2010 BMW 320d EfficientDynamics

General Motors Co. is moving closer to picking Germany’s favored buyer, Magna International Inc. and its Russian partners, for its Opel business, sources close to the matter said.

A leading automotive research company is predicting that U.S. monthly auto sales will rise above the 1 million mark for the first time this year in August.

Enough of the gas-guzzling vehicles around! This time Indian roads are all set to grab the Hybrid vehicles since both Honda Siel Cars India and Mahindra and Mahindra have specified that they will make their Hybrids viable by next year. Even other automakers, for instance Toyota and Ford, have expressed their interest for the hybrid vehicles in the country. Read the rest of this entry »

British Gas has launched WebSaver 4, its cheapest online dual fuel tariff.

Rendered Speculation: Chevrolet Volt-based Saab Fashionista

Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Saab, Rendered Speculation

At this point, it’s not a certainty that Saab or even parent company General Motors will still be in the car business in the year 2012, but let’s not let that tidbit get in the way of an interesting concept car. Authored by Mayeul Walser, a fourth year design student at Creapole-ESDI, the Saab Fashionista is a 2+2 sport coupe that is reportedly inspired by the designs of Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel.

More importantly, this concept is based on the underpinnings of the Chevrolet Volt, which means there’s a range-extended electric powertrain hiding under its shapely bodywork. Since it only exists on paper, Walser took some liberties by ditching the eco-friendly drivetrain’s stock four-cylinder engine and replacing it with a more powerful V6.

In reality, a more powerful internal combustion engine wouldn’t make the Fashionista any faster than the Volt since the electric motor is the only power source driving the front wheels. No matter, it’s an interesting concept nonetheless. We especially like the nine-spoke blade-like carbon fiber rims.

[Source: Mayeul Walser via Carscoop]

Rendered Speculation: Chevrolet Volt-based Saab Fashionista originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hybrid Cars Tax Credit and Hybrid Car Benefits - Newsoxy.com
Hybrid cars are all about alternative energy and fuel efficiency, and the government is using these cars to promote new incentives to reduce carbon emissions. There are new laws for plug-in electric drive vehicles which can offer car owners a credit

Solar electric hybrid vehicles visit White House for Earth Day - San Francisco Examiner
Some of the most promising electric and hybrid cars are being engineered and produced in cities not called Detroit, Tokyo or Stuttgart. And Earth Day — today — April 22 — is a great day to show them off to the US Congress and the White House

China Aims to Lead the Electric Car Revolution - ?? ????
TIANJIN, China - Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that

Seattle partners with Nissan on EV program - CNET News
The City of Seattle has partnered with Nissan North America to promote the development of an electric vehicle charging network in anticipation of Nissan’s release of its highway-legal EV, Renault-Nissan Alliance and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels

Roundarch Technology Amps Up Tesla’s Model S - PR Inside
Roundarch : , a digital agency focused on designing and building enterprise class Web sites, Web applications and next-generation “screen-based” experiences, announces its involvement in the launch of Tesla Motors’s : Model S : – an all

Four-seater electric car launched - Channel 4 News
The UK’s first four-seater electric car, with a range of 60-70 miles, has been launched. But the 60mph vehicle, called the Citroen C1 ev’ie, will set purchasers back £16,850. Made in Bedfordshire by the Electric Car Corporation (ECC), the car is

5 Current Electric Cars You Can Buy - San Francisco Examiner
Electric car awe. It usually comes up in a conversation: “How many purely electric cars are there on the U.S. market today?” So the early 2009 challenge is on, what 5 electric vehicles EV are currently available on the market right now? The gist is

New motor giant emerges - Stuff
SHANGHAI SHOW: A new city car for popular Chinese brand Chery. RIICH M1-EV: A plug-in electric car from the Chinese which, in theory, can drive 120km on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery. I’m yelling down the Nokia, not in a fit of silicon

Is the Future of Electric Cars in China? - Time
Like drowning men grasping the only piece of buoyant driftwood in sight, top executives from the world’s beleaguered auto industry arrived in Shanghai this week for the city’s 2009 auto show, unveiling their newest brands in the only car market in

GM’s Volt mistake - St. Petersburg Times
Story Tools WASHINGTON — General Motors has announced a plan to stave off bankruptcy that includes cutting 21,000 jobs, reducing its dealer network and eliminating its Pontiac division. “I’m a believer in dealing with reality,” GM chief executive

