Fisker Automotive money woes complicate hybrid Karma, Nina development

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Fisker Automotive in Fall 2009 was granted a $528 million low-interest loan by the Department of Energy for development and production of next generation plug-in hybrids, the Fisker Karma and Nina. One requirement for the massive funding was that Fisker meet certain deadlines, or milestones, for production of the Karma sedan. When those deadlines were not met, the DOE required modification of the loan terms to incorporate new deadlines for the company's second car, the Nina. Meanwhile, Fisker had to layoff some its workforce as reworking of the loan takes place between the hybrid carmaker and the DOE. Twenty-six people

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Toyota reinvents Camry, babies, DMV and pizza curtains in Super Bowl ad

Toyota made one of the best commercials for the 2012 Super Bowl. It's toutig the 2012 Toyota Camry, carmaker decided to do more. In the one-minute commercial, here's what Toyota has done: This is the re-invented couch. It also comes in male. This is a re-invented police officer. He's also a masseuse. This is the re-invented baby. It doesn't poop. It it also a time machine. The re-invented DMV. It's a little nicer. The re-invented blender. It plays Lionel Ritchey. The reinvented plant. It fights crime. The re-invented curtains. They are made of pizza. This is re-invente rain. It makes

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Clint Eastwood gets down and dirty for Chrysler, America in Super Bowl ad

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With Clint Eastwood and his still powerful but raspy voice as the audio and images of Detroit and its people draped in shadows and often in darkness, Chrysler for the second straight year presented the only two-minute commercial in Super Bowl XLVI. Like Eminem last year, Eastwood was hired to star in a two-minute movie. Eastwood's role was in “It’s Halftime in America.” Unlike most carmakers, Chrysler didn't release the video or a tease to it prior to the same. Its absence only added to the suspense of its pending broadcast. And when Eastwood emerged from the shadows just before

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VW, Darth Vader and determined St. Bernard star in Super Bowl commercial

Even when Darth Vader, the usual go-to Volkswagen star for the carmaker’s Super Bowl commercials isn’t in his usual fictional villain prominence, he’s around. In one of VW’s spots for Super Bowl 46, it’s an overweight family pet dog that gets top billing. The dog undertakes a human healh fitness routine — treadmill, swimming, a better diet — to lose weight. When the dog is fit, he can fit through his owner’s doggy door, and he can match the speed of new VW Beetle cruising down the street. The dog’s name in Bolt. Darth Vader shows up in a bar

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King Elton John gets dethroned in campy Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi

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Sir Elton John has seemingly mellowed in recent years. He's a married guy now and his once flamboyant Liberace-Gone-Wild approach has transitioned into a more Wall Street-executive-with-hair-weave style. One exception is his new Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi. The over-the-top Elton is back with his one-minute commercial with X Factor winner Melanie Amaro. They act out a epic, medieval music showdown. Elton has his outrageous Kings clothes, platform heals and some oversized glasses, circa the performer's signature look from 30 years ago. Amaro's blasts out the beginning of "Respect," the epic pop tune made famous by Aretha Franklin. Amaro gets

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Super Bowl commericals: For creepy Cars.com ad, two heads not better than one

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It's sometimes hard to know what the creative minds behind the commercials are thinking, particularly when considering a spot like the Cars.com 30-second ad that will be broadcast in Super Bowl 46. The plot is odd: Inside a dealership showroom, a car shopper is talking to a friendly dealer. But it's no ordinary visit. As the customer and salesman are chatting, the car shopper's inner confidence is unleashed from his neck and shoulder in the form of smooth Disco-singing head. The tune: "Baby, I want that car!" Some internet viewers have commented that the commercial "creeps them out." That's a

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Range Rover, 2012: Luxury, style, attitude, hefty price

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The 2012 Range Rover, the legendary British SUV, combines luxury and prestige with goat-like off-road abilities and still can't be topped for snob appeal. The large, beautifully crafted Range Rover is priced at $79,425 to $94,820 and shares its V-8 with Jaguar. One engine is a 5-liter V-8 with 375 horsepower. The other is a supercharged version of that engine with a whopping 510 horsepower. Both engines work with a responsive, smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission, with manual shifting mode. I tested the 2012 Range Rover with the 375-horsepower V-8, rated at 12 miles per gallon in the city and 18

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Chevy Silverado emerges from Apocalypse in Super Bowl commercial, Ford doesn't

General Motors has opted for a campy tact in its Super Bowl commercial touting the 2012 Chevy Silverado. With Barry Manilow’s hit single “Looks Like We Made It” from 1976 as the theme, a man drives his Chevy Silverado through an apocalyptic world predicted by the Mayan calendar. A group of friends, who are Silverado owners, makes its way to the designated meeting spot but notice one of their buddies is missing. One of the survivors offers the Chevy Silverado driver a Twinkie upon his arrival. The 60-second commercial is called “2012” and it will be broadcast in the first

