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A big congratulation to the Nissan Leaf as it has defeated the Audi A8 and BMW 5-Series to earn the title of 2011 World Car of the Year. In 2010, the Volkswagen Polo took home this award. The award shows once again the importance of electric vehicles and the trend will continue in the next years. Fuel efficient vehicles are slowly becoming the core product of large automakers and a bet that can transform many companies. Deemed a "gateway to a brave new electric world," the panel of 66 automotive journalists were impressed by the Leaf's pure-electric powertrain and promise of zero-emission motoring. According to Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, "It is a great joy that the world's first, mass-marketed electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF, has won the prestigious award of 2011 World Car of the Year. This accolade recognizes Nissan LEAF, a pioneer in zero-emission mobility, as comparable in its driving performance, quietness and superb handling to gas-powered cars." In the less efficient realm of the industry, the 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia was named World Performance Car of the Year, and the sleek 2011 Aston Martin Rapide was given the World Design of the Year crown. Aston Martin Rapide Ferrari 458 Italia

After 13 years of production, Volkswagen has finally revealed the third incarnation of their iconic Beetle, simultaneously launching it at the Shanghai and New York Motor Shows this week. The new Beetle is purported to be larger and more mature than before, as evidence by its size and shape. I'm not sure whether the new Beetle will be able to shed its image as a 'girly' car though. It still looks reasonably cute with its shape, and will no doubt still attract its fair share of feminine drivers. But a friend of mine made an interesting observation as to how Volkswagen can market the Beetle to broaden its appeal. You see, in the 60s, the Beetle and the Microbus were icons for hippie travel. Thousands of these eccentric youths travelled in their Beetles and Microbuses across America in their new age movement. Fast forward to now, in the 21st century, and there is a new wave of 'hippies', in the form of the green movement. If Volkswagen comes up with a green Beetle (painted green for effect), powered by an electric or hybrid powertrain, then it could surely find itself being the new icon for a new generation. What do you think? Makes sense? Or am I just talking nonsense?

Electric 'supercar' maker Tesla which just recently pulled out from Singapore is now in a legal battle with the mega motoring show Top Gear from the UK. Apparently, they are battling it out in court due to Top Gear's depiction of the car. This is not the first time Top Gear is facing the flak from one of the companies which provide them cars to trash around, and neither will this be the last, but I do love Top Gear for their insanity sometimes.. No wait, ALL the time. According to Tesla, Top Gear's review had “contained lies and misinformation about the Roadster’s performance, behaviour and reliability.” It boils down to 5 areas: 1. “The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by four men.” 2. “The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).” 3. “One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.” 4. “The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.” 5. “That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.” Honestly, I couldn't care less about what Tesla wants to do with Top Gear because they are totally missing the point of the show, that it is in fact just 'a show'. And with Top Gears track record of being harsh on many cars these days including the infamous Perodua episode, it shouldn't be a surprise to them that Clarkson would spew out some form of criticism that may have been exaggerated but cannot be considered as a 'fact' in the true sense of the word. Well what do you think?

[extract] Ford is poised to take on the Nissan Leaf EV with the all-new Focus Electric that was revealed recently in production guise. This is Ford

Following the Fluence Z.E. all-electric sedan concept's unveiling at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and last December's presentation of the Kangoo Van Z.E. prototype at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Renault recently unveiled the finalized designs of both models. The French automaker said that customers in Europe and selected countries including Singapore, South Africa and Russia can pre-reserve their vehicle at www.renault-ze.com. First batch of delivery is expected in the first half of 2011. The Fluence Z.E is powered by an electric motor producing 94HP and 226Nm of torque that motivates the front wheels through a direct drive transmission. The capacity of the Fluence Z.E.'s lithium-ion battery is 22kW/h. The battery itself tips the scales at 250kg and is located behind the rear seats. The driver can charge the battery through a household supply, at fast charge stations using a 32A 400V supply or via a QuickDrop battery switch system that will enable the car's battery to be swapped in approximately three minutes at bespoke battery exchange stations. Fully charged, the Fluence Z.E. has a driving range of up to 160km with a top speed of 130km/h. Continuing with the Kangoo Z.E., the small van is powered by a 59HP electric motor with 226Nm of peak torque that drives the front wheels. The lithium-ion battery is located in a central position beneath the floor, enabling the Kangoo Z.E. to boast the same carrying capacity as the internal combustion-engined model. The battery can be charged via a household main supply (16A 220V) for about six to eight hours, offering an operational range of 160 km.

