Filed under: Motorsports, Hatchbacks, Ford

Ford knows better than most that the way into an American car buyer's heart is through motor racing, so the latest step in Ford's North American "Fiesta Movement" is the deployment of the compact hatchback which we've driven and enjoyed on several occasions on America's most popular rally circuits.

Following its entry in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Ford will be fielding a team of rally-prepped Fiestas in the upcoming X Games, the 15th running of the famous stunt competition and the first time Ford will participate. Piloting a trio of Fiestas prepared by the same Swedish MSE outfit that created Marcus Gronholm's rallycross car will be a star-studded line-up comprised of drift champion Tanner Foust, ten-time X Games medalist Brian Deegan and former Indy champion Kenny Brack. With that much talent behind the wheel, we'll look forward to the Fiesta Movement getting into motion at the games running in Los Angeles from July 30 to August 2. Details are available in the press release below the fold and a pair of sketches of the X Games Fiestas can be found in the gallery below.

Continue reading Ford attacking X Games with star-studded trio of Fiesta rally cars

Ford attacking X Games with star-studded trio of Fiesta rally cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Audi, Lifestyle, UK

The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place this weekend, and every year the Earl of March, who manages the 12,000-acre Goodwood estate that hosts the event, commissions a giant art piece honoring that year's featured marque. Audi is the featured marque this year, which is timely since the Ingolstadt-based automaker is also celebrating its centennial.

This year's sculpture that was commissioned for Audi is a big swoosh of tire tracks with a 1937 Auto Union streamliner and new Audi R8 V10 suspended at either end. Standing 135-feet tall and weighing 40 tonnes, as they say in Britain, the piece is made entirely of steel to support itself without braces or cables. Gerry Judah is the designer, as he has been for Goodwood's featured art installations since 1997 when he first designed one for Ferrari. This is also the second time he's produced a piece for Audi, the first one being back in 1999.

It goes without saying that we all want to stick this in the flower bed in our front yard, but unfortunately you'll only be able to see it if you're in West Sussex this weekend to enjoy the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Check out more pics of this year's Audi sculpture, as well as art pieces from prior years, in the gallery below.



[Source: Audi, Photos courtesy of Gerry Judah]

Continue reading Goodwood Festival of Speed featuring 135-foot monument to Audi

Goodwood Festival of Speed featuring 135-foot monument to Audi originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Delft University is the Brawn GP of solar-car racing, an outfit so singularly successful that it has won the World Solar Challenge four times in a row. The Dutch team is back with its newest car, Nuna 5, and has its sights set on a fifth title when the checkered flag drops later this year.

The Nuon Solar Team has its work cut out for it once Nuna 5 arrives Down Under. The race is more than 1,800 miles long (3,000 km to be exact) and runs between Adelaide and Darwin, directly through the Australian desert. The last race, in 2007, drew 57 teams from 17 countries.

It’s like Mad Max, but without all the leather or the violent fight for gasoline.

Delft won the Solar Challenge last time around, covering the distance in 33 hours flat at an average speed of 56.46 mph.

It’s a pretty car the Nuna 5, no two ways about that. It looks like a pool table that’s been through the Pininfarina wind tunnel, but the real beauty is more than skin deep. The tech is, as one would expect, as gorgeous to the mind as the shape is to the eye.

For starters, the high-tech, low-rolling-resistance tires used in years past are out, and regular street tires are in thanks to a rules change. This means more drag, which means lower overall efficiency, which means the teams have to work harder to maximize range. Still, the team says Nuna 5 offers 10 times less rolling resistance than your typical family car.

The Nuna 5 is not quite 16 feet long and just under 3 feet tall. Like it’s predecessor, Nuna 4, it is covered in 6 square meters — about 65 square feet — of gallium-arsenide photovoltaic cells. There are 2,120 of them in all. Naturally there is a lithium-polymer battery — though the team didn’t disclose how big it is — to store energy collected by the PV cells. It also has the nifty performance advantage of supplying an extra bit of current for boosts in speed when needed, sort like the “push to pass” kinetic energy recovery systems Formula 1 has been experimenting with.

The power flows to a hub-mounted motor that the team says is 97 percent efficient, and the car is brought to a halt with carbon-ceramic disc brakes and regenerative braking.

The Nuna 4 weighed in at a feather-weight 418 pounds, but that seems positively tanklike compared to Nuna 5’s all-up weight of 352 pounds. Tell us that Colin Chapman wouldn’t be impressed by that? Hell, Chapman would probably be impressed by the whole thing.

Photos: Nuon Solar Team

Hat tip to Inhabitat.com

See Also:

• MIT Unveils 90-MPH Solar Race Car
• Feeling the Heat in a Solar Race Car
• Dutch Team Takes First in Solar Race Across Australia

Is the Prius already old technology?

Over the years I've heard many say they won't buy another car until it comes with a plug. Well, for most Americans, they'll be waiting a long time for a new car, especially if they want a pure electric vehicle.

In a new article today, Ron Cogan asks, "Will buyers pay $15,000 to $25,000 more for a vehicle that runs solely on batteries compared to a similar gasoline or clean diesel model?"

Of course not, which is why conventional vehicles and hybrid cars, including plug-in hybrids, will be the dominant automotive technologies for the short-to-midterm, or even longer.

And analysis by Bosch Automotive Group suggests the same. "The electric car will come, but in small numbers at first. It will occupy a niche and will not make a noticeable mark on the roads until after 2020." Ultimately, "dominance of the internal-combustion engine will remain unchallenged over the next twenty years."

Is the government's focus on plugging in too much too soon? Shouldn't the focus be on getting batteries, especially next gen batteries, into as many cars as soon as possible, rather than just those with plugs? Can America really afford to give the cheap hybrid vehicle market away to the Asians the same way we gave away small cars just a few decades ago? Even worse, might this focus on the plug be counter-productive to developing an American battery manufacturing industry?

