Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Toyota Prius

If the Prius went mainstream when Toyota bumped production to 280,000 worldwide units per year in 2007, the fuel efficient hybrid is now primed to kick project green to the next level. When Toyota begins producing the next gen Prius, it'll do so with more factory space than ever dedicated to the universal symbol for fuel efficiency, making it possible to produce 480,000 vehicles per year. The Japan-based Tsutsumi factory, which currently builds five different vehicles, will stop making the JDM Wish minivan to allow for more Priuses. Even more Prius capacity will be available beginning in 2010, when the Japanese automaker's new Mississippi plant comes online and begins to produce more of the hybrid.

With the meteoric rise in gas prices, the Prius has gone from a yuppie green statement for politicians and suburbanites to a means for the masses to travel around town without breaking the bank. $4 per gallon gas and a continued lack of competition means Toyota could probably double production again and still sell every Prius it makes.


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

To feed the insatiable demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, and follow the striking success of the Toyota Prius, the Japanese automaker will introduce a second hybrid-only vehicle in 2009. The all-new model will have a 2- to 2.5-liter engine, suggesting it will be larger than their current popular four-door hybrid (the Prius uses a 1.5-liter gasoline powerplant). The new model will be sold side-by-side with the Prius, Camry Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid. Toyota will also sell a rebadged version under the upscale Lexus brand, where it will join the LS Hybrid, GS Hybrid, and RX Hybrid. Toyota's master plan is to sell 1 million hybrid vehicles annually throughout the world, and considering the market, there's little doubt that the automaker can pull it off. Toyota's next hybrid debut is scheduled for Detroit in January, and we'll be there to cover it.

[Source: Daily Times]

The already fuel efficient Smart fortwo will soon become even more stingy with the petrol when start-stop technology is employed fleet-wide beginning in October. The start-stop technology, which is called "micro hybrid" by Smart, works by cutting off the engine during braking when the vehicle speed drops below five mph. According to Smart, the engine restarts immediately when the brake is released and the technology will result in a fuel savings of 8 percent, bringing consumption in the US EPA cycle to about 44 mpg on the highway and 36 mpg in the city. CO2 emissions will also be reduced by 9g/km, now netting 103g/km. The technology will also be available on the CDI Smart when it hits production next year, but as of right now, the diesel fortwo isn't coming Stateside.

[Source: Autocar]

If you've been holding your breath in anticipation of General Motors redesigning its trucks and SUVs, you're probably going to pass out so start breathing again. According to reports, it's gonna be a while. GM has announced that it's postponed any planned redesigns of its pickups and SUVs to a future date sometime beyond their previously planned 2012 redesigns. What'll it do with the extra time and money? Pouring over its entire product lineup to provide the most fuel efficient vehicles possible to a demanding public. The General announced the move in response to this drastic consumer shift away from trucks and SUVs.

GM isn't the only automaker to make product decisions based on the current vehicle market, as Toyota, Honda, Ford and others have all announced that they are shifting their lineups to include more fuel efficient vehicles. If you haven't noticed, $4-a-gallon gasoline seems to have changed the auto industry in a big way overnight. Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: Yahoo]

When we had our First Drive in BMW's new X6 Sport Activity Coupe, we didn't get the opportunity to really measure fuel consumption, since the vehicles were gassed-up when we got behind the wheel and were then refuelled during our lunch break. A glance at the on-board computer of the '35i we drove on the long route through the mountains indicated about 13.5 mpg which is nothing to write home about. The other day, BMW sent us the preliminary EPA numbers for the X6 which came in at 15/20/17mpg city/highway/combined for the turbo six cylinder model. The 404hp turbo V-8 completed the test cycles with ratings of 13/18/15mpg. When the two-mode hybrid version of the version of the X6 debuts in 2009, it will be combined only with the V-8 engine. With an expected 25 percent improvement overall, the X6 hybrid should hit about 18-19mpg combined.


[Source: BMW]

These days it seems more common to overhear comments about a particular car's appalling fuel economy than idle chatter about the weather, which makes sense when a gallon of gas costs as much as a cheap umbrella. For instance, just the other day there was some guy going on about how his car was getting 3 mpg less than just a few months ago and had no idea why. That is until it was pointed out to him that his car's adjustable luggage rack was in its full, upright position, giving his car the aerodynamic efficiency of a cinder block.

That's just one of the points Forbes includes on its list of things to do so you can drive green without buying a new car. Improving your gas-guzzling vehicle's sleekness by losing that luggage rack, ditching that inefficient and egregiously ugly three-foot-tall spoiler and quit sticking your hand out the window are all little things that add up to an appreciable difference at the pump.

