Honda Fuzo flying car concept

French industrial and automotive designer Jonathan Mahieddine has created quite a stir on numerous popular tech-oriented websites with his Honda Fuzo, a futuristic design for a flying car.

The young, creative designer envisions the Fuzo as a lightweight and sturdy vehicle — thanks to extensive use of Kevlar, carbon fiber and carbon nanotubes — that would be capable of traveling through the air at a top speed of 350 mph, thanks to four powerful turbine engines. It would also be able to take off and land vertically, like Britain's famous Harrier jump jet and the U.S. military's own V-22 Osprey. What's more, upon landing, the Fuzo would extend its retractable wheels and tool around town like a normal automobile.

Other elements Mahieddine envisions for the Fuzo are a GPS system that not only guides the car to its predetermined destination but also communicates with other GPS-enabled vehicles for collision avoidance. Additionally, airbags would be placed both inside and outside of the vehicle to both minimize injury to its occupants and cushion the blow to pedestrians or non-GPS-equipped

Is this flying car a glimpse at what our future automobiles will be like? Mahieddine tells us that the Fuzo was a design he submitted to Honda last year when he applied for a position with the Japanese automobile manufacturer. Honda — or another car manufacturer — would be wise to hire this visionary; perhaps his bold thinking is just what the automotive industry needs to move toward a brighter future.

Toyota Launch The Third Generation Prius

Toyota Motor Corporation's third-generation Prius is displayed during a press conference at Mega Web on May 18, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The third-generation Prius with its new hybrid system is on sale now in Japan at the price of 2,050,000 Japanese yen (22,000 U.S. dollars).

Chevrolet Equinox

The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox is all-new for 2010 with a new exterior design, new engines for improved fuel economy and a lower starting price with the Equinox LS FWD beginning at $$23,185 including $745 destination charge. The standard engine is a new 2.4-liter Ectotec 4-cylinder with direct injection producing an estimated 182 horsepower with estimated fuel economy of 21/30 mpg city/hwy (pending EPA certification).

The optional 3.0-liter direct-injected V6 produces an estimated 264 horsepower with fuel economy estimated at 18/25 mpg city/hwy (pending EPA certification). Standard equipment includes StabiliTrak electronic stability control, OnStar and XM Satellite Radio, as well as a tilt and telescoping wheel, driver’s seat power height adjustment and driver’s seat power lumbar adjustment. Available advanced remote starting system will also activate the HVAC system and optional heated seats depending on the temperature.

Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen Tiguan is a compact crossover SUV built by the German automaker Auto 5000, based on the A5 (PQ35) platform of the Mk5 Golf. Production started in the winter of 2007 in Wolfsburg, Germany

The Tiguan is Volkswagen’s new compact SUV that Volkswagen describes as the GTI of compact SUVs. Building on the GTI heritage the Tiguan promises sporty driving dynamics and is offered in either front-wheel-drive or 4Motion all-wheel drive with the choice of two transmissions; a 6-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual. Standard safety equipment includes Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and six airbags including Side Curtain Protection head airbags for front and rear seats. The rear seat features 6 inches of fore and aft adjustment to allow maximum rear-seat legroom of provide additional cargo capacity.

The 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan is an all-new compact SUV that VW is releasing at the right time. VW calls it the GTI of crossovers, an apt description based on our test drive.

The new 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan is offered in three trim levels, S, SE and SEL, all powered by the 200-horsepower 2.0-liter TSI turbocharged 4-cylinder engine combined with either a 6-speed automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission. Standard equipment includes chrome grille, 16-inch alloy wheels, anti-theft system, 8-way adjustable driver’s seat and Metro cloth upholstery. The SE adds 17-inch alloy wheels, trip computer, heated front seats and upgraded Urban cloth upholstery. The SEL adds dual-zone climate control, Bi Xenon headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, Dynaudio 8-channel 300-watt audio system, 12-way power front seats and leather seating surfaces. The available touch-screen navigation system features a 6.5-inch high resolution wide-screen display and a 30GB hard drive to store map data and audio files.

