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Confirmed: Ferrari going hybrid

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:39:00 +0000

Click above for gallery of the Ferrari 599XX One of the stated reasons that automakers send prototype race cars around tracks at high rates of speed is to further the development of new technology for their road-going automobiles. There’s no higher form of automotive motorsport than Formula 1, so it stands to reason that fuel-saving advancements like the kinetic energy recovery hybrid systems that F1 is currently in the midst of implementing will someday make it into production cars. According to Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the Italian automaker is in fact testing its KERS system in a prototype based on the 599 chassis. There’s some speculation that the Dale Earnhardt edition 599XX at the Geneva Motor Show may have some form of the KERS system installed, but that’s not confirmed. With this technology, energy that would otherwise be lost to braking can be stored and reused the next time the vehicle accelerates, thereby boosting both performance and efficiency, and that’s something we can all get behind. Gallery: Geneva 2009: Ferrari 599xx [Source: Motor Authority ] Auto Blog: Hybrid , Ferrari , Geneva Motor Show , Racing Confirmed: Ferrari going hybrid originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Confirmed: Ferrari going hybrid

Geneva Preview: Ford iosis MAX concept hints at next-gen Focus

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Click above for image gallery of the Ford iosis Max concept We have to wait until tomorrow to actually see the Ford iosis MAX concept for ourselves (via out team at the Geneva Motor Show ), but we do know what it’ll look like and that it’ll have a 1.6L EcoBoost four-cylinder engine that is 20 percent more efficient than other similar gas burners. Our friends at Autoblog say this is probably the same engine that will be in the next-gen Focus and just might be the second EcoBoost powerplant, joining the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 . The iosis Max is the third in the iosis concept car series – the others being the iosis concept car back in 2005 that helped shape the Mondeo, and the iosis X that became the Kuga CUV . The iosis Max design will be used for future Ford global C-segment vehicles. The front half of the next-gen Focus, which will be coming to both North America and Europe, will probably look very much like the front of the iosis Max. Like? Gallery: Ford iosis MAX Concept [Source: Ford] Continue reading Geneva Preview: Ford iosis MAX concept hints at next-gen Focus Auto Blog: Ford , Geneva Motor Show Geneva Preview: Ford iosis MAX concept hints at next-gen Focus originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Geneva Preview: Ford iosis MAX concept hints at next-gen Focus

Officially, official: Tesla Motors store coming to Chicago

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Click for a high-res gallery of Tesla’s Menlo Park Store Rumors and promises of a Midwest Tesla Motors store have been in the air for years now . These rumors don’t make the official announcement of a Chicago sales and service center scheduled to open this spring any less exciting. In fact, considering the recent slight fall from grace that Tesla has suffered, confirmation or future growth is a great thing. Chicago is only the first of seven new retail locations that are planned for 2009. The other cities on the list include: London, Manhattan, Miami, Seattle and, further ahead, Washington, D.C. and Munich, Germany. If everything goes well – and we know it won’t, but we can still hope for smooth progress – then the new retail locations will be the spearhead for the Model S , which will be unveiled in a few short weeks. In the official announcement about the Chicago store (Car Blog Greenit after the jump), Tesla CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk said, “Tesla has no intention of being a niche automaker. The Chicago store will introduce the company to even more people in the United States and position us to launch a more affordable sedan for mainstream drivers.” At the very least, tourists will soon have something to snap pictures of in the Windy City other than the Sears Tower and the Bean. Gallery: Tesla Motors Menlo Park Store [Source: Tesla Motors] Continue reading Officially, official: Tesla Motors store coming to Chicago Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors , Green Daily Officially, official: Tesla Motors store coming to Chicago originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Officially, official: Tesla Motors store coming to Chicago

Welcome to Geneva! Meet the 2010 Chevrolet Spark! 47 mpg (U.S.)!

