Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Car Concept

Toyota is going to show to the world its latest Hybrid sport car concept at the Detroit auto show. The new concept is called the FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept. It is a 2-door sports coupe using the Lexus GS450h engine which can put out 400 horsepower.

By combining a 197hp electric engine with a 292hp 3.5L V6, Toyota has created a sports car version of the GS450h – a car that was supremely quick but turned into a yacht when you wanted to take a corner. And with its light weight, the FT-HS should be able to hit the 60mph mark in just 4 seconds, undercutting the GS450h by over a second.

The Future of Motoring

As the UK Prime Minister promises support for the electric vehicle industry, Green MotorSport asks whether he is backing the right people. The British electric vehicle industry has traditionally led the world and already has the finest electric drive trains, but we have to wait another two years for the automotive industry to get its act together before grants are available for people wanting to buy electric vehicles. Competition from innovative energy industries could conserve the UK’s diminishing fuel resources, create new jobs and make Britain a leading exporting country again!

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has challenged the Government to back his ambitious plans to make London the electric car capital of Europe, helping to create jobs, cut carbon emissions and improve air quality. The Mayor has outlined a series of major initiatives to achieve at least 100,000 electric vehicles on the capital’s streets as soon as possible, equating to five per cent of total vehicles. The plans include working with businesses, boroughs and other public sector organisations to deliver 25,000 charging spaces in London’s workplaces, retail outlets, streets, public car parks and station car parks by 2015.

Transport to cut C02 emissions

The Committee on Climate Change, which was set up under the terms of the Climate Change Act, has proposed that there should be a statutory requirement for the UK to make substantial reductions in C02 emissions, including those of road transport, by 2020. That is only eleven years away, so we need to start now to build up electric vehicle fleets and buy our own electric cars if we are to meet climate change targets.

New electric car charging stations ready for deployment

The Electric Vehicle Solar Canopy has been developed to provide protection from the weather for the vehicle as well as generating electricity from the integrated solar roof. The rooftop fits perfectly into a standard parking space and consists of a semi transparent solar array, allowing around 20% daylight through between the PV Cells, and providing shade from the sun and protection from the rain. The green electricity can be used either to charge the batteries on electric cars or it can be used in the adjacent building. The Canopy is a modular design which contains 6 special solar laminates each rated at 260 watt peak (Wp), providing a total output from each parking Canopy of 1.5 kilowatts peak (kWp). In the UK this Canopy will generate around 1,100kWh/year. For more information about this brand new solar recharging station please contact a member of Green MotorSport. Currently solar charging stations start at around 15,000 pounds per unit.

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Ssangyong Motor Names Mahindra as Preferred Bidder

-strapped South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor selected India's Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday as the preferred bidder to buy a majority stake, a move that promises to give India's top utility vehicle maker greater global reach.

Three companies — Mahindra, Raghav Industries and Daewoo Bus — submitted binding bids earlier this week out of the six bidders that qualified in June to examine Ssangyong Motor's accounts and business, Ssangyong said Thursday.

The car maker went into court-approved bankruptcy protection early last year amid falling sales and mounting red ink. It was majority-owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., or SAIC, one of China's largest vehicle manufacturers, until SAIC lost management control during the bankruptcy process.

Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea's fifth-largest automaker, is far smaller than domestic rivals Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors Corp. It mostly manufactures light SUVs, but also makes a luxury sedan, the Chairman.

"We made our decision after evaluating the offered bidding prices, fund-raising capability, management plans after acquisition, job guarantee for current employees and other terms," Ssangyong said in a statement.

Mahindra will pay Ssangyong a deposit of 5 percent of the acquisition price it offered and Ssangyong and its top executives will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Indian company by the end of this month.

Ssangyong did not reveal how much Mahindra will pay for the stake, but South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, without citing the source of the information, that Mahindra offered $480 million.

The Indian sport-utility vehicle maker will conduct a final due diligence on Ssangyong next month before settling on an acquisition price in October. The final contract is scheduled to be signed in November.

Mahindra & Mahindra has long wanted to be a bigger global player, and executives say Ssangyong's over 1,200 global dealerships, 7 models and 5 brands will help it access new markets across Europe, Russia and Latin America.