The all-new 2010 HS 250h, the world’s first dedicated luxury hybrid vehicle, showcased at the North American International Auto Show, Detroit, will reach dealerships nationwide in late summer.

 

The 2010 HS 250h, The HS 250h will be Lexus’ fourth hybrid and the most fuel-efficient vehicle in its lineup. It also will be the first Lexus to utilize carbon-neutral Ecological Plastic materials in a new futuristic cockpit and interior design.

 

The newest addition to Lexus’ entry-luxury sedan lineup, the 2010 HS 250h is equipped with Lexus’ first four-cylinder gas engine, the 2.4-liter Atkinson-cycle power plant is part of the latest Lexus Hybrid Drive System rated at 187 total system horsepower. The highly efficient Atkinson-cycle engine, made possible by the Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i) system, allows the expansion/power stroke to be longer than the compression stroke so that combustion energy can be more effectively used for production of engine power.

 

The 2010 HS 250h sedan’s expected fuel efficiency will be more than 30-percent better than the most fuel-efficient model currently in the Lexus lineup. The HS 250h includes a new system designed to improve efficiency. The exhaust heat recovery system reduces engine warm-up time, thus allowing it to stop earlier, more often, and for longer periods. It includes proactive adoption of plant based, carbon-neutral “Ecological Plastics” or bio-plastics that emit less carbon dioxide, in specific interior areas. Over the estimated lifecycle of the vehicle, the HS 250h will have approximately 20-percent fewer carbon-dioxide emissions as a result of utilizing the Ecological Plastic trim pieces.

 

Lexus claims that the 2010 HS 250h features a unique advanced cockpit and an interior design that emphasizes innovation and craftsmanship. The uniquely stylish cabin has standard leather-trim seats, a moonroof, Lexus premium audio systems, and a new standard multi-media package with Bluetooth technology, integrated satellite radio (subscription required), voice recognition, and USB iPod connectivity controlled via steering-wheel controls or a display screen Lexus’ new available Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Navigation System features a retractable navigation screen.

 

The Navigation System also includes a new casual-speech voice recognition feature. A class-leading 10 airbags will be standard on the all-new 2010 HS 250h as well as active front head rests, which help passengers in case of certain types of rear-end accidents. The HS also will feature Lexus’ Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system and optional Pre-Collision System with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control.  

Here's some good news for all those who are environmentally conscious and want to drive the greenest car possible. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency to protect the environment and strengthen the economy, has announced its list of 12 vehicles of 2009 that make the least environmental impact.

 

Going by the list, you need to either get a car that's smaller in size or that's fitted with a hybrid powertrain in order to become environmentally friendly on the road. The ACEEE's “2009 Green Book” has listed out four hybrids among the top 12 green vehicles sold in the U.S.

 

The Green Book is an annual guide that evaluates the environmental impact of vehicles available in the new model year and allots them a Green Score based on the impact (from least to worst). The Green Score is determined by various factors such as fuel economy, tailpipe and other emissions that can cause global warming. The higher the Green Score, the lower is the environmental impact.

 

Rankings

 

The natural-gas-powered Honda Civic GX has topped ACEEE's list of "Greenest Vehicles" for the third consecutive year. The Civic GX runs on compressed natural gas (CNG) and is the only vehicle in the list that does not operate on gasoline. It gets a Green Score of 57 for its combination of high efficiency and near-zero emissions that makes it the cleanest car on the road today.

 

Hybrids - the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry Hybrid have gained the second, third and twelfth slots respectively, on ACEEE's list of eco-friendly vehicles. The other hybrid that has made it into the top 12 happens out to be the largest car on the list as well: the Nissan Altima Hybrid. These hybrids combine an internal-combustion engine with an electric motor for enhanced fuel economy and low emissions.

 

Two domestic vehicles - the Chevrolet Cobalt XFE (and its Pontiac G5 twin) and the Chevy Aveo/Aveo5 have received eighth and 10th rankings respectively. Meanwhile, the two European brands that made it to last year's list, have again found a place in the list. The MINI Cooper/Clubman is ranked seventh with a green rating of 45, while the Smart Fortwo which is the smallest car on the list, gets fourth position with a green score of 49.

 

 

San Francisco is all set to build a new recycling plant that will convert large quantities of "brown grease" into biodiesel. "Brown grease" is the grease left over from foods cooked in oil that can clog the city pipes.

 

According to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom the plant will come up as part of a new $1.2 million pilot program. The plant is expected to process 10,000 gallons of the dirty grease into roughly 500 gallons of fuel in a week. The program is being funded by both the state and the federal grants. The biodiesel thus produced can be used to feed motor vehicles, sewage treatment plants and the city's heating and electrical needs. Only a small quantity of restaurant grease is collected and treated in the sewer system at present.

