2010 Honda Insight - Click above for high-res image gallery Initial strong sales of the 2010 Honda Insight slowed last month, but new models of the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion helped give hybrids car sales in June 2009 a nine percent increase over last June. In the U.S., dealers sold 26,205 new hybrids in June, 49.6 of which (12,998 units) were Priuses. Compared to May, hybird sales were up two percent, according to data released by the automakers and complied by Green Car Advisor . This was the sixth month where hybrid increased in sales volumes. Potential reasons for the increase include the new models as well as rising gas prices (and the expectation thereof) and some uncommon hybrid sales incentives. Overall, sales were down for everyone but Subaru and Volvo compared to June 2008. Gallery: Ford Fusion hybrid [Source: Green Car Advisor ] Filed under: Hybrid , Ford , Honda , Subaru , Toyota , Volvo , Green Daily , USA Hybrid sale up despite another down month overall, Prius leads charge originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Diesel’s near-term prospects in America took a huge hit with the revelation that nine diesel-powered 2010 models are on hold. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have put the kibosh on rolling out more oil burners due to cost and perception issues. Toyota’s obviously on a hybrid run and doesn’t want to expelnd the effort or expense of investing in diesel for the American market - and having to overcome America’s dirty diesel perceptions. The others, as mass market manufacturers, simply need more justification for the cost and complexity of oil burners in order to make the case for consumers to spend more. Additionally, diesel’s benefits are weighted differently according to EPA or CAFE standards. The EPA mileage numbers present diesels well, but CAFE’s differing fuel mileage equation makes gas-hybrids look better than diesels, and CAFE is something all automakers are looking at. However, you’ll notice that German brands aren’t mentioned - their price premium and European diesel volumes make a worthwhile case for diesels, so those diesel Jetta Sportwagons won’t be going away any time soon. Gallery: 2008 VW Jetta CleanTDI [Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.] Filed under: Diesel , MPG Dead Diesels: Six automakers reportedly kill plans for oil burners originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Here’s a storyline I have heard before. The Big Three are narrowing the gap on quality. J.D. Power and Associates have just released their annual Initial Quality Study, which measures problem per 100 cars in the first 90 days of ownership. Detroit’s carmakers reduced problems by 10%. Their foreign foes reduced problems by just 8%. When measuring problems per 100 cars sold, no one will notice the difference. And here’s the frustrating part. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have been improving quality for years. But they rarely beat Honda or Toyota in a brand-wide measure. And they don’t beat them in model-by-model comparisons often enough. Every year, they inch closer. But that doesn’t send the loyal Toyota Camry or Honda Accord owner to a Chevrolet dealer. The top 10 went like this. Lexus was number one with just 84 problems per 100 vehicles and Porsche was No. 2 with 90 problems per 100. Cadillac was third with 91 problems. From there it went: Hyundai: 95 Honda: 99 Mercedes-Benz: 101 Toyota: 101 Ford: 102 Chevrolet: 103 Suzuki: 103 Infiniti: 106 Mercury: 106 The industry average was 108 problems per 100 cars. Every brand not mentioned above did worse. That means all of the new Chrysler’s brands are below average. GM, for its part, did quite well. Cadillac was third among 37 brands. Chevrolet ranked ninth, but was close enough to Ford and Toyota that difference is just about meaningless. Mini finished last. The problem for Detroit is that those overall numbers don’t mean so much. If car buyers compare models, they would find that 10 of Toyota’s cars rank in the top their in their segment, more than any carmaker. Ford had three models getting awards in their vehicle segments while GM had two and Chrysler had one, the slow-selling PT Cruiser. That’s the difference in quality that consumers will see. They will shop for a mid-sized luxury car, for example, and see that the Lexus IS was best-in-class for quality. The Infiniti G-series and Cadillac CTS tied for second, but the Lexus won. To win buyers, that Cadillac needs to leap frog the Lexus. And the American carmakers need to start recording wins, not narrow defeats.

smart ed - Click above for high res image gallery Mitsubishi and Subaru were the first to start production, but the list of major automakers that are going electric is growing. As rumored , the Daimler is adding its name to the list with an announcement today that the smart ed “is ready for small series production.” Apparently, the trials that have been going on in the UK since December 2007 have proven successful and the company is ready to re-commit to putting the smart ed into production with lithium-ion batteries. Details on how many smart ed’s will be produced and when the first deliveries will take place were not given, other than the UK will get some production cars “in early 2010.” During the Detroit Auto Show, smart said that the cars would be available by the end of this year. Next year should also see 1,000 smart eds start testing in the U.S. More details available after the jump. Gallery: smart ed [Source: smart] Continue reading smart gives electric drive version the green light Filed under: EV/Plug-in , SMART , UK smart gives electric drive version the green light originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

smart ed - Click above for high res image gallery Mitsubishi and Subaru were the first to start production, but the list of major automakers that are going electric is growing. As rumored , the Daimler is adding its name to the list with an announcement today that the smart ed “is ready for small series production.” Apparently, the trials that have been going on in the UK since December 2007 have proven successful and the company is ready to re-commit to putting the smart ed into production with lithium-ion batteries. Details on how many smart ed’s will be produced and when the first deliveries will take place were not given, other than the UK will get some production cars “in early 2010.” During the Detroit Auto Show, smart said that the cars would be available by the end of this year. Next year should also see 1,000 smart eds start testing in the U.S. More details available after the jump. Gallery: smart ed [Source: smart] Continue reading smart gives electric drive version the green light Filed under: EV/Plug-in , SMART , UK smart gives electric drive version the green light originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Filed under: Motorsports , Etc. , Lifestyle Former WRC driver Colin McRae died just before the game bearing his brand, DiRT, was released. That game didn’t get a chance to honor the 1995 WRC champion, but the game’s sequel, DiRT 2 , will make up for that. In addition to a host of off-road events that you can run in a variety of off-road vehicles, there will be a Colin McRae Memorial Cup that you can qualify for. Other drivers in the game will also be heard talking about McRae, and he is “the central figure in the narrative.” As a step to pay tribute it is commendable, and it’s good to see that Mr. McRae hasn’t been forgotten. [Source: Joystiq ] DiRT 2 will honor Colin McRae in-game originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

2010 Subaru Legacy - Click above for high-res image gallery The EPA has finished its work on the new 2010 Subaru Legacy and, in spite of growing in size, the mid-sized sedan now sports better fuel economy numbers. In its efforts to capture a unique niche of the car market, Subaru still makes all-wheel-drive standard on all its U.S.-market cars. Nonetheless, the Legacy, equipped with a 2.5-liter flat-4 engine and Subaru’s new continuously variable transmission, scores 23 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The best numbers for the 2009 model were 20/27 mpg for the sedan with a 5-speed manual transmission. The top end 6-cylinder Legacy also improved from 17/24 mpg to 18/25 mpg in spite of the engine growing from 3.0-liter to 3.6-liters. The mid-level turbocharged Legacy GT is unchanged at 18/25 mpg, while the base four cylinder with a 6-speed manual gearbox actually dropped 1 mpg from 20 to 19 mpg in the city. The highway mileage for the base manual car stayed at 27 mpg. Gallery: 2010 Subaru Legacy [Source: Subaru] Continue reading EPA rates new CVT-equipped Subaru Legacy at 23 mpg city, 31 mpg highway Filed under: MPG , Subaru EPA rates new CVT-equipped Subaru Legacy at 23 mpg city, 31 mpg highway originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Chevy Cruze - Click above for high-res image gallery To compete with Ford’s new global compact car, the Fiesta , other compact vehicles and for the higher-mpg car market in America in gereral, GM will be bringing out the Chevrolet Cruze next year . Over on the GM Fastlane blog, CEO Fritz Henderson has addressed GM’s small-car strategy. For a company long associated with SUVs and muscle cars, the new GM will have its work cut out for it to convince people that they no longer want/need all those gas-guzzlers tGM promoted in years past and should consider a compact GM car instead. Henderson wrote: If you haven’t heard, next year we’ll roll out an all-new compact that will surprise most customers with its terrific fuel efficiency (approaching 40 mpg highway), appealing interior design and spacious five-passenger cabin. This new car, our Chevrolet Cruze, will feature a small but very powerful 1.4 liter direct-injection turbo-charged gasoline engine in an attractive and affordable package. Now, we recognize that small-car buyers have long held Asian imports to be best-in-class in this segment, and we know that simply fielding a competitive car won’t cut it. That’s why we’re out to beat the competition . Is that going to be enough? Gallery: Paris 2008: Chevrolet Cruze [Source: GM Fastlane ] Filed under: MPG , Chevrolet , GM , USA GM CEO; the Chevy Cruze “will surprise most customers” originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Renault’s low-cost Dacia brand has just introduced a new LPG-fueled version of the Logan sedan in France. The Logan is powered by the same 75 hp 1.4-liter engine used in the Sandero that debuted in March. The Logan 1.4 MPI 75 LPG has a starting price of just €8,700 but it is eligible for a €2,000 French eco-bonus plus a €1,000 state rebate for cars that emit less than 160 g/km of when trading in a 10 year old car. That brings the price, including taxes, to just €5,700. The LPG Logan is rated at 135 g/km of CO 2 emissions and is 95 percent recyclable at end of life. Like most LPG vehicles, the Logan also retains the standard gasoline fuel system allowing it to run on either fuel depending on availability. The driver can select the fuel source with a button the dash. The press release is after the jump. [Source: Renault] Continue reading Dacia introduces LPG fueled Logan in France at €6,700 Filed under: Renault , Natural Gas Dacia introduces LPG fueled Logan in France at €6,700 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

According to the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), vans make up to 15 percent road transport emissions in the UK and are the vehicle segment where emissions keep on growing. SMMT wanted customers to be informed about the choices they have when purchasing a new commercial vehicle and to have a way to easily compare CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption between models. The SMMT states that choosing the most fuel efficient van among the group can save the drive up to 17 percent in fuel expenses. If you’re shopping for a cargo-hauler in the UK, you can find the complete database, which classifies vans into many criteria such as size, payload or cargo space, by following this link . [Source: SMMT ] Filed under: Legislation and Policy , UK SMMT publishes CO 2 and fuel consumption figures for vans in the UK originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments