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Reimagining the Automobile Industry by Selling the Electricity

SAN FRANCISCO — Shai Agassi, a Silicon Valley technologist who was in competition to become chief executive of SAP, one of the world’s largest software companies, has re-emerged with a grand plan to reinvent the world’s automobile industry around battery-powered all-electric cars, according to the New York Times.

Others are developing green cars, like the Tesla and Chevrolet Volt. However, Mr. Agassi is not planning to make cars, but instead wants to deploy an infrastructure of battery-charging stations in the United States, Europe and the developing world.

The new system will sell electric fuel on a subscription basis and will subsidize vehicle costs through leases and credits.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:52 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

Here come GM's hybrid SUVs

WHITE MARSH, Md. -- It's just a transmission -- a chunk of cast metal and plastic found in every car and truck that most owners never think about unless it breaks.

But for General Motors Corp., the first transmission off the line Monday for its new hybrid system marks its most aggressive attempt to fight Toyota's hybrid juggernaut, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The parts built at a plant outside of Baltimore will be bolted into GM's full-size SUVs hitting dealerships in the next several weeks and into some pickups next year. The SUVs will match the city fuel economy figures of a gasoline-powered Toyota Camry sedan.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:50 AM to Alternative fuels , GM | Permalink | Comments 0

UAW says Ford talks progressing

Several UAW local presidents are hopeful that Ford and the union can reach a deal on a tentative contract by the end of the week, after the two sides reportedly made progress over the weekend, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Ford and the UAW have been bargaining in fits and starts since July. There were slowdowns in the talks when the UAW selected General Motors and then Chrysler as the target of national labor talks. Short strikes and then a period of ratification followed.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:44 AM to Ford , Unions | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford to preview 2008 Bullitt Mustang at L.A. Auto Show

Ford says the new Bullitt Mustang will be shown publicly for the first time at the Los Angeles auto show which opens Nov. 13, according to thecarconnection.com

"Blending the best Mustang ever with the latest Ford Racing technology, this modern classic lives up to the magic of the movie Bullitt by delivering a new-generation Mustang Bullitt with the perfect balance of power, performance, and a look of quiet intensity. Bullitt screams into dealerships early next year," Ford said in a release.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:40 AM to Ford | Permalink | Comments 0

Mazda: Zoom-Zoom Going Green

Pressing the red "Start" button, the Mazda RX-8 fires up, the pint-sized rotary engine under its hood buzzing as I modulate the throttle, shift into gear and launch down the test track at Mazda'sHiroshima headquarters, writes thecarconnection.com's Paul Eisenstein.

Acceleration is a little slower than I'm used to, but that's the trade-off signaled by the glowing "H2" light on the sports car's instrument panel. This prototype version of the rotary-powered RX-8 has been converted to run on hydrogen, the lightweight gas that many experts believe will be the fuel of the future.

Like most of its competitors, Mazda has come to recognize the long-term need to find alternatives to conventional gasoline. And like the rest of the industry, it is toying with a variety of options, including both electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. But the Japanese maker is placing its big bet on hydrogen, a fuel it has been tinkering with for two decades, in a series of prototypes and now, in a small fleet of vehicles, like this RX-8, undergoing real-world testing.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:38 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0