Exciting news, everyone!  The Plug-In Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research (PHEV) Center at UC Davis (University of California) is proud to be one of the sponsors for the Plug-In 2010 Conference and Expo this year at San Jose, California.  For those who have never been to a single Plug-In conference/expo, it’s a yearly event where all automotive manufacturers, component suppliers, electric utilities, government agencies, and more get together to showcase the newest technological advances, and how it shapes the future of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.  They’re making the general public aware of this so more and more people will consider buying these vehicles.

UC Davis is well known for doing research on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in California.  $3 million dollars was granted to UC Davis’ PHEV Research Center from the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program.  Click here if you’d like to know more information regarding the Plug-In 2010 event and the PHEV Research Center.

Car and Driver recently compared eight small 2010 SUVs in a comparison test dubbed “The (Just) O.K. Coral”. As this description indicates, the testers were not especially impressed with any of the vehicles put to battle. The specific models being scrutinized were the Suzuki Grand Vitara, the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Subaru Forester, the GMC Terrain, the Toyota Rav4, the Mercury Mariner, and finally the Honda CR-V. With the exception of the Terrain and the Tiguan, which were only available in front-wheel drive versions, Car and Driver tested versions of these little SUVs that featured automatic transmissions, the highest output engines available, and all wheel drive. Here is how the vehicles were ranked.

• 1st Place – 2010 Toyota RAV4 Limited 4×4
• 2nd Place – 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan SE
• 3rd Place – 2010 Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD
• 4th Place – 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited
• 5th Place – 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC
• 6th Place – 2010 GMC Terrain SLE
• 7th Place – 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara V-6 Limited 4WD
• 8th Place – 2010 Mercury Mariner V-6 AWD

Read about this small SUV Comparison in full on CarandDriver.com

Everybody seems to be talking about the 2011 Mustang GT, as well as the 2011 V6.  Subtle but significant changes have been made that make these Mustangs look even better able to challenge the competition for muscle car supremacy. Here is some of what has been said about the 2011 Mustangs.

• “You might not win a few light-to-light drag races (it’s [the 2011 Mustang V6] quicker than a Chevy Camaro V6 and a Hyundai Genesis V6, but chances are you’ll lose more than you’ll win (a Nissan Z and an Infiniti G coupe are significantly quicker). Whatever. Drive this car like you hate it and you’ll even have a good time losing. Hell, it destroys its tires on a good 1-2 powershift and even gets good rubber on the 2-3 if you’re quick.”

- Edmunds Inside Line

• “This V-8 [the 2011 Mustang GT] is a major evolutionary step for Ford, perhaps the best gasoline burner the company has ever produced. It twists the tach needle quickly and without vibration but with a roar so menacing it makes the Camaro SS sound like a pickup truck. Detroit has long made cars that leap off the line in a burst and then flame out shortly thereafter. Ford has tuned the V-8’s throttle to be remarkably gentle and progressive, as if road racers in ballet shoes were the final editors of the software. Dare we say it? This engine is too good for this car.”

- Car and Driver

• “The base-level Mustang [2011 Mustang V6] outperforms just about any V-6 car around. The Camaro, which has similar power, hits 29 mpg on the highway. This Mustang even provides better highway mileage than the V-6 powered Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.”

- The Detroit News

• “The all-aluminum V-8 [2011 Mustang GT] keeps the Mustang from feeling nose heavy when driven hard, able to dance nicely along the twisty, scree-strewn canyon roads on which we tested it. The new Electric Power Assist Steering, which offers light parking efforts, has less assist at speed and good feedback, though we think it could be a touch heavier overall.”

- Road and Track

• “Let’s cut to the chase: The new 2011 Mustang GT is about as badass as you can get in a normal production car. In this case, one with a bargain bottom-line price tag as low as $30,495.”

- The Car Connection

As Saab continues its journey down the long road to brand-redemption and hopefully profitability, it prepares to set up camp in an industrial section of a Detroit suburb. Looking to come out from underneath the GM umbrella and into  its own, it is now leaving GM Tower for a much cozier home in Royal Oak.

Saab is able to make the transition due to, parent company, Spyker Cars being awarded $1.2 million in tax credits by Michigan. Saab will add 25 new employees to its workforce, and will place the majority of these people in marketing and management positions paying between $60,000 and $80,000. More jobs are said to be in the works as Saab creates more space between itself and GM. The Royal Oak headquarters will focus on sales and marketing, leaving engineering and manufacturing to the Trolhatter, Sweden arm of the brand. At some point, Saab’s new US headquarters could also house a call center as well Canadian and Mexican distribution.

Read the Daily Tribune’s interview with the president of Saab Cars North America

The Honda CR-Z, touted by Honda to be “the intersection of Sport and Hybrid” has emerged from the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, where it gave on-lookers flashbacks of the gone but not forgotten fuel-sipping Honda CRX. The CR-Z is slated to hit dealerships by the end of this Summer and its arrival is expected to signal the beginning of a new and long anticipated phenomenon; the ability for motorists to not have to sacrifice performance and driving enjoyment for environmental friendliness. That’s right, driving a hybrid can soon be considered cool, and not nerd cool (which I really do appreciate) but captain of the footbal team, stereotypical cool. And because all the cool kids must have style, it’s no surprise that the CR-Z is already getting cleaned-up. To see one of these sporty hybrid coupes in the beginning phases of a makeover, check out the Nobless CR-Z on the Farm of Minds blog. They’ve already got the Mungen wheels fitted and there’s a lot of interest in what’s next for this project.

Check out Farm of Minds for more on the Nobless Honda CR-Z and a slew of other cars you’d like to drive.

