Cash for Clunkers Continues Without the Cash

White House says Cash for Clunkers is still running, even if they don't have the money for it???Source:White House Says Cash for Clunkers Is Up and RunningThe White House insists the too-successful cash for clunkers program, despite running out of money, remains up and running Friday and will continue to operate through the weekend as the administration seeks additional funding for it.White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program remained "up and continuing to run," according to Politico.com....

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Another $2 Billion for Cash For Clunkers?

Democrats are looking to add $2 billion to the Cash for Clunkers Bill.  And when that's gone in another eight days?According to a Reuters report, legislators are working to put another $2 billion into the CARS program, a move that would keep the popular program ($1 billion in the first four official days of the program) alive. But if it took four days to spend $1 billion, will it take just another eight days to spend another 2?The vote, if it comes, would come as early as Friday in the House. Since the House goes on recession late on Friday,...

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2010 Highlander Hybrid Price Remains the Same

Toyota announced the Highlander Hybrid for 2010 will be priced the same as a 2009 Highlander Hybrid.The base MSRP price for the 2009 Highlander Hybrid ranged from $34,700 for the two-row, four-wheel drive with intelligence base model up to $41,020 for the three-row, four-wheel drive Limited model.The 2010 Highlander gas model, which will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (TMMI) beginning in October, will have an available backup monitor on the multi-informational display for the Base grade V6, and a power tilt/slide moonroof for...

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Cash For Clunkers May be Done?

The Detroit Free Press is reporting the Cash for Clunkers program has been so successful that it may already be finished, four days after its official start.  It was supposed to last up to three months, but the government made it clear it would only last until the money was spent.On Wednesday night, sources said the National Automobile Dealers Association surveyed its dealers to gauge how many Cash for Clunker transactions they had in the works. The average number of working deals for the 1,900 dealers who responded amounted to nearly 14 transactions,...

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House Bill Will Set Aside Half a Billion a Year For Research into Hybrids, Batteries, and Other Alternatives

House Committee on Science and Technology unanimously approved a $550 million bill (H.R. 3246) that begins in 2010 and would grow to $590 million by 2014 to fund research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of vehicles and related technologies.  Another $200 million, again increasing each year to $240 million in 2014, would go to Medium and Heavy Duty Commercial Vehicles.  Another $35 million, decreasing down to $15 million by 2014,  would go to user facilities and $20 million is being set for three years running...

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Toyota is Answering Your Questions

Toyota representatives are answering questions all week long at the guardian in the UK.  Although there is some European slant on some of the questions and answers, the answers are interesting and thoughtful.  For instance, when asked about diesel-hybrids, the reps from Toyota have some good points to make:Hybrid technology can be applied to diesel and we actually sell a diesel hybrid truck in Japan. The main reasons we do not have a diesel passenger car are:- Technical: Vibrations on a diesel engine are much stronger during starting...

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Smith Newtons Roll Out to Fortune 500 Companies

AT&T, Coca-Cola, Staples, Frito-Lay, PG&E, and KCP&L were all presented with the keys to their all new Smith Newtons, the world's largest commercially available battery-electric powered truck on the National Mall.  Missouri Senator Kit Bond attended the ceremony."The next generation electric vehicles Smith is producing demonstrates exactly the kind of technology we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and end our dependence on...

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Toyota Plans a Low Cost Compact Hybrid 'Yaris'

Toyota is looking to sell a hybrid compact at a lower price (under $16,000) starting in late 2011 according to the Asahi newspaper (via Reuters). That's well under the $20K the Honda Insight costs today, the lowest priced hybrid sold in the US or in Japan.The Toyota compact hybrid will be based on the Yaris platform, with a 'new cost competitive and fuel-efficient hybrid system.'According to the report, the new compact hybrid would be produced in France and Japan. It's unclear if it would make it to the ...

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Cash For Clunkers Worries

Be careful if you attempt to use the Cash for Clunkers Program.Another Cash for Clunker Glitch: Mileage Ratings Change, Disqualifying Some Deals - Auto ObserverEdmunds.com learned of the EPA's mileage rating changes over the weekend from consumers who had checked their trade-ins' combined mileage rating as recently as last Thursday to make sure the vehicle qualified. They then discovered while shopping for a new vehicle over the weekend that they no longer qualified because of the EPA's mileage ratings refresh.A few examples brought to Edmunds.com's...

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Nissan Electric Vehicle Preview on Tiida-based Prototype

Nissan demonstrated their new electric vehicle (EV) using a Tidda-based prototype.  Powered by a lithium-ion battery pack set beneath the vehicle floor, the EV has a range of 99 miles (160 km) with a full charge.Nissan has pushed ahead with EV even as Toyota and Honda have seen great success with their hybrids recently. Nissan has said they want to develop their own hybrid technology for smaller vehicles, and will have a hybrid Infiniti in...

