The hybrid powertrains have been heading to the conference rooms and drawing boards of the manufacturers of the fastest cars in the world. During the launch of the F12 Berlinetta in March, Italian carmaker Ferrari has been hinting of exploring a V12 hybrid setup and the big possibility of a Ferrari hybrid in the coming years.
The upcoming Ferrari is said to be the first vehicle to roll out from the Ferrari garage using the new gen of V12 engines. According to reports, Ferrari wants to inject a green factor into their cars in order to lower the emission of greenhouse gases by their whole fleet.
Back in 2010, Ferrari started using the regenerative braking technology called HY-KERS on the 599 GTB so it will have a better fuel mileage thru electric energy. Amedeo Felisa, CEO of Ferrari, have also stated during an interview that it might reintroduce their V6 engines but not in the near future.
Ferrari has also been making some loud buzz in the past two years about the electrification of their engine when top executive of Ferrari hinted that the successor to the Enzo Ferrari might have a V12 working with an electric motor. Also in 2010, the president of Ferrari hinted of the development of a V6 powerplant which will will be more efficient than the 12-cylinder, 10 cylinder, and 8-cylinder powertrains.
Back in August last year, there were reports again that Ferrari has been working very had on a hybrid Ferrari. The president of the Italian car company though clarified that it is highly unlikely that we will see an electric Ferrari.
If you have been keeping track on how green Ferrari is going, it is not really their number one goal. In the United States, for example, the 458 Italia Coupe and Spider has a fuel mileage of 18 mpg combined. The Ferrari California gets a 15 mpg fuel consumption while the Ferrari FF guzzles up 13 mpg combined.
Posted in Ferrari.
Tagged with ferrari hybrid, ferrari hybrid v12, powertrain.
When you think of a presidential car, you might be thinking of what US President Obama’s black Cadillac code named The Beast. Recently, an Italian firm has been making some buzz as It tries to come up with a stretch limousine for the president in the form of he Fiat 500 electric limo.
Castagna Milano can actually deliver this Fiat 500 based ride call LimoPresidential in your garage as long as you got the bank account for it.
The carmaker combines a pair of electric motors which can bring the limousine to about 100 miles per hour and makes sure it has a big enough battery pack to bring the discerning occupants to around 160 miles enjoying all the luxury the vehicle has to offer.
The LimoPresidential is double the length of the Fiat 500. The all electric ride of course decreases its originial maneuverability because of the new longer configuration but it boasts of agility over uneven surfaces compared to what President Obama rides.
Although it looks all elegant in black just a real presidential car, the Italian made limousine does not have the tons of provisions like bomb proof body, bulletproof windows, tires that can run on flat, and oxygen supply for the occupants compared to the Beast. You might have to spend more if you want to come any closer to that setup.
The limousine manufacturer offers variations of the concept in the form of the LimoSun and the LimoCity but we still doubt that these will end rolling out of the White House or even on the Las Vegas Strip. You might be asking why? The car manufacturer is the same firm which provided fallen dictator Qadaffi his electric Fiat 500. And we know you heard how his story ended.
Posted in Fiat.
Tagged with Castagna Milano, Fiat, Fiat 500, Fiat 500 Limo, Limo, LimoCity.
Honda tries to contribute as much as possible to the conservation of the environment for the next generations and they clearly showed this during the recent motor show in Tokyo. The event was a lot less extravagant than the previous editions but perhaps it is just a show of respect for the calamities faced by the country this year.
The main focus of the autoshow is about mobility and harnessing alternative sources of energy. So aside from the showcased normal cars, the spotlight was on electric cars, fuel cell vehicles, and hybrids plus everything you can think of about reducing fuel consumption and carbon footprint.
Honda had the biggest booth during the show which displayed their upcoming products and concept cars. This includes the Micro Commuter, AC-X, and the Concept EV-STER. The EV-STER is really an eye candy and represents the direction the Japanese car manufacturer wants to take. It looks really fast even as it stands still.
The Honda Concept EV-STER is a two-seater ride which relies on battery and controlled by the driver using a twin joystick. Output is pegged at 78 horsepower and has a 150-kilometer range. This ride is definitely the eco-friendly ride Honda wants to make in the future and we heard that it will be hitting the production line.
