Green Tech

News leaked out early today that Mitsubishi will debut its upcoming plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

Although there is no official news release or announcement from Mitsubishi, Edmunds InsideLine confirmed with a company spokesperson that the SUV is headed to the auto show next fall. It also confirmed that U.S. buyers will get the vehicle either in late 2013 or 2014.

The plug-in hybrid will be based on the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander, and will have three driving modes, including all-electric, serial hybrid, and parallel hybrid. Based on the PX-Miev II Concept that debuted at … Read more

Ricky Bobby said "If you ain't first, you're last", but the driver of Audi's No. 2 R18 e-tron quattro probably did not feel particularly crushed to come in second, behind Audi's No. 1 R18 e-tron quattro, at this weekend's 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. Both cars not only used Audi diesel engines, which have dominated at previous Le Mans runnings, but also an electric boost system.

The wins not only prove the efficiency of these drive systems, which helped the drivers to victory through the need for fewer fueling stops, but … Read more

The show's not over for Saab. An investment group agreed to buy the Swedish automotive manufacturer and plans to build electric cars for the Asian market, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press.

Saab's savior is a Chinese-Japanese investment group, whose key player is energy tycoon Kai Johan Jiang. Jiang founded the alternative energy supplier National Bio-Energy Group in China, and his other company, the National Modern Energy Holdings, owns 51 percent of National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, the company set up to buy Saab, according to BusinessWeek. The remaining 49 percent of National Electric Vehicle … Read more

How does a car manufacturer whose motto is "the ultimate driving machine" sell a front-wheel-drive car that takes 8 seconds to hit 60 mph and tops out at 93 mph? By shifting attention from under the hood to inside the cabin, focusing on the urban-electric lifestyle.

BMW opened its first dedicated BMW i Store in London this week. The BMW i3 isn't scheduled to enter production until 2013, but the company is taking advantage of the Summer Olympics to boost the new vehicle line's presence. The store serves as a showroom for its upcoming line of … Read more

More and more these days, we're picking up drink bottles and plastic utensils crafted from corn rather than regular plastic. So, how about products made from agricultural waste and food scraps? Glad you asked. The Biobased Kidshouse from Dutch consortium BE-Basic is made entirely from natural materials such as agri-waste, tree bark, and potato peels.

The panels are made from compressed straw. The roof is waterproofed with vegetable oils. The electric sockets are where the potato peel bioplastic comes in. … Read more

Among the handful of electric cars either in production for coming out this year, Honda can now boast the best fuel economy. The EPA rating for its Fit EV shows the car earning 118 MPG equivalent, beating the next runner-up Mitsubishi i-Miev's 112 MPGe and the Nissan Leaf's 99 MPGe.

The numbers break down to 132 MPGe city, 105 MPGe highway, with the 118 MPGe number being the combined rating.

At the same time, Honda also gets to claim an EPA-rated range of 82 miles on a single charge, better than the Leaf and i-Miev. However, the Tesla Model S, … Read more

Another 19 Fisker Karmas are being recalled due to a potential fire hazard risk in the battery compartment.

Incorrectly positioned hose clamps could cause a cooling leak, Fisker Automotive reported in its government recall notice. If coolant enters the battery compartment, an electrical short could result in a fire. The luxury automaker recalled 239 of its plug-in hybrid vehicles in December 2011 because of this installation defect, and the latest recall is an expansion of the same problem.

Owners of the affected 2012 Karmas will be notified by Fisker, which will arrange transportation of the vehicles to repair facilities. The … Read more

Liquid Metal Battery, an MIT spinoff backed by Bill Gates, has secured an additional $15 million in series B financing in a funding round led by Khosla Ventures, the company announced today.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based company, which aims to build a cheap battery for bulk storage of wind and solar power, also announced that Andrew Chung, a Khosla Ventures partner, would join the board.

"Our Liquid Metal Battery technology is tremendously exciting because it has the potential to dramatically change the electric power system everywhere," Liquid Metal Battery CEO Phil Giudice said in a statement announcing the … Read more

In each of the three years of EcoCar2 Challenge, General Motors will give away approximately $100,000 in prizes to the students participating in the alternative fuels vehicle competition. But for some students, the real prize will be a steady paycheck.

Headliners GM and the Department of Energy, along with 25 suppliers, sponsor EcoCar2, a three-year alternative fuels vehicle competition, as a way to encourage college students to enter the automotive industry. It provides a chance for young engineers to apply the theoretical education they gain in the classroom in the lab, giving them an advantage when it comes to … Read more