Lets face it, gas is getting expensive and fuel efficient cars are becoming more sought after by new car buyers. Is a hybrid vehicle the answer? Thanks to a new page at fueleconomy.gov, it will become easier to determine if a hybrid is the right choice for you.
Coming off a very successful start to the year that already generated a 42.1 million euro profit, Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo is confirming a hybrid Enzo by the end of the year.
The hybrid, all-wheel drive Audi R18 e-tron quattro race car sporting a diesel powerplant will make its race debut at Spa Francorchamps this weekend.
Sports cars have often set the bar in new automotive technology and trends. Things like dual-clutch transmissions and forced induction engines were practically engineered for the sole purpose of taking a sports car to the absolute edge of excitement and danger.
Demand for diesel-powered passenger cars is growing in the U.S., though it’s still a fraction of the market — a trend Bosch boss Peter Marks sees accelerating in the future.
Little will change on the surface of the 2013 Audi Q5, but that’s alright because it’s a handsome vehicle with three new engine options for the U.S. market.
Bentley‘s controversial EXP 9 F SUV that debuted last month at the Geneva Auto Show is soldiering on despite overwhelmingly negative reception at its unveiling.
More than a month later, the luxury automaker is revealing engine details including possibilities that might come as a surprise. As might be expected, a 4.0-liter V8 version is being discusses, as is a 6.0-liter V12 to top the range, but the shocker here is that Bentley says it is considering a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
All three engine options are tentative to date, but the two traditional Bentley powerhouses are likely to live into production. If the automaker decides to roll out the third variant it would represent an entirely new direction for the company: an SUV, and a hybrid — both items that would be newcomers in the British marque’s line.
According to the company, the efficiency-minded powertrain would be based around a V6. We know that the V12 would offer 600 hp and 500 hp from the V8, but estimated horsepower figures for the hybrid system were absent. While there’s a chance the world could see such an EXP 9 F built, it seems more likely that the company is using its ostentatious and the attention it garners to signal possible future options across the board.
With tightening average fuel economy numbers becoming a greater issue for automakers like Bentley that have historically relied on gas-guzzling powerplants, it might make sense to start thinking of alternatives. Then again, it may very well be considering a hybrid SUV for China, it’s largest market.
The automotive industry is a global business that is constantly evolving and growing, and we here at AutoGuide know it can be hard to keep up sometimes. So here is a summary of the top stories you may have missed this week:
Fuel economy numbers are more important now than ever before, as gas prices continue to rise in North America.
Recently Dodge came under criticism for announcing its upcoming Dart compact will get 40 mpg combined.
An impressively high number, even a class-leading car like the Hyundai Elantra, which gets 40 mpg highway, only achieves an average of 33 mpg. While the exact fuel economy figures have yet to be released and a 40 mpg highway rating is still in sight, when the Dart (above) goes on sale later this year it most certainly will not get 40 mpg average; not in real world driving and not even on the window sticker.
Dodge wasn’t wrong. They’re not even entirely to blame. If fact, they were just using a different testing method to get their fuel economy numbers. Or to put it more accurately, they weren’t even doing the testing. So why would a different testing method be used? It’s a long and complex story, but the gist of it is that according to a government mandate, in order for Fiat to take control of Chrysler it needed achieve three goals, the final one being building a 40 mpg car on American soil. Being government related, that number is a CAFE number, not an EPA number. What’s the difference? Read on.
Acura just announced pricing for its new ILX sedan, which will start at $25,900 and runs all the way to $34,400 for the highest-priced hybrid model.
Ranging from a 2.0-liter inline four cylinder engine in the base model to the 2.4-liter powerplant sourced from the Honda Civic Si and topped out cost-wise with the 1.5-liter hybrid drivetrain, the ILX will go on sale at dealerships starting May 22.
Last week, Chrysler announced delivery of four plug-in hybrid Town & Country minivans to the Auburn Hills city of Michigan as the initial part of an extensive two-year hybrid development project worth $25.8 million. Today, company delivered eight more units to the Duke Energy utility company as part of the two-year project.
As the only minivan to boast a plug-in hybrid powertrain in combination with flex-fuel capability, Chrysler also revealed the specifications of its new plug-in Town & Country.
When it was initially unveiled, the BMW i8 made a splash. Its striking design and interesting drivetrain piqued interest, but after a detail drought people seem to have forgotten about the Bimmer concept in favor of more tangible fodder.
Nonetheless, it’s hard to believe that people won’t be instantly as hungry the second more information emerges. Most recently, former senior designer at BMW Design Works, Sonny Lim, tried his hand at rendering what the finished product might look like.
A car that drives itself might seem cool — until you realize it’s probably a Toyota Prius. What if you prefer something a more upscale automated chauffeur? It seems Google feels the same way by giving a Lexus RX450h the autonomous treatment.
The vehicle was spotted testing in Southern California and seems to be sporting a different sensor than some other autonomous vehicles Google used in the past. This unit seems smaller and a little more aerodynamic.
“In the course of our work, we experiment with testing our algorithms on various vehicles to help us improve our technology,” Google told Wired, essentially saying they’re progressing to a variety of vehicles.
Who knows when autonomous vehicles start making their way into dealerships, but a bill passed last week has made California a bit more friendly to self driving cars.
[Source: Wired]
Ford recently announced the EPA fuel efficiency rating for its electric Focus model. Since it doesn’t burn any gasoline, the number isn’t in miles per gallon (MPG), but was given as miles per gallon gasoline equivalent, or MPGe. A new term to the automotive lexicon, it’s worth exploring exactly what MPGe means and how an MPGe rating is determined, especially as the number of electric cars and plug-in electric hybrids on the roads continues to increase.
Unveiled at the New York Auto Show last week, the 2013 Lexus ES has an all-new look, along with the company’s new trademark grille. Underneath that new look, however, is something that’s even more unique, the platform from the upcoming Toyota Avalon.
Previous Lexus ES models were based on Toyota’s Camry, and while the new 2013 model would seem right at home on the Camry underpinnings, Toyota and Lexus have given it the longer platform from the Avalon full-size sedan that was also revealed at New York.
Michael Kroll, manager at Lexus Communications told us “The ES platform will be shared with the recently announced Avalon. It is a significantly updated platform with a wheelbase of 111″, about two inches longer than the Camry platform.”
This extended wheelbase results in the ES being slightly longer than before and with more interior space than the outgoing model.
Is your car using too much gas? Price for gasoline is getting up there, and if you’re not careful enough while driving, you could be spending a lot more than you have to on fuel.
There’s some good and bad news for those looking to get better mileage with each tank. First, the good: it is possible to squeeze out more miles per gallon, even without having to spend money on a new hybrid car, or extra maintenance. The bad news: it’s going to require a change in your driving habits.
Nick Chambers, Green Car Specialist tells us that “even small changes such as driving a bit slower, anticipating traffic lights, trying to come to a full stop as little as possible, accelerating in a steady/relatively slow manner, using cruise control and planning trips to have the least amount of travel and stops, can make big differences.” In fact, these changes can account for as much as a 15 to 20% improvement, he says.
Focused on saving money and the environment from behind the wheel, ecodriving.org lists five “Golden Rules” for gas tank friendly driving, and have some reasoning behind why they work. Let’s take a look at a few tips they provide.
Over the weekend BMW unveiled their i8 Spyder Concept. Today we have an additional video, showing the drop-top concept in action.
For those not in the know, the i8 is BMW’s most advanced car yet. It features a 170-hp electric motor which powers the front wheels. Powering the rear wheels is a 1.5 liter, three cylinder engine which produces 223 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque.
With numbers like that, the i8 manages a 0-60 time in about 4.9 seconds, thanks to the cars relatively light weight. It’s also very quiet, something you can witness for yourself in the video.
With the car’s fuel-economic credentials, the i8 has an all electric range of 20 miles, before the three-cylinder range extender kicks in, which will apparently achieve something close to 78.5 mpg.
Check out the concept in action in the video below.
Introduced for the Japanese market last December, the Toyota Prius C had only hit U.S. showrooms on March 12. In only its first three days in the U.S. market, the Prius C sold 1,201 units, eclipsing the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf’s complete February sales performance of 1,023 and 478 units respectively.
However, demand for the new small hybrid is even greater in Japan. Quite the hot seller, a 120,000 order backlog for Japan threatens the U.S. allocation. Toyota announced that current supply constraints limit the plants to only assembling 6,000 units per month for the North American market, or 30,000 Prius C’s a month in total.
The car is built exclusively in the Kanto factory of Iwate, northern Japan, and while the plant exported as much as 60 percent of its output in 2007, only 30 percent of its output is exported today. The lack of a North American plant for assembly combined with the yen’s steadily rising rate of exchange against the dollar has tightened the profit margin of the Japan-made vehicle, causing Toyota to concentrate its sales efforts to Japan.
Despite the challenges, Kanto Iwate President Tetsuo Hattori said that tweaks will be performed to push efficiencies that should help boost capacity. What’s more, the Japan-specific Ractis subcompact, built in the same plant, will gradually shift its production elsewhere starting in May, providing extra capacity and dedicating more of the facility to Prius C assembly.
Besides the Ractis small car, a number of Scion xD models, the Belta/Yaris sedans, and the Blade hatchback are manufactured at the Iwate plant.
“We have to produce other models too, so we are running at quite high utilization. We are looking at ways of satisfying demand of all our customers,” Hattori said.
So far, Hattori is unaware of discussions to expand Prius C capacity by assembling them at other plants as well. He did note that Toyota will commence a group wide manufacturing strategy review in Japan this April and May.
Read AutoGuide’s Toyota Prius c Review Here
[Source: Auto News]
Our spies caught the new Audi Q5 out for winter testing without the usual camo clothing you might expect from such spy photos.
We’ve got to laugh a little at the German automaker for deciding to intentionally offer less-than-optimal fuel efficiency in the Q5s headed to North America. Their 2.0-liter TDI is actually more efficient than the hybrid powertrain that will be available stateside.
To keep people from flocking to the most efficient bird in the roost, Audi decided to slip the same 3.0-liter diesel from the Q7 into the smaller Q5, branding it as a more performance-oriented option.
You can see in the photos that the Q5 is getting Audi’s S-line treatment like the new A4 and A6. We’re also told that the compact SUV will come with the latest multimedia interface, including Audi connect and Google Maps.
You might believe that a high-tech hybrid might cost you an arm and a leg, but the Prius c may surprise you.
Toyota has officially announced the pricing and trim levels of the new Prius c. There will be four versions available, each called grades. Each grade will come with the same hybrid power train, and safety features.
The ticket to 50mpg costs $18,950 for the first grade. If you want more in your Prius c, you can opt for one of the other grades, each offering more options than the next. Grade two costs $19,900 and offers convenience features like intermittent wipers, fold down rear seats, cruise control, better speakers and center console with armrest and storage.
To get your geek on, you’ll have to pay $21,635 and go for grade three, which has Toyota’s Entune infotainment system. The Entune system has a 6.1-inch touch-screen with navigation and premium audio services that connect to your iPod. Entune also packs in real-time traffic and weather information, and can even help you find a place to eat, using the Bing, and OpenTable integration. Grade Three also comes with bluetooth hands-free phone, and voice commands and door handles which can be locked, or unlocked with one touch.
Lastly there is Grade four, which has everything grade three has to offer, as well as 15-inch alloys, foglights, heated seats and power outside mirrors. Grade four will cost $23,230.
Extra optional equipment is only available for the Grade Three and Four models.
Buyers can expect the Prius c in dealerships as soon as March. For more information on the 2012 Toyota Prius c check out our review.
Audi is out to steal Toyota‘s thunder in the World Endurance Championship this year.
The German automaker announced today that it will run two hybrid LMP1 cars for the first time in their team of four during the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Details were scarce in the release, but we know that the cars will be officially released at the end of the month. Their first race debut will follow on May 5 at the 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Despite running the hybrid cars, Audi isn’t relying on them. Instead the R18 TDI that raced last year will remain the staple.
“The first test results are very encouraging and we are intrigued to see just how this technology performs in combination with our ultra lightweight technology on the race track at Le Mans. As before, we still, however, see potential with the conventional drive – just as our colleagues do in production development,” head of Audi Motorsport Wolfgang Ullrich said.
It seems that the engineers at Audi are putting some stock in Toyota’s strategy because developing and running those cars is no small feat.
“To develop the hybrid technology for Le Mans is at least as ambitious and challenging as our diesel project was in its early stages,” Ullrich said.
Audi won 10 of the total Le Mans races since 2000, so the fact that they’re putting money into a hybrid LMP1 means there’s probably something significant to be gained.
Folks once scoffed at the idea of a hybrid race car, but with Toyota announcing its TS030 Hybrid car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Porsche already well on the hybrid race car bandwagon, it might not be too much of a stretch to believe these rumors that the Ferrari-powered, Pininfarina-designed P4/5 Competizione is going green.
Reports from Europe are coming in that the GT prototype is looking to make a return to the Nürburgring VLN series with a hybrid powertrain. It appears that the hybrid system will be provided by Magneti Marelli and will be similar to the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that was developed for Scuderia Ferrari in F1.
We’re sure the primary source of power will still come from the 4.0L V8 powerplant, but the addition of an electric motor will definitely help the P4/5 Competizione compete on the Nürburgring where reliability is sometimes more important than power.
[Source: Autoblog.nl]
Efficiency is important these days. The government is cracking down on gas guzzlers and imposing strict regulations that force automakers into saving more fuel than ever before.
That’s why it might come as a surprise that Audi of America is opting not to offer their most efficient diesel engine in the upcoming 2013 Q5. That’s right, the German luxury brand sees fit to package the same diesel 3.0-liter V6 that they currently offer American consumers in the Q7.
Why, you might ask? The answer is simple, though less than logical. Audi is afraid of selling a 2.0 turbo diesel Q5 because it gets better milage than the hybrid-electric powertrain they are offering in the same vehicle.
In other words, the diesel engine is too efficient for the discerning U.S. palette. Now, there may be some merit to the theory, considering diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline. People can be quick to judge at the pump and diesels still carry a somewhat sordid name among American consumers, even today.
On the other hand Hybrids evoke green imagery and environmentally friendly thoughts, which is even funnier when you realize that Europeans have been driving diesels to save fuel for decades.
Regardless of the reasoning, Audi is doing a good job of pandering to consumer egos, saying they chose to offer a more performance oriented diesel and an efficient hybrid.
Speaking of performance-oriented diesels, the company will also be offering Americans the same engine in the A8 later this year. The same logic that spoiled the chances for a 2.0-liter diesel Q5 is also keeping the hybrid A8 out of reach.
“Our current A8 with the 4.2L gasoline V-8 gets the same fuel economy as hybrids from BMW, Lexus and Mercedes” due to its emphasis on weight-saving aluminum construction, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said to Ward’s Auto. “Imagine now what happens when you put a diesel in the car. You have all the driveability and driving enjoyment with even better fuel economy.”
In fact, 41% of Q7 and 55% of A3 sales in the U.S. were diesel models, though the fact that Audi still ships from Germany probably restricted supply, so it makes sense that they would be rolling more models out with the oil-burning option.
[Source: Wards Auto]
Pump up your tires and pump up your tank, there’s a new kind of fuel in town thanks to the Dearman Engine Company.
Well, that’s not totally true. The fuel is actually air in liquid form, so it isn’t actually new, but the London-based company that formed just under a year ago has managed to develop an engine that runs on it.
The system works by storing air at -256 degrees Fahrenheit in a tank before pumping it into a cylinder with what Dearman calls a heat exchange fluid. Once inside the chamber, the liquid air rapidly expands to propel the piston in the same fashion as a traditional internal combustion engine. The coolest part is that the system’s exhaust only emits air.
Tech stories about revolutionary new systems aren’t all that rare and they usually end by essentially saying “it’s really cool, but don’t expect it to ever be mainstream” and while that’s probably still the case here, Dearman is quick to point out that their motor relies solely on existing materials.
Truth be told, the air is actually just an energy catalyst. That means automotive applications would require a secondary power source to keep the tank chilled. It also seems that liquid air used as fuel would slowly disappear from cars that sat for a long time.
The system is currently being tested for real-world feasibility, but if it proves to be a workable system we speculate that it could play into a new gasoline or electric hybrid drivetrain somewhere in the future. If it ever happens, you could be “gassing up” with an air compressor while you check tire pressure. Watch the video after the jump to learn more.
[Source: CNET]
