Hybrid News

Filed under: Hybrid, Hydrogen, Honda, Toyota, Green Daily

We’ve already taken a look at the 2,555 hybrids that GM sold in December and the 14,439 hybrid vehicles it sold in 2008, but what about the other major automakers? Not every automaker reports their sales the same way (most don′t break out hybrid numbers, for example), but we can still compare GM’s results to Honda’s and Toyota’s.

Toyota reports that, for all of 2008, it sold 15,200 Lexus RX 400h luxury hybrid SUVs and 19,391 Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUVs. For the year, Toyota and Lexus sold 241,405 hybrid vehicles. That includes 158,884 Priuses, compared to 181,221 in 2007. That 12.6 percent drop in hybrid sales is better than the drop in overall sales in the industry.

There is something interesting going on with the Honda numbers. The sales numbers say that 1,036 Civic hybrids were sold in December (31,297 in all of 2008) compared to 3,223 in December 2007 (32,575 in all of 2007). That was expected. The discontinued Accord hybrid managed to sell 198 units in 2008 (vs. 3,405 in 2007). The interesting part comes in the FCX Clarity section. Apparently, Honda sold five of them in 2008. I thought the only way to get an FCX Clarity was to lease one.

[Source: Toyota, Honda]

Toyota, Honda hybrid sales drop in 2008; 5 FCX Clarity models sold originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Hybrid, GM, HUMMER, Green Daily

All things considered, it appears that we think of GM’s 2,555 hybrid sales in December a success. GM’s press release (posted after the jump) certainly makes it all smell like roses. The 2.5k deliveries are up from the 1,957 hybrids the General sold in September. At that time, GM was averaging about 1,000 hybrids a month for 2008, and the trend has been upward since then, and for all of 2008, GM sold 14,439 hybrid vehicles. Here’s how December’s hybrid sales broke down:

• 981 Chevrolet Tahoe
• 442 GMC Yukon
• 306 Cadillac Escalade
• 454 Chevrolet Malibu
• 34 Saturn Aura
• 338 Vue

For those of you keeping score against the HUMMER brand, sales in 2008 were down 50.9 percent compared to 2007. The General sold 55,986 H1, H2, and H3 models in 2007 and 27,485 in 2008 (including just 692 units of the new H3T model).

[Source: GM]

Continue reading GM sold 2,555 hybrids in December, HUMMER sales cut in half

GM sold 2,555 hybrids in December, HUMMER sales cut in half originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Etc., GM

Remember all the bravado that Bob Lutz unleashed when we got our first glimpse of the Volt back in early 2007? Lutz has been the car’s biggest champion since then, but he’s thinking that there could be some tough news coming soon for this kind of technology. While the Volt is not named in an interview with Lutz by the LA Times that was published last week (so don’t go starting any rumors), Lutz was pretty clear-eyed about what the recent dip in gas prices could mean: “We may hate high fuel prices, but they′ve been driving us in the right direction when it comes to fuel economy. If we suddenly went to $1 or $1.50 a gallon, that would be really bad.”

This is not a new topic, and we’re in agreement with Maximum Bob on this one. We’ve written as much plenty of times, and we often refer back to this interview with David Cole where he talks about the benefits of an oil price floor for a barrel of oil. He suggested $40 or $45, but that was back in June 2007; more recent estimates I’ve heard from others put a reasonable limit at $60 or so. Whatever happens with oil prices, we can be pretty sure that a lot of old habits will return if gas keeps dropping. What will you change?

[Source: LA Times]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Legislation and Policy

As you may have noticed when filling your tank, the plan for a gas tax holiday put forward by presidential candidates from both party brands, never came to fruition. The idea had been suspend an 18¢ per gallon federal tax on fuel from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Of course the fact that this would have saved average drivers a whopping $28 had little if anything to do with the lack of movement on bills from both Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Sen. John McCain. It turns out the real coup de grâce may have come from the road construction industry. The excise tax money which would have meant little to individual drivers, comes out to an aggregate $9 billion. That’s money that is supposed to go toward building and maintaining roads around the country. Without that money, road construction projects would have to be put off. Canceled or delay construction projects would mean laid off construction workers, a prospect that no politician hoping to get re-elected relishes in an election year.

