Click above for a high-res gallery of the Japan-spec 2008 Nissan Cube

The Nissan Cube is coming to the U.S. next Spring, and we'll get our first look at the U.S.-spec car when it makes its debut at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show. I recently had the opportunity to drive a Japanese-market edition for four days, and it's a very neat little car. Driving the JDM vehicle also illustrates how differently small Japanese cars are set up depending on their target market. Is the Cube an economy car? In Japan, it would certainly qualify, boasting a fuel economy rating of 16 km/l (some 37 mpg U.S.) according to the country's 10-15 mode test cycle. That's basically the combined cycle, and the test is done at low speeds. For Japan, where there's plenty of urban driving and road congestion, it probably serves as a fair indicator of what drivers will experience. For us, not so much. Read on after the jump.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for high-res gallery of the Piaggio MP3 400 and 500

Piaggio's unique MP3 scooter, with its two wheels in front and one in back, has been turning heads since its introduction as a 250cc model a few years ago. After getting the chance to ride the latest 400cc and 500cc versions, we can confirm that it still causes its fair share of rubber-neckers. As automotive drivers, we wondered if Piaggio's entry into the growing maxi-scooter segment could be a viable car alternative for some consumers, and as motorcycle riders, we wondered how those two-front wheels would feel as we chucked it into some bendy-roads. We found all we wanted to know and more after two days worth of driving through both downtown New York City and the surrounding rural roadways all the way into Connecticut. Read on past the jump to see what we thought.

Click the Saturn Vue Hybrid for a high res gallery

Back in mid-2006, GM rolled out its first mainstream production hybrid, the Saturn Vue Green Line, fairly late in its product life cycle. That one featured the first iteration of the mild GM Hybrid system. It was in production for less than a year before the first-gen Vue went away in favor of an all-new global design that was developed in a cooperative arrangement between GM engineers in North America, South Korea and Europe. The same body style is sold in Europe and other parts of the world as the Opel Antara. A second version with different styling and a lower level of content is sold in most of the world as the Chevy Captiva.

The second-generation Vue debuted in North America in late spring of 2007 and the new Green Line hybrid model came along about six months later. The old Vue was the last Saturn to follow the original model of a metal structure with plastic body panels. That setup has now been abandoned in favor of a metal body and it pays big dividends in fit and finish but we'll come back to that. The Vue falls into the burgeoning compact crossover class, and is currently one of only two hybrids in the segment (the other is the Ford Escape). Find out how the Vue compares after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click the Q7 4.2 TDI for a high-res gallery

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Audi made a big show of the Q7 TDI that they were planning to introduce to the U.S. market. That particular model is coming late this year or early next and will be powered by a 3.0L V-6 diesel. At the same show the Germans also showed a concept version of the Q7 powered (or should I say torqued?) by a new 6.0L V-12 TDI paying homage to the success of the R10 TDI Le Mans race car. Last month at the Geneva Motor Show, Audi announced that the V-12 Q7 would be going into limited production later this year.

In between those two diesel extremes lies a third Q7 TDI that's been available in Europe for the past year. This third model uses Audi's 4.2L V-8 diesel and it won't be coming to the U.S. market. However, thanks to the kind folks at Honeywell, we had a chance to sample a Q7 4.2 TDI recently in and around Ann Arbor. Like fuel and exhaust system supplier Bosch, Honeywell has a vested interest in promoting diesel adoption in the U.S. market. Honeywell is the owner of the turbocharger manufacturer formerly known as Garret and they supply turbos for many of the diesel engines currently on the market. To help promote the technology they have a fleet of current European diesel models that they are exposing to American media including this Q7. Read on after the jump to find out how the Q7 TDI comported itself.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click the Tahoe hybrid for a high-res gallery

General Motors has had a checkered relationship with hybrids in the last few years. Through the 1990s they did a lot of development work in the area, particularly through the federally funded Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Ultimately, Toyota and Honda were the first to actually bring hybrid electric drivetrains to market. GM eventually brought their first light duty hybrid system to market with the mild parallel hybrid that was offered on the Silverado and Sierra pickups for a couple of years. That was followed by the belt-alternator-starter system that debuted in late 2006 on the Saturn Vue. Neither of these systems could in any way be considered a commercial success although GM claims to have learned some real world lessons from them.

Late in 2007, GM finally launched production of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids, the company's first "strong" or full hybrid systems offered on light duty vehicles. The hybrid full-size SUVs have been controversial among hybrid fans who are of course dubious about why GM is bothering to apply this technology to these big, heavy vehicles. Even with the hybrid system, the rear wheel drive Tahoe still only manages an EPA combined rating of 21 mpg, less than half of the 46 mpg that a Prius gets. There is, however, a method to the apparent madness which we'll come back to. Previously we've had a couple of opportunities for short drives of the Tahoe hybrid at GM's Milford Proving Ground. Now that we've had a chance to live with it for a week you can read all about it after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click the Lexus LS600h for a high res gallery

Since Toyota introduced the world to the practical, mainstream hybrid vehicle a decade ago, it has sold over a million of them. Six different hybrid models are now offered, with three each under the Toyota and Lexus banners. While the Prius continues to grab the bulk of hybrid sales, the newest model in the lineup is far and away the most expensive hybrid any manufacturer has yet offered.

