Hard to believe, but on average Jaguar only sold about 65,000 vehicles per year.  This makes Jaguar a small company, but one dedicated to creating a unique vehicle, elite, with keys being hold by only an elite few.  However, some industry experts believe that Jaguar got away from it's roots in recent years, perhaps a reason why Ford sold them off last year.  Now, the company you used to love is now being run by an Indian company known as Tata. (not see you later. -ed)

There are some automobile journalists that have recently driven the all new 2010 Jaguar XFR and believe despite it's new ownership, this is Jaguar's return to it's roots.  The 2010 XFR is the answer to start selling more than 65,000 vehicles per year.

Without question the 2010 Jaguar XFR is a sexy beast.  It's an orgy of over 500 horsepower, 460 ft lbs of torque, mounted to a 6-speed automatic transmission.  Basically owners will be the fastest to their 8 o'clock Tee Time or basically fastest to wherever.  Enjoy the fine lines of the 2010 Jaguar XFR below and be sure to chime in on what your first impressions are.

If the idea of strapping a 4 cylinder motor between your legs sounds exciting, then keep your eyes on this all new Honda VFR1200 motorcycle.  Reportedly in production and expected to be released in 2010, the Honda VFR1200 plans on revolutionizing the sport bike industry.  According to Motorcycle News in the UK the photos below are reportedly of the finished production model.

Although the specifications are still under wraps, reportedly the 4 cylinder motorcycle engine will produce around 200 horsepower.  To remain friends with green drivers 2 of the 4 cylinders will reportedly operate under normal load.  The only time all 4 cylinders will kick in is when you are ready to launch.  Sounds thrilling.

Fuel Efficient Sports Cars

Enthusiasts are already starting to demand a higher performance from their hybrid and ultra high efficienct cars.  Already there are some players in the market that are looking to push the envelope in regards to power in a hybrid and looks that really scream sports car.  Ultimately, and this is just my opinion, a hybrid car will only become truly popular when you don't look at it and automatically know it's a hybrid.

Fisker Karma has already started working on a sports car based on a plug-in type hybrid system.  Also most recently Rasser created a 100 mpg Hummer, that proves you can have the looks of a traditional car with the efficiency of a hybrid.  With advacements like this it begs the question of what the big boys will be bringing to the hybrid sport car market.

Toyota has debuted a prototype of what might develop into a full on hybrid sports car.  The FT-HS Concept is a short wheel base boxster inspired hybrid sports car.  Depending on who you believe, the FT-HS pictured below may be the launching point from reviving the Toyota Supra.  Yes, the next generation Toyota Supra may live on, as a hybrid sports car.

If you've ever been interested in learning about the economy, now is the time.  As our country and many others are weathering the biggest storm in economic history, the average consumer is certainly feeling the waves!  With the rising costs of everything from groceries to auto insurance , we Americans are beginning to pick up our heads and take notice of what is happening.  More and more, we are taking an interest in learning how some major world processes affect our everyday life.

Of the ups and downs of the current climate, one “up” that is most easily spotted is the price of fuel.  Prices of gas for our cars have skyrocketed, of course, making us think twice about driving out of town for vacation.  That's just the tip of the iceberg – home heating oil, manufacturing, electric power generation, the cost of the food that's delivered to the grocery store – these things are all affected by the price of the fuel we use.  Since our daily lives are affected in many more ways than we can even know, it may be good to get a bit of a grasp on how the economics of it all works.

There are a few factors that go into figuring the price of fuel.  Taxes and distribution, which generally remain stable components, account for about forty-five percent of the cost of your vehicle's gas.  The remaining fifty-five percent is directly linked to crude oil prices.  Since taxes remain steady for long periods of time and sudden disruptions to distribution lines are not foreseeable, crude price at the pump rises and falls... and rises, and rises... closely in keeping with the projected cost of crude oil.

The main determiners of the prices of crude oil are called oil “futures”.  Oil stocks are traded based on contracts to buy and sell barrels of oil at a specific price on a specific date in the future.  Every day, traders in oil bid based on a projection, or a guess, of what price they think oil will be trading at in the future.   The projections are based on calculations of supply and demand, taking into account all of the world's usage and OPEC's production rate.  With these trade projections being re-evaluated daily, the price of crude oil, and therefore the price of the gas we use, fluctuates daily.

This type of futures trading can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy; if oil prices are thought by traders to be on the rise, traders will raise the cost of oil by raising their own bids.  This type of “bubble” is a phenomenon which is not unique to oil prices, but can be seen in any other type of commodity trading.  Lately, this driving up of oil prices has been one of the biggest factors of current high fuel prices.  Although there is not a shortage of supply, and demand has gone down, oil traders have been driving up the prices of futures.