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:18:00 +0000

Click image above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Chevy Spark The Autoblog/AutoblogGreen team is just rolling into Geneva this morning for one of the biggest auto shows of the year, and look what we found before we even got out of the airport: Sitting in the Chevrolet media lounge right by the train station is the brand-new Chevrolet Spark. Essentially a four door version of the Beat concept we saw two years ago in New York, the Spark will be launching in other parts of the world in early 2010 and in the U.S. a year later. Both the 1.0-liter and 1.2-liter engines are expected to top 47 miles-per-gallon (U.S.) combined and emit less than 120 g/km of CO 2 . They wouldn’t let us sit in the car yet but it looks surprisingly roomy at this first look. Hopefully, General Motors will be around long enough that we’ll get to drive it. Gallery: Geneva 2009: Chevy Spark Gallery: 2010 Chevy Spark [Source: General Motors] Continue reading Welcome to Geneva! Meet the 2010 Chevrolet Spark! 47 mpg (U.S.)! Auto Blog: MPG , Chevrolet , Geneva Motor Show Welcome to Geneva! Meet the 2010 Chevrolet Spark! 47 mpg (U.S.)! originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Welcome to Geneva! Meet the 2010 Chevrolet Spark! 47 mpg (U.S.)!

Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:56:00 +0000

In a newsletter distributed today by Tesla Motors, CEO Elon Musk provides an update on the business including an announcement that a driveable prototype of the Model S would be unveiled on March 26. The Model S reveal will take place at the Southern California headquarters of Musk’s other company, Space-X, which is where Tesla’s design studio is located. According to ex-Tesla SVP Darryl Siry who refused to show us images of the car no matter how much we begged before his departure, “the Model S a very beautiful car.” As long as it doesn’t have a hump back like the new Porsche Panamera we’re looking forward to seeing it. However, before it becomes anything more than a prototype, Tesla will need a lot more cash to pay for engineering and a factory to build it. As Musk told us when we talked to him in Detroit last month, he fully expects the company to be profitable by mid-year thanks to price increases and cost reductions for building the Roadster. Even if that proves to be true, which will be difficult when considering the current economy, it’s unlikely to be anywhere near the required cash flow to cover the cost of the Model S. Learn more about how Tesla hopes to fund the Model S after the jump, where you can also see the full text of the newsletter. Gallery: Jason Calacanis’ Tesla Roadster Photos copyright (C)2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc. [Source: Tesla Motors] Continue reading Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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French automakers get $11.8 billion bailout

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:21:00 +0000

Following in the footsteps of similar programs in the United States and the United Kingdom , the French government has approved a bailout of sorts for its domestic automakers and their financial arms. Portions of these funds are to be used to further the development of green automotive technologies, including hybrids and fully electric vehicles. The main condition to receiving this money is that the automakers must keep their French factories open and operational. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s being doled out: Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën will each get loans totaling $3.9 billion, while their captive financing units will each receive $1.3 billion in loan guarantees. This should help consumers looking to purchase cars get the credit that they need. Renault Trucks, which is a unit of Swedish truckmaker Volvo AB, has been awarded $640 million and auto suppliers with operations in France will get $785 million in loans. [Source: Inside Line ] Auto Blog: Legislation and Policy , Renault , Citroen , Peugeot , Europe/EU French automakers get $11.8 billion bailout originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Geneva Preview: Bentley to reveal biofuel supercar

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:18:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Flex-Fuel , Bentley , Geneva Motor Show Click above for a high-res image of Bentley’s new biofuel supercar When the curtain rises on the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, Bentley will take a large share of the spotlight with the vehicle you see above. It has no name yet, and no technical specifics have been released, but what Bentley has revealed is that this will be the marque’s fastest, most powerful production car yet, and that it’ll run on biofuel. Visually, the grilles all have a blackout treatment, and sizable vertical intakes occupy the front bumper’s outer edges. The hood also sports a pair of vents, presumably to help extract engine heat. Given that the 600-horsepower/553-lb-ft Continental GT Speed currently owns the “most powerful production Bentley” title, look for more extreme ratings on this new, obviously Continental-based monster. As for the biofuel half of the equation, we expect to see an ethanol-drinking version of the twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder that propels the rest of the Continental range. In any case, a new Bentley’s coming, and it’s fixin’ to open up a plus-sized can of whoop-ass. We’ll learn more closer to the Geneva festivities. [Source: Bentley] Geneva Preview: Bentley to reveal biofuel supercar originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Ouch! Woman bites NYC bus driver because it isn’t a hybrid

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:01:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Etc. , Hybrid Photo by resedabear . Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0 . While I haven’t met all of you, I’m pretty sure most AutoblogGreen readers are a lot more understanding when a particular vehicle isn’t as clean as possible than Shelia Bolar is. According to the New York Daily News , Bolar, a public transportation rider (and apparent poet ) got angry when the bus she was waiting for turned out to not be a hybrid one. After yelling at the driver for a while – he responded by saying that he wasn’t in charge of which bus he’s assigned – she grabbed his arm and bit him . Through a jacket, a sweater and a shirt, Bolar managed to bruise the driver’s arm, but didn’t break the skin. The Daily News says Bolar is now facing assult charges and will have to take a psychiatric exam. C’mon, have some sense. [Source: New York Daily News via Green Daily ] Ouch! Woman bites NYC bus driver because it isn’t a hybrid originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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BREAKING: Detroit 2009 – GM building Volt battery packs with LG Chem cells

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:19:00 +0000

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , GM , Detroit Auto Show After showing off its latest cars and concepts yesterday at the Detroit Auto Show , General Motors reserved its second press conference today for battery news. As has been rumored for months, South Korea’s LG Chem has been selected to supply the lithium-ion cells that will power the Chevy Volt. However, LG Chem and its U.S. subsidiary will not be supplying full packs to GM. Instead, GM has decided to keep the pack production in-house along with the battery management systems and all the power electronics. The automaker will be building a pack assembly facility here in Michigan, with LG Chem only supplying the cells. GM is currently working on finalizing the site selection and working with local and state officials on the approvals. The site of the factory is expected to be announced soon with site preparation starting early this year. Tooling of the factory should be completed by early 2010 with production starting soon afterward. GM also announced a new partnership with the University of Michigan to create the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains (ABCD). ABCD will focus on researching batteries and integration issues with a specific focus on vehicle applications. Press release after the jump. [Source: General Motors] Continue reading BREAKING: Detroit 2009 – GM building Volt battery packs with LG Chem cells BREAKING: Detroit 2009 – GM building Volt battery packs with LG Chem cells originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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BREAKING: Detroit 2009 – GM building Volt battery packs with LG Chem cells

Pierce Brosnan cruising in a Hydrogen 7 to Golden Globes

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:37:00 +0000

Filed under: Etc. , Hydrogen , Green Daily After Mamma Mia! and being James Bond, what else is there to do but let BMW loan you the dual-fuel Hydrogen 7 to go to the 66th Golden Globe Awards tonight. That must’ve been what Pierce Brosnan was thinking, as he (pictured above with his wife, Keely Shaye Smith) will be one of many celebs headed to the red carpet in a luxury ride; this one just happens to be capable of “zero-emission” miles. Hilary Swank , Kristen Davis , Brad Pitt and others have previously taken the H7 for a spin. We’re busy with the news coming from Detroit , but we still have a question about what’s happening in LA: what kind of alt-fuel car will we see the most of tonight? Teslas? Other EVs? Hydrogen-powered? Diesels ? Anyone want to make any sort of predictions on this topic? [Source: Ecorazzi ] Pierce Brosnan cruising in a Hydrogen 7 to Golden Globes originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Pierce Brosnan cruising in a Hydrogen 7 to Golden Globes