Archive for March 14th, 2010

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Geneva Motor Show

Today marks the conclusion of the 80th edition of the Geneva Motor Show but we could not let this remarkable episode end without mention of one final electric city car: the Eva concept by Valmet Automotive. The contract constructor, whose Finnish facility fabricates the Th!nk City, the genteel Garia golfcart and will soon furnish Fisker with the Karma, took it upon themselves to engineer their own vehicle as a way of exhibiting their expertise in this area as well.

What they’ve come up with is an attractive 2+2 built on an advanced aluminum space frame (like the Karma’s) with modularity that allows it to be adapted to other vehicle types. The drivetrain boasts a high-efficiency axial flux induction motor from Axco Motors featuring direct drive that can bring the Eva up to 120 km/h (75 miles per hour). Its Nokia smartphone technology allows the handset’s apps to be accessed through the infotainment system and also capture performance and other vehicle data. Its NAVTEQ-supplied navigation computer can take terrain into account and plan the most efficient route, lead you to the nearest charging station and warn you as you approach “point of no return” of its 100 mile (160 kilometers) range. The only thing this city car concept doesn’t seem to do is iron and fold your laundry. It’s even had its own charger unit which can be activated via SMS.

Although the company won’t be offering their automotive opus for sale, at least not directly, we still may have a chance to see it operating on the road. Valmet president Ilpo Korhonen referred to the Eva as “a car for driving not only for showing.” Hey, after all that effort, we hope so. Hit the jump for the full press release as well as bonus video of the vehicle’s unveiling.

[Source: Valmet Automotive]

Continue reading Geneva 2010: Valmet presents their all-electric Eva concept

Geneva 2010: Valmet presents their all-electric Eva concept originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a small piece of Motor Trend history on display at this weekend’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida. Actually, make that a big piece of history, because I don’t think there’s ever been a gathering quite like this; an eclectic collection of automotive rarities linked by a single common thread — they all appeared on the cover of Motor Trend magazine.

The seven cars in this group — some home-built specials, others mega-dollar factory concepts — were featured on covers of Motor Trend between 1949 and 1956. The Amelia lineup includes the Kurtis Sports Car that appeared on the cover of the very first issue of Motor Trend, published in September 1949, and the astonishing Timbs Special, which graced the cover of issue two the following month.

The Timbs Special was built from scratch by Van Nuys, California, based aircraft design engineer Norman E. Timbs. He designed and fabricated the chassis and the four wheel independent suspension, and built a full-scale wooden buck to help form the car’s voluptuous aluminum panels. The engine is a Buick straight eight, mounted mid-ships. It took three years and $10,000 to complete. You can read the full story of the car in the new issue of Motor Trend Classic.

Other cars in the group include the Buick LeSabre, one of world’s earliest concept cars, and the Firebird II, the fully functioning turbine car built by General Motors for the 1956 Motorama auto shows. The Firebird II featured titanium bodywork, independent suspension all round, four wheel disc brakes, and a prototype guidance system that was designed to follow signals sent from an electrical wire embedded in the road surface.

Rounding out the group are the Ghia Gilda, a concept built for the 1955 Turin Show and powered by a 1.5-liter OSCA four cylinder engine; the Hudson Italia, the limited edition Touring bodied coupe built in 1954 and 1955 on Hudson Jet running gear, and the quirky three-wheeled Davis, built by an ill-fated, LA-based start-up automaker in the late 1940s.

You can expect features on some of these cars in future issues of Motor Trend Classic.

Via MotorTrend Magazine Blogs

Filed under: Motorsports

2009 ALMS Monterey Sports Car Championships – Click above for a high-res image gallery

Spring is nearly upon us, and that means it’s time for the races. Here in North America, the top rung of the sports car ladder is the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), which, as always, kicks off its season with the 12-hour enduro at Sebring. For 2010, however, ALMS organizers have made some changes to the class structure with the old LMP1 and GT1 classes falling by the wayside.

A few weeks ago we had the chance to sit down with ALMS CEO Scott Atherton and get the state of the series. Everything you need to know about ALMS and the changes for 2010 is compiled after the jump.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading American Le Mans Series 2010 season preview

American Le Mans Series 2010 season preview originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports

And they’re off, ladies and gentleman, at the first race of what is undoubtedly one of the most hotly anticipated seasons in Formula One racing history. And it’s already living up to its promise.

In the off-season since the culmination of last year’s championship, one former Ferrari world champion left the sport, and another returned. One major automaker acquired the reigning championship team, while another two pulled out of the sport entirely. Several new teams joined the grid, and some pivotal new technical regulations were put in place. That’s quite a build-up, and it all comes down to this, the first grand prix of the year. Follow the jump to read how it unfolded.

Continue reading 2010 Formula One season kicks off with Bahrain Grand Prix [SPOILER ALERT]

2010 Formula One season kicks off with Bahrain Grand Prix [SPOILER ALERT] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Chem has made it official. The South Korean manufacturer is moving forward with plans to start production of lithium ion cells in Michigan. LG Chem and its U.S. subsidiary, Compact Power Inc. (CPI), will spend $303 million to build the cell plant in Holland, on the west side of the state. By 2013, the facility figures to employ over 400 people. Groundbreaking will take place this summer, with the factory scheduled to be fully operational by 2012. At full production, the plant will have enough capacity to produce cells for 50,000 to 200,000 battery packs, depending on the configuration (E-REV vs PHEV).

LG Chem already has supply agreements in place with two major automakers, General Motors and Hyundai-Kia. Hyundai is using LG Chem cells and battery packs in the Korean-market Elantra hybrid, along with sister company Kia’s Forte hybrid. Hyundai will launch the Sonata hybrid in the U.S. market later this year. General Motors uses LG Chem cells in a pack of its own design for the Chevrolet Volt. It’ll also use the same cells in packs manufactured by CPI for an as-yet-unnamed plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the current two-mode system.

Along with the $700 million being invested by GM in assembly and systems manufacturing for the Volt in Michigan, this new LG Chem investment brings the total to over $1 billion. Much of the funding for the LG Chem plant will come from federal and state incentives, including a $151 million grant that CPI received last year as part of the stimulus bill. LG Chem will contribute matching funds to the program.

LG Chem joins A123 Systems and Johnson Controls-Saft (JCS) in manufacturing lithium ion batteries in Michigan. The JCS factory is also in Holland, while A123 is setting up shop closer to Detroit in Livonia. Check out the official press release after the jump.

[Source: LG Chem]

Continue reading LG Chem to build lithium ion cell factory in Holland, MI

LG Chem to build lithium ion cell factory in Holland, MI originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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