Autoblog

Tokyo 2009: Suzuki Alto Concept tries to be a cooler kei

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:00:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Budget, Tokyo Motor Show, Hatchback

Suzuki Alto Concept -- Click above for high-res image gallery

The Suzuki Alto concept is The Kei You Would Never Suspect: unassuming looks belie the fact that this is car Suzuki is going to use to reach a wider audience. The exterior - which, frankly, looks like a ton of other itty bitty already plying on Japan's streets -- has been subtly tweaked to subtly lure in male and female buyers in a wider age group than the current car attracts.

According to the company, the Alto concept "points to the future of the minivehicle by combining newly honed performance with minivehicle economy and user-friendliness," with "styling that appeals to people regardless of age and gender."

Although officially labeled as a concept, the three-cylinder Alto is expected on the roads next year and an all-wheel-drive version is also on the way. Decide on the Alto for yourself with the help of the high-res gallery below and the press release after the break.

Gallery: Tokyo 2009: Suzuki Alto Concept

Continue reading Tokyo 2009: Suzuki Alto Concept tries to be a cooler kei

Tokyo 2009: Suzuki Alto Concept tries to be a cooler kei originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tokyo 2009: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo is bigger, o-kei!

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Minivan/Van, Tokyo Motor Show, Mitsubishi, Electric

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

You can make anything bigger and better if you just add a hump, and that's what Mitsubishi has done to its i-MiEV to create the i-MiEV Cargo.

For those who find Ford's Transit Connect simply too monstrous and don't want to pay for gas - like, oh, a commercial concern in Tokyo - Mitsu's battery-powered i-MiEV could be the perfect solution. Growing only in height compared to its hatchback sibling, the thing is tiny but still packs 62 cubic feet of cargo space in its Quasimodo back end - that's a little less than half the Transit Connect's space. That said, we have to wonder how much a full cargo load will negatively effect the i-MiEV's range and overall performance.

Read all about the Cargo's big smallness in the press release after the jump, and have a gander at it in the gallery of high-res photos below.

Gallery: Tokyo 2009: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo

Continue reading Tokyo 2009: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo is bigger, o-kei!

Tokyo 2009: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo is bigger, o-kei! originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

REPORT: Chrysler, Fiat partnering on electric car

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Electric

Dodge Circuit EV - Click above for high-res image gallery

In a little more than three weeks, Sergio Marchionne will reveal his 5-year plan for Chrysler. According to information revealed by a Fiat exec and Chrysler board member Alfredo Altavilla last week, at least one electric car will be part of it. While visiting a gearbox factory in Italy, Altavilla confirmed that the presumed-dead electric car program is in progress and being worked on by Chrysler and Fiat. He gave no further comment on the matter.

Chrysler, through its ENVI in-house electric propulsion division, currently has four electric vehicles: the Dodge Circuit EV (shown), Jeep Patriot EV, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited EV, and Chrysler Town & Country EV. The ENVI site claims that you'll be able to own at least one electric model by 2010, and there will be "at least three more models available by 2013." Those claims could be outdated, however; we'll have to wait until November 4 to get clarity on the future. But if there's an electric Fiat 500 in there, well, let's just say we won't be disappointed...

Gallery: Dodge Circuit EV

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

REPORT: Chrysler, Fiat partnering on electric car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Circuit Logic: Pocono Raceway going solar powered?

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology

The greening of motorsport continues with NASCAR, which has a program to plant 20 acres of trees at race tracks every year. Individual tracks are doing their own things as well, with Pocono Raceway the latest to go a step further: The New York Times reports that it is planting 25 acres of solar cells, equaling about 40,000 panels, to create three megawatts of its own power.

The track's power bill was about to go up to $500,000 per year, and they figured a better way to spend the money would be investing in renewable energy. The solar farm, being built by enXco and planned for completion next year, will cost up to $17 million but it will eventually pay for itself. In addition to the money the Raceway will save by using its own power, it can sell the excess production back to the regional grid operator for "seven figures" each year.

True, it doesn't exactly make motorsports green, but it's a good step. And we have to admit - it makes a lot more sense than KERS. Thanks for the tip, Deepa!

[Source: The New York Times via Green Launches]

Circuit Logic: Pocono Raceway going solar powered? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

2010 Nissan Leaf electric car: In person, in depth - and U.S. bound [*UPDATED w/vids & live photos]

Chris Paukert — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:48:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Japan, Technology, Hatchback, Nissan, Design/Style, Electric

2010 Nissan Leaf EV - Click above for hi-res gallery

It would be easy to paint Nissan as late to the burgeoning U.S. green party, as the company essentially only counts the Altima Hybrid to sell among its alt-fuel offerings - and that sedan utilizes technology borrowed from Toyota, and it's only sold in a few states in small volumes. While that may be the case, Nissan says their near-term prospects are really quite different. While the company has admittedly been cautious in marketing alt-fuel vehicles in North America, they have been hard at work developing electric vehicles - as well as the advanced lithium-ion batteries to support them - since 1992. What's more, officials say they are now singularly well-placed to leapfrog "transitional" powertrain solutions like gas-electric hybrids in favor of genuine zero-emissions vehicles, and they are promising that their first pure-electric car will reach U.S. shores late next year.

