so much about a good intention to help or a great example of selective listening!
Category: Environment
Tech advice: Check the engine and check out of there
Bob Lutz was right: global warming is horseshit
More and more proof is coming over the web that makes global warming look like the biggest hoax of the past five years! Here is a link to the latest comments and news about the "Climate Gate"! Developping countries are now furious and stating that global warming was all made up by the rich nations to burden the poor in order to slow down or even prevent their industrial development and wealth! Seems like global warming is at least a good excuse to bring in new taxes and try to make us all drive tiny, slow and boring automobiles! Saint Bob Lutz, please rescue us from this insanity!
More details on future hybrid-powered Honda
Honda’s President, Takeo Fukui, has revealed more information about the eagerly-awaited affordable hybrid models.The first model will be a hatchback version that Honda will launch in December of this year before selling it in April 2009. The five-seater will be powered by a small 1.4-litre petrol engine and a electric motor located under the front passenger seat. The new model will be able to run on full electric mode. The total power is announced for 95bhp which will likely be enough of urban journeys, but also for motorways. The small engine will enable the future hybrid-powered Honda to achieve an impressive 80mpg.
At 3,980 mm long, 1,720 mm wide and 1,55 mm high, the future model will offer similar dimensions to that of small models in Europe such as the Fiat Grande Punto or the Peugeot 207. Despite the battery pack, this hybrid car will only weigh 1,180kg which is similar to the top-seler in this market segment.
Built in Japan alongside the Civic Hybrid at Honda’s Suzuka factory, the future model is expected to cost around £10,000 on the Japanese market. Honda has a target of £13,000 for Europe. Honda plans to sell 200,000 units per year.
More than one million Prius in the world
The million milestone was passed by the Toyota Prius at the end of April.Initially launched as a niche vehicle, the Prius became a mainstream product for the Japanese giant. The Prius started its career in December 1997 in Japan. Reserved to the Japanese market at first, the Prius was exported in small quantities in Europe and the US in 2000. The second generation launched in 2003 brought the Prius to the media attention thanks to a smart campaign based on Hollywood stars.
Of the 1,028,000 Prius sales worldwide, 591,600 were sold in North America and 315,000 in Japan and 100,700 in Europe Toyota said.
Toyota also claims that Prius vehicles worldwide have contributed to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions by producing approximately 4.5 million tons less CO2 when compared with petrol-powered vehicles in the same class and of similar size and driving performance. This is a bold claim from Toyota as the carmaker doesn’t explain how it calculated the amount of CO2 and the engines taken into account in the comparion test.
Fisker responds to Tesla lawsuit
Fisker has responded to Tesla that sued the coachbuilder for stealing design and trade secrets by asking a California court to arbitrate over the matter.The newly born carmaker Tesla accused Henry Fisker and Bernhard Koehler to steal industrial secrets Bentley agreeing to take a £438,000 consulting job to complete the company roadster’s design. Furthermore, Tesla accused Fisker to build the future Karma on stolen technology.
The court hearing will be held in mid-June.
New Flexifuel engine for Volvo V70 and S80
Volvo offers a new Flexifuel engine on the V70 and S80.The Volvo V70 and S80 are now also available with a five-cylinder, 2.5-litre turbocharged Flexifuel engine delivering a power output of 197bhp and a torque of 221 lb ft. The Flexifuel cars can run on E85 bioethanol or 95-octane unleaded petrol – or any mix of these two fuels. Due to its lower energy content, fuel consumption when running on E85 is 30-40 percent higher than when running on petrol. Fuel consumption (EU combined) for the new 2.5-litre Flexifuel version is 9.2 l/100 km (V70 and S80) with the manual gearbox and 10.2 l/100 km (V70) and 10.1 l/100 km (S80) with the automatic gearbox.
The power output might seem a bit low but Volvo justifies it requires extra power would require more fuel in the upper rev range – which in turn translates into considerably higher fuel consumption.
The 2.5-litre engine is the second Flexifuel unit to be featured on the top models. Both the Volvo S80 and V70 have also been available with a 2-litre four-cylinder, naturally aspirated Flexifuel engine since the end of 2007. The 2.0F produces 143bhp and 137 lb ft of torque.
The Flexifuel engines are also featured on the Volvo S40, V50 and C30. In total, the Swedish carmaker expects to sell around 20,000 Flexifuel cars this year.
Spyshot: Fisker Karma
The first Fisker Karma prototype has been spotted during testing. Unfortunately for the young carmaker, the spyshots generated a controversy.According to some reports, the camouflaged Karma hasn’t been caught by surprise as Fisker would have made two cars intended to be spotted by spy photographers. Some journalists seem to be goody-goody about it. We prefer laughing at it. The Karma is rumoured to be powered by a 1.4-litre petrol engine generating energy for the lithium-ion batteries which drive the rear wheels. Fisker announces a 300-mile range. The Karma will also be able to use only electricity and offer a lower 50-mile range, enough for daily commuting.
The Karma is expected to cost around £63,000 and will be built at 15,000 units. Half of the production will be sold overseas. Europe will be a major outlet for the young carmaker which has just appointed its first European importer in Italy. 99% of the cars have already been sold according to Fisker.
Next Prius to come in two models
In a previous post, Petrol-Head reported that Toyota was rumoured to develop several bodystyles for the next-generation Prius. A new report reveals more details.Toyota was reported to seriously consider building an eco-friendly brand around the ‘Prius’ moniker, but company’s executives hadn’t given the green light. According to the latest information, the company will build the Prius under several forms in an attempt to surf on the ‘Prius’ awareness in the world. There will likely be two different models, a hatchback and a smaller MPV. As reported two weeks ago, the hatchback will grow in size and will be powered by a bigger engine delivering a power output of 160bhp. Details about the smaller MPV remain scarce although some observers believe that it will take its styling cues from the rear-engined 1/X Concept(pictured) seen at the last year Tokyo Motor Show.
With the next generation, Toyota engineers focus on the fuel efficiency which is regularly criticised by the press when the Prius is compared to a diesel-powered model. The two Prius are also expected to be lighter than the current model.
With the two future models, the Japanese carmaker hopes to increase production of its hybrid vehicles by 60%.
20,000 interested in buying the Volt
Despite an unknown sales price, over 20,000 people have expressed interest in buying the future Chevrolet Volt.This is good news for GM and confirms the appeal generated by electric cars for American consumers. However, this interest in buying the Volt might also become the company’s biggest nightmare as GM has already announced it will only build around 10,000 vehicles the first year. The carmaker is rumoured to favour "smile states" such as California, New York, Washington D.C. and Florida to sell the future model.
London cab to go all electric next year
London black cab maker Manganese Bronze has announced that it will release the TX4E, all-electric version of Manganese Bronze’s TX4 black cab.If London mayor, Ken Livingstone, is happy to charge polluting Chelsea tractors, he never complained about the pollution generated by London taxis despite being among the most polluting vehicles around London. That will change next year when Manganese Bronze releases the TX4E.
The british manufacturer will develop the TX4E with The Tanfield Group, a leading manufacturer of commercial electric vehicles. It will have a top speed of 50mph and a range in excess of 100 miles on one battery charge. It will be specifically designed for taxi operations in congested urban areas.
The TX4E will contain all the conventional features of the TX4, but will be powered by Tanfield’s advanced electric drive train and Iron Phosphate lithium-ion battery pack. Based on current electricity prices, it is estimated the TX4E will cost less than 4p per mile to run, therefore providing significant whole life cost savings over an equivalent diesel vehicle.
The initial cost of the TX4E is however likely to be higher than the diesel powered TX4.