WHITE PLAINS, New York — The BMW Mini E is a solid little electric ride that provides a comfortable, effortless driving experience with all of the usual small-car perks, plus an ultracheap operating cost and a carbon footprint of zero (before you plug it in, anyway). But as a $50,000 two-seater with no head-turning quotient, the pitch for this first cousin of the Mini Cooper won’t be so much to our inner rock star as our inner Al Gore.

Tooling around a busy interstate and the city streets of White Plains, it is easy to forget this is a pure electric vehicle, and something of a prototype at that: There are only about 450 Mini E’s on the road, driven by an unusually generous band of volunteer beta testers who pay $850 a month for the privilege of helping BMW work out the kinks before the car’s anticipated launch in 2012. They have no dibs on their cars and will not be allowed to buy them when the lease ends. All maintenance, and car insurance, is paid by BMW.

And, of course, nobody pays for the gas.

“These are the future,” says James Van Nostrand, who invited us to drive his Mine E. Van Nostrand, executive director of the Pace University Energy and Climate Center (great fit, BMW) is a conversant passenger who describes a not-too-distant future when millions of plug-ins become an army of “mobile storage units” on the electric grid, sucking up power on the cheap overnight and selling it back — at a profit, mind you — during peak daylight hours.

In this dream world the utility pays you to drive your car. But even if that never happens, the out-of-pocket cost of driving this car is so small that it materially lowers the total cost of ownership, even given the sticker price: At 18 cents per kilowatt/hour, it costs less than $5 to travel the car’s approximate 100-mile range. In an internal combustion vehicle that gets 17 mpg, gas at the pump would have to cost 85 cents a gallon to compete.

A fatter pipe — a 32-amp cable BMW is just making available, plugged into a 220 volt line — cuts the fill-up time for the 35 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery to a mere 4.5 hours. That’s down from the 24 hours it takes with the 12-amp cable that plugs into any 110 volt outlet. With that kind of recharge speed, Van Nostrand speculates, charging up could be offered as inducements by restaurants, shopping malls and theaters — places where people might tend to spend two or three hours anyway, so topping off isn’t lost time. Like the free Wi-Fi coffee shops use to lure customers to lattes, ubiquitous plug-in privileges could make a spontaneous EV lifestyle possible.

Power and range is always the issue with EVs. Indeed, the most prominent gauge in the Mini E is for the battery, located just below the windshield. In the center of the dashboard is the speedometer — as if speed in such a car is a novelty that both passengers would enjoy monitoring. It’s also a good 10 inches in diameter, large enough to be seen in the back seat, if there was a back seat (BMW yanked it to make room for the 573-pound battery). The Mini has always had a huge speedo, but with so little real estate on the dashboard it’s a peculiar design choice.

There are some clues that this isn’t your grandfather’s BMW, or even your brother’s Mini Cooper. There is, of course no viscerally-satisfying sport-car roar as it reaches highway speeds. While it does fine in mid-range acceleration, from a standstill the car is basically a glorified golf cart, slowish off the mark. It’s hard to imagine Mark Walhberg and Charlize Theron eluding capture in The Italian Job in one of these babies. BMW cites a zero to 62 mph time of 8.2 seconds, which isn’t terribly quick. The motor produces 150 kilowatts (about 201 horsepower), but the car weighs 3,230 pounds. Easing up on, er, the gas also decelerates the vehicle, so drivers who are familiar with manual transmission trick of engine braking will delight in the easily acquired ability to use the actual brake very rarely.

We entered highway traffic going at sub-city speeds, because of a stalled vehicle, so I couldn’t play chicken with commuters to fully test the stand-still acceleration. But we reached speed quick enough and when the field cleared and getting from 50 to 80+ was fast and effortless. Unfortunately, at these law-breaking but sometimes necessary speeds the car is difficult to control; it almost seemed to be planing on the dry surface and required strong, two-handed diligence on the wheel to compensate a split-second at a time. Dynamic stability control is a standard feature but we don’t know if it was on.

Back in the stop-and-go world of city driving, the Mini E did everything well. Size helped with no-margin-for-error lane changing and even though I would have liked more pep in the low range I was always in sync with the unpredictable surrounding traffic through work zones, ill-timed traffic lights and rude drivers.

Nobody pointed and cooed, as they did when we rode in an Aptera or later when we actually drove one of the three-wheelers, and maybe that’s a good thing: The Mini E looks, in every outward way, just like the internal combustion Mini Cooper (OK, there are no exhaust pipes for the really observant), a significant brand that could stand extending into the green space.

Pop the “gas” cap — located just where the gasoline filler would be — and there is a “no fuel” sticker and an electric socket. Pop the hood and there’s what looks like a magic box where you’d expect to see an engine. The box is sealed and off limits to anyone but a BMW tech. “Open the box and the lease is over,” Van Nostrand says.

Car like this — cars that look like cars and not some science project — are probably going to be the Model T of the EV era, appealing to the vast middle class who just need reliable wheels and have nothing to prove other than keeping up a little bit with the Jones.

Van Nostrand is — we’re sure he wouldn’t be offended by this — “normal” enough to envisage almost anyone owning one of these, though we would expect at a price something closer to the anticipated $40,000 cost of the Chevrolet Volt, a range-extended EV expected next year, than the 50 grand Mitsubishi is asking for the i-MiEV city car when it goes on sale in Japan.

Surely the monthly cost for those of us who can’t pay cash will have to come down for the Mini E to be truly successful. In fact, when we told Van Nostrand that $850 a month could probably get him a Lamborghini, he just smiled.

“But who wants a Lamborghini?” he replied.

Photos: John C. Abell/Wired.com and James Van Nostrand. See a slideshow of all test-drive pictures on Flickr.

See Also:

• Billion-Dollar Baby: We Drive the Chevrolet Volt
• Mitsubishi’s Too-Cute EV Rolls Out This Year
• Get Your Mini EV Now. Some Restrictions Apply
• Start Saving Now for Your Mini EV

Lithium powered in 2010?

