By Stephen Leahy After years of heralding its green credentials, BP has quietly been selling off its renewable energy investments and focusing solely on fossil fuels Oil giant BP spent millions of dollars telling the world it was moving “Beyond Petroleum” into renewables. Now it is quietly shifting “Back to Petroleum”, announcing the sale of [...]
When Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America, was at the 2013 Washington Auto Show he talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, www.drivingthenation.com, about the difference diesel has made in the United States, “Since Audi brought out its first diesel in 2009 till now, it has reduced US fuel consumption by 4.6 million gallons, it has [...]
Detlev von Platen, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, www.drivingthenation.com, about Jerry Seinfeld’s 911, 50 years of Porsche, the new GT3 and the awards Porsche won at the 2013 New York International Auto show (NYIAS). Porsche already has a Cayenne diesel and a Panamera hybrid. [...]
Timothy Kuniskis, recently named President and CEO of the Dodge Brand, is the former head of the FIAT Brand for North America. Before he left Fiat, Kuniskis talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, www.drivingthenation.com about the 2013 Fiat 500E. Fiat gives you two options, buy or lease. The Fiat 500E goes on sale this summer, [...]
George Blankenship, Tesla Motors, Vice President, Sales & Ownership Experience, talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, www.drivingthenation.com, about the Tesla S. What countries is Tesla selling in now? How many stores does Tesla have in the United States? Blankenship says they have sold 2,500 Tesla Roadsters and are winding the Roadster down and gearing up [...]
Mike Siegrist, Assistant Chief Engineer, General Motors Powertrains, took time to talk to www.drivingthenation.com about General Motors new Chevy Cruze clean diesel engine. What did General Motors have to modify on this European engine for the American market? Is this a General Motors engine, or was it purchased from another company? Volkswagen’s diesel engine is [...]
By Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Canada, Mar 19 2013 (IPS) – As usual, midtown Manhattan is packed with whisper-quiet cars and trams while thousands walk the streets listening to the birds of spring sing amongst the gleaming, grime-free skyscrapers in the crystal-clear morning air. Welcome to New York City in April 2030. This is not a [...]
By Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Canada, Mar 12 2013 (IPS) – Two years after Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the country faces 100 to 250 billion dollars in cleanup and compensation costs, tens of thousands of displaced people and widespread impacts of radiation. The nuclear industry and its suppliers made billions from building and operating Fukushima’s [...]
California is a critical state for Mazda. Robert Davis, Senior Vice President for U.S. Operations, reminds me that they are headquartered in California, so he knows the California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions requirements all too well. “We’re a smaller manufacturer, so the ability to meet the requirements they give us are a little bit [...]
Currently about 3 percent of all light-duty passenger car sales are diesel. Twelve percent of all car take rates, as of August, 2008, were diesels. Fast forward to August, 2012 and 30% of all car take rates were diesel. In the video, Bernd Boisten explains take rate – if a vehicle is offered as a [...]
2013 Audi A4
2013 Subaru Outback
2013 Scion xD
2013 Mazda MX-5 roadster
2013 Volkswagen Jetta hybrid