Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition

Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition - Click image for high resolution images

If you've been patiently waiting - patience - hands on the new Black Carbon Edition of the Aston Martin DBS will be, should wait until the summer to take over. Oh, and a hundred dollars a suitcase full of banknotes. But if all you want is a look, we have good news for you. Because no matter where you are in the mainland United States, the probability that one carbon DBS coming to a city near you.

In a special demonstration of an exclusive partner of Aston audio Bang & Olufsen - the 13 speakers, 1000 watt sound system is DBS - a series of special tours organized carbon black America. Along the way are struck New York, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. So if you live in Oregon, you're covered.

If you do not swing through a local distributor of Aston where the Carbon Black editions are in town, you will be filled a couple of DBS coupe with a special color Flick process and a black interior with carbon-Kevlar seats in black leather with silver v. suture with special wheels and badges.

Spoon Readying Performance Goodies for Honda CR-Z Coupe

One by one, Japanese tuners are approaching Honda's new CR-Z and applying their expertise to try to spiff up the firm's hybrid sports coupe. A little after Mugen's announcement on the launch of a new lineup of styling and performance accessories, Japan's Spoon revealed that it will soon release an array of goodies for the CR-Z.

The tuner said in its blog that it is currently working on a new sport suspension kit that will lower the coupe's ride height as well as on a high-performance brake system from Nisin and a new sport exhaust system.

It goes without saying that Spoon's offerings will include a series of aero parts, alloy wheels and interior accessories, while the tuner's site also makes word of a 'power unit' upgrade without giving out any specific details.

The latter is almost a little puzzling – who on earth wants a four-door sedan version

Scion iQ Concept - click above for hi-res image gallery

You know that Toyota iQ your cousin's seen running around Europe and Japan? It's making its way Stateside, first to next week's Detroit Auto Show, then to a Scion dealer near you as a hybrid. This is according to a scoop by Inside line. We've known for a while now that the iQ will be showing up as a Scion, just not for certain as a hybrid. Also, according to IL, the fate of the brand hangs in the balance. Also-also, they might (yay!) drop the name iQ.

That's right, the diminutive Toyota with the silly name is going to greet us as a youth-branded Scion. In multiple flavors, too. First will come a five-door hatchback, followed next by a four-door sedan. The latter is almost a little puzzling – who on earth wants a four-door sedan version – but then we recall all the other cars PR types tell us the American market forces into four-door guise and we're not surprised one bit. The Scion iQ will also come as a three-door hatch. Expect the five-door to show up first, towards the end of 2011.

The engine options are pretty interesting. If you so desire, a 1.3-liter four-banger will produce 93 horsepower. However, most folks will probably opt for the hybrid version. First of all, the gas and electric propulsion is so cheap that Toyota will be able to sell it for $15,000 or less. Second, expect a 1.5-liter four and some sort of electric motor to produce between 100 and 120 hp and return 60 mile per gallon. Not bad at all. Again, Inside Line ends their scoop explaining that if the iQ doesn't get youngsters buying Scions, nothing will. Er, make that nothing will have a chance to, as Toyota is likely to fold the brand.

Scion iQ Concept

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There are now so many Car of the Year awards

There are now so many Car of the Year awards given out that the whole idea of one vehicle being honored above all others has lost its impact. But when the giver of said award is Playboy Magazine, well, the honor means a little more. Why? Because Playboy doesn't pick a winner based on such tangible criteria as horsepower, miles per gallon or MSRP. They don't care so much about the fastest, greenest or most significant car in its segment. They care about cool. Which car is going to get you to that VIP event and make all eyes turn towards you on arrival? For 2010, Playboy says that car is the Porsche Panamera.

We can absolutely understand where Playboy is coming from here. You just have to imagine yourself as Hugh Hefner: Porsches are both cool and fast, but a Porsche that can accommodate me, my smoking jacket and three bunnies is worthy of a place in the Playboy Mansion garage and perhaps an X-rated car wash in the driveway.

Playboy gave out eight other awards in such categories as Best Horsepower Value (Nissan 370Z), Best Mean and Green (Ford Fusion Hybrid) and Best Reborn Beauty (Ford Taurus SHO) among others. You can check them all out in the press release after the jump, and while we're not sure how many automakers will place their new Playboy awards front and center in the corporate trophy case, we're sure behind close doors they're... well, let's not talk about what they're doing behind closed doors.

2010 Porsche Panamera

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Lexus is working on a very hot version of the GS luxury saloon

In these very last days of 2009, some Japanese magazines are spreading the rumor that Lexus is working on a very hot version of the GS luxury saloon, allegedly called GS-F, which will get the firm’s V10 engine used in the LF-A supercar, to rival BMW M5. Now apparently Lexus has responded to this by tweeting! They say that the V10 is bespoke to the LF-A and won’t be used in any other car. They didn’t comment on the existence of GS-F though.

So as it’s usually the case, there must be a GS-F in the works but it certainly won’t be getting the V10. This makes more sense actually, because as we’ve reported earlier, BMW will replace theV10 engine of the M5 with a twin-turbo V8 in the upcoming model. Mercedes too has plans to drop the big and thirsty V8s in favor of more efficient turbo engines, so even if Lexus is to rival the M5 or E63, they would come up with something in the same league.

And as a side note, the GS’s face is too dull for a weapons-grade V10 such as LF-A’s 4.8 liter! It looks good as a hybrid, but as a performance saloon?! The M5 will eat it for breakfast!

