Plug-in. Those just seem to be the magic words in the automotive world these days. The latest on the bandwagon, going up against the Chevy Volt destined for showrooms in 2010 and the long-rumored Prius plug-in is venerable VW. Yep, Volkswagen has cooked up a “Twin Drive” Golf sporting a diesel engine with 122 hp […]
Posted on June 27th, 2008 by Shorty
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The only people crowing about high gas prices are the fellows developing alternative fuel prototypes, like Steve Fambro and his team who have produced the Aptera, a two-seat, three-wheel electric vehicle set to go on sale in November 2008. It has a top speed of 95 miles an hour and comes as both an all […]
Posted on June 5th, 2008 by Shorty
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CNN is running a story on Neil Young, 62, (think real hard, rocker, Vietnam, come on, you know the guy.) He and a Wichita mechanic have set out to turn the aging musician’s 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to an electric. (Same stated goal as all such projects, make this a model for the first affordable, […]
Posted on June 3rd, 2008 by Shorty
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Listening to car ads on the radio these days almost makes me feel sympathetic for the salesmen. They’re literally begging people to buy SUVs that have been sitting on the lot for months. But honestly, with the national per gallon price of gasoline hovering at $4, who they heck is going to buy a land […]
Posted on May 28th, 2008 by Shorty
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Well, hang on to your hats for innovation to come. Tata Motors of India has signed up to compete for the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize to be awarded in 2010. And they are the first bona fide automaker to do so. The goal is for participating teams to build cars that will get […]
Posted on May 16th, 2008 by Shorty
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Electric Audis
According to Reuters, the top brass at Audi thinks electric cars represent a great opportunity and within ten years their company will be offering cars with zero emissions. Ruper Stadler, an Audi executive speaking to the German publication Welt am Sonntag predicted both diesel and battery tech will be the dominating factors in automotive […]
Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Shorty
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In the midst of lawsuits and the like Tesla Motors has still managed to get its first dealership open in Los Angeles at the busy intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Sepulveda. Currently the company has sold 600 of their two-seat roadsters on pre-order with a waiting list of 400. Here’s the rub — they’ve […]
Posted on May 2nd, 2008 by Shorty
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Over the past few days I’ve had occasion to be checking out what’s headed our way in diesel vehicles. Now understand, I get it that ultra-low sulfur diesel, the standard in Europe and here in North America since 2006 is cleaner than the nasty ole stuff of my youth. I get it that the new […]
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 by Shorty
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Sticking to the theme of site reviews, I wanted to call your attention to Clean Green Cars, a UK website that is an excellent compendium of environmental-automotive-goodness. Billed as “the green motoring guide” the major site sections are:
- Choosing a Green Car
- Latest Green News
- Green Jargon Explained
- Features
Currently the Choosing a Green Car section […]
Posted on April 8th, 2008 by Shorty
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When a friend of mine told me I needed to check out IntergalacticHydrogen.com, I laughed. I figured sci fi site, right? More like sci fact, and a harbinger of alternative fuel focused production shops to come. Or, as the site copy puts it, “As a research, development and deployment company, we can engineer the […]
Posted on March 19th, 2008 by Shorty
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