Recent Comments:
Plug-in Hybrid school bus gets 70% reduction in fuel consumption {Autoblog Green}
May 5th 2008 5:57PM James:
That's probably because the engine is spending much less time "ticking over" and more time in hard use. But that's a guess.
I'd love to see an estimated ROI for this. $160k is a lot of money, but school districts are spending a ton of cash for fuel as well...
Hyundai aiming to lose weight, increase efficiency by 2015 {Autoblog}
May 5th 2008 10:20AM "While the electric power steering system only adds around one mpg overall, the combination of DI engines and six-speed 'boxes should increase fuel economy by between three and six percent."
...
Funny how phrasing changes our perception of reality, isn't it? Three and six percent translates to approximately 1 and 2 mpg. That sentence sure makes the powertrain change (1 mpg) sound a whole lot better than the power steering change (also 1mpg) doesn't it?
By the Numbers: April 2008 {Autoblog}
May 2nd 2008 8:52AM If you owned a Hummer dealership, wouldn't you be advertising more in times like these?
ZF modifies 8-speed tranny, now stop/start approved {Autoblog Green}
May 2nd 2008 8:48AM Impressive. Doing this in the transmission - presumably within the same form factor - might make it a lot easier for some car companies to add start/stop to their product lines. The alternative is reworking quite a lot to move towards a starter/alternator combination, with the additional batteries that implies, which seems to be harder to implement.
Five-Oh fanatics: Saleen now offering 302 crate engines {Autoblog}
Apr 29th 2008 2:19PM I would guess - but of course can't be definitive about - that the current 2-door mustang coupe is in fact more aerodynamic than the old thunderbird, despite being less "pointy." Modern wind-tunnel testing and CAD workup is a good thing.
Video: Vectrix electric scooters lead Boston Marathon {Autoblog Green}
Apr 28th 2008 7:47PM Generally the press/pace trucks are far enough ahead for this not to be a huge issue. Frequently, though, motorcycles are used for close-in camera shots; I could see a move to electric being well received there.
Disclaimer: while I do run marathons, I'm a long way back from any potential press-truck exhaust issues and have not, so far, been singled out for film coverage. This is probably a good thing.
Hyundai i10 Ice Cream van hits sweet spot {Autoblog}
Apr 28th 2008 4:35PM AC is a bigger deal in the UK. Until relatively recently, it just wasn't required... the summertime temperatures have really risen over the last 20 years or so.
Mazda unveils 2009 Mazda6 for North America {Autoblog}
Apr 25th 2008 12:20PM Right. I was drooling over the G8 wagon too - would have probably gone for it even with the terrible fuel economy. If Mazda did a Mazdaspeed5, that might be interesting... but no luck there, either.
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT {Autoblog}
Apr 24th 2008 12:40PM The wagon with a stick would have been an almost automatic sale. As it is, I'll still look at it... interested in hearing some real world fuel economy numbers, though, which were conspicuously absent from this garage post.
VW finishes development of BlueTDI; 60 mpg Jetta coming to U.S. this summer {Autoblog Green}
Apr 24th 2008 11:27AM WTF? If I pay a 10% premium - even 15% - on diesel, something that's probably relatively short-lived as diesel has historically trended below regular, and get a 50% boost in mileage, that's a good thing.
And that's assuming that the regular gas version of the Jetta got 40mpg, which is probably overstating it by quite a bit.
