If you’re a fan of the Ümläut, and green driving, then you are going to LOVE Ë-Auto’s (pronounced Yo-Auto) new Ë-Concept, coming to the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Information on the Ë-Concept is currently limited, but the vehicle’s design is by Andrey Trofimchuk, the man behind Maserati’s Kuba concept. The “egg-shaped” car features a panoramic windscreen, LED headlights, unique doors (that retract backwards to gain access to the four-seater), and a gas-electric hybrid drivetrain.

Here’s a video from the auto maker, which also features some Ümläut action:

Source: WCF

Some interesting tips from Automotive Area on how to design the most aerodynamic automobile. They may seem odd, at first, but the way auto design is headed who knows what we’ll be driving in a decade. Top Photo: How Stuff Works

1. Front air dams can improve aerodynamics. It helps by restricting air flow from reaching the underside of the vehicle, eventually creating lower pressure.

2. A small rear bumper tail cone can make a difference. This helps improve air flow under the automobile, and also keeps air molecules from becoming stagnate there.

3. Add spoilers. These are used on sedans to create downforce by building a dam on the rear lip of the trunk. Downforce further helps to improve acceleration as well as mileage.

4. Also, adding an inverted wing is another significant feature. These generate more downforce, and increased downforce adds weight on the car’s roof – thereby improving stability on road and at cornering speed.

5. Have low ground clearance. This will help reduce effective frontal area and improve efficiency.

6. Minimize the frontal area. A car with a narrow front end means air molecules will not stagnate on the front part.

7. Finally, a reclining windshield will smooth the flow of air between the hood and windshield

There are plenty of blog and news articles about the best hybrid cars on the market today. The Greenest cars in America, in North America, even World Green Car awards are given out. But what about the worst? What about these so-called hybrid cars that actually save you nothing in the tank, and cost more at time of purchase?

Luckily, Cars.com blog Kicking Tires lets us know who are the worst of the lot. Hybrid cars that one give you 20-something miles per gallon? It’s all about getting on board the trend:

Google has tested their driverless car for over 140,000 miles, but some are still skeptical. Google recently told fans and the press that it has been working on driverless cars for some time now, logging over 140,000 miles on test tracks.

For now, the cost of such a vehicle is not very economical, but it proves one solid fact – the technology exists. Google’s auto-car could have a huge impact on the tech of traveling.

According to Google & Gas2 – The Google cars use computer A.I., cameras, lasers, and GPS devices to figure out where to go, how fast to go, and where other cars are. So far Google says there has been just one accident from its fleet of seven cars… when somebody else rear-ended a Google driverless car. That is pretty impressive, and a computer would be better able to optimize travel speed for fuel efficiency, timing, and could better account for things like traffic while the human passenger can be as distracted as he or she wants.

Getting these cars off the ground could pose an issue – many have their own misgivings about trusting a car to deliver them safely so, and manual override systems will be a must. And then there’s cost. While Google hasn’t said what all this technology costs, it won’t be cheap at first.

But driverless cars ARE possible in our lifetime, and we may one day find ourselves riding passenger to the empty driver’s seat.

Source: gas2.org

The greatest police agency in the world, the NYPD, is going from mean cars to Green cars. There are currently 3,000 gas-guzzling Chevy Impalas patrolling the streets of New York City. Not like it’s hard enough conserving fuel with all that stop-and-go traffic. But there are more and more hybrid patrol cars hitting Big Apple’s roads. 76 Nissan Altima hybrids are now on the force, along with 30 (of an upcoming 102) Ford Fusion hybrids.

Heir Mayor Bloomberg stated that the hybrid vehicles use less fuel and emit fewer pollutants into the air we breathe. The long term plan is to ensure that all the patrol cars are environment friendly vehicles in order to reduce the city’s carbon footprint 30% by the year 2017.

According to EPA estimates, the Ford Fusion 41 miles per gallon – which is more than double the gas mileage of the Impala patrol car.

Source: Green Packs

What’s with all the Hybrid Hype anyway? In today’s climate, it’s almost uncool to not supply your customers, whether they be car buyers, home appliance shoppers or Whole Foods regulars, with non “green” materials. Pretty much every major auto maker either has a hybrid car already on the market, or will have one within the next year (for the 2011 – 2012 model years).

