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Geneva 2009 = Honda Insight + ASIMO

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:20:00 +0000

Click above for more of ASIMO with the Honda Insight How do you emphasize that your new hybrid is perfect for robot drivers? By introducing it in Europe with the help of ASIMO. That was Honda’s strategy in Geneva recently when the new Insight Hybrid made its European debut. ASIMO, known for conducting orchestras and falling down stairs , was on stage with the leader of Honda Insight’s development team, Yasunari Seki, and posed for some pictures. ASIMO was then put to work doing 54 15-minute public performances over 13 days. For these shows, ASIMO showed off its “ability to run, climb stairs, give and receive objects and interact with people.” As long as it stays on its feet, I’m sure it is mighty impressive. Gallery: Honda Insight with ASIMO [Source: Honda] Auto Blog: Hybrid , Honda , Geneva Motor Show Geneva 2009 = Honda Insight + ASIMO originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Geneva 2009: Mitsubishi Global i MiEV prototype

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Debuting at the 79th Geneva Motor Show alongside the Mitsubishi i MiEV Sport Air concept was an i MiEV prototype that may have been the most relevant electric car of the show. Although quite similar to the i MiEV design we’ve been showing you for the past couple years, this is the global version of the Japanese automaker’s electric car. As expected, it has a wider stance than the original and the front and rear overhangs have been extended and should offer more protection for passengers as well as any errant (heaven forbid) pedestrians. Also, the steering wheel is on the side you would expect to find it in most parts of the planet, the left. The company calls this i MiEV iteration the precursor to the car that will go on sale in Europe next year where it will carry the Mitsubishi badge as well as that of Peugeot . Although a timetable for American sales hasn’t yet been announced, we expect that it will happen eventually and something very close to this slightly enlarged prototype will one day be available here. Hit the jump for the official Geneva unveiling of the i MiEVs and as well as a bonus video of the global version posing for the camera in a studio and its designer giving some of his thoughts (in Japanese). Gallery: Mitsubishi Global i MiEV prototype [Source: Mitsubishi / YouTube ] Continue reading Geneva 2009: Mitsubishi Global i MiEV prototype Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Mitsubishi , Geneva Motor Show , Europe/EU Geneva 2009: Mitsubishi Global i MiEV prototype originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Geneva 2009: Mitsubishi Global i MiEV prototype

German car sales rise 21 percent; UK to launch vehicle scrappage plan?

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Vehicle scrapping plans are likely to get lots of attention now that Germany’s program has proven so effective. Last month, sales in Germany, Europe’s largest new car market, surged by 21 percent, which is an amazing figure considering the current state of the global economy. Much of this uptick in sales can be attributed to a new program that Germany introduced that pays new car buyers 2,500 euros to trade in and scrap their old cars, just so long as the displaced vehicle is at least nine years old. Officials from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders in the United Kingdom are now urging their government to adopt a program similar to the one introduced in Germany. UK car sales were down by nearly 22 percent last month and almost a third so far for the year. It’s logically assumed that the fleet of vehicles on the road would be cleaner and more efficient if older models were replaced with new vehicles that meet the latest environmental requirements. [Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd | Photo: Patrick Dockens ] Auto Blog: Legislation and Policy , Green Daily , Europe/EU , UK , Germany German car sales rise 21 percent; UK to launch vehicle scrappage plan? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:02:00 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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German car sales rise 21 percent; UK to launch vehicle scrappage plan?

Sentience Research Vehicle shows how tons of data can save millions of barrels of oil

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:16:00 +0000

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Sentience Research Vehicle How smart does a car have to be before it starts saving you money and reduces your fuel usage? You can make any car a bit smarter by driving more sensibly, but a team of engineers in the UK has decided to give an SUV a few more microchips and let it try and save fuel for you. Dubbed the Sentience intelligent advanced hybrid vehicle, the 15-month-long project melds telematics with technology that is here today to reduce CO 2 emissions of the test vehicle by between 5 and 24 percent, dependent on driving style. The collaborators, including Transport Research Laboratory, Ricardo, Jaguar-Land Rover, Ordnance Survey and Orange Business Services, say that by using readily-available technology, the Sentience technology could be applied to vehicles in the UK without too much cost. If it were, the engineers estimate, total savings in the country would be somewhere between 1.2 and 2.9 million barrels of oil per year. There are three main components to the Sentience technology: Enhanced Acceleration/Deceleration (EAD) in which the vehicle speed is controlled to meet actual and virtual speed limits Optimized Engine Load (OEL) in which the hybrid powertrain systems are managed using advanced route knowledge in such a way as to make optimal use of recharging opportunities Enhanced Air-Conditioning (EAC) control in which temperature set-points are adjusted prior to and following temporary stops. More details after the jump. Gallery: Sentience Research Vehicle [Source: Ricardo] Continue reading Sentience Research Vehicle shows how tons of data can save millions of barrels of oil Auto Blog: Emerging Technologies , Green Daily Sentience Research Vehicle shows how tons of data can save millions of barrels of oil originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Ford CEO Mullaly expects many Fords to be electric in a decade

