It’s not the most pronounceable model name, but that’s not our problem, is it?
debuted its sharply styled Yundong Shuangqing hybridconcept at the today, announcing that a production version will be sold in China at some point in the future. The Yundong Shuangqing was joined on stage by the Dear Qin compact and the GT 86 rear-wheel-drive sports car.
Toyota developed the Yundong Shuangqing’s hybrid powertrain mainly at the automaker’s research and development plant in Changshu, China. “We would like to put smiles on the faces of our Chinese customers with hybrid technology,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in prepared remarks at the show. “I want the people of China to be able to experience the beauty of hybrid technology through a hybrid car born in China.”
In 2005, China became the first place outside of Japan where the hybrid was built when Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor Co. Ltd. started making the third-generation model. And two years ago, GAC Toyota Motor Co., which is in China’s Guangdong Province, started making the Hybrid.
Earlier this month, Honda specifically for the Chinese market under either its moniker or the brand in order to capitalize on what’s likely to be surging car sales in that country. Honda will introduce the , and Hybrids in China later this year, and will likely sell its promised hybrid-powered Acura NSX sports car in China as well.
has been building the in Greensburg, Indiana, since 2008, but now the company’s newest American assembly plant has some variety on its lines. The joined its mass-market relative at the 2.1 million square-foot facility yesterday.
Honda is building both the standard ILX and the ILX Hybrid at Honda Manufacturing Indiana, which is the only plant slated for assembly of the new compact . Greensburg will continue to build Civic sedans, including the , both for domestic consumption and export. Since the ILX is based on the Civic, the two cars sharing an assembly line is a natural.
The ILX on May 22, at a starting price of $25,900 plus $895 for destination. to read the full press release.
has finally spread its plug-inhybrid technology to the . The German automaker unveiled the A6 L e-Tron technology study on Monday at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, complete with an all-electric driving range of nearly 50 miles at 37 mph. Liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries power the 95-horsepower electric motor, though a 211-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder can step in at any time for more acceleration or additional range. The A6 L e-tron can operate in fully-electric, hybrid or gasoline mode as needed. While the A6 L e-tron concept is technically an engineering study at the moment, Audi does admit the sedan could indicate what a Chinese-built A6 hybrid could look like in the future.
The cabin offers buyers the same level of space and comfort as the internal-combustion A6 L, though a new instrument panel and vehicle information display conveys data on battery charge status, range and available drive system power. Audi’s engineers have have also specifically calibrated the sedan’s MMI touch system to recognize 29,000 Chinese characters, which we can only imagine was no mean feat. for the full press release.
Go back just a few years ago, and you’d easily conclude that and hybrids would go together about as well as ice cream and pickles. But a lot’s changed since then, and Ferrari is making no secret of the fact that it’s developing hybrid powertrains of its own.
The first system it developed is the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, a type of regenerative braking device developed with its sister company, Magneti Marelli, for use in Formula One. That lead to a similar system installed in an experimental version of the called the displayed at the 2010 . More recently reports surfaced that Ferrari had patented a more conventional hybrid powertrain system, leading to speculation that the KERS type had been abandoned for road-car use – most poignantly in the upcoming successor to the Enzo. But while Ferrari apparently pursues development of that more conventional hybrid system, it appears that its next mid-engined V12 hypercar will adopt an evolution of the HY-KERS system displayed on that green 599 two years back.
A revised HY-KERS system has just been announced by Ferrari at the , where the Prancing Horse also marked the Asian debut of its new F12 Berlinetta. Ferrari says the new system – installed on a V12 engine mounted amidship – is more effective than the one that preceded it, bringing emissions down to 40 percent of what a conventional engine with the same output would produce (compared to a 30 percent reduction from the previous incarnation), all while bringing engineers closer to their target of producing one kilowatt of energy for every kilogram of weight the system adds.
As for the F12, Ferrari has revealed that its latest supercar set a lap time at Fiorano of one minute, 23 seconds, making it the company’s quickest road car yet: a full second quicker than the 599 GTO it replaces, and about two seconds quicker than the Enzo, the and the 430 Scuderia. With that kind of progress, we can count on the new hybrid V12 hypercar to set an even quicker time still. for the press release and video clip.
has used the to launch two new concept cars that it says “show the direction of mass-production models Honda will introduce to the market next year.”
