TTAC’s Twitter followers already know that I’m at the 2011 APEC Transport/Energy Ministerial Meeting in San Francisco, rubbing elbows with key decision-makers from the world of energy and transportation across the Asia-Pacific region. Earlier today I had the opportunity to sit down with Better Place CEO Shai Agassi, the intense, formidable CEO of Project Better Place. I’ll be writing about that conversation shortly, but many of the major points are covered in the speech Agassi gave shortly afterwards to assembled ministers, media and businesspeople. The speech boils down Better Place’s hugely ambitious plan to tackle one of the most complex challenges the world faces: transportation’s dependence on oil. If you’re looking for an Al Gore-style “green” speech, keep looking. Agassi tackles the problem from an economic and technological approach, and he makes a case that is well worth about 17 minutes of your time.

If you’re not familiar with Better Place, you can read some of TTAC’s coverage of the battery-swapping, network-managing, mileage-leasing project at our Project Better Place tag here (much of it on-the-ground reporting from Tal Bronfer, who has been following its rollout in the Israeli market). A comparison of battery swap to other EV business models can be found here, and a study of EV grid management issues can be found here.

Our oldest daughter is in fifth grade. It scares me that in only four short years she will be able to drive one of our cars. Ten years from now she will be as old as I was when I met my wife for the first time. Is she finally growing up? Am I beginning to grow old? Who thought middle aged life would be so damn intense?

Like any Dad, I want to plan a few things for her. On one side I don’t want her to become in terminal need of ‘Economic Outpatient Care’. She has to establish her own merits and foundations.

But I also want her to have the freedom to focus on what’s important. School, learning about life far beyond the classroom, and the ultimate freedom to pursue what interests her without having to deal with the modern day debt trap.As much as I love cars, I realize that interests rarely pass down through the generations. Cars are nothing more than debtful transportation appliances for most folks. So here’s what my wife and I plan on doing for our daughter … car wise.

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Now that Carl-Peter Forster has given notice, another German executive of Jaguar takes center stage: Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover Plc.  Being born in the U.K. as a son of a German diplomat, Forster speaks flawless English with those Teutonic undertones that fit a car CEO well. Read More >

The national character of auto brands is a tricky thing. For decades, Volvo wore its Swedishness on its sleeve, emphasizing the values that made Ikea, Abba and Swedish porn so popular in the US… even when it was an outpost of the Ford empire. And then the unthinkable happened: Chinese up-and-comer Li Shufu bought the brand and rolled it into his Geely empire. In the world of national-character-branding, being bought by a Chinese firm is something like hiring Casey Anthony as a brand ambassador, or using a mascot called “Mr Melamine Milk” (another nightmare scenario can be found here). So, how does a brand like Volvo, that was built on Swedishness, get past the “China Factor”? By doubling down on Swedishness? How about by building cars in the US?

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Volkswagen may show the car for lonesome commuter – Audi won’t have that. They have a concept for a single that has a girlfriend. They call it the “1+1-seat, ultra-light car for congested urban spaces.” I don’t know how a car that barely seats two will alleviate urban congestion, but I’m sure Audi will have an answer. For now, “the Audi urban concept combines elements of a racing car, a fun car and an urban car into one radical new concept.” There are two: A Sportback model, and a Spyder. Read More >

I once had a Phaeton with a W12 engine – that was fun! Thank God I didn’t have to pay for it. Think of a W12 engine like two VR6 engines engaged in a hot mating ritual. In a Kamasutra-busting position, the two imaginary VR6 engines are mated together at an angle that looks like a W. V – W, get it? Read More >

Some car companies would kill if they would have as many new cars in one year as Volkswagen shows concept cars at the Frankfurt International Auto show.  Here is a quick overview. Most of them are offshoots of the new Volkswagen up!, which seems to be Volkswagen’s carmeleon. Read More >

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood wants to get people out of their cars and start riding bikes and walking to work. Unlike LaHood, I’ve actually done 18 mile commutes on a bike, five days a week, seven months out of the year, and when I worked only 3.5 miles from home on nice days I’d sometimes walk.

Once, while doing intervals on my way to work and with my heart close to terminal rate and breathing pretty hard, contrarian that I am I wondered just how much CO2 a person puts out on a bicycle and how it compares to a car with an ICE. It turns out that it’s a non-trivial amount and it’s possible that with enough passengers a car-pool or bus filled with commuters has a smaller carbon footprint than the same amount of people riding bicycles to work.

