Kia News - Updates on hydrogen in Korea - Part 2 - The latest news from Hyundai

Filed under: Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia

I wrote about the Kia Sportage FCEV in Part 1 of this story. Kia is owned by Hyundai, and both are located in Korea. Kia is supposed to be the slightly lower-end and sportier mate to Hyundai’s marginally higher-end and luxurious vehicles. So, it is no surprise that they share hydrogen R&D costs and technology.

Hyundai and Kia have been hard at work developing their fuel cells, but I don’t often hear very much new information from them. Therefore, it was good to read that they have made substantial improvements on their earlier efforts. They have not created any new passenger vehicles like the Tucson FCEV or Sportage FCEV since that 2004 unveiling, however they have been working on a bus. The bus uses their own fuel cell stack, unlike their last vehicles which used fuel cells purchased from UTC Fuel Cells. They are able to match the previous lighter weight FCEV SUV’s from ‘04 range of 180 miles using their own fuel cells, and using roughly the same amount of hydrogen. They hope to reach 200 kW of energy from their unit, up from the previous high of 160 kW.

So, besides the normal facts holding back hydrogen (mentioned in the Part 1), what is holding back the Korean efforts? For one, the production costs for the bus are 20 times higher than ordinary diesel buses. That is a pretty big one. However, Hyundai points out that the costs would go down substantially if more of them were produced.

Related:

• Updates on hydrogen in Korea - Part 1 - Kia and their hydrogen history
• With new battery, Hyundai hybrid inches one step closer to reality

[Source: Fuel Cell Works]

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[tags]kia cars, kia cars news, kia cars models, kia news, kia cars reviews[/tags]

Cadillac News - Spy Photos: Cadillac Escalade hybrid caught in the wild again

, Cadillac

The eagle eyed spys of KGP photography have struck again, this time catching another example of the Two-Mode Hybrid version of the Cadillac Escalade. The Escalade should have the same drivetrain as the Tahoe and Yukon and follow them to market by a few months. Judging from these photos however it looks like big Caddy won’t be getting any aerodynamic tweaks like it’s bretheren.

[Source: Left Lane News]

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Honda News - It’s not just the FCX; the CR-Z is entering production soon as well

, Honda, LA Auto Show, Green Daily

When Honda unveiled the sweet-looking CR-Z hybrid earlier this month, the general response was “gimme, gimme, gimme.” Now, along with the announcement that the FCX will go into production soon, Honda is seeing the light with the CR-Z: it will enter production and be available for sale (maybe) in 2009. The two-seat CR-Z hybrid will not replace the upcoming “global hybrid” (which will be a family car) and will instead join it in the showroom.

The Environment Manager at Honda (UK), John Kingston, says in the press release (after the jump, folks) that, “Hybrids have always been seen as niche products, and hybrid car design has mostly been based around practicality and versatility. The CR-Z Concept looks stunning, and shows that green cars can be sexy and exciting - but also minimise environmental impact. The fact that we will be producing cars like this - and the global hybrid - proves that hybrid cars are becoming key volume products within our range. All of this means that Honda will be selling over 1/4 million hybrids a year by 2009.” So, if you joined that “gimme, gimme, gimme” chorus, you’ll soon have your chance to pony up.

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[Source: Honda]
NEXT GENERATION ‘GREEN’ CARS CONFIRMED FOR PRODUCTION

Honda has confirmed plans to bring its most exciting ‘green’ cars into production. The FCX hydrogen fuel cell car and a lightweight, hybrid sportscar will both be built - with a production version of the FCX making its debut next month.

Speaking today, Honda’s President and CEO, Takeo Fukui, announced plans to unveil a production version of the FCX Concept at the LA Show in November. The car will then go on sale in the US and Japan during 2008.

Honda also revealed that a car based on its CR-Z Concept - a compact, lightweight sportscar powered by a hybrid powertrain - would also enter production. This stylish coupe will join Honda’s forthcoming ‘global hybrid’ family car, which is due to launch in 2009.

The announcements mark the beginning of the next generation of environmentally-friendlier vehicles, with both cars boasting sleek, sporty designs likely to appeal to a broader audience.

“Hybrids have always been seen as niche products, and hybrid car design has mostly been based around practicality and versatility,” says John Kingston, Environment Manager at Honda (UK). “The CR-Z Concept looks stunning, and shows that green cars can be sexy and exciting - but also minimise environmental impact.

“The fact that we will be producing cars like this - and the global hybrid - proves that hybrid cars are becoming key volume products within our range. All of this means that Honda will be selling over 1/4 million hybrids a year by 2009.”

The CR-Z Concept follows in the tyre prints of the Honda Remix Concept (seen at the LA Show last year), and the Small Hybrid Sports Concept (debuted at Geneva in March) all of which explore the potential of a compact sportscar that’s exciting to drive, but has minimal impact on the environment. The launch timings for a production version of the car are yet to be announced.

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[tags]honda cars, honda news, honda models, honda[/tags]

Volkswagen News - LA 2007: Schwarzenegger checks out the VW up! space blue

, Volkswagen, LA Auto Show, Green Daily

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly likes to look green when new cars are displayed. I remember the excitement when he arrived at the unveiling of the Tesla Roadster back in the summer of 2006. Sometimes, of course, the Governator’s green sheen is less glorious, like with the GM flex-fuel vehicles controversy. But, at the LA Auto Show this week, Governor Schwarzenegger was happy to visit the Volkswagen booth to check out the new space up! blue concept car.

Also at the VW booth, Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volkswagen of America, Inc., discussed more about what VW plans to do with clean diesels in the U.S. in the near future. As AutoblogGreen readers probably know, VW will bring clean diesel TDI engines to all 50 states, starting with the Jetta Sedan and Jetta SportWagen. The release date for the Jetta TDI was recently pushed back to summer 2008.

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[Source: Volkswagen]

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Saab News - Design blog picks top 5 sexiest sustainable sports cars

, Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Saab, Toyota, Tesla Motors, Citroen

Inhabitat is a blog that focuses on design and innovation and they’ve decided to compile a list of their five sexiest sustainable sports cars. Traditionally sports cars have not been equated with green motoring, but in the past couple of years a lot of new entries have popped up, many strictly in concept form and others destined for production. Number five on Inhabitat’s list is the ethanol fueled Saab Aero-X concept with position four being occupied by the super rare and expensive battery powered Venturi Fetish. Head over to Inhabitat to check out the top three.

[Source: Inhabitat]

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