Hybrid News

Filed under: Chrysler, China

It’s now looking like Chrysler’s hopes of getting a fuel efficient small car from China’s Chery Motors are dead in the water. The company had agreed with Chery in late 2006 to collaborate on small car development and production. This had led to hopes that the Dodge Hornet concept might become a reality at some point. The first stage in the deal was to sell Dodge-badged versions of the Chery QQ in Mexico and central America before bringing all new cars to the U.S. Apparently money problems at both companies, combined with the poor quality of the Chinese-made cars, combined to kill the deal. Chery’s cars had no hope of passing U.S. safety standards in their current form and an all-new car was apparently out of the budget. If Chrysler survives, it may have to rely on a more recent deal with Great Wall Motors of China or Nissan. The Japanese brand recently started providing a Dodge-branded version of the Versa for sale in South America.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d]

Chery-based Dodge Hornet dead for now originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Etc., Transportation Alternatives

When Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was recently photographed riding near his Oxfordshire home on a Vespa, it caused a minor uproar. That’s because Clarkson has long had a rather derisive attitude toward two-wheeled conveyances. Seeing Clarkson on a scooter caused some observers to accuse him of hypocrisy. It turns out the reason that Jezza was on a two wheeler had to do with the current situation with fuel prices and the move by many drivers to down size. Being a “responsible” motoring journalist, Clarkson felt it was his duty to investigate the ramifications of the two wheel switch.

So, off he went to take the test that would allow him to legally ride on a scooter followed by a proper on-road evaluation of the Vespa. Clarkson goes on to describe the vagaries of shifting, steering and braking on a two wheel vehicle. It turns out that by Clarkson’s calculations, riding a scooter is not inexpensive even though a Vespa only costs £3,499. By the time you add in the requisite leather, helmet, coffin, headstone, cremation, flowers, etc, it gets pretty pricey. It seems the bottom line is that no matter what you do, “you will be killed.” Maybe we should just walk.

[Source: Times of London]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Hybrid, Lexus

Just the other day, Lexus′ European head Andy Pfeiffenberger said that Lexus is in the hybrid market for the long term. The Japanese automaker is following Toyota, its owner, into the gas/electric waters head first with no plans to back out any time soon. In fact, a report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper suggests that Lexus would consider a line of vehicles solely powered by hybrid drivetrains. It’s true that Lexus sales have slowed down rather dramatically in the last few months, a fact that Toyota blames on the global economic slowdown. Apparently, the Japanese giant believes that offering more hybrid models could be just what the doctor ordered to boost its lagging sales. Still, it would take years to make this transition happen. In the mean time, Lexus is planning on launching a few more models with hybrid power, most notably (as far as we know) a Lexus-ized version of Toyota’s hugely successful Prius, a third generation of which is set to debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req′d]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GM

At the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose CA this week General Motors will be on hand to announce a partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to promote plug-in vehicles. GM VP for Global Program Management Jon Laukner will be delivering a keynote address at the Plug-in conference on Monday, and the EPRI partnership is expected to be part of the discussion. At this point GM doesn’t have any production plug-in vehicles, but will debute two different models in the next two years. A plug-in version of the Saturn Vue Two-Mode hybrid is expected to debut in late 2009 while the Chevy Volt should appear a year later. The styling of the production car based on the Volt concept should be debuting in the next few months, possibly in September in conjunction with GM’s centenial celebration. One possible key to the ultimate success of plug-in vehicles would be the installation of public charging stations allowing drivers to top up the battery as they go through their daily routines. Doing this will require the participation of local governments, businesses and electric utilities. Another factor that would help make plug-in vehicles financially viable for consumers would be the establishment of an aftermarket for lithium ion batteries that may not be useful for cars but could be used by utilities for buffering power supplies. EPRI previously announced a similar promotional partnership with Ford.

[Source: Reuters]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Here’s a YouTube version of the June 12, 2008 profile of the Scuderi Group and its Air-Hybrid Engine on CBS 3 in Springfield, available on the Scuderi Group’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/ScuderiGroup.

Original post by Tim Allik

By Lutz Deyerling
VP European Operations, Scuderi Group

The overall worldwide automotive (and engine market) is undergoing a major change unlike ever before. This change affects all players in the market, OEM´s, suppliers, new technologies, consumers and investors. There has been shocking news about the US OEM´s every day. Yesterday, for example, for the first time an analyst from Merrill Lynch said that one of the top three automakers could go bankrupt soon

Scuderi European Vice President Lutz Deyerling addresses the crowd gathered to view the first model of the Air-Hybrid Engine at the 2008 Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany in May.

Wednesday’s auto news was a parade of negative earnings reports, mostly based on consumer reaction to rising fuel costs and engine inefficiency. In June, one US OEM lost 18% in sales, another 28%, while yet another big manufacturer went down 36%. Many have serious problems – none of them are able to cut costs fast enough to keep up with the cash drain. (Double digit millions of dollars daily!). This phenomenon is driven by the fact that US drivers are now shifting away from SUV´s and pick-up-trucks and seriously looking for smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles – which almost none of the US OEM´s have in their portfolio. This is a really dangerous scenario and could end in a vicious circle.

The Financial Times Germany, who has been running an editorial series called “the future of the automobile” also writes this in a recent article, the last sentence stating: “Maybe in the future they will say, these were the years, where afterwards nothing was as it had been before.”

Read the story here.

In Germany, a major discussion about electric vehicles and batteries started last week with an

“>article about a study from Professor Dudenhoefer, who heads the well known CAR (Center of Automotive Research) at the University of Gelsenkirchen:

The article states: “A huge revolution, the end of gasoline and diesel vehicles”. From 2010 onwards, electric and hybrid vehicles will replace vehicles with internal combustion engines.

There have been several reactions on this article – for example also the CEO of Volkswagen, Prof. Winterkorn said: “the future of the automobile is the battery”. The “hype” culminated in a 16 pages article (which also was the top story) in Germany´s Wirtschaftswoche, a highly respected business magazine.

But as the article also states, many of these OEMs, suppliers and others are finding themselves having to look “Green” and environmentally friendly, even when they aren’t…

A time of change of this magnitude creates an even bigger opportunity to address the immediate benefits of the air-hybrid engine technology. While we continue to further licensing talks with many of the major OEMs around the world, the first gasoline prototype is on schedule to be completed by the end of the year. There is currently historical interest in the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine, which would give OEMs tremendous relief in several areas:

Original post by Lutz Deyerling

By Matt DeLuica, CBS 3, Springfield, MA

Solar, hydrogen, and even water are all being developed as fuels of the future, and no matter what the brand, those behind the ideas just want to keep you from buying gasoline. But, West Springfield-based Scuderi Group is developing an engine that still runs on gas, but not nearly as much.

“The key to really gaining on saving energy is to improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, and we’re about the only ones who really have a good shot at making that happen,” Scuderi said.

In a nutshell, Scuderi says his split-cycle engine will increase fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent. Combine that with a hybrid, and it’s 50 percent. That means you would fill-up half as often. But, that cannot possibly make the oil companies happy, or can it?

Watch the CBS 3 story.

Original post by Tim Allik

The Independent
By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Wednesday, 11 June 2008

The chief executive of the world’s largest energy company has issued the most dire warning yet about the soaring the price of oil, predicting that it will hit $250 per barrel “in the foreseeable future”.

The forecast from Alexey Miller, the head of the Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom, would herald the arrival of £2-per-litre petrol and send shockwaves through the economy. His comments were the most stark to be expressed by an industry executive and come just days after the oil price registered its largest-ever single-day spike, hitting $139.12 per barrel last week amid fears that the world’s faltering supply will be unable to keep up with demand.

Mr Miller’s prediction is well beyond even the most heady market forecasts, the most extreme of which fall between $150 and $200 per barrel, and was explained only by vague references to demand from the developing world. It nonetheless stoked an already febrile atmosphere of growing public anger across Europe over a soaring fuel cost that is wreaking havoc at nearly every level of the economy.

Read the rest of the story here.

Original post by Tim Allik

By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
5/21/2008 3:38:13 PM

It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.”

Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem.

“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”

Hirsch told the Business & Media Institute the $12-$15 a gallon wasn’t his prediction, but that he was citing Charles T. Maxwell, described as the “Dean of Oil Analysts” and the senior energy analyst at Weeden & Co. Still, Hirsch admitted the high price was inevitable in his view.

“I don’t attempt to predict oil prices because it’s been impossible in the past,” Hirsch said in an e-mail. “We’re into a new era now, and over the next roughly five years the trend will be up significantly. However, there may be dips and bumps that no one can forecast; I wouldn’t be at all surprised. To me the multi-year upswing is inevitable.”

Read more at businessandmedia.org.

This is indeed concerning news. But as energy prices rise, the demand for a more fuel efficient engine becomes all the more apparent.

Original post by admin

By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
5/21/2008 3:38:13 PM

It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.”

Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem.

“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”

Hirsch told the Business & Media Institute the $12-$15 a gallon wasn’t his prediction, but that he was citing Charles T. Maxwell, described as the “Dean of Oil Analysts” and the senior energy analyst at Weeden & Co. Still, Hirsch admitted the high price was inevitable in his view.

“I don’t attempt to predict oil prices because it’s been impossible in the past,” Hirsch said in an e-mail. “We’re into a new era now, and over the next roughly five years the trend will be up significantly. However, there may be dips and bumps that no one can forecast; I wouldn’t be at all surprised. To me the multi-year upswing is inevitable.”