By the second half of 2010 GM should begin rolling out a few new hybrids with its upgraded BAS mild hybrid system. And the lithium-ion batteries for these new hybrids will be powered by Hitachi.

Today, Hitachi announced that it is planning to significantly increase production of its lithium ion batteries in advance of an expected significant increase in demand. So far, GM alone has already ordered enough cells for 100,000 hybrid vehicles.

All kinds of crazy stuff can be witnessed in the ads found in old dragzines. This one dates back to 1966, from the pages of Drag Racing, a copy of which was lent to us by Ed Rachanski in Nevada.

It’s an “after” photo of Roy “Mr. Pitiful” Drew, an exhibition racer from Kansas City, who concocted this sort-of Volkswagen called the Black Widow. No 36hp mouse, it instead got its motivation from a rocket-engine rear axle produced by a once-infamous Florida company called Turbonique. Here, essentially, was how it worked: Turbonique geared an acutal rocket to a quick-change rear axle – you can see the Black Widow’s monster rear hubs – using a Borg-Warner sprag clutch. The whole thing was engaged by a flip switch, the driver holding a panic fuel-shutoff cord. It advertised an instant 1,000 horsepower, apparently truthfully – Drew, whose major claim to fame was beating Tommy Ivo’s four-engine dragster with this thing, launched it in the lights on a test run, flying inverted through the beams at 183 MPH. Another early Turbonique ad identified a young Evel Knievel as a customer. The Orlando firm went kaput, allegedly, after people began creating rocket-powered go-karts with its products, resulting in at least one ghastly fatality.

Some of the most impressive post-war American cars came not from Detroit, but from West Palm Beach, Florida, where Briggs Cunningham built both his race and his street cars, the latter produced just as an excuse to continue building the former.

But what if Cunningham had made more of an effort to actually produce a profit from his civilian enterprise and thus keep the company alive for a few years more? Certainly Briggs would have kept racing and developing his competition cars, but perhaps he might have expanded the civilian offerings, maybe by offering a sedan.

Blasphemy? Imagination run wild? I would have said so too before coming across the above photo of a Vignale rendering of a Cunningham sedan. Allegedly, famed car reviewer Tom McCahill snapped the shot when left alone for a moment in the office of Alfredo Vignale, whose company built the civilian Cunningham C3 coupe. McCahill intimated that the rendering was not commissioned by Briggs Cunningham, rather an attempt by Vignale to convince Cunningham to build it. In typical McCahill fashion, though, swashbuckling drama took precedent over actual journalism, and we learned nothing more of the rendering from him.

Lamborghini is releasing what has to be the umpteenth variation of the Gallardo, this one called the LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni. The answer to the first part of your question — why LP 550-2? is easy. The car sports 550 horsepower and two wheel drive.

Answering the second part of your question — who the hell is Valentino Balboni? — will take a bit more.

Normally, Lambo doesn’t name its cars after people. It names them after bulls, and the special jobs get kind of dull names like Jota. So for Lamborghini to name a car for someone must be a special deal. It is, and so is Valentino Balboni.

Balboni has been the factory test driver out of Sant’Agata Bolognese since old man Ferruccio was building tractors. You got any complaints about turn in with your Miura or the lift-throttle response on your 5000QV Countach, go talk to Balboni, because he’s the guy who dialed it in. If you’ve ever been around Lambo types, the stories about Balboni’s skill and his, let’s call it “commitment,” behind the wheel are legendary. To say he can drive is like saying Joe Satriani can play the guitar. If you’re lucky enough to get a ride with Balboni when visiting the factory, or even better, while picking up your car, it’s a memory you will never forget, assuming your cardiovascular system survived.

Many factory test drivers have reps for being mentally unstable. Even those that are well respected former race drivers like Porsche’s Walter Röhrl can be described as having a cavalier attitude towards their own safety, but Balboni is on a different strata all together. No, we have not had the opportunity to meet him, but here at Autopia we have seen footage of him testing Lambos on everyday public roads at psychotic speeds, dodging horse-drawn wagons and delivery trucks using multiple high-speed blips of the throttle instead of the horn to say “Escalo del mio senso lumaca senza valore!”

So the Lambo named after Valentino must be special.

For starters, Lamborghini is making only 250 of them at just under $220,000 apiece. Sure, it’s got lots of gew-gaws and flashy bits on the inside, but we only care about Valentino cares about, and that is “How fast is it?” Fast. Really fast. With 550 hp motivating only 1,380 kilos, the LP 550-2 hurls from 0 to 62 mph in a astonishing 3.9 seconds and tops out at 199 mph. And there’s none of this “it’s safer” all wheel drive on this ride, oh no. All 550 ponies go through the rear wheels only.

Why? Because that’s the way Balboni likes it.

Photo: Lamborghini

The guys at the German tuning firm Novitec Rosso just couldn’t leave well enough alone. Not content to let Maranello build what is the fastest drop-top Ferrari ever, they took a Scuderia Spider 16M and gave it more power and quicker acceleration.

Ferrari built the 16M, a convertible version of the awesome F430 Scuderia, to commemorate winning its 16th Formula 1 constructors championship last year. Just 499 are being built, and Novitec Rosso got its hands on one to make the cavallino rampante a little more rapido with a pair of superchargers.

Force-feeding air to the prancing horse gives it 696 horsepower at 8,400 rpm, and boy we’d love to hear that engine sing. It also puts 503 pound-feet of torque under your right foot, which is enough to smoke those 20-inch Pirellis. The Rosso will do zero to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds and hit 205 mph. For the sake of comparison, the stock 16m produces 503 horsepower and 347 pound-feet. It takes 3.8 seconds to reach 62 mph from a standstill.

A car that quick isn’t cheap. Once you hand Ferrari a check for $313,350 to buy the 16M, you’re looking at another $66,400 to have Novitec Rosso perform its magic. In exchange you’ll have one of the quickest convertibles on the planet. Oh sure, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is faster, but for the $2.1 million we’d need to buy one we could have a Novitec Rosso and enough money left over to pay the speeding tickets.

