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UK Channel 4 documentary that has caused a stir...the truth about diesels and its consequences. http://youtu.be/7QUoP3EnELA

I recently had a go (sometime early this year) with the facelifted Honda Insight courtesy of Honda Malaysia via a journalist friend of mine who was testing it for a few days. It is basically the same car with some cosmetic changes to the front and rear bumpers, front grille, a CVT gearbox with some minute improvements and some tweaks to the hybrid drivetrain. The improvements made are nothing to shout about as it is still basically the same car, powered by the same 88ps, 121Nm 1.3-litre engine coupled to a tiny 14ps, 78Nm electric motor that assists the car when the going gets tough. What both engines give you isn

[extract] Mazda has used the Wankel rotary engine for nearly fifty years. Other than Mazda

While Toyota faces stiff competition with its hybrids in Singapore, it dominates with ease in the Japan market. Showcasing its Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011, Toyota plans to have the car ready by 2015 and at a reasonable price. You would think that the battery plant, Primeearth EV Energy (PEVE) includes a tour on how the Japanese car manufacturer builds their hybrid cars. Instead, it brings over 40 journalists from 13 different countries on a tour of how the battery in Toyota cars is made. Clean, automated and accurate best describes what I reckon the place to be. We had to put on a shower cap followed by a yellow mash cap (very Japanese), shoe cover and an overhaul before we got into a room where we got ourselves cleared of dust. In the factory itself, translators were busy helping us better understand how a battery pack was made. It sent a clear message of how much pride the Japanese had in their work. The automated machines are accurate to the last dot and are seamlessly working to meet the very mechanical needs of the battery. When asked what was the lifespan of a battery in a hybrid was, Executive General Manager of Toyota Motor Corporation, Satoshi Ogiso confidently replied that it would only lost 20% of its power every 5 years, making it last for more than 20 years, or a car

The official distributor of Honda cars in Singapore, Kah motor, said about 205 Honda Civic Hybrids it sold here are affected by the global recall announced yesterday. The figure does not include vehicles sold by parallel importers. Thet are recalling due to a defective chip that could stall the engine and cause problems restarting in certain models. - Today

The official distributor of Honda cars in Singapore, Kah motor, said about 205 Honda Civic Hybrids it sold here are affected by the global recall announced yesterday. The figure does not include vehicles sold by parallel importers. Thet are recalling due to a defective chip that could stall the engine and cause problems restarting in certain models. - Today

For you owners with PI hybrid cars, where do you guys do your servicing? what needs to be done for electric motor maintenance? what happens when the electric motor components fail?

[extract] In line with Toyota

Just my 2 cents i don't think it will really save you alot of money . environment not really too ....

Telsa was the last example of how battery power can be cool and fast at the same time when done correctly in a car, but now Bugatti say they're creating a prototype that runs entirely on batteries, and.. wait for it.. can produce 800bhp!! I really wonder how many batteries they have crammed into that car. Nonetheless, that is incredible. The secret for all that immense amount of power lies in the powerful electric motors that the batteries are connected to. The advanced lithium-ion battery pack is fused with two crazy huge electric motors which produce 2,200Nm of torque from 0km/h. However, as all battery cars go, this one.. according to Bugatti, will last only a 'matter of minutes' and run out of juice. On the other hand, they say that this battery powered monster delivers 'absolutely unbelievable' acceleration that is unparalleled by other road going cars. The sad part of this whole story is that the car has never been revealed to the public eye. So one can only dream about how it looks like. The one thing we know is that the chassis is believed to be based on the Bently Continental GT. One day this may make an appearance at a motor show, but one thing's for sure; Bugatti is withholding a ballistic electric car that's waiting to pounce..

Now we all know that going green is essential or so it seems, to our survival and our future generations as well. However, when this noble act of saving the earth becomes obsessive and as you will see, rather far fetched, it seems like car manufacturers are just jumping on the bandwagon to show that they're being 'green' and 'environmentally friendly' when in actuality, it may just be marketing ploys and the influence of pop culture. In one of the most surprising revelations in the recent weeks, Indonesia has revealed their latest creation. A hybrid car. Which is both amusing and rather desperate when you find out how long it takes to start up. The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) revealed their car and unfortunately, it took 15 minutes to actually move. No doubt it still is in it infant stages, but when you reveal a car to the world, at least make sure it works! The ride was bumpy, slow, and there isn't even power steering. So is this a step forward or backwards? It becoming rather confusing. The main idea of a hybrid car would send the message that a country is moving forwards in the spectrum of technology, but this? I highly doubt so. The LIPI produced car is just one extreme. On the other hands, there are geeks all over the world who congregate together and think of ideas and designs which frankly only people who live in a world where everyone travels around in bubbles can ever think of. And if you thought a Chinese-American union was a good idea, this is what results. General Motors and the Shanghai Automotive Industry have come up with this: the EN V concept which is their idea of a 'new global urban mobility vehicle'. I can't really be bothered to talk about the designs but they can be described with one word; hideous. And this is a quote which explains what these 'urban mobility vehicles' are all about: "The EN-V concepts are GM's solution for the congested urban centers in which we're all likely to live by 2030. Their all-electric, two-wheel drivetrains take care of the emissions problem. They're also fitted with the latest GPS, vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity and an array of sensors and cameras that allow fully autonomous driving. The effect of all this tech is less congestion on city roads and the virtual elimination of accidents. Zero emissions, zero traffic jams and zero accidents

Image: The Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car Alternative fuels for vehicles have, in recent years, become one of the most hyped topics in motoring. The frequency which it is mentioned in the media or by politicians may seem to suggest that alternative fuels are the future of motoring and marks the way forward. At the risk of sounding like an idiot (should I be proved wrong by future events), I proffer my opinion - alternative fuels will not become mainstream in our near future; in fact, I might die before that happens (I am 26, by the way). The reason for my lack of optimism for alternative fuel technologies like electric vehicles is based on my prediction that such technologies will remain too costly or impractical to outweigh the costs of continually using petrol/diesel. And, it is likely to remain so in the near future. First, let me show why I believe that petrol/diesel is likely to remain cheaper than alternative fuels in the next few decades. This is because our supplies of oil are not really running out as quickly as the media and doomsayers will have us believe. In 2009, Exxon Mobil, one of the largest oil companies in the world, replaced its reserves at 133%. This means that Exxon was able to find more new sources of oil than it produced/consumed. Roughly speaking, its reserves would have increased in 2009. The 10 year predicted replacement ratio is estimated to be 112%. This hardly seems like an oil supply or energy crisis in the making, if you ask me. If we factor in the fact that research and development in extraction methods is always ongoing, it could be a very long time before we run low on fossil fuels. I would say there is a high chance that it would not happen within the next few decades, possibly longer. Now, moving onto alternative fuel technologies. Those with the highest chance of success are those that do not inconvenience the end users much. After all, humans are very much used to a certain driving lifestyle. We drive until petrol runs low, find a petrol station, top up, drive some more. Having to charge a battery operated car daily or having to wait more than 15 minutes to get a "full tank" probably will not find much favor with the bulk of motorists here. After all, if the costs of petrol operation do not spike dramatically as I assert, then there is little incentive to bear with such inconveniences. When we add the higher upfront costs of battery technology, electric cars really have much room for improvement before they can supplant petrol powered cars. So, we are left with alternative fuels like CNG or perhaps hydrogen fuel cells. These technologies operate remarkably similarly to petrol driven vehicles. Not much change of habits required for drivers. But this doesn't mean it is a sure shot. After all, these technologies have their own obstacles to surmount. For one, we are not sure which is the way forward. Currently, CNG is more developed but it is also based on a finite resource (same as petrol). Hydrogen fuel cells are still a nascent technology at best but may offer more advantages compared to CNG. And who knows what other technologies there are on the horizon? With such uncertainty, can we really expect that costs will go down in the near future? After all, research will have to be diversified among these technologies (like hedging bets), driving costs up and delaying development. Furthermore, will private entities or governments invest millions or billions in building enough new "refuelling" stations or retrofitting existing stations when there is so much uncertainty involved? I doubt it. What is likely to happen is that only a handful of stations will be built, heavily restricting the convenience that forms the advantage for such types of technologies. What we really need is an alternative fuel technology that is cheap and simple. It must either be so cheap to manufacture, maintain and "refuel" compared to petrol technology that users will be persuaded to make the switch despite its inconveniences OR it must be just as convenient as petrol technology and not much more pricey. And, as hard as I try to scan around, I can't seem to locate such an alternative fuel anywhere in sight. So UNLESS a revolutionary technological advancement (along the likes of the Internet) is made, I would say that it is a long and tough road ahead for alternative fuel technologies.

