Source: Alex Ion

Spain is one of the leading nations when it comes to developing renewable energy resources and a lot of expenditure has been done to see green commuters on the road. The nation hopes that 30% of its 2010 energy needs will be met with these renewable sources. As far as the Seat IBE goes, the concept was in Geneva staging a 75-kiloWatt motor capable of producing 200Nm of torque which helped the car pelt to 50Km/h in 3.4 seconds. Given that VW is the parent organization which owns Seat, we are hoping for some real good features on the production ready Seat IBE.

Source: Alex Ion

The S-Class plug-in will fetch 81mpg courtesy of a combination of 3.0-liter V-6 gasoline engine-direct injection and piezo injectors-integrated with a 44 kW electric motor. Singly, on the batteries, the semi-electric commuter will have a range of 20 miles with speeds up to 68mph. The only drawback as far as the next-generation S-Class plug-in hybrid is concerned will be its pricing.

Source: Alex Ion

The kit comes with new side skirts, a rear diffuser and a rear wing all of which are made of carbon fiber. Though the engine mod details have not been made public, the tuning house claims that the GT600 helps the car with better acceleration while the use of Carbon-ceramic brakes take care of the speed. On the inside, the passengers get sports seats and a rollover cage. Available for order right away, the BF team can even redo the Gallardo with a rear-wheel drive-train.

Source: Alex Ion

[via MotorTrend]

Source: Alex Ion

Audi did not clearly mention that it will be a revitalized A2 but it hinted that there was scope for range expansion between the A1 and the A3. The touted A2 may be an extended version of the A1 or an all new automobile altogether. Speculations are also ripe about an electric version of the A2 but we will prefer waiting on that for a while, at least till the A2 is re-introduced in the market. No news on whether the A2 will ever make it to the American shores again. [via WCF]

Source: Alex Ion

It is a near production ready variant that gets a showcasing in Geneva featuring revised styling changes and production ready equipment. Initially, only 100 prototypes of the Joule EV will be manufactured for testing and development purposes following which the EV will hit thorough production in the later half of 2012.

All these prototypes will be hand-built by Hi-Tech Automotive and once production begins it will be Germany’s EDAG and South Korea’s Energy Innovation Group who will supply the parts. The Joule EV is touted to have a maximum range of 143 miles when using the New European Driving Cycle or 186 miles when running on the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule.

Source: Alex Ion

The world wants to see the smallest ever car and Tata is at the Geneva event with an electric version of the Nano. Sure Tata is no global automobile manufacturing giant but, it does want to capture the world with its electronically powered vehicles where Tata Nano EV will make a beginning. Set to go on sale in Europe next year as a 20102 model, the Nano EV will use the batteries which also power its Tata Indica Vista EV. Overall, the Nano EV headed to Europe will be 20 centimeters longer and it will sport better suspension along with anti-lock brakes. The Nano EV will probably have a 0 to 60km/h dash timing of less than 10 seconds and an anticipated range of 160kilometres.

Source: Alex Ion

And while Japan’s poor performance still rankles, the passage of time has given me the chance to find some bright spots in the country’s measly haul of three silver and two bronze medals.

Not least of which is the role played by small Japanese companies in supporting our athletes at a time when corporate behemoths, such as carmaker Nissan Motor and Seibu Holdings, an operator of hotel chains and train systems, have severed ties with teams including baseball and ice hockey squads.

Two of the three women in the team that won silver in the ladies’ pursuit speed skating belong to a skating club formed by tiny surveyor Daichi Corp in Toyama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo.

Daichi, which employs only 40 people and posted $11 million in sales in the last financial year, spends about $220,000 annually on its skaters. Its president and its founder even took a pay cut to make more funds available for the club, a company spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, Keiichiro Nagashima and Joji Kato, who won silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s 500m speed skating, are members of a team at Nidec Sankyo, a maker of ATM card readers.

CEO Shigenobu Nagamori inherited the club as part of a merger and decided to keep it as he wanted a common goal to to help unite his employees. Indeed, Nagamori will pay 8 million yen ($88,500) out of his pocket to the two medallists, in addition to another 8 million yen from the company itself, according to a Nidec Sankyo spokesman.

Without this support, Japan’s medal tally would no doubt have been even more dire. Let’s just hope these guys can afford to keep up their good work in the run-up to  Sochi 2014.

Photo credit: Jerry Lampen/REUTERS

Source: Junko Fujita

Source: Alex Ion