When Volkswagen showed off the Golf TDI Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show last month there was plenty of interest in the 69mpg concept. The combination of a 1.2L diesel, hybrid electric drive and a 7 speed DSG transmission yields some seriously thrifty performance. Unfortunately all that cool hardware adds up to quite a bit of cost and it now looks like the bottom line is too big to justify for a car in the Golf's market segment. German magazine Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that the Golf TDI Hybrid will not come to pass. Instead, VW will combine the hybrid system with a 1.4 TFSI four cylinder. In the Geneva press release VW said "The Golf TDI Hybrid is currently a concept vehicle, but a version of this vehicle is likely to go into production in the future." VW of America Spokesman Keith Price told ABG that no firm production plans were announced and the car was just a concept. With the U.S. dollar in continued decline, it seems unlikely we'll see anything as fancy as the TDI hybrid or any other hybrid until VW gets a U.S. production site on-line.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport (print only), via The Truth About Cars]

Click above for live shots of the Golf TDI Hybrid from Geneva

Remember when Jim Press used vegetables as an illustration for green cars? TTAC writer Alex Kambas manages to make the same comparison, but for completely different reasons. "Like the vegetables of my childhood era, shoving green cars down my throat just because they're good for me won't make me want to buy them," Kambas opines. It seems that he feels that the Geneva Motor Show focused solely on green news, with nothing exciting to show the performance-minded drivers among us. Looking back on Geneva, there certainly were plenty of green cars on display, but we really feel that many of them ought to be interesting to everyone. Take, for instance, the Koenigsegg CCXR Edition, Lotus' Tri-Fuel capable Exige 270E or the Audi R8 TDI Le Mans, all of which use an alternative fuel for performance reasons.

Even if you want nothing to do with green cars, many of the vehicles presented in Geneva catered to the go-fast crowd. The beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, Spyker C8 Aileron and Artega GT, should be enough to make any performance-minded enthusiast happy.

[Source: TTAC]

When Saab debuted the 9-X BioHybrid concept at the recent Geneva Motor Show, aerodynamics was a big part of the equation. The compact 9-X has a smooth, rounded nose, a raked back wrap-around windshield and a downward sloping roof. To help reduce the drag at the back end of the short body, a spoiler that wraps around the roof extends backward up to four inches. A new video featuring some of the designers talking about the aero work that they did has just been posted on the GMnext web site. You can check out the video after the jump.


[Source: GMnext]

Lumeneo's titling electric car, the Smera, will be released early 2009 according to CNET TV. The official announcement will be made at the Paris Motor Show in October but CNET says Lumeneo will be "taking deliveries early 09." The CNET video also has a close up look at the Smera's electric motors and CNET TV's host, who is six feet two inches tall, gets in the car even though the fit is a little snug. The Smera has a top speed of 130 Km per hour, range of 150 Km on a single charge (which takes 3-5 hours) and will cost between 20-30,000 Euros ($31,000-$47,000US, at today's rate). Ouch.


[Source: CNET TV]

Episode 20 of the AutoblogGreen Podcast has us recapping Geneva mere days before we head to New York. There were lots of exciting things over in Switzerland, and we touch on a few of them. Th!nk's new Ox will be a Tesla-magnitude achievement if it hits the market doing what the company says it will. GM rolled out the new version of its mild hybrid system that will be propagating across virtually all models in all brands to help boost CAFE. Better efficiency for about half of what a sat nav option costs? We'll take it. Speaking of hybrids, there was a lot of talk from BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen ,and others about upcoming Euro-branded hybrids, and diesel hybrids at that. Mercedes will debut li-Ion batteries in a production hybrid, while Toyota has yet to see a compelling argument for diesel hybrids. Rest assured that if people want it, Toyota will build it, though. Before closing, we look forward to the couple of things we know about in New York, like the debut of the Acura TSX/Honda Euro Accord which will sport a 50-state legal diesel, and the Automotive X-Prize folks will be holding a press conference, as well. 32 minutes this time around. Stay tuned, we'll surely be abuzz when we return from New York.

