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Ellesmere Port's bid to build Ampera hits snags

By Rob Golding Motor Industry 09 October 2009 15:02 Prime minister Gordon Brown’s personal crusade to get Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Volt petrol-electric plug-in hybrid – the Ampera – built in Britain's Ellesmere Port factory in 2012 is a dream delayed, CAR can disclose today.News that the UK Astra plant is the best in Europe, that the Astra's Delta platform will underpin the Ampera, and that Volt will be on US sale from 2010 had been taken to mean that Vauxhall would be churning out the cars in the north west within three years.But the prospect of an electric car industry growing up around the run-down Merseyside manufacturing site is not imminent, CAR has learned.'No Ampera to be built in Europe before 2015'Vauxhall insiders have made it clear that the car to be known as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera in Europe will be an import from the US for at least five years. One senior planner told us: 'The US will be the sole source of Amperas until at least 2015.'Bob Lutz, GM's former product supremo who recently came out of retirement as a PR, said that the low value of the dollar made the US an ideal site for the manufacturing of export cars. And with forecast sticker prices of the range-extender electric car standing at a scary £35,000+, every price saving is vital to its marketability.The European market also needs time to get its electricity recharge infrastructure in place before it is worth making cars onshore in volume, GM high-ups point out.

Carroll Shelby, Felt Bicycles collaborate on beach cruiser

Felt Bicycles, a maker of competition bikes, and our favorite Mustang tuner, Carroll Shelby, have collaborated on a custom cruiser bike that pays homage to the classic Shelby GT350. The Shelby Cruiser will be limited in production but available worldwide for a price of $999. Designers from Felt worked with the Shelby team during every step of the process.

SRT introduces Anodized Carbon Viper GTS

SRT introduced a limited run of Anodized Carbon Special Edition packages for the 640-hp Viper GTS at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday. The metallic, matte-gray exterior is being used by Chrysler for the first time on this car. “We’ve been waiting for the right time to use this new color at the Chrysler Group, and, as the flagship for the SRT brand, the Viper is the perfect vehicle to showcase this combination of finishes and details to create such a unique look,” said Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of SRT.