Autoblog

Toyota denies plans to build solar car

I warned you not to hold your breath on that solar-powered Toyota. A recent story from Reuters indicated that the Japanese automaker was developing a solar-powered car although a plug-in car would be an intermediate step along the way. In spite of…

Autoblog

Tata wants supplier to develop $10 airbags for the Nano

It's nothing new to have automakers pushing suppliers to cut their component costs. For the past decade and a half, many companies have demanded suppliers provide price reductions of 3 to 5 percent a year, every year, with varying degrees of success.…

Autoblog

Tesla Model S sedan could have swappable battery pack

There are three main obstacles to making electric cars a viable alternative to those powered by internal combustion engines: the weight, cost and range of the batteries. Internal combustion engines have range limits based on the size of their fuel…

Autoblog

BMW planning one dozen new models by 2011

BMW has some pretty aggressive growth plans for the next five years with a target of 1.8 million annual sales by 2012 compared to the 1.37 million it sold in 2006. Execs seem to think they won't be able to grow sales of their existing range…

Autoblog

Paris 2008: Mazda Kiyora city car concept

Mazda is using its new Kiyora city car concept as a platform to demonstrate how it plans to achieve fuel efficiency improvements of 30 percent in the next few years. The Kiyora takes the design themes seen on recent Mazda concepts like the Furai and…

Autoblog

Tesla close to deciding on a location for new factory

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that the first Silicon Valley based car-maker is close to selecting a location for a factory to build their second model (WhiteStar). By early March they are expected to choose between two sites with one being…

Autoblog

Volvo to field test trucks with new DME fueled engines

Late next year, Volvo will start field testing 14 trucks fueled with dimethyl ether, a biomass-derived fuel. DME is produced by gasification of biomass materials, with the syngas converted to a fuel through a catalytic process. The Volvo development…