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Super Bowl commercials: Jerry Seinfeld, Darth Vader, singing dogs all selling cars

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Bolstered by Volkswagen's clever presence of a young child dressed in a Darth Vader outfit, automakers made a big comeback last year in Super Bowl advertising. And carmakers will combine in this year's extravaganza as the largest-spending industry. Volkswagen will return different Darth Vadar and Star Wars' takes this year. Acura, Audi, Chrysler, Kia, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus and Toyota, among other auto-related companies, will also advertise and will be among the sold out 70 commercial spots in the Feb. 5 game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Commercial positions for this year's Super Bowl were already

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Super Bowl commercials: Hyundai Genesis helps save 'heart-attack' victim

Hyundai will join more than a dozen other carmakers and automotive-related companies advertising via expensive commercials in the Super Bowl. In its “Think Fast,” commercial, a 30-second spot scheduled for the fourth quarter of the game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, the character Bob is introduced. In the commercial, a young professional is driving his boss, Bob, a seasoned business pro, in his Genesis Coupe R-Spec. Bob is about to deliver a “pearl of wisdom” when he falls unconscious. The young driver hits the brakes hard, then throws his Genesis Coupe into drive repeatedly, generating enough

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Volvo S60, 2012: Still sturdy, safe (and now) sporty after all these years

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Introduced 12 years ago as the carmaker's first major departure in a few decades from its box-on-wheels reputation, the Volvo S60 is now in its second generation. The 2012 edition is offered in three trims, including the most-sports-car-like Volvo yet, the S60 T6 AWD R SR. That's a lot of numbers and letters for a model. But what the alphabet soup name means for potential buyers is 325 horsepower, a turbo-charged six-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The R means "R-Design Elements" and that translates into the car's sportiness with a handful of features — 18-inch

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Toyota Corolla: Still top-selling car in history, 37.5 million and counting

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It's hard to imagine: Somewhere in the world someone buys a Toyota Corolla about every 40 seconds. As such, since 2007 the entry level compact has been the best-selling car in history. With a base price of slightly more than $16,000, the Corolla has had 10 model generations and has had sales of more than 37.5 million since its debut in 1966. The current model has four-cylinders, 132 horsepower and gets about 35 mpg on the freeway. The combination of reliability, economy and durability add up to make the Corolla the ideal car in its native Japan and in the

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Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno battle for Acura supremacy in Super Bowl commercial

Jerry Seinfeld reportedly has one of the world’s finest Porsche collections; Jay Leno’s automotive passion includes more than 150 vehicles. And now Leno in the ficticous world of Super Bowl commercials has the first Acura NSX. In a one-minute Acura commercial, set to air Feb. 5 in Super Bowl XLVI, Seinfeld is so excited about the new Acura NSX he’ll stop at nothing to acquire the first one. Shy of offering the apparent owner of the No. 1 Acura NSX the moon, Seinfeld finally has the guy won over with his access to his private ziplines through the Manhattan skyline.

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Honda, Matthew Broderick team for Ferris Bueller homage Super Bowl commercial

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About a quarter century after Matthew Broderick debuted in his now cult classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the veteran Broadway actor and Honda have collaborated on a 2 1/2-minute homage to the movie for a Super Bowl commercial touting the 2012 Honda CR-V. In the 1986 film, a high school wise guy (Bueller played by Broderick) is determined to have a day off from school, despite of what the principal thinks of that. To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller's Day Off back. The carmaker has featured Broderick skipping out on a day of

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Rhode Island, Chicago, Baltimore among February car show locations

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Five major car shows are scheduled in North America in February beginning with the Northeast International Auto Show scheduled Feb 2-5 at the Rhode Island Convention in Providence, R.I. Automotive shows are also scheduled in Baltimore, Chicago, Iowa in Toronto during February. Dates, locations and websites of February car shows are listed below: February 2-5 Northeast Int'l Auto Show Rhode Island Convention Center Providence, R.I. www.ProvidenceAutoShow.com February 9-12 Motor Trend International Auto Show / Baltimore Baltimore Convention Center Baltimore, MD www.AutoShowBaltimore.com February 10-19 Chicago Auto Show McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill. www.chicagoautoshow.com February 10-12 Iowa-Illinois Regional Auto Show River Center Convention

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Super Bowl commercials: Fangs, blood and exploding vampires showcase Audi S7

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Few cultural curiosities are bigger than Twilight or the fascination with all things vampire. Even Audi likes the world of fangs and blood and evil, and it's featuring the vampire theme in its Super Bowl commercial for the Audi S7. In the one-minute video, the driver of the Audi arrives at the forest campfire with a supply of blood in the driver's seat. But after he parks the car and his friends begin to greet their friend, daylight — the curse of vampires — appears from the Audi's front lights. One at a time, the vampires "explode." The commercials is

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