Toyota's entry-level and hip Scion brand needs a bit of a pick-me-up, as the marque's sales are down even in the face of high fuel prices here in the United States. Scion could end up getting that new product it so desperately needs in the form of Toyota's radical new iQ. According to Motor Trend, the new iQ will make its debut in production form as a Scion at the upcoming LA Auto Show, and your humble scribes will be in attendance. If true, the new iQ will give Scion an edgy new product to do battle with the likes of the smart fortwo.

Toyota's iQ features a novel new 3+1 seating arrangement, which allows three normal-sized adults plus one extra spot behind the driver for small kids or an adult in emergencies. Its closest competitor in size, the fortwo, seats only two adults. We'll see if this rumor, which would be very good news for Scion, turns out to be true when we get to LA.


[Source: Motor Trend]

Hold the presses! There is yet.another.enclosed.three-wheeled.vehicle.being developed in America. The Dagne from Revolution Motors is meant to be an "ultra-efficient, high-performance sustainable commuter vehicle" and will feature a serial-hybrid drivetrain. Though it does have lots in common with various other projects, the Dagne, named after the protagonist in in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged", will separate itself from the herd by featuring all-wheel electric drive with steering, acceleration and and braking controlled via a joystick. If that doesn't make you say "Whoa!" then we won't even mention that it also does that whole front-wheels-tilting thing.

With series production planned for 2011, they have been testing a prototype since January and say that "development is proceeding smoothly and quickly." They also hope to have a limited edition single-seat, topless version available even earlier, in mid-2010. The Progressive Automotive X-Prize contender has has pretty nice performance targets. Its range is listed as 120 miles in electric mode, 600 miles as a hybrid. Top speed is an ambitious 120 mph with a 0 to 60 Mph of 5 seconds. Price is a very optimistic "under $20,000." If you want to follow their progress or learn more they have a blog. We look forward to seeing some video of this rolling video game in the future.

[Source: Revolution Motors via Aptera Forum]

Let's get one fact straight right off the bat: no current vehicles on American roadways were designed from the start to serve as taxis. Sure, the Crown Victoria from Ford may be the most often used vehicle for taxi service around the country, but it and its Fox platform were not specifically designed to be used as a taxi. We're not suggesting that the Crown Vic doesn't make a good people-mover, but its origins are as a vehicle for public consumption, a family car if you will. Why do we care? The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade (MTBOT) has made claims that hybrid taxis are unsafe and has asked manufacturers to certify their vehicles for taxi use. For obvious reasons, the OEMs are a bit hesitant to do so.

Honda has flat out denied the request, stating that it never designed the cars to serve as taxis and Toyota has so far chosen not to respond. Automakers like Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors have suggested that it's not their responsibility to ensure the safety of a modified vehicle. Because the city of New York requires a partition between the passengers and the driver, the car's inherent safety and safety features may be compromised. Note, this has nothing to do with the hybrid drivetrain of any specific vehicle. Perhaps a dedicated vehicle would be best. It will definitely be interesting to watch how this plays out, as New York Mayor Bloomberg announced that the entire fleet would become hybridized by 2012. We'll see.

[Source: Huffington Post]

We've heard of roads being built from pollution-eating concrete before. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, though, it's the roadside sculptures being made from the eco-friendly new concrete from Cemstone. Apparently, the unique mixture used for the wave-like sculptures is photocatalytic, meaning that it uses light to remove carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide from the atmosphere. The outside skin of the sculptures will always be oxidized, which then oxidizes the pollution-causing gases as they come into contact with its white outer layer in much the same way that the catalytic converter in all modern cars works.

The sculptures are designed to look like the international cartographic symbol for water, fitting as the 35W bridge holding them spans the Mississippi River. This bridge was recently rebuilt after it suffered a catastrophic structural failure late last year. LEDs were chosen to provide light to both the scultpures, lit blue at night, and the entire span of the bridge.

[Source: KTSP / Photo: David Joles, Star Tribune]

It is said that a change is as good as a rest and in that spirit Altairnano has decided to do a little rebranding and refocusing. Along with a new logo, a freshened website and targeted ad campaign, the company has adopted the new tagline, "Charging the Energy Revolution." All this is meant to support the company's "new" focus on energy storage for the transportation, stationary power and military markets. We hope that the company can live up to its new tagline as its lithium-titanate battery does possess most of the qualities that could ensure that success. It's safe, fast-charging and discharging, and has a long cycle life. The only areas where it might greatly benefit is improvement in its energy density and price.

Though it's probably not related to the new look, Altairnano has announced a $10 million private placement of its common stock to Al Yousuf LLC just days after the change. The Dubai company seems quite keen on electric transportation and has previously invested $40 million in Altairnano as well as millions in Phoenix Motorcars and ZAP!. In fact, its president Eqbal Yousuf is now the chairman of ZAP!. The transaction also gives Al Yousuf LLC two seats on the Altair Board of Directors, the first of which will go to Eqbal and the second to be announced next May. With his fingers in all these pies we can't help but wonder about the amount of future cooperation between the companies in which Mr. Yousuf holds interests. Anyone care to speculate? Press releases after the break.

