Volvo announced today that they plan to introduce a diesel hybrid vehicle in both the U.S. and European markets by 2012, if not sooner. Initial hybrid models will be diesel variants of Volvo’s larger line-up, like the XC-90 SUV and S80 full-size sedan. Capable of relying solely on battery power, the Volvo hybrid system will utilize a 5-cylinder turbo diesel to deliver power to the front wheels and a separate electric motor to power the rear. Despite the undesirable tendency for both diesel engines and electric motors to lack significant horsepower at high rpms, Volvo executive Less Kerseemakers says that Volvo’s current best-selling V8 engine just doing translate well into long-term success. “I don’t think there is a bright future for the V-8, especially for Volvo,” he said. “It’s the best engine we have. But if the environment is changing, you can be stubborn, or you can look for alternatives.”
Last week at the Paris Auto Show 2008, BMW threw their hat in the hybrid luxury car ring with the introduction of the new BMW ActiveHybrid7, the 750i’s adaptation of a mild hybrid. Ultimately [and wisely] refusing to sacrifice famed-BMW performance for fuel efficiency, the 7-Series hybrid comes with a 400-hp, 4.4L twin-turbo engine, mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 50kW electric motor. Designed to compete with similar green luxuries like the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid and Lexus LS600hL, the BMW 7-Series Active Hybrid isn’t exactly geared towards the average hybrid buyer.
In July, Stanley Kobierowski of Providence, Rhode Island was arrest for drunk driving after crashing his vehicle into a highway message board on Interstate 95. Pleading no contest, on Friday Kobierowski was sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and a one year suspension of his driving privileges.
Though he technically refrained from admitting guilt, Kobierowski’s nolo contendere plea did little by way of creating an allusion of innocence. According to the arresting authorities, at the time of Kobierowski’s accident, his BAC was off the charts. Initial breathalyzer readings recorded Kobierowski’s BAC at .489, while a second testing yielded a .491 - both numbers well over Rhode Island’s .08 limit. Amazed that he was still able to function, the officers admit Kobierwoski’s readings are the highest the state has ever recorded - for someone who wasn’t dead.
No, it’s not a new twist on Casual Friday, it’s the unfortunate acronym for the South Lake Union Trolley, a new public transit system in one of Seattle’s neighborhoods. After initial newspaper reports sparked junior high-esque giggles over the obvious acronym, “trolley” was quickly abandoend in favor of “streetcar.” SLUT apparently stuck, however, and caused no small stir in the neighborhood.
As if often the case with SLUTs in general, Mayor Greg Nickels was reported as saying, “People can call it whatever they want as long as they ride it.”
According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, legendary motorcycle stuntman Evil Knievel spent most of his life under heavy investigation by the FBI for suspected involvement with a crime syndicate.
Prone the macabre, Knievel’s most legendary act of violence occurred in 1977 in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox. The unfortunate victim was studio executive Shelly Saltman, who had worked closely with Knievel promoting his death-defying escapades before penning a tell-all in which he characterized Knievel as “an alcoholic, a pill addict, an anti-Semite and an immoral person.” Angered by the account, but certainly doing nothing to help his own cause, Knievel assaulted Shelly in the studio parking lot, beating him heavily with a baseball bat.
As you may know, one of the biggest automotive events in the civilized world, The Paris Motor Show, started this past Saturday. Right now, Paris is crawling with the top names in the automotive business, executives and designers and engineers and general enthusiasts. Also, automotive journalists. They’re all checking out the interesting new concepts and production vehicles being debuted. It’s a blast, I hear.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it since I had a special engagement with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Every year we watch the first Eagles/Redskins matchup of the season. The Lama’s a lifelong Redskins fan. So here I am, in a secret monastery deep in the mountains of Tibet, with my #12 Randall Cunningham jersey and a laptop. The views are beautiful here, but I’ll be honest, I would have liked to have seen the new Ferrari California in person. Still, if past experience has told me anything, it’s that you don’t turn down a personal invitation from the spiritual leader of any large number of people, exiled or no.
Nevertheless, I have my responsibilities as an automotive journalist to bring you the important news of the world, promptly and with unbiased objectivity. So here is a sampling of Jalopnik.com’s coverage of hot girls from Paris:
Ford has released a new system to help parents control the driving habits of their children, it’s called the Ford MyKey. It’s a programmable chip embedded in the key that allows owners to limit the vehicles top speed and even the volume of the audio components. MyKey also encourages seatbelt usage, offers earlier low-fuel warnings, and can be programmed to sound chimes at 45, 55 and 65 miles per hour. It’ll be available as standard equipment on the 2010 Focus coupe and will eventually become standard on many other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models.
Apparently, Ford’s research showed parents would be more likely to let teens use their vehicles with the MyKey, so teen should be happy about it. Of course, I’m sure there will be websites devoted entirely to cracking the MyKey software as soon as it’s available to the public anyway.
Complete press release after the jump:
This piece done by 60 Minutes is a fairly good profile of the so-called race to build a commercially viable electric car between Detroit and Silicon Valley. It comes off a little out of touch, but the target audience is primarily my grandmother, so it works.
They make a good point that I think they might not realize they’re making: Detroit is a gigantic bureaucracy, they’re huge and it’s tough to turn a beast like that in different direction once it gets going. The smaller Silicon Valley start-up companies, on the other hand, can adapt and fit a niche market much more quickly. If you follow that reasoning out, you start to think… maybe the government shouldn’t be bailing out the Detroit Three, maybe we should just let the market decide without giving some companies an unfair advantage. Maybe by letting things run their course, a new, better company can come to power.
Firefighters from Glendale, Arizona, have discovered yet another way to make women swoon by supporting a cause closest to their heart: breast cancer. Dubbed “The Guardians of the Ribbon” the pink-clad troupe of police officers and firefighters travel across country on the Pink Ribbon Tour, intent on raising breast cancer awareness. Led by Dave Graybill, a firefighter for Glendale, AZ since 1990, the Guardians of the Ribbon began with the simple intent of showing support for women, and breast cancer survivors, everywhere. Touring the U.S. in their firetruck festooned with pink ribbons, last month the Guardians visited 22 states, collecting a staggering 7,000 signatures on their truck from breast cancer survivors and supporters. Inspiring other departments to get involved, the Guardians encourage local fire company’s to don pink on October 25th, 26th, and 27th. Explained Graybill, “We’re asking all men out there whether you have been affected by cancer or not to take a stand and support the women in your communities.”
A poll of 2,000 motorists conducted by European motor authority, AA Driving School, revealed that a startling percentage of drivers can’t properly identify what some traffic signs mean. According to the results, 3 in 5 drivers were unable to properly identify the sign for a bicycle route, more than 2 in 5 failed to recognize an “Uneven Road Ahead” sign, and 22% were baffled by a sign indicating a bridge ahead.
Overall, the test asked motorists to identify a total of 7 traffic signs, which 93% of participants were able to do correctly. Despite the overwhelming majority demonstrating an acceptable knowledge of roadway signage, AA Driving School director Simon Douglas was not satisfied. “The road signs we selected for this test are all common on British roads,” Douglas explained, “so it’s worrying that so many motorists don’t fully understand their meaning.”
