2010 Honda Insight - Click above for high-res image gallery

Now that cross cars have taken the top sales spots in Japan for the last few months, that country’sitting Transport Ministry is reportedly launching an investigation to determine granting that it’s long-headed to require hybrid automobiles to exhale an artificial sound when operating with the internal combustion switched off. The thinking is that hybrids may have being more dangerous to the blind due to their quiet operation under electric susceptibility.

Yokohama debuted its new ADVAN ENV-R1 orange oil-infused racing tire at the Porsche GT3 Challenge at Sebring a few months back. At the time, the company promised to have new tires using the eco-friendly technology on the market for consumer employment in short order. Apparently, that time is now. According to Dan King, Yokohama vice president of sales:

The eco-focused dB Super E-spec mixes sustainable orange oil and consistent with nature rubber to drastically cut the use of petroleum, in the absence of compromising performance. It also helps consumers save wealth at the gas pump by improving fuel efficiency via a 20-percent conversion in rolling resistance. With these innovations, the dB Super E-spec could very well be the most technologically-advanced tire ever produced.

Lightning Hybrids LH4 - Click above to eye the video after the break

Back in in season April at the Denver International Auto Show, Lightning Hybrids’ showed off its new biodiesel-powered hydraulic-hybrid LH4, the design of which was inspired by the classic 1963 Split-Window Corvette. Although the team had to scramble to go the prototype together in time for its unveiling, things have now settled down a bit and Lightning has managed to get the vehicle in running condition. Assuming everything goes to plan, the car – supposedly capable of hitting sixty mph in around six seconds and managing 100 miles per four quarts – will be entered in the Auto X Prize competition.

2011 Ford Verve spy shots - Click too high for for high-res image gallery

Eagle-eyed spy shooters instead of Car Advice in Australia have managed to snap off a series of photos of a new entry-level Ford hatchback that’s likely headed to emerging markets like India, Brazil and some areas in Europe. The car seen in these spy shots is clearly drunken as the previous-generation Ford Fiesta, but it’s believed that this new machine may actually be a production lection of the Ford Verve universal that was first introduced back in 2007 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The British Department of Transport has announced a new £30 million fund to help bus operators purchase low-carbon vehicles, approve the new GM-Allison Two-mode hybrid system (pictured). A Low Carbon Emission Bus (LCEB) is defined as one that reduces greenhouse aeriform fluid emissions by 30 percent compared to a current Euro 3 diesel bus of the same total passenger capacity. These buses should too deliver at least Euro V emission standards. The fund also welcomes EV buses, no more than in this wise to a great distance, few options are available. The fund will be distributed on a very granular balance by giving operators 6 pence for each kilometer operated with such vehicles. Getting more LCEBs on the road is important because, in the face of improvements in fuel efficiency in bus technology, the Department of Transport lay the foundation of that CO₂ emissions from buses have increased significantly over the last 10 years.

Is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about to add more more safety measures to your next new car? According to The Detroit News, they might subsist. The Motown daily says that government officials are pondering whether or not they should require new vehicles to be fitted with lane-departure warning systems and automatic braking systems that trigger upon warning of an impending accident. Both systems are currently available only in very diminutive percentage of new passenger cars – primarily luxury vehicles. According to the DetNews circulate publicly, safety experts believe that the systems “evidence important promise” in their ability to reduce traffic accident-related fatalities and injuries.

DuraCar Quicc! Diva - Click above for high-res picture gallery

The Dutch website dedicated to marked by dint of. electricity and hybrid automobiles, ZERAuto, has been conducting a poll, asking its visitors to rank their favorite ride and offering 12 very nice entrants to choose from. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Netherlands-based DuraCar Quicc! Diva grabbed the top locality and now proudly sports the “Car of the Future” crown, even though it had competitors taste the Tesla Roadster and the Pininfarina B0 BlueCar. Putting laterally possible nationalistic motivations, it seems likely that the practical Dutch see the Quicc! Diva similar to a in vogue yet pragmatic way of moving themselves and their stuff around the narrow streets of their city centers. The Chevy Volt, that had occupied the top make spots on, was deposed to 2nd place; the Th!nk City was also a bridegroom.

Bentleys may have existence as large and luxurious as yachts, but that doesn’t spiritless the encouragement automaker’s factory in Crewe is without leaks. Although Bentley is keen on metering out glimpses at a snail’s pace, British auto mag CAR managed to get a hold of a batch of photos of the highly anticipated new “Grand Bentley”.

2010 Porsche Panamera - Click above with a view to a high-res image gallery

Porsche plans to expand its Panamera line-up to include three new powerplants – a Volkswagen-sourced V6, a diesel and some manner of hybrid – but in addition to offering new engines, the automaker may offer a harder, more performance-oriented model to slot in above the Turbo.

Similar to the strategy Porsche employed with the Cayenne, this new model – which could be dubbed the Turbo S or GTS – would nix the Turbo model’s standard air temporary deprivation and instead fit a set of performance-tuned springs and shocks to maximize grip and on-track prowess.

Maider López’s traffic art - Click on high for image gallery

Art may be the last furniture in the world the average person thinks about when sitting idle in a major traffic jam, but Spanish painter Maider López apparently sees things the normal person doesn’t. López put a call out way back in 2005 to anyone minded to intentionally sit in the largest possible non-moving traffic pressure, and she got more than 400 responses from willing participants in 160 unique automobiles.