Green Autos

On monday we brought you some details about the upcoming, beautiful, techno-bombshell known as the Mercedes SLS E-Cell. Dressed in highlighter green it's hard not to stare, although I think the words "electric-powered SLS" would have drawn almost as big a crowd. I understand everyone wants to jump on the "green train", but things are getting out of hand.

Today we have a follow-up video from our friends at Streetfire.net, showing the SLS doing what it was meant to do: hauling ass. The first video talked about the details of the car, how the systems work, and gave a once-over of the car. (At least, that's what our minds decided the host was saying in his strange language.) It appears once Mercedes was done with the pleasantries of journalist trots around the neighborhood and red carpet events, it got back to doing what made us fall in love with them in the first place, perfecting speed. Make the jump to watch the video.

With all the strict new emissions and fuel economy regulations pending worldwide, it’s easy to believe that the era of fast, fun cars is about to end – this time for good. But while big, thumping gas engines are almost certainly donezo, it might not be time to write the obituary for high performance cars just yet. Tesla has already shown that you don’t need an internal combustion engine to have a sports car, and Mercedes-Benz will soon be driving that point home with an electrified SLS AMG.

Called the Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell, the eye-popping yellow prototype seen here previews a production model scheduled to arrive in 2013. It features a foursome of electric motors – one driving each wheel – that spin up to 12,000(!) rpm and provide a whopping 526hp and 649 lb.-ft of torque combined. The four motors will get their juice from an array of lithium polymer batteries residing in the center tunnel (which is occupied by the driveshaft on the gas version) and behind the cockpit. The temperature of the batteries and other electical components is managed by a pair of independent cooling systems. It all adds up to an estimated 0-60 mph time of four seconds flat.

If there are two things most 21st century Americans living in major metropolitan areas can’t seem to live without, they are the automobile and the mobile phone. And as the mobile phone has evolved into the smartphone, the opportunities to build closer ties between the two contraptions become more abundant and easier to realize. With that in mind, GM is working on an app for Android-powered smartphones for use in conjunction with the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.

Considering who makes the Android OS, it should come as no surprise that Google Maps will provide the proverbial meat of the navigation component of the app. As such, there will be a voice-activated, location-sensitive destination search function as well as the ability to see your real-time location on a map. OnStar will provide the proverbial potatoes in the form of verbal turn-by-turn directions. (Other functions will include battery charge scheduling and monitoring and remote start.) However, the navigation function won’t be available in the first version of the app; you’ll have to wait for version 2.0 to enjoy the aforementioned features.

When the hybrid revolution loomed its slow and ugly head I was accepting, but wary. How would this affect the great cars of our world? I'm fine commuting to work or schlepping kids in a dreary fuel-sipper if it means cleaner air and less dependency on foreign oil. Honestly, I am. We simply cannot continue to exist as we have in the past if we hope to have a future. But surely there would be stipulations that would allow the greats - Ferrari, Lamborghini, Zonda - to escape a life of restriction and abstinence from horsepower. Right? Can't we have our economoical work-horses for Monday to Friday and still keep the stallions for the weekend?

While Ferrari has made some alternative energy concepts, like the 599-based Hy-kers example above, it's been planning to focus on reducing the emmissions of its horses without resorting to removing their "orbs of essence." Apparently I'm not the only one afraid and annoyed at this possibility. At the Beijing Motor Show, Autocar caught up with Amadeo Felisa and asked about a "greener" future for Ferrari. The response wasn't as enthusiastic as your local Birkenstock salesman would hope:

By now we've all heard of the Porsche 918 Concept Design Study, or simply, the 918. The first true hybrid supercar made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, stealing the attention from anything else that bothered to show up. The site of naked Swedish supermodels would barely stand a chance against this car, so anything on 4 wheels may as well have folded from the get go. Porsche released a short video a few days later, but it was more of a CGI-created journey through time. It touted Porsche's 100 year old relationship with electric cars, using Ferdinand Porsche's hybrid of 1900 as the example. The new video does what Charlie Sheen's wives try to do, forget the past and look to the future.

The new video from Porsche plays like a dramartic sales pitch, or possibly the most beatiful PowerPoint presentation ever. The 918's amazing performance and efficiency stats are laid over amazing photography and action shots of the gorgeous supercar. And along with this video, Porsche has announced it is furthering production development. With a video that has you paying closer attention than you did in Sex-Ed class, Porsche doesn't have to worry about whether the car will sell or not. Time to buy a Lotto ticket. Make the jump to watch.

It’s good that there are a few 100% electric new cars out there; the fact that they are either six-figure-priced two-seat roadsters or beefed-up golf carts that are limited to 35 mph isn’t. Nissan asked why that’s the case, and instead of simply shrugging its collective shoulders, the company decided to do something about it. The result is a small five-door hatchback called the Leaf, which is set to arrive in select markets this December and nationwide next year.

Like the Tesla Roadster, the Leaf uses a 24 kilowatt/hour laminated lithium-ion battery pack to spin an electric motor that provides drive for the vehicle. The pack is surprisingly compact, allowing the interior to be roomy enough for five people and some cargo behind the rear seats. It holds enough juice to return 100 miles of driving under normal use, and once it wears down to the point it can only hold 80% of its original capacity, Nissan will buy it back and resell it for non-automotive electricity storage applications like industrial storage or home use. The two plugs used for recharging (one 110 volt, one 220 volt) are located at the Leaf’s nose behind a small door where the grille would be on most cars. The motor drives the front wheels, and provides peak torque as soon as you step on the accelerator.

Expensive cars and expensive watches have been paired together as often, and for as long, as ice cream and chocolate syrup. Every year various watch manufacturers come out with special editions aimed at the performance driver. Usually they sport multiple chrono dials, exotic light-weight materials, and a price that is proportional to the car by which they're inspired.

The 2010 TAG Heauer Tesla Roadster is the same idea, flipped. Tesla and TAG Heuer joined forces to design a limited edition roadster, which they showed off at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen worked closely with the Swiss watch designers to develop a look that was true to both companies.

Without any delay, this is one of the coolest concept cars I have seen in my entire life. It looks incredible, its technology is incredible, its performance makes me feel tingly and the best part is I can tell that cute brunette at yoga class, “When it comes down to it I put the earth first, so I bought a hybrid.” At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Porsche brought out what is probably the most exciting concept in years: the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept.

By designing this car, Porsche has essentially answered a request of mine, to show the world that the word “hybrid” is not synonymous with word “coma.” I'm so grateful to see something like this, I feel I owe them a thank you card.