Photos: Novitec Rosso. More pics after the jump.

A Dallas inventor says your smelly car is the reason you’re high-strung, overweight and terrible at your job.

Suzy Batiz, the co-creator of bathroom deodorizer Poo-Pourri (”It keeps your dirty little secret”) has unveiled a line of automotive aromatherapy products that promise to “transform your driving routine into a rejuvenating experience with mood-enhancing scent.” Scents described as “spa-like” are diffused from an essential oil filled pendant, most likely displacing the fuzzy dice that previously adorned your rear-view mirror.

Though driving to work in a spa sounds lovely, we’ll buy anything that keeps our car from smelling like that skunk we hit on the freeway a few weeks ago.

Dubbed “Karoma” — we imagine it’s a portmanteau of “Karma,” “Car,” and “Aroma,” and not the tiny Zambian town — Batiz says the scents will do more than just cover up the smell of your laundry in the backseat. “Karoma neutralizes the air while providing mood enhancing properties,” she said in a statement. “Instead of enhancing road rage, Karoma provides a spa-like experience.”

Batiz is marketing Karoma toward busy professionals beseiged by stress. According to a press release, scents include “Peace Baby!” for stress relief; “Just Hope!” for optimism; “Have Faith!” for mental clarity; “Love is in the Air!” to, um, revitalize; “Drive your Headaches Away!” for headache relief and “Curb Your Cravings!” for appetite control.

We’d consider a purchase if they unveiled scents tailor made to calm our personal worries — such as, “I Don’t Have To Answer That Text!”, “It Was Yellow, Officer!” and “My Prius Is Fast Enough!”

Photo: Flickr/ Christina Welsh (Rin)

Following its amazing success at Isle of Man, the TTxGP motorcycle green grand prix prepares for its debut in the United States with an open call to American “eMoto” entrepreneurs.

The invitation to join the tour during the AMA vintage sports events from July 24th to 26th at Mid-Ohio racetrack is to show the public how real the change is.

Although KLD Technologies and Geoff Bjorgan have impressed us with their innovative EV two-wheelers, they are the kid too short for the roller coaster this time around. The invitation calls for “electric road racing sport bikes … that can deliver a race performance over a 20+ mile range.”

Think that’s exciting?  Sit down, prepare yourself and have a spare pair of undies within arm’s reach - The International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) has announced the creation of a racing series dedicated to electric bikes to kick-off in 2010.  The series is anticipated to fast track e-motorcycle development and to show the cynics green technology isn’t just for the slow-lane.

“We are convinced that very shortly the motorcycle world championships will be accessible to non-polluting engines as far as gas and sound emissions are concerned.  Now that this important decision is taken, we have to work on rules and calendar,” says FIM President Vito Ippolito.

The inaugural TTxGP saw 13 electric motorcycles compete on the Isle of Man. Rob Barber circled the winding 37.7-mile course in 25 minutes and 53 seconds to win the pro class. Chris Heath took first place in the open class with a time of 34:17 and an average speed of 66.02 mph.

We expect great things of TTxGP, so long as they don’t take a page out of Formula One’s management book.

Check out all our coverage of the TTxGP here.

Tesla Motors wants a judge to toss out the lawsuit company founder Martin Eberhard filed against current CEO Elon Musk, calling it a groundless personal attack that attempts to stifle Musk’s right to free speech.

It’s the latest round in the fight between Musk and Eberhard over the legacy of the company — and the electric car — they ostensibly worked together to create, and it shows the matter won’t be resolved amicably. The squabbling comes as Tesla Motors is gaining traction with a major investment from Daimler and a $465 million loan from the feds to finance construction of the Model S sedan.

Tesla’s trip to the courthouse follows Eberhard’s lawsuit accusing Musk of taking over the company and orchestrating Eberhard’s ouster, then publicly disparaging him in an attempt to “rewrite history” and take credit for the Roadster. Rather than file a counter-suit as expected, Tesla Motors on Monday filed two motions asking a judge, in part, to dismiss the case under a California law that bars lawsuits aimed at stifling free speech.

Besides arguing that Eberhard was a poor CEO who “left the company’s finances in shambles,” Tesla claims Eberhard’s litany of complaints (.pdf) — which include libel, slander and breach of contract — have no basis in fact. What’s more, the company says, both Eberhard and Musk have a First Amendment right to state, and debate, their versions of the company’s history. Eberhard has wasted no chance to do so, the company claims, and should not deny Musk the same opportunity.

“His lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to curb open discourse on matters of importance to the public and to extract money from Tesla in the bargain,” the motions (.pdf and .pdf), filed in San Mateo County, Calif., Superior Court, state. “He also takes the extraordinary (and hypocritical) step of seeking an injunction that would prevent Musk from exercising his free speech rights in public or in private.”

In legal terms, Tesla’s filings are called an anti-SLAPP motion, and they’re filed when defendants believe the suits against them are an attempt to squelch public discourse or inhibit the right to free speech. Such a suit is called a strategic lawsuit against public participation, hence the term “anti-SLAPP” motion.

Eberhard and his attorneys could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but one of the lawyers, Yosef Peretz, told Reuters he had nothing to say.

“I don’t think we will respond at this time,” he said. “We will respond to the motion.”

UPDATE: Peretz on Wednesday told Wired.com he would not comment on the specifics of Tesla’s response but said, “We totally expected the anti-SLAPP motion, and we intend to respond.”

The legalese aside, Tesla’s motions pull no punches in offering a scathing counterpoint to the version of events Eberhard laid out in his suit.

Eberhard says he founded Tesla in 2002 and Musk came aboard as an investor in 2004. Over the next three years, Musk named three members of Tesla’s board, then orchestrated Eberhard’s ouster on Nov. 28, 2007. After pushing him out, Eberhard claims, the company withheld his severance package because of a blog post he wrote, and Musk continuously disparaged Eberhard “and compromised Tesla Motors’ financial health.”

“In his zeal to appropriate Eberhard’s legacy, Musk has instead sullied Tesla Motors’ integrity and blemished Tesla Motors’ reputation and prosperity,” the suit states. (Read our report on the suit here.)

Musk, of course, doesn’t see it that way.

In the claims filed Monday, Musk says he met J.B. Straubel — who later became Tesla’s chief technology officer — in 2003 after Straubel learned of the entrepreneur’s interest in electric vehicles. Straubel introduced Musk to the guys at AC Propulsion, a California company that developed the tzero electric sports car. Musk encouraged AC Propulsion to produce the car, but the company wasn’t interested and instead introduced Musk to Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning and Ian Wright.

According to one of the two motions, the men had little more than an idea for Tesla Motors when Musk came along.

“At this time, Eberhard, Tarpenning and Wright, to Musk’s knowledge, were collecting no salary, had no prototype or intellectual property relating to electric cars, had no formal office space and had obtained no Series A funding for the company,” the motion states. “Even the trademark for the company name ‘Tesla Motors’ was owned by a third party.”

Musk “agreed to join in the creation of Tesla” after convincing the other men the company should create the Roadster to prove the viability of electric cars and then focus on developing a family sedan. To save money on legal fees, the men “simply copied” the articles of incorporation for SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace venture, according to the motion.

Musk says he provided 98 percent of the company’s Series A funding and “more than 90 percent” of Series B funding, then co-led three subsequent rounds. He “has to date invested approximately $75 million in the company,” according to the claim.

Once the company was up and running, Musk says in the motions, Eberhard “sought to become the ‘face’ of the company,” publishing a blog, appearing on television, being profiled in magazines and testifying before Congress. But, Musk claims, Eberhard wasn’t minding the store.

“Although Eberhard had successfully captured widespread public interest and media attention, he was far less successful at actually doing the work needed at Tesla — developing a production-ready vehicle in a cost-effective manner,” the motion states. “Musk developed serious concerns about aspects of Eberhard’s performance as CEO, and he became increasingly convinced that Eberhard lacked the management skills and judgement that would be necessary to accomplish the complex tasks of turning their shared vision into reality.”

Those shortcomings became apparent in April, 2007, the motion states, when Eberhard presented a business plan that said the Roadster would cost $65,000 to produce, with costs coming down as production ramped up. A few months later, Timothy Watkins, the managing director of Tesla Investor Valor Equity Partners, “performed an extensive part-by-part analysis” of the car and found the true production cost “would be approximately $120,000, well over the car’s $92,000 sale price,” according to the motion.

The problem was Tesla had already accepted deposits from about 450 customers and promised them Roadsters for less than $100,000.

Beyond being over budget, the motion claims, the Roadster was behind schedule. (Eberhard attributes the spiraling cost and delays to Musk, whom he says “took a persistent and distracting interest in random details of marginal importance.”) Convinced that Eberhard wasn’t up to the task, “Tesla’s board unanimously agreed that he should be removed as CEO,” the motion states. Michael Marks was named interim CEO and Eberhard was named president of technology on Aug. 11, 2007.

Musk says Marks found the problems ran deeper than anyone realized and Eberhard “left the company’s finances in shambles” and “had nearly exhausted its cash resources.”

Eberhard left Tesla on Nov. 28, 2007. He claims he was told to take a severance package and resign or Musk would convert enough common stock to name three more board members and push Eberhard out. Tesla says the board voted unanimously to fire him and offered him a severance package of $100,000 and other benefits. Tesla says he forfeited the severance after writing a blog post disparaging the company’s management, a violation of his separation agreement with the company.

Musk makes no apologies for anything he’s said about Eberhard, but motion notes “almost immediately after his removal, Eberhard undertook a campaign of publicly disparaging Tesla and Musk.”

That’s fine, the company seems to be saying in its response to Eberhard’s lawsuit. The history of the company is something of interest to the public, and a topic that should be discussed. But Tesla doesn’t think Musk should be barred from telling the story as he sees it.

The final word on that will rest with a judge.

Photo: Tesla Motors

See Also:

• Will The Real Tesla Founder Please Stand Up?
• Tesla’s Founder Sues Tesla’s CEO
• Tesla Motors’ Musk: Let Me Run Detroit

In honor of Canada Day we bring you news from just outside the Canadian capital, where a suburban service station has become the first in the world to sell a blend of gasoline and cellulosic ethanol biofuel.

As part of a month long trial, drivers who fill up their Nissan X-Trails or Acura CSXs at a Shell station in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean have the choice of “CE-10″ blend — a mixture of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent cellulosic ethanol from Ottawa-based Iogen’s nearby demonstration plant. If the test goes well, Iogen hopes to have a full-scale plant running in Saskatchewan within the next few years.

Before you dredge up the usual complaints about biofuel, be forewarned: this ain’t just any old ethanol. This is the so-called “second generation” ethanol that until now was never available to consumers.

The CE-10 in Ottawa was produced from an agricultural residue that otherwise would have been discarded. Unlike ethanol produced from corn or sugar, nobody’s converting a potential food source into fuel. Even better, there aren’t any of those pesky nitrous oxide emissions associated with the production of other biofuels, and Iogen estimates that lifecycle CO2 emissions of cellulosic ethanol are 90 percent less than gasoline with no decrease in power or fuel economy.

What’s not to love? Well, the fuel isn’t yet ready for full-scale commercial production, but Iogen is hoping the demonstration project will change that. “Building a demo plant is one thing but you then need to go through the process of operating the new technology at scale, learning, modifying and lowering costs,” Iogen CEO Brian Foody said in a statement (PDF). “With the volumes we’re producing today, we’re confident about the future.”

We’re pretty confident, too. We were in the area last week and decided to be part of biofuel history by filling up at this very station. Our mileage didn’t decrease, our car didn’t explode and our wallets didn’t get any lighter — though we did get some funny looks from the other folks filling up when we started taking pictures of a gas pump.