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Boston Cab Owners Block Hybrid Taxis in Court

The plan to roll out hybrid taxis in Boston has hit a legal impasse once again.  Just as the latest case in New York on their efforts to bring hybrid taxis to the streets, a judge has sided with cab owners to block an enforced switch to a more fuel efficient fleet.US District Judge William G. Young granted a temporary injunction against the rules set by the city of Boston to force fleet cab owners to switch over a 7 year period to hybrid taxicabs.Boston has been insisting the long time period will help ease the transition, but cab owners want...

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Pros and Cons of Free Hybrid Car Parking

You may have seen the signs by now, free or preferred parking if you own a hybrid.  In towns and cities across the US and Canada, hybrid car owners are given the opportunity to obtain a 'green' sticker.  Once placed on the vehicle, the owner can then park in spots with meters, without paying.  Some retailers have also gotten into the act, allowing hybrid cars to park closer to the store in designated spots.Free parking for a Prius...

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Honda is Speeding Up the Insight

According to Autocar, Honda has decided to speed up the mid-cycle upgrade to the Honda Insight. It seems they are worried about the impact the Toyota Prius has had on their new dedicated hybrid. Honda had expected to compete favorably with Toyota, with their lower cost hybrid. But Toyota cut the price on the Prius, putting the Insight and the low-end Prius only a couple thousand dollars apart. Fuel efficiency improvements is the highest priority, but work will also be put into refining 'the Insight's unsettled low-speed rid...

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Nissan to Re-Tool Tennessee Plant With Federal Loans

Nissan is making plans to spend the money from the low cost loan from the government to re-tool the plant in Smyrna, Tennessee (Source: Nissan Plans Both Electric, Hybrid Cars at U.S. Plant (Update2) - Bloomberg.com). The plant employs 3,900 people and its current capacity is 550,000 cars and light trucks annually, including the hybrid Altima sedan.The electric vehicles will be phased in “to avoid under-utilizing the plant while the market is developing,” said Senior Vice President Andy Palmer.Perhaps they are talking about building their new hybrids...

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2010 Lexus HS 250h Hybrid Price

The 2010 Lexus HS 250h price tag has been set at an MSRP of $34,200, while the premium version is just a couple thousand more at $36,970. That price does not include the processing and handling fee of $875.The HS 250h (the h stands for hybrid) is the new dedicated hybrid from Lexus, which comes with the best combined EPA mpg of any luxury vehicle in the US according to the press release. The EPA estimates a fuel efficiency of 35 mpg city and 34...

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Nissan, Once Again, Wants More Hybrids

With Toyota and Honda hybrid sales surging, especially in Japan, Nissan says it will now consider expanding its hybrid line-up in the near future. Honda and Toyota, with the new Insight and next generation Prius, have seen their sales skyrocket in Japan with the new government policies benefiting hybrids and fuel efficient cars. Nissan may no longer be able to afford to wait on hybrids.Nissan has been cautious (to the say the least) in their approach to hybrids. Nissan CEO Ghosn has stated he 'hates selling cars for a loss' (paraphrase), which...

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Toyota Exec Complains About Ontario Plug-in Rebates

Toyota is complaining, but the new policy by the Ontario Government could help them in the long run.Ontario is going to offer up to to $10,000 to those who buy plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The car most likely to benefit from the new policy is the Chevy Volt from GM. Not by accident, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was standing in front of a Chevy Volt when he made the announcement. The E-REV will likely be the biggest benefactor from the benefit.Toyota is complaining because Canada is now a part owner (like the US government)...

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Will Plug-ins Continue to Disappoint?

With plug-in hybrids on the way, I think most people will expect too much from them. With possible claims like "never have to re-fuel again" or 100+ mpg, we may be setting the bar too high for popular adoption. Looking at the recent study results from google.org and now SDG&E (via GCC), we're seeing a consistent pattern of 60-70 mpg results in real-world driving (Google set up a controlled test where they got 90+ mpg). Toyota has already warned of high expectations for their plug-in Prius.Not that 60-70 mpg is a bad fuel economy.  It...

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Mazda to Buy Hybrid System From Toyota

According to a Nikkei report (via GCC), Mazda will be entering into a deal with Toyota for their hybrid system to be inserted into Mazda vehicles starting in 2013. (Sounds similar to the deal with Nissan and the Altima hybrid???)The deal is expected to conclude soon, with Toyota supplying "batteries, motors, control units, and other components made by group autoparts manufacturers." Mazda will get to enter the hybrid market, while Toyota gets to make money off their system. It will likely reduce costs (economy of scale) for Toyota, as well.The...

