Perhaps fretting that the public had forgotten about their hydrogen ambitions, Japan's Big 3 automakers last week took to the streets with their most advanced hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Over two days, driving teams steered a Toyota Highlander FCHV-adv, a Nissan X-Trail FCV, and a Honda FCX Clarity 707 miles from Tokyo to Fukuoka, with an overnight stop in Osaka. Combined, the vehicles consumed 28.8 kilograms of hydrogen during their demonstration run. That equates to roughly 70 miles per gallon for those of you wondering how efficient these vehicles stack up when compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. But given that none of the advanced-fuel vehicles seen here are available for purchase, mileage/fuel comparisons right now are strictly academic. That said, although all three automakers are working on electric vehicles, Honda and Toyota continue to say that hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles offer the best long-term solution to today's climate-changing oil-burning street machines.

Original post:
Japan’s Automakers Demonstrate Fuel Cell Vehicles With 707-Mile Road Trip

A recent study evaluating the effectiveness of this summer's cash-for-clunkers program concluded that cost U.S. taxpayers $3 billion and did more to help Japan's three largest automakers than it did the Detroit 3 of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The Japanese companies accounted for only 8 percent of trade-ins but 41 percent of new-car purchases, according to the new study by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute. By contrast, 85 percent of the trade-ins were manufactured by the Detroit 3 while only 39 percent of the new purchases were GM, Ford or Chrysler vehicles. Sixty-eight percent of consumers who traded in a Toyota, Honda or Nissan bought another from one of the same from one of the three Japanese automakers. Specifically, those owners who traded in Hondas bought another Honda 30 percent of the time. Nissan owners bought new Nissans under the clunker program did so 19 percent of the time and motorists unloading Toyotas turned around and bought another Toyota 44 percent of the time. By contrast, 43 percent of consumers who traded in a Detroit 3 vehicle bought another Detroit 3 vehicle. Chrysler owners bought new Chryslers in 11 percent of the cases, Ford in 24 percent and GM in 32 percent. As for those who switched, Japan's Big 3 got 38 percent

Read the original post:
Study Finds Clunkers Program Helped Japanese Carmakers Far More Than Detroit 3

Toshiba expects to sign up about five car companies as customers for its new lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles, the head of the business told the London-based Financial Times said in an interview published Sunday . Shoshi Kawatsu, general manager of the Super Charge Battery (or SCiB) division, also said that Toshiba was preparing for the possible manufacturing of batteries in the U.S. and Europe and would make a decision on whether to go ahead in 2011, depending on market growth and the needs of its customers. Toshiba joined the race to mass produce lithium-ion batteries for zero-emissions electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids last year, announcing then that the Japanese electronics giant

More:
Toshiba Says It Expects to Sell EV-Intended Lithium Batteries to Multiple Carmakers

Folding Electric Bike, Steam Speed Racer Other Green Transportation Honorees for 2009 Frankly, my dears, we find year-ending annual lists of the top 10, or 20, or even 50 things quite contrived, subjective and a pain to research and write – but fun, fun, fun to read. Especially when they include things we would have stuck on 'em. So we peruse them and this weekend found Time magazine's selection of the top 50 inventions of 2009, a list that includes a quintet of green car items (well, a triplet of cars plus an electric bicycle from way down under and a green unicycle from Honda). Topping the transport list, in 15th place, was the YikeBike , a lithium-powered, folding two-wheeler from New Zealand – slated for production in very small numbers initially (100 or so) by mid 2010. It looks like a modern two-wheeled adaptation of a kid's Big Wheel trike. The top automotive ranking was Nissan's Leaf EV , a 5-seat hatchback that we've been writing about for quite some time. It has just begin a 22-city U.S. tour but won't hit the market until this time next year. The Leaf, unveiled in August ,

Pricing has not been set yet on Nissan's Leaf electric car ( pictured ), which will see limited distribution starting late next year, but the automaker's top marketing executive for North America told us today that the monthly cost to the consumer should be equivalent to the monthly cost of a fully loaded Honda Civic plus its fuel. (Article updated 11/13/09 to correct pricing.)

Daimler AG is considering launching a series of small Mercedes-Benz cars in the U.S. in a bid to tap Americans' growing interest in downsized models that offer upscale features and finishes, the German automaker's chief executive said. ———- The Mercedes-Benz A-Class, right, gets 50 MPG but isn't available in the U.S. ———- Under its tentative plan, Mercedes would import by 2012 at least one of four next-generation compact models it will start selling in Europe in late 2011, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). These diminutive Mercedes would go head to head with an expanding field of premium small cars in the U.S., including the A3 from Volkswagen AG's Audi unit and BMW AG's 1 series and Mini Cooper. Unlike traditional compacts these cars can be costly; the Mini goes for as much as $34,000 depending on options. Daimler's

Read more here:
Daimler Announces Tentative Plan to Launch Series of Luxury Compact Cars in U.S.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor Spurred by factory incentives, replenished stocks and the relative freshness of several models, sales of hybrid-electric cars and SUVs soared in October, easily outperforming the market as a whole. Compared to October '08 – a month with six fewer hybrid models available – sales of Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota hybrids were up 12.1 percent, while sales of conventionally powered cars and trucks were flat. The one-month picture was even rosier, as October hybrid sales jumped 22.5 percent from September's, versus a 12.1 percent hike in sales of conventional models. Nissan, which has only one model – the Altima hybrid, – and sells it in just the nine states with the toughest emissions standards, was the only hybrid maker to record a sales decline for both periods, dropping 46 percent from a year earlier and 13 percent from September. As with most hybrids – Toyota's Prius excepted – Nissan's actual numbers are quite small because of low sales volumes. October's sales drop represented just 46 fewer Altima hybrid sales than in September. Toyota's redesigned 2010 Prius, sweetened by a small factory incentive, remained by far the segment leader, accounting for 55 percent of all hybrid sales for the month.

More:
Green Cars Get Green Light, Hybrid Sales Outperform Overall October Market

Follow us on Twitter: @highgearmedia @carconnection @therealma @greencarreports and join our Facebook fan page Honda’s Accord Crosstour crossover is on the streets and being reviewed by the likes of our own John Voelcker. The verdict so far? Aside from being a bit pricey, and shy from its vicious Facebook debut, the Crosstour is still a ..

Here is the original post:
Accord Crosstour, Subaru Track Wagon, Celebs On Bikes: Today At High Gear Media

The 2010 Honda Accord Coupe is very closely related to the Honda Accord Sedan and is thus covered together with the Accord Sedan under a single review. The coupe has styling that’s bolder, with a smoother downward curve of its roof, more sculpted flanks, and what appear to be slightly different proportions. However the Coupe is just … Browse Photos

See original here:
2010 Honda Accord Coupe

The White House and Department of Transportation claim Edmunds.com got it wrong in its Cash for Clunkers analysis released Wednesday. That analysis shows each incremental sale from the government's Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program — sales that wouldn't have occurred without the program — cost taxpayers $24,000. Here's what the White House blog had to say Thursday in an item entitled: Busy Covering Car Sales from Mars, Edmunds.com Gets it Wrong (Again) on Cash for Clunkers :

Original post:
White House Charges Edmunds.com Got It Wrong on Cash for Clunkers