Auto Motor & Politics

The Batmobile

2010-08-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

Well if it isn't...the Batmobile! Damn. I'd like one of those. Apparently the car is build on a Corvette, and can do speeds up to 200 km/h. Oh, and of course it's fitted with machine guns.

Electrify your petrol car

2010-08-03T03:20:00.000-07:00

Ford has applied for patent on a technology that will power all of a vehicles electrical systems using a large capacity battery with a plug-in system. Now what would this mean for an average consumer? All the electrics in a regular petrol (og diesel, for that matter) car will be powered by a battery that you can charge from an electric outlet at home, increasing the fuel efficiency by 15-20 percent.

Will there possibly be a kit I could install on my grotesquely thirsty SUV?

UK ends war on motorists

2010-07-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

Finally thinks are looking a bit brighter for British motorists, as the new government promises to end the war on motorists, cutting funding to speed cameras, ruling out "pay as you drive" schemes and end the reign of "cowboy clampers".

Congratulations, Brits. It's been a downward spiral for 13 years, so it's about bloody time it changed. Now if only other countries could follow, the world would become a better place.

Some more info on speed cameras in the UK can be found here.

Ford Explorer 2011 with impressive fuel economy

2010-07-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

The 2011 year model of the Ford Explorer was revealed yesterday, and I have to say I was impressed. The old Explorer looks like it was designed in the early 80's (which it probably was...), whereas this new model basically looks on par with the European and Asian competitors. Who would have though.

As if that wasn't enough, the Explorer has another ace up its sleeve: The 4-cylinder 2.0 liter Ecoboost engine delivering 240 hp and 340 nm torque. Not the most impressive figures perhaps, but the impressive part is the fuel consumption. Ford says it will do 19 mpg in city driving, around 12,4 l/100km. That means it will probably end up somewhere around 8 l/100km (close to 30 mpg!) in rural driving, and a combined consumption under 10 l/100km. For a full-size 4WD SUV. Wow! For the record there will be a 3,5 liter V6-enigine available as well, marginally more power and way higher fuel consumption.

My only question is: When will we get an Ecofuel version of the Ecoboost engine? I wouldn't mind driving a Ford Explorer on E85 doing 14 l/100km. Hell, that's less than my petrol-fuelled SUV uses today.

So Ford, pretty please, give us a 2.0 Ecoboost Ecofuel, thank you so much.

Tesla Rav4 in 2012?

2010-07-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

Apparently Toyota and Tesla are working on an electric version of the compact SUV Rav4, with plans to bring it to market in the US as soon as 2012! We can only hope Europe will follow. Nothing would be better than seeing the end of the butt-ugly, tin-can size electric cars (those days have lasted for way too long!) and entering the era of the functional, good-looking electric cars.

Photo: S 400 Hybrid

Licence plate á la Bond

2010-06-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

Apparently, in California car license plates might go digital. Yes, it seems the old metal plates with paint may be replaced by a screen showing ads and other messages while the car is stationary, parked or standing at a red light or something.

This might actually be the 21st century version of the revolving license plate made famous by James Bond and his Aston Martin in the movie Goldfinger. If these plates ever make it to Europe, I can assure you I will get myself one and hack it, so I can go into stealth mode by the push of a button when passing speed cameras and road tolls.

Rest assured, it will be hacked. For the good of mankind.

Renault Fluence Z.E - close but no cigar

2010-04-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of French cars, to say the least, but Renault have actually managed to impress me a bit with their huge investments in electric cars that are actually usable for normally sized people who may also be carrying some luggage. One of these is apparently set to hit the market as soon as next year, and it's called the Renault Fluence Z.E.

This is a 4,75 meters long, 4-door sedan, so you should be able to fit your entire family in there. Of course there's always a downside... The range of the car is a mere 160 kilometers, and that's under perfect conditions. In other words this is a pure commuter- or city-car, completely useless for any kind of road-trip. What I don't get is why Renault didn't think to include a range extender in this car, making it a serious contender to the upcoming Opel Ampera/Chevrolet Volt? This is close, Renault, but no cigar.

Photo: Automotorblog.com

Audi A4 2.0 TFSI flexifuel

2010-03-04T03:33:00.000-08:00

Finally an Audi A4 that runs on ethanol (E85) and comes with an optional Quattro four wheel drive. So what do I have to complain about? Well, first of all the E85 version doesn't come with any automatic transmission option, which is a bummer. Although the start-stop system is nice, and should bring you under 10 l/100km in E85 consumption (6.6 l/100km on petrol), making the A4 flexifuel the best E85 option out there. Quattro will add another 0,5 liters or so.

What's really annoying though is that some genius decided to fit the car with the 180 hp 2.0 TFSI engine instead of the brilliant 211 hp version!!! What the f*ck? The fuel consumption is the exact same on these two engines, so there would be absolutely no disadvantages going with the most powerful of them.

In short, if you get the 180 hp E85 version instead of the 211 hp version you're losing:
- 1 second on the 0-100 km/h run (8.1 seconds instead of 7.1!)
- 22 km/h top speed (228 km/h versus 250 km/h)
- 30 Nm of torque (320 versus 350)

And you gain absolutely nothing. Why oh why, Audi??? I want an A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI 211 hp E85 Quattro with a DSG transmission, thank you so much.

Photo: proforged

How to park your SUV

2009-10-30T05:03:00.001-07:00

Have a look at this moron trying to park his X5. I love how he stops and ponders for a while ("what the heck did I just do"), or perhaps just looking for any witnesses ("if I see any I'll run them over"), before getting the hell out of there.

