Filed under: Hybrid, Lexus

Earlier this week, we got a sneak peek at the new Lexus CT 200h from a brochure that somehow leaked out onto the Interwebs. Now, Lexus has seen fit to pull the curtain back all the way on its new premium hybrid hatchback ahead of its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. A worldwide launch is promised later this year, but we can’t confirm whether that includes the United Says.

From what we can tell, the vehicle retains some of Lexus’s L-finesse design philosophy as seen on the LF-Ch concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, except in a somewhat more production-ready (read: toned-down) say. Inside, Lexus employs an asymmetrical dash design that’s split into what Lexus refers to as an upper Display Zone that includes an eight-inch LCD multi-display screen and a lower Operation Zone, which includes the shift lever and other controls such as Lexus’s Remote Touch multi-function controller.

As expected, the baby Lexus is equipped with a 1.8-liter VVT-i gasoline-fed engine that’s mated up with an electric motor using Toyota’s proprietary Hybrid Synergy Drive technology and a continuously variable transmission. Sadly, we have no official power figure, but we imagine it should be somewhat close to the 134 combined ponies of the latest Toyota Prius.

According to Lexus, its hybrid hatchback can run in EV mode for up to 1.2 miles at speeds up to 28 miles per hour. In addition to pure EV mode, the driver can also choose from Eco, Normal and Sport modes. Setting the CT 200h apart from other Toyota offerings is its dedicated double wishbone and trailing arm rear suspension system. Want more? Find all the details in the official press release after the break, and be sure to check out our high-res image gallery below.

[Source: Lexus]

Continue reading Officially Official: Lexus drops the curtain on CT 200h

Officially Official: Lexus drops the curtain on CT 200h originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even as American carriers continue to resist it, a variety of Canada’s GSM networks support video calling on so-enabled 3G handsets — but currently, the problem is that you’re only able to video call other phones on the same network. Fortunately, Rogers, Bell, and Telus have been hard at work playing nice long enough to ensure that their respective video calling services play nice one another, and they’ve just announced the successful completion of inter-carrier trials. The companies are swift to point out that this makes them the “first inter-carrier partnership in North America” to support 3GPP-compliant video calling, something that should hopefully make AT&T and T-Mobile feel at least a fleeting moment of shame. No word on exactly when the service will be available to end users.

Bell, Telus, Rogers trial inter-carrier video calling originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, Green Daily

After finally getting myself situated in the back of the Boeing, I notice the lady to my left wearing a Tesla fleece. As fate, the alignment of the stars and unbridled dumb luck would have it, I was seated next to Rachel Conrad, Tesla’s Senior Manager of Communications… for the next 10 hours.

After exchanging pleasantries, discussing each other’s plans for the Frankfurt Motor Show and getting acquainted, the topic of conversation naturally turned to automobiles, and the Tesla Roadster, in particular.

“It’s not just about performance,” an overly animated Conrad told me. “What journalists don’t understand is how functional it is. Owners forget to clean their windshield because they never have to go to the gas station!”

Okay, sure. But if you’re selling a car that starts at $109,000, you’re interested in more than avoiding dirty hands at the pump. You want the full sports vehicle monty. Power, poise, engagement, the lot. And a bit of green cred to boot surely doesn’t hurt.

So after several hours of discussion, I finally say, “Hand it over to us for a week. We’ll give it a proper review on its day-to-day livability. No track tests. No slalom speeds. No smoky burnouts. Just a comprehensive assessment of functionality.”

A handful of phone calls and dozens of emails later, I arrive at Tesla’s flagship dealership in Menlo Park, CA to pick up a full-kitted 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport. After a tutorial on the charging procedure, the internal computer and signing my life away, I was off. The Roadster was mine for the next five days, so I promptly pulled off into a bus stop, set a destination for the coast, disabled the traction control and laid a set of elevens down the street from the dealership.

Ladies and gentlemen, it pays to fly coach.

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Pics by Brad Wood / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Living with the Tesla Roadster Sport: One week in an electric light orchestra

Living with the Tesla Roadster Sport: One week in an electric light orchestra originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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