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:29:00 +0000

Click above for high-res gallery of the Ford Focus EV “mule” Ford may have been relatively quiet on the electric vehicle front while General Motors got all the attention for its Chevy Volt series hybrid, but the Blue Oval has come roaring back in recent months. It was revealed in its viability plan submitted to Congress back in December that an electric commercial van would be launched just one year from now followed by an electric car the next year. According to CEO Alan Mulally, that’s just the start. At a conference in California this week, Mulally declared, “In 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles.” Mulally told the conference that internal combustion efficiency will also improve dramatically over the next decade, and more hybrids will join the lineup including a plug-in hybrid that will debut in 2012. Ford is shifting a significant proportion of its truck building capacity to cars over the next two years and the company doesn’t expect truck sales to recover to their previous record heights. While fuel prices are low now, they are expected to climb again as the economy recovers. The shifts to cars and more hybrid and electric vehicles will be necessary to meet both market demands created by those expected higher fuel prices and government mandates for higher fuel efficiency. Gallery: ABG Quick Drive: Ford Focus EV mule Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc. [Source: Automotive News , sub. req'd] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Ford Ford CEO Mullaly expects many Fords to be electric in a decade originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:29:00 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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Ford CEO Mullaly expects many Fords to be electric in a decade

Elon Musk reportedly sets trap for loose lipped employees

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:46:00 +0000

The breathless style of writing at which Valleywag has made a name for itself isn’t the sort of thing we often link to, but we’ll make an exception today. According to the Gawker team , Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not making any friends in his own company; in fact, Valleywag claims that Musk recently tried to pinpoint people on his team who may be leaking confidential information to the media. The tactic? Sending each employee a slightly altered version of an email about stopping the leaks and then checking to see which version made it to the media. It reportedly backfired in a pretty big way. Valleywag reports that Musk did not let his own executives know of this plan to smoke out the leaker. One of them unknowingly forwarded his version of the email within the company, which made it clear to the rest of Tesla’s workforce that they were being set up. We contacted Tesla about this story, but got a simple “No Comment.” That’s fine for us, but it might be a long, long month before the Model S unveiling on the 26th . Follow the source link to Car Blog Greena version of the email, presumably one of many, that Musk sent to his employees. Thanks to Yanquetino for the tip! [Source: Valleywag ] Auto Blog: Etc. , EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors , Green Daily Elon Musk reportedly sets trap for loose lipped employees originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:46:00 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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Greenlings: How power-split parallel hybrids work

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:51:00 +0000

Over the past decade, if there is one word that has become synonymous with green motoring it is hybrid. Ever since Toyota launched the first modern commercially viable hybrid with the original Prius (above) in 1997, over one million of them have hit the roads. Of course, as is so often the case, this overnight sensation was anything but. In fact, the technology was nearly a century in the making. The first known hybrid was developed by the original Ferdinand Porsche back around the beginning of the twentieth century. The hybrid, as we mostly know it today, was actually developed and patented by engineers at TRW in the late 1960s. While most people have by now heard of hybrids and know that they can improve efficiency, few understand how they work. Since the debut of the Prius, most automakers have been working on hybrids and have developed their own variations in an attempt to reduce the cost and/or improve the efficiency. Let’s start (after the jump) with a look the power-split parallel hybrid as popularized by Toyota and Ford. Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius Continue reading Greenlings: How power-split parallel hybrids work Auto Blog: Hybrid , GM , Mercedes Benz , Toyota , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Green Daily Greenlings: How power-split parallel hybrids work originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Toyota announces 150 plug-in Prius hybrids are coming to Europe in 2009

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:17:00 +0000

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius Toyota Motor Europe CEO Tadashi Arashima has announced that Europe will get 150 plug-in Priuses this year, followed by another 350 in 2010. These PHEV units will be used for testing purposes and will not be available for the masses. Even better news from ToMoCo: 2012 will see the introduction of an all-electric vehicle. Toyota could use the plug-in help to meet its self-set goal of average corporate CO 2 emissions of 140 g/km, including Lexus offerings, this year and drop to between 120 and 130 g/km before the mandatory limit comes dues in 2015 . Arashima also said that, since the price of diesel cars will climb significantly with the introduction of the Euro V and VI anti-pollution rules, diesel vehicles won’t be as attractive to buyers who might also consider a hybrid vehicle. He did acknowledge that diesels will continue to be significant in European markets. [Source: Automotive News (subs. req'd)] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Toyota , Europe/EU Toyota announces 150 plug-in Prius hybrids are coming to Europe in 2009 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:17:00 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: 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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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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