But with every Joe-blow engineer rushing out their idea for a hybrid drive train, or the smart auto makers buying the technology from someone smarter, there will be no shortage of hybrid car variants soon. Are we really getting a quality vehicle, and most importantly are we getting savings at the pump?

Don’t get us wrong, Automopedia loves fuel efficient, technologically advanced rides. And now that the tech is out there, auto makers can take advantage of it at a good rate, for both their wallets and yours. It’s not just a flash in the pan marketing scheme, hybrid sales are going up. There is a question of affordability, up front. Back in 2005, a CNN Money article exposed the larger price tags of hybrid variants by Japanese auto makers compared to their gas-online siblings. In today’s hybrid world, companies like Ford/Lincoln and Honda are selling hybrids at around the same price as the non-hybrid versions. That 2005 article was also published for the Government decided to give larger cash incentives to those purchasing green vehicles.

Are hybrid cars perfect? Not at all. But no vehicle is, not even KITT from Knight Rider or the General Lee. A hybrid vehicle requires different, sometimes more expensive maintenance than an regular internal combustion engine. With more hybrids coming out, auto makers will be looking for less-expensive alternatives to materials (cheaper parts, that is). John Viera, Ford’s director of sustainability and environmental policy, said to HybridCars.com: “We feel that outside the communication and the hype, there is no silver bullet. There’s no fuel type or technology, including electric, that is the perfect solution.”

And in the end, no matter what the dealer claims (40, 100, 230 miles on a single charge) only real world tests during your daily commute will prove what a Mazda, Toyota, Chevy or Audi hybrid is really made of.

Are you saving the earth? No. Are you helping? Probably. Are you saving at the gas pump? Indeed – though maybe only to put back into the higher cost of maintenance/insurance. One fact seems certain, hybrids are here to stay. With every major car company investing millions upon millions in this technology, someone’s going to want a payoff at the end of the quarter. The question remains, can you afford it after the hype is gone?

What’s the latest trend in Green Car Technology? For Earth Day 2010, we’re taking a look at what’s new and improved in the world of eco-friendly tech. Has the hybrid craze finally come to an end? Are we looking to a future of all electric and alternative fueled vehicles? Well, probably not.

Hybrid cars are still a top-selling subdivision of both import and domestic auto makers. But as the combination gasoline-electric tech is close to perfection, alternative methods are being tested. Here’s a few:

All-Electric Vehicles: Our EV Future

The next logical phase in alternative fuel from the gas-electric auto world is full-on electric. Several top auto makers, including General Motors, Toyota and Mercedes/MINI are working towards perfecting their electric motors. The Prius Plug-in, for example, features nickel-metal hydride (NiMh) battery packs. These batteries can be charged in only a few hours using common household outlets. Toyota’s partner in making the battery pack – Panasonic. Chevrolet’s Volt EV is still in the hypothetical phase, but is rumored to feature an electric motor and 16 kWh lithium-ion battery plug-in system, although a future production model may have a combo hybrid E85-electric engine.

Small-Alternatives: MINI, Smart & More

Little Green all-electric cars have been popping up as the latest craze for environmentally friendly buyers. At this year’s 2010 New York International Auto Show, small rides like the MINI plug-in, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and TH!NK Electric were visitor favorites. Each runs on a separate type of electric motor, with a variety of lithium-ion battery packs specially made by the separate auto makers. Mazda, Nissan and Kia are also on the cusp of releasing all electric, small vehicles.

Luxury Hybrid Muscle: Sports Cars Go Hybrid

(Pictured, Green Car Report’s Shannon Arvizu)

Not everyone wants to drive a tiny car, some of us need a luxury SUV to carry around the kids, dogs and say “hey, I make ridiculous amounts of money for an evil cash-hungry corporation, but I still love mother earth!” Porsche is working on an electric roadster, along with hybrid versions of their Cayenne SUV. Rumors also say the new Porsche Panamera sedan may have a hybrid variant soon. Cadillac, which is owned by GM, joins the company’s somewhat new hybrid car league with their sexy (yes, we love small cars here at Automopedia, but this SUV is HOT) Escalade Hybrid. 2010′s Escalade Hybrid features a two-mode hybrid system, running the vehicle in all-electric at low speeds, and V8 at higher.

