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Filed under: Government/Legal , Green Fuel efficiency. It's an issue that has seemingly fallen onto America's the back-burner for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are declining fuel prices and economy along with the auto industry's financial plight. Still, few would argue that the issue of cutting down on petroleum use is any less important today than it was six months ago, so the decision (or, really, the lack thereof) of the Bush Administration to leave future fuel economy standards on the table for President-Elect Barack Obama and his future staff is ruffling a few feathers. Even the automakers themselves would like to see a new set of rules decided upon so that they can accurately plan for the future. Without the passing of Bush's bill, questions remain as to whether states - especially California - will have the right to impose their own regulations above the national requirements. Oh, and there's also the issue of where the money to develop these fuel...
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Filed under: Economy , Green , Hatchbacks , Mitsubishi , Peugeot , Citroen Click above to view a high-res gallery of the Mitsubishi i MiEV France's PSA Group, which includes Peugeot and Citroen, will be jumping into the electric car game in 2011 courtesy of Mitsubishi. The Japanese carmaker will start selling its i MiEV later this year in Japan and will reportedly supply a re-badged version to sell through European dealers. Mitsubishi is planning to start with just 2,000 examples this year, with plans to double that volume each year over the next few years. With the additional volume going to PSA, the total number of cars is expected to double with half going to the French. That will mean Lithium Energy Japan, the JV between Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa will also have to crank up its production volumes. There are already some examples of the iMiEV being tested by electric utilities here in the US, but Mitsubishi hasn't yet committed to actually selling the car here. Gallery: Mitsubishi...
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Filed under: Etc. , Green , Tech If researchers at the University of Nevada prove successful, America's growing caffeine addiction may have at least one major plus side. Apparently, used coffee grounds are between 10- and 15 percent oil, and that's a potential source of energy. Even better, the oil is apparently easy to extract, so experts suggest that the resulting biodiesel could be priced as low as $1 dollar a gallon, which is quite a bit better than what petroleum-based diesel fuel is selling for, even after recent price drops. Sure, there may not be enough spent coffee beans around the world to completely displace our dependence on petroleum, but every little bit helps. Perhaps the best bit of news is that the fuel retains its coffee smell, and that's reason enough for us to get behind the idea. Thanks for the tip, Luke ! [Source: Consumer Energy Report ] Caffeinated Performance: Fill 'er up... with Starbucks?! originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Mercedes-Benz , Earnings/Financials According to the NHTSA, more than $37 million in fines were collected last year for cars sold in 2007 from manufacturers that failed to meet current CAFE standards. Of the six manufacturers that paid fines, Mercedes-Benz was hit the hardest, racking up an astounding $28.9 million bill that was paid in December. That's a huge figure, especially in this troubled automotive market, but it's actually a bit smaller than the $30.3 million fine paid by DaimlerChrysler the previous year -- a figure that still holds the record. Go Daimler! Other marques that failed to meet CAFE requirements included Volkswagen, which was hit with a $4.5 million sum, along with Porsche and Maserati, both of which paid fees of $1.2 million and Ferrari, which managed to skate by with a relatively paltry $1.1 million fine. With increasingly strict regulations expected in the near future, these fines don't exactly bode well for the...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Green Unless you're trying to outrun a Corvette in a Fiesta , driving indoors is not typically recommended, what with the toxic fumes and all. Low-emissions vehicles may change that and the Detroit Auto Show 's organizers will illustrate it by converting Cobo Center's Michigan Hall into a green test track. Sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the MEDC EcoXperience will offer show-goers the chance to drive a variety of environmentally-friendly new vehicles around a forested 1/8-mile test track. The list of participating vehicles has yet to be confirmed, but it could include some six to twelve different (almost assuredly all American) vehicles, including the Chevy Equinox hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Public visitors will have the chance to put-put around the track at 10 mph with a professional co-pilot in between trees and waterfalls. And just in case the low- or zero-emissions vehicles manage to spew...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Green Click above for high-res image gallery of the Aptera 2e Product delays from startup companies should come as no surprise, especially from those aspiring to build green cars. The latest is California based Aptera who is developing a tear drop-shaped, two-seat three-wheeler. The company had originally promised to start delivering the electric 2e by the end of 2008. Unfortunately, that first "production intent" example is still at least a week away from completion and, according to an email sent to people who had put down $500 refundable deposits, that vehicle will stay within the company. In fact, Aptera will be slowly building vehicles until at least October before it ships any to customers. The reason is because in recent months the company has made a couple minor changes at customers' behest. You know, little things like switching the car's layout from driving the single rear wheel to the two front wheels. That and adding a roll...
