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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.

Kia Soul stars at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

Soul: you've either got it, or you haven't, man. And in the case of the Kia Soul - there's an updated version on show here at the Frankfurt Motor Show - you'll either get it, or you won't. The Kia Soul is one of those 'Marmite cars', with proper 'love it or hate it' styling.

Aston Martin DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo Concept revealed – Goodwood debut today

The Aston Martin DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo Concept As design technology has evolved, it’s become properly practical for car makers to indulge their design flair in cars that will only ever really exist in the virtual world. And the latest creation comes from Aston Martin with the reveal today of the Aston Martin DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo Concept. Developed in just six months by Aston Martin’s Design Team, the DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo boasts an 800bhp twin-turbo V12, is mid-engined (a first for Aston Martin) and, if it were real, would offer blistering performance.