Hybrid News

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Detroit Auto Show, USA

Whilst brainstorming a way to fill a bit of unused space and show off some of the eco-friendly zero-emission vehicles appearing at this years Detroit Auto Show, someone suddenly had a light bulb appear over their head. “Hey! Let’s build a track to show the cars in motion!” “That’s good, Jim, but we need to push the ‘green′ angle more,” came a quick response. “Perhaps some potted plants,” continued the be-lighted one, “No wait, how about a veritable verdant wood!” And so it was decided that an oval course, 700 feet in length, would be nestled amongst a scenic forestscape comprised of 100 Michigan maple, birch and pine trees along with a couple of ponds, replete with waterfalls. And placed in the basement of Cobo Hall. We cannot wait to see this.

Called the “Michigan EcoXperience”, the earnest effort will give the public a chance to take a ride in the featured vehicles from Tesla Motors, Mitsubishi, General Motors and Ford (What! No Fisker?). While professionals will be chauffering ticket buyers during the show, freeloaders journalists will be allowed to drive themselves on the press preview days. Officials have wisely placed a 10 mph speed limit on the track as well as crash barriers. Thanks to Patrick M. for the tip!

[Source: Autonet.ca, Detroit News]

Detroit preview: there will be a forest and a driving oval in the basement originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Domenick Yoney

Filed under: Diesel, Nissan, USA

Small business owners in the United States are about to get a fresh set of choices for hauling their wares through busy urban areas. Ford has already announced its Transit Connect van, which uses a front-wheel drive layout and a very tall roof to allow for plenty of storage capability in a relatively small package. A new competitor to the Blue Oval has emerged in Nissan, which also plans to attack this smaller end of the commercial vehicle market.
Entrance into the segment will require suitable powerplants, and Nissan has reportedly entered into an agreement with Cummins to supply a range of diesel engines for its vans. We know that Cummins makes an excellent engine, and this move may bring smaller oil-burners to the market than the huge 6.7-liter six cylinder unit that powers various versions of the Dodge Ram. About a third of Nissan’s US dealerships are expected to offer the new line of commercial vehicles.

[Source: Automotive News (subs req’d)]

Nissan set to attack small commercial segment originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Hybrid, Mercedes Benz

Mercedes Benz will be launching its first hybrid, the 𔗈 BlueHybrid next spring and Phil Floraday from Automobile got a chance to sample it on a recent trip to Europe. The 𔗈 is a mild hybrid, and in many respects it’s more similar to the Honda IMA system than Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy drive. The S400 will be the first mass-produced hybrid with a lithium ion battery pack. As Phil explains, the system provides start/stop capability, and some electric boost. However, the main purpose is to drive vehicle electrical systems off the lithium battery, reducing the parasitic loads on the engine. The battery itself gets most of its charging from regenerative braking that provides 75 percent of the braking capability in most urban driving.

[Source: Automobile]

Automobile gets first drive in the Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Etc., Green Daily, USA

A lot is lost in the transition from a Hummer to a smart. We tend to focus on the benefits: the lost fuel bills and reduced vehicular emissions, and that’s not going to change any time soon, we being AutoblogGreen and all. Some people, though, are finding that they miss their larger fuel-guzzlers more than they had initially expected. It’s easy to hate a car when pulling up to the gas pump and dumping a hundred bucks or more into the tank every week, and it’s also likely pretty easy to forget that act a few months after it’s gone. It’s also tough to get used to a small car after driving a huge SUV or pickup truck for years.

An article from The Wall Street Journal highlights the challenges that some drivers are facing when downsizing their vehicles. We′re not too surprised that somebody isn’t loving their Chevy Aveo. Losing out on cargo space downsizing from a Suburban to a Pacifica is also a given. For those who occasionally need the passenger or luggage space, though, may we suggest a rental minivan?

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Vehicle downsizers now facing buyers remorse originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Ford

Even though gasoline prices are down to almost $2 per gallon around here as election day approaches, Ford CEO Alan Mulally apparently doesn’t think the current situation will last. Mulally told Automotive News that the Dearborn automaker is staying the course on its plan to introduce a half dozen new smaller vehicles in the U.S. market in the next couple of years. The respite in fuel prices may give Ford some breathing space on the launch of its new F-150 pickup truck. Last week the company announced it would bring back 1,000 workers at its Dearborn truck plant. However, the company has not changed plans to close and/or retool several truck plants over the next 18 months to build smaller cars.

Mulally also told the interviewer that the company is still considering bringing the Ka to the U.S. market and will be watching demand for smaller cars. The challenge for Ford and other automakers is offering small cars like the Ka and Fiesta at a profitable price point. That’s even more of an issue with the current economic conditions. Prior to the recent financial collapse, it was hoped that they could offer small cars with the levels of equipment offered in bigger cars and thus command a high enough price to make money. That may prove to be more difficult now as Mulally acknowledged that we could see U.S. car sales dip to as low as 11-12 million annually next year compared to a high a few years ago of 17 million. You can check out video of the AN chat with Mulally here.

