May 2008

Ford Fiesta Hatchback Coming to North America

By Scott Doggett May 30, 2008

Ford Motor Co. has added a hatchback version of the Fiesta to the 2010 North American launch of the small economy car, which will be sold alongside the sedan. Ford will build the hatchback and sedan at its plant in Cuautitlán, Mexico, starting in early 2010 as part of a $3 billion investment in the country, the automaker said in a statement today. The Fiesta will give Ford a fuel-efficient competitor against such cars as the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa... more

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Toyota Considering California Production of Prius, Report Says

By Michelle Krebs May 30, 2008

Toyota reportedly is talking with General Motors about producing the hybrid Prius at their joint production plant in California, Japan's Tokyo Shimbun reported Friday. Toyota did not confirm the report. A company spokesman told AutoObserver: "We are always considering what should be the optimum structure of our production efforts. But nothing has been decided about building the Priusat NUMMI."   more

GM Reps Green Up Launch Party for Eco TV Network

By Scott Doggett May 30, 2008

Celebrity poses with man in tree costume at launch party for green TV network. By Scott Doggett, Contributor The launch party for Planet Green, a 24-hour eco-lifestyle cable TV network that will displace the Home channel starting June 4, was anything but green. The celebrities who attended Wednesday night 's event at L.A.'s Greek Theater mostly arrived in stretch limousines and gas-snorting SUVs. At least two – Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and rapper Ludacris – arrived in personal buses. The tabloid darlings strolled a green plastic carpet to a man in a tree costume to pose for paparazzi, more

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Ford Builds Fiesta Sedan, Hatchback in Mexico

By Michelle Krebs May 30, 2008

Ford announced Friday its Fiesta small car, unveiled at the Detroit auto show as the Verve concept, will go into production at its Cuautitlán Assembly Plant in Mexico beginning in early 2010. Ford will build the sedan as well as the sporty European hatchback at the plant for sale in the U.S. Originally, Ford intended to sell only the sedan in North America but customer response to both the sedan and hatchback was positive enough to prompt the automaker to move forward in building both, Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in the company's statement. more

May Car Sales: Worse than Last May But Better Than April, Edmunds.com Forecast Says

By Michelle Krebs May 30, 2008

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- April 2008 was a terrible month for vehicle sales in the U.S., but it looks like May, though worse than the year-ago May, might be a tad brighter than April and especially for some vehicles and some makes, Edmunds.com forecasts. Toyota looks to be a winner with a projected record market share. Honda likely had a good month as well. The Big Three, however, are predicted to show a near-record low combined market share. And the trend of buyers selected smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles instead of larger ones likely accelerated in May, according to Edmunds.com's forecast. more

Sapphire Energy Turns Algae Into 'Green Crude' for Fuel

By Scott Doggett May 30, 2008

A San Diego company claims it can turn algae into a green-colored crude yielding ultra-clean versions of gasoline and diesel without the drawbacks of biofuel production. Sapphire Energy uses algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and non-potable water to make "green crude" that it says is chemically equivalent to the light, sweet crude oil that has been commanding record-high prices recently. In a press release issued Wednesday, the one-year-old company claimed its green crude could be processed in existing oil refineries and that the resulting fuels could power existing cars and trucks without any modifications. more

Toyota Pondering U.S. Assembly of Prius Hybrid

By John O'Dell May 30, 2008

With Toyota dealers once again demanding premiums for the company's Prius hybrid as panicky shoppers queue up to buy the gas-sipping gas-electric sedan,  there's a report  out  of Tokyo that Toyota is talking about setting up its first U.S. assembly point for the car. The newspaper Tokyo Shimbum is reporting that Toyota is in talks with General Motors Corp.  to begin building the Prius at the two companies' joint-venture assembly plant, New United Motor Manufacturing, in the Northern California city of Fremont, near San Francisco. Adding Prius production there could be beneficial because California is the largest single market for more

Green Cars: Where We'll Be in 2010

By John O'Dell May 29, 2008

We're competitive, so we hate to admit that there's anyone else out there trying to do what we do. But John Gartner, over at Matter Network, has pulled together an interesting look at the various green and greener vehicles coming down the turnpike. His piece, "What We'll Drive in 2010," is a comprehensive look at the nearterm hybrid, electric car and diesel scene. We recommend it (not in the least because Gartner picked our brain for the story and cites Green Car Advisor as the source for a chunk of his info)... more

Think To Bring Large EV to U.S., Speed City Car Launch

By John O'Dell May 29, 2008

EV-maker Think apparently has moved its anticipated U.S. launch up a bit and plans to add a crossover SUV to its electric vehicle lineup. The Wall Street Journal finally got around to writing about the Norwegian electric car company's plans, and says Think CEO Jan-Olaf Willums hopes to begin sales of the two-seat Think City car in the U.S. by 2009... more

Renault-Nissan Looking Past Batteries to Fuel Cells

By John O'Dell May 29, 2008

Nissan X Fuel Cell Vehicle will begin making rounds in Europe next month. Nissan and Renault haven't started making and marketing their much-anticipated battery-electric cars yet, but already are moving beyond batteries to hydrogen fuel cells. The first, previously announced, steps in the Renault-Nissan Alliance's "zero-emission motoring future," as the companies call it, is to begin selling battery EVs in the U.S. and Japan by the end of 2010 and to mass-market them in Israel and Denmark beginning in 2011 as part of an energy independence program developed by California entrepreneur Shai Agassi and his Project Better Place foundation. more

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