Tech innovations are starting to suffer as carmakers are cutting costs just to survive. General Motors as been forced to delay work on one of its most innovative engines ever, a 4.5 liter diesel intended for use in light-duty trucks.
Production on the engine was to have started this coming fall at the plant in Tonawanda, [...]
When I read on Engadget that Tesla has a prototype of its Model S sedan set to debut March 26th, I flipped back through our previous updates on the green sports car. Let’s look at some highlights:
- December 2007: Tesla battles transmission issues, mainly finding something strong enough to handle gear shifting at full torque.
- [...]
For as much as the idea of an electric sports car has always been sexy, I’ve never been that big a fan of Tesla because the cars were ridiculously expensive and to my mind a little counter-productive to the whole idea of electrical cars for the rest of us. I want to see practical electrical [...]
Needless to say, green advocates were not pleased with the news that sales of gasoline-electric hybrids in the United States fell 9.9 percent in 2008. Not pleased, but not surprised either. When gasoline was going for $4 a gallon, hybrids looked good — vital even. But with the automotive industry in the er . . [...]
So Ford says it will release a range of plug-in electrics between 2010 and 2012, the results of its so-called Project M, an internal campaign started last summer with the goal of producing an all-electric in six months. In an industry where a model can be in development for months — years even — that’s [...]
There’s little else that’s been occupying automotive news for the past few days than the $15 billion deal brokered between Congressional Democrats and the Bush White House to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. (Ford wants a $9 billion line of credit, but isn’t asking for loans at this time.) In the end, although Speaker [...]
As you know, I have a love / hate relationship with the Tesla electronic roadster. So, I snorted my coffee a little when I read an article in Sunday’s New York Times by Randall Stross, “Only the Rich Can Afford It. Should Taxpayers Back It?” (Not providing a link because you have to have a [...]
It’s hard to get too optimistic about anything automotive at the moment. Edmunds is predicting that October sales across the industry may be down as much as a staggering 29 percent. We’re talking a potential three decade low here. But at the same time, Barak Obama is saying that if he wins, he’ll concentrate on [...]
I have an open lust for a MINI and so this post on Engadget caught my eye. The Mini E (electric) will be on display next month at the LA Auto Show with 500 units available in the U.S. on lease to 500 “commercial and private customers in California, New York and New Jersey sometime [...]
iPod Becoming Standard Auto Equipment
I read an interesting statistic on MacUser the other day. A study be iSuppli reports that 58 percent of new cars in the United States, regardless of trim level, now have iPod integration — meaning the day may come when you don’t have to endanger yourself and others on the road [...]