Just over a year ago, Volkswagen introduced a pair of new engines dubbed TSI, that were designed to provide the power of a larger engine with the efficiency and CO2 emissions of a much smaller engine. The currently available TSI engines are both 1.4L…
Category: Autoblog
All-electric BYD F6E sedan could debut in China in 2008. Maybe
We told you the other day about reports that Chinese automaker BYD was planning to introduce a hybrid car to the Chinese market int 2008. It now appears that they might be planning to go all the way, as it were, and build a full battery electric car.…
Germany commits $2 billion for at least 1,000 hydrogen stations
Honda next-generation solar hydrogen station – Click above for high-res image gallery
The hype for hydrogen as a fuel has quieted down substantially over the past two years as momentum for building out a fueling network has ground to a halt. The…
Low CO2 models have up to 9 month waiting lists in UK
The increasing demand for cars with low carbon dioxide emissions in the UK has meant that they are in short supply. The Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion is a particularly extreme example with wait times of up to 9 months for factory orders. Certain trim…
GM passenger car diesels coming to America?
In the latest Bob Lutz video released on the Fastlane Blog the other day, Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz talked about diesels and didn't seem to exited about the prospects. Toward the end of the video he did mention that some diesels will come to US cars,…
It's not all bad news at Tesla, LA store construction starts
With a co-founder being shown the door and nagging issues with the transmission, these are trying days for the team at Tesla Motors. Rumors swirl from a notoriously unreliable source that the WhiteStar sedan has been killed, although Darryl Siry…
Volkswagen announces new 1.2L three-cylinder diesel
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion – Click above for high-res image gallery
Volkswagen has officially unveiled a new three-cylinder turbodiesel engine at the annual Vienna Motor Symposium. The new 1.2-liter engine features the same common-rail fuel injection…
Bosch-Samsung JV, SB LiMotive Co. Ltd officially starts operations
On Monday September 1, SB Li Motive Co. officially went into business with the goal of producing automotive grade lithium ion batteries by 2011. The company is a joint venture between Bosch and Samsung SDI. Samsung SDI already has experience with…
First batch of winners announced in Lexus Environmental Challenge
Earlier this fall, Lexus and Scholastic Books announced an environmental challenge program for middle and high school students. The intent was to inspire them to develop and then implement action plans to help the environment in a series of four…
SAE 2010: Argonne Lab director says battery electrics still not ready for mainstream
Don Hillebrand understands electric vehicles and their benefits and limitations. As the director of the Center for Transportation Research at the Argonne National Laboratory, he has done plenty of testing on all kinds of alternative drive vehicles.…