AutoblogGreen

Click to enlarge

Is the vehicle pictured above the production Chevy Volt? It sure looks like it. It has the right greenhouse profile and judging from the head and tail-lights it looks an awful lot like the teaser shots that GM has been releasing lately. Perhaps the most telling detail though is the visible at the base of the A-pillar right in front of the mirror. The letters on that badge sure appear to spell out VOLT!. The car in this photo was shot during filming of Transformers 2 somewhere in Long Beach. So far calls to our contacts at GM are going unanswered but let you know as soon as we hear something. Thanks to Tony for the tip!

UPDATE: This is indeed the Volt! A video of the shoot has turned up that shows the car from above and clearly shows the rear end with a Chevy bowtie badge and prominent Volt logo. You can check out the video here and screen caps in the gallery below.


[Source: Transformers Live Action Blog]

The Detroit Grand Prix is back at the city's Belle Isle Park this Labor Day weekend and Saturday's activities will be dominated by the Detroit Sports Car Challenge. The Sports Car Challenge is the 9th race of the 2008 American Le Mans Series. We spoke to ALMS President Scott Atherton this morning about the series' green racing efforts. According to Atherton, the response to the Green Challenge that will debut at the Petit Le Mans at the beginning of October has been outstanding. The Peugeot 908s are coming back to challenge the Audi R10s again in the top dog ALMS class. The big news is yet to come though. The Green Challenge will run throughout the season starting in 2009. Atherton revealed that at least two manufacturers that are not currently involved in ALMS are seriously looking at joining the series specifically because of the Green Challenge. Unfortunately he wouldn't say who those manufacturers are but if I had to guess, I'd say Toyota and Nissan would be the top candidates.

When the Green Challenge was first announced at the Detroit Auto Show last year, Honda's John Mendel told us that that Acura would be looking at alternative powertrain options in the future as well. The Acura team will be holding a press conference tomorrow to discuss their future ALMS plans. We'll be there to let you know what they say. Can you say Acura diesel?

[Source: American Le Mans Series]

The Wall Street Journal talked to Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko ahead of this week's Moscow Motor Show about some of the company's recovery, its involvement in the Russian market and its plans for marketing electric vehicles. Masuko reiterated earlier announcements that the the iMiEV would go on sale in Japan next summer at a price of about $27,400. Once production ramps up to higher levels Mitsubishi hopes to drive the price down under $20,000. Initially the iMiEV will be in right hand drive only with a left hand drive model coming in 2010. The company hasn't decided on U.S. sales yet. That will depend on the results of field tests with California utilities beginning late this year. Mitsubishi has questions about the U.S. infrastructure and whether this particular car is suitable for use in the U.S. Initial volumes will be low with about 2,000 the first year and doubling each year for the next couple of years. Mitsubishi has already announced plans to increase the planned production volumes of batteries from its joint venture with Yuasa. According to Masuko, the company has no plans to build hybrids but will look at plug-in hybrids down the road. Check out the video after the jump. Thanks to Mark for the tip!


[Source: Wall Street Journal]

German automakers like BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche have been at the forefront of battling the proposed EU carbon dioxide emissions limits. Those manufacturers have traditionally had among the highest fuel consumption averages because of all the high performance cars they build. In spite of that, BMW actually had the greatest reduction in CO₂ emissions from its fleet in 2007. BMW's fleet average fuel consumption dropped by 7.3 percent from 2006 to 2007 and its CO₂ emissions went from 184 g/km to 170 g/km. The average improvement for all the big manufacturers was only 1.7 percent. That's still well above the 158 g/km average for all large manufacturers and the 130 g/km target for 2012. Nonetheless it shows the progress that's possible even without sacrificing too much performance capability. BMW has already declared that it will not pursue building supercars instead focusing on more efficient powertrains. Hyundai and Daimler also made significant improvements of 3.9 and 3.5 percent respectively. The final form of the new regulations are still being debated and are scheduled for a vote in the European Parliament's Environment Committee on Sept. 8-9.

[Source: European Federation for Transport and Environment]

Here in North America we still have to wait about another 15 months to get our paws on Ford's new Fiesta, but it goes on sale in the UK in October. Britain's Channel 4 recently ran its first road test of the new mini car and was quite pleased with the results. With its nearly 100 lb lighter weight but stiffer chassis it handles better than the outgoing model and reportedly has good steering feedback in spite of the electric power steering. The 1.6L diesel provides reasonable if not speedy 0-62 mph run of 11.9 seconds with quiet and refined behavior. Over here we will probably only get the 120 hp 1.6L gas engine which drops the acceleration to 9.9 seconds. The reviewer liked the interior design and felt the cost reduction elements were kept out of sight while the parts that you touch and see were nicely executed. That 1.6L gas engine is rated at 40 mpg (U.S.) combined on the EU cycle so we'll probably get something in the low to mid 30s. Eventually Ford will probably also offer us a 1.2L EcoBoost engine that should do even better. Thanks to Queen for the tip!

[Source: Channel 4]

As the next generation Global Compact Car platform from GM debuts over the next couple of years, one of the variants that's coming is a compact MPV. Currently, Opel has a Delta-based MPV called the Zafira which will be joined by a Chevrolet version that has now been spotted testing. The Chevy Tacuma will be built in Detroit alongside the Volt at the Hamtramck assembly plant. The Tacuma will be about the size of the Mazda 5 although judging from these photos it doesn't look this one will have sliding doors. It's not known if the Zafira will keep its sliding doors or if it will be offered as part of the Saturn lineup. The Tacuma is expected to be offered in two row, five seat configuration and as a three row, seven seater. If the Tacuma gets the same direct injected 1.4L turbo as the Cruze it should also get great fuel economy in mid-30 mpg range.

[Source: World Car Fans]

After focusing so far on offering up Chinese-made electric three wheelers, Zap has begun the process of building a plant in the U.S. Zap is teaming up with Integrity Manufacturing to create a joint venture called Integrity Automotive that is building a plant in Simpson County, Kentucky. The plant was originally expected to cost $84 million but that price tag has now more than doubled to $175 million. With the state of Kentucky already committing to $48 million in tax incentives, Randall Waldman, CEO of Integrity Automotive is hoping they will supply more to help cover some of the increased cost. The plant is expected to be completed later in 2009 with an initial capacity of 300 vehicles per day. Zap is hoping that the new plant and relationship with an established manufacturer will help blunt some of the criticism of the company's past business practices. Many of the previously-announced projects from Zap have failed to come to fruition and it's not known if the Kentucky plant will be used to build the planned Alias three wheeler.

[Source: GreenTechMedia]

The new Ford Fiesta that we'll be getting early in 2010 is just now going on sale in Europe and it looks like it will be a better value for customers than the outgoing model. Like the related Mazda 2, Ford has managed to reduce the weight of the new Fiesta by about 100 lbs. Apparently that hasn't hurt the safety ratings of the car in the UK, as three of the models keep the same insurance rating and others move to lower groups. That should yield insurance savings of about $80. When it comes to buying, the entry model is now about $300 cheaper than an similarly-equipped variant of the old car. Resale values are also expected to jump by 7.9 percent or $2,000. All of this bodes extremely well for the car's entrance into Ford's home market.

[Source: Ford]

Click for a high res gallery

It seems like only last week that we were covering the Woodward Dream Cruise (wait, it was last week!) and now we've already got news about next year. One of the many side events of this year's cruise was the first annual NextCruise. The NextCruise was put on by former proprietor of The Car Connection, Paul Eisenstien and was designed to highlight alternative fuel vehicles. Nine manufacturers brought out 30 different vehicles, many of which were available to people for ride and drives. Apparently, those who strolled through the NextCruise area were suitably impressed by what was on offer so the organizers have already decided to do it again in 2009. The event will be happening in Pleasant Ridge, MI next August 14-15 in a park just off Woodward Ave. Our pal Jeremy drew the NextCruise straw this year and you can check out his post on it here.


[Source: NextCruise]

Ford's product transformation to small cars is beginning with a big investment in the Michigan Truck Plant. The plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne has been building the full-size Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs for the last decade but it's currently in the final week of an 11-week shutdown. Ford recently announced the plant would be retooled to build C-cars in 2010. C-cars are compacts like the Ford Focus and the company has announced that several different variants derived from the next generation European Focus platform would be built here. Later this fall, Ford will permanently cease production of the big trucks at the plant and move the relevant tooling to its Louisville, KY plant where production will resume next spring. Once SUV production ends, $75 million will be spent on new tooling to build the smaller vehicles. While the transition is taking place, the 1,000 assembly line workers will be shifted to the adjacent Wayne assembly plant to staff a third shift to ramp up production of the existing Focus. The $75 million being spent is relatively small compared to some other truck plants that are being retooled. When Ford did the last Expedition model changeover a few years they installed flexible tooling that will allow them to build other vehicle types in the plant. Other plants in Kentucky and Mexico that are being switched to car production will cost $250 million each to retool.

[Source: Ford]