This week, Ricardo officially opened its new Battery Systems Development Center in Van Buren, MI. The battery lab is claimed to be the biggest of its kind and, as a consultant, Ricardo is opening the facility to anyone developing energy storage…

Automotive designers have been working on the idea of engines without camshafts for many years. Camshafts add complexity, weight and friction to engines. Due to it's physical profile, a cam can only control the movement of a valve within limited…

Lexus dropped the third-generation RX on the world today here at the LA Auto Show. As before, the RX luxury crossover comes in two forms, the standard issue RX350 and the hybrid RX450h. The 3.5L RX350 gets a power bump to 275 hp while the hybrid…

Fiat has earned some recognition for its new eco:Drive system that debuted last fall at the Paris Motor Show. During the recent MediaGuardian Innovation Awards in London, eco:Drive won the top prize for digital technology. The eco:Drive system allows…

UPDATE: bumped this post to remind readers to join the chat if interested.
General Motors is continuing its executive webchat series this week with Jon Lauckner, VP for Global Program Management. Lauckner has been part of the leadership team on the…

Ed Welburn talks about the Buick Riviera concept
At the Max Fisher Music Theater in Detroit yesterday, GM VP of Design Ed Welburn and Buick Design boss Dave Lyons showed off the Buick Riviera concept for the first time in the US. Yes, we know the…

Toyota's Lexus division is teaming up with Scholastic publishing to launch a program for middle and high school students across the country called the Lexus Environmental Challenge. The intent of program is to encoruage the students to get involved…

Following the unveiling of the new Honda FCX Clarity at the recent LA Auto Show, I sat down for another chat with Stephen Ellis. Steve is the Marketing manager for alternative fuel programs at Honda of America. We discussed the new car, Honda's Home…

Despite the distinct thumb in the eye given by southern Republican senators like Alabama's Richard Shelby, General Motors and Chrysler have received the cash infusion the companies need to continue operations. Judging by Detroit News columnist John…

The US Department of Energy is making $17 million available to companies to work on developing new organisms for use in producing ethanol from from cellulosic biomass. Cellulosic biomass has the capacity to produce a lot more ethanol than grains like…