Showing posts with label Ecology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecology. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Tokyo Motor Show: Tiny Daihatsu Pico EV Concept [Updated]


The third Daihatsu concept model that made it to this year's edition of the Tokyo Motor Show is the PICO, a futuristic proposal for a diminutive two-seater EV commuter positioned between small cars and motorcycles.

At 2,400mm long, 1,000mm wide and 1,530mm tall with a wheelbase of 1,830mm, the Daihatsu concept is much smaller than the Smart Fortwo, yet it has space for two passengers sitting in tandem-style.

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New Toyota FCV-R Fuel-Cell Concept Heading for Production in 2015 [Updated]


Toyota's conceptual products at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show are a bit more than crowd pleasers as both the FT-EV III mini and the FCV-R study pictured here, are slated to enter production.

The FCV-R is a next-generation fuel-cell concept model fueled by hydrogen that Toyota says is planned for launch in 2015.

According to the Japanese automaker, the fuel-cell unit is located beneath the specially designed body thus saving space with the concept being able to accommodate up to four passengers and their luggage.

The next generation fuel cell stack consists of a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, which said to provide a driving range of approximately 700 km or about 435 miles.

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Monday, November 21, 2011

Chevy’s Low Emissions Package Gives 2012 Volt Access to California’s HOV Lanes


The state of California has more than 1,400 miles of High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lanes. Initially, only vehicles with two or more occupants could use them, in order to minimize congestion. However, as low-emission vehicles became more common, the Golden State recently changed the regulations, allowing them to use the HOV lanes in order to widen their appeal to buyers.

"HOV lane access is a coveted perk in California,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Global Chevrolet Marketing. Despite being an extended-range hybrid, the Volt didn’t qualify for one of the 40,000 HOV stickers that are only available California Enhanced, Advanced Technology – Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles."

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Jay Leno and Other Volt Owners Drive 10,000 Miles without Using a Drop of Gas


Sales of the Volt have been picking up lately with GM’s extended-range EV outselling one of its main rivals, the Nissan Leaf, for the very first time in October. Famous car nut Jay Leno, though, is an early adopter and he got his own Volt in December of 2010.

The host of “The Tonight Show” says he has covered more than 10,000 miles without ever visiting a gas station. Yes, you read that correctly: Leno is still driving on the same tank of fuel his Volt had 11 months ago.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

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.

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

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.

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Thursday, June 16, 2011

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.

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Monday, June 13, 2011

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.

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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

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.

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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 »

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

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.

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Friday, May 13, 2011

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.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

New Skoda Fabia Estate Greenline with 83.1mpg and 89g/km of CO2 Priced at £13,740 in the UK


The most environmentally friendly Skoda model to date, the new Fabia Estate Greenline II, goes on sale in the UK in the beginning of July with pricing set at £13,740.

The second generation Greenline models is powered by the VW Group's new three-cylinder turbocharged 1.2-liter common rail turbo diesel engine with 75-horsepower. To help improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions, the Greenline model also gets start & stop technology, a kinetic energy system for battery recharging, gear recommendation system, lowered and aerodynamically-covered chassis and low-rolling resistance tires.

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hydro Kultur Nios: Fully Functional Hydrogen-Fueled City Car


The Hydro Kultur Nios is a hydrogen-fueled prototype that took part in the 2010 Shell Eco Marathon in the "Urban Concept Cars" category. It was created by a group of students and their professors from three leading German Universities - the University of Art and Design in Halle, the Technical University Chemnitz, and the College of Further Education in Merseburg.

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Top 10 Greenest and Dirtiest Cars of 2010


The headline grabber: Italy's Lamborghini Murcielago has been named and shamed as the most polluting car of the nation by the UK's Environmental Transport Association (ETA), being five times as worse than the greenest automobile of 2010, Japan's 99g/km Toyota iQ.

"With emissions five times worse than the greenest car, the Lamborghini is the bull in an environmental china shop," said Andrew Davis, director of the ETA. "Thankfully, there are very few on the roads and there is an increasing choice of environmentally-sound cars."

The group said it examined over 5,000 cars sold in the UK ranking them for their power, emissions, fuel efficiency and the amount of noise they produce. ETA also said that a poll of 1,500 British drivers found that Scots were most inclined (42%) to buy a smaller car in order to reduce their motoring costs, while drivers living in the north of England were the least inclined (34%).

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