Cars
SA Smart cars to get micro hybrid drives
Great news for South African motorists - as of this month, all 52kw petrol Smart ForTwos will come standard with Smart’s MHD stop start system.
The technology enables the little Smart to reduce fuel consumption by 8% in the combined cycle (to 4.3l/100km and 103g / km) and by up to 20% in the urban cycle.
It’s […]
2010 Prius pics leaked (maybe)
Autobloggreen has just posted some fairly realistic looking pictures of what could be the production version of next year’s all-new Prius. For those of you who were hoping for a radical new look, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed as the overall shape is quite similar to the existing Prius - aerodynamic, functional, but hardly sexy. […]
Chevy Volt: production version official pics
Well, GM has finally lifted the wraps on their highly-anticipated Volt plugin hybrid car. Its appearance has been changed fairly drastically from the concept, mostly because the concept version was about as aerodynamic as barn door. The production version is a lot less dramatic, featuring more conventional styling. That being said, I find the Volt […]
More info on SA’s homegrown EV
IOL has just run an article (apparently sourced from Urban Sprout, although their link to the Sprout article doesn’t seem to be working) about the electric car that is in development by Cape Town company, Optimal Energy.
Details are still quite sketchy at the moment regarding the technology being used, but apparently the vehicle will be […]
Mazda: 30% more efficient fleet by 2015
Internal combustion engines may not be around forever but they’re certainly going to be the most common propulsion systems on our roads for many years to come, so it’s always good news to hear that automakers are making good progress in terms of ICE efficiency and emissions reductions. Recently, Mazda has announced the exciting […]
Antonov pioneering 2-speed supercharger = better performance, low fuel consumption
Volkswagen / Audi and BMW are just some of the companies that are looking towards using smaller forced-induction engines to reduce fuel consumption and emissions while keeping performance at current standards. This is done by the use of turbo or super chargers, or a combination of both. BMW recently won the World Car of the […]
Saving the world … one gear at a time.
Decades ago cars were produced with gear boxes offering only three or four forward gears. These days, high-end models can offer up to seven or eight gears. Volkswagen is following suite, and is upgrading its Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) from a six speed to a seven speed. This implies many fuel saving opportunities for the […]
BMW working on diesel X5 hybrid, set for launch in 2009
After launching its X6 SAV at international auto shows as the first vehicle from the group to offer full petrol-electric hybrid drive (as opposed to its mild hybrid Efficient Dynamics technology), BMW is now readying a diesel X5 hybrid.
Diesel beats hybrid for World Green Car award
At the New York International Auto Show, Americans were again puzzled at the results of the World Green Car awards – a diesel powered sedan vehicle walked away with the prize for the second year in a row. After a victory for the Mercedes Benz E320 Bluetec last year, BMW trumped the opposition with its […]
Natural gas powered Porsche 356 replica - nice!
If you want classic car styling, modern sports car performance and supermini-beating CO2 emissions there’s really no reason to consider anything but the PGO Cevennes.
