The best cars only take a little more than a year. “People buy hybrids because they want to save gas, make a small, individual impact on reducing the U.S. dependency on oil or make an individual impact on fuel emissions,” says Tara Baukus Mello, senior writer and lead market analyst for NADAguides.com. “But if you are looking to have an impact on your wallet, then buying a hybrid may not make the best financial sense.”

The best deal for a Los Angeles commuter is the $25,200 Toyota Camry hybrid that only costs $200 more than the gas-powered Camry XLE. The hybrid gets 34 mpg, and the gas model gets only 22 mpg. The owner of the hybrid breaks even after 18,292 miles. For Los Angles commuters who log 15,000 miles a year, that’s just a little over a year of driving.
Read more » »

To the casual observer, it looked like any other petrol-guzzling Chelsea tractor driven by a mother clogging the streets on the school run. This, though, was a 4×4 with a difference, one that even the most committed tree-hugger would be proud to drive.

It emits water from its exhaust fit for drinking and glides along in near silence. It is one of the world’s first hydrogen cars and, according to its makers, the future of motoring. It also costs half a million pounds.

“We started working on fuel-cell technology in 1996,” said Brian Johnston, the senior project engineer for electric and fuel-cell vehicles at Nissan. “In this prototype, there is a hydrogen tank under the back seat, a fuel cell under the driver’s seat and it takes 3-5 minutes to fill up. It is a reasonable fuel choice for the future.”
Read more » »

The future of the U.S. auto industry resembles a box of parts for hybrids, plug-in electrics and fuel cells, which promise to slash oil demand and provide jobs for another century. But that box comes with a familiar disclaimer: Batteries not included.
Advertisement

As Detroit’s automakers rush to develop vehicles powered by electricity, they find themselves reliant on foreign sources for the advanced batteries that will make such technology available to everyday consumers. While much of the science has been developed in U.S. labs, Asian companies have a two-decade head start on actually making rechargeable batteries.

That gap concerns U.S. automakers, which often have to shop Asian manufacturers for the most expensive parts of today’s hybrids and their first generation of plug-in vehicles. The batteries for General Motors Corp.’s Chevrolet Volt will be made in either South Korea or China, depending on which supplier is chosen, and likely will cost more than $10,000 per vehicle.
Read more » »

The technologies of autos and fuel efficient, engineering centers and design studios across metro Detroit, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are working to create a new generation of fuel-efficient vehicles without repeating the mistakes that crippled them when oil prices and emissions regulations shook their world in the 1970s and ’80s.

They are honing new technologies, refining designs and scouring the Earth for fun, fuel-efficient cars they can build or sell in North America. From Chevrolet Corvettes and Ford F-150s to small cars engineered in Europe and Asia, every vehicle is being rethought as fuel prices skyrocket and new fuel-economy rules loom.

Haunting their efforts is the ghost of failures past. Detroit’s automakers reduced emissions and fuel consumption in the ’70s and ’80s, but at the cost of style, performance, quality and reliability — the things that make a car desirable and keep a car company in business.
Read more » »

It’s been a while since I had to drive anywhere, but this weekend I picked up a Fiat Punto from Heathrow and headed to the southwest of England. After about 20 minutes, I had absolutely no sympathy for anyone in the auto industry. So many details of this car, intended as a small, economical runabout (the basic edition costs £10,600, about $22,000), were completely off. And every single one was a design flaw that’s simply not excused by the car’s price:

Blindspot Barrier
I’ve noticed this in other cars too, but on turning my head to check the blind spot for approaching traffic, I instead got a great view of the car’s interior B-pillar. This isn’t just a design flaw, it’s hugely dangerous.
Read more » »

One of policy General Motor,
The biggest US carmaker, General Motors, is implementing belt-tightening measures ranging from the factory floor to the boardroom as it scrambles to bolster its cash position by $15bn (£7.5bn) to cope with plummeting car sales.

The Detroit-based manufacturer, which produces marques such as Cadillac, Chevrolet and Vauxhall, is considered by analysts to be in danger of bankruptcy as soaring petrol prices put motorists off buying its pick-up trucks and 4×4s.

GM announced yesterday that it was reducing its white-collar payroll costs by 20% through a two-year pay freeze and a programme of voluntary redundancies.

In a radical move that risks the wrath of unions, GM is scrapping health insurance for many of its retired workers and their families from next year.
Read more » »

The venture is owned by CEO Shai Agassi, and Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) is a major investor.

While in many ways the vehicle looks similar to gas-powered cars, the Renault Megane’s engine includes an electric battery, and the car notably does not need an exhaust pipe.
Read more » »

The head of the local Canadian Auto Workers union in Oshawa said he felt like he was “kicked in the gut” after hearing news that nearly 1,000 jobs would be cut from the city’s car plant.

Chris Buckley, president of CAW Local 222, said the federal government needs to step in and save Canada’s ailing manufacturing industry.

“It’s absolutely terrible that our government allows this to happen,” he said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Buckley said Canada’s trade policy has caused the auto industry to lose the lucrative North American market share.
Read more » »