The new Honda Insight concept was teased last week in advance of the vehicle's unveiling at the Paris Motor Show next month. We don't know that the production version will look like, but it'll be similar in some ways to the concept and different in others. That's a cop out, sure, but what else is there to know? How about by taking a look at the 2009 Honda City, which was just unveiled in Thailand and is based on the Fit/Jazz. An anonymous poster wrote to Carscoop that, "We'll definitely see a variant of this in the US. It'll have a slightly different profile from the c-pillar back, be a hatchback and will be called the 'Insight.' Due at dealers in April..."

Last year, Honda became one of the first international automakers to take advantage of Thailand's financial aid packages to get more green cars built domestically. As to what the local vehicles might reveal about Honda's global line-up, go ahead and compare the two cars in high-resolution galleries below. Do you think that anonymous is right? Thanks to Rob for the tip.



[Source: Carscoop]

At the beginning of this year, we first reported on the RoboScooter, which at that time was still a concept. The two-wheeler was designed through a collaboration of three companies including SYM, the second largest scooter manufacturer in Taiwan and a highly reputable company. According to recent reports, SYM has big plans for its electrically-driven scooter and hopes to see the machine on public roads in Taiwan sometime in the second half of next year. Powered by a lithium ion battery and hub motors, there would be no pollution coming from the scooter and the machine would cost mere cents to operate per mile. Plus, the aluminum-intensive structure would ensure light weight and easy handling, making the RoboScooter seem perfect for smaller urban settings. The manufacturer also sees the possibility for the easy replacement of batteries, greatly extending the range. While there's no telling if this machine will ever make it to the U.S., it is expected to cost NT$60,000 - about $1,968.

[Source: CENS via The Scooter Scoop]

After showing practically no signs of life since being revived in a joint venture between Zap! and Youngman Automotive Group last February and officially striking out on its own less than a week ago, Detroit Electric has emerged, in Malaysia, as a Dutch company with $300 million in backing and a fleet of prototypes. Say what? We had a hint of this earlier but this seems to make it all official. The company, reportedly majority owned by CEO Albert Lam (Lam joined Zap! management late last year) has investors from America, Holland and Malaysia and appears to have taken over the Electric Cars Europe venture. The Malaysian appearance was a press event held to announce their plans to begin producing cars by the end of 2009.

We couldn't be there, but Paul Tan of PaulTan.org automotive blog fame was and he did a little ride-and-drive and took some pics. The sportiest of the the wares on hand was an electric Lotus Elise that we last saw circling a track in the Netherlands although now it sports "Detroit Electric" decals on its hood and doors. There was also a Proton Savvy (pictured above) and a Proton Persona. The pair of Protons were fast and wet conversions put together for the event and sported motors developed by Detroit Electric's chief scientist, Frits van Breemen-Schneider. An avid RC aircraft enthusiast who sells electric model aircraft and was co-president of Friend-EV, he claims his motors have a much higher power-to-weight ratio than existing tech and can produce 5 kilowatts of power per kilogram, adding that the best electric car of today are only capable of .25 kilowatts per kilogram. This is a bizarre claim, and either the International Herald Tribune made a mistake in quoting him or something because, at .25kw/kg the Tesla motor with 185 kw would weigh 1,628lbs.

Whatever the deal is with the motors, Detroit Electric is aiming sky high with a target of 30,000 cars in the first year and growing that to 270,000 by the third. As well as a Detroit Electric facility in Malaysia, the company hopes to work with the government to have a fast-charge network installed across the country. Press release after the break.

[Source: PaulTan.org / International Herald Tribune]

Honda has been building small-bore single cylinder four stroke engines and installing them in simple two-wheelers for over fifty years. You'd imagine, then, that Big Red would know a thing or two about how to make them run well, and you'd be right. In fact, Honda has reportedly been able to eke enough power from just a single 110cc cylinder to get a motorcycle up over one-hundred miles per hour. That's really impressive, and it is made possible by advances in fuel injection technology among other things.

The prototype, known as the CZ Motard, is built atop the CZ-i 110 platform, a bike which is super popular in Thailand. With that model, Honda utilized its PGM-FI fuel injection technology and announced that it would be "the number one most admired company that is at the forefront of the environmental issue." That CZ-i 110 is capable of returning some 193 miles per gallon and is 25-percent more powerful than the previous 100cc engine, all the while meeting the next-generation Euro VI emissions standards. With scooter sales up some 65-percent, we'd love to see this model make it stateside.

