In an effort to cut down on travel and energy costs, Chrysler is said to be in negotiations with the United Auto Workers Union to switch from five, eight-hour days down to four days with ten-hour shifts. We first heard this scheme mentioned as a possibility for the Jeep Factory in Toledo, Ohio, though it now appears as if all but the few plants turning in high amounts of overtime would
Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy: Improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power the vehicle. That's not a trivial improvement: 10 percent savings would amount to more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the U.S. alone.
Kia's hungry for your business, which explains the pending arrival of the Forte. The Spectra is a good car, but blends in far more than the attractively turned out Forte. It seems the Forte also has an appetite, and it's for the good stuff. Kia wants to bolster its image, so what better way than a clever commercial that infers that inside the Kia is all the goodness of a partially digested Bentley? Of course it's hyperbole, that's why it's so cool! Video embedded after the jump. Dan Roth
In recent weeks there have been several safety related incidents during the development and testing of the new kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) that will be rolled out in Formula 1 in 2009. Teams are working along two different development paths with some pursuing a mechanical flywheel based system while others work on an battery based electric hybrid setup. Both configurations have potential safety issues, but Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director of the Force India team believes all of thos
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hyundai Velostar concept.
If you believe the Johnston family, owners of Wildcat Mitsubishi in Tucson and Ideal Automotive in Sierra Vista, Arizona, they have a little communication and paperwork problem. If you believe the soldiers at the Army base in Fort Huachuca, the Better Business Bureau, the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, the Arizona Transportation Department, the police department, and at least one civilian customer, the Johnstons have a much larger number of far more serious problems.
Nissan is in the midst of developing its own hybrid drive system that is scheduled to debut on rear wheel drive Infiniti models in 2010. According to reports from Japan last week, its a good thing Nissan still has two years until Job 1 since the system has still not reached the level of refinement needed to be competitive in the current market. The system has some impressive specifications including a 110 lb lithium ion battery that can provide a three mile electric drive range. Unfortunately du