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Chevy Volt Finds a Home

With the high level of interest in the Chevy Volt, it's no wonder GM is trying to capitalize on the social aspects by introducing the E-REV in as many places as possible. From fan pages to facebook, the Chevy Volt is everywhere it seems.But GM has finally created a home base for their social plug-in hybrid.  The Voltage (http://www.chevroletvoltage.com/) will now be their base of operations, complete with blog and discussion boards, the Voltage will now be the source for all your Volt needs and questions.  GM will also be posting their...

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Chevy Volt Fanpage

By now, if you're interested enough in the Volt, you've probably already heard about the fanpage on facebook.  But what you might not know is who the other fans are.The good news is the other fans seem to be as interested in the Volt as you are. The better news is some of them really do know what they're talking about. I/L points out "at least a few of the fans appear to be well-informed employees of GM or supplier firms or otherwise involved in the Volt's development."Autobloggreen pulled out this question and answer that fully support...

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Lexus Is Already Six Months Behind

"Thanks to the green-car tax and a hybrid boom fanned by the Prius in Japan, we've already gotten 3,000 orders," Senior Managing Director Toshio Furutani said at the launch.With a sales goal of 500 units a month, that puts them six months ahead with their new Lexus HS 250h, the first dedicated hybrid from Lexus. It's also the cheapest hybrid starting at 3.95 million yen ($42,460) in the Lexus line-up while also being eligible for the maximum 267,000 yen ($2,870) tax break in Japan.The tax breaks have proven a boon to Toyota and Honda as they've...

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New Honda Chief Says Everyone is Going to Go the Way of the Hybrids

Talking about the upcoming CR-Z and Fit Hybrid, new Honda Chief Executive Takanobu Ito said "Bringing hybrids quickly to customers will be a major focus of our activities." (Source:Reuters)He also noted the engineers that used to work on the Formula One team are now working on hybrid development. Honda is now working on a new hybrid system with two electric motors for medium to large sized vehicles.Given that Japan outsold the US for hybrid car sales in June, it's not surprising to see the two main competitors from Japan (Honda and Toyota) are...

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Lexus Contest to Drive HS 250h

Lexus is holding a social contest to see who wants to drive the new 250h the most. Contestants are posting their profiles at DriveHS.com, where others can come and vote for them. The top vote getter will win a one year lease of a HS 250h, a weekend at a Fairmont Resort and a Lexus Hybrid Living gift package.The next two runner up will get a weekend at a Fairmont Resort, plus the week-long drive of the HS and a Lexus Hybrid Living Package, while the next 98 vote-getters will get get a week-long drive of the HS and a Lexus Hybrid Living gift package.Lexus...

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Peugeot and Mitsubishi Are Not Working Together to Develop Hybrids

Peugeot Citroen has denied rumors they were working with Mitsubishi Motors to develop hybrid cars. "We deny the information. We are working well with Mitsubishi on electric vehicles," a PSA Peugeot Citroen spokesman told Reuters. He added "we have our own research into plug-in hybrids."Peugeot has been working with Bosch to build a hybrid diesel and is expected sometime in 20...

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Hybrid Car Sales, June 2009

As I mentioned a week and a half ago, sales were up this month for hybrids, for the first time since April, 2008.  Spurred by the new Fusion and Milan Hybrids, along with the new generation Prius, hybrid car sales increased 4.5% from last year.  Not a huge gain, but compared to the overall market, a huge difference.Cumulative sales for the year are still down 33% from last year.Prius sales were up 10.5% from last year as the new model Prius...

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Hybrid Car Sales Will be Up for June

I don't have all the data I need to make my normal monthly report on hybrid car sales, but so far, the numbers look good. With just the reported values from Honda, Toyota and Ford, hybrid car sales so far are at 24,055. Total hybrid car sales in June, 2008 were 24,315 units sold. So, unless Nissan and GM sales come in under 260 units, hybrid car sales will be up for June, the first time they have been positive since April, 2008.The numbers so far: June, 2008 June, 2009 % Change Ford 1,912 3,649 91% GM 547 -...

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Hybrids and Highly Popular Models

This is a bit of a free thinking post, so forgive me if I ramble.Kelley Blue Book released the 'most researched vehicles' for the first half of 2009 and there aren't many surprises. 1. Honda Accord 2. Honda Civic 3. Toyota Camry 4. Honda CR-V 5. Toyota Corolla 6. Toyota Highlander 7. Nissan Altima 8. Toyota RAV4 9. Toyota Prius 10. Ford Mustang 11. Honda Pilot 12. MAZDA3 13. Honda Odyssey 14. Ford Fusion 15. Ford Escape 16. Chevrolet Camaro 17. Volkswagen Jetta 18. Toyota Sienna 19. Chevrolet Malibu 20. Lexus RX350What...

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