Autoblog

Click above to view the Fiat 500 Aria concept in hi-res

Having already had to increase production several times over, the Fiat 500 continues to win the hearts and minds of consumers around the world... tree-huggers included. But that isn't about to stop Fiat from seeking out even more buyers, especially those of environmental conscience. And so reports indicate that the Italian automaker is preparing a hybrid version of the popular retro-mini.

Previewed by the unveiling of the 500 Aria concept at this year's Geneva Motor Show, the 500 hybrid is tipped to join an electric motor and battery pack to Fiat's 0.9-liter two-cylinder gasoline engine. The diminutive yet stylish hybrid is also expected to employ start-stop technology and a dual-clutch transmission to further reduce emissions and increase fuel economy, which promises to increase the green factor for the entire Fiat group. Intriguingly, however, Fiat is reportedly planning to unveil the 500 hybrid at Goodwood Festival of Speed next summer.

[Source: Auto Express via AutoblogGreen]

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Peugeot RC...

With the semi-annual auto salon returning to Paris this fall, you can expect France's major automakers to make a big splash this year. Peugeot is preparing to unveil a new concept car, and has given us a bit of a heads-up in the form of a few images and some teasingly cryptic details.

With the name of the actual car not yet released, Peugeot is referring to the show car as the RC, adopting the same thematic nomenclature as the RC Spade and RC Diamond concepts from 2002 and the 908RC concept sedan from the last Paris Motor Show in 2006. Like those concepts, this one is not meant to directly preview a production car in the pipeline. However, it does foreshadow Peugeot's new design direction. The four-door concept's styling melds smooth flowing lines and sharp creases to make for a stunning shape, and moves the huge lion emblem farther south, not unlike the Audi R8's grille. The echoes of Ingolstadt aren't new for Peugeot, with many asserting that the 308 RC Z borrowed too heavily from the Audi TT. As for propulsion, Peugeot insists that "respect for the environment and driving pleasure can be compatible", and so have fitted the RC with an unspecified hybrid powertrain producing a maximum of 313 hp and emitting only 109 g/km of CO2 in gasoline mode and, of course, zero in electric.

Check out the press release after the jump and the gallery below to view the teaser shots of the upcoming Peugeot hybrid concept, and stay tuned as we close in on the Paris show for more details.

[Source: Peugeot]

click to visit AutoblogGreen

AutoblogGreen got a chance to take the new Honda Fit Sport out for a few miles recents, and we like what we saw and felt. There will be a full-on review of this stylish, high-mileage vehicle coming soon, but for now we understand what all the fuss is about. What we don't quite understand is what Newt was thinking. Or FOSH, for that matter.

• ABG First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit Sport
• Report: Fiat readying 500 hybrid
• Dumbest Quote of the Day: Newt says keeping tires inflated helps Big Oil
• MDI puts the first AirCar on the road
• Tesla talking about future product plans with Brit magazines, no SUV coming
• Hyundai might bring the 47mpg I10 stateside
• The "first unlimited mileage electric car" from FOSH is a no-show
• Reducing GHG emissions by producing bioplastics alongside ethanol
• Japanese sake brewer produces cellulosic ethanol
• Velotaxis print now how much CO₂ you saved
• Ford expands fuel cell test fleet tests by two years
• eBay Find of the Day: G-Wiz from Top Gear
• Spain expands CO₂ emission-based tax scheme to two-wheelers
• Billions of gallons of gas could be saved by "Smart Intersections"

click to visit AutoblogGreen

A legal loophole lies behind the current generation of three-wheeled vehicles and has led to a few important questions: Are they legal? Should they be? Answers to these questions will be coming as legislators and companies work things out, but we can certainly answer today whether this customized Prius was a good idea (no). Schools around the country, meanwhile, have come to the conclusion that four-day school weeks are brilliant. Where were high gas prices when I was in school?

• Why make three-wheeled vehicles? Are they legal? Should they be?
• Customized Prius proves that hybrids and common sense do not correlate
• When it comes to hybrid batteries, it's the U.S. of dependency
• 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDIs now available for customer delivery
• Maine pulls ZAP Xebra registration despite compliance with the law
• Jetstream SC250: An ethanol-capable track-day tool
• Volkswagen gives environmental awards to employees
• Imperium faces new setback with loss of major contract
• Ford's EcoBoost engines reportedly to cost $700 extra
• Electric Pinto only explodes off the starting line
• Suzuki to introduce E100-capable flex-fuel models in 2010
• AltWheels returns to Boston area next month
• Chinese company begins exporting hydrogen mopeds
• Volt design director Bob Boniface to chat on GMNext Tuesday
• Schools go to four-day school week, make lots of other cuts thanks to high fuel prices

Click above to watch a video with slides of the production Chevy Volt

We got our first sneak peek at the production Chevy Volt last week, but a recent presentation by Bob Boniface, director of design for the Volt, has revealed a bit more. We've pasted a video of the presentation and slide show after the break, and in it Boniface notes how the concept's straight lines and tight corners have been smoothed over and rounded out in an effort to reduce turbulence. This streamlining improves the Volt's fuel mileage, range on electricity and the amount of regenerative braking that can be captured. Also seen for the first time is a rear shot of the Volt, showing a pronounced "vertical fin," and a new rear spoiler design. Likewise, the side-view mirrors' mounting arrangement was revised for reduced aerodynamic drag. These changes, along with countless others which have not been fully revealed, have allowed the Volt's engineers and designers to increase EV-only range by six to seven miles.

