News Opinion (Page 108)

As a Happy Earth Day present, Torque News brings you tips for saving fuel, no matter what you drive.

In a private email from Dr. Oded Tour of Tour Engine, it is clear that the Tour Engine Prototype 2 will be fully operational before the opening of the SAE World Congress which opens next week in Detroit. And TorqueNews will be there for interviews, photos and videos.

Malcolm Burwell, Director of Technology Development for the International Copper Association, will be speaking at the Powertrain Electric Motors Symposium about the rare earth metal shortage and what it means for the copper industry. He also will be at the SAE World Congress, and TorqueNews will be available to interview him.

The auto industry may be looking for alternatives especially when it comes to the cost of rare earth materials, but it is the Copper Alliance and their video that will be used to enlighten the SAE 2012 Powertrain Electric Motors Symposium for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in Detroit.

The time is right for commercial transportation to move away from petroleum and embrace new technologies. The shift has already begun.

Despite being listed on the Billionaire Hedge Fund Index, the weekly chart of General Motors (NYSE: GM) stock now confirms its bearish bias along with the general market. It is temporary, of course, but the critical question centers on determining the best method as to when and how to act as a buyer again.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, speaking at an Energy for Tomorrow Conference sponsored by the New York Times last week, said the evidence of climatic change is mounting and showing more rapid progression while stating electric cars have the power to wean our vehicles off imported oil.

After hiring a bunch of experts with titles like "musicologist" and "sleep researcher," Daimler is working on finding new ways to make Active Comfort a way of life in our vehicles. Which includes power naps and personal fitness coaching in the car.

Cyclone Power Technologies (OTCQB: CYPW), developer of the all-fuel, clean-tech Cyclone Engine, announced that its licensee in China, Great Wall Alternative Power Systems Ltd., has completed the build of the first prototype engines under its License Agreement, and has begun in-house testing of these units.

The debate is raging as whether to use open source for electric cars or not. The arguments are great from both sides but there is ultimately one outcome.

While an FMVSS standard for brake rotors would apply to all manufacturers, the target by Affinia Group seems to be toward the global aftermarket industry, which has had a tendency to migrate to the lowest-cost import product over safety and reliability. Question is: What's taking so long to decide an obvious safety issue?

As Alcoa (NYSE: AA) beat the first-quarter earnings estimates, some astute investors might reconsider whether this is the time to place the stock on an investment watch list, especially as the auto industry plans its next wave of future body structures.

Electric vehicles have been around a lot longer than many might think. Here is a look at some of the greats from the dawn of automotive.

Forget full EVs for the moment. Think about saving gasoline with fuel-efficient technologies like electric power-assist steering, eAssist and air-propulsion hybrids availed by the split-cycle engine.

Electric cars can do to reduce the harm done by modern transportation systems, but only if a huge number of electric vehicles are sold, which leaves us with the question of how will electric vehicle sales catch on with the mainstream of car or motorcycle buyers?

All major stock indexes plunged today, providing a backdrop for the auto sector stocks to follow suit. Questions are: How long and how deep will this latest plunge go?

A California mother of three, Shawndeeia Joann Bowen, has been charged with three counts of child endangerment. The crime? Driving while texting... with her toddler in her lap!

Electric car makers are adding sounds to their vehicles to alert pedestrians of the silent-running car's presence. It's only a matter of time before these get hacked by inventive car owners and are used to pipe out personalized, more (shall we say) "interesting" sounds instead. Here's a list of the 10 best ideas we could come up with.

Tech papers to be released at SAE World Congress Expo to reveal new advantages which will create a potential challenge to EVs based on the functionality of the Miller Cycle and an air-hybrid option.

A few weeks ago I questioned when Toyota Motors (ADR: TM) stock would plow through the resistance level. It now looks like the upward trend bias is intact, whether the 2012 New York Auto Show agrees or not.

Electric car charging stations are necessary to give electric car owners the freedom to roam, but some charging station owners are imposing high access fees to use the stations, at times making the cost per mile to drive electric higher than the cost per mile for gasoline.

Between increasing net product sales overshadowed by a net loss, Axion Power International, Inc. (OTCBB: AXPW), the PbC battery has large charge acceptance and fast recharge capabilities, and can offer a low cost solution for operating the ancillary load in the micro-hybrid platform.

The fuel of the future will not be singular, as it has been in the past, but will instead be a family of options working together to change the way we drive.

The dream of solar powered electric cars may finally be here, says Planet Subaru in Hanover MA, whose news release dated April 1, 2012, describes a prototype electric Subaru Tribeca with solar panels on the roof for completely emissions free driving.

Based on the 2007 Supreme Court ruling, we were expecting it; and now the EPA proposal will regulate carbon pollution for future power plants. Question is: How long will it take for similar or more stringent rules to be extended toward autos?

In movies and television, outlaws can be good guys, bad guys, or some of both. Often, they are defined by the cars they drive. Here's a top 10 list of cars from moving pictures that defined the outlaw in the show.

Stocks do not go up perpetually; and upside price resistance for Toyota Motors (ADR: TM) is just one reason the stock backed off last week. Question is, when will Toyota stock plow through the resistance level?

Insider Monkey, a unique financial equity website, introduced its daily Billionaire Hedge Fund Index some time back to exploit transactions of insiders. You may be surprised to find General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) stock made number 17 out of the top 30 billionaire-owned stocks listed.

Michigan among other states in America is especially known for its Spring potholes which can tear down the best rides in the auto industry. That is why, in order to attain a world-class ride, the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze was especially driven through the engineered pothole course at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan.

Spring is here, sunshine is coming back and whether your car is 5 years old or 70, the itch to restore it comes back to haunt you.