Honda

EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily Click above for high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt The issue of the sound, or lack thereof to be specific, of hybrids, electric cars and everything in-between isn’t likely to go away any time soon. The problem, as some see it, is that electric motors do not make the same kind of noise that internal combustion engines make, and this could be a problem for blind or deaf people. Is it a real concern? That’s difficult to say until these types of vehicles really begin showing up on the roadways and people are interacting with them on a day-to-day basis. (Read the full post about ‘Volt will have a driver-activated “pedestrian-friendly alert”’…)

Hybrid, Ford Even though some people within Ford think hybrid trucks are a “publicity stunt,” the heavy-duty hybrid van maker Azure Dynamics knows that it can still count on FoMoCo for some hybrid help. Azure announced this week that it has signed new Sales & Service agreements with some Ford dealerships to work on the company’s Balance Hybrid Electric commercial trucks. Azure Dynamics will now work with eight more Ford dealerships around the country (see a full list after the jump), bringing the total that have signed these agreements to fourteen. (Read the full post about ‘Azure Dynamics signs deal with Ford dealerships for hybrid trucks’…)

MPG, Ford Click on the SmartGauge empower display for a high res gallery When the new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan go on sale early next year, everyone from basic commuters to the most avid hyper-milers should be able to get what they want out of the new SmartGauge cluster. Typically on hybrid vehicles, all the information about power flow and battery state of charge is displayed on a central screen with the navigation system putting it out of the drivers line of sight. SmartGauge puts it all front and center and allows the driver to determine how much or little information they want. The system consists of a standard analog speedometer flanked by a pair of 4.3 inch WVGA (800×480) LCDs. (Read the full post about ‘More on Ford’s SmartGauge cluster for the Fusion/Milan hybrids w/VIDEO’…)

Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, MPG, Ford, Mercury, LA Auto Show The long-awaited redesign of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan is almost upon us and we got our first look at the new powertrains this week in Dearborn. As expected, increased fuel efficiency has been the number one priority for Ford’s engineers, followed by power and refinement. In the conventional models, the sedans have picked up the redesigned engines that we first saw last spring in the 2009 Escape and Mariner compact SUVs. We did learn some new information about efficiency improvements to the 2.5L four cylinder and the 3.0L V6 that Ford hadn’t revealed previously. (Read the full post about ‘Tech Analysis: 2010 Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan powertrains, 38 mpg hybrid!’…)

Ford, USA “New frugality.” This is the concept Ford wants to hear shouted from Dearborn. The market is asking for fuel-efficient vehicles and Ford believes that its new line of I4 engines will satisfy customers’ needs. A new I4 was introduced for the Ford Escape featuring more hp, more mileage (an additional 4 to 5 mpg), and higher efficiencies with technologies such as 6-speed auto transmissions and electronic power steering. Sales of I4 engines make up 22 percent of Ford’s current sales. Four cylinder and V6 engines each made up around 50 pecent of the midsize sedan mix in 2003, but this has shifted to favor four cylinder engines by 76 percent in 2008, according to J.D. (Read the full post about ‘Ford thinks there’s a great future for I-4 engine offerings in the “New Frugality”’…)

Corporate 2008 IRL Surfers Paradise 24-26 October, 2008, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. Ryan Briscoe chased by Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay. ©2008, Dan Streck, USA. LAT Photographic. download - 1.5 MB (Read the full post about ‘2008 IRL Surfers Paradise’…)

Chevrolet, USA We would guess that General Motors didn’t see this one coming, but early reports indicate that out of 6,000 Camaro orders that the automaker has already received, 84 percent are for models powered by the massive V8 engine. This is a huge surprise, given that GM went to great lengths to ensure that its pony car was both just as stylish and an excellent performer in its standard V6-powered guise. That six cylinder engine is the same powerplant that sits under the Cadillac CTS’s well-creased hood and produces something just north of 300-horsepower, which is more than enough to get the modern muscle car moving. There have been numerous people suggesting that the performance car era has officially come to an end. (Read the full post about ‘Rumors of the V8’s death apparently untrue, 84% of Camaros are so ordered’…)

Audi, Natural Gas, Germany Audi has announced a record-beating A4 that has a maximum speed of 327.2 km/h (203 mph). The unusual feature of this A4 is that it runs on biogas, naturally obtained from the anaerobic fermentation of switchgrass. The experiment was performed to promote the use of biogas as an alternative fuel. Bear in mind that Germany imports almost all the country’s gas needs from Russia, so a biologic alternative has a lot of domestic support. Regarding the technical side of the experiment, the A4 was a standard 2004-2008 3-liter model fitted with two turbochargers that powered the car with 585 hp, converted by the TÜV in Rheinland, Germany. (Read the full post about ‘Audi gets record-beating biogas A4 to 203 mph’…)

Hybrid, Hyundai, LA Auto Show Beginning with the introduction of a hybrid Hyundai Elantra in its home market of Korea, Hyundai Motors has big plans for hybrid cars. The first hybrid that the Korean automaker will launch in the United States will be based on its mid-sized Sonata platform and will do battle with hybrid versions of the Toyota Camry, Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu, competitors it goes up against in the non-hybridized realm already. The Sonata hybrid model will be introduced at the upcoming LA Auto Show. According to Jang Seok-san, senior vice president of Hyundai export coordination, the automaker will then begin rolling out additional hybrids and plans to sell half a million units annually by 2018. (Read the full post about ‘Hyundai has big plans for hybrids’…)

Hybrid, MPG, Chevrolet, GM, GMC It looks like the theory behind the creation of full-size hybrid SUVs may not hold water, at least from a marketing perspective. Certainly adding a hybrid drivetrain to a big truck will save more gas for a given number of miles driven than doing the same to a smaller more efficient car. At the same time these vehicles will still use more fuel than a smaller vehicle even at the higher mileage levels they achieve. The pitch from automakers like GM and Chrysler was that some people still need the capabilities that are offered by these vehicles such as the people towing boats on a regular basis. (Read the full post about ‘Hybrid tech won’t save the full size SUV as new Tahoe/Yukon cancelled’…)