New York Loses Out on Hybrid Taxi

After years of courtroom battles, NYC has lost out on their bid to force all taxis to go hybrid.   The Supreme Court has refused to hear their argument, letting the ruling from the lower court stand. 

Taxi owners argued the city was regulating fuel economy, something only the federal powers are allowed to do.  And although some states have created emissions and fuel standards, those have come by a waiver issued by the EPA.

Really, taxi owners simply don't want to pay extra to purchase the hybrid cars.  Taxi drivers love them because of the lower fuel costs and because customers have shown a preference for riding in them.

Still, a large percentage of NYC taxis have already gone hybrid.  And more are expected to, so the effort by the city has not been wasted.

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Honda Civic Hybrid Recall 2006 - 2007

Honda is recalling MY 2006-2007 Honda Civic Hybrid to replace a DC to DC converter.  The DC-DC converter is part of the IMA system and may experience an internal failure leading to stalling and malfunction of the headlights.

Around 37,000 Civic Hybrids are being recalled for the repairs.  Notification should start on March 18.

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New Bmw Cars

New Class

The New Class (German: Neue Klasse) was a line of compact sedans and coupes starting with the 1962 1500 and continuing through the last 2002s in 1977. Powered by BMW's celebrated four-cylinder M10 engine, the New Class models featured a fully independent suspension, MacPherson struts in front, and front disc brakes. Initially a family of four-door sedans and two-door coupes, the New Class line was broadened to two-door sports sedans with the addition of the 02 Series 1600 and 2002 in 1966.
Sharing little in common with the rest of the line beyond power train, the sporty siblings caught auto enthusiasts' attention and established BMW as an international brand. Precursors to the famed BMW 3 Series, the two-doors' success cemented the firm's future as an upper tier performance car maker. New Class four-doors with numbers ending in "0" were replaced by the larger BMW 5 Series in 1972. The upscale 2000C and 2000CS coupes were replaced by the six-cylinder BMW E9, introduced in 1969 with the 2800CS. The 1600 two-door was discontinued in 1975, the 2002 replaced by the 320i in 1975.

Current models

BMW 3-Series (E90)

The 1 Series, launched in 2004, is BMW's smallest car, and is available in coupe/convertible (E82/E88) and hatchback (E81/E87) forms. The 3 Series, a compact executive car manufactured since model year 1975, is currently in its fifth generation (E90); models include the sport sedan (E90), station wagon (E91), coupe (E92), and convertible (E93). The 5 Series is a mid-size executive car, available in sedan (E60) and station wagon (E61) forms. The 5 Series Gran Turismo (F07), beginning in 2010, will create a segment between station wagons and crossover SUV.

BMW 7-Series (F01)

BMW's full-size flagship executive sedan is the 7 Series. Typically, BMW introduces many of their innovations first in the 7 Series, such as the somewhat controversial iDrive system. The 7 Series Hydrogen, featuring one of the world's first hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines, is fueled by liquid hydrogen and emits only clean water vapor. The latest generation (F01) debuted in 2009. Based on the 5 Series' platform, the 6 Series is BMW's grand touring luxury sport coupe/convertible (E63/E64). A 2-seater roadster and coupe which succeeded the Z3, the Z4 (E85) has been sold since 2002.

BMW X3 SUV (E83)

The X3 (E83), BMW's first crossover SUV (called SAV or "Sports Activity Vehicle" by BMW) debuted in 2003 and is based on the E46/16 3 Series platform. Marketed in Europe as an off-roader, it benefits from BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system. The all-wheel drive X5 (E70) is a mid-size luxury SUV (SAV) sold by BMW since 2000. A 4-seat crossover SUV released by BMW in December 2007, the X6 is marketed as a "Sports Activity Coupe" (SAC) by BMW. The upcoming X1 extends the BMW Sports Activity Series model lineup.

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Cars 2 gets British and Italian flavor

Pixar’s sequel to the hit movie, Cars, is taking place on a global platform so as you can expect, Cars 2 will be introducing new characters from all over the globe. Among these new lands are two countries that have storied histories of producing some of the most iconic cars in history: Italy and the United Kingdom.

For Cars 2, Lightning McQueen and his trusty yet rusty wingman, Mater, head far away from Radiator Springs to compete in the very first installment of the World Grand Prix. In the middle of their adventure, theiy are thrust into a situation where they end up trying to save the world from a bevy of evil four-wheeled villains. In between trying to upend the bad guys and winning the World Grand Prix, McQueen and Mater end up meeting a slew of international characters, five of which you can check out after the jump.

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2011 Project 599 GTB Eligos & 612 Adonai by SR Auto Group

We’ve just recently discovered the fabulous tuning projects from American tuner, SR Auto Group, whose packages transform any ordinary car into a beautiful work of killer art. Anyone that remembers their Project Pur R8 ’Phantom’ knows exactly what we are talking about. But now, the tuner has moved on to two more sports cars that need little to no tuning to be awesome in their own right: the Ferrari 599 GTB and the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.

The tuning packages for the 599 GTB and the 612 are called Eligos (Great Duke of Hell) and Adonai (Hebrew name for God), respectively. The Eligos combines a matte black exterior paint with a dark metallic color, and a new set of ADV.1 wheels. The Adonai package comes in white exterior paint or a matte white wrap. It is combined with a black roof and a new set of ADV.1 wheels. Both cars feature a red trim for that extra little splash of devilish charm.

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Is the EPA Setting Us Up?

The EPA is currently working out the EPA standards on electric and plug-in electric vehicles and there's been quite a lot of debate on how, why, who, what, etc... But this is the first time I've seen the values being labeled as outright fraudulence:

Using the DOE’s apples to apples methodology, the MPGe of the Nissan Leaf is not 99 but 36! Now, 36 is a good mileage number, but it is pretty pedestrian compared to the overblown expectations for electric vehicles, and is actually lower than the EPA calculated mileage of a number of hybrids and even a few traditional gasoline-powered vehicles like the Honda CR-Z. (Source: Forbes blog)

I don't agree with his argument at the end on tailpipe emissions, although I understand it. But in the long run, it's actually easier to mandate the power sources for emissions than it is each car.  And the analogy he uses for the main subject matter is definitely stretching things...

So is the EPA setting us up for a long term failure? Are we being fooled by the electric dream?

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Do We Really Want Green Cars

According to US News and World Report, "Despite all the hype surrounding hybrid and electric cars, some people just aren’t buying it. According to a new study, “some people” are most consumers."

That really doesn't cut it with me. Despite the hype and the hysteria surrounding the sales of hybrids, most people don't take into account hybrid car costs. But even though hybrid cars and SUVs are still luxury items, over 1% of the US market comes from Prius sales.

Let me repeat that in a slightly different way: 1 out of every 100 cars sold is a Prius.

There are very few cars that can say they make up such a large percentage of US consumers.  There are even fewer luxury cars that even come close to it.  Other hybrid cars aren't as fuel efficient, aren't as inexpensive and just plain aren't as good as the Prius. Which is why the Prius still dominates the hybrid car market place.

In the same article, JD Powers and Associates predicts that by 2020, over 7 percent of the passenger vehicles sold will be hybrids. Do you know of any other luxury option that will be doing as well?

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