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

Mulally remains committed to Ford small car strategy despite low gas prices originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Hybrid, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, USA

If your goal is to do nothing more than cutting down your petroleum usage for either political or environmental reasons, a small car or hybrid seems to be the way to go. If your desire is solely to save money, there are many more costs to factor into your decision. One of them is insurance, as a recent study suggests that small cars and hybrids are considerably more expensive to insure on average than their larger and hungrier siblings. For instance, all other things being equal, a Honda CR-V is less expensive to insure than a Honda Civic by an average of $412 per year. Another? The Toyota Camry hybrid will cost you $650 more than its non-hybrid counterpart. Some reasons why the numbers are what they are include higher repair costs and the fact that compact cars are sometimes stolen more often than larger cars and SUVs. We should add that shopping around can prove valuable, as some insurers actually provide discounts for fuel-savers.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Toyota, Green Daily, Lightweight, USA

Worried that the trend towards smaller cars in the United States is going to result in more injuries? It’s a rational concern, especially for those who are used to driving in full-size cars, trucks and SUVs and are normally surrounded by two or more tons of metal. But, light weight does not necessarily mean that a car isn′t safe. Proving this once again is Nick Chambers, a blogger for Gas 2.0 who inadvertently crashed his little Toyota Yaris into a dirt embankment and rolled it three times. Judging from the pictures, this was a pretty extreme crash, but Chambers walked away with only minor injuries.

Small cars must be engineered properly to retain their safety credentials, but it’s not impossible. Remember that all cars go through the same safety testing, regardless of their size. Crumple zones, airbags (you might want to make sure your Yaris has them), anti-lock brakes, stability control and the like all do their jobs and are standard on nearly every car sold in the States. Plus, as many drivers make the switch from big to small in the name of economy, the chances of meeting a nearly immovable object on the highway will only be reduced. Of course, we wouldn′t recommend trying it for yourself or anything.

[Source: gas2.0 via Instapundit]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, AutoblogGreen Exclusive

If you get into a room with a lot of people who make up part of the cellulosic ethanol industry, things can get a little technical. This is the situation here in Chicago for the Platts 3rd Annual Cellulosic Ethanol and Biofuels conference. A few hundred representatives from a lot of companies in the cellulosic ethanol “space” (I hear this term so often these days - the green tech space, the green car space, etc. Why?) are here and the rapid-fire presentations are truly talking to the choir, as it were. Sure, attendees disagree exactly how to best make cellulosic ethanol, but they all understand, well, the space.

So, join me as I share a bit about what was said and done at the conference. This post will cover the first few seminars, when some of the broader questions about cellulosic ethanol and the market were taken up. I′ll have more posts later about other aspects of the discussion. Jump past the fold for more.

Continue reading Platts Cellulosic Ethanol Conference - industry overview

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Diesel, Etc., Audi, Toyota, Volkswagen, European Union, SEAT

The EcoTour was a 7-day tour through nine European countries with 42 of the most fuel-efficient cars. The tour started 12 September in Barcelona, Spain, and finished 19 September in The Hague in the Netherlands. The target was burning the least fuel possible during the seven days. There were two winners for each day: one absolute, and one for each category, as well as a final global winner: The Seat Ibiza Ecomotive, which averaged fuel consumption of 3.80 l/100 km (61.90mpg U.S.), and was driven by F.A. van Heijningen and N.A. van Heijningen-de Kok from the Netherlands. The event offset its carbon emissions via BP’s target-neutral program (&euro0.18 for each tank of normal gasoline, diesel or LPG and as much as &euro0.36 for each tank of BP Ultimate premium fuels). Follow us after the jump to see the complete results.

[Source: Seat and Eco Tour]

Continue reading The Seat Ibiza Ecomotive wins the Eco Tour 2008

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Etc., UK

Nobody wants to pay more for fuel than they need to. This may especially be true in the UK where, due in large part to heavy taxes, both gas and diesel are much more expensive than they are in the States. Regardless of how much it’s taxed, though, as the price for a barrel of crude goes down, so should the cost of fuel for the end consumer, at least in theory. It seems that this isn’t entirely the case across the pond, where an investigation is currently underway into current fuel prices. When compared to the last time the bulk price of crude was comparable to what it is now, the price at the pump is notably higher. Sure, there′s more to the price of a gallon of petrol than how much the refiner paid for its stock, but even after allowing for these adjustments, many believe that the UK population is being overcharged. Sounds like a common sentiment the world over.

