Hybrid News

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Green Daily, Automotive X-Prize

Back in September, the X Prize Foundation asked: “What’s Your Crazy Green Idea?” 133 people answered the question with a video entry and the top three ideas - as selected by the Foundation - are now accepting your vote for the shot at a $25,000 award. The three videos are titled: “The Energy Independence X PRIZE,” “The Capacitor Challenge,” “Energy X-Prize: Reduce Home Energy Usage.”

The only one that hits directly on green car technology is the capacitor one, but there were a lot of transportation-related submissions in the 133 entrants. Some people even wanted to look into time travel, but there won’t be a Doc and Marty X Prize any time soon. Voting is open until November 30 and you can watch all three videos after the jump.

[Source: X Prize]

Continue reading Voting opens for X Prize’s “Crazy Green Idea″ videos

Voting opens for X Prize’s “Crazy Green Idea” videos originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Hybrid, Chrysler, Dodge, USA

Well, that didn’t last long, did it? We wondered about the fate of the Chrysler Aspen hybrid and its sibling, the Dodge Durango hybrid after the automaker announced its plans to close its Newark, DE assembly plant, where the hybrid ‘utes are built. We didn’t need to wonder long, as a report on Green Car Advisor confirms the demise of the two hybrid SUVs. Oddly, it was just two months ago that the two vehicles were first introduced, and we found that the two large vehicles actually performed rather well when it comes to fuel mileage and in comparison to their closest competitors, the two hybrid SUVs from General Motors.

Chrysler claims that it had plenty of orders for the two hybrid vehicles, but apparently not enough to keep an entire plant humming along. In fact, a Chrysler spokesperson refused to comment on whether the 3,000 or so orders that the automaker already had for the two SUVs would be filled. The cancellation of the Durango and Aspen hybrids is not expected to affect Dodge’s launch of a hybrid version of its Ram full-size pickup truck.

[Source: Green Car Advisor]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Lightweight, Pacific Region

Looking like just about every other three-wheeled, joystick-controlled, compressed air-driven car we’ve ever seen, the AIRPod by MDI will be available to lease in New Zealand soon. MDI has an agreement with IndraNet Technologies to market them in the land of the Māori and, according to an article in the New Zealand Herald, they could be arriving on the island before the end of the year. If true, that would be the first market where the rolling alien marshmallow would appear. The MDI website says production is to begin in the Spring of 2009. Like many new ventures the vehicle has it critics and The Dog and Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson is unimpressed with the AIRPod’s environmental claims. He rightly points out the the car isn’t powered by air but by the energy that compresses the air. “It’s a slightly more efficient way of wasting energy on inefficient trips. All you are doing is replacing traffic jams full of petrol-driven cars with traffic jams full of air-driven cars.” He doesn’t mention that the energy could be from renewable sources which mostly what is available in New Zealand. The AIR Pod is said to be capable of 43 Mph and has a range of around 137 miles and though it may run on air, don′t call it an air car. H/T to Paul.

[Source: New Zealand Herald]

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Original post by Domenick Yoney

Filed under: Legislation and Policy, European Union

Photo of the European Parliament published under the GNU Documentation License

A battle has been fought in the European Parliament to establish CO₂ emission limits for new cars. The contenders were, on one side, the members of the Industry and Energy Committee; on the other side, the Environmental Affairs Committee. The first wanted relaxed emission limits, the second one, stricter limits. We have covered the long list of proposals (here’s one, another one, and one more) that were coming up but this is what the Environmental Affairs Committee finally voted on:

• Average CO₂ emissions under 130 g/km in 2012.
• Target CO₂ emissions under 95 g/km in 2020, although this limit is to be reviewed in 2014.
• Fines for automakers: €95 per gram per car sold for each gram an automaker surpasses the limit. For instance, if an automaker has an average of 140 g/km and sells 500,000 cars per year, the fine will be €5,000,000.

Note that this doesn′t mean that this will immediately become legislation . First, it’s got to be passed by the European Parliament (although MPs listen to Committees and usually approve their proposals), then the 27 European Ministers of Environmental Affairs will have their say and, finally, the European Commission will vote.

[Source: Greenpeace via Econoticias]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

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

Optimal Energy is the latest company to announce that they are unveiling a new electric car at the Paris Motor Show this year and it’s one that should definitely impress. Coming all the way from South Africa, the Joule may very well be the world’s most practical electric car to date as well as one of the more stylish. Although it has been shown to a handful of journalists there haven′t yet been any published photos but it has been described as “an uncluttered mix of a Renault Scenic and a Citroen Picasso.” The Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, had a chance to drive it last week and he called it “simply gorgeous.” If that’s not convincing enough, consider that the designer of this compact 6-seater is Keith Helfet who, while he worked for Jaguar, impressed many sets of eyes with the XJ220 and the F-Type Concept.

Of course, when it comes to all-electric cars, the range is of utmost importance and the head of the company, Kobus Meiring, has said that two lithium ion battery packs will move the Joule for 400 km (248 miles). Plugged into a 220 volt power source, a full charge is achievable in 7 hours. The body, said to be a mix of plastic and composites, sits on a steel space frame and is described as spacious and versatile. It has taken the company over two years to reach this point and it hopes to begin production by the end of 2010. If they can achieve the targeted retail price of R200,000 ($24,618), they should have a real winner on their hands. We’ll be watching.

[Source: IOL]

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Original post by Domenick Yoney

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, India, Tata

Tata Motors has confirmed that the rumors of an all-electric Tata Ace and the all-electric Tata Indica are true. In an unveiling in India this past week, the company took the wraps off of two lithium-ion battery-powered EV prototypes based on the Ace work truck and the Indica sedan (pictured). As we heard earlier this year, the Indica EV will first be sold in the Norweigian market next year because the Scandanavian country “has the necessary infrastructure in place to run electric cars which India lacks,” as Tata Motors President Ravi Kant put it. Indians will get their own chance to buy the car in about 24 months. According to the Business-Standard, the all-electric Indica has two battery packs which can charge in eight hour and go around 110-120 miles on a charge.

Now, about an electric Nano…

[Source: Business-Standard]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, India, Tata

Tata Motors announced last week, curiously, they would be building an electric car by the end of the fiscal year in Norway. One of the first questions that sprang to mind was answered today by news that the vehicle in question will be based on the “tried and tested” Indica (pictured above) and not the Nano which we suspect will also be eventually electrified. The program appears to be well underway since unnamed industry sources are claiming that Tata is, “… currently working on five prototypes of electric vehicles on the Indica platform.” It isn’t clear if they have 5 different configurations of the car or merely 5 “validation prototypes” under construction. They are also said to be depending on lithium ion batteries to give the city car a 200 Km (125 mile) range.

The other question that the annoucement begs is, “Why Norway?”. Well, why not Norway? Already home to two electric car makers, Th!nk and Kewet, the Scandinavian country has most of its citizens and therefore, transportation needs, within a few cities. The climate provides an excellent testing environment as well. The location of electric plugs close to parking spots may even be a factor. What’s important for non-Norwegians is that Ratan Tata has said that once the car has been deployed in Norway, “…then it will be available to employ in other markets”. Who knows, maybe even America.

[Source: Hindustan Times]

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Original post by AutoblogGreen Staff

Filed under: Diesel, EV/Plug-in, MPG, Lightweight, Tata

click above for more images of the Tata Nano

Those in emerging markets hoping to get their hands on the cheapest car in the world may soon have a few more option boxes to consider checking. Chairman Ratan Tata has said in the past that an electric-only version of the Tata Nano is likely, and now industry sources are saying that a diesel engine is also in the works. Displacing 800cc and including common-rail injection from Bosch and a Honeywell turbocharger, the diesel engine has been designed by German powertrain specialist FEV, the same firm that India’s Mahindra reportedly contacted for help with its latest diesel hybrid engine.

We don’t yet know what kind of fuel mileage the diesel would offer, but the twin cylinder gas engine standard in the Nano is good for 54 U.S. miles per gallon and the diesel should better that figure somewhat, though most likely for a slight increase in price.

[Source: The Economic Times]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, MPG, Honda, Legislation and Policy, Lightweight, Japan

Honda Zest

Japanese kei cars, or “light automobiles,” have become increasingly popular in Japan due to legislation making them cheaper to license, insure and pay taxes on. As a byproduct of their small size and small displacement engines, they are also generally quite frugal on gas and low on emissions. Because of their popularity, back in 2006, Honda bought a 51 percent share in Yachiyo Industry, a company which produces kei cars for Honda. Now, they plan to build an entire new plant dedicated to the manufacture of the mini-cars located near their existing Yokkaichi Factory in Japan. The 50 billion yen plant will be producing the front-engine Life and Zest kei cars, as well as the small 660cc engines powering them.

