In Gear offers a fresh look at the world of cars – its technology, economics, and future – through the eyes of Monitor staffers and other automobile writers from around the world.
A123 Systems Inc. President and CEO David Vieau is shown after a news conference in this August 2009 file photo in Livonia, Mich. A123 exclusively provides the battery packs for Fisker's Karma range-extended electric sedan. (Paul Sancya/AP/File)
Bankrupt battery maker A123 stalls Fisker Karma production
Prodution lines at Fisker Automotive have lain silent for a month, the company revealed Wednesday at the LA Auto Show.
Fisker CEO Tony Pasowatz said that the hold-up is due to bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems, which is currently in the process of being sold.
A123 exclusively provides the battery packs for Fisker's Karma range-extended electric sedan--and the lack of supply has stalled production.
Bloomberg reports that Fisker intends to restart production as quickly as possible once the A123 sale has gone through.
The company does have an inventory, but one which Pasowatz describes as "[getting] a little low." ( Continue… )
This February 2012 file photo shows a 2012 Chevrolet Volt at a Chevrolet dealership in the south Denver suburb of Englewood, Colo. 92 percent of Chevy Volt owners would buy another this year than at the same time last year, according to Consumer Reports. (David Zalubowski/AP/File)
Chevy Volt tops customer satisfaction survey again
Fewer Chevrolet Volt owners would buy another this year than at the same time last year, Consumer Reports has discovered.
...Of course, when that figure is still 92 percent (down from 93) and the Volt has topped Consumer Reports' consumer satisfaction survey for the second year running, perhaps a drop isn't so bad...
Unsurprisingly, the Volt is going down a storm with owners. As The Detroit News reports, sales in the first 10 months of 2012 are 286 percent greater than the same time last year.
That suggests that and even greater number of owners would still be happy to continue with the Volt than those in last year's survey. ( Continue… )
This undated image provided by General Motors shows the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV, which will be unveiled at the 2012 Los Angles Auto Show this week. Spark EVs are powered by a 110 kW (130 hp) electric motor, which puts out an impressive 400 lb-ft of torque, Ingram writes. (AP/General Motors)
2014 Chevy Spark to cost less than $32,500
Chevrolet has released more details on its 2014 Spark EV, ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Along with official photos of the electric Spark, Chevy is hinting at a price "below $25,000 with incentives", meaning a pre-incentive price of under $32,500.
That puts the pre-incentive price more or less where you'd expect--less than the $35,200 Nissan Leaf, but more than the 2012 Mitsubishi i ($29,125) and the smaller, two-seat 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive ($25,750).
Chevrolet also appears to be holding true to its promise that the Spark EV isn't a compliance car, as it's set to go on sale not only in California, but Oregon, Canada, South Korea and other global markets. ( Continue… )
Google co-founder Sergey listens to California Gov. Edmund G Brown Jr. during a bill signing for driverless cars at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., in this September 2012 file photo. The deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is bound for Google, where he will assume the role of director of safety for self-driving cars, Ernst writes. (Eric Risberg/AP/File )
NHTSA executive joins Google to build driverless cars
Ron Medford is currently the deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which makes him second in command of the agency responsible for establishing motorvehicle safety standards.
Medford has been involved with the federal government for over four decades, and has had a hand in both the upcoming Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements as well as key NHTSA safety investigations in recent years.
In other words, if you were looking to progress autonomous cars from the experimental stage to the mainstream implementation stage, Ron Medford is a man you’d want on your team.
As The Detroit News reports, Medford will vacate his NHTSA post in January, bound for Google, Inc., where he will assume the role of director of safety for self-driving cars. Though eager to assume his new role, Medford is “bittersweet,” in his own words, over leaving the NHTSA. ( Continue… )
The botanical gardens in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif., boasts beautiful flora, including orchids, begonias, ferns and other colorful plants. Wicker-bodied electric vehicles were designed to parade around the Panama-California Exposition grounds in Balboa Park between 1915 and 1916, Ingram writes. (Mary Knox Merrill/The Christian Science Monitor/File)
An electric vehicle made of wicker?
Wicker might not be your first choice of construction material when designing a vehicle, but the world was a very different place in 1915.
If you lived in San Diego at the time, the sight of an Electriquette silently whirring past may have been quite familar.
The wicker-bodied electric vehicles were designed to parade around the Panama-California Exposition grounds in Balboa Park, San Diego, between 1915 and 1916--and now an entrepreneur wants to bring them back.
Developer and attorney Sandor Shapery intends to re-release the Electriquette in time for the 2015 expo centennial, says U-T San Diego. ( Continue… )
Corn kernels peer out from the husk on an ear of corn in a corn field off Queen Street in Kinston, N.C., in this August 2012 file photo. Corn prices have quadrupled since 2005 as ethanol production has soared in response to the EPA mandate, Voelcker writes. (Janet S. Carter/The Free Press/AP/File)
EPA rejects suspension of corn-based ethanol mandate
Last month, the governors of eight states and almost 200 members of Congress asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to suspend rules that mandate production of ethanol for use in gasoline.
On Friday, the EPA said no.
The request to suspend parts of the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard came from concerns that the feed corn essential to those states' agricultural businesses would be diverted to supply ethanol refineries.