While we're salivating over all the little tidbits of information on the Volt, we look forward to its official debut expected in Paris at the Motor Show this October. However, recent rumors indicate that the extended-range electric-vehicle could be seen at GM's Centennial celebration on September 16. Thanks for the tip, Emil!


[Sources: GM-Volt, Green Fuels Forecast, The Detroit Free Press]

Lovers of both fuel mileage and torque can finally rest easy; Volkswagen of America is now officially selling its 50-State-approved, clean diesel engine in either the Jetta sedan for $21,990 or Jetta SportWagen wrappers for $23,590. Equipped with the six-speed DSG transmission, both Jetta gets an EPA rating of 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway. We expect to see better real-world numbers, though we're a bit wary of VW's advertising its alternate rating of 38/44 -- a number that is impossible to compare with anything else currently available. In any case, the $2,000 premium for the TDI engine will be lessened somewhat by the Fed's $1,300 tax credit which applies to either TDI model. Look for an early test of the oil-burner on these pages shortly.

[Source: Volkswagen]

click to visit AutoblogGreen

Where would you have rather been this weekend, checking out the classics during the Woodward Cruise or out in San Francisco looking on as 133 tiny Smart cars packed Lombard Street? Alternately, you maybe wanted to get in on the $1.99/gal deal that was used to promote electric cars in Missouri. So many good places to be.

• 133 Smarts pack San Francisco's Lombard Street!
• Woodward 2008: Touring the NextCruise tents
• Woodward 2008: It's not all gas guzzling muscle cars
• Human-powered "Dogsled" cycle shows up for Dream Cruise
• At Witz End - GM's EV1, the True Story, part I
• Surprise: Segway loses to parked car in crash testing
• The trend continues: people want smaller cars, not compromises
• Selling cheap gas to promote electric cars?
• Zap one step closer to building electric car factory in Kentucky
• Some complete speculation on the Daimler-Tesla deal
• Toyota wants hybrids across the board, remains dubious of plug-ins
• Well, gas prices have dipped... did praying help?
• Toyota Highlander adds four cylinder option for 2009

More headlines after the break.

Click either image for a high-res gallery.

Another year, another limited edition Lexus. But this year's Pebble Beach Edition SC430 (the sixth consecutive variant) is joined by the first-ever LS 600h L Pebble Beach Edition. We know, the excitement is palpable.

Only 50 LS 600h Ls will be made available in Callaway Golf Experience, Travel Package or Epicurean Encounter trim levels, swathed in Truffle Mica exterior paint and featuring two-tone Alabaster and black leather trim interior, with Dark Grey Bird's-eye maple wood trim. Both models receive all the prerequisite badging to stand apart from the rest of the Lexi in the golf-course parking lot, and are equipped with a host of standard equipment that you can read all about in the press release after the jump.

One of the 300 2009 SC 430s can be yours this September, while the Pebble Beach Edition LS 600h L will hit dealers the following month.

In the future, we'll eat all our meals from toothpaste tubes, everyone will be beautiful and healthy, and we won't need cars, what with the proliferation of nuclear-powered jet packs. Prediction is such thorny business, though Toyota isn't making such a fantastical claim by suggesting that each of its vehicles will have a hybrid option available by 2020. Wired's blog seems to agree that by 2020, hybrids will have proliferated like rabbits, and we'll be awash in electron propulsion systems.

We still feel a little cheated that eight years into the 21st century, we still don't have all those things promised to us fifty years ago, but at least automakers are hard at work pushing alternative systems toward viability. Justin Ward, a manager at the Toyota Technical Center overseeing advanced powertrain programs, told a Management Briefing Seminar in Traverse city that work continues on fuel cells to overcome challenges like climate extremes and range. Battery technology, too, will continue to advance, making the current Hybrid Synergy Drive even more efficient. Toyota is still holding off on diesels, and plug-ins present some issues when you consider where that electricity is generated, so it's looking like Toyota will continue to develop its fuel cell technology for the long term and bolster its hybrid offerings in the near future.

[Source: Auto News - sub req. Photo: itd.idaho.gov]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota FT-HS concept.

A report by Automotive News detailing Toyota's future products reveals that the automaker's focus will be realigned to meet new fuel efficiency standards and limiting high-powered and niche offerings.

On the hybrid side, the new Prius will debut in Detroit, with sales beginning in the spring of 2009 as a 2010 model. The nickel-metal hydride battery will remain, and because of that, the plug-in model will be delayed until a lithium ion battery is offered. The new Prius will be packing the Corolla's 1.8-liter four cylinder and the car will be an inch wider and a half-inch longer. The second hybrid model might not come to Detroit, but development is currently under way and sales will be limited to Japan.

The Supra revival has been shelved due to high mpg requirements, allowing Toyota to focus on its RWD coupe, jointly developed by Subaru. Also, there's only room for one body-on-frame SUV from the automaker, so the 4Runner will be re-engineered for the 2010 model year, will debut in either New York or Chicago, and the FJ Cruiser will complete its lifecycle and be dropped in the next few years.

The Sienna and Venza will be equipped with hybrid drivetrains in 2012, with the Sienna receiving a facelift late next year, along with more cargo space and room for third-row occupants.

The report goes on to state that the Corolla will be redesigned in 2013, along with the Matrix, the next Camry will receive a facelift in 2010, with the new model debuting in 2012, and the new Avalon will debut in 2011 as a 2012 model.


[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]