Recent Comments:
REPORT: Electric Rolls-Royce Phantom could arrive within a year {Autoblog}
Nov 20th 2009 11:23AM Speaking of Vegas...
This electric Roller gives the high-roller palaces a "green" opportunity. For instance, the Villas at the Wynn could adopt these for their limo fleet. I can see the press release now...
REPORT: Electric Rolls-Royce Phantom could arrive within a year {Autoblog}
Nov 20th 2009 11:20AM Actually, this could be brilliant.
Not just because EVs are quiet and have gobs of torque, but it's also worth remembering that a lot of Rollers go into fleet service (like the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, for example), which makes them even more suitable from a maintenance and cost/benefit standpoint.
First 25 production i-MiEVs roll into the UK {Autoblog Green}
Nov 17th 2009 7:52PM This car is hot. While it's as cute as a Smart, it looks a bit more like a "real car". And since its ICE-powered versions won't be available outside Japan, people will quickly tag this as an electric car.
This could do for EVs what the Prius did for hybrids--provide a friendly, instantly-recognizable face.
Geely looking for 1M units from Volvo, plans Chinese factory {Autoblog}
Nov 15th 2009 5:59PM I've been wondering that same thing myself. Jaguar? Range Rover? Aston? Perfectly understandable--all of these contributed more cachet than actual engineering expertise.
Volvo, on the other hand, has a solid engineering reputation, and was contributing significant technology to the rest of the Ford lineup. Geely would be buying themselves a lot of respectability.
Rumormill: Bob Lutz drops more Buick Regal GS, high performance wagon hints {Autoblog}
Nov 15th 2009 1:23PM Why not? Pontiac's gone, so some of that "excitement" mojo can move to Buick.
Think about it: Buick's buyers are mostly geezers (though the Enclave has pulled in a slightly younger crowd). They want to bring that demographic down a bit. Now, they have a European design with some performance cred and positive buzz. Why not capitalize on that?
And while I'd like to see the wagon, I don't know if I want it to be an exclusive.
2011 Buick Regal revealed live at the Hollywood Palladium {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:54PM Well, I'm somewhat under the average age of the current new Buick buyer, and I totally want this. High on the short-list for my next car.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:48PM Rail's great (will be even greater when hybrid tech is applied to locomotives). But it's not as flexible as trucks.
I'll agree that much more of the balance of goods shipped can and should go by rail, but you'll always have long-haul trucks for expedited loads.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:45PM Who said you have to give up 10% of your load capacity? Just put regulations in place that these can only be deployed on the Interstate (they won't be any good in urban traffic, anyway).
All your other enhancements are totally sound ideas, but this isn't mutually exclusive, either. Add this to skirts, diffusers, etc, and you probably get that 20% improvement. Any fleet manager would kill for that kind of cost savings.
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:42PM It totally depends on the application. If a trip is, say, 1000 miles with no intervening stops, the added time is minimal. If it's all Interstate, all the better.
OTOH, if the driver has to stop at a dozen different docks, then, sure, this is going to be a pain. Unless there's a way to electrically retract...
Why a boat-tail semi isn't as silly as it might sound {Autoblog}
Nov 13th 2009 12:24PM Actually, the Australian "road trains" are the ideal application for these devices. They travel long distances non-stop, with little interaction with other traffic. In fact, if a means for collapse/storage can be figured out, those trucks could probably use a full teardrop fairing.