Found this one at VG.no

Here are a couple of other impressive SUV parking vids:

Oh my...

2009-10-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

Now this is something out of the ordinary. California-based company Singer Vehicle Design have taken a classic Porsche 911 and turned it into a beast by fitting it with a modified 993-engine producing 425 hp and 461 nm torque and lots of carbon. The result? A racing orange retro 911 that weighs only 1088 kgs and will do 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds!

My mouth is watering...

More pictures of this hottie can be found here. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the price tag yet.

These are the cars we want to buy

2009-10-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

Finally there is hope for the future of plugin-hybrids and electric cars. Gone are those ridiculous plastic boxes with four wheels that you wouldn't be caught dead in - if you could fit in them at all, that is. We're finally seeing cars that are actually functional, and even good looking to a certain degree, running (mainly) on electricity.

Volvo has recently announced a new, roomy family saloon (a V60?) with plugin-hybrid technology to be on the market in 2012, and Mitsubishi have presented their PX-MiEV concept, which is a smaller, plugin-hybrid version of the Mitsubishi Outlander. No info yet on whether it will go into mass production or not, but still: These are the cars we want to buy, that will let us combine a family life with a low- or no-emission car.

Electricity = fun

2009-09-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, perhaps there is hope after all, that an electric future can also be a fun future.

Saab + automatic transmission is still cr*p

2009-09-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

It seems there won't be an automatic transmission with technology from this millennium in the upcoming Saab 9-5 either. I appreciate that Saab might not have the biggest budget for research and development these days, but come on, this is ridiculous:

Facsimile, Dinside.no

Saab + automatic transmission = sh*t

2009-09-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

I had a look at the specifications for the new Saab 9-3X, and imagine my surprise when I realized the following two things:

1. There is no automatic transmission option for the Biopower version, even though it is the exact same engine as the regular 2.0T.

2. The automatic transmission available in the 2.0T is so poor that I can't believe Saab has the guts to put this on the market in 2009.

Basically, choosing the automatic transmission will make the top speed 10 km/h lower, it will make the 0-100 exercise over 1 second slower, and it will make the fuel consumption a staggering 2 l/100 km higher!!! My God, how is this even possible in this day and age?

Facsimile: Saab.no

Kia Sorento Hybrid

2009-09-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, those green car news just keep coming, and they're finally getting my attention as well, as they are practical and with an appealing design.

The last one out is the Kia Sorento Hybrid, what will hopefully be a proper 4wd car, and with an expected CO2-emission of around 119 g/km. Now that's stunning. Of course it remains to be seen how accurate this number is. For instance, the new Lexus RX450h promises CO2-emissions of 148 g/km, but that has proven to be all but easy to achieve...

Photo: green.autoblog.com

Bugatti runs on alcohol

2009-09-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Speaking of the environment, if you've got a few millions to spend on a car, and would prefer to leave a smaller environmental footprint, how about a Bugatti Galibier, a multi-million, W16 beast running on E85?

Audi A4 Clean Diesel

2009-09-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

Forget about those slow, boring "eco-cars" for a minute. I've said it before, environmentally friendly cars don't necessarily need to be boring: Audi has just revealed the new A4 3.0 TDI Clean Diesel, featuring some fancy schmancy catalytic converter that keeps down the emission of those nasty little particles.

This baby will do 0-100 km/h in only 6.2 seconds, numbers worthy a sports car. And the best part? The fuel consumption is only 0,67 liters/km combined. Nothing less than impressive, if you ask me.

Suck on that Volkswagen and Volvo!

Photo: Raptor Alpha

Backwards into the future

2009-09-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

Green cars are very fashionable at the moment, and all car manufacturers with a bit of self respect are struggling to deliver cars that employ some sort of technology to keep that Co2 emission down.

Unfortunately some manufacturers seem willing to sacrifice every little bit of fun in order to achieve this. Volvo is one example of this, with their DRIVe models, that are powered by tiny diesel engines barely able to get the cars up to motorway speed, not to mention how long it takes them to get there... Another ugly example are the new Bluemotion models from Volkswagen. A VW Passat with a 105 hp diesel engine? Oh, VW, no!

Not since the mid 80's have I seen cars move this slowly from 0-100 km/h, and I wish I would never have to see it again. The Passat clocks in at an embarrassing 12,5 seconds, and the Volvo V70 at an astonishingly slow 13,5 seconds! I would have been sound asleep after those 13,5 seconds of trying to get the piece of junk moving.

I'm sorry, but there are clearly better ways to keep the Co2 down, even on combustion engines powered by fossile fuel, and preferably while keeping the fun up. BMW have demonstrated this with their "EfficientDynamics", and Saab have proven that downsizing doesn't have to mean boring. Plus, let's not forget there are other fuels out there that are waiting to be used by car manufacturers: E85, biogas, electricity...

Driving environmentally friendly does not have to be ridiculously boring!

Tesla Model S - a revolution

2009-08-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

Tesla is preparing to launch their all-electric family sedan, the Model S, in late 2011. Contrary to the extremely expensive Tesla Roadster sports car, this car is actually very affordable, with a base price of USD 50.000. So, how about those specifications?

260 kilometer range during first year of production, extended to 480 kilometers on later models.
45 minute "QuickCharge" time.
0-96 km/h in only 5.6 seconds!
Plus it looks really good.

I'll take one of those, thanks.

Have a look here for pictures of the car.

Pajero renewed

2009-07-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Mitsubishi Pajero, or Montero as it is labelled in Spanish-speaking countries (without going into details on why...) will get a long overdue diesel engine upgrade in the 2010 year models coming to your dealer soon.

Instead of the pretty slow and fuel inefficient 3,2 liter 170hp engine Mitsubishi have increased the horsepower to 200 and decreased the fuel consumption, from 10.6 l/100km to 9,6 l/100km, breaking that psychologically important 10 l barrier! Finally the Pajero is catching up to its peers, the Nissan Patrol and Toyota Landcruiser, in terms of fuel efficiency. And in terms of power, not to mention value for money, it looks like it's going to give them a really hard time.

Have fun in Italy!

2009-07-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

If you're heading for Italy this summer, and if you pack extremely light, you might just want to visit hertz.com and book a Lotus Elise to take you through this beautiful country. The Elise will be part of Hertz's Fun Collection, and I do hope we'll also see it at our local Hertz some time soon. Would be fun to take one for a spin or two over a weekend.

Photo: The Pug Father

A work of art

2009-07-09T01:19:00.001-07:00

This has got to be the most perfect car interior ever manufactured. A work of art, quite simply. Yes, it's the new Porsche Panamera, and never have i wanted a Porsche more. I just want to squeeze that sculptured steering wheel firmly, and caress the gearshift lever gently, and press some of those buttons every once in a while. I feel like a child again in a presence of such beauty. There are only two drawbacks: I'm not really comfortable with the rear of the car (but that may grow on me though), and fuel consumption is a killer (well, considering the performance it isn't really bad, but it's not really good either). Give me a plug-in hybrid Panamera, or preferably one that doesn't run on fossile fuel (hey, if Bentley and Koenigsegg can do it, so should Porsche!) and we're talking!

The pics are courtesy of Car Body Design.

Volvo and Geely?

2009-06-18T00:14:00.000-07:00

So, Saab was bought by Koenigsegg, a luxury sports car manufacturer extraordinaire. Volvo, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be as lucky, as it appears they are in the process of being bought by Chinese car manufacturer Geely, who are best known for their fine selection of metal death traps, or "death vessels" as China Car Times calls them, and their embarrassing and poor copies of well known car models.

I'm guessing acquiring Volvo is a way to improve the safety of these cars by utilizing Volvo's technology. It's harder to see what Volvo could possibly get out of this marriage. Not much, I'd say.

Too little, too late, Audi

2009-06-12T04:02:00.000-07:00

Apparently Audi are aiming to launch a Q5 hybrid in 2011. That's two years from now, and way too late to jump on the hybrid-wagon. Who will buy a car with old hybrid technology when there are plugin-hybrids available or right around the corner that will take you to and from work on battery power alone (in a time when fuel prices will probably be soaring again, like they did in 2008)?

Volvo seems to have understood this, and have abandoned their plans for a V70 hybrid, focusing on launching some kind of plugin hybrid model in the V70 size range in 2012.

So, Audi, could we hope for a Q5 plugin-hybrid, or will it be a hopelessly outdated hybrid with marginally lower fuel consumption than its diesel counterpart?

Photo: Captain Nandu Chitnis, Master Mariner

Koenigsegg and Saab

2009-06-12T03:44:00.001-07:00

It seems true then, that Koenigsegg will be buying Saab Automobile, backed by a number of large investors.

Will this mean that Saab will finally get to broaden their model palette, and actually get some of their pretty cool concept cars into production during my lifetime? And will they possibly include some fancy schmancy technology from Koenigsegg as well?

I know I wouldn't mind a Saab 9-3 with a 800+ hp BioFuel engine...

No matter what the future brings it's still bound to be a much better deal than Saab ever had over at GM.

Photo: createordie

Volvo V70 "trifuel"

2009-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Finally Volvo have announced the details around their new, and I must say very desirable, V70 offering: A V70 2,5 FT that is converted for gas/lpg (but still under the original warranty), giving it the following advantages:

Choose between petrol, E85 or gas - whichever is cheapest or at hand!
Powerful engine (231 bhp should be enough for most people).
A reasonably roomy, yet environmentally (and wallet-) friendly estate car.
Looks good, both exterior and interior.

What more can a guy ask for?

I'll tell you: If Volvo could only supply me with a V70 2,5 FT AWD with this brilliant gas conversion I would go straight out and buy one.

VW makes same mistake as Volvo

2009-03-18T00:59:00.001-07:00

Volkswagen seem to be going down the same path as Volvo with their compact suv, Tiguan. In the interest of keeping CO2-emissions to a minimum, VW are announcing a front-wheel drive version of the Tiguan, with a Bluemotion-sticker on it... The result is, granted, a bit better than the Volvo XC60, in terms of fuel consumption and emissions, but assuming it's powered by the 110 hp diesel engine this could make for an extremely boring ride.

Also, my question still remains: Who is going to buy such a car? If you want a suv you'll probably want four-wheel drive as well. Buying a car like this with front-wheel drive is like buying a Porsche 911 with a 1,2 liter engine from Fiat.

Bizarre "eco"-propositions from Swedish government

2009-03-10T02:10:00.000-07:00

Sweden seems to have found their own special way of solving the global warming issue. In a press release today the ministers of enterprise and energy, finance and environment presented their grand new plan:

More taxes on diesel fuel. Of course, this makes sense, since the most energy efficient vehicles today use diesel, and new technology makes diesel cars as clean as petrol cars... Unfortunately, Sweden will continue to be an anti-diesel country.
Higher annual tax for practically all car-owners. Today the size of your annual car tax depends on the CO2-emission (and, of course, being the anti-diesel country it is, if you own a diesel car, this is multiplied by 3,5!). Now the government wants to increase this tax, which is in no way connected to driving the actual vehicle. It can be parked in a garage all year, and you will still have to pay.
Cars with CO2-emissions less than 120g/km will be exempt from the car tax for 5 years from the date the vehicle is registered. Wait, this actually makes sense. Did I miss anything?

Now, excuse me, but the two first points can hardly be seen as more than a pure fiscal tax, with no impact whatsoever on the environment. Probably, more people will find a diesel car hard to justify, and go for a petrol car instead, with higher CO2-emissions as a consequence. And raising the annual tax? Well, it's not like Ola Svensson will buy a brand new car just because his car tax increased by 1000 SEK, is it? Basically all this does is slap people in the face with a tax increase that they can do nothing about (except buying a new car, which is probably not an option for most people). Also, this tax increase will only apply to light vehicles. In fact, the real polluters out there, the big trucks, semi-trailers and buses will get a lower annual tax, to compensate for the higher diesel tax!

The only sensible suggestion in this big pile of rubbish is the suggestion to exempt the low-emissions cars from annual tax for the first 5 years. Now that's something that will make people think twice when they buy a new car. The problem is, you won't be able to sell your old car, after the increasted tax burden has made them more or less worthless...

Volvo's new DRIVe models - impressive or not? Not.

2009-02-25T05:00:00.001-08:00

Volvo has just presented no less than 7 new cars with the DRIVe sticker on the back. The DRIVEe models are basically optimized for low fuel consumption, for instance using start/stop technology, and Volvo promises that both the V70 and S80 will use under 5 l/100 km (ECE, mixed). Here are the numbers for all seven cars:

Volvo C30, 3.9 l/100km, 104g CO2/km
Volvo S40, 4.0 l/100km, 107g, CO2/km
Volvo V50, 4.0 l/100km, 107g, CO2/km
Volvo V70, 4.9 l/100km, 129g, CO2/km
Volvo S80, 4.9 l/100km, 129g CO2/km
Volvo XC60, 6.0 l/100km, 159g CO2/km
Volvo XC70, 6.0 l/100km, 159g CO2/km

The smaller cars, C30, S40 and V50, are powered by a 1,6 liter diesel engine. The larger ones, V70, S80, XC60 and XC70, are powered by a 2,4 liter diesel engine.

This looks decent enough, although the V70 and S80 are really no better than a regular BMW 520d. And what's the deal with front-wheel drive versions of the XC60 and XC70? The XC stands for Cross Country, damnit! And I'd like to know what's so cross country about a front-wheel drive car. Plus, they the fuel economy isn't really that much better than its' FOUR-wheel drive competitors.

The C30 is about the same size as a standard Mini Cooper D, and has the same fuel consumption. Yaaawn.

The only thing that actually manages to impress me a bit are the S40 and V50. Tiny as they may be, they're still a family sedan and a family saloon, and although the engine is probably hazardously boring, the fuel consumption figures are pretty nice.

Photo: lander2006

Road toll operator harasses swedes

2009-02-19T23:38:00.000-08:00

The norwegian road toll operator Fjellinjen AS runs several road toll booths in Norway, most of them fully automated (meaning they take a picture of every car, and save this together with information about the car owner, creating quite a nice lite archive that has even been used by the police in tracking criminals, and by nosy spouses who want to see who has been in the car together with their husband at a given time - an ever expanding orwellian nightmare, basically).

Lately even more of Fjellinjen's toll booths have been automated, causing an interesting issue. Since this poor excuse of a company insists on spending money tracking down foreign cars and sending invoices of 15 NOK out of the country (where postage alone exceeds the amount on the invoice), there's the obvious, and probably well known, risk of mixing up licence plates from different coutries. Polish licence plates, for instance, are practically identical to the norwegian ones. And lithuanian licence plates are identical to the swedish ones.

Because of this, Fjellinjen has been harassing swedish motorists, demanding payment for cars that have never even been to Norway. Now, instead of dealing with this problem in a proper way, by simply not pursuing ridiculously small claims abroad, Fjellinjen continues to send out their "spam mail" (invoices) throughout Europe, and insists that all motorists who feel wrongfully debited should try to contact them to sort it out. They will do nothing to solve this mess themselves.

Personally, I don't understand why the swedish authorities allow Fjellinjen direct and automated access to information about car owners, facilitating this ridiculous spam operation from a company that time and again has proven to be all but serious? Block this access immediately, and problem solved.

Saab 9-3X - there's the BioPower!

2009-02-10T23:44:00.000-08:00

I have to say this caught me by surprise, but apparently the two engines available in the coming Saab 9-3X will be the 2,0T 210 hp with and without BioPower! This means that Saab will finally give the car buyers the option to buy a 4 wheel drive Saab that runs on E85. Great news, and definitly a car I'll be looking into when it hits the streets.

I just hope they've managed to make it a bit less thirsty than the current 9-3 2,0T...

Foto: Auto Motor & Sport

Saab 9-3X - where's the BioPower?

2009-02-10T00:30:00.001-08:00

Norwegian car magazine bilnorge.no has an article on the coming Saab 9-3X and 9-5. Personally, I think the 9-3X looks really neat, but then I'm also a fan of the regular 9-3.

This particular car is fitted with the familiar 2.0T 210 hp engine, and of course the XWD-system from Haldex that we already know from the 9-3 XWD models. There is talk about diesel engines as well, like the 1,9TTiD 180 hp.

