Japan’s Big Three Rev Up Green Cars
Posted by admin on Oct 21, 2009
By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU And MARIKO SANCHANTA
TOKYO—As the competition for greener cars ratchets up,Toyota Motor Corp. signaled its strong endorsement Wednesday of a new generation of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles that may serve as a successor to its best-selling Prius.
Toyota, along with rival Honda Motor Co., is pursuing plug-in hybrid technology. Such cars can be recharged via an electrical socket and drive many miles on electricity but have a gasoline engine that charges the battery when it runs out of power. Ordinary hybrids such as the Prius run on a combination of gasoline and internally generated electricity but can travel just a short distance on electricity only.
“The plug-in hybrid vehicle… can be driven without anxiety about how much power might remain in the battery or whether there may not be charging facilities nearby,” said new Toyota President Akio Toyoda at the Tokyo Motor Show, as he unveiled the Prius plug-in hybrid concept car. “We believe the plug-in hybrid is more than ready for a full-fledged adaptation in the near future.”
Also Wednesday, Toyota Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada said gasoline-electric hybrids would account for 30% of Toyota’s global sales by 2020. Within that group, the new generation of plug-in hybrids would claim a significant share, he said. He didn’t provide details but said plug-in electric hybrid cars should “spread the way the Prius has.”
Plug-in hybrids still face a high-cost hurdle, but Toyota says it will try to contain that by giving them a relatively short electric-only driving range, limiting the amount of expensive battery capacity they need. The plug-in Prius prototype can go only about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) on battery power, then would operate like a regular hybrid, it says.
The push comes as Japan’s Big Three—Toyota, Honda and Nissan Motor Co.—gamble on the future of vehicle technology. Missing the next big thing could mean years of development and heavy spending to catch up, which many rivals faced when the Prius unexpectedly caught on earlier in the decade.
All three car makers also demonstrated all-electric battery cars at the Tokyo show, which opened to the media Wednesday. They include Honda’s boxy EV-N, Toyota’s FT-EV II mini four-seater and Nissan’s skinny two-seated Land Glider.
But behind the scenes, only Nissan appeared to stake its future on full electric cars—which, unlike hybrids, can travel only as far as their battery charge lasts—while Toyota and Honda executives expressed skepticism over that technology. Toyota’s Mr. Uchiyamada said the company believes full-electric battery cars “will likely gain only a highly limited share” of the global auto market.
Honda Chief Executive Takanobu Ito said fully electric cars “are likely to face difficulty in becoming a mainstream solution in the foreseeable future.” Honda, he said, is therefore “devoting our energy in getting the most fuel-efficiency out of the battery system and electric power motors to come up with a truly compelling hybrid.”
Critics of all-electric cars cite the high cost of batteries and the likely need for sizable government subsidies and incentives to make all-electric battery cars affordable. The lack of a wide network of battery-charging stations also could be an impediment.
Both Toyota and Honda say a full-electric car may work for certain consumers if they are willing to treat it as a town car with limited driving range. They also say the ultimate green car over the long run will be hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, which they believe will be more efficient than full-electric battery cars. Fuel-cell cars would create their own electricity through a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
By contrast, Nissan on Wednesday underscored its confidence in electric vehicles by unveiling a fourth battery-only concept car, a tiny, two-person vehicle that is envisioned for urban use.
Nissan already sells an Altima hybrid midsize sedan in the U.S., but the car uses licensed technology from Toyota. To close the gap, the auto maker has been developing a few hybridmodels on its own and is expected to launch them in the U.S., Japan and possibly elsewhere over the next two years.
Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s CEO, acknowledged his company was late to jump onto the hybrid bandwagon, and now plans to concentrate on battery-only cars. “We have had a period where we have had to catch up, but now we will exercise our technological power,” he said. “We are aiming for leadership in [electric vehicles].”
Nissan believes it has found a way to make electric cars—such as the Leaf, a hatchback it plans to start selling late next year in the U.S., Europe and Japan—nearly as affordable as a gasoline-fueled compact cars.
Nissan hasn’t yet disclosed the Leaf’s business model, but one way to realize such a low price for a full electric car is to sell it without its on-board battery pack. Instead, Nissan may lease the battery pack to the customer for an affordable month fee, among other means, its executives said.
But Nissan executives also stressed that government support is necessary to launch the Leaf, which it aims to sell world-wide in 2012.
