Three Wheeler Fuel Tanks

Munich, Germany " Having sputtered out of the gate, the electric car finally seems to be gaining some needed traction. The Nissan Leaf is a reality and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is arriving next month. In the coming months, BMW will put a fleet of 1,100 all-electric Active Es on the road. Of the allotment, 700 will see service in New York and California  sadly none are slated to come Canada.

The starting point for the Active E was the BMW 1 Series. The drawback with using an existing platform is that it calls for compromise. The layout is designed to support an engine, transmission, rear axle and fuel tank. In adapting the 1 Series for electrification, BMW removed the regular components and started installing the electric drive components  one battery pack under the hood (hence the power bulge), one that runs along the central tunnel and a third where the gas tank once resided. The three are connected together to deliver 32 kWh of power. They are also heated and cooled (using the heating and air conditioning systems) to maintain a temperature of between 20C and 30C. Recharging the depleted battery pack requires a charging time of between eight and 10 hours using a 220-volt supply (the charging time using a 110-volt outlet doubles the required time, so having the right outlet is going to be important). The electric motor is integrated into the rear axle, while the power electronics reside in the trunk. They do consume some space, but there is seven cubic feet left along a pass-through for longer items.

In terms of performance, the Active E truly surprised. The motor twists out 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The reason for the perky performance boils down to the fact the electric motor delivers peak torque from Rev One. In the Active Es case, there is still power left even as the motor stretches for its 12,000-rpm redline. These numbers also help explain why the Active E is whisked to 100 kilometres an hour in nine seconds and on to a top speed of 145 km/h. On the test route, it easily handled the autobahn, cruising effortlessly at 130 km/h without making a sound.

Lifting off the go pedal sees the electric motor reverse function and begin to harvest the otherwise waste kinetic energy and use it to recharge the battery. This action extends the driving range by about 20%, which delivers a real-world range of 160 km. As with the Mini E, the regenerative braking is aggressive  there is enough retardation, in fact, that after about five minutes behind the wheel I was using the regenerative braking for basically all stopping power. Only when sitting on an uphill grade did I have to apply the brake to prevent rollback.

Preview: 2011 BMW Active E - National Post (blog)

The £10 annual festive bonus they receive barely buys a glass of champagne for wheelers and dealers in the Square Mile or tops up a Porsche’s fuel tank.

The axe has been taken to the department festival celebrations for the workforce, many of whom are based in London, in the latest sign of austerity sweeping the sector.

RBS said the move will save less than £200,000 at an institution where more than 100 staff received £1 million-plus bonuses last year.

Chris Kyle, finance director for RBS Global Banking and Markets, played Scrooge as he emailed staff with details of the saving, as part of a series of belt-tightening initiatives.

Festive spirit in short supply as RBS pulls £10 bonus - Herald Scotland

The Italian automaker Fiat has returned to the U.S. market after a 27-year absence, with a minicar that's just about the cutest thing on four wheels.

Powered by a 101-horsepower 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine, the North American version of the 500 is now available at about 130 dealerships nationwide, including Ancira Fiat on Interstate 10 West in San Antonio.

But these cars aren't imported from Europe. Chrysler Group LLC., which has become a subsidiary of Fiat, assembles them at its factory in Toluca, Mexico, with engines built by Chrysler in Michigan.

It's not like any other American car, though. Nearest in size on the U.S. market are the smaller, two-seat Smart, from Mercedes-Benz, and the four-passenger Mini Cooper, a BMW product. Both are from Europe.

G. Chambers Williams III: Fiat 500 more than just a cute little car - San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

Nowadays, most Jeep off-roaders are just trying to avoid being stuck on some wilderness trail. If they're really serious, they're driving the Wrangler, the most authentic and rugged off-roader in the Jeep fleet. Wrangler is the most direct descendant of the "general purpose" (GP) vehicle that went to war in 1941.

To keep Wrangler relevant in a multipurpose marketplace, the current brand custodians at Chrysler are making some significant improvements to the 2012 model.

With a new, 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine, the Wrangler can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds, about 3 seconds faster than the previous model. The V6 cranks 285 horsepower, an increase of 40 percent over the 3.8-liter V6, while delivering greater fuel efficiency.

Offered in two-door or four-door Unlimited models, all Wranglers are 4-wheel-drive available in four trim levels: Sport, Sport S, Sahara and Rubicon. Prices range from $22,845 for the two-door Sport to $34,370 for the four-door Unlimited Rubicon.

Autos: Wrangler stays relevant - ScrippsNews

On its website, Clean Green Fuel offered customers "a unique blend of biodiesel" made from vegetable oil that would produce less air pollution and help reduce the nation's dependence on petroleum.

But according to federal charging documents, company owner Rodney R. Hailey didn't produce any biodiesel. Instead, prosecutors charge, he generated and sold more than $9 million worth of credits for nonexistent renewable fuel, using the proceeds to buy a five-bedroom house in Perry Hall, diamond jewelry and more than two dozen cars and trucks, including a Rolls Royce, a pair of Bentleys and a Lamborghini.

Hailey, 33, of Perry Hall, Md., is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and violating the Clean Air Act. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, depending on the charge. The government also is seeking to seize his house and other property.

Biodiesel industry members said they believe this is the leading edge of a crackdown by the federal government on fraud and abuse of the Renewable Fuel Standard, a 6-year-old program meant to encourage the domestic production of ethanol and other environmentally friendly "biofuels" made from agricultural byproducts.

Biofuel fraud case puts industry under scrutiny - York Daily Record