Who said the Smart ForTwo is too small?

19 teenage girls cram into Smart in Pakistan:

READ MORE - Who said the Smart ForTwo is too small?

UK releases list of EVs eligible for grants

From the Green Car Congress: The first nine electric drive cars to become eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant of up to £5,000 (US$7,900, €5,896) in the UK are: Mitsubishi iMiEV; smart fortwo electric drive; Peugeot iON; Citroen CZero; Nissan Leaf; Tata Vista EV; Toyota Prius Plug-in; Vauxhall Ampera and Chevrolet Volt. More will follow next year.

The grant will be available to motorists across the UK from 1 January 2011, reducing the cost of eligible cars by a quarter, up to a maximum of £5,000.

The Government is also encouraging a new network of electric vehicle recharging points in streets, car parks and commercial retail and leisure facilities as driving electric cars becomes a part of everyday life for pioneering British drivers. The successful bidding consortia in this second phase are based in: the Midlands; Greater Manchester; East of England; Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Read more...

READ MORE - UK releases list of EVs eligible for grants

Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets

Filed under: Economy, Tokyo Motor Show, Hatchbacks, Honda, Rendered Speculation, Rumormill

Lost in the jeers following Honda's move to cancel the NSX - a car it could probably sell based solely on its ridiculously wonderful exhaust note - is news that the Big H is planning an A-segment car for markets outside of Japan. Now that the microcar segment is what's cooking, and the smart fortwo isn't doing so bad on its American voyage, cars like the Toyota iQ, Volkswagen up!, and Hyundai i10 are getting lots of attention.

To keep the cost down, Honda is expected to stick to traditional materials and probably focus on packaging. The powerplant is rumored to be a 1.4- or 1.5-liter turbodiesel with anywhere from 60 hp to 100 hp. But before you get excited, this car isn't automatically destined for America. Of course, none of this would-be Honda's competitors are headed this way yet either, and until the microcar trend is firmly established in the US - either by smart or another vehicle - we wouldn't advise holding your breath.

[Source: Paul Tan]

Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read |  |  | 

Related posts:

• Draggin Rights Pics Live
• 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid Gets A Facelift, Still Requires Beergoggles To Be Hot
• Foreign autos vandalized to promote buying American
• Natural Gas Powered Vehicles. Something to think about.
• U.S. dealers to get 80,000 units of the 2009 Honda Fit

Related posts:

• Stanceworks Roadtrip
• Dehn, Paul Biography
• Lebedeff, Ivan Biography
• All-New 2008 Honda Fit Wins Japan's Car of the Year Award
• New Mazda2 For the World, U.S. Next?

READ MORE - Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets