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Mazda2 to be basis of electric vehicle test fleet

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 27th, 2009 at 4:13PM

2010 Mazda2 (Thailand-spec) - Click above for high-res image gallery

Until now, Mazda's most notable alternative fuel programs have been the hydrogen-powered Wankel rotaries currently being used in an RX-8 test fleet. The "Zoom-Zoom" automaker has acknowledged plans to build new hybrid-powered vehicles in the coming years, but to date has avoided the battery electric vehicle arena.

That is about to change thanks to a newly-announced partnership with Itochu Corporation and Tsukuba City. Mazda and Itochu will convert three Demios (known as the Mazda2 outside of Japan) to plug-in battery power. Besides just testing the electric drives, the program will also test car sharing services using the EVs as well as using renewable energy to charge the vehicles. The program will also evaluate battery reuse programs that put used EV energy systems into use in fixed applications. The test program will launch in March 2010.

Gallery: 2010 Mazda2 (Thailand)

Gallery: 2007 Mazda2

[Source: Mazda]

VIDEO: Watch live as ABG goes for a first drive in the Chevy Volt this Sunday!

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 27th, 2009 at 2:12PM

Chevy Volts on 1,200 mile drive - Click above for high-res image gallery

Here at ABG, we've been tracking the progress of the Chevrolet Volt since before the concept debuted in January 2007. Along the way we've spent plenty of time with various members of the Volt team and last spring we were among the first to drive the Cruze-based powertrain development mule. Later in August, we got take a ride in one of the pre-production prototypes with global chief engineer Frank Weber. As we head into next week's Los Angeles Auto Show, GM has crossed another threshold by allowing selected members of the media actually drive the IVER prototypes with the range extender mode enabled. We will get our own chance to drive on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. PST and we'll be doing some live streaming of the event thanks to Ustream and our snazzy new Droid phone. Join us on Sunday and ride along.

Gallery: Chevrolet Volt 65% drive

VIDEO: Wet Liberal rants about Top Gear, electric cars and hydrogen

by Domenick Yoney (RSS feed) on Nov 27th, 2009 at 11:07AM

Wet Liberal rants - Click above to watch the video after the break

Most of the time, Robert Llewellyn is a seemingly well-adjusted comedic actor with a concern for environmental issues who currently hosts a web-based show called Carpool, where he drives about in a hybrid or electric car whilst talking with a very interesting person. Occasionally though, the pressures of life bear down on him and to remove certain issues from off his chest, he becomes the "Wet Liberal" (defined by Llewellyn a someone who "inhabits the flippy floppy central area" between the political left and right, where he reckons most people actually reside) and speaks his truth directly to the camera sans car and sans guest.

This latest episode begins with the disclosure that he has been given a car. Well, several cars apparently, but the most recent and pertinent one being an i MiEV which Mitsubishi has agreed to let him have for a year, ostensibly for the purposes of an upcoming project. (Dear Mitsubishi, We are anxiously awaiting an i MiEV for an extended stay in the AutoblogGreen Garage. Specifically, the garage of our southeastern branch office. In left-hand-drive please.) From there, the soliloquy turns to the latest electric-car edition of Top Gear which, naturally, leads to a discussion of hydrogen and why its promotion as the fuel of the future is an oil company ploy. While we can't speak to veracity of all his claims, we can recommend sitting back for nine and a half minutes of the Wet Liberal amusement that awaits you after the jump.

[Source: YouTube via Tesla Motors Club]

New Buick Excelle debuts in China, sedan coming to America soon

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 27th, 2009 at 9:33AM

2011 Buick Excelle XT - click above for high-res image gallery

Back in August, when General Motors gave the media a tour of its design studios to show off most of its upcoming lineup, one of the cars we saw was a compact four-door Buick sedan. That sedan was essentially a re-grilled and trunked version of the recently introduced Opel Astra but GM has not said what badging the car would receive in North America. The five-door hatchback version of the new baby Buick has just debuted in China at the Guangzhou Motor Show.

In what is Buick's largest market, the compact is badged as the Excelle and we wouldn't be surprised to see that name come to the U.S. The car we saw in August was identical to the Excelle shown above from the B-pillars forward. It only differs at the rear where the hatch is replaced by a traditional trunk.

Unlike the last Saturn Astra (and previous attempts at smaller Buicks), the inside of the new car looks much more upscale and should be much more appealing to American consumers. We'll probably only get the 181 hp 1.6-liter turbo four cylinder in the Excelle in order to set it apart from the 140 hp Chevy Cruze which shares the same platform. If our version gets the 138 hp 1.8-liter in the Buick, it will probably be paired with the new, second-generation BAS hybrid system.

