Until the Tesla Roadster came along, most electric cars were odd looking, to say the least. Near the top of the list of peculiar EVs you'll find the Tango. This tandem two seater looks like a Japanese Kei car that got stuck in a bagel slicer. It's creator, Rick Woodbury, stopped building Tangos after 11 were completed. But, if you lust after one of these babies, fear not. He is apparently ready to restart production of the three-foot wide car that can slip down between the cars in adjacent lanes like a motorcycle.

The market for such cars is limited, at best, and, when the price tag starts at $150,000, it's no wonder so few people ponied up for one. Even with the market for electric vehicles heating up, one has to wonder how many more people would by such a vehicle even if it does go 0-60 in 4 seconds and travels 120 miles on a charge.


[Source: USAToday]

Renault announced today that its Valladolid, Spain plant will become the home of a new electric vehicle based on the Twizy Z.E. concept that was show at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The Twizy is a peculiar looking two-seat city vehicle and it will be probably change quite a bit before production. The open sides will likely become fully enclosed and the wheel covers probably won't make it to the road, at least not in their current form. That makes two EV production announcements this week for Renault, following yesterday's decision to build a car based on the Zoe concept in France. The Twizy goes into production in 2011 alongside Mégane Hatchback, Mégane Estate, Modus and Grand Modus.


[Source: Renault]

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Rolls-Royce unveiled the production version of its new "smaller" car, the Ghost, at the Frankfurt Motor Show and it goes into production next year. AutoCar is now reporting that the Rolls engineers are working on a hybrid version of the Ghost using BMW's mild hybrid system. The mild hybrid is getting its first application in a BMW right about now in the new ActiveHybrid 7. The Ghost shares most of its platform with the new 7-series, so installing the electric assist should be a no-brainer. The main difference is that the BMW pairs the electric motor and battery with the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 while the Roller would retain its 6.2-liter V12. AutoCar estimates the Ghost hybrid would boost mileage by up to 15 percent, which might be a stretch but in a car of this type every little bit helps. The 20 kW motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission and can't drive the car purely on electricity. It does provide start-stop capability and reduces parasitic losses by using regenerative braking to supply some of the electrical needs of the car.



[Source: AutoCar]

The French half of the Renault-Nissan Alliance has reached an agreement with two partners to develop and produce lithium ion batteries in France. Renault, the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the French Strategic Investment Fund (FSI) will create a joint venture for EV batteries. The venture will address the full lifecycle of the batteries, including recycling after they have been used in vehicles.

Production is slated to begin in mid-2012 in conjunction with the start of production of an electric city car at Renault's Flins plant outside of Paris. The partners will put up €600 million to establish a capacity of 100,000 units a year. The new car is based on the Zoe ZE concept. Like Nissan's AESC joint venture, the Renault venture is opening to produce batteries for any automaker that wants to use the technology. Renault has not provided any specifics about whether the new venture will use the same technology developed by AESC or go its own way on cell development.

[Source: Renault]

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At the Frankfurt Motor Show back in September, one of the four electric vehicle concepts shown by Renault was this Zoe which the company now tells us was developed in collaboration with L'Oréal. We just received a bunch of new images of the Zoe and the new release refers to it as an electric "spa" concept.

Anyone that has seen ads for skin car products on TV or in print is intimately familiar with all the snake oil that companies like L'Oréal are constantly foisting on unsuspecting consumers. While the shape of the concept reportedly previews an upcoming BEV to debut in 2012, it seems L'Oréal's main contribution was the flowery language in this press release. Supposedly the air conditioning system hydrates the occupants skin and a system disperses essential oils inside.

While all of this may mean nothing in the end, the shape of the car is pretty interesting and Renault is apparently planning 220V standard charging, 20-minute fast charging and 3-minute battery swaps.



[Source: Renault]

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BP could become the first major energy company to start commercial scale production of cellulosic ethanol in 2010 if all goes according to plan. BP has been partnering with Verenium Corporation to commercialize the latter company's process for breaking down cellulose into sugars.

Verenium has been running a demonstration plant in Louisiana that can produce 1.4 million gallons of ethanol annually. The Verenium process relies on enzymes to break down the cellulose, allowing it to be converted to alcohol, and the company claims almost complete conversion. The new plant will use grasses as a feedstock.