Lamborghini is donating it's heart to the Audi R8 Roadster to be debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show this year.  The 2011 R8 will feature a whopping V10 monster, pushing 500+ horsepower, allowing the Audi to do 0-60 in under 4 seconds.

According to sources close to Audi engineers the base model Audi R8 will retain it's 4.2 liter V8 motor.  However, the Spyder convertible, will have the V10 option to maintain an elite status.  Although with a top speed of 195 mph it will be hard to tell who's driving anyways.

The V10 Audi R8 Spyder won't be available till model year 2011, so look for it on Audi/Saab show room floors sometime late next year.

Looking to gain more of the marketshare Mercedes and BMW currently owns, Audi will be releasing the Audi A5 Sportback, amongst other models.  Specifically Audi has announced that they intend to sell an additional 1.5 million cars before 2015, mainly in new models and versions like the A5 Sportback.

So far there haven't been any good pictures of the A5 Sportback released, except for a few teasers.  You can see the teaser image along with a picture of the basic A5 below.

Audi A5 Sportback Comparison

The new version of the Audi A5 will be a 2010 model year.  Although a small cosmetic change, 09 going into 2010 will be a big year for Audi.

The 2009 Hyundai Genesis is this manufacturers answer to the luxury market at an affordable price.  Further more, performance enthusiasts will approve of it's engine options, including a V8 above an already potent v6 setup.  This coupled with a 6-Speed transmission and luxury accessories make it a real contender, no matter the market.

According to recent reviews, the most appealing aspects of the 09 Genesis is the strong motor, rear wheel drive, 17 speaker audio system, and it's ability to be well priced.  Hell, most even European reviewers are claiming that Hyundai has a serious contender amongst big luxury manufacturers like Lexus and Mercedes.  But will consumers be able to justify a $40,000+ Hyundai?

Mitsubishi is working on entering the plug-in electric hybrid car market with a big (or little) bang.  The Mitsubishi i MiEV is the latest creation in smart car technology that is promising the sky in terms of gas mileage at a whopping 100 mpg.  But let's look at what it means to get this kind of eco friendly transportation.

First of all, getting 100 mpg is just an arbitrary number.  You may remember me reporting back a few days ago about a Raser Hummer that was created to get 100 mpg.  Essentially these smart plug-in style hybrids are technically getting infinity miles per gallon, if you stay within the battery's charge range.  However, the efficiency of the tiny motors become more realistic after the charge has worn out.  The idea however, with the i MiEV is that most consumers don't drive over 40 miles per day, so the battery limitation is no problem.

Another kind of half truth is that the Mitsubishi iMiEV emits zero emissions, which is true, again if you stay within the cars battery charge radius.  Once the Mitsubishi battery is used up, the tiny motor is used to push it down the road and then the emissions start up just like any other internal combustion motorized vehicle.

Lastly, the price tag for this car or oversized bicycle is a whopping $45,000.  Depending on which side of the green fence you are on, this may or may not be worth the investment.  How long and how many miles would it take before this car starts paying for itself?  Well, if you only drive less than 40 miles per day, as the target market should, then you are looking at a looonnnggg time.

It's fine if you want to buy green vehicles and especially brawny golf carts, just make sure you buy them for the right reason.  I can just see the complaints and lawsuits rolling in once people realize it's not exactly as advertised.

Video of the Mitsubishi i MiEV Hybrid in action.  Short clip from the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show and driving on a test track.

I'm not sure what customer is interested in purchasing a squatty minivan, but apparently Hyundai has the market cornered.  The new 2009 Elantra Touring is exactly that, a squatty minivan, without the space, but slightly larger than a Ford Focus.  Those who have driven the new Elantra are comparing it to Mazda's wagon, and those who haven't driven it, are happy.

The only good thing about the 09 Elantra Touring is it's ability to remain well equipped for around $20,000.  But let's be honest, it's going to have to be cheap to move off of the show room floor.  Furthermore, it may  need a little help to move, considering this 4 door accordion wagon is only equipped with a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder.

The extremely small engine makes me question the actual real world gas mileage of the vehicle as well.  Is the rated miles per gallon based on only a driver or fully loaded with 4 adults and some baggage?  Obviously anytime that little 4 cylinder is under strain the gas mileage will suffer.

At any rate, please view the pictures of the 09 Hyundai Elantra Touring below and you be the judge.  If all else fails, at least it comes with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty, so Hyundai will be standing  behind it all the way.

A few weeks ago there was a picture found of the upcoming 2012 Ford Ranger.  Of course, with the camo it's hard to tell exactly what it is, but according to experts it's what will eventually be the production Ranger small size pickup truck.

Originally there was talk of Ford ending production of the Ranger in 2009, but has since been postponed till 2011.  Perhaps the production of the upcoming and radically redesigned 2012 Ranger will be produced somewhere other than the US.  At any rate, just glad to see car manufacturers planning this far ahead.