The United States Congress has yet to pass any of the proposed appropriations that would fund a massive electrification drive by the U.S. Postal Service. Nonetheless, the post office is moving ahead with a test program in Washington, D.C. that will…
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It's official! Fiat gets 35% stake in Chrysler for small cars
Yesterdays rumors are today's reality: Chrysler and Fiat are hitching up. Chrysler's majority owner Cerberus will GIVE nearly half of its stake in Chrysler to Fiat. That's give as in, “please take it!” Fiat will will not pay Cerberus any cash in this…
Officially Official: Toyota launches European Land Cruiser [w/VIDEO]
2010 Euro-market Toyota Land Cruiser – click above for high-res image gallery
Back before SUVs became all the rage, for decades, Toyota built a bruiser of a truck called Land Cruiser. Like its counterparts from America and the UK, the Jeep CJ/…
Shai Agassi talks about Better Place, $20,000 EV, batteries extra
Shai Agassi has big ideas when it comes to electric cars. He wants to build networks of public charging outlets and battery swap stations. He also wants to sell electric cars with a battery subscription plan similar to cell phone calling plans. In an…
United Solar Ovonic gets DOE contract to reduce solar power costs
The Department of Energy has awarded a three deal to United Solar Ovonic to share costs and cooperate on low-cost photovoltaic solar systems that can be integrated into building construction. The biggest flaw of photovoltaics right now is cost vs…
Road&Track tests the FedEx W700 Hybrid
I've been a long-time reader of Road&Track, and as long as I can remember, the April issue has always featured a special road test of a vehicle, outside the usual fare that they serve up. Past issues have included the likes of the Concorde, a…
Spider-like catamaran goes 5,000 on one tank of diesel
Tesla isn't the only silicon valley company working on more efficient vehicles. Marine Advanced Research has built a prototype catamaran called Proteus that they describe as a Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel. Catamarans are generally known for their…
Detroit 2008: Subaru changes their mind, diesel coming to the US after all!
When Subaru announced their new diesel boxer four-cylinder engine, American Subie fans were disappointed to learn that the company wasn't planning to offer the engine here. Fortunately it looks like rising fuel prices and increasing fuel economy…
Detroit Preview: Ford will reveal more details on 4-cylinder EcoBoost engines
At the Detroit Auto Show next month, Ford will be announcing details on its first four cylinder EcoBoost engine. That is expected to be a 1.6L engine which will be built in the UK starting in 2010. In October, the company announced a $110 million…
pretty detailed write-up last summer on GM's new light-duty diesel V-8
We gave a that will premiere in 2009. The new engine was specifically designed to fit within the same package dimensions as the long-running small-block V-8. As such, the diesel can potentially be installed in any GM vehicle that currently carries…