Audi's A3 TDI diesel and Mercury's Milan Hybrid are two of the contenders in LA Auto Show's green car face-off.
It will be diesel vs. hybrid and luxe models vs.standards in Green Car of the Year judging for December's 2009 Los Angeles International Auto Show. The five finalists in the annual competition, announced today, are the Toyota Prius (left), Honda Insight (below, right) and Mercury Milan hybrids on the gas-electric side and the Audi A3 TDI and Volkswagen Golf TDI (below, left) on the diesel side.
Judges picked the VW Jetta TDI last year, so if either the Golf or A3 win it will be two-in a-row for the fuel that most Americans still equate with big-rigs and giant bulldozers. There could be sentiment of the small luxury-performance car, which would help the Audi, but the engine in both the A3 and the Golf is the same that won it for the Jetta TDI in 2008.
Our handicapper at Inside Line's Straightline blog seems to be betting on the redesigned 2010 Prius, reasoning that the Milan Hybrid doesn't stand much of a chance because its twin, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, was nominated but didn't win last year, and that the judges will be loathe to salute diesel for a second consecutive year.
That leaves the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, and the Pruis is the greener of the two by dint of its greater fuel economy.
We reported last month that Audi executives at the Frankfurt Auto Show said the stunning e-Tron concept, an all-electric version of the Audi R-8, could see limited production in 2012.
Now Autoweek - via the Straightline blog over at Inside Line - says that Audi of America's president, Johan de Nyschen, is confirming that the electric car's headed for production, with working prototypes excepted to be on the road within two years.
It can't happen too soon, far as we're concerned. ---------- See video link at end of article. ----------
General Motors and India's Reva Electric Car announced today that they will jointly produce a battery-powered vehicle for South Asia based on the Detroit carmaker's best-selling mini-car, the Chevrolet Spark (pictured).
Under the alliance, GM will provide the vehicle platform and manufacturing facilities for the zero-emissions car, which will begin production next year, while Reva will supply the technology for the battery, electric drivetrain and power management systems.
They did not provide forecasts for production, but GM has the capacity to produce 225,000 vehicles of all types at its two plants in India and has plans to scale up its factory in Maharashtra state by an additional 160,000 vehicles.
GM, which is also due to launch its plug-in Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. next year, joins a growing list of the world's major carmakers that are due to launch electric cars over the next three years as part of their carbon-cutting strategy.
Some, including Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, have already launched them.
Last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault announced that it was launching four electric vehicles in 2011-12. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz showed planned battery-powered luxury models.
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler says American consumers will get more clean diesels -- but they will pay a premium for them.
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Right, the 2010 Audi Q7 TDI starts at $50,900. ----------
"I think the problem is that we don't really have an honest discussion," Stadler said in a press roundtable at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
"There is a very, very high level of investment, and nobody today knows if the return will come," he said.
Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America, says that ultimately Audi sees itself as selling 20 to 25 percent of its vehicles in the United States with diesel powertrains.
For the Audi Q7 crossover, Audi's first diesel in the United States, diesel penetration is 35 percent, he said, and the brand ran short of diesels during model-year changeover.
The share is even higher for the A3 TDI subcompact, he added.
But, de Nysschen said, Audi is supporting the technology financially: "There certainly is a price premium, which we are partially recovering, but not totally."
Audi, the German automaker that has repeatedly voiced concerns about battery-electric power while simultaneously touting the benefits of diesel, delighted a crowd at the Frankfurt Motor Show today with the dramatic world debut of its plug-in e-Tron electric-car concept.
The apparent design offspring of an R8 and TT, the e-Tron sports four electric motors, one at each wheel. Combined, they generate 230 kilowatts (or 313 horsepower) and 4,500 Nm (or 3,319.03 pound-feet) of torque -- enough to shoot the lipstick-red two-seater from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds.
The zero-emissions vehicle's lithium-ion battery provides enough juice, Audi claims, for the electric ladybug to cover 149 miles between charges. All in 4-wheel drive, of course.
While Audi made it clear that the e-Tron is a concept car, the automaker also said some prototypes will likely be on the road next year and "a small build" of series production models could be jazzing up blacktop in 2012.
Hyundai Motors' ix-Metro Hybrid city car is one of several dozen 'green' cars and concepts debuting at Frankfurt show.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
This week's Frankfurt Auto Show promises to be the greenest major auto show to date - a showcase for fuel efficiency improvements and alternative powertrains that are coming to the forefront as the mainstream auto industry finally begins coming to grips with the need to begin weaning itself - and us - from petroleum.
Perhaps Discussing GM's Silly 230 MPG Claim for Volt Would Have Been More Productive
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Whoops.
Diesel booster and Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen, whose remarks questioning the common sense (or worse) of people who'd pay $40,000 for an extended-range Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid have been all over the Internet today (including an earlier Green Car Advisor piece), says he didn't mean it that way.
In fact, the famously outspoken de Nysschen (left) says in a new posting on Audi's Facebook page that he doesn't recall using the term 'car for idiots' to describe the Volt (what he did say, apparently, is that "there are not enough idiots who will buy" Volts), and certainly didn't intend to disparage electric cars or people who want to buy them.
He'd better hope he hasn't done the latter - Audi is working on an electric-drive car of its own.
In any event, de Nysschen said in his Facebook posting, "if I was unclear on either of those points then I need to eat crow."
What he did want to make clear, he said, is that, in is opinion the Volt, which he believes will be selling for a "50 percent or so price increase...over a similar gasoline car," won't be able to earn back the price difference for owners through fuel savings alone.
Diesel 'Premium' Buys a 41% Combined Fuel Economy Improvement Over 2-Liter Gasoline Model
Audi A3 TDI on the road in diesel mileage marathon event earlier this summer.
Audi, whose top U.S. executive recently questioned the mental acuity of people willing to pay $40,000 (before tax credits) for the upcoming extended-range Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, says it will price its 2010 A3 TDI clean diesel hatchback at $30,775.
(The diesel is likely to qualify for a $1,300 federal clean car tax credit; the Volt already has qualified for a $7,500 credit under the same program)
The EPA has rated the Audi A3 TDI at 30 mpg on the city cycle and 42 mpg on the highway cycle for a combined estimate of 34 mpg.
That compares to a 24 mpg combined mileage rating for the 2-liter, $29,575 gasoline A3 (there really is no fuel efficiency comparison with the Volt because the EPA still hasn't announced a methodology for computing fuel economy in a car that mixes all-electric and gasoline-engine augmented travel and won't go into production until late next year.)
For its $30,775 base price (includes the standard $825 destination charge), the Audi TDI offers a 140-horsepower, 2-liter clean diesel engine that develops 236 ft-lb of torque at max demand. Top speed is 130 mph, but you won't be getting 34 miles a gallon doing that.
Other touches include Audi's front-wheel drive set up and sporty suspension and handling, a top speed of 130 mpg, leather upholstery, 40/60 split and folding rear seats and lots of cup holders.
Options such as Audi Navigation, Bose premium sound, special alloy wheels, wood trim, upgraded leather and those neat LED daytime running lights that make Audis stand out in the crowd all will add a few thousand bucks to the base price.
The 2010 A3 TDI is slated to begin hitting dealer showrooms in November.
In an interview earlier this week, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen (right) dismissed the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid as "a car for idiots."