PHOTOS UPDATED: 10:00PM EST

See Also:

• More Corn Ethanol Could Boost Cellulosic Ethanol
• Cellulosic Ethanol: One Molecule Could Cure Our Addiction to Oil
• Another Argument Against Ethanol

Photo: Keith Barry/Autopia

Tesla, the darling motorcar company of the EV set, promises to have the Model S sedan on the road by 2011. So what does the S bring to the table besides more seats and less cost than the Roadster? The brass answer that question in a video explaining the Model S.

Tesla makes a big deal of a point many automotive designers have made about electric vehicles — the drivetrain is easier to package than a conventional engine and transmission, giving designers much more freedom in executing their ideas. In Tesla’s case, that idea is room, room and more room.

Company CEO Elon Musk notes, for the zillionth time, that the car will seat seven people (though few believe those two rear-facing seats waaaaay in the back will ever see production). He claims you can fold the seats down and cram a big-screen TV, a surfboard and a mountain bike in the car, though he wouldn’t let us try it when the car was unveiled in March. In any event, talking up the space of the S is quite shrewd, given the preconception that EVs are cramped and Americans love cars big enough to play basketball in. Since there’s no engine up front, there’s loads of storage space up front to go with the storage space at the back.

Like Aptera, Tesla is making the car slippery through the use of too-clever-by-half gadgets like retracting door handles and surface detailing and a flat floor for reduced underbody drag. With all this fawning over aerodynamic detailing, it’s almost a shame to point to them that the wheels on the passenger side point the wrong way.

Tesla promises the S will have performance and range. The Model S will use a liquid-cooled motor with a peak output of 300 kilowatts, or about 402 horsepower, and offer at least 160 miles of range. We’ll believe it when we get a loaner for a 200 mile blast down the P.C.H.

Tesla loves the huge, portrait oriented 17-inch touch-screen monitor that dominates the dash. The company can’t say enough about how cool it is, calling itself “the iPhone of the car world.” As for the styling by Franz von Holzhausen — who designed the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, then worked for Mazda before joining Tesla — the car has drawn comparisons to the Jaguar XF and the Maserati Quattroporte. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The Model S, and Tesla’s business plan, was impressive enough to convince the Department of Energy to loan Tesla $465 million to help build the car. Tesla is promising a lot with the S. Now it’s time to deliver.

Photo: Jim Merithew / Wired.com

Four months ago, the LH4 from Lightning Hybrids was nothing but a mound of clay, but now the Colorado company has a running prototype and some video of it on the road. It’s brief, but you can tell from the video the Corvette-inspired, hydraulic hybrid is not your typical hybrid. It sounds like a British sports car with a bad muffler, but it doesn’t look too shabby.

Lightning Hybrids is making steady progress after working double-time getting the LH4 built in time for the Denver Auto Show in April. It claims the car will get 100 mpg and do zero to 60 in under six seconds. If all goes according to plan, the LH4 will compete in the Progressive Automotive X Prize, and company founder and CEO Dan Johnson is pleased with how things are turning out so far.

“It goes pretty good,” he said according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “It’s a little bit noisier than we’d like, but for the first prototype, we were pretty happy with it.”

Johnson modeled the LH4 after the 1963 Stingray Corvette he restored in high school. The hybrid ditches batteries in favor of hydraulics, mating a 90-horsepower Mazda engine with a 150 horsepower Rexroth hydraulic pump. Hybrid technology like this has so far been limited to delivery trucks like the one UPS plans to roll out sometime this year. Check out our earlier post for an explanation of how it works.

Lightning Hybrids plans to produce the LH4 in 2012 and a three-wheeled version called the LH3 next year. The Coloradoan reports the company needs $5 million to make it happen. To come up with the extra money to build the cars — which would cost $40,000 to $60,000 should they see production — Lightning Hybrids is looking for a partnership with Colorado State University and a government grant. It also hopes to pick up some extra cash from the sales of hydraulic hybrid retro fit kits and the X Prize.

Photo: Lightning Hybrids

See Also:

• 100-MPG Hybrid Evokes the ‘63 Corvette
• Lightning (Hybrid) Strikes Denver

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Top times for TECHART at this year’s Tuner Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring race track. Behind the wheel of the TECHART GTstreet RS based on Porsche 911 GT2, racing driver Jörg Hardt left the competition with no chance and won the duel in the GT Turbo class. This meant that he was able to repeat last year’s victory. The sport auto Tuner Grand Prix is the world’s largest trial of strength in the tuning sector.

The TECHART-modified 911 GT2 won with an average lap time of 1:08.037 minutes over five laps driven around the small circuit of the Hockenheimring race track. This means that the team drove precisely 0.604 seconds faster than the team in second place, and went on to claim overall victory for all the classes entered. Thanks to modified VTG turbochargers, the engine generates 700 bhp / 515 kW at 7,000 rpm and puts down a maximum torque of 860 Nm onto the tarmac at 4,500 rpm. The car is capable of top speeds of up 350 km/h.

Besides the driving skills and high-performance engine, the decisive factor for this victory was above all the perfectly tuned suspension. In collaboration with the technology partners Bilstein and Michelin, the height-adjustable TECHART sports suspension was perfectly tuned to the circuit.

For the time trial, the TECHART team opted for high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires on account of the summer temperatures. Running on the single-piece TECHART Formula GTS light alloy rims in the dimensions 8.5Jx20 at the front and 12Jx20 at the rear, the Michelin tires ensured outstanding grip. The winning driver, Jörg Hardt, who has been racing successfully in motor sports for years, was utterly impressed: “The car had been prepared extremely professionally for the event. The tires performed steady and kept a very high level during the whole competition”.

In addition to the victory in the GT Turbo class, Jörg Hardt and the TECHART team also performed exceptionally well in the Coupé / Cabriolet-turbo class. The TECHART GTstreet R Cabrio on the basis of the Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet took first place like last year. Achieving a time of 1:09.601, the car had a 3.186 second advantage over its competitors.

