Honda’s new CEO, Takanobu Ito; same as the old boss?
While not as exciting as Bob Lutz , Takeo Fukui – the soon-to-be-former president and CEO of Honda Motor Company – has provided us with a few attention-getting quotes over the years. With the news late last night that Fukui (pictured) will be stepping down in June, to be replaced by the current Senior Managing Director, Takanobu Ito, we thought it’d be good to look back at some of Fukui’s more dramatic claims. For example: Plug-in hybrids are “unnecessary” and don’t reduce emissions Electric cars? Meh. People will pay $84,000 for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Oh, and the FCVs will be available by 2018 So, this is the guy that Honda will soon be relieved of. The announcement of Ito’s ascention to the top spot in the company mentions his work on aluminum uni-body frames and compact sedans – as well as his work in bringing Acura’s first SUV to market in 2000. We’ll just have to wait and see how much of his predecessor’s views on PHEVs and hydrogen cars he shares. [Source: Honda ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hydrogen , Honda Honda’s new CEO, Takanobu Ito; same as the old boss? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:05:00 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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Leave a commentFord looking for young drivers to bring the Fiesta to America
Click above and scroll down to watch the video Ford is trying to create a viral campaign to spCar Blog Greenthe word about its new Fiesta small car, and it may want you to be a part of it. If you are a so-called “millennial” (born between 1979 and 1995), you’re a prime target for the ” Fiesta Movement .” Fiestas for the North American market start production around the end of this year in Mexico, but 100 cars were built this week in Cologne Germany and shipped to the U.S. to get the movement going. They don’t want just anyone though, they are specifically looking for those that can spCar Blog Greenthe news via social networks. Those who want to be “agents” for Ford will have to start by creating a video explaining why they should be part of the Fiesta Movement and putting it on YouTube. The 100 agents who get selected will be given monthly “missions” that will be documented on places like Facebook, MySpace and other social networks. If you’re interested head over to http://fiestamovement.com/ for all the details. Applications can be submitted until March 13, and there’s a video available after the jump. Gallery: Chicago 2009: Fiesta Movement 01 [Source: Ford ] Continue reading Ford looking for young drivers to bring the Fiesta to America Auto Blog: MPG , Ford , Green Daily Ford looking for young drivers to bring the Fiesta to America originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Ford looking for young drivers to bring the Fiesta to America
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, a-prime-target, daily, entry, fiesta, fiesta-movement, fiestamovement, fordfiesta, mexico, movement, news, social, spread-the-news, spread-the-word | Leave a commentSemi trucks converted to run on biomethane from cow manure
Looking for a sustainable fuel to power your fleet of semi trucks? If you are a dairy farm, we’d bet that the one thing you’ve got too much of is cow manure. Hilarides Dairy happens to have this exact problem, and it’s turning it into a solution. Over 10,000 cows will happily provide enough dung to generate 226,000 cubic feet of biomethane gas each and every day. That amount of gas (literally) is enough to cut 650 gallons of diesel fuel fuel per day from the farm’s fleet of vehicles. The process goes something like this: Cows excrete their spent fuels as manure, which is then flushed out into a lagoon where microbes begin breaking it down, resulting in the production of methane gas. The gas is then further purified at a local refinery that strips out unwanted bits like carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. After this final refining, the fuel is pressurized and fed into Cummins diesel engines that have been converted to run properly on methane gas. Proponents of this technology suggest that there is enough manure to displace the gasoline requirements of up to 16 million gas or diesel vehicles. It’s both gross and brilliant all at once. [Source: Wired | Photo: JelleS , CC 2.0] Auto Blog: Natural Gas , Green Daily Semi trucks converted to run on biomethane from cow manure originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:01:00 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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Semi trucks converted to run on biomethane from cow manure
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, a-prime-target, cow farts, cow manure, cowdung, daily, fuel, news, photo, turning-it-into | Leave a commentGeneva preview: Fisker’s European strategy – and have you seen these pics?
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Fisker Karma Fisker Automotive gave the automotive world a big reveal – the Karma S – last month at the Detroit Auto Show . For the upcoming Geneva show, the company doesn’t have anything as impressive planned, but we’re still interested in the news they promised us today. Specifically, Fisker says that when the plug-in hybrid Karma and Karma S make their European debuts in Geneva, the company will also announce its European retail network strategy and pricing. In Detroit, Henrik Fisker announced that the Karma would cost US$87,900 and said it hopes to sell 15,000 Karmas a year starting in 2011. More details after the jump. While looking on the Fisker website for additional information, we discovered that a bunch of new pictures of the Karma had been posted there. These are gorgeous images, and we present them in the gallery below for your viewing pleasure. New wallpaper, anyone? Gallery: Fisker Karma [Source: Fisker ] Continue reading Geneva preview: Fisker’s European strategy – and have you seen these pics? Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Geneva Motor Show , Fisker Geneva preview: Fisker’s European strategy – and have you seen these pics? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:47:00 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: Fisker’s European strategy – and have you seen these pics?