First up is the imaginatively named Concept C. According to the automaker, ‘C’ stands for “Cool, “Challenge” and “China.” As much as we wish we were making that up, we aren’t. The car itself, though, looks pretty bold, with striking character lines down each side and a fascia that would look right at home on the next Battlestar Gallactica spinoff. We’re curious to see how much of the C’s conceptual styling makes it into production when a mass-market version hits the Chinese market in 2013 – if it were toned down just a bit, we think Honda could do worse than inject some of this boldness in its American lineup, though some might suggest the grille has overtones of the controversial styling decisions seen at .
Moving along, we have the Concept S, which supposedly stands for “Stylish,” “Smart” and “Surprise.” Like the Concept C, Honda says Concept S will spawn a production model that will debut in China in 2013, with global sales following thereafter. Honda isn’t saying exactly what is powering the S other than mentioning it’s a hybrid.
below for the complete press blast from Honda, but not before perusing our two high-res image galleries of the Concept C and Concept S.
has created the BMW i sub-brand for its upcoming production plug-in models, which currently include three concepts: the and the i8 Spyder. After keeping that third model away from our eager cameras at the New York Auto Show, BMW finally showed off the i8 Spyder Concept in the metal at the today.
The car itself we’ve already , but seeing it on stage shows once again that BMW is serious about putting cars like these on the road (toned down from the concept’s style, of course, perhaps with ). We’re more than ready for the through-the-road, plug-in hybrid that packs a 96-kW (131-horsepower) electric motor in front and a turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine offering 223 hp in back. 0-62 in five seconds and maybe 78 MPGe? Yes, please.
BMW is also making official the “eDrive” name, which is the new catch-all name for all of the electric drivetrain components: motor, battery and motor management system. First , the eDrive designation will be used “for the drive technology of all future electric and plug-in hybrid cars,” so get used to seeing it a lot.
. A small claims court in California awarded Ms. Peters $9,867 because it agreed that her Honda Civic Hybrid failed to deliver the 50 mpg EPA rating claimed it would. According to The Detroit News, Honda is appealing the decision, especially after the success of Peters’s suit inspired 1,700 others to opt out of a 2003-2009 model year class action settlement, possibly portending a wave of one-shot litigation that the company would have to defend itself against.
Honda didn’t seem to take Heather Peters very seriously until it lost, but it now seems that the company is intent on not blowing its last chance to have the case reviewed. Peters will be presenting new evidence and both sides will get to argue their side of the issue to a judge, basically re-trying the initial case.
In the market for an entry-level sedan from a premium automaker? Your choices are few and far between, it seems. There’s the and , but those are both hatchbacks. That leaves the , which, by all accounts, is a credible entry into the segment. If that’s not quite your style, hopes to tempt you with its new 2013 , and it has announced that the base model will start at $25,900 (*plus $895 destination fee for all models).
For that starting price, buyers will get standard features like Bluetooth connectivity, keyless access with push-button start, Pandora internet radio interface and a moonroof. If you want a leather interior, 17-inch alloy wheels, upgraded audio and Acura’s excellent multi-view backup camera system, your ILX will start at $29,200 with the base 150-horsepower 2.0-liter engine and five-speed automatic transmission.
Acura has two more engine offerings for the ILX, including a 1.5-liter hybrid model that achieves estimated fuel economy ratings of 39 city and 38 highway for $28,900. On the other end of the spectrum is a 2.4-liter model, which pumps out 201 horsepower and is available only with a six-speed manual gearbox. A fully loaded ILX with the Technology package, which includes navigation and an internal hard drive for music storage, will cost $31,400 with the 2.0 or $34,400 with the hybrid drivetrain. Sadly, it’s not possible to order the 2.4-liter engine with the top-level Technology kit.
See the complete pricing breakdown in Acura’s official press release by , and stay tuned for our complete first drive review of the ILX early next week.
If you want to buy a new car, you go to a car dealership. If you want to buy a ridiculously expensive and luxurious cashmere sweater in any color imaginable, you go to Harrods. At least that’s the way it once was, but these days the swanky London department store has been turning its front window display into an automotive showroom.
A year and a half ago at Harrods, a lead that in the same space a month later. just a few months ago, and now is doing the same with its Goodwood edition hatchback.
As you may recall, the Goodwood is a Mini hatchback that’s had its interior fitted by the same craftsmen who do the cabins for . Only 1,000 units will be made, each with a whopping $52,000 price tag. The Mini Inspired by Goodwood has been on display at Harrods for a week already and will be for another, with a salesman on hand – swatches and samples at the ready – to answer questions and take orders behind the window on Brompton Road.
Along with Renault- CEO Carlos Ghosn, CEO Alan Mulally is confident in the growth of the electric car segment. It’s a long-term play, though, so Mulally isn’t committing the electric Ford Focus EV to making a strong sales statement. For now, Ford’s chief says he’d be fine moving fewer than 5,000 Focus EVs in the model’s first full year. And even that would mean a steep rise in uptake based on in December and January.
