JustBritish

While other models were sleek and streamlined, the Morgan looked and sounded like sports cars were supposed to. But its throaty roar could be a thing of the past, at least on one model, with the 101-year-old company developing an electric low-carbon version of the iconic vehicle.

The electric car will be made of aluminium and be powered buy a plug-in battery. Morgan is co-operating with two other British companies, Zytek and Radshape, to produce a concept car which could be seen for the first time at the Geneva motor show next year.

In fact two cars are being produced. One will be held back for further engineering research, while the other will be on public view as Morgan decides whether to develop a version which could be put on sale.

The project is being backed by a £100,000 grant from the Government which sees electric cars as part of the solution to climate change. With the project still in its infancy, the range of the car and its top speed has still be decided. It will, according to a spokesman for the project, be quick.

Close on the heels of Tata Motors-owned Land Rover announcing its plans to develop hybrid cars, the Indian automaker’s another British subsidiary has now decided to toe the line.

Jaguar Cars, is now reportedly looking to introduce hybrid versions of its XJ and XF models in 2013-’14, using hardware developed with sister brand Land Rover, as reported by Britain’s Car magazine. The magazine has also stated that the first Jaguar hybrids could be launched soon after the planned 2013 introduction of the first Land Rover hybrid.

It was reported very recently that by the end of 2010 Land Rover will be testing the first diesel hybrid prototype called the ‘range_e’ which is being developed using a Range Rover Sport platform. Tests of this vehicle will use the existing 3.0 litre TDV6 diesel engine featuring a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. The goal is to achieve a range of 20 miles using electric power only emitting less than 100 g/km of CO2 emissions and to achieve a top speed of around 120 mph.

According to ‘Car’, Jaguar’s hybrid system, which also will employ the ZF hybrid transmission, will be applied eventually to every model in the range. The Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) engineering centre in the British Midlands is developing both diesel- and gasoline-electric hybrid powertrains for use across both model ranges,” the magazine said. The system will “quickly spread across the XJ, XF, XK Jaguars and the Discovery, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport,” according to Car, and will be upgraded with plug-in capability by 2015.

It is to be mentioned that Jaguar Land Rover is already active in four ongoing projects that are part of the Technology Strategy Board/ Department of Transport Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform. These projects, which demonstrate technological innovations that could be applied to future vehicle models, are the ‘Limo-Green’ Series Hybrid; a Flywheel Hybrid System for Premium Vehicles; the REcycled ALuminium (Real) project; and a Range Extended Hybrid Electric Vehicle (REHEV).

Read more: Jaguar XJ and XF models could also turn hybrid by 2013-14 – WheelsUnplugged
Automobile Industry News – Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

The year was 1984. Roger Dougal, a newly minted Ph.D. in electrical engineering, was beginning his career in the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering.

He was the new owner of a 1972 MGB – a red convertible, perfect for life in the Palmetto State, where he could zip along the highways and city streets with the car’s top down practically year-round. Lightweight with easy handling, the MGB was a snazzy roadster for a young professor on the go.

But that was, shall we say, soooo last century.
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Five of the top six reliable cars are Japanese… but the good news is that three of them are made in Britain.

Honda, which has a plant in Swindon, Wilts, is first in the list of smooth-runners. Third is Derby-based Toyota and Nissan, with a factory in Sunderland, is sixth, says new research.

Honda-buyers can drive smugly knowing there is only a 10% chance of a breakdown when the car is between three and six years old. Other Far Eastern companies Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi are also high in the Manufacturer Reliability Index top ten.

At the wrong end of the table is Land Rover, with a 47% chance of a breakdown, with Renault and Saab queuing up just behind on the hard shoulder. The index, compiled by insurers Warranty Direct, gauges the most dependable used cars among 250 popular models.

It also works out average annual repair costs, putting Czech-made Skoda as the cheapest with a bill of just over £200 and a German Porsche is most expensive at £800.

But at least you shouldn’t have to take your Porsche to the garage often as it is the tenth most reliable car on the road.
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According to PM Gordon Brown, electric cars are to be introduce en masse across Britain in plans for an environmentally friendly budget. The Prime Minister hopes to make Britain “a world leader” in producing and exporting electric cars and hybrid petrol-electric vehicles.

Trials for electric cars in two or three cities could be up and running as soon as next year, he said. As part of the plan, the Government will also open talks with power companies to ensure vehicles can have their batteries recharged at power points at the roadside.

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is also planning to create 400,000 jobs in the green sector over the next five years. Other measures will include the Government relaxing planning rules to allow the building of more wind farms to ensure Britain hits its target to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
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After 10 years of trying, a British engineer has broken the land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.

Pushed by 30-mph winds over two miles, Richard Jenkins reached 126.1 mph yesterday in his Ecotricity Greenbird car on the dry lakebed of Ivanpah Lake, south of Las Vegas. That’s 10 mph faster than the previous record, set in 1999 by American Bob Schumacher.

As the Daily Mail put it, that makes Jenkins the fastest naturally powered human on the planet.

“It’s great. It’s one of those things that you spend so long trying to do and when it actually happens, it’s almost too easy,” Jenkins told the BBC.

The Greenbird is made of carbon fiber composite and powered only by the wind. The only metal is in the wing bearings and the wheel units. For photos, video and audio of the car, go here.