Mitsubishi i MiEVs to become taxis in Tokyo
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Mitsubishi, Japan
If you want to take a taxi in Tokyo, you now have an electric option. At least if you are in the Otemachi, Marunouchi or Yurakucho districts between the daytime hours of 8:30 and 5:30. The Hinomaru Limosine Company is adding a pair of Mitsubishi i MiEVs to its fleet, making it the first in Japan’s capitol to offer an electric vehicle for hire. The fare will be the same 710 yen ($7.85 at today’s rate) for the first two kilometers (1.24 miles) as the company’s other taxis, though they will principally be driven by women able to provide their customers with local area and tourist information. They will also feature a pleasant aromatic oil to help you relax. No, really.
While they may be the first in Tokyo, they will not be the last. Although not on the road yet, another company and Better Place have been working since January to prepare cars and a battery-swapping station for a similar scheme. The ZeRO TAXI service, in the meantime, will be officially launched this Thursday with a ceremony at the Mitsubishi building in Marunouchi followed by some complimentary drives for the attending media.
[Source: Hinomaru Limosine Company via Green Car Congress]
Mitsubishi i MiEVs to become taxis in Tokyo originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sebring 2010: Bad start for Jaguar as XKR goes out in first hour
Filed under: Motorsports, Jaguar, Racing
Unfortunately for Jaguar, the only XKR to make it to the finish of the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring was the green and black pace car. Sebring was to have been the full-season competition debut for the new JaguarRSR XKR GT2, but it looks like team has a lot more work to do before the car’s a potential race winner. After consistently running near the bottom of the GT2 class time charts in practice and qualifying, the race proved to be the icing on a stale cake.
Less than an hour into the 12-hour enduro, the XKR pulled into the pits with team principal Paul Gentilozzi only having completed 11 laps. It’s been reported that one of the cylinder heads on the 5.0-liter V8 cracked, an issue that couldn’t be resolved in the pits or paddock in time to get the car back in the race. Hopefully, the team will take the lessons of Sebring and be able to implement some changes before the next event at Long Beach in four weeks. It’d be great to see the Jag in contention with the Ferraris, Porsches and Corvettes.
[Source: JaguarRSR]
Continue reading Sebring 2010: Bad start for Jaguar as XKR goes out in first hour
Sebring 2010: Bad start for Jaguar as XKR goes out in first hour originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Gordon Murray shares his thoughts on the McLaren MP4-12C
Filed under: Coupe, Performance
McLaren MP4-12C – Click above for high-res image gallery
Gordon Murray is perhaps the most innovative automotive engineer of the last several decades. He’s never been afraid to try out offbeat ideas and more often then not, they’ve worked exceptionally well. Long before the Ariel Atom, Murray created the Rocket, built by the Light Car Company.
Murray’s greatest creation, of course, was the McLaren F1. As with the Rocket and the T25 city car that he’s currently working on, low mass was (and continues to be) a defining principle.
Following the official launch of McLaren Automotive and the MP4-12C a few days ago, Murray discussed the new car with AutoExpress. He’s glad to see that in spite of recent trends toward heavier cars, McLaren was able to keep mass comparatively low on its new car. The MP4-12C is several hundred pounds heavier than the legendary F1, but it also contains a lot of safety equipment that wasn’t in use when the earlier car was built.
Murray is also happy to see that McLaren employed some of the concepts that he worked on before he left the company, such as the carbon-fiber monocoque that was planned for a follow-up to the Mercedes-Benz SLR.
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Williams courting Volkswagen into Formula One?
Filed under: Motorsports, Volkswagen
Williams is intent on bringing another major automaker into Formula 1, but which will get the call? Volkswagen has toyed with the idea of entering F1 for some time. The German auto giant is one of the largest carmakers never to participate in the sport, notwithstanding Porsche and Lamborghini, which have in the past and which have since fallen under the VW umbrella. The latest reports suggest that if costs continue to drop and stability is restored, Volkswagen could field an entry – in some form or another – by 2013. Questions remain over which of its many brands and divisions VW would choose to promote through its participation, and whether it’d opt for a full-on factory team (like Ferrari, Renault or Mercedes-Benz) or instead develop and supply engines to existing teams (as Cosworth currently does).
Williams, for its part, is very interested in partnering with Volkswagen, should it join the grid in 2013. How interested? Autocar reports that could Williams could be interested in selling its F1 team wholesale to Volkswagen, much as Sauber did to BMW (Williams’ old partner, which has since left the sport entirely) and Brawn has to Mercedes-Benz. Williams F1 team principals Frank Williams and Patrick Head have already offloaded part of the team to Austrian investor Toto Wolff, and Autocar quotes Williams as saying to Germany’s Bild, “We are stronger with a manufacturer than as a private team.”
[Source: Autocar]
Williams courting Volkswagen into Formula One? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
2010 24 Hours of Sebring goes into the books [SPOILER ALERT]
Filed under: Motorsports, Acura, Audi, Chevrolet, Porsche, Ferrari, Peugeot, Diesel, Racing
![4ba579bed9648fullscreenmediatheque copy 2010 24 Hours of Sebring goes into the books [SPOILER ALERT]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/4ba579bed9648fullscreenmediatheque-copy.jpg "2010 24 Hours of Sebring goes into the books [SPOILER ALERT]")
2010 12 Hours of Sebring – Click above for high-res image gallery
The first of nine races that comprise the 2010 American Le Mans Series is now in the history books, as the 12 Hours of Sebring came to a conclusion under the cover of darkness Saturday night. For those of you who still have the race on your DVRs, you can come back here later. For the rest of you, read on to find out who got a jump on the rest of the ALMS field.
Gallery: 2010 12 Hours of Sebring
Tata displayed Nano Electric Vehicle at Geneva Motor Show
Tata Motors launched the Electic variant of its popular small car at the Geneva Motor Show. The Electric Nano whcih is christened Nano EV is primarily aimed at European Market. The electric motor and battery pack has been neatly incorporated in the car withought affecting is functionality.
Along with the Nano EV was none other than the latest entry in the Tata family, The Aria – which is supposed to be the best Tata ever yet. Aria will go on sale in UK in early 2011. Aira has been designed according to the European standards and Tata is expecting to get a 4 star ratings in the EuroNACP
Going Once, Going Twice: Do we hear any bids for MV Agusta?
Filed under: Performance, Europe, Motorcycle, Rumormill
2010 MV Agusta F4 – Click above for high-res photo gallery
You can’t breathe a word about Harley-Davidson these days without being swirled into the rumormill. Even the financial analysts have chimed in to speculate about a possible buyout. The official news traveled fast regarding the corking of the Buell bottle, but that still leaves the better-looking Italian cousin. What will become of MV Agusta?
Word on the street indicates that Harley may be in talks with a few different – and equally interesting, we might add – buyers, the first of which is Paul Berlusconi, brother of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. For a brand that couldn’t be more quintessentially Italian, an MV/Berlusconi marriage seems rather appropriate, or adatto as they may say it in Italy.
The buyer behind door number two is where things get more exciting. Rumor has it that BMW has shown serious interest in MV Agusta.
Can we get confirmation from either party? Of course not, but stay tuned for updates as this story develops. Either way, we hope to see MV Agusta on two wheels (or, you know… sometimes just one) for years to come.