TheWall Street Journal reports that Mulally has also let slip the cost for the battery pack in the all-electric Focus: “around $12,000 to $15,000,” which makes a bit more understandable. Given that price range and the EV’s 23-kWh battery, that means Ford’s cost is between $522 and $650 per kWh, which is lower than the so far this year.
Reportage on the current sales of EVs is a bit schizophrenic – for example, , , but the commentators and the numbers seem to support Mulally’s confidence. If the Focus EV did manage 5,000 sales this year, that would be a little more than half of the 2011 tally for the , yet according to Bloomberg, EV market share grew more quickly than any other segment in Q1: Nissan is still working through its Leaf pre-order list, sales to 2,129 units vs. March 2011, the Opel Ampera has exceeded sales expectations, and other electric vehicles and their marketing pushes will come online later this year. Oh, and gas prices are still climbing.
There were no Focus EVs sold in February or March, but the retail push is gearing up now for the Spring season.
The Lamborghini SUV that we’ll shortly be ogling over when it’s introduced at the has a name: the Urus. That’s the word according to Chinese media, at least, which would for some other Lambo creation.
We’ll save you the trip to Wikipedia: a “urus” is an extinct European ox, Bos primigenius, a forebearer of domestic cattle whose last example roamed the Polish forests until 1627. A shaggy-haired, plodding bovine is a bit down on excitement compared to its taurean siblings, so we’ll also keep Urus Khan – descendent of Gehghis and ruler of at least one horde – in the naming inspiration pool. In keeping with Lamborghini tradition, there’s presumably a fighting bull that’s carried the name at some point, as well.
The Urus is expected to have a from the , a rumored 584-horsepower and $200,000 price tag. It’s slated for a 2015 release, and following that could be a hybrid that pushes past the 600-hp mark. Stay tuned for official images and information as the Urus rolls out in Beijing.
We’ve seen plenty of discussion on the merits of pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and all-electric vehicles. From synthesized engine sounds to the noise of George Jetson’s flying car, automakers and the aftermarket industry have worked to come up with a way to keep people aware of a vehicle’s presence.
Now it looks as if is having some fun with a safe sound system for the company’s electric delivery scooters in the Netherlands. Using a human voice to replicate the sound of a small-displacement gasoline engine, the scooter is both hilarious and safe.
It also makes for good advertising, though we’d hate to be the guy behind the handlebars after a few hours on the job. Between synthesized revs, the “engine” exclaims “Domino’s!” and “Pizza!” in what can only be described as the perfect Netherlands accent. for a quick chuckle.
It may come as a shock, but diesel cars are doing well outside of their traditional European home. The just-released shows that , but the real story is that we might be seeing the start of a golden era for diesel-powered cars in the U.S. In fact, clean diesel sales were up 35 percent in the first quarter of 2012 over Q1 2011, a trend – and it is a trend, since diesel sales were up 27 percent in 2011 – that the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) says is due to higher fuel prices pushing people into the efficient oil-burners.
Allen Schaeffer, DTF’s executive director, said in a statement that, “I expect clean diesel auto sales to increase further as several new diesel cars are introduced in the U.S. market in the next year.”
Right now, it’s pretty much all Jetta TDI, all the time.
Once those other vehicles arrive, we’ll see how the market shakes out. Right now, it’s pretty much all , all the time. A while back, we spoke with Lars Ullrich, the director of marketing and business excellence, diesel systems North America, for Robert Bosch LLC. He told us that diesel Jettas made up 44 percent of all diesels sold in the U.S. last year, which makes the Jetta sort of the Prius of diesels in America. Last year, had 58 percent of all diesel sales in the U.S.
Does this mean the Jetta TDI is “the” diesel in the U.S.? Ullrich said it depends on how you look at the numbers. About 60 percent of all s sold in the U.S. in 2011, for example, were diesel, but the A3 sells in smaller numbers overall than the Jetta. When you have diesels available in high-volume models, he said, you end up selling a lot of diesels.
Diesel-powered passenger cars and medium-duty pick-ups had around three percent market share in the U.S. in 2011.
What does the big picture look like? Overall, diesel-powered passenger cars and medium-duty pick-ups had around three percent market share in the U.S. in 2011. That may not sound like a lot, but compare it to the hybrid market share, which has gone from 2.7 to 2.4 to 2.1 percent over the last three years, Ullrich said. Today, there are 25 clean diesel models available in the U.S. By 2014, that number will double, he said, which gives us an indication of where the market is moving. Echoing Schaeffer, Bosch’s prediction is that the U.S. will see diesels grab 10 percent of the market by 2015.