He said that few consumers will be willing to pay $40,000 -- the Volt's estimated base price -- for a car that competes against $25,000 sedans and conventional hybrids. Nor, he noted, is the Volt a luxury car whose green-technology costs will be excused because it also delivers prestige or performance.
"No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla" in terms of prestige and performance, he said. "So there are not enough idiots who will buy it."
More than a few people at Chevrolet took offense. In an interview with Green Car Advisor, Volt spokesman Rob Peterson said:
"I'm pretty surprised somebody would make such a bold statement that challenges the intelligence of anybody in the EV movement, and especially those people who are anxiously awaiting the Volt. It just doesn't seem like a real bright statement."
It'll be interesting to see how well the Volt sells. The vehicle is slated to start appearing in showrooms in very limited numbers at the end of next year.
Lexus has already teased us with the "official sketch" of its upcoming compact concept for the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, but today it released what it claims is the first "official photo" of the car.
That would be the image at right, which to us looks like an artist's rendering.
Along with the, uh, photo comes a name: the Lexus LF-Ch Concept. "LF" means it's a concept vehicle, borne from the L-Finesse design mantra. "C" indicates it's a C-segment car; competitors will include the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-series. And "h" is for hybrid.
The rear three-quarters photo/rendering of the low-emissions vehicle shows door handles that look too flush to be production-ready and windows that look surreal. Otherwise, the fuel-efficient vehicle could closely resemble a production model.
Lexus sources say the car will enter production by 2012. There's no word on whether it will be coming to the U.S., but with impressive fuel economy and all-electric performance under certain conditions would make it competitive with its American-offered Audi and BMW rivals.
The factory where Tesla Motors will make its all-electric, zero-emissions Model S sedan will be located in the Southern California cities of Long Beach or Downey, with a decision possibll as early as next week.
The plant, which is expected to bring 1,000 to 1,200 engineering and assembly jobs to the recession-plagued state, is scheduled to open in 2011. California has a 12.1 percent unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In an interview with the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said both cities were finalists for the plant. Musk said the possible locations were Long Beach's former Boeing 717 aircraft plant, which ceased production in 2006, or a former NASA production site next to Downey Studios.
Possibly complicating the Long Beach deal is an alternative city plan to convert the Boeing plant into a movie studio. Musk did not comment on which city had the inside edge. A Tesla source told Green Car Advisor today not to expect "any news on Model S facility this week, but we are close."
The Tesla source said the company is very serious about hitting the publicized $57,400 base price for the Model S and would reconsider an otherwise suitable site for the EV's production if the cost of leasing the site would jeopardize the base price.
Funding for the plant for the Model S, which is expected to have a 300-mile range between charges, will likely come from a recent $465 million low-interest loan Tesla received from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Community leaders in the Northern California city of Fremont, home to the soon-to-be-shuttered NUMMI joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, also have appealed to Tesla.
But the company said NUMMI's 5 million square feet is far too large for Tesla's needs. Both Southern California sites are about 1 million square feet.
3 Executives Named
Tesla, which currently has about 150 job openings, named three executives today.
Bill Visnic's musings make sense, and if the Cayenne - in all versions, green and black - does fade away at the end of the present model cycle in 2016 or so, we won't shed tears.
It's a nice SUV, with tons of power and loads of style and accoutrements, but it's not exactly a vehiclel that the world needs. Porsche sells a lot of them, but we can see that with VW holding the purse strings, a Cayenne would offer unnecessary competition to the VW version - the Touareg - and the to Audi Q& from that rmember of the VW stable.
Still, we stand by our positions that:
the Cayenne hybrid, which goes on sale here next spring, is a very nicely done hybrid with impressive fuel economy for such a large vehicle; and
the Cayenne diesel, on sale in Europe and under study for the North American, ought to be sold here - it would be a lower-priced alternative that's almost as fuel-efficient and as fun to drive.
And wouldn't it be interesting if this early word of the potential demise of the Cayenne caused sales to rise, thus prompting VW to rethink the money-making potential of the line and evenutally deciding to keep on trucking with Porsche?
MINI has unveiled a concept for a new coupe (pictured) that will expand the brand's lineup to five models and bring another powerful-yet-fuel-efficient small car to market.
MINI will show the coupe concept at the Frankfurt auto show next month. The BMW-owned brand aims to bring the coupe to market in two to three years as a rival to the Audi TT and Peugeot's new RCZ.
MINI, which this month celebrates the 50th anniversary of its foundation, says the two-seat concept is designed to be the most dynamic and agile MINI ever.
The coupe's roof is made of aluminum and the concept's sleek looks have been achieved by lowering the roofline compared with the standard MINI hatchback.
Because of its lighter roof, the coupe weighs about 220 pounds less than the standard MINI.
The front-wheel-drive concept is powered by MINI's most powerful engine, a 1.6-liter turbocharged powerplant found in the carmaker's high-performance models from tuning division John Cooper Works.
That engine achieves 39.8 miles per gallon and has CO2 emissions of 165 grams per kilometer.
The coupe will join the hatchback, convertible and Clubman wagon versions already on sale and a crossover model in the final stages of development.
It's not as good as a price cut, but at least it's not an increase: Audi says its redesigned 2010 Q7 TDI quattro will retain this model year's starting price of $50,900 (plus $825 in those lovely destination fees).
---------- 2010 Audi Q7 ----------
The 3.0-liter turbo-diesel Q7 SUV also qualifies, for the time being, for a federal alternative motor vehicle tax credit of $1,150 - about 10 percent of a decent down payment.
It comes with an EPA fuel economy rating of 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway - 20 mpg overall average - which doesn't sound great until you note that it represents a 30 percent improvement over the comparable 3.6-liter, V6 gasoline model.
Audi says improvements to the 2010 Q7 include "updated" front and rear bumpers, new front headlamps and several interior trim tweaks.
The clean diesel 2010 TDI model - which starts with Audi's Premium trim level - is 50-state legal, meeting California's ULEV emissions standard.
The 2010 Q7s are due in Audi dealers' showrooms next month.
In an uncharacteristically succinct statement issued today, Lexus announced that it will introduce a premium compact concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15th and it unveiled an official sketch of the car.
"The concept will demonstrate a mix of technical innovation and ground-breaking design that promises to raise the bar in the premium compact segment," the statement said, adding that further information about the unnamed vehicle won't be available until the show.
That said, we have to assume that by "technical innovation and ground-breaking design" the new model will feature some of green innovations found in Lexus's low-emissions, fuel-efficient hybrid models.
Among those innovations: A rear-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain featuring a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline-fuel internal combustion engine mated to a high-output electric motor.
The vehicle, which will likely represent Toyota's effort to compete with Audi's A3 and BMW's 1 series cars in Europe, might be destined for U.S. showrooms.
Unfortunately, that bit of wishful thinking won't likely be confirmed or denied before the Frankfurt show.
If C4C Comes Back, Tech Premium For Many Could Be Offset; Manufacturer Rebates Would Do Same
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Got a gas guzzler that would qualify under the cash for clunkers program for a federal credit toward a new, more efficient car or truck? (That's if we still have a cash for clunkers program when the dust settles from Thursday's reveation that the programs's initial funding apparently has run dry.)
The situation's up in the air right now, but if you are in the mood to keep doing research, or perhaps have had the car-buying impulse jump-started and have decided to take the plunge - clunker incentive or no - this is a good time to look at hybrids and diesels.
