Alternative fuels were in the news this week.
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Honda started production of its first fuel cell car. Volume is tiny for lease to just a selected few but it’s a start though it’ll probably be at least a decade (or two) before we mere mortals can buy one. Due to a tanker driver strike, some of us had enough trouble buying over-priced petrol this week, let alone hydrogen…
Not to be outdone, Mitsubishi and PSA announced they were considering collaboration on electric vehicle technology. There’s been a lot in the news lately about EVs, especially from Nissan and its plans for Denmark and Israel, but already the cynics are saying the 2010/1 deadlines look a bit doubtful.
Nissan remains bullish, though, with a senior R&D chief this week talking price parity in seven years.
Diesel is going off the boil here in the UK as it is now about 20p a litre pricier than already-expensive petrol and, if you do the math, you need to do quite a high annual mileage to get a decent payback. So it’s a good time, then, for Porsche to finally bite the bullet and announce they’ve one in the pipeline.
General Motors Europe has been drip-feeding details of its new Insignia flagship for months now. Latest is the revelation it can, optionally, ‘read’ read road signs. Now, let’s have one that can read the back of mobile speed camera vans just far enough away to ensure the legal limit is being observed, please, boffins.
Good news for Hungary this week. Mercedes has decided to build an additional plant for a widened range of A- and B-class models there. The country already makes Suzukis (rebadging one line for Subaru).
Time to go read a sign with the word ‘beer’ in it.
Enjoy your weekend,
Graeme Roberts
Deputy Editor
just-auto.com
