The chairman of Toyota Takeshi Uchiyamada announced today that Toyota will begin selling a fuel cell electric sedan in the United States in 2015. The fuel cell sedan will have a sticker price around $50,000.

Similar to battery electric vehicles except instead of storing electricity in a battery, the fuel cell vehicle produces its own juice from hydrogen with a chemical reaction. These vehicles have no emissions the only waste produced is water.

Nissan announced Apple iTunes Radio will be making its introduction into the automotive market with the companies 2014 Leaf EV, Versa Note and Rogue. 

Did you know that the record for the fastest R&R (removal and replacement) of a car engine is just 42 seconds? It was on November 21, 1985 and the car was a Ford Escort.

BMW Recall

Beginning in October BMW AG is going to be recalling 134,000 vehicles in the United States the recall is for some M5, 550i, 535i, 528i series model years 2008 - 2010 due to a condition that could lead to intermittent or even permanent loss of one or more rear lamp functions, over time, increase resistance at the tail light electrical contact points could cause damage to the ground terminal and the housing of the connector (turn-signal, reverse, tail, brake). Notification to owners will be made by BMW and dealers will replace free of charge, the rear lamp bulb carriers.

Did you know that the most recycled product in the world is the Automobile? 

The maker of charging stations for electric vehicles Ecotality, Inc has filed for bankruptcy protection and is planning to auction off its assets next month. This is the same company that four years ago won a $99.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The company is based in San Francisco and is among an increasing number of U.S. alternative energy companies are struggling or have failed to survive due to consumer reluctance of the high cost and restricted mile range that comes with electric vehicles.

Scrapping, Cars vs. Small Trucks, in the 1970’s the number of cars scrapped was almost twice as much as small trucks, since then cars have been made much more durable and by the late 1990’s the numbers were just about equal.

Have you wondered where some of the phrases we use today came from? For instance the phrase “it’s a doozy” has its origin with the Dusenberg Automobiles regarded by the world as the most luxurious automobiles of the 1920’s.

Did you know that the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT-500 that was used in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds is one of the most famous cars in the world ever?

Volvo recalls 2014 vehicles for electrical system problems

The affected 2014 models are the XC70, XC60, S80 and S60 vehicles with the keyless ignition, when the engine is started one of the main computers can basically go crazy with error messages for the main alarm system, the windshield wipers may turn on for no reason, headlights malfunction, turn signals, cruise control, and high beams stop working, the battery drains, and the headlights stay on low beams constantly. Volvo states that some owners have experienced all or some of the problems at once. In the U.S a total of 7,767 cars are affected and the remainder in Canada. 

The Third Brake Light

Psychologist John Voevodsky invented the third brake light in 1974, a brake light that is typically mounted at the bottom the rear window. When the brakes are activated a triangle red light will warn drivers following to slow down.

The world’s first car manufacture was set up January1, 1885 by Emile Levassor and Rene Panhard. The first car they built used a Daimler engine and was manufactured in 1890.

The first commercially available automobile was the Benz Motor wagon.

An investigation has been opened by the NHTSA into two of Nissan Motor Co. 2013 models. U.S. safety regulators are looking into the Nissan Pathfinder and the Infiniti JX35 after consumer complaints regarding the transmission cooler line connection failing. As a result of the cooler line connection failure consumers reported a loss of power from the transmission. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations website an investigation could lead to a recall which would affect an estimated 110,000 vehicles.