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2012 Chevrolet Volt with Low Emissions Package Granted Access to California's HOV Lanes

In order to encourage carpooling and decrease traffic congestion, the State of California came up with the idea of creating the so-called High Occupancy Vehicle lanes or HOV for short, which could only be used by cars with two or more occupants.

Last July, however, the Golden State altered the regulations allowing single-passenger vehicles to use them as well, provided they were all-electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells or natural gas.

Despite being a hybrid, the Volt was excluded from the list specifying the vehicles allowed to use the HOV lanes, which span more than 1,400 miles and reduce driving time by an average of 36 minutes each day, because of its emissions.

Chevrolet is changing that with the 2012 model as the updated Volt that goes on sale this week will be equiiped with a Low Emissions Package as standard in California, making it eligible for the HOV lanes even with just the driver aboard.

The package comprises a secondary air-injection pump streaming ambient air into the exhaust system, thus increasing the catalytic converter’s ability to remove pollutant gasses generated by the internal combustion engine, which is used as a range extender.

"The Volts with the Low Emissions Package are certain to be a strong draw for California commuters looking to travel the state’s notoriously congested freeways in the carpool lane”, said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Marketing.

The Volt has a driving range of 379 miles (610 km). With its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack fully charge, it can be driven solely on electric power for the first 35 miles (56 km) with no emissions at all before the internal combustion engine kicks in.

 

Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car of the Year Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points.

Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.

The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).

The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.

The design of the Italian supercar is the work of result of the collaboration between the Ferrari Styling Centre and Pininfarina. The company claims that downforce has been improved by 76 percent (123 kg at 200 km/h or 124mph) while drag has been reduced to Cd 0.299, thanks in part to the active aero parts such as the Aero Bridge that uses the bonnet to generate downforce at the front by channeling air away and the Active Brake Cooling ducts. As for the interior, Ferrari says it has optimized the cabin to ensure maximum usability of the interior space with additional luggage capacity behind the seats.

We heard earlier this month that Volkswagen might introduce the production version of its Golf GTI Cabriolet at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon.

Carscoop can now confirm the news and add that the German company will also premiere another new model, the Polo GT Blue fitted with VW's new 1.4 TSI with a cylinder deactivation system.

The Golf GTI Cabriolet was previewed as a thinly disguised concept model at last year's Wörthersee fest in Austria, alongside the Golf R Cabrio study .

In standard trim at least, the production model will drop the concept's aggressive body kit along with the LED headlamps and bespoke 19-inch wheels, but these may be offered on the optional list.

The soft-top version will be powered by the same 208bhp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot as the three-door GTI. During the presentation of the concept, Volkswagen had said that the Cabrio's performance matched that of the regular GTI with a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 7 seconds and a top speed of around 240km/h (149 mph).

 

New F12berlinetta is the Most Powerful and Fastest Ferrari Ever

Maranello has blown the covers off the successor to its 599 GTB Fiorano and a direct opponent of the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. The car was rumored to be called the F620 GT but as it turns out, we will come to know it as the new F12berlinetta.

Billed as the fastest and most powerful regular production Ferrari in history, the F12berlinetta sports a 6.3-liter naturally-aspirated V12 engine that produces 730HP (740PS), which translates to a specific output of 116HP per liter. It also delivers a peak torque of 690Nm or 508.9 lb-ft, 80 percent of which is available at just 2,500 rpm, while it can rev up to 8,700 rpm. 

Ferrari says that the F12berlinetta accelerates from 0-100 km/h (62mph) in 3.1 seconds and from zero to 200 km/h (124mph) in 8.5 seconds en route to a top speed in excess of 340km/h (211mph+) adding that it also completes a lap of the Fiorano circuit in 1.23", faster than any other Ferrari road car. 

The design of the Italian supercar is the work of result of the collaboration between the Ferrari Styling Centre and Pininfarina. The company claims that downforce has been improved by 76 percent (123 kg at 200 km/h or 124mph) while drag has been reduced to Cd 0.299, thanks in part to the active aero parts such as the Aero Bridge that uses the bonnet to generate downforce at the front by channeling air away and the Active Brake Cooling ducts.

As for the interior, Ferrari says it has optimized the cabin to ensure maximum usability of the interior space with additional luggage capacity behind the seats.

 

Infiniti's Sexy-Looking Emerg-E Supercar Breaks Cover

If you weren't content with the patent images of Infiniti's new supercar concept that we showed you earlier this month, you'll be happy to know that the first official pictures of the study…emerged on the internet today, less than two weeks before its public debut at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon.

We will admit that we weren't exactly wowed by the patent renderings, but our opinion change after we laid eyes on the real photos of Infiniti Emerg-E concept.

The Japanese premium brand's study is an impressive looking supercar with what we could even dare to describe as an Italian finesse in its styling. Of course, you'll find Infiniti's latest styling cues such as the pinched rear quarter window and the bulbous front grille, but it all works out nicely.

Infiniti has said that the Emerg-E will be propelled by a mid-mounted range-extender drivetrain comprising an electric motor and an internal combustion engine.

That's all we know for now, but with the Geneva show just around the corner, it's only a matter of days before Infiniti graces us with an official release detailing the concept model.