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Entries Tagged as 'Commentary'

A diesel Cayenne (!), and other green things coming from Porsche

July 24th, 2008 · No Comments

The German sportscar maker Porsche AG is following a rather unorthodox method of cutting the average emissions of its fleet. Where most other producers of large-engines niche vehicles are looking at alternative fuels (like an ethanol powered Koenigsegg) or scaling down engine capacities (like the Ferrari Millechili concept), Porsche is hoping that another manufacturer’s green […]

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Tags: Commentary · Emissions · Fuels and powertrains · News and Info

Plug-in VW Golf Hybrid by 2010

June 30th, 2008 · No Comments

Volkswagen last week introduced a plug-in hybrid Golf, a diesel-electric model slated for global launch in 2010-11. “The automaker is staking a claim to that future with a plug-in hybrid drive train it calls Twin Drive.

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Tags: Hybrids · Concept Cars · Commentary · News and Info

SA vehicles to get standardised fuel consumption figures … hold the applause

June 25th, 2008 · No Comments

So, from 1 July 2008 every new passenger car sold will have to sport a fuel economy info sheet in the showroom. As part of the Department of Minerals and Energy’s (DME) Energy Efficiency Accord, all new cars, SUV’s and MPV’s (apparently not light commercials…) will need to undergo standardised fuel economy testing to ensure […]

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Tags: Commentary · Fact-finding · News and Info

General Motors is going green (really!), according to CEO Wagoner

June 4th, 2008 · 1 Comment

2010 is not only a big year for global sports (South Africa hosts the Soccer World Cup), but also for the automotive world. Big changes are planned for the US motor industry, with planned launches of small cars – the Ford Fiesta and a string of Fiats (mist likely the 500) – on the cards. […]

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Tags: Commentary · Fact-finding · News and Info

Hybrid / hydrogen drive does not signal death of manual transmission!

May 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

Take a look at the hybrids currently on sale in the world, from Toyota, Honda, General Motors (in the US only) and Ford, as well as concept hydrogen powered cars. Almost all are equipped with automatic transmissions, most of which are of the continuous variable transmission (CVT) kind found locally in a few Audi’s and […]

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Tags: Commentary · Fuels and powertrains · Fact-finding · Trucks

GreenCars’ response to Business Day article on Toyota Prius sales

May 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment

In response to a Business Day front page article entitled “High-octane SA eschews green Prius” (16 May 2008), GreenCars’ Christie Viljoen submitted a letter to the editor (published on 20 May 2008) in response to claims that the Prius’ less-than-desirable sales were due to South Africans’ love for speed (i.e. high-octane fuel). A more correct […]

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Tags: Hybrids · Commentary · Fact-finding · News and Info

Tata buyout could clean up Land Rover’s CO2 emissions

April 3rd, 2008 · No Comments

In a joint purchase of Land Rover and Jaguar from Ford for around $2.3bn announced this week, Tata Motors Ltd. of India now has both a premium and a niche vehicle range within its stable. (Incidentally, Ford purchased Jaguar for $2.5bn in 1989 and Land Rover for $2.7bn in 2000).

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Tags: Commentary

The Antidote on Greenwashing

October 5th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Greenwashing is the practice of brainwashing the public into believing that an organisation has the concerns of the environment at heart - oil companies and motor manufacturers are particularly adept at this practise. Given the current high profile of environmental issues - and global warming in particular - it’s becoming an increasingly powerful marketing tool […]

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Tags: Commentary