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2009 Camry Hybrid has lowest technology premium, $239.
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If Congress keeps cash for clunkers going, or automakers step up with bigger incentives of their own to keep the market moving, the credits - ranging in the C4C program from $3,500 to $4,500 depending on the fuel economy of the new car or truck - could help make a previously unaffordable hybrid or clean diesel a lot more compatible with your budget.
Audi is joining stablemate VW in an ongoing campaign to sing the praises of diesel in a country that largely considers the fuel an oily, smelly, poor cousin to gasoline.
But the German automakers have invested a ton in bringing several of their diesel-powered vehicles to the U.S., and are determined to make consumers here as aware of diesel's good points as are consumers in Europe - where diesel vehicles are more popular than gasoline versions.
The basis of Audi's diesel campaign, which launched today, is that diesel packs more energy than gasoline, and thus delivers better fuel economy, which can help reduce our national consumption of imported crude oil.
Drive a diesel and help the U.S. cut oil consumption by 1.5 million barrels a day is the message posted on YouTube, plastered on fuel pumps and broadcast on TV in ads like this:
Audi would prefer that you drove one of its diesels - the Q7 crossover SUV is already here and the A3 hatchback launches this fall.
What's cooler than an Audi R8? One powered entirely by electricity, of course.
According to Google-translated reports in the German publication Auto Motor und Sport and the French publication L'Automobile, Audi will display an all-electric, zero-emissions version of its formidable R8 supercar at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show this September.
No details regarding the vehicle have been released. That's because there are no details releasable or otherwise, according to Audi spokesman Christian Bokich. His entire response to an email we sent him seeking confirmation of the electric R8: "Nope, not true."
As in bogus, faulty and entirely unfounded report. Nice going, Auto Motor und Sport and L'Automobile.
The gasoline-powered version (pictured) is a mid-engined sports car introduced in 2006. It is based on the "Audi Space Frame," largely derived from the Lamborghini Gallardo.
It might interest you to know that production of a single R8 requires 70 workers, who fit 5,000 unique parts by hand. The factory at Neckarsulm produces 15 cars a day, and 95 lasers are used to ensure that over 220 measurements are within 0.1 mm of the programmed plans.
Ford's SmartGauge features a multitude of displays to help people become more fuel-efficient drivers.
By Robert E. Calem, Contributor
Regardless of the kind of car you drive, one of the keys to improving fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to drive smarter - don't hammer the accelerator pedal, don't brake harshly and do steadily maintain just enough speed to keep up with the flow of traffic without passing everyone in sight.
These often are not easy tasks.
To help, automakers have begun rolling out new features and technologies that call attention to uneconomical driving behavior and offer "rewards" for fuel-efficient driving.
Some of these features are passive, like instrument panels that change color as fuel economy improves.
Others more actively engage with the driver, such as an accelerator pedal that pushes back when pressed too aggressively.
Some automakers are even working on technologies that will be able to take the driver out of the fuel economy equation by allowing the car to practically drive itself with best mileage in mind.
Read on to learn more about the driver training features and technologies in cars you can buy today, and be able to buy tomorrow.
Smart Gauges Make Smarter Drivers
"The whole idea is coaching the driver, but as a good coach you don't want to preach," says Sonya Nematollahi, driver information engineering supervisor at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich., while describing the "SmartGauge with EcoGuide" instrument cluster in the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids.
Conceived by Ford in collaboration with IDEO, the design and innovation consultancy that also devised the Swivel 'n Go seating in Chrysler minivans, SmartGauge consists of two 4.3-inch, high-resolution color LCD screens - one on either side of the analog speedometer - that display a collection of digitally rendered gauges accessed through multi-layered menus.
SmartGauge with EcoGuide, fashioned by Ford Design Studio with features input from the industrial design firm Smart Design, uses the menus and gauges to offer increasingly detailed information in four modes: Inform, Enlighten, Engage and Empower.
"Like a good coach, we designed modes into SmartGauge to engage drivers at their experience levels and then guide them to new energy-efficient behavior," says Steve Bishop, global lead for sustainability at IDEO in Palo Alto, Calif.
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Green leaves 'grow' on fusion instrument panel as visual reward when fuel economy improves.
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"Video games engage their users in a similar fashion with levels. In fact, when we observed hybrid drivers, we found they were going for high scores, a gaming behavior that has never existed in cars before. We designed to accommodate it."
Steering-wheel mounted directional buttons are used to navigate through the modes, and the driver can customize the displays in each mode by adding or removing gauges.
Hopes for widespread introduction of clean, fuel-efficient diesel cars and light trucks in the U.S. over the next few year are diminishing as quickly as most of our 401ks.
---------- Diesels such as Ford's 65 mpg Fiesta ECOnetic aren't seen as marketable in the U.S. ----------
The latest casualty seems to be the once-promised Nissan Maxima diesel sedan, Senior Editor Billl Visnic reports in our sister blog, Edmunds' AutoObserver
.
The 3-liter V6 turbodiesel originally slated to launch here later this year is most likely on hold and well could be canceled, Visnic says, victim of the economic meltdown that has made spending on pricey technologies such as clean diesel a difficult decision for both automakers and consumers.
General Motors Corp. last week said it has shelved plans for a new diesel V8 for its pickups and SUVs, Ford Motor Co. has been grim about the outlook for diesel cars here, Toyota has canceled a diesel engine development program and Honda Motor Co. last year said it was ditching plans to launch a diesel Acura model in the U.S.
As Visnic points out, only the Europeans - heavily invested in diesel technology because of fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions policies over there - are still big backers of diesels for the U.S
Volkswagen already sells the new diesel Jetta here; Audi launches the diesel-powered Q7 late this spring, followed by the diesel A3 in the fall as a 2010 model; Mercedes-Benz has three diesel-powered U.S. models, the ML-, GL- and R-Class, and BMW currently offers a diesel-engine 3-Series sedan and a diesel-powered X5 crossover here.
Audi's top U.S. official says Americans have a small-equals-cheap mentality and as a result, they won't be given the option of buying the none-to-cheap Audi A1 that will be available to Europeans later this year.
However, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said Audi is "seriously looking" at bringing the A1 to the land of the free and home of the brave when the subcompact receives is updated - six to eight years from now, according to an article published today in Automotive News (subscription required).
Bringing the model here any sooner could damage the German automaker's efforts to build widespread recognition for the brand, de Nysschen said.
"People who know us consider us very highly, but not enough people know us yet," de Nysschen said in the interview at Audi's U.S. headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.
De Nysschen said Audi's U.S. dealers asked for the A1, until they found out what it would cost. European pricing hasn't been set, but the car likely will have a price tag of about 20,000 euros - or $25,550, give or take, at current exchange rates.
"They said: 'This is impossible. You cannot charge this much for small cars,' " de Nysschen said of the dealers' reaction. "In their mind, they were thinking $18,000, because that's the conditioning our society still has."
The A1 is about 10 inches shorter than the A3, Audi's smallest U.S. model. In Europe, the A1 will compete against BMW's 1 series and its various MINI models. Both are sold in the United States, starting at $29,000 and $27,000, respectively.
Yes, it would seem that the A1 is competitively priced, so one has to wonder what's up with Audi. Also, the MINIs are popular in the United States, so saying Americans aren't willing to pay a hefty price for a supermini car is factually deficient.
