Autoblog

What's the best way to pay for gas these days? Trading gas for sex? Opting for Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America" plan? Wait for GM to bring the Chevy Beat to the U.S.? Or perhaps just steal it. Yes, these are all options that made the pages of AutoblogGreen yesterday - some a little more sensible than others, of course.

• How bad do you need it? Gas for sex deal goes awry in Kentucky
• At Witz' End - Gas Prices - What To Do, What To Do?
• No brainer of the day! GM to bring Chevy Beat to US market
• Gas-siphoning HUMMER leads police on high-speed chase
• Michigan governor proposes reducing speed limit to save gas
• Sensible AAA recomments not trying "dangerous fuel-saving techniques"
• Long Beach study shows gas/hybrid buses get lower mileage than diesel
• Tata Nano production to start this fall, greener variants coming
• EPIC calls for some unity on the ethanol issue, darnit
• VIDEO: Top Gear looks at alternative fuels in 1990
• Environmentally conscious drivers sticking with biodiesel even at higher prices
• Chrysler thinks "Let's Refuel America" gas lock plan just wasn't offered long enough
• Man falls in love with his Xingyue enclosed scooter
• UNICA says 4th of July is the right time to end ethanol tariffs
• Volvo pinning hopes on small cars, diesels
• 2009 BMW 7-series leaks, possible hybrid coming in a year
• Daimler sets up sustainability board
• Fox Business wants you to keep your trucks
• Dealership can't sell trucks, sells scooters instead
• Gordon Murray's Type-25 city car gets fleshed out

click above image for high-res gallery of the Volvo C30 Efficiency

In the wake of rapidly diminishing sales of large and not-particularly fuel efficient cars, Volvo is doing what only seems rational: introducing smaller vehicles with more fuel efficient engines. The company reportedly has plans to introduce three new diesel powered vehicles by the fall. We are unclear on where Volvo intends to target with its little green men cars besides emerging markets such as China and Russia, but we'd love to see some more stylish and fuel efficient options in the U.S. It's too early to speculate on what vehicles Volvo is referring to, but that's never stopped us before. The C30 is currently the Swedish automakers smallest vehicle and at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, Volvo showed off its C30 Efficiency concept. We'd say that the timing certainly appears right for a production version of just such a machine. After all, who wouldn't appreciate the 52.26 miles per gallon from its 105 horsepower 1.6L turbodiesel engine?


[Source: Just-Auto - sub. required]

click image to visit AutoblogGreen

Day One of the new AutoblogGreen was a big success. If you've been staying away from ABG because you can't find the functionality of Autoblog over there, we've addressed your concerns. We're still AB's little eco-conscious brother, we're just growing up a bit.

Oh, and you should probably check out this picture of a Chinese S.W.A.T. team. Quite funny.

• Is the Volt nothing more than bailout bait?
• Chinese S.W.A.T. team rides Segways into the line of fire
• Mini maintains its sales domination, Hummer continues its downward spiral
• Bob Lutz: EV1 never coming back
• French small car sales improve in wake of new CO₂ taxes
• Isle of Man to run a clean emissions Grand Prix race next year
• The Fonz promotes reading, Lexus hybrids and his own books
• Toyota recommends driving less to save gas
• Yamaha files patent for Enduro bike with CVT transmission
• At least 14 cities vying for an Auto X Prize stage race in 2009-2010
• DIY electric motorcycle from New York
• Neander turbo diesel motorcycle now street legal
• More automakers make their true feelings known about CAFE
• Two Oregon cities will start the state's electric car charging infrastructure
• Carmakers struggle to keep up with demand for small cars
• Honda unveils Japanese FCX Clarity - now with more heated seats!
• Toledo TV station checks out "110mpg" Mustangs, leaves skepticism at home
• Fiat readying new small engine plant in Poland
• Navistar sees economy and diesel prices strangling pickup sales

Mercedes -- like a lot of other folks -- believes oil is going to run out eventually. But instead of waiting until the "Low on Oil" light comes on, the brand behind the three-pointed-star has set a goal to convert its entire fleet to run on alternative fuels by 2015. That's seven years to get off the drink we've all been addicted to for well over a century.