Jörg Hardt perfected the triumph by coming first in the SUV class. The TECHART Magnum, based on the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, was entered into the race. Equipped with the 550 bhp of the production vehicle, an aerokit and sports air suspension module, TECHART achieved the winning time of 1:16.939 for the first time in the heavyweight class. The necessary grip was ensured by the Michelin Diamaris sport tires fitted on 22 inch TECHART Formula rims.

“With the victories also racked up this year, TECHART is underscoring its outstanding position in the automotive individualization sector”, says Marc Herdtle, Marketing Director at TECHART Automobildesign GmbH, in recognition of these achievements.

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GEMBALLA Automobiltechnik GmbH & Co. KG is located in Leonberg near Stuttgart and fulfils the wish of many Porsche drivers who are looking for an earthy sports car sound. Especially for the current models 997 Turbo and GT2, the Porsche-specialist offers an exhaust system with a significantly more powerful sound across the entire speed range.

Also technically, the GEMBALLA exhaust system is compelling. As it is made of extremely heat-resistant and ultra-light titanium alloys, it is approximately 40 percent lighter than its serial counterpart made of stainless steel. Due to its improved exhaust flow and included 200-cell catalysers, also the engine performance rises by approximately 20hp / 15kW and 25Nm torque. Moreover, the response behaviour significantly improves in the lower speed range.

Individually adjusted to the requirements of the models, are the two GEMBALLA-end pipes versions. Both models have the engraved GEMBALLA nameplate, but otherwise they are completely different. The turbo version has a double end pipe measuring 80 mm in diameter, while the GT2-counterpart has a single oval pipe measuring 85mm
x 125mm.

GEMBALLA – the specialist for high-end Porsche refinement and innovative interior design offers the GT RACING TITAN sport exhaust systems for the Porsche models 997 Turbo and 997 GT2 at an introductory price from 8,980 euros. .

Also in the programme are stainless steel sport exhaust systems for the models Porsche 911, Cayman, Boxster and Cayenne.

For more information about the extensive GEMBALLA refining programme, please visit the web site www.gemballa.com

Tokyo – TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announces it will lease a plug-in hybrid vehicle in Japan in collaboration with local governments selected under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s EV & PHV Towns program1, which aims to promote the widespread use of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

TMC is developing a plug-in hybrid vehicle-based on the third-generation “Prius”- equipped with a lithium-ion battery that can be charged via external power sources such as household electricity. This will be the first time a lithium-ion battery is to be employed in a Toyota vehicle for propulsion. Starting at the end of 2009, TMC plans to lease approximately 200 of the vehicles to designated users such as government ministries, local governments and corporations.

A plug-in hybrid vehicle operates as an electric vehicle when used for short distances and can operate as a conventional hybrid vehicle when used for medium to long-distance trips. This means it can be used regardless of remaining battery power or availability of battery-charging infrastructure in place. Furthermore, plug-in hybrid vehicles are expected to achieve higher fuel efficiency than conventional hybrid vehicles, limit consumption of fossil fuels, reduce CO2 emissions and atmospheric pollution, and, by charging with off-peak electricity, promise a more economical vehicle powering solution.

TMC believes that, in response to the diversification of energy sources, plug-in hybrid vehicles are currently the most suitable environmentally considerate vehicles for widespread use. TMC therefore intends to encourage the marketing of plug-in hybrid vehicles while introducing a total of 500 vehicles globally-primarily to fleet customers-to further use and understanding of the vehicles. TMC will introduce approximately 150 vehicles in the United States, as well as more than 150 vehicles in Europe, including 100 in France. TMC is also considering introducing plug-in hybrid vehicles in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.

TMC has positioned hybrid technologies as core environmentally considerate vehicle technologies and is using them in the development not only of plug-in hybrid vehicles but also electric vehicles and fuel-cell hybrid vehicles. TMC will continue its efforts to achieve sustainable mobility by developing and putting into practical use these next-generation vehicles, which are hoped to contribute to reducing petroleum consumption, reducing CO2 emissions and responding to the diversification of energy sources.

1An intensive model program for the introduction and promotion of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as accelerating the setting up of charging infrastructures and the development of societal awareness and preparedness through the collaboration of the national and local governments, regional businesses and auto manufacturers in Japan. Action plans are expected to be developed this summer by each participating local government, and a master action plan based on the results of each program is expected to be developed at the end of this fiscal year.

Automobili Lamborghini announces its intention to complete its program of environmental sustainability in record time by presenting new plans which will enable the company:

• to achieve a 30% reduction, by the year 2010, in the CO2 emissions produced by its factory
• to achieve a 35% reduction, by the year 2015, in the CO2 emissions produced by its vehicles

The plans for reducing emissions will thus involve two areas: modifications to the Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, and development in vehicle design.

To redefine its industrial processes in accordance with its policy of environmental sustainability, Lamborghini has just begun a project to complete installation of a large photovoltaic system by the end of 2009.

The roof-top plant will produce 1,582 Megawatt hour (MWh) of “green” energy per year, which translates into a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions (-1,067,820 Kg/year) by 2010.

The photovoltaic systems will have a total installed power rating of 1,4 Megawatts and will extend over 17,000 m2 throughout the entire industrial area. The new system will be built by Sinergia Sistemi S.p.A.

At the same time, an equally important energy conservation project involving insulating the production facility’s whole roof, improving lighting and heating and introducing destratification systems for heated air will be completed, thus resulting in a 10% energy usage reduction by 2010.

These projects represent the next step in a program that began last year with the opening of the new Lamborghini Logistics Center. The Center has already contributed to diminishing the impact caused by heavy truck traffic on the roads between Anzola and Sant’Agata Bolognese. It is calculated that this facility has achieved a reduction of emissions by over 75 kg per annum, and nitrogen oxide by over 750 kg (Sources: Standard Euro 3).

