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Filed under: LA Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Volkswagen Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Green Car of the Year There are a few standouts in the emerging green sector of the U.S. auto market that are hitting the market in 2009. BMW's first clean diesel in the United States, the 335d, is one such vehicle that has torque-loving enthusiasts salivating, and General Motors' upcoming Saturn Vue is the first application of the 2-Mode hybrid system in a front-wheel drive vehicle. No green car discussion is complete without a mention of the smart fortwo, which sports the best mileage of any non-hybrid car available. Of course, the new Fusion Hybrid and Milan Hybrid from Ford are shaping up to be real contenders in the green mid-size sedan sweepstakes and they may take a chunk out of Camry hybrid sales when it finally debuts. Still, there is one '09 car that seems to offer the best of all worlds, with a relatively low starting price, excellent...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Green , Plants/Manufacturing Back in July we told you that Fisker had tabbed Valmet Automotive to build its upcoming Karma . Now we get word that all of the contracts have been finalized and production looks certain. Valmet will be doing all of the engineering and manufacturing for the Karma, that sexy new four-door plug-in hybrid sports sedan designed by ex-Aston Martin designer, Henrik Fisker. Production should start about a year from now, in late 2009. The first cars should show up Stateside, with European deliveries following soon after, in early 2010. The companies are planning an annual production of about 15,000 cars worldwide. The $80k sedan uses lithium ion batteries, and owners should expect about 50 miles of driving before the gas engine ever kicks in. Range should rival the Chevy Volt at 350 miles per charge. Unlike the Volt, however, the Karma will have a top speed of 125 mph, and a 0-60 time of about 5.8 seconds...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Ford Click above to enlarge the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid pace car For the first time ever, a NASCAR Sprint Cup event will be paced by a hybrid, Ford's fresh-faced 2010 Fusion Hybrid to be exact. The race is scheduled to take place this Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The box-stock Fusion hybrid will be able to travel on electricity alone for up to 47 miles per hour, which isn't quite fast enough to kick off the race, so this one will be burning some gas. One thing that the hybrid can do that the Sprint Cup cars only wish they could is travel up to 700 miles per tank of fuel. Anyway, the leafy-camouflaged hybrid will lead the race cars to the green flag (waved by none other than Mark Fields) to kick things off, after which a 2010 Ford Fusion Sport will pick up the mantle as pace car for the rest of the event. Both the 2010 Fusion hybrid and Fusion Sport will see their formal debut at the LA Auto Show...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Green , Hyundai Hyundai is making a serious run at such stalwart luxury marques as Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW with the Genesis sedan. The Korean automaker is already competing directly with those established players using its current range of engines and transmissions, with the 4.6-liter V8 being mated to the same 6-speed ZF automatic tranny that sees duty in various Bimmers and Jaguars. Sometime around 2010, Hyundai will have a new 8-speed automatic ready for public consumption that being developing in-house, and it will surely see the light of day in the Genesis mated up to Hyundai's latest V8 engine. That development will trump Mercedes by one gear and match the number of ratios offered by Lexus. BMW is expected to rely on a new unit from ZF, its longtime supplier, that should also feature eight forward gears. In the never-ending quest for increased performance and fuel efficiency, plus a bit of one-upmanship, expect more automakers to pair their largest...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Sedans/Saloons , Green , BMW , Earnings/Financials Click above to view high-res gallery of the BMC CS concept The current worldwide economic climate has claimed yet another automotive casualty: the BMW Concept CS . The German automaker cites a distinct lack of profitability as the main reason the CS project has been canceled. Last quarter, the boys and girls from Bavaria returned a profit of just 1.3% from its global automotive operations, and a low-volume halo sedan like the CS would only serve to drive that figure further downward. So, expect the brand-new 7 Series to remain at the top of BMW's model lineup for now. If not the Concept CS, what current projects are keeping BMW engineers hard at work? Efficiency, fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. As part of the company's new Strategy Number ONE (outlined after the jump), the Munich-based automaker is pushing forward its EfficientDynamics project, which should add technologies such as stop/start...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Ford Over on AutoblogGreen, our man Sam has published a thorough breakdown of all the new powertrains announced for the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. There's a new 2.5L four-cylinder with more power, a revised 3.0L V6 and Ford is making its 3.5L V6 available in these mid-size sedans for the first time, as well. But the most impressive may be the latest revision of Ford's hybrid powertrain that will debut in the Fusion Hybrid and Milan Hybrid next year. Based on the same system in the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid, the latest version is smaller, lighter, more powerful and less expensive to produce. While it still employs nickel-metal hydride batteries, the number of cells has been reduced but the power output remains the same. The battery pack is now 30 percent smaller in volume than the Escape Hybrid's pack and weighs 23 percent less, and this one doesn't need its own AC system to stay cool...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Hatchbacks , Rendered Speculation Road and Track has taken an early speculative look at what Tesla's Model S sedan may look like. Of course, it's impossible to know for sure how close this rendering may be to the real thing, but it's always fun to guess, right? We can see some clear inspiration taken from the company's first effort, the Tesla Roadster , along with a hint of Nissan GT-R in its flanks. We know for sure that the rear of the car will feature a deeply sloping hatchback, like the Porsche Panamera , and R&T's artists seem to have that feature down, as well. We've actually gotten an early peek at the Model S from the rear via Tesla's new design chief Franz von Holzhausen , formerly of Mazda fame, which shows a nice carbon fiber rear diffuser and an aerodynamically sound cut-off hind end. Unfortunately, the Model S has been delayed by roughly six months due to the tough economic climate and...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Geneva Motor Show , Green var digg_url = 'http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/10/23/first-teaser-shot-of-the-tesla-model-s-appears/'; BusinessWeek has a story about last week's trials and tribulations at Tesla Motors, which wraps up most of what we already know, along with some new details. The investment bankers called up Tesla chairman Elon Musk to let him know that the company's IPO plans weren't going to fly in the current financial markets. Musk and the management team reacted quickly by slashing 25% of the company's workforce, shutting down the Rochester Hills, MI engineering office and pretty much halting all non-revenue producing work. That meant the much anticipated Model S sedan was put on the back burner until more cash was flowing into the coffers. Now, the four-door electric sport sedan won't be going into production until at least 2011. Tesla SVP Darryl Siry tipped us off that the story was being published tonight and...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Rolls-Royce Click above for high-res gallery of RR Phantom in the Autoblog garage Short of the biggest SUVs, Rolls-Royce stands out in the mind of the eco-conscious public as a symbol of earth-munching decadence. But that may change if Tom Purves has anything to say about it. And he does, being the company's new CEO. Bringing in a fresh perspective to the ultimate luxury brand after taking the helm just a few months ago, Purves recently drove sister-company MINI's new electric vehicle , and a lightbulb aptly lit over his head with the idea to create an electric Phantom. Not a hybrid, but a full megawatt-powered limousine. The way Purves sees it, we're not far away from cities banning polluting vehicles altogether. And as many Rolls-Royce owners live in major metropolitan centers, an electric Rolls makes perfect sense. With a little help from parent company BMW, Purves figures they could engineer the e-Rolls in-house...
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Filed under: Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Supercars , Mercedes-Benz , AMG Click above for more high-res shots of the SL65 AMG Black Series Saying that "only a fool would ignore" the emissions of a new vehicle and the current global economy, AMG head-man Volker Mornhinweg realizes that it can't keep building gas-guzzling supercars with reckless abandon. Not that the company will lose its performance edge, mind you. In fact, hybrids and diesels could offer a meaningful performance boost if tuned properly. How so? Torque. Diesel engines are known for their massive axle-shreading twist, and electric motors, an essential part of any hybrid powertrain, make maximum power right off idle, allowing for an internal combustion engine that's tuned for stratospheric revs. In a recent interview with CAR , the notion of fitting a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter oil-burning V6 inside the C class was kicked around. Mornhinweg suggests such a vehicle is a distinct...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Hatchbacks At 9AM Eastern on Monday morning, a fleet of 23 diesel-powered Audis will roll out from Manhattan's Tavern on the Green on a trans-continental trek to demonstrate diesel efficiency. I'm in Manhattan this afternoon preparing to spend the next week in an Audi Q7 TDI on the way to Denver and will be checking in regularly from the road as we pass through Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, Memphis, Dallas and Amarillo along the way. Audi plans to launch its fifty-state-legal Q7 TDI in the US market next spring and it seems likely that some of the other vehicles on this trip may not be far behind. I'll be on the first two legs and Sebastian, Damon, Drew and Jonathan will take over for the second week of the trip to Los Angeles. You can also follow along at the Audi Mileage Marathon site where there's a Twitter feed following the participants as they cross the continent. There is also a live map showing our...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Paris Motor Show , Audi Click above for high-res gallery of the Audi A4 TDI Concept e Audi's parent company Volkswagen already produces some of the cleanest-burning, most fuel-miserly diesel engines in the world. The Jetta TDI was recently released in the U.S. and has been making waves for its hybrid-like efficiency. So it's natural that Audi would want to show off its green credentials with a new diesel sedan of its own, and it has done so with the A4 TDI concept e, introduced at the Paris Motor Show . Based on the brand-new A4 platform, the new concept gets a 2.0L four-cylinder common-rail direct-inject turbodiesel derived from the unit powering the Jetta TDI. That mill sees tweaks to its valvetrain and cooling systems, lowering its power output a bit to 120-horsepower and 214 lb-ft of torque, but increasing its fuel efficiency a great deal. Added to the powertrain is a start/stop system that keeps the engine from idling...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Mercedes-Benz Click above for high-res gallery of the S-Class BlueEFFICIENCY Mercedes-Benz really wants you to know how green its new line of diesel vehicles can be. To that end, the German automaker calls them Blue and capitalizes EFFICIENCY. Subtle, no? In an effort to earn the badge, MB has tweaked its largest and most luxurious model with a 3.0-liter diesel engine, a seven-speed automatic tranny that decouples itself at stops, a power steering pump that only operates when necessary and low rolling resistance tires. Those are pretty simple changes, no complex electric motors here. Fuel mileage, though, is rather good for such a large vehicle, coming in at nearly 31 U.S. miles per gallon. In contrast, the marque's upcoming S400 BlueHYBRID only manages about 29 miles per gallon. If this sounds to you like it makes a resounding case for diesel vehicles, you're right. It does. Unfortunately, MB only mentions German pricing...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Toyota , Volkswagen Clean diesel or hybrid drive? It's an intriguing question, and one that's not quite so easy to answer. There's the price of diesel fuel to consider, which runs a few dimes over that of regular gasoline. Then there is fuel mileage. Does the Volkswagen Jetta TDI have a shot at dethroning the Toyota Prius as the undisputed mileage champion of the U.S.? To get a preliminary answer to some of these questions, Popular Mechanics put almost 500 miles on both cars, dividing up their miles between the city and the highway. It's not a knock-out for either car, but it may offer some early answers to a few questions. First, the mileage. In the city, there's just no beating a hybrid, which uses its electric motor to good effect and scores over ten mpg better in the stop-and-go traffic of Los Angeles. On the highway, though, the Jetta TDI is able to eke out a narrow victory, scoring less than one mile per...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Paris Motor Show , BMW Click above for high-res shots of the BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid With the arrival of the BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid, which will make its initial debut at the Paris Motor Show , both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are set to enter the luxury hybrid market that has so far only seen action in the form of the Lexus LS600h . Although BMW was one of the brands that helped develop the sophisticated Two-Mode hybrid system that's currently being used in the full-size 'utes from both GM and Chrysler, the Bavarian automaker has chosen instead to equip its 7 Series with the same mild hybrid architecture that it helped to develop and is used by cross-country rival Daimler. Like the S400 BlueHYBRID , a 120-volt lithium ion battery will be kept underhood along with a small helper motor that's hooked up to the engine, in the case of the BMW, a twin-turbocharged, direct injected 4.4-liter V8. Expect well over 400-horsepower...
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