Rental car agencies are starting to go green in increasing numbers. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. recently announced that it will establish an E85/Flexible Fuel branch in Washington D.C. The rental car outlet will stock about 50 E85-friendly General Motors vehicles (representing about 50 percent of the branch’s fleet). Overall, it plans to dispatch some 41,000 flex-fuel vehicles to its offices around the country (it currently offers around 3000 gas-electric hybrids in its fleet nationwide).

The move by Enterprise comes on the heels of Hertz establishing its Green Collection, which touts fuel-efficient offerings like the Toyota Prius. The company plans to have some 3400 units of the hybrid in fleets by next summer.

We haven’t yet to learn if there will be pricing premiums for these greener models from either Enterprise or Hertz (versus similar-sized gasoline-only models), but it’s reasonable to expect a surcharge of some kind.

All of this begs the question: Would you be willing to pay more for a green rental car? Have you made any efforts before to rent a more fuel-efficient vehicle? Have your say in ‘Comments.’

source:windingroad

Back when we were being all green last month, we brought you news from the US fast food chain Burgerville, which was creating thousands of gallons of lovely biodiesel - from its discarded cooking oil.

‘it was a plan we approved of heartily, and now you don’t even need to travel Stateside to enjoy the distinctive smell of double cheeseburger ‘n’ fries as a delivery truck thunders past.

Because McDonalds has today announced that it is to convert all of its UK delivery vans to run on cooking oil-based biodiesel.

Once the oil has been used to bubble your Freedom Fries to a tasty state of crispiness, it’ll be combined with rapeseed oil to power McDonald’s 155 lorries, saving some 1,650 tonnes of carbon each year.

All very impressive, but what’s happened to the to-hell-with-ya, free-livin’ McDonalds of old? Next thing they’ll be offering salads with your Big Mac.
source:topgear

According to BusinessWeek, the well-loved MG marque was revived by its new Chinese owners, Nanjing Auto, and was unveiled at Silverstone’s 2007 MG Car Club gathering last weekend in the UK.

The Chinese company also announced an agreement with Healey Automobile Consultants to take over and revive the Austin Healey, another sports car that has been out of production for over 35 years.

With MG production starting later this year, Nanjing is receiving strong interest in global dealer partnerships from a number of major brands. Leading up to the commercial launch of the new MG TF 2-seater sports car, Nanjing has received an overwhelming response to their request for applications to become an MG franchised dealer.
source:autochannel
The high level of enthusiasm has not only come from retailers within the UK, but also from those located as far as Greece and South Africa.

M3 enthusiast site

M3Post.com has snagged what are easily the best spyshots yet of Bimmer’s upcoming 4-door hot rod. They don’t come from any of the spy photo big guns, either. Instead, they’re sourced from within their own ranks, as site member Larry Blunk was clicking the shutter as the silver M3 sedan prototype lapped the Nürburgring and then spent quality time with the car as it sat parked out in the open afterwards. Appearance-wise, think of an E90 3-series sedan with the new M3 coupe’s front and rear end treatments, bulging, vented hood,side extractors, and wheels. It’s looking good so far, and we’re sure there’ll be no shortage of takers for the slightly more practical version of the M-enhanced speed merchant. We’re guessing it’ll debut on its home turf at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
sources; m3post and autoblog

Silverstone Circuit England-It was an unusual traffic jam on the Silverstone circuit that triggered more pride than road rage. And the pictures — a massive gathering of mainly red Ferraris and owners wearing baseball caps with the Prancing Horse logo — says it all. A breathtaking group of 385 Ferraris on Saturday set a new Guinness World Record for the “largest parade of Ferrari cars.”

Ferrari said the event more than tripled the previous record and calculated that the value of the assembled Ferraris would “be in excess of £60 million [$118.4 million] — a perfect number to mark the company’s anniversary year.”

Guiness World Record!-The cars in the impressive field included a 250 California Spider, a 275GTB/C, FXX, F40, F50 and Enzo. The rules were straightforward: The cars had to travel over a minimum 2-mile course, no more than two car lengths apart, and had to be counted at the beginning and end of the parade. An official from the Guinness World Record organization confirmed the count and presented Ferrari officials with a certificate.
source: edmunds

Aston Martins, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Lotuses, and Maseratis… Dream cars on the roads. The AIADA newsletter reported that auto makers are turning out a new breed of supremely fast sports cars that sell for upwards of $250,000 and share many characteristics of purebred racecars.

Unfortunately, a growing number are ending up wrapped around trees.

The California Highway Patrol reports that the total number of accidents involving Aston Martins, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Lotuses, and Maseratis rose to 141 last year, an 81% increase from 2002.

A story in the Wall Street Journal illustrates the point; in March, a 39-year-old driver caused an international stir by crashing a Bugatti Veyron — an extremely rare $1.5 million turbocharged missile with a top speed of 253 miles per hour.

On the way to an M.B.A. class near San Diego one recent morning, Nasar Aboubakare lost control of his new 550-horsepower Ford GT and wrenched it over a lane divider. “The car is like a wild animal,” he says.

To compound matters, people notice when you damage a $150,000 automobile. After Mr. Aboubakare’s accident, several passing motorists snapped pictures while one leaned out the window of his pickup truck and shouted: “What an idiot!”

source: autochannel

Toyota Motor Corp. all but danced on the grave of the Honda Accord hybrid Thursday, announcing the sale of its millionth hybrid and issuing a rosy forecast for its gas-sipping lineup in North America.

Honda Motor Co. said earlier this week it will no longer build its Accord hybrid. The midsize sedan missed the mark because it offered a mix of fuel economy and performance at a time when hybrid shoppers seem focused primarily on miles per gallon to inform their buying decisions.

Prius sales tripled from a year ago to 24,009 vehicles according last month’s numbers.Stiff sales declines suffered by the Accord stand in stark contrast to Toyota’s flagship Prius, which accounts for more than half of all hybrid sales in the U.S., according to Edmunds.com data compiled at the end of May.

Honda (HMC) , Toyota’s chief rival in the hybrid game, still offers the No. 2 best-selling hybrid on the market. Its Civic compact sedan has garnered 16.5% of the market since the technology first came to the U.S. in the form of the Honda Insight back in 1999.

Prius, with an EPA estimated 46 combined mpg, hit the U.S. in 2000, three years after it was launched in Japan. Since then, more than 400,000 have rolled off dealers’ lots.

Other Toyota hybrids include the Highlander, the Camry and the Lexus RX 400h and GS 450h. The Lexus brand will also launch the 2008 LS 600h luxury sedan later this summer.

Of the 1 million sold to date, Toyota (TM) said more than half have come from the United States — a market long known for its seemingly unquenchable thirst for big SUVs and trucks.

The head of Toyota Motor Sales: Jim Lentz, said in the company’s press release: “The cost benefit of hybrids is becoming more apparent with climbing gas prices.” Indeed, the cost premium for a hybrid engine now pays for itself in about nine months, Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong explained. Average gas prices reached an all-time high of $3.23 for a gallon of regular in late May.

Toyota also said it expects to sell 250,000 hybrids in the U.S. this year en route to its goal of selling 1 million hybrids a year by early in the next decade.

source: smartmoney

Ford Explorer Sport Trac has spotted by KGP Photography. The neither fish-nor-fowl SUV/pickup/thing looks like it will receive a modest freshening that includes a new mesh grille in place of the current truck’s chrome bar setup. Our shooter indicates that the front bumper appears to be lower, which ought to add a measure of visual aggression and perhaps point to improved crash compatibility.

Out back, the exhaust has been rerouted subtly, with the twin chrome pipes exiting straight back (the old one poked out on the left side). Engineers have camouflaged the mule’s rear bumper as well, which means that we can probably expect a subtle redesign there, too. Interestingly, Ford doesn’t appear to have touched the vehicle’s light clusters in either front or rear, a traditionally easy (but very expensive) change for refreshes.

No word yet on any potential running gear changes, but Ford is doubtlessly hoping to renew interest in its flagging Explorer franchise with this mid-cycle refresh. Will these changes be effected on its more traditional Explorer SUV stablemate? Will they be enough to revive the model’s sagging sales? We’ll have to wait and see.
source: windingroad