Recent Comments:
VIDEO: Mike Levine attempts to fit himself in the Dodge RamBox {Autoblog}
Jul 9th 2008 5:49PM @ BLS:
Saw it at the Auto Show in April... What looks like a bent lid panel is actually the curved styling of the panel. It's all pretty solid.
VW plans first electric car by 2010, now testing Golf Twin Drive {Autoblog Green}
Jul 2nd 2008 1:32PM Indeed, several other blogs (leftlane news, hugg.com, and others) are confirming that there will be regenerative braking and engine stop-start in the Golf Twin Drive.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/volkswagen-unveils-golf-twin-drive-plug-in-hybrid-prototype.html
Scuderi: Split-cycle engine will soon be licensed {Autoblog Green}
Apr 25th 2008 11:58AM Ingenious design; I just wish it didn't require twice the cylinder count (more weight, more space) than a conventional engine. The air-hybrid version, though, is an interesting possibility compared to electric hybrids.
GM's Chevy Volt update: All systems go, Malibu-based li-ion mules coming soon {Autoblog Green}
Apr 9th 2008 7:27PM I'm sure Toyota's engineers are good enough to do pretty much whatever they want, to compete with GM, but it's no walk in the park.
"Hm, Prius has 1.2 liter engine, the Volt plans call for a 1 liter engine. "
Actually, the Prius has a 1.5L engine, a 50% jump over the one planned for the Volt.
And enlarging the Prius' battery to go from 7 miles to 40 miles would mean a more than 5-fold increase in size,.. even with the change from the larger NiMH type to the smaller LiIon type, there's more (bulky) cooling to be dealt with.
And, I'm sure everyone has a different situation, but 7 miles wouldn't even get me to the closest train station, let alone back home.
If GM pulls this off, it really will be a big deal.
London police evaluate diesel Mitsubishi Lancer {Autoblog Green}
Mar 20th 2008 12:38PM Yikes, there really ARE a lot of blogs out there that copy ABG posts verbatim, such as this one...
http://auto.blogforward.com/other/6867/london-police-evaluate-diesel-mitsubishi-lancer.html
Did MotorWeek's Pat Goss make up a type of metal to discredit E85 conversions? {Autoblog Green}
Feb 13th 2008 5:39PM @L.wood:
The mention of E20 (as opposed to E85) is the answer to your question. As taken from a study noted in this earlier post:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/12/06/study-non-flex-fuel-cars-get-better-fuel-economy-on-ethanol/
...un-modified vehicles not only can run fine on ethanol blends between E20 and E30, but actually get the same (or one case better) mileage on E20-E30 than on regular unleaded. Not that E20-E30 is exactly a widely available commodity or anything, but let's see what happens in Minnesota.
Study: non-flex fuel cars get better fuel economy on ethanol {Autoblog Green}
Dec 12th 2007 4:44PM @16 -
Thanks for the link, Stéphane... my French is pretty bad, but it does appear that the E85 engine-- even though it IS more powerful-- gets poorer fuel economy, based on the second chart.
Maybe the high-performance tuning of that car doesn't lend itself to E85 fuel economy. Perhaps E30+ lends itself better than E85 to the automatic ignition- or valve- timing changes already programmed into the U.S. cars tested above.
It's not the ultimate answer, but E30+ seems like it could be very cost effective if it worked, and would still lower gasoline content by 30%.
2007 Holiday Sweepstakes Day 2: The Bourne Ultimatum DVD {Autoblog}
Dec 11th 2007 12:51PM Sounds neat!
Are hydraulic hybrids more efficient than electric hybrids? {Autoblog Green}
Sep 11th 2007 12:42PM Lascelles Linton - Your archived article about the UPS hydraulic hybrid was dismissed because you said "That system seems different". I think the only difference is the use of a more-efficient fluid pump, but the principle is the same.
This idea has indeed been around a long time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/automobiles/25HYDRO.html&pagewanted=all
http://www.designnews.com/article/CA6451735.html
It's Official Chrysler and Chery deal signed in Beijing {Autoblog Green}
Jul 10th 2007 6:35PM Calebe, you could be right.... Jeep (which was owned by AMC at that time, 1982) was always pretty aggressive about marketing its products overseas, especially the CJ-3B. And Chrysler didn't merge with AMC until 1987, so it probably AMC/Jeep that did the 1982 China deal.
But with the merger, AMC's history becomes Chrysler's "history"...
