Dodge has been wise in reviving old nameplates to inject some excitement into its contemporary model lineup. Recent products like the Challenger and Charger – both named after classics from the brand’s past – have drummed up a considerable amount of enthusiasm where names like Stratus and Intrepid could not. But don’t expect that formula to be applied to everything Dodge puts out.

Contrary to rumors that the upcoming replacement for the Caliber would bear the name Hornet, a report from The Detroit News suggests that it will not. The nameplate originates from the Hudson Hornet that was built by the American Motors Corporation in the 1950s and the AMC Hornet that followed in the ’70s before the company was subsumed into Chrysler. The original re-appeared as Doc Hudson in the computer-animated Pixar film Cars, and was revived off-screen for a concept car (pictured above) which Dodge showed in 2006.

The new production compact, set to compete against the likes of the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus, will fill a critical role for Chrysler, which currently lacks a viable competitor in that vital segment. Whatever it’s called, it’s being jointly developed with Fiat and is expected to bow sometime early in the new year. We’ll just have to wait to see what they call it.

Dodge won’t call its new small car Hornet originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexus design has never been very flashy, and many might say (including us) the automaker’s entire current lineup is a bit bland-looking (LFA supercar excepted, natch). But that visual conservatism may be about to change: Automotive News is reporting that the Japanese juggernaut plans to change that by taking more risks and striving for more character.

Toyota Design Chief Tokuo Fukuichi tells AN that the brand will build on the design language first introduced in the HS 250h and refined in the GS, but with more emphasis on the fighter jet-inspired grille. Lexus says the eye-catching grille draws from the hourglass shape of a spindle, but it’s more than just an expressive face. Fukuichi adds “The spindle grille is not just a design matter; it also has to have a good functional performance in bringing in air.”

In short, Lexus is looking to push itself to create more dynamic new models, even if some models don’t exactly come off as focus-group friendly. We’re all for a sexier Lexus with a personality implant, but a new grille won’t be all that’s needed. Only time will tell if Toyota’s premium marque can shed its conservative tendencies and come up with something more dynamic that still sells.

Lexus vows bolder design, won’t “always stay in the middle of mainstream” originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the sake of argument, let’s posit that a Mitsubishi i is too odd looking for your tastes, a Nissan Leaf is still a bit too compact, and that your idea of a perfect battery-powered vehicle is something crossover-shaped. Well, you’re in luck because the Toyota-Tesla Motors partnership is set to release its RAV4 EV in early 2012, right? Well, yes, and, in some critical ways, no.

Why? Well, unless you operate a fleet or a car-sharing program, chances are good that you won’t be able to buy a RAV4 EV. According Pike Research, Geri Yoza, Toyota’s National Business Planning Manager of Advanced Vehicle Marketing, has gone on record saying that while the electric-only RAV4 will indeed make its comeback (a first-gen version was first sold some 15 years ago), the electrified CUV won’t be made available to the general public. Instead, Yoza says, Toyota will focus on “very strategic applications” (read: fleets and car-sharing programs) for the RAV4 EV.

And, despite being a electric vehicle that could benefit from quick charging, Yoza says the RAV4 EV will not come equipped with a CHAdeMO charging port, stating that Toyota will not offer a quick-charge setup on any of its electrified vehicles until the SAE finalizes a standard.

Let’s hope that Yoza’s admission is slightly inaccurate and that Toyota will eventually sell the RAV4 EV to the public. Otherwise, the only electric CUV on the market in 2012 will be one that folks like us can’t even buy.

Photos copyright (C)2011 Sebastian Blanco / AOL

[Source: Pike Research via All Cars Electric]

Report: Toyota RAV4 EV won’t be sold to the general public originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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John Peterson, a man whose anti-lithium battery ramblings typically stir up a heated debate, is back at it again. This time ’round, Peterson discusses the future of recycling, or the lack thereof, for lithium-ion batteries. In an article posted on Alt Energy Stocks, Peterson writes:

One of the most pervasive and enduring myths in the energy storage sector is that a robust recycling infrastructure for used lithium-ion batteries will be built before the wonder-batteries that are being manufactured today for the first generation of plug-in vehicles reach the end of their useful lives. In the worst case scenario, advocates suggest used lithium-ion batteries will be stockpiled until there are enough used batteries to justify the build-out of recycling infrastructure.

For several years, the single-minded obsession of all lithium-ion battery developers has been reducing costs to a point where using batteries as a substitute for a fuel tank makes economic sense. Most of the progress has come from substituting cheap raw materials like iron, manganese and titanium for the more costly cobalt and nickel that were used in first generation lithium-ion batteries. Unfortunately, when you slash the cost of the materials that go into a battery you also slash the value of the materials that can be recovered from that battery at the end of its useful life.

Peterson continues, stating “Given the extremely high metal value of used cobalt-based lithium batteries, it seems strange that only one company in the world, Umicore of Belgium, has bothered to develop a recycling process.” Well, Peterson is wrong, or at least unaware that Kinsbursky Brothers, Toxco (pdf), and perhaps even some other companies, recycle lithium batteries too.

Peterson closes with this statement:

In the final analysis, the recycling mythology is just another glaring example of unconscionable waste and pollution masquerading as conservation.

Fair warning: that link takes you directly to Peterson’s article focused on exposing the “plug-in fraud for what it is.”

