A Detroit based news crew was recently allowed a quick peek into the design studios of the new plug-in hybrid car Chevrolet Volt by General Motors.
The Chevrolet Volt project was started in 2006 by Robert Lutz, Vice Chairman of Product Development and Chairman of GM North America when he learned about the Tesla Roadster, a high-performance electric sports car.
Boeing’s High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft has run a successful test. The hydrogen propulsion system of the aircraft was based on Ford’s 2.3-liter, four-cylinder hydrogen combustion engine.
This one has been in the rumor mill for long and has finally made its way out of the mill, with a badge saying ‘its true’. Prius is on its way to become a brand for Toyota. Toyota envisages the Prius marque to span an entire lineup of hybrid vehicles, with a distinctive styling that will yell loudly about the vehicles’ green credentials.
Honda is set to debut a new fuel cell powered electric vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The new vehicle will be based on the FCX Concept and the company has plans to market the vehicle to fleet and retail customers in Japan and the USA next year.
Honda’s vehicle utilizes electricity generated in the fuel cell stack as well as electricity from its Lithium ion battery pack. Honda’s fuel cell vehicles meet all federal government emission and crash safety standards. Honda already has two leased fuel cell vehicles running on the road.
[Courtesy: Honda]
Daimler AG plans to bring fuel cell based vehicles into production in less than 10 years. According to Christian Mohrdieck, the Director of fuel cell system development at Daimler, fuel cell technology will be well advanced and ready to produce cost effective cars by 2015.
Daimler’s first fuel cell car, the Necar 1 was first seen in 1994 and different versions followed. Currently, the company has the F600 as a fuel cell vehicle. Daimler is believed to have tested 100 fuel cell models over more than 2.23 million miles.
[Via: Egmcartech]
The race to be the first automaker to launch a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) seems to be getting hot with every passing day. A couple of months ago, we had heard that Toyota’s plans of bringing a plug-in hybrid had been delayed due to problems with Lithium-ion batteries.
The company has decided that the glitches in Lithium ion batteries will not hold up their plans for a PHEV. The next Prius is likely to be the first PHEV in the market, but it will run on nickel metal hydride (NiMh) battery packs.
Fuel Cell vehicles have faced a lot of trouble, even from environmentalists. The cost, the technology, refueling and hydrogen pumps have all come in the line of fire and many have declared the technology itself as ‘not feasible’. Prohibitive costs have always remained the main hurdle for vehicles trying to run on hydrogen.
Fuel cell driven vehicles are extremely clean. Running on hydrogen, these vehicles produce only water as a byproduct. Many big guns of the auto world intend to make fuel cell vehicles a reality and tests are going on in many parts of the world.
World Solar Challenge has been designed to showcase advancements in solar energy and other alternate fuels for transport needs. The challenge runs 3,021kms in Australia, stretching from Darwin to Adelaide.
GM has sponsored University of Michigan’s solar car Continuum. The team from Annesley has received a Holden Viva Hatch and Australia’s first ethanol production car, Saab BioPower will also flex its muscles at the challenge.
GM has helped entrants not only with money, but also with technical support and testing facilities.
[Courtesy: GM]
There is great news for all of the environment friendly groups and the alternative fuel industry. With times more and more of Americans are drifting towards alternative fuel automobiles. Americans bought nearly half a million alternative fuel automobiles for the second quarter of 2007, does this indicates something…
Saturn Vue Green Hybrid is the greenest SUV you can find. This hybrid SUV posts fuel economy at 27mpg in the city and 32mpg on the highway, better than any other SUV. This SUV doesn’t just beat other SUVs when it comes to fuel efficiency, it betters Toyota Camry hybrid and Honda Accord hybrid as well.
The Vue hybrid is 27% more fuel friendly than the non-hybrid version and is capable of running 585 miles on the highway on a single tank full of gasoline. Priced at $24,795, it is also pretty affordable. This SUV surely breaks the ‘gas guzzler’ image of the SUVs. If only there could be more SUVs like the Vue hybrid!
[Courtesy: GM]
From its looks any one will interpret Toyotas newest of hybrids as another one of those boxy looking things which comes with tyres attached, one of those of which the market looks fed up with from the past some time.
But, once you take a peak deeper into the box, you will see that Toyota has came up with pretty new innovations, which have been put inside to please the youth around.
Subaru has announced that it will bring the G4e concept to Tokyo Motor Show this month. The G4e is a zero emission electric vehicle. 65 kw electric motors of the concept are powered by Lithium ion batteries.
Running on batteries does not mean running short distances, this vehicle can cover 200km before it needs to be recharged. Subaru has enhanced the battery pack to allow a 15-minute quick charge, for pushing up battery charge levels to 80% a full charge from a conventional point will take 8 hours.
The G4e is an extremely aerodynamic design with a slippery co-efficient of 0.276, a figure many sports cars would crave for.
[Via: Motorauthority]
Update: Pivo2 video added.
Nissan has unveiled the second installment for the Pivo vehicle it displayed in Tokyo in the year 2005. The new Pivo 2 runs on compact Lithium ion batteries and is without a reverse gear. Anyways, what is the need of a reverse gear in a vehicle whose cabin is capable of rotating 360 degrees!
Video after the jump!
I wonder why most clean vehicles look like spaceships that have come from Star Trek. Here’s another one, but this vehicle has some real cool specs to brag about. It can post a fuel economy of 230mpg; though lower than the original claim of 330mpg, it is still pretty impressing.
The FM-4 HumanCar is a sibling of railroad handcar and a rowing machine; the imaginative work of Seattle based engineer Charles Greenwood. The car is named Imagine and its design, which is still under evolutionary stage, is owed to Stephen Brand.
Fresh Comments