Honda claims that the new plant will be environmentally responsible, but fail to explain how. Based on Honda’s past history, we have some amount of faith that the new plant will be as efficient and as eco-friendly as possible. We also appreciate the mini-cars that the new plant will be producing.

[Source: Honda]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Etc., Manufacturing/Plants, China

The Chinese auto industry is booming, as you are surely aware by now. While many are concerned with the emissions of those vehicles, as they should be, there are myriads of other related problems to worry about. One problem which is cropping up relates to tire production, which, of course, requires rubber.

Apparently, China’s been importing lots of rubber for its growing number of tire factories from other countries which have already cleared land for the production of rubber. In order to reduce the amount of rubber that they need to import, China is looking to produce more rubber locally, but only has a limited area suitable for growing the rubber trees. For that reason, a good deal of rainforest land is being cleared to make way for more rubber plantations. The China Rubber Industry Association forecasts that natural rubber output will grow by 30 percet to 780,000 tons by 2010.

[Source: Just-Auto]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Etc., Fiat, European Union

Fiat Spain has decided to make an effort to reduce the amount of water used to wash cars by using a special wax. The wax will be used at dealers and repair shops when cars are cleaned before delivery to customers. What will it do? Fiat expects the wax to reduce water use by up to 145 million liters of water (about 40 million gallons) per year.

The wax treatment is part of Fiat’s “Ecoproject,” which aims to offer customers greener dealers and post-sale services. Other “Ecoproject” measures include discounts for customers with the greatest “ecologic″ commitment (whatever that means) and free “green” check-ups.

[Source: Fiat Spain via Europa Press]

 

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Ethanol, AutoblogGreen Q & A, Legislation and Policy, Natural Gas, European Union

Madrid, Spain, is currently a very polluted city where 1.8 million vehicles are responsible for 75 percent of the pollutants in the air. Madrid’s City Hall has decided that it will switch all its vehicles over to “clean” fuels, that is, they will be all running on electricity, natural gas, biodiesel or ethanol. The city also announced that it will join the BEST (BioEthanol for Sustainable Transport) European project to promote the use of ethanol in cars. Madrid has also worked out agreements with groups like taxi organizations that get up to a 75 percent discount on the road tax, depending on fuel.

[Source: Ayuntamiento de Madrid via Agroinformación]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Volkswagen, Legislation and Policy, Citroen, Peugeot, Opel, European Union, SEAT

If you check any European car ad, you will see in tiny letters at the bottom the car’s consumption and CO₂ production figures. This information is a mandatory requirement in Spain. But, according to Ecologistas en Acción and the Unión de Consumidores de España (UCE), an environmental organization and a consumer union from Spain respectively, these figures are not accurate and could be misleading.

Spain taxes the purchase of cars depending on CO₂ production figures, therefore it’s a consumer’s right to know previously what these figures are. UCE found out that 11 automakers didn’t have accurate information or their ads were plainly misleading, like saying a car is under 119 g/km when it’s just one model and the ad focus on the sport version that produces more than 200 g/km. Also, these figures tend to be hidden with small print. They also accuse automakers of trivializing these figures because all cars pollute even when polluting less.

Don’t think it’s just one automaker: Hyundai, Nissan, Seat, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Honda, Citro&eumln, Opel, Dacia and Mercedes-Benz were accused of these practices.

[Source: Ecologistas en Acción via Econoticias]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Etc., Green Culture, On Two Wheels, Green Daily, European Union

The conservative Mayor of Colmar, France, Mr. Gilber Meyer, has decided to give a hand to households so they spend less money in gasoline. How? He’s giving away €100 per household to purchase a bicycle. His deputy for urbanism and security, Yves Hemedinger, states “It’s well known that one of France’s main worries are the high cost of oil and ecology. This measure will help our citizens save money and pollute less for their displacements.” Since you can find a bicycle for about €100-120, this is a good deal. Almost a thousand applications have been received so far. The town is also installing new bicycle lanes which will extend the Alsacian town’s network up to 67 km. This is quite a radical measure compared to gas tax breaks!

[Source: Libération]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro