inspiretech Blog

Who said hybrids had to be boring, slow and soul less? BMW recently debuted their new 2009 7 Series ActiveHybrid at the 2008 LA Autoshow. With some subtle changes from the 2008 model year the new 7 series ActiveHybrid from BMW is expected to make it’s US arrival for consumers sometime in 2009. BMW is trying to stay on top of the high MPG and low carbon emissions game by releasing other green models in the near future as well, they’re said to still be pushing through with their new diesel technology for US bound models.

-Ray

[Source: autoblog]

The 2009 MINI E is finally here, a few of these cute electric powered MINIs have already been seen out and about the Los Angeles area. One of the 500 MINI Es was seen today in Beverly Hills. The 2009 MINI E will make its official debut at the LA Auto Show tomorrow. With the new MINI E and 2010 Toyota Prius on the way it seems the ’09 and ’10 automotive years will be green. Stay tuned for more info on the debut of the 2009 MINI E tomorrow.

-Ray

[Source: autogreenblog]

Times are tough for automakers, the oil crisis and state of the world economy have most automakers in a world of hurt. Especially those in Detroit who took too long to realize the world of SUVs, trucks and big gas guzzling cars are long gone. It has always been the Japanese and Europeans who have led the way in efficient small cars. The Nissan Cube has been a hit in Japan for a few years now, and when it was announced the Cube was coming to the US JDM cube fans rejoiced. The new 2010 Nissan Cube slated to make its US debut at the LA Auto Show tomorrow has been seen in the metal in Japan awaiting transport. Stay tuned for the official images from the LA Auto Show starting tomorrow.

-Ray

[Source: autoblog]

It took many years for Nissan to bring their fabled Skyline GT-R here to the US, now that it’s here it has attacked every sports car on our roads like Godzilla in Tokyo. Nissan’s newest supercar was awarded Automobile Magazines Car of the Year. For about $80,000 the GT-R will give you better performance than supercars costing twice as much. With all these accolades bestowed onto the new Nissan Skyline GT-R is makes me wonder, why didn’t they bring the Skyline product line to the US a long time ago?

-Ray

[Source: autoblog]

Yesterday, there were reports that Toyota was working on a new Prius coupe. The new Prius coupe was part of Toyota’s plan announced last January. Toyota plans to introduce two new hybrid cars at the next Detroit Auto Show, and we assume the Prius Coupe would be one of them. We have now found out that the second hybrid car will carry the Lexus badge. Japanese Magazine Mag-X has developed their own renderings of what they feel the new Lexus hybrid would be like. In addition, it has been reported that a redesigned Camry will be available in 2011 and it will have the same hybrid technology as the Prius. Please stay tuned as more information comes our way.

- Geoff

[Source: AutoBlogGreen]

The EPA labs in Ann Arbor, Michigan have developed an Eco-friendly hydrolic system for UPS trucks. The new system will help to store up to 70% of the kinetic energy lost during braking. UPS has already ordered a handfull of the trucks equipped with this new system and its own drivers who were lucky enough to test drive the prototypes have loved it. The first truck will be deployed in Minnesota in the first quarter of 2009. The technology is perfectly adaptable to UPS trucks as it works best during stop and go traffic. The EPA will welcome any other companies who express interest in this technology.

-Derek

[Source:CNN]