Tour the USA in under 4 minutes with a little help from Lacquer

Filed under: Convertibles, Videos, Driving

Check out this music video for Lacquer's Behind. Maybe some of you will scoff at it being featured here on Autoblog, but it speaks to motorists, adventurers and travelers who like voyages on America's highways and byways. It starts with an old convertible parked at the Pacific Ocean, and turns into a journey across our continent. Coast to coast the driver covers the whole of the USA in under four minutes with the use of some snappy time-lapse photography, as directed by filmmaking brothers Michel (Be Kind Rewind, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Olivier Gondry. Beautiful scenery and gorgeous skylines abound, as well as some good music. Thanks for the tip Mark!

 

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Tour the USA in under 4 minutes with a little help from Lacquer

Filed under: Convertibles, Videos, Driving

Check out this music video for Lacquer's Behind. Maybe some of you will scoff at it being featured here on Autoblog, but it speaks to motorists, adventurers and travelers who like voyages on America's highways and byways. It starts with an old convertible parked at the Pacific Ocean, and turns into a journey across our continent. Coast to coast the driver covers the whole of the USA in under four minutes with the use of some snappy time-lapse photography, as directed by filmmaking brothers Michel (Be Kind Rewind, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Olivier Gondry. Beautiful scenery and gorgeous skylines abound, as well as some good music. Thanks for the tip Mark!

 

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Geneva '08 Preview: Saab 9-X BioHybrid details revealed

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show, Green, GM, Saab

The Geneva Motor show promises to have plenty of green products on display, and Saab intends to join the fun with its 9-X BioHybrid concept, which we previously thought would be called the 9-1X. We already know the 9-X BioHybrid will draw heavily from the styling cues of the Aero X and the 9X concepts, and now we're getting the scoop on the eco-friendly powerplant of the wagon/hatch.

World Car Fans Finland is reporting that the 9-X BioHybrid will draw motivation from a turbocharged 1.4L BioPower engine. As was the case with the 9-4X from Detroit, the 9-X will be E85-capable, and even though the engine's four cylinders have the collective volume of a Super Big Gulp, it will still deliver 200 hp. If a small powerplant and corn power doesn't deliver enough oil relief, the 9-X BioHybrid will also receive assistance from some form of a hybrid battery pack. We'll deliver more details on the 9-X BioHybrid on Monday, so stay tuned.

[Source: World Car Fans Finland via World Car Fans]

 

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Geneva '08 Preview: Saab 9-X BioHybrid details revealed

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show, Green, GM, Saab

The Geneva Motor show promises to have plenty of green products on display, and Saab intends to join the fun with its 9-X BioHybrid concept, which we previously thought would be called the 9-1X. We already know the 9-X BioHybrid will draw heavily from the styling cues of the Aero-X and the 9X concept, and now we're getting the scoop on the eco-friendly powerplant of the wagon/hatch.

World Car Fans Finland is reporting that the 9-X BioHybrid will draw motivation from a turbocharged 1.4L BioPower engine. As was the case with the 9-4X from Detroit, the 9-X will be E85-capable, and even though the engine's four cylinders have the collective volume of a Super Big Gulp, it will still deliver 200 hp. If a small powerplant and corn power doesn't deliver enough oil relief, the 9-X BioHybrid will also receive assistance from some form of a hybrid battery pack. We'll deliver more details on the 9-X BioHybrid on Monday, so stay tuned.

[Source: World Car Fans Finland via World Car Fans]

 

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Chrysler exec says all its vehicles will be hybrids

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep

Chrysler president Jim Press saw what hybrid technology did for Toyota, and now the 37-year auto industry vet wants to repeat that success with the Pentastar brands. Press informed attendees at a seminar in New York recently that Chrysler would one day utilize hybrid power in each and every Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep. Of course, the charismatic exec had no timetable for Chrysler's full immersion into the land of hybrid hyperbole, but we would guess that kindergarteners may be ready for college by the time this happens. Before Press finished, he also mentioned an intention to sell as many Chryslers in other markets as the Auburn Hills-based company sells in the States.

While it's easy to kick Chrysler when it's down, the privately-owned company has to aim high or it won't have much of a chance. From the day Press entered Chrysler's hallowed halls, he's had a consistent message that the company would have plenty of alternative powertrains for its vehicles. Maybe we'll see Press one day driving down Woodward in a Dodge Zeo. OK, probably not.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

 

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Geneva '08 Preview: VW Golf TDI Hybrid hits the web

Filed under: Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Geneva Motor Show, Euro, Green, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen

Click image for a gallery of the Golf TDI Hybrid

Auto Bild has decided to "help" Volkswagen introduce the VW Golf TDI Hybrid concept that the automaker will be unveiling in Geneva a few days from now. So, how does it look? Pretty impressive. The car mates a 75 PS (74 HP) 3-cylinder TDI (presumably the 1.4L used in the Polo BlueMotion), a 27 horsepower electric motor and a 7-speed DSG to average 69 mpg (3.4l/100km) in the European cycle with carbon dioxide emissions of just 90 g/km. The electric motor is powered by a trunk-mounted NiMH battery. Based on the Google Translation of the page, we glean that the Golf TDI Hybrid is a full hybrid capable of running on electric power, diesel power or a combination of the two. It also uses regenerative braking, a stop/start system, and one of those energy monitor videogame screens that gives you a graphical representation of the powertrain's activity. Visually, the car sports a new Vivid Blue finish and employs narrower grillework, a lowered suspension, and low-rolling-resistance rubber to help maximize aerodynamics and fuel economy. We'll bring you full details from the show next week.

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[Source: Auto Bild via German Car Blog]

 

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<em>MT</em> claims Holden Coupe 60 is really 3-year-old Pontiac GTO replacement

Filed under: Concept Cars, Spy Photos, Coupes, GM, Pontiac, Misc. Auto Shows, Holden

Spot any similarities? Holden surprised and delighted when it rolled out the Coupe 60 at the Melbourne Auto Show this past week. Motor Trend put two and two together and dug up some three-year-old photos that show off essentially the same car wearing a Pontiac suit, instead. The nose on the original concept shows what GM was planning for the next-gen GTO at the time. We're glad the prototype styling was deemed too expensive for production; the world wasn't ready for a modern interpretation of the 1982 J2000.

The Coupe 60 started life as Pontiac's replacement for the sales-proof GTO, but Motor Trend reports that development stopped when GM went full bore at getting its next-gen full-size GMT900 trucks to market early. The reappropriation of this past work to create the stunning new Holden show car could signal a return of the Monaro, which could trickle down to North America as another page in the G8 brochure, or a new GTO, but don't start holding your breath yet.

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[Source: Motor Trend, Photo: Motor Trend]

 

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