How does the Leaf get huge miles per gallon without actually using gallons?
(Credit: Nissan)
OK, these ridiculous mpg claims are starting to get out of hand. Earlier this week, General Motors announced an estimated 230 mpg for the upcoming Volt extended-range EV--a claim that was later undermined by the EPA. No doubt attempting to steal a bit of GM's thunder, Nissan claimed (via Twitter) that its upcoming Leaf EV could do better:
"Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!"
At first, we thought this was an odd claim to make, seeing that the Leaf is fully electric and (as stated in the same tweet) doesn't actually use gasoline or diesel fuel. Nissan, followed up later with another tweet stating that they were using a DOE formula to estimate the 367 mpg equivalency for the electric LEAF, but doesn't that just confuse prospective customers further with obtuse conversions?
What do you think, wise and noble reader? In a world where vehicles run on gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, ethanol, alcohol, natural gas, and electricity (to name a few), is it time for a new efficiency metric or should we stick with old faithful (if not sometimes inapplicable) miles per gallon?
Toyota is NOT going to be happy about this...
(Credit: Chevrolet/GM)For the last few weeks, we've been seeing a mysterious teaser ad all over the web. The ad simply displayed the number 230 (the "0" represented by a smiling electrical outlet) and a date. Well today's the day and the secret is revealed. The number 230 is significant because the Chevrolet Volt plug-in series hybrid has received an EPA estimated 230 city miles per gallon.
If that number sounds a little high to you, remember that for about the first 40 miles of driving on a full charge, the Volt uses no fuel. And once the batteries are low on juice, the gasoline generator kicks in to sustain the charge, not to motivate the vehicle--as is the case in parallel and two-mode hybrid.
The EPA has had to completely rethink its fuel economy standard for extended-range EVs like the Volt. For the Volt, that drafted number is based on combined electric only driving and charge sustaining mode with the gasoline generator running, although how much driving of each mode is still under wraps. The new draft works in GM's favor as the automaker now has bragging rights the the first ever triple digit fuel economy rating.
In addition to new fuel economy numbers, the new EPA stickers may also feature electric efficiency ratings. The Volt will consume 25 kW/hours per 100 miles.
Update: The EPA has subsequently stated that it hasn't actually tested the Volt to confirm or refute GM's claims.
The new Camaro gets an impressive cabin tech roster, including iPod and Zune integration.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)Microsoft employee David McLauchlan posted photos of how the Zune integrates with the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. The news releases about the car from GM already confirmed that its stereo would feature iPod integration and a USB port, but this is the first we've seen about the Zune integration.
The pictures show a nice image of a Camaro appearing on the Zune's screen when it is connected to the car, along with the various play and navigation screens that show up on the car's radio display. We've never liked the aqua electro-fluorescent radio displays used by GM, but it is nice to see you can choose music much as you would on the Zune, browing artists, albums, songs, and genres.
The PUMA speeds along the floor of the New York auto show.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Buzzing around the floor of the 2009 New York auto show, is the PUMA--the result of a collaboration between Segway and GM. We had a chance to ride in the vehicle, an electric-powered two seater. PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and works on similar principles as the Segway Personal Transporter. Where on the Personal Transporter, you lean forward to make it go, the PUMA's steering column has to be pushed, which causes the entire cab to slide to the front and move weight forward, making the PUMA go.
Push the steering wheel forward, and the whole cabin shifts.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)The driver of the PUMA cautioned us to keep our legs loose--as the cabin shifted--and then we were off. The vehicle picked up a good amount of speed until the driver pulled back on the wheel, shifting our weight again and slowing it down. It was hard to believe we were traveling on two wheels, as it felt very balanced. (There are auxiliary wheels, with two on the rear for safety and two in front to support the PUMA when it is stopped.)
Turning was very smooth: as the driver turned the little wheel, power diverted to the outside wheel, letting the PUMA turn almost on a dime. Coming to a stop felt like the end of a roller coaster ride, as the PUMA leaned forward sharply and the cabin shifted again. A Segway representative came over and lifted up a safety bar.
Toyota showed off the i-Real at the 2007 Tokyo auto show.
(Credit: CNET)The PUMA is supposed to go up to 35 mph, with a range of 35 miles. A Segway representative told us that, after a full day of demonstration rides, the battery was only half-drained. The PUMA weighs 400 pounds, but is a very early model, with a second generation due to come out in the fall. GM initially approached Segway about the collaboration 18 months ago, but the PUMA on display was developed and built at the Segway plant in only 90 days.
GM isn't the first car company to develop a personal mobility vehicle. Japanese car companies have been at it for a long time. During the 2007 Tokyo auto show, we saw examples from both Toyota and Suzuki.
LG's big CTIA news was the introduction of the LG Xenon and Neon for AT&T, and Nicole Lee's all over the messaging phones with hands-on impressions and photos.
LG-GM730
(Credit: LG)However, I wandered over to the LG booth myself (actually, I crashed Nicole's one-on-one meeting), because I wanted to find out what the company's plans are for bringing more smartphones to the United States.
As you might remember, LG announced at GSMA 2009 that it has committed to the Windows Mobile operating system for its smartphones, intends to increase the number of Windows phones available in 2009 tenfold, and bring up to 26 new devices in 2012.
It even announced the LG-GM730 to kick-start the mission. That said, it was a little unclear whether this would extend to U.S. shores. Well, there's good news and bad news.
The bad news is that there are no current plans to bring the GM730 Stateside, nor are there any new releases scheduled for the near future.
However, LG said it recognizes that more and more customers are wanting smartphones, so there's a big push internally to move in that direction, and we should see new models toward the end of 2009/early 2010. Obviously not ideal, considering that's still a ways away, but at least we know they're coming. Currently, the LG Incite is the only LG smartphone available with a U.S. carrier.
A few tech blogs on Monday morning are highlighting some choice quotes from a Melinda Gates interview that appears in the most recent issue of Vogue.
According to the Vogue piece, Bill and Melinda Gates, in addition to making their home a no-iPhone/iPod zone, have forbidden their three children from using the devices (no word on rules for other Apple products).
The article's mainly about the Gates Foundation and how it's trying to solve "hunger in the world." We certainly appreciate that, but we'll stick with the inane superficial stuff here, thank you very much.
LG's LG-GM730 may be Melinda Gates' best option as an iPhone substitute.
(Credit: LG)"There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household," Gates tells Vogue. "But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids." The article goes on to add that "Gates acknowledges the inevitable lure of forbidden fruit." The Microsoft founder's wife also is quoted as saying, "Every now and then, I look at my friends and say, 'Ooh, I wouldn't mind having that iPhone.'"
Of course, if we were doing the interview, the obvious next question would be, "Just what cell phones do you and Bill use?"
With a big alliance in place with LG for Windows Mobile phones, I'm betting that they go with something like LG's upcoming LG-GM730. It certainly looks like an iPhone. On the outside, anyway.
Anybody else want to guess?
LG Arena
(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET Networks)LG had a rather action-packed Mobile World Congress, making several product announcements including the high-end LG Arena multimedia phone and choosing Windows Mobile as the primary operating system for its smartphones. As a result, the company's booth was buzzing with a steady stream of visitors, and we stopped by ourselves to take a look at some of the company's offerings.
The one thing I came away with is that LG loves its touch screens. Everywhere I turned, there was a touch screen staring back at me. Not that I'm complaining, but it got to the point where the phones were almost indiscernible to me. It would have been nice to see a little variation in LG's design.
The biggest crowd pleaser was, not surprisingly, the LG Arena. It was a battle to get some hands-on time with the phone, and I can understand why. The Arena's S-Class 3D user interface makes quite impression. The cube layout and Elastic Lists and Reel Scrolling make it quite fun to use the phone, and certainly takes full advantage of the touch-screen capabilities. To be honest, though, I'm still on fence about whether the user interface is really helpful or all style and no substance. I mean I can see some advantages of the UI (the Reel Scrolling feature really comes in handy for going through photos and other files), but does it make phone navigation that much easier? I have yet to see it.
To be fair, I only had a few minutes with the device so I reserve the right to change my mind when we actually get to review the phone. Featurewise, the LG Arena is impressive with a 5-megapixel camera, 8GB of internal memory, Wi-Fi, 3G support, and more. Let's just hope it makes it way to the States.
The LG-GM730 smartphone was also at the booth, but unfortunately, it seemed as if all of the display models were frozen or not fully functioning, so I didn't really get a good feel for it. Still, I'm happy to see that the company is committed to developing more smartphones, though I know there are certainly some strong feelings about the choice of Windows Mobile as the chief operating system.
To get a closer look at these handsets and LG's other products, check out our hands-on photo gallery.
First up: the LG-GM730.
(Credit: LG)LG Electronics made a number of announcements at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009, one of which was its alliance with Microsoft to make Windows Mobile the primary operating system for the company's smartphones. As part of the agreement, LG said it would create a tenfold increase of Windows Mobile devices in 2009, and it got things started with the introduction of the LG-GM730.
LG expects to ship the GM730 during the first half of 2009, so unfortunately, it will run Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition. But the company said it would release a Windows Mobile 6.5 version in the second half of the year.
What you do get right away is LG's new S-Class 3D user interface. S-Class features a cube layout with four customizable home screens that you can rotate through with the flick of your finger. It slightly reminded us of HTC's TouchFlo interface on the original HTC Touch, but much, much cooler.
Unfortunately, we don't know much else about the smartphone. We do know that the smartphone will have Internet Explorer Mobile 6.0 and is 0.46-inch thick. LG plans to announce more specs soon and hopefully some news about a North American release. Wishful thinking?
Click here to see the designs.
What will race cars look like in 2025? The Los Angeles Auto Show, in its fifth annual Design Challenge, posed this question to automakers' design studios. Entrants from Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Volkswagen show off differing takes of what will be required for future racetracks.
GM gives the Chevy Volt its first auto show exposure at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. With a game-changing power train, the Volt is as relevant in Europe as it is in the U.S. The Volt uses a series hybrid system, using an electric motor to drive the wheels with a gas engine to generate more electricity once the car's lithium ion battery pack is depleted.
Under electric power alone, the car has a 40-mile range and can be recharged at any AC outlet. For many people, that range will cover their daily commute, which will result in no actual gas usage during a typical work day.
Click here for photos of the 2011 Chevy Volt at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.