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Easily the hottest green car at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show was the Sintesi, Pininfarina's hydrogen fuel cell concept. Below the fold is an amazing video of the unveiling of the car. Also below the fold is a quick look inside the car by AutoCar. Autoblog also took some amazing close up shots of the exterior and interior of the car you can see in the gallery below. Hydrogen fuels calls are very far away but Bolloré and Pininfarina did enter a partnership to a build a four-seat, 155 mile range electric in 2010. Will the Bolloré and Pininfarina produce an electric car that looks like the Sintesi? Keep your fingers crossed.


[Source: YouTube, Autoblog]

Click for high-res gallery

Most of our readers might not know SsangYong except that one of its models, the SUT, is used as the basis of the Phoenix Motorcars electric vehicles. Well, SsangYong has released more information about their new hybrid powertrain. During the Geneva Motor Show, the Korean marque didn't show a complete car but a model of the powertrain, which could be added to their current lineup of diesel engines (some of Mercedes origin). The pack meets the Euro IV norms and adds 30 kW (40 HP) to a standard diesel powertrain. The electric part of the powertrain uses a 340 V battery which is mated to a mild hybrid system that allows the engine to shut off at stops and supply power when accelerating.

SsangYong announced that fuel savings will be around 25 percent, with a NOx reduction of 10 percent. When will all this be available? SsangYong said 2010.


[Source: Autoblog en español]

Perhaps if the Assystem City Car didn't look like a time traveling street sweeper from Uranus it wouldn't be the butt of so many jokes (So very sorry). Of course, what do you expect from Swiss designer Franco Sbarro, a man with a history of, um, interesting designs. It is a bit of a shame, too, because this thing actually has lots of very neat-o tech incorporated into it as well as several green features. For example, according to their website, it's a hybrid. The front wheel has an electric motor in it whilst the back is petrol driven. Also, it's 95 percent recyclable or re-useable, which ought to come in handy shortly after the conclusion of the Geneva Motor Show where it made its debut.

On the tech side, the Assystem City Car has external cameras which recognize highway signs, pedestrians and traffic lights and "reinforces" them inside your windshield. Other subsystems which show up on your HUD include telephony, hi-fi, video, and oh, navigation in case you actually want to drive somewhere after you're done being entertained. Safety is not forgotten in this concept either. Not only will the biometric iris analyzer let you know if you are too drunk tired to drive, it will also immobilize the engine and send you a text message in case of an "unauthorized intruder." True story.

[Source: Assystem via Wired Autopia]

Fiat showed a low emissions and low fuel consumption concept version of their tiny 500 at the Geneva Motor Show called the 500 Aria. The Aria is equipped with Fiat's 1.3L MultiJet diesel and the company's Dualogic transmission. The powertrain is topped off with an automatic start-stop system. The Dualogic transmission is an automated manual transmission that can shift automatically or the driver can determine when to shift. The clutch activation duties are always handled automatically. The full package delivers a ten percent improvement in fuel consumption compared to the standard 500.

[Source: Car and Driver]

While some of the more exotic sports cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show can only claim green credentials, we have discovered one that actually delivers. Ken Okuyama, formerly of General Motors, Porsche and Pininfarina presented his electric vision in the form of the sleek beauty you see pictured above, the K.08. Sharing a lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum chassis with its more traditionally-powered stablemate, the K.07, this automotive katana is all function and silent power. If you prefer its topless twin or just wish to collect them all, there are plans to electrify it as well. The two models represent the beginning of Ken Okuyama Cars, a company with plans for new models each year.

Production of the K.08 will be handled by MODI in Japan with a limited edition of 99 vehicles. Lithium ion is the battery tech employed and its three phase motor will put out 100kw. The price? If you have to ask... For more details check out the press release at the jump.

BlueEfficiency, a very wide selection of green automotive technologies introduced by Mercedes at the Geneva Motor Show, will be available as an option for every single Mercedes Benz automobile. Dr. Thomas Weber, head of supervisory board at Daimler, tells CNBC "we will roll out this technology package from the A class, across the C class, up to the S class (that's as high the classes go). This package will be available for our customers in all model series of Mercedes." The best part the BlueEfficiency package is not the twelve percent jump in fuel efficiency but the fact it's technology that's here today. Check out the video below the fold of a BlueEfficiency test drive.


[Source: CNBC]

A look at the Lamborghini category here on AutoblogGreen will show that, besides this posting, five of the eight posts were regarding the Italian stallion's horrible emissions, fuel mileage or both. The other three were in regards to Lamborghini's recognition that they must improve their environmental impace, whether they want to or not. So, it comes as little surprise to see that the company is touting the greener aspect of their newest creation, the Gallardo LP560-4. While nobody would truly consider the vehicle green in any meaningful way, they did manage to improve the fuel economy of the machine from a dismal 14 miles per gallon to a still rather horrible 17 mpg. Additionally, the carbon emissions of the vehicle have improved 18 percent, although the 325 grams of carbon dioxide that it emits now can hardly be classified as low.

Lamborghini themselves realize the fact that they are fighting an uphill battle, with chief executive Stephan Winkelmann admitting, "Being a supersports car is all about accelerating and top speed. If you want to go fast, you consume, and if you consume, you have emissions. You will never come to the average emissions of the average car." Is anybody else thinking of Tesla right about now?

[Source: International Herald Tribune via TTAC]

Carlos Ghosn, Supreme Allied Commander (SAC) of both Nissan and Renault, took a moment from his busy car launching schedule to promise he would be sending electric cars to America in 2010. We've heard this before, but now the word comes from the very top. Interestingly, Ghosn said that the new California CO₂ emission-cutting initiative had given extra impetus for the EV decision, according to this brief article from Agence France Presse (AFP).

While it's quite certain the EV launched stateside will be a Nissan, Europe is likely to receive a Renault-based one with the same technology but with a different "application". Whatever the final styling, we can be sure neither will look anything like the only electric car the two companies brought to Geneva: the Nissan Pivo2 concept (pictured).

[Source: AFP]

The great hydrogen debate of '08 continues to heat up, with Bob Lutz from GM and Katsuaki Watanabe from Toyota echoing each other's statements regarding fuel cell vehicles for the mainstream market. The general consensus seems to be that fuel cells are still way too expensive for use in automobiles and that, since hydrogen is still not available in most areas as well as being difficult and expensive to capture and contain, what would be the point, really? Additionally, General Motors has made great strides in their lithium ion battery development, leading Lutz to comment, "If we get lithium-ion to 300 miles, then you need to ask yourself, Why do you need fuel cells?" That sounds like a reasonable question. Moreover, Toyota seems to be looking past even lithium ion batteries and into other new battery chemistries.

These new statements from GM and Toyota are in stark contrast to Daimler AG Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche's comment at Geneva that with mass-production, fuel cell drivetrains could get "into the cost range of conventional powertrains." At this point in time, it seems that an agreement is difficult to reach when it comes to the future of hydrogen. For sure, powering electric cars with power extracted from hydrogen is possible, the question is whether the technology will come down in price enough to make using it feasible for our automobiles and whether it is a better solution than just storing electricity in high-tech batteries.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Nissan finally launched their premium Infiniti brand in Europe this week with the world debut of the new FX at the Geneva Motor Show. Nissan (and Renault) boss Carlos Ghosn obviously knows that if you're going to take on the likes of BMW and Audi on their home turf, you had better have the right product. While it's questionable whether the FX50 and EX37 are the right products for Europe, one element that will definitely help their chances, is the availability of diesel power. In Geneva, Ghosn confirmed that the European Infiniti lineup will be getting a new diesel being developed by Nissan and Renault starting in 2010. The diesel, likely the 3.0L shown by Renault last fall and already announced for the U.S.-market Nissan Maxima, will be tweaked for the Infiniti models, likely yielding somewhere over 250hp and making it competitive with the dual turbo 3.0L offered by BMW in the 535d and other models. Whether U.S.-bound Infinitis will get diesels is unknown as Nissan has previously indicated that their in-house developed hybrid system would go into some of those models.

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