Autoblog

Promise people the sky and you're sure to get some attention. That's what the folks at FOSH automotive did and then turned around and suckered people into reading a pro-McCain, anti-abortion rant that, frankly, is pretty distasteful. Good thing we're going to remember just how low some people will stoop.

On the brighter side of things, we can at least dream of a Jaguar hybrid and a VW Polo in the U.S. while we wait for Daryl Hannah on the Daily Show. Really cleans the palette, doesn't it?

• Fosh Automotive = Hoax (and an anti-Barack Obama one at that)
• Spy Shots: First-ever Jaguar hybrid on its way?
• Tesla Roadsters reportedly experience glitches during Euro test drives
• Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase brings Daryl Hannah to the Daily Show
• Electric Jeep DJ-5E undergoing restoration in Canada
• GM powertrain plans: high-tech, low weight
• Will VW's Polo come to the U.S. market?
• Big Ink's Prius fleet gets Ink-wrapped
• Video: Oil addiction and biofuel dangers simplified
• Market for heavy duty hybrids drives Eaton expansion
• Toyota offers up social site Heya, but there's no Outkast beat
• EnerDel ramping up battery production to supply Th!nk
• Miles EVs doing Mile High duty for Dems in Denver
• Toyota to crank up home market hybrid prices
• Getting mores MPG from the Jaguar XK-R
• Methane from landfills provides fuel for garbage trucks
• July gasoline sales in Minnesota down 9% while E85 jumps 16%
• Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase brings Daryl Hannah to the Daily Show

With enormous V8 land-yachts and even bigger Escalades rolling down America's boulevards, Cadillac doesn't have the most environmentally friendly of images. But that's a perception that the premium GM division is working hard to combat. After unveiling the Escalade two-mode hybrid, reports have begun to surface that Cadillac is considering a four-cylinder model for the American market like the Saab-based BLS it offers in Europe.

New emerging reports now suggest that Cadillac might get its own version of the highly-anticipated Volt plug-in hybrid from its sister-company Chevrolet. No telling at this point if the Cadillac version would be based on the Volt, transplant the Volt's powertrain into an existing Cadillac model, or breed an entirely new Caddy – or for that matter if there's any substance to the rumors – but sources suggest a higher sticker price than the Volt's anticipated $40k.

[Source: Automotive News (subs. req'd) via AutoblogGreen]

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Design. It's certainly a cornerstone of the auto industry. And as cars get cleaner from a fuel/emissions perspective, the look often does, too. What should we make of the Hinterland 1 concept car, then? I think there might be clone troopers inside, while the exterior - and interior - of the new Ed Hardy® Smart is also a place where design runs wild. That should delight more than a few people. As for the design of the rumored Cadillac "Volt", well, we'll just have to wait and see.

• Looks of a aerotank, heart of a hybrid: the Hinterland 1 concept car
• Range-extended electric-vehicle to come from Cadillac?
• Mahindra puts trucks on holding pattern till late '09
• $84 million ZAP! plant for Kentucky to be announced today
• Three of the fastest EVs meet for lunch
• Will lithium battery costs ever come down?
• Tatoos and upgrades galore on limited edition Ed Hardy® Smart
• Cadillac to reportedly offer new smaller four cylinder sedan in 2010
• Volvo launching hybrid bus at Hanover
• BMW to focus on green tech, not supercars
• Next-gen Saturn Astra to be built in the U.S.
• Which cars would a President Obama or McCain promote?
• IndyCars expected to switch to down-sized turbocharged engines
• BYD getting Israeli partner to compete with Renault and Better Place
• Seat Ibiza Ecomotive gets "most ecological vehicle award" in Germany

Click for a hi-res gallery of the BMW M1 Hommage

It's a sign of the times. After having rolled out the delectable M1 Hommage concept (pictured above), one BMW board member says that the Bavarian automaker has no intention of producing a supercar to compete with the likes of the Audi R8. Instead, BMW will focus on green technologies.

The news comes straight from Klaus Draeger, the board member at the helm of the EfficientDymanics initiative. While Audi continues to produce more powerful and more desirable versions of the R8, Mercedes prepares entirely new supercars and Porsche continues to do what Porsche has always done, the company that once hailed itself as the producers of the "Ultimate Driving Machine" is more concerned with hybrids than sportscars.

[Source: AutoTelegraaf via AutoblogGreen]

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Need a peek into the future? AutoblogGreen's got some spy shots of the interior of the next-gen Prius and the new Opel Meriva. Honda has also let loose images of the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid, so that should keep you satisfied for a while, no? At the very least, it's something to look at until Jeremy Clarkson tackles the Tesla Roadster.

• In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid Limited FWD
• Pics aplenty: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid
• Spy Shots: New Opel Meriva caught in the wild
• smart fortwo recalled for bad paint, could cause loss of roof or windshield!
• Spy Shots: Next gen Prius interior snapped!
• 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour comes to an end in LA
• Bentley buyers say "no" to diesels
• Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay less!
• Jeremy Clarkson to tackle Tesla Roadster on Top Gear, eventually
• Mahindra planning 4-seat electric car
• Honda Fit hybrid not coming to the U.S.
• Cali. Senate approves bill to make hybrids noisier
• Mercedes unveils Econic NGT Hybrid truck concept

More headlines after the jump.

THE DOWN SIDE TO LITHIUM BATTERIES

Uh-oh. In the pell-mell race to develop lithium-ion batteries for plug-ins, EV's and hybrids, has any automaker taken a hard look at where all that lithium is going to come from? Guess what? Not only are global lithium supplies pretty tight, prices are about to skyrocket.

Today, the United States imports almost all of its lithium. We get most of it from Chile, then Argentina, and a little bit from Canada and Zimbabwe. The only producer in America is actually a German company, Metallgesellschaft, which has a mine in Nevada. Yet, even though we import most of our lithium, the United States is the world's largest processor of the material.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

Click above to view video after the jump

We truly do appreciate the custom-car scene, in all of its various guises. There is, however, a problem with the custom Prius you see above and in the video embedded after the break. Generally speaking, the goal of modifying a car is to either A) make it go faster or B) make it look better.

When Classe Gustafson, Elvis Häggbom and Kenny Kyrk from Sweden had finished spending $184,000 customizing a Toyota Prius, they had accomplished neither. This Prius-trocity, which was modified for a television show, is anything but subtle. It lost two doors during its transformation from mild-mannered hybrid eco-mobile to whacked out sport compact that just happens to get good fuel economy, though it did get scissor-style portals that are nearly impossible to open in the process. And it also gained a huge honkin' stereo and the body-kit from a Volvo SUV. The over-the-top paint-job is the final touch. The Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain, however, went untouched save for the obligatory fart-can exhaust. Nice.

[Source: Wired]

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As much as we like to think about the latest eco-friendly technologies in our cars over at AutoblogGreen, we understand that they don't come cheap. All that battery power in the Prius means it's frugal, but is a Yaris cheaper to own? And how high does gas have to get for us to celebrate our staycations? But hope may be on the horizon: this is apparently going to be the cheapest hybrid in the world. Like it?

• Is a Yaris cheaper to own and operate than a Prius?
• EV1 - The Real Story, Part II
• Paris Preview: Chevy Cruze official pics released
• The cheapest hybrid will be sold ... in China
• What I did on my summer staycation!
• EcoMotors looking to expand in Michigan, build 100mpg diesel sedan
• 2009 Honda Fit will be available early next week - one month earlier than planned
• Spy Shots: Volkswagen Scirocco TDI spotted in California
• GM officially announces Chevy Cruze will be built in Ohio
• GM plant in Maryland to get solar panels
• Indiana offers Ener1 $7 million for new clean car tech jobs
• Hyundai i10 "extremely unlikely" to come to the U.S.
• Formula Zero revs up in The Netherlands on August 22
• LA Preview: Hyundai Sonata hybrid coming, diesel Genesis unlikely
• AutoblogGreen now available in iPhone format
• Stop cabs from running empty in the UK

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AutoblogGreen discovered two unusual cross-country trips yesterday. In one, called WillieRun, the drivers plan to use just one* tank of biodiesel to go from NYC to LA. The other will see a wood-burning Dodge truck go there and back again. These trips both take place next month. What are you doing in September?

• Trident Iceni, a biodiesel-powered supercar, would get 57 mpg for just £75,000
• Michigan grad designs and builds Homeless Utility Vehicle
• WillieRun - from New York to Cali on one* tank of gas
• Charlie Rose talks to Wagoner, Volt price in the mid to upper 30s
• Peugeot updates the 407 with improved 2-liter diesel and Flex-Fuel options
• Paris Preview: Peugeot RC Hybrid concept
• 007's Ford Ka powered by hydrogen?
• Bombardier signs $485 million dollar contracts for hybrid locomotives
• Ex-Tesla employee electric motorcycle prototype gets driven
• Continental introduces force feedback accelerator pedal
• Volkswagen adds a new TSI engine to its lineup, goes common-rail as well
• Green light for Bosch and Samsung's joint venture for battery development
• Wood-burning Dodge trucks smoldering for coast-to-coast trip
• GM Diesel engineering director describes the new Duramax 4.5L V8
• China produces its first freight hybrid locomotive

Click above for more images of the Trident Iceni

If the name 'Trident' has visions of Maseratis and vintage Triumphs dancing through your head, you are in for a big surprise. When we first looked at the Trident Iceni, it was powered by a 375-hp GM turbo diesel V8 mounted up front and producing 520 lb-ft of torque. After a year or two of development, it's even better according to its makers, with the latest version of the venerable Duramax diesel tweaked to offer 550 horsepower at 3,800 rpm along with an arm-wrenching 950 lb-ft at just 1,800 rpm. Trident claims the Duramax can slingshot the Iceni to 60 mph in well under four seconds and on up to a top speed easily surpassing 200 miles per hour. According to the British company, its modified GM/Isuzu engine is capable of running on any blend of biodiesel without voiding the warranty and returns 68.9 miles per gallon (or 57 mpg in U.S. gallons) at a steady 70 miles per hour. Is this the guilt-free supercar for the eco-conscious speed freak?

With an elaborate chassis folded from stainless steel and a composite body, the Iceni will not rot away. The rear-mounted 8-speed automatic transmission also allows for wide gearing, which is fortunate since the diesel engine isn't going to be a revver. The company is currently looking for funding and hopes to offer the Iceni for about £75,000 out the door. So far, Trident has mentioned no plans to send its wares across the pond to the U.S. Pity us poor Americans.


[Source: Trident Performance Vehicles]