So, there's an LA-based custom car service called Fireballed that provides all sorts of vehicles to those who want to experience the "Automotive Hollywood Lifestyle." Designer "Fireball" Tim Lawrence makes some crazy vehicles - see these examples - and so we were somewhat surprised to see a fairly standard GEM e4 in this booth at the LA Auto Show last week. As far as I can tell, the only addition is a Fireball sticker on the door panel. There was no one in the booth to ask if there were any underhood enhancements, so I'm left with the question of what was this GEM doing there?

Whatever the reason, this is a good chance to talk about Chrysler's newly-announced MY line of GEM vehicles, which allow for easier custom options. Perhaps Fireball Tim was just waiting for an easier-to-change GEM to work his magic.


[Source: Green Car Congress]

Far from the major automakers' glitzy unveilings - which, granted, were less crazy than in past years - at the LA Auto Show, the CSULA Supermileage Vehicle sits like an alien's egg on some red carpet in the basement of the LA Convention Center. This sleek bubble is powered by a single-cylinder 2 hp engine and can reach a top speed of 63 miles per hour. The supermileage part? This thing gets an astounding 853 mpg and is of the same family - totally unpractical, hyper-efficient experiments - as the 2,843 mpg winner of the Shell Eco-Marathon. CSULA's engineering and technology students have done a fine job with these yellow wheels and see-through top. My favorite part is the water bottle bungee corded to the top (you can see it more clearly in this picture). Anyone know what that's for?


UPDATE: changed all mistaken references from UCLA to CSULA.

Photo by Daquella manera. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Yesterday morning at the LA Auto Show, Nate Holden, a retired LA City Councilman and California State Senator held a press conference on electric cars. Well, that was the plan, anyway. I went to the place where the conference was supposed to happen (and at the right time, too), but couldn't find anyone. I called the press contact but got no answer. And now, a day later, Google news has got no record of such an event taking place.

So, why write about something that didn't happen? Well, because it should make for some good discussion. Known as a controversial political figure, Holden had planned a pretty scathing event that was to lash out against a bailout and against the American auto manufacturers in general while offering strong support for mass-production of electric cars, according to a release that arrived before the non-event. Holden believes that "General Motors, other U.S. automakers and the oil companies committed sabotage against the American people and the environment." Read the whole thing after the jump and imagine what could have been.

Toyota has taken a bit of heat for seemingly ungreening its Scion xB, which used a small, efficient engine housed in a small, efficient package that seated four occupants comfortably with room left over for their various belongings. Now, many believe that the current xB has been enlarged from the size of previous models to its detriment and has gotten a 2.4-liter injection of power that reduces efficiency noticeably. For those who wish Scion had left things well enough alone, Kia and Nissan have both introduced new boxy vehicles to take the place of the first-gen xB. We witnessed the live unveilings of both new models here at the LA Auto Show and we think they both offer a unique alternative to the standard-fare hatchback or small sedan that many are turning to in an effort to save on their monthly gas bills.

Kia is stretching a bit with its model designations in an attempt to appeal to the young audience they are targeting with the Soul. Let's see, there is the base model, the Soul+, the Soul! (exclaim) and the Soul sport. Standard is a 120 (or so) horsepower 1.6L four cylinder and a 5-speed manual transmission. An optional 2.0L with about 140 horsepower mated to either the same stick or a 4-speed automatic isn't expected to hurt overall economy all that much, with both models expected to crest 30 mpg on the highway. Want one? The 2010 Soul will debut in just a few months.



Live Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski / Weblogs, Inc.

Volkswagen is showing off the new Touareg V6 TDI at the LA Auto Show before it goes on sale in around March of 2009. The V6 TDI replaces the old V10 TDI in the lineup and uses the same 3.0L V6 diesel that's going into the Audi Q7 TDI. At 221 hp and 407 lb-ft of torque, it should offer plenty of performance while still getting EPA mileage ratings of 17 mpg city/ 25 mpg highway. The city rating is 2 mpg less than the Q7, which VW spokesman Steve Keyes attributes to the Touareg's extra weight. The Q7 uses significantly more aluminum in its structure. With the Touareg's 26.4 galllon tank that should give it a 600-mile range. Given the real-world 29 mpg we got with the Q7 on the Mileage Marathon, 25 mpg in all around driving with the Touareg should be easily attainable. Keyes told ABG that AMCI will be doing some real world mileage testing of the Touareg as they did with the Jetta and those numbers are expected to exceed the EPA sticker values.


[Source: Volkswagen]
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

America, baby, don't feel neglected. Just because smart gives the Europeans a boatload of special editions (the Hermes version and the Edit10n, for example) of the fortwo doesn't mean she doesn't love you. In fact, on the one-year anniversary of the smart introduction to the US - a year in which you snapped up 20,000 fortwos - smart is announcing that a new smart fortwo BRABUS edition will be available in limited editions starting early next year. What will BRABUS be doing to the fortwo? Oh, they may have squeezed 112 hp from the BRABUS ULTIMATE 112in Geneva back in March, but you'll just be getting 70 hp from the new American version but you'll still be able to claim 41 mpg on the highway. More good news is that you'll be able to get it in both coupe and cabriolet versions, and they have an "aggressive and sporty" exterior - 15-inch alloy Monoblock VII wheels in front (17-inchers in back) and BRABUS badging all over the car. These models will be available in metallic silver or deep black and prices start at $17,990 (coupe) and $20,990 (cabriolet), so get ready to feel loved again, America. We'll even show you pictures as soon as we get our hands on some.

[Source: smart USA]

8:45 am - So, the choices for the 2009 Green Car of the Year are:

• BMW 335d
• Ford Fusion hybrid
• Saturn Vue 2 Mode hybrid
• Smart ForTwo
• Volkswagen Jetta TDI

The ceremony should start in a few minutes. Then we'll know who wins this thing.

8:48 am - Ron Cogan, editor of Green Car Journal - the people behind this whole event - takes the stand. He says that meaningful impact will only come with big fuel efficiency gains "across the board."

8:50 am - since we don't liveblog many events on AutoblogGreen, I'll explain that all you need to do to see the immediate updates is to refresh the page a lot (hit F5 or click reload). I'll post the winning car as soon as it's announced, so click early and often :)

8:52 am - To be considered, a car must be introduced after January 1, and the GCJ jury gives precedence to models young in their lifespan.

8:54 am - the winner is a diesel

8:55 am - it's the Jetta TDI! Nice.

9:03 am - that was over quickly. More pictures in a minute.

9:34 am - Gallery added and there's a press release after the jump.

Although we got an early peek at the new Nissan Cube before its official debut, the boxy little economy car had its formal introduction here at the LA Auto Show today. When it officially goes on sale next spring, it will be powered by the MR18DE 1.8L four cylinder engine that's shared with the Versa and offers up 122 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque. Transmission choices will be either a six-speed manual or an optional CVT, which will be the efficiency leader with an EPA rating that should come in over 30 miles per gallon. Buyers looking for customization potential will find plenty to like in the Cube, including an illumination kit with 20 selectable colors.

Click past the break for a video of the live unveiling along with Nissan's official (and exhaustive) press release to see how the Japanese automaker was able to compare the diminutive Cube with its polar-opposite sportscar sibling, the GT-R. It's good to have a halo car, huh?


Photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Shunk, Jonathon Ramsey, Frank Fillipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

Seriously, nobody in their right mind is going to suggest that racing across the Baja desert for about a thousand miles in any vehicle qualifies as green, but it takes place each and every year in Southern California and Mexico anyway. This being the case, Volkswagen is planning to tackle this year's Baja event at the very highest level, the Trophy Truck class, with a brand-new racer that they loosely refer to as a Touareg. If you are going to be racing across the desert in anything, it may as well be powered by a clean 5.5 liter V-12 TDI Twin Turbo diesel engine with 550 horsepower and 625 lbs.-ft. of torque, right? After taking a good long look at the truck in person, we've come to the conclusion it is most definitely impressive and imposing. See our live pics below. Plus, did we mention the clean diesel?


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski and Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.

We first saw Hyundai's rolling CUV shapeship, the HED-5 i-Mode, back in Geneva, but today at the LA Auto Show is the first time the Korean automaker has shown the car in the States. New to the crossover is a 2.0L gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine that Hyundai plans to roll out in production machines shortly. The new Theta Turbo GDI engine puts out 286 horsepower, which is very impressive for such a small powerplant. Hyundai puts its direct injection and turbo technology to good effect and combines these new features with its Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) to allow for a 15-20 percent fuel economy increase compared with a standard 2.0L four-banger. Expect to see this new engine make its way into a production car sometime in 2010.

According to Hyundai, a new six-seat production CUV will hit the market in 2010 that's inspired by the HED-5. Of course, don't expect to see its far-out future-spec interior make it production, but the GDI engine and general look is a lock.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski and Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.