That car, the Nissan Leaf shown here, is the reason we find ourselves in the company's brand-new Yokohama headquarters today. Designed as a four-to-five seat, front-drive C-segment hatchback, Nissan says the Leaf is not just for use as a specialty urban runabout, but rather, it was designed as an everyday vehicle - a "real car" whose 160-kilometer+ (100 mile) range meets the needs of 70% of the world's motorists. In the case of U.S. consumers, Nissan says that fully 80% of drivers travel less than 100km per day (62 miles), making the Leaf a solid fit for America's motoring majority, even taking into account power-sapping external factors like hilly terrain, accessory draw, and extreme temperatures.

We were afforded an advance look at the Leaf ahead of the car's unveiling today, and while it was a hands-off affair, we did have the chance to formulate some in-the-metal first impressions and take a deep dive into the car's technology. Click through to the jump to learn all about it.

Gallery: 2010 Nissan Leaf EV

Gallery: 2010 Nissan Leaf EV- Yokohama Introduction

Continue reading 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car: In person, in depth - and U.S. bound [*UPDATED w/vids & live photos]

2010 Nissan Leaf electric car: In person, in depth - and U.S. bound [*UPDATED w/vids & live photos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Eaton developing hydraulic hybrid systems

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:33:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Technology

Eaton, a company primarily known for making superchargers that make your vehicle go like stink, but guzzle even more gas, is also in the series hydraulic hybrid (SHH) business. The drive system in a hydraulic hybrid replaces the conventional drivetrain; the engine is effectively rendered a "pump" for the hydraulics, and energy is stored in two different accumulators that then power the wheels. Fuel savings of 50-70% are achieved by the system being much lighter than a traditional drivetrain, along with regenerative braking and the fact that the engine can be turned off when stopped and when decelerating.

The first real-world application of Eaton's SHH will be in a number of UPS delivery trucks next year. No auto manufacturer has any plans to create an SHH -- because of the lack of batteries, when the engine is cut off, electrical systems like the radio and climate control are also shut down. Eaten has a cooperative working agreement with the EPA to develop its hydraulic hybrid system, and has selected IBM to develop software to refine the system. Thanks for the tip, Gavin!

[Source: Eaton]

Eaton developing hydraulic hybrid systems originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Science magazine declares ethanol worse for the Earth than fossil fuels

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:02:00 EST

Filed under: Green, Technology

Jon Markman at MSN Money doesn't hold back when he says "Corn-based ethanol production is sure to go down as one of the greatest mistakes ever in U.S. energy policy." It's even more provoking when he writes "replacing fossil fuels with corn-based ethanol would double greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades. The studies show that switchgrass, an alternative to ethanol that's more weed than plant, would boost emissions by 50%."

The problem isn't with the cars, the problem is with what it takes to grow the biofuel in the first place. Clearing the land, harvesting, and refining the crops, plus the loss of forest and wild lands and habitats, amounts to creating a carbon footprint worse than fossil fuels. According to the Science article which, admittedly, posits an extreme scenario, it would take 423 years to even out the carbon debt if Indonesia's peat lands were converted to palm oil fields.

The research is starting to give some people pause, such as the folks at the European Union who declared they wanted ten-percent of the block's transport fuel to come from plants. And Joe Fargione of the U.S. Nature Conservancy asks, "Is it worth it? ...[S]urprisingly the answer is 'no'. These natural areas store a lot of carbon, so converting them to crops results in tons of carbon emitted into the atmosphere."

Thanks for the tip, Zo!

[Source: MSN Money]

Science magazine declares ethanol worse for the Earth than fossil fuels originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Says Rick Wagoner: Volt might come in 2010... or it might not

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:57:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Hybrid, Green, Chevrolet

Bob Lutz has staked a fair amount of his and GM's reputation on the Volt. Even though he has said since the beginning that the Volt needs battery technology that isn't ready for the mass market yet, he also said that the Volt would go on sale by the end of 2010.

Rick Wagoner, though, in a 50-minute Q&A session with journos and bloggers, said that the Volt launch date is "fluid." Citing, again, the lack of battery technology that the Volt would need, he said, "We continue to put massive resources into production as soon as possible. 2010 would be great, but (we) can't guarantee that at this time. We'll keep you posted regularly on our progress."

GM critics -- like the Toyota rep who called the Volt "vaporware" -- will take this as a sign that GM is waffling. GM supporters will say, correctly, that this doesn't mean the Volt won't come out in 2010 -- it simply isn't assured. We would love to see the Volt appear tomorrow. Short of that, we'd love to see GM get the batteries it needs to deliver the Volt on time.

[Source: Detroit News]

Says Rick Wagoner: Volt might come in 2010... or it might not originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

New York Times has choice words for the Lexus LS 600h L

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:25:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Lexus

NY Times writer Lawrence Ulrich didn't merely disparage the Lexus LS 600h L, he grabbed the car by its back tires, dragged it around back, and while the Times readership looked on, gave it a big city back alley whoopin'. Invoking Nick Nolte, John Matuzsak, Jor-El, Jared from Subway, and blasting the big hybrid's gas mileage, weight, 0-60 time, price, carbon footprint, and the very reason for being, Lexus' standard-bearer could certainly use some private time to recover.