The 2007 rule mandates that increasing amounts of ethanol be used in U.S. vehicle fuel, as part of a broader national effort to cut oil imports and improve energy security.
On Saturday, The Detroit News reported that the EPA said it had not found sufficient evidence that support the finding of severe "economic harm" it would require to warrant granting a waiver. ( Continue… )
The smashed windshield of a Mercedes car is seen due to the effects of superstorm Sandy in the Rockaways section of the Queens borough of New York in this November 2012 file photo. Early estimates put the total number of vehicles destroyed by hurricane Sandy as high as 200,000, Read writes. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters/File)
Sandy shortens rental car supply ahead of Thanksgiving
If you're planning to rent a car for the Thanksgiving drive to grandma's house but haven't yet secured your vehicle, you should shift your search into high gear. News reports indicate that many rental car lots in the northeastern U.S. are sitting empty this holiday season, due to Hurricane Sandy.
Although damages from the storm are still being tallied, early estimates put the total number of vehicles destroyed by Sandy as high as 200,000. That's still well short of the 350,000 ruined during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but more than enough to cripple auto supplies in America's most densely populated region.
Proof of that was visible last week, when rental car shortages were reported at Philadelphia-area Avis, Dollar Thrifty, Enterprise, and Hertz outlets. There's some hope that the situation will improve before Thursday, as owners replace storm-damaged vehicles and return rentals, and as recovery workers head home for the long holiday weekend, freeing up more loaners. However, a quick search of travel websites reveals that availability is nearly non-existent in New York City, and the limited number of vehicles on hand in New Jersey are priced much higher than you'd expect.
Our advice? If you've not already begun your search, do so now. If you hit roadblocks at Expedia and Priceline, go directly to rental company websites: those companies don't typically list their full inventory with travel brokers, and you may be able to nab one of the cars they've held in reserve. If that should fail, go local and call your nearest outlet. Chances are, you'll speak to a real person who has first-hand knowledge of the situation on the lot. ( Continue… )
Engine parts are displayed in front of a Ford Fiesta Titanium 1.0 EcoBoost car displayed on media day at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile in September. Ford has announced that the three-cylinder EcoBoost engine will be an option for US versions of the 2014 Ford Fiesta. (Christian Hartmann/Reuters/File)
Ford Fiesta to get 3-cylinder engine in 2014
Ford’s 1.0-liter, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine is small enough to fit into an airline-approved carry-on bag, yet powerful enough to deliver some 123 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque.
As you’d guess, it’s also fuel efficient, which is the primary reason why Ford has announced it will be offered in the 2014 Ford Fiesta as an alternative to the base model's 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine.
Though Ford didn’t release details on fuel economy, it did say the 1.0-liter EcoBoost-equipped Fiesta would return the highest fuel economy of “any non-hybrid” model sold in the United States.
As Green Car Reports tells us, in European testing the 1.0-liter EcoBoost has achieved an equivalent 47 mpg, meaning that 40 mpg on the EPA test cycle is a reasonable expectation. ( Continue… )
In this 2011 file photo, cars drive along US. 59 in Tenaha, Texas. Fewer people are expected to hit the road this Thanksgiving holiday due to high gas prices and economic uncertainty. (Danny Robbins/AP/File)
Thanksgiving travel: Less traffic, but higher gas prices
We have good news and bad news for Thanksgiving road-trippers.
The good news is, roadways will be slightly less congested than they were last year, meaning that you'll make better time getting over the river and through the woods.
The bad news? The drop in traffic stems from record-high gas prices, which currently average $3.43 for a gallon of unleaded regular. Not helping: lingering uncertainty about the economy, thanks in part to countless media headlines about the looming "fiscal cliff". And while traffic will be lighter on the whole, it'll be heavier in certain metro areas.
These predictions come from INRIX, a leader in the field of traffic data. According to the company's Director of Community Relations, Jim Bak, your Thanksgiving travel will be better in 2012, but it still won't be much of a picnic: "While traffic congestion over Thanksgiving will not be nearly as bad as years past, rush hour will peak 2 hours earlier than normal. Our advice to drivers is to leave before 2 p.m.or wait until after 6 p.m. to avoid traffic getting out of town." ( Continue… )
The 2004 Toyota Prius is show in this undated publicity photo. Model year 2004 to 2009 Priuses are part of a new worldwide Toyota recall, involving 2.8 million vehicles, for faulty steering parts and water pumps. (Toyota/AP/File)
Toyota recall: 670,000 Priuses in US are part of global recall
In another blow to its prestige, Toyota is recalling 2.8 million vehicles worldwide for steering-shaft and water-pump defects.
In the United States, the Toyota recall involves some 670,000 Priuses from model years 2004 to 2009.
The main problem is a steering intermediate extension shaft, according to Toyota. If the steering wheel is forcefully turned to full right or full left while driving slowly, it can begin to deform the splines (ridges) of the shaft. If that happens frequently enough, the splines may eventually wear out and cause faulty steering.
A second Toyota recall involves about 350,000 of those same US Priuses, which have faulty water pumps. The pump's electric motor can fail. "In limited instances, the electric power supply circuit fuse may open, causing the hybrid system to stop while the vehicle is being driven," says a Toyota statement. ( Continue… )
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