[Source: Gizmag, Honda Thailand]

Proton, the Malaysian state-owned automaker which also owns Lotus, is currently working on a hybrid vehicle which it hopes to bring to market in two to three years. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has already driven the car, and he's pushing Proton to get it ready as quickly as possible. Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Managing Director at Proton, says, "It is too early to talk of introducing a hybrid car in the local market. I can only say that we are looking at this possibility in two to three years time before we go into mass production." Although the Malaysian government would like to see the automaker act, the fact is that Proton doesn't quite have the know-how in-house to get the job done properly, especially with lithium ion batteries. For that reason, the automaker has contacted Bosch for assistance in getting its first hybrid model out the door.

[Sources: Bernama.com, AFP via Yahoo]

Click above image for a hi-res gallery of the Tata Nano

Tata is asking Fiat to assist in selling the Nano overseas, as an expansion of the two marques partnership in manufacturing and distributing cars, engines and commercial vehicles. Fiat's initial intentions are, however, largely directed towards bus and truck manufacturing. "We have held talks about the Nano being marketed in markets where Fiat has already a strong presence. I am open to consider a partnership," said Ratan Tata at a forum promoting cooperation between Italian and Indian companies.

Tata is also forecasting supply problems for its new microcar, which goes on sale next October. That said, high raw material and fuel prices have cut demand for vehicles in India. Between that development, the burden of the Jaguar/Land Rover acquisition, and a 31% decrease in profits, it'll be interesting to see if Tata is ultimately able to keep the Nano priced as low as planned.


[Source: Automotive News]

Police in Manila, the capitol city of the Philippines, have taken up a cool new effort in order to save some green, though they will be spreading some green in the process. It seems that the Police force will be converting its cruisers to run on a mixture of waste vegetable oil (WVO) and diesel fuel. The oil in question will be donated by McDonalds. Other local area restaurants are also considering making similar donations. So far, just one vehicle has had the conversion done, though more are likely to closely follow. If the program in Manila proves successful, other nearby cities are likely to follow suit.

If the government authorities begin using veggie oil, how far could commercial use be behind? Along with the electric Jeepneys which are now proliferating through city centers in the area, the Philippines may just have a green-transportation revolution on their hands.

[Source: Breitbart.com]

We weren't familiar with the Pihsiang Machinery Manufacturing Co. until finding this story, but it appears that the Taiwanese company is very big into lithium iron phosphate batteries. They seem to show up most often in medical products such as electric wheelchairs, but that looks to change as the company branches out into electric cars and bikes. In fact, three new electric vehicles have been produced by Pihsiang and have attracted interest from various European auto manufacturers. Pihsiang plans to show its wares at upcoming, but as yet unnamed, motor shows in Europe and hopes to have vehicles in consumers' hands shortly thereafter.

Company president Chiang Ching-ming claims that its electric car platform carries some two-thousand individual LiFePO4 cells and weighs just over 1,100 pounds. If that's true, those must be some awfully lightweight batteries if they really deliver the power and range needed for reasonable EV performance.

[Source: Taiwan Economic News]

Tata Motors' diminutive Nano is getting closer to Job 1. if all goes as planned (and when doesn't that happen in the auto industry?) production of the Nano should kick off early this fall. As that date approaches, a number of questions arise. As an extremely fast growing economy, India faces one of the common problems of such scenarios: high inflation. With inflation running at 10 percent right now, will Tata still be able to meet its $2,500 price target? Regardless of price the Nano utlimately sells for, what comes next? Tata is reportedly working on cleaner and greener versions of the Nano to help deal with the issues of pollution and rising fuel prices. Tata has previously licensed the compressed air car technology developed by MDI and an air car based on the Nano seems like a good possibility. Battery powered and micro-hybrid (auto start-stop) are also likely.

[Source: The Earth Times]

Hyundai will release its first hybrid vehicle for sale to the general public in 2009, as long as the general public in question lives in Korea. Though the automaker has been testing hybrids for the last few years, only government officials were able to drive the vehicles. According to Hyundai, though, none of the research and development costs for its hybrid drivetrain were paid for through government grants. This information seems much more important after Mark Fields' recent assertion that the Korean government had provided assistance to its automakers for the development of the fuel-saving technology. There has also been some question as to whether the Japanese government helped pay for hybrid development, though Toyota denies these allegations.

Regardless of who has funded its development, Hyundai's first hybrid will be the Avante, which is known as the Elantra in the U.S. Interestingly, the first versions of the vehicle will use liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for fuel, along with, of course, electricity. The year 2010 will bring a flex-fuel version capable of using gasoline or LPG. So far, there is no announcement regarding a launch date in the states, though Hyundai indicates it would like to be selling hybrids here by 2011. By that time, the market will be much more crowded.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Toyota wants to double worldwide sales of its hybrids to over 1 million units a year within the next decade and is adding production capacity to hep it get there. In Japan today, Toyota announced plans to add production of Camry hybrids at two more plants in Australia and Thailand. The Thai plant will start first with about 9,000 hybrids per year starting in 2009. At a press conference attended by both Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe, plans were announced to build hybrids at the company's Altona plant near Melbourne. The plant will start turning out 10,000 hybrids a year in early 2010. The state of Victoria, where the plant is located, reportedly provided $35 million (AUS) in tax incentives to get Toyota add hybrid production. A number of Australian governments have previously pledged to purchase domestically build hybrid vehicles for their fleets as soon as someone builds them. The Camry announcement is the first; General Motors' Holden division will likely join in as well at some point.

[Source: Toyota]

Although Toyota is the undisputed leader in hybrid sales, it has shied away from offering E85-capable vehicles in the United States. In other markets, though, where ethanol is widely available and popular, such as Brazil, Toyota has seen fit to offer vehicles which are able to run on the alcohol fuel. Just-Auto reports that Thailand might be the next market where Toyota could begin offering E85-capable vehicles, citing The Nation newspaper in Thailand. The decision to offer ethanol-capable vehicles is made easier as any gasoline engine can be made to run on E85 with only minor changes, such as new fuel lines and a computer recalibration.

Toyota also hopes that the price of E85 remains low in relation to the price of gasoline, which could help offset the lower mileage that E85 fuel causes. The source article also points to molasses and tapioca as locally-grown feedstocks for the production of the fuel itself.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]

The term "rickshaw" covers a wide variety of vehicles around the world but in Nepal it usually refers to the three-wheeler you see pictured above. They used to create clouds of pollution in the capitol, Kathmandu, but the Vikram Tempo rickshaw, the fossil fuel burning version of this conveyance, has been outlawed since 1999. Since then, electric versions, or Safa Tempo, have been steadily increasing in numbers. Now, according to one retailer, Shree Eco Visionary (SEV), there are at least 650 EVs plying Kathmandu streets fulfilling the daily transportation needs of over 100,000 people. SEV hopes to see the number of Safa Tempo rise to 4,000 over the next five years.

Not only are the electric machines more eco-friendly, they are, after the initial purchase cost of $13,500 has been dealt with, much cheaper to run than their smoking counterparts. According to an article at IBN Live, the electric rickshaws cost about seven cents per kilometer, a figure that should remain low even as the price of oil climbs steadily higher. Capable of traveling up to 70 kilometers on a charge, the Safa Tempo are seen as a good low-tech solution to the problem of vehicle pollution in Nepal. To see a clip of these machines doing their thing on the streets of Kathmandu and listen to the original report, hit the jump.

The Daily Times of Pakistan reports that the Canadian manufacturer of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles Dynasty Electric Car Corporation has been sold to Pakistani automaker Karakoram Motors. Dynasty General Manager Danny Epp told Canadian Broadcasting that limitations on the use of NEVs on Canadian roads along with the strong Canadian dollar contributed to the decision by the owner to sell the company. Dynasty has been manufacturing thirty to forty vehicles per year. Karakoram Motors assembles and markets light duty trucks in Pakistan.

[Source: Daily Times of Pakistan]

Elevated gas prices resonate in strange ways. Sure, while the average commuter might now consider alternatives like public transit or carpooling to ease the sting at the pump, the repercussions of high fuel costs are felt globally -- and not just by the average cubicle-dwelling workerbee. Take India, for example. Financial Times reports that in the state of Rajasthan, farmers are looking to the camel as a replacement for fuel-swilling tractors. As a result, demand for the animals is up, as is their cost. Still, a strong, work-ready camel costs just a quarter of what Indian farmers would need to shell out for an entry-level tractor, and the critters don't need to be constantly refilled with expensive fossil fuels. FT notes that a full-scale camel revival faces other challenges, but this rediscovery of the animal as a good worker could be the start of something. It's not "backward" if it gets the job done, right? Camels: they spit on costly tractors!

[Source: Financial Times via Instapundit | Photo: Stuck in Customs]