 

San Francisco is likely convert as much as 2.5 million gallons of the city's restaurant grease into biodiesel. Meanwhile, the California Energy Commission (CEC) is looking closely at this and similar projects to help cover California's anticipated 1 billion gallon shortfall of biodiesel by 2022. The shortfall is anticipated even with a growing number of yellow grease recycling programs like San Francisco's SFGreasecycle.

 

The SFGreasecycle program, launched two years ago, collects yellow grease-like fryer oil from restaurants to fuel the city's vehicles, buses and fire trucks.  

French green car firm MDI has revealed its plans to release air powered cars in the U.S. The company, founded by former Formula One engineer Guy Negre has developed an engine which it claims can run purely on air. It has revealed that it would license its technology to a number of regional licensees who actually will build and operate these air powered around the world.

 

Cars due to ship include the three-seater OneCat, the 96mph, and the six-seater CityCat. Meanwhile, the MDI's U.S. representative Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) has said that it will cost around $17,800 when it ships in the U.S. in 2009-10.

 

The cars are said to be only fully air-powered at lower speeds. Above 20mph, the 75hp CityCat begins burning small amounts of fuel to heat the compressed air and increase the vehicle's range. The vehicle emits just 0.158lbs of CO2 per mile when using the burner, which can be powered by conventional petrol, ethanol, or bio-fuels, the ZPM  said.

 

According to Shiva Vencat, vice president of MDI and chief executive of the ZPM, the car will take roughly an hour to charge, and will run anywhere between 800 and 1,000 miles on a single tank of air.
Vencat has the rights to build the first plant in the U.S. and the first manufacturing plant may come up in New York. The company is also looking for investors for the rest of the €300,000 licenses to build plants across the U.S. There will be an average of more than one plant per state, he said.

 

MDI has sold the rights to build and sell the air powered car in India to Indian automotive giant Tata Motors last year in a €20m deal.  

The year 2008 saw the fuel prices going up and up. In the month of July, the gas prices went up to nearly $4 a gallon in the U.S. By then, the gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles had became hugely popular and it seemed that the hybrid vehicles would be soon ready to conquer the whole of America. However, the collapse of the auto market in the second half of the year resulted in a significant decrease in the sales of the hybrid vehicles. The sales of hybrids fell 9.9% in 2008 to 315,761 units, according to the Autonews. Toyota which controls about 75% of the hybrid market in the U.S. witnessed a decrease of 12.5 percent in its sales.

 

Interestingly, General Motors' hybrid sales nearly tripled - from 5,175 units in 2007 to 14,439 units in 2008 - thanks to the addition of several new models like the Chevrolet Malibu and Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon. However, one has to agree with what the GM's Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said at the Detroit Show recently: "at $1.50 a gallon, the American public is not willing to pay for fuel-saving technology."

 

Meanwhile, the observers in the automobile industry have also expressed serious doubts that the Americans will buy the hybrid or any other fuel-efficient vehicle unless the automobile companies reduce the cost of these vehicles. They would also not think about hybrids if the fuel prices continue to remain at the existing levels. This fact holds true for not just Americans but for all and how can any Japanese or European consumer think of buying a hybrid vehicle or any other type of fuel-efficient vehicle when the fuel prices are so cheap in their countries too, the observers feel.  

If you’re someone who likes to drive a big SUV, yet save on fuel, you might consider one of several Hybrid SUVs available on the market. Hybrid SUVs offer a roomy cabin with plenty of space and excellent ride comfort, apart from possessing fuel-saving qualities found on hybrid cars, not to mention their towing capacity and off-road capability as well.

 

The Ford Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid SUV to be introduced in 2004 that was made by an American auto manufacturer. Hybrid SUVs have taken flak for not being able to deliver the true benefits of gas-electric technology, when it comes to achieving the MPG levels of fuel efficiency offered by smaller hybrids.

 

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, even a small increase in fuel efficiency from 14 to 16 mpg, saves as much oil as increasing fuel economy from 35 to 50 mpg. Without a doubt, a smaller vehicle with considerable fuel economy will save you money and fuel in the long run, especially if you don’t need some of the finer qualities offered by an SUV.
Some popular and efficient Hybrid SUVs are Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid and Saturn Vue Green Line. Hybrid SUVs with V8 performance and towing include Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, Chrysler Aspen Hybrid, Dodge Durango Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid. The V8 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid apparently achieves the same fuel economy (city) as a four-cylinder Toyota Camry, and can tow up to 6,000 pounds. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid offers the best seven-passenger seating, while the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid and Lexus RX 400h offer luxury accommodations. The Ford Escape Hybrid is the most fuel efficient SUV Hybrid overall.  

