Nissan selling rechargeable Leaf hatchbacks to Enterprise for rental fleet

Nissan Motor Co. will deliver rechargeable Leaf hatchbacks to rental-car company Enterprise Holdings Inc. to be used in its US operations.

Enterprise, which runs Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo and National car rental lots and the WeCar car-sharing service, is purchasing 500 lithium-ion-powered Leafs, according to Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary. Delivery of these vehicles will begin in January.

Nissan, currently Japan’s third-largest automaker, desires to sell a minimum of 20,000 units of the Leaf in the US during the model’s first year. The Leaf, which will be pioneered in the US later this year, is priced at $32,780.

Nissan aims to become the major producer of electric vehicles. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that it has set a target of expanding global Leaf production to up to 500,000 vehicles by the end of 2012.

The sales agreement between Nissan and Enterprise for electric vehicles is in fact the second such arrangement for Nissan. Last February, Nissan had declared that it will sell Leafs to Hertz Global Holdings for use in rental fleets in the US and Europe.

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Modern system to crash test vehicles

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says it plans to test 55 vehicles from the 2011 model year under a new safety ratings system that comprises tougher requirements.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the tests will be accomplished under a new five-star ratings system that includes new tests.

The revamped system will give consumers a single overall score for the initial time.

Some of the best-selling cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles in the U.S. will be tested, as well as the Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford F-150 and Honda Odyssey.

The consumer program was started in 1979. Some safety advocates have said most vehicles make four or five stars on the tests, making it complicated for consumers to compare safety features.

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Drivers to acquire £5,000 electric car subsidy

Drivers will get up to £5,000 from the Government if they buy an electric car however the number of grants has been sharply cut from earlier plans.

The subsidy was announced by the Labour government in 2009 but placed on hold by the Coalition awaiting the autumn spending review.

From January, any motorist buying a new generation electric car, or ultra-low carbon hybrid, will get 25 per cent off, up to a maximum £5,000.

However, the number of grants has been slashed from a lowest amount of 46,000 to as few as 8,600.

The scheme has been partly ring-fenced from cuts following pressure from car makers and Britain’s green energy industry.

The grants will be available now in time for the UK launch of the Nissan Leaf, the first major rival to the globally victorious Toyota Prius.

A full grant would engrave the cost of a new Leaf from £28,350 to £23,350, according to a report in The Sun. Once charged, the cars run for about 70 miles, costing now 3p a mile.

Nissan’s Sunderland factory will assemble future Leafs, meaning Britain will from 2013 be the company’s third-biggest global electric car base.

Nissan itself received grant from the Government to build the Leaf in Sunderland, where the workforce of 4,100 built 338,000 Qashqai, Note and Micra models in 2008.

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Indonesia Transport International Motor Show

Two workers clean a concept car during Indonesia's International Motor Show in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 23 July 2010 as shown in above figure.

Indonesia's car sales, an indicator of consumer demand in Southeast Asia's largest economy, rose 21 percent to 370,208 units in the first half of 2010 versus the same period last year.

Indonesia's major automotive distributor PT Astra International expected this year's vehicle sales to rise to a record of 650,000 units or even up to 700,000.

The above picture shows customers seem at cars during Indonesia's International Motor Show in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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Meet a really smart driverless car: It has no driver

It's a modern-day version of Marco Polo's journey halfway around the world - however is anyone at the controls?

A technician works in an unmanned electric-powered vehicle as it builds its way in a street of Parma, Italy.

Next week, four electric-powered orange vans depart on what has been visualized as the longest-ever test drive of unmanned vehicles: a 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile), three-month road trip from Italy to China.

The vehicles, equipped with four laser scanners and seven video cameras that work in concert to detect and assist avoid obstacles, will brave the traffic of Moscow, the intense summer heat of Siberia and the bitter cold of the Gobi desert prior to the planned arrival in Shanghai at the end of October.

The project has been funded with a euro1.8 million ($2.3 million) grant from the European Commission's European Research Council, and Vislab has technical sponsors including Piaggio, which has offered the Piaggio Porter vans.

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Lamborghini developing a SUV with inputs from the innovative Porsche Cayenne

Lamborghini, as per reports emerges to be working very hard on some new models. One of these products is predictable to be a modernized version of the LM002 which is known for its monstrous looks.

Introducing an SUV into its present lineup which would be built on the same platform as the 2011 Porsche Cayenne and 2011 Volkswagen Touareg is the thought process that is at present being tried out in earnest in the Lamborghini camp.

The LM002 would have a 5167 cc V12 engine powering it and the transmission would be a 5 speed manual gearbox. A 4.8 liter V8 Biturbo engine is also probable to be fitted on the new car.

This is the same engine that is installed on the Cayenne and can expand 500 hp and more of power.

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Innovative Love of all automakers – LPG & CNG cars

The decision coming from the government for deregulating the fuel prices in the country, major auto manufacturers in the country are currently starting their movements to move towards the alternate fuels for the future growth.

Now many of the leading automobile players in India are building plans in order to strap more of CNG and LPG powered variants of cars.

Apart from the fact that these LPG & CNG variants would be extremely low in terms of running costs, the fact that it would become more lucrative depends on the fact that the diesel prices would depend of the free market movement.

There are reports that the companies similar to Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, GM and Hyundai are now working to expand their portfolios in the field of CNG & LPG offerings. Many of the manufacturers by now have some models in the LPG & CNG variants under their portfolio, but the expansion focus would currently lead to the launch of several more products under the segment.

The estimated costs as per Industry are : the per km cost on petrol is Rs 3.44, it is Rs 2.35 for diesel, Rs 2.23 for petrol-LPG and Rs 1.31 for petrol-CNG.

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