Toyota’s long hybrid patent fight with Paice continues in court

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily

2010 Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery
Toyota’s legal battle to over making and selling the Hybrid Synergy Drive has a long history. Toyota has fought with both Solomon Technologies and Paice LLC over the gasoline-electric technology. In 2008, Toyota was ordered to pay Paice LLC $4.3 million for patent infringement, based on a cost of $25 per infringing car (defined at the second-gen Prius, the Toyota HighlanderSource: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

It’s Friday: Swedish automatic PHEV charging prod gets a big WTF? from us [w/VIDEO]

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Green Daily

Trinnovator – Click above to watch the videos after the break
Is it too harsh to say that the Trinnovator is a solution without a problem? At the very least, we don’t think that a flexible, extendable prod coming out of the front bumper of a plug-in car and creepily finding its way into a grid of receptacles is the best way to recharge a vehicle. This is the method that the Swedish team behind the Trinnovator has come Source: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

Stanley and Black & Decker Merge

One merger and one acquisition are in the business news this morning.
The merger is perhaps the less exciting of the two, but, for me, the more interesting.
I’ll make some observations about Warren Buffett’s just-breaking news that his Berkshire Hathaway has purchased the rest of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe for cash and stock.
Regarding the Stanley-Black & Decker merger, it’s a small but interesting validation of Schumpeterian dynamics.
The nearby 2- and 5-year Source: The Reasoned Sceptic RSS Feed

AutoblogGreen for 11.03.09

Editorial: Henderson’s fuel cell 10X cost comments are out of context
Why the cost of the Volt and the Equinox should not be compared directly.
REPORT: Mini’s future models roadmapped; big, small, efficient and diesel (maybe)
Oil-burning Minis in the U.S.? Under consideration, but don’t hold your breath.

Rumormill: Piaggio working on electric Moto Guzzi?
It seems possible. Other news:

• REPORT: Toyota plans to trim trucks, focus on Source: Autoblog RSS Feed

Creative wall panelling by Tecpanels

Decorative wall panelling is a good option if you’re after a solid and original wall treatment. Tecpanels have developed a series of panels with contemporary design that could create some really good-looking spaces. Thanks to their special material, consisting of wood and resin, the panels are quite durable and damp-proof. Better than wallpapers and lighter than ceramic tiles, these wall panels offer ornamental, volumetric and geometric effects, a great variety of colors and come in theSource: Home Design Find RSS Feed

Google’s New (Local) Comparison Ads

Google tried a mortgage marketplace in the UK last year as a test drive for a range of things (Merchant Search). The theory at the time was that Google was trying to develop a separate marketplace for SMB advertisers. It then introduced (only in two markets so far) Local Listing Ads for SMBs (using call tracking with Google Voice). And now it’s launching AdWords Comparison Ads, starting with mortgages.

This is very interesting on several levels and it may appeal to bothSource: Screenwerk RSS Feed

After Controversy, Dinsey Issues Baby Einstein Recall

Image: The Reading Nook

Disney is offering a DVD upgrade or moneyback guarantee to everyone who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009 (the day the notice was put out).

The recall, if you want to call it that, came about after interest groups pressured the company to offer parents a refund. The premise: Time in front of a TV screen is bad for babies. An FTC complaint convinced Disney to rescind an earlier claim that Baby Einstein DVDsSource: Business Pundit RSS Feed

What’s old is new again: VW developed auto start/stop, DI in 1980

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Volkswagen

The great risk in predicting the future is that the odds are great that you will be wrong. Every once in while, though, you nail the ideas almost dead on. For some amusement, it’s always fun to go back and peruse old issues of magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics to see what they predicted cars would look like in the next century (that would be the one we live in right now).
Way back in 1980, Volkswagen builtSource: AutoblogGreen RSS Feed

Posawatz: Volt range-extended mileage to be “better than any conventional car.” But what about hybrids?

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Chevrolet, GM, Alternative Fuel

So, plenty of time has passed since General Motors first made the announcement that its Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle would score 230 miles per gallon on the yet-to-be-completed EPA testing procedure for such vehicles. Still, plenty of questions remain, such as How many miles per gallon with the Volt achieve after it has traveled the 40 or so miles necessary to deplete its battery pack?
Well, weSource: Autoblog RSS Feed

2010 Nissan Rogue Krom Edition revealed

Filed under: Crossover, Nissan

2010 Nissan Rogue Krom Edition – Click above to enlarge

When we hear the word “Krom” we think of Conan the Barbarian in the crypt, finally acquiring that giant sword. Nissan, on the other hand, uses the word to signify its new specialty vehicle line. You’ve seen the factory-accessorized Cube Krom, and now Nissan apparently believes the time is right for a Rogue Krom. The front clip gets a GT-R-esque treatment, while the rear gets aSource: Autoblog RSS Feed