[Video] Honda EV-N all-electric concept Revealed in Tokyo

Old meets new with the official introduction of the Honda EV-N all-electric concept car. Looking like an odd, futuristic cross between a classic Fiat 500 and a classic Mini Cooper, the EV-N creates a "fun, easygoing relationship between person and car," (whatever that means).

Despite the tiny size, the battery-powered car is a four-seater. Rear seats may be folded down to provide storage space. Helping to keep the battery charged is a solar panel placed in the roof.

The 105-second video shows the close-cropped car from multiple angles, with some focus given to the vehicle's lighting unique. Fabric options range from standard red, to a tartan-plaid blue, and checkered yellow. These can be swapped out whenever, and wherever, the owner feels like it, guaranteed to satisfy any cosplay schoolgirl.

Battery charge information is displayed on the vehicle's "grille," with more information provided to let others on the road know if the car is going to stop, start, or turn. The driver stays up-to-date on the system status thanks to well-placed in-dash screen.

Frighteningly, Honda wants people to drive this car "in the same carefree way they talk to friends on a mobile phone or listen to tunes on a music player." This seems like a very, very bad idea.

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Chrysler Preview Four Mopar Image Vehicles

Two Dodge and two Jeep custom jobs will be wheeled out by their parent company, Chrysler Group LLC, at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show next month in Las Vegas. Topping the four vehicles is the Mopar Dodge Challenger 1320 Image Vehicle, a straight-line racer with an all-aluminum V8 Hemi pushing out 556 horsepower and up to 540 ft-lb of torque.

The Challenger features the Drag Pak option, which strips the Challenger of a substantial amount of weight. Gone are the center console, radio, and rear seats. Normally meant for race cars only, this Challenger features the package while maintaining a street-legal status. It uses wheels meant for cop cars, street-legal-yet-race-ready tires, an adjustable coil-over kit, and an ARB locking differential.

The other Dodge is a luxe version of their signature pickup truck. Painted in Arctic Ice, the Mopar Dodge Ram Bianco Image Vehicle is meant to convey an upper-class look on what is supposed to be a blue collar truck. Built off of a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport using a 5.7-liter V8 engine. Inside the truck bed is a plush, easy-to-clean rug. Although they added 22-inch contrasting wheels, the vehicle has been lowered using a Ground Force kit. Performance upgrades include a cold-air intake and dual-exhaust. Inside, Arctic Ice and Piano Black contrasts are augmented by Katzkin white and black seats. The truck also features an upgraded audio system.

Being able to use a "normal" ride as a camping shelter has been toyed with for decades. Likewise, the Mopar Jeep Wrangler Overland Image Vehicle is meant to be a "stop-anywhere, camp-anywhere Jeep." Based on a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, the special edition has no rear seats, a rubber floor, and a roof-mounted two-person tent with awning. The Jeep has been modified to be more water resistant, with a three-inch raised suspension and 35-inch tires to be more off-road capable. Added lighting and steel bumpers has been included for this purpose.

Last is the Jeep Lower Forty Image Vehicle, a heavily stripped version of the Jeep Wrangler. Meant for "extreme trail" driving, the vehicle gets 20-inch aluminum wheels wrapped in 40x13.5-inch tires. Fenders are wider and higher, and three inches has been cut off the windshield frame. Despite the stripped look, the interior was color matched and the seats were covered in leather. The truck also takes advantage of a new, 5.7-liter V8 Hemi with a Getrag 238 six-speed manual transmission.

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Ford Agree Largest Recall in History

Ford Motor Company will agree to recall 4.5 million vehicles in danger of catching fire due to poor electrics. The decision comes on the heels of a lengthy investigation by the U.S. government into the cause of those fires, and includes 1.1 million Ford Windstar vans from 1995 to 2003. Several other models make up the remaining 3.4 million vehicles.

The problem is linked to a switch made by Texas Instruments that allows drivers to disengage cruise control by tapping on the brake pedal. Ford used the switches throughout the 1990s, up to 2003, on a total of about 16 million cars and trucks.

