Vehicles

Lexus LF-CC concept The Toyota luxury brand used the 2012 Paris Motor Show to debut a new D-segment-sized coupe featuring a hybrid-electric drivetrain with a 2.5-L I4 gas engine mated to a high-output, water-cooled permanent magnet electric motor of unspecified output. Read full story

Nissan Terra fuel-cell urban SUV At the 2012 Paris Motor Show, Nissan explores urban crossover SUV styling with a "realistic" fuel-cell electric drivetrain. Read full story

Audi Crosslane coupe The upscale Volkswagen brand pledges authenticity of materials in its carbon/aluminum hybrid-electric concept SUV shown at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Read full story

Seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf The new car, shown at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, trims mass with lighter engines and a new stamping process. Read full story

Aston Martin Vanquish The company's new flagship sports tourer, shown to the public at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, delivers punch and refinement thanks to increased use of carbon fiber. Read full story

New heavy-duty Ram trucks feature Cummins diesel upgrades Highlights include oil change intervals doubled to 15,000 mi (24,000 km), introduction of urea injection with selective catalyst reduction NOx controls, and class-leading diesel torque. A dual radiator configuration and two transmission oil heat exchangers are in new front-end cooling module. Read full story

A different riff on your basic two-seat electric car Markus Lienkamp, Chair of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich, says that "electromobility" is impeded at the moment by range anxiety, prohibitive costs, and inconvenient charging. That’s why Lienkamp is leading the Visio.M project, a German government-supported R&D effort to produce a low-cost, high-utility electric car that might attract the interest of the middle European mass market. Read full story

Ford emphasizes technology and new models for Europe New multidiscipline technologies, pursuit of enhanced quality, and aggressive engineering solutions to downsizing and environmental challenges are the stuff of Ford under the stewardship of CEO Alan Mulally, and that was the message he took to Europe. Read full story

Local Motors uses crowdsourcing to involve many developers The power of Web communications and the capabilities of modern design tools from the likes of Siemens PLM are being leveraged by Local Motors in crowdsourcing the design of vehicles and their components. The company is also using what it calls micro-factories to produce the designs and providing its services to other companies. Read full story