2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer Sports Car Concept

With the 2010 Tesla Roadster TAG Heuer, on display at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, pioneering luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer and electric carmaker Tesla Motors have teamed up in a worldwide partnership as the iconic Swiss brand celebrates its 150th anniversary.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

This one-of-a-kind collector's car includes a unique interior by Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, incorporating TAG Heuer avant-garde design elements and a specially designed center console due to host TAG Heuer's cutting edge concept watch.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

This car also features a TAG Heuer Meridiist mobile phone as well as a one-fifth second Heuer Limited Edition Stopwatch. This Swiss-made timepiece with mechanical movement pays tribute to the 1860 founding of the company and evoques the mythic revival of the brand's vintage stopwatches.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

The car's exterior color scheme is Foucault Field Gray, embodying the innovative spirit of both companies. The design was inspired by the new TAG Heuer concept watch, a technical milestone in mechanical movements, which brings technologically advanced art to life through motion.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

Since its founding in an artisan's workshop in the Swiss Jura, TAG Heuer has become one of the world's best-known luxury brands - maker of avant-garde watches, eyewear and premium mobile phones for refined consumers around the globe.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer, a star brand from the luxury group and worldwide leader Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), also has deep roots in the automotive sector. Company founder Edouard Heuer received in 1911 the patent for The Time of Trip, the first car dashboard chronograph, followed in 1933 by the Autavia - the first dashboard timekeeper for both automobiles and aviation. The benchmark in cutting-edge chronographs and timekeeping technology since 1860, TAG Heuer is the watch brand that can claim the longest and strongest association with motor sports and dream cars. Both watches and chronographs are inspired and driven by motor sports, from Formula One to GT cars.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

"TAG Heuer has a rich history and expertise with the world's most prestigious racing teams - but this is the first ever partnership we've forged with an electric sports car company," said Jean-Christophe Babin, President and CEO of TAG Heuer. "We believe that high-performance drivers are increasingly searching for products that are efficient, socially responsible and stylish. TAG Heuer and Tesla are two of the few companies arleady achieving these ideals today."

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

Tesla Motors began developing an electric sports car in 2004 and remains the only automaker selling highway-capable electric cars. The Tesla Roadster accelerates faster than nearly any other supercar yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius - the only car that delivers supercar performance guilt-free, with zero tailpipe emissions and a carbon footprint dramatically lower than any comparable sports car.

2010 Tesla Electric Roadster TAG Heuer

Based in California's Silicon Valley, Tesla has delivered more than 1,000 cars to consumers in 21 countries. Advertising Age magazine recently named Tesla one of America's "hottest brands." The Tesla Roadster is quickly becoming the must-have car among Hollywood celebrities, European royalty and socially responsible trendsetters worldwide.

2010 Toyota FT-EV Electric Cute Car

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. today announced that it will display the Toyota FT-EV concept on opening Media Day at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), confirming its plan to launch an urban commuter battery-electric vehicle (BEV) by 2012. This announcement, coupled with its compressed natural gas powered Camry Hybrid concept display at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, signal Toyota’s intention to broaden the scope of its advanced alternative-fuel vehicle development.

“Now, more than ever, while we are so focused on the pressing issues of the moment, we cannot lose sight of our future,” said Irv Miller, TMS Group Vice President, Environmental and Public Affairs. “Nowhere is this more important than with our industry’s duty and commitment to provide true sustainable mobility with vehicles that significantly reduce fuel consumption, our carbon footprint and overall greenhouse gases.” The FT-EV concept shares its platform with the revolutionary-new iQ urban commuter vehicle. Already a huge hit in Japan, the iQ is lightweight and seats four passengers in comfort and security, while delivering exceptional mileage, sporty performance, unique refinements and a fun, youthful image.

Toyota’s FT-EV concept imagines an urban dweller, driving up to 50 miles between home, work and other forms of public transportation, such as high-speed rail. Although, for now, the FT-EV remains a pure concept, it represents a natural pairing of product strategies.

“Last summer’s four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly. It was a brief glimpse of our future,” said Miller. “We must address the inevitability of peak oil by developing vehicles powered by alternatives to liquid-oil fuel, as well as new concepts, like the iQ, that are lighter in weight and smaller in size. This kind of vehicle, electrified or not, is where our industry must focus its creativity.” Although BEVs and new smaller vehicles like the iQ will be a key component of Toyota’s sustainable mobility strategy, the conventional gas-electric hybrid, like the all new third-generation Prius, is considered Toyota’s long-term core powertrain technology.

