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August 16, 2007
Hybrid Camaro is a dream cruiser, for now
It could be the future of cruising, a muscle car for the 21st Century: A Chevrolet Camaro that could approach 40 m.p.g. on the highway and 30 m.p.g. in the city, according to the Detroit Free Press's Mark Phelan.
It might glide silently through future Woodward Dream Cruises, running on battery power up to 25 m.p.h. but with a beefy V8 engine poised to leap to life for a 0-60 sprint.
This Camaro, wedding Chevrolet's legendary small-block V8 engine to General Motors' advanced new hybrid system, isn't on the drawing board yet, but it is feasible, a knowledgeable GM source told the Free Press. GM has the parts on the shelf to get this dream car cruising. It would combine production-ready hybrid technology that hits the road this fall in some GM vehicles with the celebrated new Camaro that is to go on sale in early 2009.
"The Camaro is Chevrolet and GM's halo car," said Joe Phillippi, principal of AutoTrends Consulting, in Short Hills, N.J. "It projects an image that reflects on the whole corporation. To offer all the performance aspects of a classic Camaro and still be environmentally friendly ... that's a real plus from an image point of view.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth
at 11:00 AM to Alternative fuels
, Environment
, Fuel economy
, GM
, commentary
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Oil Prices Fall in European Trading
Oil prices fell today, reacting to a drop in global stock markets and expectations that a tropical storm would miss key oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Associated Press.
The storm concerns overshadowed Wednesday's U.S. weekly government report that showed larger-than-expected declines in oil and gasoline inventories last week, but an increase in refinery activity that was in line with expectations. The decline in crude inventories supported higher oil prices, though the rest of the report was viewed as largely neutral, analysts said.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery lost $1.38 to $71.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The contract had risen 95 cents to settle at $73.33 a barrel Wednesday.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth
at 10:55 AM to Crude oil market
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