Audi Launches A1 e-tron Trial Program in Munich

The first examples of Audi's A1 e-tron gasoline-electric hybrid project car hit the streets of Munich today as the German company in cooperation with E.ON and the public utility Stadtwerke Munchen and Technise Universitat Muncher initiated the trial program.

Audi has provided a fleet of 20 extended-range A1 e-tron electric vehicles, while E.ON and SWM have installed charging infrastructure both within the city limits and in surrounding areas.

Read more »

Volvo Takes Pride in Reducing its CO2 Emissions the Most Among European Manufacturers

According to the data collected from the European Federation for Transport and Environment for its annual analysis, the European car manufacturer that has managed the greatest reduction in average CO2 emissions across its range in 2010 is Volvo.

The study shows that last year, Europe’s eight biggest automakers reduced their average CO2 emissions by 2 to 6 percent. Volvo, on the other hand, managed a 9 percent reduction topping the relative charts thanks to models such as the 99 g/km V50 DRIVe and the 119 g/km V70 DRIVe.

Read more »

Organization wants NYC's Central Park Carriage -Horse Operators to Trade in Mr. Ed for Mr. EV

NY-Class is a not-for-profit organization on a mission to replace the Big Apple’s venerable (though some say inhumane) carriage-horse industry with clean, electric-drive “show cars”.

These “21st Century Horseless Carriage” may look like something from the turn of the twentieth century, but behind the white walls and running boards sit five modern lithium-ion battery packs good for 8 to 10 hours travel time on a 2 to 3 hour charge.

NY-Class – an acronym for New Yorkers for Clean, Livable And Safe Streets – commissioned the Fort Lauderdale, FL based Creative Workshop to produce a two-foot-long model of their proposal. The lime-green miniature is said to have cost US$12,500 (€9,335), which is an achievement in itself.

Read more »

Vauxhall's VXR8 Sport Saloon Wins MPG Marathon Award, No Really

In an eco-marathon, you normally expect the winner to be a hybrid, a diesel or some other super-frugal -and usually underpowered- car. Well, in the Fleet World MPG Marathon the champion had no less than 431-horses kicking and screaming to be unleashed under its bonnet.

You read that correctly: the LS3 6.2-liter V8-powered VXR8 - essentially a Holden HSV rebadged as a Vauxhall for the UK market- won the two-day, 350-mile economy trial.

How did this happen? There's a simple explanation: this award wasn't given to the most fuel efficient vehicle in absolute numbers, but to the one that recorded the highest percent improvement over the official fuel consumption figures.

Read more »

Obama Administration Pushes Back Announcement on 54.5 mpg CAFE Regulations

The stricter fuel consumption standards that the Obama administration planned to introduce this week will be delayed, according to a report from Reuters. The government pushed hard to gain the automakers’ approval, and after making some concessions, it achieved its goal.

However, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the Transportation Department that were expected to announce the new CAFE regulations for model years 2017-2025 by the end of the week are not yet ready. Therefore, the announcement will be delayed by a month, or possibly even more.

Read more »

ACEA Wants Carmakers to Adopt Standardized Charging Plugs for EVs

The European Union has already agreed with cell phone manufacturers to adopt a common charger format for their new phones. Therefore, consumers we will be able to buy a new phone without a charger, which up until now, was different to the one used by their old cellphone.

Now ACEA, the European car manufacturers association, is following the example and wants carmakers to adopt a common standard concerning chargers for their plug-in electric vehicles. To that end, it has already compiled a set of recommendations that stipulates the use of a uniform type of plug regardless of the country or power provider.

Read more »

Toyota Invests in Safety, Demonstrates Hybrid Synthetic Sound Alert and More

Toyota has taken a lot of heat in the past couple of years over safety issues, especially in North America. But last January, the Japanese company announced that it will invest $50 million over five years in its Collaborative Research Safety Center (CRSC) to develop new safety technologies.

Recently, Toyota Motor Sales USA organized a Safety Seminar in which it displayed the technologies developed by the CRSC and its partners while also announcing plans to launch 10 new research initiatives with leading US universities and institutions.

Read more »

Microbe Promises to Turn Old Newspapers into Bio-Fuel

Scientists at New Orlean’s Tulane University have perfected a new strain of the bacteria Clostridium. Dubbed TU-103, this microbe is the first of its kind that can synthesise butanol from cellulose.

What does this mean for our readers? Well, imagine taking a stack of old newspapers or sugarcane waste and turning into useable bio-fuel for your car. TU-103 can take any type of plant or plant product and turn it into renewable, sustainable butanol.

Read more »

How Google Is Putting the “G” In Green

As previously reported, when it comes to going green, search engine provider and global megacorp Google is deeply committed.

With bio-diesel fuelled shuttle busses, “bike-to-work” programs and one of North America’s largest corporate electric vehicle (EV) fleets, Google takes environmental sustainability more seriously than most world governments.

Here are some statistics to mull over while drinking your free-trade coffee and eating your dolphin-safe tuna:

Read more »

Mad (Cow) Science: How Canadians Plan to Turn High-Risk Proteins into Bio-Plastic

In the wake of Canada’s 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak (that’s Mad Cow Disease to you and me), the Canadian government barred the use of BSE infected tissue – including the skull, brain, eyes and spinal cords of cattle – in the production of any and all byproducts.

