Mazda has just announced that starting next year it will begin leasing an all electric versions of its new Mazda2 sub-compact. Few details are available, but the EV will have a driving range of 200 km (124 miles) and the lease program will be offered to government agencies and fleet customers in Japan.

This expansion into the electric car market is a part of Mazda’s larger “Building Block Strategy” that is primarily focused on reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel economy through traditional methods. This includes Mazda’s SkyActiv engines, which will debut later this year, delivering as much as 70-mpg in the Mazda2.

In addition, Mazda is currently working on hybrids systems and will look to add regenerative braking to its models in the future.

Get more Mazda2 news and info at Mazda2Revolution.com

Don’t you hate waiting to turn left? Imagine living in a world with no left turns… oh, if only it were true. Well, it is, kinda. Meet the Superstreet, a simple traffic design that hopes to offer drivers much faster travel times, as well as a big reduction in car crashes and injuries.

The super-smart researchers at North Carolina State University have been testing this concept and the results are looking good for us left-turners. These superstreets are ground level streets that make way for more thru-traffic by re-routing traffic from side streets that would normally be trying to get across the main road.

This thoroughfare provides a stream of constantly moving traffic that would follow a main arterial road. If you wanted to turn left or cross this thoroughfare, you would first have to make a right turn and join the main stream of traffic. To make your left turn, a little way down the road, just head down the superstreet a bit and make U-turn and continue along the thoroughfare or turn right onto a side street, depend on your destination. (Essentially it’s a lot like a Michigan U-turn).

Even though this may sound like it’s a longer process, the researchers found that it saves drivers quite a bit of time. This is due to the fact that drivers are no longer waiting to make left-hand turns or for traffic from cross-streets to go across the main thoroughfare.

“The study shows a 20 percent overall reduction in travel time compared to similar intersections that use conventional traffic designs,” said Dr Joe Hummer, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at NC State and one of the researchers behind the study. “We also found that superstreet intersections experience an average of 46 percent fewer reported automobile collisions – and 63 percent fewer collisions that result in personal injury.”

Do you think a design like this will actually work or is it too much trouble to actually implement the new superstreet? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Source: Gizmag]

We can all feel a little safer in our vehicles, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced recently that automakers will be required to install larger side curtain airbags. These new airbags are a measure to help prevent injuries and deaths that may occur during a rollover accident.

We will start to see these new airbags in vehicles starting in 2013, with full implementation in 2018. According to NHTSA, they will help to curtail the number of people that are ejected through side windows in the event of a rollover.

Coming in second behind frontal crashes, rollovers can be deadly – if you’re involved in a rollover crash, you’re 14 times more likely to die than if you were in a frontal crash. And here are some more scary stats – in the last decade, 47% percent of people killed in rollover crashes were completely ejected from the vehicle.

“This new standard will help save lives and reduce injuries by requiring vehicles to have a safety system that keeps occupants in the vehicle in a rollover crash,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The new airbag rules will apply to vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less. The costs that come with the new application are pretty low, so it will add about $31 to the price of a vehicle.

[Source: LeftLaneNews]

You think you hate those rising gas prices – well, drivers aren’t the only ones. Automakers aren’t too pleased about skyrocketing gas prices either as they could undermine years of design and manufacturing planning.

Gas prices could hit $4-plus per gallon sooner rather than later, and that could spell doom for automakers. This is due not only to the price of gas, but also materials that make up car components such as steel, aluminum, copper and platinum.

When the price of gas goes up, so does the demand for smaller cars, like in 2008 when gas prices reached all-time highs and so did interest in cars like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Ford Focus. But when gas prices dropped soon after, these small cars were stuck to gather moss on dealer lots.

And although the gas prices have been rising slower than in 2008, it has still been following the same pattern – it went from 32 percent in January to $4.11 per gallon in July, then fell back to $1.65 by year end. Even though the average U.S. gas price is 25 percent below where it was then, experts are reporting a switch to smaller vehicles.

“We’re seeing consumers quickly shift back to a higher mix of fuel-efficient cars and now trucks are actually starting to slow down,” said Bob Carter, U.S. market brand chief for Toyota Motor Co. “Sixty days ago, we found the opposite happening.”

Would you switch to a smaller and more fuel-efficient car now that gas prices are going up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Source: Reuters]

If you get pulled over for speeding in Abu Dhabi, you can’t use the old “I didn’t see the posted speed limit” excuse because it’s right there in front of you. There’s no missing the colored lanes with painted speed limits right on the roads.

Since Abu Dhabi has recently updated their speed limits for certain roads in and around the city, the municipality thought it would be a good idea to give drivers a unique warning to slow down. Sections of the road are now paved bright red asphalt and feature the new speed limit painted right on the lanes.

Officials say that the new measure will enhance road safety and ensure that drivers always know the speed limit.

[Source: Gulf News]

General Motors has long had a major presence in middle eastern markets, particularly in Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where it has sold large numbers of its American sedans (particularly full sized ones) like the Chevy Impala and Caprice, but with slight equipment differences.

However, there’s also a large percentage of sports car buyers in this part of the world, with the Corvette ranking is one of the more high profile offerings.

