Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Mitsubishi , Japan If you want to take a taxi in Tokyo, you now have an electric option. At least if you are in the Otemachi , Marunouchi or Yurakucho districts between the daytime hours of 8:30 and 5:30. The Hinomaru Limosine Company is adding a pair of Mitsubishi i MiEV s to its fleet, making it the first in Japan's capitol to offer an electric vehicle for hire. The fare will be the same 710 yen ($7.85 at today's rate) for the first two kilometers (1.24 miles) as the company's other taxis, though they will principally be driven by women able to provide their customers with local area and tourist information. They will also feature a pleasant aromatic oil to help you relax. No, really. While they may be the first in Tokyo, they will not be the last. Although not on the road yet, another company and Better Place have been working since January to prepare cars and a battery-swapping station for a similar scheme. The ZeRO TAXI service, in the meantime, will be officially launched this Thursday with a ceremony at the Mitsubishi building in Marunouchi followed by some complimentary drives for the attending media. [Source: Hinomaru Limosine Company via Green Car Congress ] Mitsubishi i MiEVs to become taxis in Tokyo originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Filed under: Performance , Europe , Motorcycle , Rumormill 2010 MV Agusta F4 - Click above for high-res photo gallery You can't breathe a word about Harley-Davidson these days without being swirled into the rumormill. Even the financial analysts have chimed in to speculate about a possible buyout . The official news traveled fast regarding the corking of the Buell bottle, but that still leaves the better-looking Italian cousin. What will become of MV Agusta ? Word on the street indicates that Harley may be in talks with a few different - and equally interesting, we might add - buyers, the first of which is Paul Berlusconi, brother of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. For a brand that couldn't be more quintessentially Italian, an MV/Berlusconi marriage seems rather appropriate, or adatto as they may say it in Italy. The buyer behind door number two is where things get more exciting. Rumor has it that BMW has shown serious interest in MV Agusta. Can we get confirmation from either party? Of course not, but stay tuned for updates as this story develops. Either way, we hope to see MV Agusta on two wheels (or, you know... sometimes just one) for years to come. Gallery: 2010 MV Agusta F4 [Source: Motociclismo.it ] Going Once, Going Twice: Do we hear any bids for MV Agusta? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:03:00 EST

A week after the Buttonwillow rollover veteran Krider Racing /Big Sausage Pizza Delivery Acura Integra won the "Good" class at the 24 Hours of LeMons Sears Pointless , their team T-shirt made an appearance on The Smoking Tire . More

Filed under: Motorsports , Acura , Audi , Chevrolet , Porsche , Ferrari , Peugeot , Diesel , Racing 2010 12 Hours of Sebring - Click above for high-res image gallery The first of nine races that comprise the 2010 American Le Mans Series is now in the history books, as the 12 Hours of Sebring came to a conclusion under the cover of darkness Saturday night. For those of you who still have the race on your DVRs, you can come back here later. For the rest of you, read on to find out who got a jump on the rest of the ALMS field. Gallery: 2010 12 Hours of Sebring Continue reading 2010 24 Hours of Sebring goes into the books [SPOILER ALERT] 2010 24 Hours of Sebring goes into the books [SPOILER ALERT] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Etc. , Transportation Alternatives , Legislation and Policy , USA California plans to implement an emissions control law called Assembly Bill 32 in 2012. The law grants the state the rights to set emission standards and implement greenhouse gas guidelines. Additionally, the state will be able to promote alternative fuels and technologies by way of rebates and other incentives. The focus of A.B. 32 is to drive down harmful emissions statewide with a goal of turning back the clock to emissions levels seen decades ago. The law has been met with some opposition. The California Jobs Initiative was recently formed to block the implementation of A.B. 32. The Initiative aims to block the implementation of A.B. 32 until the state's jobless rate drops to 5.5 percent. Currently, the jobless rate sits at 12.5 percent. The Initiative claims that implementation of the law would result in the loss of thousands of jobs