Affordable Housing Developers Convene in L.A. to Discuss Green - Earthtimes
WASHINGTON , April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — There are roughly 99 million occupied permanent housing units in the United States , of which nearly 6 million are federally assisted. As the Congress and Obama Administration begin to consider ground

MI Districts Join Renewable Energy Purchase Initiative - The Journal
Clean Green Energy (CGE) announced that eight more high school districts in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have signed long-term power purchase agreements for integrated renewable energy systems at their schools as part of the Project EverGREEN Schools

UK Government green goals face failure - Times Online
Government plans to generate more than a third of Britain’s electricity from green energy sources, such as wind and solar power, by 2020 are doomed to failure without a dramatic increase in state support, according to a leading energy research group

INVESTING IN RENEWABLES - Der Spiegel
European renewable-energy players such as Enel Green Power and Iberdrola Renovables look to take advantage of stimulus spending with US projects. As the White House hammers out how to spend some $80 billion in stimulus money aimed at kick-starting

Vail Resorts, WhiteWave Foods on EPA’s green-energy top-50 list - Denver Business Journal
Colorado’s Vail Resorts Inc. and WhiteWave Foods Co. are on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ’s latest list of the nation’s 50 biggest consumers of “green” energy. Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) ranks No. 25 and WhiteWave is No. 35. Both Broomfield

Obama’s ‘Cap and Trade’ Plan Likely Will Raise Energy Prices for - CNS News
(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama’s “cap and trade” plan is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that allegedly contribute to global warming. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told

NDP wrong about ‘green power’ projects - Abbotsford News
The B.C. New Democratic Party’s proposed energy policies stated in their election platform would slam the brakes on the generation of new green power and jobs in British Columbia. The NDP is wrong in stating BC Hydro is not permitted to build new

Europe’s green energy vision puts UK in dark - Times Online
It is a dazzling vision of a clean energy future. An entire continent powered by solar panels, wind and wave turbines, geothermal and hydroelectric power stations — and all stitched together by a European “supergrid” stretching from the

California Bill to Turn Waste Into Energy Passes First Key Hurdle - Best Syndication
(Best Syndication News) SACRAMENTO — Assembly Bill 222, introduced by Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia), which would encourage, enable and expedite the production of advanced, non-food derived biofuels, green electricity, and other biomass

AutoblogGreen for 04.29.09

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

	First Drive: Chevrolet Volt powertrain mule We get our chance to really see what GM’s been up to these last 28 months, and we’re impressed.		Ford Fusion hybrid hypermiles, goes 1,445 miles on a single tank In other news, America’s bladders give a collective shiver today.
	Shai Agassi talks about Better Place, $20,000 EV, batteries extra The man with the battery-swap vision keeps forging ahead - and who wouldn’t with a plan to sell everyone an electric car?	Other news: Ferrari 599XX may not have hybrid powertrain now, likely will in the future Elon Musk to show the Tesla Model S on Letterman Wednesday night Spy Shots: Mission Motors TTXGP entry snapped at Infineon

AutoblogGreen for 04.29.09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

UPDATE: Ford Fusion Hybrid travels 1,000 miles with 1/3 tank left, team still going

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Green, Ford

The team that set out this past weekend to cover 1,000 miles on a single tank of gasoline succeeded and then some. When the team of race drivers, engineers and hyper-milers crossed the 1,000-mile mark a little after 9:00 am on Monday morning, there was still more than a third of a tank left. Over 47 hours of running the team led by NASCAR driver Carl Edwards and including record braking hyper-miler Wayne Gerdes averaged over 80 mpg.

The plan is to drive the bone stock Fusion until the tank runs dry. Along the way team members are running public clinics to help teach people how to drive more efficiently, even if they can’t necessarily match the antics of Gerdes, while simultaneously raising money for the Juvenile diabetes Foundation. While it’s obviously possible to achieve these kinds of lofty mileage numbers in the Fusion, it isn’t something most people will do on a regular basis, but Ford set out to prove it could be done and the team succeeded. Kudos.

Continue reading UPDATE: Ford Fusion Hybrid travels 1,000 miles with 1/3 tank left, team still going

UPDATE: Ford Fusion Hybrid travels 1,000 miles with 1/3 tank left, team still going originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments