As Audi begins to roll out the A3 TDI to its U.S. dealers in the coming weeks and the diesel version of the Q7 takes an ever larger share of sales, it's time to celebrate. This fall marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the first ever TDI engine. TDI, for the uninitiated, stands for turbocharged-direct-injection, and refers to modern diesel engines from the Volkswagen group. Today's TDI technology has evolved from that 20 year-old 2.5-liter five cylinder in the Audi 100.

Back then, the first TDI engines retained distributor type injector pumps, although the fuel was sprayed directly into the combustion chambers rather than a pre-chamber. Later, the company used something called Pumpe Düse – pump-injectors – for fuel delivery. This design integrated the high pressure pump and injector for each cylinder. These days, TDI uses common rail injection where a single pump pressurizes a single fuel rail that feeds all of the injectors. Regardless of the injector type, TDI has gone a long way towards improving the power output and reducing emissions of diesel engines. Audi and Volkswagen have built over five million TDI powerplants and remain committed to the technology. Congratulations on the double-decade milestone, guys.


Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

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Rumors about Tesla's plan to go public have been circulating since 2008, but a down stock market seemed to put a damper on the start-up's IPO. Now, the word on the street from Reuters is that Tesla is planning to go public "soon." When might that be, exactly? Who knows. A source told Reuters it could happen "any day," but Stephan Dolezalek, managing director of VantagePoint Venture Partners and a Tesla investor, said in September that it's unlikely to happen in 2009.

For its part, Tesla continues to offer little guidance on the report other than to dismiss it as "rumor or speculation." We shall see...



[Source: Reuters]

Electric automaker Aptera has had a very tough week, starting with news of a boardroom showdown last weekend over money troubles – which were then walked back a bit. During the week, we've been hearing that the problems run deeper than we expected, and Karen Pease from Gas 2.0 believes she has put more pieces of the tale together.

First, it's important to know about Laura Marion, who is CFO at Aptera, but she also worked at Delphi, where she was cited by the SEC (PDF) for massive accounting fraud and ended up paying a $40,000 fine. Marion came to Aptera with Paul Wilbur, now Aptera's CEO, who had previously worked at ASC and Saleen (pretty much as those companies were going bankrupt). Wilbur was behind the firings last week, and the Gas 2.0 writeup (a must read) cites an anonymous employee who was liveblogging the recent firings saying that, "Paul Wilbur has just sacrificed the company to line his own pockets. Crap, I'm crying. [...] Seems to think suspending operations til govt$$ come in will make him a rich man. So sad for [Aptera founder] Steve Fambro, he's a great guy being ruined."

We asked Wilbur for a statement, and he sent AutoblogGreen a replying saying:

We have assembled a world-class team that has the full support of our board. We and our board are confident that we have the people and resources needed to bring the most innovative electric vehicle to market as soon as possible.

This story is not over, not by a long shot.


[Source: Gas 2.0]

Lexus introduced its LF-Ch concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and it's believed to be a shoo-in for production for the European market. However, The Detroit Bureau is reporting that Lexus is considering bringing the compact hybrid to the U.S. market as well. If it does come here, it will be the smallest Lexus and would compete against the likes of the Audi A3 and BMW 1-series. The Lexus concept will be shown at the Los Angeles and Detroit auto shows, where Lexus officials will be evaluating reactions to a premium priced small car.

Such cars are already well accepted in Europe and the idea of smaller premium cars may hold some appeal in the U.S., especially if fuel prices rise. Lexus has no intention of decontenting the LF-Ch to keep the price down if it does come to the U.S. A car with the Lexus badge does, after all, need to provide the amenities and luxury feel expected of the brand. While the LF is likely to have a conventional powertrain as standard fitment, a hybrid will probably be needed to compete with the A3 TDI and a possible 1-series hybrid or diesel.



[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

With some free recharging and free parking available around town, there's more reason than ever to drive an electric car in London (that is, if the public transportation system doesn't work for you). To prove that EVs can work in the city, GoGo Electric is offering short-term rentals of the MegaCity electric cars. One difference between this rental scheme and others, like Zipcar, is that there are no membership fees. But we can't tell if this is a good deal or not. GoGo doesn't tell us what the rental fees are, just that the cost "will be determined according to the price list applicable at the time of rental."

GoGo Electric founder Natalie Franklin, pictured, said in a statement that a lot of customers are renting the car just to see if plug-in technology works for them. It seems like response has been positive, but the main complaint from customers is that they want more public charging stations throughout London.

[Source: GoGo Electric Car Rentals]

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Toyota is getting ready to start deploying a fleet of 200 plug-in Prius hybrids in the coming months and the company needs to figure out what to do with them. The cars will all be leased for purposes of field testing. Toyota is now in discussions with federal and local governments and energy companies about who will get how many of the lithium ion battery Priuses. The company is looking for towns and cities that are, "actively promoting environmentally considerate vehicles."

The PHEV Prius will be able to go up to 62 mph on electricity alone for about 5 miles. Another 150 examples of the PHEV will be leased here in the U.S., with a similar number going to Europe. The first cars will be delivered in mid-December and Toyota has previously announced plans to start retail sales in about 2012.


[Source: Toyota]

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How much would you pay for a battery-powered Tesla Roadster, one that you can steer from the comfort of your La-Z-Boy? For about three Andrew Jacksons, Trendtimes will ship you a 15-inch RC version of the electric hotness that drives "forwards, backwards, left, and right." The toy comes with battery pack, charger and wireless remotes. Excellent. Tesla spokesperson Rachel Konrad told AutoblogGreen that this is an officially licensed item, in that, "They asked for permission and we thought it was a great idea. It's going to be a hot holiday item for kids of all ages!"

If RC isn't your thing but you want a Tesla car for holiday gifts, try to track down the Tesla Hot Wheels or the ride-along kids version. At least this RC model has the same design as the original, unlike these.

[Source: Trendtimes via Chelsea Sexton]

British Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has announced that the UK will spend £30 million to install plug-in vehicle charging stations. The charge points will be built in at least three and as many as six "electric car cities and regions" across the UK, the forerunners of a national EV recharging grid. The plan is called Plugged-In Places and is accompanied by creation of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). The OLEV is a new goverment office in charge of coordinating policy and funding for low-carbon projects throughout the country. Full press release after the jump.

[Source: Department of Transport]

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Need a electric car with a famous name and the looks to match? May we suggest the Zagato shown above? This strange little fridge on wheels isn't exactly what Zagato is known for (sexy sports cars), but it's also quite affordable. Wired found this boxy EV on eBay, where it's currently sitting at the $3,200 bid level (reserve not met).

The car is a 1975 Zele (known in the U.S. as the Elcar) and it's led a quiet life recently. The seller had it in his garage for eight years. The good news: even after all that sitting still, the Zele fired up as soon as the batteries were connected. The Zele is not the most impressive of vehicles – a 30 mph top speed and a range of 30 miles will do that – but it apparently "rides up high, almost like an SUV." So, that's, um, cool?

[Source: Wired]

Rudolf Diesel filed the patent for his signature engine in 1893. However, its installation in a passenger car didn't occur until 1933, when Citroën installed a diesel engine into a Rosalie bay, although this car was never authorized to run on roads. Not until 1936, when Mercedes showed off the 260D, can we talk about the first successful diesel car on the road. Based on the 200 model, the 260 used a 2.4-liter I-4 engine named OM 138 mated to a Bosch mechanical injection pump. The ensemble allowed the car to produce 45hp of power at 3,200 rpm. Almost 2,000 units were built through 1940. The car initially has a 3-speed gearbox; and was upgraded with electric coil ignitors in 1938.

One of the diesel powerplant's main benefits – then as now – was reduced fuel consumption. The 260D burned 9 l/100 km (26 mpg U.S.) compared to 13 l/ 100 km (18 mpg U.S.) in the gasoline counterpart. Another bonus: at the time, diesel was half the price of gasoline, so the motorists saved a lot of cash at the pump.



[Source: Mercedes-Benz via Diariomotor]