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Shell Oil pulls the plug on its last algae biodiesel research project
Algae biodiesel has looked so promising (as in 100 times more fuel than corn or soy) that the U.S. Department of Energy gave $9 million to Cellana, a joint research venture between Shell Oil and HR Biopetroleum, specifically to look into the alternative energy source's prospects. It seems, however, that those prospects were no longer attractive to Shell, which has announced it will no longer pursue algae biodiesel, because it feels it doesn't have sufficient commercial viability. Partner HR Biopetroleum has stated it cannot continue the project on its own as Shell pursues other biofuel initiatives with other companies.
VW confirms it will build hyper-efficient XL1, Autocar gets to drive one
Think the Volkswagen XL1 concept is too far out there to ever get built? Tell that to the blokes in Wolfsburg. German source Automobilewoche is reporting that executives Ferdinand Piech and Martin Winterkorn both confirmed that the car will be produced in small numbers, first for Germany and later coming to the US and China. It's powered by a diesel engine with less than one liter of displacement, managing 313mpg combined (that's Imperial, 260mpg using American units) putting out just 48hp and thankfully assisted by a 27hp electric motor. Not much, but enough for the 1,750lb car, which Autocar correspondent Milton Holloway got to drive and said feels "fully sorted" despite an engine that's a bit rattly. It is a diesel, after all.
Volkswagen's XL1 concept plug-in diesel hybrid has 260MPG fuel efficiency, questionable aesthetics
Steaming down the autobahn could be about to get a whole lot more efficient. Volkswagen has carted out its newly updated Super Efficient Vehicle concept, now dubbed the XL1, which -- after a great deal of fuzzy math, we're sure -- is rated at a 313MPG fuel efficiency and produces only 24g of CO2 per kilometer traveled. There's an electric motor and a TDI diesel engine making all the buzzing and roaring noises inside, while the overall body design is focused on making the car as light and as aerodynamic as possible. Volkswagen has achieved a 795kg curb weight by using carbon fiber, magnesium, ceramics, and aluminum to shave down any excess portliness from the XL1, while wind-tunnel testing and optimizations have resulted in a rather exemplary 0.186 drag coefficient. It's rare to see such attributes on anything outside the supercar realm, but then there's a reason why this PHEV is still only a concept. FOF. Update: Oh bother. Turns out Volkswagen's mileage claim is based on Imperial gallons, which are 1.2 times the size of the American stuff, meaning that the XL1 actually measures in at 260MPG when viewed through US glasses. Now do you see why the rest of the world has gone metric?
Make your Avatar look Diesel (save lots of money)
Diesel now has an "apparel collection" available for Avatars through the Xbox Live Marketplace. The designs are based on the company's spring/summer 2010 collection, with t-shirts costing 80 ($1) and a pair of jeans for 160 ($2). Diesel plans to update the collection every season so that, in the company's words, "now, more than ever, you have the ability to dress your Avatars according to your personal style and taste." Now, let's play a game: The Avatar in the back, second from the left is wearing "Viker 8A7" jeans. If you think paying $2 for some pre-cut jeans on your Avatar is silly, take a guess how much those jeans cost in real life? (See the answer after the break.) Xbox.com: Add Diesel Avatar gear to your Xbox 360 download queue
Volkswagen L1 concept is crazy efficient, could ship in 2013
Look, it's a well-known fact that the world is ending in either 2012 or when the Large Hadron Collider starts back up (whichever comes first). But, assuming neither of those scenarios actually cause planet Earth to fold in on itself, you should have some pretty swank Volkswagens to choose from in 2013. Just days after hearing that the highly-anticipated E-Up! concept would be landing in around four years, VW is now proclaiming that the L1 concept you see above could also hit production at the same time. What's odd, however, is that the automaker is already calling this the "most fuel-efficient automobile in the world," but at 170MPG, you'd think the suits at Chevy would have a thing or two to say about it. At least in theory, the hybrid TDI vehicle can cruise 100 kilometers on just 1.38 liters of diesel, but we'll wait until the EPA gets a go before buying in completely.
Red Bull space, new content hitting Home this week
The PlayStation Blog has updated with word that the previously uncovered Red Bull space will be debuting in Home this week. Home-bodies will be able to take part in competitive, checkpoint-based air races within the space, and Sony has alluded to there being more Red Bull themed "events" forthcoming.Clothing brands Diesel and Linge Roset will also be getting their own dedicated storefronts in Home's Mall, something that has already taken place in Europe. If spending $.49 on designer duds isn't your thing, two Resident Evil: Degeneration T-Shirts will be added to the regular ol' clothing shop, so you can become a walking advertisement instead (and for free).%Gallery-40893%
Red Bull charges into Home this week
PlayStation Home will be getting its first big expansion this week. The long-awaited Red Bull game space will finally go live, allowing players to partake in a free mini-game: the Red Bull Air Race (pictured). More content will be added to the Red Bull space over the coming months.The US version of Home will also get its first access to the Diesel and Ligne Roset storefronts. Those of you that don't want to pay for clothes will be glad to hear that free Resident Evil Degeneration t-shirts will be given away for anyone that caught a sneak peak of the movie in the Home theater. TO EVERYONE. Yay!Home is just beginning. It'll be interesting to see how it evolves in 2009.