As Audi CEO Rupert Stadler put it, "Americans still want big cars, but with increasing fuel-efficiency."
True, but a good many of them want small city cars with good fuel economy and status, and the Audi A1 meets that criteria. We assume - as Audi's U.S. dealers apparently do - that the model simply wouldn't compete favorably against the BMW 1 series and the MINIs.
Audi will offer a hybrid version of its Q5 premium SUV in the U.S. starting in late 2010, Wolfgang Hatz, head of powertrain development for the Volkswagen group, told Automotive News (subscription required).
If the car is a success in America, Audi said it may launch it in Europe.
In an interview at the Detroit Auto Show last month, Hatz said Audi must offer a hybrid model to compete with rival vehicles that already offer the technology, such as the Lexus RX 400h. The BMW X6 will be offered as a hybrid late this year, and Mercedes-Benz plans to roll out a hybrid in each of its major models starting with the S400 hybrid this year.
That said, Hatz thinks the greatest potential lies in diesel.
"If you look at what you have to spend to get the advantage of the hybrid and what you have to spend on other technologies like diesel, the diesel is much more cost-effective," Hatz told Automotive News. "We have to do hybrids in order to show people that we are able to do them."
Hatz said the cost to develop a hybrid powertrain is three to four times greater than that for a standard drivetrain, compared with less than 50 percent greater for a diesel drivetrain. Considering the low volumes of hybrid vehicles, it makes for a "negative business case" to offer the drivetrain in one model only, Hatz said.
"At the moment, we have to spend quite a lot on the basic technology, which then we can perhaps spread later on more models," he added.
Audi had planned to offer its first hybrid in the larger Q7 premium SUV, but the dollar's weak value against the euro made the business case unworkable. Hatz said the Q5 was a natural alternative.
Already on sale in Europe, the gasoline version of the Q5 (pictured) goes on sale in U.S. in March. It will compete with the BMW X3 and Mercedes GLK.
Although Audi says it'll be another year or so before the Bavarian automaker launches the A7 coupe/sedan, it gave those attending the 2009 Detroit Auto Show a strong hint of what's to come.
It did so by way of a Sportback Concept (right), the fuel-efficient, low-slung four-door with a monstrous hatch. Resembling Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Sportback Concept is powered by what might be the world's cleanest diesel technology.
The 3.0-liter V6 TDI diesel engine almost completely eliminates nitrogen oxides and meets the emissions limits of all 50 U.S. states as well as the EU6 standard scheduled to take effect in 2014. Audi says the car's fuel economy is a smidgen under 40 miles per gallon, which would be exceptional for such a large car.
The engine is the very same as the one propelling the Q7 TDIs that will be appearing in dealer showrooms across the U.S. starting in the next few weeks. The V6 also produces 225 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque
The Sportback Concept pairs the TDI V6 with the same 7-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission used in the new S4 sedan as well as a fuel-saving automatic start-stop system.
The success of the A3 Sportback has exceeded even the expectations of its makers; far more customers choose the four-door model with the large rear hatch than its three-door sibling. No doubt Audi is hoping for a similar reception when it brings the A7 to market.
Audi today announced that its 2010 A3 2.0-liter TDI diesel hatchback will appear in dealer showrooms across the U.S. starting early next year.
The low-emissions, fuel-efficient car won't be significantly different from the 2009 version, which Audi included in a herd of clean-diesel vehicles it drove across the land of the free last year.
The A3 got the best fuel economy of the lot, averaging slightly more than 45 miles per gallon over 4,000-plus miles.
Audi said it is targeting the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, both of which are hybrids. Some of the A3's prospective buyers will also likely be considering the Mini Cooper and Volvo C30.
The A3's powertrain will include a 140-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine with a six-speed automatic transmission. Pricing of the front-wheel-drive vehicle won't be announced until much later this year.
Audi said standard features will include hill-hold assist, Sirius Satellite Radio, leather seating surfaces, leather steering wheel and auxiliary audio input. Audi Magnetic Ride will be optional.
(Note: Article updated after initial posting to include Lexus hybrid)
The upcoming North American International Auto Show in snowy Detroit - media preview days begin Sunday and the show opens to the public on Jan. 17 - is likely to be a pretty glum affair, what with the auto industry imploding and the prospect of many people really being interested in buying a new car right now ranking right up there with being interested in having wisdom teeth pulled sans anesthesia.
But carmakers are trying, and what most are trying hardest with is fuel efficiency and alternatives to the thirsty, greenhouse-gas spewing cars and trucks of the past.
Oh, there will be speedsters and factory-built hot rods on display at the show - Ford Motor Co., for example, will unveil the 540-horsepower 2010 Shelby GT500 Mustang and Audi will be showing a 525-horsepower, V10-version of its exotic R8 sports car.
But most attention will be focused on advanced technology cars such as the 2010 Prius hybrid (right)
and the battery-electric city car concept that Toyota will show, Honda's Prius-fighting 2009 Insight hybrid and concepts such as the all-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel -cell electric trio, collectively called Concept Zero, that Mercedes-Benz will unveil.
Beyond the cars, the show's media preview will spotlight industry executives who will be delivering news about their companies' green futures.
Most notably, Toyota is expected to outline its hybrid and electric-vehicle strategies for the next few years and Ford is expected to discuss its plans for a stable of future EVs, starting with a commercial truck it plans to launch in 2010.
Green Car Advsior, along with Edmunds Auto Observer, Edmunds Inside Line and Edmunds.com, will be covering the show 's media days and bringing you timely reports, but we thought we'd also offer a preview today of the major green vehicles that will be displayed and discussed.
Green Preview
So, by manufacturer, here they are:
Audi
Volkswagen's upscale stablemate is expected to announce plans for its upcoming U.S. diesel lineup. So far, the company has said it will launch a 3-liter diesel version of its Q7 SUV (right)
later this year and has broached the possibility of a diesel A4. We'll know more after Audi's Sunday afternoon press conference.
BMW The pride of Bavaria will discuss the X5 and 3-Series diesels it plans to bring to the U.S., perhaps supplying us with some performance and fuel economy numbers as well as a marketing time-line.
Chevrolet
Nothing big here, unless the General decides to announce the upcoming Volt plug-in hybrid's pricing and/or the battery suppliers.
The Chevy vehicle that gets officially introduced at the show is the redesigned 2010 Equinox crossover (right), which will come with a new six-speed automatic and a fuel-efficient, direct-injection four-banger expected to deliver 182 horsepower (almost as much as the '08 model's base V6) and highway fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon.
Chrysler The company has three brands that it has tied together for car show purposes with a trio of concept electric vehicles.
Those to be displayed in Detroit are further refined versions of the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EVs originally unveiled last September and first shown publicly at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November.
By brand, they are the Chrysler EV, an extended-range electric version of the town and Country minivan; the Jeep EV, a gas-electric Wrangler; and the Dodge EV, a Lotus-based, bumblebee-striped battery-electric sports car that would look great in the garage next to an electric Tesla Roadster.
Chrysler has said that it will bring one of the cars to market in 2010, but hasn't said which or in what kind of numbers. Maybe that's what we'll hear at the show.
Fisker
The nascent plug-in-hybrid company headed by, and named for, noted auto designer Henrik Fisker (BMW, Aston Martin, Fisker Coachbuild), will show the production version of it first proposed vehicle, the Fisker Karma sports sedan (right)
that it unveiled to great interest at last year's Detroit show. Fisker also will unveil a new version - a convertible, we suspect - caled the Karma S.
