Can the Government make it happen? Can we do it? Under Energy Secretary Dr Kristina Johnson recently told the Institute for International and European Affairs in Dublin that the US could have up to 100 million hybrid and electric cars on the road by 2030 thanks to policies being driven by the Obama administration. But, is that just political hyperbole or a real world reality? Highlighting the need to reduce America’s $300 billion…

Just for pretend? To be or not to be a hybrid? InsideLine published a few photos of what appears to be a Mini Cooper S Clubman hybrid, however, InsideLine doubts the vehicle is actually a hybrid. Instead, the hybrid stickers are purportedly some kind of distraction. Thus, perhaps the more important question is, should there be a Mini Cooper S Clubman hybrid?

Innovations and decades to mature The lithium-ion replacement Battery Project 500 is an IBM research project focused on developing next generation battery technologies that can achieve 500 miles per charge with a particular focus on lithium-air batteries. Unfortunately, while lithium-air is showing great promise, the researchers caution that it has taken 35 years of development for lithium-ion battery technologies to finally appear in automobiles, and the …

Crashing hybrid sales Hybrid sales down more than 17 percent in June Compared to last June auto sales were up 14 percent, however, hybrid sales dropped 17.5 percent due to a poor economy and cheaper gas prices according to Hybridcars.com That means in June, hybrid sales slumped to just 2.2 percent of total auto sales. The king of …

Made in the USA only for the USA Time to become more worldly? Gas guzzling. Americans love gas-guzzling, as our big gas-guzzlers make us feel both safe and strong. Unfortunately, our gas-guzzling also makes us dependent upon oil from foreign countries where the US is not well liked. Perhaps even more worrisome, however, our big gas-guzzlers are an ever-dying trend that is beginning to resonate a little less …

A key to fuel economy? The strength of carbon fiber These days any conversation regarding fuel economy, oil dependence, etc. ultimately seems to always resolve to batteries. Yet, the research on batteries seems to indicate that if the battery is the future of the auto industry, the world has many decades before that future fully unfolds. Consequently, is …

Still a wild card A long road ahead for plug-ins and hybrids By 2020, Nissan believes electric cars could achieve up to 10 percent marketshare, while Ford and Toyota believe their hybrid cars could make up as much as 25 and 30 percent of share, respectively. Automotive supplier Bosch, however, expects just 9 percent global share for hybrids and EVs…

Nissan's first lithium hybrid Nissan’s newest full hybrid While Nissan is focusing on the Leaf as its marquee green product, the automaker is also focusing on a number of other technologies, such as start/stop and clean diesel as part of its Green Program 2010 . Likewise, a number of new hybrid cars , based on Nissan’s new lithium…

Nissan's first lithium hybrid Nissan’s newest full hybrid While Nissan is focusing on the Leaf as its marquee green product, the automaker is also focusing on a number of other technologies, such as start/stop and clean diesel as part of its Green Program 2010 . Likewise, a number of new hybrid cars , based on Nissan’s new lithium-powered hybrid powertrain, are also in development, and the first new hybrid, the Infiniti …

Hard to get off the lot Stagnant hybrid inventory There are few things auto dealerships hate more than inventory that sticks around forever, and in June a few hybrid cars were either on the list of Cars.com’s “Loser’s List” , or close to it. The Mercury Milan hybrid made the stagnant inventory list at…

The Voltecs of foreign oil dependence Pulling the plug on oil dependence The highly anticipated Chevy Volt will be available for sale later this year, but only in a few select markets, which is probably a good thing, as there won’t be very many Volts available. Inevitably, GM’s Volt roll out plans demonstrate that the road to oil independence will be…

30 percent lighter than aluminum Lightening the plug-in load Despite massive obstacles against plugging in the future of the auto industry, the electrification of a significant chunk of the automotive future seems inevitable. Yet, the success of the plug might be dependent upon more than just cheaper, smaller and more powerful batteries. Instead, a significant reduction in vehicle weight might …