While owners of the current Tesla Roadster get the benefit of driving their bad ass electric vehicle today, people who are on the list for a 2010 model will get a few benefits that make 2009 owners jealous. Tesla Motors Club member DrComputer wrote about "a conversation with Ted at corporate" that revealed some improvements to the new cars. A tipster sent in a similar list of upgrades. The upgrades include:

• New power electronics module
• Better cooling for the power electronics
• Improved AC with variable speed fans
  
• Built in WiFi cards that connect the Roadster to the Internet (unless you turn the feature off) and gives Tesla the ability to interact with the car remotely. Also, this could open the door to mobile phone apps that talk to the car.
  
• Glove box locks when you lock the car (to leave it out with the top down)

Both sources mention the ability to switch vehicle performance modes – from Range to Standard or Performance (but not back to Range) – with the key instead of needing to change modes via the screen. There has been no official confirmation about these upgrades, but none of them would surprise us if they were true. Thanks to Dan for the tip!



[Source: Tesla Motors Club | Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty]

	Does the government know if ethanol cars qualify for Cash-For-Clunkers? A reader question about a 2000 Taurus shows that there's a lot of confusion about the CARS program.		Clean diesels, hybrids are cheaper New car shoppers, take note.
	Fisker gives Quantum $10.2 million contract for powertrain development The plan for releasing these luxury plug-in hybrids keeps moving along.	Other news: Proposed U.S. legislation would provide tax breaks for natural gas vehicles Elle Macpherson gets topless at Fiat 500C launch The Greenwash to End All Greenwashing? GM reportedly pondering changing logo color

General Motors has finally added the 2-Mode Hybrid powertrain to its top-level GMC Yukon Denali. There aren't any mechanical changes to the gas-electric drivetrain that's been available since 2008 in the standard-grade Yukon and its platform mates, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. All of which means we'll see a 6.0-liter Vortec V8 engine with 332 horsepower and 367 lb-ft of torque and up to a 6,200-pound towing capacity.

According to GM, the hybrid hardware is mostly contained in the 2-Mode Electrically Variable Transmission, which features twin electric motors powered by a 300-volt nickel metal hydride battery pack. Expect EPA fuel economy ratings of 21 city, 22 highway for two-wheel drive models and 20/20 when equipped with four-wheel drive.

As far as mechanical changes go, the Denali Hybrid will bring the first application of GM's MagnaRide suspension system to the Yukon. As you'd expect in a top-level SUV, the Denali Hybrid will come fully loaded straight from the factory – the only three options will be a sunroof, rear-seat entertainment DVD system and side blind spot alert mirrors. Hit the jump for the full press release.

	First Drive: VW Passat Ling Yu - The technology of tomorrow in the car of today Yes, it's a Passat, but a very, very expensive Passat.		Blast from the Past: NASA's Stirling-powered AMC Spirit Stirling technology is good enough for Dean Kamen, good enough for NASA.
	Officially Official: GMC adds Yukon Denali Hybrid SUV Expect EPA fuel economy ratings to start at 21 city, 22 highway.	Other news: Not over yet: Senate subcommittee restores DOE's hydrogen funding cut T. Boone Pickens' wind farm plan dies out Could rebates help sell a gas tax?

In Possible Future Scenario #317-B, San Francisco industrial design firm Mike and Maaike presents the atnmbl (get it? – "autonomobile"). Less a car than an autonomous, seven-person mobile living room, the atnmbl is billed as a complete redesign of the car for those who believe that the ideal driving experience is not driving.

Essentially an all-wheel-drive Internet sitting room, the solar and electric atnmbl asks you where you want to go and then takes you there. Speed and acceleration are "irrelevant considerations," time savings is the key – that is, unless you ask the atnmbl to take the scenic route. Since you're not driving, you'll need something to do during the trip, hence the Internet browsing screen and open-source software architecture to download apps, social networking capabilities, and... a bar.

Mike and Maaike don't predict seeing the atnmbl until 2040, which gives you some time to enjoy having to leave your couch to go camping. As for such a thing actually materializing, coming from the folks who designed the Google Phone, and with, perhaps, the ears of Google's muckamucks, well, hey, who knows. In the meantime, you can read what the firm has to say about its creation after the jump.



