Aside from the development and production of the two environmentally-friendly lines of vehicles, the GM plant will also open up at least 2000 jobs for plenty of qualified American assembly workers. Because of the pending projects, economic experts also foresee more employment opportunities coming from service providers and domestic parts providers.

The Fisker projects are also set to contribute to reduced carbon emmicions and cleaner air. According to Secretary Chu, the release of these hybrid cars should put the production of American environmentally-friendly vehicles at the forefront of automotive design and production.

Initially, the money from the loan will be used by Fisker for qualifying engineering costs. This will be conducted in Irvine California, with the engineers designing tools and equipment and working on efficient manufacturing processes. The Karma should hit the showrooms in 2010, with the Project Nina hitting the assembly lines by late 2012.

These Fisker cars will run on electric engines which get their power from rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries. Once the power is depleted, the car will then use and efficient, gas-powered engine.

Both lines of hybrid vehicles will have an all-electric tailpipe, emission free range of forty to fifty miles when they’re fully charged. The cars can be conveniently charged at home, and the production of these vehicles is set to reduce America’s dependence on oil.

Looking at the 2012 Ford Focus, one might say that it just looks like an oversized 2011 Ford Fiesta but looking at the specs of the car, you will say it can stand on its own.

The Ford Focus a similar broad shoulder look following the company’s “kinetic design”. The numbers show though that it is longer than the Fiesta and has a much lower rear.

It seems that the car maker is taking its commitment of best in class mileage. The 2012 Focus, according to insiders, can boast of an impressive fuel mileage for a compact.

The official numbers of how it consumes fuel are not yet out but experts say that the 2012 Focus has a most efficient version that can hit 30mpg on city driving and 40mpg while cruising on highway. The numbers are excellent since they are at par with the numbers of the 2011 Fiesta which is really a class smaller than the Focus.

If the numbers are precise, the 2012 Ford Focus will be 6 mpg better than the other cars of its class.

The unit in display at the Detroit Auto Show had a 2.0L direct injected which can output 155 horsepower and about 145 lb-ft of torque. An Ecoboost turbocharged version might also come out. The engine will be paired with an impressive six speed automatic transmission with dual clutch. The car maker coins the feature as a PowerShift which uses technology found in high end cars like Porsche.

Ford is also set to release Focus Electric. This will come out as a 2013 model. More Ford news at Ford Car Talk.

The CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, tries to convince everyone that it might not be the picture of the near future. Automakers recently had a convention in Michigan to discuss the future of the industry including the upcoming technologies and vehicles.

During the briefing, the spotlight was on the hybrids from GM and also on the EV being developed by Nissan. A lot of car manufacturers hinted that they are also developing their own electric vehicles but none of them believed that EVs will dominate the market anytime soon.

The forecast of the Nissan topman suggests that EVs will get a small chunk of the global car industry with 10% of sales in a matter 10 years. Through that time period further engine technologies and possibilities will be enhanced or be developed.

Product development though of car makers is still on hybrids, diesels, and the usual gas run engines. No one denies though that EVs will get a foothold into the market. So for now, Nissan and other car makers will sell what can sell and continue to experiment and perfect their EV concepts.

The all electric vehicle will have the same name as its V8 engined brother but will have 525hp from the corner mounted electric motors instead of the 571hp of the SLS AMG standard variant. The torque of the EV will be a good 650lb-ft.

The distribution of the engines to make the electric supercar an AWD vehicle makes distribution of power more efficiently. The power is distributed by two transmission systems with one hooked to each of the axle.

The supercar term does not only apply to it being a futuristic all electric vehicle. The SLS AMG also boasts of excellent driving performance. The car can zoom like its combustion engine counterpart and can blast from 0 to 100km/hr in a flat 4 seconds which is just 0.2 second off the V8 record.

The electric SLS AMG though needs to deal with some weight issues for the housing of the 48kWh 400V battery pack. Looking at the schematics of the V8 model, the battery will be placed on the area of the transmission tunnel for the electric car. The engine will also house other electronic components.

The body of the Gullwing will also be modified since the electric motor can be placed a bit lower so the center of gravity of the vehicle can be improved.

Mercedes Benz did not give a clear timeline for the development or the release of the all electric SLS AMG. It might be a few years before this supercar hits the road.