Owners of the Chevrolet Volt looking for convenience and speed will have the option of buying the Voltec 240-volt home charging unit, General Motors announced this week.

 

The Voltec charging unit will be sold by SPX Service Solutions for $490 before installation. The cost of installation is estimated at $1,475 but may change depending on electrical requirements. These costs add an additional $2,000 or so to the Volt's sticker price of $41,000.

 

Want to win $100,000 and score a few weeks of free seat time in Ford's upcoming 2012 Focus? Armed with lessons learned about social media from its successful Fiesta Movement, the automaker is teaming with the producers of hit TV show "The Amazing Race" to launch an interactive reality program called "Focus Rally: America." It will offer contestants the chance to win a $100,000 grand prize, but there's a bonus: Play along at home, and you could win a brand-new '12 Focus.  

 

 

 

 

Automakers are seeking to head off an EPA ruling that would allow gasoline to contain 15 percent ethanol, up from 10 percent now, and they've won some bipartisan congressional support.

 

The two main automaker industry lobbies have argued that the U.S. Department of Energy has done insufficient testing to assure that gasoline containing up to 15 percent ethanol won't harm vehicles.

 

Eco-friendly transportation is big business these days, and with the electric vehicle universally considered to be the Next Big Thing in the evolution to greener pastures, automakers are hard at work trying to hasten the transition from hybrid to EV. The Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' much-hyped battery-powered wonder car, has long been touted by its manufacturer as the poster child for this tranformation.

 

The Volt, GM has claimed, uses an electric motor to drive its front wheels, with a gasoline engine present only to generate electricity. The Detroit automaker's cry has been long and loud: The Volt is an electric car, plain and simple. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A government report says improving the gasoline engine will yield huge gains for the consumer and the environment as automakers consider ways to improve fuel economy over the next 14 years.

 

The Obama administration's technical assessment looked at four technology scenarios by which automakers might attain suggested CAFE goals of 47 to 62 mpg for cars and light trucks by 2025.

 

The scenarios differed by the portion of an automaker's fleet that was accounted for by electrics, hybrid electrics and plug-in hybrid electrics.

 

The pathway resulting in the lowest consumer price and the highest consumer savings over the life of a vehicle was the one that relied least on hybrids and electrics. Hybrid electrics accounted for a portion of the new-vehicle fleet under this scenario, though less than half. 

 

That scenario, which depended most on advancements in current engine technology and reductions in vehicle mass, also yielded another benefit: the biggest cuts in carbon dioxide emissions.

 

On the heels of its breakout Sonata, which trails only the venerable Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in family-sedan sales,  Hyundai unveiled its Sonata Hybrid and Sonata 2.0T Turbo last Thursday in La Jolla, Calif.

 

Hyundai won’t reveal the hybrid’s price until it goes on sale in December, but it's likely to start at less than $30,000. That said, the Korean company did keep its public promise to bring the turbo version in at less than $25,000: The Sonata 2.0T, which produces a robust 274 horsepower from its 2.0-liter direct-injected turbo four engine, will hit showrooms at a base price of $24,865, with the deluxe Limited model commanding $29,865. That sub-$25,000 price is nearly $3,000 less than a V6-equipped Accord or Camry, though the Hyundai offers more horsepower and 10 percent better mileage than either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaguar is planning production feasibility studies of up to 2,000 cars a year for its new 780-hp supercar, sources say.

 

Jag is remaining coy about firm production plans for the elegant mid-engine C-X75, but AutoWeek sources say that two levels of production are under consideration.