As far as Audi is concerned, the much heralded coming of the Chevy Volt is made for idiots. This was shared to the media by Audi President Johan de Nysschen, referring to the hybrid car as overpriced and no better than a Toyota Corolla. The rumored price for the Chevy Volt was said to be around $40,000.00.

The Chevy Volt is expected to be categorized in the company of cars priced in the $25,000.00 mark. However, a lot of criticism is being raised at the moment, waiting to see if the Chevy Volt can really be a car choice for people looking towards new electric cars coming out in the market. Will the Chevy Volt succeed? All we can do is wait and see once this GM hybrid car hits the automotive market.

Image courtesy: Auto Blog Green

(Source) Tech Whack

Tags: automotive market, car choice, chevy volt, electric cars, GM, hybrid car, market image, Toyota, toyota corolla

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Daimler finally launched its own hybrid car version, the Mercedes Benz S Class which will come either in electric or petrol. The new hybrid Mercedes is now available in Europe, options that should give aspiring car owners of choosing between fuel consumption or electric power, the latter of which has been which many are talking about as of late.

The “CO2 champion of luxury cars,” as Mercedes bills it, nonetheless cranks out 186 to 189 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, remaining one of the biggest polluters on the road, well above the European average of around 160 grams.

“For years, the German automobile sector did not believe hybrids had a chance…..but at a certain point, under market pressure, the industry changed its mind,” said Stefan Bratzel, professor at a specialized auto center in the western city of Bergisch Gladbach.

Despite being branded as anti-environment for its continued production of fuel-powered cars, the new Mercedes Benz S Class electric version should somehow even the odds. At least this time, car buyers can be given the choice, something that is obviously a business prerogative when it comes to choosing which car is wise to buy considering the current world economic situation.

(Source) Auto India

Tags: auto center, automobile sector, car buyers, car owners, car version, cranks, Daimler, fuel consumption, german automobile, hybrid car, hybrids, luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz, new mercedes benz s class, polluters, prerogative

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A new dashboard design for the liquefied petroleum gas-electric hybrid version of the Avante has been released and will be installed upon the launch of the car for next month. The Hyundai Avante is the first hybrid car that makes use of a 1.6-litre LPG engine that manages 17.8 kilometers per liter of fuel.

One highlight of the new gauges is the image of a plant in the center of the speedometer which lights up if the car is well-maintained with the highest fuel efficiency.

The dashboard also has an Eco Guide display that tells the driver how economically the car is being driven.

(Source) Asia One

Tags: Dashboard, eco guide, fuel efficiency, highlight, hybrid car, hybrid version, Hyundai, hyundai avante, kilometers, launch, liquefied petroleum gas, liter, speedometer

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Thanks to a tax incentive announced by the Japanese government on low-emission cars, Nissan received a large orders for its eco-friendly cars. Among the notable vehicles that may lead the uprising demand in Japan included the NV200 Nissan Vanette light commercial vehicle bringing the total to 15 on domestic cars that are eligible for tax breaks.

Japan had lowered taxes on green vehicles last month which is foreseen to put an additional 310,000 vehicles in sales in the financial year to March 2010. Nissan for its part took the initiative for the impending demand, improving their engines with a big marketing push.

Nissan’s Shiga acknowledged that the lack of a hybrid car was a concern it often heard from dealers, but stressed that its extensive offering of fuel-efficient gasoline-engine cars would help lower emissions on the whole at the automaker.

(Source) Asia One

Tags: domestic cars, eco friendly cars, emission cars, emissions, engine cars, gasoline engine, hybrid car, initiative, Japan, japanese government, marketing, Nissan, nissan cars, nissan vanette, shiga, Tax Breaks, tax incentive, uprising

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Combine speed and CO2 emission controls and you are bound to get a lot of anxious motorists check out what you have to offer. Already a known figure in the world of Hyundais and Ferraris, Italdesign Giugiaro unveils a hybrid concept car Namir.

The Namir is a concept jointly designed through the efforts of Giugiaro and Frazer-Nash. Their latest project is that of this new hybrid systems which is touted to be better than the Toyota Prius as far as CO2 emissions are concerned, not to mention a fast demonic hybrid car that can go as far as 187 miles per hour.

The Namir combines an 814 cc endothermic rotary engine with four electric motors in a system that those involved in project claim delivers 91 mpg and CO2 emissions of 60 g/km. The Toyota Prius emits 104 g/km. Those are impressive numbers, but the number that really wows us is the claimed top speed of 187 mph and a zero-to-60 time of 3.5 seconds.

(Source) Auto Racing Daily

Tags: co2 emission, co2 emissions, concept car, emission controls, ferraris, frazer nash, hybrid car, hybrid systems, hyundais, impressive numbers, italdesign giugiaro, miles per hour, motorists, rotary engine, top speed, Toyota, toyota prius

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Motorists and viewers are going to get a first-hand glimpse of custom-engineered solutions for automotive manufacturing as they will get an exclusive look at some of the connecting, conducting and shielding solutions featured at this year’s Hannover MESSE event, thanks to a new video animation produced by Bal Seal Engineering, Inc.

Bal Seal, a global provider of custom-engineered solutions to automotive manufacturers, unveiled a new animation at the Hannover Messe trade show which ran from April 20th-24th in Hannover, Germany. The one and a half minute video will take viewers inside a hybrid car and highlight Bal Seal’s offerings in a variety of automotive applications. It is currently available through YouTube and in the “Video on Demand” (VOD) section of the company’s website.

