Are you feeling lucky? Today, as expected, GM announced its investment of $336 million to upgrade its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant for production of the Chevy Volt , bringing GM’s total Volt investment to $700 million. While greats news for Volt fans, you’ll have to be pretty lucky if you want to buy a Volt when it goes on sale in late 2010. According to the DetroitNews…

CO2 a danger to human health The EPA is set to an provide an endangerment finding on CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. With an endangerment finding President Obama can set targets for greenhouse gas reductions without the approval of Congress. Thus, as the President heads into Copenhagen for a world wide conference on global warming he’ll be able to assert that he has

Its not really about the Karma Initial production of the Karma plug-in hybrid is sold out. So, if you desire a Karma or Sunset hybrid, you'll have to wait until 2011, when Fisker will begin producing 15,000 of these vehicles per year. But that isn't really what Fisker is about. By mid-2012, Fisker intends to use …

Boxer hybrids are inevitable Not really breaking news, but still nice to hear that the Subaru Tourer Hybrid concept will be developed into a production vehicle. Obviously the futuristic styling will probably be toned down a bit – I'm sure the winged doors won't last. Still, this vehicle is about one thing: mating the Subaru Boxer engine with a hybrid drive. Too bad we have to wait until 2012 for

All about the Sienna today Well, the new Sienna minivan will offer a fuel efficient 4-cylinder version next year. That's good news, but how about some new hybrid hype? Rumors of new Prius-based hybrids, for instance, have been floating around for years. Why not step it up? This the LA Auto Show, the green showcase, for crying out loud. Early next year Toyota will put 500 plug in Prius…

Is cheap the future? At $2000, the Tata Nano is the world’s cheapest car, and soon the Nano might become the world’s cheapest hybrid car. Without providing many details, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group confirmed that a hybrid version of the Nano is in the works. Likewise, Tata reaffirmed its interest in entering

Is cheap the future? At $2000, the Tata Nano is the world’s cheapest car, and soon the Nano might become the world’s cheapest hybrid car. Without providing many details, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group confirmed that a hybrid version of the Nano is in the works. Likewise, Tata reaffirmed its interest in entering the US market.

Time to put the past to rest? Will next year provide a big boost in auto sales? The kind of boost that can turn losses into profits for much of the US auto industry? The kind of sales that could make a GM IPO at the end of 2010 enticing to investors? Probably not according to a forecast from Fitch Ratings . While there should be a small bump upwards…

Chinese roads are filling up fast What’s the best selling car in China? That’s right. It’s GM’s Buick. And soon China could represent one of GM’s biggest markets for hybrid and electric vehicles. So, what better way for China to capitalize on the Chinese love of Buick and build a robust Chinese auto manufacturing sector than to buy GM when it …

Even more confusing with plug-in vehicles The Mini E electric vehicle will be rated at 99 mpg according to the EPA’s preliminary methodology, while the Chevy Volt will be rated at 230 mpg. Yet, the Mini E will cost less per month to operate according to Edmunds . Thus, Edmunds believes that operating…

Coulda been a contender? In last week’s safest hybrid vehicles post I took a shot at Toyota’s goose egg. Turns out that Toyota didn’t have any of its hybrid cars tested, nor many of its regular vehicles. The IIHS only tested the Camry, Yaris and Rav4, as Toyota decided that providing more vehicles – at the manufacturer’s expense – wasn’t a justifiable expense in this economy.

Where’s an American competitor? Perhaps you’ve seen the recent Chevy commercial where Howie Long wonders why Asian automakers have a fuel efficient reputation when GM sells some similar vehicles with better highway fuel economy? Why? Well, because they have better fleet fuel economy. This year Honda came in first at 23.6 mpg. Hyundai was second at 23.4, while Toyota was third at 23. 2 mpg according to the EPA . Ford, as …