Coda Automotive’s New Electric Sedan Comes With a Fortune Cookie

Malcom Bricklin, your ride is here.

… and the fortune reads, “You will soon embark on a foolish misadventure.” Could that misadventure involve selling a Hafei Saibao 3 with electric bits inside for $45,000 to Californians? Click the jump to read more about this strange trans-Pacific mess.

A Hafei Sei Bo 3. Separated at birth?

Kevin Czinger, president and CEO of Coda (and the related Miles EV) claims the Coda sedan is a mainstream vehicle with real-world capability, and ready for American consumers. With a claimed (let me emphasize: claimed) range of 90 - 120 miles, and a 6 hour recharge time (on 220 volt), it sounds good. Here’s some fine print, that you won’t find in the mainstream coverage of this car: it’s a car made in China, converted to electric drive by a Chinese company. Despite the company’s claims that it’s been re-engineered to be “five-star” crash compliant, we’ll believe it when we see it. The Chinese have come a long way in a very short time, but they’re not producing mainstream-quality vehicles yet. The smart money (all $45,000 of it) is on the Hafei Seibo EV … er, should we say, Coda, not measuring up to the hype. Still, we could be pleasantly surprised. Autopia drove the car and seemed to like it, so maybe there’s some hope yet.

[Source: Autopia]

The car sports a 33.8 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery that Coda says provides a “real world” range of 90 to 120 miles. Plug it into a 220 volt, 30-amp socket like the one that powers your dryer and it will recharge in six hours. You can plug it into a standard 110 volt socket, but you’re looking at 24 to 30 hours before you’re good to go.

Mitsubishi shows production electric car, announces pricing

Mitsubishi is ready to put its i-Miev on the road, but this woman will have a 30-minute wait to charge up her car.

(Credit: Mitsubishi)

Not to be outdone by Subaru's earlier announcement of the Stella electric car, Mitsubishi gave full details on the production i-Miev electric car, including sales volume plans and pricing.

Mitsubishi has been aggressive in pushing its electric car plans by putting its i-Miev into test fleet operations and showing it off at auto shows. The company even let journalists drive one at the Detroit auto show.

The i-Miev fits four passengers for zero-emission driving.

(Credit: Mitsubishi)

Mitsubishi announced that it would begin selling the i-Miev electric car in late July, matching the timing of Subaru's Stella electric car sales. But the i-Miev will initially only be available to corporations and government groups. Sales to private buyers will not commence until April 2010.

Unlike Subaru, which will only sell 170 Stella electric cars, Mitsubishi is planning on producing 1,400 i-Mievs for corporate and government lessees. The i-Mievs will go for 4,380,000 yen, or about $45,300 at current exchange rates. Japanese buyers of the i-Miev would qualify for a $14,300 subsidy for electric vehicles from the Japanese government.

The i-Miev uses a lithium ion battery pack and a 47-kilowatt electric motor to get a range of 100 miles. ...

Sebastian Vettel drives his Toro Rosso on public streets to pick up award

It's not every day that we get to see an F1 car out on city streets, but then again, we don't live in Italy. That's the racing-crazed country that recently allowed Sebastian Vettel to drive a grand prix racer across 12 kilometers of public roads to receive the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy.
The award is presented annually in the Italian village of Brisighella, where Lorenzo Bandini lived until his tragic death at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. Every year since, the Bandini family presents the trophy to a F1 driver, and it's become a bit of a tradition that the recipient drive his F1 car to pick it up in person. So with police escorts (note the Polizia-spec Lamborghini Gallardo in the background of the pictures in the gallery below), Vettel drove the dozen clicks from the home base of the Scuderia Toro Rosso - with whom he won the Italian Grand Prix last season - in an STR F1 car to Brisighella, where he joined the ranks of such recent recipients as Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen, Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica in accepting the citation.

GM reportedly agrees to sell Saturn to Penske

According to The New York Times, General Motors has come to terms with a consortium led by industry icon Roger Penske to sell its ailing Saturn brand. The agreement, which is expected to be announced later today, will apparently see Penske add Saturn brand and its stand-alone showroom network to his existing portfolio of 310 global dealers.
Penske, as you may recall, already has sole distribution rights to the Smart microcar lineup in the States, and he will apparently continue to sell GM-produced Saturn vehicles initially, after which he is expected to begin importing foreign autos from companies like Renault's Samsung Motors subsidiary in Korea.
[Source: The New York Times | Image: A. Messerschmidt/Getty]

BREAKING: GM reportedly agrees to sell Saturn to Penske originally

2010 Volvo C70 convertible snapped during Barcelona commercial shoot

2010 Volvo C70 Spy Shots

Swedespeed forum member al_bcn has managed to capture a pair of what looks to be Volvo's refreshed-for-2010 C70 convertibles totally undisguised. The topless twosome were caught galavanting around in Barcelona as they were apparently being shot for some sort of commercial.
The folding hardtop four-seater looks as if it benefits from a very similar front-end to the Concept S60 unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past January. Incorporating a larger set of swept-back headlamps and a deeper, less upright grille, the C70's look is certainly evolutionary, but as it's a handsome enough model, we don't see this denting its appeal. Out back, the changes seem to be even more modest, with new headlamp lenses featuring more prominent backup lamps.
Whether there are substantive changes in the interior or under the C70's skin remains to be seen, but judging by the finished state of these cars, we expect to see them debut on the show circuit soon.