[extract] At this year

Europe is a place where electric cars (EVs) seem very viable for people to own. The governments and manufacturers over there are willing to come up or share a budget to install charging stations and the people over there are also willing to use it for short commutes and take public transport for longer trips. As such, EVs can flourish (a little) and cars by the Oslo based company THINK can sell their EVs in decent numbers. THINK must be doing well as they have introduced a 2+2 version of their Think City EV. The car is already available for sale in Europe and everything is carried over from the smaller (really small) two seat model. The car gets a 34kW electric motor that somehow enables it to cruise at 110km/h and its batteries ensure that it has a range of 100km on a full charge. It takes 8 hours for a 100% charge on a lithium battery and on a cheaper code

[extract] U.S. industrial giant, General Electric (GE), will be purchasing 25,000 electric cars (EVs) by 2015 and about half of them with be from General Motors (GM). This new fleet of EVs will supplement/replace the existing vast fleet of around 30,000 vehicles that GE has, including cars available for lease by consumers from the company

U.S. auto supplier Delphi Automotive is partnering WiTricity Corp to develop a wireless charging technology for electric vehicles. Delphi is working on a system that would simply require the drivers to park their electric car over a wireless energy source installed in the floor of a home garage, or fitted under the pavement of a parking spot. The vehicle

This year's edition of the Paris show will see the VW Group's Skoda brand unveiling its first-ever electric-powered vehicle called the Octavia Green E Line. Skoda says it is planning to create a special test fleet of Octavias Green E Line in 2011 with the goal of obtaining additional information relevant to the further development of the electric drive. The concept model is based on the Octavia Combi and is powered by an electric motor delivering a constant power of 80-hp with a maximum output of 114-hp. Peak torque of 270Nm is available from the start. The pure-electric Octavia accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 12 seconds, with a maximum limited speed of 135 km/h. Electricity for the drive motor is supplied by a 26.5 kWh battery made up of 180 lithium-ion cells. It weighs around 315 kg and is located in the middle to rear of the undercarriage, extending partly into the luggage compartment. Skoda claims the battery has little impact on the volume of the passenger and luggage compartments. At full capacity, the battery is said to offer a driving range of about 140 kilometers. The concept model at the Paris show will be finished in a Pearl-white exterior color and features a glossy black roof with integrated energy-generating photovoltaic panels.

[extract] The Swedish automaker is currently testing the viability of using the body panels of an electric car as a battery, by taking part in a

The car in the photographs are the latest pics of a facelifted Hyundai i10. Hyundai's really good mini car was shown to have been facelifted at a recent event in South Korea. The event was to have been for the preview of the i10 BlueOn, a fully electric car version of the i10 that had the new styling on its exterior. Now the actual unveiling of the facelifted i10 was supposed to be at the Paris Motor Show later this month but sometimes, manufacturers slip up. In a globally connected world, a small event in South Korea will still be a significant piece of breaking news when the people start connecting two and two together. This time, the motoring journalists have pieced this piece of news with the new looks of the i10 BlueOn, deducting that the new face is actually the facelifted styling for the i10 in general. The i10's styling now has the design cues from the new i35 crossover vehicle. This is present in the front headlights and the grille/ front bumper layout. The reshaped lights look much better and shaplier instead of just a basic triangular shape. This and the wider gaping grille have made the car look wider and flatter than it actually is. In fact, one of the reasons why I myself do not fancy the i10 is because of its tall and slightly clumsy looking stance and styling. It has now been slightly improved with this facelift and I would say this very well made small car is now an even better car to buy or drive, although the news does not say anything about handling upgrades but the looks now make you feel better when you drive one. Not much has been said about the interior upgrades. This may be small and insignificant but the i10 in my opinion does not need an interior tweak as much as the exterior. It is already a very nice place to be in as the materials used for the interior feel very tactile to the touch and of a higher quality than expected for a small car. The facelifted i10 will also have fully compliant Euro5 engines. The 1.2liter engine will have a slight retune for more power and lower CO2 emissions but there will also be a new 1.0liter 3 cylinder petrol engine that will replace the old 1.1liter petrol engine. The main improvement to this engine is CO2 emissions under the 100g/km benchmark, by 1g/km. On the specification of the electric powered i10 BlueOn (sounds like a long lost cousin of Ju-On or some quirky Korean name), it is powered by a lithium ion polymer battery with a 80bhp rated electric motor. It has a range of more than 130km on a single charge and has a top speed of around 130km/h. So technically you can travel for a distance of 130km or travel anywhere for an hour before you need to find an electric socket. Then you need 25 minutes to get an 80 percent charge or a whole 6 hours for a full charge to travel another 1 hour or 130km. Give me the 1.2liter petrol engine anytime. photo/news source:autocar/newyorktimes

[extract] Honda, the maker of highly efficient petrol powered engines, is quite skeptical about electric cars being the future of the automobile. The president of the Honda Research & Development unit, Tomohiko Kawanabe, stated that the lack the confidence in electric vehicle technology and that it is questionable that consumers will

Renault's home auto show in Paris this Fall will mark the beginning of a new styling direction for the brand with a new concept car. The DeZir is the first major project under new design vice president Laurens van den Acker and according to Renault, it represents the vision of simple, sensuous and warm. The DeZir wouldn't be a modern Renault concept if it wasn't powered by electrons, and such is the case for this coupe. Energy storage comes by way of the same size 24 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack that sits underneath the Nissan Leaf and tThe driving range remains the same at 100 miles. Unlike the Leaf, the pack in the concept is configured for Quick Drop exchanges. Propulsion is provided by a 110 kilowatt electric motor spinning the rear wheels and pushing the 1,830 pound concept to 60 mph in 5 seconds according to specification. Kevlar body panels are wrapped around a steel tube frame chassis with double wishbones at all four corners. Renault hasn't given any indication if the DeZir will be produced.

The future of motor racing's so quiet I gotta use loud speakers. Yes. Loud speakers pumping out a fake V8 soundtrack while purely electric racers run around race tracks just whizzing around with hardly any sound coming from them. You wouldn't know if an electric race car is coming or going. And its very possible as the BMW Mini is now the first automotive manufacturer that has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife's 20.8km long distance in a modified racing version of the Mini E. The purely electric Mini E Racer managed to lap the 'Ring in a time of 9minutes 51.45seconds and was timed at the straight at a maximum speed of 187km/h. Not really that fast as it you compare the Renault Megane R26R did it in 8minutes 17seconds, but I suppose it is history in the making. The Electric Mini E is an all electric powered version of the BMW Mini. It was launched as a field test in June 2009 and was available through leasing to individuals in Los Angeles and the New York/New Jersey areas in the United States. Another batch of 40 Mini E were made available to private users in the United Kingdom for 2 trial periods. The standard Mini E is a front wheel drive car with an electric motor that is mounted in the usual engine bay and makes 204PS and 220Nm of torque. The car utilizes a lithium-ion battery pack with an overall capacity of about 35kilowatt-hours. The batteries weigh 259kg and replaces the back seat. How unpractical for a four seat city car that can only carry two. Top speed is electronically limited to a sedate 153km/h and the car