Gallery: Buick Excelle XT

[Source: General Motors]

Spy shots: Higher performance MINI diesels spotted testing

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 27th, 2009 at 7:50AM

MINI is apparently not satisfied with the performance levels of its high mileage MINI D so it's working on something a bit more spritely. The current MINI D is not especially quick right off the line, with a 0-60 time of around 10 seconds from its 108 hp 1.6-liter engine but it does accelerate rapidly once underway. To speed things up a bit, the boffins at MINI HQ have been squirreled away in their garage fitting the 2.0-liter diesel from parent company BMW into the iconic small car.

That's not a trivial task since all the BMWs that use the engine are rear drive with a longitudinal engine mounting. The MINI, of course, is front drive with a transverse layout. The first version with the BMW engine is expected to use the 150 hp single turbo engine from the 118d but something equivalent to a John Cooper Works model could sport the 204 hp twin turbo unit we loved so much in the 123d.

The faster model could sprint to 60 mph in under 7 seconds and still get 40+ mpg. BMW has acknowledged that it plans to bring its four cylinder diesel to the U.S. market and MINI has also said it would love to sell the MINI D here. We say, bring it on.

[Source: AutoCar]

Happy Thanksgiving! Autoblog is grateful for...

by John Neff (RSS feed) on Nov 26th, 2009 at 6:58PM

Click above to find out what the Autoblog team is thankful for

[Photo: Road Fun | CC 2.0]

Mainland Chinese automakers look to Taiwan for EV expertise

by Xavier Navarro (RSS feed) on Nov 26th, 2009 at 3:24PM

More electric car news from Taiwan. Two Chinese automakers are ready to develop and sell electric cars there. Chery, for instance, has announced the creation of an R&D center in the upcoming "Green Energy Intelligent Vehicle Innovation Park (EV Park)" in central Taiwan. This would give Chery access to Taiwan's EV technology. Geely Auto has announced sales in Taiwan of the electric version of the Panda model (pictured above) thanks to Yulon Motor Co, which would develop the EV with lithium-ion batteries. The model, to be ready for 2011, will be sold under Yulon Motor's Tobe brand.

[Source: Gasgoo and Gasgoo]

Chinese government sets ambitious battery production goals

by Xavier Navarro (RSS feed) on Nov 26th, 2009 at 12:02PM

_{2009 BYD F3DM - Click above for high-res image gallery}

New regulations for the production of batteries, both nickel-hydrogen and lithium-ion, have been submitted to China's State Council, according to Wang Shulin, a National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)'s expert. China's current production figures for batteries are expected to exceed 140,000 kWh (nickel) and 900,000 kWh (lithium) by the end of this year. These figures are expected to reach 360,000 kWh and 4 million kWh, respectively, for 2010. Bearing in mind that an average EV might use a 30 kWh battery (see some examples here), up to 150,000 EVs could be powered by these new packs. Still, the NDRC predicts there will be 100,000 electric cars by 2012 and 4 million in 2020.

Gallery: 2009 BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid

[Source: Gasgoo]

Renault-Nissan creates partnership for deploying EVs in China

by Xavier Navarro (RSS feed) on Nov 26th, 2009 at 8:46AM

_{2010 Nissan Leaf - Click above for high-res image gallery}

The latest city to join the long list of more than 30 cities and governments that have signed an agreement with Renault-Nissan is Guangzhou, a large city formerly known as Canton. Nissan's partner in China, Dongfeng, will work with the municipality to have electric cars available to customers and to create a charging network for these vehicles to use. The first cars are expected to be delivered as soon as 2011. Nothing was mentioned as to which electric model would be produced for the local market, although it's almost guaranteed to be one of the electric concepts shown at Frankfurt or the Nissan Leaf.

Gallery: 2010 Nissan LEAF

[Source: Gasgoo]

Something to be thankful for: getting off of gas might reduce road rage

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 25th, 2009 at 7:58PM

Turns out, getting off of gasoline might save more than parts of the environment. According to a study published in BMC Physiology, rats exposed to unleaded gasoline fumes for 30 minutes a day for six weeks "exhibited an increase in lipid peroxidation and a decrease in AChE and superoxide dismutase activities." What does that mean? The rats got mad and had "a higher tendency towards aggressive behaviour as a consequence to gasoline inhalation." Basically, gasoline vapors can piss us off.

The study was conducted by Amal Kinawy of Cairo University, who says that the results might be applicable to humans help cause road rage. It'll take a long time to eliminate all gas-powered vehicles from the road, but doesn't the fight between hydrogen and pure electric seem slightly less important considering the benefits of reducing gasoline usage in general?

[Source: BMC Physiology via Wired]
Photo by david drexler. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

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#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Sebastian Blanco	114	11
2	Sam Abuelsamid	105	2
3	Jeremy Korzeniewski	32	1
4	Domenick Yoney	24	0
5	Xavier Navarro	22	1
6	Chris Shunk	4	0
7	Frank Filipponio	3	0
8	Drew Phillips	2	0
9	John Neff	2	0
10	AutoblogGreen Staff	2	0
11	Chris Paukert	1	0
12	Dan Roth	1	0
13	Michael Harley	1	0
14	Gary Witzenburg	1	0

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