BMW announced today that its U.S.-bound 2010 ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a base price of $89,725 and reach American showrooms early next month on the heels of its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The maker-described "one-of-a-kind Sports Active Coupe" (yes, BMW calls its X6 hybrid a SAC) features two-model hybrid technology mated to a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8.
The price includes a number of standard features that are optional on the X6 xDrive50i, among them a 7-speed automatic transmission, leather interior, 20-inch Aero Wheels with mixed-sized performance tires and a rearview camera.
And, BMW reps pridefully point out that the ActiveHybrid X6 is the world's most powerful hybrid vehicle and that it's roughly 20 percent more fuel efficient than the standard X6, and that it's just one of many hybrid vehicles the automaker has planned.
While we applaud BMW for coming out with a hybrid version of the X6, its fuel economy leaves a lot to be desired. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates it at 17 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the highway, for 18 mpg combined.
While that is impressive for a 5,688-pound vehicle with sub-6-second zero-to-60 quickness, we would have preferred to see the German carmaker come out with a lighter X6 hybrid - the ActiveHybrid actually weighs 400 more than the standard X6 - and one priced closer to $70,000 than $100,000.
Mazda Motor Corp. will showcase the subcompact Mazda2, scheduled to be sold in the U.S. and Canada beginning late next year, at next month's 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The model has been a brisk seller for Mazda since it first went on sale in 2003 in Europe. The second-generation Mazda2 commenced sales in Japan in July 2007.
The five-door hatchback coming to North America will share a platform with the Ford Fiesta, which is scheduled to launch on this side of the Atlantic next summer. In addition to the Fiesta, the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo will offer the Mazda2 some stiff competition.
In Europe, the Mazda2 is offered with several gasoline and diesel engines. The U.S. edition will feature only a gasoline-powered, 1.5-liter four-cylinder.
Mazda has provided few specs for the North American Mazda2, but the gasoline-powered, 1.5-liter four-banger sold in Europe delivers 103 horsepower and 101 pounds-feet of torque.
That engine also propels the Mazda2 from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds while delivering 41 miles per gallon in Europe's combined driving cycle test; in the more real-world American combined driving cycle test, fuel economy should be in the 35-38 mpg range.
A few weeks ago, the marketing reps behind the Chevrolet Volt asked the public to submit names for the exterior paint color of the hybrid. Some 13,000 names were submitted.
We think "greenish silver" pretty much describes the paint job you see here, but the Volt folks wanted - and got - more thoughtful entries. Among them: Joule of the Nile, High Ohm Silver!, Kermit the Fog and Bye Bye Foreign Oil Blue!
Well, today the list was narrowed down to three. Yes, one of the following three names will be the name General Motors gives the original Volt exterior paint:
Viridian Joule, submitted by David Thomas of Sanford, Florida.
environMINT, submitted by Matthew Valbuena of Rancho Santa Margarita, California.
EV-ergreen, submitted by Devin McQuarrie of San Jose, California.
If you feel strongly (or even if you don't) about this, you can vote on one of these names. GM promises that the name that receives the most votes will be the name assigned to the paint. The deadline to vote is 8 a.m. Eastern time, Dec. 1.
And what, ask you, will David, Matthew or Devin receive? GM will be sending all three to the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the winner will be announced on Dec. 1. And "the winner will have the chance to drive a pre-production Volt."
Yeah, we think the winner deserves more than that, but hey, GM just posted a $1.2-billion loss. At least the winner will have a chance to turn the motor over. Electricity isn't free, you know.
The 2010 Detroit auto show will include a 37,000-square-foot exhibit devoted to electric vehicles, organizers announced today.
The exhibit, called Electric Avenue, will be on the main floor of Detroit's Cobo Center. The display will have about 20 of the zero-emissions vehicles from both conventional automakers and startup companies, a statement said.
The electric-minded presentation will illustrate "the long-term viability of the auto industry using a subject that is top of mind globally these days," Doug Fox, chairman of the auto show, said in a statement.
The auto show, scheduled for January 11-24, also will reprise last year's EcoXperience exhibit, which allowed attendees to drive a variety of electric vehicles around a landscaped quarter-mile track in Cobo's basement.
That exhibit again will be sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Electric Avenue's sponsor is Dow Chemical Co., which is developing batteries for electric vehicles.
A joint venture between Dow and South Korean battery-maker Kokam Engineering Co. Ltd. received a $161 million federal grant this summer.
Construction has begun on an 800,000-square-foot development and manufacturing plant near Dow's headquarters in Midland, Michigan. The plant is expected to cost about $665 million.
Just wondering here, but Toyota rarely doesn't do much anything unless it has a meaningful money-making or image-enhancing possibility attached.
The company showed a neat compressed natural gas hybrid Camry last year at the 2008 LA Auto show, and said it was just a study.
It sort of disappeared, but it now being resurrected- and redesigned as a cool, green surf buggy - as the Surfrider Foundation Camry CNG Hybrid concept for an environmental lifestyles display at Toyota's stand at the 2009 SEMA show in Las Vegas this week.
With all the talk about vast new natural gas resources (albeit obtainable through the controversial hydro-cracking method of fracturing gas-bearing shale with high-pressure injections of water in a process that can release toxic chemicals that affect drinking water in areas that don't pre-treat it ), we can't help but think Toyota might be a little more devoted to the idea of a CNG-electric hybrid than it has been letting on.
SEMA, the paean to power, where exhaust fumes are perfume and green is a paint color, not a philosophy, is changing just a bit.
---------- Extended-range plug-in hybrid eVARO three-wheeler prototype will debut at SEMA show in Las Vegas next week. ----------
They've got environmentally friendly tires on display at the annual SEMA show now, along with cars that run on ethanol and automakers that brag about low emissions right along with their horsepower hype.
And this year, as last, there will be a display at the Las Vegas venue dedicated to the pursuit of fuel economy - the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition that's seeking a commercially viable 100-miles-per-gallon (or the alt-fuel equivalent) passenger vehicle.
The X Prize stand undoubtedly will feature a few of the contest entries, and is staging at least one vehicle debut, the three-wheel eVARO from Future Vehicle Technologies, the British Columbia development team that did last year's standout Aleconcept,which boasted 92 mpg fuel economy running with a gasoline engine.
Honda Motor Co. pulled the plug on Formula 1 racing to divert the money being spent there to green technologies and the company that's been playing second fiddle to Toyota in the green cars sweepstakes says it wants to hybridize larger vehicles again.
---------- Honda's top executive prefers hydrogen fuel cell FCX Clarity but says battery-electric cars will come first. ---------
That's the word from Honda President and CEO Takanobu Ito, speaking with a select group of automotive writers - including Edmunds' Inside Line News Editor Kelly Toepke - at the 2009 Tokyo auto show last week.
Toepke tells us that Ito is committed to the further greening of Honda, even to the extent of developing an environmentally friendly sports car that - his words - is truly green, "not like the car Lexus announced" at the show. He was referring to the limited production, V10-powered, $375,000 Lexus LFA supercar, which he apparently doesn't believe is green enough.
Subaru, which is displayed a concept hybrid touring car at the Tokyo Auto Show this week, plans to have several hybrids in the market in the next few years, Fuji Heavy industries President Ikuo Mori told reporters at the show.
---------- Hybrid Tourer concept is Subaru's interpretation of a gas-electric car. The grille, at least, is likely to see production - on other Subaru models if not on this gull-winged four-seater. ----------
Fuji is Subaru's parent company.
Mori declined to say whether the hybrid would be based on the "Subaru Hybrid Tourer" concept at the show and wouldn't say whether it would be a model developed with technology partner Toyota, or would use a design and a hybrid system of Fuji's own making.
The Tourer concept uses a Fuji-developed system that mates Subaru's 2.0-liter horizontally opposed "Boxer" engine with a pair of electric motors.
But Subaru is expected to launch a hybrid version of its redesigned Legacy in Japan in 2011, using technology licensed from Toyota - Fuji's largest shareholder.
A Legacy hybrid could easily make its way to the U.S.
Ignored in all the hybrid talk was the fact that Subaru also has recently unleashed a battery-electric version of its boxy Stella subcompact. Although mainly used for testing purposes, the Stella EV is likely to lead to a retail model and that could lead to an EV for at least limited sales over here in the states that have adopted California's zero emissions vehicle mandate.
The more, the merrier, we say.
How 'bout a hybrid WRX? Better yet, why not an all-electric WRX featuring independently driven electric wheel-motors in each hub?
Nissan's wild Land Glider concept(left) will be transformed into a real EV that the automaker will bring to market in the next few years, part of a stable of four electric cars - including a luxury Infiniti model - the automaker intends to build as it begins its drive to electrify.
The Infiniti EV and Land Glider-based Nissan model were announced by Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn during the Tokyo auto show press preview this morning.
The company, which was late to market a hybrid, intends to use battery-electric cars, starting with the already developed Nissan Leaf, as a way to catch up to or even surpass Toyota and Honda in the fuel efficiency race. Ghosn has said he believes electric drive will grow to be the dominant automotive propulsion system.
Honda Motor Co. offered a glimpse of the very near future in Tokyo late Tuesday as it unwrapped a sporty four-seat version of the CR-Z hybrid that will hit the market late next year as a 2-seat coupe.
Although they're calling it a concept, the "CR-Z Concept 2009" is pretty much what we'll see - sans the tiny rear jump seats - when the real thing hits U.S. showrooms in the second half of next year.
Actually, we'll see the real thing a little sooner, the production version of the CR-Z hybrid sport coupe will debut as a production car in January at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
We first showed you the Honda EV-N city car concept a few days ago, but now the company has released more photos of the electric city car concept.
Even though Honda insists this particular car - so lovingly evoking the original CV-CC - the photos are still worth looking at.
They likely give us a glimpse at what might be featured on an electric city car if Honda does decide to build one, and who knows - if enough people see the photos and kick up a fuss with Honda's dealers, the company just might come around on the EV-N.
In addition to the new Honda EV-N photos, the automaker also has supplied a bit more detail about the concept, which, it says, has user-changeable seat fabric, fold-flat rear seats, solar cells in the roof, and a wireless communication system built into the instrument panel to keep the car in touch with traffic info, navigation signals from EV charging stations, other Hondas, and who knows what else.
There's also one of those neat Honda U3-X (experimental) self-balancing electric unicycles stored in the door, for when the crowded city streets degenerate into crowded alleyways (they do that in Tokyo) and you just don't feel like walking the rest of the way.
If Nissan's battery-electric 2011 Leaf is too much car for you, perhaps we can interest you in the LandGlider.
The tiny (122 inches long) two seat EV city car concept can't be too much for anyone, save perhaps areally small elf. It will share the Nissan stand at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show with the Leaf and several non-electric Nissan intros including the new Fuga performance sedan.
Envisioned at a sort of oversize, 4-wheel, covered, electrically driven motorcycle, the Land glider offers tandem seating, an airplane-style steering yoke and a flexible motorcycle-like suspension that leans into corners.
The trick is an array of sensors that monitor vehicle speed, the steering angle and the yaw (or leaning) rate, instantly calculating the degree of lean needed to let the car scoot around curves.
Nissan isn't likely to build a Glider for the masses but says that it points in the direction engineers and product planners are thinking as they ponder a future a small car for congested cities.
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.
Judging from the amount of copy they fed us in advance, Toyota is a whole lot prouder of the rear-wheel drive "Toyobaru" sports coupe it is showing at this month's 2009 Tokyo Auto Show than of the FT-EV II electric city car concept (above) that also will be there.
But an electric city concept there will be - based off the hot-selling toyota iQ micro-mini and an "upgrade" of the FT-EV city car concept that debuted in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
Toyota's not let much out about the new city EV, but what we can tell you is that that it has a lithium-ion battery pack installed under the floor that can deliver about 56 miles on a single charge and a top speed of 62 miles an hour (that's a nice round 100 kilometers an hour in metrics.)
There are no brake, clutch or accelerator pedals - it's all operated by hand with the levers on a futuristic steering wheel, although "control apparatus" might be a better way of describing it.
The reason for the lack of foot controls? Toyota has envisioned a day when radio signals, perhaps from cables embedded in the road, will guide cars and this equips the concept with an "auto mode" for those city commutes when you'd rather spend the time reading the morning paper.
We can also say that it seats four people despite an overall length of just 107 inches long, and those people would climb in through a pair of sliding doors (one on each side).
And that's about it -except that Toyota hopes to have a real battery-electric city car in the market by 2012.
As for that 'Toyobaru" that's stealing the little EV concept's thunder - it's the FT-86 (left), fruit of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru, in which Toyota now holds a stake. It is intended to replace the MR 2 as Toyota's fun car, will use Subaru's 2.0-liter horizontally opposed, flat-four engine, reportedly handles like a dream and is due to hit the streets in late 2011. You can read more about it on Inside Line.
Suzuki's swift little Swift, a fun-to-drive small hatchback that we, of course, don't get in the U.S., gets a plug for a new Swift extended-range PHEV concept to be shown at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month.
It also gets a battery - lithium-ion - and an electric motor - 74 horsepower - to go along with the plug and a 658 cc (.6 liter) gas engine.
The gas engine, as we understand things despite the dearth of official info from Suzuki, will serve as a generator - a la the Chevy Volt, Fisker Karma and a growing number of other ER-PHEVs - to keep juice flowing to the electric motor when the initial charge (from a commercial charger or or home outlet) is depleted.
No info yet on range, cost, battery size and output, charging times or whether we might actually see a few of these on our shores some day.
Thanks to our colleagues at Inside Line's Straightline blog for the tip and the pix that follow the jump.
Despite reports that Toyota intends to spread its Prius nameplate across multiple models, including a Subaru, the Japanese automaker announced today that its only other dedicated hybrid will debut at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month without the P word anywhere on it.
As we reported previously, the SAI (an artist's rendition of which is shown here) is a medium-size sedan based on the Lexus HS250h hybrid.
The SAI's starting price will likely fall between the HS250h's $41,751 and the new Prius hatchback's $21,668. The sedan will reportedly go on sale in Japan later this month.
The Lexus has a 2.4-liter gasoline engine, more powerful than the Prius's 1.8-liter power plant. It is less efficient, too. The EPA rates the HS250h's fuel economy at 35 mpg in combined city-highway driving, compared with 50 mpg for the new 2010 Prius.
There's no word yet on the SIA's fuel efficiency, nor is Toyota saying where it intends to offer the vehicle, although we assume it will be available in the U.S., which is the world's largest automotive market behind China.
Honda announced today that it will display at the Tokyo Motor Show next month a near-production version of the CR-Z (right), which will likely be the world's first hybrid sports car to employ a six-speed transmission when it goes on sale next year.
Alongside the CR-Z Concept 2009 will be the EV-N (below left), a small, four-seat battery-electric vehicle inspired by the N360, the twin-cylinder, air-cooled 360cc micro car launched with a plastic trunk lid in the 1960s. The revival vehicle has solar panels on the roof that could be used to charge the battery. Honda said the EV-N is "purely a design study and there are no plans for production."
The show will also see the debut of the Skydeck Concept (below right), a six-seat hybrid MPV/minivan, similar to the Ford S-Max. Honda said this design study is a great example of how hybrid technology can be placed in a range of different cars for different needs.
"To give the Skydeck the practicality of a conventional MPV, many of the hybrid system components, including the high-power battery, are housed in the car's center tunnel (rather than behind the rear seats or under the floor, as with previous production hybrids). This allows for greater cabin space, and the room for three rows of two seats. It also gives a lower center of gravity."
Mitsubishi isn't resting on its laurels after the successful launch in Japan of its i-MiEV electric city car.
The company plans to show two new concept EVs at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show - a mini-cargo van built off the i-MiEV minicar platform, and a four-seat plug-in hybrid crossover it is calling the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV (right).
The PX - Mitsubishi's nameplate shorthand for plug-in crossover - is the first big-vehicle use of the company's "Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle" technology, or MiEV.
Quiet Carrier
The i-MiEV Cargo concept is a pretty simple one: a slightly stretched i-MiEV with a cargo box behind the front seats.
Electric delivery vans make enormous sense in most cites, where short-haul delivery vehicles don't often travel far from home, spend a lot of time idling, and rarely are driven at high speeds.
Replace the gas or diesel engine and fuel tank with an elecric mtor and batteries and you've got a quiet, non-polluting cargo carrier that's a whole lot cheaper to operate than one with an internal combustion engine.
We hope this is one concept that Mitsubishi will put on the road, soon.
Plug Me In
The big news though, would be a decision to turn the PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid concept into the real thing.
As Mitsubishi describes it, the PX would use a 1.6-liter gas engine and a pair of electric motors, one front and one rear, and be able to travel in all-electric mode for about 30 miles.
The system would deliver fuel economy of around 120 miles per gallon under Japan's mixed-use test, which is the only number we have but isn't really applicable in the U.S, where highway speeds are higher and account for a larger portion of the drive cycle.
Subaru is set to unveil a new hybrid concept at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show - a gull-wing touring car with technology features that presage the real thing the automaker is slated to put into production as early as 2011.
The Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept - catchy name! - will combine Subaru's famed symmetrical all-wheel drive and horizontally opposed "boxer" engine with a next-generation automatic transmission and two-motor hybrid system.
The automaker, owned by Fuji Heavy industries with Toyota Motor Corp. as a sizable minority stakeholder, isn't offering much detail about its hybrid system this early in the game, but has said in the past that it intends to license technology from Toyota.
What info Fuji Heavy has provided includes the tidbit that the system will include a company-developed lithium-on battery derived from the li-ion pack used in the recently launched, Japanese-market Subaru Stella EV.
The upcoming 209 Tokyo motor Show is going to be the slimmest in decades, with no US or major European automakers slated to attend - casualties of the recession.
---------- Mazda says its Kiyora city car concept will be updated with newest technologies for the Tokyo Show next month. ----------
That may, however, work to the advantage of hometown automakers such as Mazda.
The company said late Monday that it will use the show to spotlight the world premiers of two new fuel-efficient engines - a clean diesel and a direct-injected gasoline model, as well as a new high-efficiency automatic transmission,
Mazda also will stage the Japanese introduction of its Kiyora concept car that showcases the car makers' next-generation environmental and safety advances.
Originally unveiled at the 2008 Paris Auto Show, the Kiyora is a flame-shaped, glass-roofed. 4-seat city car concept that foreshadows the replacement for the Mazda 2 city car.
CNG conversion company AFVTech Inc. is developing a dedicated compressed natural gas hot rod (pictured) based on a 1933 Ford Roadster to make a statement.
That statement being "that natural gas can be fun to drive, fast and wrapped up in a package that will turn heads," said AFVTech President Kevin Fern in a statement today.
"We are investing a lot of engineering time in this project, highlighting the technological advancements that we use in the Natural Drive Dedicated EPA Certified CNG retrofit systems," he said.
What might those be, you ask?
Well, the CNG Hot Rod features:
A modified General Motors LS7 7-liter engine producing more than 600 horsepower (it's hand-built by GM's Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan; most are installed in the Corvette Z06).
Drive-by-wire engine management system (replaces the traditional mechanical and hydraulic control systems with electronic control systems using electromechanical actuators and human-machine interfaces such as pedal and steering feel emulators).
4-wheel ABS disc brakes with selectable traction control (a good thing, considering how easy it would be to lose control of this steel beast).
Fern promises lots of other features not found in your run-of-the-mill '33 Ford Roadster -- as if he hadn't gotten our attention yet. The vehicle will debut at the AFVI trade show in Las Vegas in May 2010.
In an obvious move to shore up its access to state-of-the-art advanced batteries for electric vehicles, Volkswagen is setting up a joint venture with Varta Microbattery to develop EV power packs, Europe's biggest carmaker said today.
Volkswagen already collaborates with Japan's Toshiba and Sanyo as well as with China's BYD on battery technology.
The announcement comes less than a month after VW presented a prototype of the e-Up! plug-in electric vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the intention of launching the vehicle in Europe in 2013.
Only days later, VW said it was also planning on introducing a slightly larger electric vehicle in the U.S. The company, which was slow to jump on the EV bandwagon, was quickly forming pacts with battery-makers and announcing bold plans for EV production.
In a statement issued today, VW said the project with Varta aims to undertake research and development of highly advanced and yet cost competitive lithium-ion batteries.
The four-year project still requires approval from German authorities.
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.
Land Rover announced today that a production version of its Range Rover LRX Concept SUV (pictured) will be built, with sales to begin in 2011.
Designed and engineered at Land Rover's Gaydon facility, the new Range Rover will be the smallest, lightest and most fuel-efficient vehicle the company has ever produced.
The three-door SUV will be built in Halewood, near Liverpool, England, subject to quality and productivity agreements, and will be sold in more than 100 countries around the world, the company said in a statement.
In an interview with Edmunds.com's Michelle Krebs this morning, Jaguar Land Rover spokesman Stuart Schorr said the LRX will be the first of four new segment offerings from the company, with Jaguar and Land Rover to receive two each.
He stressed the four will be premium brands, meaning they won't come cheap. Schorr also said that Jaguar Land Rover is committed to hybrids and electrics, but he refused to provide further details.
The LRX Concept debuted at the Detroit Auto Show last year and featured a 2.0-liter diesel-hybrid powertrain, which when running on biodiesel achieved a claimed fuel economy of 60 miles per gallon.
Jaguar or Land Rover Plant to Close
In a related development, India's Tata Motors Ltd. said today it will close one of the three Jaguar Land Rover assembly plants in England by 2014 in a bid to move its money-losing British unit into profitability.
One week after Volkswagen made a splash at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the world debut of its E-Up! electric vehicle (pictured), the German automaker has announced that it will likely sell a larger version of the cute compact in the U.S.
"The reason we are working on an electric vehicle is the American market," Ulrich Hackenberg, board member in charge of product development at Volkswagen AG, said today.
Hackenberg said a production version of the plug-in battery-electric zero-emissions E-Up! will go on sale in Europe in 2013. He said U.S. sales would start later.
The E-Up! is based on VW's new modular small-car family, scheduled to debut in 2011. The four-seat E-Up!, which measures 125 inches long (or 19 inches longer than the tiny Smart ForTwo), has a range of up to 80 miles on lithium-ion battery power.
For the United States, Hackenberg said, he envisions a front-drive model about 146 inches long (the 2009 MINI Cooper is 145.6 inches long). Electric versions of the Smart ForTwo and MINI Cooper are planned for the U.S.
VW will launch its first hybrid vehicle next year -- a version of the Touareg SUV. Hackenberg said the Touareg hybrid will debut at the 2010 Detroit auto show in January.
To date, very few details have been released regarding this vehicle.
German model-car maker Herpa Miniaturmodelle, which announced last month that it would debut an all-electric version of the Trabant compact car at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show, kept its word and unveiled a baby-blue electric vehicle concept it calls the Trabant nT (right).
Company officials said a single 64-horsepower motor turns the front wheels and a lithium-ion battery pack supplies the juice. The plug-in EV can go approximately 155 miles between charges and has a top speed of 80 miles an hour, the officials said.
The company is hoping to bring the vehicle to market in 2012. No further details were available.
The old Trabant was a smog-spewing, two-stroke icon of communist East Germany. Exactly 3,096,099 of them were built between 1957 and 1991.
The photo at left shows the very last of the original Trabants being assembled. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, thousands of the smoky, boxy four-seaters streamed into West Germany.
Despite its mediocre performance and dreadful emissions, the car is regarded in Germany today with derisive affection as a symbol of the failed former East Germany.
After wavering awhile, Mazda has decided to jump into America's rapidly growing small-car segment with the company's fuel-efficient Mazda2 model.
----------
Right, the current Mazda2. The U.S. version will debut in L.A. in December. ----------
The five-door hatchback, which is currently sold in Europe, will begin appearing in U.S. showrooms during the fall of 2010, company officials told Mazda dealers at the automaker's annual meeting this week.
The vehicle will share a platform as the Ford Fiesta, which is scheduled to launch in America next summer. In addition to the Fiesta, the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo will provide the Mazda2 with some stiff competition.
