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May 16, 2008

General Motors Powertrain Europe opens doors for Tech Show

Turin/Italy -- GM Powertrain Europe’s comprehensive Tech Show provides answers about how cars will be propelled in the future.

As part of the global GM Powertrain organization, GM Powertrain Europe has global responsibility for small diesel engines, diesel control systems, small gasoline engines and manual transmissions. Its footprint encompasses 15 facilities in 7 European countries, employing 9,000 people and producing on average more than 17,000 engines and transmissions per day.

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May 13, 2008

GM Hosts Collegiate Advanced Tech Vehicles

Culminating four years of competition General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy will host a finish line ceremony and press conference featuring vehicles from the collegiate engineering competition Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility.

The event marks the end of the Challenge X competition and concludes a 350-mile road rally from New York City to Washington, D.C. Following the press conference, select vehicles will be available for brief ride and drive opportunities.

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May 12, 2008

2008 Fuel Economy Guide Available for Download

The EPA has issued a comprehensive PDF guide to fuel economy of all 2008 vehicles, which you can download by right-clicking here.

In today's gas market, buyers are more sensitive than ever about buying cars that get good mileage, and more important, they want the government ratings to be as accurate as possible -- nobody wants to buy a vehicle that gets 10% worse mileage in the real world than the sticker rating.

To address this situation, the EPA has started using an updated test to assign more accurate MPG ratings to new vehicles, and you can learn about that by watching the video in this post.

May 10, 2008

Survey: Quest for Fuel Efficiency Changing Americans' Car Consciousness

Detroit, Mich. – With rising gas prices, today’s car buyers admit fuel efficiency and diversity is not just a necessity, it’s also fashion forward.

If Americans had to choose between driving a car that was beautiful on the outside vs. one that was “greener” on the inside, nearly eight in 10 Americans (79 percent) who plan to buy or lease a car within the next two years would choose the greener car.

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Student Teams Show Off "Green" Vehicles at New Jersey Ride and Drive

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM) will host a behind-the-scenes opportunity to see the vehicles from the collegiate engineering competition Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility in action.

The event is May 15, at Old Bridge Township Motorsports Park and is a stop on a road rally from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. Seventeen Chevrolet Equinoxes have been re-engineered by student teams using a range of cutting-edge clean vehicle technologies such as hybrid, plug-in or fuel cell propulsion systems.

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May 3, 2008

Bentley Apprentices Build Electric Race Car

Crewe -- A Bentley Motors apprentice team has won a special “Spirit of Greenpower” award for its performance in the Greenpower Corporate Challenge which took place at Goodwood race circuit.

The Bentley apprentice team designed, engineered and built the electric powered car which they entered into the Greenpower Challenge as well as a season of “F24+” racing. The Bentley Greenpower car is called Continental DC (Direct Current) and runs off a 24-volt motor supplied by two 12-volt batteries.

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May 2, 2008

GM Enlists D.C. Drivers to Test Hydrogen Vehicles

WASHINGTON, D.C. - At the Shell station on Benning Road Northeast, General Motors President and Chief Operating Officer, Fritz Henderson, presented the keys to the area's first motorists to be selected to test drive away in advanced technology hydrogen fuel cell powered Chevrolet Equinox electric vehicles.

Identified at the 2008 Washington Auto Show, Tom Albert of Alexandria, Va., and Nick Williams of Washington D.C., will join drivers from Southern California and the New York metropolitan area in GM's "Project Driveway" -- the world's largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and first comprehensive market test of this innovative technology.

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April 29, 2008

Sweden Strengthens Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Development

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Sweden hosts a world class automotive cluster represented by leading brands such as SAAB Automobile, Scania, Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Group alongside some 1,000 suppliers. Sweden now looks to expand its research and development of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Delegates from the Swedish automotive industry will be present at Booth 61 at the Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitor Conference and Symposia in Tampa, Florida on May 12-16 to meet international representatives from the vehicle battery industry.

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April 25, 2008

Fisker Automotive on Track for 2009 4Q Despite Lawsuit

IRVINE, Calif. -- Today, Fisker Automotive, Inc. announced that the company is on track for delivery of the Fisker Karma in Q4 2009, and that it will vigorously defend the recent allegations put forth by Tesla. Tesla Motors breached the arbitration agreement in its contract with Fisker by filing these meritless claims in San Mateo County court.

"The lawsuit is nonsense," said Henrik Fisker, CEO, Fisker Automotive. "Fisker Coachbuild has non-exclusive design contracts as shown by the cars we have designed for a variety of manufacturers."

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April 24, 2008

Poll: More Americans Worry About Energy Issues, Than Home Foreclosures, Jobs or Global Warming

OMAHA, Neb. -- When it comes to energy, Americans worry most about dependence on foreign oil.

Almost half of the 1,200 voters polled by Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc. rate imports as one of their two biggest energy concerns. A distant second is the lack of viable alternatives to fossil fuels.

The U.S. imports about two-thirds of its oil. Of all the energy the country consumes every year, only 6 percent is renewable (excluding nuclear). The rest is oil, gas and coal.

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EMS Launches Next Generation Electric Mountain Bike

DULLES, Va. -- Electric Motion Systems (EMS) is committed to innovation and quality in Light Electric Vehicles for today's new generation of adults.

The company's new electric bicycle, the E+, is the next generation of e-bikes. The E+ embodies the essence of modern technology design -- simplicity and elegance imposed on advanced technical capabilities.

The E+ utilizes advanced electric propulsion technology to provide the ultimate riding experience, through pedaling or in full electric operation.

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April 22, 2008

Chicago Rolls Out ZAP Solar Electric Car for Catering on Earth Day

CHICAGO -- Chicago's Sopraffina Marketcaffe today is celebrating Earth Day with the unveiling of a new, first-of-its-kind, 100 percent solar-electric powered catering vehicle. La Grange Park electric car dealer Jessup's Automotive helped bring the vehicle to Chicago as part of a dealer network being formed by ZAP.

The modified ZAP Xebra truck being unveiled on Earth Day at Sopraffina's 222 West Adams location runs on electric power throughout the day and can be charged by solar panels located on the roof.

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April 20, 2008

Ford moving forward on plug-in hybrid research

Ford has teamed up with the independent, non-profit organization Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop and evaluate new Ford Escape plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), study how they would fit into the nation’s electric grid and help accelerate the introduction of the eco-friendly vehicles.

This new partnership will work in conjunction with Ford’s existing project with Southern California Edison (SCE). For SCE, Ford is building 20 Escape PHEVs for testing in the Los Angeles area.

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April 14, 2008

Student-Built Prototype Vehicle Breaks Mileage Record

HOUSTON -- "Ladies and gentlemen, start your fuel-efficient engines" were the words that kicked off the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas; and that's exactly what more than 300 students from Canada, Mexico, and the United States did today.

Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Ind., set a new mileage record at the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas, a challenge to design, build and test fuel-efficient prototype vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel.

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April 10, 2008

Tesla Motors Initiates European Sales

SAN CARLOS, Calif. -- The Tesla Roadster, a groundbreaking electric car that delivers super car performance with zero emissions and extreme energy efficiency, can now be reserved by European customers for delivery starting in the Spring of 2009.

Production of 250 special edition euro-spec Roadsters will be allocated for the entire EU region for 2009. This special edition, fully-loaded car is priced at 99,000 Euro (excluding VAT) and will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

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