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Filed under: Green , Nissan , Renault Click for a high res gallery of the new Nissan-Renault diesel The clean diesel V6 you see above will supposedly find a home under the hood of the Nissan Maxima sometime in 2010. Back in April in 2007, Nissan announced it would offer an oilburner in the Maxima, but that was before the price of diesel spiked well above gasoline. That price increase, combined with the huge drop in car sales over the past 12 months, has caused most of the non-German automakers planning US market diesels to seriously reconsider or cancel there plans altogether. That's a shame, because if this engine is anywhere near is as good as some of the others we driven, Americans would probably love it. The diesel V6 is a joint project between Nissan and Renault, with both companies contributing half of the development cost. It's got all the latest diesel goodies including a 23,000 psi common rail injection system, EGR and a particulate filter to eliminate soot. About three...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Ferrari , Peugeot Put a Ferrari and a Peugeot side-by-side and you'll struggle to find any similarities , but on the race track, the two share more in common than you might think. Before masterminding Ferrari's rejuvenation, former CEO Jean Todt was head of Peugeot's competition department, and brought with him some of PSA's top racing engineers. Peugeot's renewed Le Mans racing operation employs several F1 drivers , including Ferrari's own test pilot Marc Gene . Now reports are suggesting that the two outfits, both seeking top honors in their respective motorsport disciplines, may be cooperating on the joint development of their Kinetic Energy Recovery System. KERS is nearing implementation in Formula One, and several teams are pursuing external expertise to get their systems ready. But joining with Peugeot would allow Ferrari, whose system is being developed with its technical partner and sister company Magneti...
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Filed under: Euro , Green , Volvo , UK Click above to view the Volvo D5 engine in all its high-resolution wonder By now, Volvo has been almost completely integrated into the Ford empire, but with its parent company looking to offload the Swedish subsidiary, Volvo's going to have to demonstrate its worth as a standalone automaker. Developing its own engines is a good place to start, and Volvo has just unveiled its own unique diesel powerplant. Replacing the existing D5 diesel, the new variant continues the five-cylinder tradition, but that's where the similarities end. The new mill displaces 2.4 liters, supplemented by twin sequential turbochargers, ceramic glow-plugs and piezoelectric fuel injectors. The new tech helps the D5 generate 205 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of twist, but more importantly, the engine now meets the stringent Euro 5 emissions standard with only 164g of CO2 per kilometer, while returning an impressive 45.6 mpg. The engine will be available in the British market...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrids/Alternative , Sports/GTs , Green , Motorcycles , Special/Limited Editions Click above for a gallery of the six KTM concept vehicles KTM, the Austrian purveyor of both two- and four-wheeled motoring lust, has made it clear that it's a force to be reckoned with as it branches out into other enthusiast markets with such ridiculously awesome products as the X-Bow roadster and its RC8 superbike . Two things that remain a constant feature through all of the firm's recent products are the orange, black and white color pallette and its angular design language. These features, along with KTM's race-ready heritage, makes conceptual vehicle design for the company extremely interesting and proof comes in the form of six concepts designed by industrial design students at FH JOANNEUM University. KTM AX - A radical off-road four-wheel vehicle concept KTM sr 85 Deuce - An environmentally-friendly lightweight vehicle KTM CX - A racing vehicle that brings motocross...