While increasingly popular, diesels are not perfect. There are issues like the , for example, and a fossil fuel is a fossil fuel. But it’s clear that Americans are considering diesel more than they used to. The question is what happens when the and arrive? Or more of ’s -D models? And, further down the line, when we see more merging of electric and diesel powertrains, where the diesel – perhaps – is burned in an efficient generator to generate electricity. That’s when things get even more exciting.
High gas prices are helping and do quite well in the U.S., too. The Diesel Technology Forum says hybrid sales increased 37.2 percent while plug-in electrics jumped 323 percent. Overall, vehicle sales were up 13.4 percent. For more number-crunching details, see our monthly green car sales charts for , and of 2012. The DTF has compiled a list of all the diesel-powered vehicles available in the U.S. .
The arrival of any new is bound to be anticipated eagerly by legions of fans around the world, but few more keenly than the successor to the famed Enzo.
Following in a line that dates back to the 288 GTO, through the F40, the F50 and most recently the Enzo, the new top-of-the-line hypercar from Maranello is now well on the road to readiness. We’re told to expect its arrival in less than a year from now at the , but while endless speculation has filled the void until now, we’ve now got our first batch of spy shots showing – to some extent, anyway – what Ferrari is working on.
While the widened test mule in these spy shots is wearing a hideously humorous hodgepodge of sheetmetal and body cladding evidently thrown together in a back room in Maranello (with the lights off), we’re told this is not an actual prototype for the Enzo successor – sure to wear a different name, but referred to internally as project F70 – but rather a rolling test bed for components that will make up the finished product.
That is expected to include an uprated (and backwards-turned) version of Ferrari’s new 6.2-liter V12 from the F12 Berlinetta, producing more power and augmented by a hybrid electric assist. Despite the added hybrid bigs, the F70 is still said to be light in weight, and it will be sent gunning for the with a targeted 0-60 run in under 2.5 seconds and a top speed in excess of 250 mph.
The self-driving-vehicle fleet has grown by one. According to Wired, the tech giant has added a black to its autonomous stable. The hybrid SUV was spotted out on the road for testing wearing a new roof-mounted sensor array that’s significantly more streamlined than the gear found on the company’s autonomous models. Google says it is constantly testing its driving algorithms on a wide range of vehicles in order to refine the technology, and that the RX450h is merely the latest step in that process.
Google first began unleashing its driverless cars onto public streets in 2010 using a fleet comprised of six Prius hybrids and one . The company’s work has spurred the legislature to draft a bill requiring the California Highway Patrol to outline safety standards for autonomous vehicles. Wired reports the legislation passed the state’s Senate Transportation Committee with an 8-0 vote and is now headed to the Senate Rules Committee. Nevada has already .
Last we heard, was to building the recently revealed sedan at the former plant in Delaware. A few years ago, Fisker announced that site would be the company’s new domestic production home (the extended-range plug-inhybrid is made by in Finland). Still, Fisker did say that any definitive statement on the Atlantic’s production location would not come until the end of the summer.
So we were interested to read new reports from local media that show more signs that the Atlantic might not ever be built in Delaware. On Friday, Delaware Online reports, 12 more workers – including engineers and maintenance technicians – were laid off at the plant, leaving “only a small maintenance team” left there. One of those let go was Jeff Garland, who had been working on community affairs and business development efforts in Delaware. He said the plant is currently “absolutely empty.” This is because Fisker has taken out the old GM equipment but has not yet installed the machines it would need to build the Atlantic. As Garland told Delaware Online, “I think what happened was the budget numbers are so tight right now and they’re working so hard to preserve as much cash as they can that something had to give. We’re not making a car in Wilmington right now, so given that situation it was an obvious place to make a cut.”
Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said that the company has flexible plans and will hire people when “we ramp up the project again.” Production of the Atlantic is being delayed, at least in part, because of issues with Fisker’s Department of Energy loan. You can read more about that .
In related , some of the components that Fisker and will use in hybrid and all-electric cars are now being made by Magna E-Car Systems in Michigan. The inverters Magna makes are used in the Karma and this new production does not in any way predict a shift of Atlantic production to Michigan.
Judging from the we’ve seen recently, the BMW i8 is coming along nicely. With its more realistic bodywork, the hybridsupercar is beginning to look like something that actually belongs on public streets. Now Sonny Lim, former head of BMW DesignWorks, has taken a stab at what the finished product may look like via a handful of renderings.
With it’s shorter wheelbase and clipped length compared to the concept, the production vehicle is rumored to tip the scales at around 3,187 pounds, or just under the concept’s original weight goal. Much of that weight savings is thanks to the substantial use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic in the vehicle’s chassis.
With the combination of an electric motor and a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine, the i8 will reportedly offer buyers just under 400 horsepower and three driving modes. The driver will be able to pick between pure-electric, gasoline or a medley of both. All told, the i8 should deliver a 0-60 mph run of under 4.9 seconds with the help of both power sources.
is not going to take attacks on the electric car lying down – the closest he’ll come to that is . After spending for their attacks on the , he is switching to a positive message about how plug-in cars can help with American national security. It is not surprising that Lutz, a former Marine, co-authors the article with two former U.S. Marines commandants and the CEO of FedEx (the three are all members of Securing America’s Future Energy’s (SAFE) Energy Security Leadership Council). The gist? Well, here’s part of the opening paragraph:
When … threats exist because the United States is the protector of the world’s global oil supply lines, it is a clear illustration of how our nation’s over-reliance on a single, globally priced fuel impacts our national and economic security.
America’s addiction to gasoline costs the government billions of dollars a year, an estimated $80 billion, in fact, to guard the sea lanes, including one little area by Iran:
From a national security perspective, the U.S. military is forced to protect the world’s vital oil infrastructure. The single greatest chokepoint is the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 million barrels of oil per day passed in 2011 – 20 percent of global supplies. Protection of the sea lanes of commerce has become an American burden and will remain so, costing the United States Treasury an estimated $80 billion per year while taxing our military, which is already engaged on multiple fronts.
It’s arguments like this that have made the recent right-wing criticism of the Volt such a mystery. If we use less gasoline, we can spend fewer lives and less treasure importing the fuel (of course, we don’t lose many lives at the Canadian border, which is where most of our imported oil comes from). The Army says that .
Lutz and his co-authors are quite clear that high gas prices are hurting Americans’ pocketbooks, “essentially” wiping out tax cuts that Presidents Bush and Obama put into place. That’s why, they say, “government action is needed to mitigate the risks of oil dependence, because there is no free market for oil.” This intervention contains both expanded domestic production and – surprise – plugging in our light-duty transportation fleet as much as possible and feeding our big trucks lots of natural gas. To that end, they write:
Regarding electrification, the beauty of plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the is that they are powered by electricity, which can be generated from many sources: nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewables. Best yet, these are all domestic energy sources, meaning OPEC won’t be able to corner the market. And the retail price of electricity is far less volatile that the price of oil.
What would a superhero movie be without the fancy cars? Well, it would still be a superhero movie, we suppose, but we prefer the kind that has some flashy wheels. Like the upcoming Marvel flick The Avengers.
As you may have heard, signed a multi-picture deal with Marvel to have its cars featured in a series of superhero movies, and indeed several already have. But for The Avengers, Acura had to work up something special enough to replace Tony Stark’s . Since the old NSX was long out of production when they began shooting and the new one wasn’t ready yet, the Japanese automaker and the film studio put together something of a hybrid.
Not a hybrid as we tend to use the term in automotive spheres, but an amalgamation of the old NSX and the new one. They took a 1991 NSX and gave it a new roadster body to mimic the concept car that’s been making the rounds of the auto show circuit.
Our compatriots over at Inside Line got a behind-the-scenes look at the roadster, along with the crossover and a with a similar treatment. to watch the video clips they put together, and the .
is known for hyper-exotic supercars, speed and big price tags. There is a reason, though, that we didn’t mention fuel efficiency. Hopped-up V8 and V12 engines don’t exactly conjure up images of tree-hugging, and, for the most part, we’re more than okay with that.
That could change, at least a little bit, with a patent that describes a hybrid powertrain that passes on flywheel technology in favor of a more mainstream effort. Car and Driver reports that the Italian supercar maker has filed patents for hybrid technology that would use a pair of electric motors and a battery pack.
The hybrid system would utilize one electric motor that assists the powertrain while the other runs auxiliary systems like air conditioning, infotainment and power steering. The patent also reportedly mentions that the technology would play nicely with a front-mounted 90-degree engine, making the a likely destination if this system ever sees the light of day.
There has been some speculation that Ferrari might opt for a production version of its racing-derived Kinetic Energy Recover System (KERS) that captures energy via a flywheel to provide short bursts of energy. KERS, which doesn’t utilize a battery pack, is already used in Formula One racing, and Ferrari introduced a in 2010 that included the fuel-saving tech.
