During the recent auto show in Detroit, the auto world had a glimpse of the possible Volkswagen Beetle all-electric in the form of the e-Bugster Concept.
Next month, at the Chicago Auto Show, VW will be unveiling the eco-friendly Beetle. This will not be just a concept car but a retro styled VW Beetle with a TDI engine.
The carmaker sold cars with diesel engines before. For the New Beetle which was launched back in 1998, there were engine options running on diesel sold in several markets. There was even a diesel VW Beetle in the United States from 1999 thru 2006.
VW though dropped the turbodiesel option after the 2006 M.Y. After failing to meet strict regulations on emissions. So if you are a VW fan and a diesel fan, the come back of the Beetle with TDI engine is a very good news.
The return of the diesel dependent Beetle to the US though will be the roll out of a leaner, more powerful, and cleaner VW.
The specifics about the car has not yet been released by the car manufacturer but experts are assuming that this will be the same powerplant that gives a great fuel mileage to the 2012 Passat, 2012 Jetta, and the 2012 Golf.
Most likely the 2013 Beetle TD will have a 6-speed Direct Shift transmission and a 6-speed manual gearbox just like the current Golf TDI model.
We are sure VW will release more details as the Chicago Auto Show nears. We will update you by then.
Volkswagen
Beetle, Chicago Auto Show, Volkswagen, VW Beetle
Size does not matter, indeed. The 2012 Fiat 500, the smallest car on the lot, is the top pick for being the safest vehicle by the IIHS or Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The IIHS ratings are very important as it has been the basis of most car buyers, in addition to the ratings from the NHTSA or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in recent years.
The title though only applies to Fiat 500 units which rolled out of the factories after July 2011. These Fiat 500 mini cars have received the modifications needed to make rear and frontal collisions a lot safer.
It is very rare for subcompacts to become the top pic for safety but the Ford Fiesta 2011 has also done it. To be considered as the safest car, the vehicle must receive the rating “good” for front, rear, side, and rollover road accident simulation tests. The vehicle must also have an stability control system in place but this is already a federal requirement since September of this year.
The test for front crashworthiness simulates an accident happening at 40 mph. You might be familiar with how this looks like as this has been shown on television and videos over the net on how the dummies with seat belts are affected by the collision.
The side crash test subject the car into a 31 mph ramming just like what happens when a mishap happens at an intersection when a driver ignores a red light.
The rear collision is simulated at 20 mph, and the crush test subjects the roof of the vehicle to four times its weight which what happens when the car rolls over violently.
Fiat
Fiat, Fiat 500 IIHS Rating, Ford Fiesta 2011
A recent report stated that LG Chem will be supplying lithium ion batteries for the electric vehicles manufactured by Volvo Cars Corporation, the Swedish arm of Ford Motor Company. However, the company did not disclose exactly when they will be providing these battery packs. LG has already been signed up to provide batteries for five companies in their electric car ventures.
These companies include Hyundai Motor, which is South Korea’s top electric vehicle seller; CT&T, another Korean electric vehicle manufacturer; Chan’an Automobile Group which is China’s third largest automobile manufacturer; Eaton Corp. which is an American components maker for commercial vehicles; and US car manufacturer General Motors.
Peter Bahnsuk Kim, the vice chairman of the South Korean company, stated the LG is anticipating the move of four more companies to get them as the primary supplier of batteries for their electric vehicles. By July of this year, LG Chem will also start the construction of an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan, USA. This plant will be used to mass produce EV batteries which should meet the anticipated demand by 2012.
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Volvo
Batteries, Chan’an Automobile Group, General Motors, LG, LG Chem, Lithium-Ion, Volvo
There are many alternatives nowadays to cars that run solely on fossil fuels. One such alternative car fuel is hydrogen. Although there are no cars that run on hydrogen as of now, researchers have taken the development of hydrogen fuel cells a long way and now this technology has become a viable alternative to fossil fuel based engines.
The idea behind hydrogen as an alternative car fuel is actually not a complicated one. The basis of this alternative fuel is the fact that if hydrogen and oxygen come into contact with each other then a reaction occurs that results in heat, electricity, electrical charge and water. In order for a car to be powered with hydrogen, a fuel cell is required and this functions just as a battery would and supplies the power when it is needed.
The greatest advantage of hydrogen fuel is that it is extremely clean, because the only byproducts are water and heat. The efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells are also very high and already average around 50%, which is more than double of what a fossil fuel powered engine manages. The sources needed to run hydrogen powered vehicles are readily available and sustainable which means that once this technology becomes standard, it most likely will be a very low cost fuel.
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Hydrogen
Alternative Fuels, Hydrogen
Americans may just soon get a chance to get themselves behind the wheels of small premium cars like the Audi A1 minicar which is scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Audi A1 have been previewed before in several auto shows the past years and we can say that the A1 is very similar to the MINI Cooper looking at the premium, small segment.
The A1 is expected to have a range of powertrains from 1.2 to 1.6L and may come as a convertible and a 3-door or 5-door hatchback.
The small premium car market has been doing very well in Europe. In the United States, premium and small might not really blend well. The North American market has a tendency to equate size with value and buying smaller vehicles is not how the consumers do business. Audi thinks this way of thinking can be change and they believe that their small cars have a market to supply in the U.S.
