Intel Inside (Your Electric Car)?

Intel's former chairman Andrew Grove is exerting considerable pressure on the company to explore the world of car battery production. Grove feels that the promising industry will bloom into a huge profit center, and as such is pushing Intel hard in this direction.

Currently, the most promising (and capable) suppliers for electric, E-REV, and hybrid vehicle batteries are located in Japan. There are a few American upstarts, such as firm A123 Systems who is helping GM with development of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, but they represent a very small portion of the total of electric battery production capacity.

The current economic crisis poses a considerable challenge to Intel if it wants to join the electric battery fray; the firm's sales have dropped 12 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2008. But if electric, E-REV, and gas/electric hybrid vehicle sales take off in the U.S., Grove's gamble might prove extremely profitable.--Colin Mathews


[source: Kicking Tires via The Wall Street Journal]
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VW Delays Roadster Concept Launch

Say it ain't so! Apparently even Volkswagen is feeling the pinch in the auto market at present, despite its worldwide sales increase of 15 percent for the third quarter. As such it has decided not to release the mid-engined Roadster concept at the LA Auto Show next week, according to the U.K.'s AutoCar. The earliest we might see the Roadster would be in January at Detroit's NAIAS.

Volkswagen sources claim the delay is simply because they feel the Roadster will resonate better with showgoers in Detroit. But speculation says it's the economy.

The Roadster is expected to use a fuel-efficient four-cylinder along the lines of VW/Audi's 2.0-liter TFSI engine found in products like the GTI, Tiguan, A3, and A4. We'd love to see VW's excellent 1.4-liter twincharger (turbo- and super-charged) engine make its way into this little Roadster, especially as sources claim the Roadster will be very lightweight and feature an aluminum-intensive suspension and body. VW's EcoRoadster concept used a turbodiesel for torquey performance and stellar economy, another concept we really like. Either the twincharger or a turbodiesel in a light chassis would easily yield real world economy of 30+ mpg combined (probably 40+ for the diesel). Who said the spirit of the MR2 was dead?--Colin Mathews