Several deaths, and at least 550 fires and 1,500 complaints have been linked to the switch. Eight separate recalls related to the switch over the last ten years has affected a total of 14.1 million vehicles.

The automaker has been accused of delaying the recalls due to the expensive repair cost involved. The company has been the defendant in dozens of lawsuits related to faulty piece.

Ford plans to notify customers officially beginning on October 26. In a statement, Ford acknowledges that the part "may, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke or burn."

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Suzuki SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle Concept

Suzuki could not be left out of the electrifying party being hosted by its bigger fellow Japanese automakers. Therefore at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show the company which produces about 1.4 million cars a year will show a glimpse of its future plans.

Leading the charge so to speak, is a previously announced Swift with a plug-in hybrid system that runs on lithium-ion battery power. A petrol engine sized 660cc is fitted to recharge when levels of power drop. The car is ideally suited for people who travel about 20km (12 miles) or less daily as it is designed to primarily run on electric power.

The second car is a full-on electric vehicle called the SX4 FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle). Its source of go is a fuel cell developed by General Motors which is coupled with a high pressure hydrogen tank and a light and compact capacitor. Brake energy regeneration is part of its technology arsenal. Suzuki is currently testing the SX4 FCV on Japanese public roads.

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Tokyo Debut: Toyota FT-EV II Electric Vehicle Revealed Ahead

Toyota released first details about the Toyota FT-EV II earlier today. The Future Toyota Electric Vehicle II concept is meant to be a daily driver capable of low-level highway speeds.Running on lithium-ion batteries, the vehicle is capable of taking passengers a distance of 90 kilometers on a single charge. Top speed is 100 km/h, which is just enough to stay in the slow lanes on the freeway.The manufacturer did not release details about recharge time and motor size. The weight of the FT-EV II was also not released.Its interior was designed to be "retro-futuristic," which seems like an oxymoran at first. However, taking a look at the provided interior picture, the car looks like something that could have been storyboarded in the late-1970s, or possibly earlier, as a "car of the future." It has no foot pedals or steering wheel. Instead, the vehicle appears to be controlled by two control levers when the car is not on auto-pilot.Auto-pilot functions are meant to go beyond navigation. The FT-EV II can automatically download audio/visual content specifically geared towards the individuals in the car. Once plugged in at home, the vehicle can upload its content to a central computer.
Meanwhile, the vehicle's exterior is very much an evolution on the first FT-EV. This car appears to give more headroom, and more space in the back. A shorter nose means the windshield is flatter, and less angled. The front bumper was also redesigned. No pictures of the new concept's rear were provided.
Toyota will debut the new Toyota FT-EV II concept at the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of October.

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A Mitsubishi i-MiEV garbage truck

I’m sure all of us here have seen a garbage collector truck going about doing it stuff around our neighbourhoods before. Once in a while they would stop and the engine would begin revving high while stationary. The engine is actually powering the garbage compactor. This of course causes both environmental and noise pollution.
Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. has worked with Mitsubishi to install the i-MiEV’s electric drive into the garbage truck. Of course, the tiny system designed for a compact car isn’t powerful enough to move the whole truck on electric power. Instead, only the garbage compactor runs on the i-MiEV system.
According to them, the results are decent. They managed a 75% cut in truck CO2 emissions during use by utilizing battery power for the trash compactor instead of the engine. And of course if you just shut off the engine while you’re compacting the trash this can be reduced to zero in terms of both noise and CO2 emissions. There is even a benefit cost-wise as the electricity cost to run the trash compactor is significantly less than diesel fuel usually used in normal trash compactors.
With almost no noise and no gas emissions during compactor use, the new truck is optimal for trash collection from within buildings, during early morning or late at night. Of course here in Malaysia there is no such consideration for noise pollution – everyone just does whatever they want without thought for others.

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Audi R8 with Pink in Holland

Just when you felt life was getting a little bit boring, along comes this piece of literal Dutch eye candy to remind you that many people are crazy. Yes sir, that's an Audi R8. Yes sir, someone painted it pink. But not just pink – light candy pink with darker pink blades. Now, let's say for a second that the carbon fiber blades are actually baked pink plastic. That would be kinda OK in our book. However, since they are obviously nothing but regular carbon fiber painted pink, we're against them. Moreover, they look slightly purple. And pink and purple simply do not match.

Not that there's anything wrong with pink all on its lonesome. It can be done well, and at least one of us (*ahem*) liked the Mansory Vitesse Rose at Frankfurt. But even if you totally loathe Mansory's handiwork, at least they put some effort into it. From the single photo we got here, looks like the pink R8 is just, sorta... pink. Lazy pink, really. But of course the real reason for this post (besides the laughter) is to figure out what we should call all-pink cars. Because obviously, it's now a trend.

Even though the Russians gave the Emirates a run for their stacks of $100 bills, in the end "all Dubai'd out" beat "all Moscow'd out" in our poll to determine the correct nomenclature for mirror-finished/chrome cars. But then, what to call pink cars? We've got a few ideas listed in a poll after the jump. But if you have your own suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments. Oh, and here's an all gold R8 for you to contemplate while you vote.

[Source: autojunk.nl]

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Honda Skydeck MPV with scissor doors

Honda’s new SKYDECK concept can seat 6 people in a three-row passenger configuration . Honda’s last 6-seater was the Honda Edix which has now been phased out, but that MPV had its 6 seats in a two row configuration, similiar to what Fiat did for their Multipla.
The styling cues are quite obviously inspired by the CR-Z, which leads me to believe this kind of look might become quite commonplace on future Hondas. The front doors have a scissor hinge like a Lamborghini while the rear door is of the rearward-sliding variety. The powertrain is of course a hybrid but no further details have been revealed.
More will probably be disclosed at the Tokyo show next month, so stay tuned, but for now you can look after the jump for hi-res images.

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Honda's retro-styled electric cars

The Honda EV-N Concept is surprisingly retro-styled in a sea of very futuristic Honda concepts being released in the past 2 to 3 years. Like you can probably expect from its name, the EV-N Concept is an electric car, though for the moment Honda has not released any details on its motor and battery specifications. It’s probably got a pretty short range though, designed to be used for short commutes in cities like Tokyo.
After you reach your destination and park but you’re feeling a little lazy, you can take out one of the U3-X Segway-like unicycles which is smartly strapped to the passenger door. At first I thought it was some really big and hardcore speaker system or something.

The EV-N Concept is part of a larger display called the “HELLO!” (Honda Electric mobility Loop) display, where Honda will be showcasing a total “ecosystem” of mobility products. You have products that supply electricity, vehicles that run on electricity and products with innovative electronic technologies.
There will be solar panels that supply electricity and battery electric vehicles that emit zero emissions in use. The HELLO showcase is pretty much a preview of the potential of a low-carbon society of the future of course centered around Honda products. In addition, each HELLO! vehicle features communication technologies that showcase fun ways in which mobility devices can interact with people and society.
Look after the jump more shots of the Honda EV-N Concept.

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Aptera considering sales at Best Buy?

Might Best Buy begin offering the Aptera 2e when the vehicle is finally ready for sale at some unknown time in the future? Possibly. Though the video has since been removed from YouTube, some sort of promotional material from the big box retailer highlighting electric vehicles reportedly featured at least two separate cars from Aptera.

Further, the idea of selling electric vehicles at Best Buy locations isn't something new. In fact, selected locations scattered along the West Coast are already selling the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle. Further, rumors abound that Best Buy will soon offer more electric two-wheelers, including Segways and bicycles.

So, is this a good idea or bad idea? Would you consider purchasing an Aptera 2e from Best Buy? It's certainly a large purchase and there are obvious questions as to how the vehicle will be serviced, but having the space-age car available at such a large and well-known location might add to its credibility. What say you?

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CPT’s VTES electric supercharger shows results in a Volkswagen Passat

For the longest time we’ve known the most common method of forced induction to be either supercharging or turbocharging. Supercharging uses a compressor that’s powered by the engine crank while a turbochargeruses the kinetic energy harvested from the flow of exhaust gas to do the same thing.

A company called Controlled Power Technologies is offering something new called a VTES, or Variable Torque Enhancement System. It’s basically an electric supercharger. There are alot of people who try to install fans in the middle of the car’s intake tract and try to call it a supercharger, but this is a proper compressor that can spin independently of crank speed at rotational speeds of up to 70,000rpm.

CPT has installed it on various test systems including a 1.2 liter turbocharged engine. The VTES electric supercharger is meant to complement the existing turbo. CPT reported an increase of over 50% in torque at engine speeds below 3,000rpm. I guess what it does is compensate for any turbo lag there is at low engine RPMs, allowing the turbocharger to be larger than it normally would have needed to be to spool up that quickly.

One way that VTES has been positioned by CPT is an alternative to mild hybrid systems, like the units installed in the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid. According to CPT senior engineering manager Mark Criddle, one method that car makers have been using to boost performance of downsized engines is integrating an electric motor between the engine and transmission to create a mild hybrid, but this is a costly exercise and can be difficult to package within a small car’s front wheel drive engine bay.

The VTES system can provide a viable low cost micro-hybrid solution, significantly increasing an engine’s air charge density over the critical first 10 combustion cycles of a low speed transient. The supercharger’s speed can increase from zero up to 70,000rpm in less than 1/3 of a second. Adding 25kW at the crank at low engine speeds via VTES costs significantly less than a 25kW assist electric motor. It uses standard 12V power.

It will be featured in the HyBoost system, a project led by Ricardo and supported by the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board. It will also be used in an engine project by AVL. AVL is an Austrian-based independent engine developer. The 1.6 liter engine that you can find in the Chery Tiggo here in Malaysia was developed by AVL and they are actually pretty good. Some time ago there was news that Fiat was interested in using Chery’s AVL-designed ACTECO family engines in Fiat cars in China.

AVL previously showcased a demonostrator engine using CPT’s electric supercharger. A 2.0 liter inline-4 direct injection engine was equipped with a regular single-scroll wastegated turbocharger, and CPT’s VTES electric supercharger. It resulted in 200 PS and 400Nm of peak torque. The engine also has auto stop-start and smart alternator control. They installed it into a Volkswagen Passat and the resulting CO2 emissions were 159g/km. Comparatively, the Passat’s original 200 PS 2.0 TSI petrol and 170 PS 2.0 TDI diesel engines gave out 194 g/km and 165g/km respectively.

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Reports : Porsche Developing an Electric Vehicle

According to a recent report, Porsche is developing an electric vehicle.

In an interview with German magazine Welt am Sonntag, Porsche CEO Michael Macht confirmed the company is "intensively" working on an electric sports car. While a concept may appear shortly, Macht stated production would likely be five to ten years away.

It remains unclear if the electric vehicle would be a 911, Boxster, Cayman or a whole new model. The latter could be a possibility since Macht restated Porsche's goal of nearly doubling sales to 150,000 vehicles per year. Regardless of what form it takes, the company promises the EV will deliver the same handling characteristics as a Porsche with a gasoline engine.

During their Frankfurt Motor Show press conference, Porsche stated they were considering electric vehicles but current battery technology wasn't "sufficient to meet Porsche's strict requirements." At the time, Macht said "We are therefore taking the first step in this direction with a full hybrid - in the Cayenne, the Panamera and maybe in the not too distant future also in a racing car or a production 911. Why not?"

We'll have to wait and see what the future brings, but the Porsche EV will undoubtedly face competition from the Mercedes SLS AMG eDrive and a possible production Audi e-Tron.

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