Honda has a Hybrid Automotive Engine That Uses Less Rare Earth Metals

Honda pledged to reduce its use of rare earth metals a decade ago, and the automaker took another step towards that goal this week. It unveiled its new hybrid motor that was co-developed alongside Daido Steel, another Japan-based company. The new motor doesn't use heavy rare earth metals like dysprosium and terbium, instead relying on magnets from Daido Steel that cost 10 percent less and weigh 8 percent lighter than the previous components. In fact, the automaker is the first to develop a hybrid motor that doesn't use the heavy metals. Honda says the new engines will reduce its reliance on the pricey rare earth metals that are primarily supplied by China.

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Tesla Model 3 has Over 115,000 Preorders in 24 Hours

Tesla has brought in more than $115 million in preorders on the new Model 3 today, according to company CEO Elon Musk. That's 115,000 cars worth more than $4 billion at the base price of $35,000 — but expect many of those cars to sell for considerably more than the base price.

He revealed the numbers at the end of the special event for media and current Tesla owners, though we don't know much more about the car other than the base price, the fact that it will go at least 215 miles on a charge, and that it'll ship at the end of next year.

Considering the fact that most of those preorders came before the car was revealed, Tesla might just have a hit on its hands, even though the car won't begin shipping until late next year.

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Porsche Going to WAR With Tesla, to Produce Mission E Electric Sports car

Porsche committed to making its first all-electric vehicle, taking on Tesla Motors Inc. with a model that’s set to accelerate faster than the German company’s 911 sports car and recharge in 15 minutes.

Porsche green-lighted a 1 billion-euro ($1.09 billion) project to produce the battery-powered sports car, which will be manufactured near division headquarters in Stuttgart and create 1,000 jobs, the Volkswagen AG unit said Friday in a statement. The model, based on the low-slung Mission E concept unveiled in September at the Frankfurt auto show, will enter showrooms at the end of the decade, it said.

“With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand,” Chairman Wolfgang Porsche said in the statement. “Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car.”

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Will GM Import a car Built in China?

If this news is true, expect to find it as a major talking point during Donald Trump's next stump speech. According to sources close to General Motors, the domestic automaker giant is planning on bringing a new midsize Buick crossover to the US market. Unlike other crossovers, though, this one will be a direct import from China, making GM the first American manufacturer to import a car from the Middle Kingdom.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Buick will import between 30,000 and 40,000 units of the Buick Envision to the United States each year. Not only will it be America's first Chinese-produced domestic vehicle, it'll fill a gap in Buick's lineup, as the automaker sells both compact and large crossovers in the US already.

Buick is big business in China, and it has been for some time. GM's premium brand has enjoyed solid success in that country, with its demand outpacing that of America nearly fourfold. When US sales dipped as domestic automakers faced financial ruin, China's market was beginning its huge ramp-up that continues to this day. Demand has calmed slightly since then, but China remains a very voracious market, ready to consume upmarket brands at a blistering pace.

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2025 Center Street Berkeley Parking Structure to be Rebuilt With 271 More Parking Spaces

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That's actually hilarious.  Berkeley gave the Lab a serious hard time over the number of cars and parking spaces on the Hill.  Now Berkeley, the City itself, is going to be adding even more.  snork.

Diesel Emission Scandal Spreads Beyond VolksWagon to at Least Four Other Auto Makers

Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi have joined the growing list of manufacturers whose diesel cars are known to emit significantly more pollution on the road than in regulatory tests, according to data obtained by the Guardian.

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DM Technologies Blade: how Much of This car was REALLY 3d Printered?

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I can find a quick blurb on the car and the photo gallery, but nothing substantial. 

The World's First 3d Printed Car

Henry Ford’s assembly line famously transformed the automobile industry in the 20th century – and a new company is hoping to bring about a similar revolution in the 21st, with its recently unveiled 3-D printed vehicle.

The company is Local Motors, designers of the Strati. The car was printed in about 44 hours on site earlier this month at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. In contrast to the thousands of components in a traditional vehicle, the Strati consists of fewer than 50 parts. Most of its body is built from extruded plastic of the kind that Lego bricks are made of.

That makes it both drastically simpler, and potentially cheaper in the future, than conventional cars. “If this works, even a little, it will reform parts or all of the industry,” Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers told Fox News.

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Steps to the Robopocalypse: NHTSA Moving Forward With Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication

NHTSA has released an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking into the technology, alongside a report detailing comprehensive research into the subject. It includes analysis of the agency's research findings in areas including technical feasibility, privacy and security, as well as preliminary estimates on costs and safety benefits. Privacy and security issues will be of concern to many—particularly unease over how far vehicle data might be shared—but the agency's main concern is safety.

"Safety is our top priority," explains U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, "and V2V technology represents the next great advance in saving lives." The technology isn't about helping people survive accidents, an area which automakers continually strive to improve, but helping them avoid crashes altogether. Cars using vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology can be in constant communication with those nearby, sharing data on vehicle position and speed, proximity and whether any other obstacles in the nearby area pose a threat.