Recently, Chevrolet introduced updated variants of the Corvette for Middle Eastern consumption, changes include a Grand Sport model with the dual mode exhaust system as standard (it’s optional on the base car in this region), along with two new paint colors (Orange and Supersonic Blue), with contrasting headlamp pockets, plus an upgraded stereo, new wheel options and Goodyear Eagle F1 Super Car GEN2 tires.

[Source: automiddleeast.com]

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Chevrolet Grand Sport Review Here

It’s no big secret that the current generation Chevy Camaro is fast becoming one of the most accessorized vehicles on the planet, but for 2011 things are about to get even better.

GM Performance Parts has just released its latest 2011 catalog which includes all kinds of goodies for the Camaro including a pair of formidable crate engines – a big block LSX 454 that cranks out more than 620 horsepower and a version of the Corvette ZR1′s formidable supercharged LS9 small block V8 that cranks out 638 hp.

And in order to showcase exactly what’s possible, with some imagination and spare cash, the catalog illustrates a pair of modern day dealer built ‘supercars’ centering around these two engines. The first, built  by DeNooyer Chevrolet in New York, showcases the LX 454 big-block, coupled with a six-speed manual gearbox.

The car, finished in old-school Hugger Orange with white rally stripes and officially named the HTR-SS454 (named after DeNooyer’s partner Redline Motorsports’ founder Howard Tanner), also features a special port fuel injection system, all forged internals for the engine and beefed up driveline to handle the extra power over the stock SS LS3 motor. In many respects, it’s a modern day version of Joel Rosen’s Baldwin-Motion 427 and 454 powered Camaros of the muscle car era, sold through Baldwin Chevrolet on Long Island.

The second ‘super’ Camaro, showcases the LS9 motor and was built by NeSmith Chevrolet, located in Georgia, which also happens to be the largest volume dealer for GM Performance Parts in the US. Dubbed the NeSmith ‘Storm Camaro,’ it’s finished in menacing black and according to the dealer’s in house custom facility, the LS9 was essentially a straight drop in, as it shares much of its architecture with the original LS3. Complete with a dry sump oiling system, the supercharged small block has been tuned to deliver 700 hp, requiring upgraded drivetrain parts to handle the extra power, along with a monster six-piston caliper Brembo brake system.

For more information on these cars and other GMPP goodies, click on the link below.

[Source: GM Performance Parts]

If you drive an electric car, you may be a little hesitant to take it out for an extended drive. That means taking the scenic route is out. Or does it?

If you’re planning to do some sight seeing along the coastal ranges of Washington and Oregon in your electric car, you’ll get a boost from charging stations placed strategically along your drive.

Washington State has teamed up with several businesses for a plan to install a series of charging stations along U.S. Route 2. These charging stations would pop up from Everett, just outside Seattle, and continue 120 miles over the Cascade Mountains to Wenatchee (north central area of the state).

Some of the businesses that will be chipping in to fund these stations include resorts and car dealerships. In addition to those by private businesses, other funds from the Federal Recovery Act will pay for two or three DC quick-charging stations along the route. They should be installed by the end of this year.

Businesses are keen to install these chargers because of the time delay. It takes 30 minutes to recharge your electric car… so what are you going to do with that extra time? Shop, of course! The forward-thinking business owners along the route are likely to generate revenue many times the cost of the electricity they provide.

[Source: The Car Connection]

They may not have the space needed to deliver meals to the elderly on a regular basis, but Meals on Wheels has never looked as flashy as it did recently when food was dropped off to the elderly in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and a Bentley Continental GT.

In Pascack Valley, N.J., the Meals on Wheels program got a lift from Gotham Dream Cars, an exotic-car rental company and club. The idea behind this pairing was to raise public awareness of older people who can’t leave their homes to buy food on their own. “The support of our community is essential to combating senior hunger in the area,” said Jeanne Martin, the director of the Pascack Valley Meals on Wheels program.

Also giving the volunteers a helping hand (or wheels) were a Dodge Viper SRT-10, a Mercedes-Benz S550, a Range Rover Supercharged and a Maserati Quattroporte, giving a whole new meaning to the term “fast food.” And Gotham Dream Cars did more than just donate cars for the day – they also pledged to donate 10 percent of its December gift certificate sales to the charitable organization.

[Source: New York Times]

If you’re looking to get more out of your road trip we’ve got an app for you – the Mobil 1 Open Road app. A great free app that let’s you explore great roads and attractions, it will also provide helpful car care advice.

Let’s just say you are planning a road trip. The Mobil 1 Open Road app makes it easy to plan the whole trip, from start to finish. Just pick a category from the drop-down list (like kids’ day out, museums and restaurants) and enter how far you want to drive. This app will show you how to get there and what attractions you should stop at along the way.

Unfortunately, right now Mobil 1 only offers the App in jolly old Great Britain. That being said, if you’re from the UK, or taking a trip to do some driving on the wrong side of the road, the Mobil 1 App will give you the Top 10 Great British Drives to explore, based on what users have been saying about them. It really takes the stress out of planning a road trip, and isn’t the purpose of a trip supposed to be about relaxation?

But the good times don’t stop there. The Mobil 1 Open Road app also has a car care section that tells you when to check your oil, how to check your oil and why to check your oil.

Watch the video after the jump to see it in action, and if you live in the UK, you can download it for free at the iTunes store.

Here’s hoping they’ll make the Mobil 1 Open Road App available in North America soon. Continue Reading…