Last year, Toyota announced that it planned to sell one million gas-electric hybrids per year sometime during the early 2010s. To accomplish this, Toyota will launch as many as 10 new hybrid models by the early 2010s, in various global markets. The new third-generation Toyota Prius and all new Lexus HS250h, both debuting in Detroit, are the first two examples of that effort. Also, last year, Toyota announced that it would roll-out a large number of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) to global lease-fleet customers in 2010. That schedule has been moved up.

Beginning in late 2009, Toyota will start global delivery of 500 Prius PHVs powered by lithium-ion batteries. Of these initial vehicles, 150 will be placed with U.S. lease-fleet customers. The first-generation lithium-ion batteries powering these PHVs will be built on an assembly line at Toyota’s PEVE (Panasonic EV Energy Company, LTD) battery plant, a joint-venture production facility in which Toyota owns 60 percent equity. During its development, the new Prius was designed and engineered to package either the lithium-ion battery pack with plug-in capability, or the nickel-metal hydride battery for the conventional gas-electric system. The 500 PHVs arriving globally in late 2009 will be used for market and engineering analysis. Lease–fleet customers will monitor the performance and durability of the first-generation lithium-ion battery, while offering real world feedback on how future customers might respond to the plug-in process. “Future customers will have high expectations for these emerging technologies. This Prius PHV fleet program is a key first step in confirming how and when we might bring large numbers of plug-in hybrids to global markets,” said Miller. “Our business is no longer about simply building and selling cars and trucks. It is about finding solutions to mobility challenges today and being prepared for more daunting challenges in our very near future.”

Fisker Karma (2010) Plug-in Hybrid Sports Sedan

At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Fisker Automotive are set to reveal their advanced aluminium space frame which is to feature in the stunning Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid electric sports sedan. The Fisker Karma, the world’s first premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, will make its Chicago debut at the Chicago Auto Show February 12-21. With the Karma, American automaker Fisker Automotive (www.fiskerautomotive.com) proves that with eco-friendly cars you can enjoy beautiful, distinctive design and thrilling performance with a clear conscience.

Fisker Karma (2010) Plug-in Hybrid

2010 Fisker Karma Preview – 2008 Detroit Auto Show: Just this morning we attended a press conference held by a well-known Italian luxury car company, one that sells fewer than 10,000 cars annually and employs executives who tout the brand’s exclusivity. Maybe they haven’t heard about Fisker Automotive, and in particular, the 2010 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid.

Despite a projected annual production run of approximately 15,000 units, the Karma comes much closer to the true definition of exclusive thanks the plug-in’s first-to-market status, relatively affordable $80,000 base price, lithium ion battery technology, full-electric range of 50 miles, and a gas/electric fuel economy rating of 100 mpg. That kind of exclusivity will be available from Fisker in late 2009.

The 403hp, four-door Karma plug-in hybrid can go zero to 60mph in six seconds and has a top speed of 125mph, but it can still achieve an annual average of more than 100mpg and drive tailpipe-emission free. Features include a sculpted body, 22-inch wheels, trunk space for two sets of golf clubs, a 10.2-inch haptic touchscreen control center, reclaimed wood trim and an available animal-free interior trim package.

"Our top priorities when we designed the Karma's aluminium space frame were that it have extremely high torsional rigidity and could be easily modified to accept Karma model variants," explained Henrik Fisker, CEO, Fisker Automotive. "We benchmarked some of the world's best cars to create an all-new space frame that will deliver an exhilarating experience behind the wheel." A super-structural tunnel running down the car's centerline acts as the Karma's backbone. The spaceframe is designed around the car's unique Q-DRIVE series-hybrid powertrain.

Behind the rear-drive Karma’s taut skin is a lightweight chassis that places the battery pack in the vehicle’s center to enhance driving dynamics and safety. Fisker says its plug-in hybrid sports sedan will hit 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and travel up to 50 miles on electric power alone; with a supplemental four-cylinder gasoline engine that powers a large generator, its range will extend to 620 miles while returning 100 mpg. When plugged into a 110-volt household outlet, the Karma fully recharges in eight hours, using a 220-volt outlet will get the job done in three hours, and a solar roof panel aids with trickle charging while the Karma is parked.

The Karma is a series Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) powered by a lithium-ion battery and an efficient 2.0-liter range-extending gas engine. The engine only turns a generator, which sends electricity to two electric traction motors attached to the rear differential. The Karma has a 300-mile range with a full battery charge and a full tank of gas. The first 50 miles are electric-only and emission free.

The battery can be recharged in less than six hours using the same 220v household current that powers some major appliances. The Karma can also be charged using standard 110v power from any electrical outlet.

Fisker Automotive’s first car is the Fisker Karma, the world’s first production Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). The four-door Karma will be followed by two variants and a second line of lower cost, high volume premium green automobiles by 2012.