Fearing that such tissue would merely end up in the landfills of North America, University of Alberta Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science associate professor David Bressler is looking to turn these waste materials into – among other things – bio-friendly plastic for the automotive industry.

Read more »

Hyundai to Display Fuel Cell Electric ix35 at UK's EcoVelocity

Fuel-cell vehicles are not yet commercially available, but automakers are already working on the zero-emissions technology, which promises to stop our dependence for mobility on oil.

One of the many carmakers actively working on fuel-cell technology is Hyundai, which today announced that it will display the FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) version of its ix35 (Tucson in the States) crossover at UK’s EcoVelocity show that will run from September 8 to 13 at London’s Battersea Power Station.

Read more »

VW to Invest €1 Billion in Renewable Energy Production

Volkswagen seems committed to increase its renewable energy production as it plans to invest close to €1 billion ($1.44 billion) over the next two years, according to a report from Financial Times Deutschland.

This is a significant increase compared to the end of June announcement of a €600 million ($868 million) investment. VW is, reports the newspaper, interested in buying at least two offshore windparks and it is possible that it will announce a partnership with windpark developer Windreich before the end of 2011.

Read more »

Robocarpocalypse Begins: Nevada Asks DoT to Draw Up Legislation for Driverless Cars

I can’t remember if there were self-driving cars in the third Terminator movie, though frankly I can’t remember anything other than that red leather and vinyl outfit Kristanna Loken was wearing. What were we talking about? Oh, yes, the robocarpocalypse.

With the passing of Assembly Bill 511 in the Nevada Senate, the U.S. Department of Transport will now have to draw up rules governing autonomous vehicles on the state’s roads.

Read more »

Greenpeace wants to Turn VW Away from the Dark Side, Launches Spoof Star Wars Ads

The rebel alliance from…Greenpeace launched a coordinated attack against the Volkswagen Group this morning by airing spoofs of the German firm’s now famous mini Darth Vader commercial, taking over advertising hoardings to install their own banners on billboards located in London and unleashing “eco-storm troopers” to protest on London's Old Street.

Greenpeace went ahead with the attack to draw attention to its concerns over the German company’s ecological record.

The environmental activist group claims that the car giant is “spending millions of Euros every year funding lobby groups who are trying to stop Europe increasing its commitment to greenhouse gas reductions from 20% to 30% by 2020” and calls Volkswagen to turn away from the Dark Side.

Read more »

Study Says 2020 EPA Targets can be met with Gasoline Engines

Even though hybrids and EVs are all the rage these days, a study by the Boston Consulting Group found that most automakers will be able to meet 2020 EPA emissions targets using gasoline engines that will be 40% more fuel efficient than the current powerplants.

Advances in technology concerning engine downsizing, turbocharging, direct fuel injection, more efficient cooling, electric power steering and variable valve timing will help achieve this, according to the 23-page study.

Read more »

French Car Rental Firms Cry Foul Over Government-Funded EV Rental Scheme in Paris

The Parisian government’s self-hire electric car program Autolib’ is staring down a legal challenge from the nation’s more traditional car rental agencies, among them Avis and Hertz. According to British daily newspaper The Independent, these “self serve” Bollore EVs cost as little as €5 (£4.40) for a 30 minute journey and are modeled on the French capital’s highly successful Vélib’ bike hire operation.

Some 700 four-seat Autolib’ vehicles will be rolled out from December of this year, offering green motoring for both residents and tourists alike. The Italian-built four seaters come with a 250 km battery range, radio and GPS navigation system.

Read more »

It’s a Sedan, It’s a Hatchback, It’s a Portable Greenhouse: Antti Eskeli’s Maininki

Here’s an innovative idea from Finnish designer Antti Eskeli: a four-seat luxury sedan concept with a “changeable chassis length”, making it as compact as a small hatchback for city driving. So what if the foldable car is nothing new; I’d wager one’s never looked as good as Eskeli’s Maininki concept.

It’s just one of many entries into the 2011 Michelin Challenge Design Showcase we’ve reported on previously. There is something surprisingly masculine about Eskeli’s fluid, organic design; like cavorting dolphins or an Antarctic glacier.

Read more »

Honda CR-Z Hybrid Racer Ready for Demonstration Runs at Le Mans

The latest news from Honda’s motorsport front is that the Japanese company will campaign a CR-Z hybrid racecar at the second annual Le Mans Vers Le Futur (literally translates to ‘Le Mans to the Future’), which is a support event for the 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nissan will also participate in the exhibition, which is devoted to showcasing the Le Mans racing cars of the future, with the pure-electric Leaf Nismo RC concept. Read more »

Viva Las Vegas: Google Lobbies to Legalize Self-Driving Cars in Nevada

Internet and software bigwig Google has begun lobbying the state of Nevada to legalize driverless cars. The move comes on the heels of some very promising results in California, where Google had mapped out the terrain and sent a couple of its autonomous Toyota Priuses (Prii? Priora?) on an epic jaunt from Mountain View to Santa Monica.

The California-based company is keen to point out the claimed benefits of self-driving cars over their human-driven counterparts including better safety, improved fuel efficient and greater environmental friendliness.

Read more »

Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell’s World Tour Cut Short after Accident in Kazakhstan

On January 30th, 2011, three Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell models set out from Germany to travel around the globe covering 30,000 kilometers (about 18,700 miles) in 125 days to demonstrate the technical maturity and reliability of the world’s first series production fuel cell vehicle.
Read more »