Automakers Loving Obama Again

This is a bit of a turn around, isn’t it.

Just a short while ago, automakers were up in arms with the new, more stringent fuel efficiency standards that were going to come into play in 2016. Some thought they were too short on time to develop the technology necessary to meet the new standards, while others even asked to be exempted from the new standards.

However, with newly announced mileage requirements for light trucks and vehicles running through 2018 to 2025, automakers are breathing a sigh of relief as the pressure is relieved slightly with the extension. On top of it all, the new standards will be national which means manufacturers won’t need to abide by different state laws. For instance, California has the strictest emission laws in Amurrica and they have long been a thorn in the side of automakers.

This is an interesting move. Something definitely needs to be done with how much gas our cars use, but time is rapidly running out for a solution, especially considering how much oil is being lost as you read this post from the leak of the States shoreline. Is it better to force automakers into coming up with fuel efficient cars in a short period of time and risking unforeseen problems because they were rushed? Or is it better to give them time to develop good technology while we suck up more and more of the earth’s non-renewable resources?

What do you think?

[Autoblog Green]

Test Drive: 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid

By Kevin Harrison

There’s a problem with society. Well, there’s many problems actually. But most notably, we seem to always want and demand impossible combinations of stuff.

For instance, we all wish to eat healthy but as soon as companies cut fat or sodium from our foods, we all turn into pouty six year olds. With our arms crossed and our faces full of irritation we declare “I’m never buying this again” because the cheese with 25% less fat tastes like a rubber boot.

No matter where you are in Canada, people will insist that their roads are the worst in the country, as if it were some sort of accolade. But then when taxes get raised or money gets diverted to fix the roads, we all turn into selfish children yet again.

“Fix the roads with someone else’s money, not mine” we all say.

The same can be said for fuel efficiency and the environment. Sure, we’re all concerned about these issues (most of us are anyway), but are we willing to do anything about it? Nope. Because the energy efficient bulb takes a bit longer to reach its peak brightness it’s not worth buying apparently. And if you tell someone they’re going to have to downsize if they’d like to save on gas, they’ll look at you as if you hunt rats in the middle of the night for fun.

So due to these kinds of attitudes, we’re left with things like the X6 ActiveHybrid – a stab in the dark to try to bring us a solution to our uncompromisable problem – power yet efficiency. Has it worked?

Read the rest of this entry »

Good Work! Porsche 918 Will Likely See Production Thanks Public Interest

To those of you that can likely afford the Porsche 918 concept you see above and wrote in to Porsche to express your interest, give yourselves a pat on the back.

It’s because of you that Porsche now has a business case to actually build the 918. We mentioned a while back that Porsche would only consider building it if there was interest, so we pushed for people to write in. And it worked.

Porsche required “1,000 seriously interested people to build a business case” said the development chief for Porsche, Wolfgang Duerheimer. To date, they have 900 seriously interested people with the expectation of that number growing beyond 1,000.

Even if they somehow don’t reach that magic 1,000 number, Porsche is likely to build the 918 anyway. They built the Carerra GT afterall and that car, even though it isn’t around today, really set the benchmark in the hypercar world.

No doubt the 918′s supposed 0-100 in 3.2 seconds and its 3 L per 100 kms rating will also be benchmarking.

This is one of the many reasons why we adore Porsche.

High Initial Demand For LEAF

Nissan has been officially taking orders for its new all-electric game changer, the LEAF, for the past few days. In 65 hours is has received 6,635 customers sign up to reserve one. A $99 refundable deposit is required to reserve a LEAF.

Demand was particularly high within the first three hours as 2,700 eager beavers couldn’t wait to reserve one.

So far people from Tennessee, Oregon, San Diego, Seattle and the Phoenix/Tucson region in Arizona are the ones mostly signing up – exactly Nissan’s targeted market.

Nissan also added that they have introduced six other colours for the LEAF, should the standard blue you see above all over the internets not tickle your fancy. Oddly enough, green is not an available colour. Perhaps Nissan figured that would be a bit too cliche?

BMW Will Build Megacity Electric Vehicle in 2013

BMW has been promising us a `Megacity`electric vehicle and they will be delivering that promise in 2013.

The biggest news is that it actually won`t be badged as a BMW. It`s going to be a part of a new sub-brand much in the same way that Mini is built by BMW but is its own brand. It`s unclear whether this new brand will be exclusively for electric vehicles or perhaps just for EfficientDynamics type of vehicles.

BMW is claiming that the new Megacity will be mostly made up of carbon fiber which helps to keep weight down, improving performance and efficiency. The only downside is carbon fiber is pretty expensive, so the hope of a cheap city EV isn`t too likely. BMW is hoping to get valuable information from the Mini E, an all electric Mini, which is currently in the pilot stage in selected states down south.

Also noteworthy is the expected appearance of an electric version of the new 5-series which is supposedly going to debut in Beijing. It will be called the `Echo`. BMW isn`t planning on producing the 5-series Echo, so Toyota likely won`t be up in arms about the name. It`s more of a experiment with the help of students from Tongji University in China.

BMW claims the Megacity will have a range of 257 kms before needing to be charged and they are not expected to lease the battery packs seperately like some automakers are doing *cough* Nissan Leaf *cough*

Good Karma: Fisker Announces North American Tour

Fisker has announced that they will be taking their highly anticipated Karma on a tour of North America in the hopes of generating more buzz. Tke Fisker Karma is dubbed as being a premium plug-in sports hybrid. Fisker is claiming that the Karma can run up to 480 kms on the electric battery alone before the gas engine kicks in. Pretty impressive. If it can hold its own on the track, colour us very impressed!

The Karma has made limited appearances at car shows and at private parties where one has to pay to just take a look at it. Kind of snobby, Fisker, but this new tour should help shake that image.

The Karma’s Canadian stops will be in Toronto on June 6th, Calgary June 18th, and Vancouver June 24th.

The Chevy Volt’s Real World Efficiency Will Be…

About eight months ago, GM claimed they had a huge announcement. They were pretty secretive about what it would be. The only hint they gave us was the number 230.

It turned out that 230 meant the Volt’s mileage rating, i.e the Volt supposedly gets 230 mpg. Got an eyebrow raised due to scepticism? Don’t blame ya. 230 mpg is a marketing ploy that didn’t work. While GM technically isn’t lying about 230 mpg, it’s not based on real world driving. It’s just “expected to achieve city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon, based on development testing using a draft EPA federal fuel economy methodology for labeling for plug-in electric vehicles.”

Right.

Well, now the next logical thing to do is give information that is actually relevant to consumers, GM. After a long time of making us wait with lots of speculation, GM announced that the Volt’s real world efficiency will be 50 mpg (4.7 L/100 kms).

Obviously this rating is for the gas engine only when those 60 kms that the electric motor will give you run out.

Not too bad, but we honestly expected a bit better considering the hype surrounding this car. In any event, can’t wait to experience the Volt for ourselves!

No You Can’t: Obama’s Ride Will Not Be A Hybrid

Obama’s new fuel efficiency standards will come into effect in 2016 which is great for the environment, but a headache for most manufacturers who are struggling to meet the standards in time.

At the risk of becoming hypocritical, the President asked that his 2009 custom Prestidential Limo be transformed into a hybrid as soon as he got into office.

During his recent trip to North Carolina, Obama was asked how the hybrid transformation of his ride was coming along. His answer? It’s not.

The 2009 limo that Obama gets shuffled around in is cutsom made for the man himself by Cadillac. Among many other things, it carries heavy duty weapons on board, emergency medicine, and is bomb proof. Naturally, all of this translates into substancial amounts of weight gain. If fact, Obama’s limo weighs roughly three times more than the average car! So, Obama was told by the Secret Service that it’s not possible.  The limo needs to be able to make quick getaways in emergency situations and, frankly, hybrids can be as slow as Heidi Montag.

Instead, the limo uses a heavy duty diesel for power, which allows it to make quick getways along with exceptional efficiency.

It was a good idea while it lasted, Barack, but your safety is likely more important.

Hybrid Only S-Class Line Up Will Include AMG Versions

Last week we reported that Mercedes-Benz had decided to make the flagship of their lineup, the S-Class, hybrid only meaning every single trim level offered would be a hybrid.

Mercedes-Benz assured us that the only exception would be the high performance AMG version. It was expected to stay gas only but apparently that is not the case.

Automotive News is reporting that the AMG version of the S-Class will indeed by hybridized. If true, this will mark the first time that an AMG Mercedes will be a hybrid. It could also set precedent for future AMG Benz’s as well.

On the flip side, Automotive News has reported that some Mercedes-Benz dealerships aren’t happy with the idea saying that most S-Class drivers are interested in performance, not fuel economy.

True, if you are going to buy an S-Class, efficiency is likely not at the top of your priority list, but if Mercedes can somehow maintain AMG performance with added efficiency, isn’t that just a bonus? BMW has some ideas up its sleeve on how to acheive performance and efficiency, so if they can do it, you can be assured that Mercedes-Benz will try too.

Next Generation BMW M6 to Battle Audi R8

The next generation 6-series is just around the corner and there are now a few details on what the big boy of the line will be like.

The new M6 is going to go head on with the Audi R8. The R8 is a magnificent supercar that is highly touted as a car that can do splendidly on the track, but is comfortable and usable enough to be a daily driver. BMW is going to need to come up with something very good that has an additional selling point that the R8 doesn’t.

BMW recently revealed that it will indeed build the very attractive Vision EfficientDynamics concept, and it looks like it will come to fruition in the form of the new M6. The new M6 will take styling cues from the concept as well as elements from its 3 cylinder diesel electric sports car. The set up makes an estimated 356 horsepower and a ridiculous 590 pound feet of torque. Looks like efficiency is going to be the one up that the M6 will have on the R8.

It’s the Car’s Fault, Officer

Full disclosure: I have been pulled over for speeding before. Three times, if I’m honest, but I only managed to get a ticket for one of those times.

Now, a lot of times, I am aware of my lead foot. So when I get caught, I don’t usually put up a fuss.

But there are certain times when you really are not aware of how fast you’re going. Some cars in particular are very difficult to drive slowly. My personal vehicle for instance is one of them (full disclosure again, I drive a 2008 BMW 128i).

A friend of mine just purchased a 2006 Mini Cooper S, and after some time behind the wheel, I have decided that his car is also a difficult car to drive slowly. The BMW 550i GT that I tested is also hard to tame, and now comes word from the folks at European Car Magazine that the 335d is hard to drive slowly as well.

See the pattern? All those cars mentioned are BMW’s (or made by BMW).

European Car was pulled over for going 93 mph in a 70 zone and the reviewer tried to explain the characteristic that is seemingly a trait with all BMW’s.

“It’s not my fault, this car wants to go 120 mph all the time… it’s the car’s fault.”

Needless to say, that didn’t work. The reviewer got a ticket anyway. But it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who seems to have a hard time driving BMW’s slowly. Their engines are so smooth and responsive

It’s also worth mentioning that European Car was able to get 6 l/100 kms out of the 335d despite the inability to drive the speed limit. It’s one of the reasons why we chose it for Canadian Car of the Year for 2010.

In any event, our tip of the day is: if you ever find yourself behind the wheel of a BMW, mostly any BMW,  make sure you keep a close eye on your speedometer.

Porsche Looking for CAFE Exemption

Even though they have somehow managed to come up with a sports car that gets 3 L/ 100 kms, Porsche still isn’t convinced that they will be able to meet the new, more stringent CAFE standards that will come into effect in 2016.

As a result, Porsche is petitioning the U.S Department of transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency to give them a partial exemption from the new rule.

The new fleet averages will be set at 35 mpg, or 6.7L/100 kms in our lingo, but Porsche will have to average 42 mpg (5.9L/100 kms). The reason is the fleet average combines both that of cars and trucks. Since Porsche doesn’t make trucks, it’s being forced to meet more stringent standards.

Porsche says that since it makes exclusively sports cars (which are low volume sellers to begin with) it’s hard to meet the new standards. Sports cars tend to chug gasoline. If they meet the new regulations, Porsche says it will tarnish its image as its customer base expects a certain level of performance.

No word yet from the other side, but rest assured, we will be watching this story very closely.

Next Generation S-Class Will Be Hybrid Only

Looks like Mercedes-Benz is actually serious about meeting CAFE standards and not paying any more fines anymore.

The next iteration of the benchmark setting S-Class is expected to switch up its game under the hood and go hybrid only. At least for the U.S. This would likely mean the same fate for the new S-Class in Canada as well.

Apparently S400 hybrid sales are currently doing so well that it seemed only logical to hybridize the S-Class lineup. The S400 hybrid has a 3.5-liter V6  for 295 horsepower along with a mild electric motor assist. This is good enough to get the big heavy executive sedan 9L/100 kms combined. Not bad considering the gas version of the S550 get a 15.8L/100 kms city rating.

There will be one exception to the hybrid only rule being enforced on the S-Class however. AMG versions are expected to keep performance purists happy as they will stay gas only and deliver the same or better numbers that we are all used too. Except for mileage that is. The AMG S-Class currently gets 19.3 L/100 kms city. Yikes.

All Electric Fiat 500 to See Production, USA Bound

At the Geneva Auto Show this year, Chrysler was showing off some models of its newest owner such as the little Fiat 500. There was also an electric version showcased, but Chrysler assured everyone that it was just a concept.
Well concept it ain’t no more as it has been officially announced that Fiat will indeed build the 500EV and it will see US showrooms via Chrylser dealerships.

There are very few details that are being released at the moment, but right now we know that the 500EV will be powered by an ‘advanced’ lithium-ion battery, a high power electric powertrain as well as an EV power control unit.

This new 500EV will surely be direct competition for BMW’s all-electric Mini Cooper E, which is currently undergoing the pilot phase in the States as you read this.

No word on whether or not the 500EV will see itself on our fine soil, but it’s pretty likely.

Honda CR-Z Doing Well In Japan

The supposed successor to the peppy CRX hatchback of the early 90′s is apparently doing well in its home country.

Honda has taken 8,000 orders of the new hybrid after only 3 weeks of it being available for order. Not bad.

What is bad is the lackluster efficiency the car gets considering its size and its hybrid set up. The CR-Z gets 6.5 l/100 kms city and 6.1 l/100 kms highway. Comparitively A Honda Fit can get 7.1 l/100 kms city and 5.5 l/100 kms highway with just a regular gasoline engine. It also has a much cheaper starting price.

Still, the CR-Z promises to be performance oriented as it is one of the few hybrids (perhaps only hybrid) to offer a 6-speed manual transmission. 40% of Japanese who ordered a CR-Z so far have checked the 6-speed manual box in the option list.

But then you look at the horsepower numbers: 122 horsepower and 128 pound foot of torque. Extremely weak numbers on paper for a so-called performance oriented vehicle, despite the hybrid technology. The CR-Z better be extremely light like its CRX predecesor if it wishes to retain any credibility.

Although if the 8,000 number of CR-Z’s already ordered is any indication, credibility won’t really even matter.