The U.S.-spec Mazda2 will be unveiled at the Los Angeles auto show in December. The current version of the Mazda2 has been on sale in Europe and Japan since 2007. In Japan, it is known as the Demio.
In Europe, the Mazda2 is offered with several gasoline and diesel engines. The U.S. edition will feature only a gasoline-powered, 1.5-liter four-cylinder.
That version in Europe delivers 103 horsepower and 101 pounds-feet of torque. It propels the Mazda2 from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds while delivering 41 miles per gallon in Europe's combined driving cycle test; in the more real-world American combined driving cycle test, fuel economy should be 35-38 mpg.
The Mazda2 is offered as both a three- and five-door in Europe, but only the five-door will be available in the U.S. It comes only with a five-speed manual transmission in Europe, but the U.S. version will be available with a five-speed automatic.
Mazda would not disclose U.S. pricing, but in the U.K. it's priced around $16,750 not including taxes and fees. A Mazda source said the U.S. version will be priced somewhat lower.
Volkswagen AG this week rolled an electric car it calls the E-Up! onto the world stage, and told onlookers that the never-before-seen plug-in EV will likely enter production in 2013.
---------- Above and below: Volkswagen's E-Up! battery-electric vehicle debuts in Frankfurt. ----------
Furthermore, the German carmaker said it expects the zero-emissions compact car to approach production level on par with it other compact cars by 2020.
The company said the front-wheel-drive vehicle's lithium-ion battery will have 18 kilowatt hours of energy capacity enabling a driving distance of around 130 kilometers, or about 80 miles, depending on driving style.
"One of the basic milestones on this timeline is the mass-produced electric car," Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
He said only in high volumes and on all continents could one truly speak of the beginning of the electric age in automobiles and a perceptible reduction of their environmental impact.
"The concept car now being presented in Frankfurt very realistically shows how we envision such a Volkswagen with pure electric drive --- technically, visually and with regard to a practical size," Winterkorn said.
Mercedes-Benz officially unveiled a new B-class hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, but it is by no means the German automaker's first.
More than 4 years ago, at the March 2005 Geneva Motor Show, DaimlerChrysler debuted a B-Class F-Cell that looks almost identical to the one pictured here.
Back then, the zero-emissions model featured an electric motor powered by a fuel cell that put out more than 100 kilowatts -- or 35 kilowatts more than its predecessor.
The last-generation B-Class F-Cell had a range of nearly 250 miles, due to reduced fuel consumption and greater hydrogen storage capacity. Earlier versions had a range of around 150 miles.
If you're thinking Mercedes is spending years improving this technology, you'd be right.
As we reported last month, Mercedes is now sufficiently satisfied with the current version that the automaker will be launching a small fleet of them for real-world testing in the U.S. and Europe.
The cars use an on-board fuel cell stack to convert hydrogen and oxygen to electricity that powers an electric drive system. The cars in the small fleet will deliver a range of up to 250 miles with a top speed of 105 mph.
Fuel consumption is the equivalent of 3.3 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers on the European drive cycle.
In U.S. terms, that would be around 71 miles per gallon of diesel or about 64 miles per kilogram of hydrogen.
As we previously reported, the F-Cell's electric system delivers the equivalent of 136 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque. Mercedes says it has performance characteristics equal to and "in some cases far better than" those of a B-Class with a 2.0-liter gas engine.
Toyota today continued to release a slow trickle of information concerning its all-new Auris HSD Full Hybrid Concept, which debuted this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
In addition to details about the car that we've previously reported, now know this concept vehicle with an absurdly long name uses the same Hybrid Synergy Drive technology that can be found in the new Prius.
In other words, it's also equipped with a 1.8-liter gasoline engine working with an electric motor and an engine stop-start system to help cut emissions and improve fuel economy.
The Auris HSD produces 97 horsepower, accelerates from 0-62 miles per hour in about 10 seconds, and has carbon dioxide emissions of less than 100 grams per kilometer.
The Auris HSD differentiate itself from the standard Auris in many ways. Its front end styling is entirely fresh, headlights, hood, bumper and grille. Various aerodynamic tweaks and special badging also set it apart from the regular Auris.
Although Toyota has included "Concept" in the car's name, a new Auris hybrid looking identical or nearly identical to the one shown here is scheduled to enter production next summer and begin shipping toward the end of the year.
REVA Electric Car Co. presented the NXG to the world today, and announced the pricing for the 2011 NRX, at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
---------- Pictured, the REVA NXG electric car. ----------
Styled by Dilip Chhabria, the REVA NXG is a two-door, two-seater car with a targa top with a top speed of 80 miles an hour and a range of 125 miles per charge, and it can be fully charged in as little as 90 minutes using an optional fast charger.
The Indian automaker says that the plug-in electric NXG has "an effective range" of 250 miles per day due to the relatively short period of time required to fully fuel the vehicle using one of its fast chargers. The NXG was billed as REVA's 2011 model.
REVA executives took the opportunity to announce that today marked the official launch of the NXR, an electric car that is scheduled to enter production early next year. It will be available with either a lithium-ion battery or a lead-acid battery.
The NXR is a three-door, four-seater hatchback family car. The version with a lithium-ion battery is called the NXR Intercity and it has a top speed of 65 miles per hour and a range of 100 miles per charge. Using the 90-minute fast charge -- normal charging is eight hours -- the NXR Intercity offers an effective range of 192 miles a day.
Prices of the NXR Intercity will vary across Europe depending on taxes and subsidies, and there is the option of purchasing the car and batteries separately, or at an all-inclusive price.
That said, REVA announced the average price for the NXR Intercity in Europe will be around 14,995 euros (or $21,000), plus a monthly mobility fee for the batteries and other services.
French automaker Peugeot today introduced the BB1 Concept, telling a crowd at the Frankfurt Motor Show that the compact zero-emissions electric car was inspired by motorcycle technology.
Peugeot CEO Jean-Marc-Gales said that the BB1 Concept exists "between the two- and four-wheel worlds," adding that its frame is based on a tubular chassis designed by Peugeot Motorcycles.
But instead of one electric motor, the BB1 Concept is equipped with four -- two inside each of the car's rear wheels. These would be Active Wheels supplied by French tire-making giant Michelin.
The electric motors get their power from two lithium-ion battery packs, which are placed under the rear seats.
Gales said Peugeot will decide within the next six months whether or not it makes commercial sense for the company to bring the BB1 to market, adding that he hopes it does.
The car weighs 1,320 pounds, has a range of 72 miles between charges and a top speed of 54 miles an hour.
Mazda celebrated 20 years of the Miata sports car with the unveiling this week of the MX-5 Superlight Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and oh what a wonderful thing the Japanese automaker has done.
Like a sculptor working a clump of clay -- and we're NOT referring to any Miata as a clump of clay -- Mazda's engineers took a third-generation face-lifted 2010 MX-5 and pared it back to create a sports car weighing only 2,189 pounds; the regular MX-5 weighs more than 3,000 pounds.
In other words, they took a two-seater an Edmunds.com's Inside Line writer referred to as a "feisty little roadster" in a glowing review earlier this year and made it even nimbler and punchier. Who wouldn't love that?
Said project lead designer Hasip Girgin, the challenge was "to evolve the MX-5, developed to perfection during the last 20 years, to a higher and extreme level."
Girgin and his team responded to the challenge by removing the windscreen and roof, replacing the standard hood with a longer one made of carbon fiber, substituting carbon-fiber bucket seats for the standard, removing the air-conditioner, using an aluminum gearshift and handbrake...
Opel debuted the Ampera at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, but one question lingered when the crowd shuffled off to another unveiling: Would the gasoline-electric hybrid -- the Chevy Volt's European twin -- actually launch?
---------- Pictured, Ampera meets the press in Frankfurt. ----------
Or would it be shelved as a result of a controlling share of Opel being sold to Canadian autoparts supplier Magna International and the Russian financial institution Sberbank?
The answer, we learned today, is that the Ampera program is very much a go.
In an email exchange with Dan Pund, who writes for Edmunds.com's Inside Line, Dave Darovitz said the Ampera is still slated to launch in Europe. As communications manager for the Volt and Chevy fuel-cell Equinox, Darovitz would know.
General Motors last week agreed to sell 55 percent of Opel to Magna and Sberbank in a 50-50 split. GM will keep 35 percent, the biggest single stake in Opel, and Opel workers will hold 10 percent.
The deal still hinges on conditions that could take weeks or months to work out, such as final agreement for government financing and union support for what could be painful cuts.
Additionally, Belgium has asked the European Union to investigate the deal to make sure Germany was not violating antitrust rules.
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.
The same day Tesla Motors delivered its 700th all-electric Roadster -- to a German law student on the opening day of the Frankfurt Motor Show, no less -- Porsche's new president and CEO Michael Macht (right) announced that his company was working hard on an electric-powered sports car.
Sadly, he had no automobile to display.
Standing in front of reporters Tuesday, Macht said "that one day Porsche will have an electric sports car in its line-up."
Why didn't it?
Available battery technology is not "sufficient to meet Porsche's strict requirements," he said.
Tell that to the German law student.
Macht pointed out that Porsche has a long legacy with hybrid technology as it was exactly 109 years ago that Professor Ferdinand Porsche built the first fully functioning car with hybrid technology.
It was a nice little speech. One that would have gone well with an all-electric 911, and even better with a gasoline-electric hybrid 911. Only Porsche hasn't invented either.
The much-anticipated MINI Roadster Concept (above left) emerged today at the Frankfurt motor show, and the two-seat soft-top is expected to join its recently revealed Coupe counterpart (above right) in production.
The Roadster borrows the 1.6-liter twin-scroll turbocharged engine from the MINI Cooper S, and it makes 175 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. The overboost function pushes output to 192 pound-feet.
Fuel-economy estimates were not provided, and probably for good reason: The engine in the MINI Cooper S only achieves EPA fuel-efficiency ratings of 26 miles per gallon in the city and 32 MPG on the highway, or 29 mpg combined.
That's with the model packing a manual 6-speed transmission. Mileage drops to 23 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway for the MINI Cooper S fitted with a 6-speed automatic transmission.
The front end is similar to that of the MINI convertible up to the A-pillars, where the windshield is raked low and at a sharper angle, making for a chopped look. There is a small luggage compartment in the back, with room for 8.8 cubic-feet of storage.
Ian Robertson, a member of MINI's board, who led a marching band and cheerleaders onto the stand to introduce the Roadster and the Coupe, which also debuted today, said the two-seaters are based on the platform of the original BMW MINI introduced in 2001, with some modifications.
"Up to the waistline the Roadster and Coupe are virtually the same," Robertson said at the press conference. "Above the waistline, the first striking feature on the Coupe is the strongly inclined windscreen merging gently into the aluminum roof. The windscreen has been raked back a further 16 degrees than that of a regular MINI."
BMW plans to offer four-cylinder gasoline engines in the United States in an effort to meet stricter fuel economy rules, a company executive said today.
Introduction of the powerplants, equipped with the automaker's next-generation twin turbochargers, "is the goal and we will do it," Jim O'Donnell (pictured), chairman and CEO of BMW of North America, said on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show, subscription-based Automotive News reported.
O'Donnell said the engines will allow the automaker to reach U.S. fuel-economy targets before 2015. Under federal guidelines proposed today, automakers will have to improve the fuel economy of their fleets by 5 percent annually before a national standard of 35.5 mpg takes effect in the 2016 model year.
BMW will add a four-cylinder variant for its next 3 series in the United States by spring 2012, O'Donnell said. The automaker already equips its European 3 series with four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.
BMW also is considering adding four-cylinder gasoline engines to its X1 and X3 crossovers and 1-series model in the United States.
In Europe, the X1 will be available with a four-cylinder, twin-turbo diesel engine when it launches this fall. The X3 and 1 series also are offered with four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines in Europe.
"We see potentially a significant market that could get to 100,000 four-cylinder engines" in the United States, O'Donnell said.
Renault SA today introduced a lineup of electric cars at the Frankfurt Motor Show and committed to making at least 100,000 of them by 2016.
---------- Right, the Fluence Z.E. Concept. ----------
Declaring a break with the long dominance of the gasoline engine, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn presented four electric cars that he said would go on sale in 2011 or 2012.
They "will bring environmental soundness at a price everyone can afford," he told an audience at the auto show.
The move is a gamble by Ghosn to carve out a big future market for the two companies he leads, Renault and Japan's Nissan Motor Co., which own large parts of each other and share technology. Most other automakers are proceeding more cautiously with electric vehicles.
Underlining Ghosn's remarks were the world debut of four electric vehicles at the Renault display area: the Fluence Z.E. Concept, the Kangoo Z.E. Concept, the Zoe Z.E. Concept and the Twizy Z.E. Concept.
Renault spokesmen said the four electric concept cars provide a preview of Renault's range of vehicles due to be released from 2011. To underscore that statement, they announced that the French automaker and EV-charging-solutions proponent Better Place signed an agreement today whereby Better Place will start importing and distributing Renault's first passenger electric vehicle -- the Fluence ZE, a five-seat sedan -- in the first half of 2011 in Israel and will offer recharging services to customers buying this car from the Renault network in Denmark.
Both companies committed to a volume of at least 100,000 vehicles for both countries by 2016.
With the premature appearance of some photos of the current L1 Concept in the German media over the weekend, Volkswagen today distributed information and multiple images of the ultra-high-mileage carbon-fiber two-seat diesel runabout ahead of its scheduled debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
The German automaker announced that the L1 Concept is powered by a new two-cylinder 0.8-liter turbocharged direct-injection engine -- the smallest diesel engine intended for production applications ever built by Volkswagen.
That engine is mated to a 10-kilowatt/14 horsepower electric motor and a 7-speed direct-shift gearbox (or DSG, an electronically controlled multiple-shaft dual-clutch manual gearbox without a conventional clutch pedal) -- all situated at the back of the car. Together, the three components create the "most fuel-efficient road-legal car hybrid drive in the world," according to Volkswagen.
The L1 -- which takes its name from 1 liter of diesel will provide 100 kilometers of driving, although in reality 1.38 liters are required to go that distance -- is operated in two different modes depending on the load conditions.
In the standard "ECO mode," the TDI engine develops a power of 20 kilowatts/27 horsepower at 4,000 revolutions per minute. In sport mode, the car's power rises to 29 kilowatts/39 hp at 4,000 rpm. The TDI's maximum torque is 73.7 pound-feet at 1,900 rpm. A stop-start system automatically shuts down the engine when vehicle has stopped and restarts when the accelerator or "E-pedal" is pressed.
A Little History
This isn't the first L1 VW has come up with. Seven years ago, Dr. Ferdinand Piech, at that time chairman of the board of management at VW Group, drove a prototype L1 from Wolfsburg to Hamburg "that was unlike any other car before it: the Volkswagen 1-Litre car -- the world's first car with fuel consumption of one litre fuel per 100 kilometers," as VW tells it.
Toyota Motor Corp. is sticking with nickel as the preferred battery material for most of its hybrid vehicles after three years of secretly testing Prius hatchbacks with lithium-ion packs, Bloomberg reported today.
Toyota last month ended road tests of 126 Priuses in the U.S., Japan and Europe that began in 2006, Jana Hartline, a company spokeswoman said in an interview with the news service. Details of the program, in which the cars' nickel metal hydride batteries were replaced with more expensive lithium models, weren't released.
Automakers are introducing models all or partly powered by lithium-ion batteries holding twice the energy of nickel packs. While Toyota's lithium version performed well and gave "small" fuel-economy gains because of lighter weight, nickel is favored for conventional, mass-market hybrids for its cost, said Kazuo Tojima, the carmaker's senior staff engineer for batteries.
Lithium's "durability, stability and safety are assured," the company's tests showed, Tojima told Bloomberg.
The tests appear to be among the most thorough done by companies planning to introduce the batteries, said Menahem Anderman, president of consulting firm Advanced Automotive Batteries in Oregon House, California.
"We now know that a lithium-ion battery can work; that's not really the question," he said. "Cost is critical, and we still don't know enough about long-term durability."
On the eve of the Frankfurt Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz supplies this peek under the skin of the S 500 plug-in hybrid concept it will unveil there.
The see-though shows the location of the rear-mounted lithium-ion battery pack, the charging port on the right rear flank, the regenerative braking system (and could that be a pair of in-hub wheel motors in the rear?) and the transmission and electric motor with what looks to be the power electronics controller sitting atop. Missing is what we understand will be a V6 engine up front. Also missing: Guidance from Mercedes about the hardware the concept will be packing.
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.
Renault today distributed this teaser drawings and an accompanying press release to whet our appetites in anticipation of the Renault Zero Emission line-up of four electric vehicle concepts the French automaker has announced it will unveil during the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.
Judging from the images, it would appear that Renault will debut the following, from left to right:
A one-seat hyper-urban runabout, a three-door vehicle with capacity for four normally sized people, and then either another three-door car or two four-doors. Renault went to a good bit of trouble to cloak the occupant compartments of the last two vehicles.
In any event, here's the short statement the automaker put out today, which will have to do for a few more days:
RENAULT - THE SPARK OF IMAGINATION AT FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW 2009
* Renault set to shock in Frankfurt with four electric vehicle concepts previewing new Renault Zero Emission product range.
* Renault Press conference 11:45-12:00 (CET) on Tuesday 15th September, Hall 3.1.
Following a raft of unveilings at European motor shows in recent years, Renault's range expansion shows no signs of abating with news today that it will preview the launch of the new Renault Zero Emission product range by taking the covers off of four electric concepts at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Renault Press conference, hosted by CEO, Carlos Ghosn, will be aired live on its global media site, www.media.renault.com at 10:45 (GMT), with edited video highlights available to view later the same day. Full information on each of the new concepts will be available on www.press.renault.co.uk immediately after the Press conference. Unregistered users for both sites are invited to sign-up now in advance.
Toyota today provided more details regarding the Auris HSD Full Hybrid Concept it will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week, including word that the vehicle marks a milestone in Toyota's plan to deploy full hybrid technology across the automaker's entire European model line-up.
"Full hybrid" means the car can be propelled by gasoline engine alone, electric motor alone or a combination of both. Most hybrids cannot do this.
Earlier this month we reported that, according to Toyota, the Auris hybrid uses 19 percent less fuel and emits 17 percent less climate-changing carbon dioxide than the standard Auris. We can now report that the five-door hatchback is slated to go on sale in Europe starting the second half of 2010, but there's no word on plans to send the car to North America.
In a statement, Toyota reported that the hybrid "marks a significant milestone in Toyota's plan to equip its mainstream European models with full hybrid technology. Toyota is committed to making the environmental benefits of its Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) accessible to a wider customer base and it is on track to offer a hybrid version of every model in its range by the early 2020s."
A five-door hatchback is the best selling type of car in Europe and consequently the installation of HSD in Auris is the logical first step in deploying full hybrid technology across Toyota's entire European model line-up.
By introducing the Auris concept, Toyota also aims to shift customer perceptions of hybrid technology. The obvious advantages are improved fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions, but the automaker said customers will also experience smooth and sophisticated driving unlike any other family hatchback, thanks to the everyday usability, comfort and quietness of the Toyota full hybrid powertrain.
The Auris concept will be built by Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK at the Burnaston factory, near Derby. The manufacturer's suggested price for the vehicle has not been revealed.
In addition to changes to the Auris's powertrain for the concept car, Toyota says subtle changes have been made to Auris's styling to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The front end is designed to optimize airflow and so help maximize fuel efficiency. The front and rear bumper corners have flat surfaces, a feature that not only accentuates the car's wide and solid stance, but also smooths the flow of air over the vehicle's flanks, minimizing turbulence and drag.
Daimler AG has added a pair of BlueEFFICIENCY AMG models fitted with four-cyliner diesel engines to its growing family of Mercedes-Benz GLK sport utility vehicles, and the automaker hints one or both may come to the U.S.
The greener of the two is the rear-wheel-drive 2010 GLK 220 CDI with the familiar 170-horsepower four-banger achieving between 36.8 and 39.2 miles per gallon depending on options, the automaker said in a statement today. That model's claimed carbon-emission figures range from 158 to 168 grams per kilometer.
The all-wheel-drive 2010 GLK 250 CDI 4MATIC features a 204-hp engine producing 368 pound-feet of torque. Daimler claims it is the most powerful four-cylinder diesel engine in the SUV world. It achieves a claimed 35.1 mpg and emits 176 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
As far as acceleration, the RWD GLK 220 reportedly reaches 60 miles an hour in 8.5 seconds and has a top speed of 122 mph, while the AWD GLK 250 completes the sprint in 7.9 seconds and can reach 129 mph.
While not discussing whether it intends to export either model to North America, Daimler made the point of stating that in addition to meeting the EU5 emissions standard, both models have "the potential to fulfil the EU6 limits as well as the BIN 5 requirements in the USA."
We hope the German automaker will provide additional details at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which takes place next week.
Mercedes-Benz is expected to debut a Vision S 500 plug-in hybrid concept at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show, looking much like the one pictured here.
Although company spokesmen won't discuss it publicly yet, we've been told the concept will feature a V6 gasoline engine connected to a lithium-ion battery that has a storage capacity of more than 10 kilowatt hours.
That's enough to enable the car to go about 19 miles on electricity only before an onboard gas-powered engine-generator kicks in to feed juice to the lithium battery.
Acceleration is said to be 5 and half seconds from a standstill to 60 miles an hour. Mileage is said to be 73.5 mph, but it wasn't at all clear how that number was reached.
We expect to learn a lot more about this concept next week.
Indian automaker REVA announced today that it will debut two plug-in electric vehicles next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The REVA NXR is a four-seat, three-door hatchback family car suitable for urban driving that can be ordered at the show, with production scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2010.
The showcar, REVA's model for 2011, is the REVA NXG (pictured); a sporty two-seater with a targa roof that was designed by Dilip Chhabria of the internationally renowned automotive design company DC Design.
Another world-first for REVA will be the launch of REVive. The technology, which REVA claims has no equal, is intended to address the range-anxiety issue that troubles many an EV owner and prospective EV owner. That would be being stranded after your EV runs out of juice.
As REVA put it in a statement, the technology "acts like an invisible reserve fuel tank. The customer just has to telephone or SMS REVA for an instant remote recharge should they run out of charge."
We're not exactly sure what that means, and a REVA representative was not immediately available to explain; we expect answers next week at the very latest. But both the REVA NXR and the REVA NXG will feature "the REVive telematics technology."
The company said that further details and and pricing announcements will be made at the Frankfurt show. It also said its new Website, Revaglobal.com, will go live when the vehicles are unveiled in Frankfurt.
REVA is the brand of the Reva Electric Car Co., a Bangalore-based company formed as a joint venture between Maini Group of India and AEV LLC of California. It is backed by the U.S. investors Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
REVA claims its vehicles are being sold or test-marketed in 24 countries worldwide. It says it is building a new ultra-low-carbon-vehicle assembly plant in Bangalore, with a capacity of 30,000 units per year.
Lotus Engineering announced today that it will unveil a range-extending engine-generator for series hybrid vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show, held later this month.
Attached to the hybrid's electric motor via the crankshaft, the Lotus Range Extender sustains vehicle operation beyond the range provided by the vehicle's batteries.
Lotus said in a statement that the 1.2-liter, three-cylinder engine-generator can use gasoline or alcohol-based fuels, was designed for maximum fuel efficiency and can recharge the batteries of a series hybrid as well as provide direct power to the electric motor that propels the vehicle.
The Range Extender features an innovative architecture comprising aluminium monoblock construction, integrating the cylinder block, cylinder head and exhaust manifold in one casting. Lotus said this results in reduced engine mass, assembly costs, package size and improved emissions and engine durability.
The engine-generator is optimized between two power generation points, giving 15 kilowatts of electrical power at 1,500 revolutions per minute and 35 kilowatts at 3,500 rpm via the integrated electrical generator.
Lotus said the Range Extender's low weight (123 pounds) makes it ideal for the series hybrid drivetrain configurations for which it is designed. The engine uses an optimized two-valve port-fuel injection combustion system to reduce cost and mass.
Now comes word from the South Korean automaker that it will be debuting two advanced fuel-efficient vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show - the ix Metro gasoline-electric concept CUV (right) and the i10 Electric (below).
The ix Metro smallish hybrid crossover is designed for the European sub-B segment and, according to Hyundai, achieves carbon-dioxide emissions of only 80 grams per kilometer.
The vehicle is powered by an inline three-cylinder, 1.0-liter gasoline engine cranking out an impressive 125 horsepower. It's mated to some kind of hybrid drive system Hyundai is unwilling to discuss publicly now.
The other Hyundai vehicle to make its world debut at Frankfurt is the i10 Electric, a plug-in all-electric urban commuter that, the automaker says, will see limited series production beginning in 2010 with the South Korean market.
The i10 Electric is powered by a 49 kilowatt motor and a 16 kilowatt per hour battery. Hyundai says the vehicle achieves a top speed of 81 miles an hour and a driving range of 99 miles.
The i10 Electric will be sold to government ministries, state corporations and utilities in the first stage. The retail sales date is not decided
Ford of Europe today released the first official images of the all-new C-MAX multi-purpose vehicle, which will be the first in a string of Ford vehicles packing an all-new 1.6-liter EcoBoost direct-injection gasoline engine.
The 2011 C-Max takes its handsome design from the iosis MAX concept car unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show. We like the coupe-resembling sweeping roofline, the aggressive stance and other design features, but it's the engine we like most.
This would be the same fuel-efficient, low-emissions, four-cylinder, turbo-charged engine Ford spent $109 million developing and which we described in October 2008.
In general, EcoBoost engines achieve 20 percent better fuel economy and 15 percent lower carbon-dioxide emissions than current larger displacement gasoline engines of similar power -- and they do all this without compromising driving performance.
However, Ford spokesmen today wouldn't comment on the C-Max's emissions or fuel economy; that, they said, will have to wait until the vehicle debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.
Although stating that the C-Max will be available in Europe starting the second half of next year and will have a base price around $23,200, Ford spokesmen would not say if the vehicle would be sold in North America.
The C-Max is part of Ford's lineup of global vehicles being developed from Ford's new compact car platform, which also serves as the underpinnings for the European version of the Ford Focus. So it's possible it would come to the U.S.
If it did make its way to the New World, its price and features would put it in competition with the larger Dodge Grand Caravan minivan, which has a manufacturer's suggested starting price of $23,545.
But the C-Max would also compete with the Focus, Ford's fuel-efficient crossover slated to come from the Old World to the New next year -- and the Focus would likely prove tough competition for the C-Max.
2010 VW Golf, Polo and Passat BlueMotion cars. The updated diesel-sippers will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Volkswagen revealed today that it will debut production versions of its fuel-efficient, diesel-powered Polo, Golf and Passat BlueMotion models at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.
The Polo BlueMotion was shown as a concept alongside the debut of the regular Polo editions at the last Geneva Auto Show. VW said the production-version Polo BlueMotion gets a combined fuel economy rating of 71.3 miles per gallon with carbon-dioxide emissions of just 87 grams per kilometer.
To put that CO2 figure in perspective, the Polo's recently developed 1.2-liter, 75-horsepower TDI engine produces the same amount of climate-changing emissions as the diesel Smart ForTwo, and yet the Polo is able to transport five people whereas the ForTwo is limited to two.
The new Polo BlueMotion is expected to arrive in the U.S. next year.
The Golf BlueMotion packs a 1.6-liter, 103-horsepower TDI engine and achieves an EPA-estimated fuel economy 61.9 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. It generates only 99 grams per kilometer.
VW says the Golf BlueMotion will appear in European showrooms later this year.
The mid-sized Passat manages 53.4 mpg combined; greenhouse-gas emissions are 114 grams per kilometers.
VW says the TDI engines in all three models are recalibrated compared to the conventional models and have a reduced idle speed.
Further minimizing the idle losses are an automatic start-stop system, low rolling resistance tires and reduced aerodynamic drag due to lower front air dams and rocker panel extensions.
According to the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, the average German motorist drives a total of 6,600 miles per year. For Polo BlueMotion drivers, this means that they can cruise the entire year on just eight tanks of diesel.
In addition to fuel-sipping engines, BlueMotion vehicles are equipped with start-stop technology, regenerative braking, low-rolling-resistance tires, lightweight low-drag wheels, and improved aerodynamics.
Chrysler announced today that it will be bringing the new Dodge Caliber to the Frankfurt Motor Show fitted with a new 2.2-liter, turbocharged, common-rail diesel engine that's Euro 5 compliant.
The engine, which is paired with a six-speed manual transmission, produces a claimed 163 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. That's 16 percent more power, 3 percent more torque and 25 percent (3,300 pounds) more towing capability than the previous diesel engine.
But wait, there's more: Fuel consumption is improved by 5 percent (40.6 miles per gallon versus 38.6 mpg), and carbon dioxide emissions are improved by 3 percent (154 grams per kilometer compared to 159 grams per kilometer).
Chrysler says forged steel connecting rods, aluminum head and pistons, and fourth-generation direct-injection system with common-rail pressurized at 1800 bar provide durability, weight reduction and performance.
Passenger comfort also improves as dual balance shafts and sound-deadening materials reduce the diesel engine's vibration and harshness by 25 percent compared with the previous Dodge Caliber CRD.
Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring the new diesel engine to the U.S. Unless there's a change, Americans will only be offered Calibers equipped with Chrysler's gasoline-consuming World Engines.
The two World Engines (2.0- and 2.4-liter) in the Caliber are equipped with dual variable-valve timing and an intake manifold design with flow control valves. Combined, these features produce more power, better fuel economy and a smoother, quieter operation than engines without them.
The 2.0-liter World Engine replaces the 1.8-liter engine, delivering 4 percent more power (156 hp) and 13 percent more torque (140 pound-feet). For even greater performance, the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine delivers 170 hp and 162 pound-feet of torque. But again, neither it nor the 2.4-liter will be offered to Americans as diesels.
The new Dodge Caliber will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in two weeks. It's interesting to note that the Dodge Caliber was the top-selling Chrysler Group LLC vehicle outside North America in 2008.
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.
Toyota will unveil a gasoline-electric hybrid concept of it Auris compact car as well as a Prius Plug-In Hybrid Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the automaker announced today.
Toyota said the Auris HSD Full Hybrid Concept (right) is a step forward in the company's plan to expand its hybrid lineup. The world's largest automaker will begin production of the Auris hybrid at its factory near Derby, about 120 miles north of London, starting mid-2010.
Toyota said the Auris hybrid uses 19 percent less fuel and emits 17 percent less climate-changing carbon dioxide than the standard version.
The company builds most of its hybrid vehicles in Japan, but also produces a small number of Prius hybrids in China and the Camry hybrid in the United States.
In July, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said the carmaker would shift its focus in the diesel-heavy European market to hybrid vehicles as part of a new effort to use its resources more selectively.
Toyota Europe CEO Tadashi Arashima said making hybrids in Europe would help ensure that full hybrids "become more accessible to a wider range of customers."
Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year within the next few years.
Toyota also will give its Prius Plug-In Hybrid Concept a world debut in Frankfurt. The low-emissions car is based on the new, third-generation Prius.
An artist's rendering of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid Concept appears at left. A photo of the vehicle has yet to be released.
The carmaker said it will offer 150 of the fuel-efficient Prius Plug-In Hybrid Concepts to fleet customers to test next year.
BMW, which is repositioning itself as a green-car company after years of branding itself as a maker of high-performance cars, announced today that it will unveil its ''Vision EfficientDynamics'' diesel-electric hybrid sport car concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
The 3-series-size concept is a showcase for BMW's lightweight body construction, hybrid-drive technology, and new packaging and aerodynamic ideas. It features gullwing doors and is powered by a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine that's slated for production in 2011.
That engine works with two electric motors, mounted front and rear. The rear motor is said to generate 34 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque, although BMW says it can achieve 51 hp for short bursts.
The motor acting on the front wheels delivers a claimed 80 hp and 162 pound-feet of torque, but can supply up to 139 hp momentarily. Altogether, BMW's new diesel-electric hybrid system is rated at 356 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque.
The high-profile debut of the vehicle is significant in that it is clearly represents BMW's shift toward low-emission vehicles and technology as part of its wider EfficientDynamics strategy.
As you'll recall, BMW pulled out of Formula One as part of this repositioning of the brand. The company has done a splendid job of selling itself as the maker of the "ultimate driving machine" as defined by high performance.
That said, its marketing department believes that BMW will not be regarded as a premium brand in the future if it does not become overtly environmentally friendly. Hence the release of photos, including the one shown here, showing the car in a verdant setting.
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.
Volkswagen has been producing Polos in Europe since 1975. The German automaker has offered Polos in various body styes over the years and now it says it will soon debut a production-version diesel Polo that gets 71 miles per gallon.
It's not clear from the statement issued by VW earlier today whether that Polo will be the three-door hatchback (pictured) or the five-door hatchback -- both will be available as BlueMotion (think fuel-efficient) models fitted with 1.2-liter, 75-horsepower diesel engines.
A concept version of the low-emissions Polo BlueMotion appeared at the Geneva auto show in March. VW said today that the vehicle will be available in Europe later this year. It is not expected to appear in American showrooms for at least another year.
In addition to the BlueMotion diesel engine, the Polo will initially be available in two other diesel and three gasoline powertrain choices, and some of which will be available with a fuel-saving seven-speed transmission.
The least expensive of the new group of Polos will start at 12,150 euros, or about $17,800.
Hyundai Motor Co.'s all-new Tucson ix, a compact SUV that's more fuel efficient than its popular predecessor, went on sale in South Korea today following 36 months and $225 million in development.
The vehicle, which will be named the ix35 outside South Korea, comes with a choice of 2-liter engines: either the all-new 184-horsepower diesel R or the 166-horsepower gasoline Theta-II. Both are fitted with Hyundai's all-new six-speed automatic transmission for improved fuel economy.
Hyundai said the diesel engine meets the Euro-5 emissions standards and in the Tucson ix achieves 35 miles per gallon, while the version fitted with the gasoline engine achieves 26.5 mpg. The diesel version is offered in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, while the gasoline variant is available only in front-wheel-drive.
Named after a city in Arizona, the Tucson has been one Hyundai's most popular models, with more than 1 million units sold worldwide since its launch in 2004.
The Korean-market Tucson ix is built in the Ulsan plant, while the European edition ix35 will be built in Europe with production and sales commencing in Europe early next year, the automaker said in a statement.
Full details about European powertrains, trim levels and option packages will be announced September 3rd on the eve of the 2009 Frankfurt auto show. North American specifications will be announced at the Los Angeles auto show later this year.
Hyundai said it is aiming for sales of 16,000 units of the new Tucson ix this year in the Korean market and 40,000 units annually starting next year. From 2011, Hyundai said it predicts the vehicle's sales to reach 300,000 units globally, with 260,000 units sold in the overseas market.
Opel announced today that it will debut at next month's Frankfurt auto show the completely updated Astra small family car that will launch later this year.
---------- Right, the Astra in red and Ampera. ----------
The model, which the European subsidiary of General Motors has produced since 1991, will be offered with a choice of eight engines, ranging from 95 horsepower to 180 horsepower, that are 12 percent lower in fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions that the current line-up of Astra engines.
The new Astra has grown slightly to provide a roomier interior and, at the same time, it has benefited from engineering enhancements that allow it to improve fuel efficiency and performance.
Also sharing the stage in Frankfurt with the new Astra will be the Ampera, the European version of its Chevrolet Volt, which Opel unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March of this year.
The two extended-range, plug-in hybrids are the same under the skin. The Ampera will be sold in most of Europe starting in 2011 while Vauxhall, GM's British unit, will build and market a right-hand-drive version for the U.K. starting in 2012 (providing GM and its European marques are still a team then).
BMW announced today that it will debut an ultra-high-mileage version of its 320d sedan at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
The car, officially the 2010 320d Efficient Dynamics Edition, is equipped with a diesel engine achieving 57.4 miles per gallon and equally impressive CO2 emissions of just 109 grams per kilometer.
The automaker attributes the vehicle's lofty fuel economy to turbo-charged version of BMW's 2-liter, 4-cylinder, 163-horsepower engine, which is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.
The vehicle sits lower to the ground than its regularly aspirated diesel sibling and is fitted with low-drag wheels to improve aerodynamics.
Additionally, the usual power parasitic losses that occur are stymied a bit through the use of brake-energy regeneration and electric power steering.
Acceleration remains a very respectable 0-62 miles per hour in 8.2 seconds despite all the attention given to the vehicle's fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions.
It would be nice of BMW exported it to the United States, but no one in Munich is discussing that option - at least not publicly.
Likewise, the price of the vehicle has not been disclosed publicly.
Peugeot can expect lots of slack-jawed gawkers at it exhibit area at the Frankfurt show next month after the French automaker rolls out the first two in a series of vehicles it has planned that sport the company's Hybrid4 two-powered, 4-wheel-engaged drivetrain.
The first of the two vehicles to go to market will be 3008 Hybrid4 crossover, shown above.
Like the RCZ Hybrid4 concept sports car (right), it will feature a parallel hybrid system consisting of an electric motor spinning the rear wheels and an internal combustion engine spinning the front wheels.
The hybrid system allows the vehicles to have 4-wheel drive on demand, and it allows the vehicles to operate in internal combustion, EV or blended modes.
By splitting the powertrains, Peugeot engineers vastly reduced the mechanical complexity of the vehicles compared to, say, the power-split systems developed by Toyota and Ford.
The 3008 Hybrid4 is set to go on sale in Europe in 2011. If Peugeot hasn't said if the hybrid is U.S.-bound.
As for the RCZ Hybrid4, there are no plans to take to market at all, although that could change and we certainly hope it does.
The conventional gas-powered RCZ coupe is scheduled to debut next spring with a 200- horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine.
Peugeot is not releasing pricing or fuel-economy information for the 3008 Hybrid4 at this time.
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.
The Trabant - a smog-spewing icon of communist eastern Germany - will make a comeback as an electric car concept at the Frankfurt auto show in September.
German manufacturer Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH plans to show a "New Trabi" prototype in Frankfurt in the hope of attracting investors willing to help relaunch a modern, environmentally friendly version of the classic city car in 2012.
Herpa's updated Trabi has the square, boxy look of the original car, of which about 3 million were built between 1957 and 1991, but company spokesman Daniel Stiegler said it will not be a retro car.
"The New Trabi will be a stylish car with a history," he told Automotive News Europe (subscription required). "It will be electrically powered because that is the trend."
Herpa has released few technical details on the new Trabant. The company said it will have a rooftop solar panel for recharging its battery, a range of about 156 miles and weigh less than 2,200 pounds.
Stiegler said IAV Automotive Engineering, based in Berlin, is its partner for an electric powertrain.
Herpa is located in in Zwickau, the same German county where the original Trabant factory was. The company, which makes model cars and airplanes, bought the Trabant copyright in 2007.
Herpa also is working with IndiKar for the Trabant project. IndiKar is a maker of specialty vehicles, vehicle components and prototypes, also based in Zwickau.
Toyota Motor Corp. today launched its first dedicated hybrid model under the premium Lexus brand, saying it had received orders worth six months of targeted sales in Japan.
---------- Right, Lexus GM Mark Templin introduces the 2010 Lexus HS 250h at the Detroit Auto Show in January. ----------
The launch of the HS 250h sedan, which like the Prius is only available as a gasoline-electric hybrid, marks the latest push by the Japanese automaker to drive hybrids into the mainstream as governments worldwide tighten emissions and fuel-economy regulations while offering consumers incentives to purchase less-polluting cars.
Toyota said it has already received 3,000 orders for the vehicle in Japan and expects to sell an average of 500 of them each month domestically.
The model will be sold in the United States and Canada from September, Toyota said, adding that its plans to produce about 3,000 of the vehicle a month through the rest of the year.
Senior Managing Director Toshio Furutani said hybrids had become a major driver for the Lexus brand, which has struggled to sell in Japan since its domestic launch in 2005.
In the first six months of 2009, Lexus sales plunged 38 percent from the year-earlier period to 9,293 vehicles. About 30 percent of those were a hybrid, a Toyota spokesman said.
The HS 250h, powered by a 2.5-liter engine, starts at $42,460 in Japan, making it the cheapest model in the Lexus line-up and eligible for a maximum $2,870 in "eco-car" tax breaks. The HS 250h has listed mileage in Japan of 35 miles per gallon.
Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year within the next few years and has said it would offer the hybrid option on all of its models by around 2020.
General Motors will build the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car in China beginning in 2011 as part of the automaker's plan to roll out its revolutionary technology in a wide variety of vehicles around the world, AutoBeat Asia (subscription required) reports today.
All Volts built in China are to be sold there, according to the newsletter.
But the Volt's chief spokesperson, Rob Peterson, in an email sent to Green Car Advisor minutes ago, wrote:
"The Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera will be produced at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. There are currently no plans to build the Chevrolet Volt outside of the United States at this time. (Note: Volt launches late 2010 in U.S., Ampera launches in caledar year 2011, Volts produced in D-Hamtramck are exported to China in calendar year 2011.)"
Outside the U.S., the Volt will be marketed as the Holden Volt, the Opel Ampera and the Vauxhall Ampera.
As we've previously reported, the Chinese government is aggressively promoting electric and hybrid vehicles as a way to reduce oil consumption and improve air quality in the country's polluted cities. So AutoBeat Asia's report wasn't far-fetched, even if it proved to be wrong.
China wants to have 60,000 alternative-fuel vehicles on the road by 2012, up from virtually none today. Most of the vehicles will be hybrids, but the government is eager to promote pure electric vehicles.
Fortunately for the Detroit 3, BYD's market right now is limited to China, and after the company unveiled its F3DM PHEV to North America. BYD has since announced that it doesn't intend to export the vehicle to America until 2011.
The global economic crisis may force Jaguar to postpone production of its XE two-seat roadster beyond its hoped-for 2011 Geneva show debut, but the sports car will be fitted with a Chevy Volt-like powerplant when it does make an appearance.
That according to a report by Motor Trend, which says an electric motor with an extended-range three-cylinder gas engine is being engineered for the new-age E-Type.
Whether that powerplant would be in addition to Jaguar's conventional 5.0-liter and supercharged 5.0-liter V8s is unknown, as is whether the extended-range XE will make it beyond the concept stage.
Also unclear is whether the electric XE would be in addition to an extended-range electric XJ said to be scheduled for introduction in late 2011 (a year after the conventional XJ's release).
Ratan Tata, whose company bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company, is said to support the XE's development. His father once owned a Jaguar XK120, and Tata told Autocar earlier this year, "We need to emerge with something shiny and new, which is why we are reprioritizing the roadster right now."
In addition to the Volt, an extended-range electric XJ would likely give the Fisker Karma some competition.
Ferrari has disclosed plans for a hybrid concept car, the British magazine Autocar
reported Tuesday, with the unveiling likely to occur before the end of this year.
Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa was quoted as saying the vehicle won't debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but probably at an American show "soon thereafter."
The Frankfurt show will be held Sept. 17-27 this year. The first major American auto show to be held thereafter will take place in Los Angeles Dec. 4-13 (Dec. 2-13 if you count the press days).
Earlier this month Autocar revealed patent drawings for a hybrid, all-wheel-drive concept car and a turbocharged engine.
Felisa reportedly told Autocar that, in order to meet stringent 2014 European emissions regulations, Ferrari is looking at three solutions. They are: turbocharging, biofuel cars and hybrids.
Ferrari has already produced a car that can run on biofuel. It is the ethanol-gulping F430 pictured here, which debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in January of last year.
As for a Ferrari hybrid, Felisa first spoke of one more than a year ago during an interview with the Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. But soon after the automaker's PR people said Felisa misspoke.
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.
The Imotor
website suggests that the Brilliance EV (right) "might just be the most interesting concept car" at the Shanghai Auto Show.
Paul Lienert, a correspondent for Edmunds' Inside Line described Shenyang-based Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.'s EV as a welcome surprise - "a four-passenger, battery-powered people mover called the Brilliance EV."
Here's what Inside Line has to say about the concept vehicle:
"Based on the compact Junjie FRV platform and said to be under consideration for future production, the Brilliance EV is a plug-in electric with two motors, rated at 30 horsepower and 63 hp, respectively, with combined torque of 133 pound-feet. Brilliance says the van-like EV has a top speed of around 80 mph and a range of nearly 95 miles with its lithium-ion battery pack.
The EV can be quick-charged in 30 minutes, although a full charge from a standard 220-volt outlet takes up to eight hours.
Features include dual power sliding side doors and a GPS navigation system."
Porsche - true to its word
- has unveiled the production version of the Panamera, its fourth model and its first four-door car, at China's premier auto show in Shanghai.
We're telling you about them because there's a little bit of green tech on board each: The engines are direct-injected for more efficient use of fuel and are equipped with start/stop systems that will shut them down at full stop, when they otherwise would be idling and pumping out C02 and other greenhouse gases as well as a few smog-causing emissions.
In addition, all three models will come with a seven-speed Porsche double-clutch gearbox (in German that's a dopplekupplungsgetriebe) that adds a few more percent to engine fuel efficiency.
Reuters news service reports that the base model 2010 Porsche Panamera is expected to get combined city-highway fuel economy of 26 miles a gallon on the European test cycle. We figure that would equate to somewhere around 21 mpg in the U.S. rating system.
Porsche says a V6 version of the Panamerica will follow late next year, with a hybrid model sometime after that.
The automaker figures to sell the car everywhere but chose China for the unveiling because it sees that emerging economy as particularly fruitful, with China's new moneyed classes more likely than economically depressed North American and European buyers to flock to the big sports sedan (not that China isn't having its own run of economic downturn).
When the car goes on sales there in January 2010 (four months after its September launch in Europe and three after it a North American launch in October) it certainly will carry a premium price: triple the U.S. sticker according to Reuters news service.
And the winner is: Honda FCX Clarity, the 2009 World Green Car.
The announcement was made this morning at the New York Auto Show. The FCX Clarity beat out the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Toyota iQ. The top three finishers were culled from a list of 22 contenders that were nominated by 59 judges in 25 countries.
Here is some of what the judges had to say about the car:
"The FCX Clarity is an utterly real, hydrogen-fueled luxury sedan that provides the amenities people expect in a premium car with 430 km (267 miles) range, fuel consumption of about 3.3 litres/100 km (72 mpg U.S.) equivalent and zero tailpipe emissions. While there is only so much the automotive industry can do when it comes to this technology - governments need to come onboard to help create a true refuelling infrastructure - Honda must be credited for taking a bold step in leasing FCX Clarity to customers in California for $600 (U.S.) per month.There's still a long way to go before fuel-cell cars will become a commercial success, but hats off to Honda for continuing to advance this expensive technology during a time when every cent counts."
To be eligible, vehicles had to be available in at least one major market during 2008. The field included production models and experimental prototypes with near-future applications. Judging criteria included fuel economy, emissions and overall environmental impact.
Mercedes-Benz has officially introduced the S400 Hybrid (right), which is being billed as "the first series-production Mercedes-Benz passenger car with hybrid drive and the world's first car with a lithium-ion battery."
If that's too much verbiage, Mercedes also describes its upscale hybrid that will appear in dealer showrooms in August as "the most economic luxury car with a gasoline engine."
Here are some of the pertinent numbers released earlier today by Mercedes, which is part of Daimler AG. A few have been tweaked since Thomas Weber, head of R&D for Mercedes, talked to Green Car Advisor about the S400 during the 2008 New York International Auto Show.
The S400 Hybrid's estimated combined fuel consumption is 29 mpg, which Mercedes describes as "a 30 percent increase over the S550." (Mercedes' earlier estimate was 29.7 mpg.)
