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Hyundai's first-ever hybrid automobile for the U.S. market will be based on the redesigned 2011 Sonata midsize sedan, but it certainly isn't the only fuel-saver the Korean automaker has in store. According to Automotive News, Yang Woong-chul, president of R&D for Hyundai-Kia Motors, has reiterated his company's plans to aggressively enter the increasingly crowded hybrid market.

To that end, Hyundai plans to launch a new sporty plug-in electric car based on the striking Blue-Will concept from the Seoul Motor Show earlier this year. Powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline direct-injected powerplant and 100kw electric motor mated up with a CVT automatic transmission, the Blue-Will reportedly has a range of 38 miles in EV mode and an overall rating of 55 mpg when the gas engine is in operation.

Expect a similar drivetrain for the production car when it hits the market in 2012 to go up against the upcoming Chevy Volt and the plug-in version of Toyota's standard-bearing Prius hybrid. So far, there's no word on expected pricing for the PHEV, but Hyundai says the goal is to 'show its technology and improve its image,' not to make money. Consider our interest piqued.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Hyundai

REPORT: Hyundai planning plug-in sports car for 2012 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've known for a while now that the technology that was to power the Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid would outlive GM's ownership of the brand and be ported over to another brand. The two-mode hybrid powertrain from the Vue Hybrid will likely become available in another GM product sometime in 2011, but what about the PHEV version? According to a report in Reuters, the vehicle may have changed but the timeline for GM's launch of a plug-in SUV remains the same. GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens told the news service that, "I can tell you that I won't lose one day in terms of customers being able to walk into dealerships and actually purchase a plug-in." In May, AutoblogGreen readers voted for GM to use the Chevy Equinox as a new home for the PHEV Vue's guts, but all that GM will say is that the plug-in powertrain from the Vue will make its way into one of the four brands GM has left: Chevy, Cadillac, Buick or GMC.

In other news, Stephens said that GM has not ruled out producing a small, all-electric city car in the coming years. We suppose he means a "real" car and not something like the PUMA.


[Source: Reuters]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Saturn

REPORT: Saturn Vue plug-in replacement SUV on track, GM considering electric city car originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unlike previous global environmental problems such as the depletion of ozone via CFC’s and excessive pesticides (DDT), greenhouse gases are not something we can phase out.  First off, there is the problem that previous years of releases are with us and will stay with us for quite some time.  Second off, greenhouse gases are a product of a lifestyle that we all can not just give up.  This is even truer now that we have a global economy where we ship food, materials, consumer products, and other resources all around the world.  So how do we get to stabilizing ...

From Greenpeace; Supermarkets make progress on sustainable seafood, Trader Joe’s receives worst ranking of national supermarket chains, again

In the third edition of Greenpeace’s seafood sustainability scorecard – Carting Away the Oceans - more than half of the leading supermarket chains in the U.S. have now made some sign of progress in increasing the sustainability of their seafood operations. – some of the world’s most critically imperiled species. None of the companies featured in the report guarantee that they won’t sell seafood from fisheries that are harming sea turtles, dolphins, seals, sea lions, or other marine mammals.The ...

This story by Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California originally appeared on SFGate.com

In the ongoing debate about rethinking America’s energy future, there has been far too little discussion about water. It takes a tremendous amount of water to produce our energy, no matter how you measure it.

According to the USGS assessment of water use in the United States (done every five years), about half of all freshwater and saline-water withdrawals for 2000 were used for thermoelectric power. Most of this water was derived from surface water and used for once-through cooling at ...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie laid out a renewable plan you might expect from a Democrat.

There are two things that prevent solar cells from entering the mainstream: their prohibitive cost, and their inadaptability. Even if people can somehow overcome the cost barrier, the havoc they allegedly wreck upon buildings and houses keeps many people away from switching to non-fossil-fuel power generation, and besides, sunshine is never uniform. It varies [...]
Posted in: Inventions, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

Since 1844, when the first tide wheel was built, inventors have been trying to harness the immense power of the ocean with little success. Now the next generation of engineers is trying to break the course of history and turn this niche industry into a major energy player.

"Show me the energy...Not a lot of these devices are actually generating electricity today." Rob Cinq Mars, President, Free Flow Energy.

From Friends of the Earth International; Environment groups criticise Shell CEO van der Veer for undermining climate policies

Fresh evidence of oil giant Shell’s colossal contribution to global climate change and its continued investment in carbon intensive fossil fuels has been revealed today in a new report.[1]

The report also reveals new internal documents that show Shell knew of the environmental dangers of gas flaring in Nigeria more than fifteen years ago, but chose not to stop flaring purely for financial reasons.

The new report, ' Shell's Big Dirty Secret'(PDF) is available online.

As Shell’s new ...

Firework displays are gawd-awful for the environment, causing (among other offenses) massive increase in the levels of perchlorate found in bodies of water. Articles here and here suggest that research is being done to make greener fireworks, but the articles are scare in details. Color me skeptical.

Chevron has been ordered by a California state judge to ixnay plans for expansion of their oil refinery operations in Richmond.

Sarah Palin (R - Exxon) is resigning as governor of Alaska. Climate change denier, friend to big oil (I know, redundant), but ultimately not much more than a political footnote.

With approximately 700 ...