55 Articles
Recharge Wrap-up: BlaBlaCar raises $100M, NASA launches CO2 satellite

Mazda2 With Rotary Range Extender Likely

BlaBlaCar, a ridesharing startup in Europe, has raised $100 million in a funding round led by Index Ventures. After recently growing to 12 countries and 8 million users, BlaBlaCar plans to us the funding for even more aggressive growth throughout Europe. The ridesharing service pairs drivers and passengers, allowing passengers to catch rides between cities while allowing drivers to save money on fuel on road trips. Drivers are not allowed

Study
Doing nothing on climate change could cost auto industry millions

Business Forward says new EPA rules will add just $7 to cost of new car

When it comes to climate change, the auto industry will be better served by working with the energy industry on cleaner energy plants than dealing with more and more severe weather incidents in the future. That's the finding of a new study by Business Forward, which says that supporting the EPA's new rules – which is supposed to make energy pl

Report
Could CAFE result in an eBay-style online auction house for credits?

Automakers may turn to an online auction system to buy and sell carbon credits in the near future. As Automotive News reports, the Environmental Protection Agency will soon stop allowing automakers to simply pay fines for exceeding their carbon emission limits and will instead move to a carbon credit system. Under that plan, more efficient automakers wil

Rumormill
Volkswagen cooking up lightweight Carbon GTI

Autocar reports Volkswagen may be working on a lightweight version of the GTI as a tribute to the model's bare-bones ancestry. Dubbed "Carbon GTI," the model is said to make use of a range of new manufacturing techniques to incorporate a heap of carbon fiber and aluminum wherever possible. Pieces like the bulkhead, windshield frame and floor panels are all expected to be hammered fro

Geneva
Pagani Huayra Carbon Edition is all things right in the world

When American automakers release Carbon editions of their sports cars, buyers are treated to a few carbon fiber veneers, some fancy wheels and a few badges. When Pagani builds a Huayra Carbon Edition, the Italian manufacturer simply constructs every last piece of body work out of the composite and slathers everything in clear coat.

Official
Volkswagen will invest more than $55 billion to cut vehicle, factory emissions

Volkswagen AG announced this week that it will spend more than $55 billion over the next four years reducing carbon emissions from both its vehicles and factories, as the German automaker looks to increase sales by boosting its credibility as an environmentally friendly vehicle maker. You can see the beginnings of this plan in the company's Chattanooga plant, Danny King

Plastic Fantastic: Are composite engines the future?

Florida engineer Matti Holtzberg has spent the last 40 years trying to perfect and implement a way of building useable engine blocks from composite plastics. With the advent of carbon fiber and its subsequent permeation of all things high-performance, Holtzberg decided to apply the technology to his composite engine idea.

BMW leaks first-gen X5 made of carbon fiber

BMW has been making some headlines over the past few months with its commitment to carbon fiber construction, opening a joint-venture production facility in Washington State and teasing the upcoming Megacity EV as the first mass-

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