The S400 Hybrid has a 3.5 liter, V6 gasoline engine that develops 275 horsepower. An electric motor generates an additional 20 hp. (Mercedes' earlier estimate had been 299 hp.) The gas engine and electric motor have a combined maximum torque of 284 lb-ft.
Mercedes promises that the S400 will go from zero to 62 miles per hour in 7.3 seconds and reach an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour.
You have to look hard to find the good news when most of what's being reported is downright depressing.
Such is the case with Honda's decision to pass on this fall's Frankfurt auto show due to the "unprecedented market turndown."
The global recession previously prompted Honda to close a U.K. auto assembly plant for four months to reduce inventories and to withdraw from Formula 1 racing.
The bit of good news buried in Honda's decision to skip Frankfurt is, as Edmunds' AutoObserver Editor Michelle Krebs reports, that Honda will continue to use its available European resources in large part to "strengthen new fuel-cell research [and] its hybrid vehicle portfolio."
Illustration of Lotus Engineering's omnivore engine doesn't disclose much about its inner workings.
It's not a particularly lovely beast, but Lotus Engineering says its prototype "omnivore" engine will thrive on all kinds of fuels and that's likely to make it a winner in the world to come -- when petroleum is fading away and biofuels from a variety of sources and in a variety of chemistries are developing to fill the void.
Lotus says the blocky internal combustion engine has the "potential to significantly increase fuel-efficiency" for sustainable alcohol-based fuels (ethanol, methanol. propanol and butanol ) and can also run on gasoline.
The prototype one-cylinder engine will be displayed at the Lotus Cars stand at the Geneva Motor Show next week (media days begin Tuesday and the show opens to the public Thursday for an 11-day run).
Lotus Engineering -- the research and consulting arm of Lotus Cars -- says the engine is a two-stroke, single-cylinder monoblock (the cylinder head and block are one piece) that uses a unique variable compression system and direct fuel injection.
The design can utilize high octane, alcohol-based biofuels better than the four-stroke (intake-combustion-power-exhaust) engines now used in cars and trucks, the company said.
We'll let our engineering gurus explain the precise working of the system in a later posting, but the short version is that Lotus claims the engine design and mechanics permit asymmetric exhaust timing, a continuously variable exhaust opening point and a compression ratio that changes to meet load demands.
It is collaborating on development of the Omnivore engine with Queen's University of Belfast, in Northern Ireland, and Orbital Corp. Ltd. of Australia, and said the program is being sponsored by Britain's Renewables Materials Link program, which helps fund collaborative industry and scientific segment research into uses of renewable materials for sustainable development.
The Omnivore program is one piece of Lotus' research into the processes involved in operating an engine on mixtures of alcohol-based biofuels and gasoline.
A previously displayed effort was the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel concept (gasoline, ethanol, methanol or any combination of the three) shown a last year's Geneva Motor Show.
Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid is among the green stars of the upcoming Geneva auto show.
By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor
When the Geneva auto show opens its doors to the media March 3, the exhibition halls will be jammed with a wider range of smaller, smarter and more fuel-efficient cars than ever before.
Green vehicles were once a sideshow, with headline-grabbing debuts of outrageous supercars and luxury sedans in the main ring at Geneva. But like easy credit and cheap gasoline, those days are gone.
Intelligently designed, fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles are now the key to survival for the world's car manufacturers.
Even high-end manufacturers like Bentley Motors are getting in on the act. Rather than its usual lineup of sport-tuned touring cars that gulp gasoline the way a band of rugby fans down lager at a pre-game fest, the English luxury brand will unveil a bio-fueled concept -- albeit one with more than 600 horsepower.
Other stars of the show will include the Opel Ampera, the European version of the Chevrolet Volt; Mitsubishi's i-MiEV Sport Air, an electric sports car concept; and the shape-shifting Rinspeed iChange electric vehicle.
Green Car Advisor offers an advance look at these and other soon-to-be-unveiled eco-stars of the Geneva show.
Opel Ampera
As General Motor's European subsidiary, it makes sense that Opel would get a version of Chevrolet's much-hyped Volt hybrid.
Luckily for Opel, the Ampera also seems to have gotten the good looks in the GM family tree. While the Volt has been criticized for a somewhat bland exterior, the Ampera has a more aggressive and modern design that better lives up to the promise of the state-of-the-art drivetrain.
Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Ampera will be capable of running up to 40 miles on electric power alone, before switching to a small internal combustion engine that recharges the battery pack.
Opel says that the Ampera's lithium-ion battery pack can be charged from a standard European 230-volt outlet.
The Volt slated to arrive in U.S. showrooms near the end of next year, so expect the Ampera to make its European debut in 2011.
Mitsubishi i-MiEVs
Mitsubishi will debut a European version of the i-MiEV electric car it expects to launch in Japan later this year. Both are based on the Japanese company's tiny "i" city car.
The i-MiEV uses a 47-kilowatt (62-horsepower) electric motor that draws power from a 330-volt lithium ion battery pack. Range is estimated at 100 miles.
The European model will be slightly wider than the Japanese model, and perhaps a bit more powerful -- to cope with European safety standards and higher speed limits.
A U.S. version of the i-MiEV, if we get one -- and we think we will -- is likely to be based on the Euro model.
A sport version of the i-MiEV will also break cover in Geneva.
Very little is known about the concept, called the Sport Air, though we expect it likely will be a closer-to-production version of the huggable-cute i-MiEV Sport concept seen at the Tokyo auto show in 2007.
Chevrolet Spark
Not every important green car in Geneva will have an electric motor or hybrid power plant under its hood.
At first glance, the Chevrolet Spark looks like another sharply styled little Euro-hatch.
That's the point.
Frugal and attractive small cars like the Spark are key to the survival of General Motors -- and to weaning many American car buyers from opting for the super-size option in their dealers' showrooms.
The five-door Spark hatchback first appeared as the Beat concept car during the New York auto show in 2007.
The production version looks almost identical to that concept. When it goes on sale in Europe in early 2010, the Spark will feature a choice of economical 1.0- and 1.2-liter 16-valve engines.
U.S. sales are to follow in 2011.
Tata E-Nano?
A spokesman for India's Tata Motors told us to expect a surprise in Geneva.
Known for basic and cheap economy cars, Tata -- India's largest auto manufacturer -- is unlikely to pull a dust cover off some supercar.
Our guess: the top-secret news is the unveiling of an electric-powered version of the company's subcompact Indica hatchback, or the Nano city car (left).
Tata Motors has been working hard on developing electric versions of its current lineup for the European market. The company last year bought a majority stake in Miljo Grenland Innovasjon, a Norwegian company specializing in electric car technology.
The collapse of the global auto industry has hit Tata Motors hard, especially now that it owns struggling British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, but we're not counting it out of the electric car sweepstakes.
The four-door Nano hatchback will be the cheapest car in the world, priced at roughly $2,000 when it goes on sale in India later this year.
A low-speed battery-electric version suitable for urban centers or gated communities could be just what Tata needs to get its toe into the European or U.S. markets.
Rinspeed iChange
Rinspeed's annual dream machines in Geneva have been capable of hovering above land and water, tilting, running on bio-waste, and adapting the cabin environment to match a driver's state of mind.
The wacky Swiss company is now ready to debut its latest crazy creation, a shape-changing electric car called the iChange. Power comes from a 130-kilowatt electric motor.
This concept car's most intriguing feature is the adaptable seating arrangement. The iChange has what Rinspeed refers to as "1, 2, 3 seating," courtesy of an "electronic trick tail."
The exterior body-panels of the iChange can be reconfigured depending on how many passengers are on board.
Rinspeed says the result is not only a zero-emission car, but one whose ultra-low aerodynamic drag helps reduce power consumption from the electric motor to give it more range. Details to come at the show, we hope.
Bentley BioFuel Car
Bentley couldn't simply unleash a bio-fuel car onto the world. It had to make it the fastest Bentley ever.
We can live with that, considering the speed and grace of this strangely alluring yet contradictory concept. Sneak preview photos provided by Bentley show a car very much resembling its current gas-powered Continental GT.
Larger lower intakes and outlets in the hood now feed extra air to the W12 engine, reconfigured to run on a mix of gasoline and ethanol.
Oomph is estimated to be well in excess of 600 horsepower.
Ethanol helps raise the octane level of the fuel, which boosts power and gives this bruiser Bentley the performance credentials needed to keep its blue-blood clientele happy.
If the ethanol comes from biowaste instead of valuable food crops, those Bentley bluebloods may even be able to claim they are turning blue-green.
EDAG Light Car Open Source Concept
German engineering firm EDAG will display a high-tech car that is completely recyclable, electric powered and featuring state-of-the-art LED technology.
From the sneak peeks of the car we've seen, the finished product looks great. Too bad EDAG slapped a painfully awkward name onto this otherwise very promising concept car.
The body of the Light Car is constructed of lightweight basalt fiber. As strong as pricey carbon fiber commonly used in race-car construction, the basalt-fiber platform is cheaper to produce, provides high levels of occupant safety, and is entirely recyclable.
Power for the Light Car is provided by small electric motors located in each wheel.
The car's headlight and taillight housings aren't real hardware but instead are projected onto the exterior using LEDs. According to EDAG, owners can customize the shape and size of the lights (though there was no word as to the legalities of this clever option).Here's a company video animation that explains how it would work.
LEDs in the tail provide vehicles that are following the Light Car with information that could include driving tips like the Rinspeed's braking force (back off, I'm hitting the brakes HARD) and public service info like real-time traffic updates.
Peugeot 3008 Hybrid
French automaker Peugeot will show its new 3008 MPV, a small crossover that employs a 2.0-liter diesel-electric hybrid powertrain and four-wheel drive. The system should be available in European models of the 3008 by 2011.
Sized to compete with small sport-utes like the Nissan Rogue, the 3008 hybrid will combine 36-hp electric motor with the diesel engine. The electric motor will provide power to the rear while the engine drives the front wheels.
Peugeot has no sales presence in the States, but we wouldn't be shocked if the 3008's hybrid system shows up here in another automaker's cars someday.
Keep in mind, the standard gas-powered version of the 3008 (above, left) uses the same 1.6-liter motor as the BMW Mini Cooper. A hybrid/all-wheel-drive version of the Mini Crossover Concept (a Mini-based sport-ute shown at last year's Paris auto show) sure makes sense to us.
Italdesign announced today that it intends to unveil "the fastest hybrid in the world" at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show held next month and the automaker released a sketch of the vehicle (above
).
Italdesign is withholding the name of the speedster, but it claims the car can reach 62 miles per hour in less than four seconds on its way to a top speed of 186 mph.
What's more, the automaker claims the car can travel 31 miles on a quarter of a gallon of gas. That's 124 miles per gallon. Dang!
But wait, there's more. Italdesign swears that the vehicle emits just 0.18 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile. By way of comparison, the current generation Toyota Prius emits twice as much CO2 at 0.37 pounds per mile.
To develop the vehicle's hybrid powertrain, Italdesign teamed with Frazer-Nash Research, an offshoot of the British automaker that specializes in such advanced technologies as hybrid and electric vehicles and composite materials.
An insider said the body is made of aluminum and carbon, while the chassis itself is made of carbon-fiber. The powertrain consists of an electric-drive system mated to a "medium-powered" engine.
We suspect we'll need to wait a couple of weeks for further details.
The all-new 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid car made its world debut at the North American International Auto Show last month and, of course, we wrote about it then
and two days later
and 15 days after that
and again on February 5
.
If you're still hankering for photos and information on the Insight or just want to see what the company has to say about its EPA-mileage-rated 40/43 city/highway five-passenger sedan, which is scheduled to reach U.S. showrooms in April, go to Honda's Words of Hybrid Web site.
Ford's 2010 Taurus SHO is a sportier, high-performance version of its flagship sedan.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
A confession: I like to go fast.
A sizeable slice of the driving population does. Automakers know this, so they make cars with powerful engines even though, by now, they (and we) know that powerful and fuel economy don't go together (unless it's a powerful electric motor).
You can't fault them for it - these so-called halo cars draw attention to their brands and usually pull people into their showrooms - even if the people don't buy or end up driving away in something a lot less powerful, and a lot less expensive, then the car that brought them in.
All of which leads to this: Ford Motor Co., operating a little farther back from the precipice than its domestic rivals and thus a little better able to experiment - is bringing back its performance sedan, the Taurus SHO. It will debut this week at the Chicago Auto Show.
But Ford's bringing back the "Super High Output" sedan with a twist.
It is claiming green credentials for the car, which won't use a V8, usually the engine of choice for hot Detroit metal and the engine type used by the last generation Taurus SHO sold from 1996-1999.
Instead, the 2010 Taurus SHO, like the original, introduced in 1989, will use a V6 - although quite a different V6 than that first model's 3-liter, 200-horsepower mill.
And like the original, it will be a pricey Taurus: starting price is $37,995, versus $25,170 for the base'09 Taurus and $32,520 for the top-of-the-line Taurus Limited with all-wheel drive.
The new SHO gets one of Ford's ballyhooed 3.5-liter, direct-injection, twin-turbocharged "EcoBoost" V6s
, this one tuned up to a 365 horsepower rating, 10 ponies more than the 355-horsepower versions being fitted into top-of-the-line 2010 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS sedan and MKT crossover models.
The new engine probably is greener than its predecessor models in terms of smog-causing tailpipe emissions - engines are a lot cleaner now than they were a decade ago.
But without knowing the expected fuel economy (and Ford hasn't released that yet), it's hard to say whether the new SHO will best its predecessor in the fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas categories.
The '99 SHO, with a 3.4-liter, 235 horsepower V8, was rated by the EPA at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. That's the equivalent of about 17 city and 25 highway under the revised EPA ratings system that took effect in 2007.
All Ford has said so far about the new SHO is that its supercharged V6 will deliver V8 power with 6-cylinder fuel economy.
The Fiat Group will announce new engines and new technologies at the Geneva Motor Show next month, including a new 1.8-liter gasoline engine and a 1.3-diesel engine, Italiaspeed reports today
.
The Website reports that the turbocharged four-cylinder 1.8-liter engine will be used in the upcoming Alfa Romeo 159, the Lancia Delta, the Alfa Romeo Brera, Spider and Mito GTA.
It will be offered in 170-, 200- and 230-horsepower outputs (the latter reserved for the Brera, Spider and Mito GTA) and it will feature both direct injection and continuously-variable inlet and exhaust cam timing.
Italiaspeed reports that Fiat Powertrain Technologies is close to production of its Multijet 2 new-generation diesel injection technology, and its Multiair electrohydraulic valve-actuation system.
Multiair is said to improve torque from gasoline engines by up to 20 percent at lower engine speeds and boost power by 10 to 15 percent, yet reduce fuel consumption by up to 10 percent.
Additional information regarding fuel economy and tailpipe emissions was unavailable.
The Multijet 2 engines will be launched in Frankfurt with a new injection pump and solenoid injectors for more precise fuel delivery. Fiat has not yet decided whether to offer any of these small powerplants in the U.S.
The all-new Chevrolet Spark, which will make its world premiere at the Geneva Auto Show in March, will launch in Europe featuring 1.0- and 1.2-liter, 16-valve four-cylinder double-overhead-camshaft gasoline engines, the automaker announced today.
Chevy would not discuss the vehicle's fuel economy, other than to say that both engines deliver "excellent fuel efficiency and low emissions."
Spark will be available in European dealerships in early 2010, followed by the United States and other countries.
The car was inspired by the Chevrolet Beat Concept, the most popular of a trio of mini-car concepts that has toured international auto shows since 2007. Chevy said a clear majority of the 1.9 million Internet voters said it was the car they wanted produced.
Safety equipment will include driver and passenger front air bags, front side airbags, roof rail head curtain airbags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control. Other safety features will include pre-tensioners for front seat belts and three-point belts in the rear.
The crisp lines of the five-door hatchback provide the wedge-like profile common to so many small cars these days. Below the two-tier grille and pointy headlamps, the shape of the fog-lamp housings and the "floating" lower air intake are intended to convey the sense of forward movement.
An uncommon feature is the motorcycle-inspired instrument cluster. Mounted on the steering column, it provides easy-to-read information to the driver utilizing a combination of analog and digital displays.
Price, mileage and emissions information will hopefully be forthcoming in Geneva next month.
It's no big secret that GM needs to score a hit with its Chevrolet Volt right out of the gate, so it is no surprise that the financially ailing automaker is using a launch strategy of "wealthy coastal areas first" for its much-hyped plug-in hybrid (left).
While details are lacking, the strategy became clear this week as General Motors executives attending the Washington Auto Show said they are working with key players in cities such as San Francisco and Washington to set the state for the Volt roll-out.
No on-sale date has been disclosed for the Volt, which is supposed to be capable of traveling up to 40 miles on its grid-charged batteries before a gasoline-fueled engine kicks in to serve as a generator to provide a continued flow of electrons for the car's electric drive motor.
But GM has vowed, repeatedly, to launch the Volt by the end of 2010, so we're anticipating that at least one retail model will be sold somewhere in the U.S. between November 30 and Dec.31 of that year.
GM says that it is working with government and public utility officials in select cities such as San Fransisco (we're betting that oh-so-green Portland, Or., is in the mix, too), as well as with various state and federal agencies, to make sure that when the Volt is ready, so are things like consumer incentives, public and workplace charging systems, "consumer-friendly electricity rates and renewable electricity options" and government and corporate vehicle purchase programs.
The automaker also would like to see states offer carpool lane access to single-occupancy Volts.
The car already qualifies - if GM's performance claims are true - for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which will help mitigate what is expected to be a pretty steep $40,000-plus retail price.
In San Francisco, which recently helped form a coalition of Bay Area cities intent on becoming ground-zero for encouraging use of electric vehicles, Mayor Gavin Newsom said his city already is working to make sure that it has electric vehicle charging infrastructure up and running when the vVolt and cars like it are ready for market.
Mercedes-Benz says it's thinking of selling in the United States a B-class four-door hatchback fueled by compressed natural gas, very similar to the European 2009 B-class model shown here.
Mercedes, part of Daimler AG, plans to display a CNG - or rather NGT, for natural gas technology - B-class model this week at the Washington Auto Show.
Natural gas, once was considered a promising alternative fuel, has fallen out of favor in the light-duty segment even though it tends to be cheaper than gasoline and releases 20 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Regardless, Honda still sells the Civic GX, which runs on CNG.
Mercedes offers a B-class CNG vehicle can run on both natural gas and premium grade gasoline while delivering an identical maximum output of 116 horsepower. Five CNG gas tanks provide a natural gas range of 186 miles. With the gasoline tank, the vehicle has a total range between refueling of 620 miles.
The driver selects which fuel to use with the touch of a button in the steering wheel. An electronic control unit carries out the switch instantaneously without any jolts. Fuel economy tends to run about 32 miles per gallon combined.
The vehicle's four-cylinder engine has been modified by Mercedes-Benz to include additional gas injectors on the underside of the intake manifold. A close-coupled pressure governor with an electromagnetic shut-off valve regulates the supply of natural gas and keeps the pressure within the system constant.
We hope Mercedes will provide additional details during the auto show, which runs February 4 through 8.
The auto industry gets a great opportunity to lobby some key congressional and administration officials this week as the Washington auto show gets underway, and by all accounts industry executives aren't missing a step.
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Rep. Ed Markey sits in Chevrolet Volt display at Washington auto show as Tony Posawatz, the GM executive in charge of the car, fields his questions.
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The theme of the show is "Driven by the Environment," which is a great political promise even if the evidence doesn't always point that way, and there are a host of floor displays pointing out the things automakers are doing to green up their product lines.
Officialdom is using the show's proximity to the Capitol to see first-hand what's up (although, political reality being what it is, the political types will be shown around by auto industry execs and will hear - and see - things through an industry-provided filter).
So far, Rep. Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the select committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming , and Carol Browner, director of the White House Office on Energy and Climate Change both have visited the show and been wooed, especially by General Motors.
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Carol Browner, the administration's energy and climate change guru, listens as GM global design chief Ed Welburn (right) talks about the Chevrolet Spark economy car.
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GM, which soon has to validate its eligibility for billions in federal bailout loans (as will Chrysler) is showing off the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid - for the ten-gazillionth time - and the fuel-efficient Chevy Spark subcompact that made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show.
Also scheduled to walk the show floor this week are Ray LaHood, the new Transportation Secretary, and Lisa Jackson, just confirmed as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mazda Motor Corp. will debut two fuel-efficient models of the all-new second-generation Mazda3 product range at next month's 2009 Geneva Auto Show.
One of the models will be the standard Mazda3 fitted with a 2.0-liter engine. The other will be the higher-performing Mazda MPS, eqipped with a 2.3-liter turbocharged engine.
Both models will feature "i-stop," Mazda's advanced fuel-saving start-stop system. Mazda claims the system will boost the fuel economy of both models by 12 percent over their first-generation predecessors.
Further details, including mileage figures for the second-generation models, were not available. However, the 2009 Mazda3 is EPA rated at 24 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg highway with a 5-speed manual transmission, and 22/30 city/highway with an automatic transmission.
The 2009 Mazda3 MSP is EPA rated at 22/29 city/highway with a stick shift, and 22/28 city/highway with an automatic transmission.
The Mazda3 is one of Mazda's core products, with more than 2 million first-generation sport compacts sold. The second-generation, European-specifications Mazda3s are pictured here, with the sportier MSP version on top.
Mazda hasn't announced when the second-generation models will likely start appearing in showrooms. No doubt that's one of the salient pieces of information the company will withhold until the day the vehicles make their world debut in Geneva. That show will run March 3-15.
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.
To date, Ford has said little about the EV other than to say it will be developed in partnership with Canadian auto components supplier Magna International.
According to the newspaper, this past September executives at the Canadian supplier told Ford they had a surprise. They pulled up at the automaker's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, in a Ford Focus they had bought and converted to battery power on their dime (pictured).
"It was a phenomenal car," Lisa Drake, Ford's chief engineer for hybrid programs, told the newspaper, adding that she couldn't help smiling when she saw it. "We were highly, highly impressed."
So impressed that just four months later, amid otherwise bleak times for the auto industry, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. held a press conference at the Detroit Auto Show to announce plans to bring a car based on that prototype to market in 2011.
When gas prices peaked last summer, tipping the auto industry into its nastiest recession in a generation, Ford started gaming out what would happen if gas kept climbing.
"We were modeling $10 a gallon. We were modeling $12 a gallon," Drake to The Detroit News. "We decided we need to be ready the next time this comes around."
Opel will unveil a vehicle at the Geneva Auto Show in March that uses the same powertrain as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, parent company General Motors announced this week, and that the car will be named Ampera.
The Ampera (pictured) will enter production in 2011, one year after the Volt is scheduled to do so, GM said. Vauxhall, Opel's sister brand in the U.K., will get its own version in 2012 or sometime thereafter.
All three cars will share the Voltec powertrain, which will use an electric motor for propulsion. A battery pack will supply electricity to the motor for the initial 40 or so miles of driving. After that, an onboard gasoline generator will come on to juice the battery pack for roughly 200 more miles of travel.
Once out of gasoline, the Ampera's lithium-ion battery can be recharged via a standard 230-volt outlet. GM will release more data on the European-specification Ampera at the Geneva show.
"With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometers of non-stop electric driving," said Alain Visser, a spokesman for GM Europe's chief marketing office.
The European variant of the Volt is a key model for GM Europe's future model plans and the reinvention of Opel as an upper mid-market brand.
The Ampera is not expected to have any major styling changes in comparison to the Volt and is set to rival the new generation Toyota Prius and Honda Insight that will go on sale in Europe this year.
GM will be hoping that the Ampera's groundbreaking plug-in hybrid powertrain technology will give the model an edge over the Prius and Insight - conventional hybrids that rely on less-desirable nickel-metal hydride battery technology.
Bentley Motors will debut a biofuel-powered coupe or sedan in early March at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show and the vehicle will enter production later this year, the company said.
As we reported last month, the British luxury-car maker is developing ethanol-powered versions of all of its large-engined models in an effort to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from its entire product range by 40 percent within three years.
A statement the company released on Tuesday said nothing more than we reported in the first paragraph of this story, but our sister site - Edmunds.com's very own Inside Line - managed to pry a few additional details out of Bentley spokesman David Reuter today.
Reuter said the biofuel Bentley will be more expensive than the Bentley Continental GT Speed, which sells for $203,000, and it will be more powerful than the 600-horsepower, 13-miles-per-gallon coupe.
However, unless the biofuel car is intended to run on E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent petrol) - very unlikely - and gets substantially better fuel economy than the Continental GT Speed, describing the yet-to-be-named Bentley an eco-sensitive car would be a rather enormous stretch.
That said, we applaud Bentley for taking a step in the right direction. And from what we can see of the car from the teaser photo the automaker supplied (above), the biofuel Bentley is a beauty.
The Detroit auto show is over and the Chicago show doesn't start until the end of next week, so we thought we'd bring you a treat for the slow time in between.
The crack Edmunds video team usually does its work at auto shows for Inside Line, but there were a couple of new and noteworthy green cars being unveiled in Motown earlier this month, so we asked for a few minutes of their time to be devoted to pieces expressly for the Green Car Advisor audience.
Senior Automotive Editor Brian Moody first maneuvered Honda spokesman Sage Marie in front of the 2010 Honda Insight for this 3.5-minute look at what's going to make the upcoming 2010 Honda Insight hybrid tick and why it will come to market costing a lot less than Toyota's Prius.
Then Moody stuck his microphone and inquisitive self in front of Toyota's Bill Reinert, national manager of advanced technology vehicles, for this 6-minute, 47-second discussion of the FT-EV concept car, which foreshadows the battery-electric city car Toyota says it will launch for retail sales in the U.S. in 2012.
Among the things Moody teases out of Reinert is a nice explanation of Toyota's marketing strategy for its first EV, as well as the disclosure that the company is "way beyond" overnight battery charging and is confident it can bring to market a car that can be charged up and ready to go in two hours or so.
So do yourselves a favor, take a 10-minute break and take a look.
Then do us a favor and let us know what you think.
Shown here in a pair of artist's renderings, the i MiEV Sport Air Concept "explores the future possibilities for zero-emission vehicles," Mitsubishi said in a statement released today, "placing a greater bias on exhilarating driving pleasure."
Without going into specifics, Mitsubishi said the concept vehicles will feature "powerful, instant torque from a beefed-up electric motor" and "stable driving and handling and a low center of gravity, due to the in-floor lithium-ion battery."
Instant torque is always music to our ears, and despite Mitsubishi's claim to explore the future possibilities for zero-emissions vehicles with the concept, Tesla Motors has been producing an instant-torque plug-in electric sports car for an entire year.
As for the roof, Mitsubishi says it allows the driver to "enjoy the exhilaration of fresh-air motoring while also highlighting its eco-friendly qualities." We assume that this means the roof retracts, but it's not entirely clear.
Volkswagen, which has been selling its Polo subcompact in Europe since 1975, has decided to bring the supermini fuel-sipping car in the United States.
---------- A 2009 VW Polo gets the star treatment. ----------
VW development chief Ulrich Hackenberg says the automaker wants to take advantage of American buyers' increasing enthusiasm for smaller fuel-efficient cars.
"Oil prices will rise again and that will drive small-car sales up further," he said in an interview at the Detroit auto show last week.
Hackenberg said the U.S.-bound Polos may be produced in VW's assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico, where the original Beetle was made until a few years ago, to avoid an unfavorable Euro-dollar exchange rate. He did not say when U.S. sales of the Polo might start.
The Wolfsburg, Germany, company will debut its fifth-generation Polo -- the 2010 model -- at the Geneva auto show in March. Pricing and fuel economy have not been divulged.
The most fuel-efficient of the current, fourth-generation Polo variants sold in Europe get about 60 miles per gallon. The low-emissions version or versions sold in America would likely get between 40 and 60 mpg.
The decision to sell the Polo in the U.S. will give VW an entrant in the increasingly competitive subcompact market that exists there.
Currently, VW's smallest car in the U.S. is the Rabbit (or Golf, as the model is known elsewhere), which starts at $15,900. Its 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine puts out 170 horsepower, which is wonderful, but achieves only 24 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving.
VW also sells a Jetta compact, which starts at $17,300. It and the Rabbit thus far have not competed favorably in the high-volume, affordable-car segment dominated by the 2009 Honda Civic, which starts at $15,200, and the 2009 Toyota Corolla, which starts at $16,700.
Stepping down a notch in size and price are the 2009 Toyota Yaris, starting at $12,200, and the Honda Fit, starting at $14,700. These -- or rather their 2010 successors, assuming the U.S.-bound Polo is a 2010 model -- would likely be the Polo's direct competition, as would Ford's new Fiesta global car.
GM Still a Big Backer, Even If Not as Publicly as in Past Years
By Dale Buss, Contributor
Of all the contrasts between this year's Detroit auto show and last year's -- most created by the intervening global economic melt-down and resulting car sales crash -- perhaps none is more striking than what happened to ethanol.
---------- Ethanol-capable vehicles such as GM's flex-fuel Yukon were common at last year's Detroit auto show, not so common this year. ----------
At the North American International Auto Show here a year ago, ethanol and ethanol-burning vehicles were the belles of the ball. Ethanol was promoted at almost every major automaker's press conferences and cropped up in interview after interview. Ethanol-using vehicles were everywhere.
This year, it's almost impossible to find mention of ethanol anywhere out on the 700,000-square foot auto show floor at Cobo Hall.
The talk has all been of electrification of the transportation system, electric vehicles, batteries for electric vehicles, and ventures to develop and build better batteries.
But ethanol hasn't gone away -- it is just lying low.
At least one automaker remains bullish on the long-term prospects for the fuel, especially the cellulosic variety.
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.
You might have noticed that 2010 Honda Insight hybrid not only doesn't beat the Toyota Prius in fuel economy, it doesn't even beat its own stablemate, the Honda Civic hybrid, which is a bit larger and heavier than the Insight.
We're only talking about one mile per gallon on average - the Insight is rated at 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway for a combined 41 mpg rating while the Civic hybrid is 40 in the city and 45 on the highway for a 42 mpg overall.
But when gas prices are back up at $4 a gallon,or more, Honda Insight's sales success may well hinge on Honda Insight fuel economy.
A Motor Trend magazine reporter at the Detroit auto show asked a Honda engineer why the car's EPA rating isn't stellar and got a fairly decent explanation: the Insight was designed to be more of a "fun" car to drive, and a less-costly car to boot. So some of the things that promote fuel efficiency on the Civic hybrid (and Prius) were dropped from the Insight.
It Starts With IMA
We'll get to the specifics the Honda engineer provided the magazine in just a moment, but want to add the most important thing, which isn't in the magazine article but which Honda engineers and produce specialists have told Green Car Advisor from the beginning:
The Insight's hybrid drive system is smaller and less powerful than the Civic's.
It doesn't deliver the same level of electric boost to the gas engine. It is the state-of-the-art Honda IMAS (integrated motor assist) system, but downscaled for price and to better fit a smaller vehicle.
UPDATE: Clarifies that deal is limited to battery packs and chargers; electric motors not included.
Tesla Motors announced today that it has agreed to sell 1,000 lithium-ion battery packs and chargers to Daimler AG for use in Smart EDs, the plug-in purely electric-powered version of the Smart ForTwo.
The nonexclusive supply agreement with the giant German automotive company could run into orders for tens of thousands of battery packs and chargers, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a speech at the Detroit Auto Show.
As we reported in August, Daimler AG, parent of Smart, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and other automakers, had picked Tesla to provide batteries for a 150-car test fleet of Smart EDs (as in electric drives).
We also reported in August that Daimler planned to eventually expand the test fleet to 1,000 cars. It would appear the Tesla-Daimler deal is specific to those cars.
Tesla, located in San Carlos, California, began delivering its first model -- the Roadster, a $109,000 battery-powered sports car -- last year and is readying a less-expensive sedan in its efforts to become the first profitable maker of highway-capable electric vehicles.
Daimler, which began selling gasoline-powered Smart ForTwos in the United States last year, has announced plans to introduce the electric variant to America this year.
Tesla Motors today confirmed rumors that it has reached a deal with Daimler AG to sell its all-electric powertrain to the German automaker.
Company spokeswoman Rachel Konrad said Tesla CEO Elon Musk was conducting an interview this morning with the Bloomberg News service when he received a message on his Blackberry informing him that Daimler had approved his request to announce the deal during his keynote address later today at the Detroit auto show.
Tesla, the Silicon Valley maker of the only highway-capable electric vehicle currently sold in the United States, had previously reported that it has a positive cash flow selling the powertrain that it puts in its plug-in-electric, zero-emissions Roadster, but until now Tesla has not identified the buyer.
In addition to the Daimler deal, Konrad said "we're also trying to finalize deals with another major automaker." No word yet on which automaker that is.
Bloomberg reporter Alan Ohnsman has just filed a story that provides some of the details regarding the Tesla-Daimler deal that were not available to Konrad when we spoke with her.
While Konrad had specified electric drivetrain, the Bloomberg piece only mentions battery packs. Specifically, it states that Tesla will supply battery packs for plug-in versions of Daimler's Smart vehicles. We are seeking clarification.
The first order will be for 1,000 power packs this year and next, Bloomberg reported, and Daimler spokeswoman Julia Engelhardt confirmed the contract, without elaborating.
"Assuming it works out well and we meet our cost and performance targets, the expectation would be that this is something that would be sold in tens of thousands of units per year," Musk reportedly said. "It would be a mass market, affordable car."
Tesla began delivering its first automobiles -- its $109,000 Roadster -- last year and is readying a less-expensive sedan in its efforts to become the first profitable maker of electric vehicles.
Daimler, which produces cars and trucks under subsidiaries Maybach, Smart, Mercedes-Benz and other companies, launched U.S. sales of gasoline-powered Smart ForTwo cars in 2008 and plans to introduce an electric model this year.
Fox Business Network reported last June that Tesla had "inked a technology deal" with Daimler, citing an interview with Musk. The CEO was not forthcoming with specifics, and very soon after stopping discussing it. In retrospect, it appears Daimler had asked him to do so.
Falling Fuel Prices Are 'Disincentive' For Consumers, Analyst Group Says
U.S. automotive executives are using the bully platform offered by the Detroit auto show to step up calls for an increase in the funding that Congress is considering - has already allotted in some cases - to finance development and production of advanced vehicles, biofuels and battery technologies that can help reduce the nation's dependence on oil.
What's missing is a call for a sensible fuel tax policy that encourages people to buy the fuel efficident cars the government says automakers must build.
Congress already has approved $25 million in loans to automakers and suppliers to use in retrofitting facilities - or building new ones - for the manufacture of advanced cars and trucks. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler has requested a combined $22 billion of the pot and would like to see the money increased.
President-elect Barack Obama, who is to be sworn in as the 44th president on Jan.20, has indicated a willingness to do just that, perhaps even doubling the $25 million loan pool.
Want More
But the automakers would like to see additional funding made available in the $800 billion economic stimulus plan Congress is now developing at the behest of the incoming Obama Administration.
"It's an issue of economic security, of national security, of energy security," GM research and development chief Larry Burns told reporters during the North American International Auto Show's media preview days this week.
It would be devastating, he said, for the U.S. to merely go from being dependent on foreign oil to being dependent on foreign nations for the advanced batteries and other components needed to make electric vehicles - battery-electric, fuel-cell electric and hybrid-electric .
Granted, GM needs federal funds to survive right now and Burns has a lot at stake - his job, for instance - in promoting federal funding that helps the industry.
But we still agree with him.
We'd rather see a few hundred billion tossed to the companies working on lithium-ion and more advanced batteries, clean biofuels, fuel cell and electric charging and hydrogen fueling station infrastructure development than to be handed to the corn ethanol industry or to big banks so they can continue bolstering their reserves.
Need Tax Plan
Analysts in the London offices of Global Insight economic and business forecasting and consulting, looking at the U.S. situation from an outsider perspective, suggest that things could work well if federal tax policy encouraged purchases of and investments in more fuel-efficient vehicles.
China's BYD Auto brought its Chevy Volt-like plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to the Detroit Auto Show, beating the local automakers to market by a year or more.
Fortunately for the Detroit 3, BYD's market right now is limited to China, and after the company unveiled its F3DM PHEV to North America today, it announced that it doesn't intend to export the vehicle to America until 2011.
Is that to give Detroit automakers a chance to catch up? Don't bet on it.
Other than announcing its targeted U.S. launch date, BYD did not divulge any information today that we didn't include in a report last month.
However, Reuters reported today that BYD's chairman said in an interview Sunday that BYD is open to licensing the low-cost ferrous-iron battery in the F3DM. Chairman Wang Chuan-Fu was quoted as saying that BYD has had interest in the battery from Japanese, European and U.S. carmakers.
BYD Auto was founded in 2003 by the BYD Group, which was founded in 1995 to produce batteries. Since then BYD Group has grown from a small factory of 20 employees to a leading global battery-maker employing 130,000 people.
Chrysler held the spotlight at the Detroit Auto Show for more than a solid half an hour Sunday with the unveiling of its 200C EV plug-in hybrid electric concept vehicle.
The "performance sedan" is capable of traveling up to 40 miles on battery-only power, company spokesmen said, producing zero tailpipe emissions in the process.
After that distance, an onboard gasoline generator fires up and supplies electricity to the battery, extending the fuel-efficient vehicle's driving range to 400 miles between charges and refills. An electric motor provides all of the vehicle's propulsion.
Frank Klegon, the company's executive vice president of product development, as well as other Chrysler executives and spokespeople, did not go into detail describing the concept's powertrain. Instead, they focused on the vehicle's lovely design.
Given that General Motors doesn't expect to profit from the similarly propelled Chevrolet Volt for at a couple of years after launch, and given Chrysler's worse financial shape, we'd be a little surprised if the 200C EV makes it to market, but we hope it does.
As is often the case with concepts, no price, estimated mileage or launch date was provided.
Toyota made good on its promise to place the third-generation Prius on the world stage today, rolling out at the Detroit Auto Show a model that is more fuel efficient and more powerful, roomier and cleaner aerodynamically, than its predecessors.
Plus, the No. 1 Japanese automaker by sales divulged a lot of facts about Prius Gen 3. The only large piece that's missing from the 2010 Prius puzzle is pricing, which won't be announced until shortly before the new Prius goes on sale late spring.
Toyota claims the 2010 Prius achieves 50 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not yet rated it. The first-generation Prius is EPA rated at 41 mpg combined and the second generation Prius is EPA rated at 46 mpg combined.
A larger and more powerful 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle, four-cylinder engine powers the new Prius. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the larger engine actually helps improve highway mileage. By making more torque, the new engine can run at lower average revolutions per minute on the highway. When operating at lower RPM, the new engine uses less fuel.
Toyota says the use of an electric water pump and a new exhaust gas recirculation system also contribute to the engine's efficiency. And the 1.8-liter engine is the first Toyota power plant that requires no belts under the hood for better fuel economy and less potential maintenance.
Also new is a multi-information display panel that monitors fuel and energy consumption. It provides feedback on the Prius's efficiency using three different displays to help the driver acquire economical driving habits.
Okay, maybe the last thing the world needs more big-bucks hybrids (Lexus so far hasn't burned up the sales charts with its attempts), but BMW has said it "probably" will have hybrid versions of both the X6 and the 7-Series on sale in the U.S. sometime later this year.
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BMW's 7-Series hybrid concept is introduced in Detroit by Klaus Draeger, the automakers' chief of development.
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BMW used the Detroit auto show to unveil the Concept 7-Series Active-Hybrid, a mild-hybrid job that combines a 20-horsepower electric motor with the car's conventional twin-turbocharged V-8 to "significantly reduce both fuel consumption and emissions," said BMW board member Dr. Klaus Draeger.
There's also a lithium-ion battery pack and a regenerative braking system in what is sure to be a package with a stratospheric price in line with Lexus' slow-moving LS600 h hybrid.
The company also reminded that the Concept X6 Active-Hybrid is still around - it finally is bringing to market the two-mode hybrid transmission technology co-developed with General Motors and Daimler.
The pricey two-mode hybrid transmission is particularly well-suited to crossover-type utility vehicles, said BMW, and will enable the X6 hybrid to use "about 20 percent less fuel than a comparable vehicle."
"We are certain both hybrid concepts will be particularly attractive for the U.S. customer," said Robertson. "Together with our diesel models, we are able to offer the U.S. customers a variety of solutions to suit different needs and tastes."
"Both hybrid models will be ready for series production in 2009," said Robertson. "That means they will probably be available to our customers from the end of the year."
That "probably" leaves something to think about, however.
The European automakers still display a certain distaste for hybrid technology, preferring to promote diesel. Both of BMW's development partners with the two-mode system, for example, have had production models on sale for some time - GM with its Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade SUVs and former Daimler division Dodge with its now-discontinued Durango and Aspen hybrids.
So, with the economy in a tank and luxury car sales falling along with everything else, we'll take a wait-and-see approach to this latest hybrid news from Bimmer.
Two views of Fisker S show car with retractable top down and up. Top slides under rear deck.
When car designer and now auto-maker Henrik Fisker sent word his eponymous Fisker Automotive was preparing a new version of the upcoming Karma plug-in hybrid sport sedan for the North American iInternational Auto Show, the first thought was "Aha! A convertible."
We were right, sort of.
We'd envisioned a ragtop, and what Fisker has unveiled in Detroit this morning is a retractable hardtop version of the Karma, to be called the Karma S -- for "Sunset," not "sedan.".
In addition, Fisker used his press conference at the show to pull the covers off the production version of the Karma sedan, a car he'd introduced as a concept just one year ago at the 2008 Detroit show.
It's really a pre-production model, however, as Fisker Automotive won't start building the cars until late November (actually, Valmet Automotive. a Finnish carbuilder that also assembles cars for Porsche, will be doing the building under contract).
As you can see from the photos at right, the production version (top)
doesn't differ a whole lot from the concept.
Those sweeping curves are expensive to produce in mass assembly, which is why many production models bear little relation to the fabulous concepts from which they sprung.
But it's pretty easy to keep the faith when the only bean counters you have to answer to get your designs into production unmolested are you and our longtime business partner.
The Fisker Karmas are what have come to be called extended-range EVs but more accursately are series hybrids with rechargeable batteries.
They use a medium-size lithium-ion battery pack that can be charged up from a household outlet to provide the day's initial power - the cars can run up to 50 miles on juice form the batteries alone, Fisker says.
If the trip is longer than that, a small internal combustion engine kicks on, not to power the wheels directly but to generate electricity that keeps the electric drive motors turning the wheels.
There are two of those motors, and Fisker claims that together they pump out 403 horsepower.
The original Karma has been priced at $87,900. We imagine the "S," with all of its fancy top-retracting hardware and electronics, will be a few thousand more.
Mercedes-Benz, which has been real-world testing electric-drive Smart ForTwos in London for more than a year, announced Sunday that it will start mass production of the vehicle in Europe and "is exploring opportunities for the U.S. market."
In other words, Mercedes has yet to decide if it will sell the Smart ForTwo ED (electric drive) in America. The German automaker said at the Paris Motor Show a few months ago that the electric vehicle could start selling the car in the U.S. by 2012.
The carmaker did not specify 2012 or another year during a press conference Sunday. Mercedes might be waiting for the U.S. economy -- and more importantly, automotive sales in America -- to improve before stating when the ForTwo ED will definitely be available here.
Mercedes says the zero-emissions can has a range of about 72 miles, and that a full recharge using a normal plug and outlet requires up to eight hours. It's possible the automaker wants to improve upon those figures before taking the plug-in electric vehicle to market.
General Motors Corp., signaling that it has learned its lesson, said it plans to build its own advanced battery-pack manufacturing lab, establish a battery research facility, partner with the University of Michigan to develop an advanced battery engineering curriculum at the school and add hundreds of battery technology specialists to its own R&D staff.
---------- GM engineers work on early Volt battery pack. ----------
The automaker also announced the expected - that it has selected South Korea's LG Chem to supply the lithium-ion battery cells that will be used for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.
The announcements were made by GM chairman Rick Wagoner, who said that GM, which launched the modern auto industry's first electric vehicle, the EV1, in 1996 and then killed it in 2003 after declaring that people weren't interested in electric cars, is now firmly committed to electrification.
The company has spent more than $1 billion developing the Volt and will continue investing huge sums in battery technology for future electric vehicles, he said.
When Ford Motor Co. launches its 2010 Flex all-purpose wagon and the 2010 Lincoln MKS luxury sedan and MKT crossover later this year, all three will be endowed with the company's new, fuel-efficient but powerful EcoBoost V6 engine (right).
The powerplant, which will later find its way into more Ford vehicles, is tuned to make a V8-like 355 horsepower and 350 foot-pounds of torque while delivering V6 fuel economy.
The automaker will discuss the engine technology at a press conference today as the North American International Auto Show kicks off the first of three media preview days, but provided this early look for those who don't like to follow strict schedules.
In the full-size Flex, all-wheel drive models equipped with the twin-turbo EcoBoost engine are expected to deliver 22 miles per gallon on the highway and combined highway-city mileage of about 18 mpg.
The Lincoln MKS sedan with the EcoBoost V6 delivered 25 miles a gallon on the highway and 16 mpg around town in Ford's preliminary testing and is expected to win federal EPA ratings that are the same, the company said.
Ford executives said the 2010 Lincoln MKT crossover with EcoBoost is expected to get a highway rating of about 20 mpg.
Ford's 2010 EcoBoost lineup: Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT.
A Look Inside
All of Ford's twin-turbo EcoBoost V6s will be mated to a new 6-speed automatic with select shift, the company said. Increasing the number of gear ratios, or "speeds" in a transmission helps improve fuel economy by letting the engine operate in its most efficient range more often.
The kicky, fuel-efficient Chevy Beat subcompact that General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said last summer wouldn't be coming to the U.S. will be here in 2011, GM announced today.
It will be called the Spark, though - same name as it has in Europe and Latin America, where the model that will come here in two years will be introduced next year.
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Spark concept, cheered by a GM-sponsored crowd, arrives on Chevrolet stage at Detroit Auto Show.
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To be fair to Lutz, what he said back in July was that GM hadn't had the foresight to engineer the tiny hatchback to meet U.S. safety rules, and it would take too long - about two years - and too much money to do it after the fact.
Well, times change, GM has caught the small-and-fuel-efficient bug and we get the Chevy Spark if the cash-strapped automaker can hang on long enough.
GM offered no info about the car that will go on sale, but it did show us a concept, called the Chevy Beat, at the LA auto show back in November 2007 that had a fuel-sipping, turbocharged, 1.2-liter gas engine and was a full foot shorter than anything GM was selling in the U.S.
The Spark, the General now says,will be based on that concept.
We're adding it to our list of cars we hate to have to be kept waiting for.
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.
The Cadillac Converj Concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle made its worldwide debut today at the Detroit Auto Show.
The four-passenger grand touring coupe contains the same electric-propulsion technology found in the Chevrolet Volt PHEV, which also permits a claimed 40 miles of gasoline- and emissions-free electric driving and a gas-fueled extended-range capability of hundreds of miles.
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is pictured here introducing the vehicle. Its propulsion system is made up of a 16-kilowatt T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack containing 220 lithium-ion cells, an electric motor that turns the front wheels, and a four-cylinder gasoline engine-generator that feeds the battery pack.
The battery is integrated into the Converj's chassis and stores electricity from the utility grid when the vehicle is plugged in. GM claims it takes less than three hours to recharge the battery at 240 volts, or about eight hours from a 120-volt outlet.
When the battery's energy is low, the gas engine-generator comes on and provides electricity to the battery pack. In this way, the vehicle can go hundreds of miles before recharging and refueling.
Will the vehicle ever enter mass production? No one can say for sure.
It's been nearly three months since Toyota released a very grainy photo of the 2010 Pruis
, the third generation of the illustrious low-emissions hybrid, and the car isn't scheduled to make its world debut until late Monday morning.
That's when Toyota has scheduled a press conference to strut its new stuff at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
However, a Toyota-owned Japanese Website today posted the first high-resolution photo we've seen of the 2010 model, and we've posted that photo it here.
We will, of course, post photos of the newest Prius as soon as it takes the stage in Detroit. Toyota is expected to announce the vehicle's fuel economy and North American pricing and availability at the unveiling.
Ford Motor Co. plans to jump into the electric vehicle word in a big way, chief executive Alan Mulally and other executives told reporters at the North American International Auto Show today.
---------- Ford is testing a plug-in hybrid version of its Escape SUV. ----------
The company already has announced plans to launch a battery-electric delivery van
for the commercial vehicle market in 2010, and Mulally said a battery-EV small car for the retail market will follow in 2011.
Beyond that, Ford plans to hit the market with a new generation of hybrids - including its first plug-in - by 2012. (The company presently is testing a plug-in version of its Escape hybrid SUV.)
The 2010 Ford EV will be developed in partnership with Canadian auto components supplier Magna International, and Ford executives said the company would work with partners on other green vehicles and on lithium-ion battery development as well.
The company's high-volume global platforms for small and mid-size cars such as the Focus and the Fusion, will support battery-electric powertrains as well as conventional gas and diesel engines said Mark Fields, president of Ford's Americas division.
Ford's chairman, Bill Ford, said the company has formed a four-way partnership in China and the U.S. to help expand its electric vehicle expertise.
In addition to Ford, the partners are Changan Auto Group and the cities of Chongquing, China, and Denver, Colo.
The cities' cooperation is valuable because they can provide real-world test-beds for EVs by introducing them into city fleets and by facilitating tests of things such as public charging infrastructure, smart grid electrical hookups.
Lexus just unwrapped its newest hybrid, the 2010 HS 250h. No pricing of fuel efficiency numbers yet, although the company is claiming that it will be "more than 30 percent better than the most fuel-efficient model currently in the Lexus lineup."
That would would put the HS 250h somewhere in the territory of 33 mpg, as the most-efficient Lexus today is the 2008 RX 400hhybrid crossover, rated at 27 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway for a combined average of 25 miles per gallon.
The HS 250h, a five-seat sedan that uses the same platform as the 2010 Prius from stablemate Toyota, is Lexus' first stand-alone hybrid model.
It uses a 2.4-liter, Atkinson-cycle, four-cylinder gas engine and Lexus' version of the Toyota hybrid electric motor and battery pack, for combined output of 187 horsepower. It's basically the same powerplant used in the Toyota Camry Hybrid, which, not coincidentally, is EPA-rated at 33 mph in the city and 34 mpg on the highway..
Among its claims to uniqueness, the 2010 HS 250h is the first Lexus to use bio-plastic in its interior.
Lexus' parent, Toyota Motor Corp., has been developing plastics based on renewable plant material rather than petroleum for years now and intends to become on of the world's leading suppliers.
Lexus says that about 30 percent of the HS 250h interior and luggage area is covered with the material, which it calls Ecological Plastic.
That's enough, the company said, to reduce lifetime carbon dioxide emissions from the vehicle by 20 percent.
Smog-causing emissions from the fuel system and engine are low enough to give the new hybrid a SULEV (super ultra-low emissions vehicle) rating.
Lexus expects the HS 250h to hit showrooms in the late summer, slotted between the IS sport sedan and ES sedan models (which ought to put the starting price somewhere around $32,500).
Johnson Controls, the world's largest producer of lead-acid automotive batteries, unveiled its iPod-inspired lithium-ion-battery- and gasoline-powered RE3 Concept today at the Detroit Auto Show.
---------- See jump for more photos. ----------
With this hybrid the company hoped to show that it "can redesign and improve the interior of a small vehicle to meet the needs of consumers while adding tremendous value for our customers."
Specifically, Johnson Controls designers sought to provide seating for five in a plug-in hybrid vehicle, significantly reduce mass and optimize cost, integrate many desirable interior amenities, develop the concept globally, and deliver a vehicle that is customizable to various markets around the world.
In other words, if you are looking to produce plug-in hybrids, the folks at Johnson Controls would like you to ask them to supply a base vehicle that you can tweak to appeal to your targeted markets. The RE3 Concept demonstrates what you can expect from Johnson Controls.
Features include: an "extended cluster" consisting of a traditional 4.3-inch gauge cluster and a 7-inch color touch-panel display; a seating arrangement that allows the the passenger front seat to slide backward into the second row, facilitating conversation with the rear passenger or allowing the front passenger to attend to a child more easily; and, an ergonomic armrest with controls usually found in the center stack.
An overhead console contains a wireless control system that can be used to remotely operate garage doors, estate gates, rear and front locks, home security and lighting systems, and other convenience and safety devices.
This iPod-inspired vehicle would be remiss without a place for your iPod, so Johnson Controls added a "mobile device gateway" that links mobile electronic devices (mobile phones, navigation devices, music players and more) to the vehicle and allows the driver to use them intuitively, safely and easily.
The vehicle is also fitted with a "mobile commerce" device (think credit-card swiper) that allows consumers to securely pay for mobile purchases and services while traveling. So, you can rack up debt on your way to the mall.
Visit Johnson Controls' media center via this direct link for more information on the RE3 Concept.
Honda Motor Co. said today that the federal EPA fuel economy rating for the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid,which goes on sale in April, will be 40 miles per gallon in city driving and 43 mpg on the highway, an overall average of about 41 mpg.
That mileage, while stellar in today's market, is well below that of its chief competitor, Toyota's Prius, which is rated at 48 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg on the highway for an overall average of 46 mpg.
But the Insight wasn't expected to be able to compete on fuel economy alone. Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system uses a smaller electric motor than Toyota's Synergy Drive system and requires more use of the the car's gas engine.
Instead, Honda designed the five-seat Insight - its first stand-alone hybrid model since the original two-seat, 70 mpg Insight that was sold from late 1999 until 2006 - to compete on price.
The company has been coy so far, saying only that it would be the least-expensive gas-electric hybrid in the market, which would likely put the base LX model at or below $20,000. The Prius starts at $22,000.
Pricing still hasn't been released - that's expected to happen closer to the on-sale date - and all Honda would say today is that the 2010 Insight will be priced "near" the mid-range of the Honda line up and "below the Civic hybrid," which starts at $23,550.
"We're opening up...hybrid technology to an entirely new group of buyers that previously may not have considered a hybrid because of either image or cost," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda.
Remember that 2009 Insight hybrid that Honda was going to unveil at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today?
The '09 Insight it released photos of last month, and showed off as a near-production "concept" at the Los Angeles auto show in November?
Yeah, that 2009 Honda Insight hybrid.
Well, forget it.
Honda has now decided that it's a 2010 model.
So from now on that's what they, and we, will be calling it. As you are searching the Web for info on the sub-$20,000 Prius fighter, key in "2010 Honda Insight" for the most up-to date data.
Oh, the covers still will be pulled off the official production version of the new hybrid later today at the NAIAS, amid speeches about Honda's commitment to green, fuel-efficient vehicles.
Chrysler, which so far has shown us an electric sports car, an extended-range hybrid minivan and an extended-range hybrid Jeep Wrangler to prove that its green division is hard at work and that the company knows that the future isn't in hemi-V8s, has added a fourth vehicle to its electric lineup.
Just in time for the North American International Auto Show (ta dah!), Chrysler's ENVI unit has retrofitted a Jeep Patriot crossover utility vehicle with an electric drive hybrid system that uses a small gasoline engine to generate juice when the battery pack's initial charge is depleted.
ENVI, for those who don't know, is Chrysler's greenworks. Its name comes from the first four letters of "environmental" and not from Chrysler's feelings about Toyota and others that jumped on the alternative fuels and powerplants bandwagon long before Chrysler figured out which way the circus was heading.
Anyhow, the Jeep Patriot EV, pictured above, is just a concept. Chrysler says that one of the EVs its engineers at ENVI are working on will be put into production in 2010, but hasn't let slip yet which it will be (we're leaning toward the Dodge EV sports car, which has just been renamed the Dodge Circuit).
The Patriot uses a 150-kilowatt electric motor rated at 200 horsepower and boasts a top speed slightly in excess of 100 mpg, Chrysler says.
When it is officially introduced at the auto show in Detroit today, it will wear a green paint job that Chrysler calls "ENVI Green Pearl." And, of course, the gi-normous "EV" logo that's splashed across the sides of all four of Chrysler's EV concepts.
The marketing guys in Auburn Hills must have figured that if it's a green car it really ought to be a green car and have repainted the other Jeep extended-range EV, a Wrangler, the same shade. It was white with giant chromed EV logos when it was in LA - land of bling.
But then, Chrysler has done up the Town and Country extended-range minivan in a deep gray - Liquid Graphite Pearl, to be precise - and the Dodge Circuit is tangerine, or "Tangoreen," so maybe it is only Jeeps that gotta be green to show that they are.
Anyhow, like the other extended range EVs Chrysler unveiled back in September and first publicly showed in November at the LA auto show, the Patriot EV uses a lithium-ion battery pack - Chrysler still hasn't said who the supplier is - and can travel up to 40 miles on all-electric power from a fully charged battery.
After that, the small gas engine kicks on to continue generating electricity to feed the electric motor, which is what drives the wheels.
By the time the fuel in the tank runs dry, Chrysler says its extended-range EVs can tick off 400 miles on their odometers.
And then you just fill 'er up at the first convenient gas station and you can keep driving until you have time to stop and plug-in the batteries for a recharge that will take several hours.
That's if Chrysler makes it out of the deep financial morass it's slogging around in these days, and, once out, actually pushes forward with its apparent commitment to electricity as the gasoline of the future.
The whole ENVI family: Jeep Wrangler and Patriot, Town and Country and Dodge Circuit EVs.
Toyota's concept electric vehicle is a light-duty runabout based on Japanese-market iQ commuter car.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
The battery-electric city car concept Toyota Motor Corp. will unveil Sunday afternoon in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show is confirmation, the automaker said today, of Toyota's intent to begin selling an urban EV by 2010.
In a pre-show statement, Toyota's chief US spokesman also said the automaker, undaunted by the present collapse of auto sales around the globe, intends in the next few years to :
intensify the launch of conventional hybrid models;
push development of plug-in hybrids that can run solely on electric power for extended periods, and ;
use concepts like the city EV to expand its alternative vehicles efforts beyond the hybrid technology it has helped perfect.
Toyota's hybrid push begins Sunday with the 2010 Prius and 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrids being unveiled during the auto show's opening media day.
iQ With Batteries
The EV concept, which hasn't been seen until now, is expected to generate as much buzz as the new hybrids, however.
Photos released today (top, right and below)
show the Toyota electric car, the FT-EV Concept, as a tiny two-seater based on the popular Toyota iQ urban commuter car launched last year in Japan.
Toyota says the FT-EV concept is an attempt to examine a car that would fit the needs and lifestyle of an urban dweller who drives no more than 50 miles a day and uses public transit for longer trips.
"Last summer's $4-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly, it was a brief glimpse of our future" Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said in a statement released with the photos.
"We must address the inevitability of peak oil [the point at which global production begins to decline] by developing vehicles powered by alternatives to liquid-oil fuel, as well as new concepts, like the iQ, that are lighter in weight and smaller in size," said Miller, group vice president for environmental and public affairs at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.
(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.
It would appear that Daimler not only views electrification of the automobile as the key to sustainable mobility, but it also views the shift from gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles as an opportunity for the Stuttgart automaker to compete head on with major automotive parts suppliers.
In an interview today with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Chief Executive Thomas Weber (pictured) said Daimler -- parent company of Mercedes-Benz and Smart -- intends to compete directly with German automotive parts supplier Robert Bosch and other companies in selling high-performance lithium-ion batteries to third parties.
Weber's comments follow the joint announcement last month by Daimler and German chemical, energy and real estate company Evonik Industries that the two companies had partnered to develop lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and hybrids, with the first publicized target for the new batteries being the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid due out this year.
Daimler and Evonik made that announcement less than a week after Mercedes-Benz disclosed plans to unveil a trio of BlueZero electric-drive concept vehicles at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, which starts next Monday, and Daimler's announcement to expand its test program of electric-drive Smart Fortwos from London and Berlin to the Italian cities of Rome, Milan and Pisa.
According to industry forecasts, the market size for high-performance lithium-ion batteries will exceed $13 billion within the next decade. Clearly, Daimler and Evonik Industries want a chunk of that market, as do Toyota, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan, all of which have recently partnered with battery-makers.
China's BYD Auto will showcase the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at next week's Detroit auto show, according to a report in China Automotive Review.
The five-year-old automaker began selling the dual-mode hybrid in China last month -- at least a full year before rivals General Motors and Toyota bring electric-powered vehicles to market. BYD Auto has said it plans to sell the F3DM PHEV in North America in two or three years.
The F3DM, which was unveiled to reporters at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen last month, can travel 62 miles using only batteries, BYD Auto claims. After that, a 1.0-liter all-aluminum gasoline engine comes on to generate electricity for the vehicle's battery pack, which in turn powers the vehicle's 75-kilowatt electric motor.
The midsize sedan sells for about $21,700. BYD Auto attributes its ability to offer the F3DM at about half the estimated price of GM's comparable Chevrolet Volt PHEV, due out in 2010, to a breakthrough development in battery technology.
Parent company BYD, which is the No. 1 supplier of lithium-ion batteries for cell phones, is now able to produce a high-performance ferrous-based lithium-ion battery on an industrial scale, company Vice President Lian Yubo said.
The fledgling Southern California plug-in-hybrid manufacturer says it will be introducing a new concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week, along with the production version of the Fisker Karma.
Fisker Automotive isn't providing much more info - just the design detail shot shown here (left) and word that the new "Karma S," (it stands for "Sunset"), will use the same plug-in series hybrid powertrain as the original Karma, which debuted a year ago at the 2008 Detroit show.
Hmmmm. Wonder if the Sunset might be the Karma convertible that company CEO and designer Henrik Fisker (right) was talking up way back in February?
But we digress.
Back to the powertrain: that would be the system designed for Fisker by Quantum Technologies.
The automaker claims it can deliver up to 50 miles of range on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack before an internal combustion engine-generator takes over to continue producing juice that drives a pair of electric motors delivering up to 408 horsepower.
Toyota's president may not make it to Detroit next month for the North American International Auto Show (and who could blame him for passing on downtown Detroit during an icy cold January??) but his company will be there, and with an unexpected surprise.
In a terse teaser today, Toyota Motor Sales said it will display a concept battery-electric car at the show: A Toyota EV!
The company's statement, accompanied by the small detail photo you see here, was all of two sentences long: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. will display a battery electric vehicle concept at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. This display marks the world debut of this concept vehicle.
We don't know any more about the concept, but we do know that despite sinking global sales, a looming operating loss and its seemingly single-minded devotion to gas-electric hybrid technology, Toyota continues pursuing a number of "green" avenues as it ponders the best ways to remain atop the heap as the auto industry moves into a challenging 21st Century.
In addition to the new EV concept, Toyota also will unveil at the Detroit Auto Show (press preview days are Jan. 11-14) the 2010 Prius and a new Lexus hybrid.
We also know that the company plans to use the show to lay out its vision for a future that deemphasizes use of petroleum-based fuels.
Volvo today released photos of the S60 Concept sedan the Swedish automaker will unveil next month at the Detroit auto show.
While the press release that accompanied the photos focused on the car's sleek look, it's what's under the hood that leaves a lasting impression.
At its heart is a 1.6-liter gasoline turbocharged direct injection engine achieving a proclaimed 47 miles per gallon. Yes, 1.6 liters is small displacement and the 180 horsepower it puts out isn't going to impress NASCAR fans. But 47 MPG? That's sweet!
The gas-powered engine is expected to make it into production next year and, hopefully, the production-model S60 -- at least as an option.
Volvo is withholding further performance details so as to not spoil the concept's debut.
One feature the automaker is discussing and promising to include in the all-new S60 is a ground-breaking safety innovation that, among other things, can detect a pedestrian who steps into the path of the car.
If the driver doesn't respond to the pedestrian quick enough, "the car's full braking power is automatically activated." We're not sure we like the sound of the car slamming on its own brakes, but the mileage, the mileage!
Mercedes-Benz will unveil a small family of BlueZero electric-drive concept vehicles at next month's 2009 Detroit Auto Show, and the official images of one of them have already been leaked on several German Web sites.
The least complicated of the three concepts is the BlueZero E-Cell, a pure-electric plug-in model featuring a 100-kilowatt motor with 236 pound-feet of torque and a lithium-ion battery pack. The range is said to be just over 60 miles on a two-hour charge.
An extended-range companion is the BlueZero E-Cell Plus, a gas-electric hybrid that adds a turbocharged three-cylinder engine from the Smart stable as an onboard generator to boost range to nearly 375 miles.
The third model is the BlueZero F-Cell, which uses a hydrogen fuel cell to deliver 136 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, with zero emissions.
Slightly more information can be found about these vehicles at our sister site, Edmunds' Inside Line.
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.
Now, with the mainstream U.S. auto industry in disarray and a number of import automakers withdrawing from the 2009 show, which opens its doors in Detroit early next month, Fisker is hoping to generate new buzz with the official production version of the exotic sports sedan.
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Fisker Karma production model (top) is fairly faithful to the concept (bottom) introduced 11 months ago. Major changes appear to include taller roof line and elimination of rear end's "cycle fender" look.
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It may be one of the few upbeat things at the show, where business writers charting the industry's travails may well outnumber auto enthusiast writers during the four-day press preview that begins Jan. 11.
As far as the Karma goes, not much has changed, except for the price, now set at $87,900 instead of the $80,000 "range" the company's been using, and the production date, now set for November 2009 instead of the softer "fourth quarter" that had been tossed around.
Designer and company president Henrik Fisker says the principal difference between concept and production version is a slate of "minor design enhancements made to the exterior."
In addition to an apparent flattening of the rear fender lines and a slight raising of the roof line, those enhancements include an enlarged grill and lower air intake, Fisker said.
He also said the price hike hasn't dimmed enthusiasm for the car (in those circles the $87,900 is likely to be plunked down in cash). More than 1,000 orders have been taken, Fisker said in an interview last month, and production - admittedly low-volume in year one as things ramp-up - is sold out through mid-2010.
Honda Motor Co. has joined the list of automakers downplaying the importance of January's 2009 North American International Auto Show , but the automaker says it still will use the Detroit show to debut the production version of its upcoming Insight hybrid.
Unlike Nissan and several other carmakers that are pulling out of the upcoming Detroit show
completely in order to save the millions of dollars show participation can cost, Honda will still be there, and will still have a range of top executives available for interviews and to promote the company's vehicles during the show's four-day media preview, said spokesman Sage Marie.
---------- Honda's 2010 Insight Hybrid will look a lot like the concept (right) shown in Paris and Los Angeles. ----------
"We're just doing away with the smoke and mirrors," he said, referring to the company's decision to not stage a formal unveiling ceremony with the kind of theatrical productions -- including indoor snowstorms, cattle drives, entertainment and sports stars hawking vehicles and cars crashing through walls of glass -- that has distinguished the Detroit show for decades.
It wasn't a difficult decision.
With the auto industry in turmoil and the fate of the ever-shrinking "Big Three" U.S. automakers expected to be the center of attraction anyway -- there probably will be more financial obituary writers than auto writers in attendance during the media preview days -- an expensive launch party for the Insight probably wouldn't have gained any more publicity for the car than its mere presence on the show floor will garner.
"It's an important vehicle that will still generate a huge amount of interest," Marie said of the Insight, a five-seat hybrid expected to be priced below $20,000, making it the industry's least-expensive gas-electric car at a time consumers are looking to save money in the showroom as well as at the gas pump.
"We'll still be at the show, and with the right car at the right time," he said.
Kia Motors America today announced the North American debut of the all-new Soul five-passenger vehicle at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The 2010 model will achieve combined fuel economy at or above 30 miles per gallon, have a starting price in the teens and go on sale across the U.S. in spring 2009, Kia spokeswoman Beverly Braga said.
"To get it in the 20s ($20,000 or more), it would have to be loaded with every available option," she said, highlighting the affordability of the boxy, sportwagen intended for "young and young-at-heart buyers."
Soul's 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission and produces 120 horsepower. A 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is available with either the five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. The latter engine produces approximately 140 horsepower, and is available for the Soul+, Soul! and Soul Sport trims.
Fuel economy for both engines is estimated at 30 or more mpg combined. Designed in Southern California, Soul originally debuted as a concept vehicle at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in 2006.
The production version remains true to the concept, with an angled window line, rounded nose, large flared back headlamps and chrome grille. The beltline rises from the front wheel arch to create a gentle wedge shape and continues under and around the rear side window.
Green Car Journal today honored Volkswagen's all-new 2009 Jetta TDI diesel-powered sedan with the magazine's Green Car of the Year Award, which was presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The vehicle, which starts at $21,990 for the four-door sedan and $23,590 for the SportWagen, meets the low-emissions requirement for sale in all 50 United States and is EPA rated at 30 miles per gallon in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.
Volkswagen, which had claimed the Jetta TDI got 60 mpg, contested the government rating and hired third-party tester Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. to conduct their own tests. AMCI's results: 38 mpg city and 44 mpg.
AMCI's results did not approach 60 mpg, but they do represent a 24-percent improvement over the EPA's figures.
Edmunds.com's Inside Line, which is conducting 12-month, 20,000-mile long-term test on the sedan, has reported getting only 31 mpg combined to date, but it should be noted that IL drivers aren't known for being light on their feet.
The BMW 335d, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid and Smart ForTwo rounded out the top-5 contenders for the green-car award.
Vehicles using all types of technologies, fuels and powerplants are eligible for the honor. To qualify for consideration as a nominee, a vehicle must exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance and be in production by January 1 of the award year.
Additionally, a potential nominee must be driven by Green Car Journal staff. That requirement and others prevented some strong contenders--including the Tesla Roadster and MINI E electric vehicles--from being considered for the award.
We were expecting, maybe, that Honda might juice up its press conference at the LA Auto Show with an updated concept version of the hybrid sports coupe the company's been teasing us with.
But no, boring old Honda pulled the covers off the same CR-Z concept it first rolled out at the 2007 Tokyo show.
Then the company found excitement, knocking our socks off by rolling out an all-new design study -- a fuel cell sports car concept called, back in boring old Honda mode, the FC Sport.
On a more mundane plane, Honda also rolled out the Insight Hybrid concept (which, we're told, is pretty much a giveaway off what the production model will look like) that it first showed at the Paris auto show last month.
The Insight (right)
, which resurrects the name given Honda's first hybrid, will debut next year in the U.S. as a five-passenger compact that slots into the lineup beneath the Civic and Civic Hybrid and will be priced, the company suggests, a few thousand dollars less than the base Toyota Prius.
Unlike hybrid-centric Toyota, though, Honda thinks of hybrids as an interim step to a brave new world of silent, zero-emissions electric cars that produce their own juice by blending hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell stack.
That's what the FC Sport Concept is all about.
We're not naive enough to think we'll ever see a Honda that looks quite like it - with or without a fuel-cell electric powertrain - but we do think that developing the concept shows Honda still believes fuel cells have a future. (Indeed, the company in July began leasing its limited-production FCX Clarity fuel-cell sedan to select customers in the Southern California.
BMW Group introduced its highly anticipated all-electric and zero-emissions plug-in MINI E minicar to the world today, much to the delight of the international motor press corps, at the 2008 LA Auto Show.