Filed under: Motorsports , Volkswagen Williams is intent on bringing another major automaker into Formula 1, but which will get the call? Volkswagen has toyed with the idea of entering F1 for some time . The German auto giant is one of the largest carmakers never to participate in the sport, notwithstanding Porsche and Lamborghini , which have in the past and which have since fallen under the VW umbrella. The latest reports suggest that if costs continue to drop and stability is restored, Volkswagen could field an entry - in some form or another - by 2013. Questions remain over which of its many brands and divisions VW would choose to promote through its participation, and whether it'd opt for a full-on factory team (like Ferrari , Renault or Mercedes-Benz ) or instead develop and supply engines to existing teams (as Cosworth currently does). Williams, for its part, is very interested in partnering with Volkswagen, should it join the grid in 2013. How interested? Autocar reports that could Williams could be interested in selling its F1 team wholesale to Volkswagen, much as Sauber did to BMW (Williams' old partner, which has since left the sport entirely) and Brawn has to Mercedes-Benz. Williams F1 team principals Frank Williams and Patrick Head have already offloaded part of the team to Austrian investor Toto Wolff, and Autocar quotes Williams as saying to Germany's Bild , "We are stronger with a manufacturer than as a private team." [Source: Autocar ] Williams courting Volkswagen into Formula One? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Filed under: Coupe , Performance McLaren MP4-12C - Click above for high-res image gallery Gordon Murray is perhaps the most innovative automotive engineer of the last several decades. He's never been afraid to try out offbeat ideas and more often then not, they've worked exceptionally well. Long before the Ariel Atom, Murray created the Rocket, built by the Light Car Company . Murray's greatest creation, of course, was the McLaren F1 . As with the Rocket and the T25 city car that he's currently working on, low mass was (and continues to be) a defining principle. Following the official launch of McLaren Automotive and the MP4-12C a few days ago, Murray discussed the new car with AutoExpress . He's glad to see that in spite of recent trends toward heavier cars, McLaren was able to keep mass comparatively low on its new car. The MP4-12C is several hundred pounds heavier than the legendary F1, but it also contains a lot of safety equipment that wasn't in use when the earlier car was built. Murray is also happy to see that McLaren employed some of the concepts that he worked on before he left the company, such as the carbon-fiber monocoque that was planned for a follow-up to the Mercedes-Benz SLR . Gallery: McLaren MP4-12C [Source: AutoExpress ] Gordon Murray shares his thoughts on the McLaren MP4-12C originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , UK Having just celebrated St. Patrick's Day, it's pretty obvious that the whole "Irish I had a beer" thing is a pretty lame stereotype. Maybe the opening of the first on-street electric car chargers in the country will help people see there's more to Ireland than leprechauns and green beer. Ah, who are we kidding? Still, the chargers are coming. The Irish electric utility Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is helping to install four curbside chargers in Dublin that will be operational by the end of the month. That's not a whole lot, but ESB says that it will install 1,500 across the country in the next 30 months, according to the Irish Times . These are quick-chargers, taking between one and two hours. Why this ambitious rollout? Planning for the future. The head of the ESB's electric vehicle division said in December that he thinks the " vast majority " the cars in Ireland will be replaced by electric vehicles by 2035. ESB is in partnership or talking to Renault - Nissan , Peugeot - Citroen and Mitsubishi and wants to bring around 2,000 electric vehicles to Ireland by the end of 2011. [Source: Irish Times ] Irish we had more electric car chargers originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Filed under: Motorsports , Jaguar , Racing Unfortunately for Jaguar , the only XKR to make it to the finish of the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring was the green and black pace car. Sebring was to have been the full-season competition debut for the new JaguarRSR XKR GT2, but it looks like team has a lot more work to do before the car's a potential race winner. After consistently running near the bottom of the GT2 class time charts in practice and qualifying, the race proved to be the icing on a stale cake. Less than an hour into the 12-hour enduro, the XKR pulled into the pits with team principal Paul Gentilozzi only having completed 11 laps. It's been reported that one of the cylinder heads on the 5.0-liter V8 cracked, an issue that couldn't be resolved in the pits or paddock in time to get the car back in the race. Hopefully, the team will take the lessons of Sebring and be able to implement some changes before the next event at Long Beach in four weeks. It'd be great to see the Jag in contention with the Ferraris , Porsches and Corvettes . [Source: JaguarRSR] Continue reading Sebring 2010: Bad start for Jaguar as XKR goes out in first hour Sebring 2010: Bad start for Jaguar as XKR goes out in first hour originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Motorsports , BMW , Racing The #90 BMW M3 GT2 - Click above to watch video after the jump The last 24 hours have been tough for Dirk Mϋller, one of the drivers of the BMW M3 GT2 in the American Le Mans Series. After setting the fastest GT2 time in qualifying on Friday for today's 12 Hours of Sebring, his time was disallowed because of an issue with his car during tech inspection. That meant the #90 car was pushed down to the 13th spot on the GT2 grid. To make matters worse, the #90 M3 smacked a wall during the morning warmup and missed the recon laps before the race. As a result, Mϋller had to start the race from the pits after all the other cars pulled away. He spent the opening laps making his way through the crowd of GT Challenge Porsches before tackling the GT2 field. By the time hour one was over and he came in for the first pit stop, Mϋller was running fourth in GT2. Check out the video after the jump . [Source: BMW] Continue reading Video: Sebring 2010: BMW's Dirk Mϋller talks about hour 1 Video: Sebring 2010: BMW's Dirk Mϋller talks about hour 1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .