Volkswagen Beetle (2011) first official pictures

After 11 long years on sale the New Beetle is dead – its successor is this, The Beetle. We'll just call it the new 2011 VW Beetle. 2011 VW Beetle: trading flower-power for outlaw rodder Wider, lower and longer, the 2011 Beetle abandons its predecessors three semi-circle styling for the flat-roof look of 2005’s hot rod-inspired Ragster concept. At the front, the Beetle adopts the corporate horizontal intake styling and a more angular front bumper melded with a less curvaceous evolution of the 1998 New Beetle styling template.

Fiat 500 Electric 2012 launch

The Fiat 500 Electric Concept was at the Detroit Motor Show this year At the 2010 Detroit Motor Show Fiat brought along an electric concept version of the Fiat 500, together with a Chrysler-badged Lancia as a clear indication that times are changing at Chrysler. And it would appear they’re changing even more quickly than we expected with the announcement that the Fiat 500 EV is going in to production, and will go on sale in the US in 2012. Obviously spurred on by the unexpected success in recent years of that other motoring retro icon the MINI, Fiat are pushing ahead with plans to introduce the regular Fiat 500 in to North America in 2010, although that will be preceded by the 500 Abarth and 500C Abarth, which will be the first versions of the 500 to reach American shores.

GM begins clearance sale for Hummer

General Motors is shutting down the Hummer brand for good, taking the last of its four discarded U.S. brands off the market. GM had said it would consider offers to buy Hummer after a deal to sell the brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery failed to receive Chinese government approval in February.