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This is the 2010 Maserati GranCabrio, which was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It will go on sale next March after several years of revisions to the car’s size and mechanical make-up.The new Maserati GranCabrio, is essentially a GranTurismo minus the roof rather than the shorter car that was originally developed.
That car formed the basis of the Ferrari California, retaining the first Maserati’s folding hard-top.. The convertible Maserati now has a fabric roof instead, which will help to compensate for the extra bracing that engineers will have added to retain the car’s stiffness.That bracing will add weight, and with the GranTurismo S weighing in at 1880kg, the GranCabrio could get very close to two tonnes. As a result it uses the more powerful 4.7-litre V8 from the GranTurismo S, with 433bhp at 7000rpm and 362lb ft at 4750rpm. Maserati’s torque converter automatic gearbox will be available with paddle shifters.There’s no confirmation of performance from Maserati but expect it to be slightly slower than a GranTurismo S; it should crack 0-60mph in around 5.5sec and a top speed of around 180mph.
The Lexus LF-Ch concept features many of the design elements found on other L-Finesse concepts.
(Credit: Lexus)A new front end image of the Lexus LF-Ch concept has either been leaked or revealed, either way it's been making its way around the 'net.
The concept features the same L-Finesse design elements that we've seen on previous Lexus concepts. For example, hints of the IS and HS are can be found in the shape of the bumper and headlamps, while the air intake shapes echo the LF-A concept.
While I don't think the LF-Ch concept is as pretty as her sisters, but perhaps she's got a great personality. We'll keep our fingers crossed for Lexus to do something interesting with the powertrain, rather than drop another variant of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive under the hood--which for the record, is exactly what we think they'll do
North American demand pushed cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles at Toyota Motor Corp. past the 2 million-unit mark last month as the Japanese automaker marched closer to its goal of selling 1 million gasoline-electric cars per year sometime in the next decade.
As of Aug. 9, Toyota sold 2.017 million hybrids worldwide since the vehicles debuted in 1997.
Toyota reached the 2 million milestone as it targets selling 1 million hybrids a year as early as possible in the 2010s. The company came a little closer to the goal with this year's launch of the popular third-generation Prius. Toyota expects that car alone to sell 600,000 units in its first full year on the market.
Today, Toyota sells 13 hybrid vehicle models in about 50 countries.