Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid makes its North American debut at 2010 Pebble Beach Concours

It’s not just vintage and classic cars that draw the crowds at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Luxury car manufacturers also use this important, headline making car enthusiast event to debut new car models.

Porsche is showing off the Porsche 918 Spyder concept plug-in hybrid supercar, just recently approved for production.  This is an ultra-high-performance mid-engine sports car that is also a hybrid, with an estimated 94 mpg fuel efficiency, which is about double the mpg of the Toyota Prius.  And the Prius does not accelerate from zero-to-sixty in 3.2 seconds.  But, the Prius also costs a fraction of the price of the new Porsche 918 Spyder.

2010 Pebble Beach Concours features classic cars like a 1937 Horch 853 and concept cars like the Porsche 918 Spyder

The 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the 60th anniversary of what has become the most famous and most prestigious vintage and antique car show in the United States, perhaps even the world. The Pebble Beach Concours is this weekend, August 13-15, attracting thousands of classic car fans to Monterey and Carmel, California, to see historic models from brands including Bugatti, Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce and Aston-Martin.

Pebble Beach also is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo with a display of rarely-seen vintage roadsters from Alfa’s own museum plus privately-owned vehicles, dating back to 1910.  The show always includes a ‘best in show’ award.  Last year’s winner was a 1937 Horch 853.  Horch is one of the car and motorcycle manufacturers which merged to become the Audi brand.

Pebble Beach also is where manufacturers show off their newest models.  Last year, Bentley introduced its new flagship model, the Mulsanne, at Pebble Beach. This year, the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours debuts two brand new models, one from Porsche, the other from Jaguar, both making their first appearance in North America.

American Graffiti Sixties Car and Concert Festival in London, Ontario, Canada

Rev up your engines and head for the Sixties in London — the one in Ontario, Canada, not the one in England.  The Seventh Annual Fleetwood Country Cruize on June 4th and 5th celebrates the iconic coming-of-age 1973 film “American Graffiti”.  Be whisked back decades at a recreation of Mel’s Diner with Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins, Cindy Williams, Lynne Stewart, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith,  Be whisked back decades in time at a 40- foot drive-in movie screen that will be showing what else but the American Graffiti film.  There’s also a kick-off dance under the big top and a rock ‘n’ roll concert featuring Sixties stars Lou Christie, followed by Brooklyn Bridge.

2010 Audi A8

The Audi brand is in the fast-lane, for sure.  Audi models have been sweeping awards at recent auto shows.   Let’s start with the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, now underway. 

The all-new 2011 Audi A8 luxury performance sedan took top honors in the prestigious EyesOn Design awards, which recognizes — you guessed it — design.  The A8 is a [...]]]> http://www.car-and-travel.com/2010/01/audi-wins-top-auto-show-awards/feed/ 5 http://www.car-and-travel.com/2009/12/toyota-hybrid-minicar-concept-intro-expected-at-detroit-auto-show/ http://www.car-and-travel.com/2009/12/toyota-hybrid-minicar-concept-intro-expected-at-detroit-auto-show/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:14:12 +0000 Evelyn Kanter http://www.car-and-travel.com/?p=275

Toyota hybrid concept minicar teaser photo

Green cars were the big news at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September and the Los Angeles Auto Show in December 2009, and the expectation is that hybrid cars, plug-in electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars will be making headlines at the important Detroit Auto Show in January 2010.

The rumor is that Toyota will introduce a hybrid mini-car.  Why else would they release teaser photographs — a fender here, a hood there.   

According to CNET, this will be a new Toyota model, not a hybrid version of one already on sale.