Like the Chevy Volt, the Karma uses an on-board internal combustion engine to generate power to keep its electric motors turning the wheels.
Ford We expect a discussion of the company's electric vehicle strategy, perhaps with a teaser glimpse or two of potential future offerings and a look at the commercial truck the company has said it will launch in 2010.
Honda
The news here will be the unveiling of the production version 2009 Insight hybrid (right)
, a sub $20,000, five-seater Honda hopes will finally, finally, pump its hybrid sales up into Prius territory.
We're expected to hear a lot of technical detail and, perhaps, even a firmer price for the car, which looks in pictures a bit like the Prius it's designed to battle.
Lexus Toyota's luxury unit will reveal its first stand-alone hybrid model, a small car that is based off the upcoming 2010 Prius.
Although it is not unusual - its pretty common, even - for photos of new models to leak out before their official unveiling, the best we've been able to come up with for the new Lexus hybrid is this rendering (left) published in a Japanese auto magazine a few months ago.
Mercedes-Benz The covers will come off a trio of EV concepts from Daimler's luxe brand. All use the same swoopy, sport wagon-ish body (below right) - a design that also shows where Mercedes is heading with the compact B-Class replacement due in 2010 and, perhaps, headed for the U.S.
The so-called Concept Zero family consists of the E-Cell, a battery-electric with a range of about 60 miles; the E-Cell Plus, a plug-in hybrid that uses a 3-cylinder gas engine-generator to extend the range of its batteries when the initial charge is depleted (think Chevy Volt), and the F-Cell, which uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to produce electricity on-board by combining hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel-cell stack. Range is about 125 miles. Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus can go almost 400 miles on an overnight battery charge and a tank of gas.
Toyota The company whose name has become synonymous with 'hybrid" is introducing the redesigned 2010 Prius at the show, but photos of the car leaked out weeks ago and you've got to believe that anyone who's interested has already seen it. What will be news, of course, are the specifications and performance numbers.
The other biggie on the product front from Toyota will be the unveiling of a concept electric vehicle, probably called the FT-EV if the company's previous auto show naming practices prevail (that would stand for "future technology-electric vehicle").
The car, believed to be built on a current Toyota subcompact chassis, is the company's effort to give us a look at what a Toyota-built battery-electric EV for short-range urban driving might look like if the company does, as it has said it would, put an EV into its retail fleet in 2012.
Not The End
And, of course - Detroit being Detroit - there likely will be a surprise or two. So consider this list a starter, not a definitive catalog.
China's BYD, for instance, will be there with the plug-in-hybrid (left)
it launched in its home market a few weeks ago, beating the big boys like GM and Toyota to the punch by a matter of, oh, a year or two. Who knows what the company - whose name is an acronym for Build Your Dreams and whose future is being backed by investment whiz Warren Buffett - will do next? We might find out as the Detroit show rolls along.
We'll be back when media days begin on Sunday to keep you up-to-date.
The carmaker on Monday began production - for the European market only, it says - of a diesel version of its Cayenne SUV (right).
Porsche's first diesel will be outfitted with the same 3.0-liter, 240 horsepower V6 TDI engine that Audi and Volkswagen are using for their upcoming diesel SUVs, the VW Touareg (the Cayenne's cousin) and Audi Q7.
Porsche has said that it expects its diesel Cayenne to achieve about 25 miles per gallon in overall fuel economy, a substantial improvement over the base gasoline model's federal EPA rating of just 16 mpg overall.
No word yet on when, or whether, Porsche might decide to ship its diesel SUV stateside.
Citing the ongoing economic meltdown, several automakers have canceled diesel plans for the U.S. recently (Honda most notably) because the engines and required emissions controls make them cost thousands more than their gas counterparts.
While we're waiting for word on the diesel Cayenne's future in the U.S., we're also still waiting for the hybrid Cayenne that Porsche promised us way back in 2005. Initially it was to have been a 2009 model but it now has been pushed back to 2010.
The green glide seems to be the new sensation: take two small steps forward, a long one back.
---------- Audi's Q5 crossover will come in gasoline and diesel flavors, but no hybrid...yet. ----------
Gas soars to $4 a gallon, hybrid sales take off, and carmaker after carmaker announces plans for plug-ins, EVs and more.
Economy collapses, gas prices fall to $1.60 a gallon, Hummers come out of hiding (at least the have in my neighborhood), and automakers' green plans get put on hold.
The latest to take the backward slide appears to be Audi.
Britian's Autocar magazine is reporting that the luxo-peformance arm of German's Volkswagen, which already said in August that it was dropping plans for a hybrid powertrain for the European Q7 SUV, now has decided to hold up on a hybrid version of the smaller Q5 as well.
The Q7 decision was made, Audi said, because it would make more sense with such a large vehicle to concentrate on a powerful, fuel-efficient clean diesel powertrain.
Green Car Advisor reported way back in March that Audi had decided to drop plans for a Q7 hybrid for the U.S. because the dollar-euro imbalance would have made t to expensive to sell here (hmm, with the dollar up a bit and the euro down, maybe the xxx at xxx would want to rethink that decision).
But the Q5 was talked about as a candidate for hybridization because it was smaller and lighter and adding a gas-electric powertrain would achieve some real cost-effective efficiencies.
The World Car of the Year organization has announced the initial slate of candidates for 2009 World Green Car of the Year.
Launched three years ago, the title has been awarded in the past to the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).
The 2009 candidates must be new and on sale by December 31.
The list includes the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI (pictured), BMW 335d BluePerformance, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon hybrids, Citroen C1, Fiat Palio Weekend Electric, Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model, Honda FCX Clarity. Go to Edmunds.com's Inside Line to view more candidates.
The organization includes working automotive journalists from around the globe, including regular Inside Line contributors Matt Davis, Hormazd Sorabjee, Peter Nunn and Peter Lyon.
The top 10 finalists will be announced in January, with the winner revealed in April at the 2009 New York Auto Show.
Ward's Automotive Group has announced its 15th annual 10 Best Engines list, which "reflects the diversity of 2009 powertrains that will play a role in reshaping America's automotive landscape."
The winning engines were selected by editors for Ward's, publisher of automotive trade magazines since 1924.
Thirty-two engines were considered this year. Eligibility requirements included: Availability in a regular-production U.S.-specification model on sale no later than first-quarter 2009. And, the engine must be in a vehicle priced no more than $54,000 (a price cap indexed to the average cost of a new vehicle).
The winners by manufacturer, engine and vehicle tested:
Audi; 2.0-liter TFSI (Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection) DOHC (double overhead camshaft) I-4 (inline 4-cylinder); A4 Avant BMW; 3.0-liter turbocharged DOHC I-6; 135i coupe BMW; 3.0-liter DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel; 335d sedan Chrysler; 5.7-liter Hemi OHV (overhead valves) V-8 (a V-shaped engine with eight cylinders); Dodge Ram truck/Challenger R/T large car Ford; 2.5-liter DOHC I-4 HEV (hybrid electric vehicle); Escape Hybrid SUV General Motors; 3.6-liter DOHC V-6; Cadillac CTS sedan Honda; 3.5-liter SOHC (single overhead camshaft) V-6; Accord coupe Hyundai; 4.6-liter DOHC V-8; Genesis sedan Toyota; 3.5-liter DOHC V-6; Lexus IS 350 sedan Volkswagen; 2.0-liter SOHC I-4 Turbodiesel; Jetta TDI sedan
The diesel engines from VW and BMW and the engine from the Ford Escape Hybrid all got better than 30 miles per gallon during Ward's testing and often topped 40 mpg, said Tom Murphy, executive editor of Ward's AutoWorld magazine.