On December 15 2008, BYD (Build Your Dreams), a company hitherto known for making cellphone batteries, began the sale of its F3DM - China's first plug-in, mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, designed and built by a Chinese company. The car is expected to retail for about $20,000 in China, until it eventually powers its way to the U.S. market in 2011.

 

The F3DM (DM -"dual mode") powers itself with a ferrous battery and can clock 60 miles in electric-only mode. Chinese manufacturer BYD expects to sell 10,000 units in 2009. BYD founder and President Wang Chuanfu said that, the electric car technology marked the first time for the company, as a leader on the world stage.

 

Wang Chuanfu has turned BYD, into the world's leading producer of rechargeable batteries for mobile phones and laptops, generating about $3 billion in revenue last year. Among those impressed with BYD's green technology and Wang's record as a Manager, was Warren E. Buffett, who has a 9.9% stake of $230 million, for an almost 10 percent stake in the company. Buffett's investment is a stepping stone, as BYD prepares to enter the U.S. market with its electric vehicles in 2011.

 

GM plans to introduce its electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, in 2010. While GM and Toyota have displayed a keen interest in making plug-in hybrids, Honda's president and CEO Takeo Fukui, was of the opinion that plug-in hybrids were just electric vehicles with “unnecessary” gas motors, offering neither real advantage nor helping to reduce emissions. Honda is the second largest hybrid car maker, after Toyota.

 

Wang Chuanfu’s BYD is a recent entrant to the car manufacturing industry, and earlier efforts with the company's first model, the F3, on sale since 2003 faced a lot of hurdles outside of China. BYD could well turn out to be a competitive player in the emerging EV mass-market and all eyes will be focused on it at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.  

Ford Motor Company submitted a comprehensive business plan to Congress, outlining a request for a stop-gap bridge loan in the event of a downturn in the current economic crisis.

 

Elaborating on the company’s plans to return to profitability, Ford provided information about a full battery electric vehicle (BEV) in a van-type vehicle for commercial fleet use in 2010 and a BEV sedan in 2011, as part of its strategy to electrify a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles.

 

Ford will unveil its accelerated vehicle electrification plan at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The company has plans to reduce costs of electric drive systems and batteries, to provide retail availability of these vehicles. While Ford has not committed on figures at this point, it is assumed that production will be in hundreds rather than thousands.

 

Ford is geared up to improve fuel economy across its fleet, by an average of 14 percent for 2009 models. The auto major, calls for an investment of $14 billion on advanced technologies to improve fuel efficiency during the next seven years.  

GM's radical extended-range electric car, the Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in series-hybrid electric vehicle, built at the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly in Detroit, Michigan. GM avoids the term "hybrid," and prefers to call it an electric vehicle with a "range extender" because of its design. The Volt can run on electricity from batteries for up to 40 miles.

 

The Chevrolet Volt is currently in the final run up to its pre-production phase of integrating its fundamental components. The Volt concept vehicle which first made an appearance in the North American International Auto Show has four doors and a rear liftgate; it is capable of carrying four to five passengers. Once finished, the Chevy Volt is expected to have a top speed around 100 mph and make 0-60 mph in 9.0 seconds. A 1.4 liter four-cylinder "Family Zero" engine will kick in with more power, when its battery-charge tapers off. At around 1600kg the Volt is quite a heavy car, with an overall weight distribution of 50:50.

 

GM will show the new Chevrolet car at a motor show at the tail-end of 2009, which is likely to generate a lot of interest from family car buyers, and plans to get the Volt into showrooms by the end of 2010.  

Volkswagen’s 2009 Jetta TDI clean diesel wins the 2009 Green Car of the Year Award by the Green Car Journal. The 2009 Jetta TDI was declared the “best-of-the-best”, from among five green vehicles handpicked by editors at Green Car Journal. Stefan Jacoby, CEO, Volkswagen Group of America described the award as a great honor and said that the Jetta TDI offered buyers, exemplary fuel efficiency and a dynamic driving experience. More than 8,000 units had been sold following the clean diesel car’s mid-August debut.

 

Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com, said that advanced clean diesel has finally ‘arrived’. While Hybrids had always been synonymous with environmentally friendly vehicles, the Jetta TDI has been emissions certified across 50 states and is geared up to challenge this situation. The Jetta TDI lists at an affordable price tag, delivers a comfortable ride and responsive handling, along with EPA estimated fuel economy of 30 mpg City, and 41 mpg Highway.

 

AMCI, a reputed third-party certifier, performed tests on the Jetta TDI and concluded that it performed 24% better under real world conditions, delivering 38 mpg in the City and 44 mpg on the Highway. The Jetta TDI earlier in 2008 set a new Guinness World Record for Lowest Fuel Consumption, averaging 58.82 mpg.

 

The shift to diesel power in light vehicles in the U.S. would save 1.4 million barrels of oil a day, Saudi Arabia’s daily shipments to the U.S.