Frankfurt Preview: Audi's Urban e-Tron Minicar Concept

It's showtime for Audi that just released the first sketches of its Frankfurt Motor Show-bound Urban Concept a couple of days after a camouflaged prototype made a public appearance at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin Germany during a video shoot.

The official sketches show a lower and sleeker design with more futuristic styling elements than what we saw in the video footage of the car, but that's usually the case with all designer renderings.

Audi says the Urban Concept is an ultra-light car for congested urban spaces that is not based on any previous model. It is built around a central carbonfibre monocoque and rolls on massive wheels with a 21-inch diameter.

F1: Ecclestone Says No to Electric Engines in the Pit Lane

As you may have already heard, Formula 1’s regulations have been overhauled for the 2014 season with 1.6-liter turbocharged V6s replacing the current 2.4 V8s, while te new cars will also feature a new, more powerful Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).

The whole concept behind FIA’s proposal is that F1 cannot stay behind the times that demand lower fuel consumption and an environmentally-friendly profile.

However, Bernie Ecclestone has discovered what he believes to be a serious flaw in the proposed regulations for 2014. Ecclestone says the article 5.19, which stipulates that cars must run on electric engines alone in the pit lane with no fuel whatsoever sprayed in the V6 gasoline engine, must be crossed out because “people could be killed”.

Read more »

Ford to Launch Pure-Electric Focus in New York and California by the end of the Year

On Monday, a rumor spread over the web saying that Ford has delayed the launch of the 2012 Focus Electric in 17 of the initial 19 markets, and that the company would offer a limited number of vehicles only in California and New York by the end of the year, with the remaining markets to follow in spring of 2012. Read more »

Google Makes History with its First Self-Driving Car Accident

Many companies are developing self-driving cars. The latest example is VW’s TAP (Temporary Auto Pilot) that was recently demonstrated on video.

Another earlier model is Google’s automated/driverless fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids developed with the help of the military’s DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) 2007 Urban Challenge winner, Chris Urmson and Anthony Levandowski, the maker of the world’s first autonomous motorcycle (again, for DARPA) – oh, and an self-driving pizza-delivery vehicle.

Read more »

New Audi City Car Concept Scooped on Film

Carscoop reader Marina tipped us off about an odd-looking micro car wearing Audi badges and a zebra stripe disguise that was caught filming at the Potsdamer Platz, which is a large public square located in the center of the city of Berlin in Germany.

The poster of the Youtube videos said that Audi was shooting a commercial for the car. While we've yet to hear something official from the German company, chances are the tiny model is a new Audi concept vehicle that will be revealed at the rapidly approaching 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in the second week of September.

Read more »

Opel Says Second Generation Ampera Will be Cheaper, More Stylish

Even though deliveries of Opel’s extended-range hybrid aren’t expected to begin until early 2012, the company is already planning the successor to the Chevy Volt’s European alter-ego.

According to British magazine Autocar, the second generation of the Opel / Vauxhall Ampera is scheduled for release in 2015 and, if sources from within the company are reliable, it feature a more radical design and a lower starting price than the current model.

Read more »

Fisker to Unveil New Crossover Model at Frankfurt Motor Show

The man behind the Karma extended-range electric sports sedan, company boss Henrik Fisker, revealed some ambitious new plans to develop the brand's lineup during the European launch of the saloon model.

According to one report from British magazine What Car?, Fisker confirmed the development of a new crossover that will combine elements from sporty estate and SUV models, and which will be revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show in September before it allegedly reaches showrooms in 2012.

Read more »

Toyota to Build RAV4 EV in Canada, Sales Start Next Year

Having cleared up the misunderstanding on whether or not the pure-electric RAV4 will be sold to the general public (it will), Toyota and partner Tesla Motors confirmed today that their jointly developed EV SUV will be built at the Japanese company’s Canadian manufacturing plant in Woodstock, Ontario starting from 2012. Read more »

BMW Group Publishes Results of first Mini E Trial Project

We all know about the merits of electric vehicles but have you ever wondered how it would really be like owning one and driving it on a daily basis?

In collaboration with the British government, the BMW Group launched a trial program in the UK with 40 pure-electric MINI E cars given to 62 citizens and 72 pool users over two six-month periods, from December 2009 until March 2011.

Now that the trial period is over, MINI and the Oxford Brookes University, which undertook the research, have released their findings.

Read more »

Chevy Uses Solar Power to Charge Volts and Dealerships

Chevrolet announced today that it is installing solar-powered electric charging stations at two dozen dealerships in North America as part of its Green Zone initiative.

The new units will generate enough electricity to fully-charge 12 Chevrolet Volts a day, while excess electricity created will be used to power the dealership, supplementing their power needs. According to the Detroit automaker, each canopy generates enough electricity for up to 4,500 charges per vehicle annually.

Read more »

Video: Fisker Karma Test Drive by Santa Monica Dealer

You have to admit that the Karma, Henrik Fisker’s extended-range electric sports sedan with a celebrity clientele and 3,000 firm orders, has already had its fair share of coverage on this site. And that’s before it even goes on sale.