For nearly a decade, the American Le Mans Series sports car races have served as a research and development lab for Audi's diesel program.
---------- Audi's R10 TDI race car dominated American Le Mans Series and helped in developing company's diesel passenger cars. ----------
But the German carmaker, part of the Volkswagen family, is being pinched by the ongoing global economic crunch and said today that it will not have a factory team next year in the series it has dominated for the past nine years with its diesel-powered cars.
The company will maintain a diesel racing presence here in one race, however: Audi's RT15 TDI prototype race car will make its global debut March 21 at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race in Sebring, Fla.
(Sorry, Audi's keeping this one close to the vest for fear of tipping competitors to the car's advanced aerodynamics, so - so far - no art is available, not even a crummy design sketch.)
In addition to the brand awareness generated by its ALMS victories, Audi has used technology developed for its factory entries in the race series, and other series around the world, in improving its TDI (turbo direct injection) technology for consumer diesel engines.
"TDI technology in racing supported the market launch of Audi TDI technology in the U.S. perfectly," said Wolfgang Ullrich, head of Audi motorsports.
With the American race series no longer on its calendar, Ullrich said Audi will concentrate its motorsports budget, and development efforts, on the new R15 TDI prototype (which will make its second appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race June 13-14 in France), as well as on the non-diesel A4 race-touring car used in the DTS (German touring car) race series and the race-ready R8 LMS developed for the GT3 class.
The rules were crystal: chow mescaline and Twinkies, crank Hendrix or Led Zep, and design alt-fuel race cars for model year 2025 that defy normal imaginations.
At least that's our understanding of the rules given the nine Southern California automotive design studios competing in the fifth annual L.A. Auto Show's Design Challenge.
This year's entries will be judged by Tom Matano of San Francisco's Academy of Art University, Imre Molner of Detroit's College for Creative Studies, Stewart Reed of Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, and Daniel Simon, founder of Cosmic Motors.
The winning design will be announced at the auto show on Nov. 20. And now for your dreaming pleasure:
Motor Trendreported today
that there are "whispers out of General Motors" suggesting that GM might offer the Cadillac CTS with a fuel-efficient 4.5-liter Duramax V-8 turbodiesel engine.
While the emissions-sensitive engine was initially expected to serve in SUVs and light-duty pickups, GM engineers have long pointed out that the dual overhead cam, four-valve diesel V-8 will fit in the same space as a small-block gasoline V-8.
GM says the 4.5-liter Duramax is capable of delivering more than 310 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque. It also claims the engine meets the tough 2010 emissions standards, making it legal in all 50 states.
Motor Trend points out that while the CTS is due to get a 2.9-liter V-6 diesel in Europe, the 4.5-liter diesel V-8 could easily fill the obvious gap between the 304-hp direct-injection V-6 of the regular CTS and the 556-hp supercharged V-8 of the CTS-v in the U.S.
That's especially true, the magazine notes, now that the Ultra V-8 engine program has been canned. In the CTS, the Duramax V-8 could easily deliver comparable performance to the Ultra, with 20-25 percent better mileage.
A diesel CTS for the U.S. would be a risk, but the downside for GM is in fact minimal. The engine already exists, as does the transmission capable of handling the torque, so there's little incremental investment required and therefore fewer sales needed to make the business case. The Duramax play also makes sense in light of the proposed corporate average fuel economy regulations mandating 35 mpg average by 2020.
American consumers are rightly wary of diesels, but moves by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi to bring 50-state-legal diesel cars to the U.S. will help transform the oil-burner's image here over the next few years. And, as Motor Trend notes, it certainly won't hurt Cadillac's image to be seen offering the same sort of technology as Europe's blue-chip luxury brands.
Unlike most of the vehicles there, it won't be running, but a production model of General Motors Corp.'s Volt series hybrid car (left)
will be on hand for viewing at AltCar Expo 2008
this weekend in Santa Monica, Calif.
The two-day event, now in its third year, is one of the nation's premier showcases for alternatives to the conventional gasoline-burning automobile.
Organizers say more than 100 vehicles - cars, trucks, scooters and 'cycles with natural gas, battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell electric, compressed air, biodiesel, flex-fuel and hybrid propulsion systems - will be on hand, several available for test drives.
The expo, to be held Friday and Saturday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, drew more than 10,000 attendees last year.
In addition to the vehicle displays, the event features numerous displays by alternative energy providers and proponents; a series of seminars addressing climate change and transportation and energy trends and featuring panelists from government, industry and advocacy groups.
Thanks largely to the rapid and sudden shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S. - a shift driven by soaring fuel prices - industrywide fuel economy for new cars and trucks sold this year is expected to top 20.8 miles per gallon, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said today.
The new "real-word" figure from the EPA marks the fourth consecutive year fuel economy has risen since a gradual 16-year decline that began with the rise of the full-size truck and SUV markets in 1988 and ended in 2004 as Asian automakers began rapidly increasing their share of the U.S. market with vehicles that were markedly more efficient than domestic models.
In a preliminary report
released today, the EPA said it is estimating the average adjusted fuel economy for the light vehicle - or passenger - fleet this year will be at least 20.8 mpg, up 0.7% or two-tenths of a gallon, from last year.
That's still 1.2 miles per gallon, or 5.4 percent, below the all-time high of 22 mpg set in 1987.
For cars alone, the preliminary average is 24.1 miles per gallon, while the truck average is 18.1 mpg.
The agency said, though, that it expects final figures, to be released late this year, to show even higher averages for cars, trucks and the combined total.
Volkswagen has big plans for the 2009 Jetta TDI, but sales of the new clean diesel model that debuted in the U.S. last month may be outstripping the company's best estimates.
"It certainly met and probably exceeded our expectations," Mark Barnes, chief operating officer of Volkswagen of America Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg News. He wouldn't say, however, what those expections were.
Diesel Jetta sales in the U.s. last month totaled 2,417 - and the Jetta TDI didn't go on sale til Aug. 18. Total Jetta sales for the month rose to 11,217, with the diesel model accounting for 21.5 percent.
That could rise to 35 percent with a full month of sales in September, Barnes said.
VW has said it intends total U.S. sales of all of its models to top the1-million mark by 2018 and that diesel models will play a big part in the increase, which would more than triple last year's combined sales of the automaker's Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley models.
Beginning October 6, Audi will demonstrate the fuel efficiency of its new clean-diesel vehicles by driving a herd of them from New York City to Los Angeles via Chicago and Denver.
Included in the caravan will be 23 TDI vehicles that will be driven by more than 180 motorists along the way, including plenty of heavy-footed autowriters. But they'll be competing for ecodriving -- not speed -- honors.
Among the cross-country vehicles will be the diesel variants of the Q7 and Q5, and the A4 with the 3.0-liter TDI V6 and the A3 with the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder TDI used in the new VW Jetta.
Of all the diesel models shown off in this here convoy, only the Q7 will be available in the U.S. -- at least initially -- starting in early 2009. Due to its minimal emissions, it will be available for purchase in all 50 states.