January 2009 Dashboard: Hybrid Pickups Arrive
> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard The entire auto market continued to slide, bringing hybrid sales along with it. But there’s good news: General Motors began shipping full-hybrid pickup trucks, opening up the hybrid market to a new pool of buyers. Hybrid Heatmap In this month’s version, we take a look at sales of hybrids produced exclusively by domestic automakers: GM, Ford and Chrysler. With the emergence of hybrid pickup trucks, we wondered if buyers of domestic hybrids were coming from a different part of the country than the larger hybrid market. After adjusting the sales numbers based on population, we see that California remains a hotspot—but the Midwest is stronger while much of the Northeast (except for the DC area) shows less hybrid popularity. Analysis of January 2009 Sales Numbers "Top 5 global hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2008. and "Top 5 US hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2008. The beginning of 2009 was much like the end of 2008 for auto markets: showrooms stayed quiet, credit remained tight, and sales continued to slide. Overall, auto sales were down 38 percent compared with last January; brands like General Motors and Chrysler saw more severe declines as their volumes were cut in half. Although hybrids outperformed the market slightly, sales of hybrid models were still far below typical levels. read more
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January 2009 Dashboard: Hybrid Pickups Arrive
Posted in Hybrids | a-new-pool, bringing-hybrid, emergence, heatmap, hybrid, hybrid market dashboard, hybrid-pickups, market, news, sales | Leave a commentVW Confirms Production of Touareg Hybrid
Last week, we reported that Volkswagen was testing a hybrid version of the Touareg SUV. Our sources now tell us that the Touareg Hybrid has been upgraded from prototype status to an official production vehicle with a target release date in 2011. Volkswagen Touareg V6 TSI Bluemotion Under new management at VW, the company’s hybrid strategy has shifted from applying gas-electric technology to small cars to larger more expensive vehicles. The Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid will be VW’s first production hybrid vehicle. It will hit the European market next year, and arrive in the US by the middle of 2011. A company spokesperson said the gas-electric SUV will offer “maximum power with minimum consumption,” thanks to a supercharged direct-injected V6 engine tied to a 38 kilowatt electric motor. The hybrid variant will join the standard gasoline model and a forthcoming diesel-powered version—which replaces the V10 TDI, a vehicle which had the dubious distinction as the dirtiest vehicle on the market according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. As a full hybrid vehicle, the Touareg will achieve an estimated 26 miles per gallon in combined driving. That’s a 15 percent improvement over the gas-powered Touareg. And in city driving, the Touareg hybrid is expected to beat out most large SUVs by as much as 25 percent. It will also offer electric-only operation at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. read more
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VW Confirms Production of Touareg Hybrid
Plug-in Hybrids Roll On, in Stimulus Package
President Barack Obama said yesterday that building more efficient vehicles, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, is a critical part of stimulating the economy and helping the auto industry to retool. The president’s plans were supported by the Senate’s compromise economic stimulus bill that includes tax credits for buyers and manufacturers of plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as $2 billion in direct grants for battery development and manufacturing. It also includes a tax break for new-car buyers and money for the federal government to buy plug-in hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., Obama said, “If we don’t use this crisis as an opportunity to start retooling, then we will never catch up and be able to compete effectively against Japanese automakers, Korean automakers.” The Senate held a key procedural vote yesterday evening on the $838-billion stimulus bill, setting up passage today and then a conference committee with the House to determine what the final version should look like. The Senate bill contained these key provisions regarding plug-in hybrid vehicles: The number of plug-in vehicles eligible for a tax credit of $7,500 to $15,000, for passenger vehicles and trucks respectively, was doubled from 250,000 to 500,000. Conversions of conventional vehicles to plug-in hybrids will receive tax credits of up to 10 percent—with a cap of $4,000 for a $40,000 conversion. Conversions must be “qualified” by appropriate federal agencies. Eligible vehicles will include vehicles with leased batteries, as well as two- and three-wheel vehicles, and some neighborhood electric vehicles. Incentives could start immediately upon signing of the bill into law. The “Cash for Clunkers” provision, which would provide coupons for consumers to sell old gas-guzzling vehicles and buy new fuel-efficient models, was dropped. If these provision remain in the final version, Obama will move closer to achieving his goal of putting 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015. read more