We're talking about the new Lexus LS600h L. The "h" of course represents the fact that this luxury sedan is equipped with Hybrid Synergy Drive (or, as the Lexus division calls it, Lexus Hybrid Drive). Ever since the original LS400 debuted in 1990, Toyota has been trying to take on the best that the Germans have to offer. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz each offer a 6.0L twelve cylinder engine in their top sedans. Toyota instead chose to follow a different path. Rather than engineer a new, larger engine, it adapted its hybrid system to the LS to create a car that performs like the Germans while delivering better fuel efficiency. We spent a week with the LS600 h L to see if Toyota succeeded.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click image for the Autoblog review of the 2007 Toyota Prius Touring

The Toyota Prius is the poster child for an entire subculture of the green movement. Its fuel-stingy nature and negligible emissions have made it an icon. The media is on board with the hero worship, and the public has guzzled the Kool Aid. To many, it is not just any hybrid, it is THE hybrid. It's practically touted as one of the cures to Earth's supposed problems, its bubblicious roof able to prevent the very sky from falling. It's a miracle. It's a fashion statement. It's holier than thou. My position on all the Prius hype? It's beyond ridiculous, and I have always taken it out on the car with snide remarks and a dismissive attitude. Of course, I had never actually driven a Prius before doing any of this this, which is the very definition of asinine. So I had Toyota lend me one for a week. Would my time spent attacking the daily slog with the Prius validate my knee-jerk dislike of the car, or would I be forced to acquire a taste for crow? Read my evaluation over at Autoblog (UPDATED: the link has been fixed) to find out.


All photos Copyright ©2007 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc

Click the Highlander for a high-res gallery

Toyota unveiled the second generation of their Highlander crossover last February at the Chicago Auto Show and it followed the all too familiar pattern of bigger, wider, heavier. Fortunately it didn't grow a whole size class the way some vehicles have. The conventional version of the Highlander went on sale during the summer while the hybrid launched in late October. Recently a new Highlander hybrid in the up-market Limited trim turned up in the AutoblogGreen garage just in time to provide transport to a string of holiday parties in Detroit.

The Highlander is the largest crossover in the Toyota lineup, almost matching the dimensions of the body-on-frame 4Runner. Unlike the 4Runner, the Highlander is a unibody configuration with a transverse mounted engine. The default configuration is front-wheel-drive but the test example had drive to all four wheels in combination with Toyota's hybrid synergy drive system. Read on after the jump to find out what the new Highlander is like to live with.

Click the diesel Bimmer for a high-res gallery

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, BMW was prominently displaying their diesel engine technology, particularly the latest 3.0L twin turbocharged in-line six cylinder. At the time, BMW spokesman Daniel Kammerer told us that BMW would be introducing that diesel engine to the U.S. market later in 2008. BMW still hasn't said which vehicles would get the diesel although it's expected that that the first installations will be in the X5 SUV and 5 series sedans and possibly the new X6 crossover.

Here at the AutoblogGreen Garage we just couldn't wait another whole year to try out a diesel BMW and when we found out that Bosch had one the pestering began. As a supplier of diesel engine fuel and emission control systems, Bosch has a vested interest in the success of diesel engines. To that end, they have brought over a fleet of European diesel vehicles, many of which are expected to be on sale in the US over the next couple of years. Earlier this year we sampled the Chrysler 300 and Smart ForTwo diesels. The Chrysler in particular was very impressive, but this BMW was in a whole different class. Find out how the BMW 535d fared in the ABG Garage after the jump.

Click the xB for a high-res gallery

Toyota has been taking plenty of hits from environmental groups of late for playing up a green image while working behind the scenes to neuter new fuel economy standards. The big Tundra pickup has gotten most of the attention as a gas hog, but another more diminutive model has taken a big mileage hit for 2008 and not because of the EPA's new test procedures. After the mileage of the original Scion xB was adjusted downward based on the new tests, the mileage of the automatic transmission model was rated at 26/31/28 city/highway/combined. The new 2008 model is rated at 22/28/24 mpg.

After driving the xB for a week I averaged 23.4 mpg in my usual mixed driving cycle. Why the big drop? The 2008 xB is over 630 lbs heavier than the previous iteration and a foot longer. The original xB was based on the platform of the previous generation Toyota Yaris/Vitz and was sold in Japan as the Toyota bB. The new US market xB is based on the larger heavier Corolla platform. In Japan a new redesigned bB is still available based on the smaller architecture.

Why isn't our xB based on the new bB? Toyota probably felt that Americans would prefer a larger more powerful car and buy them in larger numbers. Were they right? It's probably too early tell as there was a gap in availability between the old and new models. So far the new one is selling at a slower monthly rate than the original. We'll watch this but for now if you want to know what Dan Roth and I thought of the new xB head over to Autoblog for a full review. It will also be interesting to see if the anti-Toyota crowd starts picking on the xB as well.