In the pipeline first are fuel-efficient technologies such as Stop/Start on the marque's next A- and B-Class models sold in Europe. Then come the BlueEfficiency vehicles with Mercedes' supremely parsimonious diesel engines, and eventually the Diesotto first shown in the F700.

And then come the real showstoppers: ethanol, electric, and fuel cell vehicles. There are electric smarts running trials in London right now, and the F600 Hygenius is expected to eventually spawn some sort of production variant. On the face of it, seven years to go diesel- and gas-optional for an entire fleet is somewhat hard to fathom -- but the prediction is coming from a company not previously known for wild daring. Even if they just get close to success, in only seven years, they might prove a nearby rival wrong about what's doable under the new CAFE laws.

[Source: The Sun via AutoblogGreen]

Who wants to go 250+ mpg? Volkswagen thinks you might, and so is still working on a one-liter car, maybe for launch in 2010. Cockpit-style seating, anyone?

Meanwhile, Hawaii will spend $50,000 on electric vehicle research. As we've said for a long time, the islands are an ideal laboratory for EVs. Less perfect are the NEV laws around the country, as one person in Colorado found out. Oh, and don't miss the new Mustang hybrid. Seriously.

• Spy Shots: Ford's new Mustang hybrid
• VW supposedly still working on one-liter car - possible 2010 launch?
• Toyota Yaris 5-door rolls into U.S. for '09
• Rental agencies having a hard time upgrading customers
• BMW chimes in on proposed U.S. CAFE standards
• Making the shift to NEVs, one county and city at a time
• British Motor Show Preview: Ford Fiesta Econetic, 62mpg, 98g/km CO₂
• Hawaii gets $$ to study electric cars
• Earthrace finally, finally finishes record circumnavigation attempt
• Audi efficiency marathon over with best of 70.9mpg and 88g/km CO₂
• Continental says yes to EVs, no to diesels
• Opel not planning any new small cars, focuses on Flextreme instead
• Former Intel-CEO wants electric cars, retrofits of older vehicles
• Subaru to supply Japan Post with one Stella plug-in
• Gushan, China's largest biodiesel maker, readying large plant in Shanghai
• Prince Charles converts 38 year old Aston Martin to run on British wine
• GM hybrid finally starting to get a little traction, 1,149 in June
• More XFE models in GM's pipeline?
• eBay find of the day: Ford Ranger EV that doesn't run right now
• Shai Agassi pitches $100 billion plan

Prince Charles is not new to the environmental debate. His blue, 38-year-old Aston Martin, however, has had nothing to do with being environmentally friendly. Until now. The car, a gift from the Queen on Charles' 21st birthday, has joined the growing fleet of cars that run on bioethanol, having been converted to run on surplus British wine.

The wine comes from an English vineyard in Wiltshire, and the EU limits how much wine a vineyard can produce, so the vineyard sells the overage to Green Fuels, which turns it into biofuels and supplies it to the Palace.

The Aston can go ten miles on a gallon of gas, which would equate to 45 bottles of wine to go the same distance. The wine, though, puts out 85-percent less CO2 and costs £1.10 per liter, which is slightly less than the cost of gas. However, Charles only goes 300 miles in the car every year, and it's not like he's worried about gas prices, so the car won't make a difference by itself -- but he's got his royal heart in the right place.

[Source: Daily Mail]

Click above for more shots of the VW One-Liter concept car

A few years back, Volkswagen introduced a concept vehicle which derived its name from its stated goal of using just one liter of fuel per one-hundred kilometers traveled, and according to CAR production version may be on the way in 2010. The original concept actually beat its lofty goal rather handily as it managed to achieve a miserly 282 miles per gallon in testing. Much of its amazing fuel-saving capability stemmed from its 660 pounds (300 kilograms) curb weight. The concept also featured a single cylinder engine and a 1+1 seating arrangement down the center of the car. While the engine is likely to be replaced by a twin-cylinder turbodiesel with hybrid drive, the carbon fiber construction and canopy-style roof are likely headed for production.

As you'd expect, such technology and carbon-heavy construction isn't going to come cheap. To offset part of the cost, the automaker is surely looking for some government assistance for purchasers of the limited edition machine, though it could still be sold at a loss. Safety features like airbags, anti-lock brakes and stability control aren't lacking, but convenience items like air conditioning may be optional. In that case, we'd recommend being really comfortable with your passengers in the rather close-knit quarters.


[Source: CAR]

The Model S. Will it change the world the way the Model T did? Probably not, but Tesla's upcoming all-electric sedan should be a game-changer if it makes it to production in late 2010 as claimed yesterday. Late 2010 will be halfway through the next president's term, and Republican nominee John McCain said he's in favor of national CO₂ limits. So there's that. Meanwhile, it sure is nice to see Jeremy Clarkson is still having fun.

• Tax breaks for Tesla, Model S sedan to get 225 miles, cost $60k
• McCain in favor of national CO₂ limits
• Mercedes expects diesels to account for 15% of SUV, CUV sales
• Solar power heats up. Government freezes projects.
• Ford asks the college kids to reimagine the Model T
• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne still hating on EU CO₂ regulations
• VIDEO: The opposite of hypermiling - BMW M3 vs Toyota Prius
• Saudi Arabia to begin pumping on Khurais oil field shortly
• Ferrari MilleChili concept to spawn production car
• Continental study identifies interest in emission free vehicles
• Portugal looking to improve, joins Project Better Place
• Bob and Buddy's "No Age Limit" adventure update
• John McCain doesn't know how much gas costs
• VIDEO: Top Gear say "Bah, Humbug!" to hypermiling, finds most efficient supercar
• A-Class Mercedes: Goodbye fuel cell, hello Tesla battery?
• States pay drivers to replace their older cars
• American biofuel plants filing for bankruptcy protection
• Jetta TDI demos turn up at dealers, lots of orders coming in
• Using invasive species like kudzu as biofuel feedstocks
• Bizarre car showcases lightweight materials and construction

California Governator and (soon-to-be) Tesla Roadster owner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, addressed the seething throngs of media types at Tesla's San Carlos, California facility. The topics of conversation centered on new incentives for Tesla to continue its production of vehicles in the Golden State, specifically the start-up's second vehicle, codenamed the Model S, which according to Tesla, get 225 miles on a single charge and cost $60,000. Tesla did not officially announce when the new model would go on sale, nor would it say where in California the "multi-use sport sedan" would be produced.

The incentive for Tesla to remain in California, rather than move production of the sedan to New Mexico (discussed last year), is part of the CAEATFA program that was approved last Wednesday. The initiative exempts automakers from paying sales and use tax when they purchase manufacturing equipment to build electric vehicles. That's expected to save automakers – and Tesla specifically – millions of dollars when the company invests in building a new plant in California. A Schwarzenegger press conference wouldn't be complete without a lame quote from his erstwhile movie career, and the Governor didn't let us down, saying that he was disappointed by the initial announcement that Tesla was considering a manufacturing center in New Mexico, but that "They'll be back." And they are.

Now that there are a few more drivers of hydrogen cars in the LA area, Shell has opened a new hydrogen station there. This is another step on the long, long road to the hydrogen economy so many people seem intent on setting up. That's straightforward enough, but John McElroy's call to bring back the EV1? It's not that simple. Other complicating factors in the green car world include higher shipping costs thanks to high fuel prices and people trying to blend their own ethanol. Oh, and donkeys.

• "You say an electric car will cost me? No problem."
• Ford content to fall behind on PHEVs
• Veteran journalist John McElroy calls for EV1 revival; too bad it's not that simple
• Gas prices causing drivers to blend their own ethanol
• High gas prices to keep 10 million cars off the roads
• U.S. mayors call for oil sands boycott
• Shipping cost may cut into overseas outsourcing at GM
• Shell opens combination hydrogen and gasoline station in LA
• California unveils major plan to cut emissions
• Living in suburbia now even worse
• Harley-Davidson sees Sportster sales rise on high gas prices
• Audi begins fuel efficiency marathon with A4 2.0 TDI, shoots for 59mpg!

More headlines after the jump.