To whet our appetites, Audi provided the photos appearing here. We don't know about you, but it works for us.
General Motors today released the first photographs of Chevrolet's all-new Cruze with word that the fuel-efficient compact sedan will make its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in October.
The vehicle, which will eventually replace the Cobalt in Chevy's lineup, will go on sale in Europe next March and in North America approximately a year later.
There's no word yet on what the Cruze will cost, but we expect the base model to retail for well under $20,000. There was also no word on the Cruze's fuel economy in the statement General Motors, Chevrolet's parent company, released today.
However, we spoke with Chevy spokeswoman Nancy Libby about the vehicle's mileage and this is what she said:
"We don't have any mileage estimates at this time. We're still two years away from launch. The one thing I can say is we expect a significant improvement from today's 2009 Cobalt XFE. We expect it to be segment-leading fuel economy when it's introduced."
America's auto-emissions regulators have nothing on the youth brigade of the Swiss Green Party.
The youth have obtained the 100,000 signatures needed to put a measure before Switzerland's voters that would ban passenger vehicles that have a curb weight of more than 4,820 pounds, emit more than 250 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, or have front ends deemed dangerous to pedestrians.
The measure would also ban diesel cars lacking particle filters. Non-compliant cars registered before the measure goes into law would be fitted with a governor limiting them to 62 miles per hour.
The measure, which is viewed as moderate by its proponents, would remove all but the most fuel efficient models from Swiss roads. The forbidden list contains 785 models. In Porsche's lineup, for instance, all but the Boxster and Cayman fitted with 2.7-liter engines would be barred.
Lots of Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs and Audis would be history, as would every Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. Not all automakers would suffer. Lotus's entire lineup, for example, would be compliant.
The vote has not been scheduled and could be a couple of years away. Also, more than 90 percent of initiatives presented to Swiss voters since 1848 have been rejected. But "moderates" can hope.
Right, BMW 7 Hydrogen on Nürburgring racetrack. The car or one like it will be available for test drives.
The Detroit area is famous for the Woodward Dream Cruise, a summertime showcase of thousands of hotrods, muscle cars and other exotics.
Now in an effort to improve Motown's gas-guzzling image, a new group has organized what they call Nextcruise, which will actually give the public an opportunity to drive what many see as the next generation of vehicles - hybrids, fuel cell, clean-diesel, plug-in electric and other green machines.
The low-emissions, fuel-efficient vehicles will be available for free 15-minute drives on a first-come, first-served basis in Pleasant Ridge, just outside Detroit, in mid-August.
The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, at Memorial Park, 23925 Woodward Avenue, Pleasant Ridge 48069-1199.
Nine automakers have agreed to provide green vehicles and green-car-technology demonstrations for event to date. They are: General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Soy foam in the seats the Ford F-150 pickups and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Locally farmed hemp
, "ethically produced" woolen fabric and floor mats made of sisal in the Lotus Eco Elise.
Some automakers are increasingly going to great lengths to make the interiors of some of their models if not environmentally friendly, at least a bit wholesome.
But others, well...
Early today the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, posted its second-annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and children's car seats at www.HealthyCar.org.
More than two hundred 2008- and 2009-model-year vehicles and more than 60 children's car seats were tested for unhealthy chemicals that seep in gaseous form from the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, seats and carpet.
The "new-car smell," as the gases are commonly called, mingle with the air occupants breathe and have been linked to allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.
The Ecology Center reported that Mazda, General Motors and Nissan improved since last year's findings, with GM showing the greatest gains of the domestic automakers, with an average vehicle ranking improvement of 27 percent.
The list of the 10 best and 10 worst vehicles as picked by the Center appears in the chart above.
Average child-car-seat scores improved 28 percent overall. The list of 10 best and worst car seats for 2008 as picked by the Center appears at left. Click on the chart for a better look.
Below are the three worst 2008-model-year vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Suzuki Reno and Volkswagen New Beetle.
Below are are the three best vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Acura RXD, Chevrolet Cobalt and Smart Passion Cabriolet.
That's our sensational headline for 2008, but there's more than a smidgen of truth in it.
Last year Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Ecology Center released the first-ever consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats -- and what they reported was sickening.
The odor you inhale when you slide into a new car? It might very well be bromine, chlorine, lead, other harmful chemicals or a witches' brew of them. They've been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and, no doubt, cancer.
If you think the government protects you against such things, think again. Some of the vehicles on the road today are veritable toxic dumps on wheels. And many drivers are exposed to these chemicals through inhalation and contact with dust every day.
In case you missed last year's report, Ecology Center found the most toxic vehicles were the Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo, Scion xB 5dr and the Kia Rio. The least toxic vehicles were the Chevy Cobalt, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda Odyssey and the Volvo V50.
Next Tuesday -- July 22 -- Ecology Center will release its second annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats, and if you're thinking of buying a new car anytime soon, you'll want to check it out. The guide will be posted at www.healthycar.org a little after midnight on the 22nd.
From the Is-he-out-of-his-mind? folder comes this zinger from Rupert Stadler, Audi's chief executive officer:
"Americans still want big cars, but with increasing fuel-efficiency," he told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday, apparently oblivious to the popularity of small cars in America these days.
Therefore, Stadler said, Audi has no plans to launch its planned hybrid compact car A1, which would be based on Audi's fuel-efficient Metroproject Quattro (pictured here). The A1 is expected to rival BMW's Mini Cooper, which is enormously popular in United States.
Instead of exporting the A1 to the U.S. or building it there, Audi will concentrate on introducing new generations of its A4 and Q5 models to Americans, he said.
The Metroproject Quattro's hybrid powertrain consists of a 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline direct-injection engine rated at 150 horsepower and driving the front wheels, teamed with a 41-hp electric motor in the rear. An S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox is mated to the drivetrain.
Choosing a fuel-efficient automobile was a whole lot simpler 30 years ago, the last time the U.S. was in the throes of a gasoline price crisis. It was often as simple as buying a small vehicle with a manual transmission.
Today, with gas prices soaring to new record highs almost weekly, finding fuel economy means navigating an almost bewildering selection of vehicles. Even enormous SUVs can qualify if they come equipped with gasoline-electric hybrid drive systems.
Behind this tremendous hike in choices -- to a fairly significant extent, experts say -- has been a concomitant increase in the variety of transmissions.
Whereas in the 1970s there were only four- and five-speed manual transmissions and three- and four-speed automatic transmissions, now there are six-speed manual, six-, seven- and eight-speed automatic, six- and seven-speed "dual-clutch" automatic-manual, and continuously variable transmissions.
The result: more efficient engine operation and higher fuel economy in every car, whether it's a high-performance Porsche Carrera or a modest Volkswagen Jetta.
But there are important differences among these sophisticated transmissions, including in how much they contribute to better fuel efficiency. Knowing those differences may help you the next time you're in the market for a new car.
Volkswagen Group has started testing a new electric hybrid system and expects to launch the first cars fitted with it by 2010, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said today.
Speaking during a presentation of the first Golf model fitted with such an engine (above), Winterkorn said the system, called "TwinDrive", has an electric motor that can also be powered by gasoline for long-distance travel.
He said the technology allows cars to run in electric-only mode for a distance of up to 31 miles.
Winterkorn's comments came the same week that Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said that Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, might launch a plug-in version of its upcoming A1 minicar...
Did Audi's "Metroproject" concept foreshadow plug-in hybrid version of the A1?
Less than a month after announcing a lithium-ion battery development pact wirth Sanyo Electric., Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has said that "depending on demand," Audi might launch a plug-in version of its upcoming A1 minicar, or put a plug-n hybrid in its A4 lineup, which includes the Q5 small SUV and the A5 coupe.
Speculation, and that's all there is right now, is that the Audi plug-ins, if they are forthcoming, still are years away and likely destined, at least initially, for the European market. Audi has not announced any plan for bringing the A1 to the U.S, in hybrid or any other form.
Stadler's comments were reported by Britain's Financial Times newspaper.
Audi showed a concept plug-in A1hybrid, which it said would use lithium-ion batteries, at the Tokyo Auto Show last October...
Sanyo Electric Co. plans to start mass-producing lithium-ion batteries used in automobiles by the end of next year, throwing its hat into the ring in the promising next-generation automobile battery business.
The Osaka-based company also said Wednesday it has agreed to jointly develop the new lithium-ion batteries in conjunction with the Volkswagen Group for use in the German automaker's Audi-brand vehicles.
Sanyo intends to open a factory to make the batteries in 2010 and Volkswagen plans to introduce a car with them the same year, according to a Bloomberg report. The first car to get the batteries will be an Audi AG, Reuters reported.
"Our focus in future will be directed more strongly at making electrically powered automobiles alongside ones driven by more efficient combustion engines," Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
It's turning into a banner year for hybrid and other green car news.
After all the Honda hoopla this morning, word leaks out that Toyota will debut the next-generation Prius, expected to be longer, lower and more powerful, but not radically different-looking, at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show with a sales launch slated for later in the year.
If that's not enough, Toyota's luxury marque, Lexus, is believed to be considering two new hybrids of its own, one of them a premium-priced version of that new Prius, the other a midsize crossover utility vehicle.
Audi reportedly has inked a deal to work with Japan's Sanyo on development of high performance batteries for a pilot hybrid project for the Volkswagen Group, Audi's owner.
The alliance could lead to Sanyo batteries and other electronic components being used in future Volkswagen group models, British on-line automotive journal just-auto.com suggests.
Volkswagen's own hybrid development program has been scaled down dramatically by chief executive Martin Winterkorn, who thinks the 2,000 euro ($3,092) additional cost to hybridize a vehicle is too steep.
At Audi, there are plans for a hybrid Touareg SUV and a hybrid Q7 crossover...
Audi sees "great opportunities" in electric vehicles and will offer battery-electric automobiles with no exhaust emissions within ten years, its top executive told a German weekly.
Chairman Rupert Stadler, in an interview with Welt am Sonntag published Sunday, said he expects diesel and battery technology to be a dominate force the automotive market in five to ten years.
"By then we will offer cars without exhaust emissions," Stadler said.
Asked if Audi was trailing domestic rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the development of batteries to power electric vehicles, Stadler replied that he wasn't worried, that Audi's research capabilities are larger than those of its competitors.
Only two days after introducing a diesel version of its TT sports car, Audi announced Thursday that it will be expanding the line with coupe and convertible TTs featuring gasoline-powered 1.8-liter TFSI (Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection) engines offering European driving cycle fuel economy of 35 mpg and 34 mpg, respectively.
The highly compact, four-cylinder direct injection engine weighs just 297 pounds yet produces 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, Audi said. It also features various measures to reduce parasitic energy drain on the engine, including a demand-based oil pump.
We had an opportunity recently to put a few hundred miles on an Audi Q7 TDI equipped with the company's European diesel -- almost the same system as will be available to U.S. buyers in January – and can happily report that if you've got the bucks and really need something that big, it packs a lot of wallop, is a joy to drive and delivers a pretty consistent 25 mpg.
That's about 66 percent better than the 4.2-liter V8 gasoline version of the big SUV can claim.
No Hybrid
On the sad side, Audi 's U.S. chief has told Automotive News that the company won't be bringing a mass-market hybrid version of its largest crossover to the States because things just won't pencil out with the dollar continuing to shrink against the euro (translation, Audi would have to charge too much in the U.S.).
The hybrid Q7 had been slated to launch here shortly after the diesel model goes on sale.
Johan de Nysschen, head of Audi U.S., said the company likely would sell a small number of the hybrid Q7s to commercial, or fleet, accounts in the U.S. , and hinted that the smaller Q5 crossover might be a better candidate for an eventual mass market U.S. hybrid.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor Volkswagen's U.S. sales will reverse a downward trend and soar more than triple to one million vehicles annually over the next 10 years, if all goes according to plan.
That would be the plan outlined by Stefan Jacoby, chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Aggressive marketing and growing demand for clean diesels would drive the sales, he said.
One million vehicles sold annually by 2018 would be an impressive increase from 2007, when the company sold 235,000 VWs and 94,000 Audis. It also would reverse a downward trend; in 2002, the company sold 338,000 Volkswagen brand cars in the United States.
Challenge wants to encourage more cars like Audi's clean-diesel racer.
DETROIT
-- The American Le Mans Series, already a showcase for diesel power and ethanol-blend fuel, will inaugurate a "Green Racing Challenge" this year encouraging automakers to put developing environmental and fuel economy technologies to the test on the track.
Scott Atherton, ALMS chief executive, said at a press conference at the Detroit auto show that the series has formed a green racing coalition with the federal Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Society of Automotive Engineers International, to develop criteria for the Challenge.
Egads! First there were only the econobox models: Honda's two-seat Insight and the first-generation Toyota Prius. Now there are more than half-a-dozen hybrid sedans and SUVs and more coming.
Even the luxury market is becoming crowded, giving dual meaning to the term "green car."
Toyota's Lexus brand kicked off the luxe hybrid segment with its Lexus RX 400h crossover SUV...
Although there's plenty of development work on alternative fuels and power plants going on in U.S. automakers’ R&D labs, the industry is consumed these days with fixing its collective financial woes and there's not much noise being made about advancing green technology. Not in the U.S., anyhow.
We likely won't hear too much about what's close to being market ready until the carmakers and the UAW complete their ongoing master contract negotiations and possibly not until the hype around January's Detroit auto show begins.
But Asian and European car companies, including European subsidiaries of both Ford and GM, are stepping in to fill the environmental void, with a spate of clean diesels and gas-electric hybrids in the works. A lot of green goodies will be shown off at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, which begins a two-day press preview on Tuesday.
The five finalists in the annual competition, announced today, are the Toyota Prius (left), Honda Insight (below, right) and Mercury Milan hybrids on the gas-electric side and the Audi A3 TDI and Volkswagen Golf TDI (below, left) on the diesel side. 
Judges picked the VW Jetta TDI last year, so if either the Golf or A3 win it will be two-in a-row for the fuel that most Americans still equate with big-rigs and giant bulldozers. There could be sentiment of the small luxury-performance car, which would help the Audi, but the engine in both the A3 and the Golf is the same that won it for the Jetta TDI in 2008. 
Our handicapper at Inside Line's Straightline blog seems to be betting on the redesigned 2010 Prius, reasoning that the Milan Hybrid doesn't stand much of a chance because its twin, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, was nominated but didn't win last year, and that the judges will be loathe to salute diesel for a second consecutive year. 
No sooner do we write up a piece on the 
