Category: Autoblog

Nanomaterials are all the rage in battery chemistry these days, with both A123 and Altairnano relying on the tiny particles to improve the performance of their cells. Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory are now testing adding manganese to…

Long before cars got Smart, there were tiny bubble cars made by BMW and others. Back in the 1950s when Germany was still recovering from World War II, BMW built the two seat, one-door Isetta. That single door was on the front of the car and hinged on…

There are many reasons why small, fuel-efficient cars often sold poorly in the US market from the mid 1980s until relatively recently. Cheap gas was certainly one very important reason. Once the memory of the last energy crisis of the 1979-80 period…

Later today, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to take delivery of three newly-converted plug-in Toyota Priuses. The cars will be used by the city and county for official business. The conversions were done by the crew at Pat's Garage in…

There are already a variety of types of continuously variable transmissions on the market, including the well-known variable pulley and belt type used by companies like Honda, Suzuki and Subaru. Australian Steve Durnin thinks he has a better idea.…

A company called Energy Conversion Devices was formed in 1960, but they didn't really become well known until the mid 1980s when a unit of the company called Ovonic Batteries came into being. Ovonic gained some prominence in the late '80s for their…

Not long after Toyota took up the stake in Subaru that was formerly owned by General Motors, the two companies agreed to work together to add hybrid power-trains to the all-wheel-drive specialist's lineup. The problem is that the unique layout of the…

For those of us who just can't get enough of Jeremy, James and the Hamster (and, of course, the Stig) there is now even more to be had. As the new season kicks off this weekend in Britain, (when do we get the new episodes here?) the Top Gear website…

Click the Jeep Renegade for a high-res gallery
While the current small Jeeps – the Compass and Patriot – are no great shakes, the off-road icon has created a concept that really jump-starts the brand's green image. The Renegade is a small B-class…

Volvo S60 concept – click above for high-res image gallery
It's been rumored for months Chinese automaker Geely had the best shot at picking up the Volvo brand from Ford, and today, Dearborn has finally confirmed it. Geely was named as the preferred…