Honda Motor Co gets it. Arguably one of the most economical car makers there is, Honda Motor gets it. Honda knows that America is fat and needs equally large sport utility vehicles and minivans to ride in. Even so, Honda will scale back production on its Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs in the U.S. It’s not because America suddenly went on a diet, it’s because even the wealthy are feeling the pinch of high gasoline prices.

The automaker will cut production of the two units over the next three months by 10,000 units. to make up for the loss, Honda will roll out even more of its Civic subcompacts. My son drives one of these – 35-40mpg. Honda gets it.

Honda also has  an SUV-sized vehicle that goes 1,300 miles between fill-ups. Honda gets it.

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Hokkaido is Japan’s northernmost main island. The island recently hosted the G-8 Summit at Lake Toya. I know the place, got a speeding ticket there once, which, btw, has nothing to do with this post.

The Wakkanai Alternative and Renewable Energy Study Group and Heiren Energy Inc. are jointly testing a system that will store hydrogen that was produced through electrolysis of water.  Wakkanai sits to the extreme north of Hokkaido. What’s different is that the electricity used to run the project is coming from wind turbines that have been installed in the area. Confusion starts – “The hydrogen will be reacted with toluene to produce an organic hydride, allowing it to be stored in a liquid state at room temperature and ambient pressure, then transported safely by tank truck.”

There’s an energy summit that is going to take place in Hokkaido next week July 25-28 in Sapporo, the capital of the island. Hydrogen made from the wind turbine/electrolysis will be used to power an automobile that will be demonstrated at the summit.

Wind + hydrogen = cars on the move. Good Earth-friendly equation. No?

source

India’s Tata Motors wants to release the ‘Nano’ car this year. The price tag – 100,000 rupees or around $2,000. There are, however,

three obstacles that must be overcome.

1. construction costs  are nearly double what they were in 2006 when the car was first announced.

2. prices for materials for the car have risen comparably

3. the Indian government’s higher interest rates.

Tata Motors has already invested 20 billion ruppees, 3 billion more than it had planned just to build the factory. One unforeseen problem was flooding during the monsoon season! Still, trial production is expected this month or next and the car’s release is planned for October of this year.

Still, there is the problem of increased material prices, and even Tata subsidizes those costs, it may not be enough to keep the price down. Interest rates on the car for buyers wanting to switch from their motorbikes to a four-wheeler are expected to be around 17-18%. Imagine if they were using a credit card!

Even with all the obstacles, Tata Group is pushing ahead to provide safe vehicles for low-income families to use up all the rest of the world’s fossil fuels in a much shorter time span. The good news is that once all the fossil fuels have been used, we will have come up with an alternative.

So, why are we waiting until then?

I laughed when I read the Audi A8, W12 Quattro review. I read those kinds of articles because among other things I get paid to drive cars and write reviews about them. SeeLand Rover LR3 HSE, 2008.

That’s not what makes me laugh. The Audi review made me laugh out loud actually. I mean how many times do you get to read gas-guzzler and solar-powered in the same sentence. The$120,000 base sticker price Audi A8 has tons of extras running up the price to $140,565. (FWIW, the most expensive car I have driven was aJaguar Super V8, 2008). The Audi has a solar-powered sunroof ($790). I suppose it’s been added to help ease the guilty of having a 6.0 liter engine, 12 valves, a 450 horsepower engine AND, this is the kicker, having to pay $1,700 in extra for a tax. It gets a whopping 13mpg in the city (estimate) and 19 mpg (estimate) on the highway.

Seriously, who would have thought you could use solar-powered and gas-guzzler in the same sentence, on the same machine?

What kind of car do you drive?

John McCain wants to save fuel and reduce emissions. (Don’t we all?)  If elected he is willing to earmark $300 million to encourage innovation on a new car battery. I wonder if he couldn’t just buy the technology from Toyota for about half that price. That $300 million is equal to everyone in the United States ponying up $1. McCain wants to do better than Toyota’s hybrid technology.

McCain says the battery should have the “size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.  My administration will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit based on the reduction of carbon emissions. For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a 5,000 dollar tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car.“

A $5000 tax credit? Will that go for anyone buying the Honda FCX Clarity? McCain says that if the US can do Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, Apollo moon landings, silicon chips and the Internet, then surely we can do a zero emission battery.

“For all the troubles and dangers our energy vulnerability presents, we know that we can overcome them, because we have overcome far worse problems and met far greater goals.”

So, what do you think? Does America have what it takes?

Mazda Motor Corp has a hydrogen-powered minivan coming to Japan for lease beginning next March.  The minivan will have hydrogen-combustion and an electric motor. Mazda is the Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. The company received permission from Japan’s transport ministry to test the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid. The Premacy is known as the Mazda5 overseas.

The minivan has a generator-powered electric motor and a rotary engine. (And, the Mazda goes ummm…). Emissions are water vapor only. Lease costs will be Y420K ($3800)/month! I think, I’ll take a his and hers.

BMW AG is Germany’s attempt to develop a fuel-cell system. Electricity is generated through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Honda’s Clarity will be available for lease in the US next month. Both cars have zero-emissions.

While Toyota works to improve its hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the company is also working to make the new 2009 Prius, how shall I put this, a whole lot less ugly, sharp and futuristic-looking.

In that, Toyota is making the car of the future, and will make it available in the U.S., Japan, Korea from next April. Even better news – Toyota is planning to make the price more ‘competitive.’ And why would they do that? People will pay out the gazoo for them here in Silicon Valley.

It’s a car that appreciates in value. With gas prices continuing to climb (we pay $4.29 4.53 for the very cheap stuff here in SV) we can expect this car’s value to continue to go up as well. Leave it to Toyota and other Japanese car makers to lead the way in fuel-efficient vehicles.

Good googie moogie! A car that gets 300 mpg.

Image by boomerharley11

The Aptera Typ-1 Concept Car is a three-wheeled vehicle. The two front wheels are used for steering and the rear wheel is connected to an electric motor. The Typ-1 will consume 60-80 Watt·hours/km at 55 mph (90 km/h), making it a low energy vehicle.

The Typ-1 has a drag coefficient of 0.11, compared with 0.19 for the record-holding EV1.

It has recessed windshield wipers, low rolling resistance tires, and cameras in place of side mirrors. And, did we say it goes 300 miles on a gallon of gas?

Here is a pictures gallery (thanks to jalopnik)

And the video …

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=45pjOYFEO3k[/youtube]

Toyota Motor Corp is so far out in front of the pack when it comes to fuel-efficiency, that objects in the mirror really are smaller than they appear.

The company has set the standard for hybrid cars and the use of lithium-ion batteries but it’s not enough because they have a plan to launch a plug-in hybrid car with lithium-ion batteries within the next two years, which will far “outpeform” current lithium-ion batteries. The next-generation battery will be ready for commercial use by 2030.

A new research team created by Toyota will start with 50 engineers and double in size in about two years. Full scale production of lithium-ion batteries will start up next year and go full hybrid steam ahead by 2010.

Toyota is working in cahoots with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, which makes Panasonic brand products. Remember that 13,000-hour light bulb? And, who said Japan cannot be a leader on the world stage?

Image by aminorjourney

The Norwegians are on to something. Think Global is the company and Think City is their electric car that can go 110 miles without a recharge. Apart from meeting all US and European safety standards, the two-seater also packs very good performances and tops at 65mph.

Assembled in Southern California, Think City will be sold for less than $25K and the company “could be selling as many as 50,000 units in two or three years.”

Think Chief Executive Jan-Olaf Willums said test vehicles will be brought to the U.S. in coming months. He also said that a convertible Think City model, is in development. Can you imagine wind blowing through your hair at 65mph, without harming the environment?

Now if they could just come up with a better name…

Here’s a quick pictures gallery if you still need to be convinced !!! (thanks to mr.frego)

See also -

The “Microjoule” does 7,148 mpg – beat that!