[Source: Core77]

	ATNMBL, the electric vehicle that asks "Where can I take you?" It's a social living room on wheels, powered by batteries.		Gotta choose one: Lamborghini Murciélago or Nissan X-Trail FCV? [w/POLL] Two expensive cars, one choice.
	The future tested - AutoCar tries out the Ford iosis Max [w/VIDEO] Ford is on to something with with this concept vehicle.	Other news: First Fisker Karma deliveries scheduled for mid-2010 Twist and Shout: Techart's custom Porsche Cayenne diesel Underactive Bladder Syndrome: 2010 Prius gets conventional gas tank

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the long-anticipated right-hand-drive Roadster is coming in the first quarter of 2010 and will be available in both standard and Sport guise. The first market that's slated for electrification is, as you would expect, the United Kingdom, and Tesla's first European showroom has already opened up in Knightsbridge.

In addition to Great Britain, Musk has also indicated that Japan, Australia and India are seen as important right-hand-drive markets for the automaker to pursue in short order. The switch from LHD to RHD is surely made easier by the fact that the Lotus Elise, which shares a large portion of its chassis with the Roadster, was initially designed as a wrong right-hand vehicle.

Interestingly, there's already a lone Tesla Roadster in Australia, but that left-hand-drive car was imported by a man named Simon Hackett for his own personal use at a cost of about $200,000 Australian dollars – nearly twice what a Roadster costs in the States. Click past the break to watch a short video segment featuring that car.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Go Auto]

We don't have to tell you how important the Chevrolet Volt is to General Motors. Even if the model isn't likely to turn a profit for many years, the plug-in electric car's success or failure is likely to be seen as a crucial indicator of GM's post-bankruptcy prospects in the eyes of many. This being the case, it's not surprising that automaker is practically throwing everything it's got at the project. According to Chief Engineer Andrew Farah, the Volt team is currently working on getting the sound and feel of the driving experience just right. Speaking to Automotive News, Farah said:

The engine, not being directly connected to the foot, is one of the things we continue to tune. We don't want it to be discomforting to people. There is an expectation of what happens when you put your accelerator to the floor in the way the car sounds and feels. We've got the feel. We've got the feel of a sports car. The sound part and the way the engine plays into that perception is one of the areas we have to work on.

Clearly, creating a plug-in car with mass-market appeal isn't as simple as bolting an electric motor and a bunch of batteries into an existing chassis. People have come to expect certain things to happen as an automobile is driven, and GM needs to find the right compromise between zero-emissions technology and time-honored driving dynamics. Further complicating the issue is the tremendous weight of the car's T-shaped battery pack. Farah explains:

Here's the thing to remember: When you put the battery in, it actually lowers the center of gravity of the car. There are a thousand reasons why heavy is bad, but a few why it is good. And so we are getting those advantages of the good heavy, and the disadvantages we are managing.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Hyundai's first-ever hybrid automobile for the U.S. market will be based on the redesigned 2011 Sonata midsize sedan, but it certainly isn't the only fuel-saver the Korean automaker has in store. According to Automotive News, Yang Woong-chul, president of R&D for Hyundai-Kia Motors, has reiterated his company's plans to aggressively (if belatedly) enter the increasingly crowded hybrid market.

To that end, Hyundai plans to launch a new sporty plug-in electric car based on the striking Blue-Will concept from Seoul Motor Show earlier this year. Powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline direct-injected powerplant and 100kw electric motor mated up with a continuously variable transmission, the Blue-Will reportedly has a range of 38 miles in EV mode and an overall rating of 55 mpg when the gas engine is in operation.

Expect a similar drivetrain for the production car when it hits the market in 2012 to go up against the upcoming Chevrolet Volt and the plug-in version of Toyota's standard-bearing Prius hybrid. So far, there's no word on expected pricing for the PHEV, but Hyundai says the goal is to 'show its technology and improve its image,' not to make money. Consider our interest piqued.



[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

	Columnist: Higher gas taxes better strategy than CAFE to save GM We own the company, so should we institute policies that help GM?		Columnist: hybrid growth in the near-term will benefit ... lead-acid battery makers? Sounds counter-intuitive, but there's an interesting case to be made here.
	Get your Tesla Roadster with monthly payments from Bank of America If you can't pay for your Roadster in cash, how does $1,650 a month sound?	Other news: McDonald's in North Carolina adds EV charging point Redefining "e" mail: Japan Post to start testing 40+ electric vehicles What a car feels and sounds like: GM refining Volt driving experience