Car Throttle

Even though the recent recession fatally wounded parts of the industry and fossil fuels running dry will threaten its future, the world of cars is still very much alive and kicking. There is such a variety of new products coming out this year ranging from affordable city cars you'll actually want to own, to ridiculously expensive supercars you'll lust after, old school coupes to revolutionary family cars, petrol engines to plug-in electric motors. The list is almost endless. So to help fellow car lovers and "new kids on the block" out, here's a round-up of 33 cars we can't wait to see in 2012 in order of release date. January 2012 Kia Optima It's been available around the world for a while but the Kia Optima

This week saw spy shots of Mercedes’ new CLS with a bigger boot. Usually, any saloon or hatchback that comes with a bigger boot is classed in the UK as an estate and estate cars are never usually very cool. They were bought by anyone wanting to lug loads to the dump, collect tons of flat pack furniture from Ikea or for extra space so the dog can come along with the family. But the CLS is a four-door coupe officially which means the CLS seen here is a Shooting Brake. Here’s a little history lesson. ‘Shooting brake’ is a term to describe a two-box car body style that combined coupe features and estate features. The name ‘Brake’ in this case doesn’t mean the

We've been staring at the same photos of the Fisker Karma for a long time - too long. A few new images have been released here and there, but basically the same two sets of press photography released by the company have been floating around since 2008 and 2009. To our appreciation, Fisker has decided to fix that with a full new gallery of beautiful shots featuring the Karma and its latest companion, the Surf shooting brake. The Surf was unveiled at Frankfurt as a production model. It aims to fix the Karma's dreadful luggage capacity issue by adding on a rear hatchback. While it will be sold globally, it is aimed squarely at the European market. It will cost a price premium over the

A quick history lesson for you: the term "shooting brake" has been in existence since the early 19th century to describe a car which features aspects of both a wagon and a coupe. More recently, the Ferrari FF (with its four seats and four wheel drive) came out to show us how they would build a brake. Now at Frankfurt IAA 2011, Fisker has pulled out all the stops to show off it's production concept dubbed the Fisker Surf. Set for release in 2013 the Surf physically stuns in person. The thronging crowds around Fisker's albeit small set in Hall 5 meant that I couldn't get a decent front shot of the car (hence the press photography), however creeping around the back I was able to

After signing a power train deal with BMW for its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, Fisker is moving ahead with work on Project Nina. The Karma is Fisker's primary product for now though, and as such that is the focus. We've already seen a convertible concept, and now a report says that the Frankfurt Motor Show will bring us a shooting brake version of the car. We know a lot of readers are CarThrottle seem to be fans of wagons and shooting brakes for their increased utility without sacrificing dynamics. In the United States, the general population seems to disagree with that assessment. However, in the United Kingdom and the rest of European markets, vehicles with a hatch are best-sellers. Fisker is looking to expand opportunities around the world

After a few delays and an increase in price tag, the first Fisker Karma was delivered just over a month ago. Thanks to heavy private investment and $529 million in Department of Energy funding, Henrik Fisker's vision has been brought to fruition. Some of that money went to funding production of the Karma, but the majority is for the low-cost Project NINA. Project NINA aims to bring a more affordable mid-size sedan plug-in to the market, produced at a former General Motors facility in WIlmington, Delaware. Thanks to GM's bankruptcy, Fisker purchased the facility (which used to produce the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky) at low cost. With the plant lined up, development on Project NINA continuing full-speed ahead. The latest news about the car

Many delays have beset the Fisker Karma. It was originally supposed to launch in late 2009 (before the Chevrolet Volt), but that date has been pushed back to this year. Finally, production has started at Valmet Automotive's plant in Finland. According to Auto Car production is beginning with a paltry rate of just five cars per week, but that rate is expected to rise to 300 a week by November of this year. With 3,000 orders to fill, this should result in a wait until at least early 2012 for new customers (if all goes to plan). Fisker intends to sell around 15,000 cars a year of the Karma, which is a lofty goal. Its development was helped to a large degree by the

Fisker Automotive has come along way from the original company Fisker Automotive that was first announced in 2007. The current company is an automotive manufacturer with investment from private equity and Department of Energy government loans in the hundreds of millions. The money will go toward production of the Karma extended-range electric vehicle as well as the Project NINA, a low-car built at a former General Motors facility in Delaware. The Karma is the company's first real production car, and its been in the news since its introduction at the North American International Auto Show in 2008. The car has been beset by many delays - originally it was supposed to come in November 2009, then September 2010 and now the start date

We've heard about the much-ballyhooed Fisker Karma for quite some time. Company co-founder and designer Henrik Fisker engineered a remarkable coup with the Karma. He turned his company from a coachbuilding endeavor to a company focused on range-extended electric vehicles. The Karma was the vehicle that enabled that, and it resulted in huge grant from the Department of Energy. Now the Karma's is getting closer to a reality (at least we hope so) and the company has produced this new advertisement. They've done one previously, but this latest spot is much better done (as in, there was more money to spend on it). There's no doubt the Karma is a stunning vehicle. Now let's see it in person! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5YOZ2saZk&feature=player_embedded

Things have been going pretty well for Fisker lately - like bitter rival Tesla, the company has gotten loan guarantees from the Department of Energy to fund the Karma, and the company's new low-cost car, Project NINA. In addition, Fisker has secured a former General Motors manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Delaware. In comparison, Tesla is still readying an announcement on a production plant for the Model S. In July, a date in mid-2010 for the Karma was announced, but a new date has been set at the Los Angeles International Auto Show that pegs deliveries for the car in the third quarter of 2010. That would be less than 36 months since the car's debut at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, which is a pretty