Elevated gas prices resonate in strange ways. Sure, while the average commuter might now consider alternatives like public transit or carpooling to ease the sting at the pump, the repercussions of high fuel costs are felt globally -- and not just by the average cubicle-dwelling workerbee. Take India, for example. Financial Times reports that in the state of Rajasthan, farmers are looking to the camel as a replacement for fuel-swilling tractors. As a result, demand for the animals is up, as is their cost. Still, a strong, work-ready camel costs just a quarter of what Indian farmers would need to shell out for an entry-level tractor, and the critters don't need to be constantly refilled with expensive fossil fuels. FT notes that a full-scale camel revival faces other challenges, but this rediscovery of the animal as a good worker could be the start of something. It's not "backward" if it gets the job done, right? Camels: they spit on costly tractors!
James Wang, director of the Intelligent Mobility Technology division of the Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC), believes that Taiwan is the perfect testing ground for small, low-speed electric vehicles. The fact that huge numbers of people live centered around large urban areas means that most people don't need to travel long distances to get what they need. Additionally, Taiwan's warm weather is favorable for batteries. So, TARC has created what it is referring to as a light-electric-vehicle (LEV). TARC envisions these two-seat vehicles, with their odd wheel arrangement of three in the rear and one in front, zipping around the urban Mecca's that make up emerging countries.
TARC's goal is to reach a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and a top speed of 40 miles per hour. Those targets shouldn't be too difficult to reach. The LEV is powered by four removable lithium ion batteries which can either be recharged in the vehicle or replaced when discharged. We think that the specifications are fine, but question why the design of their LEV is superior to a more conventional arrangement (Remember the Ecooter?). Regardless, the vehicle is currently being tested in in rural areas, and plans are in the works to bring it into urban settings shortly.
The government of Thailand wants to see at least 800,000 fuel efficient cars produced in the country annually by 2015. Honda, Suzuki, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Tata and Toyota have already joined the program and received government approval for their investments. The latest company to apply to join the program is Volkswagen. Volkswagen had been trying to set up an alliance with Proton in Malaysia but those talks fell through last year. Volkswagen still wanted a location in South-east Asia besides China to build cars. The German manufacturer has previously indicated its intent to build variants of its New Small Family (NSF) cars in several locations around the world. The NSF cars were previewed with the three up! concepts that debuted at auto shows in Frankfurt, Tokyo and Los Angeles last fall. Lower cost NSF variants for developing markets will likely be built closer to those markets. That is probably the vehicle that Volkswagen has in mind for the Thai venture.
Although The Great Race has been postponed due to the recall of travel permits through China, the show will go on. According to the official website, "Great Race Sports owners, executives and participants are dedicated to honoring the history of this illustrious race." We think that the race, assuming it does take place, could gather a great deal of attention the world over. We've been keeping an eye on the race with posts on the E85-powered 1967 Aston Martin DB6 that will take part and other ethanol participants. This bears watching.
Back at the 2007 EICMA show in Milan, Taiwanese scooter company Motive Power Industry Co. Ltd. (PGO) was showing off a new electric scooter. The design of the machine apes a model that they already sell, but the innards are actually pretty intriguing. The scooter uses both lithium ion and lead acid batteries. The lead acids provide the necessary power to move the machine while the lithium ions act as additional storage. When a large lithium ion battery pack is assembled, small cells are placed in both parallel and serial configurations in order to hold enough juice for extended running while also being powerful enough to provide quick bursts of acceleration. In this case, the lead acids could provide the necessary output while the lithium ions could just keep the system "topped-off."
Take a close look at the picture above. Note that the front wheel is powered by an electric motor. We can't confirm this for sure, but this appears to be a two-wheel drive electric scooter, which would be really awesome! There is a small chance that a version of this scooter could make it to U.S. shores, as Genuine Scooters in Chicago currently imports certain models from PGO, including the one that this scooter is based on. In the states, it's called the Buddy.
Racing electric motorcycles is something we seem to be seeing more and more of. The race we're talking about here was a friendly three-lap affair at a track on the edge of Bangkok, Thailand that ended (*spoiler alert) in a win for the gas machine. However, if the Electric GPR-S, piloted by the owner of Electric Motorsport, Todd Kollin, hadn't wiped out half-way through, the result might have been different.
While the race was pretty cool, the exciting news here is the coming of another electric motorcycle to our shores. Using a motorcycle chassis from Thai motorcycle maker Tiger Motorsports and powered by 72 volts of lithium ion, this newest entrant into the market should have a top end of 70 mph and a range between 40 and 60 miles. Look for a price in the neighborhood of $8,000, which isn't too bad considering the competition. Tiger Motorsports has plans to sell the bike in Asia as the E-Boxer. Check out the story and video at TG Daily for more details and pics. To keep up to date with the latest on the Electric Motorsport bike, watch this space.
South Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai, has announced they are entering the hybrid bus business. We already knew they are going whole-hog into hybrid cars but buses are a beast of a different stripe. This is something they seem to have realized and so are approaching this market niche from a slightly different angle by beginning with a more affordable mild hybrid architecture.
Incorporating an 8Kw electric motor, this system is centered around stop-and-go. When the bus comes to a stop, so does the engine and when the foot comes off the brake the engine is spun back up to speed. Other hybrid tricks include regenerative braking and an electric fan for engine cooling. Because it is so simple the company hopes to offer both a diesel and CNG version and estimates the final cost to its customers to be about a fifth of a full hybrid design.
The first dozen should be delivered by the end of this month for real-world testing and the plan is to begin mass production by the end of 2009. It hasn't closed the door on a more efficient full hybrid either. Development work on that model should be completed by the middle of the summer with delivery to test fleets happening some time this Fall. Read the official press release after the jump.
Yes, it's true. The good hard-working folks employed by the president's office (of South Korea) are about to get Hyundai hybrid happy. (Or possibly sad if you're the dude or dudette getting the Kia.) The plan, according to office spokesman Lee Dong-kwan, is "...to use the hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) to raise public awareness of the environment industry as an alternative engine for growth and energy-saving [sic]." He went on to say that the president, newly-elected Lee Myung-bak, would also be using the car "if needed." It is pure speculation on my part that the "need" is unlikely to arise.
The two models being considered are the Hyundai Vernon (sold here in non-hybrid form as the Accent and pictured above) and the Kia Pride. As well as showcasing the environmental attitudes of the country's leadership, the move may also reflect the direction of the South Korean car manufacturer.
The recent Tibetan independence demonstrations and the Chinese response have, in this Olympic year, turned the eyes of the world towards the "roof of the world." There have been some who have called for the boycott of the Olympic games and Chinese products as a result of the harshness of the "crackdown". Our own president has even gotten involved and has asked the Chinese Premier, Hu-Jintao, to hold talks between the the Dali Lama's representatives and the Chinese government, though I suspect even the suggestion of such a rapproachment wasn't warmly received.
What does any of this have to do with more-environmentally-sensitive transportation? Well, I came across this article recently that informed me that the source of much of the lithium in the batteries that power our laptops, cell phones and soon, our hybrid and electric cars, is mined at the Chabyer Salt Lake in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. This is the largest source of known lithium reserves in the world, according to the China-Tibet Information Center, and it has helped China become the largest producer and user of lithium ion batteries. Yes, we mine a lot of lithium here in the U.S. but that is used mostly for a host of other products.
In the process of mulling all this over during the past week I have read about the history of Tibet and its entanglements with other countries and contemplated the stances of the various "sides" involved. I haven't reached anything approaching a firm conclusion but the process has been a beneficial learning experience.
In the end, I can only offer this information as an example of how our actions in this modern, tightly-connected world might affect people living in distant lands and how "treading lightly" might prevent that boomerang of karma from sneaking up behind us.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 "green" message is going to Asia. While many of the cars are still tooling around Hollywood with various celebrities at the wheel (who's the latest? check back in a few hours), five have been sent to Singapore for a two-and-a-half-week promotion. Two government representatives, the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, and the chief of Singapore's national environment agency, Mr. Lee Yuen Hee, came to the BMW CleanEnergy pavilion a week ago to kick off the event. Like the celebrity vehicles here in the U.S. and Europe, the dual-fueled 7 Series will be used to ferry VIPs around Singapore. One, though, will remain on display "in a futuristic, glass-and-steel pavilion located on state land in the heart of Singapore," to make sure everyone gets a chance to be awed at just how unavailable the hydrogen economy is. The vehicles will be in Singapore until the 23rd. There's more after the jump.
With India's emergence in recent years as a booming automotive market, the country needs a booming supply of oil to power all the new vehicles. Unfortunately for Indians, they don't have nearly enough domestically-produced oil, so they are forced to import their supplies from other countries. In an effort to reduce dependency on the Middle Eastern oil-producing nations, Indians are looking to get oil from countries in Central Asia and Africa. Purchasing the oil is all well and good, but how then does India get the oil from the ground in some other country to the tanks of cars in its own? According to this article, through massive pipelines and oil tankers across a sea and an ocean.
The article also highlights the point that other emerging countries, especially China, are all fighting for the same oil supplies, along with the already established players in Europe and the U.S. There's only so much oil to go around, folks, and every country is trying to get their hands on it.
Born in Brazil and built in other Latin American countries, as well as Poland, Morocco, Turkey, India, South Africa China and Russia (the sedan version), the Fiat Palio is truly a "world car." This car is one of the first models designed for emerging economies in mind. It was unveiled in 1996 using a lot of components from older Fiat models, especially the Fiat Uno. The current version still carries the first chassis but the car is likely to be phased out, at least in its Brazilian homeland, by an adapted version of the Fiat Grande Punto.
The car has included all kinds of engines, from 1.0-liter misers to sportier 1.8-liter versions and all of Fiat's small diesel engines. While the Palio doesn't use the latest technology to limit emissions, they have always been competent, high-mileage units. In Brazil, most of them are flex-fuel capable.
Hyundai i10. (The model that replaced the Atos) 5-door hatchback. South Korea. $9,096
Hyundai recently changed the names of its cars from actual words to numbers after the letter i. Because of this, the Atos, the smallest member of the Hyundai lineup, became the i10. We've talked about this model before here on AutoblogGreen.
With a lot in common with the Kia Picanto, the i10 is a very simple car that is just a few inches larger than a Japanese Kei Car. It seats 5 (almost) and was unveiled, remarkably, in India. You can have it with a gasoline 1.1-liter I4 75 HP engine and, in some markets, with a fuel-sipping diesel 1.1-liter I-3 good for 65 HP.
You can buy it in India, South Korea, Latin America and even Europe, where it's one of the cheapest options available.
After the introduction of the Tata Nano, lots of people began wondering what is going to happen when a lot of people in developing countries have enough money to afford a cheap car. While Tata tried to alleviate concerns of the Nano-boom by saying that the Nano is cleaner than most motorbikes that are running on Indian roads right now, the truth is that low-cost motoring helps developing the car industry - and pollution. If you need examples, take a look at stories like of the Fiat 500 (the old one) in Italy, the VW Beetle in Germany; the Citroën 2CV or the Renault 4CV in France or, dare I say, the Ford Model T in the U.S.
So, what might the future of cheap driving look like? Forbes went around the world and found the ten cheapest cars on the market and we've gathered up information on each of these in the links below. Although it may be bad news to have more cars sending more exhaust gases to the atmosphere, at least current technologies (when implemented) make new cars better and cleaner than cars of past decades.
So, are the cars on this list good to the world or a threat to the environment?
What follows is a list of the 10 least expensive cars in the world, ranked from most expensive to least expensive. Alternatively, you can jump straight to the car of your choice by clicking one of the thumbnails below.
One of these days we'll have at least one post from every country in the world here on AutoblogGreen. After all, cars are a worldwide thing and it is called "global" warming, isn't it? Today, we feature our first post about Cambodia, where a charity group called Planet Biodiesel Outreach Cambodia has started running tours using a biodiesel-powered van/truck thing (pictured). The organization offers 7- and 12-day triips where your local transportation is powered by biodiesel the group makes from used veggie oil.
Funds raised from the tours go to run Planet Biodiesel's school and health programs, which you can learn about here. I don't know much else about the group other than what's on the website, but I gotta say, this itinerary sure sounds nice. Thanks to Project Biodiesel's Tim W. for the tip.
Elevated gas prices resonate in strange ways. Sure, while the average commuter might now consider alternatives like public transit or carpooling to ease the sting at the pump, the repercussions of high fuel costs are felt globally -- and not just by the average cubicle-dwelling workerbee. Take India, for example. Financial Times reports that in the state of Rajasthan, farmers are looking to the camel as a replacement for fuel-swilling tractors. As a result, demand for the animals is up, as is their cost. Still, a strong, work-ready camel costs just a quarter of what Indian farmers would need to shell out for an entry-level tractor, and the critters don't need to be constantly refilled with expensive fossil fuels. FT notes that a full-scale camel revival faces other challenges, but this rediscovery of the animal as a good worker could be the start of something. It's not "backward" if it gets the job done, right? Camels: they spit on costly tractors!
After the introduction of the 
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