Luxury Hybrids

Dear 007,
I have shrunk your Aston Martin. Regards, Toyota.

It is impossible to watch this clip and not want to show someone else! Too funny!

Acura hit a homerun, or should I say touchdown, with the new NSX luxury car concept (following a lengthy lull in production, might I add). The brand nailed it once again with their first-ever Super Bowl ad featuring celebrity car collectors Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno, see full commercial below!

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A forward-thinking Ferrari aficionado has gone a bit green, not with a paint job, but with an E85-fueled Ferrari FF hatchback. The Ferrari FF was reportedly converted by a Norwegian aftermarket developer and boosts the usual 650 prancing horses up to an impressive 875! No word on if Ferrari approves of this mad science, or if the FF will now stand for ‘Flex Fuel’. End sarcasm.

Ferrari FF fueled by E85

From afar, one could mistake the lively red exotic sports coupe for a fancy Ferrari, but upon closer inspection, the delicious form of the new Lexus LF-LC hybrid manifests. Perhaps even more attractive than the Lexus LFA supercar, the LF-LC is nothing short of splendid!

Hello, gorgeous!

Fisker is recalling all 247 of the 2012 Karma hybrid luxury cars following a warning that the batteries are a potential fire hazard. Does Leonardo DiCaprio know about this? He was, after all, the very first person to place an order for the haute new green bauble! Follow link for more on Leonardo's Fisker Karma hybrid.

2012 Fisker Karma luxury hybrid

The downward spiral of Charlie Sheen has led to many changes, including the cast of hit series “Two and a Half Men”. It seems that the producers are eager to alter the image of the show, replacing bad-boy Sheen with a milder and eccentric Walden Schmidt, played by actor and comedian Ashton Kutcher. Schmidt is a do-good type, who even drives a luxury hybrid car in the first episode, the Fisker Karma.

Ashton fits in nicely with the cast, perhaps even better than Sheen

The auto aficionados at Top Gear have awarded this year’s ‘Luxury Car of the Year’ slot to the Fisker Karma, a choice that earns environmental karma! With absolutely everything going for this car it is no wonder Leonardo DiCaprio’s Fisker Karma created such a sensation.

Leo entering his Fisker Karma luxury hybrid in an attractive silver

Many have embraced the Fisker Karma luxury hybrid, a sharp model seemingly ahead of its time. Even Leonardo DiCaprio owns a Fisker Karma, and held the bragging rights to being the first to order the new model! At the moment, however, many are scrambling to make sense of a gaping MPG discrepancy. By European standards, the Karma is rated at 112 mpg…yet previously, it was slapped with a 52 mpg rating by the EPA. This is a huge difference by any comparison!

Fisker Karma

You could pass the Rolls Royce Phantom Experimental Electric on the road and not notice that it is…well…electric! This is not likely, however, seeing as how it is a one-off that is far from the finish line. First introduced at the Geneva Auto Show back in March, the electric Phantom certainly made an impression with regard to luxury hybrid technology.

What better location to start what has the potential to be a green trend than Honolulu, Hawaii? The Honolulu police department has recently purchased 25 hybrid vehicles to serve as the next generation of police cruisers!

Ford Fusion Police Cars in NY (For some reason there were no images of the Honolulu fleet yet)

So sad! It seems that sales for the Aston Martin Cygnet have sagged far below expectation. While there is a high demand for the personality-packed mini-cars, they simply are not being produced fast enough to fill orders.

Aston Martin Cygnet production woes

On the eve of the Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi was busy displaying its funky fresh side with an all-new urban concept at a Volkswagen event. Rarely is a luxury concept car such a show stealer, but this Audi reminds me of the 1930s Auto Union racing cars, it is quite a surprising display from the typically uniform brand!

Audi Urban Concept

Mercedes is pumping hydrogen and excitement into the minds of fans with the new F125 luxury car concept! This Mercedes concept was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, complete with a stunning waterfall backdrop and tense music!

The video above provides a detailed look at the Mercedes F125 concept

When one pictures Croatia, it is typically a vision of electric Adriatic shorelines, close-knit culture and extremely tall men…and now, electric supercars? A Zagreb-based startup called Rimac Automobili has announced a battery-powered luxury hybrid coupe that it says can reach 190 miles per hour.

Rimac Concept One emerges

Fisker is putting people to work with their latest luxury hybrid cars, the Fisker Karma and ‘Project Nina’, a more affordable 2nd Fisker hybrid car. Valmet Automotive is in the process of hiring 200 employees this year to manage the rapid sales created by the cars. Valmet’s Uusikaupunki (that is in Finland, btw) factory currently employs 850 people, so adding 200 is certainly nothing to scoff at!

Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio have helped catapult luxury hybrids into the mainstream, shown here with his Fisker Karma