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Indonesian bicycle builds up steam, can go 75 mph

We've seen bicycles powered by batteries, fuel cells and even human strength here at ABG but the "R-01 NAN" may be our first look at a contemporary steam-powered bicycle. Sure, we knew they existed but we never imagined someone would think that riding around with both a furnace and a tank full pressurized steam between their legs would be an ideal transportation solution. Apparently though, Rusnan does and he's proud enough of his homemade machine to let us know that it's been given space on a (Indonesian language) bicycle-centric blog. ... Read more →

Energetique and RLE bringing evMe concept to Europe

The Australian company behind the evMe has announced plans to expand their conversion-concept horizons to the European market. Energetique has made the trip from Down Under to Germany and signed an ...

VIDEO: Top Gear electric car build-off, Aussie rules

While they might lack the comedic punch of their seasoned British co-frères, the presenters at Top Gear Australia don't seem to have any electric car "issues." Indeed, in a recent episode they ...

Australian fleets adopting Hyundai i30 diesels

Australia remains the home of big old rear wheel drive cars like the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon. However, that is starting to change as people seek to address climate change and rising fuel ...

Melbourne 2009: GM releases new shots of Holden Volt

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Holden Volt Although it won't actually be present at the event, GM has released three new images of the Holden Volt to coincide with the start of the 2009 ...

More pacific-region news

Melbourne 2009: GM debuts new Holden Cruze 4 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Holden Cruze Attendees at the 2009 Melbourne Motor Show will be greeted by a nice surprise at the Holden tent as GM's Australian arm has announced it will be bringing what appears to be a production-ready Holden-badged Cruze to display. After taking a ...

Eric Bana offsets carbon emissions of new film, "Love the Beast" 4 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Regardless of your view on global climate change, you must admit that the issue of carbon emissions has become a hot topic over these last few years, and automobiles have taken the brunt of the criticism. Celebrities often seem to be leading the low-emissions charge, or they at least like to appear ...

Mitsubishi iMiEV New Zealand tour 'Tubed and Twittered 4 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above and scroll down to watch the video As we informed you last week, Mitsubishi and Meridian Energy have brought the iMiEV to New Zealand to introduce Middle Earth to the electric car concept. To help with that outreach, they have an expanded web presence that includes a microsite, a ...

Melbourne 2009: Toyota shows off HC-CV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle) 4 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above for a hi-res gallery of Toyota Australia's HC-CV In about twelve months, Toyota's Australian arm will begin producing its own Camry Hybrids. To celebrate the new contract, Toyota Australia has created a new concept called the HC-CV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle), and it has just ...

iMiEV starts renewable energy-powered trial in New Zealand 4 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above to view a high-res gallery of the Mitsubishi i MiEV The long-awaited New Zealand road show featuring the all-electric iMiEV is underway. Mitsubishi kicked off the trial with a gala event on Tuesday, where over 100 people from the government and other "key stakeholders" were invited ...

Australian biofuel imports hurting SE Asian rainforests 5 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Photo of "Australia" by reinn. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0. As anyone who has seen episode 2F13 of The Simpsons (aka Bart vs. Australia) knows, introducing foreign species into an environment can have dangerous effects. A real-world situation - not really all that similar, but I ...

Oz editorial: hurt the Taliban by investing in biofuels 5 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Photo of Afghanistan by Carl Montgomery. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0. Afghanistan is a tricky place for outside powers. Beginning 800 years ago, outside forces have invaded, occupied and in other ways tried to influence the land and people there. Today, American and NATO military ...

Honda advertises cars with green hybrid billboards 5 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above to enlarge If you are going to bill yourselves as the World's Greenest Automaker, as Honda does from time to time, you'd better be willing to back it up. Luckily, Honda always seems to be looking for a way to do just that. Whether it's by offering the best overall fuel economy in the ...

First commercial biofuel jet test successfully completed yesterday 6 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Airlines all over the world are finding themselves under increased pressure to lower their carbon footprints, and saving a buck or two (million) in the process certainly wouldn't hurt anything. To that end, Air New Zealand has successfully conducted the world's first commercial test flight with a ...

Australia's Holden gets first-ever Energy and Environment Director 6 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Environmental concerns have made their way to the land of Oz, and GM's Holden division has responded by appointing its first-ever Energy and Environment Director. Richard Marshall will take the post beginning on January 12 of next year and will report directly to the Chairman and Managing Director, ...

Holden Volt coming in 2012 without Green Car Innovation Funds 6 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt As we had heard in the past, General Motor's upcoming extended-range electric vehicle will make an Australian appearance in 2012, and it will be wearing a Holden badge. Apparently, rumor and innuendo in Australia had the Volt coming to the ...

Bolwell Nagari supercar going into production, may get electric drivetrain 7 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above for high-res shots of the Bolwell Nagari digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Bolwell_Nagari_Supercar_Going_Into_Production'; The Bolwell Nagari that we looked at a few months back is finally ready for production. Using a carbon-intensive composite chassis and body, the new supercar ...

Better Place moves to Australia 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen

We'll, that didn't take long. The announcement from Better Place about the next country planned for the electric vehicle expansion is here and we're off to Australia. Better Place announced the deal with AGL Energy and Macquarie Capital Group today, and there is more information coming in a ...

Greenstage to bring electric competitor to the track 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Mitsubishi may be bringing an electric passenger car to the streets of New Zealand but one of their own is building an electric race car for its tracks. Greenstage revealed to the Kiwi public their vision of an all-electric race car at the recently-held Speed Show and it looks pretty sweet. Using ...

MDI's AIRPod coming to New Zealand 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Looking like just about every other three-wheeled, joystick-controlled, compressed air-driven car we've ever seen, the AIRPod by MDI will be available to lease in New Zealand soon. MDI has an agreement with IndraNet Technologies to market them in the land of the M?ori and, according to an article ...

Holden launches ecoline, includes V8 engines 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Australia's Holden, a unit from General Motors, has announced a new badge for all vehicles that it equips with some sort of alternative fuel or gas-saving technology: ecoline. Holden faces a bit of an uphill climb when it comes to environmentally-friendly technology, as the marque is best known for ...

Holden to get Chevy Volt for Australia 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt It sounds as if the Australian market will be the third - behind the United States and Europe - to get a version of the Chevy Volt. In Europe, the Volt will be sold as either an Opel or a Vauxhall and in Australia it will be known as a ...

Hyundai to deliver first electric car in New Zealand 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Hyundai plans to be the first automaker to offer plug-in electric cars in New Zealand. The Korean automaker will be working with its local distributor in New Zealand to retrofit the subcompact Getz to run on batteries. The complete cars will be shipped to New Zealand as usual where the conventional ...

Saab ordered to plant forest for misleading claims 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Truth and advertising often part ways when asked to play nice together in automotive ads. As much as this is the case when comparing cars and their various performance figures, it is also just as apparent when automakers go green with their marketing strategies. We've seen it many times before, and ...

In Australia, Police fight "antisocial behavior" with Hummers 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Hummers may be a bit controversial due to their highly conspicuous consumption, but it is exactly that prominence that Aussie Police hope to make use of in order to fight crime. Really, Hummers are hard to miss, and a fleet of five of them, even in relatively small H3 size, is sure to get noticed, ...

Bolwell interested in electric Nagari supercar 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Click above for larger shots of the Bolwell Nagari Now that Tesla has tested the waters, some other not-as-well known companies have announced that they, too, would like to explore the electric supercar waters. Bolwell, makers of the Nagari revival in Australia, are the latest to throw their ...

Holden emboldened by lack of Chrysler success, offers cheap gas 10 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Apparently taking a cue from our friends at Chrysler, the down under team from General Motors are now offering cheap gas as a buying incentive. Back in June, Chrysler began offering a three-year guarantee of gas at $2.99 a gallon on most new Chrysler vehicles in a bid to get consumers to buy. Holden ...

Australian study shows that planted trees capture less CO2 10 months ago on AutoblogGreen

A report issued by the Australian National University shows that unspoiled natural forests capture more carbon than artificially planted trees. The report states that this fact wasn't considered when planning counteracting actions against global warming by the IPCC. However, according to our source ...

LPG fueled Holden Commodores now only $400 more than gas after tax breaks 11 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Australians looking for a cheaper alternative to gasoline now have a very cost effective option with a dual fuel conversion being offered by Holden. The installation allows Commodores and derivatives to be operated on either LPG or gasoline. Holden recently dropped the conversion price of the system ...

NRMA: Australia needs a chain on EV charging stations, ethanol 11 months ago on AutoblogGreen

NRMA Motoring & Services has just released its Jamison Group report known as A Road Map for Alternative Fuels in Australia: Ending our Dependence on Oil. In this report, the group suggests that Australia must act quickly to reduce its own dependence on foreign oil, which has increased by ...

Fiji targeted for Korean electric car factory 11 months ago on AutoblogGreen

Beautiful beaches and a perfect climate are not enough for the citizens of the South Pacific islands of Fiji. Apparently, they desire cars that are quiet and don't emit pollution as well. If the Korean electric vehicle maker, CT and T, gets its way, that desire will be fulfilled. The company, ...

Toyota to build Camry hybrid in Australia and Thailand 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen

Toyota wants to double worldwide sales of its hybrids to over 1 million units a year within the next decade and is adding production capacity to hep it get there. In Japan today, Toyota announced plans to add production of Camry hybrids at two more plants in Australia and Thailand. The Thai plant ...

Hyundai may build Hybrid LPG Elantra in Australia 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen

Liquified petroleum gas (commonly referred to as propane) has never really caught as a motor fuel in the U.S. although it is used by some fleets. However, drivers in Australia may have a new LPG-fueled vehicle to choose from. In fact they may have an LPG mild hybrid available soon at Hyundai ...

Australian Premier wants automakers to build domestic hybrids 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen

The premier of the Australian state of New South Wales is a big supporter of hybrid vehicles. The state government already has 355 hybrid vehicles in the the government fleet. However, as with governments everywhere, if something is made locally Morris Iemma would prefer to buy domestic. ...

Saab 9-3 Aero now available with diesel in Australia 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen

The Astra isn't the only GM model getting a new diesel option in Australia. The performance Aero model of the Saab 9-3 is now available with a 177hp 1.9L diesel. The 295lb-ft of torque is apparently enough to motivate the 9-3 Aero TTiD at similar rates to the gas engined version. The gas-fueled ...

Energtek announces natural gas two-stroke engine 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen

Energtek, which we remember from their ANG (Adsorbed Natural Gas) projects, has announced that they can successfully convert a two-stroke engine to use natural gas. The converted vehicle, a Yamaha RS100T motorcycle with a locally-produced sidecar, was converted to burn natural gas by utilizing ...

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