Transportation

Volkswagen sees tensions amid leadership clash - BBC News Mr. Winterkorn has never been a big proponent of EVs; not sure if his position is in jeopardy here but, hope VW/Audi get their EV story going beyond the e-Up/e-Golf and the plugin e-trons.

Fiat Chrysler plans to invest $540 million to develop two new internal combustion engines (ICE) for its Alfa Romeo brand: Alfa Romeo Engines

Siemens researchers have developed a new type of electric motor that, with a weight of just 50 kilograms, delivers a continuous output of about 260 kilowatts – five times more than comparable drive systems. Link...

FTC crackdown on a Nissan dealership results in 8 felony charges: Ex-dealership staffers face prison The FTC has taken 252 actions against dealerships the past year alone for deceptive marketing, odometer fraud and financial (loan) fraud. So much for the dealership argument that they are...

I know it is not really comparable, but here is Aston Martin with their new pride the "Vulcan". 800 HP and 0-60 in about 3 seconds. Price $2.3 million. For that kind of money you can have almost 20 P85D's with specs that are comparable. BBC - Autos - Exclusive: Up close with Aston Martin's...

MILAN (Reuters) -- China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina) will buy Pirelli, the world's fifth-largest tire maker, in a 7.1 billion euro ($7.7 billion) deal that will place one of the symbols of Italy's manufacturing industry in Chinese hands. The deal will give state-owned ChemChina, led by...

Below is my wild thinking. I do not know whether it is practible or not. If tesla adopts it, my pleasure. Background It seems very common that a learner or nervous guy mis-use gas when he / she was try to stop the car by break. This is really dangerous. I and my wife had such made mistake and...

These are the four door coupes in the $70k-$150k class. TURIN -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is cutting Maserati production as demand for the brand's luxury sports cars slows after record sales last year, according to a union at the automaker. The number of shifts at FCA's Grugliasco plant...

I am shocked at North Carolina,South Carolina,Georgia and Alabama. Who knew Subaru had the most popular vehicle in 4 States? I bit surprised by Hawaii too.

TORQUAY landscaper James Lawler has given himself room to move — on the back of his Toyota Prius. Made primarily using scraps scavenged from the tip, the miniature house set Mr Lawler back $150 and took just over a week to complete. The abode sports a tin roof with a chimney, a stained-glass...

As I handed the keys to him for my Nissan Leaf at the end of my lease, the salesman said, "I'd never buy an electric car." That right there is why Nissan will never overcome the problem Tesla won't ever encounter - a sales force that doesn't understand, doesn't advocate, and can't educate...

Here's hoping that as more body shops gain experience with the aluminum body panels used on vehicle with the highest sales in the US, that repair costs for the Model S will drop as well...

While going over to get in the queue for the Costco gas line, I turned in front of a red Model S. I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind if he looked at all those poor saps and chuckled to himself..."Suckers!" Makes me want a Model 3 even more.

So much for the dealerships being the great protector of the people from the big bad automobile manufacturers. Who can we turn to now! :) Dodge warns that its own dealers are scamming customers - Mar. 3, 2015

Lots of good video in here about what is in the Toyota Mirai. How Do You Build The Hydrogen-Powered Toyota Mirai? By Hand. Check out the 3rd video here: Making the Mirai: Chassis and Fuel Cell System Assembly - YouTube and here when they put it in: Making the Mirai: Chassis and Fuel...

looks like exxon might have listened to musk at the oil and gas summit? Exxon Mobil Corporation Entering The EV Game With Charging Facilities sorry if double posted someplace else.

Did the Lake Tahoe shoreline loop in my electric kayak and camped at the clothing optional beach with the big submerged granite boulders. About 75 miles of shoreline over two days at a speed of 5 mph. This is what I put together for the kayak. (8) 100 ahr cells for a total of 2.6 kWhr at a...

I think this is relevant in 3 ways: #1 dealers are "good" for the consumer - LOL #2 it is good to be able to repair your own car. #3 hmmm, battery terminal corrosion The Dealer Wanted $4,400 To Fix His Hybrid. He Did It Himself For $7

First let me say this forum seems to have quite a collection of informed folks and has been a real pleasure posting here. I come from many years of hot rodding and to be quite frank, the hot rod forums are a den of,,, well lets just say not the most progressive group of folks. Every time I even...

Automakers lag in protecting security, privacy of cars-Markey report Tesla did not respond, or I would have put in the news forum.

Link: http://www.nrcq.nl/2015/02/04/het-elektrische-vliegtuig-komt-er-nu-ook-aan-durf-jij-er-in

I've always been a fan of hot hatches, and I have to admit the new Focus RS is pretty tempting. 325+hp, AWD. Since it's going to be more than a year until it's in U.S. showrooms, I'm thinking a concept of the Model 3 will be shown before then, and will bring me back to my senses. :wink:

Can you imagine if this truck was a hydrogen powered fuel cell? Natural gas garbage truck explodes in Indianapolis [w/video]

Pretty slick flying car from Slovakia http://www.aeromobil.com/

Honda has strugged to sell the Accord in a segment where even the most popular mass-market models such as the Volkswagen Passat and Ford Mondeo are losing sales to premium rivals such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C Class. Brannan said the midsize segment is dominated by corporate sales to...

