With its strict vehicle emission standards and government support for alternative-fuelled vehicles, it is little wonder that California is becoming a hotbed for electric cars. Germany's BMW is set to export electric versions of its Mini models to the state, according to sources quoted in Automotive News. The sources claim that 490 Minis will be built in Oxford, England, shipped to Germany to have electric powertrains fitted and then leased to customers in California. This falls under BMW's newly created Project i division, which is working on low-emission cars for the German manufacturer.

The Renault- Nissan $1USbn investment project on electric cars seems to have opened up a number of avenues for the Franco-Japanese alliance. Industry sources revealed that the alliance will be entering a partnership with Portugal to create a national network of zero-emission electric vehicles in Portugal.

Filed under: Carbon Offset, Green Daily, UK

In this day and age of increased environmental awareness, not even motorsports are granted exclusion from the eco-friendly expectations which all companies and organizations are held to. Of course, it's not just the racing itself that causes carbon emissions, as the fans attending the event need to travel in order to get there. In fact, as you can see from the graph below, when race organizers for the upcoming Wales Rally GB in December did some fact-finding, they found that the race vehicles accounted for just 5-percent of the 4,333 metric tons of overall CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. In order to make the actual race the first carbon neutral FIA Rally event, organizers have instituted car-pooling for officials and marshals as well as replacing battery-powered flashlights with wind-up alternatives and planning full-scale recycling. The remaining CO2 will be offset through credits from The CarbonNeutral Company.

The Wales Rally GB is already looking towards the future. The event believes that it can significantly reduce the amount of CO2 emitted from the event in the coming years, lessening the amount of offsets necessary to remain carbon neutral. After all, it's better not to emit in the first place than to cover it up afterward.

[Source: Wales Rally GB via Automotive News - sub. req'd]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, GM, Saturn

A row of Saturn Vue PHEVs in Milford's building 16 garage

GM may have been late to the party when it came to hybrids, but they are now throwing resources at a bunch of different parallel paths that including electric drive. There are already cars and CUVs with mild hybrid systems and full-size SUVs with Two-Mode hybrid systems. Later this fall pickup trucks and Saturn Vues will also get the Two-Mode system. Then there is of course the E-Flex Chevy Volt. Sometime around the end of 2009 GM's first plug-hybrid should debut also in the shape of the Vue. At the Plug-In 2008 conference Larry Nitz, the Executive Director of the hybrid powertrain engineering at GM provided an updated on the Vue PHEV program. After initiating development with nickel metal hydride batteries, the team based in Building 16 at the Milford proving ground now has 11 plug-in Vues running with lithium ion batteries. If the PHEV Vue makes it by the end of next year it will likely be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid from a major carmaker. The Vue is expected to have about 10 miles of electric driving range on a full charge.

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

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Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, MPG, Ford, Mercury

In conjunction with the announcement of an $8.7 billion loss for the second quarter, Ford confirmed what had been suspected for some time with a major shift in production capacity from trucks to cars. Starting in December of this year, three truck plants will be retooled so that they can build cars instead. In addition six new models will be coming over from the European lineup and Mercury will live on. Like other automakers Ford will be consolidating production of large trucks into fewer plants. The full-size Expedition and Navigator SUVs will shift from the Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne MI to the Louisville, Ky plant that builds the Super-Duty pickups. The Michigan plant will retool to build to build a vehicle based on the European Focus platform. As previously announced the Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico will shift from building F-series pickups to the new Fiesta at the end of next year. A second plant in Louisville that currently builds Explorers will switch over to building Focus based vehicles as well.

In other product news, we already knew about the Fiesta and the Euro Focus coming in 2010 as well as the Transit Connect van in 2009. Ford has confirmed that Mercury will get a new small car in 2010. What platform this will be built on is unknown. Ford will also introduce what they are calling a "whitespace" vehicle based on the Focus architecture. This will be in a segment that Ford doesn't currently occupy, and the best bet would be the C-Max MPV. This vehicle is a small van similar to the Mazda 5. The full Ford press release is after the jump.

Gallery: Ford Fiesta ECOnetic

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford to retool 3 truck plants for small cars starting in December

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Filed under: Etc., MPG, Dodge, Ford, GM

Autobloggren reader Ron asked us one question: why does it seem that American cars in Europe sip less fuel? As he compared what look like identical models on either side of the Atlantic Ocean and consumption figures seem to differ.

First problem is finding two identical models. Then, pollution regulations are different in the USA compared to the EU. As a general rule, the EPA focus on exhaust air quality while the EU aims about quantity and has longer terms for other pollutants. As a consequence, injection systems might be tuned differently. Some people might think that gasoline is different. Europeans have two different types of gasolines: 95 and 98 RON which are more "premium" than the ones sold in the U. S. but, provided the fact that the injection systems are ready for the gas type, mileage should not affected (remember the "don't use premium if not needed"?). Perhaps the most important factor to consider are the differences between the mileage test procedures. The current EU test cycle is considered to give considerably higher results than the latest 2008 EPA test procedure. Finally, make sure that the numbers you are comparing are in the same units. Numbers from the UK are typically expressed in miles per Imperial gallon. One Imperial gallon is 1.16 US gallons.

Continue reading Do American cars in Europe sip less fuel?

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CRD aims to speed electric-car adoption
Times Colonist, Canada - 1 hour ago
Capital Regional District directors hope to speed up the process of getting slower-moving electric vehicles whirring down local roads. ...
Oak Bay leads on electric cars Times Colonist
all 3 news articles

Filed under: Diesel, Volkswagen, Legislation and Policy

Hybrid owners aren't the only ones eligible for tax breaks. Buyers of Volkswagen's new diesel powered Jettas will be able to recoup $1,300 of the purchase price from our friends at the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service has decreed that the Jetta TDI qualifies for the Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle income tax credit. That means that a diesel Jetta will cost about $700 more than a regular gas Jetta. By now most Volkswagen dealers across North America should have a Jetta TDI demonstrator on the lot. Deliveries to customers should start around the end of August or early September. During the media drive of Mercedes' new Bluetec diesel SUVs recently, company officials expressed hope that those vehicles would also qualify for the tax credit. Thanks to Connor for the tip!

[Source: VWvortex]

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Victoria suburb to legalize low-speed electric cars
Globe and Mail, Canada - 6 hours ago
Oak Bay councillors this week voted unanimously in favour of a new bylaw that would grant electric vehicles with a maximum speed of 40 kilometres an hour ...

Filed under: Diesel, MPG, Ford, USA

Many people in the States still make their living using good 'ole fashioned pickup trucks as their main method of transportation. For those people, the sky-high price of fuel is putting a serious dent in their profit margins, especially when that truck is used day-in and day-out to move heavy objects from one place to another. It's dirty work, but somebody's got to do it, as they say. For these gasoline-weary individuals, Ford, makers of the best-selling pickup truck in the world, is diligently working on its upcoming 4.4L diesel V8 powerplant, which should improve on the bread-and-butter 5.4L Triton gasoline engine's mpg figure by 20-percent while delivering an extra shot of torque.

While we've seen the engine sitting by itself earlier this year at Ford's national dealer conference in Vegas, PickupTrucks.com has managed to get its hands on a few shots of the engine under hood of a new F-150 mule. We can clearly see that it's a tight fit in there with all the associated emissions plumbing, turbocharger and intercooler. Take note too that the engine wears the Power Stroke moniker, though the mill is not made by Ford's traditional diesel supplier, Navistar. Instead, this engine is derived from a diesel engine used by Land Rover in Europe and will be manufactured in Mexico. Those looking to save a few bucks on a fill-up can look forward to a hopeful debut at the '09 Chicago Auto Show with a production release sometime later that year.
[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

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