Hybrid News

Filed under: Diesel, Porsche, India

Porsche just launched its first modern diesel engine in the Cayenne sport utility vehicle, and the German automaker said when it was first introduced that it was planning on bringing the model to other markets. Considering that the Cayenne is Porsche’s best-selling vehicle in India, it’s not all that surprising that the oil-burner is slated for an Indian introduction in short order. Even better, according to Car Trade India, “a diesel version of this popular SUV is expected to sell like a hot cake.” That sounds good, right?

Currently, Cayenne diesels are produced at Porsche’s Leipzig factory, and this is where the Indian Cayenne’s will be exported from. Europeans are the first to get the diesel, and they’ll officially get the option beginning in February for a base price of €47,250. The 3.0L V6 engine comes from Audi and offers up 240-horsepower and a useful 405 lb-ft of torque.

[Source: Car Trade India]

India getting Porsche Cayenne Diesel originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota

We’ve been hearing since the beginning of the year that Toyota may be considering entering the historic Le Mans 24 Hour race with a hybrid racer, possibly with a high-tech capacitor-based energy storage system. It’s no secret that the Japanese giant is the undisputed leader in hybrid cars for the street, with its seminal Prius model the first machine most people think of when they hear the word hybrid. Could the hybrid powertrain be the next big thing in long-distance racing? It seems possible, with Peugeot also hard at work on a hybrid prototype for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both Toyota and Peugeot could go head-to-head the same way that the French automaker went up against Audi’s race-winning diesel racers. Current rumors point to a possible hybrid showdown in 2010, though Peugeot could unveil their model a bit earlier than that. Toyota last ran in the Le Mans race in 1999, finishing second.

[Source: Autoweek]

Rumors of a hybrid Le Mans racer from Toyota pop back up originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Toyota, Tokyo Motor Show

The rumormill continues to churn today with talk of a small roadster from Toyota based on iQ underpinnings. It is definitely true that the automaker spent a ton of money on the new platform and its extremely unique seating arrangement. There are a number of detail changes on the iQ meant to minimize size, including a new differential arrangement, flat fuel tank and a small, efficient cooling system. All of these technologies could make it over to new iQ variants, which would help defray the cost of development. We’ve heard rumors of a seven-seat minivan and a hybrid, as well as a slightly larger model to replace the current Yaris, and now Auto Motor und Sport is suggesting that a small two seat roadster could be built off the iQ platform. If true, the model would be called Spider and would debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in late 2009.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via Carscoop]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Audi

Audi officials have been indicating for some time that the German brand will introduce a battery electric in the coming years. Last week at the Paris Motor Show, management board member Peter Schwarzenbauer reportedly confirmed that again to Britain’s AutoCar magazine. However, contrary to some previous reports that the car would be based on the new A1 mini that appeared in concept form in Paris, Schwarzenbauer said the EV would be based on the upcoming NSF (new small family) which is the basis of the series of Volkswagen up! concepts that appeared in 2007. Volkswagen will brand the production version of the up! as the Lupo and the platform will also spawn models under other VW group brands such as Seat and Skoda. Thanks to zamafir for the tip!

[Source: AutoCar]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Solar, Toyota

Solar power is nothing new to Toyota, but the company’s latest solar array does offer something new to North America: the largest such single-roof installation on the continent.

According to Toyota, a new huge solar set-up (it covers 242,000 square feet and is made up of more than 10,000 modules) is gearing up for an early October start on the roof of Toyota’s North America Parts Center California (NAPCC), located in Ontario, Calif. This solar farm is bigger than any other such installation and will produce 3.7 million kilowatts a year, almost 60 percent of the energy needed at the NAPCC. The installation was put up by SunPower. In related news, two Toyota dealerships were awarded LEED status, with more on the way. Click past the break for the details.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota will put North America’s largest single-roof solar installation on CA parts center

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Paris Motor Show

Nissan is slowly giving up details about the Nuvu, an all-EV concept that will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. According to the Japanese marque, it’s a “new vision” about the type of cars we’ll be driving during the mid 2010s. It’s a small vehicle, only 3 meters (about 10ft) long and can seat 2+1 passengers (the +1 is an additional folding seat). The Nuvu is an all-electric model and, although it’s not the model that will be on sale in 2010, it showcases new technologies that will be used for the future production model. No specifications about range or power were given, but Nissan tells us that it’s got a 1.98-meter wheelbase (6.5 ft), it’s 1.70 meters high (5ft 7in) and 1.55 meters (5ft 1in) wide. The Nuvu also incorporates solar panels in the shape of a branch and leaves on the car’s roof to feed some juice to the car’s battery. Nissan also said that the car uses natural, organic and recycled materials to create an “airy and roomy″ interior. If produced, this sounds like a competitor for the Smart and the Toyota IQ, for sure.

