Обзоры лучших машин

Archive for the ‘Пресса и новости’ Category

It has the looks and power of a top-end performance coupé, but is greener and more efficient than a Toyota Prius hybrid!

The Fisker Karma boasts amazing performance figures. It offers 403bhp, which means a 0-60mph sprint time of six seconds – but it emits only 83g/km of CO2 and returns 80.7mpg economy.

According to the Californian firm, the Karma will be the first production Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) when it goes on sale next year.

Its Q-DRIVE powertrain is expected to deliver an emission-free 50 miles per full charge, and provide an impressive range of around 300 miles.

The Fisker sports car will be followed by two other variants and a wider range of cheaper, high-volume models from 2012.

Good news for summer: Mazda is said to be working on a small roadster based on its home market Mazda2. Yes, they already make the Miata, one of the best sportscars ever made, but a new, small addition to the family could be fun as well.

The Mazda2 is one of those Japan-only supermini cars that are Honda Fit-sized, and designed to offer as much practicality in as small a space as possible. Recently, there’s been news that the Mazda2, which is sold in Japan as the Demio, will hit the Euro market, and there have been rumblings that it could make it over here to combat rising fuel economy and emission standards. If the rumors of a Mazda2-based roadster turn out to be correct, it would be smaller than the MX-5 / Miata, and if released in Europe, would compete against the likes of the forthcoming Renault Twingo CC, the Opel Tigra and the Peugeot 207 CC.

There’s no word on the roadster’s top as far as construction and operation but sources point to it being a retractable metal roof. They’re all the rage these days, and give you the best of both worlds (roadster and hardtop coupe), so it would be a good choice from the product planners.

As far as engines are concerned, we’re looking at 1.3-and 1.5-liter gasoline mills and the possibility of 1.4- and 1.6-liter turbo diesels, at least for non-North American market, and maybe here if the MPG/emission stuff really hits the fan. Sadly, this would mean a front drive layout, so there goes the handling, but you can’t have everything I guess.

In case you didn’t know it, this is a fantastic time to purchase a new vehicle. With programs like “Cash for Guzzlers” kicking in, you can get a super deal for your old beater, and financing deals have never been better. The government will give you a rebate if you buy certain hybrids and will take the car back if you can’t make payments, in some cases.

I never imagined that I would be so inundated by car salesmen once I announced to the world that I was in the market for a new vehicle. It’s been an avalanche of phone calls, e-mails, postcards –literally hundreds of them—all offering unprecedented deals. I feel like a high school football star being recruited by all the top colleges!

With car dealerships closing at an alarming rate, and government bailout money flying around like confetti, this is THE time to purchase a car, because car dealers are hungry for CASH right now.

The deals that I am hearing are literally unfathomable. I don’t think I’m going to truly believe these prices until the day I decide on what car I want to buy and sign on the dotted line. I keep thinking I’m in a car buyers’ fantasy land and that I’ll eventually wake up to find out it was all just a dream.

But it’s all true. Huge rebates. 72-months zero percent financing. As much as 30% off sticker. Tax breaks. Every dealer I am talking to is falling over itself trying to capture my business. In the end, I am going to get an incredible deal and the possibility of saving a lot of money obviously really appeals to me, especially now.

I am currently considering five nameplates: Nissan, VW, Chevy, Ford and Mazda, because they seem to be the ones that are most willing to wheel and deal. Some of the other car dealers, like Honda, Subaru or any of your luxury brands, are seemingly not willing to slash prices big-time. They’re holding steady on pricing hoping that their quality of product and service will get them through this economic storm.

I can’t wait for the bidding to begin, because in this case, competition IS very healthy - for me. It’s a Gold Rush for new car buyers and I’ve got my pan and shovel and I’m mining for the best deal I can find!

To see just how normal the tiny Smart car has become in America, look no further than the news that the company is now offering purchase incentives to buyers of the cute little urban transport critters.

Not that the Smart ForTwo needs much help in the sales department. Word comes from the Penske Automotive Group, U.S. distributors of the Smart set an impressive 24,622 total sales of the diminutive city car in 2008. And yes, that’s the same Penske that basically owns the Borg Warner trophy, as well as recently buying Saturn from GM. Smart dealers are happy, saying they could have sold even more had they been available.

But that was 2008, and now it’s 2009, and sales have dropped. Sales are down nearly 16-percent from the first five months of 2008 and sales in the month of May sales, though, were down a disturbing 56.6 percent.

Ergo, time for some good old-fashioned deal making. Penske has will offer its first-ever incentives on the ForTwo from now until the end of July. Buyers may qualify for 4.2-percent financing through Daimler Financial Services for the purchase of a new 2009

If this financial carrot works, expect it to be extended a bit longer. Penske is also looking in to allowing dealerships to order new cars and forego the mandatory $99 reservation fee paid by the customer. The upshot of that would be to place more new vehicles on dealer lots for buyers to choose from.