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The Road Ahead : December January 2010
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58 THE ROAD AHEAD DEC 2009/JAN 2010 WWW.ROADAHEAD.COM.AU NISSAN GLIDING At the Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan launched its five-door Leaf hatchback. As the first electric car designed for large- scale production, the Leaf has a top speed of 140 km/h and a range of 160 km. The car will be on sale in Australia in 2012 and will be available to rent via Europcar. Also gathering looks at the show was Nissan's two-seater Land Glider EV. Designed to be easy to park, this innovative and narrow- bodied electric vehicle leans into corners like a motorbike. There are rumours that this car might actually go into production, rather than being just a show car. www.nissan.com.au ECO JOHN DEE IS THE FOUNDER OF PLANET ARK AND THE CHAIRMAN OF DO SOMETHING! Veh icles powered by hydrogen are notable for the fact that only water comes out of their exhausts. So amongst all the electric car releases, it's good to see Mazda continuing its commitment to building hydrogen-powered cars. Indeed, the company recently announced a $3.7 billion investment in new technologies. Along with BMW, the Mazda is one of the few car companies that are continuing down the hydrogen path, as a long-term alternative to petrol-powered vehicles. The company has a hybrid car called the Premacy Hydrogen RE. Unlike other hybrids, this car doesn't use petrol. Along with its electric motor, the car uses hydrogen as its fuel source instead. Unlike other companies that are using hydrogen fuel-cells, Mazda and BMW are using hydrogen to power an internal combustion engine. If adopted, this would see car owners filling up with hydrogen instead of petrol. HONDA HYBRID CR-Z HYBRID SPORTS CAR TIPPED FOR AUSTRALIA Given the high-speed acceleration potential of electric motors, it's good to see that Honda's going into production next year with its hybrid CR-Z sportscar. Even better news is that this car will hopefully be on sale in Australia in 2011. The Honda Insight hybrid, which has proven to be so popular in Japan, is now slated for Australian release in late 2010. www.honda.com.au fiesta econetic FUEL MISER MAKES ITS MARK The new Ford Fiesta ECOnetic was the most fuel-efficient entry in the recent Global Green Challenge, using only 98 litres on the 3147 km trip from Darwin to Adelaide. With a rating of 3.7 litres/100 km, the vehicle has the potential to be Australia's most fuel-efficient car. The German-built, diesel-powered car is likely to be priced at around $25,000 when launched soon. However in the challenge, at 89 g/km, the Prius had lower carbon dioxide emissions than the ECOnetics' 98 g/km.www.ford.com.au visit www.roadahead.com.au MORE INFO MOTORING GREEN GUIDE
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