Archive for February 28th, 2010

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mitsubishi, Tesla Motors, Legislation and Policy, UK

Would-be buyers, both individuals and businesses, of certain low emission vehicles in the UK will be offered a sweet incentive starting in 2011. How does 25 percent off the purchase price, up to £5,000 ($7,618 at today’s rates), sound to you? The fiscal inducement will be available for purchases of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), hydrogen-fueled vehicles and battery-powered electrics (BEVs) that meet emissions, performance and safety criteria. The barriers to the bounty include a CO2 output of no more than 75 grams per kilometer. As well, BEVs must have a range of 70 miles (113 kilometers) while PHEVs need to be capable of at least 10 miles (16 km) before the petrol starts burning. All vehicles must be capable of reaching 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour), come with at least a three-year warranty and meet crash standards.

With £230 million ($350.4 million) in the program that runs until 2014, the line-up of people ready to take advantage of extra cash at purchase time may find themselves facing a small choice of vehicles. When things kick off next January, the menu will consist of Mitsubishi i MiEVs and Tesla Roadsters (if there are even Roadsters still available). As the year progresses, the number of choices is expected to expand with the Nissan Leaf becoming available in March and market entrances may be made by the Reva NXR and the Opel Ampera. The program will be reviewed one year after its implementation and any changes deemed necessary will go into effect by April of 2012. Hit the jump for bonus videos of Britain’s ITV News’ take on electric cars featuring (mostly) Mitsubishi’s Japanese jellybean.

[Source: Guardian / Department for Transport]

Continue reading UK to give up to £5000 for ultra low carbon vehicles

UK to give up to £5000 for ultra low carbon vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Via Autoblog Green

Suggest the 2011 Honda Odyssey concept unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show is the best looking new Honda since the COTY-winning Civic sedan, and a cynic might say that’s like congratulating someone for being the healthiest guy in intensive care. But the praise is warranted: the new Odyssey is a surprising breath of fresh air from an automaker whose products have looked disappointingly lumpen and unimaginative of late.

What’s fascinating about this Honda style revival is that it’s about to happen in what is widely regarded as the most style-resistant segment in the automotive market – minivans. Minivans are the ultimate automotive appliances; stolidly functional boxes designed to transport families and their junk. A Lamborghini is sex-on-wheels. A Bentley is automotive power dressing. A Camaro or Jeep Wrangler or F-150 pickup is like wrapping yourself in Old Glory and singing The Star-Spangled Banner. But a minivan? A minivan is sensible shoes.

Chrysler’s original T-115 minivan, launched way back in 1983,  was a segment buster, which is why it sold up a storm. It captured a generation that longed for the family-friendly utility of their mom’s old full-size station wagon, but didn’t want to be seen driving their mom’s car. Minivan sales peaked at just over 1.3 million units in 2000, but since then, it’s been a steady decline – just over 400,000 minivans were sold in America last year – and no-one expects the segment to top 700,000 units a year in the foreseeable future.

Squeezed by the shrinking pie, Ford and GM have abandoned minivans altogether in favor of three row crossovers. For the major players left in the segment – Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, and Hyundai/Kia – minivans are now basically a commodity product. The median price for minivans is under $30,000, and only a tiny handful of buyers are prepared to pay more than $40,000 for one. “Premium minivan” is the ultimate automotive non-sequitur. Not even Mercedes-Benz has been able to make it work.

That said, the current Odyssey boasts the youngest and most affluent buyers in the segment, says Honda product planner Vicki Poponi. But while they’re a loyal bunch, even they have complained about the Odyssey’s lack of styling panache. “They said it was too boxy and too generic, especially in the side profile,” says Poponi.

Honda designer Catalin Matei’s solution was to pull the touchdown point of the A-pillar further forward, then rake the windshield more steeply, while also raking the D-pillar at the rear and tapering the roofline slightly. Cleverly, Matei simultaneously improved the room for the third row passengers by lowering the floor. A beltline that dips at the C-pillar – dubbed the “lightning bolt” – creates what Honda hopes will become the Odyssey’s signature design element. There’s a practical reason for the “lightning bolt”, too, insists Poponi, who claims it allows better outward visibility for kids travelling in the third row.

Although officially a concept, the clay shown at Chicago basically reveals all the surfaces for the 2011 Odyssey, which is scheduled to go on sale next Fall. The new Odyssey will be powered by a V-6 engine with Honda’s latest cylinder de-activation software, which Honda claims will work with the improved aerodynamics to deliver 19 mpg city and 28 mpg highway mileage. Honda didn’t reveal the new Odyssey’s interior, but Poponi says it will be innovative and functional.

Confession time: I’ve never liked minivans. When Ford of Europe gave me a loaded, V-6 powered, all-wheel drive, manual transmission Galaxy – what could perhaps be described as one of the sportiest minivans ever built – as a company car back in 1999, Mrs. MacKenzie and I fought over who would actually drive the damn thing. “I don’t want to drive a bus,” she insisted, adding that every time she picked the kids up from school in it we seemed to accumulate an extra child or two that didn’t belong to us because we had the room to transport them. I didn’t want to drive a bus, either – it seemed pointless carting around all those empty seats on my commute, and I quickly tired of gritting my teeth as I attempted to hustle the thing along winding country lanes on the weekend.