Renault SA is developing electric-vehicle lithium-ion batteries

French auto maker Renault SA is developing electric-vehicle lithium-ion batteries with two new suppliers, despite its heavy reliance on the Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.-NEC Tokin Corp. joint venture, Automotive Energy Supply Corp.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn earlier this year declared owning battery technology is a core requirement for any auto maker.

"We are ready to sell the battery to whoever is interested," he said in October, referring to the batteries from the AESC. "We are making it a core business, because we think the battery is going to be an essential piece of technology for our century.”

Last month, AESC announced it was raising production capacity from 65,000 to 100,000 units annually in Japan.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is building a 100,000-unit battery factory in France with support from the French atomic energy commission and the French Strategic Investment Fund.

In South Korea, Renault Samsung Motors Inc. is working with SK Energy Co. Ltd. and SB LiMotive Co. Ltd to develop Li-ion batteries.

At a press event to introduce the new SM5 sedan, Renault Samsung CEO Jean-Marie Hurtiger tells journalists Renault plans to build EVs in South Korea and is working on projects with the two local battery makers.

SK Energy is a petrochemical and energy company that began making Li-ion batteries for mobile devices in 2005. SB LiMotive is a 2008 JV between Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH and Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. that recently announced its first contract with BMW AG.

Zoe 3-door hatchback concept one of four EVs Renault plans to build.

"We plan to produce Renault Group's electric vehicles in Korea,” Hurtiger says. “And once the government's plans are finalized, we will take our position as to when electric vehicles will be mass-produced in Korea."

The SM5 was unveiled at the Renault Samsung technical center in Giheung, where SB LiMotive also has its headquarters. Hurtiger says he expects South Korea to be a major supplier of EV batteries, thanks to a strong industry and strong support of the government.

The executive notes Renault will build the four EVs exhibited at this year’s Frankfurt auto show at four different plants, three of which have been announced.

Production is to begin in first-half 2011 for the Kangoo light-commercial EV in Maubeuge, France; Twizy 2-seater in Valladolid, Spain; Fluence sedan in Bursa, Turkey; and the Zoe, a 4-seat city car, in Flins, France.

SK Energy has developed six different Li-ion cells for hybrid, plug-in and battery EVs and was chosen in October to supply Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. HEVs – one of the projects of Daimler AG’s global hybrid center, which owns Mitsubishi Fuso.

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SB LiMotive has development operations in Giheung, Stuttgart and Orion Township, MI. In Springboro, OH, it makes nickel-metal-hydride batteries in an operation acquired from Energy Conversion Devices and is building a factory in Ulsan, Korea, for Li-ion battery production.

At the Frankfurt show, SB LiMotive President Young said he expects to begin series production of Li-ion batteries for hybrids in 2011 and EVs in 2012.

Renault invested $344 million to develop the third-generation SM5 midsize sedan, which uses many elements of the current Renault Laguna. Production began at the Busan, South Korea, plant in October, with domestic sales to begin in January.

The SM5’s 2.0L engines were developed by Nissan (gasoline) and Renault (diesel). Alain Diboine, who heads research and development at Renault Samsung, says the body of the new SM5 was developed at the local technical center for the first time.

Renault will sell the SM5 in Europe as a Renault, probably called the Safrane, which was the name of the car that preceded the first Laguna in the upper-medium segment. The auto maker currently sells the second-generation SM5 as a Renault Safrane in Middle Eastern markets.

The SM5 has 3-zone air conditioning, an air filter and perfume diffuser, bi-xenon adaptive front lights and a massage function for the driver that the auto maker says improves blood circulation and combats fatigue. In Korea, it will compete with the segment leading Hyundai Sonata.

GME Heads Cap-in-Hand to Germany’s

Expect GM Europe to renew pursuit of government aid for its Germany-based Opel/Vauxhall operations as it restructures under new management.

Nick Reilly, recently named president-GM Europe following Fritz Henderson’s sudden resignation as General Motors Co. CEO, says in a weekend conference call there is no truth to the belief GM has sufficient cash on hand to shore up Opel.
“Much of that money will be needed for Delphi and completing restructuring in the US.,” he says, referring to the auto maker’s commitment to support its former captive parts supplier that emerged from bankruptcy in October as Delphi Holdings LLP.

“We also have some of that money in an escrow account for disasters in the U.S., and we can’t touch that,” Reilly says. “Third, the U.S. market remains depressed, and we have to have some money to get us through 2011. We also need to pay back loans to the U.S. government.”

He expresses hope Germany’s government will be as receptive to supporting Opel under GM leadership as it was to the prospect of seeing Opel owned and operated by Canadian mega-supplier Magna International Inc. GM’s board scuttled Magna’s planned acquisition of Opel last month.

“We’ve prepared an application for the German government,” Reilly says. “They were willing to support the Magna deal, so we expect some support for our plan. Financial aid is no different from other car companies in the U.S. or Japan or other European countries.”

Opel needs €1 billion ($1.2 billion) to execute its restructuring and some €3.3 billion ($5 billion) to develop new products, he says, adding the auto maker will not see a profit next year.

Meanwhile, the search for a GM Europe CEO is called off, with Reilly assuming responsibility for both Opel/Vauxhall and Chevrolet Europe. Day-to-day operations at Chevrolet Europe will be managed by Wayne Brannon.
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The management shakeup seems to signal the resolve of Ed Whitacre, GM chairman and interim CEO in the wake of Henderson’s departure, to instigate change quickly.

Additional appointments are expected this week, Reilly says, adding development of a minicar is a “top priority” at Opel.

“I want to clarify that we will also need to continue with light-commercial vehicles; that is a reasonable share of our business,” he adds.