The sale of the Saab brand to Spyker Cars is finally moving forward after a previous attempt had failed.  At the end of 2009, a deal between the two automakers was almost finalized but negotiations were abandoned when the US federal government expressed concerns over Spyker’s finances. Saab owners and employees had serious doubts about the future of the company, as it became nearly certain Saab facilities would soon be shuttered. According to reports, a significant shareholder, the Convers Group, was under serious scrutiny by the Swedish Security Service, the SAPO, for strong suspicions of Russian Mob ties. The SAPO is said to have then shared their intelligence on the Moscow Management Company, owned by relatives of Russian billionaire Alexander Antonov, with the FBI.

What changed to make Saab’s sale once again viable, was the transfer of 4.6 million shares to the chief executive at Spyker, Victor Muller; though a Spyker spokesperson denied any accuracy to the reports and GM didn’t specify what changes to Spyker’s corporate structure made them reconsider the sale. With financing from Muller’s firm, Tenaci Capital, as well as from GM and GEM Global Yield Fund, Spyker has come pretty close to securing the $1 billion Spyker said it requires to start Saab down the road to becoming a profitable brand once again. Spyker still is searching for about $24 million dollars in cash to be paid to GM upon the deals completion. More importantly, Spyker is waiting for the approval of a loan of 400 Euros from the European Investment Bank. The EIB is expected to make a decision on the Swedish government guaranteed loan within the next couple of weeks. If all goes well there should be few obstacle or speed bumps to slow down Saab’s acquisition, which should be official by the end of the month. The result should be the formation of a new company, Saab Spyker.

The origins of India’s Auto Industry date back to the 1940s, though very little growth has occurred between that time and the early 1990s, when India entered into a period of economic liberalization that continues today. This period has spurred impressive growth in the industry, both in terms of production and exports. Like in most countries, a significant amount of car-making is occurring in the plants of established foreign auto companies, but Indian companies are growing players both domestically and globally. One company you’ve likely heard of is Tata Motors. With origins in locomotive production, Tata manufactured it’s first commercial vehicle in collaboration with Daimler-Benz back in 1954. Today it dominates India’s commercial vehicle sector and has owned the Jaguar and Land Rover brands since 2008. It is also noted for it’s Tato Nano car, a tiny car that’s the only production vehicle selling brand new for as low as $2,500. Tata has plans to sell the Nano in the US, though for a bit more than what it sells for now. Tata is may be the biggest player in the Indian automotive industry, but there are a couple of other growing Indian car-makers, to keep in mind, like Mahindra & Mahindra.

The issue of distracted driving, specifically text-messaging while driving, has evoked a number of legal responses from different US states and Canadian provinces. Quite a few legislatures have yet to prioritize this widespread phenomenon, but it’s safe to say that the problem cannot be ignored anywhere for too long. No matter how minor anyone sees the problem, few can dismiss the fact that reading or composing texts behind the wheel increases danger to drivers, passengers, and anyone else on or near the road. Exactly how dangerous is subject to debate. This likely has a lot to do with why, of the states with text-messaging laws, some governments have enacted laws applicable just to younger drivers or those with limited experience, while others have outright bans on handheld cell phone use while driving. Some places have laws with narrow application, like Texas, where texting is banned in school zones and by school bus drivers transporting underage passengers.

No matter what your local legislators think, if you live in the US, the Federal government wants you to know how serious a problem texting behind the wheel is. With this aim, the Transportation Department has partnered with the National Safety Council to launch a campaign, modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), called FocusDriven. Below is list of resources I think you’ll find helpful in learning more about texting and driving. And, if you still don’t see what the big deal is, maybe this article about the dangers of walking while using cell phones can give you some perspective.

Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving
Transport Canada: Cell Phone Use and Other Driver Distractions
New York Times series: Driven to Distraction
Car and Driver: Texting While Driving: How Dangerous is it? – Feature
Hands-Free Info
Survey: Teens and Distracted Driving
Wikipedia: Texting while driving
Gizmodo: 89% of Americans Want Texting While Driving Outlawed
CNBC: Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving
Boston Globe: Conductor in Boston trolley crash was texting his girlfriend

Want to compare cars on your own? Please visit Car Comparison Test’s recommended site, TheCarConnection.com where you can find a host of research and comparison tools on all varieties of cars, trucks, and SUVs. Car news, comparisons, and also new car photos can be found on the site as well as several helpful resources that will help you select the vehicle that’s right for you when its time to buy a car of your own.

www.roadandtrack.com

BMW vs. Audi AGAIN.

This time it’s the 2009 Audi TTS vs. the 2009 BMW 135i. The fact that the 135i didn’t win is a shocker. That it received a thorough thrashing, at the hands of Audi’s TTS, is a news event unto itself. Going into this test, the 135i was the odds-on favorite to take the top spot. After all, a smooth, twin-turbocharged inline-6 packing 300 bhp mated to a slick 6-speed manual driving the rear wheels of a lively short-wheelbase coupe should be the ingredients for some serious driving excitement. Plus, the Audi TT has always been more of a sports tourer than a sports car, and we figured the TTS would be more of the same.

Techno-geeks will very much enjoy playing with Audi’s latest generation of MMI. It’s an improvement thanks to the joystick-like action of the main knob that allows computer mouse-like cursor control. But which interior is better? Let’s face it, both the Audi and BMW provide great environments for driving fast. The difference is that the BMW is classic, while the Audi emanates technology and flair. It’s a personal choice.

www.roadandtrack.com

For all the cool, hip and youthful excitement these two cars exude, we didn’t find true driving nirvana in either one. The TTS was the hands-down winner, but the 135i has many strong points as well. We couldn’t help feeling that if BMW stiffened up the 135i’s suspension a bit, it would be right there with the Audi. While the BMW seems simple, yet powerful, in its design and execution, the Audi is much more complex and fully optimized, if not quite as involving.