After reading too many posts on TMC about users complaining about noise in their Tesla's, I came across this article which describes how many ICE cars have added fake engine noise to their models: Fake Engine Noise Is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret - Slashdot The ICE makers argue that...

In addition to electric airplanes which I think Musk wants to try in the future, I could see Tesla making a helicopter like this, too: e-volo Firmenportrait Volocopter VC200 - YouTube (for English, turn on subtitles) because it would completely revolutionize various urban transportation needs.

Both the Model S and the Fisker Karma are included about midway through the slideshow. 20 Great Concept Cars That Became Reality

Tampa restaurant evacuated due to burning Lamborghini | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune Do you think the Lambo forums will go nuts today? Or the investor forums on Seeking Alpha and Bloomberg, proclaiming how the lamborghini is inherently unsafe, and should be avoided at all costs? Probably just...

In all the postings and blogs regarding self driving cars and automatic driving systems I have not seen discussion about an obvious solution. For highways ( and I really mean the Interstates) would it not be an easy solution albeit expensive to embed guidance systems in the road infrastructure...

In the future automation will do most of driving. But in certain situations it will give the wheel back to driver. This will happen when car does dot have enough information to drive safely. It will probably happen during heavy rain or road covered with snow. So in practice average driver will...

Jeff Green and Jeff Plungis January 9, 2015 - 6:10 am ET DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) -- Eighteen months into a recall of Jeeps with exploding gas tanks, drivers of the affected models are still dying and more than 1 million of the vehicles remain unfixed. A top safety regulator has called...

A picture of the arch-enemy... They're just waiting for a clean car to drive by! IMG_20150106_124209 by dennis_p, on Flickr

Model X will almost certainly have a new "head end" 17" display unit with a faster CPU and graphics capability, which can redraw the map way faster than Model S does after you've moved it with your fingers. I've been following the Nvidia Tegra product line since Tesla locked into the Tegra 3...

Nvidia Tegra X1 Superchip will be the brain of self driving cars Next Big Future: Nvidia Tegra X1 Superchip will be the brain of self driving cars

Can this really be useful for the future of the autopilot-functionality of cars? Link: http://www.cnet.com/news/ces-2015-nvidia-announces-tegra-x1/ - - - Updated - - - So, here’s what industry observers are saying about the just introduced NVIDIA Tegra X1: Link...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102308121 While the substantial part of a "Tesla rival" would lie with the battery, range and performance, Audi is surely delighted to have an autopilot showing like this prior to any substantial demonstration from Tesla. I note they are happy to point out "twenty...

We saw this painting by E. Martin Hennings at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis and it really spoke to us. First, the gas dispensers look a little like a side-view of a supercharger. It's interesting that the horses have the widest color diversity compared to the automobiles. Not that...

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/21/highway-to-hellcat-owner-wrecks-707-hp-dodge-challenger-one-hour-after-buying-it/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

I'm working on a presentation and would like to visually represent how inefficient fuel cells can be by showing the well-to-wheel energy costs. Surely such an image already exists. I thought I remembered seeing one here at TMC, but can't seem to find it now. Thanks for any tips! Edit: Looks...

2014 EV City Casebook Profiles 50 Big Ideas in Electric Mobility. A new edition of the EV City Casebook has been released profiling innovative ideas that could bring about a step change in electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Link to the news-article...

The NTSB has released its report from this investigation: The NTSB determines that the probable cause of this incident was an internal short circuit within a cell of the APU lithium-ion battery, which led to thermal runaway that cascaded to adjacent cells, resulting in the...

2 Questions.... Does anyone remember/know the interview where Elon talked about the double stacked lanes? Driving on top and below which would improve traffic flow :confused: And also what do you guys think about having special lanes for driving at higher rates of speed (aka fast lanes)?

December 1, 2014 - 4:02 am ET PARIS (Reuters) -- France wants to gradually phase out the use of diesel fuel for passenger cars and will put in place a system to identify the most polluting vehicles, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.. "In France, we have long favored the diesel engine. This...

The wheel tug is said to be a disruptor in the Air Transportation industry. It is an investment opportunity as well as an interesting technology. WheelTug Borealis (boref) is in partnership with others(chorus motors is one) to bring the product to market. They have numerous orders on the...

Acura Tire Wear Comes Under Fire - New York Times I wonder if Tesla will run into the same issues...

I've always been into the cars that a little out of the ordinary. I had an Isuzu VehiCROSS, I'm leasing a Nissan Leaf, and own a 1991 Lotus Elan. I always wanted a Qvale Mangusta but as I got older the look of it stopped appealing to me as much. What have you owned that's weird or unique...

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. i haven't seen this anywhere else. Green car reports had been collecting questions about Hydrogen Fuel cells and managed to get some answers from some of the main interested parties, notably Hyundai, Honda and Toyota with Hyundai apparently aggressively...

This is pretty off-topic, I know, but recently we saw two of the most interesting vehicles I've ever seen. We were flying offshore Oceanside, CA... just north of San Diego. The pics were too good not to post them somewhere. Photo credits/copyright to Miriam Wiggers de Vries. Contact me for...