While hybrids were growing in popularity in the US, there was little interest from Europe’s side, where diesel engines remained popular for quite a while. However, looking at the 2010 Geneva auto show, this may very well change soon.
You could question designer James Piatt’s logic for calling his hybrid concept cars MOFO, but the looks these MOFOs have are simply interesting. These cars are designed to be simple, pure and classic. That quite sums up the looks of the concept. It can run as a gasoline-electric hybrid, or switch to 100% electric mode for action.
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Kepler Motors have announced the Motion, a concept hybrid supercar that should debut at the 2009 Dubai International Motor Show. It uses the new Ecoboost engine by Ford, a twin turbo diesel injection 3.5-liter V-6 which powers the rear wheels, while the front ones are handled by an electric motor. There’s probably some electric components to maintain an equal speed between the two drives as well. (more…)

A UK research team has made a discovery which allows the production of lithium-ion batteries, with the total production costs going at about a third of what the current batteries cost to make. The discovery is the result of collaboration between QinetiQ, Ricardo – a transport technology company, and the Energy Saving Trust.

2010 is sure shaping up to be a good year for the smart car shopper, more than the previous ones. There are going to be 20 cars, SUVs and hatchbacks which are better than 30 mpg. However, as efficient as those cars may be, the cost for them isn’t very attractive, especially if you’re counting your money carefully. In fact, for some models, you may have to pay up to $11,000 more for the hybrid morel, as opposed to the gasoline-based one.

General Motors have announced that California will be their primary market for the Chevy Volt, when the car is released about a year from now. According to Brent Deware, vice president of global Chevrolet brand in GM, California was chosen because it’s the largest car market in the US, and also known for adopting new technologies easily.

Capstone, a company that specializes in electricity-generating microturbines, have decided to team up with the Chief Creative Director at Electronic Arts, Richard Hilleman, to create a very interesting-looking hybrid car for the upcoming car show in Los Angeles. The CMT-380 is powered by an electric power train, with the addition of a diesel microturbine that can give the car enough power for 500 miles.

The US President Barack Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to make important announcements that will provide stimulus for a greener future. An Obama administration official has said that the President will make announcement regarding Smart Grids during his visit to Florida. Obama’s announcement of a Smart Grid will be the government’s largest investment of economic stimulus funds in clean energy.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Plugged In For Electricity
As the number of electric vehicles, or plug-in hybrids increases, there is a good chance that they may put greater strain on the grid with a lot of vehicles going for a recharge simultaneously. Google is currently working on a solution to this problem, by integrating vehicles with the electric grid so as to minimize strain and help utilities charge better.
With the economy declining as it is, Toyota’s belief that it would be able to sell 25,000 Lexus Hybrids within the first twelve months is appreciable. The Lexus HS250 has yet to go on sale (later this summer) and Toyota has some real good reasons to back their belief.

2010 Toyota Lexus HS 250h hybrid