Recent Comments:
Alfa Romeo wants 2nd-gen 8C based on Ferrari California by 2010 {Autoblog}
Jul 1st 2008 2:06PM Badge engineering at six figure pricing!!!
A-Class Mercedes: Goodbye fuel cell, hello Tesla battery? {Autoblog Green}
Jun 30th 2008 1:38PM "Because of its "sandwich" construction..." It has been widely reported that the next A-Class do in 2010 will abandon the sandwich construction due to manufacturing cost and to more readily share components with other vehicles.
When the A was initially released on of the benefits touted for the sandwich construction was that it was easily adaptable for different power systems with electric being the most frequently mentioned.
Thousands take part in world-wide nude bicycle ride {Autoblog Green}
Jun 9th 2008 9:00AM I bet not one motorist said that they never saw the bicyclist.
Chevy getting new small, turbocharged car next year {Autoblog}
Jun 2nd 2008 10:05PM "just an Astra for Chevy", you may have hit the nail on the head. The Astra is scheduled to receive the 1.4 in 2009.
Badge engineering LIVES.
Former Saudi Aramco executive says oil reserves claims wrong {Autoblog Green}
Jun 1st 2008 9:02AM Often the concept of 'peak oil' and the current price per barrel get conflated in an illogical manner. It is possible and quite likely that an oil price bubble exists and will burst. What would cause the fall in the short term, the 6-18 month price of oil, would be moderation of demand and increased production, essentially pumping whatever oil we do have faster.
This can occur even if we are past 'peak oil'. Of course this is not sustainable and eventually the predictions of $200+ for a barrel of oil will come true. And remember as the price rises, known reserves that in the past were abandoned or not exploited due to the cost of extraction, might now be profitable to bring online adding to supply.
Additionally there maybe undiscovered reserves in locations that have been deemed to expensive to explore and extract that high price makes cost effective.
Historically 'peak oil' shown on a graph may appear to be a plateau rather than a jagged line or even a bell curve.
A key question for advocates of the current price of oil is a bubble is, when the bubble breaks, what will be the price of oil? The answer will probably be significantly higher than what the price of oil was when the current upsurge in cost began.
2009 Dodge Ram up to 20% more fuel efficient than before {Autoblog}
May 29th 2008 4:45PM Not to mention the likelihood that the final drive ratio of the base vehicle will be so long that the engine will be barely off idle at the test speed. First gear as a granny gear in the slushbox to keep a decent tow rating.
Autoextremist doesn't love scooters {Autoblog Green}
May 28th 2008 9:32AM Living in a beach community, scooters are common, in fact the other day I watched a portly, 50ish gentleman riding a Metropolitan. With a top speed below the posted for the road he was on, he pulled into the bicycle lane to allow a couple of cars to pass. While in the bike lane he passed several driveways with limited visibility and the openings of a couple of intersecting streets, all at about 25 mph. Fortunately there were no other vehicles or pedestrians. That was DeLorenzo's point.
Porsche Panamera to start production next April {Autoblog}
May 28th 2008 9:22AM Sort of looks like a pregnant 928
GG Quadster defies classification {Autoblog Green}
May 26th 2008 8:51AM Joe, in what sense is this POS safer than a MC, excepting it won't fall over at rest? If you watch the video you'll notice the rider hanging on for dear life to keep from being thrown off due to centrifugal force. There is no additional crash protection and the added width increases the chance of striking an object that a single track vehicle will pass.
This is nothing but a toy, a less versatile road going permutation of a quad ATV.
Energtek announces natural gas two-stroke engine {Autoblog Green}
May 23rd 2008 10:29AM The definition of a 2-cycle engine refers to a power stroke on each revolution. Mixing oil with the gas is simply a convenient, cheap way of lubricating these engines. There is no reason why you can't isolate lubrication from fuel, thus eliminating that source of combustion waste. The remaining waste can then be treated as it is in 4-cycle engines.
Theoretically a 2-cycle engine is twice as powerful as a 4-cycle engine of the same displacement, potentially allowing a physically smaller and lighter engine for a given power rating. Beyond emissions issues another problem that needs to be overcome is the lack of low RPM torque provided by 2-cycle engines.
