Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Lexus

Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe informed us at least year’s Detroit Auto Show that his company would be bringing two new hybrids to this year’s show in D-town. The first is the much anticipated next-gen Prius and the second is the first dedicated hybrid model for Lexus. This week the Japanese luxury automaker made it official with a page on its consumer website heralding the debut of the Lexus HS 250h on January 11, smack dab in the middle of press days for the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Not much else is known about the vehicle, other than that it will be available to buy in the Fall of 2009. We suspect the HS 250h will be a Lexus-badged version of the Prius in much the same way that the ES350 is a version of the Toyota Camry. Thus, the HS 250h will also use the same next-gen Hybrid Synergy drivetrain that will debut in the new Prius, both sporting nickel-metal hydride battery packs for the time being until development work on advanced lithium-ion packs is completed. Stay tuned for more info on these two hybrid models from Toyota and Lexus as the 2009 Detroit Auto Show draws ever closer. Thanks for the tip, DJ Pearce!

[Source: Lexus]

Lexus hints at HS 250h dedicated hybrid for Detroit show originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

We’ve been following the roller-coaster ride that Top Gear’s recent test of the Tesla Roadster has turned into with interest. Since Clarkson’s video review first aired, reactions to the way the Tesla was presented have been mixed, and much of the debate has centered on one particular scene where the Top Gear crew can be seen pushing one of their Tesla test-cars into the garage after apparently running out of juice… except that it never happened. The BBC has released a statement admitting that Clarkson’s tester still had power left and the scene was filmed to show what would happen if the battery had actually been depleted. Regardless, “Top Gear stands by the findings in this film and is content that it offers a fair representation of the Tesla’s performance on the day it was tested.”

So far, we’ve heard no word on whether offering “a fair representation” includes future reviews of petrol-powered cars that include scenes of each one being pushed into the garage after not running out of gas. Thanks for the tip, Doug!

[Source: Register Hardware]

Continue reading BBC responds to Tesla’s Top Gear complaints

BBC responds to Tesla’s Top Gear complaints originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Etc., Green, Chevrolet, Honda, MINI, Mitsubishi, Misc. Auto Shows, Lifestyle

The Green Car Vision awards celebrate a car that’s got its headlights pointed down the road of the future. Among this year’s five finalists are two serial hybrids (Chevrolet Volt and Fisker Karma) two electric cars (MINI E and Mitsubishi i-MiEV), and one hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (Honda FCX Clarity). It seems like a pretty good breakdown of where things stand now, with serial, plug-in hybrids and electric cars duking it out in center court and a hydrogen vehicle thrown in to keep things honest. Three of those cars — the MINI E, i-MiEV, and Clarity — are on the roads right now, albeit in limited numbers, and the Fisker is due to hit the scene at the end of 2009, while the Volt bows in 2010. The winning car will be announced on February 3 at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show. You can read the full press release after the jump and check out a high-res gallery of the finalists below.

[Source: Green Car Journal]

Continue reading Finalists announced for Green Car Journal’s Green Car Vision Award

Finalists announced for Green Car Journal’s Green Car Vision Award originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Toyota

Toyota dropped the teaser of teasers this morning in the form of a logo and a two sentence press release announcing the debut of a “battery electric vehicle concept” that will bow at the Detroit Auto Show in less than three weeks. The EV will join the 2010 Toyota Prius on the show stand, but as you can see in the release, there’s no word on what kind of batteries the concept will be using, what sheetmetal it will wear or what direction Toyota hopes to take with this new EV. Speculation begins below in the comments.

Continue reading Toyota bringing EV concept to Detroit Auto Show

Toyota bringing EV concept to Detroit Auto Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

Tesla Motors is crying foul on a few of the claims made by Jeremy Clarkson in his recent review of the electric Roadster. You might recall that Clarkson ran out of juice while flinging the slinky Lotus-derived Tesla around the Top Gear test track. This was the main point driven home by the TG crew as to why electric vehicles are not yet ready for prime-time. Not so fast, says Rachel Konrad, Senior Communications Manager at Tesla Motors. Clarkson’s Roadster still had 20% battery capacity left when it was pushed into a nearby hanger. Why the deception? We can’t imagine Clarkson ever calling an end to his tail-out fun just because the gas power gauge reads a quarter-tank.

Another salient point from the TG review centered around a brake failure. Again, according to Konrad, the problem was actually a blown fuse, and although Clarkson makes it seem in his video review as if he was without a Roadster to continue driving while repairs were being made, that was simply not the case — the other car was all charged up and ready to go. Lastly, Clarkson harps on the Tesla’s 16-hour recharge time. It does indeed take that long to recharge from a standard outlet, but that’s like filling your gas tank with an eye dropper. If absolutely necessary, it’ll work, but there are much better solutions available. Tesla offers chargers that can replenish its Roadster in as little as 3.5-hours.

Later in the same episode, James May tested the Honda FCX Clarity and gave it a glowing review. There are indeed issues with EVs that will need to be addressed before we’re ready for the widespread replacement of our fossil fueled cars, and the same can be said of those fueled by hydrogen. At this pivotal moment in automotive history, we wonder if a more balanced view of all the available options wouldn’t be more appropriate. To watch the video review in full, click past to the break.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Continue reading Tesla responds to Top Gear’s test of Roadster

Tesla responds to Top Gear’s test of Roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With more than 100 Roadsters delivered to customers so far and more on the road each week, it’s natural for some customers to run “experiments” on them. Because we have such an entrepreneurial and highly technical customer base, many of these experiments are quite detailed and attempt to answer questions that we have in some [...]

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Crossovers/CUVs, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, Rumormill

Through some circumstantial evidence, “rumblings” and tea leave-reading, Autoweek has come to the conclusion that General Motors may unveil a new Cadillac model at the Detroit Auto Show powered by the Chevrolet Volt’s range-extending hybrid powertrain.

Rumors of a Caddy-badged Volt have been circulated since earlier this year, with Bob Lutz and other GM execs hinting at the possibility of new hybrid model joining the Cadillac line-up. Lutz told reports back in September that “there’s definitely room” for an eco-conscious Caddy and that “there’s going to have to be some kind of dramatic environmental statement” from GM’s luxury brand. So what form could it take?

Opel and Vauxhall versions of the Volt are already planned, but a Cadillac variant would likely be a small- to mid-size crossover. Just such a vehicle is slated to arrive in the second quarter of 2009 - the next generation SRX — inspired by the Provoq concept unveiled earlier this year. While the Volt is supposed to carry a price tag of around ,000, the range-extended, plug-in hybrid CUV from Cadillac would be priced significantly higher, and that could help GM recoup some of the costs associated with the Volt’s advanced drivetrain development. We’ll know for sure in a few weeks time.

[Source: Autoweek]

Rumormill: Cadillac Volt coming to Detroit? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bill Arnett is a software engineer who envies Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers – people who tried to understand a large fraction of all human knowledge. During an attempt to retire and spend more time on hobbies such as photography and astronomy, Bill decided to learn HTML by creating an astronomy site. It became so popular [...]