Spyker C8 Aileron

From the outside, the Spyker C8 Aileron styling is an evolution of the previous Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85 first shown at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show. While the Laviolette carried a propeller theme through most of the car, the Aileron emphasizes the jet propulsion age via the use of turbine-engine-shaped air scoops. Compared to the Laviolette, the Aileron is longer and rides on a wider front track for improved driving comfort and stability.

Power for the Aileron comes from an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V-8 engine rated at 400 bhp and 354 lb.-ft. of torque. Either a Getrag 6-speed manual gearbox or a ZF 6-speed automatic transmission can be ordered with the car. The chassis is new, an aluminum space-frame design with suspension designed and produced by Lotus. The front and rear aluminum double wishbone suspension carries 19-in. wheels that are slowed by 13.8-in. front and 12.1-in. rear brake rotors.

The manufacturer suggested retail price for the Aileron is $209,990 with the manual gearbox, and $219,990 with the automatic, both excluding options. Expect to see a convertible version at this summer's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Nissan Nismo 370Z

For those who feel the 370Z doesn't have enough performance, Nissan has created the Nismo 370Z. You can liken the car, which bears the name of Nissan's Motorsports arm (Nismo), to a tuner version of the popular sports coupe, but all the tweaks were made in-house. The car was developed by Nismo and the company's conversion specialist, Autech, in Japan.

Under the hood, Nismo breathed an extra 18 bhp into the 3.7-liter V-6, so now it pumps out 350 at 7400 rpm and 276 lb.-ft. of torque at 5200. With the added power, and no weight gain, the Nismo 370Z will be quicker than the stock car in a straight line. We expect 0 to 60 mph times of 4.5 seconds.

The car's handling has been improved, too, via stiffer suspension. Compared to the standard setup, front spring rates have been dialed up 15 percent, and rear spring rates increased 10 percent. There are also fatter anti-roll bars at both ends. Overall, roll stiffness has been increased by 15 percent, says Nissan, and the front and rear damping factors have been increased by 40 percent and 140 percent respectively. Although the ride quality will be harsher, the Nismo Z will undoubtedly take corners better and be faster around a racetrack.

2010 Ferrari 599XX

Ferrari brought two new versions of the 599 GTB Fiorano to its show stand in Switzerland — a handling package, called the HGTE (for Handling Gran Turismo Evoluzione), as well as the 599XX, which will no doubt prove to be one of the world's greatest track-day cars.

Ferrari says the 599XX features a "plethora of aerodynamic, electronic control and handling innovations used together for the first time on a single car, making this model a genuine technological laboratory." One of those innovations is what Ferrari calls the "Actiflow" system, which increases downforce or cuts drag depending on the car's cornering attitude, "courtesy of the use of a porous material in the diffuser and two fans in the trunk which channel the air flow from under the car out through the two grilles next to the taillights." Ferrari says the 599XX produces 617 lb. of downforce at 124 mph and almost 1400 lb. of downforce at 186 mph. The F1-derived "doughnuts" partly covering the wheels and brake discs improve both aerodynamics and brake cooling.

Here are the first pictures from the Geneva International Motor Show of Ferrari’s brand new laboratory on wheels program for it’s uber exclusive clients

It will apply Ferrari's F1 know-how as well as lightweight construction to enhance performance in every way. We see that massive rear diffuser, the small rear wing made of what looks like carbon fiber, and a dark roof. Side wings appear to stick out from the C pillar, the dark wheels sport big Ferrari brakes and the tyres are quite slick.

Ferrari is expected to produce the 599XX in very limited numbers, possibly for faithful Ferrari owners who will be hand-picked from an already small pool. By afternoon on the 3rd of March all details and pictures regarding the 599XX will be posted on WCF.