Vehicles: Page
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
Street-Legal EV Carts Attract Buyers
Not a converted golf cart proclaims a promotion for Tomberlin Electric's latest all-electric vehicles, which some new-car dealers are taking on. The Augusta, GA-based Tomberlin is selling vehicles that are legal on public roads, seat up to four, and have a range of up to 30 miles and a top speed of 23-25 mph. Tomberlin says its dealers and customers find them palatable runabouts. Holland, a city in
By Mac Gordon • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
V-6 and I-6 Engines, Beware
Say you have a perfectly fine 2.0L direct-injection gasoline turbocharged 4-cyl. that puts out 200 hp and 207 lb.-ft. (281 Nm) of torque, has good fuel efficiency and won three straight Ward's 10 Best Engines awards. Then you decide to design a new and better version. Do you, like many auto makers, base it on the old one and share as many parts as possible? Do you bump its displacement to increase
By Gary Witzenburg • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Toyota Motor North America
TrendlineTop 5 stories from WardsAuto
Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.
By WardsAuto staff -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Eliica EV Fast, Economical and Drawing Interest From Japan’s OEs
The only certainty about entrepreneur Hiroshi Shimizu’s creation is that it accelerates like a mini-rocket, reaching 60 mph in just 4 seconds and a top speed of more than 200 mph.
By Roger Schreffler • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Europe Still Working to Reach Agreement on EV Recharging-Plug Standards
The socket on the car side could be whatever the auto maker wants, but the idea of standards is that the socket on the infrastructure side should be the same everywhere.
By William Diem • Oct. 26, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Vehicles Becoming MOST Capable
The MOST consortium prepares to launch a new network with bandwidth of 150 megabits per second. That’s enough capacity to transmit video images to 40 display screens.
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 22, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dow Kokam Slowly Carving Out Piece of EV Pie in France
The supplier earlier this year acquired SVE in France and in May began construction on a plant in Le Bouchet that will have capacity for 5,000 battery packs annually.
By William Diem • Oct. 19, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Cayennes and Hybrids and Turbos, Oh My!
The Porsche CUV is all-around better than the model it replaces. Torque vectoring delivers unparalleled handling, and Porsche’s first hybrid enables guilt-free “sailing” up to 97 mph.
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 18, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Tight Supply of Battery Winders Could Limit EVs, Analyst Says
It takes 250 machines to support production of 750,000 EVs. Last year, CKD, a leading supplier, sold nine.
By Roger Schreffler • Oct. 18, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
6-cyl. Engines Beware, Audi I-4 Setting New Standard for Luxury
The 2.0L I-4 is a cornerstone of Audi’s engine downsizing and future emissions-compliance strategy.
By Gary Witzenburg • Oct. 13, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Japan’s Hitachi Remains Focused on Hybrids
While Nissan remains the primary customer for Hitachi’s conventional auto components, the supplier is eager to sell hybrid-related products, including Li-ion batteries, to other auto makers.
By Roger Schreffler and Mack Chrysler • Oct. 11, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
ISO to Establish Global Standard for Natural-Gas Filling Stations
A new ISO committee has given itself just two years to create new standards that include CNG/LNG fuel-station design, construction, operation, equipment, safety devices and maintenance.
By Keith Nuthall • Oct. 8, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Eaton’s Vehicle Group Weathers Recession, Looks Ahead
Eaton has “structured the business for the size it has become,” says its automotive chief. The supplier also is working with an OEM to install a supercharger on a direct-injection diesel engine.
By David C. Smith • Oct. 7, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Why Wait for tC’s Supercharger?
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.[caption id="attachment_56" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="New Scion tC not as sporty as it looks."][/caption] Toyota’s Scion yout...
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 5, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Small-Displacement Engines Integrating Cylinder Shutdown
Suppliers say they expect a dozen new cylinder-deactivation programs in future powertrains. Fully variable valvetrains make the feature a simple add-on for overhead-cam 4-cyl. engines.
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 4, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
V2V Technology Advancing, But Hampered by Recession
Safety engineers can’t accurately predict when V2V and V2I technologies will be rolled out on a widespread basis, but all agree it will happen eventually.
By Byron Pope • Oct. 4, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Sex Change Yields Dubious Results
While it would be nice to live in a society that doesn't assign gender to an automobile, the U.S. in 2010 isn't there yet. Exhibit A: The Scion tC. Toyota Motor Corp.'s first tC coupe arrived in 2004 to mostly good reviews. Its clean appearance, with rounded corners and relatively high-quality interior lent a lovely European-ness to the small car appropriate since Scion then sought to create a half-price
By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Meet the New Employee, Your Helpful CRM System
Dealership personnel shouldn't regard the store's customer-relationship management system as stark electronic-processing software on a computer. Instead, think of it as a helpful human. That anthropomorphic perspective increases the chances of dealership staffers best utilizing the CRM system the boss is spending so much money on. So says David Kain, president of Kain Automotive.com, who trains dealership
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Takata Installing New Crash Sled
Safety supplier Takata Corp. starts construction of a new crash-test facility in Auburn Hills, MI, that will allow much simpler compliance with the U.S. government's revised New Car Assessment Program taking effect for the '11 model year. In the market for airbags and seatbelts, Takata claims it will have a significant competitive advantage with the arrival of a $6 million servo-controlled crash sled
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
EV Smartest Car on the Road
The diminutive Smart car was Daimler AG's red-headed stepchild long before it came to American shores in 2008. Once the novelty wore off in the home market of Europe after the first-generation Smart Fortwo launched in 1998, the 2-person city car remained on life support for a number of years, as sales stalled and rumors persisted that Daimler was prepared to pull the plug. Smart survived its brush
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Asians Go Green in Paris
Japanese and Korean manufacturers unveil hybrid- and battery-electric vehicles at the Paris auto show.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Sept. 30, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Jacoby Reviewing Volvo Brand Identity; Praises Engineers
“Volvo has lot of good assets as a brand,” the auto maker’s new CEO says. “But we need to define what we will stand for in 10 years, in five years.”
By Eric Mayne • Sept. 30, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford, PSA, Extend Diesel Partnership
The new lineup of diesel engines, slated to go into production in 2013, will deliver improved fuel economy, reduced carbon-dioxide emissions and enhanced performance attributes.
By Ward's Staff • Sept. 29, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Japanese Auto Makers Drive Ahead With Fuel-Cell Vehicle Programs
To quicken the pace, 13 Japanese energy companies, including market-leaders Nippon Oil and Tokyo Gas, joined forces last year to develop a hydrogen-supply infrastructure for FCVs in Japan.
By Roger Schreffler and Mack Chrysler • Sept. 29, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Power Play Puts Ford Diesel in Chip Lead
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.[caption id="attachment_42" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Ford's Adam Gryglak speaks at Best Engines Diesel Shootout. "][/caption] ...
By Tom Murphy • Sept. 23, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Power Stroke Wins Diesel Shootout
With lightweight materials, clever packaging, unquestioned specs and superior NVH, Ford’s all-new Power Stroke is arguably the finest heavy-duty pickup diesel of the modern era.
By Tom Murphy • Sept. 20, 2010
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