[Source: Autoblog]

Click the Jeep for a high-res gallery

Let's get something out the way first. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is not green. Now that we can agree on that, why is it being reviewed here on ABG? Because it's the first chance we've had to to spend an extended period with one of the new wave of diesel-powered vehicles that are coming to the US market. While not every blogger on this site agrees that diesels are a good thing, the fact is they do get significantly better fuel economy than gasoline-fueled equivalents. While some of you may argue about the energy density of gasoline vs. diesel fuel and the number of miles you get per pound of fuel we don't typically by our fuel by the pound in the US. We buy by the gallon and in virtually all cases the cost per mile and CO2 emissions per mile are both less for diesel than gasoline. Having justified why we even bothered to test this Jeep, let's go past the jump to find out what Chrysler's latest salvo in the diesel wars is like to live with.

Click the Versa for a high res gallery

Recently Nissan dropped off a brand new 2008 Versa SL hatchback at the AutoblogGreen garage for a week's worth of commuting and grocery fetching. The Versa was introduced to the US market in mid-2006 as a 2007 model to fill the slot that opened up below the Sentra when that car did what so many cars do and grew larger and better equipped. At the time the Nissan said the Versa was built off their B-platform which implied that this was a B-Class or sub-compact car on a par with the Honda Fit.

The first few times I saw a Versa on the road it certainly appeared smaller than it actually is. As we all know appearances can be deceiving and the Versa's size proved to be no exception when I climbed behind the wheel. Nissan's new baby is in fact a C-Class car measuring within a half inch of a 2007 Ford Focus hatchback with one notable exception. The Versa stands 3.6 inches taller giving this car a cavernous interior for its class. The Fit, by comparison, comes in nearly a foot shorter overall and six inches shy in wheelbase.

Find out what it's like to live with the Versa after the jump.

Warning: Don't try this. We don't know what may happen. We have not tried this ourselves yet. It may be unsafe for reasons we cannot predict.

Imagine if you could convert your regular gas car into a plug-in car with off-the-shelf components? Maybe you can! That orange thing in the picture is a battery back up you charge by plugging it in. You can recharge your battery with the cigarette lighter in your car. Plug in the the back up battery, attach the battery to an inverter adapter, then the adapter to the car's cigarette lighter and viola; you have a plug-in car. The alternator uses gas to charge the battery. If you charge your battery from the plug, you will save gas. It's just that simple.

However, the battery is only used to provide starting power and power accessories when the engine is off. When the engine is running the alternator provides the primary power to drive accessories, fuel pumps, ignition, lights and pretty much everything else electrical. So you won't see much gas saving unless you like to run your lights with the engine off. For this to be really useful, car makers would have to add plug-in capability, more batteries and develop a mechanism to cycle the alternator when the battery state of charge gets low.

OK, this isn't exactly Cal Cars but we thought our readers might be interested in our little idea before we begin to tinker with it in the garage. Would you go through the trouble of plugging in your car just to save a little gas and have your accessories like the car radio powered from the cleaner power grid? Tell us ideas you might have in comments. We would love to hear them. Again, we don't advise you try this. We really don't know if something bad will happen. We just want your advice on the idea of a mild plug-in car.

(Fellow AutoblogGreen blogger Sam Abuelsamid contributed to this article.)

Click on the Avenger for a high-res gallery of our flex-fuel tester

Here at ABG we've written pretty extensively about flex-fuel vehicles over the past year but we've never actually tried one out for a first hand evaluation. Thanks to Chrysler, that has now changed. They loaned us a 2008 Dodge Avenger SXT with the 2.7L V-6 with flex-fuel capability. There are now two gas stations with E85 pumps in Ann Arbor within a few minutes of the AutoblogGreen garage.

Chrysler delivered the Avenger with a full tank of regular unleaded gasoline of which about three quarters was consumed over the next few days of mixed highway and stop and go driving. Once the gasoline was used up, the tank was topped off with E85 from a Meijer gas station in Ann Arbor. Michigan based Meijer stores have installed E85 pumps at twenty of their stations across Michigan and the Ann Arbor station also had pumps in place dispensing B20 biodiesel and natural gas.

Read more about the Avenger and running it on ethanol after the jump.

Today we have the pleasure of introducing you to our new AutoblogGreen project car. The vehicle that you see in the photos is a 1966 Pontiac LeMans convertible. If you don't know what a LeMans is, or if the LeMans that you know is from the '80s, this is the car that the venerable GTO was based on. As a matter of fact, in 1964 when the GTO was introduced, it was merely an option package on the LeMans... like the ZO6 is an option package on the Corvette. Back in 1966, when GM had market share to spare, they built their cars large and rear wheel drive. This was before the age on emissions regulations, so this car is dirty. All right, all right, so it might be dirty in more ways than one! The car has been sitting in a garage, then a barn and back into a different garage for at least the last twelve years or so, and from the pictures, I am sure that you can tell. The good news is that the car is sound. The rust is all just on the surface; the floors and frame are very solid - which is the most important thing when you are considering putting an older vehicle back on the road.

Putting this vehicle back on the road is exactly what we are planning to do.

Click past the break to see what we have in store for this classic car!