However, Fisker’s $100,000 sedan is an intriguing car. Not just for its sensual lines, the gorgeous interior or the way it is promoted, but because it promises to deliver a supercar experience the “green way”.

Read more »

Evatran Presents Wireless Charging Station for Electric Vehicles

Plug-in hybrids seem to be all the rage these days, from Chevrolet’s Volt to Nissan’s Leaf and the soon to be launched in the U.S. market, Toyota Prius Plug-In. And there are many more vehicles capable of running on electric power to follow.

However, their owners must not forget to charge them, usually overnight, or they’ll wake up next morning and discover they’ve run out of electric juice. In addition, they need to know their way around with the charging cords –not an easy task as any computer geek knows very well.

Read more »

Chrysler Group to Deliver 14 Plug-in Hybrid Rams to San Francisco

The Chrysler Group is taking its first baby steps in the plug-in hybrid arena with the launch of an evaluation program that will see around 140 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) being supplied to selected cities and states across the USA.

On Tuesday, August 2, Chrysler will deliver 14 Ram 1500 PHEV prototypes to the City of San Francisco as part of a three-year assessment program.

Read more »

BMW Shows Off i3 EV and i8 Hybrid Concepts on Film

The headline story on the automotive front today (that would be Friday, July 29) is no doubt the presentation of the first concept models of BMW's new division for alternative fuel vehicles that we will come to know as the "i" series.

We've already given you a first look at the i3 pure-electric hatchback as well as the sporty i8 gasoline-electric hybrid coupe concepts, but BMW has also released a series of films on both vehicles.

Read more »

BMW i3 Concept: Pure Electric Hatchback with Optional Range Extender to go on Sale in 2013 [79 Photos]

The car we originally came to know as the Megacity Vehicle was officially revealed today as the BMW i3 Concept ahead of its 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show debut and less than two years before it goes on sale in 2013.

The new i3 along with the i8 sports coupe concept (we'll have more on that in a bit) that was also shown today, are the first vehicles of BMW's new i sub-brand with which the Bavarian company plans to sell a range of environmental-friendly hybrids, pure-electric and range-extended cars.

The upcoming i3 will be BMW's first ever mass produced all-electric model. The five-door hatchback rides on a new dedicated architecture named "LifeDrive".

Read more »

BMW to Preview New "i" Models on Friday?

“Green” is the new “mean”. Whereas a few years ago most automakers focused on tooting their performance credentials, now the trend is to be eco-friendly. Even BMW, the maker of the M3, M5 etc., is jumping on the "green" bandwagon. Albeit a little late to the EV party, the Germans plan to make up for it with a dazzling entrance.

Today, the Munich-based automaker announced that it is holding a press conference on Friday, July 29, to preview its “i” sub-brand. Unfortunately, that's about all BMW is willing to reveal about the conference, so we don’t exactly know what the company has in store for us: a startling presentation of the new models or one mundane speech after another from the firm's executives?

Read more »

Study: Turning Black Cabs into EVs Would Save London 4,000 Tonnes of CO2 Every Week

According to a new study from EcoVelocity, London could be saved from 4,000 tonnes of CO2 every week if its 22,000 registered Hackney carriages, or black cabs as they are commonly referred to, were to become electric vehicles.

The above figure could more than triple if London’s private-hire vehicles, or minicabs, also ran on electricity. The study took into account the CO2 emissions of the three most common black cabs, the TXI, TXII and TX4 and the average mileage each cab covers every day.

Read more »

Fisker Claims Multi-Speed Gearbox Would Give Karma “Veyron Speed”

Fisker’s environment-friendly hybrid sports sedan, the Karma, can hardly be called a slouch but if someone were to tell you that it could reach “Bugatti Veyron levels of performance” you'd probably look at them a little askance. But that's exactly what Henrik Fisker recently supported during an interview with British weekly magazine Autocar.

More specifically, the founder of the company said that the development of a reliable multi-speed gearbox could offer electric-powered vehicles a huge boost in performance.

Read more »

Life After Death: Automakers Find New Uses for Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Batteries

Hybrids and electric vehicles are more environment-friendly than conventionally powered models. However, one question many eco-conscious consumers bring up is what happens to the batteries at the end of their life cycle in the vehicles.

GM and Nissan estimate that batteries in their Volt and LEAF models respectively will have approximately 70% of their “life” remaining after a decade on the road. So, far from being useless, they can be utilized as back-up power sources for home use.

Read more »

California Drops $5,000 Rebate on Electric Cars

Electric car buyers in California will have to reach deeper in their pockets as the state has run out of the $5,000 rebates it was handing out to customers interested in vehicles like the Nissan LEAF and the Tesla Roadster. The generous rebate was given on top of the $7,500 tax credit offered by the government.

As for the 500 owners of electric cars that are currently on the waiting list to receive the rebate, California’s Air Resources Board said it will consider providing them with a $2,500 discount. Not what they signed up for, but still better than nothing.

Read more »