By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

You’re looking at the Nuna 5, a solar-powered race car weighing a scant 352 pounds. The car was build by the Nuon Solar Team, which has won the World Solar Challenge four years running. The Nuna 4, weighing 418 pounds, won last year’s 1,800 mile race across the Australian desert in 33 hours at an average speed of 56.46 mph. It will be cool to see what this new one can do. Via Wired

By DriverSide

DriverSide

Looks like General Motors has let a few pre-production Chevrolet Volts escape from the company’s Warren Testing Center. A few of the cars have been spotted scooting around on all-electric power near the facility, representing the closest we’ve come to seeing the real deal in action. GM says the company plans to unleash up to 80 pre-production models to help work out any bugs in the system and prepare for the car’s launch next year. For those of you who are blissfully unaware, the Volt is being hailed as GM’s savior incarnate. The extended-range EV can cruise up to 45 miles on a single charge, plug into a household outlet and pop you in the wallet for $32,500 after a government rebate. Via BackSeatDriver

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Last week seven automakers embarked on a drive from Chula Vista, CA, to Vancouver, B.C. in 12 high-tech fuel cell cars and SUVs. On Monday the convoy rolled through Seattle, and I met up with them at the Propel biodiesel station. You can’t actually fill up with hydrogen at Propel, but you know, it’s green…

Anyway, I got a chance to check out all the cars, and then I was able to take the Honda FCX Clarity for a drive. I wanted to drive the Honda because it was the only vehicle in the convoy that was designed from the ground up as a hydrogen vehicle. The rest of the cars and SUVs on this drive had been retrofitted with the technology.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Hydrogen Road Tour" »

By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

With the current economic climate and unpredictable gas prices, fuel efficiency is on everyone’s mind. Although big SUVs and gas-burning muscle cars are still plentiful on our roads, smaller cars are becoming more common every day. I found this Tango from the Commuter Cars Corporation in the Home Depot parking lot yesterday and couldn’t help but think about how the way some of us view transportation is changing. This narrow electric road pod won’t haul much home from the hardware store but it does 0-60 in 4 seconds and you can park four of them in an average parking spot. It also runs a 12-second quarter mile and comes standard with a steel roll cage–and this one was a even little tricked out with a Momo wheel and one-behind-the-other Sparco seats.

Personally, I’m still attached to the idea of having a vehicle you can haul a trailer with, and I’ll never retire my love for 60s American muscle. However, if you pay attention to how many empty seats there are in the cars around you on the highway, you might wonder how much fuel we’re burning just to push unnecessary weight down the road. How about you? Could you ever see owning something like the Tango if the gas situation gets bad enough?

Continue reading "Would Desperation Drive You To This?" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

A hydraulic hybrid is a high-mpg propulsion system that eliminates the need for batteries. Basically, a small diesel motor powers a hydraulic pump that fills an accumulator, which in turns sends fluid pressure to pump motors that power the wheels. Then, regenerative braking grabs back as much as 70% of the vehicle’s stopping energy to charge the system back up. The result is a 50% increase in fuel efficiency.  So far, hydraulic hybrids have been limited to commercial vehicles and military applications–UPS plans on adding hydraulic hybrids to its delivery fleet this year, and a company called Hydra-Drive has developed a hydraulic-hybrid Humvee and is planning to supply the US Army with more vehicles. But now,  Lightning Hybrids, a contender for the Progressive Automotive X Prize, is developing a 100 mpg passenger car prototype for the open market, the first-ever attempt to put hydraulic hybrid technology in a civilian passenger vehicle. The ride has a pretty decent quotient of retro-styled cool, with a carbon-fiber body intended to evoke the ’63 split-window Stingray, and it opens up like a clamshell in a manner reminiscent of the Saab Aero X concept. Keep an eye on this build–it looks like it’s going to be pretty cool when it’s done. More pics below the jump, and check out Wired to read more.

Continue reading "What's Next: Hydraulic Hybrid Technology For Passenger Cars" »

By Ryan Douthit

Drivingsports.com

Most of the talk of hydrogen, these days, seems to revolve around fancy fuel cell vehicles like the Chevy Volt or the Honda FCX Clarity. Mazda, however, has taken a different approach. Since the early 90s it has focused research and development on using it as a combustible in modified rotary engines. DrivingSports.com takes a look at the past and future of this technology and how it compares to other hydrogen applications in this feature.

If you’re going to kill yourself—which is generally not a good solution for anything—it’s only polite to do as little damage as possible on your way out. Otherwise, you could really ruin some innocent person’s day. Seriously, check out what an errant jumper did to this poor car. Anyway, here’s the news:

• The new 370Z employs a system called "SynchroRev Match," which matches engine and tranny speed automatically, and eliminates the need for heel-toe shifting. And while I’d still like to master the old technique, I have to admit it sounds pretty cool. What isn’t cool? According to this article, only 15% of people know how to drive a stick. Lame. LA Times
• As we all know, it’s a tough time to be a CEO at one of the Big Three. And while a government bailout might help things, maybe there are other solutions worth exploring—like a good old fashioned bake sale! Jalopnik
• While auto plant closures are sure to be painful everywhere, and least one expert thinks the neighbors to the north will get screwed first. Blame Canada! Automotive News
• A wind-powered sports car? While the idea sounds like complete fantasy, Ecotricity founder Dale Vince thinks it can be done. Here’s hoping he pulls it off. Motor Authority

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

SEMA took a small step forward in the green category this year. Some of the top "green" vehicles were the Hi-Pa Drive F-150 (via Truck Trend), the E-85 X Prize Fox Body Mustang, the John Deere Smart, the Electric Blazer and of course the Vertical Doors Prius. Which is your favorite?

Given the huge amount of instantaneously-available torque that the performance electric cars generate, the results of these 800-ft. runs aren’t all that surprising. Still, it’s interesting to see Dodge’s new EV take on some of the more respected members of the company’s own product line, even if neither of the cars is being particularly flogged on during the two exhibition runs. I wonder how the EV would do against an SRT-10 Viper. More at the LA Times blog.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

The Progressive X PRIZE, a race to build a functional 100 mpg, 100 mph-capable vehicle, is getting some serious traction at the SEMA show this year. This ’85 Blazer, built by Physics Lab of Lake Havasu, is powered by dual electric motors and draws some of its power from regenerative shocks—energy is generated every time they bounce, and it’s then stored in an accumulator under the truck. The Blazer retains its original 4WD drivetrain, and is heavy as hell—it started life at around 5500 lbs, and currently tips the scales at over 7000. Right now it tops out at 80 mph, and needs to gain the 20 that’ll make it a true contender for the prize.  But owner Jim Stansbury wouldn’t have it any other way: part of his mission with this project is to prove that plug-in EV technology is possibe even with a heavy vehicle. It’s some pretty innovative technology he’s working with, and he’s had to do it on a serious budget, funding a lot of the project with personal savings. The next step, in addition to gaining speed, is to figure ways to harness solar-thermal and waste heat to help power the motors. The Blazer is a work in progress, and Jim’s only got until September to finish it. See more pics after the jump, and check out his site.

Continue reading "X PRIZE Contender: Electric Blazer At SEMA!" »