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Filed under: MPG, Fiat, Asia, Tata

Click above image for a hi-res gallery of the Tata Nano

Tata is asking Fiat to assist in selling the Nano overseas, as an expansion of the two marques partnership in manufacturing and distributing cars, engines and commercial vehicles. Fiat’s initial intentions are, however, largely directed towards bus and truck manufacturing. “We have held talks about the Nano being marketed in markets where Fiat has already a strong presence. I am open to consider a partnership,” said Ratan Tata at a forum promoting cooperation between Italian and Indian companies.

Tata is also forecasting supply problems for its new microcar, which goes on sale next October. That said, high raw material and fuel prices have cut demand for vehicles in India. Between that development, the burden of the Jaguar/Land Rover acquisition, and a 31% decrease in profits, it’ll be interesting to see if Tata is ultimately able to keep the Nano priced as low as planned.

[Source: Automotive News]

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Filed under: Legislation and Policy, UK

Big news: another politician has made an open-ended commitment with little way of seeing it through. In this week’s episode, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown — who previously committed to switch his Vauxhall for a Prius but then went for the V8 Jag once he got into office — told local newspaper the Sunday Mirror that he’d give his armor-plated Jaguar the boot and replace it with an electric vehicle as his official mode of ground transportation.

Well that’s nice, but we can hardly imagine the world leader being driven around in a Prius or a G Wiz, especially when a Downing Street spokesman points out that, “A new vehicle for the PM must meet security requirements like special strengthening and bullet-proof glass.” Somewhere, somebody’s got to be testing the impact of weighing down a Lexus LS600h with iron plates and reinforced glass.

[Source: Sunday Mirror via All Cars, All the Time]

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Filed under: Hybrid, Audi

Audi’s first mass-production hybrid model was to have been the Q7 SUV beginning in early 2009. As Audi officials told ABG back in April, that program has been effectively canceled. Audi had been working on the development with VW and Porsche, whose Touareg and Cayenne share their platforms with the Q7. Audi R&D Boss Michael Dick has confirmed to Autocar that development of hybrids with nickel metal hydride batteries has been put on hold. Instead, the company will focus on lithium battery hybrids expected to debut with the Q5 in 2010. Audi explained that they were not satisfied with the poor cold weather performance and limited capacity of NiMH batteries. When the batteries are low, the vehicle loses a significant amount of performance and Audi engineers wanted to ensure that the performance was consistent. They don’t want a driver to pull out for a passing maneuver and have less acceleration than expected due to a cold or flat battery. VW and Porsche are proceeding with their nickel metal hydride battery hybrid plans.

[Source: Autocar]

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Filed under: Hybrid, BMW

One of the primary safety concerns with hybrid and electric cars (aside from thermal runaway of the batteries of course) is the potential for shocks with a high voltage battery on board. Formula One teams are currently developing kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) which provide hybrid drive capability for introduction in the 2009 season. Most are thought to be working with a flywheel based system but BMW-Sauber at least is rumored to be developing an electric hybrid. Several teams have had incidents with their systems including the Red Bull team that had a fire at their factory. A mechanic for the BMW got a nasty shock when he approached the car as it came into the pits during a recent test session and was knocked to the ground. Safety issues like this are one of the reasons why automakers take so much time in developing production systems. The BMW-Sauber F1 team are not amateurs and have an annual budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars. If you plan on trying any DIY hybrid or electric drive projects make sure you are very careful with the batteries!

[Source: YouTube, via autoblog]

Continue reading VIDEO: The risk of high voltage hybrid batteries, BMW mechanic gets a shock

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Filed under: Green Culture, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, China

It seems that Beijing’s various measures designed to lower its overall air pollution in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games is working, though additional and more drastic measures may be required. You may recall that the city began limiting traffic on July 20, a move which has helped lower the air’s nitride count some 48-percent and drop its particulate matter rating from [the seemingly arbitrary number of] 90 to 44. Still, so-called “sauna weather,” where high-humidity and low-wind conditions exist at once, could force the city into removing up to 90-percent of all cars from its densely packed roadways. Though that would likely be a serious blow to the city’s inhabitants, experts predict that the ban would only be necessary for a few days and would alleviate the remaining air-quality problems. All of these changes deemed necessary by the World’s athletes make us wonder if conditions will immediately revert to their pre-Olympic state or if the city will continue on a path of air-quality improvement.

[Source: China View]

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