Who was for, who was against CARB’s ZEV mandate "over-compliance" rule

by Sebastian Blanco on February 3, 2012

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California Air Resources Board

What impact will the "over-compliance" rule - some would say loophole - in the California Air Resources Board's recent changes to the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate have? The short and obvious answer is that only time will tell, but one can make the case both that it's a good thing and that it's a bad thing. Odd, but true.

Before we get too far into this, a primer on the ZEV Mandate changes and what the over-compliance rule actually is is important. The basic idea is that CARB wants to reduce the amount of CO2 and other pollutants in the air that come from transportation. Zero-emission vehicles - whether they be plug-in or hydrogen powered - will do this, so CARB decided that at least 15.4 percent of all the cars sold by a major automaker in California needs to be either an EV, a plug-in hybrid or a hydrogen fuel cell vehcile by 2025. To go along with this new rule, some automakers asked for - and got - an over-compliance rule that will "allow manufacturers who systematically over comply with the proposed LEV III GHG fleet standard to offset a portion of their ZEV requirement in 2018 through 2021 model years only."

Some argue that the over-compliance rule will lead to a smaller environmental benefit from ZEVs because, quite simply, there will be fewer ZEVs on the roads than there would be without the rule. This is true. It's also true, as others will argue, that what matters most is lowering the amount of nasty pollutants and emissions from the air, so who cares if this happens because there is a true ZEV driving around or a much-improved (read: cleaner) gas-powered car that emits fewer greenhouse gases than today's vehicles?

We didn't want to try and answer that question. But we did think it made sense to try and capture the landscape of the recent battle over the rule, and so we asked some of the involved automakers and other concerned parties for their opinions. We put together a list of responses after the jump.

Continue reading Who was for, who was against CARB's ZEV mandate "over-compliance" rule

Who was for, who was against CARB's ZEV mandate "over-compliance" rule originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake: new spy shots

by Adrian on February 3, 2012

Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake spy shots

A mule of the next Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake has been spotted in Northern Sweden during some cold weather testing, were these spy shots were taken. In the plans of the three-pointed star house this new model is going to pioneer a new niche of the market, that puts together the oomph of a coupe with the body of a sporty station-wagon. The final goal is to fill any gap that hasn’t been explored yet in the luxury car market.

This “station-coupe” model from Mercedes-Benz seems to have kept the bold styling of the Shooting Brake Concept, that was showcased for the first time at the 2010 Beijing Motor Show. Bodywork aside, this new variant will be identical to the classic CLS sedan, with the same platform and engine range.

Thereby the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake should come with four engine options: the petrol line-up includes a 3.5-litre V6 producing 306 hp and a 4.7-litre twin turbo V8 delivering 408 hp; on the diesel side we have a 2.1-litre twin turbo unit producing 204 hp and 500 Nm of peak torque and the recent 3.0-litre V6, with an output of 265 hp and 620 Nm. AMG and AMG Performance variants are obviously in the works too, equipped with the same 5.5-litre twin turbo V8 unit delivering 525 hp and 700 Nm for the former and 557 CV with 800 Nm for the latter. The new Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake is expected to show up at the next Geneva Motor Show.

View the full Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake spy shots photo gallery

Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake spy shotsMercedes CLS Shooting Brake spy shotsMercedes CLS Shooting Brake spy shotsMercedes CLS Shooting Brake spy shots




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A Man, a Plan, a Dodge Grand Caravan

by Automobile RSS Feed on February 3, 2012

A Man, a Plan, a Dodge Grand Caravan
A Man, a Plan, a Dodge Grand Caravan - Automobile Magazine
Actually, four men and not much of a plan.

In the Automobile Magazine letters mailbox, there is a certain genre of complaint that I'd characterize as, "Why don't you guys get real?" The theme is that we're a bunch of out-of-touch hedonists who spend our days driving Pagani Huayras up the side of the Matterhorn with Scarlett Johansson riding shotgun. And while that's a great idea, now that I mention it, it does behoove us every now and then to dip a toe into the cold bath of reality. Well, how about driving a Dodge minivan to Atlantic City? And after that, how about off-roading in rural Pennsylvania? Is that real enough for you? It's as real as the 1000 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sodium in a bag of truck-stop beef jerky, my friend.


Photo Gallery: A Man, a Plan, a Dodge Grand Caravan - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: A Man, a Plan, a Dodge Grand Caravan - Automobile Magazine


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Mercedes-Benz Citan Urban Delivery Van

by JDavis on February 3, 2012

Mercedes-Benz Citan will make its public debut at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show next September

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Toyota gets slammed in Japan with Aqua/Prius C pre-orders

by Danny King on February 3, 2012

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Perhaps the the "c" in the Prius C stands for ka-ching. According to reports, Toyota in Japan received 10 times its monthly sales target in pre-orders for the compact version of its Prius hybrid within the first five days of the model's debut, leading to what's likely to be a shortage and long wait times for the car.