- the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept. A 718ps all wheel drive hybrid supercar. Recently we have read or heard that Proton has come up with a hybrid/electric/something green prototype of a car that basically resembles a box on wheels. The designed by Italdesign-Giugiaro is supposedly an achievement in how a car should be packaged. It looks like either an elongated SMART Fortwo or a shortened Mercedes A-class. So the actual innovative thing is that the Proton concept EMAS is that its a environmentally friendly car made by a company that is a few decades old instead of one which is a hundred or so years old. A milestone for quite a young company I suppose. - A Proton, but not as we know it We then also found out recently that Ferrari has showcased its hybrid 599 Hy-KERS concept car. This green prancing horse has an electric motor giving a small boost in power but is negated by the extra weight it has to carry, due to the batteries. Like the KERS system in Formula 1, the system allows for brake energy regeneration. They say it will run fully on electricity at low speed , but imagine crawling through traffic in a silent Ferrari, or going to those hip and happening nightspots in total silence or going through a tunnel in a Ferrari that does not make any sort of noise. Of course Ferrari has stated that they will never, ever build a totally electric Ferrari so you still have that v8 or v12 for aural thrills. But you just somehow think that most car companies usually eat their words at one time or another. Especially when at one time I remember reading Luca De Montezemolo stating that Ferrari will not build more than 9,000 units per year. And now they're crossing 10,000. - A Ferrari hybrid that is green, in colour Now Porsche has joined the hybrid band wagon with the 918 Spyder Concept. A hybrid that can do 0-100km/h in 3.2seconds, do the Nurbergring in under 7minutes 30 seconds and only use 3liters of petrol every 100km if you're not doing a Banzai lap, that is. It has 718 combined PS of which two electric motors, one front and one rear make a total of 218ps. The supposedly extremely high 9,200rpm redline 500ps V8 driving the rear wheels is the baby which I like. In a nutshell, this is the Porsche Carrera GT in Four Wheel Drive hybrid form. The Porsche is built on a modular monocoque bodyshell made of carbon reinforced plastic as well as magnesium and aluminum. The result is a pretty svelte 1,490kg, despite having to carry the hybrid system. The rear wheels are driven by the V8 and an electric motor through a 7-speed Porsche PDK DSG transmission, while the front axle

Hybrids never fail to bore people unless they're nerds who love to talk all day about how they work or compare how many batteries their hybrid has. However, Honda's revelation of the CR-Z changed the world's perception of hybrids. What used to be stereotyped as slow and aesthetically boring is now sporty and rather handsome. Now there are plans to create another version to stuff the shoes into the mouths of hardcore petrol-heads, behold the CR-Z Type R. The CR-Z already had head turning looks but now with Mugen on the team, the Type R version is set to look even better and more aggressive than before, in short, it doesn't look like it has a ton of batteries in its belly. The coupe-like body is now matched with a red Honda badge, a body kit which will surely be scraped on speed humps, and even the Audi original day time running lights on the front lip. The most obvious difference between the standard CR-Z and the Type R is the blacked out hood and side mirrors against the Alpine White paint. This is sure to separate the men from the boys. Under the bonnet, the standard CR-Z glides with a 102bhp 1.5 litre engine with a 20bhp electric motor on board bringing the total number of horses to 122. But with Mugen, things are meant to go a little bonkers. There have been speculation that the Civic Type R's 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine could be the CR-Z's powerplant and the electric motor will be bumped up to produce 50bhp giving the CR-Z a total combined horsepower of 200 and a 0-100 timing of 6 seconds. The standard CR-Z will then be pale in comparison with a pedestrian 0-100km/h time of 9 seconds. All this speed with the fuel consumption of a camel at 20km/l which is quite amazing even though this is still all in theory. Along with the changes under the hood, the Type R will have an additional button on the dash labelled, 'Sport Plus' which makes everything feel faster and more exciting. It sharpens the throttle response, steering and the timing of the stop-start system and the electric motor will be set to work at full power to provide maximum performance. Better brakes and suspension will also be included to turn the standard CR-Z into a blazing mean machine.. The Type R is currently being prepared to make its debut in the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show before it hits the showrooms in Japan late in 2011.

As we are all familiar by now, hybrid cars run on both petrol engine and an electric motor. And this has caused a rather unusual problem. They're too quiet and that poses a source of danger to pedestrians like children or old people who can't really hear that well. Amazingly, hybrid cars such as the Prius only emit 30 decibels which is as loud as a Careless Whisperer.. The Japanese government is stepping in to tackle this new problem on their hands, one which they created for themselves in the interest of public safety and being environmentally friendly. What they plan to do is to install a simple device that makes a noise while the car is operating on its electric motor. The biggest problem that the Japanese government faces is the kind of sound that the car should make. Some suggested the sound of a horse's hooves, the voice of a person shouting out warnings, or the amplified sound of tyres. One thing's for sure is that the Japanese never fail to entertain just by looking at the suggestions to solve the problem! However, the Transport Authorities aren't going to make it compulsory to install such sound-generating devices into hybrids or electric cars even though they are becoming increasingly popular in Japan. Just imagine the roads of Japan with sounds of ducks, horses, monkeys? A jet fighter, a bomb, a phone ringing, an ice-cream van jingle. The list can go on... Which is why the authorities want to standardize the type of sound emitted before they implement such measures. Since Japan is always at the forefront of technological advances, I believe that if Singapore follows their example of promoting environmentally friendly vehicles like hybrids and EVs (electric vehicles), we will face the same problem they are facing now one day. So get our heads cracking and decide whether your car should go 'Moo' or 'Ruff ruff!'... But come on, what's wrong with conventional engine noises? Stuff your eco-friendly car with some Bose speakers and blast the sound of a burbling Supercharged V8 from a Mercedes SLR or something and the problem is solved. Well that's one possibility. What do you think?

The competition has gotten even tougher. Car manufacturers these days are becoming so obsessed with creating the greenest car in the world. It's almost like a trophy that they can hold out to the beaming eyes of the motoring public to show that they are environmentally friendly. This time, Renault's new Clio is the current green leader. The new Clio's party-piece is its engine. The dCi 86 powered Clio emits a mere 98g/km and that is astonishing. I think Singaporeans should be a little more accepting towards diesel powered cars as they really do offer fuel efficiency on a whole new level. However, the problem in Singapore is that even if a diesel powered car is a Euro IV or V compliant, its road tax is still 4 times more than a conventional petrol powered one. And I think that's ridiculous when a diesel like this one can offer so much more mileage... Anyway, the new Clio looks great, goes as far as a camel goes without water and it is relatively affordable compared to its counterparts. All in all, the new Clio is a hit, as long as the government doesn't take away too much of our money just because we want to become more environmentally friendly.

The German's these days are getting increasingly aggressive. It used to be just Hitler, but now its the Volkswagen group. They've become so dominant that mentioning a car under their name is inevitable. Volkswagen have led the way in build quality, their innovative and extremely efficient DSG gearbox which is currently unparalleled in the mass-car market and even in their advertising for crying out loud. Most notably however, the car that has stood the test of time is undoubtedly the Golf. And now, there's a new variant. The Hybrid Golf Coupe. Recently unraveled at the Detriot Motor Show last week, the Hybrid Golf Coupe will be the wedge between the Scirocco and the Passat CC. It will be equipped with a 147bhp engine with a 25hp electric motor and comes with the DSG seven speed gearbox which enables the Golf Coupe to do 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds. And that is impressive from a car that dons one of those 'hybrid' badges. The best part though, is that the Golf Coupe comes with a special clutch which separates the engine from the drivetrain to reduce drag and this comes into play when you lift off while traveling at high speeds, the car will glide smoothly rather than be bogged down by the engine. This results in a very tree-hugging 20km/litre and carbon emissions of 98g/km which is astonishing! For those who cannot stand the idea of a hybrid, don't despair. Petrol and Diesel engines are on the way too.. This looks much more exciting than the current Golf and is it just me or are there huge hints of the Audi A4's tail lamps at the rear? That's no matter really, because the Golf Coupe looks fantastic with those front headlights, certainly hope those go into the production model. Even the old school open front grille has been closed up to reduce drag. These German's are so obsessive about making a green car yet their minimalist and simplistic designs still please the eyes.. This car will definitely be worth the wait.

I never really thought hybrids will do well in Singapore's road conditions. Anyone owns a hybrid??