During the unveiling, BMW announced that the MINI E will initially be made available to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in California, New York and New Jersey.
When the program gets underway next year, BMW will be the world's first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic.
Powering the MINI E is a 150-kilowatt-hour, 204-horsepower electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The motor transfers power to the front wheels via a single-stage gearbox almost silently and entirely free of emissions.
The deputy mayor of Los Angeles and a BMW engineer demonstrated the quiet and clean operation of the MINI E by driving two around the MINI stage in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology permits 150 miles of travel between charges.
Hyundai Motor Co., itching for the same level of respect U.S. consumers give fuel-economy leaders Toyota and Honda, is beginning to roll out a broad family of efficient new green cars aimed at making it the nation's gas mileage leader by 2015.
Borrowing a page from German's Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, Hyundai has chose to make its green cars Blue -calling its fuel-efficiency initiative the Hyundai Blue Drive.
---------- Cutaway shows architecture for Hyundai's Blue Drive hybrid system, with flat, rear-mounted battery pack and 4-cylinder gas engine and electric motor drivingfron wheels. ----------
The South Korean carmaker, which previously had pledged
to have a U.S. retail fleet with average fuel economy of 35 miles per gallon five years before that standard will be mandated, said in a press conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show today that it will achieve the goal with a mix of conventional and plug-in hybrids, advanced-technology gasoline internal combustion engines and, in select states, fuel-cell electric vehicles.
As a first step, Hyundai officials said, the company will introduce fuel-efficient "Blue" editions of its gasoline-fueled Accent and Elantra compacts in 2009.
The cars will use low rolling-resistance tires, aerodynamic bodywork, higher gearing and specially tuned engines to achieve better mileage and lower tailpipe emissions that present models of the same cars.
A similar "Blue Motion" line was launched by Volkswagen in 2006. Mercedes-Benz followed with its "Blue Efficiency" effort early this year.
Hyundai Hybrid
The Blues will be followed in 2010 by a gasoline-electric hybrid model of the Sonata midsize sedan (below, left) designed expressly for the North American market.
Hyundai said its "full hybrid" Sonata - capable of a limited amount of all-electric travel - is jumping past the lithium-ion battery technology that American, Europe and Japanese automakers are racing to perfect and instead says it will go with a lithium polymer technology for its various battery-dependent models.
Plug-in versions that use larger, grid-rechargeable battery packs for longer all-electric range, will follow at an unspecified pace, company executives said.
CNG hasn't caught on with automakers - Honda's the only company presently selling a natural gas car - but Toyota thinks things could change and wants to be ready if they do.
Thus was born the CNG-electric Camry Hybrid Concept (right) being unveiled today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Toyota actually spilled the beans two months ago when it announced that it would show the concept car at the LA event, which opens to the public Friday and runs through Nov. 30.
But the company is providing a few previously withheld technical details with today's official unveiling.
The numbers
Under its hood, the CNG Hybrid Camry carries a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder engine and Toyota's patented "hybrid synergy drive" electric powerplant and drive system. The whole thing has a combined power output equal to 170 horsepower
Toyota says the concept would get almost the same EPA mileage rating as the conventional gasoline-electric Camry Hybrid, coming in at 32 miles per gallon in the city cycle, 34 mpg on the highway and 33 mpg overall, versus 33 mpg city, 34 highway and 34 overall for the regular hybrid model.
In testimony to the fuel saving prowess of a hybrid system, the non-hybrid Honda Civic GX natural gas car is EPA-rated at 28 mpg overall, 15 percent less than the larger and heavier Camry CNG Hybrid.
The Camry CNG Hybrid Concept started with a standard Camry Hybrid then stripped off its gasoline fuel storage and delivery system and replaced it with a system suitable for compressed natural gas.
That included a pair of 4-gallon cylindrical fuel tanks installed in the car's spare tire well (right)
, and special fuel lines, injectors and engine control software to handle the pressurized gas (it usually is delivered at 3,600 psi).
Because it is a show car, the vehicle's exterior also got some attention, including a custom front fascia and front bumper cover that eliminates the grill opening, and a custom rear bumper that conceals the tail pipe and otherwise visible part of the exhaust system.
The CNG hybrid concept is shod with 19" Bridgestone run-flat tires - to make up for loss of the spare tire - and the car was lowered and its sides emblazoned "Compressed Natural Gas Hybrid" graphics.
Kia Motors Corp.'s $105-million fuel cell electric vehicle program took a major technological step forward today with the global unveiling of the Borrego FCEV prototype at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
---------- Right and below, the Borrego FCEV prototype is fitted with Kia's fourth-generation fuel-cell powerplant. ----------
The Borrego FCEV contains Kia's fourth-generation fuel-cell powerplant, which like those before it produces electricity from hydrogen and oxygen in an on-board electro-chemical process.
But the latest generation achieves 154 horsepower--or 47 more ponies than generation 3 for a 44 percent power boost.
Other improvements include an all-new 450-volt Supercapacitor to lift performance, a greatly extended driving range, and sub-freezing starting capability for cold-weather operation.
The Borrego FCEV's powerplant, located under the center floor, propels the vehicle to a top speed of 100 miles per hour while boasting a claimed best-in-class system efficiency of 62 percent.
Despite a dry weight of 4,960 pounds, the Borrego FCEV can reach 60 miles per hour in a reasonable 12.8 seconds. And, with its 202-liter hydrogen storage tank, the crossover has a range of about 426 miles--or 176 more miles than Gen 3.
Chrysler Town and Country EV (left) Dodge EV (center) and Jeep EV concepts represent Chrysler's shot at a future.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In hopes of creating some buzz about the company that doesn't have to do with who might be buying it or how soon it might collapse from lack of funds, Chrysler LLC is bringing its three recently unveiled electric vehicle concepts to the Los Angeles Auto show this week.
There won't be a press conference or any big announcements from the company during the media preview days Wednesday and Thursday, but the three Chrysler EVs will be on the stand for oohing and aaahing and, the company, hopes, photos and stories.
We wrote a bit about the cars when they were first introduced in Michigan in late September, and we happily would have taken the bait and written about them again when the LA show's media days commence.
But we got an early peek last week at a special program Chrysler's ENVI program for advanced technology vehicles (it stands for ENVIronmental) hosted for a few media types at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, so we're going to write about them a few days before they go on display for the rest of the crowd.
The cars are a battery-electric "Dodge" EV built from a Lotus Europa and "extended-range EV" versions of a Town and Country minivan and a Jeep Wrangler 4-door, both with 40 miles of all-electric range on an electric drive system whose batteries are "replaced" by juice from an on-board internal combustion generator once the battery charge is depleted.
All three are first-phase demonstration vehicles, said Lou Rhodes, ENVI's president and ranking engineer. That means that they started life as regular production models with gas engines and conventional drivetrains and were converted - a process that requires some compromises be made.
The compromises were hard to find, though, as all three are nicely finished vehicle with no dangling wires or exposed components (there were some test modules installed in the trunk of the Dodge EV that wouldn't be there in a production model, but there were nicely hidden, covered in the same material as lined the rest of the trunk.)
The Town and Country wasn't working, though, and the Jeep didn't have the ICE generator installed so was running only on battery power. Rhodes said the ENVI team has built "multiple models" of each in recent months and had simply run out of time to finish the LA Auto Show cars before it was time to ship them.
The reason there are multiple models is that Chrysler already has started on a plan to to have 100 of the cars on the road for real-world testing over the next two years-Rhodes said the plan is for 50 next year and 50 the year after, with one model ready for limited volume retail production sometime in 2010.
Nobody will say which model is the leading candidate for production, but we'd guess that the Town and Country would be a safe bet.
It is large enough to handle the extra weight and size of an EV's battery pack, and a range-extended EV model (or RE-EV) would give Chrysler - already king of the minivan segment -a unique entry in the growing electric car segment.
Just A Ploy?
Rhodes is an engineer and while he's got a lot of retirement money (and, we expect, bonus and incentive bucks and other potential future income) tied up in Chrysler's future, his job isn't to worry about finances but to build vehicles that people will want to buy - something Chrysler's a bit short of these days.
Still, we asked him how, with the economy collapsing, the auto industry collapsing faster and Chrysler's very existence being questioned daily in the mainstream and financial media, he can remain serious about his job.
Isn't ENVI just a smoke screen to make the politicians who control potential auto industry bailout funds more likely to end send some cash Chrysler's way?
How, we asked, can Chrysler afford to finance development of a whole line of electric vehicles when it can't afford to keep plants open and workers employed?
The financial struggle, he replied, is for others to worry about. He insisted that there's been no cut-back of funding for ENVI and no indication that Chrysler's bosses are anything but serious about moving forward with the project.
The question shouldn't be whether the company can afford to pursue green initiatives, but whether it can afford not to.
"There's always been product that has turned Chrysler around," he told us. "This is some of the product that will do it for the company in the future."
A significant developer of plug-in hybrid power systems has pulled its display from the upcoming Los Angeles International Auto Show in a dispute with show management over how and whether it can advertise its fuel economy claims.
AFS Trinity Power Corp., which has converted a Saturn Vue and displayed the resulting "concept" vehicle at a number of shows including the nation's premier event, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, said in an angry press release today that L.A. show organizers won't let it advertise that its XH-150 concept gets the equivalent of 150 miles per gallon.
The company, based in Bellevue, Washington, cites several e-mails from show organizers in which AFS Trinity was told that its numbers aren't official EPA mileage figures, and also that advertising such mileage on a banner or billboard on the show's main floor would likely "generate unfavorable reactions from [auto] manufacturers, which is something we will take action to avoid."
News of the dispute was broken by John Gartner, editor of the MatterNetwork blog, who suggests that the whole thing may be "sour grapes" over AFS Trinity's inability so far to license its technology to major automakers.
Edward Furia, AFS's chairman and chief executive, sees it another way -- and whichever you believe, it makes for good theater.
In a blistering statement released this morning, Furia said he's taken the organizer's stand to mean that the L.A. show, which is owned by a private company and supported by the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Assn., is a pawn of Detroit.
UPDATE: EXPLAINS HOW CAR ACHIEVES 311 HP AND HIGH MILEAGE.
Volkswagen today unveiled a sleek high-performance, yet fuel-efficient concept sedan at the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
The Super CC, created by the VW Design Center in California with the aid of APR, Recaro, H&R and Brembo, is as striking to look at as it is mechanically impressive. The glossy gray-pearl exterior paint is highlighted by black chrome exterior accents a machined aluminum spoiler.
The black treatment continues inside with high-gloss piano black accents offset by matte black graphics. Black leather Recaro seats and matching floor mats are highlighted with white piping.
The Super CC packs a 2.0-liter TSI engine upgraded with an APR stage-3 turbocharger system with three performance levels.
In Full Power mode the sedan puts out 311 horsepower and 313 pound-feet of torque. GT mode offers 252 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque. Eco mode provides 222 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque.
The Super CC in Eco mode gets a claimed 27 miles per gallon in town and 33 mpg on the highway. The production Passat 2.0T CC automatic, upon which the concept was built, gets 19 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway.
The Super CC is able to achieve high performance and high mileage because of an unusually large turbocharger, which increases the amount of forced air entering the engine, and because of a set of algorithms programmed into the car's computer that allow the vehicle to operate extremely efficiently in Eco mode, VW spokesman Jim Gill said today.
The Super CC sits on custom designed 20-inch wheels and high performance 245/30 R20 Yokahama tires with an H&R street coil over sport suspension kit. The concept is equipped with 14-inch Brembo brakes with four-piston aluminum alloy brake calipers and two-piece floating cross-drilled discs.
Also included is an APR stainless-steel performance exhaust system. Click on "Continue reading" to see more photos of the Super CC.
Here's something you don't see every day: An ad
in a Sam's Club catalog offering a $100,000 zero-emissions electric sports car.
The vehicle, made by Hybrid Technologies, is a prototype that is expected to premiere at the L.A. auto show later this month, according to the catalog. "The vehicle itself will be available in mid-2009."
The plug-in battery-electric car isn't for everyone, or even for more than one. According to the fine print, the purchaser must be a Sam's Club member, and the first member to complete the $100,000 purchase online will own the vehicle.
In other words, only one car is for sale and you've got to have a quick trigger finger (assuming there's more than one member trying to buy the car).
The buyer, according to the ad, will "own the first car off the production line." It has a top speed of 150 miles per hour, can reach 60 mph from a standstill in five seconds, and has a driving range of up to 200 miles between charges.
But wait, there's more. If you buy this car you'll also get travel for two to receive the car in Los Angeles, with travel accommodations to include first-class airline tickets and one room at a luxury hotel, plus the opportunity to drive the car on a racetrack free of charge.
"After your racetrack experience, Hybrid Technologies will ship the car to your residence" at no cost to you, provided your residence is within the contiguous United States, so says the ad.
The car will be available for purchase on Nov. 12. Good luck!
The Chrysler Aspen (right) and Dodge Durango (below) full-size hybrid sport utility vehicles have become the first green vehicle casualties in the wake of the automotive industry's declining fortunes.
Chrysler announced today that it will close the Delaware plant where the SUVs and their nonhybrid namesakes are made and discontinue the models.
The Auburn Hills, Michigan, automaker won't move their production anywhere else when the plant closes at year's end, Chrysler spokesman Scott Brown told Green Car Advisor, despite the fact the hybrids entered full-scale production on Aug. 22, barely two months ago.
"Even though we got significant orders for the hybrids, it doesn't make sense to keep the plant open for just them," he said.
The death of the two Chrysler hybrids isn't going to cause much mourning in environmental circles, said Jim Kliesch, senior engineer for the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
By using the hybrid system with the notoriously thirsty 5.7 liter "HEMI" V8 engine, Chrysler didn't produce significantly efficient hybrid SUVs, he said. The big engine helped make the Aspen and Durango 'utes very expensive as well.
Less than a year after unveiling the Chrysler Aspen (right
) and Dodge Durango (below
) full-size hybrid SUVs and only two months into their full-scale production, Chrysler confirmed today that it will discontinue the models with the just-announced closing of the Delaware plant where they are made.
"The demand for our full-size SUVs has really dropped off this year," Chrysler spokesman Scott Brown told Green Car Advisor. "Even though we got significant orders for the hybrids, it doesn't make sense to keep the plant open for just the hybrids."
The SUVs are Chrysler's first-production hybrid vehicles. The Durango and Aspen models, which employ the same two-mode hybrid system found in General Motors' full-size SUVs, are sticker priced at $45,340 and $45,570, respectively.
Chrysler wouldn't say how many of the hybrid SUVs it had planned to build at the plant in Newark.
Both models made their international debuts at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show last November.
Today's announcement coincided a report from Daimler AG, which owns a 19.9 percent share of privately-held Chrysler, that the U.S. automaker suffered a $772.5 million second-quarter loss due to slowing U.S. sales and a market shift to small cars.
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:
Electricite de France, Europe's largest utility, and French automakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault today agreed to work together to develop a nationwide recharging network for electric cars.
The deal follows the announcement last month that Daimler and German utility RWE plan to build a network of electric-car recharging stations in Berlin.
The venture with Paris-based EDF calls for a business plan to set up outlets in France for recharging electric vehicles, or EVs, by 2011.
Renault and its Japanese affiliate, Nissan, have pledged to introduce EVs in the U.S. by 2010 and in Israel and Denmark by 2011. Renault also plans to introduce its first mass-market EVs domestically in 2012.
The project with EDF, which was announced at the Paris Auto Show today, will be open to other automakers, Renault spokeswoman Rochelle Chimenes said. Battery leasing and battery-exchange stations are being considered, she said.
Peugeot said in a statement today that its pact with EDF will cover EVs and rechargeable hybrids, building on plans the manufacturer announced in June to develop electric powertrains with Mitsubishi.
EDF and Toyota announced a partnership 13 months ago to evaluate rechargeable hybrids and charging infrastructure in Europe.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at the car show today, said France plans to provide $550 million in research funding for low-emissions vehicle technologies. He also said a $6,827 bonus on purchases of cars generating less than 60 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, introduced in January, will remain in place until at least 2012 or until a subsidy for the 100,000th vehicle has been given.
Shai Agassi, the CEO and founder of Better Place, an American company that aims to reduce global dependency on oil through the creation of a worldwide electric-vehicle infrastructure, welcomed Sarkozy's comments.
He said his company "applauds and supports the efforts being made in France to extend the feebate policy to 2012, deploy zero emissions public car fleets, and improve battery technology. We accept President Sarkozy's challenge to develop the necessary infrastructure supporting standardized electric vehicles in France, and around the world."
Electric cars are the hot topic at this year's Paris auto show, with General Motors, Renault, Nissan, Smart and many lesser-known car manufacturers showing off a huge variety of EVs.
They range from wildly exotic supercars to tiny commuter cars that look ready to park in your driveway. Some are strictly concepts. Others could go on sale - even here in the U.S. -- much sooner than you think.
Green Car Advisor's man in Paris, contributor Nick Kurczewski, was at the show last week and offers some thoughts on the biggest electric-car newsmakers there.
Chevrolet Volt
- Yes, we've written a ton about it and you've read even more, but we still can't ignore it. There it was, sitting on the GM stand in Paris, bowtie gleaming in the spotlights.
Chevy's Volt is often called a plug-in hybrid, and it is a hybrid by definition. But it also is an electric car, using only an electric motor for propulsion.
Its small 1.4-liter gasoline engine cranks over only to recharge the batteries and never sends its power directly to the Volt's wheels.
Whether you consider it an EV or a hybrid, chances are the bigger factor in consumer acceptance of the four-door sedan will be its escalating price tag.
A new bill just signed by the White House makes the Volt eligible for a $7,500 federal income tax credit, but before applying that, the sticker price - which determines the size of down payments and monthly lease or purchase costs - is likely to be at or above $40,000 when it goes on sale in late 2010 in the U.S.
That's awfully steep sticker-price, especially considering that new Honda Insight hybrid will cost less than $20,000 when it arrives next year.
Renault Z.E. Concept
- Renault and its sister company, Nissan, are busy co-developing electric vehicles that will go on sale as early as 2010. The Z.E. Concept is the first indication as to where Renault is taking its version.
The design of the Z.E. - for Zero Emissions -- looks like a shortened version of the humble Renault Kangoo, a tall and boxy utility van currently sold throughout Europe. The green glass in the concept model adds a bizarre touch of show-car drama.
Other details include the use of rear-view cameras instead of side mirrors - to smooth out the aerodynamics and improve range - along with solar panels built into the roof, to aid battery recharging.
The Z.E. concept car uses double-walled insulating bodywork, which keeps the cabin cozy whether it is hot or cold outside and requires less energy from the ventilation system.
Its lithium-ion batteries provide a driving range between 60 to 90 miles.
Renault does not currently sell cars in America, which makes it unlikely the French manufacturer will ever bring its EV stateside.
But it's Japanese partner has other plans.
Nissan Nuvu
- Don't worry if you love the idea of an electric-powered Nissan but hate the blobby looks of the Nuvu concept car.
The 2+1 seat Nuvu is important chiefly because it offers a glimpse of the lithium-ion powered drivetrain of the electric vehicle Nissan says it will start selling in the U.S. in 2010.
The Japanese company reassures us that the quirky Nuvu is not a totally faithful indication of what this production car will eventually look like.
Under its skin, the Nuvu's battery pack provides a range of 75 miles and a top-speed of 78 miles per hour. Range will likely be improved, and the wacky looks toned down a bit when Nissan unveils a more accurate glimpse of its upcoming EV during next year's Tokyo motor show.
Looks like someone who's really into highlighters got to this Renault.
Called the Z.E. Concept -- as in Zero Emissions Concept -- this gem is the French automaker's vision of the electric vehicle as an efficient, user-friendly car.
It features lithium-ion batteries and a 70-kilowatt electric motor producing 166 foot-pounds of torque.
The electric vehicle is one of handful we can expect from the Renault-Nissan Alliance that aims to bring a string of EVs to market beginning in 2011.
The windows aren't simply intended to get attention, although they are doing plenty of that at the Paris Auto Show right now. Rather, they are intended help control the climate inside the vehicle without the use of electricity.
Just how the greenish yellow or yellowish green glass windows manage that is anyone's guess, as Renault doesn't offer an explanation, but they are undeniably fun.
Ford Motor Co. boss Alan Mulally told a radio interviewer in Detroit that the automaker, often criticized for keeping its fuel- efficient small cars in Europe, now is rethinking its decision to keep the 2009 Ka minicar over there.
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Ford of Europe CEO John Fleming (left) and Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally introduce the redesigned 2009 Ka.
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There's a lot of territory to cover between thinking and doing, but it is heartening to see that, under Mulally, there is some thinking going on.
We don't get Michigan radio out here on the west coast, but analysts at Global insight picked up on the report and, according to their morning briefing newsletter, Mulally said that a lot of people at the company believe the Ka, a sub-subcompact, would fit a new U.S. lineup now that the market here is moving toward fuel efficiency and smaller cars (duh!)
The 2009 Ford Ka, which shares its platform with Fiat's hot-selling 500 coupe, was introduced last week at the Paris Auto Show.
Global Insight's auto industry analysts warn against Ford, and other carmakers, overcompensating for the market's newfound preference for small cars.
There's been a lot of electric car and hybrid news out of France in the past week as automakers hosted the media at a preview of the Paris Auto Show.
Most of the cars, though, are unlikely to see these shores as they are derivatives of European models that wouldn't meet U.S. safety standards (and, some auto executives and marketing gurus insist, consumer demands for spacious interiors) without so much added weight that their alternative powertrains would no longer be practical.
One potential exception comes from Volvo, which has been working on conventional, diesel-electric and plug-in hybrids for years now and late last week announced that it will be bringing all of the above to market.
The first to come, a micro-hybrid in 2011, isn't likely to be sold outside of Europe. But for 2012 Volvo plans a diesel-electric hybrid that will combine the company's front-wheel drive D5 turbodiesel with an electric motor to drive the rear wheels.
And then, in an as-yet unannounced year sometime after the diesel hybrid, Volvo plans to launch a plug-in hybrid rooted in the California-designed ReCharge concept (above) it showed at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show.
German automotive giant Daimler says it has seen the future, and it is green and uses batteries.
The company, which last month launched a major electric car and charging station program in Berlin and has been testing electric Smart cars in London for almost a year, unveiled the newest generation of Smart EVs (or EDs - for electric drive) Thursday at the Paris Motor Show.
The tiny Smart, in production since 1998, is an attempt to help make individual transportation environmentally sound and sustainable and the quiet and emission-free ED versions, the company says, could be the answer.
Speeches at major auto shows are usually grandiose and full of promises, and Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche's was no exception as he talked of the future he sees for his company and the auto industry:
As people continue moving out of the suburbs and into cities to be closer to work and to cut their fuel bills, "the future will see an ever-increasing proportion of traffic on the roads in urban centers," Zetsche said.
"Zero-emission electric cars could shape the image of environmentally aware cities because zero local emission motoring is no longer science fiction - and also when seen as a whole emissions will be further reduced as the proportion of 'green' electricity increases. The future of mobility is green. We invented the car - and we will do it again!"
The concept version of the 2009 Honda Insight Hybrid was unveiled at the Paris Auto Show this morning, providing us a good idea of what the production car is likely to look like, but little new information about the car or its powertrain beyond what Honda already told us last month
.
The one bit of news that did squeak out came form Honda President and Chief Executive Takeo Fukui, who said when introducing the Insight Hybrid concept that the production car is expected to post fuel economy figures "on par" with those for the slightly larger Honda Civic Hybrid.
The Civic hybrid is rated at 40 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg on the highway.
Previsouly, Honda described the 2009 Insight Hybrid as a five-seat, five-door hatchback aimed at entry-level hybrid buyers who might otherwise be looking at rival Toyota's Prius.
The Insight Hybrid, Honda has hinted, is likely to come to market priced at under $20,000, well below the Prius' starting price of $21,500 (before dealers start slapping on premium charges because the car is in high demand), and the Civic hybrid's $22,600 base price.