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Filed under: Gadgets , Hybrids/Alternative , CES , Green Panasonic first showed off its HD-PLC system at CES in 2004 and, being car nuts, we totally ignored it. Other than letting all our gadgets talk to each other over a house's electrical lines, it did nothing for what we drive. Now, Panasonic is announcing the ability of its PLC system to also communicate with that electric car charging in your garage. Officially, Panasonic is touting the technology in the name of security. The company claims that electric car owners can view video from an in-car camera to make sure their EV is charging safe and sound, while keeping tabs on the charging status of their cars from inside their home. Unofficially, The Earth Times speculates that the system could also transfer music to the car's stereo, along with sending travel routes and movies to the in-car entertainment system. The setup could also include a command to adjust the seats for individual drivers. HD-PLC Magazine says Panasonic's...
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Filed under: Green There's more that one way to green a car, and many of the most interesting technological advancements don't involve powering an internal combustion engine. Consider that much of the fabric, plastic and rubber that goes into a car's construction is derived from petroleum, and you see why alternatives are becoming increasingly attractive. Automakers have taken up corn-based plastics and soy-based seat foam , and now the latest greenery comes by way of defatted soy flour. The latter is an organic substance that's being considered as a replacement for the petroleum-based "carbon black" rubber particles that are currently specified in the vast majority of tires. The technology has a long way to go before we could be driving on soybeans, and there are likely issues involving using a possible feedstock as a petroleum replacement ( again ) that will need to be worked out. Still, as pressure builds to abandon the use of petroleum in as many ways as possible...
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Filed under: Economy , Green , Hatchbacks , BMW , MINI Click above for a high-res gallery of the MINI E's unveiling Is the new MINI E sold out? If by "rented through," yes, it looks like you may have missed your opportunity to be a beta tester for BMW's new electric Cooper. BMW is leasing around 500 of the diminutive hatchbacks at a cost of $850-a-month (including insurance) for one year in the New York/New Jersey metro area as well as Southern California, and according to a new Bloomberg News story, applicants for the program have outnumbered the cars by more than a 4-to-1 ratio, though there is always the possibility that not all of the cars have been doled out yet. If you're still pondering how you might be able to muscle your way to the front of the queue, be prepared for some changes from your everyday motoring routine. For one, the MINI E's range is limited to 120 miles, at which point you'll have to plug the car into the 220-volt outlet you've had...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Euro , Green , Honda Click above for a gallery of the Euro-spec 2009 Honda Insight We're still six days away from the official unveiling of the 2009 Honda Insight at the Detroit Auto Show , but the crew at Carscoop just couldn't wait to release images of the European-spec hybrid ahead of its debut. The Euro model shown here won't differ too much from the U.S. version (we like our steering wheels on the right-hand side), but the stylistic differences between the production version and its conceptual predecessor are obvious at first glance. As we've seen before , the front fascia carries over largely unchanged, although the technorific LED headlamps, deeply recessed fog lamps/air intakes and gaudy brightwork are all left on the designer's desk. The side mirrors have grown in proportion to the door handles, and the C-pillar is noticeably thicker than the concept that bowed in Paris. The rear has also been smoothed over...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Green , Safety , Tech , Supercars , Audi Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi R8 V10 The Audi R8 claimed a number of world firsts - that is, walking away with magazine awards and journalists' hearts the world over. The Audi R8 V10 is about to claim a world first in technology: it will be the first car to offer high and low beam LED headlights as standard equipment. (Note: The 2009 Cadillac Escalade Platinum was the first vehicle in the world to offer all-LED headlamps.) You can buy the package as an option on the regular R8, so it's only fitting that the bigger and more expensive beast gets more tricks. Audi trumpets the inclusion as an energy-saving measure - LEDs use a quarter of the energy of halogen headlights, and that number will only get better as LEDs evolve. You probably never thought you could know so much about LEDs, but there's an exhaustive press release after the jump, and for dessert, a high-res gallery of photos below. Gallery...
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