June 2008
EV Maker Tesla to Open Sedan Manufacturing Plant in San Francisco
By Scott Doggett June 30, 2008A view of the road from the Tesla Roadster, the carmaker's first-generation EV. By Scott Doggett, Contributor Electric roadster-maker Tesla Motors will build a manufacturing plant for its upcoming electric sedan in the San Francisco Bay Area, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today at the company's Northern California headquarters. Tesla had planned to build its second-generation plug-in electric vehicle, variously called WhiteStar and Model S, in New Mexico. But, Schwarenegger told reporters, his administration increased the tax incentives it could offer Tesla and the fledgling automaker decided to build its manufacturing plant in the Bay Area. The exact location more
Jetta TDI Demos Generating Diesel Buzz
By John O'Dell June 30, 2008Except for single demonstrator models in most dealerships, Volkswagen's 50-state legal diesel, the 2009 Jetta TDI, won't be in showrooms until August. But early reports are that those demonstrators already are generating sales and enthusiasm fromVW and diesel fans. In a blog posting late last week, salesman Jay Pichardo at Greenbriar Volkswagen in Chesapeake, Va., said that within 24 hours of its arrival at his dealership, the Jetta TDI demo car had been taken out for 13 test drives that had generated deposits from 10 would-be buyers. The tester logged 120 miles during the drives and averaged 49 miles more
Mercedes USA Projects 15% Share for Diesel SUVs
By Scott Doggett June 30, 2008Despite the fact diesel is pricier than gasoline in the U.S. these days, Mercedes-Benz USA is confident its new Bluetec 50-state clean diesels will account for at least 15 percent of its SUV and cross-over sales. Three new Bluetec vehicles go on sale in October with a new V-6 diesel: the 2009 320 ML crossover, GL SUV and R-class crossover (above). The major reason for the diesels is fuel economy: A diesel is 20-33 percent more fuel efficient than a comparable gasoline model, a Mercedes executive said today, and the payback period is about two years faster than that more
FHI Introduces Subaru Plug-in Stella EV Concept
By Scott Doggett June 30, 2008Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru automobiles, has developed the Subaru plug-in Stella Concept (above), a prototype electric vehicle. FHI will provide five Stella EVs for use at the G-8 Summit, to be held in Japan on July 7-9, FHI said in a statement. Four of the five cars will be used to transport government officials, while one will be available for media demonstrations. FHI will also provide one car to the Japan Post group for mail collection and delivery around Toyako during the summit. The Stella EV combines the electric drive system employed in the R1e with the more
Tool Helps Figure Payback When Chucking Gas-Guzzler
By John O'Dell June 30, 2008By John O'Dell, Senior EditorMy 1965 Mustang is about as clean-running as an old car can get, but it still spews far more pollutants and uses a whole lot more gasoline – I'm lucky to get 10 miles per gallon – than almost any passenger vehicle made today.But it's a toy, a hobby car that gives me something to do with all my spare cash, and I don't drive it much – a few hundred miles a year. So I don't feel too badly about keeping it in my garage while I'm writing about the need for all of us more
Mascoma Picks Michigan for Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
By John O'Dell June 27, 2008Michigan's upper penninsula, a place with a lot of trees, has been selected by Mascoma Corp. for its first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant. Mascoma, which is partnering with General Motors Corp. more
McCain: Use Tax $$ For Green R&D, Not Bailout
By John O'Dell June 27, 2008Although not particularly good news for autoworkers worried about their jobs today, presidential hopeful John McCain's opposition to government bailout of the auto industry could hold promise for tomorrow's green technology should he wind up in the White House. During a meeting with General Motors Corp. employees today, McCain told a Wall Street Journal reporter that rather than guaranteeing operating loans or providing direct grants, he would invest in research and development that advances fuel-cell and battery-electric cars. "It depends on what you mean by a bailout," he told the reporter. If you're talking about it in the classic terms, I'm afraid more
Out-Of-Touch Alert: McCain Doesn't Know Cost of Gasoline
By Bill Visnic June 27, 2008Just about everyone's already exhausted from the daily political finger-pointing about who's responsible for the cost of gasoline. But the interplay of politics and gas prices achieves a new and comical aspect today with The Huffington Post's sarcastic replay of a conversation earlier this week between Republican presidential nominee John McCain and a reporter from California's Orange County Register. In that interview, reports Huffington, McCain admitted he had no idea how much a gallon of gas currently costs. more
Ford Waits as GM, Toyota Take Lead on Plug-In Hybrids
By Scott Doggett June 27, 2008Ford Motor Co., under pressure to trim its reliance on trucks, said it's moving more slowly than other automakers on plug-in hybrid vehicles so that rivals assume the risk of marketing the new technology. "If customers aren't buying them, we're not making them,'' Ted Miller, Ford's senior manager of energy storage, said in an interview with Bloomberg Thursday. "If there's going to be a true plug-in hybrid market, we're going to be there. It's just that that's a huge commitment to actually go to production.'' That tack may force the world's third-largest automaker to play catch-up if plug-ins such more
VW Hedged, Vows New Golf Coming
By Michelle Krebs June 30, 2008By Bill Visnic Just when U.S. auto consumers are drastically downsizing, it would be more than a trifle disconnected to pull your entry-level car from the market. But that's what German sources recently reported Volkwswagen AG had in mind for the next-generation Rabbit - sold as a premium car in Europe (as the iconic Golf), but to now the tiniest of blips on the sales charts here. Not so, say VW sources on this side of the Atlantic. "We are currently in the process of planning the launch of the Golf VI, scheduled for fall 2009," says Steve Keyes, a more