In the end we both agreed we’d have a sporty Focus each – mine a two door hatch, and hers a four door hatch, both with big wheels and stick shifts – and that when we had to take all four of our kids out with us, we’d take both cars. So it’s safe to say I’m never going to be in the market for a 2011 Honda Odyssey. But I can appreciate a better looking box when I see one.

Via MotorTrend Magazine Blogs

Incoming search terms:

• best looking honda

With most customers favouring smaller cars, there is still one demographic that Detroit has a solid hold on… Retirees. Buyers over 65 are the last hope for the good American car. In some dealerships, anything upto 85% of all Buick buyers are 55 and older.

The over-65’s look at brands like Buick, Lincoln and Cadillac as status symbols. Those brands have what advertisers call the “Mind Share” in that demographic. Retirees remember a time when the only people driving those cars were celebrities and other high profile members of society; now they want in to that high-profile group of Cadillac drivers. Plus, older folks like familiarity, they know these brands, they’ve heard them their whole life.

Studies in the U.S have shown that the next generation of OAP’s prefer sporty, performance type vehicles as opposed to the large cloud cars on this list. As for now, here are the 10 best sellers with the old folks:

(The models are ranked based on the percentage of buyers age 65 or older, using market research data from J.D. Power and Associates. All the cars on this list get less than 20 mpg in town driving and less than 30 mpg extra urban driving.)

10. Ford Taurus – The Taurus is one Ford’s best selling models, in fact it was the best selling car in the 90s. Ford went through some weird phase where all the cars had names starting with ‘F’. They got rid of the Taurus title and called it the “Five Hundred”. Either way, the Taurus is back now and old people still love it. Upto 35% of all buyers are 65 years old or older.

9. Lincoln MKZ – Compared to the rest of the cars on this list, the Lincoln MKZ is a lightweight. It’s marketed to a fairly younger consumer, but just like the Taurus, 35% of it’s buyers are 65 or older.

8. Cadillac STS – The STS is probably the “sportiest” car on this list, although like the rest of the cars, it has a roomy interior and the blind spot/back up cameras that older people like. Retirees love the Cadillac brand, they remember it as being the ultimate car brand. 39% of all Cadillac STS buyers are over 65.

7. Toyota Avalon – The only foreign car on the top ten list is Toyota’s flagship sedan. That’s because Toyota specifically designed the Avalon to compete in this particular market of over-65’s. Because of all the press, 39% of all Avalon sales went to retirees.

6. Mercury Sable – The Sable is the Ford Taurus’ upmarket cousin, and just like it’s always been, it’s essentially just a Taurus with a Mercury badge. Old people love it though, nearly half of all Sables sold (48.5%) have gone to people over 65.

5. Buick LaCrosse – The top five on this list is where the real favourites lie; there is a substantial jump in the percentage of over 65 buyers as we go from #6 to #5 on the list: Only 48.5% of all Sables want to old folks, meanwhile, almost 64% of all Buick LaCrosse sales were to people over 65.

It has old folk favorites like OnStar, electric seats with memory and remote audio controls on the steering wheel. We’re in the over-50% zone now, so it’s a safe bet to avoid all Buick LaCrosses you see.

4. Buick Lucerne – The Lucerne is the beefier version of the Buick LaCrosse, plus is has parking sensors and reversing cameras. It also has ‘Lane Departure Warning System’ that alerts the driver if the car starts to move out of its lan. Still, with a full 67% of all Lucerne’s out there belonging to over 65’s, I’ll still steer clear of them, with or without lane departure warning system.

3. Mercury Grand Marquis – The Mercury Grand Marquis costs a little more than half the price of the Lincoln Town Car and the two cars are virtually identical. If you exclude cops and other fleet drivers, a full 69% of all Grand Marquis drivers are over 65.

2. Cadillac DTS – The DTS is slightly larger and less sporty than the STS. It’s actually a direct competitor to the Lincoln Town car, so it appeals to retirees for all the same reasons. Brand recognition, quality image, and lots of technology like lane-departure warning system and blind-spot systems that many of the other top ten have make 72% of OAP’s buy one.

1. Lincoln Town Car – More than 75% of all Town Cars out there are driven by someone over 65, so keep an eye out. The Town Car is probably one of the spacious sedans for less than $47k. It has more interior space than many large executive cars.

The car is just the typical old man car: huge interior, rear-wheel drive, mirror like ride, plush seats and a powerful V8 petrol engine.

Via Cars Of The Future® Blog

     Prices of Maruti Suzuki 800 in Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai

All prices (indicative) on-road, in lakhs(Rs( & prices may vary

Via AutomobilePlanet.com

Maruti Suzuki Alto: Prices in Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai

Via AutomobilePlanet.com