2010 Citroen C3 - click above for high res image gallery In Europe, the so-called C-Segment is the single largest volume vehicle class, so when a manufacturer brings out a new model in that class, it’s an important move. C cars are compacts like the Ford Focus, VW Golf and Opel Astra. Citroen’s C car is called the C3 and it’s all new for 2010. Visually, the most remarkable element of the C3 is the “Zenith windshield” which stretches back almost to the B-pillar. Seeing something like this is common on concept cars (see: Kia No 3 ) but rare on production cars, especially mainstream models. The 12.9 foot long C3 has managed to not add any weight in spite of the enormous piece of glass up front. Citroen has improved the efficiency and it will get even better next year with further powertrain upgrades. For 2010, the HDi 90 DPFS version will get a CO 2 emissions rating of just 99 g/km. Next year, a second-generation start/stop system will yield variants that get 90 and 95 g/km. Gallery: 2010 Citroen C3 [Source: Citroen] Continue reading Citroen announces new C3 including a version that gets 99 g/km CO 2 Filed under: Diesel , Citroen Citroen announces new C3 including a version that gets 99 g/km CO 2 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

European Fiat advertising campaign - Click above for high-res image gallery We’ve some pretty cool advertising in our time, but the new European marketing campaign from Fiat is surely one of the more memorable efforts from an automaker in recent years. In an effort to underscore the safety of its diminutive 500, both to its occupants and the animals we share our planet with, the Italian automaker has unleashed a new series of images depicting the little hatchback in various crash test scenarios. The interesting part comes from the car’s occupants, which includes a panda bear, a walrus (goo goo g’joob) and a couple of penguins. Equally as clever is the tagline, “Engineered for a lower impact on the environment,” after which the ad reminds the viewer that Fiat - with an average of just 133.7 grams per kilometer - is the brand with the lowest carbon emissions in all of Europe. Gallery: European Fiat advertising campaign [Source: Fubiz.net via Jalopnik ] Filed under: Green Culture , Fiat , Green Daily , Europe/EU PETA Alert: Fiat underscores eco-friendliness using unique advertising campaign originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery Ford CEO Alan Mulally says the automaker is on track to return to profitability by 2011, despite posting a record $14.7 billion loss in 2008 and a forecast to continue posting losses through the rest of 2009 and 2010. A major portion of Ford’s turnaround plan revolves around “more and more electrification, both hybrids and battery electric vehicles,” Mulally said shortly after the automaker accepted $5.9 billion in U.S. Department of Energy loans as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program to retool factories to build more environmentally friendly cars and trucks. Ford plans to use the DOE funding to convert a couple of former truck plants into new automobile assembly facilities and help fund its planned electric van in 2010 and the Focus EV in 2011 . Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid [Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd] Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Manufacturing/Plants , Ford , Legislation and Policy Mulally: Ford’s path to profitability based on electrification originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Last December, Green Car Advisor’s Nick Kurczewski was able to snag a ride in MDI’s AIRPod . Now, the lucky punk journalist has taken a turn behind the wheel. The short version of his review: this could be the car of the future and it feels like an amusement park ride, but it’s no Millennium Falcon. Seriously. As we know, the Air Car uses compressed air to power a small two-cylinder engine. The 180cc poweplant produces 5.4 horsepower, but MDI is working on a upgraded AIRPod GT will have 8 hp. Kurczewski says the AIRPod’s joystick steering is modified from the original design, which would have seen the speed and deceleration controlled by the stick as well as direction. That complicated-sounding mess has been scrapped in favor of more traditional pedals + joystick. Check out all the details - including why driving a bubble car with no openable windows in June is not a good idea and how MDI plans to bring dozens of AIRPods to airports and universities and other locations around the world - over at Inside Line . Thanks to throwback for the tip! [Source: Inside Line ] Filed under: Emerging Technologies Driving the airless Air Car could be a better experience originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Sanyo is one of the biggest suppliers of nickel metal hydride batteries for hybrid vehicles, along with Panasonic EV energy. Currently, Sanyo’s primary customers are Honda and Ford, but the company also has deals with Volkswagen and Audi for future products from Germany. Ford’s ability to sell hybrid vehicles has, in part, been constrained by limited supplies of major components like transmissions and batteries. That situation may soon change, since Sanyo has decided to increase its production of NiMH cells by 75 percent. Sanyo currently builds two million NiMH cells a month and had been planning to increase that to 2.5 million. Instead, Sanyo has decided to ramp that number up to 3.5 million cells per month. Some of those will undoubtedly go to Honda as it expands hybrid production with the new CR-Z coupe and the hybrid Fit. The deals with VW and Audi are believed to be for new lithium ion batteries. It’s not known how many additional units Ford might get. [Source: Reuters ] Filed under: Hybrid , Ford , Honda Sanyo to crank up hybrid battery production capacity by 75% originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

The other day, Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering, said, “If they (the DOE) raise the appropriations from the $25 billion to the $50 billion, we qualify.” At the time, we hadn’t heard about any plans to increase funding for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Of course, as we wrote when Cischke made those remarks, never say never. Guess what? There’s now talk that the DOE may go ahead and double its $25 billion investment in the ATVM program. It seems that new legislation was added to the already controversial (and already massive at a whopping 1,200 pages) climate change bill that’s currently making the rounds in the House. So far, Ford has been awarded $5.9 billion, Nissan has gotten $1.6 billion and Tesla has accepted $465 million, which leaves a total of $17 billion left in the original $25 billion. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is expected to award the remaining millions to a range of automakers large and small as well as auto suppliers. If the House votes in favor of the bill, which may or may not happen before the planned July 4th recess, it will be sent to the Senate for consideration. [Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd | Photo: laura padgett CC 2.0] Filed under: Legislation and Policy , USA House now considering doubling $25 billion DOE ATVM program originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Like the idea of car-free streets? Bicycle riders the world over can probably see the appeal, but in the town of Vauban, German, the car-free lifestyle is being taken up by pretty much everyone. Since the early 1990s, residents have been moving away from cars and into alternatives like public transportation and bikes. As we wrote in 2006 , the shift has been incremental and with the strong support of the people living in town. Heck, about 57 percent of the residents sold their cars in order to “enjoy the privilege of living here,” project founder Andreas Delleske recently told The Independent . One way Vauban emptied the streets was to raise the associated costs of owning a car in town. For example, it costs about €20,000 ($28,153 U.S.) for a parking space in a garage on the outskirts of town. To make up for the convenience of personal vehicles, Vauban operates with an “ultra-efficient tram service” and also offers car-sharing for people who want to go on trips. The green efforts are attracting attention, and busloads of tourists show up every day to see how things are going down. Of course, they need to park outside of town and walk in. It’s all part of the experience. Thanks for the tip, FaLeX! [Source: The Independent ] Photo by lrargerich . Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0. Filed under: Etc. , Green Culture , Green Daily , Germany German town of Vauban basically bans all cars originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Freightliner Innovation Truck - Click above for high-res image gallery According to the American Trucking Association, there has been a 41 percent increase in registered large trucks and an 84 percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks from 1986 to 2006. That equals lots of diesel fuel consumed. Fortunately, a new report from Coordinating Research Council and the Health Effects Institute shows that pollution from heavy trucks and buses is actually improving at a faster rate than automobiles. Impressively, today’s big rig engines produce 98 percent less carbon monoxide, 10 percent less nitrogen oxide, 95 percent less non-methane hydrocarbons and 89 percent less particulate matter than required by EPA’s 2007 diesel engine emission standards. Diesel engines manufactured in 2010 will perform even better as new regulations mean the powerplants will cut nitrogen oxide emissions by another 50 percent. This study is the first installment of the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES), which will continue to test diesel engines and the related health effects of burning diesel fuel over the next five years. Click here to view the official test results and to keep future tabs on the testing results. Gallery: Freightliner Innovation Truck [Source: American Trucking Association] Continue reading Report: Heavy trucks cleaning up faster than diesel passenger cars Filed under: Diesel , USA Report: Heavy trucks cleaning up faster than diesel passenger cars originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

BMW has decided to engage futher the European low-CO 2 market segment with the launch of the BMW 316d. The 316d uses the same powertrain as the 116d and gets remarkably low CO 2 emissions of just 118 g/km. In both cars, BMW uses a detuned version of its 4-cylinder 2.0 liter diesel engine, found in 18d , 20d and 23d iterations, depending on power. The difference between the 318d and the 316d isn’t much, just lowered carbon dioxide levels of 5 g/km. That little drop can make a big difference for many European taxpayers, though, because in most countries, cars emitting less than 120g/km qualify for a tax bonus. There’s a €700 bonus in France, no registration tax in Spain, and the lower VED B tax band in the UK. Of course, fuel consumption for the 316d is also reduced a bit, down to 4.5 l/100km (52mpg U.S.). What’s the downside? The 316d starts at around €30,000 in France. [Source: Le Blog Auto ] Filed under: Diesel , BMW , Europe/EU , Germany BMW launches low-CO 2 316d: 118 g/km originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

2008 smart fortwo - Click above image for high-res gallery With smart fortwo sales in the U.S. not going as well as hoped , smart USA has decided to offer its first incentive on the diminutive little car. That incentive lets qualified buyers get 4.2-percent financing on a 2009 fortwo through the end of July. There’s another deal brewing for the fortwo that’s tied in to the recently-signed cash-for-clunkers law . The highlight: it will be possible to get a new fortwo for just $99 a month. The details as we know them are as follows: smart USA will allow qualified consumers using the federal rebate to purchase a new smart fortwo for as low $99 a month. The smart fortwo will qualify for the highest voucher level of $4,500 upon the trade in of an eligible vehicle. This special financing was designed to provide an additional monetary incentive for consumers to replace older vehicles that guzzle fuel and emit high levels of greenhouse gasses with new, highly efficient ones like the smart fortwo. It will launch later this summer when the rebate system officially takes effect . More on this as it’s announced. Sound like a good deal? Gallery: 2008 smart fortwo [Source: smart USA] Filed under: MPG , SMART Buy a smart fortwo for just $99 a month originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments