March 20, 2007
The first commercial compressed air car is on the verge of production and beginning to attract a lot of attention, according to Gizmag.com. With a recently signed partnership with Tata, India’s largest automotive manufacturer, the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility. The MiniC.A.T is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass.
The car costs less than $3 to fill a tank on which it can run for about 160 miles. The car will cost about $7,300 and has a top speed of nearly 70 mph. The oil - vegetable, naturally - has to be changed about every 30,000 miles. Initial plans are to produce 3,000 cars per year."
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 10:44 AM | Permalink
March 9, 2007
Bentley, one of the last of the old auto aristocrats, is considering offering hybrid and diesel versions of its luxury models, according to leftlanenews.com. Of course, the brand while ostensibly British, is owned by Volkswagen. Leftlanenews.com cites the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for the news.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:42 AM | Permalink
March 7, 2007
Toyota introduced its Hybrid X concept car at the Geneva Motor show Wednesday which the auto giant says represents the future of its successful Prius. It's a 4-door conventional family car with a radical futuristic design that can be viewed at leftlanenews.com
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:35 AM | Permalink
February 26, 2007
Speaking of clean diesel from Mercedes-Benz, see Los Angeles Times' auto columnist Dan Neil's written and video review of the company's E320 Bluetec diesel. The video include a shot of him warming a bagel in its exhaust and then eating to make the point that emissions are "that clean."
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:33 PM | Permalink
Mercedes-Benz will unveil its Vision C 220 Bluetec diesel concept car at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, according to leftlanenews.com. The company says the car achieves 43 miles per gallon. The Geneva Motor Show opens March 8 and runs 10 days.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:27 AM | Permalink
February 23, 2007
Gas-electric hybrids don't save as much fuel as previously thought, according to new government fuel-economy ratings cited by USAToday. The new ratings, which are not unexpected and reflect a more accurate way of measuring hybrid engines, go into effect with the 2008 models.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:59 PM | Permalink