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Planting Shrubs Along US Highways Would Sequester up to 7 Million Tons of Carbon

As you watch the miles roll by on family road trips this summer, look just behind the guard rails to see what some scientists believe is a significant untapped resource in the battle against climate change.

The land alongside the 4 million miles of U.S. public roadways, already being maintained by federal, state, and local governments, could be planted with vegetation that helps transfer carbon from the atmosphere into the soil, they say. Road banks and berms, in other words, could be managed as valuable "banks" for carbon sequestration.

"We're talking millions of acres," says biologist Rob Ament, of the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, who led a recent study to gauge carbon storage potential on just a fraction of that real estate – roadsides on federal lands.

Shrubs, grasses, and other plants already along roads in U.S. National Parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands currently are capturing about 7 million metric tons of carbon each year, Ament said in a report on his findings at this month's North American Congress for Conservation Biology in Missoula. That's equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of 5 million cars—without any effort made to optimize the mix of plantings and soil management practices for carbon storage.

Add to that the strips of shrubbery and grass along U.S. highways outside federal lands. A previous study by the Federal Highway Administration concluded such roadside greenery stores enough carbon to counter the annual emissions of 2.6 million passenger cars.

Together, the roadside soils and vegetation on federal lands and along U.S. highways, comprising 10.5 percent of all public roads in the nation, are already capturing nearly 2 percent of total U.S. transportation carbon emissions, said Ament, whose team conducted the research for the Highway Administration's federal lands office.

"There is a significant amount of [carbon capture and sequestration] going on right now, passively," Ament said in an interview. "So the next step is to research active management techniques and take a good hard look at what's possible."

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Toyota Squares off Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Against Tesla's Eletric Cars

In an escalation of the auto industry's war of words over future green technologies, a senior Toyota Motor Corp executive singled out Elon Musk and other rival executives on Tuesday and made a bold prediction for its hydrogen car.

Bob Carter, Toyota's senior vice president for automative operations, said in a speech that he believed a hydrogen fuel cell car it plans to launch next year could eventually be as successful as its pioneering Prius gasoline-electric hybrid.

Carter said "naysayers" who have spoken out against the technology would be proven wrong and referred to Elon Musk, founder of electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan Motor Co, and former Volkswagen executive Jonathan Browning by name.

"Personally I don't really care what Elon and Carlos and Jonathan have to say about fuel cells. It's very reminiscent of 1998, 1999 when we first introduced the Prius," Carter said at a conference held in conjunction with the Detroit auto show.

The comments underscore just how big the stakes are in the race to take the lead in the next generation green car.

While Toyota is investing heavily in fuel cells, others such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Tesla are betting on electric vehicles as the next big thing while publically questioning whether hydrogen could ever develop into a practical automotive fuel.

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Ford to Attempt to Sell All Aluminum F Series Pickup, Shave 750 lbs off Vehicle

There are beer cans, and then there are Humvees. Ford Motor Co. will take pains to show its new, aluminum F-150 pickup has more in common with combat vehicles.

Ford will introduce an aluminum F series -- its anticipated and high-stakes redesign of the top-selling pickup in history -- at next month's Detroit auto show, according to people familiar with Ford's plans.

The automaker has asked Alcoa Inc., which makes aluminum blast shields for battlefield-bound vehicles, to lend some of its military-grade metal for the automaker's display, said one of those people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are secret.

Ford's sales job will be considerable: The company is eager to demonstrate the toughness of aluminum, which is lighter than steel, to pickup buyers who've made F-150 the bedrock of its business.

Any snafus would weigh on earnings that Ford already is projecting will decline next year and add to the challenges facing Mark Fields, likely the company's next chief executive officer.

At last year's Detroit show, he pledged that Ford would take as much as 750 pounds (340 kilograms) out of its next- generation trucks to meet tightening fuel-economy regulations.

"This is already the most significant debut at the auto show," said Joe Langley, a production analyst for researcher IHS Automotive. "Everybody's going to be dissecting that thing for a long time, especially since Ford will be taking such a big gamble."

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Fuelmatics: The Robopocalypse Comes to the Gas Station

Lykan Hypersport: Arabia's First Supercar

A new supercar, billed as Arabia’s first, is brewing in the United Arab Emirates, and it’s called the Lykan Hypersport. After first appearing as a concept one year ago, the Lykan Hypersport, the creation of supercar startup W Motors, has progressed to the pre-production stage, meaning most of the specifications have been locked in and production likely to soon.

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 My son has a thing for supercars, hence why I noticed.  W Motors?  Shrub must have a better rep in the Middle East than I thought (joking!)

Beijing to Cut Number of Cars Sold in 2014

China's capital, Beijing, infamous for its thick smog and heavy traffic, will slash the city's new car sales quotas by almost 40 percent next year, as it looks to curb vehicle emissions and hazardous levels of pollution, the city government website said.

The change in policy gives greater support for new, cleaner cars and could strengthen foreign carmakers' determination to accelerate growth in China's less crowded lower-tier cities.

In the last month alone, high levels of pollution have forced China to all but shut down the northeastern city of Harbin, a major urban center with a population of 11 million.

Over the next four years, Beijing will issue 150,000 new license plates annually, down from 240,000 each year now, according to the city government's website. Car buyers must put on plates before they are allowed to drive on Chinese roads.

That means Beijing's new passenger vehicles sales during the 2014-2017 period will be capped at 600,000 units, few than the city's vehicle sales in 2010 alone.

In addition, the government will allot a higher proportion of license plates every year to buyers of new-energy vehicles that need lower amounts of gasoline or use alternative energy. This could benefit electric automakers such as BYD Co Ltd.

The number of plates for such vehicles will triple from 20,000 in 2014, to 60,000 in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of that year's total plate quota.

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I wonder what the economic knock effects of cutting back the sales....

I Got Caught in This This Morning

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Fortunately, I wasn't hit by the truck, but had I been at my usual place at my usual time, I would have been a prime target for the twit driving this monster. Instead, I got stuck in two hours of traffic driving from Lafayette to DT Oakland.  Normally, it takes 10 minutes...this time it took 2 hours.

Tesla Nod

Report: Fisker Automotive's DOE Loan Sold To Hong Kong Tycoon Investor Group

An investor group led by Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li is the likely winner of a government loan owed by Fisker Automotive, the now-dormant maker of plug-in hybrid sports cars, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Energy picked Li's group after an auction held Friday to sell the green-energy loan. The DOE and Li are now nailing down the final details of the sale, which has not yet closed, the people said.

Buying the loan would allow Li, the youngest son of Asia's richest man and an early Fisker investor, to restructure Fisker unencumbered by the obligations of the DOE funds and potentially avoid a bankruptcy filing that would wipe out equity investors.

Sources familiar with the company have said however that reviving Fisker outside of a bankruptcy would be an expensive and difficult process.

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Probably Like Moller's Flying Cars: Thorium Powered Car

A US company says it will have a nuclear-powered prototype vehicle on the road within two years.

Laser Power Systems from Connecticut is developing a method of propulsion that uses thorium to produce electricity to power a car engine.

Thorium is an element similar to uranium and because it is such a dense material it has the potential to produce massive amounts of heat.

According to Laser Power Systems CEO, Charles Stevens, just one gram of thorium produces more energy than 28,000 litres of petrol. Mr Stevens says just eight grams of thorium would be enough to power a vehicle for its entire life.

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Take a look at their website.  Not terribly encouraging.

I have a hard time believing the DMVs and NTSB are going to be giving this a thumbs up.  Esp in California.  I can imagine Berkeley banning the car outright.  Even though its just 8 grams.  You ought to see the heart attack they have over our tritium work on the Hill.

Will the Chinese Resurrect Fisker Automotive?

The U.S. Department of Energy will consider bids to purchase Fisker Automotive's government loan on Friday in what could be the start of a lengthy and expensive process to revive the dormant green-car startup.

Fisker, which has not built a car in about 15 months, does not have enough money to pay millions in outstanding bills. The company laid off most of its employees in April after running short of cash, a month after co-founder and executive chairman Henrik Fisker resigned.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said last month that it planned the auction after "exhausting any realistic possibility" that it could recoup the entire $168 million still owed by Fisker.

Bids to buy Fisker's DOE loan were due October 7 and an auction is still planned for Friday, despite a U.S. government shutdown that began 10 days ago.

Prospective bidders had to offer at least $30 million to qualify, with 10 percent down due with the bid, two people with knowledge of the process said on Thursday.

But restarting the company will cost considerably more. A reinstatement of Fisker's original plan to build several models could cost up to half a billion dollars, according to people familiar with the company's finances.

The sources declined to be named because details are confidential. The Energy Department declined to comment on the details of the bidding process. Fisker and its restructuring firm Kirkland & Ellis could not be immediately reached for comment.

U.S. officials could select a winner as soon as next week. DOE and the winner will then pin down the final details of the note sale. A public announcement may come later this month.

DOE extended a $529 million loan to Fisker in 2009 under a U.S. program to promote green vehicles. But after Fisker missed performance targets, DOE froze its credit line in June 2011 after Fisker drew down $192 million.

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At least three groups have sought to buy Fisker this year, including German investment group Fritz Nols AG. Fritz Nols was among those who submitted a formal bid to buy the DOE loan this week, two of the sources said. The firm declined to comment.

A team that includes Chinese auto supplier Wanxiang Group and former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz also submitted a bid this week, one person familiar with the matter said. Pin Ni, head of Wanxiang's U.S. division, declined to comment. Lutz could not be reached for comment. This group previously tried to buy the automaker for $20 million.

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Previously, another group led by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li proposed buying Fisker's government loan for between $25 million and $30 million.

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