HybridCars.com, citing the Japanese publication Nikkei, says the Japanese automaker received about 120,000 orders for the Aqua between December 26 and 31, adding that Toyota had targeted sales of about 12,000 units a month. Toyota had already received about 60,000 orders prior to the launch of the model, which will be called the Prius C when it debuts in the U.S. later this year, and had estimated a four-month wait time between order and delivery. Toyota's current production capacity is limited to 30,000 Prius C units a month.

The glut of pre-orders is likely to create yet another supply shortage situation for Toyota, whose production of the Prius and other models was hampered by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last March. This led, in part, to Toyota's U.S. Prius sales falling 3.2 percent last year, though last month's sales were up 8.7 percent from a year earlier.

The Prius C, whose fuel economy is estimated at about 50 miles per gallon, is scheduled to start sales in the U.S. in March and will be priced at just under $19,000. Toyota also started recently started selling the Prius V wagon - which is also incredibly popular so far - and will debut a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius this year.

Toyota gets slammed in Japan with Aqua/Prius C pre-orders originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tested: 2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Vehicle

by Tony Quiroga on February 3, 2012

2012 Mitsubishi i

It’s easy to confuse weird with bad. The Mitsubishi i is weird. It looks like a computer mouse. It has windshield wipers that resemble Ultraman’s arms in attack mode. It is powered by a 66-hp electric motor mounted under the rear seats. It carries onboard the energy equivalent of less than half a gallon of gas. Its front tires look like compact spares. We could go on. But despite being weird, the i isn’t bad.

Keep Reading: 2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Vehicle – Instrumented Test

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Tested: 2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Vehicle

by Luke Sellenraad on February 3, 2012

2012 Mitsubishi i

It’s easy to confuse weird with bad. The Mitsubishi i is weird. It looks like a computer mouse. It has windshield wipers that resemble Ultraman’s arms in attack mode. It is powered by a 66-hp electric motor mounted under the rear seats. It carries onboard the energy equivalent of less than half a gallon of gas. Its front tires look like compact spares. We could go on. But despite being weird, the i isn’t bad.

Keep Reading: 2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Vehicle – Instrumented Test

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Tested: Pentastar-Powered 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

by Daniel Pund on February 3, 2012

2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

At 7.6 seconds, the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon is 3.9 seconds quicker to 60 mph than the SUV it replaces, thanks to its new 285-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 and five-speed automatic. To put that in perspective: You could run a BMW M3 sedan to 60 mph and then, very immediately  thereafter, run the new  ute to 60 mph in the same time it would take the old one, with its four-speed auto and 3.8-liter noisemaker, to huff  its way to that speed.

Keep Reading: 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon – Instrumented Test

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Tested: Pentastar-Powered 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

by Daniel Pund on February 3, 2012

2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

At 7.6 seconds, the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon is 3.9 seconds quicker to 60 mph than the SUV it replaces, thanks to its new 285-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 and five-speed automatic. To put that in perspective: You could run a BMW M3 sedan to 60 mph and then, very immediately  thereafter, run the new  ute to 60 mph in the same time it would take the old one, with its four-speed auto and 3.8-liter noisemaker, to huff  its way to that speed.

Keep Reading: 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon – Instrumented Test

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Chinese, Indian Companies Apparently Lining Up to Buy Pieces of Zombie Saab

by Justin Berkowitz on February 3, 2012

Saab apparently is not dead—it’s just in a persistent vegetative state. A total of five parties have stepped forward to bid on all or parts of the Trollhättan-based automaker as a bankruptcy court in Sweden manages the sale of the company’s assets. The aim is to recover some money for Saab’s creditors. The three parties receiving the most attention are two Chinese companies and Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian automaker.

  • Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. is said to have made a bid in the hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars range for as much of Saab as it can get. Details of the offer haven’t been disclosed, but some very careful contracting must be on the table: Youngman tried to buy Saab before the bankruptcy, but General Motors ultimately vetoed that deal since it would have put so much GM-engineered Saab technology into the hands of a relatively small Chinese firm. It’s not clear what’s different this time around that might placate GM.
  • Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company (BAIC) also has expressed serious interest in picking at Saab’s carcass. Saab sold the tooling and rights to build the old 9-5 to BAIC in 2009—it’s re-skinning them with more-modern sheetmetal—so this seems like a predictable move. Analysts like to say that the Chinese auto industry is developing quickly, which it is, but the benefit of building a car on even an old western platform can’t be understated.
  • Indian firm Mahindra & Mahindra—a major manufacturer of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and agricultural equipment—is reported to have entered preliminary discussions to buy at least portions of Saab. These reports date back to December 30, however. As of this writing, Mahindra spokespeople weren’t available for comment.

If you’re confused by this quagmire of news, it’s understandable. And you’re not alone. Saab is a relatively large industrial firm, and it’s going through a sophisticated bankruptcy process in Sweden. State- and privately held Chinese manufacturers are in some cases declining to be forthcoming about their positions in negotiations—and in other cases are legally required to stay quiet. Even international news organizations with staff on the ground in Sweden and China are relying in part on second-hand information.

We’ll bring you more news if and when it develops.

Photo by Phil LaCombe

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