Some said that I need to be a more focused and a more disciplined writer, that I must be more ruthless when excising or editing extra, redundant, superfluous, unnecessary, and/or gratuitous words. So I’m not here to talk about CO2, though I am here to talk about bicycles. Another of those funny thoughts occurred to me while out on the *Litespeed this morning : Are bicycles really more efficient than cars? Read More >

Stay Classy, Honda!

TTAC Commentator Anchorman33 writes:

Hello Sajeev,

Love TTAC, and the Piston Slap series.  I’m not a fixer, mainly because of time and space, but knowing a community like the B&B/TTAC is out there definitely makes me think about my automotive choices more than I ever did before.

I’ve got a 2006 Honda Odyssey that’s coming due for it’s 105k mile service.  I’ve had it for about the last 3+ years and done basic maintenance, to include changing the brake and transmission fluid about 10k miles ago.  don’t know when/if they had ever been changed before.  It’s been in at least two wrecks, rear ended before I bought it and not fixed properly – the driver’s side rear bumper has about a 6″ bolt holding it on; and side swiped on the drivers side about 18 months ago, fixed properly.  I  Overall it’s an ok ride,but definitely showing it’s age cosmetically and mechanically.  The current plan is to keep it for another 6-8 months and replace it with a new(er) van that’s a keeper.

The local independent shop (SoCal) is quoting me $1100 for the timing belt, water pump, radiator hoses, fluid and oil change.  Local dealer is saying $1850 for all that plus valve adjustment.  My question for you and the Best and Brightest is, how big of a gamble is it to just change the oil and hope the rest of the items can make it 8-12K more miles?  I obviously don’t want to blow up the motor, but I’m having a hard time swallowing that much cash outlay on an older than its age/miles would suggest vehicle that I’m planning on getting rid of in less than a year.  Thanks. Read More >

Hey you! Do you have a fourth-generation Camaro? Are you sick of the fact that it doesn’t look like a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air? Are you willing to paint some fiberglass to make it look slightly more like a Bel Air? Do you have $5,595?

If the answer to all those questions is “HELL YEAH BUDDY,” then do I have a kit for you!

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Regular TTAC readers may have noticed a slowdown in our publishing cadence of late. Fear not, dear readers, TTAC has not lost it’s passion. Rather, we are victims of our own success. Rather than being stuck at our computers, TTAC’s editors are hitting the road more than ever to bring the in-depth insight and quality stories that set us apart from other car blogs. We know that you visit TTAC for our quality reporting and analysis, rather than for our speed or search engine optimization. Accordingly, we thank you for demanding quality auto writing and we beg your patience when things slow down as we chase the big stories. Rest assured any slowdowns will be made up for with even bigger stories. In many ways, TTAC is only just hitting its stride. So hang tight in the back seat, and thanks for allowing us to achieve our true potential.

Ed
Sent from my iPhone (literally)

The white-collar unions Unionen and Ledarna filed bankruptcy petitions today against Saab, everybody from Associated Press  to inside.saab reports.  On the same day, Saab announced that it had licensed its PhoeniX architecture to China’s Youngman at firesale prices – a move that could possibly buy another month or two. But first things first: Read More >

If you want to charge your Nissan Leaf in 30 minutes, Nissan will (at least in Japan) sell you (reluctantly) a pricy quickcharger.  It costs about half of what a U.S. Leaf costs – before incentives and rebates: The current quickcharger sets you back 1.47 million yen, in today’s dollars, that’s about $19,000. Soon, this will get considerably, well, more reasonable. Nissan today announced a quickcharger with the same performance, but at half the size and half the price of the old one. Read More >

The only vehicle at the last Detroit Auto Show that I just had to get my picture taken with was a classic Mercedes gullwing SL. Somehow I’m guessing that I won’t feel the same way about this F-125 concept, come the 2060 auto show. Just a guess though.

Police may not pull over a car simply because two passengers are riding in the back seat, according to a September 2 ruling of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On December 30, 2009, a trio of New York Police Department officers had a hunch that a passing gold-colored Ford Crown Victoria with New Jersey license plates might secretly have been charging for rides.

The vehicle broke no traffic laws, but the officers became suspicious because in the dark at 1:30am, the officers only saw dark silhouettes of people in the back seat — and nobody in the front passenger seat. At trial, the officers were unable to provide a description of the vehicle, or identify any unusual activity from its occupants. None had ever seen this Crown Vic before. Officer Trent Narra testified that he had a “hunch” that the car was violating the New York City Administrative Code that fines individuals who operate cab service on the side without paying the $686,000 fee for a taxi medallion.

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