[Source: What Car?]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Green Culture, HUMMER, SMART, Green Daily, USA

Despite the fact that Hummers are really no worse on gas than many other full-size, off-road oriented SUV, there is no arguing that the brand has come to represent all that is wrong in the state of the auto scene. As gas prices began rising, Hummer sales began sinking. In contrast, sales of hybrids, MINIs and smarts have gone through the roof. For its part, Penske, the American importer of the smart brand, has raised its sales outlook for the year. It’s telling that one of the nation’s largest Hummer dealers - located in Sin City no less - is closing its doors, despite the fact that the owner drives a Hummer and is still fond of the brand. Sales are just too slow, even in a city where people sometimes have more money than they know what to do with. In a rather unique twist, the ex-Hummer dealer’s owner will soon be opening a smart dealership. How’s that for irony?

[Source: Wall Street Journal / Photo: debcll, CC 2.0]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in

The freshly unveiled all-electric Lightning GT we showed you yesterday is certainly garnering a lot of attention and video tape at this years British International Motor Show. We received a message from British electric-car vlogger, Danny, telling us he had footage of the hi-tech silver beauty having its shroud publicly removed. We rushed to watch it and happily discovered he also had his own mini Q & A session with Lightning Car Company representative, Chris Dell. We got to hear some very interesting tidbits that answer some of the questions we’ve been getting. For instance, the range is less than we hoped for at about 150 to 180 miles (this should come as no surprise since the Altairnano batteries only have half the energy density of the cells used by Tesla). However, the size of the 36 Kwh battery pack can be increased. Mr Dell informs us the “nought to sixty″ time should be under 4 seconds with its top speed limited to 130 mph. Just as impressive as its Tesla-challenging numbers was the way it looked with its linen removed, spinning on the turntable.

Another comment we heard a lot yesterday was that it’s still vapor because it’s not driveable. Our second video, though brief, dumps a lake full of cold water on this assumption. From RockaboxMedia comes teaser footage of the Lightning GT looking quite at home on a length of track. In true teaser fashion, most of the clip is soundless and in slow-motion but they promise they will bring us a full documentary on the creation and launch of the car. Unfortunately, they aren’t sharing the embed code so you must go to YouTube to see it.

The last video we want to bring to your attention today is an Al Jazeera news piece that seems to hold the spotlight on the Lightning GT. We are briefly shown the NICE Mega City but most of the report seems to be spent contrasting the Tesla Roadster with the new UK contender. Find out which vehicle the British-accented presenter prefers as well as Danny’s video after the jump.

[Source: Danny’s Contentment / YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Lightning GT unveiled, in action, and spotlighted

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Original post by Domenick Yoney

The Saturn Flextreme: For America, for Europe, for the world?

Soon, GM will begin building a significant number of cars off the next generation Delta platform. That means models such as Cobalt, Astra and Opel will share the same platform, largely bridging the platform gap between much of Europe and America. More interesting, however, these models will also share the same platform with the Chevy Volt and the E Flex Drive.

Thus, as I was reading a story regarding how an almost-production-ready Volt could debut at the Paris auto show, I started wondering how much of an impact the Volt, and/or the Opel Flextreme - also an E Flex Drive vehicle - could impact Europe.

With gas prices at $8.00 or higher in many parts of Europe, it seems that perhaps the Volt could have an even bigger impact in Europe than in America, at least initially. Maybe GM could even sell the Volt closer to real world costs in Europe than in America thanks to high fuel costs.

Could Europe be key to Volt success?

Original post by Dahcredyns

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, USA

The House of Representatives passed the energy tax bill yesterday. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, but this one probably won’t make it as far as the president’s desk. Other bills similar to this energy tax bill died in the Senate but with $102 barrels of oil and $4 gallon of gas not out of the question, some extra political support might be behind the bill this time. Stay tuned.

[Source: Bloomberg]

 

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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: Diesel, Hybrid, Volkswagen, European Union, UK, Germany, USA

We are extremely pleased that Volkswagen was able to achieve such phenomenal fuel mileage and emissions numbers from their Golf TDI Hybrid. As a refresher, the machine uses a 1.2 liter three-cylinder diesel engine paired with a 26 horsepower electric motor and returns 69 U.S. mpg and 89 g/km of CO₂ emissions in the EU combined cycle. As we’ve reported, the car is slated for production in Europe, but what about the U.S.? Don’t we need cars that deliver high mileage and low emissions here too? Of course we do, but the question that needs to be asked is whether American drivers are ready to pay for the technology required to make these numbers a reality.

The Toyota Prius has set the standard for what consumers expect from green cars, and it is priced rather well - less than $25 grand, well equipped. Diesel vehicles have never sold as well in the States as they do in Europe, despite their fuel mileage increases. This is due, partly, to the added cost that comes with a diesel vehicle in order to meet emissions requirements. Keith Price, a spokesman for VW USA says,”From a consumer standpoint, it comes down to ‘What kind of compromise do I need to live with to enjoy all this wonderfulness?’” Price is one compromise that is hard to get around, as VW’s diesels already cost about $2,000 more than gasoline models. Add in what the hybrid system will cost on top of that and the Golf… um, I mean Rabbit TDI Hybrid may price itself out of the market. We sincerely hope not.

[Source: CNN Money]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski