The financial crisis isn’t over by a long shot. General Motors is really feeling the strain now maybe that’s the reason why it closed down the Pontiac brand. Yup, sad though it is, it’s time to bid Pontiac goodbye. Even if you are so fond of the brand there is really no other way but to accept the harsh fact.

Chrysler’s flagging sales and general financial condition is no secret to the world. It can do some help at its present condition. Italian automaker, Fiat Group didn’t hesitate to give it the help it needs. Fiat obtained 35% stake in Chrysler. However, Fiat will not give money to Chrysler. The latter will just have access to Fiat’s technology. Chrysler will have access to the smaller cars and fuel-efficient powertrains that Fiat produces.

Hybrid cars are very welcome addition to the fleet of cars cruising on the road. But how would it be if they get added with Inflatable Cars? Yes, inflatable cars that are made of air! XP Vehicles is the company that is venturing into this untried territory. At the present time, there’s still no prototype of this design, so we can just imagine what this inflatable car will look like. Basically, instead of steel, most of the materials to be used are similar to those employed by NASA for some of the space rovers. These materials are very durable that you won’t even experience fender-bender incidents. Well, at least that is what they said. And it will be powered by an electrically-charged engine.

In the midst of the rising prices of oils and the increased awareness of the effects of pollution from cars on the environment a Japanese company has come up with an exciting new solution to our biggest problem. It’s a water powered car. Now it may sound a bit fantastic –but the Japanese have always been good with technology- but this car can run on one liter of water from any source and will use this liter to run for one hour at 80 km/h. The car is designed to eliminate the hydrogen ions in the water and use them to power the engine.

Indian based company Tata has recently purchased luxury UK based car manufacturers Jaguar and Land Rover from car giant Ford. After months of negotiations since June 2007 India’s biggest vehicle maker has paid $2.3 billion, almost half the figure Ford paid for the duo, to assume control of the two firms.

The purchase will allow Tata to expand its growth in the automobile market outside of India and gives it the power to compete at a higher level with international competitors. The take over is made intriguing by the contrast between Tata and Jaguar. Tata in January released the world’s cheapest car in the Nano, which was priced at $2,500, where as Jaguars starting price for the new XF is more than $64,000. The Hybrid product of this takeover is one of the most highly anticipated developments in the car industry and, as Tata have shown, one of the most unpredictable too.

By Guest Writer Christopher

How would you like to have a talking car? If you haven’t thought about it, then you’d better do so because pretty soon a talking car will be a reality. This is not a joke or just a result of watching too much of Knight Rider. The Carsite project aims to bring more advanced technology into the automotive industry. This is being done so as to help older folks drive more safely on the streets. The Carsite project studies in-car speech messages to bring geographic data and give warning to the driver if there are hazards and traffic.

What’s beautiful about Hummer is that it’s a huge vehicle and looks like it’s going to devour all other cars on the road as it slides by! That’s what I love about it!
At the Detroit Motor show, Hummer displayed it’s smaller of its designs, which is none-the-less big, the Hummer HX. What a cutie it is! HX looks like something that could tread the surface of Mars happily!
The HX is supposed to be going head-to-head with the Jeep Wrangler.
What powers it is an E85-compatible 3.6-liter V6 unit that is combined with a six-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.

Who hasn’t heard the name Roll-Royce? I’m sure we all have at one time or another because this is one of the most prominent names in the world of engineering. This company is involved in aircraft engines and it also went into automobile production. Rolls-Royce has produced some of the most stylish vehicles and those that they have produced in the early years are now considered to be superb collector’s item. Take for example this oldest Rolls-Royce, built before 1905, which a collector had no qualms paying 3.5 million pounds or $7.22 million. This is the highest price ever paid on an auctioned vehicle. The previous record holder was the 1884 De Dion Bouton which sold for 1.76 million pounds.

NADAguides.com’s recent list of the top economical vehicles (or used vehicles with the best fuel economy) was dominated by Hybrid vehicles that took the top three spot. The 2000 Honda Insight led the list with its impressive 70mpg highway fuel economy and 61mpg city fuel economy at a retail value of US$ 8,025. The next two top spots were occupied by the 2006 Toyota Prius and the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid.