In recent years, Lotus has enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence, what with the immense popularity of cars such as the Exige, which whilst not being massive production models have a reputation as being tremendous when it comes to performance. Equally, the Evora has taken everyone by surprise, offering two rear seats but maintaining the fun factor that makes a Lotus so special.

The BBC has a new article that includes some in depth information on what’s happening at Lotus, including what is bound to be one of the worst kept secrets in motoring – the new Esprit supercar. I really can see Lotus becoming a very significant name in motoring, especially if hybrid technology is used. If anyone can ‘add lightness’ whilst adding normally heavy electric batteries, it’ll be this company…

Here’s a release you might just be interested in if you’re a safety conscious driver:

On sale in the UK from next week; the all-new Suzuki Swift has been rated as one of Europe’s safest cars, achieving a maximum 5 star rating in the 2010 test by Euro NCAP.

Euro NCAP’s (New Car Assessment Programme) rating scheme focuses on the vehicle’s overall safety performance which gives consumers an easy to understand single score. The system considers occupant protection in frontal, side, pole and rear impacts as well as child protection, pedestrian protection and the availability of driver aids.

The rating scheme uses a weighted score, combining many aspects of a car’s safety performance: adult (50%), child (20%) and pedestrian (20%) protection assessment results with the availability of safety assistance devices (10%).

The new Swift attained a score of 94 per cent for adult occupant protection, 82 per cent for child; 62 per cent for pedestrian and 71 per cent for the provision of safety assistance devices with an overall total of 83 per cent. This total exceeded the score of 75 per cent required to achieve the 5 star rating set by Euro NCAP.

Helping Suzuki gain this high total safety performance score across all four criteria, new Swift has been developed with a new, stronger and lighter impact absorbing bodyshell designed to improve occupant protection as well as minimising injuries to pedestrians.

Also, to ensure optimum occupant protection, new Swift includes seven airbags as standard across the range which includes driver’s knee airbag as well as whiplash mitigating front seats. Active safety equipment includes ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) which is also fitted as standard equipment across the new Swift range.

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Dodge

Gallery: 2011 Dodge Durango

Continue reading 2011 Dodge Durango unveiled

2011 Dodge Durango unveiled originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: By the Numbers

By The Numbers – August 2010: The C4C hangover continues originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Bentley, Luxury

Gallery: Spy Shots: 2012 Bentley Continental GT

Spy Shots: Last look at 2012 Bentley Continental GT before internet reveal originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GM's 'revolutionary' HCCI engine

Embracing efficient and cost-effective change

A new study claims that by 2035 US light duty fleet fuel economy could be tripled to 74 mpg without plug-in or hydrogen technology, at a much cheaper cost than achieving the same goal through plug-in or or hydrogen technologies.

So, have plug-ins become an excuse – dare I say a greenwashing effort – by automakers to delay change as long as possible? Are plug-ins just like yesterday’s flex-fuel CAFE credits?

The study A Fuel Efficiency Horizon for US Automobiles doesn’t suggest that plug-ins are about greenwashing, that’s my suggestion based upon the history of the US auto industry. It’s just that in my opinion, selling 50,000 plug-in vehicles per year doesn’t justify selling 1 million 17 mpg pickup trucks, just as adding never-used flex fuel technology to gas guzzlers didn’t justify CAFE credits that enabled automakers to blatantly violate CAFE requirements , resulting in increased foreign oil dependence.

Unfortunately, good intentions resulted in bad results.

Fortunately, that’s not to say that plug-ins or hydrogen won’t offer the world a fantastic future. It’s just that both technologies are simply not cost-effectively mature, and betting the farm on them as THE solution is very inefficient and cost-ineffective. Sadly, the evidence supporting the fact that plug-ins simply are not cost-effective, and will almost certainly not be cost-effective for decades, is nothing short of overwhelming.

Of course, some Eureka moment in the basement of some college laboratory could instantly change that, but until that happens, shouldn’t we be doing everything else that we can as quickly as we can, especially when “projected fuel savings greatly exceed upfront costs”?

Plug-in vehicles are a technology that MUST be pursued; however, if its going to take decades for plug-ins to mature into the dominant mainstream solution, shouldn’t we be putting greater focus on what else can be done in the interim? How is achieving today, what automakers want to put off until tomorrow, so bad for America if “savings greatly exceed upfront costs”?

Minimally, isn’t it time for an honest, transparent national discussion on energy policy?

Good for just 70 mpg?

An extra 20 mpg

What’s it like to drive a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid? What kind of fuel economy does it achieve? What’s the EV range? Time to charge, etc?

MotorTrend answers those questions today in a great article on the plug-in Prius and, well, the plug-in Prius drives pretty much like a regular Toyota Prius, while achieving an extra 20 mpg in fuel economy.

Big deal? Just 20 mpg more? Well, what if the plug-in Prius costs less than a conventional Prius?

Now, I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but according to the MotorTrend article, the lithium-ion battery pack in the plug-in Toyota Prius actually costs less than the NiMH battery pack in the conventional Prius. MotorTrend writes, “lithium-ion batteries presently cost something like $600 per kW-hr, meaning the PPI’s (Prius Plug-In’s) battery alone could run about $2000, less the price of its displaced nickel-metal hydride pack (price: $2729).”

Even if true, there is a more sophisticated battery management system, for instance, that also has to be factored into the costs, as well as a ton of new software. So, there will be additional plug-in costs beyond the battery.

Nevertheless, I’m befuddled. Not long ago Toyota stopped plans to switch to lithium-ion batteries in the third generation Prius because of additional costs. If a conventional Prius only needs 1.3 kwh of battery, wouldn’t lithium be much cheaper than NiMH at $800 for 1.3 kwh’s for lithium verus $2729 for NiMH? So, why did Toyota claim costs would be higher?

Anyway, I wonder, how many more would buy a Prius if they could achieve an extra 20 mpg for the same cost as today’s Prius? Would sales double, triple, more? Would having to plug-in to achieve this extra 20 mpg be too much of a burden for most Prius buyers? And, as a bonus question, would the plug-in Prius outsell the conventional Prius if the conventional Prius was $1500 cheaper?

US dependent upon on China for 17 critical rare earths

Can rare earth activities in US catch up in time?

For a few years now worries about a rare earth metal shortage have been growing. Several times this topic has been covered on this blog regarding rare earths and hybrid cars, most recently in:  Just how important are rare earth metals? and Hybrid crazy China: Supply and demand manipulation?.

And the worries seem to be intensifying.

“The situation is nothing short of a crisis,” says Karl A. Gschneidner Jr., a senior metallurgist at Iowa State University’s Ames Laboratory who has been studying rare-earth materials there since the 1960s, according to fascinating piece by Chemical and Engineering News . “There is nearly zero rare-earth mining, processing, and research going on now in the U.S.,” claims Gschneidner.

Today, Electron Energy, the last US rare earth metal magnet producer – the type of magnets critical for countless technologies – is worried.

“We’ve seen rare-earth prices increase steadily in recent years,” claims Eltectron’s CEO Peter C. Dent, “but until now, we have been able to get the supplies we need. We’re very concerned now about the long-term availability of these materials.”

Except the hybrid versions.

As red, white and blue as it gets

Essentially, every foreign brand saw their sales get hammered in August, and while US automakers also experienced declining sales, sales of pickup trucks continue to post gains.

Without big gas guzzling pickup trucks, the Big 3 would be seeing a lot of red.

Cars.com has put together a pretty scary Top Ten sales chart for August. Outside of Big 3 pickup trucks, only the Hyundai Sonata posted a gain in monthly sales.

Obviously, there were no hybrid cars on the list.

No wonder there is a double standard in CAFE regulations.

Camry hybrid just can't compete

Camry sales, but not the hybrid, lead way

Sales of Toyota hybrid cars dropped from 17,504 hybrids in July to 15,444 hybrids in August, as the Toyota Prius dropped from 14,102 sales in July, to 11,799 sales in August.

Despite some of the best lease deals ever on the Toyota Prius, hybrid sales continue to remain unimpressive.