BP is also actively involved in a number of other biofuel projects including algae diesel and butanol. BP is planning to start biobutanol production at a British plant using wheat straw in the 2012/13 time frame. Butanol is seen as an important biofuel because its energy content is closer to gasoline than ethanol and it can be used in most existing engines without modification. The oil giant hopes to have demonstration butanol production running next at a UK facility.

[Source: Reuters]

The next generation of BMW's 5-series sedan is expected to debut early in 2010, perhaps at the Geneva Motor Show. The new M5, however, likely won't be launched until the 2011 Frankfurt show. According to Albert Biermann, development boss of the M division, when it does arrive, it will cut CO₂ emissions by 20 percent compared to the current model.

To do that, BMW will follow an increasingly common path with direct injection, turbocharging and revised gearing. The M5 will apparently use a version of the 555 hp turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 from the X5M/X6M. The increase in torque from the 383 lb-ft at 6100rpm of the current 5.0-liter V10 to around 500 lb-ft at 1500rpm will allow BMW to use much taller gearing for lower engine rpms.

Contrary to some earlier reports, the M5 will not use any kind of hybrid or KERS system. Biermann told AutoCar that the hybrid system from the new ActiveHybrid 7 would add over 200 pounds to the car. Instead, the cars weight will be reduced further through the use of carbon fiber body panels for the roof and trunk-lid.

[Source: AutoCar]

When we were in Germany last month for the launch of the 2010 Golf, VW product planner Andres Valbuena told us that a special street replica of the Jetta TDI Cup race car would be launching in January 2010. We just got the first photo of the new limited edition model along with further details. The TDI Cup "Street" edition gets the same deeper front fascia, rocker panel and rear bumper extensions used on the race cars. Unfortunately, the replica keeps the standard 140-horsepower engine rather the uprated 170 hp diesel used in the track cars... but it does get some functional upgrades.

The replica won't be any quicker off the line, but it will stop and turn better than standard TDI models. The brake calipers are larger than standard and painted red to let observers know they are special. The suspension gets thicker sway bars and the retuned springs and dampers from the Jetta GLI along with 18-inch wheels. Inside, the Cup car gets a paddle shift steering wheel to go with the 6-speed DSG gearbox. The Cup Jetta starts at $25,000 and will be available in January.

[Source: Volkswagen]

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Citroen has just introduced a revised version of the C3 Picasso compact MPV in the UK with a re-calibrated engine to reduce the CO₂ emissions. The VTR+ and exclusive models equipped with the 90 hp diesel engine are now rated at 119 g/km CO₂ compared to the 125 g/km of the previous edition. Getting below that 120 g/km threshold is important in the UK because road taxes are in part based on fuel/consumption CO₂ emissions. Getting into the lower tax band means a reduction from £120 to just £35. Mileage goes from 50 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle to 52.3 mpg (U.S.). The new, high-mileage models also get standard Bluetooth connections for cell phones and USB connections for MP3 players.

[Source: Citroen]

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Based on the presentation by Paolo Ferrero at the Chrysler business plan meeting in Auburn Hills today, it sure sounds like diesel is back in the picture at Chrysler. Prior to the Daimler-Chrysler divorce, there were lots of plans for diesel installations in U.S.-market Chryslers. That all fell by the wayside during the Cerberus era. Ferraro, the new SVP of powertrain engineering at Chrysler, repeatedly mentioned diesel as one of the paths to reduced fuel consumption, although he didn't give any specific dates on when they might be introduced in the U.S.

Ferraro did say that Chrysler would "Reinforce the Clean Diesel Image" and adapt Fiat engines to Chrysler vehicles. He also said they would apply aftertreatment technologies to meet 2015 European and U.S. emissions standards.

Ferraro went on to say that Chrysler would add automatic start-stop beginning in the 2011 model year and showed a diagram of a 2010 Jeep Wrangler diesel in Q4 2010. A Wrangler diesel is offered overseas but will switch to Fiat engines next year. Hopefully, Fiat will start bringing these diesels to the U.S., too.


[Source: Chrysler]