Green Car Advisor
Cadillac
August 11, 2008
With established rent-a-car companies reporting that they are having trouble meeting customer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, a Southern California company has begun renting nothing but hybrid vehicles.
Business has been brisk at Eqocar in Burbank since it opened its doors three months ago, General Manager Nick Hamed told Green Car Advisor today. Hamed said Eqocar, which rents only hybrid vehicles, is in talks to open four more rental-car centers, all in California.
Eventually, the company would like to expand nationwide, Hamed said.
Eqocar has a fleet of 45 hybrids, which include the Toyota Prius, Camry and Highlander hybrids, Ford Escape Hybrid, Lexus LS600h L, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe hybrids, and the Nissan Altima hybrid. Daily rates range from $59 for the Prius to $650 for the LS600h L.
There are plans to add the extended-range plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt, hybrid versions of the Smart Fortwo, Chrysler Aspen, Cadillac Escalade, and Porsche Cayenne and Panamera, as well as the Tesla and Fisker plug-in sports cars and the bubbled-faced three-wheel Aptera to the rental fleet, Hamed said.
The Aptera is reminiscent of vehicles appearing in The Jetsons, a futuristic cartoon series produced during 1962 and '63.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 11, 2008, 2:42 PM
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- Aptera, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Emissions, Fisker, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Lexus, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Porsche, Smart, Tesla, Toyota
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- Camry Hybrid
, Eqocar, EV, Ford Escape Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Highlander Hydrid, Lexus LS600h L, PHEV, Tahoe Hybrid, the Nissan Altima Hybrid, Toyota Prius
August 8, 2008
For a good long while, Cadillac was synonymous with success.
If you made it big, especially during the fifties, when Cadillac outsold all other luxury makes in America combined, you treated yourself to an Eldorado or a Fleetwood. Later, you might consider a Coupe de Ville.
Those models were retired over the years -- they had "completed their natural lifecycles," as one General Motors spokesman put it 2002. That was the year the Eldorado was laid to rest at the age of 50.
Now comes the news that the General has put on indefinite hold plans to release new versions of the DTS and STS, the remaining duo of Cadillac's once broad selection of large Caddies.
Taking their place in the Cadillac lineup will be smaller, fuel-efficient models.
"It's the absolute right thing to do right now,'' industry analyst John Wolkonowicz told Bloomberg earlier this week. "They have to build the models that a high volume of customers want to buy right now."
Some 1,500 workers build the 4,000-pound, 15-mile-per-gallon DTS at GM's Hamtramck, Michigan, plant. The plug-in Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on line there in 2010.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 8, 2008, 5:38 PM
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- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Cadillac
, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficient, General Motors, GM
July 22, 2008
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.
For more information, go to www.HealthyCar.org.
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.
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- Scott Doggett July 22, 2008, 12:21 AM
- Categories:
- Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hummer, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Think, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
July 17, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
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.
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- Scott Doggett July 17, 2008, 1:39 PM
- Categories:
- Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Legislation, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
July 15, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors Corp. announced today that it will lay off salaried workers, cut truck production, borrow up to $3 billion and make additional investments in green-car technologies in response to the weak economy, high fuel prices, shifts in consumer vehicle preferences, and the lowest U.S. industry sales volumes in a decade.
GM said the moves will raise $15 billion to help cover losses and turn around its North American operations, including $10 billion from internal cost-cutting and $5 billion from selling some assets and borrowing against others.
"We are responding aggressively to the challenges of today's U.S. auto market," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a broadcast to employees. "We remain committed to bringing to market great products that target changing consumer preferences for more fuel-efficient vehicles."
Wagoner noted that 11 of GM's 13 most recent major U.S. product launches, and 18 of its next 19 launches, are cars and crossovers, which are key growth areas.
Spending for non-product programs will also be reduced, the company said, but powertrain spending will be increased to support the development of alternative propulsion and fuel economy technologies and small-displacement engines.
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- Scott Doggett July 15, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Hummer, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors has posted an official introductory video to the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid on GMNext.com. Click here to watch it.
The 2-minute, 48-second video follows Cadillac's product director, John Howell, as he walks around the vehicle and describes some of its features.
Here follows the transcript of the video, in case you'd rather read what he has to say. We add a few comments of our own below Mr. Howell's -- to "keep it real," as it were. Read on!
"Hi. I'm John Howell. I'm the product director at Cadillac. I'm here today to talk about the Escalade Hybrid. We'll be bringing the Hybrid out a little later this summer and it is the latest Escalade. The great thing about the hybrid is that we get superior and better fuel economy - up to a 50 percent improvement in city fuel economy - and we get that without any sacrifice really in the luxury features that people have come to expect on an Escalade.
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- Scott Doggett July 15, 2008, 12:56 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Cadillac, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid
July 1, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
A lobbying group for 10 major automakers including Detroit's Big Three, Toyota and Daimler urged federal regulators today to dramatically water down its proposal to hike fuel efficiency standards or run the risk of costing 82,000 autoworkers their jobs and the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars.
In a thousand-page document filed today by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the automakers condemned the April 22 proposal by the U.S. Transportation Department that would boost fuel economy requirements to a fleetwide average of 31.6 miles per gallon by the 2015 model year.
That average includes 35.7 mpg for passenger cars and 28.6 mpg for light trucks. The nation's new passenger cars currently are required to meet a fleet average of 27.5 mpg, while the light-truck fleet - generally encompassing port utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans - must hit a target average of 22.5 mpg.
"This goes beyond what is technologically feasible and economically practical," the automakers said. "It would require manufacturers to expend resources at a pace that is excessive given the fact that the auto industry is already under economic stress."
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- Scott Doggett July 1, 2008, 1:31 PM
- Categories:
- BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Courts, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Legislation, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen
June 10, 2008
Sales of the 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid model, above, have not been brisk..
In an effort to unload its slow-selling large sport-utility vehicles and pickups, General Motors Corp. has increased its incentives for current GM owners to as much as $6,000 on its largest 2008 trucks and, for the first time, has offered cash back on its large hybrid SUVs.
The incentives, which are available to owners of GM vehicles going back to 1999 models, went into effect Saturday, June 7, and will be offered through the end of the month...
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- Scott Doggett June 10, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid
With established rent-a-car companies reporting that they are having trouble meeting customer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, a Southern California company has begun renting nothing but hybrid vehicles.