Most of the advice is common sense we've all heard before, but Sebastian Blanco, editor of AutoblogGreen, offered a novel suggestion for the list. Reduce your car's weight by only filling up half the tank. One gallon of gasoline can weigh as much as 6.5 lbs. On a 2008 Ford Escape, a half a tank of gas weighs 53 pounds.

Like the Forbes article points out, there's only so much you can do to curb a car's drinking habit, especially if you're driving something like an Escalade. But in smaller, lighter cars, even small steps like this can make a big difference in your fuel bill.

[Source: Forbes.com]

click above to view more images of the Tata Nano

A report at CNN kinda states the obvious, that if the $2,500 Tata Nano proves as popular in India as most people think it will be, there will be a huge increase in demand for gasoline there. And if worldwide demand for oil goes up, the price of gasoline here will go up. Basic economics, right? Well, CNN looks a little deeper, and gets into why we're likely to see higher pump prices soon.

The target market for the Nano in India is people who do not currently own cars. That means droves of fuel-efficient scooter drivers will trade two wheels for four. And even though the Nano gets 54 mpg, that's still not as good as most of the scooters sold there.

And the second reason is that Tata sees the Nano as a "gateway" car. Get 'em addicted to the cheap stuff, then move 'em up to bigger, more profitable, less fuel-efficient cars later.

Combine these two reasons with the fact that the Nano will likely be sold in China as well, and you potentially have hundreds of millions of newly licensed drivers in line at the pump. The CNN story quotes one oil analyst who says we're likely to see gas prices near $4 or $5 well before 2015.

[Source: CNN]

It seems like every carmaker has set themselves the goal of world domination. Toyota's internal master-plan memos leaked out, and then there's BMW nipping right along with lofty goals, too. Here comes Audi, deciding that they'd really like to sell 200,000 vehicles in the US market by 2010. While BMW is the current premium brand champ, Audi thinks it's got the moxie to claim that spot. Audi's perhaps got a case of inflated self-esteem if they think they're going to come out on top, especially considering that competitors are also projecting gains. Taken together, automakers have set out goals for growth that are more ambitious than what the market's likely to do.

Nobody will argue that Audi makes high-performing cars packed with high levels of technology and class-leading appointments. When the conversation takes on a green tinge, however, Ingolstadt seemingly falls short. Audis have been packing on the muscle and the weight, while BMW's been at work discovering ways to decrease carbon emissions and innovate in the name of fuel efficiency. Audi fires back, citing their fleet's CO2 emissions which are lower than Mercedes or BMW, with more tech to come. Tweaked engines, hybrid and alternative-fuel powertrains, and fuel-saving techniques like stop/start and brake regeneration are all coming to the Audi range soon. In the race for the top, someone will inevitably end up on the bottom. Audi just hopes that they can claw up that slope, Quattro-like.

[Source: Auto News - sub req]

Beginning this month, ToMoCo will begin outfitting automatic transmission-equipped vehicles in its home market with what Toyota calls the "Eco Drive Indicator." The dash-mounted display informs the driver when they are operating the vehicle in an ecological manner by monitoring acceleration, engine/transmission efficiency and speed, all in an effort to raise fuel efficiency consciousness in Japan.

Toyota's research shows a four percent increase in fuel economy with vehicles equipped with the Eco Drive Indicator. Naturally, the results are dependent on traffic congestion, frequent starts and stops and other variables that have an effect on overall fuel efficiency.

The introduction of the Eco Drive system is part of Toyota's three-prong effort to facilitate a more sustainable motoring environment. Eco Drive seeks to address driver awareness and from there Toyota aims to make more developments in commercial transportation and also plans to expand its research into intelligent transportation systems.

[Source: Toyota Motor Corp.]

The sixth webisode of the FordBoldMoves documentary begins with a statement of fact: "Ford has the worst fuel efficiency of any automaker in America." That's what we like about these little shorts – they can be brutally honest about the condition of Ford, even if they do tend to end with a hope-springs-eternal attitude. The sixth webisode speaks to Ford's past failure and current efforts to become a greener automaker. Examples such as the Hybrid Escape taxi fleet in New York and the upcoming introduction of the first hydrogen internal combustion engine shuttle buses later are used to show the Blue Oval is working on the problem. But, as many have noted before us, Ford planned for a gas-guzzling economy with its heavy investment in trucks and SUVs over the past twenty years, and now that consumer taste is shifting Ford needs to shift with it.

No doubt many who watch Episode 6 will focus on the clay model that's briefly displayed on screen in between shots of the Shelby GR-1.

Also, don't forget to check out a Counterpoint article by AutoblogGreen editor Sebastian Blanco in which he argues that Ford's future will be found in a hydrogen economy.

[Source: FordBoldMoves]