“We are asking governments to cover [the investment] up to the point when we can reach volume momentum—this will take several years,” said Carlos Tavares, who heads Nissan’s Americas operations. Mr. Ghosn estimated that this would take three to four years.
Write to Norihiko Shirouzu at norihiko.shirouzu@wsj.com
Tags: autos, green cars, Japan's Big Three Rev Up Green Cars
Aston Martin Reportedly Cancels the Lagonda SUV
Posted by admin on Aug 2, 2009
Kids growing too big for the back seat of your Aston Martin DB9? Fortunately the company’s Rapide four-door model is just around the corner. But if you were holding out for something a little bigger, you may be waiting a little while longer, or else be advised to look elsewhere. Reports indicate that the British purveyor of luxury GTs has put its plans to relaunch the Lagonda marque with a new crossover utility model on indefinite hold.
The Lagonda name is part of Aston’s corporate identity, but has remained dormant for years. A few months back at the Geneva auto salon, Aston Martin shocked members of the press with an ungainly crossover concept. Reaction was so cold that the company took it off the show stand by the second day, keeping it away from the public. Now the company’s chief executive has reportedly confirmed that the model has been postponed indefinitely, meaning that it could come back in another form or it could never come back at all. Considering that Aston is known for more beautiful design work than it exhibited with the Lagonda concept, we’re hard-pressed to mourn its passing.
Tags: Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin Reportedly Cancels the Lagonda SUV, AstonMartin, autos, Corporate identity, Geneva, GenevaMotorShow, Lagonda, Recreation
SV 9 Competizione Corvette
Posted by admin on Aug 2, 2009
This is a Corvette C6 that has basically gotten a facelift…Italian style. The SV9 Competizione received its inspiration from the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and features all carbon fiber bodywork. There have been some slight changes to the interior as well as some preformance mods including a boost in horsepower up to 450hp. The car has a 0-60moh time of four seconds flat. It’s also been outfitted with a new set of wheels wrapped with Pirelli Pzero Rosso tires. There is a limited production of just 1,000 units and the car is priced at $99,995.
Tags: alfA romeo, Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, Automobile, autos, Carbon Fiber, corvette, Makes and Models, Recreation, SV 9 Competizione, SV 9 Competizione Corvette, Tire
V8-powered Ariel Atom 500 could cost at least $160k
Posted by admin on Jun 14, 2009
Even with the stock 300-horsepower Honda four, the Ariel Atom is a verifiable supercar-slayer. So when the British track-car manufacturer announced they’d be building a bonkers 500hp V8 version, our interests were piqued, to say the least. But if you were expecting a bargain, think again. The latest reports, quoting Ariel’s CEO Simon Saunders, indicate that the V8-powered Atom 500 will cost a very supercar-like £100,000, or about $160k in American greenbacks. At least.
That’s about three times the price of the four-cylinder Atom 300. So why the huge price increase? Well, for starters, earlier reports that the Atom 500 would use the RS Performance-sourced 2.4-liter 10,000 rpm V8 from the Caterham Levante have proven inaccurate, as Ariel will be producing its own custom engine. Based on two Suzuki Hayabusa blocks but with a high proportion of custom parts, the engine alone is said to account for about £30,000 (~$50k); add to that another £11,000 ($17k) for the custom six-speed gearbox, plus the Alcon brakes and various carbon-fiber body parts and the figures start to add up pretty quick.
Tags: Alcon, Ariel Atom, autos, Carbon Fiber, Shopping, Suzuki Hayabusa, transmission, V8-powered Ariel Atom 500 could cost at least $160k, Vehicles
2009 Superior 54 Sport Wagon
Posted by admin on Jun 14, 2009
After GM debuted the first Corvette in 1953 they introduced a show car named the Nomad which was essentially a Corvette wagon. It was a great concept that never made it to the assembly line, but it held a spot in the hearts of ‘Vette heads since then. Superior Glass Works has spent years putting together a plan and resources to bring you their tribute to the Nomad, the Superior 54 Sport Wagon. Featuring the classic styling of the original, but with a few modern touches including the C5 Corvette chassis. Want in? Have the $125k to drop? You need to act fast, there will only be 25 made.
Tags: 2009 Superior 54 Sport Wagon, autos, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Corvette, corvette, general motors, Makes and Models, Recreation, Vehicles