[Source: Nissan]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Paris Motor Show

Click above for high-res gallery of Nissan’s Paris Motor Show lineup

Nissan is planning on showing three new cars at the Paris Motor Show next month. Two of them are conventional small cars that we′ve already got photos of. The third is a battery powered 2+1 seat micro-car called the Nuvu. We don′t yet know what the Nuvu will look like or whether it will give a hint of what to expect when Nissan introduces a production EV in 2010. The Nuvu is only three meters long which should make it an interesting challenger to the new electric smart.

On the conventional side, Nissan will launch the Pixo, a collaborative effort with Suzuki based on the latter company’s Alto. The Pixo and Alto are both being built at a factory in Delhi, India. The little four door, five seater is moved along by a 1.0L three cylinder. For those that need something a bit larger, Nissan will also show a refreshed edition of the Note. The Note gets an all-new front end to enclose the gas or diesel engines. With the 1.5L diesel, the Note gets a carbon dioxide emissions rating of just 119 g/km, exempting it from congestion charges in an increasing number of cities.

[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Nissan to intro new mini-cars, EV concept

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Volvo

Click to view a hi-res gallery of the Volvo C30 Green Racer

In the campaign to make racing greener, the World Touring Car Championship has been a leader. Following the example set by its sister company Audi at Le Mans, Volkswagen’s Spanish subsidiary Seat began taking race wins in the WTCC in diesel-powered Leons. But the series has announced it is beginning to phase in ethanol, and of all the carmakers in the world, Volvo has stepped up to the plate.

We brought you initial news of the C30 Flexifuel Green Racer when it was unveiled for the local Swedish Touring Car Championship, in which it has already been winning races against fossil-fuel regulars. Volvo has now revealed, however, that the Green Racer is heading to the top-tier World Touring Car Championship. The event will be a one-off demonstration for the time being, as the Volvo won’t be eligible for points and will only compete in the one race, next weekend at Brands Hatch. For both Volvo and the WTCC, however, it should be an interesting exercise. Check out the press release after the jump and the images in the gallery below.

[Source: Volvo]

Continue reading Volvo Green Racer takes on the World

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Original post by Noah Joseph

So how come Chevy Tahoe Hybrid dosen’t get one of those cute pictures and links at the top of the page? All the Prius owners giving the CTH drivers grief across the web, and now this!

I now have just over 2,200 miles on my new hybrid and have averaged 24.2 mpg over the last 1,281 miles based on gas slip calculations. Trip computer reports 24.6 mpg. I would like to see what mileage others are getting but I don’t seem to be able to find the Tahoe Hybrid mileage database.

Any help?

Original post by Volquinum

Filed under: Natural Gas

Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) has announced $1.3 million in funding for two projects to enhance the airport’s publicly-accessible compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station and provide more incentives to assist owners of taxis and shuttle vans to convert vehicles to CNG.

The CNG fueling station at the airport will increase its capacity efficiency, reliability, and accessibility both for the airport’s fleets and the general public. The improved fueling stations will be ready by the end of this year.

Regarding SJC’s support for CNG conversions, SJC’s Alternative Fuel Grant Program will support up to 55 vehicles with incentive grants of $4,000 per taxi and $8,000 per shuttle van to fleet owners that are permitted to operate at the airport.

CNG taxis are allowed to operate every day at the airport while gasoline-fueled taxis are allowed only on alternate days. This benefit means that up to 130 vehicles at the airport operate on natural gas today, compared to 30 in mid-2005. These vehicles account for 40 percent of all taxi trips, compared to 6 percent in 2005. In the case of shuttles, it’s claimed that up to 1.3 million gallons of diesel have been saved, which means reduced exhaust emissions of about 70 tons.

Source:

• 50 hybrid taxis coming to Melbourne in 2008
• Can natural gas and LPG help the cities? They’re going to try that out
• San Francisco airport shuttles will run on Hythane, a hydrogen and natural gas blend

[Source: NGV]

 

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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 Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, North America

Up in the land of a few acres of snow, citizens are eager to use biofuels but, in many cases, can’t find them. A story on Canada.com gives us the details of a trend in the country of customers wondering where the biofuels are at. E85, for example, is available to the general public only at two stations in Ontario - not enough for the 600,000 E85-capable vehicles on the roads in Canada. UPI Energy opened one of those E85 pumps, and president Robert Sicard said that both drivers and vehicle salespeople aren’t aware that vehicles with yellow gas caps can handle E85.

It will probably shock you to know that the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association and the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association is pushing the government to make biofuels more readily available. For his part, Sicard is helping dealers hang yellow tags in vehicles on the lot that identify the car as a flex-fuel one. Let’s not forget that Canada currently exports ethanol to the U.S.

[Source: Canada.com]

 

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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