It can be very exciting if truly this all electric vehicle rolls out the showrooms. It has a great potential showing good looks and performance which is very hard to achieve. Some great green cars we have now try to do it like the rides from Tesla, concept E-Tron from Audi, and there are even hints that carmakers want the KERS on production cars. The EV-STER by Honda has really a lot of promise of success. It has a lot more to offer compared to the Honda CR-Z which we think lacks the sporty attitude.
According to sources, the Honda EV-STER may come as early as next year and may come with an all electric version and a conventional engine that runs on gas.
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Posted in Electric Vehicles.
Tagged with Electric Cars, Honda.
There is a good reason why car manufacturers are rolling out low volume electric vehicles and that is to lure in customers to showrooms which most likely they will not visit. This marketing strategy might be doing some good for Chevrolet that produces Volt plug-in and Nissan which makes the all electric vehicle Leaf.
From January thru September this year, Chevrolet has delivered 3,895 units of Volt and Japanese automaker Nissan was able to sell 7,199 units of Leaf.
A private firm which look into the buying habits of car buyers said that the car manufacturers benefit a lot when vehicle launches generate buzz on social media networks and the press in general.
Another significant figure to look at is that around 78% of people who bought Volt did not have a Chevrolet at the time they bought the plug-in vehicle. This means that the Chevrolet Volt helps bring customers which buy other brands into Chevy showrooms. The plug-in bring in new buyers more than twice than the other cars of the brand.
General Motors also shared some information about the profile of their market. According to GM, about 37% of consumers who buy the Volt are residents of the state of California. It also shows that about 7% of the trade-ins to buy a Volt is a the hybrid car of Toyota, the Prius.
There are also German branded vehicles being traded in for the Chevrolet Volt. Combining for 6% of trade ins are the Audi A4, Volkswagen Jetta, and the 3 Series of BMW.
The trend for the Nissan Leaf is also the same. Ninety percent of the buyers of the Leaf did not own a Nissan at the time of the purchase. About 18% of consumers trade in their Toyota Prius and another 38% trades in another model of Toyota.
The survey spotlights the way the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt are bringing in new customers for their respective brands after they are officially launched to the market.
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Posted in Nissan, Toyota.
Tagged with Chevrolet, Chevy Volt, Nissan, Nissan Leaf, Toyota, Toyota Prius.
The versatile petrol-electric hybrid technology of Toyota might be going from the engine bay of the Prius to their new models as the carmaker plans to have hybrids in all of their vehicle ranges come 2020.
Toyota is aiming for a million drivetrains using a hybrid setup this year to run the Prius and the Auris HSD. The Japanese car manufacturer is not really looking in the direction of new designs for their upcoming hybrids especially with the good reliability and performance they are getting from their 1.8L small hybrids.
The powetrain executives of Toyota confirmed that they will be launching new hybrid units that will tap into the flexibility of their current hybrid technology to give the cars sporty characteristics.
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Posted in Toyota.
Tagged with car news, green car news, Hybrid Cars, Toyota hybrid.
The Department of Energy announced the closing of a $528.7 million loan to Fisker Automotive. The money will be used to support the development and production of two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, namely, the Karma, and the recently started PROJECT NINA. The Karma is a full0sized four-door sedan-type vehicle, while Project NINA summarizes a line of family-oriented electric vehicles.
Aside from the development and production of the two environmentally-friendly lines of vehicles, the GM plant will also open up at least 2000 jobs for plenty of qualified American assembly workers. Because of the pending projects, economic experts also foresee more employment opportunities coming from service providers and domestic parts providers.
The Fisker projects are also set to contribute to reduced carbon emmicions and cleaner air. According to Secretary Chu, the release of these hybrid cars should put the production of American environmentally-friendly vehicles at the forefront of automotive design and production.
Initially, the money from the loan will be used by Fisker for qualifying engineering costs. This will be conducted in Irvine California, with the engineers designing tools and equipment and working on efficient manufacturing processes. The Karma should hit the showrooms in 2010, with the Project Nina hitting the assembly lines by late 2012.
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Posted in Electric Cars, Electric Vehicles, Fisker, General Motors.
Tagged with Electric Cars, Fisker, Fisker Automotive, General Motors, GM.
The recent auto show in Chicago did not highlight a lot of green cars but one Korean car took the spotlight on a traditionally truck dominated exhibit floors. The Korean carmaker Kia unveiled their concept car called Ray which is a plug-in hybrid.
The Ray embodies the direction Kia wants to take towards fluid design lines and efficiency which is the current name of the game in the automotive industry.
The concept car Ray represents the future line of Kia under its sub-brand that will be called EcoDynamics. The EcoDynamics badge will represent sporty designs, use of low emission systems, and excellent fuel efficiency.
The Kia Ray will be using a 153 hp 1.4L engine coupled with a 78 kW electric motor.
The Kia Ray makes use of recycled and lightweight components with a full glass roofing which uses solar cells to power the car’s accessories. The body of the car also use cool-glazing substances to keep the energy demand for cooling the interior low.
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Posted in KIA.
Tagged with Hybrid Cars, KIA, Plug-In Hybrid.
Amid all the frenzy of what you should checkout at the recent Detroit Auto Show, there is no doubt that the best green car for the 2010 affair is the 2011 Ford Focus hatchback and compact sedan. This car will roll out of dealers as a 2012 model.
Looking at the 2012 Ford Focus, one might say that it just looks like an oversized 2011 Ford Fiesta but looking at the specs of the car, you will say it can stand on its own.
The Ford Focus a similar broad shoulder look following the company’s “kinetic design”. The numbers show though that it is longer than the Fiesta and has a much lower rear.
It seems that the car maker is taking its commitment of best in class mileage. The 2012 Focus, according to insiders, can boast of an impressive fuel mileage for a compact.
The official numbers of how it consumes fuel are not yet out but experts say that the 2012 Focus has a most efficient version that can hit 30mpg on city driving and 40mpg while cruising on highway. The numbers are excellent since they are at par with the numbers of the 2011 Fiesta which is really a class smaller than the Focus.
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Posted in Electric Cars, Ford.
Tagged with Detroit Auto Show, Electric Cars, Ford, Ford Focus.
Fisker is looking at the former General Motors factory in Wilmington, Delaware as the site where their Project Nina expected to produce their midsize hybrid plug-in sedan by 2012.
The GM facility that seized operation last summer used to produce the Saturn Sky, Opel GT, and the Pontiac Solstice. These models were killed this year as the company went into restructuring through bankruptcy.
Fisker comes up as one of the high-profile start up car manufacturers developing electric vehicles. The other player is Tesla.
Fisker unveiled the 2010 Karma sports sedan during the 2008 motor show in Detroit. The deliveries of these aggressive rides will start by May. The Fisker Karma will compete with the Model S of Tesla which is due for release in 2012.
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Posted in Fisker, Hybrid.
Tagged with Fisker, Fisker Karma, Hybrid, Hybrid Cars, Plug-In Hybrid.
A lot of car makers are entering the electric vehicle segment and consumers are finding the more efficient vehicles a good buy. Recently, Toyota and Honda have announced that they will also be joining the race for the EV segment. With all the clamor, EVs might be ruling the roads soon.
The CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, tries to convince everyone that it might not be the picture of the near future. Automakers recently had a convention in Michigan to discuss the future of the industry including the upcoming technologies and vehicles.
During the briefing, the spotlight was on the hybrids from GM and also on the EV being developed by Nissan. A lot of car manufacturers hinted that they are also developing their own electric vehicles but none of them believed that EVs will dominate the market anytime soon.
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Posted in Electric Cars, Electric Vehicles, Nissan.
Tagged with Electric Cars, Electric Vehicles, Green Cars, Nissan.
The hybrid powertrains have been heading to the conference rooms and drawing boards of the manufacturers of the fastest cars in the world. During the launch of the F12 Berlinetta in March, Italian carmaker Ferrari has been hinting of exploring a V12 hybrid setup and the big possibility of a Ferrari hybrid in the coming years.
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