Home servers back online, Diesel and Ligne Roset stores too
The Home servers are back after their downtime. Hopefully you should find it easier to log into the service now. As for new content, there've been some additions made to the European shopping centre. Both the Diesel and Ligne Roset stores are now open in Europe (no sign of them in America). Inside you'll find a few free items (3 pieces of Diesel clothing for each gender and a chair and table) with the rest costing you a whopping £1.59 each. The furniture and clothing stores have been updated with new content, too. You can now purchase a Christmas tree and snowman for your apartment (among a few other things). They'll set you back 79p ($0.99) each, which is slightly more reasonable. As for the Santa costume, however, each part of it will cost you 79p -- the gloves, hat, shoes, trousers, suit and glasses(!). That's almost £5 for the entire costume. Other new pieces of clothing, such as the business suit, will cost you 59p ($0.49).No sign of the Red Bull Air Race space yet, but there's still time. Hopefully we'll see that arrive before the end of the day.
DSe Hybrid yacht is super eco-friendly, totally unaffordable
Yachts are usually pretty environmentally unsound, so the DSe Hybrid just debuted by Island Pilot at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show should be a real breath of fresh air (literally) if green is your thing. And apparently it's really about as eco-friendly as it gets -- using a combination of diesel, solar and electric power (when it goes into commercial production it will also boast wind turbines) the vessel can cruise at up to six knots on a sunny day for an indefinite period of time without any fuel and zero emissions. Possibly best of all (for those like us with delicate ears, anyway), it's virtually silent when not running on fuel. If you need to get somewhere in a hurry however, its Parallel Hybrid Propulsion System in diesel mode will move at up to 13 knots. There are all sorts of "luxury" amenities on board including a 26-inch HDTV and totally ferocious Bose home theater system. Island Pilot is taking pre-orders now (you have to lay down $5,000 just to reserve one) for delivery in 2009, but fair warning: this thing has a price tag of $600,000.[Via gizmag]
Wheelman pumps brakes, delayed until Q1 2009
Midway recently announced that their Vin Diesel-infused Driver-esque title Wheelman has hit some traffic whilst traveling down the release date turnpike, pushing its initial release window of Fall 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. While we're sure that there will be a number of Vinthusiasts out there who will be disappointed by this announcement, we fully understand the postponement -- based on our brief time with the game, we could tell it needed quite a bit of polish. Judging by the waxy sheen of the beefy actor's rippling head, we assume Diesel has plenty of polish that Midway could borrow, should they muster up the courage to ask.
Volkswagen prepping a plug-in "Twin Drive" hybrid for 2010
You know how we love plug-in hybrids around these parts, particularly if they're actually going to get built -- crazy, we know. Now it looks like Volkswagen is going to get into the game, with a "Twin Drive" Golf powered by a 122 horsepower diesel engine and 82 horsies of electric motor. The car should debut around 2010, and VW plans on spending $769 million on the project, helped along by a $23.5 million program put in place by the German government to help along such development. The car, which uses the electric motor for primary power, supplemented by the diesel motor and regenerative braking for extra juice, should be able to squeeze about 31 miles out of its Sanyo-developed lithium-ion batteries in all-electric mode.
Diesel looses two more OLED wristwatches
Late last year, Diesel popped out a pair of timepieces that featured a smallish OLED and lots of shine. This year, it's the OLED sitting front and center. The DZ7076 and DZ7086 both ditch the heavy chrome look and head back to the basics, and there's even four animations that do the OLED proud with the push of a button. Each watch also touts a genuine leather strap and the all-important Diesel logo, and while the DZ7076 can be yours for just $120, the slightly more retro DZ7086 will demand an extra $30.[Via OhGizmo]Read - Diesel DZ7086Read - Diesel DZ7076
Maglev, diesel-electric trains vie for support in US desert
Although the mention of a magnetically levitating train outside of US borders won't grab too much attention, saying that phrase here most definitely perks up ears. Sure enough, a maglev project that would shuttle folks from Disneyland to Las Vegas at up to 300 miles-per-hour is now jousting with a cheaper diesel-electric alternative (dubbed DesertXpress) for support. Reportedly, the latter would cost "just" $3- to $5 billion to construct -- compared to $12 billion for the former -- but rather than escorting folks from Anaheim or even Los Angeles, its origin would be planted in Victorville, California. Still, the trip from there to Vegas would only take three to four hours including the 1.5 hour drive to Victorville, but that still doesn't sound nearly as nice as "well under two hours" for the maglev. As it stands, there's quite a bit of red tape to wade through before either option goes forward, but kicking back on a whizzing train sounds an awful lot better than staring at pavement and blasting the air conditioner for five or so hours.[Via Gadling]
Diesel-powered Loremo promises to hit 150 miles per gallon
It's not the first time we've seen diesel touted as a solution for more efficient vehicles, but Loremo AG's new eponymously-titled vehicle may just have all of 'em beat -- if it can live up to its claims, that is. According to the vehicle's designers, in addition to diesel, they relied on engine efficiency, low weight, and minimal drag to boost the fuel-efficiency, which they say could top out at lofty 150 miles per gallon. With numbers like those, it should come as no surprise that Loremo's also entered the car in the Automotive X-Prize competition but, unlike most of the other entrants, this one will apparently actually be available to the general public relatively soon. That'll supposedly come sometime next year, with Europeans the first in line to get their hands on the vehicle for the relative bargain price of €15,000 (or $22,000) -- a redesigned North American version is then set to follow a year later. As if that wasn't enough Loremo's also promising a spiffier 3-cylinder GT version that'll run you $30,000, and both hybrid and fully electric versions, although those are only described as "in the works."
Diesel offers up duo of OLED-packin' watches
It's not that we've never seen a watch with an OLED display, but considering that so few of them are even mildly attractive, we have to take notice when one pops up that could actually be worn (shamelessly) in public. Diesel's DZ7080 and DZ7079 timepieces both sport integrated OLED displays, fairly appealing designs and water-resistance to boot. Not a whole lot of extra features or anything, but both models look to be available right now for around $150.50 and $136.50, respectively.[Via Technabob]
Team LUX readies Volkswagen Passat TDI for DARPA Urban Challenge
Although a fair amount of entrants into DARPA's Urban Challenge flank their vehicles with hordes of less-than-attractive sensors, we've been quick to forgive such atrociousness due to the complexities involved in cruising around sans a driver. Ibeo-led Team LUX, however, is looking to add a dash of style to this year's (now lucrative) competition, as its Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon touts a clean exterior, three "laser scanners" for complete 360-degree perception, and amazingly, not much else. Apparently, the trio of uber-capable modules are all that's needed to keep the car under control, and while we'd typically doubt such bold claims, the 11-member team has quite an impressive resume in the autonomous vehicle department. Still, the minimalist approach will probably face some stiff competition, and although we're certainly not experts on design, we still think the Wolfpack's Lotus packs a bit more sexy.[Via CNET]
Honda touts gasoline-killing diesel system
Lest you think Honda's devoting all its attention these days to developing future instruments of destruction, you can take some comfort in the fact that it is (for now) primarily a car company and, as such, is still working on technology to help us humans while we're stuck driving ourselves around. To that end, the company's just unveiled a new diesel powertrain system that is says will run as clean as a gasoline-powered car, not to mention provide better mileage. Diesel-powered vehicles are already known as gas-sippers, of course, but also have higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide. To cut that down, Honda incorporated a rather dangerous-sounding two-layer catalytic converter into the drivetrain, which converts the nitrogen oxide into less environmentally-harmful nitrogen. The first cars using the new diesel technology are set to hit the U.S. market in 2009, with Honda also open to the idea of licensing the technology to other automakers. In related news, Honda also announced an updated version of its Honda FCX fuel-cell vehicle, upping the maximum driving range to 354 miles and the max speed to a respectable 100 miles per hour. It'll be available in limited numbers in Japan and the United States in 2008, and we assume that when they say "limited" they really mean it.
Diesel-powered "car" edges on half the speed of sound
JCB, a UK firm which specializes in construction equipment (read: making tractors) appears to have become bored with life in the slow lane. At least that's what the company's sponsorship of the JCB DieselMax seems to suggest, as the team piloting the DieselMax just recently broke the diesel land speed record at 350mph (yeah, but does it have GPS?). The feat, which took place at the local Salt Lake City street racing venue on the Bonneville Salt Flats, puts the previous record of 237mph to shame, although it's worth noting that the new record is still awaiting ratification by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Unbelievably, the team isn't finished yet, with one crew member excitedly exclaiming that they "still haven't used sixth gear!" We also heard reports from an inside source that during the run the team decided not to turn up the volume to 11, either.[Via The Register]
