name, the complete explanation of the association can be found here.

Moving on to Ferrari’s hybrid powertrain, the clip show us that all the electric components of the system have been placed as close to the ground as… (read more)

Last weekend, after the Bahrain Grand Prix technical inspection conducted by FIA delegate Charlie Whiting, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport revealed that the Brit told McLaren Mercedes to drop the current design of their rear diffuser ahead of the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

After the Bahrain race, McLaren’s team principal and FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh insisted that he knows nothing about this story, as Whiting did not tell him anything about a potential illegality of the MP4-25’… (read more)

After seeing the high interest our readers have shown in our "Wally et Hermes WHY Yacht" piece, we thought best to give you a little update on how this out of this world project is doing. And the verdict is: not well.

For one, the price of the mega-yacht has been estimated by its builders. Depending on the economic health of the world and the desires of the customers, the WHY will cost anywhere in between $68 million to $137 million (50 million and 100 million euros).

Secondly, … (read more)

It seems that the U.S.-Cuba relations have made some progress, as Director of Deposito del Automovil (the Cuban Automotive Museum) Ing. Eduardo Mesejo Maestre has been invited to North America to judge a major U.S. automotive Concours, the 15th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. As you may know from the history books, a commercial, economic and financial embargo was partially imposed on Cuba in 1960.

"Cars are a common language among enthusiasts worldwide. The passion that Ing. Me… (read more)

Although everybody, including Fernando Alonso, admitted that the refueling ban and lack of pit stop strategy has made the action in Formula One pretty boring – something that could have been easily noticed in Bahrain – Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali insisted everybody should keep calm until a few races will pass in the 2010 campaign.

Alonso was joined by Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Mark Webber – and that was only to name the speaking victims of the boring Bahrain race … (read more)

Honda’s European division recently made several executive level changes, aiming to strengthen its marketing operation strategy. As part of the new marketing management team, Tom Gardner has been appointed to the role of Head of European Marketing, Honda Motor Europe (moving from Head of Marketing, Honda UK).

Gardner will have to build a national media schedule and creative, while also being in charge with developing the long range marketing strategy for the business. Starcom Mediavest has be… (read more)

While it’s still quite some time until the third generation Mercedes SLK will hit the open roads (likely, the car will be launched this fall, although some say the calendar will read 2011 by the time the new SLK gets here), spyshots showing the two-seater coupe-convertible keep on popping up, keeping our interest high.

As you can see in these spyshots here, the heavy camo used until now got a bit lighter, as some of the side and rear panels have been removed to show a bit of skin. Otherwise, … (read more)

Jenson Button did not make a hell of a start in his title defense season in Formula One, as the Briton qualified 8th and finished the race 7th in Bahrain. Additionally, his much anticipated fight against teammate Lewis Hamilton never took place, as the 2008 world champion was more than 20 seconds quicker to the finish line than the 30-year old racer.

When asked about the reports if he looks at the Bahrain GP as a Round 1 win for his teammate, Button answered: If you want to write that, you ca… (read more)

As the electric and hybrid vehicles market expands, so does the the necessity for the support facilities, such as charging points.

Various companies that activate in this sector of the automotive industry are making efforts to provide the necessary facilities, but the development exceeds an individual business’ normal possibilities, so the big players on the market are forming strategic alliance. The latest example for such a partnership comes from Japan, where Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissa… (read more)

Believe it or not, the media storm expected to hit Toyota, after last week a new 911 desperate call for help involving a runaway Prius surfaced, has backfired on the carmaker’s detractors, as more and more more question regarding the validity of the event start being asked.

As you remember, on March 8, James Sikes, owner of a Toyota Prius, made a frantic 911 call, claiming his Prius is experiencing unintended acceleration and reached 94 mph. It took the swift intervention of the police to st… (read more)

Aussies who want to find out how a Nissan Leaf works are invited to the Nissan Technology Square. The exhibit is organized by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co. (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. and starts today at Bondi Junction shopping mall in New South Wales. The event will take place from March 16 to March 20.

During the exhibition, Nissan will showcase how the company’s automotive technologies work and the way they address the environment, safety and innovation. The all-electric Leaf will be s… (read more)

As promised, Volvo continued announcing the next host ports to join the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, after recently revealing all the European stops to be made in the 2010 – 2012 season. The first port from the Middle East is Abu Dhabi, which is also the first Middle East port to host the event since its 1973 inception.

"This event will take Abu Dhabi’s marine leisure proposition to the world and will enable us to demonstrate, first hand, our powerful credentials to a highly influential pr… (read more)

With 4 world champions on the F1 grid in 2010, all of whom are driving top class cars, the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix should have been a true feast for the diehard racing fans from all over the world. What they’ve got instead was a pretty boring race, with the majority of action – and by action we mean overtaking – happening in the rear of the field.

Needless to say, the refueling ban introduced by the FIA for the 2010 season of Formula One failed to raise the show in the series. As ad… (read more)

With some two weeks still remaining until the official unveiling of the new future generation Kia Optima/Magentis at the New York International Auto Show, the South Korean manufacturer released over the weekend the first photos showing the car, as well as a few more details.

"The next generation of Magentis possesses the power to surprise, Peter Schreyer, Kia’s chief design officer says in a release. It’s a car that people will simply not expect from Kia – and that’s exactly what we set … (read more)

It seems like Honda’s development plan for the new CR-Z is paying off. The company announced that it has already received 7,000 orders for the car on the Japanese market.

We have to consider the fact that the vehicle has only been on sale since February 25. So in about three weeks, the CR-Z achieved over half of its planed sales target of 12,000 units for the current year. Of course this is not good news for everyone – for example, the customers who have pre-ordered the car will now have to … (read more)

Recently, Toyota had to deal with a lot of recalls related to faults of the accelerator pedal and the breaking systems on most of its line-up. It became official that the Toyota Prius, Japan’s best selling hybrid car, had to be recalled due to breaking issues. Apparently, there has also been a report which states that a Toyota Prius got its accelerator stuck on an US highway, so the car might be suffering from both of the automaker’s problems.

As Toyota is trying to regain its customers’ trus… (read more)