Honda, Japan’s No. 2 automaker,will drop its Accord hybrid model after the 2007 model year. But Honda will continue to make gas-and-electric models of its Civic sedan. The decision wasn’t a surprise, as Accord hybrid sales have been tepid since it arrived in 2004. Toyota’s Prius hybrid is the market leader, with 729,800 sold since December 1997. Toyota offers several other hybrid models, including a hybrid Camry and hybrid Lexus. Honda dropped another hybrid, the two-seat Insight, in 2005.

Honda Accord Hybrid’s U.S. sales totaled just 439 last month, while Toyota sold 24,000 Prius hybrids. None the less, Honda is promising a new U.S. hybrid competitor in 2009.The Accord hybrid, sold only in North America, sold just 25,000 since going on sale in 2004. It sold just 6,100 last year.Most analysts blame the model’s failure on Honda’s decision to pair electric components with a V-6 engine instead of with a higher-mileage four-cylinder gasoline motor.
Honda spokesman Yoshiyuki Kuroda said the decision underlines how hybrids tend to be more popular with smaller models because mileage improvements tend to be more pronounced.
“The cancellation of the Honda Accord hybrid points out the fact that hybrid manufacturers have largely been unable to expand the public’s perception of hybrids beyond high fuel economy”, said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and its kbb.com Web site.

Amy Boylan, President of Shelby Automobiles, Inc., has released the first official details on her company’s latest Mustang iteration, the Super Snake GT500. First, you’ll need a Shelby GT 500, the base price of which is $40,930 according to Ford. Now, you’re probably going to want to option that up, and we’re betting no dealer will let you out the door without paying a significant mark up. On top of that, turning your GT500 into a Super Snake will cost at least an additional $28,000.

Sure, that price could buy you a second Mustang, but instead your Super Snake will be boasting 600 horsepower. You can order up to a 725-horsepower Super Snake as well, but the cost will be significantly more and you can kiss that factory warranty goodbye if you go all the way. In addition to the Shelby Supercharger that produces the extra ponies, you’ll also get a cold air intake, Shelby/Baer 6-piston caliper brakes, a Shelby short throw shifter, an Eibach coil-over suspension, sway bars, and a Borla cat-back exhaust. Unfortunately, the Super Snake doesn’t address the Mustang’s weight problem, instead trying to reign it in with a beefier suspension, more power and better stoppers.

No Mustang special edition would be complete without exterior adornments to let everyone know, so the Super Snake gets a new hood, carbon fiber front spliter, cf mirror covers and rocker panels, as well as a brake duct kit for the front and rear. Then there’s the badging on the rear deck lid, front grille and front fenders, combined with the fat Super Snake striping bisecting the car lengthwise. Your Super Snake will also be rolling on 20-inch Shelby Alcoa wheels wearing Pirelli P-Zeros.

So, if the fates are on your side, a Super Snake will cost you $68,930 base. You should figure on that not happening, however, and be ready to raid an extra college fund if necessary.

2008 Shelby GT500 Super Snake Package Parts

Performance

Hyundai Motor; leading car manufacturer, just announced a new Certified Pre-Owned Limited Warranty. It’s an industry first warranty for pre-owned cars that comes with 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty that going back five model years with less than 60,000 miles. The enhanced pre-owned program was launched to Hyundai dealers in May 2007, with warranty being effective from date of original sale.

Here is the details of Hyundai’s enhanced Certified Pre-Owned vehicle program:

Hyundai Certified Pre-Owned Limited Warranty

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc., announced manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRP) today for the 2008 Toyota Corolla compact sedan and 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix crossover utility vehicle. Both vehicles arrive at dealerships this month.
Toyota Corolla continues to win customers with its dependability, fuel efficiency, and outstanding value. Corolla is the world’s best-selling car with more than 30 million sold units over four decades. In the U.S., Corolla continues to lead sales in its segment and recently set an all-time best-ever month in May 2007.
MSRP will increase $100 on all grades of both Corolla and Corolla Matrix, which represents a 0.6% increase. The new pricing is included on the charts below:
2008 TOYOTA COROLLA
MODEL NUMBER GRADE ‘08MY MSRP
1801 CE (Manual) $14,405
1802 CE (Automatic) $15,205
1811 S (Manual) $15,450
1812 S (Automatic) $16,250
1821 LE (Manual) $15,615
1822 LE (Automatic) $16,415

2008 TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX
MODEL NUMBER GRADE ‘08MY MSRP
1801 Standard (Manual) $15,510
1802 Standard (Automatic) $16,310
1811 XR (Manual) $16,990
1812 XR (Automatic) $17,820

Here is a list of the 20 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. through May of 2007 as reported by the automakers and ranked by total units.