In April 2009 Lamborghini obtained the UNI EN ISO 14001 certificate, meeting the international environmental standards. It is also the first firm in the Italian automotive sector to be close to registering for the EMAS environment certificate, having successfully completed the program: EMAS regulations are set by the European Union to support organisations in their effort to evaluate and improve their own environmental efficiency.

These recent achievements support Lamborghini’s commitment to protecting the environment in which it operates, and its desire to make all stakeholders aware of its actions in a transparent manner.

With regard to Lamborghini vehicles, the CO2 reduction plan aims for an additional 35% decrease in emissions by the year 2015.

The program reached its first milestone with the Gallardo LP 560-4. Introduced last year, the new car’s technical advancements resulted in an 18% reduction in CO2 emissions.

At this point, Research & Development activities will continue in the following directions:

- decreasing vehicle mass
- improving combustion
- reducing friction
- Start-and-Stop systems
- hybrid drive train solutions
- biofuels

Lamborghini’s commitment and its sense of social responsibility regarding the environment is evidenced by the numbers and by the sheer size of the investments that are planned. 35 million Euros will be appropriated over the next five years for this purpose.

Stephan Winkelmann, the President and CEO of Lamborghini, has said, “Despite the difficult situation in today’s global economy, Lamborghini is committed to its policy of environmental management, since we are well aware of the great opportunities that derive from it. We have an objective to reduce CO2 emissions to the greatest possible degree. We have also set compulsory annual goals that are part of an integrated approach both considering the automobile as an element which is more considerate of the environment, in terms of emissions and the use of resources, to the accomplishment of a series of corresponding measures such as modifications to our factory. This is an important action for Lamborghini and a central opportunity for our long term corporate and product development.”

European Parliamentarian Guido Sacconi, President of the European Commission on Climate Change, recently paid a visit to Lamborghini headquarters in Sant’Agata. At that time, he said that, “The commitment shown by Lamborghini with its efforts to reduce environmental impact and develop vehicles with less polluting technologies confirm the company’s goal of following the right path toward complying with the directives of the European Union. To safeguard the DNA, history and technology of niche car manufacturers on a European level, a series of exceptions have been passed for manufactures of ’specialty’ vehicles (with fewer than 10,000 new cars made per year) who run their own production facilities and design centres, even though they are part of a group of associated producers. This is the exact situation in which Lamborghini finds itself. We have been particularly satisfied with the actions it has taken thus far, because they illustrate this company’s desire to embrace a new industrial vision which combines competitiveness and performance with social responsibility.”

Partner companies:

Located in Casalecchio di Reno, Sinergia Sistemi S.p.A. is a leader on the Italian market of services that help companies save energy. The company specializes in energy certification of buildings and the construction of large systems that take advantage of renewable energy sources. Sinergia Sistemi also acts as an E.S.Co. (Energy Service Company) that finances the plant systems and energy requalification projects it offers to its customers, in a relationship of total Energy Management.

The finalized project was built from a design based on a preliminary study carried out by the CENER National Center for Renewable Forms of Energy of Spain. This study involved a broad evaluation of the feasibility and size of the project.

HERNDON, Va., Jun 19, 2009 – Audi today launched an aggressive public awareness campaign in the U.S. to highlight the ways in which TDI clean diesel can help America achieve energy independence. Ranging from television ads to a social media-driven charitable donation, the campaign will kick off a summer-long push to change public perception of the once-maligned diesel engine.

“Energy independence and fuel efficiency are at the forefront of public debate, and with the launch of the Q7 TDI clean diesel, Audi is introducing a viable solution into that national discussion,” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “Several solutions for reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil have been introduced, but few are as convenient, accessible, and fun as simply switching from regular gasoline to clean diesel.”

Not only do the statistics on clean diesel show a dramatic change from the smoky, noisy, and dirty diesel image of the past, but these truths prove that diesel is a viable, ready-to-go solution for reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil.

TDI Clean Diesel: The Truths

* A U.S. EPA analysis found that if one-third of Americans fueled their cars, pick-ups and SUVs with clean diesel instead of gasoline, the United States could send back 1.5 million barrels of foreign oil per day.
* One drop of diesel fuel has 12% more power than one drop of gasoline.
* TDI clean diesel engines reduce carbon emissions by 20% over gasoline engines.
* If one-third of Americans switched from gasoline to clean diesel, it would be the equivalent of planting 2.2 billion trees.

“Many Americans still don’t understand the benefits clean diesel provides,” said Scott Keogh, Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America. “That’s why Audi developed an intensive campaign to spread the truth about TDI technology. Central to our message is this point: With far lower carbon emissions and far better fuel efficiency than gasoline, it can truly be said that diesel is no longer a dirty word.”

Launching today, the Audi multimedia campaign to educate America about the benefits of TDI clean diesel includes advertisements at fuel pumps around the country, a television advertisement, a “Truth in Diesel” viral video and a Facebook Cause campaign in support of reducing carbon emissions. To check out the campaign and learn the truth about TDI clean diesel, check out audiusa.com/tdi. Download the new “Di*sel | It’s No Longer A Dirty Word” Audi TDI ad here.

To drive the TDI message online, Audi is also launching “Truth in Diesel,” a viral video that emphasizes the need for America to achieve energy independence. Starting 30 years ago with the oil crisis of 1979, the video provides historical context around the nation’s ongoing struggle to break free from foreign oil. The simple solution = clean diesel. The video has been seeded on various online video sites. Check out “Truth in Diesel” on YouTube available here.

Stressing its commitment to reducing emissions, Audi is making a donation to help support the first project in The Nature Conservancy’s voluntary carbon offset program. Through The Nature Conservancy’s Facebook Cause, Audi hopes to spread the word about reducing carbon emissions. For every Facebook user who joins the cause, Audi will donate $1 to The Nature Conservancy’s voluntary carbon offset program. To join the cause and for more information about this initiative visit causes.com/natureconservancy.