Honda also has said that it took most of the Insight Hybrid's styling cues form the limited production 2009 FCX Clarity (right), and many auto critics have noted a distinct similarity between the Clarity and the Prius.
Although it is doubtful that the neat blue accent lighting around the 2009 Insight's grille (see photos below) will make it to production, and the concept car's tires and wheels likely will be downsized, there's a good bet that the car that bowed in Paris this morning is pretty much what we'll see when Honda takes the wraps off the production model at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January.
Dutch automaker DuraCar presents the QUICC! DiVa, a plug-in all-electric urban delivery van for the European market.
DuraCar says the vehicle employs lithium-ion phosphate batteries in conjunction with bipolar lead batteries and "bio-methanol reformer fuel cell technology" (your guess is as good as ours).
We'll likely give the vehicle a good look at the Paris Motor Show, where it will debut, in part because its makers claim the zero-emissions vehicle can cover 93 miles between charges and has a top speed of 75 miles per hour.
The QUICC! DiVa is wrapped in a "cradle-to-cradle" plastic chassis and body. DuraCar says the vehicle will be available next year. It has yet to mention price.
As the world as we know it crumbles around us, with older Americans staring at shrinking pension funds, younger Americans looking at grim job and housing scenes and everyone wondering which big bank is the next to
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62-mpg diesel Golf BlueMotion concept from VW is one of the cars to be featured at Paris show.
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collapse, why there's no credit and when elected representatives will stop worrying about politics and start working for the people, the City of Lights is preparing to flick the switch on the first post-meltdown auto show.
Talk about good timing.
But the Paris Motor Show is in Europe, home of the fuel efficient small car (of course, Europe also has given us 9 mpg Lamborghinis and equally thirsty Rollers, Ferraris and big Benzes, but who's counting?), and while there will be a few exotics on display the spotlight for the next few days is going to be on the gas sippers that will be unveiled over there.
We gave you a taste a few weeks ago with Green Car Advisor'sParis preview, and today Edmunds Auto Observer brings a comprehensive look at the hybrids, electrics, diesels and other fuel-efficient cars - production and concept - that will be on display as the show prepares to open its doors.
Click here for AO's take on the Paris show, which holds its media preview Thursday and Friday and opens to the public Saturday for a 16-day run.
AltCar Expo 2008 closed its doors Saturday evening, ending from what by all accounts was another successful effort to showcase alternative transporation or fuels technologies to mainstream consumers.
We brought you a couple of pre-event reports and now are taking advantage of the goods nature of one of our colleagues, Edmunds New Product Manager Dori Merifield, to bring us a wrap-up report from the eyes - and pen - of one of those interested consumers.
Dori is an member of Edmund's corporate Green Team, helping to make sure the company is an environmentally responsible corporate citizen, and is an active environmental advocate in her own right.
She spent much of Saturday at AltCar, listening to the various symposia, examining displays and vehicles and talking to expo-goers and exhibitors about the event and the products.
Here's her report:
Thousands of people visited AltCar Expo over the weekend, many hoping to find an efficient but viable alternative to their present cars and trucks.
The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was filled with vehicles large and small that ran on a variety of alternative fuels - electricity, natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel and even compressed air.
AltCar visitor examines Hybrid Technologies' Mini Cooper EV conversion.
There were also lots of conversion companies on hand hoping to persuade people of the wisdom of converting existing cars to a plug-in electric vehicles.
At one symposium, UC Davis Professor Andy Frank - father of the plug-in - explained why using electric cars to help reduce our oil consumption is so important: "Oil production is going to peak this year or next - after that supply will decrease and the cost will only increase."
Peter Ward, of the California Energy Commission staff, said the bigger problem is that 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from transportation (a lot of that is from buses, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles) and that the state is the third largest consumer of gasoline in the world.
Frank believes the solution is to convert existing cars to alternative energy.
Most cars on the road aren't new, he said, "so if only 10 percent of new cars are hybrid or electric, we're only replacing 1% of all the cars on the road each year. We simply don't have 50 years to make this change."
VW will launch its Up! ultra compact in Europe before the rest of the world gets a taste of the little car that made such a big hit as a concept at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show.
That's what VW Group's production chief, Joachem Heizmann told the subscription-only trade journal Automotive News Europe
in a recent interview.
The Up! will make its initial bow in Europe in 2011, with other global markets to follow. The German automaker ultimately hopes to sell 500,000 of the city cars annually, in a variety of models.
Volkswagen's plan is to make both upscale and basic models, perhaps in several styles. To go along with the original 3-door hatchback concept it has shown a mini-minivan-like model called the Space Up! (above)
as both a gasoline-burner and a fuel-cell electric hybrid model.
One big change from the concept shown at the Frankfurt show is that VW reportedly has changed the production models from rear-drive to front-drive platforms.
European analysts for Boston-based Global Insight economic and market consulting have found that distressing, commenting in a recent newsletter that "many observers" believe a front-wheel drive Up! "will merely compete with the other homogeneous contenders in the sector, rather than setting itself apart."
The production car also may well be badged as a Lupo instead of Up!
VW hasn't said yet whether U.S. consumers looking for small, fuel-efficient people movers will get to include the Up! on their consideration lists, although there has been talk of using the underlying platform for the next-generation Beetle, also due in 2011.
We'd likely get the larger minivan platform, as befitting our more generous proportions, VW insiders have said.
Hmmm.
We've no room to criticize, but with American heft entering the discussion a lot when talking about the market here for downsized city cars with rally great fuel economy (figures like 60-80 mpg have been tossed around for the Up!), it's interesting to note that researchers at the University of Illinois found in a 2006 study
that on average, Americans were 24 pounds heavier in 2002 than in 1960 and that each extra pound of body weight had increased national fuel consumption by 39 million gallons of gasoline a year.
The parking lot of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was jammed with environmentally friendly vehicles during lunch hour Thursday, but the sounds and smells were more suited for a darkened stretch of road in the San Fernando Valley on a Friday night as the screech of spinning tires and the smell of burning rubber wafted over us.
"Short of putting grippier tires on it, there's not a lot you can do," said Owen Emry, senior firmware engineer of electric drivetrain maker AC Propulsion
, as reporters unaccustomed to the added torque of the electric vehicles to be featured at AltCar Expo 2008
regularly broke loose the tires of the cars they were sampling.
About a dozen of the 100 or so vehicles being featured at the public event from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. today and Friday were were on display to the media Thursday as advanced-technology car-, truck- and drivetrain makers prepared to show off their products and prototypes.
AltCar, which is in its third year and is one of the nation's premier showcases for alternatives to the conventional gasoline-burning automobile
The previewed vehicles ranged from a battery-powered, three-wheeled, stand-up people mover -- think Segway with a front wheel and handlebars -- used for security and events management to a Porsche Boxster retrofitted to run on tanks filled with compressed air.
The vehicle makers will pitch their goods to the 10,000 people estimated to show up for the event, which will also include a panel on climate change and a symposium on the future of mass transit.
"Fuel costs are going up, and if we look at production resources, they're finite," said Glenn Bell, chief executive officer of AirFuelAuto
.
The Fremont, California-based company's Boxster is powered by air compressed to 2,200 pounds per square inch, or about 50 times a typical car tire's air pressure. It allows the two-seat convertible to run at 65 miles per hour for about 50 miles.
The event takes place this year under U.S. economic conditions that may either help or hinder the development and financing of such vehicles.
While rising gas prices shorten the amount of time it takes to earn back the extra cost of such vehicles through fuel savings, Wall Street's financial crisis and a possible $700 billion government bail out may shrink federal funding and tax breaks that most alternative vehicle backers insist are critical to getting their products into the mainstream.
Mitsubishi Motors, no slouch when it comes to world rally racing and an up-and-comer in electric vehicle development, puts the two together in a design study the company is entering in the upcoming Los Angeles International Auto Show's annual design challenge.
The contest pits nearly a dozen Southern California-based advanced automotive design studios against one another, and this year designers were asked to come up with a racing-themed vehicle for the year 2025.
An early copy of Mitsubishi's entry (the company is sending out a general news release about it later today) found its way into Green Car Advisor's mailbox, so we thought we'd passd it on to you without waiting for the official release due out later this afternoon.
The "Mitsubishi MMR25," designed at the carmaker's North American design center near Los Angeles, posits a windowless all-electric Mitsubishi rally car that lets the driver "see" his or her surroundings on a 360-degree panoramic screen displaying images of what's outside the cabin via a system of real-time exterior cameras.
Removing the heavy glass windows helps lighten the vehicle for more speed and greater range from its next-generation, nano-lithium batteries, the design team says. Designers are imagining a battery pack that will deliver 1,000 miles of travel between charges.
The batteries, mounted low in the vehicle to improve its center of gravity, would power a unique vehicle capable of scurrying across sand, dirt, gravel and other loose surfaces like a sure-footed sand beetle.
Instead of using a single tire on each wheel, each of the Mitsubishi electric rally car's independently driven wheel hubs is surrounded by eight individually driven, cylindrical tires (detail, right)
that would improve traction and stability on loose surfaces, trumping the typical 4x4 by making the Mitsubishi a 32x 4.
In all, the racer would use 36 electric motors: A larger one for each of the four in-wheel motors motors, and eight smaller, supplemental motors for the individual tires surrounding each wheel.
As Mitsubishi's entry describes the system, the "rotational direction of the tires allows the vehicle to be driven forward while pointing the nose...in any direction."
In plain English (as plain as we can make it, anyhow) instead of drifting through curves and around corners in a controlled slide, the MMR25 could actually be driven sideways through the turns.
While the design study isn't likely to be on your local Mitsu dealers lot in 2025, some of its parts well could hit the streets in just a few years.
The ideas of using in-wheel motors instead of a central electric drive motor has been explored by Mitsubishi, and other automakers, in a variety of concept vehicles over the years and could end up in a Mitsu EV or two after the company launches its first retail model in Japan next year, as previously announced.
Mitsubishi is the first automaker to "leak" a sneak peak at its LA Auto Show Design Challenge entry, but isn't likely to be the last. We'll do all we can to keep you entertained with them as they come in over the transom.
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.
GM was still hoarding pictures of its Chevrolet Orlando concept when we posted our advance peek at the greenest vehicles making a bow at the upcoming Paris Motor Show.
But now the pics are out (funny how they managed to keep these hidden when photos of the production model of the Volt plug-in hybrid being officially introduced later this morning were leaking
all over the place in the last few weeks), and we're bringing 'em to you, along with a little more detail about the crossover concept.
General Motors is slotting the Orlando into its Chevrolet lineup, where a production version of the five-door tall wagon-SUV-van combo could serve as a large family mover or a sizable cargo carrier, or both.
Paris, fashion capital of the world, usually has more influence on what hangs in your closet than what's parked in your driveway.
But from October 4th through the 19th, when the doors to the Paris auto show are open to the public, the automobile takes center stage in the City of Lights, and big fuel economy numbers will be as essential to automakers as little red dresses or neatly tailored black suits are to the fashion world. Â
Car manufacturers will be displaying everything from hybrids, such as the new Honda Insight, to electric cars and fuel-sipping diesel and gas-powered models like the new Ford Ka and Toyota iQ (above) city cars.
To help whet your appetites, Green Car Advisor offers a look at the cars that are set to make the biggest impression in this distinctively enviro-chic auto show:
Honda Insight
The newest hybrid from Honda represents the Japanese company's most determined effort at cracking Toyota's stranglehold on this increasingly important market.
The five-passenger, four-door hatchback uses an improved version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist system. Better fuel economy, a lower center of gravity and reduced cost are said to be the main benefits.
The Insight is expected to be cheaper than its rival, the next-generation Toyota Prius, when both cars go on sale early next year. Our one complaint: Why did Honda feel the need to copy the potatolike profile of the Prius?
Toyota iQ
If the Insight is Honda's take on a Prius fighter, the iQ is Toyota's attempt at outsmarting the Smart Fortwo.
The iQ is slightly longer than the Smart, and the Japanese city car offers two tiny rear seats, whereas the Fortwo -- as the name makes clear -- is strictly a two-seater.
The iQ goes on sale in Japan in October and in Europe later this year.
Will Toyota bring the iQ Stateside? The company's not saying, but with the sales success of the Smart Fortwo in America, it would be pretty dumb not to consider the idea. And Toyota's not noted for dumb.
As promised, Honda has released the first official photo of its new Prius-fighter, the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid.
Smaller than the Honda Civic Hybrid but still a five-seat vehicle, the new Insight (right) is expected to be priced at under $20,000, making it the least-expensive hybrid on the market when it goes on sale next year.
Although still called a "concept," the car pictured is not expected to be much different from the production version that will be introduced in the flesh (so to speak) on Oct. 2 at the Paris Motor Show.
The Insight, a five-door hatchback sedan, takes many of its styling cues from Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric car, Honda says - ignoring critics who say it owes a lot of its look to Toyota's Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid.
(Honda probably wouldn't be hurt if that association was to be made by a lot of buyers, but we're not going to suggest that any resemblance to the Prius is intentional. Both cars were designed to minimize wind resistance, and that pretty much dictates the basic body shape.)
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Honda's Insight (right) and the CR-Z concept (left) borrow design cues from FCX Clarity fuel-cell car (center).
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Whatever it looks like, the new Insight - which takes its name from the original Honda hybrid, the two-seat Insight introduced in 1999 and discontinued in 2006 - sticks with Honda's proprietary Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system.
It is a somewhat downsized version of the system, though, likely with a smaller battery pack and power control unit than in the IMA system that helps propel the Civic Hybrid. A smaller car, however, can get away with a smaller hybrid system.
While not revolutionary on the technology side of things, the new Insight is a ground-breaker on the price front.
It "will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value," said Takeo Fukui, Honda chief executive.
The company wouldn't disclose fuel economy estimates, but one would expect a car that is lighter and more streamlined than the Civic hybrid to deliver better mileage.
Honda says the Insight will be followed - probably sometime in 2010 - by an all-new model based on the CR-Z sport coupe concept car shown at the Tokyo Auto Show in October, 2007.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor and John O'Dell, Senior Editor
General Motors has reaped a ton of publicity from its Chevrolet Volt, a car with a grid-charged battery pack that will power an electric motor and an on-board gasoline engine that will generate electricity to keep the electric motor running and recharge the batteries when the initial plug-in charge is depleted.
Often missed in all the high-voltage buzz is that Ford Motor Co. showed a concept car with essentially the same system during the same January 2007 Detroit Auto Show at which the Volt took its bows.
Now comes word that Ford's Japanese subsidiary, Mazda, is putting its zoom into development of a Volt competitor of its own.
The British blog autocar says it has "learned that Mazda engineers are hard at work trying to develop a rival to the Chevrolet Volt -- a car which uses a petrol engine to charge a battery pack which powers the wheels via an electric motor."
High-ranking sources at Mazda, autocar reports, "say that trials are currently underway in Japan, with a prototype that uses a rotary engine to charge the battery pack. The tests are sufficiently advanced that Mazda has a working prototype in a Mazda 5 MPV bodyshell. Company bosses are said to be keen to put this system into production but no firm decisions will be made until the cost of batteries is reduced.
"In the meantime the company will concentrate on simpler green technologies. The first stop-start Mazda will go on sale in Japan next year and the system is expected to be rolled out globally on a variety of models."
We came across a recently publiched spy photo that purports to show a slice of the driver's side of the 2010 Toyota Prius interior.
If that's what it really is, Toyota is definately ratcheting things up with its 4th generation hybrid, due to make its inaugural public in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
The photo of the new interior (above left), published on the World Car Fans site, shows a car with sportier bucket seats and steering wheel than the 2008 model (right).
The new model's dash is sleeker, with a one piece center stack and console and -- first for a Prius -- a console-mounted shift lever.
Based on other published reports, we can say with some degree of certainty that the new interior will fit into a car that looks a lot like the present Prius, although it likely will be a bit wider, a tad shorter and maybe just a teensy bit taller.
The 2010 model also is expected to boast a larger gas engine -- maybe 1.8 liters versus 1.5 liters now -- and a more powerful electric motor for quicker acceleration, better cruising speed and, with an improved nickle-metal hydride battery pack, slightly longer all-electric range at low speeds.
There's no mistaking it: Sinister forces are still at work at Peugeot.
The French automaker presented the scariest car at the last Paris Motor Show, a wicked jet-black sedan concept packing a 700-horsepower V12 turbodiesel engine. It's name: 908 RC.
The lion-logoed family business has done it again, producing the stealthy, diabolical "RC..." concept pictured here; it's full name will be revealed when the vehicle debuts at the Paris show this October.
Peugeot is disclosing very little about the concept, but this much it has revealed: within the RC...'s four doors are four seats, and under the hood "highly innovative hybrid architecture."
The automaker's aim: a sedan offering a very high level of efficiency both in terms of performance -- with its potential 230-kilowatt, 313-horsepower electric motor -- and minimal impact on the environment -- carbon dioxide emissions of 109 grams per kilometer in the combined cycle or zero in electric mode.
In a statement, Peugeot says the vehicle demonstrates more than ever that the automaker "is capable of combining respect for the environment with driving pleasure."
If only Peugeot would take this breathtaking beast to market.
Ford motor Co. says it will build a retial model of the Lincoln MKT luxury crossover next year - probably as a 2010 model - and will offer one version with its new "Ecoboost" fuel efficiency powertrain.
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Left, Ford designer Peter Horbury introduces MTS concept at Detroit Auto Show.
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The company also said it will use the Ecoboost technology in a new version of the flagship Lincoln MKS sedan, to be launched next year as well.
The Ecoboost strategy, announced earlier this year, combines a smaller-than-usual engine with a turbocharger and direct injection to deliver 20 percent better fuel economy, 15 percent fewer tailpipe emissions and, often, more horsepower than the larger fuel-injected engines that typically would be offered as standard equipment in most models.
Ford intends be producing 750,000 Ecoboost-equipped vehicles a year by 2013, offering the engine package for almost every model it makes.
The Lincoln MKT, a three-row, 7-passenger crossover styled like a sport-wagon, was introduced as a concept model in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
The standard production version will use a new 3.7-liter V6 while the Ecoboost package will use a 3.5-liter V6, the company said today.
The company hasn't released fuel economy estimates for either engine and is keeping power specs for the 3.7-liter engine under wraps as well.
Many analysts expect it to come it at about 300 horsepower.
The company said today that the smaller and greener Ecoboost engine will produce 340 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque.
Ford will build the new Lincoln at its Oakville plant in Ontario, Canada.
Honda will pull the wraps off its new Toyota Prius fighter -- a compact five-door hatchback sedan hybrid (right)
priced from under $20,000 -- at the 2008 Paris Auto Show in early October.
As yet unnamed, the vehicle -- Honda's first dedicated hybrid since the Insight -- is known inside the company as the New Dedicated Hybrid Vehicle, or simply the "small hybrid." It will be christened at Paris with a new nameplate, although Honda insiders now dismiss earlier speculation that it might revive the Insight name.
The small hybrid is one of four new gas-electric models that Honda plans to roll out over the next four years, as part of a broad global strategy to boost hybrid sales to 500,000 units by 2012 -- about 10 percent of its total sales volume.
Also in the pipeline is a production version of the sporty CR-Z hybrid coupe that made its debut as a concept at last year's Tokyo show and is now due to arrive in early 2010; a replacement for the current Civic Hybrid, in late 2010; and a new hybrid edition of the subcompact Fit in 2012.
The small hybrid that's coming next year is intended to be an "entry level" model that should undercut the price of the Toyota Prius by thousands of dollars. The production version of the Honda hybrid is expected to be formally unveiled in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, when Toyota plans to introduce its next-generation 2010 Prius.
Go to Edmunds.com's Inside Linefor more on Honda's unnamed but much-anticipated hybrid.
Tesla Motors could not have made a bolder statement today with its choice for design director without employing canon fire.
With his blownback blonde hair and sunwashed face, Franz von Holzhausen, director of Mazda's North American Design Center in Irvine until he submitted his resignation last week, can easily be mistaken for a native-California surfer instead of the born-and-bred product of Simsbury, Connecticut, a well-to-do town of 23,000 known for Eggstock, an annual environmental awareness festival.
At Mazda, von Holzhausen oversaw the design and development of all concept and production vehicles for Mazda North America since his appointment in February 2005. Most recently, he spearheaded the design of Nagare (the gold car pictured below) and Furai (above) and played an integral role in the creation of the three concepts Ryuga (the grinning red car), Hakaze (the yellow crossover) and Taiki (the blue-silver manta ray).
Early in his career at Mazda, von Holzhausen earned recognition for his acclaimed work on the Kabura concept car (the manned red sports car, lower left). Sometimes, pictures say more than words. We'll let the images shown here address von Holzhausen's talents as a futuristic automotive designer with one foot planted firmly on the road.
"It's going to be an exciting adventure," von Holzhausen said about his move to Tesla, located in San Carlos, California, 500 miles up the 101 Freeway from Irvine. "I'm looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn't have the confines of a large OEM."
Prior to joining Mazda, von Holzhausen served as General Motors' design manager, responsible for designing and managing the concept and production design process for the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Chevy SS and other GM programs. He began his career at Volkswagen, where he served as assistant chief designer in VW's Design Center California.
He studied industrial design at Syracuse University and graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 1992 with a bachelors' degree in transportation design.
Tesla also announced today the appointment of Deepak Ahuja, a seasoned auto industry finance executive with 15 years experience at Ford Motor Company, as chief financial officer.
Deepak (right) was previously the controller for Ford's small cars product development program, a strategic initiative to bring several fuel-efficient cars to Ford's lineup in the United States. Before that, he was CFO for Ford of Southern Africa, a $3 billion subsidiary where he oversaw the finance, legal and IT functions.
And before that, Deepak served as CFO for Auto Alliance International, a joint venture between Ford and Mazda with over $4 billion in revenue.
In a statement, Tesla CEO Ze'ev Drori said "Deepak's experience as CFO of multi-billion dollar business units with global sourcing and manufacturing operations makes him the ideal person to lead our finance organization through the company's next period of rapid growth."
In the same statement, Deepak described the opportunity to work at Tesla as "very exciting."
Deepak holds bachelors and masters degrees in materials engineering from Banaras Hindu University and Northwestern University, respectively and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Right, the Chevy Groove (black), Trax (brown) and Beat (green) concepts.
Media reports that Chevrolet will soon offer a minicar based on one of three minicar concepts that General Motors unveiled at the 2007 New York auto show are inaccurate, Chevy spokesman Terry Rhadigan told Green Car Advisor today.
"It's going to be bigger than the cars we showed in New York a year and a half ago," he said, referring to the Korean-designed Groove, Trax and Beat concepts.
The new model will be built on a larger platform than the Beat's, Rhadigan said, but he was unwilling to be more specific.
The spokesman said it was too early to discuss price, but later said the new model should be priced "where we have our subcompact cars - the Aveo and Aveo5. It'll be in that neighborhood."
That would be the $11,000 to $15,000 neighborhood.
As for mileage, Rhadigan said it was too early to speculate, "but obviously we'll work really hard to get the best mileage possible, given the dramatic shift to fuel-efficient vehicles."
The small car will be available "in the next couple of years," Rhadigan said, most likely as a 2011 model.
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.
Earlier this month we reported that Honda would unveil a lightweight, fuel-efficient sports car concept at the British auto show today.
We're now able to make good on that promise, but unfortunately we're not able to tell you that the gorgeous two-seat convertible you see here will be entering production.
Nor are we able to tell you that the apparent front-wheel-drive vehicle will be offered as a hybrid. Fact is, Honda is saying very little about the vehicle. Here's what we do know:
We're looking at the OSM concept, which stands for Open Study Model. It's a low-emissions car that joins the confirmed-for-production CR-Z sports hybrid and the FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car on the display stand at the auto show in London.
BMW announced today that its U.S.-bound 2010 ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a base price of $89,725 and reach American showrooms early next month on the heels of its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. 