Among the featured applications is a conceptual battery connector that employs a canted-coil spring as a current carrying interface and a secondary spring to provide EMI shielding. In this design, Bal Seal’s technology can be used as both an electrical and mechanical contact.

(Source) Press

Tags: automotive manufacturers, automotive manufacturing, bal seal engineering, battery connector, coil spring, engineered solutions, engineering inc, glimpse, global provider, hannover germany, hannover messe, hybrid car, interface, motorists, offerings, trade show, video animation, video on demand

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The move is something you would expect if you are in business. For Toyota, being outwitted and finding ways to compete against the new low-cost cars can be done by unveiling their own hybrid car at affordable prices. And if Toyota should be successful, expect a price war to ensue so that customers can come their way.

Toyota’s new petrol- and electric-powered hybrid will have a price tag below two million yen (31,800 Singapore dollars) – about 20-30 percent cheaper than its Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid, the Nikkei economic daily said.

Toyota will initially launch the vehicle in Japan as early as 2011 with a smaller engine than the 1.5-litre Prius, it said without naming its sources. Toyota refused to comment on the report.

The company will reportedly also lower the price of the current Prius to the same levels as Honda’s Insight, which costs as little as 1.89 million yen.

(Source) Asia One Motoring

Tags: Cars, Honda, hybrid car, Japan, litre, nikkei, price tag, Prius, Toyota

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The times may be tough but finding out you have produced the 100,000th vehicle under your wing is already an achievement in itself. Apparently that is what Ford is celebrating today as it has reportedly rolled off its 100,000th hybrid SUV and reinforced its commitment to ramping up production of hybrid vehicles this year.

Ford launched the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids five years ago and the vehicles remain the most fuel-efficient SUVs on the market. At the same time as workers at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant celebrated the hybrid milestone, Ford dealers are preparing to begin selling the all-new 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids, which will be America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedans.

Today, the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV and Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV deliver 34 mpg city driving, 31 mpg highway. The newest entries to Ford’s hybrid lineup, the Fusion Hybrid and Milan Hybrid deliver 41 mpg city driving, 36 mpg highway, the most fuel-efficient midsize sedans on the market today.

The Kansas City Assembly Plant, which employs 4,100 people, has been the hub for Ford’s hybrid SUV production since 2004 when the first Ford Escape Hybrid rolled off the line. Lean, flexible manufacturing processes and specially-trained employees at the plant allow the hybrids to be built on the same production line as conventional Escape and Mariner SUVs.

(Source) Press

Tags: escape hybrid suv, first ford, ford dealers, ford escape, ford escape hybrid, ford fusion, fuel efficient suvs, hybrid car, hybrid vehicles, hybrids, mercury mariner, mercury mariner hybrid, mercury milan, midsize sedans

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If you are in the market for a great but cost-friendly hybrid car, chances are you should check out the new Honda Insight. The all-new 2010 Honda Insight goes on sale March 24 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $19,800 for the Insight LX, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.

The distinctively styled, five-passenger, five-door dedicated hybrid vehicle is powered by an Integrated Motor Assist(TM) (IMA(TM)) system comprised of a 1.3-liter i-VTEC(R) gasoline engine and a 10-kilowatt electric motor that together contribute to an EPA-estimated city/highway fuel economy rating of 40/43 miles per gallon(2). The Insight features the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist(TM)), an innovation that can further enhance efficient vehicle operation while providing feedback related to individual driving styles.

“The all-new Honda Insight brings the cost of entry for hybrid technology within closer reach of an entirely new car-shopping audience,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. “In addition to making good environmental sense, hybrid technology is now entering a new era where it can also make financial sense for a broader range of customers.”

(Source) Press

Tags: american honda motor, american honda motor co, gasoline engine, highway fuel economy, honda insight, hybrid car, hybrid technology, hybrid vehicle, kilowatt, new era

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It looks like Nissan is aiming to give the Lexus a run for its money as far as new hybrids to be launched in the market is concerned. In preparation for 2010, Nissan has started to map out plans for a new hybrid car via the Infiniti line-up.

Infiniti dealers are pushing hard for another entry into the same near luxury segment where the G37 already competes along with another luxury crossover model. It seems that the EX, the automaker’s latest CUV, is not selling up to expectations against rivals such as the Lexus RX-series due to its limited utility.

On the green front, Infiniti is also said to have a hybrid on the way for 2010.

(Source) AutoBlog

Tags: automaker, Crossover, hybrid car, hybrids, infiniti dealers, Lexus, lexus rx, luxury segment, Nissan, nissan infiniti, rx series

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With oil price plunging since the latter part of 2008, the demand for hybrid cars has dwindled in numbers. As a car owner, why invest in a hybrid if you can manage the fuel prices for now? Throw in the fact that people are cutting down on spending as well and perhaps you can imagine how hybrids may become a thing of the past.

Toyota and Ford have held back their hybrid cars production. With an unreasonable demand, the last thing that these two car manufacturing giants would want is to keep a large inventory of these hybrid cars (the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape).

So have we seen the end of hybrid cars as an alternative mode of transportation today? Unless oil prices fluctuate again or the financial crisis improves, it is unlikely we will see hybrids flourish in the economy. So don’t be surprised if these concerned car manufacturers focus on making fuel-based car models once again.

Via Business Week

Tags: car manufacturers, car models, car owner, car production, car sales, financial crisis, ford escape, fuel prices, hybrid car, hybrid cars, hybrids, oil price, oil prices, toyota prius

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