Toyota’s Got Gas – Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)!

Honda has been the sole automaker with a reliable CNG car for way too long. On the heels of Honda announcing they will make twice as many natural gas cars as last year; Toyota has recently displayed the new CNG Camry hybrid at the Los Angeles Auto Show. What better place to show off the future of green cars than at the city that is the mecca for all things eco-friendly.
One of the World’s largest reserves of Natural Gas lies here in the U.S.! So why should be pay other countries for oil when we could use our own resources and tap into those large pockets of natural gas. I’ve been wondering this for years now and since Honda is doing so well, and there are home fueling kits for natural gas, this seems like the next logical step for the world’s most powerful auto maker.

The CNG Toyota Camry Hybrid will be based on the current gas-electric version, just instead of a gas engine this car will be powered by natural gas-electric motor. Horsepower will suffer a tiny bit and the average fuel economy will shrink from 34 MPG to 33 MPG, based on estimates. The range on this eco-friendly car will be over 250 miles. But when you consider that natural gas is cheaper than regular petrol…..this seems like a viable car!

Sources: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/toyota-shows-co.html
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/24/la-preview-toyota-to-display-cng-fueled-camry-hybrid-concept/

The New 2009 Cadillac CTS-V – Kicking Butt and Taking Names!

Ever since I heard the new 2009 Cadillac CTS-V would have a version of the ZR1 Corvette engine I was hooked. I can just picture my Grandpa blowing the doors off of every BMW and Mercedes in sight. That would be hilarious! The new CTS-V is a serious automobile. It recently posted the fastest lap time at the Nurburgring in Germany, beating out any sedan that has ever run this course, including all Bimmer’s….that’s huge!

Most people either love or hate the styling. I have seen the new CTS cars motoring around and I must say they look sharp. But who cares about looks when you have over 550-hp and torque under your foot. This monster includes a six-speed transmission that will rocket Grandpa to 191-mph….which will either send him to jail or a not so early grave! Whichever the case this “luxury car” is a monster.

Besides the serious performance; the Cadillac CTS-V sports nice 19-inch alloy rims, 15-inch brakes, some kind of crazy electromagnetic suspension, and rare Recaro seats. Cadillac may be in financial trouble, but they sure did their homework with this car. And the best part about this missile is the price: $60k! That’s more than $25k less than its main rivals: the BMW M5 and the Mercedes E63 AMG. What more could you want?

The New 2010 Chevy Camaro - more goodies than the Ford Mustang!

After a long 7 year hiatus; the Camaro has returned better than ever! Over the last few years the newly redesigned “old school” Ford Mustang has been cleaning up in the Muscle Car arena. An eternity in car years has passed and Chevy is poised to strike down the mighty Mustang!

Not only will the base model (LS/LT) be cheaper; priced around $23k, but it will have more goodies than the Mustang GT. The rims are larger, the brakes are bigger, and the Camaro will sport a V-6 that will produce 300-hp; the same as a Mustang GT.

But the real fun begins when you decide to step up to the SS model. Oh yes the Super Sport of old has returned; this time with a V-8 producing 420 galloping horses at a very reasonable $30k price. The brakes will be 14-inch, the wheels even larger at 20-inch, and my favorite feature is the new gas saving trick. The new 2010 Chevy Camaro will feature cylinder deletion which will essentially turn the Camaro into a 4-cylinder in the name of fuel economy. But don’t worry, punch the gas pedal and this puppy will roar back to life!

Check out Atlanta New Cars for the curretn line of new Camaro's!

The GM Volt – A Bit Late

GM has been pushing the idea of E-Flex Automobiles as of late with the Chevrolet Volt at the forefront of all this chatter. The E-Flex cars are hybrids but not in the normal sense. A hybrid car is one powered by 2 energy sources. Where the Volt differs is that it is plugged in to charge the lithium batteries. Gm has dubbed this car an Extended Range Vehicle. What this means is that the Volt can run up to 40 miles on batteries alone. After that a regular gas engine kicks in.

My question is why now? I mean yes this is good but the GM EV1 was around in the early 1990’s and they are just now slating the release of the Volt for 2011. It has taken way too long for GM to develop this technology. Maybe they should have released this car before their economic troubles. But this is the smart thinking that GM has not displayed in the last 20 years!