Strangely enough, though, no talk about BioPower! The 2.0T enigine is already built for E85, so there's not a whole lot that needs to be done in order to give the customers a 9-3X BioPower. Where is it, Saab, where??

Photo: Carparazzi/Bilnorge.no

Volvo misleading customers

2009-01-29T04:06:00.000-08:00

I've noticed a poster that has popped up around where I live, with a picture of a Volvo XC60, and the text, translated from my language, "The most fuel efficient car in its segment". Well, now, is it really? I've already written about the XC60 and how it's competitors are light years ahead when it comes to fuel efficiency, so the answer is obviously no. If anything, it's the least fuel efficient car in its segment, and nothing to brag about at all. Granted, there's a new version coming, in around 4 months (!), with a newly developed diesel engine that is bound to be better than the current one. Also, this particular version of the XC60 will be a front-wheel drive, and it is expected to have a fuel consumtion of 0,6 liters/10 km.

That would all be fairly impressive, if it wasn't for the fact that this car lacks the 4WD that all of its competitors have, with only slightly higher fuel consumption. In other words, Volvo are not directly competing against all these cars (Audi Q5, BMW X3, Land Rover Freelander, Mercedes GLK) with this one.

I understand the financial situation Volvo's in, but misleading your customers is really never a good idea.

Chevrolet Volt - impressive figures

2009-01-28T23:49:00.001-08:00

GM's upcoming plugin-hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt, just keeps getting more interesting. In fact, I believe this car could help turn GM around, leaving Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Lexus RX400h in the dust.

According to this article in the swedish Auto Motor & Sport, the fuel consumption for the Volt is incredibly low, 1,6 liter/100 km, measured using the standard ECE R101 cycle. Plus, it looks a heck of a lot better than the Prius and Insight.

Personally, I can't wait to see this car on the road.

Bentley goes biofuel

2009-01-28T00:52:00.000-08:00

Luxury car manufacturer Bentley plan to unveil a new supercar on the Geneva motor show in March. Nothing peculiar about that. Except... This will be a bio-fuel car, and it will be Bentley's "fastest and most powerful production car ever". This could mean that it will feature the 6-liter W12 engine found in the Continental GTC Speed, only modified for E85, and as a result of that with an even higher effect than the 610 hp and 750 Nm it produces today. Nice!

Have my prayers been heard? Saab 9-4X

2009-01-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

The new small-size SUV from Saab, the 9-4X, has been observed in the northern parts of Sweden, and it looks pretty promising from what the pictures in this article reveal. The most interesting part, though, is the information that it will be equipped with a 3-liter V6 petrol engine (262 horsepower and 300 Nm) capable of running on E85 as well - in other words a perfect candidate for a 9-4X 3,0 BioPower.Oh, it'll be thirsty, but at least it'll be drinking cheaper, environmentally friendlier fuel.

So, in regards to my previous post, "All I want for Christmas...", could the Saab 9-4X actually be what I'm looking for? Let's see:

4WD - Yes, the very same Haldex 4WD that's available in the 9-3 XWD, hopefully even with the eLSD differential.
Large and luxurious - Well, it's not a full-size SUV, but perhaps it's good enough. Luxury-wise I'm not so sure, judging from the interior pics. I guess only time will tell.
A desirable design - Hard to tell through all the camouflage, but if it looks similar to the concept car, it should be pretty good looking (see below for a pic of the concept).
Nice performance - 3-liter V6 engine with 262 horsepower should definitly be enough for most people, including me.
Running on some kind of renewable energy - Check. Although, I would love it if Saab/GM would create an engine that is optimized for E85, so the fuel consumption would be a bit more reasonable. This baby will probably drink around 1,5 liters of E85 per kilometer. At least.

Nevertheless, this is definitly the car that comes closest to my late Christmas wish.

All I want for Christmas...

2009-01-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

I know, Christmas is over. And chances anyone from the car manufacturing industry will read this tiny and very personal blog are slim, to say the least. Nevertheless, if anyone out there with any influence at at all can hear my desperate cry, this is the car I want to buy:

4WD
Large and luxurious
A desirable design
Nice performance (not your average "green" car 0-100 in 10,5 seconds crap, we need numbers below 8 seconds, at least)
Running on some kind of renewable energy, or a combination of several, for instance: A plugin-hybrid that runs on battery power or a combination of battery power and ethanol (or biogas).

Is this really too much to ask for? Is it???

Thumbs up, Sweden!

2009-01-09T07:38:00.001-08:00

Swedes love rules and regulation, and I have to say I was a little surprised to read that, contrary to the Great Britain, they seem to have scrapped their plans of a Orwellian nightmare of monitoring all motorist all the time.

In fact, it was announced on a conference in the city of Linköping today that the speed cameras used today are effective enough, and that heavier surveillance would cause a lack of respect for the cameras, and would be considered too intrusive.

Two thumbs up for Sweden on this one.

Honda Insightzzzzzzzzzzzz......

2009-01-08T05:38:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently the specs for the new Honda Insight hybrid car have leaked, and I have to say I'm really not impressed. Not that I had expected any kind of revolution, but Insight is basically just a smaller, cheaper version of the retiring Toyota Prius, with practically the same power (1,3 liter 88 hp + 13,6 hp 103 Nm electric enigne) and fuel consumption (4,4 liter/100km).

In other words, if you really want a hybrid you're probably better off waiting for the new Toyota Prius, which will hopefully have improved fuel efficiency.

Oh, and by the way, the fuel consumption figures for the Prius are virtually impossible to achieve in real life, so if a cheap and environmentally friendly ride is top priority, do a test drive before deciding.

The oil-mafia plans increase in fuel-prices

2008-10-17T00:27:00.001-07:00

The oil-mafia, OPEC, are having a meeting in Vienna on the 24th of October, discussing the "critical decline" in oil price (oh no, it's only increased by 45% over the last 1,5 years - from 50 to 70 dollars!!!), and how to cut production to stabilize the price at 90-100 dollars/barrel, the presumed sweet-spot where the demand will remain high, and we will still have to pay through our nose for the petrol.

This is just another brilliant example of why this kind of cartel should be illegal, like it is in every other business on this planet. It's also a reminder that although the prices are down to 70 dollars/barrel, half of what they were at their peak only months ago, the problems with price and supply will remain, and we should focus all our energy (literally) on finding replacements for oil. We simply can't be held hostage by corrupt, instable regimes, dictators, dirty oil companies and such any more.

So, car-manufacturers, where are those damn biogas-cars? Ethanol-cars? Electric cars? Hydrogen? Air?

UK goes Big Brother

2008-10-15T02:31:00.000-07:00

The UK is getting ready to subject all car drivers in the country to a surveillance of proportions that would make George Orwell shit in his pants: Cameras will track each and every car on all primary roads in the UK - 24/7. It's basically a nightmare you can't escape, and it's all in the name of money. Personal integrity is, apparently, not worth a thing.

The commission estimated that new SPECS3 cameras could monitor every driver on 31,136 miles of principal rural and urban roads at a cost of £443,687,656 (US $769,693,415). While the initial investment appears substantial, the commission noted that "enforcing the 70 MPH limit using SPECS would pay for itself within around two years."

The original SPECS cameras were found to be quite successful. Between 2000 and 2005, a single camera in Nottinghamshire generated 76,000 tickets worth £4.2 million (US $7.2 million). London's entire SPECS network generated as many citations in just three weeks. London camera officials did admit, however, that 5600 tickets were sent to motorists who were completely innocent.

There you go. If you're a motorist and want to continue being one without being subjected to these kinds of horrific assaults on your personal integrity, get off this bizarre island. Now.

A Porsche for the future

2008-10-10T06:48:00.001-07:00

Porsche tuner RUF have presented a concept car based on the 997. This is not your ordinary tuned Porshce though, but a battery powered, zero emission one! The 0-100 acceleration of 7 seconds is ok, the top-speed of 225 km/h is decent but not impressive, however the range of 250-300 kilometers is promising indeed.

Let's hope this is a glimpse of what the future holds for sports cars: Politically correct, environmentally friendly, yet fun and good looking.

Lexus IS 250C - where's the H?

2008-10-09T02:20:00.001-07:00

Yes, the new Lexus IS 250 convertible is a nice looking car. But what on earth happened to Lexus' ambitions as a hybrid car manufacturer? In this day and age you would expect a company that already has hybrid-versions of most of their cars (unfortunately not the IS-series) would equip any new models with the same technology.

Instead, the IS 250C is powered by a 2,5 liter V6 petrol engine producing 208 hp. We can only hope that Lexus will come to their senses and offer an IS 250Ch at one point, with more power and less fuel-consumtion.

Volkswagen BlueTDI - too little too late

2008-09-25T02:17:00.001-07:00

Volkswagen will be displaying a new Passat Variant BlueTDI on the Paris exhibit next week. The engine is a commonrail diesel 2-liter, with 143 hp. This car will have a fuel consumption of 5,5 l/100 km (CO2: 144g/km). The numbers for the sedan version is 5,2 l/100 km (CO2: 139g/km).

Am I the only one not at all impressed by these numbers? BMW 520d, which has been available for a while now, gives you more power (177 hp) and lower fuel consumption (5,1 l/100km) and CO2-emissions (136g/km).

The small SUV segment - Will Volvo make it?

2008-09-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

We've got some really interesting small SUV's coming this fall, all competing within the same "premium" segment: Audi Q5, Mercedes GLK and Volvo XC60. I've already expressed my frustration with the Volvo and its hopelessly outdated engines. This frustration isn't getting any better after looking up some numbers:

Audi Q5 2.0 TDI (170 hp/350 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 6,7 l/100km CO2: 175 g/km
BMW X3 2.0d(177 hp/350 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 6,5 l/100km CO2: 172 g/km
Mercedes GLK 220 (170 hp/400 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 6,9 l/100km CO2: n/a
Volvo XC60 D5 (185 hp/400 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 7,5 l/100km CO2: 199 g/km

All these cars are equipped with four wheel drive, and have comparable engine specs and prices, although the Volvo is a bit on the slow side when it comes to acceleration, and a bit expensive (comparable to the Merc and BMW, and more expensive than the Audi). And if you want an XC60 with fuel consumtion on par with the other competitors, you'll have to wait until the spring, and buy a 2,4D with 163 hp and front wheel drive only (consumption: 6,5 l/100km). Now, who will buy that, instead of a proper four wheel drive from Audi, BMW or Mercedes? And why on earth didn't Volvo keep the brilliant ethanol-enigine from the prototype, that could have given it an advantage amongst its competitors? I don't know. I just don't know.

Way to go, Hummer!

2008-09-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

Old news, maybe, but the 2009 Hummer H2 will be available with a flexfuel (E85) engine, and the plan is to have all Hummer models biofuel-capable by 2010. As opposed to Ford, Hummer gets it (bleeding red numbers for quite a while might have been an eye-opener). We still want to drive large 4-wheel-drive cars, but we want to do so in an environmentally friendly fashion, and without handing our hard earned money over to the oil cartel OPEC.

One question remains, though... Seeing as the conventional H2 guzzles over 2 liters of fuel/100 km, what kind of numbers can we expect when driven on ethanol? Will the car break the 3 liter barrier? If so, it had better come with a 200 liter fuel tank, so I don't have to stop by the gas station on my way to and from work every day.

Ford Kuga - what a big mistake

2008-09-09T01:49:00.000-07:00

Well, not the car itself. It actually looks decent, and hopefully drives decent as well. The big mistake is the new engine option available from early 2009: The 2.5 liter, 5-cylinder old fart that's available in several Volvos and Fords. Looking at the numbers , no one will be impressed:

Combined fuel economy: 9,9 l/100 km (10,3 l/100 km with automatic transmission)
Top speed: 208 km/h.

The sad part is that the engine itself is actually available as a flex-fuel (E85 and gasoline), that can be found in the Volvo V70, for instance. Why Ford didn't just go for that one is a mystery to me. Have they failed to see the massive demand for clean and cheap fuel? Oil is not the future.

No one buys new cars - and here's why

2008-09-03T23:39:00.001-07:00

Apparently the new car sales in Germany have dropped by 10,4% in August compared to August last year. The situation is more or less the same in the rest of Europe, and the US. The car manufacturers seem to be blaming the world economy, but the answer is probably more simple than that:

After the oil price surge this spring, and promises from the infamous oil cartel to keep the prices on a ridiculously high level of over $100 a barrel by reducing production when necessary, what people want is as much independence from the oil as possible. In other words, we're all sitting and waiting for all the interesting new car models that are just being postponed over and over again: The electric vehicles, the plug-in hybrids, the cars that run on alternative fuels. As an example, Volkswagen appear to have postponed their Golf plug-in hybrid until 2012. That will definitly cut into the Golf sales up until then.

So, in short: Give us the cars we want, and we'll buy them. Keep postponing them, and we'll keep postponing our car purchases.

China looks to Norway

2008-08-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

In an effort to decrease the demand for large, gas-guzzling cars, China turns to Norway for a solution: Tax them to death. This, of course (and in good communist spirit), won't mean much to the ever growing community of Chinese millionaires, but will effectively stop the general population from buying larger cars with more power.

The worst blow to the head will be delivered to the cars with an engine size of above 4,0 liters, where the tax doubles, from 20 percent to 40 percent. On more modestly motorized cars, with an engine size of 2,0-4,0 liters, the tax will "only" increase from 15 percent to 25 percent. In other words, much like the Norwegian model, all cars will be more expensive.

These new taxes will take effect from the 1st of September this year.

Don't move to Switzerland

2008-08-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

If you have the faintest interest in cars, that is. According to Asphalte.ch, the youth section of the swiss Green Party has proposed a law banning all passenger cars fitting into the follwing:

- has a kerb weight of more than 2.2 tons (4820 lbs)

- or emits more than 250g of CO2 per km

- or has a front facia "dangerous for pedestrians"

Diesel cars without particle filter would be forbidden as well. Non-compliant cars registered before the measure goes into law would be governed at a 100 km/h (62 mph) speed limit.

In other words, most fun cars will be banned in Switzerland if this law proposal gets voted through. Something tells me it won't, but you never know.

Click this link to download an Excel spreadsheet showing all car models that would be banned.

Infiniti G35 Hybrid

2008-08-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

The Infiniti G35 is a great car, and the news that Nissan plans a hybrid version of it is good news indeed. Lithium-ion batteries and everything, I read excitedly, thinking this car could maybe be some kind of plugin-hybrid that could travel at least small distances on battery power alone. Unfortunately, Nissan's press release states the following:

The dynamic characteristics of the clutches are as follows: Idle-stop: The battery is used to power the motor to save on fuel.
Regular driving: The engine is used to power the motor as well as regenerate the battery.
Acceleration: Both the engine and battery (power assist) is used to power the motor to achieve smooth acceleration. Deceleration: Energy from braking is conserved and re-routed back to regenerate the battery.

In other words, the G35 Hybrid will be just another Toyota Hybrid or Lexus GS450h, with slightly better fuel economy as opposed to a regular petrol car, but that's it. Why does Nissan aim so low with a car that's not supposed to be on sale until 2010? If this is all I want I could just go ahead and buy myself a BMW 330d, with start/stop technology and regeneration of battery while braking.

Saab 9-4X interior pic

2008-08-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

By now we've all seen the spaceship-cockpit design of the 9-4X prototype, but as usual these fancy-schmancy interiors are usually quite a bit more boring when the production model finally hits the streets.

Auto Motor & Sport in Sweden have captured a picture of the 9-4X interior of a test car, and while it doesn't look quite as fancy as in the prototype, it's not really that far off. The only thing I'm waiting for now is an interesting engine to go with that. The 300 hp biopower (ethanol) engine of the prototype was nice.

The new Golf VI

2008-08-05T00:55:00.001-07:00

The next generation Golf is here, and...surprise surprise, it looks exactly like the old one. At least no one can accuse Volkswagen of being too radical in their design. On the inside, though, there are certain changes, as VW take downsizing to a new level. The new Golf will likely be equipped with a tiny 1,6 liter TSI-engine that will produce 200 hp! That's pretty impressive, taking into account that the current Golf 1,6 produces only 100. There will also be a 2-liter engine available producing 240 hp, and this will probably be found in the GTI.

On the more boring side, expect 1,0 or 1,2 liter turbocharged engines producing around 75 hp.

And of course, we'll still have to play the waiting game when it comes to the most interesting model: The plugin hybrid. Whether we'll see this car in our lifetime or not is anybody's guess.

Spain goes electric

2008-08-01T01:14:00.000-07:00

According to Automotive News Europe, Spain recently presented a plan to have one million electrical vehicles in traffic by 2014. This decision is probably based on protests and riots following the soaring fuel prices this year, and includes detailed plans on how to achieve such a goal.

Personally I don't think the government even needs to intervene here. If the car manufacturers finally give us what we want, nice looking and functional plugin hybrids with decent range on battery power only, I'm convinced they will take marked shares like crazy.

Motivation

2008-07-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

A piece of rock music history here, probably meant as a motivation video for Mercedes employees in the US.

More muscle in BMW X5 and X6?

2008-07-30T03:55:00.001-07:00

According to the German "Auto Motor und Sport" magazine, BMW are planning M-version of the X5 and X6, apparently to hit the streets by the end of 2009. The question is if these kind of cars won't be more or less dead by then, killed by soaring fuel prices and politics.

If not, the M-models of the X-series cars will probably be fitted with a powered up version of the double turbo V8 that delivers 407 hp today. And last but not least, they will be the first M-models with four-wheel drive. A necessary addition to the X-family? By no means. A lot of politically incorrect fun? Absolutely.

Oh, Saab, no! Part 2

2008-07-29T02:06:00.001-07:00

Can't say I'm really impressed with Saab these days. First the incomprehensible decision to not incorporate XWD on diesel or biopower models. Now they cutting their warranty in the US, from a brilliant 5 year/100.000 miles to not so impressive 4 years/50.000 miles, to cut costs. This is definitly not good PR for Saab, leading us to believe that the cars have poor reliability, and that Saab now wants to push as much of the repair costs as possible onto the buyer.

No Audi Q7 Hybrid

2008-07-28T23:47:00.000-07:00

According to sources, the production of the long-awaited Audi Q7 Hybrid, shown as a concept car as early as 2005, has been put on ice. Apparently this decision is based on a "lack of interest" from the customer base. Although Audi hasn't verified this, they did verify in March that the Q7 Hybrid wouldn't be coming to the US. The problem at that time was the low value of the dollar.

Now, I'll tell Audi about "lack of interest": I'm definitly not interested in buying a conventional petrol car today that guzzles 13 l/100km, and I can't see how the Q7 sales will rise without the introduction of hybrid technology, or other technology that will make the car independent from oil (such as ethanol or bio-gas, for instance). The oil won't become cheaper, you know, and people want to be liberated from the greasy paws of the oil industry.

On the positive side, Audi will be focusing on hybrid technology for the new A4, A5 and Q5, and this will probably involve lithium-ion batteries. Do we dare hope for an Audi Q5 Plugin Hybrid, with a range of 70-80 kilometers on battery power alone?

The dog's bollocks

2008-07-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

It's kind of childish, I know, but I have to admit I laughed out loud when I came across the "Bumper nuts". This is the birthday present for the car-owner who's got everything. Or rather, who's got almost everything.

Only in America.

Insignia - Finally a desirable Opel

2008-07-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

With Insignia, due out in showrooms in November, Opel has finally created a car that I actually enjoy looking at. Not only that, it comes with some interesting engine options, like the 2.0 liter, 220 hp petrol engine, not to mention the same all-wheel-drive system as the Saab 9-3 XWD. Opel call it "Adaptive 4x4". The interior is nice too.

Oh yes, and the car will also be able to read and interpret road signs. Not bad. Read this article for more information and pictures.

Oh, Volvo, no!

2008-07-25T04:04:00.001-07:00

Speaking of Swedish car manufakturers, Volvo is about to launch its new small-size SUV, the XC60, this fall. The concept, first shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2007, was particularly interesting - at least to me - because of the 3.2 liter ethanol engine.

Almost two years later the production model will arrive at car salons with the following engine options: The old, gas-guzzling T6 engine, and the even older 2.4D and D5 diesel engines. What the heck happened to that ethanol optimized engine, that is all the more interesting today, with ridiculous fuel prices and CO2 awareness rising? Who will buy the XC60 with yesterdays engine technology? They can have all the new safety gadgets they want. I don't care. Give me a Volvo XC60 3.2 Flexifuel. We all know they've got the technology.

Why I drive a big car

2008-07-25T03:05:00.001-07:00

The following YouTube-video illustrates quite well why size matters. The Audi Q7 only has four Euro NCAP stars, while the Fiat 500 has five.

Oh, Saab, no!

2008-07-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

According to the nice people at Trollhattansaab.net, the 2009 Saab 9-3 will finally feature the XWD all-wheel-drive system for the 2.0t motor range. Great news, you might think. What I'm struggling to understand is the fact that they ignore their most selling models, at least in Europe. There will be no XWD available for the brilliant 1,9TTiD diesel engine, which is the engine of choice for most European countries, and no XWD for the E85 (ethanol) version of the 2.0t engine, which is by far the most selling engine configuration in Saab's native Sweden.

Why, oh why, Saab, won't you give us the car we want? I'd like a fuel efficient Saab 9-3 1.9TTiD XWD, or an eco-friendly Saab 9-3 2.0t BioPower XWD, please.