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The Lotus Omnivore engine promises unprecedented multi-fuel capabilities but until now has been cloaked in secrecy. Now, thanks to an interactive animation Group Lotus has put together we're able to see it's one crazy-interesting engine design. More »
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When Doug Pelmear and his notchback Ford Mustang nearly broke the internet with his claims of some magical engine tinkering returning 110 MPGe (80 MPG) — while making 400 HP — we were skeptical to say the least. That "MPGe" figure is there because the car runs on ethanol, so the extra "e" on the end signifies the energy equivalent to a gallon of regular gasoline. Now Pelmear is taking the 110 MPG Mustang on a cross-country road trip to prove the skeptics (us) wrong, ending at this years SEMA show where he probably won't be popping the hood so everyone can poke around. The car is being entered in the Progressive Automotive X Prize contest as well, where it will compete against others with the goal of 100 MPG in a four-passenger car. We're going to continue waiting, edible hat in hand, for scientific measurements to back up his claims. [WNWO, via MustangRevolution] More »
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Bentley is refreshing. Their ultra-luxe, mega-horsepower sleds, favored rides of autocrats, royalty and rap tycoons, are such a specialized product that the Craftsmen of Crewe can pretty much reduce their whole climate-change/fuel-scarcity strategy to a question of customer relations. I promised I'd read the white paper on global warming etc. the company handed out at their New York Auto Show press conference yesterday—also available on Bentley's website—and now I have. Dry? To be sure. Wonky? Yep. But on the heels of the company's announcement at the Geneva Motor Show that it's going to seriously cut CO2 output by 2012, worth checking out. More »
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1934 Chevy Coupe. 2.0-liter Ecotec engine running on E85. 500 HP. Need we say more? Actually, yes, we probably should, but with all of the GM SEMA nonsense running up in this here site all morning, frankly we're just getting sick of it. We mean fercrissakes, SEMA hasn't even started yet. Whatever. Full release after the jump. We're going to go find a hole to crawl in out here in Vegas. More »
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Brazil's Obvio is reportedly working on new "tribrid" cars. They're called that because they'll try anything for fuel — gasoline, bioethanol, natural gas, electricity, rainwater, caipirinhas, a thong-powered windup propeller, and large hats outfitted with exotic fruits. Of course, only variations of the first four will likely power on the lightweight, mid-engined sports cars — dubbed 828 and 012 — which will be created in partnership with Lotus Engineering. They'll probably cost upward of $50,000 if they come to the states, as the company's CEO once said is a possibility. If they do make it stateside, we'll, of course, have to substitute rum for Cacha a in the caipirinhas. – Mike Spinelli More »
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Flexfuel and electric-car aficinados (and Kermit the Frog impersonators) in the US will soon have their pick of Brazilian-built Obvio! cars. Word came down yesterday that California's Zap will distribute the green (literally) pod vehicles in North America. According to Green Car Congress, Zap has pre-purchased 50,000 of the cars, which it plans to import and sell. The first models, which will reportedly go into production in 2007, will run on flexfuel (gas/ethanol/caipirinhas), but Obvio!'s president says all-electric models will follow, likely in the range of $50,000, later on. More »
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How hard-up are ethanol buyers? Pretty hard up it seems. A Tennessee company, too many jokes, is selling make-your-own-ethanol kits. They're called stills kids. You know, what they made moonshine in! This is completely nuts. Originally conceived for emergencies like hurricanes, the stills are one way to stick it to the man, the oil man. More »
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They've gotta be doing something right — first Toyota jumped on the flex fuel bandwagon started by the General and FoMoCo. Well, let's drop another onto that list as Chrysler, the third amigo of the big three, is now agreeing to expand it's lineup of ethanol-fuel burning models with two Jeeps offering flex-fuel engines. We almost want to make some kind of corn-y crack about how the child will lead them. But we're above that. Aren't we? More »
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We often hear voices inside of our heads. Our little VDub gremlin is already well known for the following nuggets of wisdom: More »
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American corn growers, and the lobbyists who butter their interests, will be pleased Saab will showcase its US-focused ethanol-powered concept engine at the Los Angeles auto show this week. This 9-5 Aero BioPower is propelled by a 310hp/325 lb.-ft, 2.3-liter turbo fueled by E85 — an 85% Ethanol 15% flex fuel supported by Saab parent GM. The US concept is considerably more powerful than Saab's BioPower 9-5 sold in Sweden, which tops out at 180hp, (that model accounts for for 70 percent of 9-5 sales in that country), making a possible corn-fueled run across Iowa a matter of hours, not weeks. More »
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