Read more at businessandmedia.org.

This is indeed concerning news. But as energy prices rise, the demand for a more fuel efficient engine becomes all the more apparent.

Original post by admin

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors

It can be interesting to see what happens when geeks with money meet up for dinner in Santa Monica. You’re having a pleasant meal and the next thing you know you’re racing down the road in a Tesla Roadster and a Corvette, live-streaming the video from two perspectives with cell phones. Tesla chairman and financier Elon Musk, serial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis (co-founder of Weblogs Inc. of which ABG is a part) and super blogger Robert Scoble decided to go for a joy ride for dessert the other night and stream the festivities using a new service called qik. Scoble rode shotgun with Musk in production Roadster #1. Calacanis (who has a Roadster on order) was in his Corvette. Musk laid waste to the Corvette. Some guy named Ray who evidently claims to know a thing or two about cars claims this was due to Jason’s inability to drive. In fact, Musk, as is his prerogative as fundraiser-in-chief at Tesla had his production model built with one of the short-lived two-speed transmissions which contributed to its extraordinary accelerative abilities. This Ray guy apparently didn′t actually watch either of the two videos since Musk explained this to Scoble. Needless to say Scoble was duly impressed by the ability of the Roadster to increase its velocity with remarkably low levels of noise (at low speeds at least).

[Source: ValleyWag, thanks to Alex for the tip]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily

The A-BAT hybrid concept truck that Toyota introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January doesn′t look like anything on the road today. But what would you think about seeing one of these in the rearviewmirror? Alternately, how would you feel about cruising to work in one of these small trucks? These are questions that Toyota would seriously like to know the answers to, as a post by Ian Cartabiano, Calty Project Chief Designer, on Toyota’s Open Road blog makes clear.

The A-BAT, which stands for Advanced-Breakthrough Aerodynamic Truck, has apparently garnered enough interest to make Toyota think a minute about possibly bringing the flexible and fuel-conscious vehicle to production. While Toyota isn’t tipping its hand on this issue, Cartabiano is asking readers for their comments on the viability of a production A-BAT. If you feel strongly one way or the other, hit the Open Road and let Toyota know.

[Source: Open Road via Green Car Advisor]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Mercedes has been working on putting bio-products into its cars for years, since well before AutoblogGreen got started. The company hasn’t really been making any sort of announcements about its progress. Hence the lack of coverage of ACO here on ABG.

What’s ACO? Why, that’s my new name for the abaca fibers, coconut parts and olive pits that find their way into some Mercedes models. The rubberized coconut - a by-product of Brazil’s coconut industry - is made into seat padding. The olive pits - also food waste - are crushed and carbonized and then used in air filters. And the fibers of the abaca plant (a kind of banana-like plant) are used as underfloor cladding of A- and B-Class cars. Newspress reminded us about the ACO products in Benz vehicles from the Geneva Motor Show, but you can get a solid background from this old post at Green Car Congress.

[Source: Newspress]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Mercedes Benz, Geneva Motor Show

BlueEfficiency, a very wide selection of green automotive technologies introduced by Mercedes at the Geneva Motor Show, will be available as an option for every single Mercedes Benz automobile. Dr. Thomas Weber, head of supervisory board at Daimler, tells CNBC “we will roll out this technology package from the A class, across the C class, up to the S class (that’s as high the classes go). This package will be available for our customers in all model series of Mercedes.” The best part the BlueEfficiency package is not the twelve percent jump in fuel efficiency but the fact it’s technology that’s here today. Check out the video below the fold of a BlueEfficiency test drive.

[Source: CNBC]

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Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Diesel, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Acura, BMW, GM, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Geneva Motor Show, New York Auto Show, Podcasts, Automotive X-Prize, Th!nk (Think)

Episode 20 of the AutoblogGreen Podcast has us recapping Geneva mere days before we head to New York. There were lots of exciting things over in Switzerland, and we touch on a few of them. Th!nk’s new Ox will be a Tesla-magnitude achievement if it hits the market doing what the company says it will. GM rolled out the new version of its mild hybrid system that will be propagating across virtually all models in all brands to help boost CAFE. Better efficiency for about half of what a sat nav option costs? We’ll take it. Speaking of hybrids, there was a lot of talk from BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen ,and others about upcoming Euro-branded hybrids, and diesel hybrids at that. Mercedes will debut li-Ion batteries in a production hybrid, while Toyota has yet to see a compelling argument for diesel hybrids. Rest assured that if people want it, Toyota will build it, though. Before closing, we look forward to the couple of things we know about in New York, like the debut of the Acura TSX/Honda Euro Accord which will sport a 50-state legal diesel, and the Automotive X-Prize folks will be holding a press conference, as well. 32 minutes this time around. Stay tuned, we’ll surely be abuzz when we return from New York.

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Original post by Dan Roth