Be excited, folks, because this is the very first picture of the Valmet Eva concept, the brainchild of Valmet Automotive. This is the same supplier — the same Finnish supplier, no less — whom we have to thank for the manufacture of not just the famed Porsche Boxster but also for the Caymen models. Valmet is also a big part of the upcoming Fisker Karma.

Back to the Eva, however, it is designed to showcase Valmet Automotive’s eco friendly side.

The concept’s body structure is extremely lightweight, its recharging systems and its electric system are both highly innovative, and all thanks to Fortum, an energy firm.

The electric car gets a lot of juice and inside it has a pioneering kind of HMI, which comes thanks to Nokia.

Every automaker is going environmentally friendly in some capacity or another these days, and Italdesign Giugiaro is joining in with a new concept. Specifically, they are going to introduce an entire series of cars which promise to be of a low impact to the environment, in conjunction with Proton, a manufacturer from Malaysia. The fruit of this union will be revealed next month at the motor show in Geneva.

This will be the first of those concepts, a car revolving around a hybrid drive system. The design is such so that all space is maximized. The concept is a hatchback with four seats and five doors.

Not a lot is yet known about the Proton concept, but as we get news, you will too.

Now that we have talked a little bit about the prices of gas, let’s talk about what these prices actually mean.  Honestly, the price of gas right now is extremely high yet people do not seem to care because they are used to it … which is weird right?  Back in the day, gas prices were right around a dollar and now they are well past two dollars and even up to almost three dollars.

The sad thing is the fact that hybrids and other electric cars sales are not even picking up – to me, that is something that strikes me as odd.  To be perfectly honest, why not buy a brand new hybrid or even a more fuel efficient car in order to save some money on gas?

The reason – I personally think is because people do not want to change their ways and they are scare of hybrids.

When you think about it – do you remember just a few short years ago when the gas prices were low and everyone was happy and then in 2008 – they spiked upward and everyone freaked out?  Well, now that they have gone back down and people have gotten used to the prices, what do you think is happening?

Well, that is exactly what we are going to talk about in the next few blogs, exactly what happens when people start getting used to the gas prices and being immune to their affects.

More on this topic in the next blog guys, you are not going to want to miss this one at all!

Detroit’s 2010 auto show recently took place; a lot of great new vehicles and interesting new concepts were unveiled during its duration. One of those was the second version of Audi’s E-Tron concept.

It proved to be smaller than its predecessor, which received its unveiling in 2009 at the auto shows in Los Angeles and Frankfurt. It is set to be somewhat similar to the line of Quattro vehicles.

The vehicle is 1780 millimeters in width and 3930 millimeters in length, and it is a two seater. In terms of its wheelbase and its length, it is quite similar to VW’s Bluesport concept. However, the E-Tron weighs a mere 1,350 kilograms.

Its light weight is due largely to the fact that its body is aluminum; other building materials include composite materials reinforced with carbon fibers.

Mitsubishi is one of my favorite brands, and this preview of the new and upcoming Mitsubishi ASX has done nothing to change that. This is one of the very first pictures you will find of the ASX, which is not only a crossover but a compact vehicle as well. Its official debut will not occur until March, where it will be revealed at Geneva’s 80th motor show.

This is not a concept. It is the cX concept’s production version. Don’t remember that? Not surprising — it was revealed back in 2007, but it is finally being produced, and it will be launched in Europe later this year.

The crossover can hold up to five passengers. It comes in right beneath the newly redesigned Outlander.

This look at the Subaru Hybrid Tourer concept is still relatively new, since the actual concept itself was only recently revealed at Tokyo’s forty first annual motor show. It is actually a proposal for what the automaker hopes will be a grand touring vehicle in the future. The primary aim of the innovative concept — which looks like it might take wing and fly away at any given minute — is to combine driving performance with safety and a high level of eco and environmental friendliness.

As a matter of fact, as it applies to the exterior, wings were the central inspiration for the vehicle. Why? Because they make for an air of confidence and total freedom. The gullwing doors are naturally a more phyisical interpretation of that feeling.

Well, folks, I have got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that this little beauty, the Maruti Suzuki Concept R3, will soon be unveiled at the 2010 Auto Expo in New Delhi, India, the product of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., which is the leading car manufacturer in India.

The bad news? Well, we might not be able to see it anywhere else, which is really kind of a shame. One can only hope that Suzuki will come up with a similar concept or will bring the car into product stateside and in Europe.

The point of this car is to fulfill any needs a family might have, but by keeping it compact, not bulky and large, as some other family vehicles.

Alright, now that we have talked a little bit about what Ford is planning on doing, let’s go ahead and move on into the thick of things regarding the actual buyout.  If you have at least one year of experience, you can take a payout of $50,000 dollars plus a new car voucher worth about $25,000 or you can just take an additional cash payment of about $20,000.

If you are of retirement age, you can take your pension plus the $25,000 new car voucher or the cash payment.  Finally, if you are a skilled-trade worker, you can take a $40,000 payout plus your pension.

The workers who are going to accept the buyout will need to leave sometime in February of 2010 and any new hires will start then … at a wage of about $14.00 per hour.

Ford – oh Ford, you survived the recession and now … even though you are doing really good on the forefront of your sales, you have decided that you are going to reduce your employees and offer them a buyout.  The point?  Well, they have a surplus of employees and are looking to get the unionized employees out and hire in some non-unionized employees.

Is this a smart business decision? Well of course it is – the new wage for the new hires would be half of what the old wage is, however how many people are actually going to take the buy out?

In the next blog, we will explore exactly what Ford is offering up to these folks.  You do not want to miss this one!