Rather than a tax holiday, drivers are in fact likely to see an increase soon. While high fuel prices have the benefit of pushing people to drive less, and consume less fuel, that starves the highway trust fund as well. As a result the fund is likely to be in deficit this year to the tune of $3 billion. As a result a fuel tax increase may be needed.

Looking ahead, we may need to start taxing electric bills to get funds to build roads. Even though electric cars use no petroleum, they still put wear and tear on the roads and it’s only far that the drivers who use those roads should pick up the tab. Alternatively increased use of toll roads may be necessary, something proposed by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

[Source: Detroit News]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

The closing price for a barrel of oil today was $100.01 and the intra-day high was $100.10. These prices are the highest a barrel of oil has ever traded or closed. No single news event brought the price of oil to these new highs but there are concerns OPEC will tighten supplies next month. We will have more as this story develops.

Related:

• BREAKING: Oil hits $100 a barrel
• Who’s responsible for $100 barrels of oil? One guy “seeking fame”

[Source: AOL Money and Finance]

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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 Lascelles Linton

Filed under: AutoblogGreen Exclusive

A barrel of oil just hit $100.30 high today and while it might go higher or lower for the rest of the day, it seems trading over $100 is becoming normal. Why is this important? In the U.S., the price of gasoline is over $3 a gallon again according to the EIA. With a barrel of oil reaching new heights, pump prices probably aren′t headed down anytime soon.

[Source: Reuters, CNBC]

 

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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 Lascelles Linton

Filed under: MPG, BMW, MINI, Geneva Motor Show

Click on the Mini above for more pictures of the 2008 John Cooper Works package

The Mini brand from BMW proves that cars need not be ridiculously expensive to be stylish and desirable, and they don’t need huge engines to be fun-to-drive. While we think that even the base-model Mini with its 1.6 liter naturally-aspirated engine strikes a great balance between power and fuel economy for a vehicle this size, those looking for some extra get-up-and-go can opt for the turbocharged Cooper S model. For those who are never satisfied, Mini will be revealing their new 2008 John Cooper Works package at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

The Works package bumps power from 172 to 218 while achieving the same fuel mileage number of 34 miles per gallon on the highway. If you need a bit more room, the JCW package will also be offered on the Clubman, which is nearly as fuel efficient. Anytime power goes up without a detrimental effect on economy, we’re all for it. See, fun can be frugal.

[Source: Inside Line, Motor Authority]

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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 Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: MPG, BMW, MINI, Geneva Motor Show

Click on the Mini above for more pictures of the 2008 John Cooper Works package

Update: The horsepowr figure was changed from 218 to 207.

The MINI brand from BMW proves that cars need not be ridiculously expensive to be stylish and desirable, and they don′t need huge engines to be fun-to-drive. While we think that even the base-model MINI with its 1.6 liter naturally-aspirated engine strikes a great balance between power and fuel economy for a vehicle this size, those looking for some extra get-up-and-go can opt for the turbocharged Cooper S model. For those who are never satisfied, Mini will be revealing their new 2008 John Cooper Works package at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

The Works package bumps power from 172 to 207 while achieving the same fuel mileage number of 34 miles per gallon on the highway. If you need a bit more room, the JCW package will also be offered on the Clubman, which is nearly as fuel efficient. Anytime power goes up without a detrimental effect on economy, we′re all for it. See? Fun can be frugal.

[Source: MINI via Autoblog]

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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 Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Pacific Region, Th!nk (Think)

Th!nk UK managing director Richard Blundell said that their all-electric car could be put on sale in Australia without too much hassle. The reason? The Th!nk City, which Blundell pointed out is a real car and not a quadricycle (NEV), is designed to satisfy both EU and U. S. highway safety features and can be sold virtually anywhere. Then there are the business reasons: “Think will evaluate each market based on perceived and sustainable market demand, attractive urban center demographics and conducive legislative policy for the use of EVs,” he told The Courier-Mail. Although Th!nk’s efforts are focused on selling the car in Europe and America, moving into the Australian market could follow quickly. I think I just heard a cheer.

[Source: Couriermail]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro