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Filed under: China , Etc. , Green , Marketing/Advertising , MINI Click above for more shots of the MINI Clubman Rickshaws The rickshaw is a time-honored method of transportation in China. While the vehicles were initially pulled around by men on foot, the pedal-powered versions have grown much more popular in recent years and are a symbol of Chinese culture. When Beijing MINI needed an interesting way to communicate that the Clubman model was being introduced in Chinese, especially in light of all the media attention on the Olympics, it back-halved a slew of new Clubmans, mounted a pedicab front-end and sent them out for business. According to China Car Times , MINI's publicity stunt is working exactly as planned. Though the vast majority of media coverage is centered on those games from Greece, the MINI Rickshaws have managed to make some headlines of their own. We think the cabs turned out pretty cool, even incorporating the sunroof into the final design. Gallery: MINI Rickshaws ...
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Filed under: China , Etc. , Green , Police/Emergency , Military From Xinhua via our friends at China Car Times comes the above photo, showing Chinese counter-terrorism forces going through drills as they prepare to crush any dissent terror threat that might arise during next month's Olympic Games. The black ninja suits, fritz helmets, body armor, and submachine pistols all fit the profile of a specialized group like this. But... Segways? [Source: Xinhua via China Car Times ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: China , Etc. , Government/Legal , Green , Safety The city of Beijing has drawn widely-publicized controversy due to its poor air-quality leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympic games. In fact, the air pollution is at least two to three times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization at this very moment. To ease the minds of the competing athletes, the city of Beijing is taking steps to improve the situation and has promised clean air for the games. Officials in Beijing have already cut the number of vehicles driving in the city in half by alternating what vehicles are allowed to drive each day and have asked more people to ride bikes . Now, they've banned car repairs and spray painting until after the games are over. We are all for the athletes rights to breathe clean air, but we also have to wonder about the economic cost associated with cutting out all automotive repairs and painting. [Source: Motor Authority ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Minivans/MPVs , China , Green , Misc. Auto Shows When Auto China (a.k.a. the Beijing Motor Show) opens next week, BYD will pull the wraps off its e6, an EV crossover/MPV with a front end similar in appearance to the JDM Honda Odyssey . Unlike Honda's people-mover, the e6 runs exclusively on batteries. Its operating range is stated as being 300 km (186 miles) on a full charge. Said batteries, we're assuming they're lithium-ion (the translation from Autoblog Chinese is a little dodgy), can be charged via a 220V outlet. If a quick-charger is used (details of which are not yet available), 15 minutes gets the driver an 80% charge. A completely respectable zero-to-100 km/h (62 mpg) time of ten seconds is achievable, along with a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). The e6 battery pack lives under the rear seats, where BYD says provides they're well-protected in the event of a crash. BYD says that the e6 could go into production within two years...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , China , Green , Buick , GM Shanghai GM today introduced the first mainstream hybrid in China's upper-medium vehicle segment: the Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid. The car is part of Shanghai GM's push to earn truly worthy green credentials -- the kind that surpass Chinese requirements and meet European standards. The LaCrosse is the first car to get the two-mode hybrid system for the Chinese market. With it the, the new car gets 28 mpg as opposed to the non-hybrid's 24. From next year until 2012, GM will offer 11 more increasingly fuel-efficient engines, including the E-Flex drive and the Fuel Cell E-Flex. For this year, Chinese customers will get new powerplants in the form of the 1.2-liter S-TEC, an HFV6 3.6-liter dual mode DI V6, and a mystery two-mode hybrid that will better its gas-powered cousin by 50-percent in fuel economy with no drop in performance. The LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid is the first hybrid in Buick's lineup, and will...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , China , Green Click above for mini gallery of high-res hilarity Sister site AB Green did a post on the Tang Hua clan yesterday, but we had to get in on the fun, too. A trio of bright yellow Dr. Suess-mobiles are being displayed by the Chinese company in the basement of COBO. As you might imagine, Chinese cars don't necessarily get that much respect here in Detroit, but when they look like these three Disneyland rejects, showgoers can't help but smile. Or laugh. And they don't even have the decency to run on dead dino juice, so that just makes them even more comical here in Motor City. Each of these three "neighborhood electric vehicles" has its own charms, but we tend to like the amphibious one above the best. And what better customer to espouse your product than the "Renowned environmentalists - President Bush..." [Source: AutoblogGreen] Gallery: 2008 Detroit: Tang Hua Chinese electric vehicles Read | Permalink | Email this...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , China , Green BYD's Wang Chanfu and Jalopnik's Matt Hardigree say hi to the ALMS folks Jalopnik's Matt Hardigree was minding his own business, speaking to representatives of China's BYD Auto following the company's Detroit Auto Show presser yesterday. BYD had just unviled its F6 DM, a dual-mode hybrid sedan. Discussions turned to taking the car on a brief ceremonial "test drive" that involved moving it a few feet with Matt riding shotgun. As company reps sprang into action, the chairman himself got behind the wheel -- and then it got interesting. You see, what was supposed to be a few feet turned into a not-particularly-legal drive through the show floor. The photo you see above shows BYD Auto chairman Wang Chanfu driving Matt through the ALMS press conference that was in progress at the time. A full firsthand account is posted at Jalopnik, and it is hilarious. Read it here . [Source: Jalopnik...
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