Photo by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright (C)2010 AOL

[Source: Alt Energy Stocks]

Lithium detractor says li-ion batteries won’t be recycled originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 26 May 2011 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jaguar already made it clear that it’s not interested in bringing the Bertone B99 Concept to life, but that hasn’t stopped Bertone from unleashing a barrage of images and details related to its mid-sized concept. The firm says that the B99 sports a wheelbase of around 9.1 feet, and that the bodywork would be all hand-formed aluminum. Something tells us that little detail would get the boot if the B99 ever made it to the production line.

According to CarBodyDesign, Bertone specifically wanted to abandon the typical wedge shape predominate among sports sedans in favor of a three-volume look that places the headlights and the taillights on the same plane.

While the interior features an assortment of high-tech goodies, Bertone says that buyers could expect to find an extended-range hybrid system under the hood, complete with twin electric motors and a range-extending internal combustion engine good for a combined 570 horsepower.

Of course, Jaguar would first have to greenlight the project, which doesn’t look to be happening. Ever.

[Source: CarBodyDesign]

Bertone shows off Jaguar B99 design sketches, still won’t be built originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a report out of Italy, Audi boss Rupert Stadler has said that the Audi A1 e-tron concept will not see production. Apparently the house of Audi believes that the conventional A1 will be sufficiently frugal and kind enough on the environment with its stop/start and brake energy recovery system. Additionally, there seems to be some issues with the A1’s platform and its ability to house all the necessary EV components. If true, ’tis a shame – that cargo-floor-mounted Wankel engine paired with lithium-ion batteries was supposed to be good for 154 mpg, and the A1 e-tron is a package we would have enjoyed by being so green we made grass jealous.

[Source: Autoblog.it (translated)]

Report: Electric Audi A1 won’t be produced originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Akio Toyoda, still working the shovel to extricate Toyota from the hole it’s dug, invited U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for a factory visit. When he returned, LaHood said that the Toyota CEO didn’t realize how much damage the company’s reputation was taking until Toyoda actually came to America and saw for himself.

On the matter of further fines, LaHood would only say that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to finish sifting through 500,000 documents concerning the unintended acceleration recall. Until that’s done, in “a couple months,” he won’t know if more fines should be recommended.

Toyota paid a $16.4 million fine last month and LaHood said that meant the company accepted responsibility. Toyota quickly replied that wasn’t the case; rather, it paid the fine to put the issue to bed, which was the company’s position from the beginning. Now, while the NHTSA keeps its head down reading memos and emails, Toyota has a couple of months to get consumers’ attentions again and begin to deal with the nearly 200 lawsuits being brought against it.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub Req'd]

LaHood visits Toyota in Japan, won’t discuss likelihood of more fines originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to the knowers-of-all-things-Volt over at GM-Volt.com (which incidentally just got a very nice site redesign), the initial batch of first-model-year Chevrolet Volts won’t be flex-fuel capable as initially planned. Says vehicle executive Tony Posawatz, “We are finalizing some of our options and the associated timing that goes with them. The E85 capable emission package will have its timing finalized soon… It will not be available for November 2010.”

It will apparently take a full year or so to get flex-fuel capability built into the Volt’s 1.4-liter four cylinder engine/generator package. Of course, none of this matters all that much if you plan to almost exclusively operate your extended-range electric vehicle using the electric motor and lithium ion batteries, eschewing as much reliance on fossil fuels as possible… but even that strategy won’t be possible all of the time.

Interestingly, Tom Stephens, GM’s vice chairman for global product development, said at the Renewable Fuels Association Conference in Florida, “GM is spending about $100 million a year adding flex-fuel capability to our vehicles,” but it can’t continue to make that investment without further support and intervention from the U.S. government. We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not that would be a good or bad thing.

[Source: GM-Volt.com]

Shocking Omission? First 2011 Chevrolet Volts reportedly won’t be E85 capable originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a press conference on Wednesday in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Company’s president Akio Toyoda (grandson of the company’s founder) revealed new details of his plan to reform the automaker’s quality standards. Toyota has been beset by a trio of high-profile recalls, two of which involve unintended acceleration caused by either floormats or a sticking accelerator pedal and another having to do with the brakes on the 2010 Prius hybrid.

In addition to heading up what’s being called a Special Committee for Global Quality, Toyoda remarked that his company will also establish a “chief quality officer” for each geographical region in which the company’s vehicles are sold. Those officers will each have a seat on the committee led by Toyoda, which holds its first meeting March 30. New local technical offices will also be opened to help better investigate customer complaints, the goal reportedly being to have an on-site inspector there within 24 hours after a complaint is made.

In addition, Toyoda reaffirmed the automaker’s commitment to outfit all of its vehicles with a brake-override system. This system would prevent acceleration if the gas and brake pedals were applied at the same time. Finally, the Japanese automaker also plans to make better use of onboard data event recorders in its vehicles. Like the black box in an airplane, these devices record critical data the seconds before an accident happens.

His third time speaking to the press in less than two months, Toyoda also confirmed that he would not be attending a February 24 Congressional hearing before the House Oversight Committee. Instead, Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota’s operations in North America, will appear on behalf of Toyota to answer the U.S. government’s questions. This will be the second of four Congressional hearings related to Toyota’s recent recalls, and while Toyoda does not plan to attend any himself, he is planning a trip to the U.S. to speak directly with workers, dealers and suppliers.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req. | Image: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty]

Akio Toyoda outlines quality reform, won’t attend U.S. hearings originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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