What compliments there were in the article -- and it did garner some genuine compliments -- were little defense against Ulrich's ultimate assessment that "the hybrid may have set a new standard for automotive hyperbole." While it's possible that Lexus didn't expect such a scathing critique from the Gray Lady, it had to know that there would be questions about the paradox of a big, thirsty hybrid. However, Lexus is only making 2,000 of them, and it's a good bet that there are at least that many rich folks looking for what it calls "the progressive person's alternative." The LS 600h L is a shot across the bow. It will really get interesting when we get a glimpse of act two, and the responses from its competitors.

[Source: New York Times]

New York Times has choice words for the Lexus LS 600h L originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

GM, DaimlerChrysler, BMW debut new full hybrid system

Stuart Waterman — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 06:56:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Technology, BMW, Daimler, GM

The Global Hybrid Cooperation partnership - a joint venture of General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and BMW - took the wraps off its new state-of-the-art "full hybrid" system Thursday.

The system integrates electric motors with a fixed-gear transmission into a unit comparable in size and complexity to a conventional automatic transmission. The magic happens via the unit's combination of four fixed gears with two electric continuously variable transmission (ECVT) modes, granting a total of six distinct operating modes:

Input-split ECVT mode, or continuously variable Mode 1, operates from vehicle launch through the second fixed gear ratio.
Compound-split ECVT mode, or continuously variable Mode 2, operates after the second fixed gear ratio.
First fixed-gear ratio with both electric motors available to boost the internal combustion engine or capture and store energy from regenerative braking, deceleration and coasting.
Second fixed-gear ratio with one electric motor available for boost/braking,
Third fixed-gear ratio with two electric motors available for boost/braking.
Fourth fixed-gear ratio with one electric motor available for boost/braking.

In comparison to conventional hybrid systems, the GHC design is claimed to provide better combined city/highway fuel economy, better performance, and better towing capability.

More details in the full press release after the jump.

[Source: DaimlerChyrsler]

Continue reading GM, DaimlerChrysler, BMW debut new full hybrid system

GM, DaimlerChrysler, BMW debut new full hybrid system originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Apr 2006 06:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bioengineered algae bringing hydrogen fuel-cells closer?

Stuart Waterman — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid

While most car manufacturers believe that hydrogen fuel cells are the long-term solution to reducing petroleum consumption and automotive air pollution, a number of problems remain unsolved at present. Two of the biggest are how to produce hydrogen efficiently, and how to store it in a vehicle.

A recent article in Wired points to a possible solution for hydrogen production-- bioengineered algae. Developed at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab, the green hydrogen generators use energy from photosynthesis to produce hydrogen. Now that the algae's energy efficiency has been pumped up to useful levels, researchers are working on increasing the efficiency of hydrogen production. Ultimately, algae farms in the desert could be used as hydrogen factories.

The storage problem is also a major obstacle, and one of the goals of the Department of Energy's FreedomCAR program is to develop a hydrogen storage material capable of holding six-percent of its total weight in hydrogen. (Given that hydrogen is the lightest element, this isn't as easy as it sounds.) Recently, researchers at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory have enjoyed promising results using carbon nanotubes as a storage medium, although considerable work will be required to make them practical for routine, rechargeable storage applications. Nonetheless, early experiments have already achieved five-percent hydrogen storage by weight.

Looks like we may be on the road to finding two pieces of the puzzle.

[Thanks for the tips, Keith!]

Bioengineered algae bringing hydrogen fuel-cells closer? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Does the U.S. face dependence on foreign ethanol?

Stuart Waterman — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Hybrid

Well, not exactly, but President Bush's current fascination with E85 fuel aside, problems with widespread adoption of high ethanol content fuels go far beyond the lack of special pumps at your corner gas station-- the U.S. has an E85 shortage, and we're importing ethanol from Brazil to make up the shortfall.

The reason? Too much demand, and not enough supply, a conondrum that leads to shortages and high prices.

Oil companies that still use MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether to you chemists) to oxygenate gasoline are rapidly shifting to using ethanol instead, to avoid the public health hazard created by the additive (and the attendant lawsuits). While much of the U.S. already uses E10 blended gasoline, the East Coast and Texas region still depend on MTBE-blended fuel.

Unfortunately, U.S. ethanol production is running at capacity, and there isn't enough U.S. ethanol to replace all that MTBE. U.S. capacity will increase as new facilities eventually come on line, but that isn't solving this year's problem.

Already, ethanol prices have been driven high enough that E85 is selling for as much or more than gasoline, even though its energy content is lower (leading to comparatively lower fuel efficiency). Things will get worse before they get better, with CNN/Money reporting that the ethanol shortage will affect regions depending on it to replace MTBE... leading to high prices and possible fuel shortages on the East Coast and in Texas.

Does the U.S. face dependence on foreign ethanol? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments