The Jeep Liberty is not a particularly large vehicle, but Chrysler engineers managed to pack a lot of mass into it nonetheless. The current Liberty weighs in at nearly 4,300 pounds! At the Chrysler business plan meeting today, product development SVP Scott Kunselman revealed that aerodynamics and weight reduction will be a big part of all future vehicles. Using modern computer design tools and lighter materials the company plans to pare large amounts of excess mass. As an example, Kunselman revealed that the next generation Liberty SUV will shed a whopping 600 pounds!

In addition Chrysler will help drivers reduce fuel consumption through connectivity technologies. New navigation systems will have more intelligence in the routing algorithms with the goal of minimizing the fuel consumption. For example, it could set up the route to minimize left turns even if it might mean going slightly further. UPS has been experimenting with similar technology in its routing and now it looks like consumers will be able to get it. 

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When we were in Germany last month for the launch of the 2010 Golf, VW product planner Andres Valbuena told us that a special street replica of the Jetta TDI Cup race car would be launching in January 2010. We just got the first photo of the new limited edition model along with further details. The TDI Cup "Street" edition gets the same deeper front fascia, rocker panel and rear bumper extensions used on the race cars. Unfortunately, the replica keeps the standard 140-horsepower engine rather the uprated 170 hp diesel used in the track cars… but it does get some functional upgrades.

The replica won’t be any quicker off the line, but it will stop and turn better than standard TDI models. The brake calipers are larger than standard and painted red to let observers know they are special. The suspension gets thicker sway bars and the retuned springs and dampers from the Jetta GLI along with 18-inch wheels. Inside, the Cup car gets a paddle shift steering wheel to go with the 6-speed DSG gearbox. The Cup Jetta starts at $25,000 and will be available in January. 

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Here in the United States, there are more Car of the Year Awards than you can shake a stick at, and apparently that’s also the case in Japan. Just last week at the Tokyo Motor Show, the 2010 Toyota Prius won top honors in the 30th annual Japan Car of the Year voting. Now, Honda has sent out a notice that its revived Insight has won the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame Car of the Year.

According to Honda, there were three chief reasons the Insight won the award:

1. The strategy of affordable pricing Honda used in marketing the hybrid Insight
2. The Insight’s balance of driving performance and environmental performance
3. The balance of performance and fuel economy at cruising and higher speeds offered by Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), Honda’s original hybrid system

Any affordable vehicle that manages great fuel economy will be winner in the eyes of many, so it’s not terribly surprising that the Insight took home this trophy. Still, sales results indicate that the Toyota Prius is still firmly entrenched as the number one hybrid to the majority of consumers around the world.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumblings of a possible sporty two-door Prius coupe from Toyota, but the rumor that just won’t die is once again being trumpeted by Autocar in the UK. The British motoring magazine also contends that an MPV (think downsized minivan) version of the well-loved hybrid hatchback is also in the works.

Interestingly, Autocar claims that the purported Prius MPV would theoretically go up against a production version of the Honda Skydeck concept that was just shown off at the Tokyo Motor Show – this despite the fact that Honda has yet to announce any sort of production plans for a hybrid MPV of its own.

In any case, the rumored Prius coupe would reportedly come with the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder powerplant and Hybrid Synergy Drive as its five-door counterpart, and it would be based on the same chassis that underpins the current model. Thoughts?
 

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Every autumn, the Texas Auto Writers Association holds a two-day truck rodeo to determine the best in class in all of the different segments of the truck market. Out of all of this year’s SUV competitiors, the auto writers (do they actually sell any cars in Texas?) picked out the updated Mercedes-Benz GL350 Bluetec.

The big GL was among 16 SUVs put to the test by the 41 journalists and was the first ever European model to win the category. The GL’s 210 hp and 400 pound-feet of torque help it get a 7,500 pound tow rating, The EPA rates the GL350 at 17 mpg city and 23 mpg although on a recent stint with the GL, we averaged just over 23 mpg combined, easily topping our best results to date with any of the GM hybrid SUVs. Besides best overall SUV, the GL350 also earned an honor as the best full-size luxury boat. 