[Source: Altairnano]

During a conference call this afternoon, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that the U.S. DOE will invest $26 million dollars in the state's first cellulosic ethanol production plant, being built by Mascoma in the Upper Peninsula. Granholm, speaking with a sore voice thanks to a cold, said that this is the first time that Michigan has gotten a DOE grant in partnership with the private sector.

Granholm was joined by Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Carl Levin, Congressman Bart Stupak and others, both in Lansing and Washington, D.C., during the call. Mascoma CEO Bruce Jamerson called it a great day for Michigan, Mascoma and the country. Stabenow said that a new federal $1.01 per gallon tax credit for cellulosic ethanol should do for the second-generation biofuel what the previous 54 cent a gallon credit did for corn ethanol. All of the speakers highlighted that this plant will be a job creation engine for the UP, and Levin emphasized that this is a bit of good news amid a lot of bad economic news.

Lee Iacocca, the man that many ascribe Chrysler's pivotal '80s K-Car, minivan and government loan guarantees to, has just been delivered the keys to the first Chrysler hybrid vehicle. It is a bit interesting to compare the time period in which Iacocca first took the helm of the Chrysler Corporation with that of today. In the early '80s, Chrysler was hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate, much like it likely is today (now privately owned, the automaker does not make its financial records public knowledge any longer). Chrysler's former president and chairman pushed forward small, front-wheel drive cars inspired by those in Europe, much like is presently taking place with Ford. Lastly, Iacocca has been a strong opponent to the country's increase in foreign oil use, a problem that is currently rearing its ugly head and a hot topic in everybody's mind. So, while the Aspen isn't exactly going to set the world on fire due to its sales, it's a symbolic vehicle in that it's Chrysler's first vehicle with the fuel-saving hybrid technology. And that the first one goes to Lee Iacocca.


[Source: The Oakland Press]

Move over Los Angeles, the city of Houston, Texas is now also officially on the "severe smog problem" list. The reclassification was requested by Governor Rick Perry last year and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made the change last Thursday. This move from "moderate" bypasses the level of "serious" and gives the state an additional nine years to meet federal health standards that were originally set in 1997. They were supposed to meet the goal by 2010. Although the 1997 levels are now no longer deemed safe, EPA spokesperson Catherine Milbourn said progress towards that original goal will help protect people and help the area move closer to today's requirements. We not sure how making a classification change and a nine-year extension counts as progress but it seems that the regional business association, the "Greater Houston Partnership," is down with the decision. Their spokesperson said, "The partnership believes that improvement in air quality is important in order to maintain a robust, viable economic climate and to improve public health in the region." Huh? It sounds like a lot of talking and not much doing. The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) agrees. Their executive director, Matthew Tejada, said of the decision, "We've just done a bureaucratic dance, and we're not any closer to clean air."

Its not only Houston residents that are responsible for the problem. The area is home to many oil refineries that handle product bound for markets throughout the South of the country. While the region has taken some steps to improve the air quality, we all can help out by reducing our personal petroleum usage.

[Source: Associated Press]

Ford CEO Alan Mullaly told Detroit radio station WJR that the company is reconsidering whether to bring its smallest car to the U.S. market. Ford officially introduced the second-generation Ka last week at the Paris Motor Show and up until now has not planned to offer the car in the U.S. The Ka is much smaller than even the Fiesta that will arrive in early 2010. The rising demand for small cars in the U.S. market has prompted Ford to reconsider its marketing plans for the Ka. The Ka is available in Europe with a choice of 1.2L gas or 1.3L diesel engines. If Ford does decide to bring the Ka to the U.S., it likely wouldn't arrive before 2010 or '11 at the earliest. The one thing that could make help the Ka arrive earlier would be if federal regulators grant a waiver to allow automakers to temporarily bring in small cars that don't meet current U.S. regulations until they can be modified. If that were to happen, the Ka could arrive sooner. The diesel Ka with a start stop system is rated at 60.3 mpg (U.S.) in Europe.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

When the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 1424 and President Bush signed it into law today, not everyone was paying attention to the part about plug-in vehicles. Sure, this got a little play - and green car sites like ours were on it - but what's a few $7,500 tax credits in a $700 billion bill? Still, there are a lot of parts to the bill (read one take here) to digest and we're happy to explore the green car-related details a bit.

If you want to read the language in the bill yourself, you can find the full text here (do a text search for "plug" to find the applicable PHEV part of the law, Section 205). As meme noted earlier today, the language now refers to "plug-in electric drive motor vehicle" instead of the "passenger automobiles," which might help companies like Aptera. We know that Chrysler yesterday gave its support for the legislation and today the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) gave strong vocal support to the bill's passage. You can read both of the official statements after the jump.

When you read the bill, don't miss Section 306 (regarding smart meters) and Section 103 (extension of solar and fuel cell tax credits). I'm quite interested in how the AutoblogGreen community feels about this bill.


[Source: EDTA, Chrysler, Govtrack]

While some sites are busy making fun of its name (yeah, we thought of that too... and you? Does it matter? Comments are welcome), others were busy conducting interviews with Dr. Z. in an attempt to find out when we may see the smart ED in America. The answer is that it's coming, if not next year then shortly thereafter. Daimler hopes to have 1,000 electric smarts running rather silently around the world by the end of next year, and it's distinctly possible that a portion of them will be in the U.S. This is the second-generation of the smart ED, and it is now powered by a lithium ion battery pack that may or may not be supplied by Tesla Motors. The last-gen model used a sodium battery. With the new pack, the smart ED can achieve a range of up to 150 miles -- plenty of distance for the urban use the little car is likely to be subjected to.

[Source: Popular Mechanics / Photo: Inside Line]

Volkswagen is reporting that its new 50-State legal clean diesel Jetta TDI has already sold out. U.S. dealerships had an allotment of 1,300 TDIs and those have all been spoken for. The good news is that VW of America is likely to get some more due to the popularity of the model in the States. Initial expectations were for 25-percent of sedan buyers and 33-percent of wagon buyers would go for the new diesel. In actuality, those numbers are a bit higher, with nearly a third of sedan buyers and half of all wagon buyers opting for the oil-burner.

VW says it isn't competing with the hybrid Toyota Prius, but in truth they are likely competitors in the eyes of many consumers. Though the two models run on different fuels, they are both sold primarily on the merits of their fuel savings and low emissions. What's more, they are priced fairly close to one another and both of them were efficient enough for the Feds to offer tax credits on them, though Toyota's hybrid credits have run out. In any case, VW will begin offering the TDI engine in the Rabbit sometime next year and more may be on the way after that.


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

If you want an electric car with some serious style, you could either fork over a ton of dough for an electrically-converted DeLorean or you could convert an older muscle car of some sort. We advise the latter. Take the early '70s Chrysler A-Body, like the Plymouth Duster, for example. It's relatively lightweight, has lots of room for batteries and has the easy-to-convert front engine, rear-wheel drive architecture with a full frame. Perfecto! And, you can even see an example of the work done rather nicely in a blog format.

Electricity storage comes by way of 26 six-volt Trojan T-125 batteries wired up to deliver 156 volts to the Netgain Warp 9 DC motor. A Logisysystems controller is capable of sending 550 Amps to the motor, which should make this machine move pretty smartly. The original three-speed manual transmission has had its clutch and flywheel removed and the motor is mated up. Batteries are now being installed. Check out all the progress here.


[Source: Electric Mopar via CarDomain]

It's been rumored and alluded to so many times that we just began accepting it as fact, and now it is: Toyota has confirmed that Lexus will indeed get a version of the Toyota Prius. Based on the third-generation of the Prius hatchback that is set to debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show, the Lexus is expected to be a bit less fuel efficient, a bit more sporty and a lot more opulent. We have no idea what Toyota's luxury division will charge for its new hybrid, but it'll definitely be sold for a premium over its Toyota sibling.

A second dedicated hybrid model will join the new Lexus Prius. Lexus officials in Paris for the Motor Show have confirmed that it will not be sold in Europe alongside its upmarket Prius, which will show up in Europe in 2010. The reason? Its carbon emissions will be too high, which doesn't exactly bode well for fuel efficiency. One more salient detail was slipped, the third-gen Prius will emit 92 g/km of CO₂, and a new low-emissions version will have CO₂ emissions of 89g/km, which does indeed bode well for its mileage. We'll see how all of this translates early next year.

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

When you hear the brand "Go-Ped" mentioned it may bring to mind a cool stand-up scooter with a tiny buzzy two-stroke engine powering the rear wheel and that is indeed the type of vehicle that Patmont Motor Werx has been best known for these past 24 years. However, since 2004 they have been producing electric versions of their minimalist transporters that take full advantage of the Go-Ped platform with its unique Cantilevered Independent Dynamic Linkless Indespension (C.I.D.L.I.) suspension system. Although the range of 12 miles with lead-acid batteries is good enough to make some of us at ABG wish one would magically appear in his garage (Mom?), the company has just added a lithium ion battery option that makes they scooters lighter and go much farther.

How much lighter and how much farther? Well, with the 4 li-ion pack option you can get up to 28 miles in economy mode which makes the machine weigh in at 48 lbs. (The lead acid version is 67 lbs.) That's far enough to get most people to work or school and light enough to fold and carry up a flight of stairs if you have to. Top speed is 20 mph and this baby can climb some hills. If you don't like standing on your scooter there is a seat available, as well as a basket. For bigger loads they even have a "Go-Wagon" available. Unfortunately, they don't give them away for free and this made-in-America scooter runs between $1,006.88 and $2,998 depending on the model and battery option. While not cheap, hopefully they prove the adage, "You get what you pay for." Bonus video after the break.

[Source: Go-Ped]