Looking forward to the hybrid vehicles to be offered in 2012, Ford today announced that it would spend about $135 million to design, engineer and produce key hybrid-electric components in two U.S. plants.

Ford has had great success with its acclaimed Fusion Hybrid sedan; the company has new hybrids planned for the next-generation versions of its midsize car and crossover lineup, such as the Escape and the Focus. The goal is to launch five new hybrid electrics in the U.S. by 2012, and in Europe the following year. 

Lexus' small CT 200h hybrid won't go on sale until February, but a short online movie called Dark Ride is already promoting the vehicle and reaching out to younger buyers.

Lexus and its ad agency, Skinny, aim to generate excitement among consumers 16 to 44 -- known as Gen XY. That demographic is a far cry from the median age of Lexus' owners -- 57.

The movie is interactive, with online participants commanding the wheel of a CT 200h. The mission is to prevent the opposition from stealing the car's hybrid technology while driving safely to Los Angeles. The driver makes the decisions.

 

Is the Tata Nano -- the current low-cost champ among mass-produced cars, valued at about $2,500 (though not offered stateside) -- about to get undercut?

Rumor has it that Chinese carmaker Geely, which most might recognize as the manufacturer that took Volvo off of Ford's hands, aims to do just that in 2010, likely with a version of the IG Fantastic concept it unveiled in Shanghai last year. (The gull-wing doors most likely won't make the cut.)

As for stats, the 1-liter engine pumping out an underwhelming 70 horsepower probably won't get your pulse pounding, but -- depending on what does it for you -- the projected sticker price of only $2,250 just might. 

The Buick that enthusiasts have been clamoring for -- the Regal GS show car revealed at the Detroit Auto Show -- could be closer to reality.

This turbocharged demon packing 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque with a six-speed manual transmission and a host of performance enhancements reportedly was approved. The Detroit News, citing an interview with General Motors vice chairman Tom Stephens, said the car has been given the green light.

 

It's Friday, and you know what that means: a video of a young English hooligan tooling around an empty lot -- in the police car that he stole.

Awhile back, I did a piece for MSN Autos on the world's dumbest car thieves. Unbelievably, filming yourself (or having your mates film you) in the act of committing a crime is not as uncommon as one would think.

Then again, dumb and easily identifiable criminals are probably a good thing compared with the masterminds, no? Enjoy the video after the jump. 

A team of French students competing in the Shell Eco Marathon has shattered a standing 5-year record for fuel efficiency -- and the numbers are pretty staggering.

During day one of the competition, the French squad, dubbed "Team PolyJule," and their hydrogen-powered prototype destroyed the previous record of the equivalent of 3,836 kilometers on a single liter of fuel, set by ETH Zurich of Switzerland in 2005. They did it by posting a whopping 4,414 kilometers on that same volume. Even more amazing is that the next day, they once again shattered their own 1-day-old record, adding 482 kilometers to the range to top out at the equivalent of 4,896 km per liter -- in other words, the equivalent of 11,516 miles to the gallon. 

German-based engineering specialist Xenatec has announced plans for an exclusive new Maybach coupe to rival the Bentley Brooklands and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.

The new two-door, which will ride on the same underpinnings and draw power from the same engine as the Maybach 57S, is planned to be built in a limited run of 100 cars at the company’s workshop in Weinsberg, Germany, all with the blessing of Maybach parent company, Daimler. Daimler has carefully followed the car’s development and will supply built-up 57S chassis from its nearby Sindelfingen-based manufacturing headquarters.

 

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee today passed the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010, which is being called (specifically, by Automotive News) "the most sweeping auto-safety legislation in a decade."

The bill -- which was passed on a voice vote, meaning the next step is an as-yet-unscheduled ballot vote by full committee -- mandates brake-override systems, increases resources for federal regulators such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and facilitates more public transparency for safety-defect information. The bill, thanks to a proposed $9 per-vehicle fee (which, if we remember correctly, would start off at $3 per vehicle before tripling over the next few years), looks to double NHTSA's coffers to $280 million by 2013. Groups lobbying on behalf of auto manufacturers have argued the fees will increase costs to unacceptable levels.

Also raising ire for the auto manufacturers is the bill's "black box" provision, which would require that the safety recorders be be installed in every vehicle and that they record event data from 60 seconds before to 15 seconds after a crash. Auto lobbyists argue that the mandate would add thousands of dollars to the cost of every new vehicle.