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Volkswagen has just launched the new BlueMotion Golf in the European market and it is the most efficient Golf ever. The new model is rated at 61.9 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined driving cycle with carbon dioxide emissions of just 99 g/km. The BlueMotion model uses the new 1.6-liter common-rail TDI diesel engine combined with a slate of technologies like automatic start-stop, brake energy regeneration and revised gearing for lower engine revs.

The BlueMotion also gets the sports package body kit which gives a deeper front fascia, rocker panel extensions and rear roof spoiler that help drop the drag coefficient down a bit. The spare tire is also left out; VW substituted a tire inflater and repair kit to save weight. In Britain, the BlueMotion version commands about $1,500 more than a standard Golf 1.6 TDI. 

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Toyota unveiled its de-badged Lexus HS250h/Sai in Tokyo this week and hopes that this model will be another incremental step toward its goal of 1,000,000 annual sales of hybrids. Initially at least, this will be a relatively small increment as the automaker is only looking to move about 36,000 Sais in the first year. That’s similar to the number of HS units it wants to sell in North America. American consumers might wonder at why to produce another variant of the HS that is so similar. However, in Japan Toyota’s sales network is quite different and there are multiple channels that don’t all sell everything Toyota builds. In addition, there are quite a few models that are not offered outside of Japan. The Sai will sell for about $37,000, not that much less than the $43,000 Japanese price of the Lexus. The question at this point would be, if you like the styling of the Sai/HS250, why even consider the Lexus?

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A three-way crash between a Tesla Roadtser, Toyota Prius and a VW Touareg didn’t leave a pretty scene behind, but it appears that at least the Tesla driver walked away with only minor bruises. We don’t know what happened to the occupants of the other vehicles. According to Autopia, it seems that the Roadster was allegedly stopped when the Prius hit it from behind – going about 50 mph – and pushed the Tesla under the SUV (note the piece of the EV in the VW’s rear end). We’ll just say it again: Ouch

[Source: Autopia]
 

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We didn’t believe it until we verified it with our own eyes, but amazingly it’s true: Colorado is offering a $42,083 rebate on the 2009 Tesla Roadster until December 31st. Carry the one, move the decimal point… yep, that’s a 38-percent discount on what must be the most desirable electric car currently for sale in the United States.

So, exactly how did this come about? Is the thin air that’s distorting people’s better judgment? Not exactly. The incentive actually applies to a slew of qualifying hybrid and electric vehicles and will be paid in the form of an income tax credit that’s calculated by determining the difference in price of the alt-fuel car or truck as compared to a competitive gas-powered model. In the case of the Tesla Roadster, Colorado figures the EV costs a whopping $50K more than its competitive set… which we imagine might be the Lotus Elise.

Want to take advantage of the rebate but not interested in a fully-electric sportscar? Buyers can also get a $20K rebate on the 2009 Lexus LS 600h L or about three grand on either the new Honda Insight or Toyota Prius. See the complete list in PDF form here.

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Take a close look at the Chevy Volt in the photo above. We’ve seen it a number of times already but we’ve never said anything about the color. While it’s predominantly silver, it does have a green (or more specifically emerald) tint in it. According to General Motors spokesman David Darovitz, this will be one of the launch colors for the Volt and, in fact, will be exclusive to the company’s extended-range electric vehicles. Anyone who has ever bought paint, sorted through a box of Crayolas or ordered a car knows that every hue, no matter how subtle, needs a unique name. This Volt color is no different.

GM wants to include Volt fans in the naming process and is running a contest on www.chevroletvoltage.com starting today. Between now and November 4, people can submit their color name suggestions on the site. GM will sort through submissions and pick out three finalists. Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 1 you can then vote for your choice among the finalists. The three finalists will be flown to LA where the winner will be announced on the eve of the LA Auto Show press days. That person will be among the first people in the world outside of GM who actually gets to drive (not just ride along) one of the pre-production Volts. We’ve include a full gallery of high-res Volt images, so jump in to get your creative juices flowing and start submitting your name ideas! Details are after the jump. 

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