Public Transit: City Buses Go Green

Your local city busing system probably has a few biodiesel powered vehicles; that’s only the start. Ballard Power Systems out of Vancouver built 20 hydrogen powered fuel cell buses for 2010′s Winter Olympics, which took place in the British Columbia city. Th main bus depot, Whistler Transit Centre, offers the world’s largest hydrogen refueling station for both the buses and public hydrogen powered vehicles, like the yet to be released Honda Clarity. A combination of public transit, which reduces the carbon footprint drastically, and hydrogen energy for fuel may be the best bet for our future vehicle power.

Sound the Paul Revere siren – The BRITISH ARE COMING!! With a plug-in electric hybrid, at least. Axon Automotive out of Merry ol’ England recently unveiled their plug-in hybrid – which has no dry wit about it, sadly. Axon’s tiny, orange two-door pod-on-wheels features a combination electric/bio-ethanol power source. The car will reportedly be ready by 2011, with no price tag yet determined. Check out the press release below, and forgive any of that odd Olde-English spelling.

UK manufacturer AXON AUTOMOTIVE unveils Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

New UK car manufacturer Axon Automotive has previewed its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at the Milton Keynes Science Festival. The vehicle combines full electric mode for local travel and uses a petrol or bio-ethanol powered engine for long distance or motorway travel.

Axon Automotive Ltd. is the only UK owned car company making a plug-in hybrid EV and is funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board and private investment. The first cars will be on sale in 2011 with full production in 2012. The manufacturing roll-out will be via small factories in UK and in Europe including Spain, France, Ireland, Denmark, and Holland.

Solar powered cars? Yaaawwwnnn… Corn the future of automotive fuel? Yeah, right. Here at Automopedia we have tracked down the best in future petrol alternatives – your own urine. That’s right kids, don’t flush that pee down the toilet, wiz it right into a fuel intake. Garardine Botte, who spends a lot of time surrounded by jars of pee-pee, has invented a electrolyzer to extract hydrogen from the bodily fluid. It uses “a nickel-based electrode to extract hydrogen from urea (NH2)2CO, the main component in urine” according to Wired Magazine. Hydrogen molecules in urea are bounded less tightly then in water, making them more easily accessible.

Unfortunately, this is not as easy as going to the bathroom in your gas tank each time mom stops at Sheetz. One of hydrogen’s biggest hassles to use as fuel is the amount of energy needed during production. And then, of course, you have to distribute it. Mz. Botte’s invention eliminates problems of size and spacing normal hydrogen-fuel cell units take up. Honda’s Clarity has a huge tank located in the rear to convert hydrogen into electric power. Botte’s creation is about the size of a CD case. And you never really need to worry about running out of “gas” – “your body produces two to three liters of it each day, and it is the most abundant form of waste on the planet.” Botte also speculated pee-powered autos could be capable of a 60 mile per gallon range, based on current alt-fuel technology.

“The electrolyzer would have to pull energy from a power source like a battery in order to produce hydrogen for a fuel cell.” One idea bouncing around would be connecting it to roof-top solar panels, similar to the 2010 Toyota Prius. This could power up to 40% of the pee-fuel energy transformation process. Garardine has been working with Department of Defense R&D to develop electrolyzer technology for military use. Because all new technologies are used primarily in war and pornography…we’ll leave that final thought open to our reader’s interpretations.

Source: Wired (Thanks Haley!)

According to Detroit News (the staple of automotive and city crime news) The Obama administration has imposed tougher fuel economy standards for vehicles sold in the US. New standards call for automakers to have an average fleet economy rating of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. For passenger cars the average must be 39 mpg, and 30 mpg for light trucks. This will increase the average price of a vehicle by about 1,300 USD.

The entire US auto market will now have a single standard, as the new mileage regulations fit those of California that were traditionally stricter. US automakers will be forced to make models that are competitive with their Japanese counterparts on fuel economy standards.