RANK VEHICLE 2007 2006 ‘06 RANK %Chng
1.Ford F-Series P/U 290,282 334,725 1 -13.3
2.Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 265,941 258,378 2 +2.9
3.Toyota Camry 193,900 177,090 3 +9.5
4.Toyota Corolla 165,722 159,992 6 +3.6
5.Dodge Ram P/U 154,143 150,799 4 +2.2
6.Honda Accord 153,431 145,529 5 +5.4
7.Chevrolet Impala 144,541 114,014 13 +26.8
8.Honda Civic 137,288 138,744 7 -1.0
9.Nissan Altima 114,318 102,785 9 +11.2
10.Dodge Caravan 94,220 103,876 12 -9.3
11.Honda CR-V 84,464 59,660 +41.6
12.GMC Sierra P/U 84,106 80,957 10 +3.9
13.Ford Eco’ine/Club Wagon 80,641 74,876 21 +7.7
14.Chevrolet Cobalt 79,257 93,023 15 -14.8
15.Ford Focus 77,732 80,559 17 -3.5
16.Toyota Prius 76,747 38,460 33 +99.6
17.Ford Escape 73,058 74,978 22 -2.6
18.Toyota-RAV4 72,447 61,811 35 +17.2
19.Chrysler Town & Country 66,951 68,943 19 -2.9
20.Ford Fusion 66,260 57,398 34 +15.4

source: Reuters

Scion of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., announced pricing today for the 2008 tC sports coupe and tC Spec Package models. The 2008 tC and tC Spec Package will be available at dealerships next month.

Sion tC’s core model receives freshened styling, new standard equipment and safety features for 2008. Exterior changes include a new upper mesh grille, lattice lower grille, projector-type low beam headlights with black trim, and rear tail lights similar in style to the tC’s headlights with round combination lamps. The tC also receives a deep orange combination meter on the instrument panel, silver-colored accents on the door assist grips and center cluster, updated seat fabric and a Pioneer subwoofer located under the cargo area.
2008 Scion models, the tC comes standard with seat-mounted side airbags, front and rear side curtain airbags, and two complimentary factory- recommended maintenance services, at 5,000 and 10,000 miles, at any Scion or Toyota dealer. The factory recommended maintenance includes an oil change, a tire rotation, a visual brake inspection, and the topping off of washer fluid.
Apple iPod connectivity becomes standard on all 2008 Scion models. Scion’s standard 160-watt maximum output Pioneer AM/FM/CD audio system features a head unit with iPod control. This head unit integrates track, artist and album information from the iPod into a one-line display on the head unit’s screen. Connectivity is achieved by simply plugging the iPod into a port via a connector cable, providing outstanding sound quality through the car’s stereo system and constant power to the iPod. Music is controlled through the head unit, steering wheel audio controls or iPod. A standard mini-jack port also allows users to listen to their portable music collection through the tC’s Pioneer speakers.
Pioneer Premium audio system is offered by new Sion tC that adds the ability to download “skins” to play on the organic electroluminescent (OEL) faceplate. Customers can download images, four-second video clips and eight-second movies from Pioneer’s website. Pioneer software also allows customers to burn their own images and movies onto a CD and upload them onto the available head unit. The premium audio system also has head unit outputs on the rear for the addition of external amps.
Scion navigation System is going to be new to the accessory line. The system features a 160-watt maximum power audio/video/navigation unit with seven-inch LCD touch screen.
tC Spec Package model, a blank canvas for the tuner community to express its creativity, also receives the grille, deep orange combination meter and silver-colored interior accents in addition to the new airbags and iPod connectivity across the Scion line-up.
tC Spec Package will have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $15,300 for a manual transmission and $16,100 for an automatic transmission, an increase of $300, or 2.0 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. With the additional standard equipment, the base MSRP for the core model tC is $17,000 for the manual transmission and $17,800 for the automatic transmission, an increase of $600, or 3.7 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. MSRP does not include delivery, processing and handling fees, which vary depending on location.

source: autochannel

Diesel cars are pretty popular in Europe because of highly priced+taxed gas prices. Now they are looking for a pie in North America. Goods things are on the way. The next generation of clean diesels are ready for American consumers that are looking for fuel efficiency.

AC Schnitzer is a Germany Aachen based company who is already making inroads with BMW’s dual-turbo 3-liter diesel, boosting output of the oilburner from 231 HP to 265 HP through a remapped ECU and a dual exhaust. AC Schnitzer’s S3 also comes with a reworked body kit which has a new front spoiler,rear apron and side skirts.

Diesel S3 comes with options; Schnitzer racing rims (19 or 20 inch). 245/30R20 tires in front and 295/25R20s in the reartires, with the latter sporting 245s up front and 295s in the rear.
BMW S3 comes with a new retractable hardtop which is the latest in a long line of Schnitzer-tuned BMWs. A performance pack is being developed for BMW’s superb twin-turbo 3.0-liter six. In the meantime, Schnitzer provides modifications for the 3.0-liter turbodiesel, boosting output from 231 to 265 horsepower. A full race-tuned suspension is in the final stages of development. A high-performance exhaust system with dual tailpipes completes the package.

[Source: InsideLine]