Top Five Greenest Vehicles at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show
Posted By Jorge Chapa On March 10, 2009 @ 5:00 am In Green Transportation,TransportationTuesday | 1 Comment
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These days it seems that every [5] car [6] manufacturer [7] in the world is desperately trying to green their entire line of vehicles [8], and nowhere was this trend more evident than at this year’s Geneva Motor Show [9]. We were so impressed with the incredible array of hybrids [10], compact cars [11], and electric vehicles [12] on display that we decided to feature the most eye-catching vehicles at the show. Still think that green cars have yet to catch up to their carbon-spewing counterparts? Think again!
Chevrolet Spark [13]
One of the more practical vehicles on display, the Chevy Spark [13] is small, compact, and quite stylish. The vehicle has a fuel economy of 5L/100km (around 47 miles per gallon), but what really makes it special is the fact that it will actually be released by 2010!
Infiniti Essence [14]
Small compact vehicles are not the only ones that caught our eye. The Infiniti Concept is a hybrid vehicle [15] with a slim motor that the company claims has twice the torque of a conventional motor. While all that power may get pulses pointing, we were happy to hear that this beautiful looking hybrid also gets a reasonable 29.4 miles per gallon.
Volkswagen Bluemotion Polo [16]
The Volkswagen [17] Bluemotion Polo is another supercompact vehicle that boasts an impressive fuel economy of 55 miles per gallon. The vehicle’s tiny size, brand new 1.2 liter diesel engine and regenerative braking [18] system helps it to cut its CO2 emissions to 87 grams/km, which is pretty impressive for a diesel vehicle.
Ford Iosis Max [19]
The Iosis Max is the latest concept vehicle to be debuted by Ford [20], and it is expected to inform the design of future Focus vehicles. The pint sized powerhouse features a 1.6 liter EcoBoost [21] engine that delivers 20 percent better fuel economy than conventional engines of the same power.
Dacia Duster [22]
The big boys were not the only ones showing off sleek new concept vehicles. Dacia [23], a subsidiary of Renault [24], unveiled the Duster – a crossover vehicle that achieves a breezy 44.4 miles per gallon with its diesel engine [25]. Needless to say this is one sweet looking vehicle, and we were excited to hear that its passenger seat is capable of sliding beneath the driver’s seat to create room for a mountain bike [26].
NLV Quant [27]
Lets face it – small cars [28] and hybrid sportsters [29] are well and good, but what really gets us excited is a fresh fully-electric sports vehicle [30]. We were surprised, however, to see that it was Koenigsegg [31] who showed up with one. The firm, not ussualy associated with cheap or energy efficient cars [32], showcased the Quant [33], a sexy speedster that is completely covered with thin-film solar cells [34]. The company hopes that the electric sportscar will be capable of competing against the Tesla Roadster [35].
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URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-the-greenest-vehicles-at-geneva-2009/
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[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-the-greenest-vehicles-at-geneva-2009/
[4] Image: http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=20186
[5] every: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/08/transportation-tuesday-solar-powered-toyota-prius/
[6] car: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/10/28/audi-a1-sportback-hybrid/
[7] manufacturer: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/12/16/2010-ford-fusion-hybrid/
[8] entire line of vehicles: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/30/chrysler-reveals-dodge-ev/
[9] Geneva Motor Show: http://www.salon-auto.ch/en/
[10] hybrids: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/15/transportation-tuesday-ferrari-hybrid-by-2015/
[11] compact cars: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/06/03/think-city-coming-to-the-us/
[12] electric vehicles: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/04/29/no-more-gas-myers-motors-at-well-tech-in-milan/
[13] Chevrolet Spark: http://www.chevrolet.com/spark/
[14] Infiniti Essence: http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2009/03/infiniti-essence-concept-at-2009-geneva-motor-show.html
[15] hybrid vehicle: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/03/03/namir-hybrid-by-italdesign/
[16] Volkswagen Bluemotion Polo: http://www.motorauthority.com/volkswagen-shows-off-71mpg-polo-bluemotion-concept-car.html
[17] Volkswagen: http://www.vw.com/
[18] regenerative braking: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/05/20/transportation-tuesday-the-80mph-triac-goes-on-sale/
[19] Ford Iosis Max: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/03/ford-debuts-the.html
[20] Ford: http://www.ford.com/
[21] EcoBoost: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/01/ford-ecoboost-b.html
[22] Dacia Duster: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/02/geneva-preview-dacia-duster-concept-first-from-low-cost-brand/
[23] Dacia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacia_(car)
[24] Renault: http://www.renault.fr/
[25] diesel engine: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/09/aptera-diesel-electric-hybrid/
[26] mountain bike: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/01/13/moof-bike-by-ties-carlier/
[27] NLV Quant: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/04/geneva-2009-nlv-quant-by-koenigsegg1/
[28] small cars: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/02/10/c100-electric-vehicle-by-bg/
[29] hybrid sportsters: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/05/13/transportation-tuesday-the-fisker-karma/
[30] fully-electric sports vehicle: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/01/27/shelby-supercars-unveals-aero-ev-specs/
[31] Koenigsegg: http://www.koenigsegg.com/
[32] energy efficient cars: http://www.inhabitat.com/category/transportation/
[33] Quant: http://www.nlv-solar.com/quant/
[34] thin-film solar cells: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/01/21/masdar-begins-construction-on-10mw-solar-power-plant/
[35] Tesla Roadster: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/04/tesla-motors-the-electric-roadster/
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