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Audi, Micro Cars
Audi, Audi A1, Micro Cars, Small Cars
BMW has a very ambitious dream when it comes to having their consumers drive hybrid vehicles. They want a non-hybrid to be hybrid. This simply means that they want a hybrid vehicle drive like non-hybrid. Salute to BMW as they bring in the ActiveHybrid X6.
The ActiveHybrid X6 is the most powerful hybrid vehicle on the planet today. The hybrid boasts of 485 horsepower and an amazing torque of 575 ft-lb. The figures come as a combo of a 407hp V8 twin turbocharged 4.4L engine and a electric motors with 91 and 86hp.
We are not here to tell you about the specs of the hybrid but give you a glimpse of how it performs:
Performance
The ActiveHybrid X6 zooms from 0 to 62 miles per hour in just 5.6 seconds. This is at par with the xDrive 50i. The transmission of the vehicle worked like any other automatic transmission with the engine reacting well with the shifting and throttle very well.
If you will depend only on the battery pack, the vehicle can run for 1.6 miles and cruise at 37 mph.
Fuel Efficiency
During a test drive on mixed road conditions, the ActiveHybrid X6 averaged 20.4 miles. This performs better than any other BMW X6 running with a V8 coupled with six-speed transmission. Cruising on the freeway plotted 21 mpg. The overall efficiency is 20% better than any other X6 in BMW’s fleet.
Other factors like the looks, handling, and other accessories get two thumbs up. BMW succeeded in making a BMW hybrid that is non-hybrid.
BMW, Fuel Efficiency, Hybrid Cars
BMW, Hybrid, Hybrid Cars, Hybrids
Daimler’s hybrid bus Orion VII has been making waves since its launch and has now accepted more 3000 orders for it. About 2200 hybrid buses from Daimler are already on the streets while about 850 units are being awaited for roll out. Backlog of orders comes from several municipalities from Seattle, Houston, New York, Ottawa, and Puerto Rico.
Daimler is now the global manufacturer of hybrid buses. Houston, for example, runs 56 hybrid Orion VII on their streets with pending orders for 120 more buses that are expected to come through 2011. Puerto Rico also placed their order for 40 hybrid buses.
The heart of the diesel-electric Orion VII is its propulsion system called HybriDrive made by a company from Johnson City in New York, the BAE Systems. The essential series of components of the Orion VII are the diesel engine with 6.7L displacement, the generator, the electric engine, and the storage system for the lithium ion batteries.
The different parts of the bus have been optimized for the operation of the Orion VII. The acceleration and deceleration is primarily dependent on the electric motor of the bus. This ensures greener and cleaner operation achieved through maximum efficiency.
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Government, Hybrid Cars, Public transport
Bus, Daimler, Daimler Orion Bus, Hybrid Cars, Public transport
The Bush administration enacted a law that allows the Department of Energy to disburse about $25 billion through the Advanced Technology Vehicles 
Manufacturing incentive Program. After seating on the funds for eight months, DOE released a big chunk of the money last week.
The move in the House was made by passing the bill with the legislation on climate-change. The proposal will then go to the Senate before being enacted as a law. A similar bill was rejected by the Senate in 2008.
In the program, car manufactures will be able to get government loans of as much as 80% to cover for the cost of R&D, and production of highly efficient vehicles. The payback is stretched to 25 years with approximately 4% of interest. The company needs to issue security interest for the acquisition of any property using the funds.
Assembling a car using the DOE grant has a requirement of making a car that is 25% more efficient than the current standards. So performance cars, trucks, and SUV is out of the picture.
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Auto Industry, Government
Department of Energy, Ford, Government, Nissan, Tesla
Las Vegas is considered as an extravagant city in every term. But to your surprise you will still have a time of your life when you are on your Sun City Trip. To have this experience, make sure to jump down by a Tesla Roadster car rental in Las Vegas, Nevada and please your eyes as they unravel to you one of the most elegant car in the present times.
With Tesla Roadster car rental in Las Vegas, Nevada you can gain an opportunity to know about an electric car which like other cars does not go slow as well as look unusual too. Precisely you can consider The Tesla Roadster as one of the coolest car around the globe in today’s time.
The Tesla Roadster not only has an extravagant look but at the same time its performance is mind-blowing. It will please anybody who is familiar with the aspects which makes the car spot on. The speed of this electric car is unbelievable at 20km per hour and this will surely make anybody’s heart thump faster than usual. What is more incredible about this car is that it can move to 60 mph in about as less as 3.7 seconds.
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Alternative Fuels, Electric Vehicles, Tesla Motors
Rental Cars, Sports Cars, Tesla, Tesla Roadsters
Blind people will hear you coming in your soundless engined car...
Hybrid vehicles might be the ride of choice for gangsters in television shows where they can go and leave unnoticed. In real life though, people are complaining of the dangers the silent hybrid engines. Imagine crossing the street without hearing a vehicle’s sound, and the next thing you know is a bumper near your knee.
Companies like Lotus designs gadgets to provide engine noise for the silent vehicles. Japan is even thinking if it should make the device mandatory for all hybrid vehicles to improve safety on the road.
The root of the problem is on the design of the electric engine of the vehicles. Running on electric power alone, the car does not produce any noise when cruising on low speed. The quiet cruising of the EV has been an issue especially for visually impaired persons walking on the street.
Visually impaired persons depend on sounds when they walk on the street and they have petitioned to the government to make the streets safer for them as they consider the popular hybrid cars in Japan as dangerous.
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Green Cars, Hybrid Cars, Lotus
Green Cars, Hybrid Cars, Lotus, Safe and Sound
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