Rolls-Royce Ghost is 100% Roller so far

Rolls-Royce Ghost

What is a brand? Beyond the badge, what separates a Louis Vuitton bag from a purse that might be just as good, but made by someone else? We come to that question on the occasion of the Rolls-Royce Ghost which, in some quarters, is being considered a Rolls only in name. Autoblog got a chance to crawl around the Ghost - not the "baby Rolls," not the "entry-level Rolls" - and see if the car really is what its makers claim it to be: every bit a Rolls-Royce motorcar.

Ettore's Bugatti: Founder's Own Type 57C up for auction at Pebble Beach

The concept of an "ordinary Bugatti" doesn't exist, all the more so when you're talking about the ultra-desirable Type 57. But even by Bugatti standards, this example is... well, exemplary. What you're looking at here is Ettore Bugatti's own Bugatti, a unique example built in 1936 for the founder's birthday, and managed to stay in pristine condition ever since. While restoration is commonplace for vehicles of this vintage, this example is strictly original. Despite its embattled location in Alsace right on the French-German border, Bugatti managed to keep this Type 57 safe during WWII. Following the war after Ettore died, the company upgraded the car and sold it in the 50's. Since then it has only changed hands a couple of times, and is poised to do so once again at the upcoming Gooding & Company auction at Pebble Beach in August. If the controversial Auto Union D-Type #19 can't do it, then this vehicle surely stands a chance at breaking the auction record set last month by the $12m 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, especially considering that the long-neglected Type 57 Atalante found in a barn recently sold for $4.4m. More information in the press release after the jump, and high-res images in the gallery below.

German tuner tweaks the Mini Cabrio

From the base model all the way up to the JCW, there's no shortage of trim levels available for the Mini and its various body-styles. But if you're looking for something a little different, BMW tuner par excellence AC Schnitzer has released a full tuning package for the latest R57 Mini Cabrio.
The treats start under the hood, where Schnitzer takes the Cooper S and pumps it up from 175 horsepower (good) to 208 horsepower for the domestic market (better) or 226 horsepower for export (booyah!). Not the kind of tuning house to tweak the engine and leave the rest untouched, AC's also offering a limited slip differential, an adjustable suspension setup, a sport exhaust. Naturally, the buyer can trim out their Cooper with manner of visual upgrades, too, from the aero package to the various rolling stock options and all the requisite decals and interior trim touches.

Another Chrome BMW M3 E46

It was just six months ago when we saw a silver-plated BMW M3 which in a way has shocked us. Most of you disagreed with the chrome look and we don’t blame you. But a few days ago, one of our readers sent in some photos of another BMW M3, this time the E46 chassis, sporting a chrome paint.

And…we kinda dig it, especially since the “paint job” seems to be of a higher quality. Also, the gray color looks far better than the gold plated M5 spotted in Moscow recently. According to our friends at Automarket, the owner of this M3 is a huge BMW fan and had no problem spending over $12,000 to “chrome out” his M3.

Beside the paint job, the M3’s owner also spent a few thousand dollars on a custom Hamann exhaust system.

Now beside the paint job, we still love the fact that the E46 M3 looks as fresh and classy, as 7-8 years ago. It’s one of these cars that don’t age fast and that’s something that BMW should be proud of.

[Source: TunningGarage via AutoMotorClub ]

2009 Dodge Dakota Crew Cab V8 4x4

The word “superb” often fits our adjectival needs. Excluding references to the Škoda Superb, a search of this site returns more than 1500 pages that include at least one instance of the word. We use it to characterize handling, ergonomics, and entire vehicles. But when something’s not superb—or particularly awful—what is it? Sometimes we need to describe the middle-of-the-road, neither-here-nor-there vehicles, the simply unremarkable. The Dodge Dakota is one such example, a vehicle which led us to coin a new term:Perb.

Strongest V-8 Among Little Trucks

Dodge redid the Dakota for 2008, adding fresh sheetmetal, a restyled interior, and some extra horses for the optional V-8. We tested a top-of-the-line Laramie Crew Cab with the 4.7-liter V-8 (a 3.7-liter V-6 is standard). That engine sends 302 hp and 329 lb-ft of torque through a five-speed automatic and, in this case, on to an optional part-time four-wheel-drive system. (Dodge offered a full-time system in 2008 but has since discontinued the option in the Dakota.) Those power numbers are at the top of the non-full-size heap, besting the V-8s available in GM’s Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon twins, the Hummer H3T, and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Then again, the Dakota V-8’s output falls well shy of that cranked out by Dodge’s own 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, offered in the Ram, which puts down 88 hp and 78 lb-ft more than the 4.7.

Keep Reading: 2009 Dodge Dakota Crew Cab V8 4x4 - Short Take Road Test