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Plug-in Hybrids Roll On, in Stimulus Package
Posted in Hybrids | a-critical-part, a-full-hybrid, a-tax-break, a-tax-credit, a-town-hall, crisis, energy, final, hybrid-pickups, Hybrids, incentives and laws, japanese, news, said-the-gas, sales | Leave a commentBMW Clean Diesels Earn Tax Credit
Two BMW diesel vehicles, the 335d sedan and the X5 xDrive35d crossover , are now qualified for the federal “Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle Tax Credit.” Buyers of the 335d will be eligible for up to $900 in tax credits, while those purchasing the X5 can qualify for as much as $1,800 from the IRS. Federal tax credits were previously granted to clean diesel vehicles from Mercedes and Volkswagen. The credits will offset some of the premium associated with purchasing the pricey BMW clean diesels, and will alter the economic calculation for buying the diesel rather than the conventional gasoline versions of the vehicles. BMW 335d The 335d costs $44,750 and has fuel economy ratings of 23 city/36 highway. Compare that to the gasoline-powered 335i’s $41,125 sticker, and 17 city/26 highway rating. The $3,625 difference is somewhat offset by a $900 tax credit. BMW X5 xDrive35d The X5 xDrive35d starts at $52,950 and gives 19 city/26 highway, while the base gas-powered X5 costs $48,325 and has fuel economy ratings of 15 city/21 highway. The $4,625 difference is reduced by a $1,800 tax credit. read more
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BMW Clean Diesels Earn Tax Credit
Posted in Hybrids | bring-the-first, china, diesel-vehicles, environment, motor-vehicle, news, purchasing-the, ratings | Leave a commentObama Wants Action on Energy
Stimulus plan calls for more fuel-efficient federal vehicles, but critics call it pork. President Obama today signed a presidential memorandum requesting the Department Of Energy to set higher efficiency standards for everyday household appliances. He spoke at the Energy Department to an audience of about 220 staffers. Mr. Obama also spent several minutes speaking about the importance of producing more fuel-efficient vehicles, including plug-in hybrids . “Through investments in our mass transit system to boost capacity, in our roads to reduce congestion, and in technologies that will accelerate the development of innovations like plug-in hybrid vehicles, we’ll be making a significant down payment on a cleaner and more energy independent future. “Now, I read the other day that critics of this plan ridiculed our notion that we should use part of the money to modernize the entire fleet of federal vehicles to take advantage of state of the art fuel efficiency. This is what they call pork. You know the truth. It will not only save the government significant money over time, it will not only create manufacturing jobs for folks who are making these cars, it will set a standard for private industry to match. And so when you hear these attacks deriding something of such obvious importance as this, you have to ask yourself: are these folks serious? Is it any wonder that we haven’t had a real energy policy in this country? “For the last few years, I’ve talked about these issues with Americans from one end of this country to another. And Washington may not be ready to get serious about energy independence, but I am. And so are you. And so are the American people.” read more
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Obama Wants Action on Energy
Posted in Hybrids | a-also-spent, a-standard-for, bring-the-first, department, efficiency, energy, Hybrids, importance, money, news, obama-wants, president obama, ratings, read-the-other | Leave a commentFiat Could Help Chrysler With Small Cars
If the proposed alliance between Chrysler and Fiat goes through, the company could produce a total of six new models—ranging in size from small to smaller. The terms of the deal would give the European carmaker a 35 percent stake in Chrysler. In exchange, Fiat’s small car experience could give Chrysler the opportunity to reduce its dependence on larger vehicles. Chrysler suffered a sales decline steeper than any other automaker in January—down 55 percent from January 2008. The decline spanned most of the lineup, but car sales were hit hardest. Two of six future vehicles would be from the smallest ‘A’ segment, two from the subcompact ‘B’ segment, and two from the compact ‘C’ segment. The ‘A’ cars are the Fiat 500 retro 3-door liftback, as well as the 5-door liftback version of the Fiat Panda. The car based on the Panda would probably be badged as a Chrysler or Dodge. In the subcompact category, one of the vehicles could be the Alfa Romeo MiTo—Alfa Romeo is owned by Fiat. The other vehicle is not yet known, but will most likely be placed under the Dodge brand. A brand new vehicle built on Fiat’s ‘C’ platform could be the replacement for the Dodge Caliber. The Caliber is Chrysler’s only compact car and is currently being redesigned for the next model year. The second C-segment car to be introduced would be the Alfa Romeo 147. It would probably retain its name for the US market. read more
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Fiat Could Help Chrysler With Small Cars
Posted in Hybrids | chrysler, city, country, currently-being, dodge, news, opportunity, panda, romeo, small-cars, subcompact, technology, under-the-dodge | Leave a commentGet Approved!
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